by: ASAHEL NETTLETON, 1783-1844
"He,
that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and
that without remedy.' — Proverbs 29:1
A STRONGER INDICATION OF A mind unreconciled to God can hardly be
conceived than the unwillingness to receive reproof. The humble man is always
thankful for admonition administered in the spirit of meekness and prompted by
a sincere desire for the welfare of the offender; while the haughty sinner,
whose ways are always right in his own eyes, indignantly rejects it. Hence the
reasonable precaution which our Saviour addressed to His disciples: "Give
not that which is holy unto dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you"
(Matthew 7:6).
It is not the best policy to reprove
offenders of every description and on all occasions. Prudence and judgment
ought ever to be exercised in the discharge of this duty. Otherwise, the
well-meant endeavors of the man who undertakes the unwelcome task of a censor
will meet with a sad recompense. Few, when faithfully reminded of their
offenses, will evince the placid temper of the pious David, who (doubtless in
allusion to the plain and pointed reproof administered to him by the prophet
Nathan) exclaimed, "Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness;
and let him reprove me, it shall be an excellent oil which shall not break my
head!' (Psalm 141:5). Most persons, on the contrary, when closely pressed as he
was, and to whose conscience crimes are sent home with a clearness which cannot
be mistaken, "Thou art the man" (Second Samuel 12:7), will give free
vent to their rage; and will not scruple to accost their reprovers in the
libertine language ascribed to the wicked by the Psalmist, "With our
tongues will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is Lord over us?"
(Psalm 12:4).
The spirit which is discerned in the
disdainful carriage of individuals of this sort, when reminded of their faults,
is a striking commentary on the just maxims of the wise man, "He that
reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man
getteth himself a blot" (Proverbs 9:7). "Reprove not a scorner, lest
he hate thee; rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee" (Proverbs 9:8).
Such is the difference which marks the
demeanor of the righteous and the wicked when reminded of their faults. From
the passage which has been selected, it is purposed to contemplate:
First, The Care Which God Has Taken For
the Reproof of Offenders — It Is Often Administered.
Second, The Effect of This Reproof—He
Hardens His Neck.
Third, The Consequence of An Incorrigible
Disposition-Sudden and Remediless Destruction.
God has made it the
duty of His people to deal faithfully with each other. "Exhort one another
daily ... lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin"
(Hebrews 3:13). And again, "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart:
thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him"
(Leviticus 19:17). And says our Saviour, "If thy brother shall trespass
against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if he shall
hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then
take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses
every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it
unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as
a heathen man and a publican" (Matthew 18:15-17). "Brethren,"
says James, "if any do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him
know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save
a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins" (James 5:19,20).
Further, God has
provided for the reproof of offenders by making it the duty of parents towards
their children. To attend to the spiritual concerns of children and to restrain
their wickedness is the most important of a parent's duty. "We have
fathers of our flesh," says the Apostle, "which corrected us, and we
gave them reverence" (Hebrews 12:9). Most persons can adopt his language
in relation to their own experience, Yes, and what a load of guilt will rest
upon the head of that ungodly child who has despised all the warnings, the
entreaties, and tears and prayers of a pious father or an affectionate mother,
who travailed in birth again that Christ might be formed in their souls, the
hope of glory, when their own bodies slumber in the dust.
God also reproves
sinners by His providence. He sends His judgments abroad in the earth that the
inhabitants may learn righteousness. By the pains we feel, we are admonished
that we are sinners and warned to flee from the wrath to come. We are
admonished by His Word. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and
is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto
all good works" (Second Timothy 3:16,17). All the invitations, commands,
threatenings, and warnings in the Bible are so many admonitions to sinners.
Ministers reprove
us. "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel;
therefore hear the word at My mouth, and give them warning from Me"
(Ezekiel 3:17). "Show My people their transgressions, and the house of
Jacob their sin" (Isaiah 58:1). Hear the injunction of Paul to Timothy,
"I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall
judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; preach the Word;
be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all
longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall heap to themselves teachers,
having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and
shall be turned unto fables" (Second Timothy 4:14). It seems as if, in
uttering this prediction, the Apostle had an eye upon sinners of our own day.
