Morning, December 2, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“You are altogether beautiful, my darling, and there is no blemish in you.” — Song of Solomon 4:7

The Lord’s admiration of his Church is very wonderful, and his description of her beauty is very glowing. She is not merely beautiful, but “altogether beautiful.” He views her in himself, washed in his sin-atoning blood and clothed in the merit of his righteousness, and he considers her to be full of attractiveness and beauty. No wonder that such is the case, since it is but his own perfect excellency that he admires; for the holiness, glory, and perfection of his Church are his own glorious garments on the back of his own well-beloved spouse. She is not simply pure, or well-proportioned; she is positively lovely and fair! She has actual merit! Her deformities of sin are removed; but in addition, she has through her Lord obtained a merited righteousness by which an actual beauty is conferred upon her. Believers have a positive righteousness given to them when they become “accepted in the beloved” (Eph. 1:6). Nor is the Church barely lovely, she is supremely so. Her Lord styles her “You, fairest among women.” She has a real worth and excellence which cannot be rivaled by all the nobility and royalty of the world. If Jesus could exchange his selected bride for all the queens and empresses of earth, or even for the angels in heaven, he would not, for he puts her first and foremost–“fairest among women.” Like the moon she far outshines the stars. Nor is this an opinion which he is ashamed of, for he invites all men to hear it. He sets a “behold” before it, a special note of exclamation, inviting and arresting attention. “Behold, how beautiful you are, my darling, how beautiful you are ” (Song of Sol. 4:1). His opinion he circulates abroad even now, and one day from the throne of his glory he will affirm the truth of it before the assembled universe. “Come, you blessed of my Father” (Matt. 25:34), will be his solemn affirmation of the loveliness of his bride.

Evening, December 1, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men!” — Psalm 107:8 (and repeated three more times in Psalm 107:15,21,31)

If we complained less, and praised more, we would be happier, and God would be more greatly glorified. Let us praise God daily for his kind provisions — common mercies as we call them, and yet so priceless, that when deprived of them we are ready to perish. Let us bless God for the eyes with which we behold the sun, for the health and strength to walk around, for the bread we eat, for the clothing we wear. Let us praise him that we are not cast out among the hopeless, or confined among the guilty; let us thank him for liberty, for friends, for family associations and comforts; let us praise him, in fact, for everything which we receive from his generous hand, for we deserve little, and yet are most abundantly endowed.

But, beloved, the sweetest and the loudest note in our songs of praise should be of redeeming love. God’s redeeming acts towards his children are forever the favorite themes of their praise. If we know what redemption means, let us not withhold our songs of thanksgiving. We have been redeemed from the power of corruption, uplifted from the depth of sin in which we were naturally plunged. We have been led to the cross of Christ–our shackles of guilt have been broken off; we are no longer slaves, but children of the living God, and can anticipate the period when we shall be presented before the throne without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Even now by faith we wave the palm-branch and wrap ourselves about with the fair linen which is to be our everlasting array, and shall we not unceasingly give thanks to the Lord our Redeemer? Child of God, can you be silent? Awake, awake, inheritors of glory, and lead your captivity captive, as you cry with David, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” Let the new month begin with new songs.

Morning, December 1, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“You have made summer and winter..” — Psalm 74:17

My soul… begin this wintry month with your God. The cold snows and the piercing winds all remind you that he keeps his covenant with day and night, and tend to assure you that he will also keep that glorious covenant which he has made with you in the person of Christ Jesus. He who is true to his Word in the turning of the seasons of this poor, sin-polluted world, will not prove unfaithful in his dealings through his own well-beloved Son.

Winter in the soul is by no means a comfortable season, and if is upon you just now it will be very painful to you: but there is this comfort, namely, that the Lord prepares it. He sends the sharp blasts of adversity to nip the buds of expectation: he scatters the frost like ashes over the once verdant meadows of our joy: he casts forth his ice like morsels freezing the streams of our delight. He does it all, he is the great Winter King, and rules in the realms of frost, and therefore you cannot complain. Losses, crosses, heaviness, sickness, poverty, and a thousand other ills, are sent from the Lord, and come to us with wise design. Frost kills noxious insects, and puts a limit to raging diseases; it breaks up the clods, and sweetens the soil. O that such good results would always follow our winters of affliction!

How we prize the fire just now! How pleasant is its cheerful glow! Let us in the same manner prize our Lord, who is the constant source of warmth and comfort in every time of trouble. Let us draw close to him, and in him find joy and peace in believing. Let us wrap ourselves in the warm garments of his promises, and go forth to labor which befits the season, for it would be evil to be as the sluggard who will not plow by reason of the cold; for he shall beg in summer and have nothing.

Evening, November 30, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war.” — Revelation 12:7

War will always rage between the two great sovereignties until one or the other will be crushed. Peace between good and evil is an impossibility; the very pretense of it would, in fact, be the triumph of the powers of darkness. Michael will always fight; his holy soul is provoked by sin, and will not endure it. Jesus will always be the dragon’s foe: and that not in a quiet sense, but actively, vigorously, with full determination to exterminate evil. All his servants, whether angels in heaven or messengers on earth, will and must fight; they are born to be warriors. At the cross they enter into agreement never to make a truce with evil; they are a warlike company, firm in defense and fierce in attack. The duty of every soldier in the army of the Lord is to fight against the dragon daily, with all his heart, and soul, and strength.

The dragon and his angels will not reject the fight; they are incessant in their onslaughts, sparing no weapon, fair or foul. We are foolish to expect to serve God without opposition: the more zealous we are, the more sure are we to be assailed by the unrelenting minions of hell. The church may become sluggish, but her great antagonist not so; his restless spirit never allows the war to pause; he hates the woman’s seed, and would willingly devour the church if he could. The servants of Satan share much of the old dragon’s energy, and are usually an active race. War rages all around, and to dream of peace is dangerous and futile.

But, glory be to God, we know the end of the war. The great dragon shall be cast out and forever destroyed, while Jesus and they who are with him shall receive the crown. Let us sharpen our swords tonight, and pray for the Holy Spirit to strengthen our arms for the conflict. Never is a battle so important, never a crown so glorious. Every man to his post, you warriors of the cross, and may the Lord tread Satan under your feet shortly!

Morning, November 30, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?” And the man of God answered, “The Lord has much more to give you than this.” — 2 Chronicles 25:9

This seemed to be a very important question to the king of Judah, and possibly it is of even more weight with the tried and tempted Christian. It is at no times pleasant to lose money, and when to hold up principles involves it, our flesh is not always ready to make the sacrifice. “Why lose that which may be so usefully employed? Will not the truth itself be too expensive? What shall we do without it? Remember our children, and our small income!” All these things and a thousand more would tempt the Christian to put forth his hand to unrighteous gain, or keep himself from carrying out his conscientious convictions, when they involve serious loss. All men cannot view these matters in the light of faith; and even with the followers of Jesus, the doctrine of “we must live” has quite sufficient weight.

“The Lord is able to give you much more than this,” is a very satisfactory answer to the anxious question. Our Father holds the purse-strings, and what we lose for his sake he can repay a thousand fold. It is our part to obey his will, and we may rest assured that he will provide for us. The Lord will be no man’s debtor at the end. Saints know that an ounce of a peaceful heart  is of more value than a ton of gold. He who wraps a threadbare coat around a good conscience has gained a spiritual wealth far more desirable than any he has lost. God’s smile and a prison are enough for a true heart; his frown and a palace would be hell to a grace-filled spirit. Let the worst come to the worst, let all the piles of gold go; we have not lost our treasure, for that is above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Meanwhile, even now, the Lord makes the meek to inherit the earth, and he will not withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly.

Evening , November 29, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“Spices for the anointing oil.” — Exodus 35:8

This anointing oil was used often under the law, and what it represents is of primary importance under the gospel. The Holy Spirit, who anoints us for all holy service, is indispensable to us if we would serve the Lord acceptably. Without his aid our religious services are but a vain sacrifice, and our inward experience is a dead thing. Whenever our ministry is without divine direction, what miserable stuff it becomes! And all the prayers, praises, meditations, and efforts of private Christians are not one bit superior. A holy anointing is the soul and life of piety; its absence the most grievous of all calamities. To go before the Lord without anointing is as though some common Levite had thrust himself into the priest’s office–his ministry would rather have been sin than service. May we never venture into holy exercises without sacred anointing. It drops upon us from Christ, our glorious Head; from his anointing we who are no more than the skirts of his garments share in spiritual power. Choice spices were combined with the rarest art of the apothecary to form the anointing oil, to show forth to us how rich are all the influences of the Holy Spirit. All good things are found in the divine Comforter. Matchless comfort, infallible instruction, immortal infusion of life, spiritual energy, and divine sanctification all lie combined  with other excellent elements in that sacred eye-salve, the heavenly anointing oil of the Holy Spirit. It imparts a delightful fragrance to the character and person of the man upon whom it is poured. Nothing like it can be found in all the treasuries of the rich, or the secrets of the wise. It is not to be imitated. It comes alone from God, and it is freely given, through Jesus Christ, to every waiting soul. Let us seek it, for we may have it, may have it this very evening. O Lord, anoint your servants.

