Morning, October 26 Go To Evening Reading
“Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? Saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.”
—Haggai 1:9
Churlish souls stint their contributions to the ministry and missionary operations and call such saving good economy; little do they dream that they are thus impoverishing themselves. Their excuse is that they must care for their own families, and they forget that to neglect the house of God is the sure way to bring ruin upon their own homes. Our God has a method in providence by which he can succeed in our endeavors beyond our expectations. He can defeat our plans to our confusion and dismay; by a turn of his hand, he can steer our vessel in a profitable channel or run it aground in poverty and bankruptcy. It is the teaching of Scripture that the Lord enriches the liberal and leaves the miserly to find out that withholding tendeth to poverty. In a vast sphere of observation, I have noticed that the most generous Christians of my acquaintance have always been the happiest and almost invariably the most prosperous. I have seen the liberal giver rise to a wealth of which he never dreamed, and I have as often seen the mean, ungenerous churl descend to poverty by the very parsimony by which he thought to rise. Men trust good stewards with larger and larger sums, and so it frequently is with the Lord; he gives by cartloads to those who pass by bushels. Where wealth is not bestowed, the Lord makes the little much by the contentment of the sanctified heart. Feels in a portion of which the tithe has been dedicated to the Lord. Selfishness looks first at home, but godliness seeks first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, yet in the long run, selfishness is loss, and godliness is significant gain. It needs faith to act towards our God with an open hand, but surely he deserves it of us, and all that we can do is a very poor acknowledgment of our outstanding indebtedness to his goodness.
Go To Morning Reading Evening, October 26
“All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.”
—Ecclesiastes 1:7
Everything sublunary is on the move; time knows nothing of rest. The solid earth is a rolling ball, and the great sun himself a star obediently fulfilling its course around some greater luminary. Tides move the sea, winds stir the airy ocean, friction wears the rock: change and death rule everywhere. The sea is not a miser’s storehouse for a wealth of waters, for as by one force the waters flow into it, they are lifted from it by another. Men are born but to die: everything is hurry, worry, and vexation of spirit. Friend of the unchanging Jesus, what a joy it is to reflect upon thy changeless heritage; thy sea of bliss which will be forever full, since God himself shall pour eternal rivers of pleasure into it. We seek an abiding city beyond the skies, and we shall not be disappointed. The passage before us may well teach us gratitude. Father Ocean is a great receiver, but he is a generous distributor. What the rivers bring him, he returns to the earth in the form of clouds and rain. That man is out of joint with the universe who takes all but makes no return. To give to others is but sowing seed for ourselves. He who is so good a steward as to be willing to use his substance for his Lord shall be entrusted with more. Friend of Jesus, art thou rendering to him according to the benefit received? Much has been given thee; what is thy fruit? Hast thou done all? Canst thou does not do more? To be selfish is to be wicked. Suppose the ocean gave up none of its watery treasure; it would bring ruin upon our race. God forbid that any of us should follow the ungenerous and destructive policy of living unto ourselves. Jesus pleased, not himself. All fulness dwells in him, but of his fulness have all we received. O for Jesus’ spirit, that henceforth we may live not unto ourselves!
Spurgeon, C. H. Morning and Evening: Daily Readings. London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896. Print.
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