Evening and Morning
By Charles
Haddon Spurgeon
August 24
Morning
"The
breaker is come up before them."—Micah 2:13.
Inasmuch as
Jesus has gone before us, things remain not as they would have been had He
never passed that way. He has conquered every foe that obstructed the
way. Cheer up now thou faint-hearted warrior. Not only has Christ travelled the
road, but He has slain thine
enemies. Dost thou dread sin? He has nailed it to His cross. Dost thou fear
death? He has been the death of Death. Art thou afraid of hell? He has barred
it against the advent of any of His children; they shall never see the gulf of
perdition. Whatever foes may be before the Christian, they are all overcome.
There are lions, but their teeth are broken; there are serpents, but their
fangs are extracted; there are rivers, but they are bridged or fordable; there
are flames, but we wear that matchless garment which renders us invulnerable to
fire. The sword that has been forged against us is already blunted; the
instruments of war which the enemy is preparing have
already lost their point. God has taken away in the person of Christ all the
power that anything can have to hurt us. Well then, the army may safely march
on, and you may go joyously along your journey, for all your enemies are
conquered beforehand. What shall you do but march on
to take the prey? They are beaten, they are vanquished; all you have to do is
to divide the spoil. You shall, it is true, often engage in combat; but your
fight shall be with a vanquished foe. His head is broken; he may attempt to
injure you, but his strength shall not be sufficient for his malicious design.
Your victory shall be easy, and your treasure shall be beyond all count.
"Proclaim
aloud the Saviour's fame,
Who bears the Breaker's wond'rous
name;
Sweet name;
and it becomes him well,
Who breaks
down earth, sin, death, and hell."
Evening
"If fire
break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn,
or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make
restitution."—Exodus 22:6.
But what restitution can he
make who casts abroad the fire-brands of error, or the coals of lasciviousness,
and sets men's souls on a blaze with the fire of hell? The guilt is beyond
estimate, and the result is irretrievable. If such an offender be forgiven, what grief it will cause him in the retrospect,
since he cannot undo the mischief which he has done! An ill example may kindle
a flame which years of amended character cannot
quench. To burn the food of man is bad enough, but how much worse to destroy
the soul! It may be useful to us to reflect how far we may have been guilty in
the past, and to enquire whether, even in the present, there may not be evil in
us which has a tendency to bring damage to the souls of our relatives, friends,
or neighbours.
The fire of strife is a
terrible evil when it breaks out in a Christian church. Where converts were
multiplied, and God was glorified, jealousy and envy do the devil's work most
effectually. Where the golden grain was being housed, to reward the toil of the
great Boaz, the fire of enmity comes in and leaves little else but smoke and a
heap of blackness. Woe unto those by whom offences come. May they never come
through us, for although we cannot make restitution, we shall certainly be the
chief sufferers if we are the chief offenders. Those who feed the fire deserve
just censure, but he who first kindles it is most to blame. Discord usually
takes first hold upon the thorns; it is nurtured among the hypocrites and base
professors in the church, and away it goes among the righteous, blown by the
winds of hell, and no one knows where it may end. O Thou Lord and giver of
peace, make us peacemakers, and never let us aid and abet the men of strife, or
even unintentionally cause the least division among Thy people.