Morning, November 29, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people … you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him.” — Leviticus 19:16-17

Slander and gossip emit a threefold poison; for they injure the teller, the hearer, and the person concerning whom the tale is told. Whether the report is true or false, we are forbidden to spread it by this precept of God’s Word. The reputations of the Lord’s people should be very precious in our sight, and we should consider it shameful to help the devil to dishonor the Church and the name of the Lord. Some tongues need a bridle rather than a spur. Many take pleasure in pulling down their fellow Christians, as if in doing so they raised up themselves. Noah’s wise sons cast a mantle over their father, but he who exposed him earned a fearful curse. One of these dark days we ourselves may need tolerance and silence from our fellow Christians; let us render it cheerfully to those who require it now. Let this be our family rule, and our personal pledge:  Speak evil of no man.

The Holy Spirit, however, permits us to disapprove of sin, and prescribes the way in which we are to do it. It must be done by reprimanding our brother to his face, not by criticizing behind his back. This course is mature, brotherly, Christlike, and will be useful under God’s blessing. Does our nature shrink from it? Then we must lay the greater emphasis upon our conscience, and keep ourselves to the work, lest by tolerating sin in our friend we become ourselves accomplices of it. Hundreds have been saved from gross sins by the timely, wise, affectionate warnings of faithful ministers and fellow Christians. Our Lord Jesus has set us a gracious example of how to deal with stumbling friends in his warning given to Peter, the prayer with which he preceded it, and the gentle way in which he bore with Peter’s boastful denial that he needed such a warning.

Evening, November 28, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“One who sought the good of his people.” — Esther 10:3

Mordecai was a true patriot, and therefore, being exalted to the highest position under Ahasuerus, he used his eminence to promote the prosperity of Israel. In this he was a type of Jesus, who, upon his throne of glory, seeks not his own good, but spends his power for his people. It would be well if every Christian would be a Mordecai to the church, striving according to his ability for its prosperity. Some are placed in positions of affluence and influence; let them honor their Lord in the great places of the earth, and testify for Jesus before great men. Others have what is far better, namely, close fellowship with the King of kings; let them be sure to implore daily in prayer for the weakest of the Lord’s people, the doubting, the tempted, and the comfortless. It will contribute greatly to their honor if they make much intercession for those who are in darkness and who fear to draw close to the mercy seat. Trained believers may serve their Master greatly if they lay out their talents for the general good, and impart their wealth of heavenly learning to others, by teaching them the things of God. The very least in our Israel may at least seek the welfare of his people; and his desire, if he can give no more, shall be acceptable. For a believer to cease from living for himself is both the most Christlike and the most happy course. He who blesses others cannot fail to be blessed himself. On the other hand, to seek our own personal greatness is a wicked and unhappy plan of life; its way will be grievous and its end will be fatal.

Here is the place to ask you, my friend, whether you are —  to the best of your power — seeking the well-being of the church in your neighborhood? I trust you are not doing it damage by bitterness and scandal, nor weakening it by your neglect. Friend, unite with the Lord’s poor, bear their cross, do them all the good you can, and you shall not miss your reward.

Morning, November 28, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth.” — 3 John 3

The truth was in Gaius, and Gaius walked in the truth. If the first had not been the case, the second could never have occurred; and if the second could not be said of him the first would have been a mere pretense. Truth must enter into the soul, penetrate and saturate it, or else it is of no value. Doctrines held as a matter of creed are like bread in the hand, which ministers no nourishment to the body; but doctrine accepted by the heart, is as food digested, which, by assimilation, sustains and builds up the body. In us truth must be a living force, an active energy, an indwelling reality, a part of the very fabric of our being. If it is in us, we cannot then part with it. A man may lose his garments or his limbs, but his inward parts are vital, and cannot be torn away without absolute loss of life. A Christian can die, but he cannot deny the truth. Now it is a rule of nature that the inward affects the outward, as light shines from the center of the lantern through the glass: when, therefore, the truth is kindled within, its brightness soon beams forth in the outward life and conversation. It is said that the food of certain silkworms colors the cocoons of silk which they spin: and in the same manner the nutrition upon which a man’s inward nature lives gives a tinge to every word and action proceeding from him. To walk in the truth produces a life of integrity, holiness, faithfulness, and simplicity–the natural product of those principles of truth which the gospel teaches, and which the Spirit of God enables us to receive. We may judge of the secrets of the soul by their manifestation in the man’s conversation. Let it be it our experience, today, O gracious Spirit, to be ruled and governed by your divine authority, so that nothing false or sinful may reign in our hearts, so as not to have it extend its malignant influence to our daily walk among men.

Evening, November 27, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“The forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” — Ephesians 1:7

Could there be a sweeter word in any language than that word “forgiveness,” when it sounds in a guilty sinner’s ear, like the silver notes of jubilee to the captive Israelite? Blessed, forever blessed is that dear star of pardon which shines into the condemned cell, and gives those perishing a gleam of hope amid the midnight of despair! Can it be possible that sin, such sin as mine, can be forgiven, forgiven altogether, and forever? Hell is my allotment as a sinner–there is no possibility of my escaping from it while sin remains upon me–can the load of guilt be uplifted, the crimson stain removed? Can the unbreakable stones of my prison-house be forever loosed from their frames, or the doors be lifted from their hinges? Jesus tells me that I may yet be free. Forever blessed be the revelation of atoning love which not only tells me that pardon is possible, but that it is secured to all who rest in Jesus. I have believed in the appointed substitution, even Jesus crucified, and therefore my sins are at this moment, and forever, forgiven by virtue of his substitutionary pains and death. What joy is this! What happiness to be a perfectly pardoned soul! My soul dedicates all her powers to him who of his own unpurchased love became my security, and wrought out for me redemption through his blood. What riches of grace does free forgiveness exhibit! To forgive at all, to forgive fully, to forgive freely, to forgive forever! Here is a constellation of wonders; and when I think of how great my sins were, how dear were the precious drops which cleansed me from them, and how gracious was the method by which pardon was sealed home to me, I am in a maze of wondering, worshipping affection. I bow before the throne which absolves me, I clasp the cross which delivers me, I serve henceforth all my days the Incarnate God, through whom I am this night a pardoned soul.

Morning, November 27, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord.” — Zechariah 3:1

In Joshua the high priest we see a picture of each and every child of God, who has been made close by the blood of Christ, and has been taught to minister in holy things, and enter into that most holy place which is within the veil. Jesus has made us a kingdom of priests to God, and even here upon earth we exercise the priesthood of dedicated living and holy service. But this high priest is said to be “standing before the angel of the Lord,” that is, standing to minister. This should be the continuous position of every true believer. Every place is now God’s temple, and his people can as truly serve him in their daily employment as in his house. They are to be always “ministering,” offering the spiritual sacrifice of prayer and praise, and presenting themselves a “living sacrifice.” But notice where it is that Joshua stands to minister; it is before the angel of Jehovah. It is only through a mediator that we poor defiled ones can ever become priests unto God. I present what I have before the messenger, the angel of the covenant, the Lord Jesus; and through him my prayers find acceptance wrapped up in his prayers; my praises become pleasing as they are bound up with bundles of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia from Christ’s own garden. If I can bring him nothing but my tears, he will put them with his own tears in his own bottle, for he once wept; if I can bring him nothing but my groans and sighs, he will accept these as an acceptable sacrifice, for he once was broken in heart, and sighed heavily in spirit. I myself, standing in him, am accepted in the Beloved; and all my tainted works, which by themselves are only objects of divine aversion, are so received, that God smells a sweet savor. He is content and I am blessed. See, then, the position of the Christian: “A priest—standing—before the angel of the Lord.”

Evening, November 26, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“These will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.” — Zechariah 4:10

Small things marked the beginning of the work of Zerubbabel’s hands, but none might despise it, for the Lord had raised up one who would persevere until the headstone should be set forth with shouting. The plumb line was in good hands. Here is the comfort of every believer in the Lord Jesus; let the work of grace be ever so small in its beginnings, the plumb line is in good hands. A master builder greater than Solomon has undertaken the raising of the heavenly temple, and he will not fail nor be discouraged till the topmost pinnacle shall be raised. If the plumb line were in the hand of any mere human being, we might fear for the building, but the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in Jesus’ hand. The works did not proceed irregularly, and carelessly, for the master’s hand carried a good instrument. Had the walls been hurriedly run up without due superintendence, they might have been out of perpendicular; but the plumb line was used by the chosen overseer.

Jesus is forever watching the erection of his spiritual temple, that it may be built securely and well. We tend to haste, but Jesus is for judgment. He will use the plumb line, and that which is out of line must come down, every stone of it. Hence the failure of many a flattering work, the overthrow of many a glamorous testimony. It is not for us to judge the Lord’s church, since Jesus has a steady hand, and a true eye, and can use the plumb line well. Do we not rejoice to see judgment left to him?

The plumb line was in active use–it was in the builder’s hand, a sure indication that he meant to push on the work to completion. O Lord Jesus, how would we indeed be glad if we could see you at your great work. O Zion, the beautiful, your walls are still in ruins! Rise, glorious Builder, and make her desolation to rejoice at your coming.

Morning, November 26, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.”  Ecclesiastes 9:10

“Whatever your hand finds to do,” refers to things that are possible. There are many things which our heart finds to do which we never shall do. It is good it is in our heart; but if we would be eminently useful, we must not be content with forming schemes in our heart, and talking of them; we must practically carry out “whatever our hand finds to do.” One good deed is more worth than a thousand brilliant theories. Let us not wait for large opportunities, or for a different kind of work, but do just the things we “find to do” day by day. We have no other time in which to live. The past is gone; the future has not arrived; we never shall have any time but time present. Then do not wait until your experience has ripened into maturity before you attempt to serve God. Endeavor now to bring forth fruit. Serve God now, but be careful as to the way in which you perform what you find to do: “Do it with all your might.” Do it promptly; do not waste away your life in thinking of what you intend to do tomorrow as if that could compensate for the idleness of today. No man ever served God by doing things tomorrow. If we honor Christ and are blessed, it is by the things which we do today. Whatever you do for Christ, throw your whole soul into it. Do not give Christ a little light, messy labor, done as a matter of course now and then; but when you do serve him, do it with heart, and soul, and strength.

