on the shoulders of giants…
running the race with the help of a few good menRemembering God’s Faithfulness
You called in trouble, and I delivered you.
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. ~Selah
Psalm 81: 7a, c
When I have been tempted to despair, the Holy Spirit has often been gracious to remind me of the numerous times God has delivered me from seemingly impossible difficulties. What hope and comfort that remembrance ignites in my heart. When I harbor a forgetful heart and a fretting spirit, hope is quenched and comfort slips through my grasp. Spurgeon tells us, God heard His people’s cries in Egypt…God does not forsake us in our need…[w]hen our hearts wander from God, our [previously] answered prayers cry, “Shame on us”…[t]oo often, our unbelief returns to us the wretched yield of mistrust, murmuring, and rebellion. Great is our sin. But greater is the mercy of our God. Let us reflect on both and pause [Selah] awhile.
Prayer
Abba, Father, grant that I might remember Your faithfulness to answer the cries of Your people, even my own cries, for deliverance, O most merciful King. The trials that afflict me now are certainly no greater than those You have delivered me from in the past, and most assuredly, no trial is as great as my former heart of stone and bondage to sin. You are always gracious; let me rest in Your care. Through Christ, my Maker, Redeemer, and Friend. Amen.
a cup of wrath
Psalm 75:8, 10b
For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup,
And the wine is red;
It is fully mixed,
And He pours it out;
Surely its dregs shall all the wicked
of the earth drain
and drink down.
But the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
Spurgeon, once again, amplifies the text in such a way that I cannot help but me moved with horror at the portion that will be the wicked’s inheritence throughout eternity, “Ten thousand woes are burning in the depths of that fiery cup…the wicked cannot refuse the terrible draught, for God himself pours it out for them and into them. Vain are their cries and entreaties…They must drink on and on for ever, even to the bottom where lie the lees of deep damnation; these they must suck up, and still must they drain the cup. Oh the anguish and the heart break of the day of wrath! Mark well, it is for all the wicked; all hell for all the ungodly; the dregs for the dregs; bitters for the bitter; wrath for the heirs of wrath. Righteousness is conspicuous, but over all terror spreads a tenfold night, cheerless, without a star. Oh happy they who drink the cup of godly sorrow, and the cup of salvation: these, though now despised, will then be envied by the very men who trod them under foot.”
Prayer
Oh most merciful and gracious Father, all humility and reverence are due Your Name, that You would redeem one such as me from the horrors of even sampling the cup that You have prepared for the wicked. All honor and glory are due to the Son, who drank this cup of poison in my stead. All praise and thanksgiving are due to the Spirit who sealed to me the righteousness of the Son that I might be exalted with Him forever. Father, keep always in my thoughts the act of love and mercy that is the spreading of your gospel, and may I never cease to give thanks that Your gospel was (and daily is) proclaimed to me. Through my Lord, my Saviour, and my Friend, Jesus Christ. Amen.
up from the depths
Psalm 71:19-21
…Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You? You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, shall revive me again, and bring me up again from the depths of the earth. You shall increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.
While reading Spurgeon’s thoughts on verse 20, “He has shown me many heavy and severe trials, and He will also show me many precious mercies…” I was struck by the thought that the very troubles that God has ordained for me, though most heavy, and most severe, are often themselves the precious mercies, or revival, that the psalmist anticipates.
Prayer
Most wise and gracious Father, I thank You that “all things work together for good” when they are ordained by a loving and merciful God. When severe trials threaten to capsize my faith, I pray that Your Holy Spirit would remind me that You, far above the love and wisdom of earthly fathers, love me and wisely ordain my circumstances that I might even more depend upon You. Let me not forget, gracious Lord, that though I may not see Your good purpose behind a setback, obstacle, or seeming disaster, the Scriptures declare that Your plans are for my “welfare and not for calamity” and to give me “a future and a hope.” Through Christ, my Saviour, I pray. Amen.
faith confirmed ~ hearts established
Psalm 68:9
You, O God, sent a plentiful rain,
Whereby You confirmed Your inheritance
When it was weary.
I found myself asking a dear sister for encouragement when my faith was suddenly tested by the realization that we face an economic crisis in this country that will most likely greatly impact my ability to provide for my two daughters. With a recounting of the miracles that sustained Israel in their desert wanderings, she reminded me that God provides for His own. For some reason I had momentarily forgotten that He does, indeed, and imagined that it was up to me to perform what only our Creator and Sustainer can do. Then, as an echo to her lovingly-crafted answer I discovered to my edification and comfort that David also reminds God’s people in this Psalm that it is God who provides the rain that refreshes the weary. How eloquently Spurgeon elaborates on this truth:
Such rain as never fell before dropped bread from heaven on the desert sand, and quails [sic] came up all around [Israel's] camp. Good gifts were poured on them; rivers leaped from the rocks. The earth shook with fear, and in reply, the Lord…shook blessings on it…On the end of each stage [of their desert wanderings], when [Israel] halted, weary with the march, they found showers of good things [so] that they were readily refreshed. Their feet did not swell all those forty years.
