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

March 31 | Evening

3 min
•Mar 31, 202619 days ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Charles Spurgeon reflects on the biblical story of Risba, who mourned her slain sons with unwavering devotion, using her example to challenge listeners to maintain steadfast spiritual commitment and meditation on Christ's sufferings without distraction or complaint.

Insights
  • Spiritual discipline requires protecting sacred thoughts from worldly distractions, just as Risba guarded her children's bodies from desecration
  • Personal suffering and inconvenience should not deter believers from devoted contemplation of Christ's sacrifice and passion
  • The depth of a mother's love for her children should inspire proportionally greater devotion to Jesus and his crucifixion
  • Endurance through hardship—heat, cold, sleeplessness—demonstrates authentic commitment to spiritual practice and witness
Trends
Comparative theology using historical narratives to establish moral and spiritual obligationsEmphasis on emotional and intellectual engagement with religious suffering as a spiritual disciplineUse of maternal devotion as a metaphor for ideal spiritual commitment and vigilance
Topics
Biblical meditation and contemplationSpiritual endurance and perseveranceChrist's passion and crucifixionRepentance and moral obligationProtection of sacred thoughts from worldly distractionMaternal devotion as spiritual modelSuffering and sacrifice in faith
People
Charles Spurgeon
Host and primary speaker delivering evening devotional reflection on biblical narrative and spiritual practice
Quotes
"If the love of a woman to her slain sons could make her prolong her mournful vigil for so long a period, shall we grow tired of considering the sufferings of our blessed Lord?"
Charles Spurgeon
"To watch with Jesus should be our business, to protect his honour our occupation, to abide by his cross our solace."
Charles Spurgeon
"Never was living beauty so enchanting as a dying saviour."
Charles Spurgeon
Full Transcript
March 31st, evening. Then Risba, the daughter of Aya, took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day or the beasts of the field by night. 2 Samuel 21 verse 10. If the love of a woman to her slain sons could make her prolong her mournful vigil for so long a period, shall we grow tired of considering the sufferings of our blessed Lord? She drove away the birds of prey, and shall we not chase from our meditations those worldly and sinful thoughts that defile both our minds and the sacred themes upon which we are occupied? Begone, you birds of evil wing, leave the sacrifice alone. She bore the heat of summer, the night dews and the rains, and sheltered and alone. Sleep was chased from her weeping eyes, her heart was too full for slumber. Consider how she loved her children. Shall Risba endure while we quit at the first little inconvenience or trial? Are we such cowards that we cannot bear to suffer with our Lord? Did she chase away even the wild beasts with unusual courage? And will we not be ready to encounter every foe for Jesus' sake? Her children were slain by other hands than hers, and yet she wept and watched. What ought we to do who have by our sins crucified our Lord? Our obligations are boundless, our love should be fervent and our repentance thorough. To watch with Jesus should be our business, to protect his honour our occupation, to abide by his cross our solace. Those ghastly corpses might well have frightened Risba, especially by night, but in our Lord at whose cross we are sitting there is nothing revolting but everything attractive. Never was living beauty so enchanting as a dying saviour. Jesus, we will watch with you still, and may you graciously unveil yourself to us. Then we shall not sit beneath sackcloth, but in a royal pavilion. This has been Morning and Evening, a production of Crossway.