He Knew What It Was To Thirst

How great the love which led him to such a condescension as this! Do not let us forget the infinite distance between the Lord of glory on his throne and the Crucified dried up with thirst. A river of the water of life, pure as crystal, proceedeth today out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, and yet once he condescended to say, “I thirst.” He is Lord of fountains and all deeps, but not a cup of cold water was placed to his lips. Oh, if he had at any time said, “I thirst,” before his angelic guards, they would surely have emulated the courage of the men of David when they cut their way to the well of Bethlehem that was within the gate, and drew water in jeopardy of their lives.

Who among us would not willingly pour out his soul unto death if he might but give refreshment to the Lord? And yet he placed himself for our sakes into a position of shame and suffering where none would wait upon him, but when he cried, “I thirst,” they gave him vinegar to drink. Glorious stoop of our exalted Head! O Lord Jesus, we love thee and we worship thee!

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "The Shortest Of The Seven Cries," delivered April 14, 1878. Image by Nicholas A. Tonelli on Flickr under Creative Commons License, without alteration.

Out Of Gratitude

The man who has had much forgiven will be sure to love much in return. Gratitude to God is a grand mainspring for holy action. Those who do right in order to be rewarded for it are acting selfishly. Selfishness is at the bottom of their character, they abstain from sin only lest self should suffer, and they obey only that self may be safe and happy. The man who does right, not because of heaven or hell, but because God has saved him, and he loves the God who saved him, is the truly rightloving man. He who loves right because God loves it has risen out of the bog of selfishness and is capable of the loftiest virtue, yea, he has in him a living spring, which will well up and flow forth in holy living so long as he exists.

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "For Whom Is The Gospel Meant?," delivered March 25, 1877. Image by Andrew Morrell on Flickr under Creative Commons License.

Humble Gratitude

Have I this morning the spirit of humble gratitude?  How do I feel? Do I take God’s mercy as a matter of course, and view my own gifts without thankfulness? Then I act like the brutes that perish, but let me pray this morning that humble, lowly gratitude may daily rule my spirit. Such gratitude will make you cheerful, it will make you earnest, it will in fact be an atmosphere in which all Christian graces will grow by the blessing of God’s Spirit.

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "Pride Catechized And Condemned," delivered January 2, 1876. Image by Zack Sheppard on Flickr under Creative Commons License.

By grace, from first to last

If salvation were by works, and we could fight our own way to heaven by our own merits, I for one, when I got up there, would throw up my cap and say, “Well done! I have deserved something, and I have got it;” but since salvation is by grace from first to last, and not of man, neither by man, nor of the will of the flesh, nor by blood or birth — since the Lord begins and carries on and ends — let us give him all the glory. And if ever he gives us, as he will give us, a crown of life that fadeth not away, we will go and cast it at his feet, and say, “Not unto us, not unto us; but unto thy name be praise for ever and ever.”

Let us live in this spirit, dear friends. The man who believes in the doctrines of grace, and yet thinks much of himself, is highly inconsistent. A man who believes salvation to be all of grace, and yet does not glorify God continually, acts contrary to his own convictions. “Oh, magnify the Lord with me: let us exalt his name together.” He took us up out of the horrible pit, and out of the miry clay; and he set our feet upon a rock and established our goings. He put a new song into our mouths, even praise for evermore. Praise be unto him, for he hath done it, and he shall be extolled.

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "The New Fashion." Image by Linda Cronin on Flickr under Creative Commons License.

Favor every moment

Dear friends, a Christian has infinite cause for gratitude. When I first looked to Christ and was lightened, I thought that if I never received another mercy except that one of being delivered from my load of guilt, I would praise God, if he would but let me, for ever and ever. To have the feet taken out of the miry clay, and to feel them set on the rock of ages, is a subject for eternal gratitude. But you have not received one spiritual mercy only, beloved brother, nor two, nor twenty; you have had them strewn along your path in richest profusion; the stars above are not more numerous, nor the sands beneath more innumerable. Every hour, yea, every moment has brought a favor upon its wings.

Look downward and give thanks, for you are saved from hell; look on the right hand and give thanks, for you are enriched with gracious gifts; look on the left hand and give thanks, for you are shielded from deadly ills; look above you and give thanks, for heaven awaits you.

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "Always And For All Things," delivered February 2, 1873. Image by nosha on Flickr under Creative Commons License.

Let us remember to be thankful

No crime among men is accounted more base than ingratitude, but few sins we less bewail before God. Bunyan has well said, that he who forgets his friend is ungrateful to him, but he that forgets his Savior is unmerciful to himself. And I remember some other author who says, that we are never surprised at the sunrise of our joys, as we always are at their sunset; on the contrary, when storms of sorrow burst upon us we are sore amazed, but when they pass away we take it as a matter of course. You all know how sad a blemish it was upon the character of Hezekiah that he rendered not again unto the Lord according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up. The provocation of a thankless heart to a merciful God is no light matter.

From a sermon entitled "A Troubled Prayer," delivered. Image by Reinante El Pintor de Fuego under Creative Commons License.

Seeking and seeing the goodness of God

“Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.” — Psalm 65:11.

You also who are his people, I know that sometimes your souls grow faint. Weary with the wilderness, worn with its cares, torn with its briars, you come up to the house of God, and oh, if you come there to see your Master, and not merely to join in the routine of service; if you come there seeking after him, and panting for him as the hart panteth for the water brooks, you will find that the commonest services — poor though be the minister, and plain the place, and simple the people; though the music may have but little charm for the ear of taste, and the words of the speaker may have none of the trappings of oratory, yet sweet to you shall be the worship of God’s house, and you shall find that “his paths drop fatness.”

From a sermon entitled "Thanksgiving And Prayer," delivered September 27, 1863. Flickr photo by Louise Docker; some rights reserved.

Come before His presence with thanksgiving

“Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving.” Psalm 95:2a

Everywhere God is present, but there is a peculiar presence of grace and glory into which men should never come without the profoundest reverence. We may make bold to come before the immediate presence of the Lord - for the voice of the Holy Ghost in this Psalm invites us, and when we do draw near to him we should remember his great goodness to us and cheerfully confess it. Our worship should have reference to the past as well as to the future; if we do not bless the Lord for what we have already received, how can we reasonably look for more? We are permitted to bring our petitions, and therefore we are in honour bound to bring our thanksgivings.

Happy Thanksgiving to our readers in the US!

From the Treasury of David, exposition of Psalm 95.

Flickr photo by zehhhra; some rights reserved.