September 20 - Morning"The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon." — Judges 7:20
Gideon ordered his men to do two things: covering up a torch in an earthen
pitcher, he bade them, at an appointed signal, break the pitcher and let the
light shine, and then sound with the trumpet, crying, "The sword of the
Lord, and of Gideon! the sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!" This is
precisely what all Christians must do.
First, you must shine; break the
pitcher which conceals your light; throw aside the bushel which has been
hiding your candle, and shine. Let your light shine before men; let your
good works be such, that when men look upon you, they shall know that
you have been with Jesus.
Then there must be the sound, the blowing of
the trumpet. There must be active exertions for the ingathering of sinners
by proclaiming Christ crucified. Take the gospel to them; carry it to their
door; put it in their way; do not suffer them to escape it; blow the trumpet
right against their ears. Remember that the true war-cry of the Church is
Gideon's watchword, "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!" God must
do it, it is His own work. But we are not to be idle; instrumentality is to be
used — "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!" If we only cry, "The
sword of the Lord!" we shall be guilty of an idle presumption; and if we
shout, "The sword of Gideon!" alone, we shall manifest idolatrous reliance
on an arm of flesh: we must blend the two in practical harmony, "The
sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!"
We can do nothing of ourselves, but
we can do everything by the help of our God; let us, therefore, in His name
determine to go out personally and serve with our flaming torch of holy
example, and with our trumpet tones of earnest declaration and testimony,
and God shall be with us, and Midian shall be put to confusion, and the
Lord of hosts shall reign for ever and ever. September 20 - Evening"In the evening withhold not thy hand." — Ecclesiastes 11:6
In the evening of the day opportunities are plentiful: men return from their
labour, and the zealous soul-winner finds time to tell abroad the love of
Jesus. Have I no evening work for Jesus? If I have not, let me no longer
withhold my hand from a service which requires abundant labour. Sinners
are perishing for lack of knowledge; he who loiters may find his skirts
crimson with the blood of souls. Jesus gave both His hands to the nails,
how can I keep back one of mine from His blessed work? Night and day
He toiled and prayed for me, how can I give a single hour to the pampering
of my flesh with luxurious ease?
Up, idle heart; stretch out thy hand to
work, or uplift it to pray; heaven and hell are in earnest, let me be so, and
this evening sow good seed for the Lord my God.
The evening of life has also its calls. Life is so short that a morning of
manhood's vigour, and an evening of decay, make the whole of it. To some
it seems long, but a four-pence is a great sum of money to a poor man. Life
is so brief that no man can afford to lose a day. It has been well said that if
a great king should bring us a great heap of gold, and bid us take as much as
we could count in a day, we should make a long day of it; we should begin
early in the morning, and in the evening we should not withhold our hand;
but to win souls is far nobler work, how is it that we so soon withdraw
from it?
Some are spared to a long evening of green old age; if such be my
case, let me use such talents as I still retain, and to the last hour serve my
blessed and faithful Lord. By His grace I will die in harness, and lay down
my charge only when I lay down my body. Age may instruct the young,
cheer the faint, and encourage the desponding; if eventide has less of
vigorous heat, it should have more of calm wisdom, therefore in the
evening I will not withhold my hand. September 20 |