January 14, 2007

Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892) on God Begging

Perhaps if there is one passage in Scripture in which the entreaties of God are set in a more tender light than in any other, it is to be found in the book of Hosea, 11:8, where the Lord cries, “How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.” Oh, how God beseeches men, and he means his ministers to beseech them in the same way, with weeping tenderness and melting pathos, if perhaps the stony heart may be softened, and the iron sinew be bowed.

Do I hear some strong doctrine brother say, “I do not like this”? My dear brother, I am not careful to answer thee in this matter. If the Lord appoints it, you ought to approve it, and if you do not, you are wrong, but the Scripture is not. If God beseeches and bids me beseech as he does, I will do it; and, though I be counted vile for it by you, then so must it be. Besides, it is no derogation for God to beseech his creatures. You say we make God beg to his creatures. Assuredly that is how the Lord represents himself,—“All day long have I stretched out my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying generation.” It is in the Scripture that he represents himself as crying like a chapman at a fair, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,” and bids the passers by to buy his wine and milk. It is wonderful condescension—if he had not so represented it, we dare not have done so; but as he has said it, we do but follow his footsteps and quote his words. Besides, remember these entreaties of God, in which he stoops to our littleness, even when they do not prevail with man, do affect the divine purpose mysteriously; they are a savour of death unto death wherever they are not a savour of life unto life; but then, blessed be God, in thousands of cases they are the means by which his power works on men’s hearts; they do bring men to be reconciled to him.
C. H. Spurgeon, “God Beseeching Sinners by His Ministers (No. 1,124),” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, 63 vols. (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1873), 19:429–30; 2 Cor 5:18–21.

This quote is not as explicit, but Spurgeon is still saying here that “The Lord begs” some to give Him their hearts:
Remember, wherever we speak about the power of grace we do not mean a physical force, but only such force as may be applied to free agents, and to responsible beings. The Lord begs you not to want to be crushed and pounded into repentance, nor whipped and spurred to holy living. But “My son, give me thine heart.” I have heard that the richest juice of the grape is that which comes with the slightest pressure at the first touch. Oh, to give God our freest love! You know the old proverb that one volunteer is worth two pressed men. We shall all be pressed men in a certain sense; but yet it is written, “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.” May you be willing at once!
C. H. Spurgeon, “The Heart: A Gift for God (No. 1,995),” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, 63 vols. (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1887), 33:666; Proverbs 23:26.

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Other men within the Augustinian tradition who use the metaphor of God begging are the following:

Augustine (Early Church Father), Hugh Latimer (Early English Reformer), Isaac Ambrose (Puritan), Daniel Burgess (Puritan), Jeremiah Burroughs (Westminster divine), Richard Baxter (Puritan), Joseph Caryl (Westminster divine), Thomas Case (Puritan), Stephen Charnock (Puritan), John Collinges (Puritan), John Flavel (Puritan), Theophilus Gale (Puritan), William Gearing (Puritan), Andrew Gray (Puritan), William Gurnall (Puritan), Robert Harris (Westminster divine), Thomas Larkham (Puritan), Thomas Manton (Puritan), John Murcot (Puritan), George Newton (Puritan), Anthony Palmer (Puritan), Edward Reynolds (Westminster divine), John Richardson (Puritan), Samuel Rutherford (Westminster divine), John Shower (Puritan), Richard Sibbes (Puritan), Sydrach Simpson (Westminster divine), William Strong (Westminster divine), George Swinnock (Puritan), John Trapp (Puritan), Ralph Venning (Puritan), Nathaniel Vincent (Puritan), Thomas Watson (Puritan), Samuel Willard, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Solomon Stoddard, Samuel Davies, Ralph Erskine, Thomas Chalmers, Walter Chantry, Erroll Hulse, John MacArthur and Fred Zaspel.

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