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Spurgeon's Morning & Evening Devotions
Morning, July 20
"Watchman, what of the night?" - Isaiah 21:11
What enemies are abroad? Errors are a numerous horde, and new ones appear every
hour: against what heresy am I to be on my guard? Sins creep from their lurking
places when the darkness reigns; I must myself mount the watch-tower, and watch
unto
prayer. Our heavenly Protector foresees all the attacks which are about to be
made upon us, and when as yet the evil designed us is but in the desire of
Satan, he prays for us that our faith fail not, when we are sifted as wheat.
Continue O gracious Watchman, to forewarn us of our foes, and for Zion's sake
hold not thy peace.
"Watchman, what of the night?" What weather is coming for the Church? Are the
clouds lowering, or is it all clear and fair overhead? We must care for the
Church of God with anxious love; and now that Popery and infidelity are both
threatening, let us
observe the signs of the times and prepare for conflict.
"Watchman, what of the night?" What stars are visible? What precious promises
suit our present case? You sound the alarm, give us the consolation also.
Christ, the polestar, is ever fixed in his place, and all the stars are secure
in the right hand of
their Lord.
But watchman, when comes the morning? The Bridegroom tarries. Are there no
signs of his coming forth as the Sun of Righteousness?
Has not the morning star arisen as the pledge of day? When will the day dawn,
and the shadows flee away? O Jesus, if thou come not in person to thy waiting
Church this day, yet come in Spirit to my sighing heart, and make it sing for
joy.
"Now all the earth is bright and glad
With the fresh morn;
But all my heart is cold, and dark and sad:
Sun of the soul, let me behold thy dawn!
Come, Jesus, Lord,
O quickly come, according to thy word."
Evening, July 20
"Let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen." - Psalm 72:19
This is a large petition. To intercede for a whole city needs a stretch of
faith, and there are times when a prayer for one man is enough to stagger us.
But how far-reaching was the psalmist's dying intercession! How comprehensive!
How sublime! "Let the
whole earth be filled with his glory."
It doth not exempt a single country however crushed by the foot of
superstition; it doth not exclude a single nation however barbarous. For the
cannibal as well as for the civilized, for all climes and races this prayer is
uttered: the whole circle of the earth it encompasses, and omits no son of
Adam. We must be up and doing for our Master, or we cannot honestly offer such
a prayer.
The petition is not asked with a sincere heart unless we endeavour, as God
shall help us, to extend the kingdom of our Master. Are there not some who
neglect both to plead and to labour? Reader, is it your prayer? Turn your eyes
to Calvary.
Behold the Lord of Life nailed to a cross, with the thorn-crown about his brow,
with bleeding head, and hands, and feet.
What! can you look upon this miracle of miracles, the death of the Son of God,
without feeling within your bosom a marvellous adoration that language never
can express? And when you feel the blood applied to your conscience, and know
that he has blotted
out your sins, you are not a man unless you start from your knees and cry, "Let
the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen." Can you bow before
the Crucified in loving homage, and not wish to see your Monarch master of the
world? Out on you if you can pretend to love your Prince, and desire not to see
him the
universal ruler. Your piety is worthless unless it leads you to wish that the
same mercy which has been extended to you may bless the whole world. Lord, it
is harvest-time, put in thy sickle and reap.
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Spurgeon's Morning & Evening Devotions
Morning, July 21
"The upright love thee" - Song of Solomon 1:4
Believers love Jesus with a deeper affection then they dare to give to any
other being. They would sooner lose father and mother then part with Christ.
They hold all earthly comforts with a loose hand, but they carry him fast
locked in their bosoms.
They voluntarily deny themselves for his sake, but they are not to be driven to
deny him. It is scant love which the fire of persecution can dry up; the true
believer's love is a deeper stream than this. Men have laboured to divide the
faithful from their Master, but their attempts have been fruitless in every age.
Neither crowns of honour, now frowns of anger, have untied this more than
Gordian knot. This is no every-day attachment which the world's power may at
length dissolve. Neither man nor devil have found a key which opens this lock.
Never has the craft of Satan been more at fault than when he has exercised it
in seeking to rend in sunder this union of two divinely welded hearts. It is
written, and nothing can blot out the sentence, "The upright love thee." The
intensity of the love
of the upright, however, is not so much to be judged by what it appears as by
what the upright long for.
It is our daily lament that we cannot love enough. Would that our hearts were
capable of holding more, and reaching further. Like Samuel Rutherford, we sigh
and cry, "Oh, for as much love as would go round about the earth, and over
heaven-yea, the heaven
of heavens, and ten thousand worlds-that I might let all out upon fair, fair,
only fair Christ.
" Alas! our longest reach is but a span of love, and our affection is but as a
drop of a bucket compared with his deserts. Measure our love by our intentions,
and it is high indeed; 'tis thus, we trust, our Lord doth judge of it. Oh, that
we could give all the love in all hearts in one great mass, a gathering
together of all loves to him who is altogether lovely!
Evening, July 21
"Satan hindered us." - 1 Thessalonians 2:18
Since the first hour in which goodness came into conflict with evil, it has
never ceased to be true in spiritual experience, that Satan hinders us. From
all points of the compass, all along the line of battle, in the vanguard and in
the rear, at the dawn
of day and in the midnight hour, Satan hinders us. If we toil in the field, he
seeks to break the ploughshare; if we build the wall, he labours to cast down
the stones; if we would serve God in suffering or in conflict-everywhere Satan
hinders us.
He hinders us when we are first coming to Jesus Christ. Fierce conflicts we had
with Satan when we first looked to the cross and lived. Now that we are saved,
he endeavours to hinder the completeness of our personal character.
You may be congratulating yourself, "I have hitherto walked consistently; no
man can challenge my integrity." Beware of boasting, for your virtue will yet
be tried; Satan will direct his engines against that very virtue for which you
are the most famous. If you have been hitherto a firm believer, your faith will
ere long be attacked; if you have been meek as Moses, expect to be tempted to
speak unadvisedly with your lips.
The birds will peck at your ripest fruit, and the wild boar will dash his tusks
at your choicest vines. Satan is sure to hinder us when we are earnest in
prayer. He checks our importunity, and weakens our faith in order that, if
possible, we may miss the
blessing.
Nor is Satan less vigilant in obstructing Christian effort. There was never a
revival of religion without a revival of his opposition. As soon as Ezra and
Nehemiah begin to labour, Sanballat and Tobiah are stirred up to hinder them.
What then? We are not alarmed because Satan hindereth us, for it is a proof
that we are on the Lord's side, and are doing the Lord's work, and in his
strength we shall win the victory, and triumph over our adversary.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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