Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.heritagesermons.org/sermons/9581/hosea/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] In humble dependence upon the help of the Holy Spirit, I'll seek to direct your attention to the book of the prophet Hosea, chapter 6, verses 1, 2, and 3. [0:23] Come, and let us return unto the Lord, for he hath torn, and he will heal us. [0:43] He hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us. [0:57] In the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. [1:09] Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord. His going forth is prepared as the morning, and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. [1:40] The sixth chapter, in the prophecy of Hosea, verses 1, 2, and 3. [1:55] As we seek to look at this, and one feels so much need, a very special help in looking at it. [2:11] We look at the concluding verse in the fifth chapter. And what do we read there? [2:24] I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense and seek my face. [2:41] We have before us here, one of those solemn times in the history of the children of Israel. [3:08] This is mainly to the princes of Judah. But it sets before us that they have departed. [3:27] And such is their departure, that the Lord says, I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense and seek my face. [3:57] How much this word might be considered regarding the church of God today. [4:14] What a need be there is, for them to return. [4:30] And the Lord in speaking goes on, in their affliction, they will seek me early. And then, the church, as it were, opens up with this word. [4:58] Come, come, come, and let us return unto the Lord. As I have considered this, and there has been some little consideration of it, not as much as we wish. [5:24] But as we have considered this, how it does apply unto each one of us. Or at least, it does until this one. [5:42] Oh, that we could, under the gracious influence, function, and power of the Holy Spirit, live nearer to him. [6:01] Live farther away from those things that do take up our thoughts and our minds so often. [6:20] And take up so much of our time and thought. Oh, how one's soul has at times gone out in earnest concern that one might indeed live more in the fear of the Lord. [6:51] So much of our lives are spent in other fears. [7:01] Fears concerning this, that, or the other. Concerning our families, our livelihood, or whatever we might bring in. [7:22] So often, so often I say, our fears are regarding these things. And we lose sight. [7:39] At least, one has to confess this. We lose sight of what God is. We, night and morning, I hope you all do, seek to draw near unto the footstool of mercy. [8:06] And there commit and commend ourselves and our concerns into his hand. And yet, how often? [8:20] While we are doing it, there is something at work in the subconscious mind. That is, not trusting the God to whom we are professing to commit ourselves and our concerns. [8:46] Oh, how short we come of that word in the Hebrews. He that cometh to God must believe that he is, that he is God. [9:04] Yes, believe that he is God. What does it mean to believe that he is God? [9:17] That he has control of everything. All those things that trouble us. [9:32] Those things that take up our thought. He has control of all things. How many times in our lives have we had to join with dear Calper as in some way or another God has in his infinite mercy kindly appeared for us in a way that we look not for, perhaps. [10:09] We have had to say God moves in a mysterious way. His wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. [10:28] Come and let us return unto the Lord. Oh, I feel this very much upon my spirit as I speak to you regarding it. [10:45] All that needs me for us to return. What does this returning mean? [11:03] How should we come with supplications with confessions? Oh, what a need be there is for humble, honest confessions. [11:29] What a need be there is too for that grace and spirit of repentance. as we make our confession is one thing my dear friends to make confession even heart and soul confession is another thing to repent of. [11:54] confession. This thought comes in mind I've never thought about it before but there cannot be real confession confession without a godly repentance. [12:27] You say where is the qualification in the word of God? Well I feel this here and Peter when the Lord looked upon him he went out and he wept bitterly. [12:47] I believe that weeping bitterly sets before us a gracious repentance toward his dear Lord and Master and there was indeed in that act a gracious confession because he could not remain where his dear Lord was because of