But where is the might of a Christian? It is not in himself, for he is perfect weakness. His might lies in the Lord of Hosts. Then let us seek his help; let us proceed with prayer and faith, and when we have done what our “hand finds to do,” let us wait upon the Lord for his blessing. What we do this way will be well done, and will not fail in its effect.

Evening, November 25, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” — Romans 9:15

In these words the Lord in the plainest manner claims the right to give or to withhold his mercy according to his own sovereign will. As the prerogative of life and death is vested in the monarch, so the Judge of all the earth has a right to spare or condemn the guilty, as may seem best in his sight. Men by their sins have forfeited all claim upon God; they all deserve to perish for their sins–and if they all do so, they have no ground for complaint. If the Lord steps in to save any, he may do so if the final end of justice is not thwarted; but if he judges it best to leave the condemned to suffer the righteous sentence, none may put him to any trial. All those arguments about the right of men to be all placed on the same footing are foolish and presumptuous; ignorant, if not worse, are those contentions against God’s discriminating grace, which is just the rebellion of proud human nature against the crown and scepter of Jehovah. When we are brought to see our own utter ruin and harsh results of our actions, and the justice of the divine verdict against sin, we no longer complain at the truth that the Lord is not obliged to save us; we do not murmur if he chooses to save others, as though he were doing us an injury, but feel that if he lowers himself to look upon us, it will be his own free act of undeserved goodness, for which we shall forever bless his name.

How should those who are the subjects of a divine choice sufficiently give adoration for the grace of God? They have no room for boasting, for sovereignty most effectively excludes it. The Lord’s will alone is glorified, and the very notion of human merit is cast out to everlasting contempt. There is no more humbling doctrine in Scripture than that of election, none more that should promote gratitude, and, consequently, none more sanctifying. Believers should not be afraid of it, but adoringly rejoice in it.

Editor’s note: God is not arbitrary in his choosing of his people; the chief point of the discourse in Romans is that of the “election” of believers, the vast majority of which were Gentiles, did not supplant the working of God in His choice “election” of Israel. We do a disservice to the text to apply it chiefly to the individual when it is meant for a group beyond human numbering.  “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”  (1 Peter 3:9)

Morning, November 25, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“To proclaim release to the captives.” — Luke 4:18

No one but Jesus can give deliverance to captives. Real liberty comes from him only. It is a liberty righteously bestowed; for the Son, who is Heir of all things, has a right to make men free. The believers honor the justice of God, which now secures their salvation. It is a liberty which has been dearly purchased. Christ speaks it by his power, but he bought it by his blood. He makes you free, but it is through his own bonds. You are released, your record cleared, because he bore your burden for you: you are set at liberty, because he has suffered in your place. But, though dearly purchased, he freely gives it. Jesus asks nothing of us as a preparation for this liberty. He finds us sitting in sackcloth and ashes, and calls us to put on the beautiful array of freedom; he saves us just as we are, and all without our help or merit. When Jesus sets free, the liberty is perpetually possessed; no chains can bind again. If the Master says to me, “Captive, I have delivered you,” it is done forever. Satan may plot to enslave us, but if the Lord is on our side, whom shall we fear? The world, with its temptations, may seek to ensnare us, but mightier is he who is for us than all they who are against us. The scheming of our own deceitful hearts may harass and annoy us, but he who has begun the good work in us will carry it on and perfect it to the end. The foes of God and the enemies of man may gather their hosts together, and come with concentrated fury against us, but if God acquits, who is he that condemns? The eagle which mounts to his rocky eyrie, and afterwards soars over the clouds, is not more free than the soul which Christ has delivered. If we are no more under the law, but free from its curse, let our liberty be exhibited in our practice of serving God with gratitude and delight. “I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid, You have loosed my bonds.” “Lord, what will you have me to do?”

Evening, November 24, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“’A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,’ then your poverty will come as a robber and your want like an armed man.” — Proverbs 24:33-34

The worst of the slothful only ask for a little slumber; they would be indignant if they were accused of complete idleness. A little folding of the hands to sleep is all they crave, and they have a multitude of reasons to show that this indulgence is a very proper one. Yet by these increments the day ebbs away, and the time for labor is all gone, and the field is grown over with thorns. It is by little procrastinations that men ruin their souls. They have no intention to delay for years; a few months will bring the more convenient season; tomorrow if you will, they will attend to serious things; but the present hour is so occupied and altogether so unsuitable, that they beg to be excused. Like sands from an hourglass, time passes, life is wasted by dribbles, and seasons of grace lost by little times of slumber. Oh, to be wise, to catch the flying hour, to use the moments on the wing! May the Lord teach us this sacred wisdom, for otherwise a poverty of the worst sort awaits us, eternal poverty which shall leave in want of even a drop of water, and begging for it in vain. Like a traveler steadily pursuing his journey, poverty overtakes the slothful, and ruin overthrows the undecided: each hour brings the dreaded pursuer nearer; he does not pause by the way, for he is on his master’s business and must not tarry. As an armed man enters with authority and power, so shall want come to the idle, and death to the unrepentant, and there will be no escape. O that men were wise early, and would seek diligently for the Lord Jesus, or before the solemn day shall dawn when it will be too late to plow and to sow, too late to repent and believe. In harvest, it is pointless to lament that the seed time was neglected. As yet, faith and holy decision are timely. May we obtain them this night.

Morning, November 24, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“But there the majestic One, the Lord, will be for us a place of rivers and wide canals.” — Isaiah 33:21

Broad rivers and canals produce fertility, and abundance in the land. Places near broad rivers are remarkable for the variety of their plants and their plentiful harvests. God is all this to his Church. Having God, she has abundance. What can she ask for that he will not give her? What want can she mention which he will not supply? “The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain.” Do you want the bread of life? It drops like manna from the sky. Do you want refreshing streams? The rock follows you, and that Rock is Christ. If you endure any need it is your own fault; if you are impoverished you are not impoverished in him, but in your own inward parts.

Broad rivers and canals also point to commerce. Our glorious Lord is to us a place of heavenly commodities. Through our Redeemer we have commerce with the past; the wealth of Calvary, the treasures of the covenant, the riches of the ancient days of our selection, the stores of eternity; all come to us down the broad stream of our gracious Lord. We have commerce, too, with the future. What galleys, laden to the water’s edge, come to us from the millennium! What visions we have of the days of heaven upon earth! Through our glorious Lord we have commerce with angels; communion with the bright spirits washed in blood, who sing before the throne; no, better still, we have fellowship with the Infinite One. Broad rivers and streams are especially intended to set forth the idea of security. Rivers were of old a defense. Oh, beloved, what a defense is God to his Church! The devil cannot cross this broad river of God. How he wishes he could turn the current, but do not fear, for God stands unchangably the same. Satan may worry, but he cannot destroy us; no galley with oars shall invade our river, neither shall gallant ship pass either.

Evening, November 23, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“Get yourself up on a high mountain.” — Isaiah 40:9

Each believer should be thirsting for God, for the living God, and longing to climb the hill of the Lord, and see him face to face. We should not rest content in the mists of the valley when the summit of Tabor awaits us. My soul thirsts to drink deep of the cup which is reserved for those who reach the mountain’s summit, and bathe their foreheads in heaven. How pure is the dew of the hills, how fresh is the mountain air, how rich the fare of the dwellers high up, whose windows look into the New Jerusalem! Many saints are content to live like men in coal mines, who do not see the sun; they eat dust like the serpent when they might taste the pleasing meat of angels; they are content to wear the miner’s garb when they might put on king’s robes; tears mar their faces when they might anoint them with celestial oil. I am convinced that many a believer pines in a dungeon when he might walk on the palace roof, and view the expansive land of God and the beauty of Lebanon. Arouse yourself, O believer, from your miserable condition! Cast away your sloth, your lethargy, your coldness, or whatever interferes with your innocent and pure love for Christ, your soul’s Husband. Make him the source, the center, and the circumference of all your soul’s range of delight. What enchants you into such folly as to remain in a pit when you may sit on a throne? Do not live in the lowlands of bondage now that the freedom of the mountain is granted to you. No longer rest satisfied with your insignificant attainments, but press forward to things more magnificent and heavenly. Aspire to a higher, a nobler, a fuller life. Upward to heaven! Nearer to God!

“When wilt thou come unto me, Lord?

Oh come, my Lord most dear!

Come near, come nearer, nearer still,

I’m blest when thou art near.”

Morning , November 23, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“Fellowship with him.” — 1 John 1:6

When we were united by faith to Christ, we were brought into such complete fellowship with him, that we were made one with him, and his interests and ours became mutual and identical. We have fellowship with Christ in his love. What he loves we love. He loves the believers–so do we. He loves sinners–so do we. He loves the poor perishing race of man, and intensely desires to see earth’s deserts transformed into the garden of the Lord–so do we. We have fellowship with him in his desires. He desires the glory of God–we also labor for the same. He desires that the believers may be with him where he is–we desire to be with him there too. He desires to drive out sin–indeed, we too fight under his banner. He desires that his Father’s name may be loved and adored by all his creatures–we pray daily, “Let thy kingdom come. Your will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven.” We have fellowship with Christ in his sufferings. We are not nailed to the cross, nor do we die a cruel death, but when he is reproached, we are reproached; and a very precious thing it is to be blamed for his sake, to be despised for following the Master, to have the world against us. The disciple should not be above his Lord. In our limited measure we commune with him in his labors, ministering to men by the word of truth and by deeds of love. Our meat and our drink, like his, is to do the will of him who has sent us and to finish his work. We have also fellowship with Christ in his joys. We are happy in his happiness, we rejoice in his exaltation. Have you ever tasted that joy, believer? There is no purer or more thrilling delight to be known this side of heaven than that of having Christ’s joy fulfilled in us, that our joy may be full. His glory awaits us to complete our fellowship, for his Church shall sit with him upon his throne, as his well-beloved bride and queen.

