September 8

I will heal their backsliding.—Hosea 14:4.

WHEN God's people return to him, and pray against sin,— then God out of his free love heals them of it. He first teaches them what to ask; and then he tells them what he will give. Thus we find "conversion" and "healing" joined together. "They shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them:" "Return, backsliding children; I will heal your backslidings." Men, if they be injured and pro- voked by those whom they have in their power to undo, though they return and cry, "I have sinned," and are ready to ask for- giveness,—yet many times, out of pride and revenge, will take their time and opportunity to repay the wrong. But God doth not so; his pardons, as all his other gifts, are without his up- braiding: as soon as ever his servants come back unto him with tears and confession, he looks not upon them with scorn, but with joy: his mercy makes more haste to embrace them, than their repentance to return to him. Then out comes the wine, the oil, the balm, the cordials; then the wounds of a Saviour do, as it were, bleed afresh, to drop in mercy into the sores of such a penitent. O, though he be "not a dutiful, a pleasant child," yet he is a "child:" "though I spake against him, yet I remember him still; my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him." The Lord greatly com- plains of the inclination of his people to backsliding, and yet he can not find in his heart to destroy them, but expresses a kind of conflict between his justice and mercy, and at last resolves, "I am God and not man;" I can as well heal their backsliding by my love, as revenge it by my justice; therefore, "I will not exe- cute the fierceness of mine anger, but I will cause them to walk after the Lord."

We should hence learn, First, To admire the unsearchable riches of the mercy of our God, who is pleased in our misery to prevent us with his goodness, and when we neither felt our dis- ease, nor desired a remedy, is pleased to convince us of our sins —to invite us to repentance—to put words into our mouth, and to draw our petition from us—to furnish us with arguments—to encourage us with promises; "I will heal, I will love;"—to give us his ministers to proclaim, and his Spirit to apply these mercies unto us. If he did not convince us, that iniquity would be a downfall and a ruin to us: we should hold it fast, and be pleased with our disease; like a madman that quarrels with his cure, and had rather continue mad than be healed.

If being convinced, he did not invite us to repentance, we should run away from him, as Adam did. No man loves to be in the company of an enemy; much less, when that enemy is a judge. They "have turned their back unto me, and not their face." Adam will hide himself "from the presence of the Lord;" and Cain will go out "from the presence of the Lord." Guilt can not look upon majesty; stubble dares not come near the fire. If we be in our sins, we can not stand before God.

If being invited, he did not "put words into our mouths," we should not know what to say unto him. We know not wherewith to come before the Lord, or to bow before the high God, if he do not "show us what is good." Where God is the judge, he can not be mocked or derided; who knoweth all things; and if our heart condemn us, he is greater than our hearts; and wherever we hide, can find us out, and make our sin to find us too;—where, I say, this God is the judge, there guilt stops the mouth, and makes the sinner speechless. Nay, the best of us "know not what to pray for as we ought, except the Spirit be pleased to help our infirmities." When we are taught what to say,—if God do not withdraw his anger, we shall never be able to reason with him: "Withdraw thine hand from me; let not thy dread make me afraid; then I will answer, then I will speak." If he do not reveal mercy; if he do not promise love or healing; if he do not make it appear that he is a God that heareth prayer; flesh will not dare to come near unto him. We can never pray, till we can cry "Abba, Father;" we can never call unto him but in the "multitude of his mercies." As the earth is shut and bound up with frost and cold, and puts not forth her precious fruits, till the warmth and heat of the summer call them out; so the heart, under the cold affections of fear and guilt, under the dark apprehensions of wrath and judgment, is so contracted, that it knows not to draw near to God: but when mercy shines, when the love of God is shed abroad in it, then also the heart itself is shed abroad, and enlarged to pour out itself unto God. Even when distressed sinners pray, their prayer proceeds from apprehensions of mercy : for prayer is the child of faith, and the object of faith is mercy.

Secondly, We should beware, above all other sins, of falling in soul as old Eli did in body, "backwards," and so hazarding our salvation. If once we have shaken hands with sin, never take acquaintance with it any more; but say as Israel here, "What have I to do any more with idols?" The church should be like Mount Sion, "that can not be moved." It is a sad and sick temper of a church to toss from one side to another; and then especially, when she should be healed, to be "carried about with every wind."

Thirdly, We should not be so terrified by any sin, which our soul mourns and labors under, and our heart turneth from, as thereby to be withheld from going to the physician for pardon and healing. Had he not great power and mercy; did he not love freely, without respect of persons, and pardon freely without respect of sins, we might then be afraid of going to him: but when he extends forgiveness to all kinds, "iniquity, transgression, sin," and has actually pardoned the greatest sinners, Manasses, Mary Magdalene, Paul, publicans, harlots, backsliders; we should though not presume hereupon to turn God's mercy into poison, and his grace into wantonness, (for mercy itself will not save those sinners that hold fast sin and will not forsake it,) yet take heed of despairing, or entertaining low thoughts of the love and mercy of God: for such examples as these are set forth for the encouragement of all "that shall ever believe unto eternal life;" and the thoughts and ways which God hath to pardon sin, are "above our thoughts and ways," whereby we look on them in their guilt and greatness, many times, as unpardonable; and therefore are fit matter for our faith, even against sense, to believe and rely upon.