what he felt and realized come and let us return for he hath torn and my dear friends if we are brought truly into a state and conditioned to make real and [13:53] God honoring right confession it will be because we have known something of this being torn the Holy Spirit's gracious influence bringing home to us our sad and solemn state our sinnership giving unto us a right understanding a real understanding of what we are as a sinner and this is in a sense for he hath torn he brings the soul to feel and to realize the wounds that sin has made how sin has torn but what does the word of [15:06] God say regarding he hath torn he will heal us christian where this godly confession is made where this gracious repentance comes into being oh there will be healing most certainly this is he will he will heal us there is another aspect my dear friends I've been speaking like this that I have mentioned and that is there was evidently a God given faith granted unto these dear ones who thus said come and let us return God had implanted in their souls a faith that believed that if they did return they were able to return then they would be healed he hath smitten oh what smiting the soul feels realizes under the power of the [16:41] Holy Spirit in his quickening as he brings home to the soul what he is as a sinner oh what smiting these are times and sometimes it seems that we should be smitten right out of existence and as we are brought to feel and realize it in our own souls we are ready to condemn ourselves and say there can be no hope whatever for us under these smitings but what does the word say and he will bind us up bind us up oh my dear friends where the [17:56] Lord thus graciously these are acts of grace my dear friends the work of grace as the Lord in his infinite mercy deals with a sinner brings him to know and to understand in some little measure what he is as a sinner as he causes him to feel what it is to be torn or smitten these are works of grace this is the grace of the Lord at work in quickening and bringing that sinner to a knowledge first of himself and then of his Lord his Savior his Redeemer most of you know that little account of dear [19:03] Hector Macphile as he called at the inn in his journeying and when the time came as he always insisted that they all gather together for evening worship and he asked if they were all there and the mistress said no there was a little kitchen man but she wasn't fit to be brought in he said fetch her in dear man spoke to her afterwards talked to her and he gave her a prayer to learn to use that was show me myself and he went on his way in the morning he returned again sometime afterwards in his journey talking about in [20:12] Scotland he called again and said whereabouts was this one oh she was in such a state they couldn't make anything of her but she was brought to him and the Lord had graciously answered that prayer he had shown that poor girl herself what she was as a sinner and now the dear man said you pray this prayer show me thyself Lord show me thyself the dear Lord did and Mr. [21:04] Macphail never saw anything more of that girl until a good number of years afterwards and then one day when he got very old one called his house well dressed very respectable young woman and asked if she could see him and she told him that she was that little girl whom he had taught to pray show me my sin and then show me thy sin she at that time was in a very comfortable position and was one who was serving the [22:06] Lord my dear friends God what do we know what do we know you and I about that work what I mean have we truly been shown ourselves Have we asked the Lord to show us ourselves Have we been that much concerned about it To beg him to show us ourselves And then show us himself He hath smitten He will bind us up He did bind that little girl up [23:09] And she went on Serving the Lord from that time But we must pass on After two days Will he revive us After two days The church here Is speaking Again There is As it were That aspiration Of faith Aspiring of faith After two days What does it set before us A gracious restoration My dear friend Turn to the 23rd Psalm And what do we get there Dear Salimus As he speaks [24:13] Regarding his soul Regarding his soul Says he Restoreth My soul And here we have This A gracious restoration After two days Don't think Don't think Don't think my dear friends That that means Just two days Might mean two years It might mean Longer than that But the point But the point is This It is An appointed time In the Lord's In the Lord's Own time According to his Own mind And will He will Revive us He will Restore us In the third day He will [25:15] Raise us Up In one sense My