Morning & Evening for January 17th - Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Morning
And I
looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount
Sion.
Revelation 14:1
The apostle John was privileged
to look within the gates of heaven, and in
describing what he saw, he begins by saying, "I
looked, and, lo, a Lamb!" This teaches us that the
chief object of contemplation in the heavenly state
is "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of
the world." Nothing else attracted the apostle's
attention so much as the person of that Divine
Being, who hath redeemed us by His blood. He is the
theme of the songs of all glorified spirits and
holy angels. Christian, here is joy for thee; thou
hast looked, and thou hast seen the Lamb. Through
thy tears thine eyes have seen the Lamb of God
taking away thy sins. Rejoice, then. In a little
while, when thine eyes shall have been wiped from
tears, thou wilt see the same Lamb
exalted on His
throne. It is the joy of thy heart to
hold daily fellowship with Jesus; thou shalt have
the same joy to a higher degree in heaven; thou
shalt enjoy the constant vision of His presence;
thou shalt dwell with Him for ever. "I looked, and,
lo, a Lamb!" Why, that Lamb is heaven itself; for
as good Rutherford says, "Heaven and Christ are the
same thing;" to be with Christ is to be in heaven,
and to be in heaven is to be with Christ. That
prisoner of the Lord very sweetly writes in one of
his glowing letters--"O my Lord Jesus Christ, if I
could be in heaven without thee, it would be a
hell; and if I could be in hell, and have thee
still, it would be a heaven to me, for thou art all
the heaven I want." It is true, is it not,
Christian? Does not thy soul say
so?
"Not all the harps
above
Can make a heavenly place,
If God His residence remove,
Or but conceal His face."
Evening
And it came
to pass in an evening-tide, that David arose from
off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's
house.
2 Samuel 11:2
At that hour David saw Bathsheba.
We are never out of the reach of temptation. Both
at home and abroad we are liable to meet with
allurements to evil; the morning opens with peril,
and the shades of evening find us still in
jeopardy. They are well kept whom God keeps, but
woe unto those who go forth into the world, or even
dare to walk their own house unarmed. Those who
think themselves secure are more exposed to danger
than any others. The armour-bearer of Sin is
Self-confidence.
David should have been engaged in fighting the
Lord's battles, instead of which he tarried at
Jerusalem, and gave himself up to luxurious repose,
for he arose from his bed at eventide. Idleness and
luxury are the devil's jackals, and find him
abundant prey. In stagnant waters noxious creatures
swarm, and neglected soil soon yields a dense
tangle of weeds and briars. Oh for the constraining
love of Jesus to keep us active and useful! When I
see the King of Israel sluggishly leaving his couch
at the close of the day, and falling at once into
temptation, let me take warning, and set holy
watchfulness to guard the door.
Is it possible that the king had mounted his
housetop for retirement and devotion? If so, what a
caution is given us to count no place, however
secret, a sanctuary from sin! While our hearts are
so like a tinder-box, and sparks so plentiful, we
had need use all diligence in all places to prevent
a blaze. Satan can climb housetops, and enter
closets, and even if we could shut out that foul
fiend, our own corruptions are enough to work our
ruin unless grace prevent. Reader, beware of
evening temptations. Be not secure. The sun is down
but sin is up. We need a watchman for the night as
well as a guardian for the day. O blessed Spirit,
keep us from all evil this night. Amen.