Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

June 16– Evening

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

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” 

—Psalm 27:1

Notice the personal dimension to these statements. The Lord is “my” light and “my” salvation. The soul is assured of it and, therefore, declares it boldly. Into the soul at the new birth divine light is poured as the precursor of salvation. Where there is not enough light to reveal our own darkness and to make us long for the Lord Jesus, there is no salvation. But when our hearts are converted, God becomes our joy, comfort, guide, teacher, and in every sense our light. He is light within, light around, light reflected from us and light to be revealed to us.

Note also that it is not said merely that the Lord gives light but that he is light; nor that he gives salvation but that he is salvation. The one who has laid hold upon God by faith has all covenant blessings in his possession. Since this is true, it leads one to ask, “Whom, then, shall I fear?” This is a question which is its own answer. The powers of darkness are not to be feared, for the Lord, our light, destroys them. The damnation of hell is not to be dreaded, for the Lord is our salvation. This confidence is quite different from the boasting of Goliath, for it rests not upon the conceited vigor of one’s own strength but upon the real power of the omnipotent I AM. “The Lord is the strength of my life.”

The Lord is the one who is ultimately to be praised, but the works of God are displayed in the life of the believer.  We may well accumulate terms of praise from those who look on, but we know that our life derives all its strength from God, and, if he consents to make us strong, we cannot be weakened by all the machinations of the adversary. “Of whom shall I be afraid?” “If God be for us,” who can be against us, either now or in time to come? [M&E]