Spurgeon Meditations

 

Made perfect.

Heb 12 23

Recollect that there are two kinds of perfection which the Christian needs--the perfection of justification in the person of Jesus and the perfection of sanctification wrought in him by the Holy Spirit. At present corruption yet remains even in the breasts of the regenerate--experience soon teaches us this. Within us are still lusts and evil imaginations. But I rejoice to know that the day is coming when God shall finish the work which He has begun; and He shall present my soul not only perfect in Christ but perfect through the Spirit without spot or blemish or any such thing. Can it be true that this poor sinful heart of mine is to become holy even as God is holy? Can it be that this spirit which often cries O wretched man thatI am! who shall deliver me from the body of this sin and death? shall get rid of sin and death--that I shall have no evil things to vex my ears and no unholy thoughts to disturb my peace? Oh happy hour! may it be hastened! When I cross the Jordan the work of sanctification will be finished; but not till that moment shall I even claim perfection in myself. Then my spirit shall have its last baptism in the Holy Spirit's fire. Methinks I long to die to receive that last and final purification which shall usher me into heaven. Not an angel more pure than I shall be for I shall be able to say in a double sense I am clean, through Jesus' blood and through the Spirit's work. Oh how should we extol the power of the Holy Ghost in thus making us fit to stand before our Father in heaven! Yet let not the hope of perfection hereafter make us content with imperfection now. If it does this our hope cannot be genuine; for a good hope is a purifying thing even now. The work of grace must be abiding in us now or it cannot be perfected then. Let us pray to "be filled with the Spirit that we may bring forth increasinglythe fruits of righteousness.% 05/16/PM And he said Thus saith the Lord Make this valley full of ditches. For thus saith the Lord Ye shall not see wind neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water that ye may drink both ye and your cattle and your beasts." --2 Kings 3:16 17 The armies of the three kings were famishing for want of water: God was about to send it and in these words the prophet announced the coming blessing. Here was a case of human helplessness: not a drop of water could all the valiant men procure from the skies or find in the wells of earth. Thus often the people of the Lord are at their wits' end; they see the vanity of the creature and learn experimentally where their help is to be found. Still the people were to make a believing preparation for the divine blessing; they were to dig the trenches in which the precious liquid would be held. The church must by her varied agencies efforts and prayers make herself ready to be blessed; she must make the pools and the Lord will fill them. This must be done in faith in the full assurance that the blessing is about to descend. By-and-by there was a singular bestowal of the needed boon. Not as in Elijah's case did the shower pour from the clouds but in a silent and mysterious manner the pools were filled. The Lord has His own sovereign modes of action: He is not tied to manner and time as we are but doeth as He pleases among the sons of men. It is ours thankfully to receive from Him and not to dictate to Him. We must also notice the remarkable abundance of the supply --there was enough for the need of all. And so it is in the gospel blessing; all the wants of the congregation and of the entire church shall be met by the divine power in answer to prayer; and above all this victory shall be speedily given to the armies of the Lord. What am I doing for Jesus? What trenches am I digging? O Lord make me ready to receive the blessing which Thou art so willing to bestow.


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