Look Up Today, O Parched Plant!
C.H. Spurgeon's sermon emphasizes the necessity and abundance of God's grace, encouraging believers to seek His blessings in every season of life.
C.H. Spurgeon emphasizes the sovereign and abundant grace of God, as illustrated in Ezekiel 34:26, where God promises to send down showers of blessing. He highlights that divine grace is essential for spiritual growth, just as rain is necessary for the earth, and that without God's blessings, all human efforts are in vain. Spurgeon reassures that God's grace is not only plentiful but also timely, arriving in our seasons of need, whether in drought or heaviness. He encourages believers to look up and prepare to receive the varied blessings that God has in store, reminding them that all forms of grace are interconnected. Ultimately, he calls for a response of openness to receive God's saturating grace.
Text
"I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing." Ezekiel 34:26
Here is sovereign grace, "I will send down showers." Is it not sovereign, divine mercy--for who can say, "I will send down showers," except God? There is only one voice which can speak to the clouds, and bid them beget the rain, "Who sends down the rain upon the earth? Who scatters the showers upon the green herb? Do not I, the Lord?" Grace is the gift of God--and is not to be created by man.
It is also needed grace. What would the ground do without showers? You may break the clods, you may sow your seeds--but what can you do without the rain? As absolutely needful, is the divine blessing. In vain you labor--until God bestows the plenteous shower, and sends the needed grace down!
Then, it is plenteous grace. "I will send down showers." It does not say, "I will send them drops," but "showers." So it is with grace. If God gives a blessing, He usually gives it in such a measure that there is not room enough to receive it. Plenteous grace! Ah! we need plenteous grace . . .
to keep us humble,
to make us prayerful,
to make us holy,
to make us zealous,
to preserve us through this life,
and at last to land us in heaven!
We cannot do without saturating showers of grace!
Again, it is seasonable grace. "I will send down showers in season." What is your season this morning? Is it the season of drought? Then that is the season for showers. Is it a season of great heaviness and black clouds? Then that is the season for showers. "I will send down showers in season."
And here is a varied grace. "I will give you showers of blessing." The word is in the plural. All kinds of blessings God will send. All God's blessings go together, like links in a golden chain. If He gives converting grace, He will also give comforting grace. He will send "showers of blessing." Look up today, O parched plant--and open your leaves and flowers for a heavenly watering!
Sermon Outline
- I points: - Sovereign Grace - The Voice of God in Nature - Divine Mercy
- II points: - The Necessity of Grace - Human Efforts Without Divine Blessing - The Role of Rain in Growth
- III points: - Plenteous Grace - God's Abundant Blessings - Grace for Various Needs
- IV points: - Seasonable Grace - Recognizing Our Seasons - God's Timely Interventions
- V points: - Varied Grace - Diversity of Blessings - Interconnectedness of God's Gifts
Key Quotes
“I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“We cannot do without saturating showers of grace!” — C.H. Spurgeon
“Look up today, O parched plant--and open your leaves and flowers for a heavenly watering!” — C.H. Spurgeon
Application Points
- Recognize the areas in your life where you need God's grace and ask for His blessings.
- Stay humble and prayerful, acknowledging that all growth comes from divine intervention.
- Look for the blessings in your current season, trusting that God provides what you need when you need it.