dear friends This sets forth A resurrection And of course That Is What is Set forth In a soul Being called Out of nature's Darkness Out of the Deadness Of his Of the Adam Fool And the deadness In which he is born Called out of that And brought into God's Marvelous light It is In a sense A resurrection There is another Sense My dear friends In this word [26:15] Which is before us And which we haven't Touched upon And that It is A setting For Of the work And merits Of the Lord Jesus Christ You see There can be No healing No binding Up Where he Hath smitten No healing Where he Hath torn Without the Blood Of the Lord Jesus Christ You may say But then You are speaking Of the time And the Prox before Christ came But my dear Friends Do remember This The Lord Jesus Christ Himself Declared This unto Those two Dear ones On the road [27:16] To Emmaus He says As he Opened to them The scriptures Of the things Concerning himself Beginning at Moses And all The prophets The Psalms Wherever There was some Scripture And all Scripture Speaks of him My dear Friends If we Only had The Understanding If he Only would Open our Understanding To understand It And know It There is Some Teaching Therefore In this Word that Is before Us I say There could Be no Healing No Binding Up But in And through The work And Merits Of the [28:17] Lord Jesus Christ The soul That knows And feels And realizes This Gracious Work It is a Gracious Work Though it's a Painful Work But it is a Gracious Work The soul That knows It Comes Comes Under That Gracious Influence Of the Work Of the Lord Jesus Christ He Who knows What it Is to be Healed To be Bound Up He has Come Within The power And Unction Of that Precious Blood He has Come Under the Sprinkling Of that Blood Has been Brought He may [29:17] Not Realize It And may Be troubled In his Own Mind About it As to Whether He has Known Anything At all About it Yet He would Not Have Had This Healing He would Not Have Known This Binding Up If he Had Not Therefore He Comes Within The Power And Unction Of that Precious Blood In the Third Day He will Raise Us Up And we Shall Live Live In His Sight As I Said This Is In One Sense A Setting For Of The Resurrection The Day Will Come This One Is Saying When We Shall Be Raised [30:18] Up And Live With Him But Let Us Not Lose Sight Of This Point My Dear Friend There Is In This Life That Enjoyment To Be Known And Experienced To Live And Walk With Him To Know What It Is To Have Him The Lord Jesus Christ As A Companion As We Go On In Life's Journey My Dear Friends If We Did Not Know And Realize In Some Little Measure A Little Sweet [31:18] Communion With Him Where Should We Be Where Should We Be Where Would Our Hope Be Oh Is It Not That From Time To Time We Are Given To Know And To Realize And To Experience Some Little Communion With Him May Only Be In A Moment May Only Be A Moment Something A Momentary Flash As It Were Yet That Can Be Communion With Them There Are Times Perhaps When You Have Enjoyed A Considerable Time In Communion With Them But This Is Not The General Experience [32:19] Of A Child Of God I Remember Remember Hearing Old Mr. [32:31] Frederick Kirby Of Stablehurst Say Once How He Was Walking Down Regent Street In London The Time He Was In The Printing And The Lord So Came Into His Soul That He For Just A Few Brief Moments He Was Absolutely Oblivious To All That Was Going On Around Him And Regent Street At That Time Was Absolutely Packed He Said But He Is Absolutely Oblivious To All That Was Going On Around His Soul His Mind Was Captivated It Was In Communion With His Lord Have We You And I Known Anything Of This [33:32] One Looks Back To One Or Two Spots In Life's Journey When We Believe We Did Get Just A Little Touch Of It We Were Enabled To Bow At His Feet In Humble Confession And Because That's What It Will Bring You To My Dear Friend The Goodness Of The Lord Will Bring You Here That Will Bring You To Repentance More Than Anything Lord Terrors Do But Harden O The While They Work Alone But A Sense Of Blood Bought Pardon Soon Dissolves The Heart Of Stone After [34:34] Two Days Will He Revive Us Oh What Revivings These Are Are They Not Oh May The Lord Grant It To Us Each In In Our Own Individual Experience But May Grant It To Us To As A Church And A People Then After This It Seems To Say After This Then Shall We Know If We Follow On To Know The Lord Mark There Is An If Put In The Middle Of This Sentence My Dear Friends And That If Stands For [35:35] Something Very Very Real And Very Very Ernest You See We've Got To Look Back In Considering This Look Back To The End Of The Last Chapter And The Beginning Of This One Come And Let Us Return Then Shall We Know If If We Follow On To Know The Lord If