My dad was once describing the way that Charles Spurgeon’s writing had impacted him by saying that it was as if he (Spurgeon) were a miner that was always digging for and producing beautiful jewels as he unfolded the word of God, and that Spurgeon had this way with words that could make a reader understand things from so many different angles and see different aspects of the beauty of a thing in the same way a diamond shines and reflects light from so many different views. I was intrigued and so, I began to peruse Spurgeon’s writing occasionally. A great resource my dad linked me to was Phil Johnson’s website www.spurgeon.org, where you can find what I think is the largest online collection of his works. One of my favourites has been his daily devotional called Morning and Evening. I use it almost every day and can’t bookmark enough of the sentences and truths he makes clear to my mind. What a gift- to be able to write with precision and clarity. That’s definitely a talent I haven’t honed, but one that I think is so valuable and worth cultivating, not for the writer’s sake, but for the sake of those who read. We swim in muddy waters every day, where ideas are presented to us at lightning speed, and persuasive but subtle arguments of all kinds are influencing our thoughts. How important for a Christian to be clear, to be pointed, to be persuasive in all the right ways! So much is at stake and it matters that the words we write (and speak for that matter), not be wasted. This is a lesson to self that I am and will for a long time be learning.
Enough said. I’ll point you to Spurgeon this morning to start off your day with his clear insight into Psalm 104:16. If you haven’t already become familiar with who Charles Spurgeon is, you need to head over to www.spurgeon.org and read some of his writings and sermons and take a look at his biography. He wasn’t called the Prince of Preachers for no reason!
“The cedars of Lebanon which He hath planted.”—Psalm 104:16.
EBANON’S cedars are emblematic of the Christian, in that they owe their planting entirely to the Lord. This is quite true of every child of God. He is not man-planted, nor self-planted, but God-planted. The mysterious hand of the divine Spirit dropped the living seed into a heart which He had Himself prepared for its reception. Every true heir of heaven owns the great Husbandman as his planter. Moreover, the cedars of Lebanon are not dependent upon man for their watering; they stand on the lofty rock, unmoistened by human irrigation; and yet our heavenly Father supplieth them. Thus it is with the Christian who has learned to live by faith. He is independent of man, even in temporal things; for his continued maintenance he looks to the Lord his God, and to Him alone. The dew of heaven is his portion, and the God of heaven is his fountain. Again, the cedars of Lebanon are not protected by any mortal power. They owe nothing to man for their preservation from stormy wind and tempest. They are God’s trees, kept and preserved by Him, and by Him alone. It is precisely the same with the Christian. He is not a hot-house plant, sheltered from temptation; he stands in the most exposed position; he has no shelter, no protection, except this, that the broad wings of the eternal God always cover the cedars which He Himself has planted. Like cedars, believers are full of sap having vitality enough to be ever green, even amid winter’s snows. Lastly, the flourishing and majestic condition of the cedar is to the praise of God only. The Lord, even the Lord alone hath been everything unto the cedars, and, therefore David very sweetly puts it in one of the psalms, “Praise ye the Lord, fruitful trees and all cedars.” In the believer there is nothing that can magnify man; he is planted, nourished, and protected by the Lord’s own hand, and to Him let all the glory be ascribed.
thispassinglife.com 
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