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\ / Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING http://www.heartlight.org/
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Sunday, June 7, 2009
MORNING:
"Ye that love the Lord hate evil."
-- Psalms 97:10
Thou hast good reason to "hate evil," for only consider what harm it
has already wrought thee. Oh, what a world of mischief sin has brought
into thy heart! Sin blinded thee so that thou couldst not see the
beauty of the Saviour; it made thee deaf so that thou couldst not hear
the Redeemer's tender invitations. Sin turned thy feet into the way of
death, and poured poison into the very fountain of thy being; it
tainted thy heart, and made it "deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked." Oh, what a creature thou wast when evil had done
its utmost with thee, before divine grace interposed! Thou wast an heir
of wrath even as others; thou didst "run with the multitude to do
evil." Such were all of us; but Paul reminds us, "but ye are washed,
but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." We have good reason, indeed, for
hating evil when we look back and trace its deadly workings. Such
mischief did evil do us, that our souls would have been lost had not
omnipotent love interfered to redeem us. Even now it is an active
enemy, ever watching to do us hurt, and to drag us to perdition.
Therefore "hate evil," O Christians, unless you desire trouble. If you
would strew your path with thorns, and plant nettles in your
death-pillow, then neglect to "hate evil:" but if you would live a
happy life, and die a peaceful death, then walk in all the ways of
holiness, hating evil, even unto the end. If you truly love your
Saviour, and would honour him, then "hate evil." We know of no cure for
the love of evil in a Christian like abundant intercourse with the Lord
Jesus. Dwell much with him, and it is impossible for you to be at peace
with sin.
"Order my footsteps by thy Word,
And make my heart sincere;
Let sin have no dominion, Lord,
But keep my conscience clear."
EVENING:
"Be zealous."
-- Revelation 3:19
If you would see souls converted, if you would hear the cry that "the
kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord;" if you
would place crowns upon the head of the Saviour, and his throne lifted
high, then be filled with zeal. For, under God, the way of the world's
conversion must be by the zeal of the church. Every grace shall do
exploits, but this shall be first; prudence, knowledge, patience, and
courage will follow in their places, but zeal must lead the van. It is
not the extent of your knowledge, though that is useful; it is not the
extent of your talent, though that is not to be despised; it is your
zeal that shall do great exploits. This zeal is the fruit of the Holy
Spirit: it draws its vital force from the continued operations of the
Holy Ghost in the soul. If our inner life dwindles, if our heart beats
slowly before God, we shall not know zeal; but if all be strong and
vigorous within, then we cannot but feel a loving anxiety to see the
kingdom of Christ come, and his will done on earth, even as it is in
heaven. A deep sense of gratitude will nourish Christian zeal. Looking
to the hole of the pit whence we were digged, we find abundant reason
why we should spend and be spent for God. And zeal is also stimulated
by the thought of the eternal future. It looks with tearful eyes down
to the flames of hell, and it cannot slumber: it looks up with anxious
gaze to the glories of heaven, and it cannot but bestir itself. It
feels that time is short compared with the work to be done, and
therefore it devotes all that it has to the cause of its Lord. And it
is ever strengthened by the remembrance of Christ's example. He was
clothed with zeal as with a cloak. How swift the chariot-wheels of duty
went with him! He knew no loitering by the way. Let us prove that we
are his disciples by manifesting the same spirit of zeal.
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Morning & Evening is the classic devotional by 19th-century writer
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