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The sermon teaches that God continually addresses humanity through Scripture, providence, creation, daily routines, and vocational responsibilities. These signs reveal human sin, warn of judgment, and call people to repentance rather than careless rebellion. Salvation is found not in personal merit but in Christ’s righteousness and blood, received through personal faith in the One who died and rose again. The closing appeal is urgent: believe on Christ and seek salvation before death and final judgment.
Theological center: God sovereignly uses providence and ordinary life to expose sin and direct sinners to salvation by grace through faith in the crucified and risen Christ.
Applications: Hear God’s providential warnings · Seek Christ’s righteousness · Become fruitful hearers · Pray for a new heart
Primary texts: Hosea 12:10 · Galatians 6:7-8 · Luke 13:25
“I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes.” Hosea 12:10 WHEN the Lord would win His people Israel from their iniquities, He did not leave a stone unturned, but gave them precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little. He taught them sometimes with a rod in His hand, when He smote them with sore famine and pestilence and invasion. At other times He sought to win them with bounties, for He multiplied their corn and their wine and their oil, and He laid no famine upon them. But all the teachings of His providence were unavailing and whilst His hand was stretched out, they still continued to rebel against the Most High. He hewed them by the prophets. He sent them first one and then another. The golden-mouthed Isaiah was followed by the plaintive Jeremy. While at his heels in quick succession, there followed many far-seeing, thunder-speaking seers. But though prophet followed prophet in quick succession, each of them uttering the burning words of the Most High, yet they would have none of His rebukes, but they hardened their hearts and went on still in their iniquities. Among the rest of God’s agencies for striking their attention and their conscience, was the use of similitudes. The prophets were accustomed not only to preach, but to be themselves as signs and wonders to the people. For instance, Isaiah named his child, Maher-shalal-hash-baz, that they might know that the judgment of the Lord was hastening upon them. And this child was ordained to be a sign, “for before the child shall have knowledge to cry, my father and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.” On another occasion, the Lord said unto Isaiah, “Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot.” And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And the Lord said, “Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia; so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners and the Ethiopians captives young and old, naked and barefoot, to the shame of Egypt.” Hosea, the prophet, himself had to teach the people by a similitude. You will notice in the first chapter a most extraordinary similitude. The Lord said to him, “Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms; for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD,” and he did so. And the children begotten by this marriage were made as signs and wonders to the people. As for his first son, he was to be called Jezreel, “For yet a little whil…