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\ / Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING
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Sunday, March 23, 2008
MORNING:
"His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to
the ground."
-- Luke 22:44
The mental pressure arising from our Lord's struggle with temptation,
so forced his frame to an unnatural excitement, that his pores sent
forth great drops of blood which fell down to the ground. This proves
how tremendous must have been the weight of sin when it was able to
crush the Saviour so that he distilled great drops of blood! This
demonstrates the mighty power of his love. It is a very pretty
observation of old Isaac Ambrose that the gum which exudes from the
tree without cutting is always the best. This precious camphire-tree
yielded most sweet spices when it was wounded under the knotty whips,
and when it was pierced by the nails on the cross; but see, it giveth
forth its best spice when there is no whip, no nail, no wound. This
sets forth the voluntariness of Christ's sufferings, since without a
lance the blood flowed freely. No need to put on the leech, or apply
the knife; it flows spontaneously. No need for the rulers to cry,
"Spring up, O well;" of itself it flows in crimson torrents. If men
suffer great pain of mind apparently the blood rushes to the heart. The
cheeks are pale; a fainting fit comes on; the blood has gone inward as
if to nourish the inner man while passing through its trial. But see
our Saviour in his agony; he is so utterly oblivious of self, that
instead of his agony driving his blood to the heart to nourish himself,
it drives it outward to bedew the earth. The agony of Christ, inasmuch
as it pours him out upon the ground, pictures the fulness of the
offering which he made for men.
Do we not perceive how intense must have been the wrestling through
which he passed, and will we not hear its voice to us? "Ye have not yet
resisted unto blood, striving against sin." Behold the great Apostle
and High Priest of our profession, and sweat even to blood rather than
yield to the great tempter of your souls.
EVENING:
"I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones
would immediately cry out."
-- Luke 19:40
But could the stones cry out? Assuredly they could if he who opens the
mouth of the dumb should bid them lift up their voice. Certainly if
they were to speak, they would have much to testify in praise of him
who created them by the word of his power; they could extol the wisdom
and power of their Maker who called them into being. Shall not we speak
well of him who made us anew, and out of stones raised up children unto
Abraham? The old rocks could tell of chaos and order, and the handiwork
of God in successive stages of creation's drama; and cannot we talk of
God's decrees, of God's great work in ancient times, in all that he did
for his church in the days of old? If the stones were to speak, they
could tell of their breaker, how he took them from the quarry, and made
them fit for the temple, and cannot we tell of our glorious Breaker,
who broke our hearts with the hammer of his word, that he might build
us into his temple? If the stones should cry out they would magnify
their builder, who polished them and fashioned them after the
similitude of a palace; and shall not we talk of our Architect and
Builder, who has put us in our place in the temple of the living God?
If the stones could cry out, they might have a long, long story to tell
by way of memorial, for many a time hath a great stone been rolled as a
memorial before the Lord; and we too can testify of Ebenezers, stones
of help, pillars of remembrance. The broken stones of the law cry out
against us, but Christ himself, who has rolled away the stone from the
door of the sepulchre, speaks for us. Stones might well cry out, but we
will not let them: we will hush their noise with ours; we will break
forth into sacred song, and bless the majesty of the Most High, all our
days glorifying him who is called by Jacob the Shepherd and Stone of
Israel.
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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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