Turn ye unto Me. .. and I will turn unto you.
The Divine order of all true progress
The first step is at all times to turn to the Lord; the second follows, “turn you now from your evil ways, and from your evil doing.” The motive and the power to forsake evil must be found in himself. Once know Jesus and His love, experimentally, and you possess a motive for holiness, greater far than either heaven or earth can furnish. It is the expulsive power of a new affection. And yet, as in all advance, there is reciprocal action. The first step must ever be to Jesus. When the man is in Christ he possesses the power. But in turning away from evil, new light and life are thrown back upon the starting point. We see truth more clearly, and embrace it more earnestly. Thus there is growth in grace. To every step of faithfulness on our part the Lord adds new light; and this light is reflected in the face of Jesus Christ. He becomes more known, more loved; and this produces its effect in more likeness to Him. (T. Whitfield, M. A.)
The importance of repentance
Urged from--
I. The divine displeasure towards the impenitent men of the fast. “The Lord hath been sore displeased with your fathers.” “They had shown a mournfully strong and inveterate propensity to depart from God and from His ways. They had needed incessant repetitions of Divine admonitions, entreaties, promises, and threatenings; and manor a time all had proved unavailing. Jehovah bound them to Himself with ‘cords of love.’ But ‘they brake the bands asunder, and cast away the cords from them.’ They chose their own ways. They thus provoked Him to anger. Their fathers had by their sins brought that heavy seventy years’ judgment upon themselves.” Now the displeasure of God to sinners of the past is here referred to in order to induce the Jews to repent of the selfish negligence which they had evinced concerning the building of the temple (Hag 4:5-7).
II. From God’s assurance of a welcome to all that truly repent. Proved--
1. By His invitation to the impenitent. “Come now let us reason together, saith the Lord,” etc. etc.
2. By the experience of mankind. Manasseh, David, Saul, Bunyan, and millions more returned to Him, and He not only received them, but rejoiced over them.
III. From the transitoriness of human life. By the “fathers” are meant those with whom God was displeased, An argument--
1. For the wicked to repent.
2. For faithfulness, and for persevering zeal.
For we shall all soon have finished our mission. (Homilist.)