Tender, Loving, Wise

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Dear Reader,

I was just reading Charles H. Spurgeon's devotional from April 30th, Evening, and I thought that I simply must share it. At first, I intended to simply add part of it to my favorites quotes page, but I realized that it would be better to share the whole thing - which would be far too much to consider a mere 'quote'! 

I dearly hope that it speaks to you.

"How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God." -Psalm 139:17

Divine omniscience affords no comfort to the ungodly mind, but to the child of God it overflows with consolation. God is always thinking upon us, never turns aside his mind from us, has us always before his eyes; and this is precisely as we would have it, for it would be dreadful to exist for a moment beyond the observation of our heavenly Father. His thoughts are always tender, loving, wise, prudent, far-reaching, and they bring to us countless benefits: hence it is a choice delight to remember them. The Lord always did think upon his people: hence their election and the covenant of grace by which their salvation is secured; he always will think upon them: hence their final perseverance by which they shall be brought safely to their final rest. In all our wanderings the watchful glance of the Eternal Watcher is evermore fixed upon us—we never roam beyond the Shepherd’s eye. In our sorrows he observes us incessantly, and not a pang escapes him; in our toils he marks all our weariness, and writes in his book all the struggles of his faithful ones. These thoughts of the Lord encompass us in all our paths, and penetrate the innermost region of our being. Not a nerve or tissue, valve or vessel, of our bodily organization is uncared for; all the littles of our little world are thought upon by the great God.

Dear reader, is this precious to you? then hold to it. Never be led astray by those philosophic fools who preach up an impersonal God, and talk of self-existent, self-governing matter. The Lord liveth and thinketh upon us, this is a truth far too precious for us to be lightly robbed of it. The notice of a nobleman is valued so highly that he who has it counts his fortune made; but what is it to be thought of by the King of kings! If the Lord thinketh upon us, all is well, and we may rejoice evermore.

{End of quote}

I love to think about that first line, "Divine omniscience affords no comfort to the ungodly mind, but to the child of God it overflows with consolation." It is sad for the sake of those outside of such a blessing, but all the more glorious for the Children of God to know that He cares! Holding onto this kind of promise is infinitely precious.

I am grieved to think about how often my thoughts reflect selfishness rather than praise to the God who saved me from sin and eternal punishment! He deserves far more than what I can give, and although He knows this, day after day He continues to give me life. Every breath we take is evidence of His incredible mercy. After all that we have done against Him, even still, '...He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.' (Matthew 5:45)

We humans can hold grudges for a long time, and we become angry with each other so quickly. But think about God's mercy; not only does He think about us, but He cares for every one of us with tenderness and incredible mercy, even though we have done NOTHING to deserve it.

I utter this phrase with awe, on my knees, "our God is an awesome God!"