But woe to those
ministers who do not feel the weight of this charge, and woe to those wincing
hearers, who, having itching ears that will not endure sound doctrine, heap to
themselves teachers that prophesy smooth things and say "peace, peace"
to the wicked when God hath expressly declared that there is no peace for them.
Against such preachers and hearers, the anger of the Lord and His jealousy will
smoke and all the curses that are written in this Book shall lie upon them and
the Lord shall blot out their names from under heaven.
"When I say
unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to
warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity: but
his blood will I require at thine hand;" is the warning given by the Lord
through the prophet (Ezekiel 33:8). Mark: the consequence of withholding the
warning is the destruction of both the preacher and the hearer.
We are likewise
reproved by His Spirit. "And when He is come, He will reprove the world of
sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8). The Spirit is
sent to admonish. His language is, "Sinner, where are you going, and what
will be the end of your sinful course? Prepare to meet your God!"
God sometimes
reproves one sinner by the conviction and conversion of another. Here is one
who has been your intimate friend and companion. Your views and feelings and
pursuits and objects of delight, and I might add, your sins too, have been the
same. Yesterday he thought and spoke and acted in all respects like yourself.
Today he is alarmed at his awful condition. He trembles in view of a judgment
to come. Hitherto he has been moving merrily along with you, side by side; but
he dares follow you no further. He has quit your company and fled. But why?
Alas, he finds himself a sinner. He has a soul to be saved or lost forever.
This, my hearer, is strong preaching to some of you. When near and dear friends
begin to forsake and shun you, it is time for you to begin to look about
yourself. This is a silent but a solemn warning to you to flee from the wrath
to come. When you see or hear of a hardened sinner, alarmed at his awful
condition, sight or sound carries with it this solemn admonition: see the end
to which you are coming. Though you may think to hold out, yet you cannot
endure long. Your stout heart will soon tremble, and all your boasted courage
will prove to be mere cowardice. Here you can see the fearful end to which you
are fast approaching. You must repent or perish!
II.
THE EFFECT OF THIS
REPROOF—HE HARDENS HIS NECKAllusion
is made to the bullock which has repeatedly felt the galling yoke. At length
his neck becomes hardened, and he can bear it without flinching or feeling. The
sinner never hears a galling reproof without it producing some effect. If his
heart is not subdued and changed, he becomes altogether more hardened. The
child which is often corrected but not subdued becomes more hardened.
The sinner, under
the afflictive hand of divine providence, is always made better or worse. If
sickness and pain and the death of friends do not wean him from the world and
drive him to God, they harden his heart. This is the effect of all the
judgments of heaven and of all the calamities and miseries of human life. This
is strikingly illustrated in the case of Pharaoh, King of Egypt. "Because
sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of
the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" (Ecclesiastes 8:11). Thus
despising the riches of divine goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not
knowing that the goodness of God leads him to repentance, after his hardness
and impenitent heart and with a stiff neck, he perseveres in his course of
rebellion, treasuring up unto himself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation
of the righteous judgment of God (Romans 2:4,5).
Oh, the awful
reckoning that awaits such offenders!
It is wholly
impossible that a person should be frequently and faithfully admonished for his
crime, and yet experience no alteration in is condition. His rancorous pride
will be augmented, and his conscience seared as with a hot iron. "The
earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth
herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God; but
that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing;
whose end is to be burned" (Hebrews 6:7,8).
On this work, the
sinner may make rapid advances. He may acquire the faculty of silencing the
remonstrances of his conscience and, with a stoic apathy, proudly boast that he
is superior to the thunders of Sinai. He may resist the mild accents of mercy
and do despite to the Spirit of grace. He may spurn the offers of a bleeding
Saviour. The darkened heavens, the rending rocks, and the quaking earth may
have no effect; to all these, he may render himself impervious. But the day
comes that shall burn as an oven. Then his stiff neck and his stout heart will
not exempt him from the terrors that shall overtake the soul of every guilty
culprit that shall stand at the judgment seat of God.
III.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF
AN INCORRIGIBLE DISPOSITION—SUDDEN AND REMEDILESS DESTRUCTION.
"He, that
being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that
without remedy." He "shall be punished with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (Second
Thessalonians 1:9). This is the doom of the incorrigible sinner.
1.
His punishment shall
have no end. "Where the worm
dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44). "The smoke of
their torment ascendeth up forever and ever" (Revelation 14:11). "The
rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in
torments, and he cried and said... Father Abraham, have mercy on me... But
Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good
things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art
tormented." And to cut off from Dives the last hope of relief in his
torments, Abraham added, "And besides all this, between us and you there
is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot;
neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence" (Luke 16:22-26).
The redemption of the soul is precious for the soul lives forever; but its
destruction is eternal.
2.
It is sudden.
"....Shall suddenly be destroyed." Thus the Psalmist said, "How are they brought into desolation, as
in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors" (Psalm 73:19).
"As the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are
caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it
falleth suddenly upon them" (Ecclesiastes 9:12). When sinners lose their
souls, they always lose them unexpectedly, especially those who have been hardened
offenders. "When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction
cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not
escape" (First Thessalonians 5:3).
This sentiment is
verified in the providence of God. The fact is common that it has become a
proverb. The text itself is the result of a wise observation of the conduct of
divine providence. It embodies the wisdom of the ages. Thus was it with the
inhabitants of the old world. They were often reproved by the preaching of Noah
and by the strivings of the Spirit; but they hardened their necks and heeded
neither. "They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
and knew not until the flood came and took them all away' (Matthew 24:37-39).
They were suddenly destroyed and that without remedy.
Thus it was with
Pharaoh who was so often reproved by Moses and by the judgments of God.
Conscience was aroused; but as often did he silence her voice and harden his
neck. At length he was suddenly drowned and went down quickly into hell.
Thus it was with
the inhabitants of Sodom. Righteous Lot warned them of their danger. The very
evening before their destruction, the men of Sodom compassed the house of Lot
around, both old and young, all, people from every quarter; and Lot went out
and reproved them for their wickedness; but they were too far gone to bear it,
and they said, "Stand back." This unwillingness to take reproof
marked them out as ripe for destruction. The same night Lot went out and
delivered his last warning to his sons-in-law, "Up, get ye out of this
place, for the Lord will destroy this city' (Genesis 19:14). And what was the
effect of this alarm? Why they felt just as sinners now feel; he seemed as one
that mocked. So hardened were they that Lot appeared like a fool, and his
message like an idle tale. They were not to be frightened by him. They saw no
signs of an approaching storm and heard no distant thunder roar. The morning
arose fair as ever; and all was peace and safety. "They did eat, they
drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day
that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and
destroyed them all" (Luke 17:28,29). They were suddenly destroyed and that
without remedy.
Ah! Methinks, it
is enough to curdle the blood in our veins to consider how suddenly the most
stupid and hardened sinner in the house may lose his soul. He may, and
doubtless will, sleep on until he is awakened by the voice of God, "Thou
fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee" (Luke 12:20).
3.
For there is no
remedy. The sinner who continues to
harden his neck under reproof cannot be saved. He shall suddenly be destroyed,
and that without remedy, because it cannot be prevented. Here is a sinner who
will not take reproof. The question arises, what shall be done to prevent the
loss of his soul? The answer is, Nothing! He is marching forward to eternity
and to the pit of destruction with a proud heart and with a stiff neck, and
nothing can stop him in his mad career. Such a sinner must go to destruction,
and no means can prevent it. This is the meaning of our text. There is no
remedy. The only remedy which can be applied for the salvation of sinners is
the Gospel, and this remedy never takes effect without alarming and arousing
the guilty conscience. But when warned to break off his sins and to flee from
the wrath to come, the hardened sinners says, 1 will not be frightened to
heaven."
Thus was it with
the old world. "Noah, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of
his house, by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the
righteousness which is by faith. (Hebrews 11:7). By his preaching, and by his
example, he warned the wicked world of the coming flood. But they were not to
be frightened. Thus was it with the inhabitants of Sodom. The preacher applied
the most powerful means, the only remedy to prevent their destruction,
"Up, get ye out of this place, for I will destroy the city' (Genesis
19:14); but they were not frightened. He seemed as one that mocked. They would
not be alarmed, and so there was no remedy. What could the preacher do more?
Nothing! Sinner, if you cannot be alarmed, you cannot be saved' If you do not
believe that you are under sentence of death from God's holy law, then you do
not feel your need of pardon, and "Ye will not come to Christ that ye
might have life" (John 5:40). "He that believeth not is condemned
already" (John 3:18), and "the wrath of God abideth on Him"
(John 3:18, 36). The sinner who does not feel the awful conviction of this
truth cannot be pardoned or saved.
The language of
the Gospel is "Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish' (Luke 13:3).
But no sinner ever repented without conviction of sin. Even the Spirit of God
never interposes to rescue the sinner from destruction in any other way than by
arousing his guilty conscience to perform its office. His genuine effects on
the heart are thus described, "and when He is come, He will reprove the
world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin because they believe
not on Me; of righteousness because I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more;
of judgment because the prince of this world is judged" (John 16:8-11).
But you are not to be frightened! "When they heard this they were pricked
in their hearts, and exclaimed, men and brethren what shall we do?" (Acts
2:37). But you are not to be frightened! "When the commandment came, sin
revived, and I died" (Romans 7:9). But you are not to be frightened! The
sinner who talks in this strain is either an infidel or ignorant of the
contents of the Bible.
For such a sinner,
with such views and such feelings, the Gospel contains no remedy. To such a
sinner the Spirit of God offers no remedy. "He, that being often reproved
hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."
The sinner who will not take reproof must be destroyed. The physician who has
exhausted his skill and tried every experiment upon his patient can only look
on and see him die. So fares it with the incorrigible sinner. You may soothe
him in his sins; you may flatter his vanity; but this is only hastening the
work of destruction. The only salutary application is conviction of sin, of
righteousness, and of judgment to come; but this his proud heart will not
endure. Every attempt to rescue him from destruction will be resisted. It will
only exasperate. "He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame,
and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth to himself a blot" (Proverbs
9:7). Therefore, says the wise man, "Reprove not a scorner lest he hate
thee" (Proverbs 9:8).
But if such be the
effect of reproof, methinks I hear someone say, "Then I will not hear the
Gospel. I will shun all reproof." Answer: A resolution not to take reproof
proclaims yourself to be one of the very persons described in the text. Whoever
objects in this manner shows his determination to harden his neck at all
events; for no one can shun reproof, or a preached Gospel, without hardening
his neck in the most effectual manner. He voluntarily places himself beyond the
reach of hope. The man who has drunk poison may say, "I will run, I will
shun it!" But he is too late! You have heard the Gospel and can never rid
yourself of its everlasting obligations. "If they escaped not who refused
him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from
Him that speaketh from heaven" (Hebrews 12:25). "They would none of
my counsel: they despised all my reproof Therefore shall they eat of the fruit
of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of
the simple shall slay them" (Proverbs 1:30-32).
From this subject we make the following
reflections:
REFLECTION ONE. The equity of the sinner's punishment. He hardens
his neck against reproof and brings destruction on himself. When the Spirit of
God comes and with a still small voice whispers conviction to his guilty
conscience and he feels some concern for his soul, he tries not to be alarmed
but to appear above it. He shuns the light of divine truth. He loves darkness,
and now he shall have darkness enough. God says, "Let their eyes be
darkened that they may not see" (Psalm 69:23).
The sinner says, "Peace and safety, let
us alone." God says, "He is joined to idols, let him alone"
(Hosea 4:17). The sinner says, "Go thy way for this time; when I have a
convenient season, I will call for thee." (Acts 24:25). God says, "I
go My way. My Spirit shall no longer strive."
The sinner chooses not to be under
conviction, and now suppose God's choice and the sinner's choice should happen
to coincide? All can see the equity of the sinner's punishment. If he will not
lay up treasures in heaven, then he must lay up treasures in hell. This is done
by hardening his own heart. After his hardness and impenitent heart, man
treasures up unto himself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the
righteous judgment of God (Romans 2:5).
When sinners are lost, their consciences
will forever reprove them for destroying themselves. They are made to eat of
the fruit of their own ways, and are filled with their own devices. They
utterly perish in their own corruption. By hardening his neck, the sinner, with
his own hand, doses the door of heaven against himself.
REFLECTION TWO. Our subject is full of alarms to the aged sinner. My
aged fathers, how long have you lived without God in the world? How many
warnings have you heard and lost? You have lived so many years and have heard
so many warnings and have lost them all!
I now appeal to your own experience. Do you
not find that the longer you live, the harder are your hearts? Can you not bear
testimony to the truth of our text? Where are you now? Once you enjoyed a
season of youth, but alas it is over and gone forever! Your sun is almost down.
I address you on the very brink of the grave. You are just ready to launch into
eternity; and if you are not suddenly saved, you will be suddenly destroyed and
that without remedy. You now live in an interesting crisis, the season of a
revival. It has an important bearing on the aged in this congregation. Oh, how
many younger than yourselves have hopefully entered the kingdom of God before
you! In this you have often been reproved. And are you still out of Christ?
Your case is becoming more and more hopeless. The probability, oh fear, is a
thousand to one that you will be lost. You have no prospect of witnessing
another revival in your day. Let the present season slip, and where are you?
This very warning, if neglected, will render your case more hopeless still.
REFLECTION THREE. Our subject contains a warning to the young. If he,
that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and
that without remedy, then beware how you feel and how you conduct yourself
under reproof. How often have you been reproved by preaching, by conversation, by
the conviction and conversion of your companions, by the admonition of
conscience and by the voice of the Holy Spirit? How is this revival season
likely to leave you? Certainly not as it found you! if you do not profit by all
these warnings, you will be seven-fold harder than when it commenced. What
improvement have you made of all the warnings you have heard? Where are you
now. If my preaching does not prove a savor of life, it will be a savor of
death unto death to your souls.
Every warning you neglect is rendering your
salvation less and less probable. It is making the work of repentance more and
more difficult. You are wandering farther and farther from God and plunging
deeper and deeper into misery at every step which you advance. With your own hands
you are now forging those chains which will bind you down in darkness and
despair.
To you the Saviour calls, "Turn you'
Turn you at My reproof!" "Because I have called, and you have
refused; I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded; but you have set at
naught all My counsel, and would none of My reproof: I also will laugh at your
calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as
desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and
anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer;
they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me: for that they hated
knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord; they would none of My
counsel; they despised all My reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of
their own way, and be filled with their own devices" (Proverbs 1:23-31).
Today then, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.
REFLECTION FOUR. The more stupid and hardened the sinner, the nearer
to destruction he is. Thus was it with the inhabitants of the old world. They
never were more thoughtless than before the flood came. It came when they least
expected it. "They knew not until the flood came and took them all away'
(Matthew 24:39). Never was Sodom more stupid than the very night before it was
destroyed. The preaching of Lot seemed like an idle tale. They were doubtless
making themselves merry with it until the very moment when the flames of hell
took hold of them.
Thus was it with the rich fool: "Soul,
thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and
be merry" (Luke 12:19). And thus it has been with all who have gone to
hell from under the light of the Gospel. They cried peace and safety until they
were lost. Death came too soon, and they dropped into hell as into a snare, and
it closed suddenly upon them.
Those sinners are commonly nearest
destruction who think and care the least about it. Hell is truth learned too
late. Stop, poor sinner! Stop and think!