Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
God, Wisdom, and Christ the Saviour who died for sinners openly calls people to repentance and reaches toward them with tender appeals, warnings, and invitations of grace, stretching out his hand in a present personal offer of salvation, help, counsel, reproof, and his Spirit through messages of warning, including the final worldwide merciful appeal to turn from sin, obey his commandments, and receive life. Refusal and disregard mean deliberately rejecting counsel and reproof, setting all counsel at naught, resisting the Spirit, rejecting light and evidence, hardening the heart against mercy and trusting in self, as Pharaoh disregarded evidence after the plagues were removed and as Saul slighted reproofs until blinded to sin's character. Persistent refusal sets in motion sowing and reaping, where disregarded light brings moral darkness darker because of the light sent, until the Spirit is grieved away for the last time, probation ends, and the soul is left without conviction, mercy, or hope to eat the fruit of its own way and be filled with its own devices in calamity, desolation, distress and anguish with no refuge. When that calamity comes they will call and seek early but will not be answered or find him, for mercy has ceased and cries after the opportunity has passed are too late, pointing forward to Christ's return and the great day of final judgment when Christ's own rejected voice condemns rejecters by recalling the warnings they despised, the invitations they refused, and the privileges they slighted. Therefore the call warns to respond now while the Spirit invites by coming to Jesus, choosing eternal life, being zealous and repenting, and turning with sincere purpose to receive pardon, for those who heed and listen to counsel dwell safely and quietly, free from fear of evil, while absorption in worldly pleasure and repeated disregard harden the heart until truth is unheard.
Call and Refusal
The caller is God, and Wisdom crying openly in streets and gates, and Christ the Saviour who died for sinners, calling men to repentance with tender appeals, warnings and invitations of grace. His calling and His stretched-out hand are His present personal offer of salvation, help, counsel and reproof, His words and His Spirit held out to turn sinners at reproof. That reaching comes through messages of warning, and it includes the final worldwide merciful appeal to turn from sin, obey God's commandments and receive life.
To refuse and to pay no regard is deliberately to reject that counsel and reproof, to set all counsel at naught and despise reproof, to resist the Spirit, to reject light and evidence, to abuse goodness and harden the heart against mercy. It is to trust in self and to work to deepen unbelief, refusing to be molded and to consent to reflect Christ's likeness while treating offered salvation with contempt. So Pharaoh disregarded evidence after the plagues were removed, and so Saul slighted the reproofs and warnings of word and Spirit until, yielding to temptation, he became blind to the true character of sin and flattered himself that he had some good object and had done no wrong in departing from the Lord's requirements. Repeatedly disregarding corrections disposes men to reject the voice again, until doing despite to the Spirit of grace leaves its voice no longer heard.
This call met with refusal stands against rulers who oppose Christ yet cannot thwart God's purpose, whose power could not keep the Son of God in the tomb.
Judgment for Refusal
Persistent refusal sets in motion sowing and reaping, for disregarded light brings a shadow and moral darkness more dark because of the light sent. Setting at naught all counsel and rejecting light and evidence, abusing goodness and hardening the heart against mercy, draws a self-drawn curtain of unbelief so that light cannot be distinguished from darkness, more light and evidence is misunderstood and brings greater indifference, until the deceived soul calls darkness light and truth error. As with Pharaoh disregarding evidence after the plagues were removed, and with Saul slighting reproofs and warnings until blinded to the true character of sin while flattering himself with good motives, resistance grieves the Spirit away for the last time until its voice is no longer heard and leaves the soul to chosen delusions. As resistance continues the Spirit is less and less manifested until angels fold their wings and cease watchcare, probation ends, mercy's sweet voice dies away to be heard no more, no prayer prevails for rejecters of light, and the soul is left without conviction, without mercy and without hope to a never-wearied evil companion and to the natural process of corrupting practices.
