An Indictment with Four Counts

DELIVERED BY

C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"She obeyed not His voice; she received not correction; she trusted not
in the Lord; she drew not near to her God." Zephaniah 3:2.

HERE ARE FOUR heavy counts of a terrible indictment against Jerusalem
and the Jewish people. Is it not sad to reflect that Jerusalem was the
city of the great king and yet fell from its high estate? It was the
place of the great Temple–there the light of God shone forth while
other nations were in darkness–there the solemn worship of God was
celebrated while false gods were being adored elsewhere! And yet its
sin provoked the Lord till He gave it up to the Destroyer. It is clear,
therefore, that no degree of Light and no amount of privilege can keep
a people alive and right before God. If the heart is not changed, if
the Grace of God goes not with outward ordinances, those who are
exalted to Heaven may yet be cast down to Hell.

The putrefaction of the best produces the worst and when a city which
has been favored as Jerusalem has, become a den of unclean beasts, then
it is a den, indeed! Neither Nineveh, nor Babylon, nor Tyre, nor Sidon
could equal in criminality this once chosen city of the great king. Let
us not, therefore, as a nation, begin to exalt ourselves because of our
privileges, for if we do not prove worthy of them, the candlestick will
be taken out of its place and our darkness will be all the darker
because of the Light of God we have lost. If we walk not before the
Lord obediently, it may please Him to make this island as great a scene
of destruction as the mounds of Babel or the rock of Tyre.

We usually take Jerusalem to be the type of a church and it is one of
the fullest types of the one true Church– "Jerusalem which is above,
the mother of us all." We may therefore regard the fate of Jerusalem as
being a special warning to churches. In a Church is God's dwelling
place–there is the Light of knowledge, there is the fire of
sacrifice–out of it has God shined. But a Church may sadly decline.
There is a church which is now worthy of the name of Antichrist– she
went further and further astray till she has made a man to be her head
and called him infallible! She has set up many lords and gods, saints
and saintesses and innumerable objects of worship–even bones and
rotten rags! There is a church against whom this indictment might be
laid today–"She obeyed not His voice"–she did not hear the Gospel!

"She received not correction"–when Reformers came she sought their
blood. "She trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God, but
she went after others and set up other intercessors than Christ and
rejected the true Head of the Church. Other churches may fall into the
same sin unless they are guarded by spiritual power. Remember Laodicea
and how she was spit out of the mouth of Christ because she was neither
cold nor hot! Remember Sardis which had but a few names in it that were
undefiled! Where are those cities and those churches, now? Let
desolation answer. It might be said of them as of Gilgal, of which the
Lord said, "Go you there to the place where My name was at the first,
and see if there is one stone left of it upon another which has not
been cast down."

Oh that we as a Church and all our sister Churches may walk before the
Lord with holy jealousy as to doctrinal correctness, practical holiness
and inner spiritual life! But, if not, our end will be miserable
failure! If the salt of Divine Grace is not in a Church it cannot be an
acceptable sacrifice to God, nor can it long be kept from the
corruption which is natural to all masses of flesh! What are one people
more than another? And what is one community more than another? We are
men by nature, prone to the same evil, and we shall fall into the same
transgression unless the Lord that keeps Israel shall keep us–and
therein is our confidence–that He does neither slumber nor sleep.

This text is not only applicable to a nation and to a Church, but to
individuals among God's own people, though, of course, only in a
degree. Some of God's people follow Christ afar–their spiritual life
is better seen in their fears than in their confidences! They are
always trembling. Their hands are slack, their hearts are faint. We
trust they are alive unto God, but that is all we can say. I fear it
may be said of them, "She obeyed not His voice"–the gentle whisper of
Divine

Love falls upon a deaf ear. Oh, how often, Brothers and Sisters, has
God spoken and we have not hearkened so as to obey His voice!

