Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer.
Sowing disobedience, reaping judgment
One of the marvellous reasonings of the Judge with thecriminal is recorded here.
I. God in mercy visits a rebellious generation.
1. The call. It is in the earthquake and in the storm. Day unto day proclaims it, and night unto night. There is no speech or language where it is not heard. The call has come with distinct articulation from the lips of prophets and apostles. It sounds with authority in a human conscience.
2. The hands stretched out. There is a way, and the way is open unto the Father. There is no obstruction, there is no forbidding, there is no upbraiding. Sinners are welcomed with open arms.
3. The counsel. Specially addressed to those who procrastinate.
4. Reproof. If they will not be enticed by the promise of heaven, He will threaten them with the fear of hell. Everlasting love needs a strong, hard instrument wherewith to work out her blessed purposes on an unpliant race. Judgment looming in reserve, serving meantime by its blackness to make the invitation morewinning.
II. A rebellious generation neglects or resists the gracious visitation of God.Men have ears and stop them.
III. They shall eat the fruit of their own ways, and be filled with their own devices. Judgment will be an exact answer to disobedience, as fruit answers to seed, or an echo to the sound. (William Arnot, D. D.)
The danger of deferring repentance
There is a good English proverb that “He who neglects the occasion, the occasion will neglect him.” In previous verses we have a general proclamation (Pro_1:20); a merciful reprehension (Pro_1:22); a gracious exhortation (Pro_1:23); a yearning promise (end Pro_1:23); a gracious threatening. The words of the text are underclapt against all those that procrastinate their repentance and returning home to God. Note the parties themselves that do prolong this day of grace; their earnest and diligent seeking after God; the unseasonableness of the time of their seeking; and the frustration of their hopes. Those that will not hear when He calleth them, God will not hear when they call unto Him. Thus the Lord dealt with His people in Ezekiel’s days. There is a double day, a white day, and a black day; a day of salvation and a day of damnation. There are three reasons for this point.
1. The law of retaliation.
2. The time of God’s attributes. Both mercy and justice have their season in thislife; and when mercy hath acted her part, then cometh justice upon the stage, and acteth her part.
3. It is God’s use to do so in other things, even upon the contempt of temporal blessings, and therefore much more in matters of grace and salvation. Illustrated in the cases of the Israelites, Ishmael, King Saul, Esau. If God so severely punish contempt of temporal blessings, how will He punish contempt of proffers of grace and salvation? He will come with martial law against all those that contemn the gospel (Joh_3:18). God doth commonly give men a day, but no man or angel doth know how long this day lasteth. God gave the angels a day, Cain a day, Nineveh a day, the antediluvian world a day. All we know is that this day is for us now. Now is the day of Christ upon you. What is the meaning of all those Scriptures which show how God doth deliver up men unto the spirit of giddiness, and unto the spirit of slumber? And what means the “hardening of men’s hearts,” and “searing of men’s consciences,” but only to show that the day of grace may end unto a particular man, ten, twenty, nay, forty years before his death. If thou refuse this day, thou refusest all; for what knowest thou but this very day may be thy day? The reason is--
1. Because God’s patience is in His own breast, and who can tell how long it will last?
2. Because God’s patience gives no mark or inkling of it before it ends.
3. Because God reckons up everyhour.
4. It is a wonder that the day of grace is not ended already, and that thou art not now in hell. When Christ first comes to the soul, He witnesseth grace and mercy to thee if thou wilt repent and amend; yea, He witnesseth forgiveness of sins, redemption, and salvation, if thou wilt believe; but if not, He will be a swift witness against thee. (William Fenner, B.D.)
Nature’s warning
Thisis a sublime dramatic utterance. It is Wisdom that is represented as speaking. By wisdom among the Orientals moral philosophy was understood, or science speaking on the side of morality. Taken in its largest way it is as if nature (in the text) had risen up, and had declared from her own seat, and by her own authority, what was the history of transgression against her fundamental laws. It is the voice of physiology; it is the voice of health, it is the voice of natural law. It is the voice of the poorhouse, the gaol, the gallows, speaking out and telling men what are the ends of those ways which are essentially the violation of God’s laws in nature. We see men violating the fundamental laws of health, strength, character, prosperity, and society, little by little, and because sentence is not speedily executed against evildoers, they are presumptuous, and say, “How doth God know?” At a later stage, when the fatal work is done, and disease, decay, poverty, the coldness of men, the indifference of society, disgrace, neglect, infamy, suffering, and death come upon them, then they begin to call out in these several states, and condemn everybody but themselves. Then they seek to patch up their broken constitutions. Then they attempt to put on the aspects of honesty. Then they try to regraft themselves upon the tree from which they have been broken off, but largely in vain. They call, but nature will not hear. They plead unto deaf ears.
I. Look at the mildest forms of transgression--those of indolence and self-indulgence. How quietly men spend their lives doing nothing! But when they pass the meridian of life, and begin to go down the farther slope, they find that nobody cares for them. They are in everybody’s way. The probabilities are that one who has spent the first part of his life in indolence and self-indulgence will spend the last part of his life in the same way.
II. Look at the same thing as it takes place in regard to a man’s reputation. Every man is a character-builder. Every man is building himself up by his purposes, his deeds; and these form his character, and it is hischaracter that stands by him. His reputation is simply the shadow that it casts. What a man is, is his character; and what men think him to be is his reputation. Men sometimes think they are building character when they are only getting reputation. Few are aware of this distinction, and so it comes to pass that many men go steadily downward. They begin to violate the truth. They equivocate. They walkon the perilous edge of insincerity. And, notwithstanding this, they do notperceive any change in themselves. But any man who lacks simplicity very soongets to be suspected by other people. Men are dishonest in the same way. They are tricky. Such a man goes on from day to day, and at last it is whispered of him, “That man is not honest,” and presently all the world knows it except himself.
