July 1, Morning

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"In summer and in winter shall it be." — Zechariah 14:8 · KJV

The streams of living water that flow from Jerusalem are not dried up by the parching heat of sultry midsummer, any more than they were frozen by the cold winds of blustering winter. Rejoice, O my soul, that you are spared to testify of the faithfulness of the Lord. The seasons change, and you change, but your Lord abides evermore the same, and the streams of His love are as deep, as broad, and as full as ever. The heat of business cares and scorching trials makes me need the cooling influences of the river of His grace; I may go at once and drink my fill from the inexhaustible fountain, for in summer and in winter it pours forth its flood. The upper springs are never scanty, and, blessed be the name of the Lord, the lower springs cannot fail either. Elijah found Cherith dry up, but Yahweh was still the same God of providence. Job said his brethren were like deceitful brooks, but he found his God an overflowing river of consolation. The Nile is the great confidence of Egypt, but its floods are variable; our Lord is evermore the same. By turning aside the course of the Euphrates, Cyrus took the city of Babylon; but no power, human or infernal, can divert the current of divine grace. The beds of ancient rivers have been found all dry and desolate, but the streams that rise on the mountains of divine sovereignty and infinite love shall ever be full to the brim. Generations melt away, but the course of grace is unaltered. The river of God may say, with more truth than the brook in the poem, "Men may come, and men may go, but I go on for ever." How happy you are, my soul, to be led beside such still waters! Never wander to other streams, lest you hear the Lord's rebuke, "What hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink of the muddy river?"