Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. Sixteen times in the New Testament,
eight of which are found in the book of the Revelation, the Lord
says, Let him who hath an ear, or ears to hear, let him hear.
Clearly, the implication is that this message will not be heard
by some, even though their eardrums work fine, but rather by those
who have the ability given to them to hear the particular message
that is delivered. The Lord told Ezekiel, Son of
man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which
have eyes to see and see not. They have ears to hear and hear
not, for they are a rebellious house. In doing so, he says that
those people among whom Ezekiel dwelt were not physically impaired
from hearing, but they could not hear because their hearts
were rebellious. This is the same thing which the Lord told
the Pharisees. And ye have not his word abiding
in you, for whom he hath sent him ye believe not. Search the
Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they
are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me that
ye might have life. He went on to explain why they
would not and could not hear him. I told you, and ye believe
not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye
are not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. Why do ye
not understand my speech, even because ye cannot hear my word? How is it then that some hear
while others do not? Moses clearly testifies of this
reason in describing the wanderings of Israel in the wilderness.
Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive, and eyes
to see, and ears to hear unto this day. The Lord Jesus spoke
of this same thing when asked by his disciples why he spoke
in parables. Because it is given unto you
to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them
it is not given. Therefore speak I to them in
parables, because they seeing see not, and hearing they hear
not, neither do they understand." It is obvious in reading Jeremiah's
prophetic warnings to the nation of Israel that they did not,
for the most part, hear what he said unto them. In fact, the
religious leaders mocked and ridiculed him, rejecting his
warning. This is very much akin to the
mainstream religionists of our day, who ridiculed the preaching
of grace alone, preferring to declare a mixture of man's works
and free will with the husk of grace, and thereby declaring
a message which is no grace at all. Jeremiah faithfully delivered
the message that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed, regardless
of what the inhabitants of it did. There was no escaping this
certain destruction. This did not prevent the positive
thinkers from prophesying lies and assuring the people that
it was not really as bad as Jeremiah declared and that this judgment
that was coming was not nearly as dire as Jeremiah predicted.
Man in his natural state is sure to perish. It is appointed unto
men once to die, but after this the judgment. Behold, all souls
are mine, as the soul of the Father, so also the soul of the
Son is mine. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die, for the wages of sin is death. As it is written, there
is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God. Those words ring in the
ears of those who can hear. They strike fear into the hearts
of those whom the Lord gives ears to hear and eyes to see.
They are made to see the hopelessness of their situation and cry out
to the Lord. They are brought to the brink
of despair and can clearly testify the justice of God in casting
them into the pit of everlasting destruction. The gospel is sent
particularly for such men as these. The Lord plainly declared,
For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was
lost. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
The gospel is not an offer nor an appeal, but rather a declaration
of mercy and a command to those who can hear it. Come unto me,
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Ho, every one that thirsteth, come to the waters. He that hath
no money, come ye, buy and eat. Yea, come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price. Ho, ye despairing sinners here,
ye thirsty, sin-sick souls drawn near. Here's water whose all-powerful
stream shall quench your thirst and wash you clean. Its healing
power has always wrought beyond the reach of human thought. Bethesda's
pool is not like this, nor hills nor cure such leprosies. Nor
Siloam's streams, nor Jordan's flood, could to my heart seem
half so good, tis Jesus' blood, that crimson sea, that washes
guilt and filth away. To this dear fountain I'd repair,
with all the wounds and pains I bear. I'd keep my station near
its side, and wash and drink, and there abide, nor from the
sacred streams remove, till taken to their source above. If you
would like a free transcript of this broadcast, email us at
forthepoor at windstream.net.