21 OCTOBER (1877)
The magnanimity of God
‘Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom.’ Job 36:5
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Mark 10:35–45
The truly great are courteous, tender and considerate. The strong have no reason to be suspicious and jealous; therefore they are free from envy; they are void of fear of the power of others; therefore they become anxious that their own power should not oppress the weak ones around them. They become considerate of others because this furnishes a fit sphere for the use of their strength.
The man who is strong only in appearance, but is really feeble, despises others because he dreads them; knowing how much he deserves to be despised himself, he pretends to look down upon his neighbours. It is the half-educated man who sneers, the pretender to gentility who gives himself airs. Wherever anything is mere pretence, it endeavours to shield itself from criticism by casting sarcasms upon its rivals.
It is said that the Pharisees ‘trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others’: had they been truly righteous they would not have despised others, but because they had a mere veneer of religion, a superficial varnish or gilding of righteousness, or something looking like righteousness, they affected to look down with scorn upon all who did not make the same show as themselves.
God is so great that he despises none: he has no rivals and no need to sustain himself by lowering the good name of others. He is supremely real, so true and thorough, that in him there can never be a thought of despising any in order to guard himself. His power is not so soon aroused to war, because it has no opposition to fear; his might is associated with gentleness, and fury is not in him, because it is such great might that once it is in action it devours his adversaries as flame consumes stubble. God is too great to be contemptuous, too mighty to be haughty.
FOR MEDITATION: God will not despise the afflicted (Psalm 22:24), the contrite (Psalm 51:17) or the destitute (Psalm 102:17), but will oppose all who despise neighbours (Proverbs 11:12; 14:21), parents (Proverbs 15:5, 20; 30:17), children (Matthew 18:10) or the poor (James 2:6). Despising others can actually amount to despising God himself (Luke 10:16).
C. H. Spurgeon and Terence Peter Crosby, 365 Days with Spurgeon (Volume 4), (Leominster, UK: Day One Publications, 2007), 305.
The magnanimity of God
‘Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom.’ Job 36:5
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Mark 10:35–45
The truly great are courteous, tender and considerate. The strong have no reason to be suspicious and jealous; therefore they are free from envy; they are void of fear of the power of others; therefore they become anxious that their own power should not oppress the weak ones around them. They become considerate of others because this furnishes a fit sphere for the use of their strength.
The man who is strong only in appearance, but is really feeble, despises others because he dreads them; knowing how much he deserves to be despised himself, he pretends to look down upon his neighbours. It is the half-educated man who sneers, the pretender to gentility who gives himself airs. Wherever anything is mere pretence, it endeavours to shield itself from criticism by casting sarcasms upon its rivals.
It is said that the Pharisees ‘trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others’: had they been truly righteous they would not have despised others, but because they had a mere veneer of religion, a superficial varnish or gilding of righteousness, or something looking like righteousness, they affected to look down with scorn upon all who did not make the same show as themselves.
God is so great that he despises none: he has no rivals and no need to sustain himself by lowering the good name of others. He is supremely real, so true and thorough, that in him there can never be a thought of despising any in order to guard himself. His power is not so soon aroused to war, because it has no opposition to fear; his might is associated with gentleness, and fury is not in him, because it is such great might that once it is in action it devours his adversaries as flame consumes stubble. God is too great to be contemptuous, too mighty to be haughty.
FOR MEDITATION: God will not despise the afflicted (Psalm 22:24), the contrite (Psalm 51:17) or the destitute (Psalm 102:17), but will oppose all who despise neighbours (Proverbs 11:12; 14:21), parents (Proverbs 15:5, 20; 30:17), children (Matthew 18:10) or the poor (James 2:6). Despising others can actually amount to despising God himself (Luke 10:16).
C. H. Spurgeon and Terence Peter Crosby, 365 Days with Spurgeon (Volume 4), (Leominster, UK: Day One Publications, 2007), 305.
21 OCTOBER (1877)
The magnanimity of God
‘Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom.’ Job 36:5
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Mark 10:35–45
The truly great are courteous, tender and considerate. The strong have no reason to be suspicious and jealous; therefore they are free from envy; they are void of fear of the power of others; therefore they become anxious that their own power should not oppress the weak ones around them. They become considerate of others because this furnishes a fit sphere for the use of their strength.
The man who is strong only in appearance, but is really feeble, despises others because he dreads them; knowing how much he deserves to be despised himself, he pretends to look down upon his neighbours. It is the half-educated man who sneers, the pretender to gentility who gives himself airs. Wherever anything is mere pretence, it endeavours to shield itself from criticism by casting sarcasms upon its rivals.
It is said that the Pharisees ‘trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others’: had they been truly righteous they would not have despised others, but because they had a mere veneer of religion, a superficial varnish or gilding of righteousness, or something looking like righteousness, they affected to look down with scorn upon all who did not make the same show as themselves.
God is so great that he despises none: he has no rivals and no need to sustain himself by lowering the good name of others. He is supremely real, so true and thorough, that in him there can never be a thought of despising any in order to guard himself. His power is not so soon aroused to war, because it has no opposition to fear; his might is associated with gentleness, and fury is not in him, because it is such great might that once it is in action it devours his adversaries as flame consumes stubble. God is too great to be contemptuous, too mighty to be haughty.
FOR MEDITATION: God will not despise the afflicted (Psalm 22:24), the contrite (Psalm 51:17) or the destitute (Psalm 102:17), but will oppose all who despise neighbours (Proverbs 11:12; 14:21), parents (Proverbs 15:5, 20; 30:17), children (Matthew 18:10) or the poor (James 2:6). Despising others can actually amount to despising God himself (Luke 10:16).
C. H. Spurgeon and Terence Peter Crosby, 365 Days with Spurgeon (Volume 4), (Leominster, UK: Day One Publications, 2007), 305.
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