Evening and Morning
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
November 10
Morning
"The
eternal God is thy refuge."—Deuteronomy 33:27.
The word refuge
may be translated "mansion," or "abiding-place," which
gives the thought that God is our abode, our home. There is a fulness and sweetness in the metaphor, for dear to our
hearts is our home, although it be the humblest
cottage, or the scantiest garret; and dearer far is our blessed God, in whom we
live, and move, and have our being. It is at home that we feel safe: we
shut the world out and dwell in quiet security. So when we are with our God we
"fear no evil." He is our shelter and retreat, our abiding refuge. At
home, we take our rest; it is there we find repose after the fatigue and
toil of the day. And so our hearts find rest in God, when, wearied with life's
conflict, we turn to Him, and our soul dwells at ease. At home, also, we let
our hearts loose; we are not afraid of being misunderstood, nor of our
words being misconstrued. So when we are with God we can commune freely with
Him, laying open all our hidden desires; for if the "secret of the Lord is
with them that fear Him," the secrets of them that fear Him ought to be,
and must be, with their Lord. Home, too, is the place of our truest and
purest happiness: and it is in God that our hearts find their deepest
delight. We have joy in Him which far surpasses all
other joy. It is also for home that we work and labour.
The thought of it gives strength to bear the daily burden, and quickens the
fingers to perform the task; and in this sense we may also say that God is our
home. Love to Him strengthens us. We think of Him in the person of His dear Son;
and a glimpse of the suffering face of the Redeemer constrains us to labour in His cause. We feel that we must work, for we have
brethren yet to be saved, and we have our Father's heart to make glad by
bringing home His wandering sons; we would fill with holy mirth the sacred
family among whom we dwell. Happy are those who have thus the God of Jacob for
their refuge!
Evening
"It is
enough for the disciple that he be as His Master."—Matthew 10:25.
No one will
dispute this statement, for it would be unseemly for the servant to be exalted
above his Master. When our Lord was on earth, what was the treatment He
received? Were His claims acknowledged, His instructions followed, His
perfections worshipped, by those whom He came to bless? No;
"He was despised and rejected of men." Outside the camp was His
place: cross-bearing was His occupation. Did the world
yield Him solace and rest? "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air
have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head." This
inhospitable country afforded Him no shelter: it cast Him out and crucified
Him. Such—if you are a follower of Jesus, and maintain a consistent,
Christ-like walk and conversation—you must expect to be the lot of that
part of your spiritual life which, in its outward development, comes under the
observation of men. They will treat it as they treated the Saviour—they
will despise it. Dream not that worldlings will
admire you, or that the more holy and the more Christ-like you are, the more
peaceably people will act towards you. They prized not the polished gem, how
should they value the jewel in the rough? "If they have called the Master
of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of His
household?" If we were more like Christ, we should be more hated by His
enemies. It were a sad dishonour
to a child of God to be the world's favourite. It is
a very ill omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout "Well
done" to the Christian man. He may begin to look to his character, and wonder
whether he has not been doing wrong, when the unrighteous give him their
approbation. Let us be true to our Master, and have no friendship with a blind
and base world which scorns and rejects Him. Far be it
from us to seek a crown of honour where our Lord
found a coronet of thorn.