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\ / Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING
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Friday, January 11, 2008
MORNING:
"These have no root."
-- Luke 8:13
My soul, examine thyself this morning by the light of this text. Thou
hast received the word with joy; thy feelings have been stirred and a
lively impression has been made; but, remember, that to receive the
word in the ear is one thing, and to receive Jesus into thy very soul
is quite another; superficial feeling is often joined to inward
hardness of heart, and a lively impression of the word is not always a
lasting one. In the parable, the seed in one case fell upon ground
having a rocky bottom, covered over with a thin layer of earth; when
the seed began to take root, its downward growth was hindered by the
hard stone and therefore it spent its strength in pushing its green
shoot aloft as high as it could, but having no inward moisture derived
from root nourishment, it withered away. Is this my case? Have I been
making a fair show in the flesh without having a corresponding inner
life? Good growth takes place upwards and downwards at the same time.
Am I rooted in sincere fidelity and love to Jesus? If my heart remains
unsoftened and unfertilized by grace, the good seed may germinate for a
season, but it must ultimately wither, for it cannot flourish on a
rocky, unbroken, unsanctified heart. Let me dread a godliness as rapid
in growth and as wanting in endurance as Jonah's gourd; let me count
the cost of being a follower of Jesus, above all let me feel the energy
of his Holy Spirit, and then I shall possess an abiding and enduring
seed in my soul. If my mind remains as obdurate as it was by nature,
the sun of trial will scorch, and my hard heart will help to cast the
heat the more terribly upon the ill-covered seed, and my religion will
soon die, and my despair will be terrible; therefore, O heavenly Sower,
plough me first, and then cast the truth into me, and let me yield thee
a bounteous harvest.
EVENING:
"I have prayed for thee."
-- Luke 22:32
How encouraging is the thought of the Redeemer's never- ceasing
intercession for us. When we pray, he pleads for us; and when we are
not praying, he is advocating our cause, and by his supplications
shielding us from unseen dangers. Notice the word of comfort addressed
to Peter-"Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift
you as wheat; but"-what? "But go and pray for yourself." That would be
good advice, but it is not so written. Neither does he say, "But I will
keep you watchful, and so you shall be preserved." That were a great
blessing. No, it is, "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail
not." We little know what we owe to our Saviour's prayers. When we
reach the hill-tops of heaven, and look back upon all the way whereby
the Lord our God hath led us, how we shall praise him who, before the
eternal throne, undid the mischief which Satan was doing upon earth.
How shall we thank him because he never held his peace, but day and
night pointed to the wounds upon his hands, and carried our names upon
his breastplate! Even before Satan had begun to tempt, Jesus had
forestalled him and entered a plea in heaven. Mercy outruns malice.
Mark, he does not say, "Satan hath desired to have you." He checks
Satan even in his very desire, and nips it in the bud. He does not say,
"But I have desired to pray for you." No, but "I have prayed for you: I
have done it already; I have gone to court and entered a counterplea
even before an accusation is made." O Jesus, what a comfort it is that
thou hast pleaded our cause against our unseen enemies; countermined
their mines, and unmasked their ambushes. Here is a matter for joy,
gratitude, hope, and confidence.
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Morning & Evening is the classic devotional by 19th-century writer
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