Evening, November 22, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“The power of his resurrection.” — Philippians 3:10

The doctrine of a risen Savior is exceedingly precious. The resurrection is the corner-stone of the entire building of Christianity. It is the keystone of the arch of our salvation. It would take a volume to set forth all the streams of living water which flow from this one sacred source, the resurrection of our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; but to know that he has risen, and to have fellowship with him as such–communing with the risen Savior by possessing a risen life–and seeing him leave the tomb by leaving the tomb of worldliness ourselves, this is even still more precious.

The doctrine is the basis of the experience, but as the flower is more lovely than the root, so is the experience of fellowship with the risen Savior more lovely than the doctrine itself. I would have your belief that Christ rose from the dead inspire you to sing of it, and derive all the comfort which it is possible for you to extract from this well-ascertained and well-witnessed fact; but I implore you, do not rest contented even there. Though you cannot, like the disciples, see him visibly, yet I bid you aspire to see Christ Jesus by the eye of faith; and though, like Mary Magdalene, you may not “touch” him, yet may you be privileged to converse with him, and to know that he is risen, you yourselves being risen in him to newness of life. To know a crucified Savior as having crucified all my sins, is a high degree of knowledge; but to know a risen Savior as having justified me, and to realize that he has bestowed upon me new life, having made me to be a new creature through his own newness of life, this is a noble style of experience: short of it, none ought to rest satisfied. May you both “know him, and the power of his resurrection.” Why should souls who are made alive with Jesus, wear the grave clothes of worldliness and unbelief? Rise, for the Lord is risen.

Morning, November 22, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“Now Jacob fled to Aram, and Israel worked for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.” — Hosea 12:12

Jacob, while contending with Laban, describes his own toil in this way, “I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night. This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes.” Even more hard and tedious than this was the life of our Savior here below. He watched over all his sheep until he gave as his last account, “Of all those whom you have given me I have lost none.” His hair was wet with dew from the early morning, and his locks with the dampness of the night. Sleep fled from his eyes, for all night he was in prayer wrestling for his people. One night Peter must be pleaded for; shortly, another claims his tearful intercession. No shepherd sitting beneath the cold skies, looking up to the stars, could ever utter such complaints because of the hardness of his toil as Jesus Christ might have brought, if he had chosen to do so, because of the severity of his service in order to procure his spouse–

“Cold mountains and the midnight air,

Witnessed the fervor of his prayer;

The desert his temptations knew,

His conflict and his victory too.”

It is gratifying to dwell upon the spiritual parallel of Laban having required all the sheep at Jacob’s hand. If they were torn of beasts, Jacob must make it good; if any of them died, he must stand as a guarantor for the whole. Was not the toil of Jesus for his Church the toil of one who was under pledge, with obligation to bring every believing one safe to the hand of him who had committed them to his charge? Look upon laboring Jacob, and you see a representation of him of whom we read, “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd.”

Evening, November 21, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him.” — John 12:2

Lazarus is to be envied. It was good to be Martha and serve, but better to be Lazarus and commune. There are times for each purpose, and each is suitable in its season, but none of the trees of the garden yield such clusters as the vine of fellowship. To sit with Jesus, to hear his words, to mark his acts, and receive his smiles, was such a favor as must have made Lazarus as happy as the angels. When it has been our happy lot to feast with our Beloved in his banqueting hall, we would not give half a sigh for all the kingdoms of the world, if so much breath could have bought them.

He is to be imitated. It would have been a strange thing if Lazarus had not been at the table where Jesus was, for he had been dead, and Jesus had raised him. For the risen one to be absent when the Lord who gave him life was at his house, would have been ungrateful indeed. We too were once dead, yes, and like Lazarus stinking in the grave of sin; Jesus raised us, and by his life we live–can we be content to live at a distance from him? Do we omit to remember him at his table, where he condescends to feast with his brethren? Oh, this is cruel! It is incumbent upon us to repent, and do as he has bidden us, for his least wish should be law to us. To have lived without constant communication with one of whom the Jews said, “Behold how he loved him,” would have been disgraceful to Lazarus; is it excusable in us whom Jesus has loved with an everlasting love? To have been cold to him who wept over his lifeless corpse, would have argued great insensitivity in Lazarus. What does it argue in us over whom the Savior has not only wept, but bled? Come, brethren, who read this portion, let us return to our heavenly Bridegroom, and ask for his Spirit that we may be on terms of closer intimacy with him, and from now sit at the table with him.

Morning, November 21, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” — Ephesians 4:30

Everything the believer has must come from Christ, but it comes solely through the channel of the Spirit of grace. Furthermore, as all blessings therefore flow to you through the Holy Spirit, so also, apart from the sanctifying operation of the same Spirit, no good thing can come out of you in holy thought, sincere worship, or kind act. Even if the good seed is sown in you, still it lies dormant unless God is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Do you desire to speak for Jesus–how can you unless the Holy Spirit touches your tongue? Do you desire to pray? Alas! What dull work it is unless the Spirit makes intercession for you! Do you desire to subdue sin? Would you be holy? Would you imitate your Master? Do you desire to rise to incomparable heights of spirituality? Are you wanting to be made like the angels of God, full of zeal and passion for the Master’s cause? You cannot without the Spirit–“Without me you can do nothing.” O branch of the vine, you cannot have fruit without the sap! O child of God, you have no life within apart from the life which God gives you through his Spirit! Then let us not grieve him or provoke him to anger by our sin. Let us not quench him in one of his faintest stirrings in our soul; let us encourage every suggestion, and be ready to obey every prompting. If the Holy Spirit be indeed so mighty, let us attempt nothing without him; let us begin no project, and carry on no enterprise, and conclude no transaction, without imploring his blessing. Let us grant him the due reverence of being aware of our entire weakness apart from him, and then depending alone upon him, having this for our prayer, “Open my heart and my whole being to your indwelling, and uphold me with your boundless Spirit when I have received that Spirit in my inward being.”

Evening, November 20, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“The shephanim [Rock Badgers] are not mighty people, yet they make their houses in the rocks.” — Proverbs 30:26

Conscious of their own natural defenselessness, the shephanim resort to burrows in the rocks, and are secure from their enemies. My heart, be willing to gather a lesson from these frail folks. You are as weak and as exposed to peril as the timid rock badgers; be as wise to seek a shelter. My best security is within the fortification of an immutable Jehovah, where his unalterable promises stand like giant walls of rock. It will be well with you, my heart, if you can always hide yourself in the ramparts of his glorious attributes, all of which are guarantees of safety for those who put their trust in him. I have so done — blessed be the name of the Lord —  and have found myself like David in Adullam, safe from the cruelty of my enemy. I do not need to find out the blessedness of the man who puts his trust in the Lord, for long ago, when Satan and my sins pursued me, I fled to the cleft of the rock Christ Jesus, and in his torn side I found a delightful resting place. My heart, run anew to him tonight, whatever your present grief may be; Jesus feels for you; Jesus consoles you; Jesus will help you. No monarch in his impregnable fortress is more secure than the shephanim in his rocky burrow. The master of ten thousand chariots is not one bit better protected than the little dweller in the mountain’s cleft. In Jesus the weak are strong, and the defenseless safe; they could not be stronger if they were giants, or more safe if they were in heaven. Faith gives to men on earth the protection of the God of heaven. More they cannot need, and need not wish. The shephanim cannot build a castle, but they avail themselves of what is there already: I cannot make myself a refuge, but Jesus has provided it, his Father has given it, his Spirit has revealed it, and lo, again tonight I enter it, and am safe from every foe.

Morning, November 20, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“O Lord, You have pleaded my soul’s cause.”— Lamentations 3:58

Observe how positively the prophet speaks. He does not say, “I hope, I trust, I sometimes think, that God has pleaded the causes of my soul;” but he speaks of it as a matter of fact not to be disputed. “You have pleaded the causes of my soul.” Let us, by the aid of the gracious Comforter, shake off those doubts and fears which so much mar our peace and comfort. Let this be our prayer, that we may be done with the harsh raspy voice of assumption and suspicion, and may be able to speak with the clear, melodious voice of full confidence. Notice how gratefully the prophet speaks, assigning all the glory to God alone! You perceive there is not a word concerning himself or his own pleadings. He does not credit his deliverance in any measure to any man, much less to his own merit; but it is “You”–“O Lord, You have pleaded my soul’s cause; You have redeemed my life.” A grateful spirit should forever be cultivated by the Christian; and especially after deliverance we should prepare a song for our God. Earth should be a temple filled with the songs of grateful saints, and every day should be a altar of incense smoking with the sweet smell of thanksgiving. How joyful Jeremiah seems to be while he records the Lord’s mercy. How triumphantly he lifts up the strain! He has been in the lowest dungeon, and is even now no other than the weeping prophet; and yet in the very book which is called “Lamentations,” clear as the song of Miriam when she dashed her fingers against the tambourine, penetrating as the notes of Deborah when she met Barak with shouts of victory, we hear the voice of Jeremiah going up to heaven–“You have pleaded my soul’s cause; You have redeemed my life.” O children of God, seek after a vital experience of the Lord’s lovingkindness, and when you have it, speak positively of it; sing gratefully; shout triumphantly.

