day no. 16,770: even so, come

"When is sin ripe? When it is impudent, when men grow bold in sin, making it their whole course and trade of life. When men’s wicked courses are their common lifestyle, and they don’t even know how to do otherwise . . . The more sin, the more danger. When men are secure in their sinning, it is as if they are daring the God of heaven to do his worst.” — Richard Sibbes, Refreshment for the Soul

When men are given over to their sin, they are tempting God to get involved. While the wrath of God is observed in His removing His hand, the further the sin goes, the more it invites Him to become more hands on.

Romans 1:24-28

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.

God does not impute vileness to men. They pursue it on their own. God does not dangle disaster before them, they court calamity on their own accord. When God lets go of the leash, the lemmings head for the cliff. The grace of God is not giving us what we want, but in regenerating us to want His will above our own.

James 1:14-15

Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Sins do not get any cuter the more they grow up. In fact, they get grosser. To be clear, sins are never actually cute, but it is easier to construe them that way when they are still infantile. Tiny is cute. So, tiny sins committed by tiny people are discounted by the cuteness of the tiny offender. But grown up sins are gross. They corrupt their containers. Their skin cannot help but reflect the acidity within.

When sin becomes brazen, it begins to beg for a reckoning. It looks up, shakes it fist, and dares the lightning to strike. It mocks God and jaws at His judgment. It struts around asking to be struck down. That kind of cocksuredness cruises for its bruises and rides on its high horse without any worry of being knocked off. That kind of presumption, however, is often the final portent of what proverbially comes next:

Proverbs 16:18

Pride goeth before destruction,

and an haughty spirit before a fall.

“Consistent believers are not in that position. We do not want God to do His worst. We do, however, want God to do what it takes. Our prayer should be that God would do what it takes to bring us to the point of humble repentance. To want Him to do more than it takes would be vindictive, and we don’t want to be that. But we should want Him to do whatever it takes. As we watch the walls disintegrate around us, our prayer should be that this is judgment driving toward mercy, and not judgment as a harbinger of more judgment." — Douglas Wilson, Why Fox News Needs to Free Tucker. And Then a Word about the Gospel of Sovereign Grace

When God shakes, things begin to fall apart. The falling of things produces its own tremors. It is altogether unsettling. But the uneasiness of God's appearing is to be preferred to the ease of adjusting to His absence. 

Revelation 22:20

He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

The future is Christian.

Whatever convulsions are required to cast the demons out, they are to be pursued and pleaded for rather than resigning ourselves to a regular roll in the fire. Christ will come and the correction might hurt, but it is better to be disciplined and spared than to be spared discipline and discarded. It is better to be parented by the rod than to be bastardized by God. Better to be His child with a sore backside than to be His enemy facing His wrath.