December 12, Evening
C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling
"They have dealt treacherously against the Lord." — Hosea 5:7 · KJV
Believer, here is a sorrowful truth! You are the beloved of the Lord, redeemed by blood, called by grace, preserved in Christ Jesus, accepted in the Beloved, on your way to heaven — and yet you have "dealt treacherously" with God, your best friend; treacherously with Jesus, whose you are; treacherously with the Holy Spirit, by whom you have been quickened to 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 you clung 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 let my heart wander after other loves; in Him is every store of unspeakable sweetness. I give all up for my Lord Jesus' sake." Has it been so? Alas, if conscience speaks, it will say, "He who promised so well has performed most ill. Prayer has often been slurred — 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, 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 to denounce it? Words avail little; let our penitent thoughts abhor the sin that is so surely in us. Treacherous to Your 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 engraved on His breastplate before the eternal throne.