Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–
February 10– Evening
by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff
“I have swept away your sins like a cloud; return to me, for I have redeemed you.”
—Isaiah 44:22
Notice how the removal of our sins is compared to the removal of clouds from the sky. As clouds are of many shapes and shades, so are our transgressions. As clouds obscure the light of the sun and darken the landscape beneath, so our sins hide from us the light of Jehovah’s face and cause us to sit in the shadow of death. The clouds of our sin are earth-born things that rise from the miry places of our nature; and when they are collected in full measure, they rain and storm upon us. Unlike rain clouds, however, our sins do not yield gentle showers but, rather, threaten to deluge us with a fiery flood of destruction. O, you dark clouds of sin, how can it be fair weather with our souls as long as you remain?
But consider with a joyful eye the notable act of divine mercy in “blotting out” those clouds! God himself appears on the scene, and in divine compassion, instead of manifesting his anger, reveals his grace. He at once and forever effectually removes the mischief, not by blowing away the cloud, but by blotting it out from existence once and for all. Against the justified man, no sin remains; the great transaction of the cross has eternally removed his transgressions from him. On Calvary’s summit, the great deed by which the sin of all the chosen was forever put away was completely and effectually performed.
Finally, and practically, let us obey God’s gracious command, “Return to me.” Why should pardoned sinners live at a distance from their God? If we have been forgiven all our sins, let no fear hold us back from boldly accessing our Lord. Let any backward sliding into sin cause us to grieve, and let us not continue to slide backward. To the greatest possible nearness of communion with the Lord, let us, in the power of the Holy Spirit, strive mightily to return to him. O Lord, restore us tonight! [M&E]
