THE EVILS OF A MURMURING SPIRIT
9. THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF DANGER IN THE SIN OF DISCONTENT, FOR IT HIGHLY PROVOKES THE WRATH OF
GOD.
It is a sin that much provokes God against his creature. We find most sad expressions in Scripture, and examples too, how God has been provoked against many for their discontent. In Numbers 14 you have a noteworthy text, and one would think that it was enough for ever to make you fear murmuring: in the <041426>26th verse, it is said, ‘The Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron saying’ — what did he say? — ‘How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me?’ How long shall I bear with them? says God, this evil congregation, oh it is an evil congregation that murmur against me, and how long shall I bear with them? They murmur, and they have murmured; as those who have murmuring spirits, and murmuring dispositions, they will murmur again, and again. How long shall I bear with this evil congregation that murmur against me? How justly may God speak this of many of you who are this morning before the Lord:
how long shall I bear with this wicked man or woman who murmurs against me, and has usually in the course of their lives murmured against me when anything falls out otherwise than they would have it?
And mark what follows after, ‘I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel.’ You murmur, and maybe others do not hear you, it may be that you do not speak at all, or but half-words; yet God hears the language of your murmuring hearts, and those muttering speeches, and those half- words that come from you. And observe further in this verse how the Lord repeats this sin of murmuring,’ ‘How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me?’ Secondly, ‘I have heard their murmuring.’ Thirdly, ‘which they murmur against me’. Murmur, murmur, murmur — three times in one verse he repeats it, and this is to show his indignation against the thing. When you express indignation against a thing,
you repeat it over again, and again; now the Lord, because he would
express his indignation against this sin, repeats it over again, and again, and it follows in the 28th verse, ‘Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so I will do to you.’ Mark, God swears against a murmurer. Sometimes in your discontent perhaps you will be ready to swear. Do you swear in your discontent? — So does God swear against you for your discontent. And what would God do to them?
‘Doubtless your carcasses shall fall in the wilderness; and you shall not come into the land concerning which I sware, to make you dwell therein.’ It is as if God should say, ‘If I have any life in me your lives shall go for it, as I live it shall cost you your lives.’ A discontented, murmuring fit of yours may cost you your lives. You see how it provokes God; there is more evil in it than you were aware of. If may cost you your lives, and therefore look to yourselves, and learn to be humbled at the very beginnings of such disorders in the heart. So in <19A624>Psalm 106:24, 25:
‘Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word;
but murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord. Therefore he lifted up his hand against them to overthrow them in the wilderness.’
There are several things to be observed in this Scripture.
We spoke before of how a murmuring heart slights God’s mercies, and so it is here: ‘They despised the pleasant land.’ And a murmuring heart is contrary to faith: ‘they believed not his word, but (says the text) they murmured in their tents, and hearkened not to the voice of the Lord.’ Many men and women will hearken to the voice of their own base murmuring hearts, who will not hearken to the voice of the Lord. If you would hearken to the voice of the Lord, there would not be such murmuring as there is.
But mark what follows after it; you must not think to please yourselves in your murmuring discontentedness, and think that no evil shall come of it:
‘Therefore he lifted up his hand against them to overthrow them.’ You who are discontented lift up your hearts against God, and you cause God to lift up his hand against you. Perhaps God lays his finger on you softly in some afflictions, in your families or elsewhere, and you cannot bear the hand of God, which lies upon you as tenderly as a tender-hearted nurse lays her hand on a child. You cannot bear the tender hand of God which is upon you in a lesser affliction; it would be just for God to lift up his hand against you in another kind of affliction. Oh, a murmuring spirit provokes God
exceedingly.
There is another place in <041641>16th of Numbers: compare the 41st verse, and the 46th verse together:
‘But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord,’
and mark in the 46th verse:
‘And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation and make atonement for them, for there is wrath gone out from the Lord, the plague is begun.’
Mark how God’s wrath is kindled: in the 41st verse, the congregation had murmured, and they murmured only against Moses and Aaron (perhaps you murmur more directly against God) and that was against God, in
murmuring against God’s ministers. it was against God but not so directly;
if you murmur against those whom God makes instruments, because you have not got everything that you would have, against the Parliament, or such and such who are public instruments, it is against God. It was only against Moses and Aaron that the Israelites murmured, and they said that Moses and Aaron had killed the people of the Lord, though it was the hand of God that was upon them for their former wickedness in murmuring. It is usual for wicked, vile hearts to deal thus with God, when God’s hand is a little upon them, to murmur again and again, and so to bring upon
themselves infinite kinds of evils. But now the anger of God was quickly kindled: ‘Oh’, said Moses, ‘go, take the censer quickly, for wrath is gone out from Jehovah, the plague is begun.’
So while you are murmuring in your families, the wrath of God may quickly go out against you. In a morning or evening, when you are murmuring, the wrath of God may come quickly upon your families or persons. You are never so prepared for present wrath as when you are in a murmuring, discontented fit. Those who stand by and see you in a
murmuring, discontented fit, have cause to say: ‘Oh, let us go and take the censer, let us go to prayer, for we are afraid that wrath is gone out against this family, against this person.’ And it would be a very good thing for you, who are a godly wife, when you see your husband come home and start murmuring because things are not going according to his desire, to go to prayer, and say: ‘Lord, pardon the sin of my husband.’ And similarly for a husband to go to God in prayer, falling down and beseeching him that wrath may not come out against his family for the murmuring of his wife.
The truth is that at this day there has been, at least lately, as much
murmuring in England as there ever was, and eve in this very respect the plague has begun. This very judgment comes many times on those who are discontented in their families, and are always grumbling and murmuring at any thing that falls out amiss.
I say this text of Scripture in Numbers clearly holds forth that the Lord brings the plague upon men for this sin of murmuring; he does it in kingdoms and families, and on particular persons. Though we cannot always point out the particular sin that God brings it for, yet we should examine how far we are guilty of the sin of murmuring, because the
Scripture holds forth this so clearly, that when Moses but heard that they murmured: ‘Do they murmur?’ he said, ‘go forth quickly and seek to pacify the anger of God, for wrath is gone out, and the plague is begun.’ And you have a notable example of God’s heavy displeasure against murmuring in
<461010>1 Corinthians 10:10:
‘Neither murmur ye as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.’
Take heed of murmuring as some of them did — he speaks of the people of Israel in the wilderness — for, he says, what came of it? They were
destroyed of the destroyer. Now the destroyer is thought to be the fiery serpents that were sent among them. They murmured and God sent fiery serpents to sting them. What! do you think that a certain cross and affliction stings you? Perhaps such an affliction is upon you, and it seems to be grievous for the present; what! do your murmur and repine? God has greater crosses to bring upon you. Those people who murmur for want of outward comforts, for want of water, and for the want of bread, murmur, but the Lord sends fiery serpents among them. I would say to a murmuring heart, ‘Woe to you that strive with your maker! Woe to that man, that woman who strives against their maker! What else are you doing but striving against your maker? Your maker has the absolute disposal of you, and will you strive against him? What is the murmuring, discontented heart of yours doing but wrangling and contending and striving even with God himself? Oh, woe to him who strives against his maker! I may further say to you, as God spoke to Job, when he was impatient (<183801>Job 38:1, 2):
‘Now God spake’, says the text, ‘out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?’ So, do you speak against God’s way, and his providences which have taken place concerning your condition and outward comforts? Who is this? Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Where is the man or woman whose heart is so bold and impudent that they dare to speak against the administration of God’s providence?
10. THERE IS A GREAT CURSE OF GOD UPON