Morning and Evening Devotional with C.H. Spurgeon – May 31, 2026

Morning and Evening Devotional with C. H. Spurgeon
May 31, 2026

Morning

“The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron.” — 2 Samuel 15:23

David passed that gloomy brook when flying with his mourning company from his traitor son. The man after God’s own heart was not exempt from trouble, nay, his life was full of it. He was both the Lord’s Anointed, and the Lord’s Afflicted. Why then should we expect to escape? At sorrow’s gates the noblest of our race have waited with ashes on their heads; wherefore then should we complain as though some strange thing had happened unto us?

The King of kings himself was not favoured with a more cheerful or royal road. He passed over the filthy ditch of Kidron, through which the filth of Jerusalem flowed. God had one Son without sin, but not a single child without the rod. It is a great joy to believe that Jesus has been tempted in all points like as we are. What is our Kidron this morning? Is it a faithless friend, a sad bereavement, a slanderous reproach, a dark foreboding? The King has passed over all these. Is it bodily pain, poverty, persecution, or contempt? Over each of these Kidrons the King has gone before us. “In all our afflictions he was afflicted.” The idea of strangeness in our trials must be banished at once and forever, for he who is the Head of all saints, knows by experience the grief which we think so peculiar. All the citizens of Zion must be free of the Honourable Company of Mourners, of which the Prince Immanuel is Head and Captain.

Notwithstanding the abasement of David, he yet returned in triumph to his city, and David’s Lord arose victorious from the grave; let us then be of good courage, for we also shall win the day. We shall yet with joy draw water out of the wells of salvation, though now for a season we have to pass by the noxious streams of sin and sorrow. Courage, soldiers of the Cross, the King himself triumphed after going over Kidron, and so shall you.

Reflection

There is something deeply comforting about knowing that our King has gone before us through every dark valley we will ever face. David’s flight over the Kidron was not the end of his story, and neither is ours. The same King who crossed that filthy brook also conquered the grave. When we find ourselves in seasons of betrayal, sorrow, or confusion, we are not walking alone. Jesus has already passed this way. He knows the sting of being misunderstood, abandoned, and afflicted. Let that truth steady your heart today. Whatever “Kidron” you are facing this morning, take courage — the King has gone before you, and He will bring you through.

Nectared Goad 🛡️

Stop acting like your trial is some strange thing that no one else has ever faced. Your King crossed the Kidron before you did. He knows the way through.

Evening

“Who healeth all thy diseases.” — Psalm 103:3

Humbling as is the statement, yet the fact is certain, that we are all more or less suffering under the disease of sin. What a comfort to know that we have a great Physician who is both able and willing to heal us! Let us think of him awhile tonight. His cures are very speedy—there is life in a look at him; his cures are radical—he strikes at the centre of the disease; and hence, his cures are sure and certain. He never fails, and the disease never returns. There is no relapse where Christ heals; no fear that his patients should be merely patched up for a season, he makes new men of them: a new heart also does he give them, and a right spirit does he put within them. He is well skilled in all diseases. Physicians generally have some speciality. Although they may know a little about almost all our pains and ills, there is usually one disease which they have studied above all others; but Jesus Christ is thoroughly acquainted with the whole of human nature. He is as much at home with one sinner as with another, and never yet did he meet with an out-of-the-way case that was difficult to him. He has had extraordinary complications of strange diseases to deal with, but he has known exactly with one glance of his eye how to treat the patient. He is the only universal doctor; and the medicine he gives is the only true catholicon, healing in every instance. Whatever our spiritual malady may be, we should apply at once to this Divine Physician. There is no brokenness of heart which Jesus cannot bind up. “His blood cleanseth from all sin.” We have but to think of the myriads who have been delivered from all sorts of diseases through the power and virtue of his touch, and we shall joyfully put ourselves in his hands. We trust him, and sin dies; we love him, and grace lives; we wait for him and grace is strengthened; we see him as he is, and grace is perfected forever.

Reflection

How many of us are still trying to manage our sin instead of bringing it to the only Physician who can truly heal it? We patch, we cope, we try harder — and all the while the Great Physician stands ready to make us new. There is no disease of the soul He cannot cure, and no relapse when He does the healing. Tonight, stop trying to be your own doctor. Bring your heart to Jesus. He does not merely treat symptoms. He gives a new heart.

Nectared Goad 🛡️

You don’t need another self-help strategy. You need the Physician who makes new men.

Tie-In

From morning to evening, the message is the same: our King has gone before us through every sorrow, and He alone has the power to heal every disease of the soul. Whether you are crossing your own Kidron today or lying in the night feeling the weight of sin, look to Jesus. He has walked the path. He has conquered. And He still heals.

Valley of Vision

Lord, we are a people of many sorrows and many sins. We have crossed our own Kidrons and we have felt the disease of our own hearts. But we thank You that our King has gone before us and that You have sent the Great Physician who heals completely. Give us grace to trust You in the trial and to bring every broken place to Jesus. Make us new, Lord. In His name we pray, Amen.