MORNING THOUGHTS, or
DAILY WALKING WITH GOD
By Octavius Winslow
July 2.
"We know that all things work together for good." Romans 8:28
Safely may the apostle rest his appeal with us. We know it, because God has said it. We know it, because others have testified to it. Best of all, we know it, because we have experienced it ourselves. We can set our seal to the truth, that all things under the government of an infinitely great, all-wise, righteous, and beneficent Lord God, both in the world and in the Church, and in the history of each member of the Church, work together for good. What that good may be, the shape it may assume, the complexion it may wear, the end to which it may be subservient, we cannot tell. To our dim view it may appear an evil, but to God's far-seeing eye it is a positive good. His glory is secured by it, and that end accomplished, we are sure it must be good. Oh truth most divine! Oh words most consolatory! How many whose eye traces this page, it may be whose tears bedew it, whose sighs breathe over it, whose prayers hallow it, may be wading in deep waters, may be drinking bitter cups, and are ready to exclaim–"All these things are against me"! Oh no, beloved of God, all these things are for you! "The Lord sits upon the flood." "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters." "He makes the clouds His chariot." Be not then afraid. Calmly stay your faith on this divinely assured truth, that "all things work together for good to those who love God." Will it not be a good, if your present adversity results in the dethronement of some worshiped idol–in the endearing of Christ to your soul–in the closer conformity of your mind to God's image–in the purification of your heart–in your more thorough fitness for heaven? Will it not be a real good if it terminates in a revival of God's work within you–in stirring you up to more prayer–in enlarging your heart to all who love the same Savior–in stimulating you to increased activity for the conversion of sinners, for the diffusion of the truth, and for the glory of God? Oh yes! good, real good, permanent good must result from all the Divine dispensations in your history. Bitter repentance shall end in the experienced sweetness of Christ's love. The festering wound shall but elicit the healing balm. The overpowering burden shall but bring you to the tranquil rest. The storm shall but quicken your footsteps to the hiding-place. The north wind and the south wind shall breathe together over your garden, and the spices shall flow out. In a little while–oh, how soon!–you shall pass away from earth to heaven, and in its clearer, serener light shall read the truth,
"Often read with tears before,"
"All things work together for good to those who love God."
DAILY WALKING WITH GOD
By Octavius Winslow
July 2.
"We know that all things work together for good." Romans 8:28
Safely may the apostle rest his appeal with us. We know it, because God has said it. We know it, because others have testified to it. Best of all, we know it, because we have experienced it ourselves. We can set our seal to the truth, that all things under the government of an infinitely great, all-wise, righteous, and beneficent Lord God, both in the world and in the Church, and in the history of each member of the Church, work together for good. What that good may be, the shape it may assume, the complexion it may wear, the end to which it may be subservient, we cannot tell. To our dim view it may appear an evil, but to God's far-seeing eye it is a positive good. His glory is secured by it, and that end accomplished, we are sure it must be good. Oh truth most divine! Oh words most consolatory! How many whose eye traces this page, it may be whose tears bedew it, whose sighs breathe over it, whose prayers hallow it, may be wading in deep waters, may be drinking bitter cups, and are ready to exclaim–"All these things are against me"! Oh no, beloved of God, all these things are for you! "The Lord sits upon the flood." "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters." "He makes the clouds His chariot." Be not then afraid. Calmly stay your faith on this divinely assured truth, that "all things work together for good to those who love God." Will it not be a good, if your present adversity results in the dethronement of some worshiped idol–in the endearing of Christ to your soul–in the closer conformity of your mind to God's image–in the purification of your heart–in your more thorough fitness for heaven? Will it not be a real good if it terminates in a revival of God's work within you–in stirring you up to more prayer–in enlarging your heart to all who love the same Savior–in stimulating you to increased activity for the conversion of sinners, for the diffusion of the truth, and for the glory of God? Oh yes! good, real good, permanent good must result from all the Divine dispensations in your history. Bitter repentance shall end in the experienced sweetness of Christ's love. The festering wound shall but elicit the healing balm. The overpowering burden shall but bring you to the tranquil rest. The storm shall but quicken your footsteps to the hiding-place. The north wind and the south wind shall breathe together over your garden, and the spices shall flow out. In a little while–oh, how soon!–you shall pass away from earth to heaven, and in its clearer, serener light shall read the truth,
"Often read with tears before,"
"All things work together for good to those who love God."
Charles Spurgeon, Evening, July 2
“Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if
thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.”
Psalm 28:1
A cry is the natural expression of sorrow, and a suitable utterance
when all other modes of appeal fail us; but the cry must be alone
directed to the Lord, for to cry to man is to waste our entreaties
upon the air. When we consider the readiness of the Lord to hear,
and his ability to aid, we shall see good reason for directing all
our appeals at once to the God of our salvation. It will be in vain
to call to the rocks in the day of judgment, but our Rock attends
to our cries.
“Be not silent to me.” Mere formalists may be content without answers to their prayers,
but genuine suppliants cannot; they are not satisfied with the results
of prayer itself in calming the mind and subduing the will—they must go further, and obtain actual replies from heaven, or
they
cannot rest; and those replies they long to receive at once, they
dread even a little of God’s silence. God’s voice is often so terrible that it shakes the wilderness; but his
silence is equally full of awe to an eager suppliant. When God seems
to close his ear, we must not therefore close our mouths, but rather
cry with more earnestness; for when our note grows shrill with eagerness
and grief, he will not long deny us a hearing. What a dreadful case
should we be in if the Lord should become forever silent to our prayers?
“Lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.” Deprived of the God who answers prayer, we should be in a more pitiable
plight than the dead in the grave, and should soon sink to the same
level as the lost in hell. We must have answers to prayer: ours is an urgent case of dire necessity;
surely the Lord will speak peace to our agitated minds, for he never
can find it in his heart to permit his own elect to perish.
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