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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
December 21: Morning"Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant." - 2 Samuel 23:5
This covenant is divine in its origin. "He hath made with me an everlasting covenant." Oh that great word He ! Stop, my soul. God, the everlasting Father, has positively made a covenant with thee; yes, that God who spake the world into existence by a word; he, stooping from his majesty, takes hold of thy hand and makes a covenant with thee. Is it not a deed, the stupendous condescension of which might ravish our hearts forever if we could really understand it? "HE hath made with me a covenant." A king has not made a covenant with me--that were somewhat; but the Prince of the kings of the earth, Shaddai, the Lord All-sufficient, the Jehovah of ages, the everlasting Elohim, "He hath made with me an everlasting covenant." But notice, it is particular in its application. "Yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant." Here lies the sweetness of it to each believer. It is nought for me that he made peace for the world; I want to know whether he made peace for me! It is little that he hath made a covenant, I want to know whether he has made a covenant with me. Blessed is the assurance that he hath made a covenant with me! If God the Holy Ghost gives me assurance of this, then his salvation is mine, his heart is mine, he himself is mine--he is my God.
This covenant is everlasting in its duration. An everlasting covenant means a covenant which had no beginning, and which shall never, never end. How sweet amidst all the uncertainties of life, to know that "the foundation of the Lord standeth sure," and to have God's own promise, "My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." Like dying David, I will sing of this, even though my house be not so with God as my heart desireth.
Evening
"I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk." - Ezekiel 16:10
See with what matchless generosity the Lord provides for his people's apparel. They are so arrayed that the divine skill is seen producing an unrivalled broidered work, in which every attribute takes its part and every divine beauty is revealed. No art like the art displayed in our salvation, no cunning workmanship like that beheld in the righteousness of the saints. Justification has engrossed learned pens in all ages of the church, and will be the theme of admiration in eternity. God has indeed "curiously wrought it." With all this elaboration there is mingled utility and durability, comparable to our being shod with badgers' skins. The animal here meant is unknown, but its skin covered the tabernacle, and formed one of the finest and strongest leathers known. The righteousness which is of God by faith endureth forever, and he who is shod with this divine preparation will tread the desert safely, and may even set his foot upon the lion and the adder. Purity and dignity of our holy vesture are brought out in the fine linen. When the Lord sanctifies his people, they are clad as priests in pure white; not the snow itself excels them; they are in the eyes of men and angels fair to look upon, and even in the Lord's eyes they are without spot. Meanwhile the royal apparel is delicate and rich as silk. No expense is spared, no beauty withheld, no daintiness denied.
What, then? Is there no inference from this? Surely there is gratitude to be felt and joy to be expressed. Come, my heart, refuse not thy evening hallelujah! Tune thy pipes! Touch thy chords!
"Strangely, my soul, art thou arrayed===
By the Great Sacred Three!
In sweetest harmony of praise
Let all thy powers agree."
Bible Readings
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1. The son of Hammoleketh, who was the sister of Machir and daughter of Manasseh. Gideon belonged to this family (Josh. 17:2; Judg. 6:11; 1 Chron. 7:18). Perhaps the same as Jeezer (Num. 26:30).
2. An Anethothite, one of David's thirty-seven chief heroes, who had command of the army during the ninth month (2 Sam. 23:27; 1 Chron. 11:28; 27:12). Also the name of a district (Judg. 6:34)
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Reading 9: An Angel Announces Jesus' Birth
When Zechariah's wife Elizabeth was six months pregnant, her young cousin Mary had a very special visitor. An angel told Mary that she had been chosen to give birth to a special child, the Son of the Most High. Mary was betrothed (engaged) to a man named Joseph, who was from the family line of David.
Luke 1:26-56
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God."
38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"
Mary's Song
46 And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me--
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers."
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
Further Study
JUST THE FACTS
God showed that he can do the impossible--a virgin became pregnant by his Holy Spirit, and God's Son came into the world. Mary's song of praise in Luke 1:46 - 55 tells how wonderful this news is.
POINTS OF INTEREST
1:39 - 40 Mary's home in Nazareth was about 65 miles away from Jerusalem, where her cousin Elizabeth lived. In Bible times, that distance would have taken several days to travel. It was common for relatives to visit and stay for months at a time, like Mary did.
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Each Tuesday in Advent, we look at the story behind a beloved Christmas song.
The Christmas truce on Flanders Field in Belgium is a timeless testimony to the power of the birth of Christ. On the western front of World War I, a brief, unofficial cessation of hostilities occurred between British and German forces. It began on Christmas Eve 1914, when German soldiers in their trenches began singing "Silent Night." The British stopped firing and began singing English carols. Soon the troops were greeting each other across no-man's-land and exchanging small gifts. According to the written account of an unknown British soldier, the next morning, December 25, 1914, was foggy and very cold. Neither side began firing; the truce held. Some British troops went over to the German side to help bury a slain soldier and then returned for a Christmas worship service. "How we did sing, 'O Come, All Ye Faithful,'" he wrote his family. "I never expected to shake hands with Germans between the firing lines on Christmas Day, and I don't suppose you thought of us doing so. So after a fashion we've enjoyed our Christmas." The next day the war resumed.
Today's reading is from Near to the Heart of God by Robert J. Morgan.
Abiezer
[Ābĭē'zûr] - father of help or in help.1. The son of Hammoleketh, who was the sister of Machir and daughter of Manasseh. Gideon belonged to this family (Josh. 17:2; Judg. 6:11; 1 Chron. 7:18). Perhaps the same as Jeezer (Num. 26:30).
2. An Anethothite, one of David's thirty-seven chief heroes, who had command of the army during the ninth month (2 Sam. 23:27; 1 Chron. 11:28; 27:12). Also the name of a district (Judg. 6:34)
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Reading 9: An Angel Announces Jesus' Birth
When Zechariah's wife Elizabeth was six months pregnant, her young cousin Mary had a very special visitor. An angel told Mary that she had been chosen to give birth to a special child, the Son of the Most High. Mary was betrothed (engaged) to a man named Joseph, who was from the family line of David.
Luke 1:26-56
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God."
38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"
Mary's Song
46 And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me--
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers."
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
Further Study
JUST THE FACTS
- What was the name of the angel who visited Mary? (v. 26)
- What was the name Mary was to give her child? (v. 31)
- What was Mary's final answer to the angel? (v. 38)
- Why did Mary believe this very unusual announcement? Why did Mary visit Elizabeth?
- What was Mary like? Why do you think God chose her to be Jesus' mother?
God showed that he can do the impossible--a virgin became pregnant by his Holy Spirit, and God's Son came into the world. Mary's song of praise in Luke 1:46 - 55 tells how wonderful this news is.
POINTS OF INTEREST
1:39 - 40 Mary's home in Nazareth was about 65 miles away from Jerusalem, where her cousin Elizabeth lived. In Bible times, that distance would have taken several days to travel. It was common for relatives to visit and stay for months at a time, like Mary did.
===
Each Tuesday in Advent, we look at the story behind a beloved Christmas song.
O Come, All Ye Faithful
The Christmas truce on Flanders Field in Belgium is a timeless testimony to the power of the birth of Christ. On the western front of World War I, a brief, unofficial cessation of hostilities occurred between British and German forces. It began on Christmas Eve 1914, when German soldiers in their trenches began singing "Silent Night." The British stopped firing and began singing English carols. Soon the troops were greeting each other across no-man's-land and exchanging small gifts. According to the written account of an unknown British soldier, the next morning, December 25, 1914, was foggy and very cold. Neither side began firing; the truce held. Some British troops went over to the German side to help bury a slain soldier and then returned for a Christmas worship service. "How we did sing, 'O Come, All Ye Faithful,'" he wrote his family. "I never expected to shake hands with Germans between the firing lines on Christmas Day, and I don't suppose you thought of us doing so. So after a fashion we've enjoyed our Christmas." The next day the war resumed.
O come, all ye faithful,"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." -- Luke 2:11
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, o come ye,
to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
born the king of angels;
Sing, choirs of angels,
sing in exultation;
O sing, all ye citizens of heaven
above!
Glory to God,
all glory in the highest;
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee,
born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be
all glory given;
Word of the Father,
now in flesh appearing.
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
Today's reading is from Near to the Heart of God by Robert J. Morgan.
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