Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

July 7– Evening

by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“When I [the Lord] passed by you [Israel], I said unto you, ‘Live!’” 

—Ezekiel 16:6

If you have been saved and belong to the Lord, consider gratefully this mandate of mercy to “Live!” It is a command that comes from the Lord himself, and it is majestic.

In this passage, we see a poor sinner with nothing in him but sin, expecting nothing but wrath; but the eternal Lord passes by in his glory; he looks, he pauses, and he pronounces the solitary but royal word “Live!” Only God can speak like that. Only He can dispense life with a single syllable.

When he says “Live,” it includes many things. Here is judicial life. The sinner is ready to be condemned, but the mighty One says, “Live,” and he rises pardoned and absolved. It is spiritual life. When we were dead in our trespasses and sins, we did not know Jesus; we could not see him or hear his voice. But Jehovah said “Live,” and we were made alive. The command to live includes glory-life, which is the perfection of spiritual life which continues all the years of our lives until death. But even then, in the shadows of death, the Lord’s voice is still heard: “Live!” In the morning of the resurrection, that same voice is echoed by the archangel, “Live.” Holy spirits rise to heaven to be blest forever in the glory of their God— all in the power of this same word, “Live.”

Notice that this command cannot be ignored or resisted. When Saul of Tarsus was on the road to Damascus, he heard a voice from heaven, and a light was seen above the brightness of the sun. Immediately, Saul cried out, “Lord, what will you have me do?” God’s mandate to live is one of free grace. When sinners are saved, it is only because God does it to magnify his free, unpurchased, unsought grace. Dear Christian, you are a debtor to grace. So, live! Live in gratitude; live a Christlike life. By God’s command, “Live!” [M&E]