Friday, February 6, 2009

The Lord's Laying Aside His Instruments

A selection from a letter by C. H. Spurgeon to the members of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, England. He had been once again laid aside with sickness and was unable to preach. He had gone to Mentone, France, to recuperate. The letter was written December 6, 1890.

I have no question that there is great wisdom in the Lord’s laying aside his instruments. It is for his own glory, for thereby he shows that he is not in need of them, and it is for their humbling, for hereby they learn how deep is their need of him. The uninterrupted reception of blessing through one channel might breed in our foolish hearts an idolatrous confidence in the means; therefore there comes a break in the use of the means that the Lord may be the more tenderly remembered. We may be sure that, if the Lord dries up a cistern, it is because he would have us fly to the fountain of inexhaustible strength.

The Suffering Letters of C. H. Spurgeon, annotations by Hannah Wyncoll, The Wakeman Trust, 2007, p. 71.

2 comments:

Puritan Dilemma said...

Very good...we need reminders like this more often... good to read you...

Dean Olive said...

Thanks for stopping by. Glad the letter by CHS was helpful to you. You are right - we need reminders like the one he gave.

Every blessing,
Dean