When they were exhausted,
God was not.
When they were weary,
God was not.
They were His chosen heritage, and for their good He allowed them to be weary. Yet He watchfully tended them and tenderly considered their distress. In like manner, to this day, the elect of God in this wilderness state are apt to become tired and faint, but their ever-loving Jehovah comes with timely comfort. He cheers the faint, strengthens the weak, and refreshes the hungry. Once again…the church militant will advance with bold and firm steps toward its rest. By this faithfulness, the faith of God’s people is confirmed and their hearts established. If fatigue and lack make them waver, the timely supply of grace supports them again on the eternal foundation.
Prayer
Jehovah-Jireh, You are the only Source of life and all things pertaining to it. Forgive me for setting up idols (my own abilities) and looking to them to provide. You have shown through the ages Your faithfulness to Your people. Jesus reminds me that I am more valuable than sparrows and lilies; let me not look into the future with fear but with faith. Let not the wicked say that You have failed to satisfy the needs of Your own. Glorify Your Name, and the Name of Your Son, in which I pray. Amen.
God provides
You visit the earth and water it,
You greatly enrich it;
The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.
Psalm 65:9
I had never really considered the miracle of grain before, though I consume it frequently. A farmer prepares the ground and plants a tiny seed. What life-giving power, though, does the farmer posses? Without the Providence of God and His constant care for His creatures the planting of the seed would bring no increase. Spurgeon tells us, [a]s surely as the manna was prepared by God for the tribes (Ex. 16:15), so is grain made and sent by God for our daily use. What difference does it make whether we gather wheat or manna? What difference does it make if the first grows up and second falls down? God is as much present beneath as above. It is as great a wonder that food should rise out of the dust as that it should fall from the skies.
Prayer
Jehovah-Jireh (God, our Provider), Your good and perfect gifts sustain my body and my spirit. Grant that I might always look to You, and You alone, for the food that strengthens my body and the nourishment that establishes my spirit. Without Your Grace, both would perish. None of my efforts to provide sustenance for the body and enrichment for my spirit will succeed unless You provide the increase. I thank You that You have never failed to do so, and know that You have promised to provide all that I need for the future. All I have is of Grace. Grace. Grace! Through Christ, my Saviour. Amen.
severe righteousness
Psalm 65:5-8a
By awesome deeds in righteousness
You will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the confidence of all the
ends of the earth,
And of the far-off seas;
Who established the mountains
by His strength,
Being clothed with power;
You who still the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves
And the tumult of the peoples.
They also who dwell in the farthest parts
are afraid of Your signs…
Charles Spurgeon comments on the text of the preceeding verses regarding the awesome (in the sense of terrible and awe-inspiring) deeds of the God of our salvation: His judgments, in their severe righteousness, are calculated to excite fear in friends and foes. Who would not fear a God whose blows are so crushing? We do not always know what we are asking for when we pray. When the answer comes…it is possible that we may be terrified by it. Yes, we may tremble at the answer, but it is His answer. Knowing that He is our Abba, Father, and Friend…good and perfect beyond our understanding…we can extend our trembling hands to receive the answer He imparts in His Wisdom.
Spurgeon then provides us some sobering examples of God’s severe righteousness in His answers to our petitions:
We seek SANCTIFICATION,
and TRIAL is the reply.
We ask for MORE FAITH,
and MORE AFFLICTION is the result.
We pray for the SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL,
and PERSECUTION scatters us.
Nevertheless, it is good to keep asking,
for nothing the Lord grants in His love
can do us any harm.
TERRIBLE things
will turn to
BLESSED THINGS
when they come in answer to prayer.
Prayer
O Father, You are my Protector and my Afflictor, my Friend and never my enemy. May it please You to bestow upon me the grace needed to sustain me through my trials. When You bring affliction grant that it would increase my faith and dependence on You. I ask these things through my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God (Psalm 62:7)
Spurgeon asks us to “[o]bserve how the psalmist brands his own initials upon every name which he rejoicingly gives to his God—my expectation, my rock, my salvation, my glory, my strength, my refuge; he is not content to know that the Lord is all these things; he acts [in] faith towards him, and lays claim to him under every character.” If we acknowledge that God is all these things yet do not hide behind the rock, lay claim to the strength, nor seek shelter in Him as our refuge, we expose ourselves to the trials and temptations of this world unnecessarily.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, You alone are my salvation. Let me not forget this when the trials and temptations of this world assail me; send me running headlong into Your protective and loving arms. When I put my confidence in the creature, rather than You, the Creator of all things, show me my folly. Through Christ I pray. Amen.
