Evening, December 12
Charles Spurgeon · Morning and Evening: Daily Readings
Hosea 5:7
"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 springtime 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.