Encourage him (Deuteronomy 1:38) – c.h. spurgeon

God employs his people to encourage one another.

He did not say to an angel, “Gabriel, my servant Joshua is about to lead my people into Canaan—go, encourage him.”

God never works needless miracles;
     if his purposes can be accomplished by ordinary means,
          he will not use miraculous agency.

Gabriel would not have been half so well fitted for the work as Moses.
A brother's sympathy is more precious than an angel's embassy.

The angel, swift of wing, had...
     never experienced the hardness of the road,
          nor seen the fiery serpents,
     nor had he led the stiff-necked multitude in the wilderness as Moses had done.

We should be glad that God usually works for man by man.
     It forms a bond of brotherhood,
          and being mutually dependent on one another,
               we are fused more completely into one family.

Brethren, take the text as God's message to you.

Labor to help others,
and especially strive
to encourage them.

When you find a spark of grace in the heart,
kneel down and blow it into a flame.

Leave the young believer to discover the roughness of the road by degrees,
      but tell him of the strength which dwells in God,
          of the sureness of the promise,
               and of the charms of communion with Christ.

Aim to comfort the sorrowful, and to animate the desponding.

Speak a word in season to him that is weary, and encourage those who are fearful to go on their way with gladness.

God
encourages you by his promises;
Christ
encourages you as he points to the heaven he has won for you,
and the Spirit
encourages you as he works in you to will and to do of his own will and pleasure.

Imitate divine wisdom,
     and encourage others,
according to the word of this evening.

As Moses said, “The Lord…said, ‘You shall not enter [the Promised Land].  But, your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will enter it.  Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to inherit it.’”
Deuteronomy 1:37-38

Go again seven times (1 Kings 18:43) - c.h. spurgeon

Success is certain when the Lord has promised it. 

Although you may have pleaded month after month without evidence of answer, 
     it is not possible that the Lord should be deaf 
          when his people are earnest in a matter which concerns his glory. 

The prophet on the top of Carmel continued to wrestle with God, 
and never for a moment 
gave way 
to a fear that he should be non-suited in Jehovah's courts. 

Six times the servant returned, but on each occasion no word was spoken but 
“Go again.” 

We must not dream of unbelief, but hold to our faith even to seventy times seven. 

Faith 
sends 
expectant hope 
to look from Carmel's brow, 
and if nothing is beheld, 
she sends 
again 
and again. 

So far from being crushed by repeated disappointment, 
     faith is animated to plead more fervently with her God. 

She is humbled, but not abashed: 
     her groans are deeper, 
          and her sighings more vehement, 
                but she never relaxes her hold or stays her hand. 

It would be more agreeable to flesh and blood to have a speedy answer, but believing souls have learned to be submissive, and to find it good to wait for as well as upon the Lord. 

Delayed answers often set the heart searching itself, 
     and so lead to contrition and spiritual reformation: 
deadly blows are thus struck at our corruption, 
     and the chambers of imagery are cleansed. 

The great danger is lest men should faint, and miss the blessing. 

Reader, do not fall into that sin, but continue in prayer and watching. 

At last the little cloud was seen, the sure forerunner of torrents of rain, 
     and even so with you, the token for good shall surely be given, 
          and you shall rise as a prevailing prince 
                to enjoy the mercy you have sought. 

Elijah was a man of like passions with us: 
his power with God did not lie in his own merits. 

If his believing prayer availed so much, why not yours? 

Plead the precious blood 
     with unceasing importunity, 
          and it shall be with you according to your desire.


"Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant.  And he went up and looked.  "There is nothing there," he said.  Seven times Elijah said, "Go back."  The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea." ... Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling.
1 Kings 18:43-45

When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the Rock that is higher than I (Psalm 61:2) - c.h. spurgeon

Most of us know what it is to be overwhelmed in heart; 
emptied as when a man wipeth a dish and turneth it upside down; 
submerged and thrown on our beam ends like a vessel mastered by the storm.

Discoveries of inward corruption will do this, if the Lord permits the great deep of our depravity to become troubled and cast up mire and dirt.

Disappointments and heart-breaks will do this when billow after billow rolls over us, and we are like a broken shell hurled to and fro by the surf. 

Blessed be God,
     at such seasons we are not without an all-sufficient solace,
          our God is the harbour of weather-beaten sails,
               the hospice of forlorn pilgrims.

Higher
     than we are
          is he,
     his mercy higher than our sins,
          his love higher than our thoughts. 

It is pitiful to see men putting their trust in something lower than themselves; but our confidence is fixed upon an exceeding high and glorious Lord.

A Rock
     he is
          since
               he changes not,

and a high Rock,
     because the tempests which overwhelm us roll far beneath at his feet; 
he is not disturbed by them,
     but rules them at his will.

If we get under the shelter of this lofty Rock we may defy the hurricane; all is calm under the lee of that towering cliff. 

Alas! such is the confusion in which the troubled mind is often cast, that we need piloting to this divine shelter.

Hence the prayer of the text.

O Lord, our God,
     by thy Holy Spirit,
teach us the way of faith,
     lead us into thy rest. 

The wind blows us out to sea, the helm answers not to our puny hand;

thou, thou alone
     canst steer us over the bar between yon sunken rocks, safe into the fair haven. 

How dependent we are upon thee—we need thee to bring us to thee. 
     To be wisely directed and steered into safety and peace is thy gift, 
               and thine alone. 
     This night be pleased to deal well with thy servants.


From the ends of the earth I call to You,
   I call as my heart grows faint;
      lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Psalm 61:2

A people near unto Him (Psalm 148:14) – c.h. spurgeon

The dispensation of the old covenant was that of distance.

When God appeared even to his servant Moses,
     he said, “Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet”;
and when he manifested himself upon Mount Sinai,
     to his own chosen and separated people,
          one of the first commands was, “Thou shalt set bounds about the mount.”

Both in the sacred worship of the tabernacle and the temple,
     the thought of distance was always prominent.

The mass of the people
          did not even enter
                    the outer court.
Into the inner court
          none but the priests
                    might dare to intrude;
while into the innermost place,
          or the holy of holies,
                    the high priest entered but once in the year. 

It was as if the Lord in those early ages would teach man that sin was so utterly loathsome to him, that he must treat men as lepers put without the camp; and when he came nearest to them, he yet made them feel the width of the separation between a holy God and an impure sinner.

When the gospel came,
     we were placed on quite another footing.

The word “Go”
was exchanged for
“Come”;

distance was made to give place to nearness,
and we who aforetime were afar off,
were made nigh by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Incarnate Deity has no wall of fire about it.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” is the joyful proclamation of God as he appears in human flesh. 

Not now does he teach the leper his leprosy by setting him at a distance, but by himself suffering the penalty of his defilement.

What a state of safety and privilege is this nearness to God through Jesus!

Do you know it by experience?
If you know it, are you living in the power of it?

Marvellous is this nearness,
     yet it is to be followed by a dispensation of greater nearness still,
          when it shall be said,
               “The tabernacle of God is with men, and he doth dwell among them.”

Hasten it, O Lord.

“He has raised up for His people a horn, the praise of all His saints, of Israel, the people close to His heart.”
Psalm 148:14

Trust in him at all times (Psalm 62:8) - c.h. spurgeon

Faith 
is as much the rule of temporal as of spiritual life; 
we ought to have faith in God 
for our earthly affairs as well as for our heavenly business. 

It is only as we learn to trust in God for the supply of all our daily need that we shall live above the world. 

We are not to be idle, 
     that would show we did not trust in God, who worketh hitherto, 
          but in the devil, who is the father of idleness. 

We are not to be imprudent or rash; 
     that were to trust chance, 
          and not the living God, who is a God of economy and order. 

Acting in all prudence and uprightness, 
     we are to rely simply and entirely upon the Lord at all times. 

Let me commend to you a life of trust in God in temporal things....

Serve God with integrity, and if you achieve no success, at least no sin will lie upon your conscience. 

[H]e that trusteth in the Lord is like a vessel propelled by steam, 
     she cuts through the waves, 
          defies the wind, 
               and makes one bright silvery 
                     straightforward track to her destined haven. 

Be you a man with living principles within; never bow to the varying customs of worldly wisdom. 

Walk in your path of integrity with steadfast steps, and show that you are invincibly strong in the strength which confidence in God alone can confer. 

Thus you will be delivered from anxious care, 
     you will not be troubled with evil tidings, 
          your heart will be fixed, trusting in the Lord. 

How pleasant to float along the stream of providence! 

There is no more blessed way of living than a life of dependence upon a covenant-keeping God. 

We have no care, 
     for he careth for us; 
we have no troubles, 
     because we cast our burdens upon the Lord.


Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.
Psalm 62:8 

Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide (Genesis 24:63) – c.h. spurgeon

Very admirable was his occupation.

If those who spend so many hours in idle company,
     light reading, and useless pastimes,
could learn wisdom,

they would find more profitable society and more interesting engagements
     in meditation
than in the vanities which now have such charms for them.

We should all know more,
     live nearer to God,
          and grow in grace,
               if we were more alone.

Meditation…extracts the real nutriment from the mental food gathered elsewhere.

When Jesus is the theme, meditation is sweet indeed.

Isaac found Rebecca while engaged in private musings;
          many others have found their best beloved there.


Very admirable was the choice of place.

In the field we have a study hung round with texts for thought.

From the cedar to the hyssop,
     from the soaring eagle down to the chirping grasshopper,
          from the blue expanse of heaven to a drop of dew,
all things are full of teaching,
     and when the eye is divinely opened,
          that teaching flashes upon the mind
               far more vividly than from written books.

Our little rooms are neither
so healthy,
so suggestive,
so agreeable,
or
so inspiring as the fields.

Let us count nothing common or unclean,
     but feel that all created things point to their Maker,
          and the field will at once be hallowed.


Very admirable was the season.

The season of sunset
     as it draws a veil over the day,
befits that repose of the soul
     when earthborn cares yield
           to the joys of heavenly communion.

The glory of the setting sun excites our wonder,
     and the solemnity of approaching night awakens our awe.

If the business of this day will permit it, it will be well,
dear reader,
if you can spare an hour to walk in the field at eventide,

but if not,
the Lord is in the town too,
and
will meet with thee in thy chamber or in the crowded street.

Let thy heart go forth to meet him.

He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel and asked the servant, "Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?"  

Genesis 24:63-65

Everlasting consolation (2 Thessalonians 2:16) – c.h. spurgeon

“Consolation.”

There is music in the word: like David's harp, it charms away the evil spirit of melancholy.

It was a distinguished honour to Barnabas to be called “the son of consolation”;
     nay, it is one of the illustrious names of a greater than Barnabas,
          for the Lord Jesus is “the consolation of Israel.”

“Everlasting consolation” — here is the cream of all,
     for the eternity of comfort
          is the crown and glory of it.

What is this “everlasting consolation”?


It includes a sense of pardoned sin.  
A Christian man has received in his heart the witness of the Spirit that his iniquities are put away like a cloud, and his transgressions like a thick cloud.

If sin be pardoned, is not that an everlasting consolation?

Next, the Lord gives his people an abiding sense of acceptance in Christ.
The Christian knows that God looks upon him as standing in union with Jesus.  Union to the risen Lord is a consolation of the most abiding order; it is, in fact, everlasting.

Let sickness prostrate us,
     have we not seen hundreds of believers as happy in the weakness of disease
          as they would have been in the strength of hale and blooming health?

Let death's arrows pierce us to the heart,
     our comfort dies not, for have not our ears full often heard
          the songs of saints as they have rejoiced
because the living love of God was shed abroad in their hearts in dying moments?

Yes, a sense of acceptance in the Beloved is an everlasting consolation.

Moreover, the Christian has a conviction of his security.
God has promised to save those who trust in Christ: the Christian does trust in Christ, and he believes that God will be as good as his word, and will save him.

He feels that he is safe
     by virtue of his being bound up
          with the person and work of Jesus.

“Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.”
II Thessalonians 2:16-17

Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called (1 Corinthians 7:20) – c.h. spurgeon

Some persons have the foolish notion that the only way in which they can live for God is by becoming ministers, missionaries, or Bible women.  

Alas! how many would be shut out from any opportunity of magnifying the Most High if this were the case.  

Beloved, it is not office,
     it is earnestness;
it is not position,
      it is grace
which will enable us to glorify God. 

God is most surely glorified in that cobbler's stall, where the godly worker, as he plies the awl, sings of the Saviour's love…. 

The name of Jesus is glorified by the poor unlearned carter as he drives his horse, and blesses his God, or speaks to his fellow labourer by the roadside….  

God is glorified by our serving him in our proper vocations.

Take care, dear reader, that you do not forsake the path of duty by leaving your occupation,
     and take care you do not dishonour your profession while in it.

Think little of yourselves, but do not think too little of your callings.
     Every lawful trade may be sanctified by the gospel to noblest ends.

Turn to the Bible, and you will find the most menial forms of labour connected either with most daring deeds of faith, or with persons whose lives have been illustrious for holiness.

Therefore be not discontented with your calling. Whatever God has made your position, or your work, abide in that, unless you are quite sure that he calls you to something else.

Let your first care be to glorify God to the utmost of your power where you are.
     Fill your present sphere to his praise, and if he needs you in another he will show it you.

This evening
     lay aside vexatious ambition,
          and embrace
               peaceful content.

“Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him.”
I Corinthians 7:20

Why go I mourning? (Psalm 42:9) – c.h. spurgeon

Canst thou answer this, believer?
     Canst thou find any reason why thou art so often mourning 
          instead of rejoicing?
     Why yield to gloomy anticipations?  
              
Who told thee that the night would never end in day?

Who told thee that the sea of circumstances would ebb out
     till there should be nothing left
          but long leagues of the mud of horrible poverty?

Who told thee that the winter of thy discontent would proceed
     from frost to frost,
          from snow, and ice,
               and hail,
                    to deeper snow,
          and yet more heavy tempest of despair?

Knowest thou not that day follows night,
that flood comes after ebb,
that spring and summer succeed winter?

Hope thou then!  Hope thou ever!
     For God fails thee not.

Dost thou not know that thy God loves thee in the midst of all this?

Mountains, when in darkness hidden, are as real as in day,
     and God's love is as true to thee now as it was in thy brightest moments.

No father chastens always: thy Lord hates the rod as much as thou dost;
     he only cares to use it for that reason
          which should make thee willing to receive it,
namely, that it works thy lasting good.

Thou shalt yet climb Jacob's ladder with the angels,
and behold him who sits at the top of it—thy covenant God.

Thou shalt yet, amidst the splendours of eternity,    
     forget the trials of time,
          or only remember them to bless the God who led thee through them,
               and wrought thy lasting good by them.

Come, sing
     in the midst of tribulation.
Rejoice
     even while passing through the furnace.
Make
     the wilderness to blossom like the rose!
Cause
     the desert to ring with thine exulting joys,

for these light afflictions will soon be over,
     and then “for ever with the Lord,”
          thy bliss shall never wane.


“Faint not nor fear, his arms are near,
He changeth not, and thou art dear;
Only believe and thou shalt see,
That Christ is all in all to thee.”
 

I say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me?  Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?”
Psalm 42:9

The voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8) – c.h spurgeon

My soul, now that the cool of the day has come,
     retire awhile and hearken to the voice of thy God.

He is always ready to speak with thee when thou art prepared to hear.
     If there be any slowness to commune it is not on his part,
          but altogether on thine own, for he stands at the door and knocks,
               and if his people will but open he rejoices to enter.

But in what state is my heart, which is my Lord's garden?

May I venture to hope that it is well trimmed and watered, and is bringing forth fruit fit for him?

If not, he will have much to reprove, but still I pray him to come unto me,
     for nothing can so certainly bring my heart into a right condition
as the presence of the Sun of Righteousness, who brings healing in his wings.

Come, therefore, O Lord, my God,
my soul invites thee earnestly,
and waits for thee eagerly.

Come to me, O Jesus,
my well-beloved, and plant fresh flowers in my garden,
such as I see blooming in such perfection in thy matchless character!

Come, O my Father,
who art the Husbandman,
and deal with me in thy tenderness and prudence!

Come, O Holy Spirit,
and bedew my whole nature,
as the herbs are now moistened with the evening dews.

O that God would speak to me.
     Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth!

O that he would walk with me;
     I am ready to give up my whole heart and mind to him,
          and every other thought is hushed.

I am only asking what he delights to give.
     I am sure that he will condescend to have fellowship with me,
          for he has given me his Holy Spirit to abide with me for ever.

Sweet is the cool twilight,
     when every star seems like the eye of heaven,
and the cool wind
     is as the breath of celestial love.

My Father,
     my elder Brother,
          my sweet Comforter,
speak now in lovingkindness,
     for thou hast opened mine ear and I am not rebellious.



Then [Adam and Eve] heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day….”
Genesis 3:8

Blessed is he that watcheth (Revelation 16:15) – c.h. spurgeon

“We die daily,” said the apostle.

This was the life of the early Christians;
they went everywhere with their lives in their hands.

We are not in this day called to pass through the same fearful persecutions:
     if we were, the Lord would give us grace to bear the test;
but the tests of Christian life, at the present moment, though outwardly not so terrible,
     are yet more likely to overcome us than even those of the fiery age. 

We have to bear the sneer of the world—that is little;
     its blandishments,
          its soft words,
               its oily speeches,
                    its fawning,
                         its hypocrisy, are far worse.

Our danger is lest we grow rich and become proud,
lest we give ourselves up to the fashions of this present evil world,
and lose our faith.

Or if wealth be not the trial, worldly care is quite as mischievous.
     If we cannot be torn in pieces by the roaring lion,
     if we may be hugged to death by the bear,
the devil little cares which it is,
     so long as he destroys our love to Christ, and our confidence in him. 

I fear me
     that the Christian church
          is far more likely to lose her integrity in these soft and silken days
               than in those rougher times.

We must be awake now, for we traverse the enchanted ground,
and are most likely to fall asleep to our own undoing,
unless our faith in Jesus be a reality,
and our love to Jesus a vehement flame.

Many in these days of easy profession are likely to prove tares, and not wheat;
     hypocrites with fair masks on their faces,
          but not the true-born children of the living God.

Christian,
     do not think that these are times
in which you can dispense with watchfulness
     or with holy ardour;
you need these things more than ever,
     and may God the eternal Spirit display his omnipotence in you,
that you may be able to say,
     in all these softer things, as well as in the rougher,
“We are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

 “Behold, I am coming like a thief.  Blessed is the one who stays awake….”
Revelation 16:15

That those things which cannot be shaken may remain (Hebrews 12:27) – c.h. spurgeon

We have many things in our possession at the present moment which can be shaken, and it ill becomes a Christian man to set much store by them, for there is nothing stable beneath these rolling skies; change is written upon all things.

Yet, we have certain “things which cannot be shaken,” and I invite you this evening to think of them, that if the things which can be shaken should all be taken away, you may derive real comfort from the things that cannot be shaken, which will remain.

Whatever your losses have been,
or may be,
you enjoy present salvation.

You are standing at the foot of his cross,
     trusting alone in the merit of Jesus’ precious blood,
and no rise or fall of the markets can interfere with your salvation in him;
     no breaking of banks, no failures and bankruptcies can touch that.

Then you are a child of God this evening. God is your Father. No change of circumstances can ever rob you of that.

Although by losses brought to poverty,
     and stripped bare,
          you can say,
“He is my Father still.
     In my Father's house are many mansions;
          therefore
               will I not be troubled.”

You have another permanent blessing,
namely,
the love of Jesus Christ.

He who is God and Man loves you with all the strength of his affectionate nature — nothing can affect that.

The fig tree may not blossom,
     and the flocks may cease from the field,
          it matters not to the man who can sing,
               “My Beloved is mine, and I am his.”
Our best portion and richest heritage we cannot lose.

Whatever troubles come, let us…show that we are not such little children as to be cast down by what may happen in this poor fleeting state of time.

Our country is Immanuel's land,
     our hope is above the sky,
          and therefore, calm as the summer's ocean;
we will see the wreck of everything earthborn,
     and yet 
          rejoice
               in the God of our salvation.

At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”  The words “once more” indicate a removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Hebrews 12:26-27

And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good (Genesis 32:12) – c.h. spurgeon

When Jacob was on the other side of the brook Jabbok, and Esau was coming with armed men, he earnestly sought God's protection, and as a master reason he pleaded, “And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good.”

Oh, the force of that plea! He was holding God to his word — “Thou saidst.” 

The attribute of God's faithfulness is a splendid horn of the altar to lay hold upon;

     but the promise, which has in it the attribute and something more, 
     is a yet mightier holdfast—

          “Thou saidst, I will surely do thee good.”

And has he said, and shall he not do it?

     “Let God be true, and every man a liar.”

          Shall not he be true? Shall he not keep his word?
Shall not every word that cometh out of his lips stand fast and be fulfilled? 

Solomon, at the opening of the temple, used this same mighty plea. He pleaded with God to remember the word which he had spoken to his father David, and to bless that place….

It shall never be said that God dishonours his bills. 

The credit of the Most High never was impeached, and never shall be.

He is punctual to the moment:

     he never is before his time,

          but he never is behind it. 

Search God's word through, and compare it with the experience of God's people, and you shall find the two tally from the first to the last.

Many a hoary patriarch has said with Joshua, “Not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass.”

If you have a divine promise, you need not plead it with an “if,” you may urge it with certainty.

The Lord meant to fulfill the promise, or he would not have given it.

God does not give his words merely to quiet us,

     and to keep us hopeful for awhile with the intention of putting us off at last;

          but when he speaks,

          it is because

          he means to do as he has said. 

But You have said, “I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.”

Genesis 32:12

The Lord taketh pleasure in his people (Psalm 149:4) – c.h. spurgeon

How comprehensive is the love of Jesus!

There is no part of his people's interests which he does not consider,
     and there is nothing which concerns their welfare which is not important to him.

Not merely does he think of you, believer, as an immortal being, but as a mortal being too….  

     “The very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

          “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.” 

It were a sad thing for us if this mantle of love did not cover all our concerns, for what mischief might be wrought to us in that part of our business which did not come under our gracious Lord's inspection!

Believer,
rest assured
that the heart of Jesus cares about your meaner affairs.

The breadth of his tender love is such that you may resort to him in all matters;
     for in all your afflictions he is afflicted,
          and like as a father pitieth his children, so doth he pity you. 

The meanest interests of all his saints are all borne upon the broad bosom of the Son of God.

Oh, 

what a heart is his, 

that doth not merely comprehend the persons of his people,
but comprehends also the diverse and innumerable concerns of all those persons! 

Dost thou think, O Christian, that thou canst measure the love of Christ? Think of what his love has brought thee—
     justification,
         adoption,
               sanctification,
                   eternal life!

The riches of his goodness are unsearchable;
     thou shalt never be able to tell them out or even conceive them. 

Oh, the breadth of the love of Christ! Shall such a love as this have half our hearts?

O my soul, tune thy harp to a glad song of thanksgiving!

Go to thy rest rejoicing,
     for thou art no desolate wanderer,
          but a beloved child, 
     watched over,
          cared for, supplied,
               and defended by thy Lord.

For the Lord takes delight in His people. 
Psalm 149:4

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God (Psalm 139:17) – c.h. spurgeon

God is always thinking upon us,
     never turns aside his mind from us,
          has us always before his eyes;
and this is precisely as we would have it, for it would be dreadful to exist
          for a moment
beyond the observation of our heavenly Father.

His thoughts are always
tender,
loving,
wise,
prudent,
far-reaching,
and they bring to us countless benefits: hence it is a choice delight to remember them.

The Lord always did think upon his people:
     hence their election and the covenant of grace by which their salvation is secured;
he always will think upon them:
     hence their final perseverance by which they shall be brought safely to their final rest. 

In all our wanderings
     the watchful glance of the Eternal Watcher
          is evermore fixed upon us—we never roam beyond the Shepherd's eye.
In our sorrows
     he observes us incessantly,
          and not a pang escapes him;
in our toils he marks all our weariness,
     and writes in his book all the struggles of his faithful ones.

These thoughts of the Lord encompass us in all our paths….
     Not a nerve or tissue, valve or vessel, of our bodily organization is uncared for;
          all the littles of our little world are thought upon by the great God. 

Dear reader, is this precious to you? then hold to it….

The Lord liveth and thinketh upon us, 

     this is a truth far too precious for us to be lightly robbed of it….

If the Lord thinketh upon us,
     all is well,
          and we may rejoice evermore.

How precious to me are your thoughts, God!  How vast is the sum of them!Psalm 139:17

A very present help (Psalm 46:1) – c.h. spurgeon

Covenant blessings are not meant to be looked at only, but to be appropriated.

Even our Lord Jesus is given to us for our present use.
                    Believer, thou dost not make use of Christ as thou oughtest to do.  

When thou art in trouble,
          why dost thou not tell him all thy grief?
Has he not a sympathizing heart,
          and can he not comfort and relieve thee?

No, thou art going about to all thy friends, save thy best Friend,
          and telling thy tale everywhere except into the bosom of thy Lord. 

Art thou burdened with this day's sins?  Here is a fountain filled with blood:
     use it,
          saint,
               use it.

Has a sense of guilt returned upon thee?
     The pardoning grace of Jesus may be proved
          again 

               and 

                    again.  

     Come to him
               at once
                    for cleansing.

Dost thou deplore thy weakness?  He is thy strength: why not lean upon him?

Dost thou feel naked?
     Come hither, soul;
          put on the robe of Jesus’ righteousness.

Stand not looking at it, but wear it. 

     Strip off thine own righteousness,  
          and thine own fears too:
               put on the fair white linen,
     for it was meant to wear. 

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1