Evening, November 19, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“O that I knew where I might find him!” — Job 23:3

In Job’s most extreme plight he cried after the Lord. The longing desire of an stricken child of God is once more to see his Father’s face. His first prayer is not “O that I might be healed of the disease which now festers in every part of my body!” Nor is it even “O that I might see my children restored from the jaws of the grave, and my property once more brought from the hand of the enemy!” The first and chief cry is, “O that I knew where I might find Him, who is my God, and that I might come even to his throne!” God’s children run home when the storm comes on. It is the heaven-born instinct of a gracious soul to seek shelter beneath the wings of Jehovah from all evils. “He that has made his refuge God,” might serve as the title of a true believer. A hypocrite, when afflicted by God, resents the affliction, and, like a slave, would run from the Master who has tormented him; but not so the true heir of heaven, he kisses the hand which struck him, and seeks shelter from the rod in the embrace of the God who frowned upon him. Job’s desire to commune with God was intensified by the failure of all other sources of comfort. The patriarch turned away from his wretched friends, and looked up to the celestial throne, just as a traveler turns from his empty water bottle, and drives himself with all speed to the well. He bids farewell to earth-born hopes, and cries, “O that I knew where I might find my God!” Nothing teaches us so much the preciousness of the Creator, as when we learn the emptiness of all else besides. Turning away with bitter scorn from earth’s beehives, where we find no honey, but many sharp stings, we rejoice in him whose faithful word is sweeter than honey or the honeycomb. In every trouble we should first seek to realize God’s presence with us. Only let us enjoy his smile, and we can bear our daily cross with a willing heart for his dear sake.

Morning, November 19, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“Avoid foolish controversies.” — Titus 3:9

Our days are few, and are far better spent in doing good, than in disputing over matters which are, at best, of minor importance. The medieval theologians did a world of mischief by their incessant discussion of subjects of no practical importance; and our Churches suffer much from petty wars over abstruse points and unimportant questions. After everything has been said that can be said, neither party is any the wiser, and therefore the discussion no more promotes knowledge than it does love, and it is foolish to sow in so barren a field. Fielding questions upon points where Scripture is silent; upon mysteries which belong to God alone; upon prophecies of doubtful interpretation; and upon mere modes of observing human ceremony, are all foolish, and wise men avoid them. Our business is neither to ask nor answer foolish questions, but to avoid them altogether; and if we observe the apostle’s precept (Titus 3:8) to be careful to maintain good works, we shall find ourselves far too much occupied with profitable business to take much interest in unworthy, contentious, and needless strivings.

There are, however, some questions which are the reverse of foolish, which we must not avoid, but fairly and honestly meet, such as these: Do I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Am I renewed in the spirit of my mind? Am I walking not after the flesh, but after the Spirit? Am I growing in grace? Does my conversation enhance the doctrine of God my Savior? Am I looking for the coming of the Lord, and watching as a servant should do who expects his master? What more can I do for Jesus? Such inquiries as these urgently demand our attention; and if we have been at all given to quarreling, let us now turn our critical abilities to a service so much more profitable. Let us be peace-makers, and endeavor to lead others both by our precept and example, to “avoid foolish controversies.”

Evening, November 18, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“You are from everlasting.” — Psalm 93:2

Christ is Everlasting. We may sing with David of him, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.” Rejoice, believer, in Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus always was. The Babe born in Bethlehem was united to the Word, which was in the beginning, and was by whom all things were made. The title by which Christ revealed himself to John in Patmos was, “Him who is and who was and who is to come.” If he were not God from everlasting, we could not so sincerely love him; we could not feel that he had any share in the eternal love which is the fountain of all covenant blessings; but since he was from all eternity with the Father, we trace the stream of divine love to himself equally with his Father and the blessed Spirit. As our Lord always was, so also he is for evermore. Jesus is not dead; “He always lives to make intercession for us.” Resort to him in all your times of need, for he is waiting to bless you still; moreover, Jesus our Lord ever shall be. If God should spare your life to fulfill your full age of seventy years, you will find that his cleansing fountain is still opened, and his precious blood has not lost its power; you shall find that the Priest who filled the healing fountain with his own blood, lives to purge you from all iniquity. When only your last battle remains to be fought, you shall find that the hand of your conquering Captain has not grown frail — the living Savior shall cheer the dying believer. When you enter heaven, you shall find him there bearing the freshness of his youth; and through eternity the Lord Jesus shall still remain the perennial spring of joy, and life, and glory to his people. You may draw living waters from this sacred well! Jesus always was, he always is, he always shall be. He is eternal in all his attributes, in all his offices, in all his might, and willingness to bless, comfort, guard, and crown his chosen people.

Morning , November 18, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“A rock garden locked, a spring sealed up.” — Song of Solomon 4:12

In this metaphor, which can have reference to the inner life of a believer, we have very plainly the idea of secrecy. It is a spring shut up: just as there were springs in the East, over which an edifice was built, so that none could reach them save those who knew the secret entrance; so is the heart of a believer when it is renewed by grace. There is a mysterious life within which no human ability can touch. It is a secret which no other man knows; no, even which the very man who is the possessor of it cannot tell to his neighbor. The text includes not only secrecy, but separation. It is not the common spring, of which every passer-by may drink, it is one kept and preserved from all others; it is a fountain bearing a particular mark–a king’s royal seal, so that all can perceive that it is not a common fountain, but a fountain owned by a proprietor, and placed particularly by itself alone.

So is it with the spiritual life. The chosen of God were separated in the eternal declaration; they were separated by God in the day of redemption; and they are separated by the possession of a life which others do not have; and it is impossible for them to feel at home with the world, or to revel in its pleasures. There is also the idea of sacredness. The spring shut up is preserved for the use of some special person: and such is the Christian’s heart. It is a spring kept for Jesus. Every Christian should feel that he has God’s seal upon him–and he should be able to say with Paul, “From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus.” Another idea is prominent–it is that of security. Oh! How sure and safe is the inner life of the believer! If all the powers of earth and hell could combine against it, that immortal principle must still exist, for he who gave it pledged his life for its preservation. And who “is he that shall harm you,” when God is your protector?

Evening, November 17, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“He who splits logs may be endangered by them.” — Ecclesiastes 10:9

Oppressors may take advantage of poor and needy men as easily as they can split logs of wood, but they had better take care, for it is a dangerous business, and a splinter from a tree has often killed the woodman. Jesus is persecuted in every wounded saint, and he is mighty to avenge his beloved ones. Success in treading down the poor and needy is a thing to be trembled at: if there is no current danger to persecutors, there will be great danger to come.

To split wood is a common everyday business, and yet it has its dangers; so then, reader, there are dangers connected with your calling and daily life which it will be well for you to be aware of. We do not refer to hazards by flood and field, or by disease and sudden death, but to perils of a spiritual sort. Your occupation may be as humble as log splitting, and yet the devil can tempt you in it. You may be a domestic servant, a farm laborer, or a mechanic, and you may be greatly screened from temptations to the more serious vices, and yet some secret sin may do you damage. Those who dwell at home, and do not mingle with the rough world, may yet be endangered by their very seclusion. Nowhere is he safe who thinks himself so. Pride may enter a poor man’s heart; greediness may reign in an apartment dweller’s soul; impurity may venture into the quietest home; and anger, envy, and malice may insinuate themselves into the most rural dwelling. Even in speaking a few words to a server we may sin; a little purchase at a shop may be the first link in a chain of temptations; the mere glance out of a window may be the beginning of evil. O Lord, how exposed we are! How shall we be secured? To keep ourselves is work too hard for us: only you yourself can preserve us in such a world of evils. Spread your wings over us, and we, like little chicks, will cower down beneath you, and feel ourselves safe!

Morning, November 17, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” — Romans 11:36

“To him be glory forever.” This should be the single desire of the Christian. All other wishes must be subservient and contributing to this one. The Christian may wish for prosperity in his business, but only so far as it may help him to promote this: “To him be glory forever.” He may desire to attain more gifts and more virtues, but it should only be that “To him may be glory forever.” You are not acting as you ought to do when you are moved by any other motive than a single eye to your Lord’s glory. As a Christian, you are “of God, and through God,” and then live “to God.” Let nothing ever set your heart beating so mightily as love to him. Let this ambition fire your soul; be this the foundation of every enterprise upon which you enter, and this your sustaining motive whenever your passion would grow chill; make God your only object. Depend upon this, that where self begins sorrow begins; but if God is my supreme delight and only object,

“To me ’tis equal whether love ordain

My life or death–appoint me ease or pain.”

Let your desire for God’s glory be a growing desire. You blessed him in your youth, but do not be content with such praises as you gave him then. Has God prospered you in business? Give him more since he has given you more. Has God given you experience? Praise him by stronger faith than you exercised at first. Does your knowledge grow? Then sing more sweetly. Do you enjoy happier times than you once had? Have you been restored from sickness, and has your sorrow been turned into peace and joy? Then give him more music; put more coals and more sweet frankincense into the censer of your praise. Practice in your life to give him honor, putting the “Amen” to this doxology to your great and gracious Lord, by your own individual service and increasing holiness.

