Evening and Morning
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
February 15
Morning
"To Him be glory both now and
forever."—2 Peter 3:18.
Heaven
will be full of the ceaseless praises of Jesus. Eternity! thine unnumbered years shall speed their everlasting
course, but forever and for ever, "to Him be glory." Is He not a
"Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek"? "To Him be
glory." Is He not king for ever?—King of
kings and Lord of lords, the everlasting Father? "To Him be glory for
ever." Never shall His praises cease. That which was bought with blood
deserves to last while immortality endures. The glory of the cross must never
be eclipsed; the lustre of the grave and of the
resurrection must never be dimmed. O Jesus! thou shalt
be praised for ever. Long as immortal spirits live—long as the Father's
throne endures—for ever, for ever, unto Thee
shall be glory. Believer, you are anticipating the time when you shall join the
saints above in ascribing all glory to Jesus; but are you glorifying Him now?
The apostle's words are, "To Him be glory both now and for ever."
Will you not this day make it your prayer? "Lord, help me to glorify Thee;
I am poor, help me to glorify Thee by contentment; I am sick, help me to give
Thee honour by patience; I have talents, help me to
extol Thee by spending them for Thee; I have time, Lord, help me to redeem it,
that I may serve thee; I have a heart to feel, Lord, let that heart feel no
love but Thine, and glow with no flame but affection
for Thee; I have a head to think, Lord, help me to think of Thee and for
Thee; Thou hast put me in this world for something, Lord, show me what that is,
and help me to work out my life-purpose: I cannot do much, but as the widow put
in her two mites, which were all her living, so, Lord, I cast my time and
eternity too into Thy treasury; I am all Thine; take
me, and enable me to glorify Thee now, in all that I say, in all that I
do, and with all that I have."
Evening
"Whereby they have made Thee glad."—Psalm
45:8.
And who
are thus privileged to make the Saviour glad? His church—His people. But is it possible? He makes us
glad, but how can we make Him glad? By our love.
Ah! we think it so cold, so faint; and so, indeed, we
must sorrowfully confess it to be, but it is very sweet to Christ. Hear His own
eulogy of that love in the golden Canticle: "How fair is thy love, my
sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than
wine!" See, loving heart, how He delights in you.
When you lean your head on His bosom, you not only receive, but you give Him
joy; when you gaze with love upon His all-glorious face, you not only obtain
comfort, but impart delight. Our praise, too
gives Him joy—not the song of the lips alone, but the melody of the
heart's deep gratitude. Our gifts, too, are very pleasant to Him; He
loves to see us lay our time, our talents, our
substance upon the altar, not for the value of what we give, but for the sake
of the motive from which the gift springs. To Him the lowly offerings of His
saints are more acceptable than the thousands of gold and silver. Holiness
is like frankincense and myrrh to Him. Forgive your enemy, and you make Christ
glad; distribute of your substance to the poor, and He rejoices; be the means
of saving souls, and you give Him to see of the travail of His soul; proclaim
His gospel, and you are a sweet savour unto Him; go
among the ignorant and lift up the cross, and you have given Him honour. It is in your power even now to break the alabaster
box, and pour the precious oil of joy upon His head, as did the woman of old,
whose memorial is to this day set forth wherever the gospel is preached. Will
you be backward then? Will you not perfume your beloved Lord with the myrrh and
aloes, and cassis, of your heart's praise? Yes, ye ivory palaces, ye shall hear
the songs of the saints!