our All-Supplying Fountain
Prayer is designed by God to display His fullness and our need. Prayer glorifies God because it puts us in the position of the thirsty and God in the position of the All-Supplying Fountain [some divinity capitalizations are blog author's]. From What Jesus Demands from the World, John Piper
Reflecting on the above quote, and the following from W.S. Bowden, “Prayer is weakness leaning on omnipotence,” I am no longer ashamed to bring a long list of requests to my Heavenly Father, as is often the case with my prayers. I am His child and He instructs me to come to Him when I am in need and to pray for the needs of others as well. I continue to glorify Him when I trust His wisdom in answering my petitions. We see that earthly fathers, if they are godly and loving, are glad that their children come to them for help when they are in need. It is a disappointment to those same fathers, when they are ready and able to give help, if their children turn to others for succor and aid. Should we cause our heavenly Father grief by turning to man when He is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20)?
quot libros, quam breve tempus…
…which is to say, “so many books, so little time.”
I found the following quote afixed to a bulletin board at a local Bible college. I located the source on the internet, Sermon #542, preached by Charles H. Spurgeon on 29 November, 1863. He [the Apostle Paul] is inspired, and yet he wants books! He has been preaching at least for thirty years, and yet he wants books! He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books! He had had a wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books! He had been caught up into the third heaven, and had heard things which it was unlawful for a men to utter, yet he wants books! He had written the major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books! The apostle says to Timothy and so he says to every preacher, “Give thyself unto reading.” The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains, proves that he has no brains of his own. Brethren, what is true of ministers is true of all our people. You need to read. Renounce as much as you will all light literature, but study as much as possible sound theological works, especially the Puritanic writers, and expositions of the Bible. We are quite persuaded that the very best way for you to be spending your leisure, is to be either reading or praying. You may get much instruction from books which afterwards you may use as a true weapon in your Lord and Master’s service. Paul cries, “Bring the books”—join in the cry.
The following quote from 12th century theologian John of Salisbury illustrates the benefit we derive from exploring the wisdom of our fathers preserved by the written word: We are like dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are more distant, than they did, not because our sight is superior or because we are taller than they, but because they raise us up, and by their great stature add to ours.
Providentially, my evening devotion from Spurgeon provided this caveat to acquiring knowledge, which he applied to his own writing: We are very concerned that our little book of “Evening Readings” should not be fruitless, and therefore we pray that readers may not be readers only, but doers, of the word. The practice of truth is the most profitable reading of it. Should the reader be impressed with any duty while perusing these pages, let him hasten to fulfil it before the holy glow has departed from his soul…Do not give place to the devil by delay!
Prayer
Father, how gracious You have been to not only give us the inspired Scriptures for our instruction but also the thoughts and wisdom of those who have been called by Your Name. May we glean from our readings much knowledge, searching the Scriptures always to verify its truth, and led by Your Spirit, may we practice what we have learned. Let us not become puffed up with knowledge but rather, be humbled by it. May all that we say and do be pleasing to You, this day, and every day. O God, grant this for Jesus’ sake, for it is in His Name that we pray. Amen.
fear with faith
Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You…In God I have put my trust; I will not fear… (Psalm 56:3,4)
In Spurgeon’s commentary (Treasury of David) on these verses, he tells us that the psalmist, David, does not claim that he was never afraid. Spurgeon describes David as intelligent, [seeing] his imminent peril and tells us that David was afraid. Spurgeon then turns his thoughts towards us (including himself) and correctly identifies our condition: We are human, and therefore we are liable to be overthrown. We are feeble, and therefore we are unable to prevent it. We are sinful, and therefore we deserve it. And for all these reasons, we are afraid.
Spurgeon identifies a perplexing condition that most everyone has experienced, if they are being honest, at one time or another. He states that David feared, but that fear did not fill all of his mind, for [David] adds, “I will trust in You.” It is possible for fear and faith to occumpy the mind simultaneously…We are often in twilight, where light and darkness are both present, and it is hard to tell which predominates. It is a blessed fear which drives us to trust. Unregenerate fear drives from God; gracious fear [God-given fear sent as a warning] drives us to Him…to rely on God during very personally troubling times is the conquering faith of God’s elect [those to whom He gives faith and adopts as His own]. Spurgeon concludes his commentary on these verses with an exhortation to those of us who find ourselves fearful. Whether the fear arises from without or within, from past, present, or future, from earth or heaven, from men or devils, if we maintain faith we will soon recover courage.
Prayer
El-Elyon (the Lord Most High), far above all earthly and heavenly powers I have You as my protector. What can man do to me? As I walk through this world with dangers filled, I will put my trust in You. I pray that where my faith is weak You would strengthen it; when my eyes are fixed on my troubles here, I pray that You would take my face in Your hands and turn it towards You once again. I thank You, Abba Father, that You have shown me in Your word that You are my Shepherd. What comfort there is in knowing that You promise not only to protect me from danger but to lead me in Your paths of righteousness. Grant these blessings to me for Jesus’ sake, for it is in His Name that I pray. Amen.
