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Morning and Evening

September 20, Morning

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon." — Judges 7:20 · KJV

Gideon ordered his men to do two things. Hiding a torch in an earthen pitcher, he told them, at a given signal, to break the pitcher and let the light shine, and then to sound the trumpet, crying, "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon! The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!" This is exactly what every Christian must do. First, you must shine: break the pitcher that hides your light, throw aside the basket that has been covering your candle, and shine. Let your light shine before men; let your good works be such that when men look at you, they will know you have been with Jesus. Then there must be the sound, the blowing of the trumpet: there must be active effort to gather in sinners by proclaiming Christ crucified. Take the gospel to them; carry it to their door; put it in their way; do not let them escape it; blow the trumpet right in 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 — the instrument is to be used: "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!" If we cry only, "The sword of the Lord!" we shall be guilty of idle presumption; and if we shout, "The sword of Gideon!" alone, we shall show an 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, then, in His name resolve to go out personally and serve — with our flaming torch of holy example and our trumpet notes of earnest testimony — and God will be with us, and Midian shall be put to confusion, and the Lord of hosts shall reign for ever and ever.