Evening and
Morning
By Charles
Haddon Spurgeon
April 2
Morning
"He answered him to never a word."—Matthew 27:14.
He had never been slow of
speech when He could bless the sons of men, but He would not say a single word
for Himself. "Never man spake like this
Man," and never man was silent like Him. Was this singular silence the
index of His perfect self-sacrifice? Did it show that He would not utter a
word to stay the slaughter of His sacred person, which He had dedicated as an offering
for us? Had He so entirely surrendered Himself that He would not interfere in
His own behalf, even in the minutest degree, but be bound and slain an unstruggling, uncomplaining victim? Was this silence a
type of the defenselessness of sin? Nothing can be said in palliation or
excuse of human guilt; and, therefore, He who bore its whole weight stood
speechless before His judge. Is not patient silence the best reply to a
gainsaying world? Calm endurance answers some questions infinitely more
conclusively than the loftiest eloquence. The best apologists for Christianity
in the early days were its martyrs. The anvil breaks a host of hammers by
quietly bearing their blows. Did not the silent Lamb of God furnish us with a
grand example of wisdom? Where every word was occasion for new blasphemy,
it was the line of duty to afford no fuel for the flame of sin. The ambiguous
and the false, the unworthy and mean, will ere long overthrow and confute
themselves, and therefore the true can afford to be quiet, and finds silence to
be its wisdom. Evidently our Lord, by His silence, furnished a remarkable
fulfillment of prophecy. A long defence of Himself would have been contrary to Isaiah's prediction.
"He is led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers
is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth." By His
quiet He conclusively proved Himself to be the true Lamb of God. As such we
salute Him this morning. Be with us, Jesus, and in the silence of our heart,
let us hear the voice of Thy love.
Evening
"He shall see His seed; He shall prolong His
days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand."—Isaiah 53:10.
Plead for the speedy
fulfillment of this promise, all ye who love the Lord. It is easy work to pray
when we are grounded and bottomed, as to our desires, upon God's own promise.
How can He that gave the word refuse to keep it? Immutable veracity cannot
demean itself by a lie, and eternal faithfulness cannot degrade itself by
neglect. God must bless His Son, His covenant binds
Him to it. That which the Spirit prompts us to ask for Jesus, is that which God
decrees to give Him. Whenever you are praying for the kingdom of Christ, let
your eyes behold the dawning of the blessed day which draweth
near, when the Crucified shall receive His coronation in the place where men
rejected Him. Courage, you that prayerfully work and toil for Christ with
success of the very smallest kind, it shall not be so always; better times are
before you. Your eyes cannot see the blissful future: borrow the telescope of
faith; wipe the misty breath of your doubts from the glass; look through it and
behold the coming glory. Reader, let us ask, do you make this your
constant prayer? Remember that the same Christ who tells us to say, "Give
us this day our daily bread," had first given us this petition,
"Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done in earth as it
is in heaven." Let not your prayers be all concerning your own sins, your
own wants, your own imperfections, your own trials, but let them climb the
starry ladder, and get up to Christ Himself, and then, as you draw nigh to the
blood-sprinkled mercy-seat, offer this prayer continually, "Lord, extend
the kingdom of Thy dear Son." Such a petition, fervently presented, will
elevate the spirit of all your devotions. Mind that you prove the sincerity of
your prayer by labouring to promote the Lord's glory.