Evening and Morning
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
January 27
Morning
"And of
his fulness have all we received."—John 1:16.
These words tell us that
there is a fulness in Christ. There is a fulness of essential Deity, for "in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead." There is a fulness of perfect manhood,
for in Him, bodily, that Godhead was revealed. There is a fulness
of atoning efficacy in His blood, for "the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son,
cleanseth us from all sin." There is a fulness of justifying righteousness in His life, for
"there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ
Jesus." There is a fulness of divine prevalence
in His plea, for "He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto
God by Him; seeing He ever liveth to make
intercession for them." There is a fulness of
victory in His death, for through death He destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil. There is a fulness
of efficacy in His resurrection from the dead, for by it "we are begotten
again unto a lively hope." There is a fuIness of
triumph in His ascension, for "when He ascended up on high, He led
captivity captive, and received gifts for men." There is a fulness of blessings of every sort and shape; a fulness of grace to pardon, of grace to regenerate, of
grace to sanctify, of grace to preserve, and of grace to perfect. There is a fulness at all times; a fulness
of comfort in affliction; a fulness
of guidance in prosperity. A fulness of every divine
attribute, of wisdom, of power, of love; a fulness which it were
impossible to survey, much less to explore. "It pleased the Father that in
Him should all fulness dwell." Oh, what a
fulness must this be of
which all receive! Fulness, indeed, must there
be when the stream is always flowing, and yet the well springs up as free, as
rich, as full as ever. Come, believer, and get all thy need supplied; ask
largely, and thou shalt receive largely, for this "fulness"
is inexhaustible, and is treasured up where all the needy may reach it, even in
Jesus, Immanuel—God with us.
Evening
"But
Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart."—Luke 2:19.
There was an exercise, on
the part of this blessed woman, of three powers of her being: her memory—she
kept all these things; her affections—she kept them in her heart;
her intellect—she pondered them; so that memory, affection, and
understanding, were all exercised about the things which she had heard.
Beloved, remember what you have heard of your Lord Jesus, and what He has done
for you; make your heart the golden pot of manna to preserve the memorial of
the heavenly bread whereon you have fed in days gone by. Let your memory
treasure up everything about Christ which you have either
felt, or known, or believed, and then let your fond affections hold Him
fast for evermore. Love the person of your Lord! Bring forth the
alabaster box of your heart, even though it be broken,
and let all the precious ointment of your affection come streaming on His
pierced feet. Let your intellect be exercised concerning the Lord Jesus.
Meditate upon what you read: stop not at the surface; dive into the depths. Be
not as the swallow which toucheth
the brook with her wing, but as the fish which penetrates the lowest wave.
Abide with your Lord: let Him not be to you as a wayfaring man, that tarrieth for a night, but constrain Him, saying,
"Abide with us, for the day is far spent." Hold Him, and do not let
Him go. The word "ponder, ' means to weigh. Make ready the balances of
judgment. Oh, but where are the scales that can weigh the Lord Christ? "He
taketh up the isles as a very little
thing:"—who shall take Him up? "He weigheth
the mountains in scales"—in what scales shall we weigh Him?
Be it so, if your understanding cannot comprehend, let your affections
apprehend; and if your spirit cannot compass the Lord Jesus in the grasp of
understanding, let it embrace Him in the arms of affection.