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\ / Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING http://www.heartlight.org/
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Monday, February 9, 2009
MORNING:
"And David enquired of the Lord."
-- 2 Samuel 5:23
When David made this enquiry he had just fought the Philistines, and
gained a signal victory. The Philistines came up in great hosts, but,
by the help of God, David had easily put them to flight. Note, however,
that when they came a second time, David did not go up to fight them
without enquiring of the Lord. Once he had been victorious, and he
might have said, as many have in other cases, "I shall be victorious
again; I may rest quite sure that if I have conquered once I shall
triumph yet again. Wherefore should I tarry to seek at the Lord's
hands?" Not so, David. He had gained one battle by the strength of the
Lord; he would not venture upon another until he had ensured the same.
He enquired, "Shall I go up against them?" He waited until God's sign
was given. Learn from David to take no step without God. Christian, if
thou wouldst know the path of duty, take God for thy compass; if thou
wouldst steer thy ship through the dark billows, put the tiller into
the hand of the Almighty. Many a rock might be escaped, if we would let
our Father take the helm; many a shoal or quicksand we might well
avoid, if we would leave to his sovereign will to choose and to
command. The Puritan said, "As sure as ever a Christian carves for
himself, he'll cut his own fingers;" this is a great truth. Said
another old divine, "He that goes before the cloud of God's providence
goes on a fool's errand;" and so he does. We must mark God's providence
leading us; and if providence tarries, tarry till providence comes. He
who goes before providence, will be very glad to run back again. "I
will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go," is
God's promise to his people. Let us, then, take all our perplexities to
him, and say, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Leave not thy
chamber this morning without enquiring of the Lord.
EVENING:
"Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil [or,
the evil one]."
-- Luke 11:4
What we are taught to seek or shun in prayer, we should equally pursue
or avoid in action. Very earnestly, therefore, should we avoid
temptation, seeking to walk so guardedly in the path of obedience, that
we may never tempt the devil to tempt us. We are not to enter the
thicket in search of the lion. Dearly might we pay for such
presumption. This lion may cross our path or leap upon us from the
thicket, but we have nothing to do with hunting him. He that meeteth
with him, even though he winneth the day, will find it a stern
struggle. Let the Christian pray that he may be spared the encounter.
Our Saviour, who had experience of what temptation meant, thus
earnestly admonished his disciples-"Pray that ye enter not into
temptation."
But let us do as we will, we shall be tempted; hence the prayer
"deliver us from evil." God had one Son without sin; but he has no son
without temptation. The natural man is born to trouble as the sparks
fly upwards, and the Christian man is born to temptation just as
certainly. We must be always on our watch against Satan, because, like
a thief, he gives no intimation of his approach. Believers who have had
experience of the ways of Satan, know that there are certain seasons
when he will most probably make an attack, just as at certain seasons
bleak winds may be expected; thus the Christian is put on a double
guard by fear of danger, and the danger is averted by preparing to meet
it. Prevention is better than cure: it is better to be so well armed
that the devil will not attack you, than to endure the perils of the
fight, even though you come off a conqueror. Pray this evening first
that you may not be tempted, and next that if temptation be permitted,
you may be delivered from the evil one.
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THE DREAM GIVER: FOLLOWING YOUR GOD-GIVEN DESTINY, by Bruce Wilkinson
In this study of Exodus, Wilkinson exhorts Christians to leave our
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MORNING & EVENING from HEARTLIGHT /\/\
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Morning & Evening is the classic devotional by 19th-century writer
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