May 15
30
Poor, naked, penniless, worthless?
(Octavius Winslow, “Morning Thoughts”)
“I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice
of the Son of God and those who hear will live.”
John 5:25
There is the special, direct, and effectual call of the Spirit, in the elect of God, without which all other calling is in vain. The Spirit effectually works in the soul with an inward, supernatural, secret power. There is an energy put forth with the call, which . . .
awakens the conscience, breaks the heart, convinces the judgment, opens the eye of the soul, and pours a new and an alarming sound upon the hitherto deaf ear.
Mark the blessed effects . . .
the scales fell from the eyes, the veil is torn from the mind, the deep fountains of evil in the heart are broken up.
The sinner sees himself as . . . lost and undone without pardon, without a righteousness,
without acceptance, without a God, without a Savior, without a hope!
Awful condition!
“What shall I do to be saved?” is his cry! “I am a wretch undone! I look within me, all is dark
and vile; I look around me, everything seems but the image of my woe; I look above me, I
see only an angry God. Whichever way I look, is hell! And were God now to send me there,
just and right would He be.”
But, blessed be God, no poor soul that ever uttered such language, prompted by such
feelings, ever died in despair! That faithful Spirit who begins the good work, effectually
carries it on, and completes it.
Presently He leads him to the cross of Jesus and unveils to his glimmering eye of faith a . . .
suffering, wounded, bleeding, dying Savior; and yet a Savior with outstretched arms!
That Savior speaks; oh, did ever music sound so melodious? “All this I do for you . . .
this cross for you, these sufferings for you, this blood for you, these stretched out arms for you. Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Look unto Me, and be saved! Are you lost? I can save you! Are you guilty? I can cleanse you! Are you poor? I can enrich you! Are you sunk low? I can raise you! Are you naked? I can clothe you! Have you nothing to bring with you?
No price? No money? No goodness? No merit? I can and will take you to Me, just as you are . . .
poor, naked, penniless, worthless; for such I came to seek, for such I came to die.”
“Lord, I believe,” exclaims the poor convinced soul! You are just the Savior that I need. I needed one
that could and would save me . . . with all my vileness, with all my rags, with all my poverty. I needed one that would . . .
save me fully, save me freely, save me as an act of mere unmerited, undeserved
grace! I have found Him whom my soul loves! and will be His through time, and His through eternity!”
Thus effectually does the blessed Spirit call a sinner, by His especial, invincible, and supernatural power,
Hosea-type of Christ Hosea 1-3 The name ‘Hosea’ is the same with Joshua and Jesus and signified a saviour or a deliverer. Hosea was not only a faithful prophet and servant of the Lord, but he is a powerful type and picture of our Lord Jesus in his love and mercy to sinners. It is surprising that we do not hear more sermons on Hosea, since he has such a name and his writings are so filled with grace for the guilty. The story in brief: God commanded Hosea to take a wife from among the people of whoredom. Fornication and adultery was their form of life. Hosea married Gomer, who was quite young, and she bore him three children. Then Gomer began to walk the way of her heritage, leaving Hosea for her lovers. Even though she had left him and was living in wickedness and shame, Hosea continued to provide corn, wine, oil, and money for her. Gomer thought these gifts were from her lovers, and she praised them. Soon she was brought down to poverty, shame, and loneliness and was to be sold on the block as a common slave. Hosea loved her yet, and he went to the marketplace and bought her for the price demanded and took her home to be his wife, no more to leave. 390 With New Testament Eyes Hosea 1-3 The key to this story Hosea 3:1. ‘Then said the Lord unto me, go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.’ The Lord put Hosea through this unusual experience to demonstrate his grace, love, and mercy to his people, all of whom have ‘sinned and gone astray, turning to our own way.’ We did not love him, but he loved us with an ‘everlasting love’ and ‘loved us to the end.’ 1:1-3. According to the commandment of the Lord, Hosea went among a vile race, a sinful people, and took his bride, joining himself to her as one! Our Lord chose his bride from Adam’s fallen, sinful race (1 Cor. 1: 26-29; Rom. 5:6-8; Eph. 2:1-4). We did not love him; he loved us (1 John 4:10). We did not choose him; he chose us (John 15:16). We did not deserve his mercy and love. The cause of his love for us and our redemption is found only in himself, not in us! 2:1-5. A short time after their marriage, Gomer left Hosea and followed the ways of her people. She was from a people of whoredom; and when she became of full age, she walked the same path they walked. Though our God entered a covenant with Christ, chose us in Christ, and made us his own before the world began (Eph. 1: 3- 6; 2 Thess. 2:13; Gal. 1:15), we were born into this world sons of Adam, fallen sinners; and we go astray from the womb (Psalm 51:5; 58:3; Jer. 13:23; Rom. 5:12, 19). We do not come into the world as those who might fall; we are born fallen and only have to reach certain ages and be 391 Hosea 1-3 Henry Mahan exposed to certain temptations to reveal what we already are! We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners (Rom. 3:10-19). It is our nature to love sin and hate holiness. 2:5-8. Hosea took care of Gomer even in her rebellion and sin. She said, ‘I will go after my lovers who gave me good things.’ Hosea said, ‘She did not know that I gave her these things.’ Oh, how gracious the Lord is to his people all the days of our lives! From our birth and all the days of our lives he has protected us, provided for us, and blessed us, even when we knew him not nor desired to know him. Like Gomer, we praise ourselves, talk about good luck, or give the glory to the flesh, and know not that our Lord is the giver of every good gift (Rom. 8:28-31; Gal. 1:15). 