C. H. Spurgeon - Faiths Checkbook

A promise from God may very instructively be compared to a checkpayable to order. It is given to the believer with the view ofbestowing upon him some good thing. It is not meant that he shouldread it over comfortably, and then have done with it. No, he is totreat the promise as a reality, as a man treats a check.

He is to take the promise, and endorse it with his own name bypersonally receiving it as true. He is by faith to accept it as hisown. He sets to his seal that God is true, and true as to thisparticular word of promise. He goes further, and believes that he hasthe blessing in having the sure promise of it, and therefore he putshis name to it to testify to the receipt of the blessing.

This done, he must believingly present the promise to the Lord, asa man presents a check at the counter of the Bank. He must plead it byprayer, expecting to have it fulfilled. If he has come to Heaven'sbank at the right date, he will receive the promised amount at once.If the date should happen to be further on, he must patiently waittill its arrival; but meanwhile he may count the promise as money, forthe Bank is sure to pay when the due time arrives.

Some fail to place the endorsement of faith upon the check, and sothey get nothing; and others are slack in presenting it, and thesealso receive nothing. This is not the fault of the promise, but ofthose who do not act with it in a common-sense, business-like manner.

God has given no pledge which He will not redeem, and encouraged nohope which He will not fulfill. To help my brethren to believe this, Ihave prepared this little volume. The sight of the promises themselvesis good for the eyes of faith: the more we study the words of grace,the more grace shall we derive from the words. To the cheeringScriptures I have added testimonies of my own, the fruit of trial andexperience. I believe all the promises of God, but many of them I havepersonally tried and proved. I have seen that they are true, for theyhave been fulfilled to me. This, I trust, may be cheering to theyoung; and not without solace to the older sort. One man's experiencemay be of the utmost use to another; and this is why the man of God ofold wrote, "I sought the Lord, and he heard me"; and again, "This poorman cried, and the Lord heard him."

I commenced these daily portions when I was wading in the surf ofcontroversy. Since then I have been cast into "waters to swim in,"which, but for God's upholding hand, would have proved waters to drownin. I have endured tribulation from many flails. Sharp bodily painsucceeded mental depression, and this was accompanied both bybereavement, and affliction in the person of one dear as life. Thewaters rolled in continually, wave upon wave. I do not mention this toexact sympathy, but simply to let the reader see that I am no dry-landsailor. I have traversed full many a time those oceans which are notPacific: I know the roll of the billows, and the rush of the winds.Never were the promises of Jehovah so precious to me as at this hour.Some of them I never understood till now; I had not reached the dateat which they matured, for I was not myself mature enough to perceivetheir meaning.

How much more wonderful is the Bible to me now than it was a fewmonths ago! In obeying the Lord, and bearing His reproach outside thecamp, I have not received new promises; but the result to me is muchthe same as if I had done so, for the old ones have opened up to mewith richer stores. Specially has the Word of the Lord to His servantJeremiah sounded exceedingly sweet in mine ears. His lot it was tospeak to those who would not hear, or hearing, would not believe. Hiswas the sorrow which comes of disappointed love, and resolute loyalty;he would have turned his people from their errors, but he would nothimself quit the way of the Lord. For him there were words of deepsustaining power, which kept his mind from failing where natureunaided must have sunk. These and such like golden sentences of graceI have loved more than my necessary food, and with them I haveenriched these pages.

Oh, that I might comfort some of my Master's servants! I havewritten out of my own heart with the view of comforting their hearts.I would say to them in their trials -- My brethren, God is good. Hewill not forsake you: He will bear you through. There is a promiseprepared for your present emergencies; and if you will believe andplead it at the mercy-seat through Jesus Christ, you shall see thehand of the Lord stretched out to help you. Everything else will fail,but His word never will. He has been to me so faithful in countlessinstances that I must encourage you to trust Him. I should beungrateful to God and unkind to you if I did not do so.

May the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, inspire the people of the Lordwith fresh faith! I know that, without His divine power, all that Ican say will be of no avail; but, under His quickening influence, eventhe humblest testimony will confirm feeble knees, and strengthen weakhands. God is glorified when His servants trust Him implicitly. Wecannot be too much of children with our heavenly Father. Our youngones ask no question about our will or our power, but having oncereceived a promise from father, they rejoice in the prospect of itsfulfillment, never doubting that it is sure as the sun. May manyreaders, whom I may never see, discover the duty and delight of suchchild-like trust in God while they are reading the little bit which Ihave prepared for each day in the year.

For long years several thousands of God's people have read myMORNING BY MORNING and EVENING BY EVENING, and many of them have beengood enough to write me, and acknowledge the benefit of such a perusal.I hope this little book will not interfere with those volumes. Thesedaily portions are gathered from a more varied range of topics, andare all the more profitable because they deal with doctrine,experience, practice, and everything else. This is a sweetmeat ofpromise only, and it must not interfere with the fuller meals: nay,rather, I hope it will excite a desire for them.

May our Lord Jesus accept this my service for His sheep and lambs,from

His unworthy Servant,

C.H. Spurgeon

GENESIS

-- Jan. 1

-- Jan. 11

-- Feb. 12

-- Aug. 1

-- Jan. 3

-- Jan. 30

-- May 28

-- July 1

-- May 11

-- Oct. 2

EXODUS

-- Jan. 17

-- Aug. 2

-- Jan. 21

-- Oct. 29

-- June 5

-- Feb. 5

-- Dec. 10

-- May 26

-- Apr. 4

-- Nov. 27

-- Apr. 19

LEVITICUS

-- Jan. 23

-- Oct. 9

-- Aug. 3

NUMBERS

-- Aug. 4

-- Oct. 28

-- Apr. 10

-- Sept. 26

-- Jan. 26

DEUTERONOMY

-- Aug. 6

-- Nov. 23

-- Jan. 29

-- May 7

-- Apr. 26

-- June 17

-- Feb. 6

-- Feb. 13

-- Mar. 8

-- Sept. 10

-- Nov. 28

-- Apr. 7

-- May 25

-- Mar. 28

-- May 5

-- Oct. 12

-- Nov. 30

-- Sept. 18

-- Dec. 23

-- Mar. 12

-- July 19

-- June 12

-- Sept. 13

-- Dec. 24

JOSHUA

-- Apr. 18