Author: obbccambridgeny

March 6

Guardian of the Fatherless
“In Thee the fatherless findeth mercy”   (Hosea 14:3).

This is an excellent reason for casting away all other confidences and relying upon the LORD alone. When a child is left without its natural protector, our God steps in and becomes his guardian: so also when a man has lost every object of dependence, he may cast himself upon the living God and find in Him all that he needs. Orphans are cast upon the fatherhood of God, and He provides for them. The writer of these pages knows what it is to hang on the bare arm of God, and he bears his willing witness that no trust is so well warranted by facts, or so sure to be rewarded by results, as trust in the invisible but ever-living God.

Some children who have fathers are not much the better off because of them, but the fatherless with God are rich. Better have God and no other friend than all the patrons on the earth and no God. To be bereaved of the creature is painful, but so long as the LORD remains the fountain of mercy to us, we are not truly orphaned. Let fatherless children plead the gracious word for this morning, and let all who have been bereaved of visible support do the same, LORD, let me find mercy in Thee! The more needy and helpless I am, the more confidently do I appeal to Thy loving heart.

March 5

Home Blessings
“He blesseth the habitation of the just”   (Proverbs 3:33).

He fears the LORD, and therefore he comes under the divine protection even as to the roof which covers himself and his family. His home is an abode of love, a school of holy training, and a place of heavenly light. In it there is a family attar where the name of the LORD is daily had in reverence. Therefore the LORD blesses his habitation. It may be a humble cottage or a lordly mansion; but the LORD’s blessing comes because of the character of the inhabitant and not because of the size of the dwelling.

That house is most blest in which the master and mistress are Godfearing people; but a son or daughter or even a servant may bring a blessing on a whole household. The LORD often preserves, prospers, and provides for a family for the sake of one or two in it, who are “just” persons in His esteem, because His grace has made them so. Beloved, let us have Jesus for our constant guest even as the sisters of Bethany had, and then we shall be blessed indeed.

Let us look to it that in all things we are just — in our trade, in our judgment of others, in our treatment of neighbors, and in our own personal character. A just God cannot bless unjust transactions.

C.H. Spurgeon

February 15 – Ever Mindful
“The LORD hath been mindful of us: He will bless us.” – Psalm 115:12
I can set my seal to that first sentence. Can not you? Yes, Jehovah has thought of us,
provided for us, comforted us, delivered us, and guided us. In all the movements of His
providence He has been mindful of us, never overlooking our mean affairs. His mind
has been full of us – that is the other form of the word mindful. This has been the case
all along and without a single break. At special times, however, we have more
distinctly seen this mindfulness, and we would recall them at this hour with
overflowing gratitude. Yes, yes, “the LORD hath been mindful of us.”
The next sentence is a logical inference from the former one. Since God is
unchangeable, He will continue to be mindful of us in the future as He has been in the
past; and His mindfulness is tantamount to blessing us. But we have here not only the
conclusion of reason but the declaration of inspiration; we have it on the Holy Ghost’s
authority – “He will bless us.” This means great things and unsearchable. The very
indistinctness of the promise indicates its infinite reach. He will bless us after His own
divine manner, and that forever and ever, Therefore, let us each say, “Bless the LORD,
O my soul!”

C.H. Spurgeon

February 14 – Mercy to the Undeserving
“He that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.” – Psalm 32:10
O fair reward of trust! My LORD, grant it me to the full! The truster above all men
feels himself to be a sinner; and lo, mercy is prepared for him: he knows himself to
have no deservings, but mercy comes in and keeps house for him on a liberal scale. O
LORD, give me this mercy, even as I trust in Thee!
Observe, my soul, what a bodyguard thou hast! As a prince is compassed about with
soldiery, so art thou compassed about with mercy. Before and behind, and on all sides,
ride these mounted guards of grace. We dwell in the center of the system of mercy, for
we dwell in Christ Jesus.
O my soul, what an atmosphere dost thou breathe! As the air surrounds thee, even so
does the mercy of thy LORD. To the wicked there are many sorrows, but to thee there
are so many mercies that thy sorrows are not worth mentioning. David says, “Be glad
in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous; and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in
heart.” In obedience to this precept my heart shall triumph in God, and I will tell out
my gladness. As Thou hast compassed me with mercy, I will also compass Thine altars,
O my God, with songs of thanksgiving!

C.H. Spurgeon

February 13 – Blessed in the Field
“Blessed shalt thou be in the field.” – Deuteronomy 28:3
So was Isaac blessed when he walked therein at eventide to meditate. How often has
the LORD met us when we have been alone! The hedges and the trees can bear
witness to our joy. We look for such blessedness again.
So was Boaz blessed when he reaped his harvest, and his workmen met him with
benedictions. May the LORD prosper all who drive the plough! Every farmer may urge
this promise with God, if indeed he obeys the voice of the LORD God.
We go to the field to labor as father Adam did; and since the curse fell on the soil
through the sin of Adam the first, it is a great comfort to find a blessing through Adam
the second.
We go to the field for exercise, and we are happy in the belief that the LORD will bless
that exercise and give us health, which we will use to His glory.
We go to the field to study nature, and there is nothing in a knowledge of the visible
creation which may not be sanctified to the highest uses by the divine benediction.
We have at last to go to the field to bury our dead; yea, others will in their turn take us
to God’s acre in the field. But we are blessed, whether weeping at the tomb or sleeping
in it

