M&E Friday

 

Morning and Evening: Daily Readings
by C. H. Spurgeon
Friday Morning, March 16

I am a stranger with thee.

Psalm 39:12

Yes, O Lord, with thee, but not to thee. All my natural alienation from thee, thy grace has effectually removed; and now, in fellowship with thyself, I walk through this sinful world as a pilgrim in a foreign country. Thou art a stranger in thine own world. Man forgets thee, dishonours thee, sets up new laws and alien customs, and knows thee not. When thy dear Son came unto his own, his own received him not. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. Never was foreigner so speckled a bird among the denizens of any land as thy beloved Son among his mother's brethren. It is no marvel, then, if I who live the life of Jesus, should be unknown and a stranger here below. Lord, I would not be a citizen where Jesus was an alien. His pierced hand has loosened the cords which once bound my soul to earth, and now I find myself a stranger in the land. My speech seems to these Babylonians among whom I dwell an outlandish tongue, my manners are singular, and my actions are strange. A Tartar would be more at home in Cheapside than I could ever be in the haunts of sinners. But here is the sweetness of my lot: I am a stranger with thee. Thou art my fellow-sufferer, my fellow-pilgrim. Oh, what joy to wander in such blessed society! My heart burns within me by the way when thou dost speak to me, and though I be a sojourner, I am far more blest than those who sit on thrones, and far more at home than those who dwell in their ceiled houses.

To me remains nor place, nor time: My country is in every clime; I can be calm and free from care On any shore, since God is there. While place we seek, or place we shun, The soul finds happiness in none: But with a God to guide our way, 'Tis equal joy to go or stay.

Evening, March 16

Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins.

Psalm 19:13

Such was theprayer of the man after God's own heart. Did holy David need to pray thus? How needful, then, must such a prayer be for us babes in grace! It is as if he said, Keep me back, or I shall rush headlong over the precipice of sin. Our evil nature, like an ill-tempered horse, is apt to run away. May the grace of God put the bridle upon it, and hold it in, that it rush not into mischief. What might not the best of us do if it were not for the checks which the Lord sets upon us both in providence and in grace! The psalmist's prayer is directed against the worst form of sin--that which is done with deliberation and wilfulness. Even the holiest need to be kept back from the vilest transgressions. It is a solemn thing to find the apostle Paul warning saints against the most loathsome sins. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. What! do saints want warning against such sins as these? Yes, they do. The whitest robes, unless their purity be preserved by divine grace, will be defiled by the blackest spots. Experienced Christian, boast not in your experience; you will trip yet if you look away from him who is able to keep you from falling. Ye whose love is fervent, whose faith is constant, whose hopes are bright, say not, We shall never sin, but rather cry, Lead us not into temptation. There is enough tinder in the heart of the best of men to light a fire that shall burn to the lowest hell, unless God shall quench the sparks as they fall. Who would have dreamed that righteous Lot could be found drunken, and committing uncleanness? Hazael said, Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this thing? and we are very apt to use the same self-righteous question. May infinite wisdom cure us of the madness of self-confidence.

 

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Thou Eternal Source,

Author of all created being and happiness,
    I adore thee for making man capable
       of religion,
    that he may be taught to say:
       'Where is God, my Maker, who giveth
        songs in the night?'

But degeneracy has spread over our
       human race,
    turning glory into shame,
    rendering us forgetful of thee.

 

We know it is thy power alone
    that can recall wandering children,
    can impress on them a sense of divine things,
    and can render that sense lasting and effectual;

From thee proceed all good purposes and desires,
    and the diffusing of piety and happiness.

Thou hast knowledge of my soul's secret
       principles,
    and art aware of my desire to spread the gospel.
Make me an almoner to give thy
    bounties to the indigent,
    comfort to the mentally ill,
    restoration to the sin-diseased,
    hope to the despairing,
    joy to the sorrowing,
    love to the prodigals.

Blow away the ashes of unbelief by
       thy Spirit's breath
    and give me light, fire, and warmth of love.

I need spiritual comforts
    that are gentle, peaceful, mild, refreshing,
    that will melt me into conscious lowliness
       before thee,
    that will make me feel and rest in thee
       as my All.

Fill the garden of my soul with the wind of love,
    that the scents of the Christian life may be
       wafted to others;
    then come and gather fruits to thy glory.

So shall I fulfill the great end of my being -
    to glorify thee and be a blessing to men.

(Taken from 'The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers,' edited by Arthur Bennett)

http://5ptsalt.com/2009/09/20/a-puritans-prayer-things-needful/

 

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