Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

September 20– Morning

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

“The Sword of the Lord and of Gideon.”

—Judges 7:20

Gideon commanded his small army to do two things: First, after hiding the light of the soldiers’ torches in clay pots, they were to break those pots at the appointed signal and let their lights shine openly. And then, secondly, they were to blow their trumpets and shout, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!”

This is precisely what all Christians must do. First, you must shine; break the clay pot that conceals your light; throw aside the barrier that has been hiding your candle, and shine. Let your light shine before men; let your good works be such that when men look upon you they’ll know that you have been with Jesus.

Then, secondly, there must be the sound: the blowing of the trumpet. There must be active exertions for the ingathering of sinners by proclaiming the message of Christ crucified. Take the gospel to them; carry it to their door; put it in their way; don’t allow them to escape it. Blow the trumpet right against their ears.

But always remember that it is “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” It is God’s work, and yet we are not to be idle. If we only cry, “The sword of the Lord!” then we’ll be guilty of complacent presumption; and if we shout, “The sword of Gideon!” we’ll be guilty of trusting in our own strength as an idol. We must blend the two in practical harmony. We can do nothing of ourselves, but we can do everything by the enablement of our God.

Today, let’s blaze forth with torches of holy living and speak with trumpets of testimony to God. God will be with us! Our enemies will be put to confusion, and the Lord of hosts will reign for ever and ever. [M&E]