I fear, too, that there are times when we have not "received
correction"–when affliction has been lost upon us. We have risen from
a sickbed worse than when we went to it! Our losses and crosses have
provoked us to murmuring rather than to heart-searching. We have been
bruised as in a mortar among wheat with a pestle and yet our folly has
not departed from us. And this is a very provoking thing–when we
despise the rod and the hand that uses it–and turn not at the smiting
of the Lord. Yet it is so with some of God's people–they obey not His
voice, they receive not correction and, therefore, it comes to pass
that at times "they trust not in the Lord." They try to bear their
trials themselves. They go to friends for advice and they inherit a
curse, for it is written, "Cursed is he that trusts in man and makes
flesh his arm."

They get into a withered state like the heath in the desert. They see
not when good comes because they trust in man. Must not some of us
plead guilty here? To add to our faults, whenever we have backslidden
we have "not drawn near to the Lord our God." The joy and the strength
of the Christian life are found in living near to God, living like
sheep close to the shepherd, never wandering, but lying down in green
pastures to which He leads the way, Himself, better than the pasture,
our joy and our delight! But, alas, it may be said of some, "You have
restrained prayer before God." "Are the consolations of God small with
you? Is there any secret thing with you?"

Your transgressions and your iniquities have hidden your God from you!
He walks contrary to you because you walk contrary to Him. This is too,
too often the case with even those who trust in Jesus and have passed
from death unto Life–and whenever it is the case, it means sorrow. He
that is no child of God, but a hypocrite, may wander as far from the
path of integrity as he chooses without having to suffer for it till
the last day. But a child of God cannot sin without smarting for it. Is
it not written, "You only have I known of all the families of the
earth: therefore I will punish you for your iniquities"? Our Father
whips His own children! The boys in the streets may do as they please,
but our great Father is sure to chasten those He loves. "As many as I
love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous, therefore, and repent."

At this time I do not intend to use the words of our text in any of
those ways, but to take it as it may refer to unconverted persons, for
it very clearly, without the slightest strain, describes many who are
living far away from God and I shall want you to give me your attention
for a little time while I notice four great sins. When these are
mentioned I shall try to dig into the text to bring out of it four
hidden consolations–they are not apparent on the surface–but when
faith applies the microscope and looks into the center of the text, it
discovers four things by which the penitent sinner may be encouraged to
come to Christ.

I. First, here are FOUR MANIFEST SINS. I wonder whether the fact that
my text is in the feminine is intended, in the Providence of God, that
this sermon may be especially adapted to a woman? I cannot tell, but I
should not wonder. I may have been moved to this text on purpose that
some poor wandering sister may feel as if God specially directed it to
her sex. It says she–"She obeyed not His voice." Whatever belongs to
any of our race may be taken by all, since in Christ Jesus there is
neither male nor female. However, I point out the fact and pray God
that His Word may be directed as He wills by the Holy Spirit.

The first sin is not hearkening to God's voice. Many have never
hearkened to God's voice throughout a long life. They have heard
it–they could not help that–but they have never given heed. They have
never lent an attentive ear, saying, "Speak, Lord, for Your servant
hears." He has spoken to many here present in warnings. He has said,
"My daughter, if you do this, it will lead you to grief and sorrow. If
you remain hard and careless, it cannot end well. Nothing can be right
at the last which is not right now–wrong must bring woe with it."
Sometimes this warning has come home into the heart but the person of
whom I am speaking has stifled it and said, "No, but I will go after my
own way and follow my own pleasure."

That warning has come, perhaps, in the silence of the night or in the
very midst of the sin. A something that checked, a pulling of the
rein–but the sinner could not be held in, no, not with bit nor
bridle–he has taken the bit between his teeth and dashed on in sin!
Oh, remember, you that have neglected Divine warnings–you may have
forgotten them, but God has not! When you who love your children have
spoken to them and warned them, they may have gone their way and quite
forgotten "what mother said," but mother remembered it. Her tears
flowed and wrote the memorial of her rebukes upon her face. And God
forgets not warnings He has tendered to the sons of men.

I address some, however, who have not only received warning and
rejected it, but they have received much teaching. You were in a Sunday
school class while yet a girl. You knew the plan of salvation very
early in life and you know it now, but still you have not obeyed the
voice. There is Christ, but you have not touched His garment's hem.
There is the Fountain filled with blood of which you have been
accustomed to sing, but you have never washed in it. There is the Bread
of Life, but you have never fed on it and, in consequence, you live not
unto God. Oh, it is a sad thing when it can be said, "She obeyed not
His voice."