Evening, November 16, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“Your eyes will see the King in His beauty.” — Isaiah 33:17

The more you know about Christ, the less will you be satisfied with superficial views of him; and the more deeply you study his accomplishments in the eternal covenant, his engagements on your behalf as the eternal Guarantee, and the fullness of his grace which shines in all his functions, the more truly will you see the King in his beauty. Focus much on such outlooks. Long more and more to see Jesus. Meditation and contemplation are often like windows of agate, and gates of garnet, through which we behold the Redeemer. Meditation puts the telescope to the eye, and enables us to see Jesus in even a better way than we could have seen him if we had lived in the days of his time on earth. We would wish that our conversation were more towards heaven, and that we were more occupied with the person, the work, the beauty of our incarnate Lord. More meditation, and the beauty of the King would flash upon us with more resplendence. Beloved, it is very likely that when we come to die we shall have such a sight of our glorious King as we never had before. Many saints in dying have looked up from amidst the stormy waters, and have seen Jesus walking on the waves of the sea, and heard him say, “It is I, be not afraid.” Ah, yes! When this run-down house begins to shake, and the brick falls away, we see Christ through the gaps, and between the rafters the sunlight of heaven comes streaming in. But if we want to see face to face the “King in his beauty” we must go to heaven for the sight, or the King must come here in person. O that he would come on the wings of the wind! He is our Husband, and we are widowed by his absence; he is our Brother beloved and fair, and we are lonely without him. Thick veils and clouds hang between our souls and their true life: when shall the day break and the shadows flee away? Oh, long-expected day, begin!

Morning, November 16, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“The Lord is my portion, says my soul.” — Lamentations 3:24

It does not say, “The Lord is partly my portion,” nor “The Lord is in my portion;” but he himself makes up the sum total of my soul’s inheritance. Within the circumference of that circle lies all that we possess or desire. The Lord is my portion. Not his grace merely, nor his love, nor his covenant, but Jehovah himself. He has chosen us for his portion, and we have chosen him for ours. It is true that the Lord must first choose our inheritance for us, or else we shall never choose it for ourselves; but if we are really called according to the purpose of his loving selection, we can sing–

“Lov’d of my God for him again

With love intense I burn;

Chosen of him ere time began,

I choose him in return.”

The Lord is our all-sufficient portion. God is complete in himself; and if God is all-sufficient in himself, he must be all-sufficient for us. It is not easy to satisfy man’s desires. When he dreams that he is satisfied, shortly he wakes to the perception that there is something yet more, and straightway the aggressive, possessive leech in his heart cries, “Give, give.” But all that we can wish for is to be found in our divine portion, so that we ask, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside you.” We may well “delight ourselves in the Lord” who makes us to drink of the river of his pleasures. Our faith stretches her wings and mounts like an eagle into the heaven of divine love and to her proper dwelling-place. “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.” Let us rejoice in the Lord always; let us show to the world that we are a happy and a blessed people, and thus induce them to exclaim, “We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

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

“Your God has commanded your strength; show Yourself strong, O God, who have acted on our behalf.” — Psalm 68:28

It is wise — as well as necessary — to implore God continually to strengthen that which he has fashioned in us. It is because of their neglect in this that many Christians may blame themselves for those trials and afflictions of spirit which arise from unbelief. It is true that Satan seeks to flood the fair garden of the heart and make it a scene of desolation, but it is also true that many Christians leave open the floodgates themselves, and let in the dreadful deluge through carelessness and lack of prayer to their strong Helper. We often forget that the Author of our faith must also be the Preserver of it. The lamp which was burning in the temple was never allowed to go out, but it had to be daily replenished with fresh oil; in like manner, our faith can only live by being sustained with the oil of grace, and we can only obtain this from God himself. If we do not secure the needed fuel for our lamps we shall prove to be foolish virgins. He who built the world also upholds it, or it would fall in one tremendous crash; he who made us Christians must maintain us by his Spirit, or our ruin will be speedy and final. Let us, then, evening by evening, go to our Lord for the grace and strength we need. We have a strong argument to make passionately, for it is his own work of grace in which we ask him to strengthen “that which you have done for us.” Think you he will fail to protect and sustain that? If you only let your faith take hold of his strength, all the powers of darkness, led on by the master fiend of hell, cannot cast a cloud or shadow over your joy and peace. Why faint when you may be strong? Why suffer defeat when you may conquer? Oh! Take your wavering faith and sagging virtues to him who can revive and replenish them, and earnestly pray, “Strengthen, O God, that which you have worked in us.”

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

“The Lord’s portion is his people.” — Deuteronomy 32:9

How are they his? By his own sovereign choice. He chose them, and set his love upon them. This he did altogether apart from any goodness in them at the time, or any goodness which he foresaw in them. He had mercy on whom he would have mercy, and ordained a chosen company for eternal life; thus, therefore, are they his by his unconstrained choice.

They are not only his by choice, but by purchase. He has bought and paid for them to the utmost penny, and so there can be no dispute about his title of ownership. Not paid with corruptible things, as with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord’s portion has been fully redeemed. There is no mortgage on his estate; no lawsuits can be raised by opposing claimants, the price was paid in open court, and the Church is the Lord’s property forever. See the mark of blood upon all the chosen, invisible to human eye, but known to Christ, for “the Lord knows those that are his”; he forgets none of those whom he has redeemed from among men; he counts the sheep for whom he laid down his life, and remembers very well the Church for which he gave himself.

They are also his by conquest. What a battle he had in us before we would be won! How long he laid siege to our hearts! How often he sent us terms of surrender! But, we barred our gates, and fenced our walls against him. Do we not remember that glorious hour when he carried our hearts by storm? When he placed his cross against the wall, and scaled our ramparts, planting on our strongholds the blood red flag of his omnipotent mercy? Yes, we are, indeed, the conquered captives of his omnipotent love. Thus chosen, purchased, and subdued, the rights of our divine possessor are inalienable: we rejoice that we never can be our own; and we desire, day by day, to do his will, and to show forth his glory.

Evening, November 14, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“But Laban said, “It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the firstborn.  Genesis 29:26

We do not excuse Laban for his dishonesty, but we do not want to hesitate to learn from the custom which he quoted as his excuse. There are some things which must be taken in order, and if we would win the second we must secure the first. The second may be the more lovely in our eyes, but the rule of the heavenly country must stand, and the elder must be married first. For instance, many men desire the beautiful and well-favored Rachel of joy and peace in believing, but they must first be wedded to the unattractive Leah of repentance. Every one falls in love with happiness, and many would cheerfully serve twice times seven years to enjoy it, but according to the rule of the Lord’s kingdom, the Leah of real holiness must be loved by our soul before the Rachel of true happiness can be attained. Heaven stands not first but second, and only by persevering to the end can we win a portion in it. The cross must be carried before the crown can be worn. We must follow our Lord in his humiliation, or we shall never rest with him in glory.

My soul, what do you say; are you so vain as to hope to break the heavenly rule? Do you hope for reward without labor, or honor without toil? Dismiss the vacant expectation, and be content to pursue the things less favored for the sake of the precious love of Jesus, which will recompense you for all. In such a spirit, laboring and suffering, you will find the bitter grows sweet, and hard things grow easy. Like Jacob, Your years of service will seem to you just a few days for the love you have for Jesus; and when the dear hour of the wedding feast shall come, all your toil shall be as though it had never been–an hour with Jesus will make up for ages of pain and labor.

Jesus, to win thyself so fair,

Thy cross I will with gladness bear:

Since so the rules of heaven ordain,

The first I’ll wed the next to gain.

Morning, November 14, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“So I will stretch out My hand against … those who bow down and swear to the Lord and yet swear by Milcom.”— Zephaniah 1:5

Such people thought themselves safe because they were siding with both parties: they went with the followers of Jehovah, and bowed at the same time to the god of the Ammonites. But duplicity is abominable with God, and he hates hypocrisy. The idolater who specifically gives himself to his false god, is less sinful than he who brings his polluted and detestable sacrifice into the temple of the Lord, while his heart is with the world and its sins. To hold with the hare and run with the hounds is a despicable policy. Even in the everyday matters of daily life, a double-minded man is despised, but in religion he is loathsome to the highest degree. The penalty pronounced in the verse before us is terrible, but it is well deserved; for how should divine justice spare the sinner, who knows the right way, approves it, and professes to follow it, and all the while loves the evil way, and gives it dominion in his heart?

My soul, search yourself this morning, and see whether you are guilty of double-dealing. You profess to be a follower of Jesus—do you truly love him? Is your heart right with God? As in “Pilgrim’s Progress,” are you of the family of old Father Honest, or are you a relative of Mr. By-ends, who shows his religion when it profits him? A name to live by is of little value if I am indeed walking dead in trespasses and sins. To have one foot on the land of truth, and another on the sea of falsehood, will involve a terrible fall and a total ruin. Christ will be all or nothing. God fills the whole universe, and therefore there is no room for another god; if, then, he reigns in my heart, there will be no space for another reigning power. Do I rest alone on Jesus crucified, and live alone for him? Is it my desire to do so? Is my heart set upon so doing? If so, blessed is the mighty grace which has led me to salvation; and if not so, O Lord, pardon my sad offence, and bind my heart to fear your name.

