[320]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - UNGRATEFUL WRETCHES – THE LEPERS
Ingratitude is a sign of the times. People are becoming more selfish and self-centred and demanding as the Church age draws to a close. This is also in line with 2 Timothy 3:1-4.
So many today are just not thankful, and I suppose that depends on where you live. We may not like ungrateful men and women, but this verse tells what God’s attitude to them is – {{Luke 6:35 “Love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, FOR HE HIMSELF IS KIND TO UNGRATEFUL AND EVIL MEN.”}}
The ungrateful wretches in this poem connect with a story that happened to Jesus. {{Luke 17:12-18 and as He entered a certain village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him, and they raised their voices saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests,” and it came about that as they were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him, and he was a Samaritan. Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed, but the nine - where are they? Was no one found who turned back to give glory to God except this foreigner?”}}
There were 9 ungrateful wretches. They were healed and were not grateful. I think that is disgusting. Did they think so little of their cleansing, that they disregarded the One who healed them? Are some Christians similar to that, ungrateful about the salvation they confess to have?
This is an unthankful world, one that wants and gets. Christians ought to be utterly separated from that. We give thanks to our Saviour God, not being ungrateful wretches in any way.
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UNGRATEFUL WRETCHES – THE LEPERS
Ten lepers were cleansed, but where were the nine?
Only one returned to show he was fine.
The others ungrateful were, and thankless,
And went their way as those who are shameless.
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Who can imagine from such a disease, (bodies diseased)
They’d spurn the Saviour and do as they pleased?
They owed Him ev’rything; their lives made whole,
But they rejected Him, body and soul.
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The world is no better, for it’s expunged
The knowledge of God; in sin it has plunged.
There’s only one fence but it has two sides:
One that is good where thankfulness resides;
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The other where ungratefulness is found;
A horrible side of selfishness, crowned
By those who don’t desire to know God’s love,
And have risen in defiance above.
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The one who came back to thank the dear Lord,
Came back, for it was the Lord he adored.
Grateful for cleansing that he had received,
And now in The Christ, he fully believed.
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“And Christian, what about you?” we need ask.
“Is lack of affection behind a mask?”
Saved by Jesus, but now that has faded.
Thankfulness and gratitude are shaded.
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Wake up you foolish person, and decide.
It was to Christ, you placed yourself beside.
You thanked Him for salvation. You, the one
Who was sin’s leper, whom Jesus’ death won.
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Be thankful God has cleansed from you, your sin.
Don’t drift away like the nine, who unpin
The mercy of God, ungrateful wretches;
On thankless hearts, ingratitude etches.
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20 February 2022 Ronald Ferguson Metre = 10 throughout AABB
In the second stanza, it ended with:-
“They owed Him ev’rything; their lives made whole,
But they rejected Him, body and soul.”
HOWEVER, I think the two lines under here are better ones to end the second stanza. Choose which you want.
“They owed Him ev’rything; their lives complete,
But from their lives, Jesus they would delete.”