C.H. Spurgeon

February 12 – God Delights to Give
“And the LORD said unto Abraham, after that Lot was separated from him,
Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward,
and southward, and eastward, and westward, for all the land which thou
seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.” – Genesis 13:14-15
A special blessing for a memorable occasion. Abram had settled a family dispute. He
had said, “Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between thee and me, for we be
brethren”; and hence he received the blessing which belongs to peacemakers. The
LORD and giver of peace delights to manifest His grace to those who seek peace and
pursue it. If we desire closer communion with God, we must keep closer to the ways
of peace.
Abram had behaved very generously to his kinsman, giving him his choice of the land.
If we deny ourselves for peace’s sake, the LORD will more than make it up to us. As
far as the patriarch can see, he can claim, and we may do the like by faith. Abram had
to wait for the actual possession, but the LORD entailed the land upon him and his
posterity. Boundless blessings belong to us by covenant gift. All things are ours. When
we please the LORD, He makes us to look everywhere and see all things our own,
whether things present or things to come, all are ours, and we are Christ’s, and Christ
is God’s.
F

C.H. Spurgeon

February 11 – Are the Children In?
“I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed, and My
blessing upon thine offspring.” – Isaiah 44:3
Our dear children have not the Spirit of God by nature, as we plainly see. We see much
in them which makes us fear as to their future, and this drives us to agonising prayer.
When a son becomes specially perverse, we cry with Abraham, “Oh, that Ishmael
might live before thee!” We would sooner see our daughters Hannahs than empresses.
This verse should greatly encourage us. It follows upon the words, “Fear not, O Jacob,
my servant,” and it may well banish our fears.
The LORD will give His Spirit; will give it plentifully, pouring it out; will give it
effectually, so that it shall be a real and eternal blessing. Under this divine outpouring
our children shall come forward, and “one shall say, I am the LORD’s; and another
shall call himself by the name of Jacob.”
This is one of those promises concerning which the LORD will be inquired of. Should
we not, at set times, in a distinct manner, pray for our offspring? We can not give them
new hearts, but the Holy Spirit can; and He is easily to be entreated of. The great
Father takes pleasure in the prayers of fathers and mothers. Have we any dear ones
outside of the ark? Let us not rest till they are shut in with us by the LORD’s own
hand.

C.H. Spurgeon

February 10 – A Constant Witness
“For thou shalt be His witness unto all men of
what thou hast seen and heard.” – Acts 22:15
Paul was chosen to see and hear the LORD speaking to him out of heaven. This divine
election was a high privilege for himself; but it was not intended to end with him; it
was meant to have an influence upon others, yea, upon all men. It is to Paul that
Europe owes the gospel at this hour.
It is ours in our measure to be witnesses of that which the LORD has revealed to us,
and it is at our peril that we hide the precious revelation. First, we must see and hear,
or we shall have nothing to tell; but when we have done so, we must be eager to bear
our testimony. It must be personal: “Thou shalt be.” It must be for Christ: “Thou shalt
be his witness.” It must be constant and all absorbing; we are to be this above all other
things and to the exclusion of many other matters. Our witness must not be to a select
few who will cheerfully receive us but to “all men” – to all whom we can reach, young
or old, rich or poor, good or bad. We must never be silent like those who are
possessed by a dumb spirit; for the text before us is a command, and a promise, and we
must not miss it – “Thou shalt be his witness.” “Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD.”

C.H. Spurgeon

February 9 – The Dross Purged
“And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as
silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried; they shall call on My
Name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is My people: and they shall say,
The LORD is my God.” – Zechariah 13:9
Grace transmutes us into precious metal, and then the fire and the furnace follows as a
necessary consequence. Do we start at this? Would we sooner be accounted worthless,
that we might enjoy repose, like the stones of the field! This would be to choose the
viler part – like Esau, to take the pottage and give up the covenant portion. No,
LORD; we will gladly be cast into the furnace rather than be cast out from Thy
presence!
The fire only refines; it does not destroy. We are to be brought through the fire, not
left in it. The LORD values His people as silver, and therefore He is at pains to purge
away their dross. If we are wise, we shall rather welcome the refining process than
decline it. Our prayer will be that our alloy may be taken from us rather than that we
should be withdrawn from the crucible.
O LORD, Thou triest us indeed! We are ready to melt under the fierceness of the
flame. Still, this is Thy way, and Thy way is the best. Sustain us under the trial and
complete the process of our purifying, and we will be Thine forever and ever.

C.H. Spurgeon

February 8 – Joyful Security
“I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.” – Isaiah 41:10
Fear of falling is wholesome. To be venturesome is no sign of wisdom. Times come to
us when we feel that we must go down unless we have a very special support. Here we
have it. God’s right hand is a grand thing to lean upon. Mind, it is not only His hand,
though it keepeth heaven and earth in their places, but His right hand: His power
united with skill, His power where it is most dexterous. Nay, this is not all; it is written,
“I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” That hand which He uses
to maintain His holiness and to execute His royal sentences – this shall be stretched out
to hold up His trusting ones. Fearful is our danger, but joyful is our security. The man
whom God upholds, devils can not throw down.
Weak may be our feet, but almighty is God’s right hand. Rough may be the road, but
Omnipotence is our upholding. We may boldly go forward. We shall not fall. Let us
lean continually where all things lean. God will not withdraw His strength, for His
righteousness is there as well. He will be faithful to His promise, and faithful to His
Son, and therefore faithful to us. How happy we ought to be! Are we not so?