Morning and Evening with Charles Spurgeon

April 15 | Morning

3 min

•Apr 15, 2026about 2 months ago

Summary

Charles Spurgeon delivers a devotional meditation on Psalm 22:1, exploring Christ's cry of abandonment on the cross. He contrasts the spiritual agony Jesus experienced—a real forsaking by God—with the perceived but not actual abandonment believers sometimes feel, offering comfort to those in spiritual darkness.

Insights

Distinction between perceived and actual divine abandonment: believers experience seeming forsaking through clouds and darkness, but Christ experienced genuine separation from God's presence
Christ's suffering transcends human comprehension because it involved both physical weakness and acute mental/spiritual torture simultaneously
Comfort for distressed believers: God's presence in darkness is as real as in brightness; feelings of abandonment often stem from unbelief rather than reality
The depth of Christ's agony is measured by the reality of God's turned face, not merely the feeling of it

Trends

Theological emphasis on the reality versus perception of divine presence in sufferingPastoral focus on comforting believers experiencing spiritual darkness and doubtExploration of Christ's substitutionary suffering as incomparable to human experienceTeaching on the nature of faith during seasons of spiritual eclipse

Topics

Christ's crucifixion and spiritual agonyDivine abandonment and forsakingPsalm 22 exegesisSuffering and faithGod's presence in darknessSubstitutionary atonementSpiritual doubt and unbeliefMental and physical suffering of ChristComfort in spiritual distressThe nature of God's face and presence

People

Charles Spurgeon

Delivers the devotional meditation on Psalm 22:1 and Christ's suffering on the cross

Quotes

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Charles Spurgeon (quoting Psalm 22:1 and Christ)•Opening

"No other place displays the griefs of Christ like this, and no other moment at calvary"

Charles Spurgeon•Early in episode

"In our case, our cry is often dictated by unbelief. In his case, it was the utterance of a dreadful fact"

Charles Spurgeon•Mid-episode

"God in the clouds is as much our God as when he shines forth in all the beauty of his grace"

Charles Spurgeon•Closing section

Full Transcript

April 15th, morning. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Psalm 22, verse 1. Here we view the Savior in the depth of his sorrows. No other place displays the griefs of Christ like this, and no other moment a calvary. His soulful of agony as when his cry rends the air. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? At this moment, physical weakness was united with acute mental torture, from the shame and ignitement through which he had to pass. His grief culminated in suffering the spiritual agony beyond all telling that resulted from the departure of his father's presence. This was the black midnight of his horror. When he descended the abyss of suffering, no man can enter into the full meaning of these words. Some of us think at times that we could cry, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? There are seasons when the brightness of our father's smile is eclipsed by clouds and darkness. But let us remember that God never really does forsake us. It is only a seeming forsaking with us, but in Christ's case, it was a real forsaking. We grieve at a little withdrawal of our father's love, but the real turning away of God's face from his son, who can calculate how deep the agony that caused him? In our case, our cry is often dictated by unbelief. In his case, it was the utterance of a dreadful fact, for God had really turned away from him for a season. Poor distressed soul, who once lived in the sunshine of God's face, but now in darkness, remember that he is not really forsaken you. God in the clouds is as much our God as when he shines forth in all the beauty of his grace. But since even the thought that he is forsaken us gives us agony, what must the suffering of the Savior have been when he exclaimed, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?