Morning and Evening with Charles Spurgeon
Morning and Evening with Charles Spurgeon

April 11 | Evening

3 min
•Apr 11, 20267 days ago
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Summary

Charles Spurgeon reflects on Psalm 25:18, teaching that Christians should bring both their sorrows and sins to God in prayer. The episode emphasizes that while believers may accept God's will regarding afflictions, they must actively seek forgiveness for sins, recognizing that spiritual guilt is weightier than temporal suffering.

Insights
  • Integrating spiritual concerns with practical troubles creates a more complete prayer life and prevents self-focused suffering
  • Christians should distinguish between accepting God's sovereignty over circumstances while actively pursuing forgiveness for transgressions
  • The hierarchy of spiritual concerns places sin's burden above physical or emotional pain in the believer's priorities
  • Bringing both sorrows and sins to God demonstrates trust in His wisdom while maintaining accountability for moral failings
Trends
Religious teaching emphasizing integrated spiritual and emotional wellnessDevotional content focusing on prayer as a tool for processing both practical and spiritual concernsTheological emphasis on personal accountability and forgiveness within faith practice
Companies
Crossway
Producer and distributor of the Morning and Evening podcast series featuring Charles Spurgeon's devotional content
People
Charles Spurgeon
Historical Christian theologian whose devotional writings are featured in this podcast episode
Quotes
"It is good for us when prayers about our sorrows are linked with pleas concerning our sins"
Charles Spurgeon
"A Christian counts sorrow lighter in the scale than sin. He can bear to have troubles continue, but he cannot bear the burden of his transgressions."
Charles Spurgeon
"Lord, when it comes to my affliction and my pain, I will not dictate to your wisdom. Lord, look at them. I will leave them to you."
Charles Spurgeon (quoting David)
Full Transcript
11. Evening Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. Psalm 25, verse 18. It is good for us when prayers about our sorrows are linked with please concerning our sins, and being under God's hand we do not focus exclusively on our pain, but remember our sins against God. It is also good to take both sorrow and sin to the same place. It was to God that David carried his sorrow. It was to God that David confessed his sin. Notice then, we must take our sorrows to God. Even your little sorrows you may cast upon God, for he counts the hairs of your head, and your great sorrows you may commit to him, for he holds the ocean in the hollow of his hand. Go to him, whatever your present trouble may be, and you will find him able and willing to relieve you. But we must take our sins to God too. We must carry them to the cross, that the blood may fall upon them, to purge away their guilt and to destroy their defiling power. The special lesson of the text is this. We are to go to the Lord with sorrows and with sins in the right spirit. Note that all David asks concerning his sorrow is, consider my affliction and my trouble. But the next petition is vastly more explicit, definite, decided, plain. Forgive all my sins. Many sufferers would have reversed it. Remove my affliction and my pain and consider my sins. But David does not. He cries, Lord, when it comes to my affliction and my pain, I will not dictate to your wisdom. Lord, look at them. I will leave them to you. I would like to have my pain removed, but do as ye will. But as for my sins, Lord, I know what needs to happen. I must have them forgiven. I cannot endure to live under their curse for a moment. A Christian counts sorrow lighter in the scale than sin. He can bear to have troubles continue, but he cannot bear the burden of his transgressions. This has been Morning and Evening, a production of Crossway.