Evening and Morning
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
December 20
Morning
"Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love."—Jeremiah
31:3.
Sometimes
the Lord Jesus tells His Church His love thoughts. "He does not think it
enough behind her back to tell it, but in her very presence He says, 'Thou art
all fair, my love.' It is true, this is not His ordinary method; He is a wise
lover, and knows when to keep back the intimation of love and when to let it
out; but there are times when He will make no secret of it; times when He will
put it beyond all dispute in the souls of His people" (R. Erskine's
Sermons). The Holy Spirit is often pleased, in a most gracious manner, to
witness with our spirits of the love of Jesus. He takes of the things of Christ
and reveals them unto us. No voice is heard from the clouds, and no vision is
seen in the night, but we have a testimony more sure
than either of these. If an angel should fly from heaven and inform the saint
personally of the Saviour's love to him, the evidence
would not be one whit more satisfactory than that which is borne in the heart
by the Holy Ghost. Ask those of the Lord's people who have lived the nearest to
the gates of heaven, and they will tell you that they have had seasons when the
love of Christ towards them has been a fact so clear and sure, that they could
no more doubt it than they could question their own existence. Yes, beloved
believer, you and I have had times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord,
and then our faith has mounted to the topmost heights of assurance. We have had
confidence to lean our heads upon the bosom of our Lord, and we have no more
questioned our Master's affection to us than John did when in that blessed
posture; nay, nor so much: for the dark question, "Lord, is it I that
shall betray thee?" has been put far from us. He has kissed us with the
kisses of His mouth, and killed our doubts by the closeness of His embrace. His
love has been sweeter than wine to our souls.
Evening
"Call thy labourers, and give them their
hire."—Matthew 20:8.
God is a
good paymaster; He pays His servants while at work as well as when they have
done it; and one of His payments is this: an easy conscience. If you
have spoken faithfully of Jesus to one person, when you go to bed at night you
feel happy in thinking, "I have this day discharged my conscience of that
man's blood." There is a great comfort in doing something for Jesus.
Oh, what a happiness to place jewels in His crown, and give Him to see of the
travail of His soul! There is also very great reward in watching the first
buddings of conviction in a soul! To say of that girl in the class,
"She is tender of heart, I do hope that there is the Lord's work
within." To go home and pray over that boy, who said something in the afternoon which made you think he must know more of divine
truth than you had feared! Oh, the joy of hope! But as for the joy of
success! it is unspeakable. This joy, overwhelming
as it is, is a hungry thing—you pine for more of it. To be a soul-winner
is the happiest thing in the world. With every soul you bring to Christ, you
get a new heaven upon earth. But who can conceive the bliss
which awaits us above! Oh, how sweet is that sentence, "Enter thou
into the joy of thy Lord!" Do you know what the joy of Christ is
over a saved sinner? This is the very joy which we are
to possess in heaven. Yes, when He mounts the throne, you shall mount with Him.
When the heavens ring with "Well done, well done," you shall partake
in the reward; you have toiled with Him, you have suffered with Him, you shall
now reign with Him; you have sown with Him, you shall reap with Him; your face
was covered with sweat like His, and your soul was grieved for the sins of men
as His soul was, now shall your face be bright with heaven's splendour as is His countenance, and now shall your soul be
filled with beatific joys even as His soul is.