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\ / Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
MORNING:
"His ways are everlasting."
-- Habakkuk 3:6
What he hath done at one time, he will do yet again. Man's ways are
variable, but God's ways are everlasting. There are many reasons for
this most comforting truth: among them are the following-the Lord's
ways are the result of wise deliberation; he ordereth all things
according to the counsel of his own will. Human action is frequently
the hasty result of passion, or fear, and is followed by regret and
alteration; but nothing can take the Almighty by surprise, or happen
otherwise than he has foreseen. His ways are the outgrowth of an
immutable character, and in them the fixed and settled attributes of
God are clearly to be seen. Unless the Eternal One himself can undergo
change, his ways, which are himself in action, must remain for ever the
same. Is he eternally just, gracious, faithful, wise, tender?-then his
ways must ever be distinguished for the same excellences. Beings act
according to their nature: when those natures change, their conduct
varies also; but since God cannot know the shadow of a turning, his
ways will abide everlastingly the same. Moreover there is no reason
from without which could reverse the divine ways, since they are the
embodiment of irresistible might. The earth is said, by the prophet, to
be cleft with rivers, mountains tremble, the deep lifts up its hands,
and sun and moon stand still, when Jehovah marches forth for the
salvation of his people. Who can stay his hand, or say unto him, What
doest thou? But it is not might alone which gives stability; God's ways
are the manifestation of the eternal principles of right, and therefore
can never pass away. Wrong breeds decay and involves ruin, but the true
and the good have about them a vitality which ages cannot diminish.
This morning let us go to our heavenly Father with confidence,
remembering that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for
ever, and in him the Lord is ever gracious to his people.
EVENING:
"They have dealt treacherously against the Lord."
-- Hosea 5:7
Believer, here is a sorrowful truth! Thou art the beloved of the Lord,
redeemed by blood, called by grace, preserved in Christ Jesus, accepted
in the Beloved, on thy way to heaven, and yet, "thou hast dealt
treacherously" with God, thy best friend; treacherously with Jesus,
whose thou art; treacherously with the Holy Spirit, by whom thou hast
been quickened unto life eternal! How treacherous you have been in the
matter of vows and promises. Do you remember the love of your
espousals, that happy time-the springtime of your spiritual life? Oh,
how closely did you cling to your Master then! saying, "He shall never
charge me with indifference; my feet shall never grow slow in the way
of his service; I will not suffer my heart to wander after other loves;
in him is every store of sweetness ineffable. I give all up for my Lord
Jesus' sake." Has it been so? Alas! if conscience speak, it will say,
"He who promised so well has performed most ill. Prayer has oftentimes
been slurred-it has been short, but not sweet; brief, but not fervent.
Communion with Christ has been forgotten. Instead of a heavenly mind,
there have been carnal cares, worldly vanities and thoughts of evil.
Instead of service, there has been disobedience; instead of fervency,
lukewarmness; instead of patience, petulance; instead of faith,
confidence in an arm of flesh; and as a soldier of the cross there has
been cowardice, disobedience, and desertion, to a very shameful
degree." "Thou hast dealt treacherously." Treachery to Jesus! what
words shall be used in denouncing it? Words little avail: let our
penitent thoughts execrate the sin which is so surely in us.
Treacherous to thy wounds, O Jesus! Forgive us, and let us not sin
again! How shameful to be treacherous to him who never forgets us, but
who this day stands with our names engraven on his breastplate before
the eternal throne.
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MORNING & EVENING from HEARTLIGHT /\/\
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Morning & Evening is the classic devotional by 19th-century writer
and preacher Charles Spurgeon. It's part of HEARTLIGHT Magazine,
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