Evening and Morning
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
November 6
Morning
"I will
pour water upon him that is thirsty."—Isaiah 44:3.
When a believer has fallen
into a low, sad state of feeling, he often tries to lift himself out of it by
chastening himself with dark and doleful fears. Such is not the way to rise
from the dust, but to continue in it. As well chain the eagle's wing to make it
mount, as doubt in order to increase our grace. It is not the law, but the
gospel which saves the seeking soul at first; and it is not a legal bondage,
but gospel liberty which can restore the fainting believer afterwards. Slavish
fear brings not back the backslider to God, but the sweet wooings
of love allure him to Jesus' bosom. Are you this morning thirsting for the
living God, and unhappy because you cannot find him to the delight of your
heart? Have you lost the joy of religion, and is this your prayer,
"Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation"? Are you conscious also
that you are barren, like the dry ground; that you are not bringing forth the
fruit unto God which He has a right to expect of you; that you are not so
useful in the Church, or in the world, as your heart desires to be? Then here
is exactly the promise which you need, "I will
pour water upon him that is thirsty." You shall receive the grace you so
much require, and you shall have it to the utmost reach of your needs. Water
refreshes the thirsty: you shall be refreshed; your desires shall be gratified.
Water quickens sleeping vegetable life: your life shall be quickened by fresh
grace. Water swells the buds and makes the fruits ripen; you shall have
fructifying grace: you shall be made fruitful in the ways of God. Whatever good
quality there is in divine grace, you shall enjoy it to the full. All the riches
of divine grace you shall receive in plenty; you shall be as it were drenched
with it: and as sometimes the meadows become flooded by the bursting rivers,
and the fields are turned into pools, so shall you be—the thirsty land
shall be springs of water.
Evening
"Saying,
This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto
you."—Hebrews 9:20.
There is a strange power
about the very name of blood, and the sight of it is always affecting. A kind
heart cannot bear to see a sparrow bleed, and unless familiarized by use, turns
away with horror at the slaughter of a beast. As to the blood of men, it is a
consecrated thing: it is murder to shed it in wrath,
it is a dreadful crime to squander it in war. Is this solemnity occasioned by
the fact that the blood is the life, and the pouring of it forth the token of
death? We think so. When we rise to contemplate the blood of the Son of God,
our awe is yet more increased, and we shudder as we think of the guilt of sin,
and the terrible penalty which the Sin-bearer endured.
Blood, always precious, is priceless when it streams from Immanuel's side. The
blood of Jesus seals the covenant of grace, and makes it for ever sure. Covenants of old were made by sacrifice, and
the everlasting covenant was ratified in the same manner. Oh, the delight of
being saved upon the sure foundation of divine engagements
which cannot be dishonoured! Salvation by the
works of the law is a frail and broken vessel whose shipwreck is sure; but the
covenant vessel fears no storms, for the blood ensures the whole. The blood of
Jesus made His testament valid. Wills are of no power unless the
testators die. In this light the soldier's spear is a blessed aid to faith,
since it proved our Lord to be really dead. Doubts upon that matter there can
be none, and we may boldly appropriate the legacies which
He has left for His people. Happy they who see their title to heavenly
blessings assured to them by a dying Saviour. But has
this blood no voice to us? Does it not bid us sanctify ourselves unto Him by
whom we have been redeemed? Does it not call us to newness of life, and incite
us to entire consecration to the Lord? O that the power of the blood might be
known, and felt in us this night!