Morning, September 15, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“He will not fear evil tidings.” — Psalm 112:7

Christian, you ought not dread the arrival of evil reports, because if you are distressed by them, what makes you different than other men? Other men don’t have your God to run to; they have never proved his faithfulness as you have done, and it is no wonder if they are bowed down with alarm and cowed with fear. You, however profess to be of another spirit; you have been birthed again into life and hope, and your heart lives in heaven and not on earthly things; now, if you are seen to be distracted as other men, what is the value of that grace which you profess to have received? Where is the dignity of that new nature which you claim to possess?

Again, if you should be filled with alarm, as others are, you would, doubtless, be led into the sins so common to others under trying circumstances. The ungodly, when they are overtaken by evil tidings, rebel against God; they grumble, and think that God deals hard with them. Will you fall into that same sin? Will you provoke the Lord as they do?

Moreover, unconverted men often run to the wrong methods in order to escape from difficulties, and you will be sure to do the same if your mind yields to the short-term pressure. Trust in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Your wisest course is to do as Moses did at the Red Sea: “Stand still and see the salvation of God.” For if you give way to fear when you hear of evil tidings, you will be unable to meet the trouble with that calm composure which strengthens for duty, and sustains under adversity. How can you glorify God if you play the coward? Saints have often sung God’s high praises in the fires, but will your doubting and dejection –as if you had no one to help you — magnify the Most High? Instead then, take courage, and relying in sure confidence upon the faithfulness of your covenant God, “Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”