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\ / Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING
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Thursday, May 8, 2008
MORNING:
"He that was healed wist not who it was."
-- 1 John 5:13
Years are short to the happy and healthy; but thirty-eight years of
disease must have dragged a very weary length along the life of the
poor impotent man. When Jesus, therefore, healed him by a word, while
he lay at the pool of Bethesda, he was delightfully sensible of a
change. Even so the sinner who has for weeks and months been paralysed
with despair, and has wearily sighed for salvation, is very conscious
of the change when the Lord Jesus speaks the word of power, and gives
joy and peace in believing. The evil removed is too great to be removed
without our discerning it; the life imparted is too remarkable to be
possessed and remain inoperative; and the change wrought is too
marvellous not to be perceived. Yet the poor man was ignorant of the
author of his cure; he knew not the sacredness of his person, the
offices which he sustained, or the errand which brought him among men.
Much ignorance of Jesus may remain in hearts which yet feel the power
of his blood. We must not hastily condemn men for lack of knowledge;
but where we can see the faith which saves the soul, we must believe
that salvation has been bestowed. The Holy Spirit makes men penitents
long before he makes them divines; and he who believes what he knows,
shall soon know more clearly what he believes. Ignorance is, however,
an evil; for this poor man was much tantalized by the Pharisees, and
was quite unable to cope with them. It is good to be able to answer
gainsayers; but we cannot do so if we know not the Lord Jesus clearly
and with understanding. The cure of his ignorance, however, soon
followed the cure of his infirmity, for he was visited by the Lord in
the temple; and after that gracious manifestation, he was found
testifying that "it was Jesus who had made him whole." Lord, if thou
hast saved me, show me thyself, that I may declare thee to the sons of
men.
EVENING:
"Acquaint now thyself with him."
-- Job 22:21
If we would rightly "acquaint ourselves with God, and be at peace," we
must know him as he has revealed himself, not only in the unity of his
essence and subsistence, but also in the plurality of his persons. God
said, "Let us make man in our own image"-let not man be content until
he knows something of the "us" from whom his being was derived.
Endeavour to know the Father; bury your head in his bosom in deep
repentance, and confess that you are not worthy to be called his son;
receive the kiss of his love; let the ring which is the token of his
eternal faithfulness be on your finger; sit at his table and let your
heart make merry in his grace. Then press forward and seek to know much
of the Son of God who is the brightness of his Father's glory, and yet
in unspeakable condescension of grace became man for our sakes; know
him in the singular complexity of his nature: eternal God, and yet
suffering, finite man; follow him as he walks the waters with the tread
of deity, and as he sits upon the well in the weariness of humanity. Be
not satisfied unless you know much of Jesus Christ as your Friend, your
Brother, your Husband, your all. Forget not the Holy Spirit; endeavour
to obtain a clear view of his nature and character, his attributes, and
his works. Behold that Spirit of the Lord, who first of all moved upon
chaos, and brought forth order; who now visits the chaos of your soul,
and creates the order of holiness. Behold him as the Lord and giver of
spiritual life, the Illuminator, the Instructor, the Comforter, and the
Sanctifier. Behold him as, like holy unction, he descends upon the head
of Jesus, and then afterwards rests upon you who are as the skirts of
his garments. Such an intelligent, scriptural, and experimental belief
in the Trinity in Unity is yours if you truly know God; and such
knowledge brings peace indeed.
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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,
the leading Christian living e-zine on the Web. Visit HEARTLIGHT
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