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Charles Spurgeon's Daily DevotionalThis morning devotional prepared for November, 29th.
"Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people
. . . Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not
suffer sin upon him."--Leviticus 19:16, 17
Tale-bearing emits a threefold poison; for it injures the
teller, the hearer, and the person concerning whom the tale is
told. Whether the report be true or false, we are by this
precept of God's Word forbidden to spread it. The reputations of
the Lord's people should be very precious in our sight, and we
should count it shame to help the devil to dishonour the Church
and the name of the Lord. Some tongues need a bridle rather than
a spur. Many glory in pulling down their brethren, as if thereby
they raised themselves. Noah's wise sons cast a mantle over
their father, and he who exposed him earned a fearful curse. We
may ourselves one of these dark days need forbearance and
silence from our brethren, let us render it cheerfully to those
who require it now. Be this our family rule, and our personal
bond--SPEAK EVIL OF NO MAN.
The Holy Spirit, however, permits us to censure sin, and
prescribes the way in which we are to do it. It must be done by
rebuking our brother to his face, not by railing behind his
back. This course is manly, brotherly, Christlike, and under
God's blessing will be useful. Does the flesh shrink from it?
Then we must lay the greater stress upon our conscience, and
keep ourselves to the work, lest by suffering sin upon our
friend we become ourselves partakers of it. Hundreds have been
saved from gross sins by the timely, wise, affectionate warnings
of faithful ministers and brethren. Our Lord Jesus has set us a
gracious example of how to deal with erring friends in His
warning given to Peter, the prayer with which He preceded it,
and the gentle way in which He bore with Peter's boastful denial
that he needed such a caution.
This afternoon devotional prepared for November, 29th.
"Spices for anointing oil."--Exodus 35:8
Much use was made of this anointing oil under the law, and
that which it represents is of primary importance under the
gospel. The Holy Spirit, who anoints us for all holy service, is
indispensable to us if we would serve the Lord acceptably.
Without His aid our religious services are but a vain oblation,
and our inward experience is a dead thing. Whenever our ministry
is without unction, what miserable stuff it becomes! nor are the
prayers, praises, meditations, and efforts of private Christians
one jot superior. A holy anointing is the soul and life of
piety, its absence the most grievous of all calamities. To go
before the Lord without anointing is as though some common
Levite had thrust himself into the priest's office--his
ministrations would rather have been sins than services. May we
never venture upon hallowed exercises without sacred anointings.
They drop upon us from our glorious Head; from His anointing we
who are as the skirts of His garments partake of a plenteous
unction. Choice spices were compounded with rarest art of the
apothecary to form the anointing oil, to show forth to us how
rich are all the influences of the Holy Spirit. All good things
are found in the divine Comforter. Matchless consolation,
infallible instruction, immortal quickening, spiritual energy,
and divine sanctification all lie compounded with other
excellencies in that sacred eye-slave, the heavenly anointing
oil of the Holy Spirit. It imparts a delightful fragrance to the
character and person of the man upon whom it is poured. Nothing
like it can be found in all the treasuries of the rich, or the
secrets of the wise. It is not to be imitated. It comes alone
from God, and it is freely given, through Jesus Christ, to every
waiting soul. Let us seek it, for we may have it, may have it
this very evening. O Lord, anoint Thy servants.
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