by Charles Spurgeon
"With You is the fountain of life." Psalm 36:9
There are times in our spiritual experience, when human counsel or sympathy, or religious ordinances, fail to comfort or help us. Why does our gracious God permit this? Perhaps it is because we have been living too much without Him—and therefore He takes away every prop upon which we have been in the habit of depending, that He may drive us to Himself! It is a blessed thing to live at the fountain-head. While our water-bottles are full, we are content, like Hagar and Ishmael, to go into the wilderness; but when those are dry—nothing will serve us but our God.
We are like the prodigal, we love the swine-troughs—and forget our Father's house! Remember, we can make swine-troughs and husks—even out of the forms of religion. They are blessed things—but we may put them in God's place, and then they are of no value. Anything becomes an IDOL—when it keeps us away from God! Even the brazen serpent is to be despised as "Nehushtan!" if we worship it instead of God. The prodigal was never safer—than when he was driven to his father's bosom, because he could find sustenance nowhere else.
Our Lord favors us with a famine—that it may make us seek after Himself the more. The best position for a Christian—is living wholly and directly on God's grace—still abiding where he stood at first, "Having nothing, and yet possessing all things." Let us never for a moment think that our acceptance with God—is in our sanctification, our mortification, our graces, or our feelings. But know that because Christ offered a full atonement, therefore we are saved; for we are complete in Him. Having nothing of our own to trust to—but resting solely upon the merits of Jesus—His passion and holy life furnish us with the only sure ground of confidence. Beloved, when we are brought to a thirsting condition—we are sure to turn to the fountain of life with eagerness!
No comments:
Post a Comment