March 10, Morning
C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling
"In my prosperity I said I shall never be moved." — Psalm 30:6 · KJV
"Moab settled on his lees; he hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel." Give a man wealth; let his ships bring home rich cargoes continually; let the winds and waves seem his servants to carry his vessels across the mighty deep; let his lands yield abundantly; let the weather favor his crops; let unbroken success attend him; let him stand among men as a prosperous merchant; let him enjoy continued health; allow him to march through the world with strong nerve and bright eye, and live happily; give him a buoyant spirit; let the song be always on his lips and his eye ever sparkling with joy — and the natural result of such an easy state, in any man, even the best Christian who ever breathed, will be presumption. Even David said, "I shall never be moved"; and we are no better than David, nor half so good. Brother, beware of the smooth places of the way; if you are treading them, or even if the way is rough, thank God for it. If God always rocked us in the cradle of prosperity, if we were always dandled on the knees of fortune, if there were never a stain on the alabaster pillar, never a cloud in the sky, never a bitter drop in the wine of this life, we would grow intoxicated with pleasure and dream that we stand — and stand we would, but upon a pinnacle, like a man asleep on the masthead, each moment in danger. We bless God, then, for our afflictions; we thank Him for our changes; we praise His name even for losses of property, for we feel that had He not chastened us so, we might have grown too secure. Continued worldly prosperity is a fiery trial. Afflictions, though they seem severe, are often sent in mercy.