Evening and Morning
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
January 17
Morning
"And I
looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion."—Revelation 14:1.
The apostle
John was privileged to look within the gates of heaven, and in describing what
he saw, he begins by saying, "I looked, and, lo, a Lamb!" This
teaches us that the chief object of contemplation in the heavenly state is
"the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of
the world." Nothing else attracted the apostle's attention so much as the
person of that Divine Being, who hath redeemed us by His blood. He is the theme
of the songs of all glorified spirits and holy angels. Christian, here is joy
for thee; thou hast looked, and thou hast seen the Lamb. Through thy tears thine eyes have seen the Lamb of God taking away thy sins.
Rejoice, then. In a little while, when thine eyes
shall have been wiped from tears, thou wilt see the same Lamb exalted on His
throne. It is the joy of thy heart to hold daily fellowship with Jesus;
thou shalt have the same joy to a higher degree in heaven; thou shalt enjoy the
constant vision of His presence; thou shalt dwell with Him for
ever. "I looked, and, lo, a Lamb!" Why, that Lamb is heaven
itself; for as good Rutherford says, "Heaven and Christ are the same
thing;" to be with Christ is to be in heaven, and to be in heaven is to be
with Christ. That prisoner of the Lord very sweetly writes in one of his
glowing letters—"O my Lord Jesus Christ, if I could be in heaven
without thee, it would be a hell; and if I could be in hell, and have thee
still, it would be a heaven to me, for thou art all the heaven I want." It
is true, is it not, Christian? Does not thy soul say so?
"Not all
the harps above
Can make a
heavenly place,
If God His
residence remove,
Or but
conceal His face."
All thou needest to make thee blessed, supremely blessed, is
"to be with Christ."
Evening
"And it
came to pass in an evening-tide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked
upon the roof of the king's house."—2 Samuel 11:2.
At that hour David saw
Bathsheba. We are never out of the reach of temptation. Both at home and abroad
we are liable to meet with allurements to evil; the morning opens with peril,
and the shades of evening find us still in jeopardy. They are well kept whom
God keeps, but woe unto those who go forth into the world, or even dare to walk
their own house unarmed. Those who think themselves secure are more exposed to
danger than any others. The armour-bearer of Sin is
Self-confidence.
David should have been
engaged in fighting the Lord's battles, instead of which he tarried at
Jerusalem, and gave himself up to luxurious repose, for he arose from his bed
at eventide. Idleness and luxury are the devil's jackals, and find him abundant
prey. In stagnant waters noxious creatures swarm, and neglected soil soon yields
a dense tangle of weeds and briars. Oh for the constraining love of Jesus to
keep us active and useful! When I see the King of Israel sluggishly leaving his
couch at the close of the day, and falling at once into temptation, let me take
warning, and set holy watchfulness to guard the door.
Is it possible that the
king had mounted his housetop for retirement and devotion? If so, what a
caution is given us to count no place, however secret, a sanctuary from sin!
While our hearts are so like a tinder-box, and sparks
so plentiful, we had need use all diligence in all places to prevent a blaze.
Satan can climb housetops, and enter closets, and even if we could shut out
that foul fiend, our own corruptions are enough to work our ruin unless grace
prevent. Reader, beware of evening temptations. Be not secure. The sun is down
but sin is up. We need a watchman for the night as well as a guardian for the
day. O blessed Spirit, keep us from all evil this night. Amen.