III. Look at the same thing in respect to the sins which a man commits against his own self. Of all wastefulness there is none like thatwhich men commit upon their own persons. There are many ways in which men drain off the vitality of their whole brain and nervous system. Excessive virtuous industry will do it. Passionate self-indulgence will do it. Excessive addiction to stimulating drinks will do it. While there may be exceptional cases, the law for all such is destruction. The laws of nature have only a limit of mercy, but they have a limit of mercy. A man may be overtaken and yet may recover himself. There is a limited amount of atonement in nature. But there must be no presuming on it. The laws of nature are made for the obedient. Society is established for the obedient. It has very limited resources for reforming men. You are safe if you do not go down into vice. Let alone mischief before it be meddled with. Keep clear of all evil. Obedience is safe. Obedience to God in nature; in your own body; in the laws of society; obedience to God everywhere--that is absolutely safe, and nothing else is safe. Sin, however sweet and smooth and safe it may seem, is not safe. It is safe to be right; it is dangerous to be wrong. (H. W. Beecher.)
They shall not find Me.--
Who seek and do not find?
Scripture speaks of men calling upon God, and of His refusing to hear them. And yet our Lord said, “Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find.” How explain this seeming contradiction? These things are not said of the same persons, orrather of the same characters, at the same time. What if I were to say that now, at this very moment, the words of the text are both applicable to us, and not applicable? The words were at no time in any man’s earthly life so true an they will be at the day of judgment. Then they may be true in a greater or less degree; they may be substantially true in the life that now is. Is Christ’s promise, “Seek, and ye shall find,” equally true to all of us? Take most of us: suppose cite of us to have reached boyhood with a bad disposition, ready for the first temptation, with habits of good uncultivated. Does God hear his prayers? Or in trying to turn from evil to good have you ever found your resolutions give way, till you fell back again to what you were at the beginning? In that case you sought God and failed to find Him. Or has it ever happened to you to have done a mischief to yourselves which you could not undo? Then you may realise that you may seek some good and be unable to attain. We know what it is that hinders God from hearing us always; because we are not thoroughly one in His Son Christ Jesus. The very feeling of coldness and unwillingness to pray, because we have often prayed in vain, is surely working in us that perfect death which is the full truth of the words of the text. (Thomas Arnold, D. D.)
The misery of late repentance after a wicked life
I. There is a time when wicked men will be overtaken with those miseries that no warning would serve them to prevent by repentance and reformation.
II. They will be one day sensible of their own folly, and cry unto God for mercy and deliverance.
III. But God will not then regard their repentance, nor be moved by their prayers. For understanding--
1. Lay down three things.
(1) All sorts of calamities are meant by the wise man, which are either the natural effects of sin or other punishments of sin inflicted by the Divine justice, and that either in this world or in the world to come.
(2) This proposition is not to be understood as if all wicked men were at last reduced to extreme misery in this life. All that need be said is this, either that they do often suffer those punishments in this life which their wicked doings naturally produce, or that the justice of God doth other ways overtake them in punishments that show the finger of God and a more immediate hand of providence.
(3) If any go on in these practices upon which nature itself and God’s curse besides have seemed to sentence miseries in this life, if some of them should happen to escape here, and live out their days without any great misfortune befalling them at last, yet there is a day coming when they shall not escape. One day they will smart for it. Under proposition II., understand that it is not to be understood universally as if every man reduced to extreme misery would infallibly apply himself to God for mercy, for we know there have been examples to the contrary, e.g., Ahab. This seeking God’s favour does frequently happen, but even they who do so are unhappy in their late repentance, especially those that have had the most warnings and convictions, but would not be reclaimed. Under proposition III., show that this is the most awakening consideration of all, and hath the greatest force to make an effectual impression of the two former upon our minds. But this point requires careful interpretation, and a precise distinction between the miseries that an obstinate course of sin produces in this life and those punishments it will bring in another life.
1. How useless the prayers and repentance of wicked men will be as to the recovery of their happiness in this life! They are usually unprofitable as to those advantages which they have lost by their obstinate and, till now, incurable folly; such as health, plenty, and good name. And they will not procure them that comfort from theprinciples of religion which relieves good men under their adversities.
2. How unprofitable their importunity in seeking the mercy of God will be as to their escape in the day of judgment! For them who repent not till their turn comes in the other world, it will turn to no account for them; they must hear the irreversible sentence, and suffer the unavoidable effect of it for ever. And all this implies no want of goodness in God. (W. Clagett, D.D.)
Counsel rejected
Better stop now. Some years ago, near Princeton, New Jersey, some young men were skating on a pond around an “air-hole,” and the ice began to break in. Some of them stopped; but a young man said, “I am not afraid! Give us one round more! “He swung nearly round, when the ice broke, and not until next day was his lifeless body found. So men go on in sin. They are warned. They expect soon to stop. But they cry, “Give us one round more!” They start, but with a wild crash break through into bottomless perdition. Do not risk it any longer. Stop now. God save us from the foolhardiness of the one round more! I thank God that I have been permitted to tell you which is the right road and which the wrong road. You must take one or the other. I leave you at the forks; choose for yourselves! (T. De Witt Talmage.)
