Shaken, Not Stirred
Morning & Evening
Posted on 27 Dec 2023 by fertiileground
Charles H Spurgeon
2023 December 27
Morning
Scripture
"Can the rush grow up without mire?” — Job_8:11
For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers: (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:) Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart? Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water? Whilst it is yet in its greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb. So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish: Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web. He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand; he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure. He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden. His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones. If he destroys him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee. Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow. Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers: Till he fills thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing. They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame, and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought.
(Job 8:8-22 KJV)
AM I HYPOCRITICAL
The rush is spongy and hollow, and even so, is a hypocrite; there is no substance or stability in him. It is shaken to and fro in every wind just as formalists yield to every influence; for this reason, the rush is not broken by the tempest, and neither are hypocrites troubled with persecution. I would not willingly be a deceiver or be deceived.
The text for this day may help me to try myself whether I will be a hypocrite or not. The rush by nature lives in water and owes its very existence to the mire and moisture wherein it has taken root; let the mire become dry, and the rush withers very quickly. Its greenness is dependent upon circumstances, a present abundance of water makes it flourish, and a drought destroys it at once.
IS THIS MY CASE
Is this my case? Do I only serve God when I am in good company, or when religion is profitable and respectable? Do I love the Lord only when temporal comforts are received from his hands? If so, I am a base hypocrite, and like the withering rush, I shall perish when death deprives me of outward joys. But can I honestly assert that when bodily comforts have been few, and my surroundings have been averse to grace than at all helpful to it, I have still held fast to my integrity? then I have hope that there is genuine vital godliness in me. The rush cannot grow without mire, but plants of the Lord’s right-hand planting can and do flourish even in the year of drought. A godly man often grows best when his worldly circumstances decay.
He who follows Christ for his bag is a Judas; they who follow for loaves and fishes are children of the devil; but they who attend him out of love to himself are his own beloved ones. Lord, let me find my life in thee, and not in the mire of this world’s favour or gain.
Evening
THE LORD GUIDES
"And the LORD shall guide thee continually.” — Isa_58:11
HE LEADS
“The Lord shall guide thee.” Not an angel, but JEHOVAH shall guide thee. He said he would not go through the wilderness before his people, an angel should go before them to lead them in the way; but Moses said, “If thy presence goes not with me, carry us not up hence.” Christian, God has not left you in your earthly pilgrimage to an angel’s guidance: he leads the van. You may not see the cloudy, fiery pillar, but Jehovah will never forsake you. Notice the word shall-
SHALLS & WILLS
“The Lord shall guide thee.” How certain this makes it! How sure it is that God will not forsake us! His precious “Shalls” and “wills” are better than men’s oaths. “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Then observe the adverb continually. We are not merely to be guided sometimes, but we are to have a perpetual monitor; not occasionally to be left to our own understanding, and so to wander, but we are continually to hear the guiding voice of the Great Shepherd; and if we follow close at his heels, we shall not err, but be led by a right way to a city to dwell in.
HE DELIVERS
If you have to change your position in life; if you have to emigrate to distant shores; if you should be cast into poverty, or uplifted suddenly into a more responsible position than the one you now occupy; if you are thrown among strangers, or cast among foes, yet tremble not, for “the Lord shall guide thee continually.”
There are no dilemmas out of which you shall not be delivered if you live near to God, and your heart be kept warm with holy love. He goes not amiss who goes in the company of God. Like Enoch, walk with God, and you cannot mistake your road. You have infallible wisdom to direct you, immutable love to comfort you, and eternal power to defend you. “Jehovah”-mark the word-
“Jehovah shall guide thee continually.”
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