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\ / Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING http://www.heartlight.org/
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Monday, January 5, 2009
MORNING:
"And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the
light from the darkness."
-- Genesis 1:4
Light might well be good since it sprang from that fiat of goodness,
"Let there be light." We who enjoy it should be more grateful for it
than we are, and see more of God in it and by it. Light physical is
said by Solomon to be sweet, but gospel light is infinitely more
precious, for it reveals eternal things, and ministers to our immortal
natures. When the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual light, and opens our
eyes to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, we behold
sin in its true colours, and ourselves in our real position; we see the
Most Holy God as he reveals himself, the plan of mercy as he propounds
it, and the world to come as the Word describes it. Spiritual light has
many beams and prismatic colours, but whether they be knowledge, joy,
holiness, or life, all are divinely good. If the light received be thus
good, what must the essential light be, and how glorious must be the
place where he reveals himself. O Lord, since light is so good, give us
more of it, and more of thyself, the true light.
No sooner is there a good thing in the world, than a division is
necessary. Light and darkness have no communion; God has divided them,
let us not confound them. Sons of light must not have fellowship with
deeds, doctrines, or deceits of darkness. The children of the day must
be sober, honest, and bold in their Lord's work, leaving the works of
darkness to those who shall dwell in it for ever. Our Churches should
by discipline divide the light from the darkness, and we should by our
distinct separation from the world do the same. In judgment, in action,
in hearing, in teaching, in association, we must discern between the
precious and the vile, and maintain the great distinction which the
Lord made upon the world's first day. O Lord Jesus, be thou our light
throughout the whole of this day, for thy light is the light of men.
EVENING:
"And God saw the light."
-- Genesis 1:4
This morning we noticed the goodness of the light, and the Lord's
dividing it from the darkness, we now note the special eye which the
Lord had for the light. "God saw the light"-he looked at it with
complacency, gazed upon it with pleasure, saw that it "was good." If
the Lord has given you light, dear reader, he looks on that light with
peculiar interest; for not only is it dear to him as his own handiwork,
but because it is like himself, for "He is light." Pleasant it is to
the believer to know that God's eye is thus tenderly observant of that
work of grace which he has begun. He never loses sight of the treasure
which he has placed in our earthen vessels. Sometimes we cannot see the
light, but God always sees the light, and that is much better than our
seeing it. Better for the judge to see my innocence than for me to
think I see it. It is very comfortable for me to know that I am one of
God's people-but whether I know it or not, if the Lord knows it, I am
still safe. This is the foundation, "The Lord knoweth them that are
his." You may be sighing and groaning because of inbred sin, and
mourning over your darkness, yet the Lord sees "light" in your heart,
for he has put it there, and all the cloudiness and gloom of your soul
cannot conceal your light from his gracious eye. You may have sunk low
in despondency, and even despair; but if your soul has any longing
towards Christ, and if you are seeking to rest in his finished work,
God sees the "light." He not only sees it, but he also preserves it in
you. "I, the Lord, do keep it." This is a precious thought to those
who, after anxious watching and guarding of themselves, feel their own
powerlessness to do so. The light thus preserved by his grace, he will
one day develop into the splendour of noonday, and the fulness of
glory. The light within is the dawn of the eternal day.
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