Evening and Morning
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
April 30
Morning
"And all the children of Israel murmured."—Numbers 14:2.
There are murmurers amongst Christians now, as there were in the camp
of Israel of old. There are those who, when the rod falls, cry out against the
afflictive dispensation. They ask, "Why am I thus afflicted? What have I
done to be chastened in this manner?" A word with thee, O murmurer! Why shouldst thou
murmur against the dispensations of thy heavenly Father? Can He treat thee more
hardly than thou deservest? Consider what a rebel
thou wast once, but He has pardoned thee! Surely, if
He in His wisdom sees fit now to chasten thee, thou shouldst
not complain. After all, art thou smitten as hardly as thy sins deserve?
Consider the corruption which is in thy breast, and then wilt thou wonder that
there needs so much of the rod to fetch it out? Weigh thyself, and discern how
much dross is mingled with thy gold; and dost thou think the fire too hot to
purge away so much dross as thou hast? Does not that proud rebellious spirit of
thine prove that thy heart is not thoroughly
sanctified? Are not those murmuring words contrary to the holy submissive
nature of God's children? Is not the correction needed? But if thou wilt
murmur against the chastening, take heed, for it will go hard with murmurers. God always chastises His children twice, if they
do not bear the first stroke patiently. But know one thing—"He doth
not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." All His
corrections are sent in love, to purify thee, and to draw thee nearer to
Himself. Surely it must help thee to bear the chastening with resignation if
thou art able to recognize thy Father's hand. For "whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with
sons." "Murmur not as some of them also murmured and were destroyed
of the destroyer."
Evening
"How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O
God."—Psalm 139:17.
Divine
omniscience affords no comfort to the ungodly mind, but to the child of God it
overflows with consolation. God is always thinking upon us, never turns aside
His mind from us, has us always before His eyes; and this is precisely as we
would have it, for it would be dreadful to exist for a moment beyond the
observation of our heavenly Father. His thoughts are always tender, loving,
wise, prudent, far-reaching, and they bring to us countless benefits: hence it
is a choice delight to remember them. The Lord always did think upon His
people: hence their election and the covenant of grace by which their salvation
is secured; He always will think upon them: hence their final perseverance by
which they shall be brought safely to their final rest. In all our wanderings
the watchful glance of the Eternal Watcher is evermore fixed upon us—we
never roam beyond the Shepherd's eye. In our sorrows He observes us
incessantly, and not a pang escapes Him; in our toils He marks all our
weariness, and writes in His book all the struggles of His faithful ones. These
thoughts of the Lord encompass us in all our paths, and penetrate the innermost
region of our being. Not a nerve or tissue, valve or vessel, of our bodily
organization is uncared for; all the littles of our
little world are thought upon by the great God.
Dear reader, is
this precious to you? then hold to it. Never be led
astray by those philosophic fools who preach up an impersonal God, and talk of
self-existent, self-governing matter. The Lord liveth
and thinketh upon us, this is a truth far too
precious for us to be lightly robbed of it. The notice of a nobleman is valued
so highly that he who has it counts his fortune made; but what is it to be
thought of by the King of kings! If the Lord thinketh
upon us, all is well, and we may rejoice evermore.