Evening, September 30
Go To Morning Reading
“A living dog is better than a dead lion.”
Ecclesiastes 9:4
Life is a precious thing, and in its humblest form it is superior
to death. This truth is eminently certain in spiritual things. It
is better to be the least in the kingdom of heaven than the greatest
out of it. The lowest degree of grace is superior to the noblest development
of unregenerate nature. Where the Holy Ghost implants divine life
in the soul, there is a precious deposit which none of the refinements
of education can equal. The thief on the cross excels Caesar on his
throne; Lazarus among the dogs is better than Cicero among the senators;
and the most unlettered Christian is in the sight of God superior
to Plato. Life is the badge of nobility in the realm of spiritual
things, and men without it are only coarser or finer specimens of
the same lifeless material, needing to be quickened, for they are
dead in trespasses and sins.
A living, loving, gospel sermon, however unlearned in matter and uncouth
in style, is better than the finest discourse devoid of unction and
power. A living dog keeps better watch than a dead lion, and is of
more service to his master; and so the poorest spiritual preacher
is infinitely to be preferred to the exquisite orator who has no wisdom
but that of words, no energy but that of sound. The like holds good
of our prayers and other religious exercises; if we are quickened
in them by the Holy Spirit, they are acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ, though we may think them to be worthless things; while our
grand performances in which our hearts were absent, like dead lions,
are mere carrion in the sight of the living God. O for living groans,
living sighs, living despondencies, rather than lifeless songs and
dead calms. Better anything than death. The snarlings of the dog of
hell will at least keep us awake, but dead faith and dead profession,
what greater curses can a man have? Quicken us, quicken us, O Lord!