2:9-11. Finally, Gomer was brought low; her life became a burden; her joy was turned to mourning; the sweetness became bitter; that which she had loved, she hated. The Lord God will bring his people to this place. A sinner must be lost to be saved; he must be brought low before he can be lifted up and exalted; he must, like Gomer and the prodigal son, discover what he is, where he is, and feel the guilt, shame, and burden of sin (John 6:44-45). We cannot taste of grace until we weary of sin. We will not love and flee to Christ until we hate our fleshly lovers and what they have done to us. To miss conviction of sin is to miss repentance, and to miss repentance is to miss faith, and to miss faith is to miss Christ. The Holy Spirit of God, in bringing us to repentance toward God and faith in Christ Jesus, will convince us of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8-11). 392 With New Testament Eyes Hosea 1-3 3:1-3. Gomer belonged to the fallen system! She was in the clutches and possession of her masters. There was a price on her head. Hosea bore the shame of identification with her and, revealing his special care for her, paid the price and set her free. We belonged to a fallen humanity; we were in the possession of the law and justice. There was a price on our heads—eternal condemnation, curse, and death (Isa. 53:4-6, 10-12). Christ loved us, was numbered with us, and ‘despising the shame,’ he endured the cross and paid what we owed but could not pay. ‘He paid a debt he did not owe for us who owed a debt we could not pay.’ Hosea 3:3 reveals the security of the Lord’s purchased bride and her eternal union with him (John 10:24-30). This is the covenant revealed in Jeremiah, ‘They shall be my people, and I will be their God… I will not turn away from them to do them good and they shall not depart from me’ (Jer. 32: 38-40; Mal. 3:6; Phil. 1:6). Henry Mahan
The Alluring
James Smith, 1860
The Lord having chosen his people for himself — will bring them to know him, confide in him, and love him. So, when they have backslidden and wandered from him — he will employ means, that his banished ones be not expelled from him. Thus he brought Israel out of Egypt, and consecrated them to himself; and thus he led them out of Babylon, and again set them apart for his praise. These things were types, and show unto us, how the Lord deals with his people now, both at their first conversion, and at their restoration afterwards. How striking are the words of the Lord by his servant Hosea, on this point, “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably to her;” or as the margin reads, “I will speak to her heart.” Hosea 2:14. What will the Lord do?
“I will allure her.” The eye and the heart of God, are upon his people — before they know it, and when they little think of it. He loves them with an everlasting love — therefore, he will draw, or allure them. He will draw them from their . . .
carnal pleasures, vain pursuits, and wordily company.
He will secretly persuade them . . .
by a divine operation upon their minds; or by disappointments, vexations, convictions, distress of soul, and bereavements; or by discoveries of his glorious grace, the blessedness of his people, or the felicity of Heaven
— to leave the pleasures and pursuits that are carnal — and seek for himself, and spiritual things. He will entice her, or draw her, by the revelation, and exhibition, of Jesus — in his glory, beauty, and exact adaptation to her.
“I will bring her into the wilderness.” Not an uninhabited spot — but what is elsewhere called “the wilderness of the people.” So, that though surrounded by society, the soul feels ALONE — it has an inward persuasion, that it is an isolated being. The allured soul feels that no one is like it — no one ever had such feelings, such fears, such corruptions, such temptations, such doubts. Therefore as Jeremiah says, “Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust — there may yet be hope.”
The believer, like a person in a wilderness, has a painful sense of BARRENNESS. Beneath, there is no green and pleasant verdure — but scorching sands; above, no shower bearing clouds — but a burning sky. All is barren, and tends to barrenness. So the soul finds it — the means of grace are barren; prayer, preaching, and conversation, all are barren. Even the Bible appears to be a barren book.
So the man feels exposed to DANGER — danger from Satan, sin, the world, and death. Danger from the law, and danger even from Christian friends.
There is also a painful sense of DESTITUTION, and the man becomes wearied, bewildered, and exhausted.
This wilderness is a place of INSTRUCTION, here the soul learns many a painful — but important lesson. Here it learns dependence on God, the emptiness and insufficiency of the creature, and the need of a divine agency to carry on the work. It learns that there is no bread but from Heaven, and what comes down appears to be small and unusual; so that with Israel, as we gather and feed on it, we are ready to cry, “Manna,” what is it? what is it?
Here God works wonders, in preserving, supplying, correcting, restoring, and guiding. Here the bridegroom finds his bride, raises her to his side, allows her to lean upon him, holds secret, soul-sustaining communion with her, and conducts her to the promised land.
“I will speak to her heart.”
He speaks a divorce from all creatures — that we may enjoy union to, and find happiness in himself alone.
He calls us away from centering in self — to fix our faith and affections on himself.
He speaks, so as to prevail with us to leave all others, and give ourselves up . . .
to be ruled by his will,
to feed at his table, and
to be satisfied with his goodness.
He speaks comfort, and speaks comfortably to us. By a Barnabas, or by the Comforter — he speaks, and, brings home a word of promise to the heart. This encourages faith, emboldens hope, and persuades the soul to close in with Christ. Or some sweet word flows into the mind, assuring us that he . . .
has pardoned our sins,
will take us as his own,
will guide us by his counsel, and
afterwards receive us to glory.
Reader, has the Lord ever allured you, and drawn you away into a wilderness, revealing himself to you? Has he ever spoken to your heart, words of peace and love? Jesus spoke to the heart of the poor woman, when he said, “Your sins, which are many, are all forgiven,” and to the poor man, when he said, “Your faith has saved you, go in peace.” Such pleasant words are as a honeycomb — sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. Such good words will make the heart glad.
We must be weaned from the world, from the creatures, and be brought into secret, heart-affecting, soul transforming communion with God. We must therefore find the world a wilderness, a desert, a land of drought. We must turn from man to God, and in God as revealed in Jesus, find a friend that loves at all times, and be able to say, with the apostle, “Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”