Evening and Morning
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
August 14
Morning
"Thou,
Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work."—Psalm 92:4.
Do you believe that your
sins are forgiven, and that Christ has made a full atonement for them? Then
what a joyful Christian you ought to be! How you should live above the
common trials and troubles of the world! Since sin is forgiven, can it matter
what happens to you now? Luther said, "Smite, Lord, smite, for my sin is
forgiven; if Thou hast but forgiven me, smite as hard as Thou wilt"; and
in a similar spirit you may say, "Send sickness, poverty, losses, crosses,
persecution, what Thou wilt, Thou hast forgiven me, and my soul is
glad." Christian, if thou art thus saved, whilst thou art glad, be grateful and loving. Cling to that cross
which took thy sin away; serve thou Him who served thee. "I beseech you
therefore, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
Let not your zeal evaporate in some little ebullition of song. Show your love
in expressive tokens. Love the brethren of Him who loved you. If there be a Mephibosheth anywhere who is lame or halt, help him for
Jonathan's sake. If there be a poor tried believer, weep with him, and bear his
cross for the sake of Him who wept for thee and carried thy sins. Since thou
art thus forgiven freely for Christ's sake, go and tell to others the joyful
news of pardoning mercy. Be not contented with this unspeakable blessing for thyself alone, but publish abroad the story of the cross.
Holy gladness and holy boldness will make you a good preacher, and all the world will be a pulpit for you to preach in.
Cheerful holiness is the most forcible of sermons, but the Lord must give it
you. Seek it this morning before you go into the world. When it is the Lord's
work in which we rejoice, we need not be afraid of
being too glad.
Evening
"I know
their sorrows."—Exodus 3:7.
The child is cheered as he
sings, "This my father knows"; and shall not we be comforted as we
discern that our dear Friend and tender soul-husband knows all about us?
1. He
is the Physician, and if He knows all, there is no need that the patient
should know. Hush, thou silly, fluttering heart, prying, peeping, and
suspecting! What thou knowest not now, thou shalt
know hereafter, and meanwhile Jesus, the beloved Physician, knows thy soul in
adversities. Why need the patient analyze all the medicine, or estimate all the
symptoms? This is the Physician's work, not mine; it is my business to trust,
and His to prescribe. If He shall write His prescription in uncouth characters
which I cannot read, I will not be uneasy on that account, but rely upon His
unfailing skill to make all plain in the result, however mysterious in the
working.
2. He
is the Master, and His knowledge is to serve us instead of our own; we are to
obey, not to judge: "The servant knoweth not
what his lord doeth." Shall the architect explain his plans to every hodman on the works? If he knows his own intent, is it not
enough? The vessel on the wheel cannot guess to what pattern it shall be
conformed, but if the potter understands his art, what matters the ignorance of
the clay? My Lord must not be cross-questioned any more by one so ignorant as I
am.
3. He
is the Head. All understanding centres there.
What judgment has the arm? What comprehension has the foot? All the power to
know lies in the head. Why should the member have a brain of its own when the
head fulfils for it every intellectual office? Here,
then, must the believer rest his comfort in sickness, not that he himself can
see the end, but that Jesus knows all. Sweet Lord, be thou for ever eye, and
soul, and head for us, and let us be content to know only what Thou choosest to reveal.