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\ / Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING
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Thursday, October 18, 2007
MORNING:
"Thy paths drop fatness."
-- Psalms 65:11
Many are "the paths of the Lord" which "drop fatness," but an especial
one is the path of prayer. No believer, who is much in the closet, will
have need to cry, "My leanness, my leanness; woe unto me." Starving
souls live at a distance from the mercy- seat, and become like the
parched fields in times of drought. Prevalence with God in wrestling
prayer is sure to make the believer strong-if not happy. The nearest
place to the gate of heaven is the throne of the heavenly grace. Much
alone, and you will have much assurance; little alone with Jesus, your
religion will be shallow, polluted with many doubts and fears, and not
sparkling with the joy of the Lord. Since the soul-enriching path of
prayer is open to the very weakest saint; since no high attainments are
required; since you are not bidden to come because you are an advanced
saint, but freely invited if you be a saint at all; see to it, dear
reader, that you are often in the way of private devotion. Be much on
your knees, for so Elijah drew the rain upon famished Israel's fields.
There is another especial path dropping with fatness to those who walk
therein, it is the secret walk of communion. Oh! the delights of
fellowship with Jesus! Earth hath no words which can set forth the holy
calm of a soul leaning on Jesus' bosom. Few Christians understand it,
they live in the lowlands and seldom climb to the top of Nebo: they
live in the outer court, they enter not the holy place, they take not
up the privilege of priesthood. At a distance they see the sacrifice,
but they sit not down with the priest to eat thereof, and to enjoy the
fat of the burnt offering. But, reader, sit thou ever under the shadow
of Jesus; come up to that palm tree, and take hold of the branches
thereof; let thy beloved be unto thee as the apple-tree among the trees
of the wood, and thou shalt be satisfied as with marrow and fatness. O
Jesus, visit us with thy salvation!
EVENING:
"Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice."
-- 1 Samuel 15:22
Saul had been commanded to slay utterly all the Amalekites and their
cattle. Instead of doing so, he preserved the king, and suffered his
people to take the best of the oxen and of the sheep. When called to
account for this, he declared that he did it with a view of offering
sacrifice to God; but Samuel met him at once with the assurance that
sacrifices were no excuse for an act of direct rebellion. The sentence
before us is worthy to be printed in letters of gold, and to be hung up
before the eyes of the present idolatrous generation, who are very fond
of the fineries of will-worship, but utterly neglect the laws of God.
Be it ever in your remembrance, that to keep strictly in the path of
your Saviour's command is better than any outward form of religion; and
to hearken to his precept with an attentive ear is better than to bring
the fat of rams, or any other precious thing to lay upon his altar. If
you are failing to keep the least of Christ's commands to his
disciples, I pray you be disobedient no longer. All the pretensions you
make of attachment to your Master, and all the devout actions which you
may perform, are no recompense for disobedience. "To obey," even in the
slightest and smallest thing, "is better than sacrifice," however
pompous. Talk not of Gregorian chants, sumptuous robes, incense, and
banners; the first thing which God requires of his child is obedience;
and though you should give your body to be burned, and all your goods
to feed the poor, yet if you do not hearken to the Lord's precepts, all
your formalities shall profit you nothing. It is a blessed thing to be
teachable as a little child, but it is a much more blessed thing when
one has been taught the lesson, to carry it out to the letter. How many
adorn their temples and decorate their priests, but refuse to obey the
word of the Lord! My soul, come not thou into their secret.
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