Evening, November 13, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“At all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.” — Luke 18:1

If Jesus instructs men that they ought always to pray and not to lose heart, how much more should the Church pray?   Jesus has sent his church into the world on the same errand upon which he himself came, and this mission includes intercession. What if I say that the church is the world’s priest? Creation is mute, but the church is to find a voice for it. It is the church’s high privilege to pray, fully accepted by God. The door of grace is always open for her petitions, and they never return empty-handed. The veil was torn apart for her, the blood was sprinkled upon the altar for her; God constantly invites her to ask what she wants. Will she refuse the privilege she has for which angels might envy her? Is she not the bride of Christ? May she not go in to her King at any and every hour? Shall she allow this precious privilege to be unused? The church always has need for prayer. There are always some in her midst who are struggling, or falling into open sin. There are lambs to be prayed for, that they may be carried in Christ’s embrace, the strong, that they not grow presumptuous, and the weak, that they not become despairing. If we kept up prayer meetings twenty-four hours a day, all the days of the year, we still will never be without a special subject for supplication. Are we ever without the sick and the poor, the afflicted and the wavering? Are we ever without those who seek the conversion of relatives, the reclaiming of backsliders, or the salvation of the wicked? Shall we not pray, with congregations constantly gathering, with ministers always preaching, with millions of sinners lying dead in trespasses and sins; in a country over which the darkness of humanism and false spirituality is certainly descending; in a world full of idols, cruelty, the demonic, if the church does not pray, how shall she excuse her shameful neglect of the commission of her loving Lord? Let the church be constantly and earnestly seeking God; let every individual believer cast his offering of prayer into the treasury.

Morning, November 13, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“The branch cannot bear fruit of itself.” — John 15:4

How did you begin to bear fruit? It was when you came to Jesus and cast yourselves on his great atonement, and rested on his finished righteousness. Oh! What fruit you had then! Do you remember those early days? Surely then the vine flourished, the tender grape appeared, the pomegranates budded forth, and the beds of spices gave forth their smell. Have you weakened since then? If you have, we charge you to remember that time of love, and repent, and do your first works. Focus most in those activities which you have experientially proven to draw you nearest to Christ, because it is from him that all your fruit proceeds. Any holy practice which will bring you to him will help you to bear fruit. The sun is, no doubt, a great worker in creating fruit among the trees of the orchard: and Jesus is even more so among the trees of his garden of grace. When have you been the most fruitless? Has not it been when you have lived farthest from the Lord Jesus Christ, when you have slackened in prayer, when you have departed from the simplicity of your faith, when your talents and blessings have engrossed your attention instead of your Lord, when you have said, “My mountain stands firm, I shall never be moved,” and have forgotten where your strength dwells — has not it been then that your fruit has ceased? Some of us have learned that we have nothing outside of Christ, through terrible humiliation of heart before the Lord; and when we have seen the utter barrenness and death of all our human power, we have cried in anguish, “From him all my fruit must be found, for no fruit can ever come from me.” We are taught, by past experience, that the more simply we depend upon the grace of God in Christ, and wait upon the Holy Spirit, the more we shall bring forth fruit for God. Oh! To trust Jesus for fruit as well as for life.

Evening, November 12, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.” — Luke 6:12

If ever one born of woman might have lived without prayer, it was our spotless, perfect Lord, and yet none was ever so much in prayerful entreaty as he! Such was his love to his Father, that he loved to the highest degree to be in communion with him: such was his love for his people, that he desired to be often in intercession for them. The fact of this eminent prayerfulness of Jesus is a lesson for us–he has given us an example that we may follow in his steps. The time he chose was admirable; it was the hours of silence, when the crowd would not disturb him; the time of inaction, when all but himself had ceased to labor; and the season when slumber made men forget their afflictions, and end their requests to him for relief. While others found rest in sleep, he refreshed himself with prayer. The place was also very well selected. He was alone where none would intrude, where none could observe: consequently, he was free from Pharisaic pretension and discourteous interruption. Those dark and silent hills were a fitting chapel for the Son of God. Heaven and earth in midnight stillness heard the cries and sighs of the mysterious Being in whom both worlds were blended. The protraction of his earnest requests is remarkable; the long watches were not too long; the cold wind did not chill his devotion; the grim darkness did not darken his faith, or loneliness curb his persistence. We cannot watch with him one hour, but he watched for us whole nights. The occasion for this prayer is notable; it was after his enemies had been enraged — prayer was his refuge and support; it was before he sent forth the twelve apostles — prayer was the gate of his enterprise, the herald of his new work. Should we not learn from Jesus to resort to special prayer when we are under unusual trial, or contemplate fresh endeavors for the Master’s glory? Lord Jesus, teach us to pray.

Morning, November 12, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“The proof [trial, KJV] of your faith.” — 1 Peter 1:7

Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith, and faith is likely to remain dwarfish so long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: tempests train her, and lightning illuminates her. When a calm reigns on the sea, spread the sails as you will; the ship will not move towards its harbor; for on a slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too. But, let the winds begin rushing and howling, and let the waters begin to stir themselves up, then — though the vessel may rock, her deck may be washed with waves, and her mast may creak under the pressure of the full and swelling sail — it is then that she makes headway towards her desired port. No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity. Tried faith brings experience. You could not have believed your own weakness had you not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would never have known God’s strength had you not been supported amid the flood waters. Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity, the more it is worked out with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too.

Do not let this, however, discourage those who are young in faith. You will have trials enough without seeking them: the full portion will be measured out to you in due season. Meanwhile, if you cannot yet claim the result of long experience, thank God for what grace you have; praise him for that degree of godly confidence in which you have attained: walk according to that rule, and you shall yet have more and more of the blessing of God, until your faith shall remove mountains and conquer impossibilities.

Evening, November 11, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“He chooses our inheritance for us.” — Psalm 47:4

Believer, if your inheritance — the role you find in life — is a humble one, you should be satisfied with your earthly part; for you may rest assured that it is the best fit for you. Unerring wisdom planned your destiny, and selected for you the safest and best condition. A ship of large tonnage is to be brought up the river; now, in one part of the stream there is a sandbank; should someone ask, “Why does the captain steer through the deep part of the channel and deviate so much from a straight line?” His answer would be, “Because I would not get my vessel into harbor at all if I did not steer to the deep channel.” So, it may be that you would run aground and suffer shipwreck, if your divine Captain did not steer you into the depths of affliction, where waves of trouble follow each other in quick succession.

Some plants die if they have too much sunshine. It may be that you are planted where you get just a little; you are put there by the loving Gardener, because only in that situation will you bring forth fruit reaching perfection. Remember this: Had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there. You are placed by God in the most suitable circumstances, and if you had the choosing of your destiny, you would soon cry, “Lord, choose my inheritance for me, for through my own guidance I am distressed with many sorrowful things.” Be content with such things as you have, since the Lord has structured all things for your good. Take up your own daily cross; it is the burden best suited for your shoulder, and will prove most effective to make you perfect in every good word and work to the glory of God. Subdue your busy self, and your proud impatience; it is not for you to choose, but for the Lord of Love!

“Trials must and will befall–

But with humble faith to see

Love inscribed upon them all;

This is happiness to me.”

Morning, November 11, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“Underneath are the everlasting arms.” — Deuteronomy 33:27

God–the eternal God–is himself our support always, and especially when we are sinking in deep trouble. There are seasons when the Christian sinks very low in humiliation. Under a deep sense of his great sinfulness, he is humbled before God till he scarcely knows how to pray, because he appears, in his own sight, so worthless. Well, child of God, remember that when you are at your worst and lowest point, still “underneath” you “are everlasting arms.” Sin may drag you ever so low, but Christ’s great reconciliation is still under all. You may have descended into the deeps, but you cannot have fallen so low as “the uttermost;” and to the uttermost he saves. Again, the Christian sometimes sinks very deeply in painful trials from all around. Every earthly support is cut away. What then? Still underneath him are “the everlasting arms.” He cannot fall so deep in distress and affliction that the covenant grace of an ever-faithful God will not still encircle him. The Christian may be sinking under trouble from within himself through fierce conflict, but even then he cannot be brought so low as to be beyond the reach of the “everlasting arms”–they are underneath him; and, while thus sustained, all Satan’s efforts to harm him accomplish nothing.

This assurance of support is a comfort to any weary but earnest worker in the service of God. It implies a promise of strength for each day, grace for each need, and power for each duty. And, further, when death comes, the promise shall still hold good. When we stand in the midst of the Jordan, we shall be able to say with David, “I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” We shall descend into the grave, but we shall go no lower, for the eternal arms prevent our further fall. All through life, and at its close, we shall be upheld by the “everlasting arms”–arms that neither languish nor lose their strength, for the “Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired.”

Evening, November 10, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher.” — Matthew 10:25

No one will dispute this statement, for it would be inappropriate for the servant to be dignified above his Master. When our Lord was on earth, what was the treatment he received? Were his claims acknowledged, his instructions followed, his perfection worshipped, by those whom he came to bless? No, “He was despised and forsaken of men.” Outside the camp was his place: cross-bearing was his occupation. Did the world yield him comfort and rest? “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” This inhospitable country afforded him no shelter: it cast him out and crucified him. If you are a follower of Jesus, and maintain a consistent, Christ-like walk and conversation–you must expect it to be the same way, when that part of your spiritual life which, in its outward development, comes under the observation of men. They will treat it as they treated the Savior–they will despise it. Do not dream that those in the world will admire you, or that the more holy and the more Christ-like you are, the more peaceably people will act towards you. They did not prize the polished gem, how much will they value the jewel in the rough? “If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household?” If we are more like Christ, we should be more hated by his enemies. It is a sad dishonor to a child of God to be the world’s favorite. It is a very ill omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout “Well done” to the Christian. It may serve him to begin to look to his character, and wonder whether he has not been doing wrong, when the unrighteous give him their admiration. Let us be true to our Master, and have no friendship with a blind and corrupt world which scorns and rejects him. Far be it from us to seek a crown of honor where our Lord found a crown of thorns.

