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\ / Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING
http://www.heartlight.org/
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Sunday, July 6, 2008
MORNING:
"Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be
quiet from fear of evil."
-- Proverbs 1:33
Divine love is rendered conspicuous when it shines in the midst of
judgments. Fair is that lone star which smiles through the rifts of the
thunder clouds; bright is the oasis which blooms in the wilderness of
sand; so fair and so bright is love in the midst of wrath. When the
Israelites provoked the Most High by their continued idolatry, he
punished them by withholding both dew and rain, so that their land was
visited by a sore famine; but while he did this, he took care that his
own chosen ones should be secure. If all other brooks are dry, yet
shall there be one reserved for Elijah; and when that fails, God shall
still preserve for him a place of sustenance; nay, not only so, the
Lord had not simply one "Elijah," but he had a remnant according to the
election of grace, who were hidden by fifties in a cave, and though the
whole land was subject to famine, yet these fifties in the cave were
fed, and fed from Ahab's table too by His faithful, God-fearing
steward, Obadiah. Let us from this draw the inference, that come what
may, God's people are safe. Let convulsions shake the solid earth, let
the skies themselves be rent in twain, yet amid the wreck of worlds the
believer shall be as secure as in the calmest hour of rest. If God
cannot save his people under heaven, he will save them in heaven. If
the world becomes too hot to hold them, then heaven shall be the place
of their reception and their safety. Be ye then confident, when ye hear
of wars, and rumours of wars. Let no agitation distress you, but be
quiet from fear of evil. Whatsoever cometh upon the earth, you, beneath
the broad wings of Jehovah, shall be secure. Stay yourself upon his
promise; rest in his faithfulness, and bid defiance to the blackest
future, for there is nothing in it direful for you. Your sole concern
should be to show forth to the world the blessedness of hearkening to
the voice of wisdom.
EVENING:
"How many are mine iniquities and sins?"
-- Job 13:23
Have you ever really weighed and considered how great the sin of God's
people is? Think how heinous is your own transgression, and you will
find that not only does a sin here and there tower up like an alp, but
that your iniquities are heaped upon each other, as in the old fable of
the giants who piled Pelian upon Ossa, mountain upon mountain. What an
aggregate of sin there is in the life of one of the most sanctified of
God's children! Attempt to multiply this, the sin of one only, by the
multitude of the redeemed, "a number which no man can number," and you
will have some conception of the great mass of the guilt of the people
for whom Jesus shed his blood. But we arrive at a more adequate idea of
the magnitude of sin by the greatness of the remedy provided. It is the
blood of Jesus Christ, God's only and well-beloved Son. God's Son!
Angels cast their crowns before him! All the choral symphonies of
heaven surround his glorious throne. "God over all, blessed for ever.
Amen." And yet he takes upon himself the form of a servant, and is
scourged and pierced, bruised and torn, and at last slain; since
nothing but the blood of the incarnate Son of God could make atonement
for our offences. No human mind can adequately estimate the infinite
value of the divine sacrifice, for great as is the sin of God's people,
the atonement which takes it away is immeasurably greater. Therefore,
the believer, even when sin rolls like a black flood, and the
remembrance of the past is bitter, can yet stand before the blazing
throne of the great and holy God, and cry, "Who is he that condemneth?
It is Christ that died; yea rather, that hath risen again." While the
recollection of his sin fills him with shame and sorrow, he at the same
time makes it a foil to show the brightness of mercy-guilt is the dark
night in which the fair star of divine love shines with serene
splendour.
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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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