Evening and Morning
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
November 7
Morning
"Behold,
I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands."—Isaiah 49:16.
No doubt a part of the wonder which is concentrated in the word "Behold,"
is excited by the unbelieving lamentation of the preceding sentence. Zion said,
"The Lord hath forsaken me, and my God hath forgotten me." How amazed
the divine mind seems to be at this wicked unbelief! What can be more
astounding than the unfounded doubts and fears of God's favoured
people? The Lord's loving word of rebuke should make us blush; He cries,
"How can I have forgotten thee, when I have graven thee upon the palms of
my hands? How darest thou doubt my constant
remembrance, when the memorial is set upon my very flesh?" O unbelief, how
strange a marvel thou art! We know not which most to wonder at, the
faithfulness of God or the unbelief of His people. He keeps His promise a
thousand times, and yet the next trial makes us doubt Him. He never faileth; He is never a dry well; He is never as a setting
sun, a passing meteor, or a melting vapour; and yet
we are as continually vexed with anxieties, molested with suspicions, and
disturbed with fears, as if our God were the mirage of the desert.
"Behold," is a word intended to excite admiration. Here,
indeed, we have a theme for marvelling. Heaven and
earth may well be astonished that rebels should obtain so great a nearness to
the heart of infinite love as to be written upon the palms of His hands.
"I have graven thee."It does not
say, "Thy name." The name is there, but that is not all: "I have
graven thee." See the fulness of this! I
have graven thy person, thine image, thy case, thy
circumstances, thy sins, thy temptations, thy weaknesses, thy wants, thy works;
I have graven thee, everything about thee, all that concerns thee; I have put
thee altogether there. Wilt thou ever say again that thy God hath forsaken thee
when He has graven thee upon His own palms?
Evening
"And ye
shall be witnesses unto Me."—Acts 1:8.
In order to learn how to
discharge your duty as a witness for Christ, look at His example. He is always
witnessing: by the well of Samaria, or in the Temple of Jerusalem: by the lake
of Gennesaret, or on the mountain's brow. He is
witnessing night and day; His mighty prayers are as vocal to God as His daily
services. He witnesses under all circumstances; Scribes and Pharisees cannot
shut His mouth; even before Pilate He witnesses a good
confession. He witnesses so clearly, and distinctly that there is no mistake in
Him. Christian, make your life a clear testimony. Be you as the brook wherein
you may see every stone at the bottom—not as the muddy creek, of which
you only see the surface—but clear and transparent, so that your heart's
love to God and man may be visible to all. You need not say, "I am
true:" be true. Boast not of integrity, but be upright. So shall your testimony
be such that men cannot help seeing it. Never, for fear of feeble man, restrain
your witness. Your lips have been warmed with a coal from off the altar; let
them speak as like heaven-touched lips should do. "In the morning sow thy
seed, and in the evening withhold not thine
hand." Watch not the clouds, consult not the wind—in season and out
of season witness for the Saviour, and if it shall
come to pass that for Christ's sake and the gospel's you shall endure suffering
in any shape, shrink not, but rejoice in the honour
thus conferred upon you, that you are counted worthy to suffer with your Lord;
and joy also in this—that your sufferings, your losses, and persecutions
shall make you a platform, from which the more vigorously and with greater
power you shall witness for Christ Jesus. Study your great Exemplar, and be
filled with His Spirit. Remember that you need much teaching, much upholding,
much grace, and much humility, if your witnessing is to be to your Master's
glory.