DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)
O Lord, if it may please you, look upon any of your servants who are more than ordinarily tried, or who by reason of bodily weakness or the stress of severe trial, may especially need consolation; put them under the everlasting arms. So let the whole host be refreshed.
Let those that lie in hospital, be brought out of it and made whole; and as it is said of the host when you did bring it out of Egypt, “there was not one feeble person in all their tribes” (Psalm 105:37), so may it be with us; may the weakest become as David, and David as the Angel of the Lord. Great Captain of the host, we ask this high favor of you today. Deny us not we beseech Thee.
Amen.
VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)
“Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.” (Psalm 106:1)
To us needy creatures the goodness of God is the first attribute which excites praise, and that praise takes the form of gratitude. We praise the Lord truly when we give him thanks for what we have received from his goodness. Let us never be slow to return unto the Lord our praise; to thank him is the least we can do—let us not neglect it.
Goodness towards sinners assumes the form of mercy, mercy should therefore be a leading note in our song. Since man ceases not to be sinful, it is a great blessing that the Lord ceases not to be merciful. From age to age the Lord deals graciously with his church, and to every individual in it he is constant and faithful in his grace, even for evermore.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
Find freedom by fearing God.
The fear of God is a troubling and confusing phrase for many. We know that it appears all over Scripture, but we don’t know what it means. We know it means more than basic “respect” or “reverence.” But we also don’t feel right running scared from our loving Father.
A new book, Rejoice and Tremble: The Surprising Good News of the Fear of the Lord by Michael Reeves is a beautifully helpful guide to understanding and applying the fear of the Lord.
Reeves shows that the fear of the Lord is not a negative fleeing from God, but a wonder-filled joy in God and all that he is. The fear of God is the path to freedom from all anxiety. Reading this book filled my heart with joy and love for the God who must be feared, and I know that it will do the same for you.