Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Devotions
For the morning of September 21stby Charles H. Spurgeon
"I will rejoice over them to do them good."
--Jeremiah 32:41
How heart-cheering to the believer is the delight which God
has in His saints! We cannot see any reason in ourselves why the
Lord should take pleasure in us; we cannot take delight in
ourselves, for we often have to groan, being burdened; conscious
of our sinfulness, and deploring our unfaithfulness; and we fear
that God's people cannot take much delight in us, for they must
perceive so much of our imperfections and our follies, that they
may rather lament our infirmities than admire our graces. But we
love to dwell upon this transcendent truth, this glorious
mystery: that as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so
does the Lord rejoice over us. We do not read anywhere that God
delighteth in the cloud-capped mountains, or the sparkling
stars, but we do read that He delighteth in the habitable parts
of the earth, and that His delights are with the sons of men. We
do not find it written that even angels give His soul delight;
nor doth He say, concerning cherubim and seraphim, "Thou shalt
be called Hephzibah, for the Lord delighteth in thee"; but He
does say all that to poor fallen creatures like ourselves,
debased and depraved by sin, but saved, exalted, and glorified
by His grace. In what strong language He expresses His delight
in His people! Who could have conceived of the eternal One as
bursting forth into a song? Yet it is written, "He will rejoice
over thee with joy, He will rest in His love, He will joy over
thee with singing." As He looked upon the world He had made, He
said, "It is very good"; but when He beheld those who are the
purchase of Jesus' blood, His own chosen ones, it seemed as if
the great heart of the Infinite could restrain itself no longer,
but overflowed in divine exclamations of joy. Should not we
utter our grateful response to such a marvellous declaration of
His love, and sing, "I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in
the God of my salvation?"
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