"Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts." - Zechariah 4:6b"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.' - 2 Corinthians 3:17
God will carry on and complete this work, as he had begun their deliverance from Babylon, not by external force, but by secret operations and internal influences upon the minds of men. He says this who is the Lord of hosts, and could do it vi et armis—by force, has legions at command; but he will do it, not by human might or power, but by his own Spirit. What is done by his Spirit is done by might and power, but it stands in opposition to visible force. Israel was brought out of Egypt, and into Canaan, by might and power; in both these works of wonder great slaughter was made. But they were brought out of Babylon, and into Canaan the second time, by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts working upon the spirit of Cyrus, and inclining him to proclaim liberty to them, and working upon the spirits of the captives, and inclining them to accept the liberty offered them. It was by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts that the people were excited and animated to build the temple; and therefore they are said to be helped by the prophets of God, because they, as the Spirit's mouth, spoke to their hearts, Ezra 5:2. It was by the same Spirit that the heart of Darius was inclined to favour and further that good work and that the sworn enemies of it were infatuated in their councils, so that they could not hinder it as they designed. Note, The work of God is often carried on very successfully when yet it is carried on very silently, and without the assistance of human force; the gospel-temple is built, not by might or power (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal), but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts, whose work on men's consciences is mighty to the pulling down of strong-holds; thus the excellency of the power is of God, and not of man. When instruments fail, let us therefore leave it to God to do his work himself by his own Spirit.
LIBERTY is the birthright of every man. He may be born a pauper; he may be an orphan; his parents may be altogether unknown, but liberty is his inalienable birthright. He may be uneducated - he may be poor as poverty itself - he may never have a foot of land to call his own - he may barely have a shred of clothing, except a few rags to cover him, but, poor as he is, nature has fashioned him for freedom - he has a right to be free, and if he does not have liberty, it is his birthright, and he shouldn't rest until he gets it.Liberty is the heirloom of all the sons and daughters of Adam. But where do you find liberty unaccompanied by religion? True it is that all men have a right to liberty, but it is equally true that you can't just find it anywhere; you find it in the Spirit of the Lord. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." Thank God, this is a free country.
In no other land but where the Bible is opened, and in no other realm but where the Gospel is preached, can you find liberty. Roam through countries where Christianity hasn't taken root and you will find yourself afraid. You feel you are under an iron hand, you are not free. Why? Because you are under the tyranny engendered by a false religion: you do not have free Christianity there, and it is not until Christianity comes that there can be freedom. It is where the Spirit of the Lord is that there is liberty, and nowhere else. Men talk about being free - they describe model governments, but they are dreaming because there can be no real freedom in the world, except, "where the spirit of the Lord is."
He is the free man, whom the truth makes free. He who has grace in his heart is free - he has righteousness on his side - he has God within him - the indwelling Spirit of the Holy Ghost - he is a prince of the blood royal of heaven - he is a noble, having the true patent of nobility - he is one of God's elect, distinguished, chosen children, and he is not the man to bend, or meanly cringe. No! Sooner would he walk the burning furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - sooner would he be cast into the lion's den with Daniel, than yield a point of principle. He is a free man. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty" in its fullest, highest, and widest sense. God give you friends, to have that "Spirit of the Lord;" for without it, in a free country, ye may still be bondsmen; and where there are no slaves in body, you may be slaves in soul.
The Bible speaks of Spiritual liberty; and now I address the children of God:
Brethren, you and I enjoy spiritual liberty if we have "the Spirit of the Lord" within us. What does this imply? It implies that there was a time when we did not have that Spiritual liberty - when we were slaves. But a little while ago all of us who are now free in Christ Jesus, were slaves of the devil: we were led captives at his will. We talked of free-will, but free-will is a slave. We boasted that we could do what we pleased; but what a slavish liberty we had! It was an imagined freedom. We were slaves to our lusts and passions - slaves to sin; but now we are freed from sin; we are delivered from the Devil, our tyrant, and we are free!
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-92) was England's best-known preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. As his fame grew among the Christian community of England, the number of people who came to listen to him speak in different venues exceeded 10,000 at times. Many of the great theologians and preachers of the last century such as D. L. Moody, J. Hudson Taylor, F. B. Meyer, George Muller, and William Robertson Nicoll have said that Spurgeon greatly influenced their spiritual lives.
Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,
Then to side with truth is noble, when we share her wretched crust,
By the light of burning martyrs, Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track,
Though the cause of evil prosper, yet the truth alone is strong;
In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever, 'twixt that darkness and that light.
Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and 'tis prosperous to be just;
Then it is the brave man chooses while the coward stands aside,
Till the multitude make virtue of the faith they had denied.
Toiling up new Calv'ries ever with the cross that turns not back;
New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth,
They must upward still and onward, who would keep abreast of truth.
Though her portion be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong;
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own.
Index of past Daily Meditations
Click here to go to the 'Daily Scripture Meditations' index page
Daily Devotional Readings
Click here to read Charles Haddon Spurgeon's 'Morning and Evening' Devotionals
Click here to read 'Daily Light On The Daily Path' devotionals
Order your own modern-language copy of the classic 'Daily Light On The Daily Path'
In the New International Version...
In the English Standard Version...
Click here to read daily devotionals from
C.H. Spurgeon's 'Morning And Evening'Click here to read 'Charles Haddon Spurgeon',
the classic biography by W. Y. Fullerton
We also warmly recommend these superb writings, "Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." by John Charles Ryle, "Bible Reading" by John Charles Ryle, and "A Call To Prayer" by John Charles Ryle, to our readers.You'll find a selection of J.C. Ryle's books below them, on the same pages. They make for some of the most profitable, edifying, encouraging and uplifting Christian books available, and are classics which have stood the test of time!
If you appreciate the writings of the godly Bishop Ryle, you'll certainly delight in those of the great Charles Haddon Spurgeon, whose sermons were flashed around the world by telegraph and reprinted in full the following day in newspapers from New York City to Sydney, Australia! We particularly recommend "All of Grace", "Justification by Faith", "The Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit", and "A Revival Sermon".
And how could we adequately describe the preaching of the incomparable Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, whose pulpit ministry in Britain had an effect felt around the world! We warmly recommend his sermons, "The Parable of the Prodigal Son", "God and Mammon", "The Light of the World", "The Salt of the Earth", "Jesus on Prayer". "The Call to Battle", and "A Living Hope of the Hereafter".
And for a moving witness to steadfast Christian faith under persecution, see "The Scottish Covenanters".
Click here for more Classic Christian Sermons and Writings
Looking for a church in Mimico, Mimico-by-the-Lake, or Etobicoke?
Click here for a select listing of Christian churches in this area.
![Bestselling Christian Books by, and on, Charles Hadden Spurgeon ['C.H. Spurgeon'] from Toronto Christian Book Centre, your single source for Christian Bibles, Christian books, Christian music, Christian videos, Christian children's books, Christian computer software, and Christian DVDs, serving global customers online from Toronto, Ontario, Canada](spurgeonban.gif)
We have provided in the box below a live, continually-updated listing of the current bestselling books on this topic at Amazon.com. Please click on any of these titles to read extracts from, or reviews of, these books. You can also place an order for any of themt at the same time with Amazon.Com, if you wish, and enjoy speedy delivery plus the low Amazon.Com price!
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