To some who are here present, God's voice has come by way of
expostulation. There are many expostulations in the Word of God such as
this–"Turn you, turn you; why will you die, oh house of Israel?" "Come
now, and let us reason together: though your sins are as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow." "Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for
He has torn and He will heal us; He has smitten, and He will bind us
up." "Say unto Him, take away all iniquity, receive us graciously, and
love us freely." Some of you had many such expostulations addressed to
your heart and conscience, but you have not obeyed His voice. And then
at the back of this have come invitations, sweet invitations. In the
Bible you have read them; in hymns you have sung them; from the pulpit
you have heard them; from kind friends you have received them.

Oh, how sweetly does Jesus bid the hungry and the thirsty come to Him;
the heavy laden and such as are bowed down, to come and find rest in
Him! You used to feel, at one time, as if you would yield to these
invitations. But you did not and this sin lies at your door, a
stumbling block in the way of your peace–"She obeyed not His voice."
When men fail to do right, they usually commit the wrong which is the
reverse of it. You have listened to other voices, the siren voice of
temptation has enchanted you, the voice of flattery has puffed you up,
the voice of Satan has beguiled you, the voice of the flesh has
fascinated you, the voice of the world has wooed you and has held you
captive.

While we lay this indictment before you, some of you cannot help
saying, "He means me. It is even so with me." The Lord give you
repentance and open your ears, for is it not written, "Incline your ear
and come unto Me; hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make an
everlasting Covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David"? Oh,
Divine Spirit, let not men be deaf any longer, but touch them with Your
finger that they may hear the voice of God and live!

That is the first count of the indictment and the second one is like
unto it and grows out of it–"she received not correction." When men
refuse God's voice, they soon become more hardened and reject His
correction like a horse which does not answer to the rein and,
by-and-by, even kicks at the whip and will not be ruled at all. The
Lord's correction comes to us, sometimes from His word, when He speaks
in anger and reminds us that His wrath abides on the man that believes
not in Christ. Oh, there are heavy tidings from the Lord for you that
are impenitent! This Book is not a book to play with, it is full of the
terrors of the Lord against such as go on in rebellion against Him!

Perhaps you have been made to tremble as you have read your Bible and
have seen how the Lord pronounces a solemn curse against the man that
goes on in his iniquity. But the correction may also have come to you
from your own conscience, quickened by the Word of God. You have come
to be uneasy. You start in your sleep with dreams that alarm you. If
you are as I once was, everything you look upon seems to have a mouth
to accuse you! I remember when the Lord's corrections were very heavy
upon me. I could not see a funeral but what I wondered when I, too,
should be carried to the grave. I could not pass a churchyard without
the reflection that I should soon be there and when I heard the passing
bell, it seemed to tell me that I should soon be judged and condemned,
for I had no hope of pardon. These are corrections of God and I pray
you regard them.

Possibly, however, you have endured affliction. You are not well. You
have been made to look into eternity through death's door. Perhaps one
or another of your friends has died. You now wear the garb of mourning.
God has corrected you. You have had a loss which you thought you could
scarcely survive, it was so severe. "Despise not you the chastening of
the Lord," but hear His rod and listen to what He has to say to you in
it. Remember, God may smite you worse than He has done, for these few
aches and pains He can find something more sharp and smarting. If one
child has gone, He can take another, even from your breast! If one
relative has died, another may follow, for the great Archer has many
arrows in His quiver and when one suffices not, He speedily wings
another in its painful flight. I pray you beware and let it not be said
of you, "She received not correction," or, "He received not
correction," but may you be willing to listen while God is thus dealing
with you.

This leads to a third crime, in which lies the very essence of deadly
sin–"She trusted not in the Lord." She would not come and trust in
Christ for salvation! She would believe in her own righteousness. She
would not trust in Christ to help her to overcome sin. She said she was
quite able to purify herself. Oh, many a young man has started fair for
Heaven to all appearances, but it has been in his own strength and,
like Pliable, he has no sooner stumbled into the Slough of Despond than
he has turned his back on the heavenly city and returned to the place
from which he set out. Beware, I pray you, of having anything to do
with a hope that is not based upon trust in God in Christ Jesus! Your
religion is vanity and an insult to high Heaven unless it is based on
the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Where there is no faith in Jesus, peace
is presumption. He that dares to hope till he has believed in Christ,
hopes in vain.

But ah, there are some who are driven to do many apparently gracious
things–but yet this one thing they will not do–they will not trust in
the Lord. I have known this to be sadly the case with some in great
affliction. She did not trust in the Lord–she was a widow, but she did
not trust in the Lord! She had many little children. She knew not where
to find them bread, but she did not trust in the Lord! She was sick and
ill, herself, but she trusted not in the Lord. She was laid at death's
door. She was in the infirmary, in the hospital–but she trusted not in
the Lord. Her heart was very heavy and she said she wished she could
die, but she trusted not in the Lord! Her friends did not help
her–those who ought to have been kind were cruel. But she trusted not
in the Lord! She was driven into a corner and yet she did not trust in
the Lord.

Yes, and this is a great sin, for surely God takes away our props and
dependences on purpose that we may throw our whole weight on Him! But
there are some who will have nothing to do with this trusting, neither
for time nor for eternity, neither for body nor for soul. Woe unto any
man, be he even a child of God, if he once gets off the pathway
offaith, for when we walk by sight we shall see things which shall make
us wish we were blind! Only when we trust shall we be able to say, "I
am not confounded nor ashamed, nor shall I be, world without end." This
is sad–"She trusted not in the

Lord."

The fourth crime was, "She drew not near to her God." There was no
prayer. There was much talk about her trouble; much talk about what she
would like to do–but there was no asking of God, no going into the
chamber and spreading the case before Him and pleading His mercy. There
was no thought of God! The mind did not get near to Him. The desires
rambled round in a thousand devious paths, but did not come to God. Oh,
it is hard to get some of you to think of God! I try and preach as best
I can and try to find striking words to make you think of God, but, oh,
how often do I fail! The choicest ways I use defeat themselves! May it
not be so now! Let it not be said of you any longer that "she drew not
near to her God." We ought to think of Him! We ought to seek Him! We
ought to come to Him as little chicks when there is a hawk in the air
and they hear the call of the mother hen–they are soon hidden away
under her feathers!

We ought to run in prayer, that it might be true of us, "He shall cover
you with His feathers, and under His wings shall you trust: His truth
shall be your shield and buckler." If you had a child that in its
troubles ran out into the street and when its little heart was heavy
went away to strangers and never told father or mother its sorrow, you
would feel very hurt. This is God's quarrel with His rebellious people,
that they will go to Satan, himself, before they will come to Him! No,
think not that I run too far and use an extravagant expression, for
Saul did this when God answered him not. He offered no penitent
petitions, but resorted to a witch for help! Many would penetrate into
the recesses of the unseen world and tamper with spiritual mysteries
sooner than they will go to God. Silly women will believe a fortune
teller, but will not trust the Savior. Is it so with any of you? Then
let this word of accusation sink deep and confess your transgression
unto the Lord!

Putting the four sentences together–"She obeyed not His voice; she
received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near
to God"–what then? Why, "woe unto her!" Read the first verse of the
chapter and there you have it. As I was coming here that word, "woe,"
"woe," "woe," seemed to ring in my ears and I wondered where it came
from. I will tell you. It is a word that goes to be made into a worse
word. Let me pronounce it for you, "woe"–and that leads to something
woe-erse–worse! And to the woe-erst the worst of all. It is bad,
lamentable, destructive, ruinous, painful, wretched, miserable woe,
worse, worst! I wish I could pronounce the word as my Master did when
He said, "Woe unto you, Bethsaida; woe unto you, Chorazin; woe unto
you, Capernaum." I should hardly like to say it as He did, for He had a
Light to judge which I have not–"Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites," and so on.

But that, "woe," as He pronounced it must have sounded terribly,
softly, sadly, sternly piercing to the heart! Ah, how will the angels
sound it at the last? Hear it now, lest you hear it at the last! "One
woe is past and, behold, another woe comes!" When the Judge of all the
earth shall break the seals and pour out the vials and the ungodly sons
of men shall see the star, Wormwood, and shall drink of the bitterness
of the wrath of God–WOE–it means sorrow here! No rest! No
satisfaction! Woe, woe, even at this day unto the man that trusts not
in God! But what it means in the next world–to be driven from the face
of Christ, to be followed with a "woe" which shall have eternal
echoes–woe, woe, woe! I would gladly stop and cry with Mr. Whitfield,
"The wrath to come! The wrath to come! "Escape from it while yet life
lasts and Jesus pleads with you, for otherwise this shall fall like a
thunderbolt from the hand of the angry Judge!"

"Woe to her. She obeyed not His voice; she received not correction; she
trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God." Then all this
will turn to woe, the voice disregarded will ring again, "Son,
remember! Son, remember! Woe, woe!" As for the correction which was
disregarded, oh how light and gentle it will seem compared with the
strokes that will then fall upon the rejecters of Christ! Every
correction will then turn to woe! And the not trusting in the Savior,
the unbelief–what woe that will bring! The not drawing near to
God–what woe that will cost when we shall see ourselves afar off and
between us and God a great gulf fixed so that none can come to us, no,
not so much as to bring a drop of water to cool our tongue! And neither
can any go from us, or escape from the place of woe.

II. To help any who would escape from this woe, I shall spend a minute
in noticing THE FOUR HIDDEN CONSOLATIONS WHICH LIE IN THIS TEXT. I do
not intend to enlarge upon them because I want the previous part of
this discourse to abide in your minds–but there are four hidden
consolations. The first is, if I have not obeyed His voice yet, it is
plain He does speak, He speaks to me. My Soul, my Soul, God is not
dumb. Can you be deaf? Still does He invite you, still does He call
you, still does His good Spirit strive with you! This voice of mine,
tonight, I hope will be God's voice to some of you. Be encouraged! He
has not given up on you, but still calls. When the sentence of death is
pronounced there are no warnings given and since you are having another
call, I would encourage you to hope.

The next is, "She received not correction." Then all my troubles and
afflictions are meant to bring me to Christ. They are all sent in love
to my soul and I ought to look at them as such. My Friend, where are
you? I do not know where you are, or to whom I am speaking, but I do
pray you see that God, who seems to have dealt very harshly with you,
is only driving you to mercy! His voice has been harsh and His hand has
been heavy, but in love He corrects you! Oh listen to Him! Come to Him!
A judge does not correct a criminal doomed to die. God does not correct
a soul, with a view to its reclamation, if He has given it up
altogether!

Notice the next sentence. "She trusted not in the Lord." Is it a crime,
then, that I did not trust in the Lord? Then I may trust Him and I
will, for that which is a sin not to do, I must have a right to do–and
if it is laid to my charge, "She trusts not in the Lord," oh, sweet
mercy! Sweet mercy, I may trust! This is why the Scripture says, "He
that believes not shall be damned," as if to assure you that you
certainly may believe, because you will be damned if you do not! Come,
then, and let even the black side of the text wear a smile for you and
lead you to trust your God since He blames you for not doing so!

Then there was the last crime. "She drew not near to God." What, then,
does God make it a fault that I do not draw near to Him? Oh, I wish the
Spirit of God would put it into your heart to say, "That shall not be
my fault any longer–

'I'll to the gracious King approach, Whose scepter pardon gives.
Perhaps He may command my touch, And then the suppliant lives.'

I thought I might not come, but now I see I am condemned for not
coming, then I will come! I will delay no longer, I will come to Jesus,
determined that if I perish I will perish at His feet!"

Have hope, my Friend, for none did ever perish there! May God set His
seal to this word of expostulation for Jesus' sake. Amen.
__________________________________________________________________

Silver Sockets–Redemption the Foundation!