Charles Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook

"Bring ye all of the tithes into the Storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine House, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of Heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Malachi 3:10

Many read and plead this promise without noticing the condition upon which the blessing is promised. We cannot expect heaven to be opened or blessing...

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." Revelation 2:11

The first death we must endure unless the LORD should suddenly come to His temple. For this let us abide in readiness, awaiting it without fear, since Jesus has transformed death from a dreary cavern into a passage leading to glory.

The thing to be feared is not the first but...

"The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down." Psalms 146:8

Am I bowed down? Then let me urge this word of grace before the LORD. It is His way, His custom, His promise, His delight, to raise up them that are bowed down. Is it a sense of sin and a consequent depression of spirit which distresses me? Then the work of Jesus is, in this case, made and provided to raise me up into rest. O LORD,...

"He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will He pay him again." Proverbs 19:17

We are to give to the poor out of pity. Not to be seen and applauded, much less to get influence over them; but out of pure sympathy and compassion we must give them help.

We must not expect to get anything back from the poor, not even gratitude; but we should regard what we have done as a loan to the...

"The just shall live by faith." Romans 1:17

I shall not die, I can, I do, believe in the LORD my God, and this faith will keep me alive. I would be numbered among those who in their lives are just; but even if I were perfect I would not try to live by my righteousness; I would cling to the work of the LORD Jesus and still live by faith in Him and by nothing else. If I were able to give my body to be burned for my LORD Jesus, yet I...

"For thus saith the LORD God; Behold, I, even I, will both search My sheep, and seek them out." Ezekiel 34:11

This He does at the first when His elect are like wandering sheep that know not the Shepherd or the fold. How wonderfully doth the LORD find out His chosen! Jesus is great as a seeking Shepherd as well as a saving Shepherd. Though many of those His Father gave Him have gone as near to hell-gate as they well can, yet the...

"I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." Joshua 1:5

This word to Joshua is often quoted; it is the basis of that New Testament word "He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

Beloved, a life of warfare is before us, but the LORD of Hosts is with us. Are we called to lead a great but fickle people? This promise guarantees us all the wisdom and prudence that we shall need. Have we to...

"When a man's ways please the LORD, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." Proverbs 16:7

I must see that my ways please the LORD. Even then I shall have enemies; and, perhaps, all the more certainly because I endeavor to do that which is right. But what a promise this is! The LORD will make the wrath of man to praise Him and abate it so that it shall not distress me.

He can constrain an enemy to desist from...

"In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness Unto The LORD." Zechariah 14:20

Happy day when all things shall be consecrated, and the horses' bells shall ring out holiness to the LORD! That day has come to me. Do I not make all things holy to God? These garments, when I put them on or take them off, shall they not remind me of the righteousness of Christ Jesus my LORD? Shall not my work be done as unto the...

"The desires of the righteous shall be granted." Proverbs 10:24

Because it is a righteous desire it is safe for God to grant it. It would be neither good for the man himself, nor for society at large, that such a promise should be made to the unrighteous. Let us keep the LORD's commands, and He will rightfully have respect to our desires.

When righteous men are left to desire unrighteous desires, they will not be granted to...

"He shall choose our inheritance for us." Psalms 47:4

Our enemies would allot us a very dreary portion, but we are not left in their hands. The LORD will cause us to stand in our lot, and our place is appointed by His infinite wisdom. A wiser mind than our own arranges our destiny. The ordaining of all things is with God, and we are glad to have it so; we choose that God should choose for us. If we might have our own way we would...

"Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His Glorious Body." Philippians 3:21

Often when we are racked with pain and unable to think or worship, we feel that this indeed is "the body of our humiliation," and when we are tempted by the passions which rise from the flesh we do not think the word vile at all too vigorous a translation. Our bodies humble us; and that is about the best thing they do for us....

"For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Jeremiah 31:34

When we know the LORD, we receive the forgiveness of sins. We know Him as the God of grace, passing by our transgressions. What a joyful discovery is this!

But how divinely is this promise worded: the LORD promises no more to remember our sins! Can God forget? He says He will, and He means what He says. He will regard us as though we...

"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD." Jeremiah 31:34

Truly, whatever else we do not know, we know the LORD. This day is this promise true in our experience, and it is not a little one. The least believer among us knows God in Christ Jesus. Not as fully as we desire; but...