Spurgeon: December PM
* 12/12/PM
"They have dealt treacherously against the Lord."
--Hosea 5:7
Believer, here is a sorrowful truth! Thou art the beloved of
the Lord, redeemed by blood, called by grace, preserved in
Christ Jesus, accepted in the Beloved, on thy way to heaven, and
yet, "thou hast dealt treacherously" with God, thy best friend;
treacherously with Jesus, whose thou art; treacherously with the
Holy Spirit, by whom thou hast been quickened unto life eternal!
How treacherous you have been in the matter of vows and
promises. Do you remember the love of your espousals, that happy
time--the springtide of your spiritual life? Oh, how closely did
you cling to your Master then! saying, "He shall never charge me
with indifference; my feet shall never grow slow in the way of
His service; I will not suffer my heart to wander after other
loves; in Him is every store of sweetness ineffable. I give all
up for my Lord Jesus' sake." Has it been so? Alas! if conscience
speak, it will say, "He who promised so well has performed most
ill. Prayer has oftentimes been slurred--it has been short, but
not sweet; brief, but not fervent. Communion with Christ has
been forgotten. Instead of a heavenly mind, there have been
carnal cares, worldly vanities and thoughts of evil. Instead of
service, there has been disobedience; instead of fervency,
lukewarmness; instead of patience, petulance; instead of faith,
confidence in an arm of flesh; and as a soldier of the cross
there has been cowardice, disobedience, and desertion, to a very
shameful degree." "Thou hast dealt treacherously." Treachery to
Jesus! what words shall be used in denouncing it? Words little
avail: let our penitent thoughts execrate the sin which is so
surely in us. Treacherous to Thy wounds, O Jesus! Forgive us,
and let us not sin again! How shameful to be treacherous to Him
who never forgets us, but who this day stands with our names
engraven on His breastplate before the eternal throne.