Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

May 17– Evening

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

“You are my servant; I have chosen you.” 

—Isaiah 41:9

If we have received the grace of God in our hearts, its practical effect has been to make us God’s servants. We may be unfaithful servants; we certainly are unprofitable ones, but, blessed be his name, we are his servants, wearing his uniform, feeding at his table, and obeying his commands. We were once the servants of sin, but he who made us free has now taken us into his family and taught us obedience to his will, though imperfectly. As we hear God’s voice saying unto us, “You are my servant,” we respond like David and say, “I am your servant; you have loosened my bonds.”

But notice that the Lord calls us not only his “servants” but his “chosen ones.” We did not choose him first, but he chose us. Yes, we are God’s servants; we were not always so. The change within us must be ascribed to his sovereign grace. The eye of sovereignty singled us out, and the voice of unchanging grace declared, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” Long before time began or space was created, God had written upon his heart the names of his elect people. He had predestinated them to be conformed unto the image of his Son and ordained them heirs of all the fulness of his love, his grace, and his glory.

What comfort is here! If the Lord loved us so long, will he ever cast us away? He knew how stiff-necked we were. He understood that our hearts were evil, and yet he made the choice.

Our Savior is no fickle lover. He does not feel enchanted for awhile with some gleams of beauty from his church’s eye, and then afterwards cast her off because of her unfaithfulness. No! He married her in eternity past, and it is written of Jehovah, “He hates divorce.” The eternal choice is a bond upon our gratitude and upon his faithfulness which neither can disown. [M&E]