Spurgeon: January AM
* 01/01/AM
"They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year."
--Joshua 5:12
Israel's weary wanderings were all over, and the promised
rest was attained. No more moving tents, fiery serpents, fierce
Amalekites, and howling wildernesses: they came to the land
which flowed with milk and honey, and they ate the old corn of
the land. Perhaps this year, beloved Christian reader, this may
be thy case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith be in
active exercise, it will yield unalloyed delight. To be with
Jesus in the rest which remaineth for the people of God, is a
cheering hope indeed, and to expect this glory so soon is a
double bliss. Unbelief shudders at the Jordan which still rolls
between us and the goodly land, but let us rest assured that we
have already experienced more ills than death at its worst can
cause us. Let us banish every fearful thought, and rejoice with
exceeding great joy, in the prospect that this year we shall
begin to be "for ever with the Lord."
A part of the host will this year tarry on earth, to do
service for their Lord. If this should fall to our lot, there is
no reason why the New Year's text should not still be true. "We
who have believed do enter into rest." The Holy Spirit is the
earnest of our inheritance; He gives us "glory begun below." In
heaven they are secure, and so are we preserve in Christ Jesus;
there they triumph over their enemies, and we have victories
too. Celestial spirits enjoy communion with their Lord, and this
is not denied to us; they rest in His love, and we have perfect
peace in Him: they hymn His praise, and it is our privilege to
bless Him too. We will this year gather celestial fruits on
earthly ground, where faith and hope have made the desert like
the garden of the Lord. Man did eat angels' food of old, and why
not now ? O for grace to feed on Jesus, and so to eat of the
fruit of the land of Canaan this year!