Refusers eat the fruit of their own way and are filled with their own devices, reaping exactly what they sowed, sowing wind to reap whirlwind. To such is spoken laughing at calamity and mocking when fear comes, fear coming as desolation, destruction as a whirlwind, distress and anguish coming upon them, with no refuge or consolation, because they hated knowledge, did not choose the fear of the Lord, set at naught all counsel and despised all reproof. There is no sparing for those who rejected warning, and their misery and suffering is not God's fault but the sure consequence of their own course. Violation of nature's laws turns transgressed law into tormentors, degrading beneath the brutes, ruining the mechanism of the living machinery, abusing bodily organs to gratify lustful appetite and debased passion in married or unmarried life as slaves to passion unwilling to break its chains, with the result marked even in the countenance.
When calamity comes they will call and seek early but will not be answered or find him, for the merciful opportunity to repent has been wasted and left them without excuse. Mercy and forbearance then cease, no prayer prevails in behalf of rejecters of light, and cries for help after the message of warning has been given are too late and of no avail. Repeated refusal hardens in rejection until judgment comes, and those who despise knowledge and refuse the fear of the Lord then seek God and do not find Him. This warning applies also to the final worldwide message, whose clear call to obey God's commandments is given as a last merciful appeal to turn from sin and receive life.
The verse points forward to Christ's glorious return and the great day of final judgment, when rejecters of mercy and despisers of grace are brought face to face with justice to render account for devoting God-given talents of time, of means, and of intellect to serving worldly gods. Christ repeatedly called to repentance with tender appeals, warnings and invitations of grace and offered help, but they refused His call, ignored His appeal, rejected His counsel and would not accept correction. At His coming His own voice condemns them because it recalls the warnings they despised, the invitations they refused, and the privileges they slighted, and they will know and recognize that they rejected the Redeemer who had long pleaded with them. Those who bartered eternal life and heaven for worldly pleasure and chose sin and worldly gain will desperately seek mercy in distress as the fruit of their own choices, only to be sent away from God's presence to share the humiliation and punishment of Satan and his angels.
Urgency to Respond
The verse urges readiness now for the Lord's coming, making peace with Him and coming to Jesus to choose eternal life while the Spirit still invites, lest eternal life and heaven be bartered away for worldly pleasure. Present moments of mercy are to be used for earnest repentance and confession so that pardon may be recorded before judgment, leaving no excuse when mercy has passed. Merely formal professors are called to be zealous and repent and to buy gold, white raiment and eyesalve so they may be rich and partake largely of salvation. The hope held out is to turn to God with sincere purpose, repent, and receive pardon, and while probation continues Christ is ever willing to help resist evil, so now is the time to put on the whole armor and do whole duty to be ready.
Refusal grows by forsaking a true and loving Friend to follow convenience and worldly pleasure with intent to return to God sometime later. It robs God of the service He purchased with His own blood by spending time in idle talk, foolish amusement and worldly pleasure. The world with its follies and deceptions absorbs attention, and frivolous amusements, pride of dress, and indulgence of appetite harden the heart and benumb the conscience so the voice of truth is not heard, duty is despised, and things of infinite value are lightly esteemed until the heart loses all desire to sacrifice. Enslavement to passion continues for those who make a god of appetite and abuse the body to gratify lustful appetite and debased passion in married or unmarried life, unwilling to break its chains, ruining the mechanism of the living machinery.
Repeatedly disregarding corrections disposes a person to reject the voice again and hardens in rejection until judgment comes. Those who reject reproof and trust in themselves will not repent, and the message comes to them in vain until they are surprised, fall, and are taken by the enemy. Terror in the storm and fear on the day of anger illustrate pleading that comes too late, for fear-driven confession, storm-driven vows, promises in illness and danger abandoned after escape, return to rebellion after deliverance, and deathbed sorrow mistaken for conversion do not amount to lasting change.
By contrast, those who heed the call and listen to counsel dwell safely and quietly, free from fear of evil and needing not to fear.
God, Wisdom, and Christ the Saviour who died for sinners openly calls people to repentance and reaches toward them with tender appeals, warnings, and invitations of grace, stretching out his hand in a present personal offer of salvation, help, counsel, reproof, and his Spirit through messages of warning, including the final worldwide merciful appeal to turn from sin, obey his commandments, and receive life. Refusal and disregard mean deliberately rejecting counsel and reproof, setting all counsel at naught, resisting the Spirit, rejecting light and evidence, hardening the heart against mercy and trusting in self, as Pharaoh disregarded evidence after the plagues were removed and as Saul slighted reproofs until blinded to sin's character. Persistent refusal sets in motion sowing and reaping, where disregarded light brings moral darkness darker because of the light sent, until the Spirit is grieved away for the last time, probation ends, and the soul is left without conviction, mercy, or hope to eat the fruit of its own way and be filled with its own devices in calamity, desolation, distress and anguish with no refuge. When that calamity comes they will call and seek early but will not be answered or find him, for mercy has ceased and cries after the opportunity has passed are too late, pointing forward to Christ's return and the great day of final judgment when Christ's own rejected voice condemns rejecters by recalling the warnings they despised, the invitations they refused, and the privileges they slighted. Therefore the call warns to respond now while the Spirit invites by coming to Jesus, choosing eternal life, being zealous and repenting, and turning with sincere purpose to receive pardon, for those who heed and listen to counsel dwell safely and quietly, free from fear of evil, while absorption in worldly pleasure and repeated disregard harden the heart until truth is unheard.
Call and Refusal
The caller is God, and Wisdom crying openly in streets and gates, and Christ the Saviour who died for sinners, calling men to repentance with tender appeals, warnings and invitations of grace. His calling and His stretched-out hand are His present personal offer of salvation, help, counsel and reproof, His words and His Spirit held out to turn sinners at reproof. That reaching comes through messages of warning, and it includes the final worldwide merciful appeal to turn from sin, obey God's commandments and receive life.
To refuse and to pay no regard is deliberately to reject that counsel and reproof, to set all counsel at naught and despise reproof, to resist the Spirit, to reject light and evidence, to abuse goodness and harden the heart against mercy. It is to trust in self and to work to deepen unbelief, refusing to be molded and to consent to reflect Christ's likeness while treating offered salvation with contempt. So Pharaoh disregarded evidence after the plagues were removed, and so Saul slighted the reproofs and warnings of word and Spirit until, yielding to temptation, he became blind to the true character of sin and flattered himself that he had some good object and had done no wrong in departing from the Lord's requirements. Repeatedly disregarding corrections disposes men to reject the voice again, until doing despite to the Spirit of grace leaves its voice no longer heard.
This call met with refusal stands against rulers who oppose Christ yet cannot thwart God's purpose, whose power could not keep the Son of God in the tomb.
Judgment for Refusal
Persistent refusal sets in motion sowing and reaping, for disregarded light brings a shadow and moral darkness more dark because of the light sent. Setting at naught all counsel and rejecting light and evidence, abusing goodness and hardening the heart against mercy, draws a self-drawn curtain of unbelief so that light cannot be distinguished from darkness, more light and evidence is misunderstood and brings greater indifference, until the deceived soul calls darkness light and truth error. As with Pharaoh disregarding evidence after the plagues were removed, and with Saul slighting reproofs and warnings until blinded to the true character of sin while flattering himself with good motives, resistance grieves the Spirit away for the last time until its voice is no longer heard and leaves the soul to chosen delusions. As resistance continues the Spirit is less and less manifested until angels fold their wings and cease watchcare, probation ends, mercy's sweet voice dies away to be heard no more, no prayer prevails for rejecters of light, and the soul is left without conviction, without mercy and without hope to a never-wearied evil companion and to the natural process of corrupting practices.
Refusers eat the fruit of their own way and are filled with their own devices, reaping exactly what they sowed, sowing wind to reap whirlwind. To such is spoken laughing at calamity and mocking when fear comes, fear coming as desolation, destruction as a whirlwind, distress and anguish coming upon them, with no refuge or consolation, because they hated knowledge, did not choose the fear of the Lord, set at naught all counsel and despised all reproof. There is no sparing for those who rejected warning, and their misery and suffering is not God's fault but the sure consequence of their own course. Violation of nature's laws turns transgressed law into tormentors, degrading beneath the brutes, ruining the mechanism of the living machinery, abusing bodily organs to gratify lustful appetite and debased passion in married or unmarried life as slaves to passion unwilling to break its chains, with the result marked even in the countenance.
When calamity comes they will call and seek early but will not be answered or find him, for the merciful opportunity to repent has been wasted and left them without excuse. Mercy and forbearance then cease, no prayer prevails in behalf of rejecters of light, and cries for help after the message of warning has been given are too late and of no avail. Repeated refusal hardens in rejection until judgment comes, and those who despise knowledge and refuse the fear of the Lord then seek God and do not find Him. This warning applies also to the final worldwide message, whose clear call to obey God's commandments is given as a last merciful appeal to turn from sin and receive life.
The verse points forward to Christ's glorious return and the great day of final judgment, when rejecters of mercy and despisers of grace are brought face to face with justice to render account for devoting God-given talents of time, of means, and of intellect to serving worldly gods. Christ repeatedly called to repentance with tender appeals, warnings and invitations of grace and offered help, but they refused His call, ignored His appeal, rejected His counsel and would not accept correction. At His coming His own voice condemns them because it recalls the warnings they despised, the invitations they refused, and the privileges they slighted, and they will know and recognize that they rejected the Redeemer who had long pleaded with them. Those who bartered eternal life and heaven for worldly pleasure and chose sin and worldly gain will desperately seek mercy in distress as the fruit of their own choices, only to be sent away from God's presence to share the humiliation and punishment of Satan and his angels.
Urgency to Respond
The verse urges readiness now for the Lord's coming, making peace with Him and coming to Jesus to choose eternal life while the Spirit still invites, lest eternal life and heaven be bartered away for worldly pleasure. Present moments of mercy are to be used for earnest repentance and confession so that pardon may be recorded before judgment, leaving no excuse when mercy has passed. Merely formal professors are called to be zealous and repent and to buy gold, white raiment and eyesalve so they may be rich and partake largely of salvation. The hope held out is to turn to God with sincere purpose, repent, and receive pardon, and while probation continues Christ is ever willing to help resist evil, so now is the time to put on the whole armor and do whole duty to be ready.
Refusal grows by forsaking a true and loving Friend to follow convenience and worldly pleasure with intent to return to God sometime later. It robs God of the service He purchased with His own blood by spending time in idle talk, foolish amusement and worldly pleasure. The world with its follies and deceptions absorbs attention, and frivolous amusements, pride of dress, and indulgence of appetite harden the heart and benumb the conscience so the voice of truth is not heard, duty is despised, and things of infinite value are lightly esteemed until the heart loses all desire to sacrifice. Enslavement to passion continues for those who make a god of appetite and abuse the body to gratify lustful appetite and debased passion in married or unmarried life, unwilling to break its chains, ruining the mechanism of the living machinery.
Repeatedly disregarding corrections disposes a person to reject the voice again and hardens in rejection until judgment comes. Those who reject reproof and trust in themselves will not repent, and the message comes to them in vain until they are surprised, fall, and are taken by the enemy. Terror in the storm and fear on the day of anger illustrate pleading that comes too late, for fear-driven confession, storm-driven vows, promises in illness and danger abandoned after escape, return to rebellion after deliverance, and deathbed sorrow mistaken for conversion do not amount to lasting change.
By contrast, those who heed the call and listen to counsel dwell safely and quietly, free from fear of evil and needing not to fear.