Evening and Morning
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
July 10
Morning
"Fellow citizens with the saints."—Ephesians 2:19.
What is meant by our being
citizens in heaven? It means that we are under heaven's government.
Christ the king of heaven reigns in our hearts; our daily prayer is, "Thy
will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The proclamations
issued from the throne of glory are freely received by us: the decrees
of the Great King we cheerfully obey. Then as citizens of the New Jerusalem, we
share heaven's honours. The glory which belongs
to beatified saints belongs to us, for we are already sons of God, already
princes of the blood imperial; already we wear the spotless robe of Jesu's righteousness; already we have angels for our
servitors, saints for our companions, Christ for our Brother, God for our
Father, and a crown of immortality for our reward. We share the honours of citizenship, for we have come to the general
assembly and Church of the first-born whose names are written in heaven. As
citizens, we have common rights to all the property of heaven. Ours are
its gates of pearl and walls of chrysolite; ours the
azure light of the city that needs no candle nor light of the sun; ours the
river of the water of life, and the twelve manner of fruits which grow on the
trees planted on the banks thereof; there is nought
in heaven that belongeth not to us. "Things
present, or things to come," all are ours. Also as citizens of heaven we enjoy
its delights. Do they there rejoice over sinners that
repent—prodigals that have returned? So do we. Do they chant the glories
of triumphant grace? We do the same. Do they cast their crowns at Jesu's feet? Such honours as we
have we cast there too. Are they charmed with His smile? It is not less sweet
to us who dwell below. Do they look forward, waiting for His second advent? We
also look and long for His appearing. If, then, we are thus citizens of
heaven, let our walk and actions be consistent
with our high dignity.
"And the evening and the morning were the
first day."—Genesis 1:5.
The evening was
"darkness" and the morning was "light," and yet the two
together are called by the name that is given to the light alone! This is
somewhat remarkable, but it has an exact analogy in spiritual experience. In
every believer there is darkness and light, and yet he is not to be named a
sinner because there is sin in him, but he is to be named a saint because he
possesses some degree of holiness. This will be a most comforting thought to
those who are mourning their infirmities, and who ask, "Can I be a child
of God while there is so much darkness in me?" Yes; for you, like the day,
take not your name from the evening, but from the morning; and you are spoken
of in the word of God as if you were even now perfectly holy as you will be
soon. You are called the child of light, though there is darkness in you still.
You are named after what is the predominating quality in the sight of God,
which will one day be the only principle remaining.
Observe that the evening comes first. Naturally we are darkness first in
order of time, and the gloom is often first in our mournful apprehension,
driving us to cry out in deep humiliation, "God be merciful to me, a
sinner." The place of the morning is second, it
dawns when grace overcomes nature. It is a blessed aphorism of John Bunyan,
"That which is last, lasts for ever." That which is first, yields in due season to the last; but nothing comes after
the last. So that though you are naturally darkness, when once you become light
in the Lord, there is no evening to follow; "thy sun shall no more go
down." The first day in this life is an evening and a morning; but the
second day, when we shall be with God, for ever, shall be a day with no
evening, but one, sacred, high, eternal noon.