Spurgeon's thoughts: "Sovereign grace can make strangers into sons. And the Lord declares here his intent to deal in this way with rebels, and to ensure they know what he has done. Beloved reader, the Lord has done this in my case. Has he done this for you? Then let us join hands and hearts in praising his adorable name.
Some of us were so decidedly ungodly that the Lord's word most truly said to our conscience and heart, "You are not my people." In the house of God, and in our own homes, when we read the Bible, this was the voice of God's Spirit in our soul, "You are not my people." But now, in the same places, from the same ministry and Scripture, we hear a voice which says, "You are the children of the living God." Can we be grateful enough for this? Is it not wonderful? Does it not give us hope for others? Who is beyond the reach of almighty grace? How can we despair of anyone, since the Lord has brought about such a marvelous change in us?
He who has kept this one great promise will keep every other. Therefore let us go forward with songs of adoration and confidence."
Candy's thoughts: There is so much that could be said of this wonderful commentary by Charles Spurgeon on Hosea 1:10, but I will concentrate on just two points. The first that struck me was the phrase, "...praising his adorable name." Perhaps in previous generations this was a common way of speaking of God's name, but I had never heard it referred to as "adorable." I am very accustomed to speaking this way about cute babies and playful puppies, but God's name? Of course it makes sense. Adorable means 1."Extremely charming and appealing. 2. Worthy of adoration and veneration." The God of creation and providence is indeed worthy to be adored. So I hope to use this wording when speaking of God's name in the future. I like it!
The second is the sentence: "How can we despair of anyone, since the Lord has brought about such a marvelous change in us?" Perhaps my deepest prayers are reserved for the prodigals in our lives. I have such a long list, and after many years I can get discouraged when I (think) I see no progress in those I know who have rejected Him or see Almighty God as irrelevant and therefore unworthy of attention at all. But those of us who have been saved by Him should never think it impossible that others might be saved as well. After all, as Isaiah 59:1 states: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear."
Praise be to God that He has rescued us from the place where it was said of us "You are not my people" but delivered us to the place where we can be called "Children of the living God." And let's pray in confident expectation that He will rescue our loved ones as well. In His adorable name, AMEN!
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