DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)
As we see the leaves falling from the trees, we say “All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind” (Isaiah 64:6). As the wind strips the leaves from the trees and leaves them bare, so we stand before you this morning. We have not by nature one green shoot, or anything like fruit: we are unprofitable altogether, and only fit to be “cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:10), for what fruit we have borne, if it has been the fruit of our nature, has been more the fruit of thorns and thistles, than of figs and grapes.
Lord God, we are amazed that you did ever have any mercy on us at all; for in justice and judgment, if we were set upon the Throne, we could do no other than condemn ourselves, for there is no plea against your justice that can be found within our lives or nature. Yet, Lord, we thank you that you have saved many of us, and we would this morning exult in that salvation, and pray that all the rest here assembled might be saved also!
Amen.
VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)
“All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.” (Isaiah 64:6)
Truly in our own strength, we all do fade as a leaf. We look fair and green in the morning when we rise from our beds, fresh with midnight vows and repentings, but before night we are as faded and withered as the dry sere leaf withered with autumnal blasts. And so we will go on unless the grace of God prevent; but when grace comes he will give up all the sand at once, and begin to build upon the rock, and upon the rock alone.
No touching up of the old house will suffice, down with it, down with it, for the very foundation is rotten. It is not mending your clothes; it is throwing them away, and wearing the new robes of righteousness that will fit you for glory.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
An incredible testimony of God’s grace to help you hate sin.
Today we prayed, lamenting how deeply sinful our hearts are. From our roots to our leaves, we are cursed with sin, so that all of the fruit we bear is poisoned and bitter.
As we saw today in God’s Word, our only hope to escape this sin-stained, cursed existence, is God’s grace. A really great book to help you understand the seriousness of our sin and our need for God’s grace is Gay Girl, Good God by Jackie Hill Perry.
This book is a memoir describing Jackie’s journey out of sin, by grace. It’s an absolutely beautiful story of God’s power and mercy to save.
One of the things I love the most about this book is how its rich theology is described so beautifully. Jackie paints a picture of a God who is worthy of our worship, faith, and obedience — a God who is better than sin.
This book showed me of the ugliness of sin and the power of God’s grace in such a beautiful way. I know it will be a blessing to you — I hope you’ll grab a copy and enjoy it today.
Buy Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was, and Who God Has Always Been: