Morning and Evening

January 2, Evening

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"Let the people renew their strength." — Isaiah 41:1 · KJV

All things on earth need to be renewed; no created thing continues by itself. "Thou renewest the face of the year," was the Psalmist's utterance. Even the trees, which do not wear themselves out with care, nor shorten their lives with labor, must drink of the rain of heaven and draw from the hidden treasures of the soil. The cedars of Lebanon, which God has planted, live only because day by day they are full of sap freshly drawn from the earth. Neither can man's life be sustained without renewal from God. As we must repair the waste of the body by the frequent meal, so we must repair the waste of the soul by feeding on the Book of God, listening to the preached Word, or feeding at the soul-fattening table of the ordinances. How depressed are our graces when the means are neglected! What poor starvelings some saints are, who live without the diligent use of the Word of God and secret prayer! If our piety can live without God, it is not of divine creating; it is but a dream; for if God had begotten it, it would wait on Him as the flowers wait on the dew. Without constant restoration we are not ready for the perpetual assaults of hell, the stern afflictions of heaven, or even the strife within. When the whirlwind is loosed, woe to the tree that has not drawn up fresh sap and grasped the rock with many intertwined roots! When tempests arise, woe to the sailors who have not strengthened their mast, cast their anchor, nor sought the haven! If we let the good grow weaker, the evil will surely gather strength and struggle desperately for the mastery over us; and so, perhaps, a painful desolation and a lamentable disgrace may follow. Let us draw near to the footstool of divine mercy in humble entreaty, and we shall know the fulfillment of the promise, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength."

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