Morning, November 10, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“The eternal God is a dwelling place [refuge, KJV].” — Deuteronomy 33:27

The word refuge may be translated “mansion,” or “abiding-place,” which gives the thought that God is our abode, our home. There is a fulness and pleasantness in the metaphor, for dear to our hearts is our home, whether it be the humblest cottage, or the most frugal attic; and far dearer is our blessed God, in whom we live, and move, and have our being. It is at home that we feel safe: we shut the world out and dwell in quiet security. So, when we are with our God we “fear no evil.” He is our shelter and retreat, our abiding refuge. At home, we take our rest; it is there we find tranquility after the fatigue and toil of the day. And so, our hearts find rest in God, when, wearied with life’s conflict, we turn to him, and our soul dwells at ease. At home, also, we let our hearts free; we are not afraid of being misunderstood, nor of our words being misconstrued. So, when we are with God we can commune freely with him, laying open all our hidden desires; for if the “secret of the Lord is for those that fear him,” the secrets of those that fear him ought to be, and must be, with their Lord. Home, too, is the place of our truest and purest happiness: and it is in God that our hearts find their deepest delight. We have joy in him which far surpasses all other joy. It is also for our home that we work and labor. The thought of it gives strength to bear the daily burden, and quickens the fingers to perform the task; and in this sense, we may also say that God is our home. Love for him strengthens us. We think of him in the person of his dear Son; and a glimpse of the suffering face of the Redeemer compels us to labor in his cause. We feel that we must work, for we have brothers yet to be saved, and we have our Father’s heart to make glad by bringing home his wandering sons; we would fill with holy laughter the sacred family among whom we dwell. Happy are those who have in this manner the God of Jacob for their refuge!

Evening, November 9, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“He will dwell on the heights, his refuge will be the impregnable rock; his bread will be given him, his water will be sure. ” — Isaiah 33:16

Do you doubt, O Christian, do you doubt as to whether God will fulfill his promise? Shall the stronghold of rock be carried away by storm? Shall the storehouses of heaven fail? Do you think that your heavenly Father, though he knows that you have need of food and clothing, will yet forget you? When not even a sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge, and the very hairs of your head are all numbered, will you mistrust and doubt him? Perhaps your affliction will continue upon you until you dare to trust your God, and only then it shall end. There have been very many who have been tried and sorely exasperated until at last they have been driven in sheer desperation to make use of faith in God, and the moment of their faith has been the instant of their deliverance; they have seen whether God would keep his promise or not. Oh, I pray that you no longer doubt him! Stop indulging those harsh thoughts of God any more, which please Satan, and cause distress to yourself. Do not think it is a light matter to doubt Jehovah. Remember, it is a sin; and not a little sin either, but criminal in the highest degree. The angels never doubted him, nor the demons either; we alone, out of all the beings that God has fashioned, dishonor him by unbelief, and tarnish his honor by mistrust. Shame upon us for this! Our God does not deserve to be so dishonorably suspected. In our past life we have proved him to be true and faithful to his word, and with so many instances of his love and of his kindness as we have received, and are daily receiving at his hands, it is dishonorable and inexcusable that we entertain a doubt to take rest within our heart. May we from now forward wage constant war against doubts of our God—enemies to our peace and to his honor—and with an unwavering faith believe that what he has promised he will also perform. “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.”

Morning, November 9, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“So walk in him.” — Colossians 2:6

If we have received Christ himself in our innermost heart, our new life will demonstrate its intimate acquaintance with him by a walk of faith in him. Walking implies action. Our religion is not to be confined to our prayer room; we must effectively carry it out into practices that reflect our beliefs. If a man walks in Christ, he then acts as Christ would act; for with Christ being in him, with his hope, his love, his joy, his life, he is the reflection of the image of Jesus; and men say of that man, “He is like his Master; he lives like Jesus Christ.” Walking signifies progress. “So walk in him;” proceed from grace to grace, run forward until you reach the uttermost degree of knowledge that a man can attain concerning our Beloved. Walking implies continuation. There must be a perpetual abiding in Christ. How many Christians think that in the morning and evening they ought to come into the company of Jesus, and may then give their hearts to the world all the rest of the day: but this is a poor life. We should always be with him, following in his steps and doing his will. Walking also implies habit. When we speak of a man’s walk and conversation, we mean his habits, the constant tenor of his life. Now, if we sometimes enjoy Christ, and then forget him; sometimes call him ours, and immediately lose our hold, that is not a habit; we do not walk in him. We must keep to him, cling to him, never let him go, but live and have our being in him. “As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him;” persevere in the same way in which you have begun, and, just as at the beginning Christ Jesus was the trust of your faith, the source of your life, the principle of your action, and the joy of your spirit, so let him be the same until life’s end; let him be the same when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and enter into the joy and the rest which remain for the people of God. Oh, Holy Spirit, enable us to obey this heavenly principle.

Evening, November 8, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“The Teacher says, ‘Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?'” –Mark 14:14

Jerusalem at the time of the passover was one great inn; each householder had invited his own friends, but no one had invited the Savior, and he had no dwelling of his own. It was by his own supernatural power that he found himself an upper room in which to observe the feast. It is even so to this day–Jesus is not received among the sons of men except only where by his supernatural power and grace he makes the heart new. All doors are always open to the prince of darkness, but Jesus must clear a way for himself or lodge in the streets. It was through the mysterious power exerted by our Lord that the householder raised no question, but at once cheerfully and joyfully opened his guest chamber. Who he was, and what he was, we do not know, but he readily accepted the honor which the Redeemer proposed to confer upon him. In the same manner it is still discovered who are the Lord’s chosen, and who are not; for when the gospel comes to some, they fight against it, and will not have it, but where men receive it, welcoming it, this is a sure indication that there is a special work going on in the soul, and that God has chosen them to receive eternal life. Are you willing, dear reader, to receive Christ? Then there is no difficulty standing in the way; Christ will be your guest; his own power is working with you, making you willing. What an honor to entertain the Son of God! The heaven of heavens cannot contain him, and yet he condescends to find a house within our hearts! We are not worthy that he should come under our roof, but what an privilege beyond words when he condescends to enter! For then he makes a feast, and causes us to feast with him upon royal delicacies, we sit at a banquet where the entrees are immortal, and give immortality to those who feed on them. Blessed among the sons of Adam is one who entertains the Lord of the angels.

Morning, November 8, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” — Colossians 2:6

The life of faith is represented as receiving–an act which implies the very opposite of anything like merit. It is simply the acceptance of a gift. As the earth drinks in the rain, as the sea receives the streams, as night accepts light from the stars, so we, giving nothing, share freely of the grace of God. Believers are not, by nature, wells, or streams; they are but reservoirs into which the living water flows. They are empty vessels into which God pours his salvation. The idea of receiving implies a sense of realization, us making the matter a reality. One cannot very well receive a shadow; we receive something substantial, and so it is in the life of faith. Christ becomes real to us. When we are without faith, Jesus is a mere name to us–a person who lived a long while ago, so long ago that his life is only history to us now! By an act of faith Jesus becomes a real person in the consciousness of our heart. But receiving also means grasping or getting possession of. The thing which I receive becomes my own: I receive to myself that which is given. When I receive Jesus, he becomes my Savior, so much mine that neither life nor death shall be able to rob me of him. All this is to receive Christ–to take him as God’s free gift; to grasp him in my heart, and to receive, to own him as mine.

Salvation may be described as the blind receiving sight, the deaf receiving hearing, the dead receiving life; but we have not only received these blessings, we have received Christ Jesus himself. It is true that he gave us life from the dead. He gave us the pardon from sin; he counted us righteous. These are all precious things, but we are not content with them; we have received Christ himself. The Son of God has been poured into us, and we have received him, and taken him for our own. How can our hearts encompass Jesus, for heaven itself cannot contain him!

Evening, November 7, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“And you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth..” — Acts 1:8

In order to learn how to discharge your duty as a witness for Christ, look at his example. He is always witnessing: by the well of Samaria, or in the Temple of Jerusalem: by the lake of Gennesaret, or on the mountainside. He is witnessing night and day; his mighty prayers are as vocal to God as his daily service. He witnesses under all circumstances; Scribes and Pharisees cannot shut his mouth; even before Pilate he witnesses a good confession. He witnesses so clearly and distinctly that there is no mistake in him. Christian, make your life a clear testimony.  You be as the brook in which you may see every stone at the bottom–not as the muddy creek, of which you only see the surface–but clear and transparent, so that your heart’s love to God and man may be visible to all. You need not say, “I am true;” be true. Do not boast of integrity, but be honorable. In that way your testimony will be such that men cannot help seeing it. Never, for fear of fallible man, restrain your witness. Your lips have been warmed with a coal from off the altar; let them speak as like heaven-touched lips should do. “In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand.” Do not watch the clouds, or consult the wind; in season and out of season witness for the Savior, and if it shall come to pass that for Christ’s sake and the gospel’s you shall endure suffering in any shape, do not retreat, but rejoice in the honor that has been conferred upon you, that you are counted worthy to suffer with your Lord; and joy also in this — that your sufferings, your losses, and persecutions shall make you a platform from which you shall witness for Christ Jesus even more vigorously and with greater power. Study your great Exemplar, and be filled with his Spirit. Remember that you need much teaching, much upholding, much grace, and much humility, if your witnessing is to be to your Master’s glory.