We Continue In That Returning If We Continue In That State And Condition Return Unto The Lord And We Continue To Follow On If We Do This My Dear Friends There Has Been Much [36:36] Said Over The Years About Man's Responsibility I Don't Want To Go Into It Or Anything Of That But There Is As It Were Here That In Some Measure Set Before Us Then Shall We Know If If We Follow On To Know Him To Be Well If We Turn Away From Him That Is What It Means If We Turn Back To What We Were Before We Came To Him If We Turn Back Away Then We Shall Not Know What This Word Says In Its Continuance But If We Follow On To Know The Lord [37:36] Then We Shall Know If We Follow On To Know The Lord His Going Forth Is Prepared As The Morning I Said Just Now That This Has A Direct Reference I Feel To The Lord Jesus Christ And This Again Refers To Him His Going For Prepared As The Morning He Came For Says The Dear Apostle In Galatians He Came For God Sent His Son Made Of A Woman Made Under The Law He Came For When The Fullness Of Time Was Come Not Before Not Before And So My Dear Friends Regardless His [38:37] Going For On Behalf Of His People It Will Be As Sure As That As Sure As That When The Fullness Of The Time Was Come God Sent For His Son He Did Not Come Before The Time Nor Did He Stay After The Time Appointed But He Came He Came Therefore His Going For Is Prep There It Is Set For It Is Established In God's Decrees When He Shall Come For Prepared As The Morning [39:37] And You Know How The Word Of God Refers To The Coming Of The Lord Jesus Christ As The Morning Star Refers To Him As To Again When A Soul Is Brought To Know And Experience In Some Way This Coming Unto Him Unto His The Soul His Individual Experience Is A Morning Without Clouds Yes A Morning Without Clouds His Going Forth Is Prepared As The Morning We Can Look At It Too In Another Aspect And That Is Take It Look At It My Dear Friends From What Is [40:37] An Everyday Occurrence Supposing I Put It This Way Supposing You Should Wake Up One Morning At The Usual Time And Find It Was Dark When It Should Have Been Daylight What Consternation There Would Be Would There Not But Is Going Forth Is As Sure As The Daylight Dawning As The Day Dawns As Day Adds On To Day Is Going For On The Behalf Of His People And Behalf Of His Church Is [41:37] Like This Prepared As The Morning And He Shall Come Unto Us As The Rain As The Latter And Former Rain Unto The Earth We Shall Go Into This My Dear Friends Beyond This I Have Been Rather Not Troubled In My Mind But I Wondered Why It Is Put Like This You See You Go Back Into The Book Of Deuteronomy You Get It Down Set Down There We Will Give The Former Rain And The Latter Rain But Here Is The Latter And The Former Rain It Does Not Do Away With The Promise My Dear Friend It Does Not Do That Now [42:38] It Is Still Assure There Is The Former Rain That Comes Upon The Earth At The Time Of The Seed Time When The Grain Is Cast In This Is Speaking From The Eastern The Land Where The Bible Comes From Where The Bible Was Written The Eastern Lands They Had The The Special Rains As That Came Upon Them And There Was The Former Rain At The Time Of The Casting In Of The Seed Preparing The Ground And Getting The Seed In And That Former Rain Germinated The Seed And The Seed Came For And Then You Get In The Gospels You Get That Which [43:40] Says First The Blade Then The Ear And Then The Full Corn In The Ear And The Full Corn Needed The Latter Rain As The Corn Came Into Ear Began To Develop So It Needed The Latter Rain To Swell The Grain To Fill The Corn Out Oh What Does This Set Before Us My Dear Friends Spiritually Oh Does It Not Show Us And Declare Unto Us The Precious Promises Of God That And The Thought Of The Word Of The Dear Apostles Comes To Mine I Am Persuaded That [44:40] He Who Has Begun A Good Work In You Will Perform It Unto The Day Of Jesus Christ There Will Be A Completion The Latter Rain Is That Which Completes The Filling Out As It Were Of The Corn Bringing It To That Condition Of Of Being Ready As It Were To Be Reaped And Job Says About Coming Down To The Grave As A Shock Of Corn Fully Ripe Fully Ripe As The Corn Through The Influence [45:41] Of The Latter Rain Swells Out And Is Ripened So It Is In The Work Of Grace The Rain That He Sends Upon The Soul Into The Soul To Sweeten What Does The Word Say Regarding At Evening Time It Shall Be Light This Is Not Setting For This Rain As A Soul At The Closing Days Of This Life Is Brought To Know And To Experience That Gracious Night Wondrous Night Upon [46:41] His Path But We Must Leave It I Feel To Come Short In Speaking On It But Oh My Dear Friend Oh Let Us Remember Come Let Us Return Unto The Lord Amen Us he My It Up See Hello hmm Hi