This page is intentionally left blank Look Unto Me 0310283876_lookuntome.indd 1 8/29/08 7:47:18 AM Also by Jim Reimann Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings by L. B. Cowman (updated by Jim Reimann) Streams in the Desert for Graduates by L. B. Cowman (updated by Jim Reimann) Streams for Teens by L. B. Cowman (updated by Jim Reimann) My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers (updated by Jim Reimann) Coming Fall 2010: The companion to Look Unto Me: Hear My Voice: The Devotions of Charles Spurgeon (expanded, indexed, and updated by Jim Reimann [drawn from Evening by Evening]) 0310283876_lookuntome.indd 2 8/29/08 7:47:18 AM Look Unto Me The Devotions of Charles Spurgeon Jim Reimann editor of the updated editons of streams in the desert® & my utmost for his highest 0310283876_lookuntome.indd 3 8/29/08 7:47:18 AM Look Unto Me Adobe® Acrobat® eBook Reader® format Copyright © 2008 by James G. Reimann This title is also available as a Zondervan ebook. Visit www.zondervan.com/ebooks. Charles Spurgeon’s original book is formerly published as Morning by Morning Requests for information should be addressed to: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530 ISBN-13: 978-0-310-30136-3 All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Ver- sion®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked AMPLIFIED are taken from The Amplified Bible, New Testament. Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1987, by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright © 2000, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Abbreviations of translations used: AMPLIFIED: Amplified Bible ESV: English Standard Version KJV: Kings James Version NASB: New American Standard Bible NKJV: New King James Version Italicized emphasis in Scripture verses has been added by the editor/author. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmit- ted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Interior design by Christine Orejuela-Winkelman 0310283876_lookuntome.indd 4 8/29/08 7:47:18 AM Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. Isaiah 45:22 KJV 0310283876_lookuntome.indd 5 8/29/08 7:47:18 AM CONTENTS The History Behind Look Unto Me Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Scripture Index Subject Index About the Author This page is intentionally left blank The History Behind Look Unto Me Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. Isaiah 45:22 KJV “Sell all [the books] you have . and buy so then, I must honestly say I never heard Spurgeon.” them once fully preach the gospel. I mean These are the words of the noted twentieth- by that, they preached truth, great truths, century German theologian Helmut Thielicke many good truths that were fi tting to many (1908 – 1986). Including 140 books and 25,000 of their congregation — spiritually minded sermons, Spurgeon has some 25 million words people — but what I wanted to know was, in print, more than any other Chris tian author, “How can I get my sins forgiven?” And they living or dead. never told me that. I wanted to hear how a poor sinner, under conviction of sin, might Spurgeon’s conversion fi nd peace with God. At last, one snowy day — it snowed so Charles Haddon Spurgeon (June 19, 1834 – Janu- much I could not go to the place I had de- ary 31, 1892) fi nished writing Morning by Morn- termined to go — I was forced to stop along ing (now expanded, indexed, and updated as Look the road, and it was a blessed stop to me. I Unto Me) in 1865, when he was only thirty-one found an obscure street and on that street years old — an amazing work for such a young was a little chapel — a place I did not know. I man! By that time, however, he had been a pas- entered and sat down, but no minister came. tor faithfully expositing God’s Word for fourteen Finally, a very thin-looking man came to the years, for he was called to the ministry at the early pulpit and opened his Bible and read these age of seventeen. Ultimately, he would leave this words: “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all earth at the age of fi fty-seven, having spent forty the ends of the earth” (Isa. 45:22 KJV). Then, years as a preacher, pastor, and author as well as setting his eyes upon me, as if he knew my founder of a pastor’s college and an orphanage. heart, he said: “Young man, you are in trou- The Lord saved him at the age of fi fteen, on ble.” Well, I was, sure enough. He continued, January 6, 1850. The following is his salvation ac- “You will never get out of it unless you look count in his own words: to Christ.” And then, lifting up his hands, he It pleased God in my childhood to convict cried out, “Look, look, look! It is only look!” me of my sin. I lived as a miserable creature, I saw at once the way of salvation. Oh, how I fi nding no hope or comfort; thinking, surely did leap for joy at that moment! I don’t know God would never save me. But I resolved to what else he said — I did not take much visit every place of worship in town to fi nd notice of it, for I was so possessed with that the way of salvation. I was willing to do any- one thought. I had been waiting to do fi fty thing, and be anything, if God would only things, but when I heard this word “Look!” forgive me. what a charming word it seemed to me. Oh, I set off, going to all the places of wor- I looked until I could almost have looked my ship, and though I dearly venerate the men eyes away! And in heaven I will look on still who occupy those pulpits now, and did in my joy unspeakable. i 0310283876_lookuntome.indd Sec1:i 8/29/08 7:47:18 AM I now think I am bound never to preach geon is a humbling experience. Yet my purpose in a sermon without preaching to sinners. I do updating his language is the same as my purpose think that a minister who can preach a ser- in previously updating My Utmost for His Highest mon without addressing sinners does not (by Oswald Chambers) and Streams in the Desert know how to preach. (by Lettie B. Cowman) — to make these great works from the nineteenth and early twentieth Thus began a life fully surrendered to the centuries accessible to today’s readers. Lord and His Word. In Look Unto Me (formerly published as Spurgeon’s love of education Morning by Morning), however, I also have added my own comments to supplement Spurgeon’s Although Spurgeon never fi nished college or thoughts. One purpose is to shed further light on attended seminary, it would be a mistake to the Scriptures, based on my own lifelong study of consider him uneducated. His personal library the Scriptures. The Lord called me to teach His consisted of more than 12,000 books, most, if Word more than twenty-fi ve years ago and ten not all, he had read, typically reading six books years ago led me into a Bible-teaching ministry per week. He shares his lack of formal seminary offering pilgrimages to Israel. Since then my wife, training with the likes of Augustine (354 – 430), Pam, and I have been privileged to travel there John Calvin (1509 – 1564), Dwight L. Moody nearly twenty times, studying and teaching. (1837 – 1899), Arthur Pink (1886 – 1952), D. Many of my comments have come from insights Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899 – 1981), Billy Graham gleaned in what I consider to be the world’s great- (1918 – ), and many other renowned preachers. est seminary — Israel. Spurgeon’s own writings have been so widely Another purpose, and my primary one, is to read and distributed that there are few pastors get people into the Word of God itself, not simply or seminarians around the world without at least another devotional book, for the true power lies one of his books on their bookshelf. in His Word. You will soon discover that most of This is not intended to cast aspersions on my comments consist of sharing additional vers- formal theological training, for Spurgeon surely es of Scripture to consider or giving the reader supported it — as long as it was biblically sound. the context of Spurgeon’s Scripture text for great- Nevertheless, the church should remain open to er understanding.