Morning and Evening: Daily Readings
by C. H. Spurgeon
Thursday Morning, December 23
Friend, go up higher.
Luke 14:10
When first the life of grace begins in the soul, we do indeed draw near to God, but it is with great fear and trembling. The soul conscious of guilt, and humbled thereby, is overawed with the solemnity of its position; it is cast to the earth by a sense of the grandeur of Jehovah, in whose presence it stands. With unfeigned bashfulness it takes the lowest room.
But, in after life, as the Christian grows in grace, although he will never forget the solemnity of his position, and will never lose that holy awe which must encompass a gracious man when he is in the presence of the God who can create or can destroy; yet his fear has all its terror taken out of it; it becomes a holy reverence, and no more an overshadowing dread. He is called up higher, to greater access to God in Christ Jesus. Then the man of God, walking amid the splendours of Deity, and veiling his face like the glorious cherubim, with those twin wings, the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, will, reverent and bowed in spirit, approach the throne; and seeing there a God of love, of goodness, and of mercy, he will realize rather the covenant character of God than his absolute Deity. He will see in God rather his goodness than his greatness, and more of his love than of his majesty. Then will the soul, bowing still as humbly as aforetime, enjoy a more sacred liberty of intercession; for while prostrate before the glory of the Infinite God, it will be sustained by the refreshing consciousness of being in the presence of boundless mercy and infinite love, and by the realization of acceptance in the Beloved. Thus the believer is bidden to come up higher, and is enabled to exercise the privilege of rejoicing in God, and drawing near to him in holy confidence, saying, Abba, Father.
Evening, December 23
The night also is thine.
Psalm 74:16
Yes, Lord, thou dost not abdicate thy throne when the sun goeth down, nor dost thou leave the world all through these long wintry nights to be the prey of evil; thine eyes watch us as the stars, and thine arms surround us as the zodiac belts the sky. The dews of kindly sleep and all the influences of the moon are in thy hand, and the alarms and solemnities of night are equally with thee. This is very sweet to me when watching through the midnight hours, or tossing to and fro in anguish. There are precious fruits put forth by the moon as well as by the sun: may my Lord make me to be a favoured partaker in them.
The night of affliction is as much under the arrangement and control of the Lord of Love as the bright summer days when all is bliss. Jesus is in the tempest. His love wraps the night about itself as a mantle, but to the eye of faith the sable robe is scarce a disguise. From the first watch of the night even unto the break of day the eternal Watcher observes his saints, and overrules the shades and dews of midnight for his people's highest good. We believe in no rival deities of good and evil contending for the mastery, but we hear the voice of Jehovah saying, I create light and I create darkness; I, the Lord, do all these things.
Gloomy seasons of religious indifference and social sin are not exempted from the divine purpose. When the altars of truth are defiled, and the ways of God forsaken, the Lord's servants weep with bitter sorrow, but they may not despair, for the darkest eras are governed by the Lord, and shall come to their end at his bidding. What may seem defeat to us may be victory to him.
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The Binding of Satan as Seen in the Birth (and Survival) of Jesus
Jesus once said, "No one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man" (Mark 3:27). The "strong man" Jesus was alluding to was Satan, and his house was this world—Satan's realm of influence and power. 
The Old Testament speaks repeatedly of God's intention to enter Satan's house and plunder his goods, that is, to save many who were "being held captive by him to do his will" (2 Tim. 2:26).
Satan knows the Scriptures (Matt. 4:5-6), and he is acutely aware of current events (consider, for example, his awareness of Job's prosperity). He is a highly intelligent being who hates God, has plenty of evil resources at his disposal, and would love to foil God's redemptive plan. Yet concerning this great redemptive "burglary," God gave him all the details in advance. He told Satan exactly when, where, and how He would enter his house to plunder his goods. He didn't announce His plan in secret codes or change it at the last minute. He revealed it publicly and repeatedly, and performed it exactly as announced.
Genesis 3:15—God spoke to Satan directly, telling him that his head would one day be crushed (indicating total defeat) by One born of the woman. Isaiah 9:6 magnified this threat by describing the rule of absolute authority that would be given to the Seed of the woman.
Isaiah 7:14—God told Satan when and how the Child would enter the world. It would be an event that would draw a great deal of public attention because it would involve a virgin conceiving a baby.
Micah 5:2—God told Satan where the child would be born: "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah . . . from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel."
Matthew 1:18-19—God reminded Satan of the immanent birth of Christ. In fact, He gave him 9 months warning. Mary, a virgin, conceived a child, plainly fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14. It is impossible to hide a pregnancy for long, even from people, let alone from Satan.
Luke 2:4-5—God gave Satan yet another notice that the birth of Christ was soon to occur. Mary, who was due to give birth any day, left with Joseph to go to Bethlehem—an obvious fulfillment of Micah 5:2.
Luke 2:8-14—Immediately after the birth of Jesus, when He was a helpless infant at His most vulnerable point in life, a multitude of angels broadcast His birth to shepherds in the hills around Bethlehem.
Luke 2:15-20—These same shepherds went to see the baby Jesus, and then they told many others what they had seen and heard: The Messiah has been born in Bethlehem!
Matthew 2:2—God ordained an astronomical event to broadcast the news about the birth of Christ as far away as Persia. All who knew the Scriptures and how to read the signs in the heavens now knew both when and where the Messiah had been born.
Matthew 2:1-7—Herod, an evil instrument of Satan, learned of the birth of Jesus through the wise men and the chief priests. They told him where Jesus had been born. Herod clearly understood that this Child, who represented a serious threat to his authority, was living among peasants in Bethlehem, unprotected by any human authority. Amazingly, however, Herod took no immediate action to have the baby destroyed. Instead he waited for the wise men to return, as though he were dependant upon them for information he already possessed.
Revelation 12:1-5—Satan, portrayed as a great red dragon, clearly knew all of the above facts related to the birth of Christ. He also had many instruments of murder at his disposal. The Bible describes him as a dragon waiting before the woman to devour her Child at birth. What an easy kill this would be. And yet the dragon failed!
An intelligent and powerful being like Satan should have been able to prevent the birth and survival of this Baby. After all, he was given God's plan well in advance. Yet Jesus was born, survived, grew, and went about Israel preaching and teaching about the kingdom of God and performing miracles. He even empowered his disciples to cast out demons, further demonstrating the loss of Satan's authority. Many attempts were made to kill Him before His appointed time of death, but they all failed. Satan's servants were only able to bring about His death when He chose to lay His life down (John 10:18), and when it was God's predestined purpose for Him to suffer and die (Acts 4:27-28).
Satan is a devil to be sure, but He is a bound devil. To this day his house is being plundered by the One to whom all authority has been given "in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18). Satan is a defeated "strong man." Bow down to King Jesus, who has bound him forever!
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