This document provides commentary on Hosea 14 from four scholars - Barnes, Clarke, Gill, and Henry. The commentaries discuss the key themes and messages in Hosea 14, including: 1. God calls Israel to sincere repentance and a total return to Him through abandoning idols and sin. 2. Israel is instructed on how to repent - by bringing words of prayer and supplication from the heart, and by inwardly turning to God in their hearts and outwardly reforming their lives. 3. God puts words in Israel's mouth to help their repentance, including petitions to have iniquity removed and be graciously received, and promises to render praise and thanks to God

1. HOSEA 14 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
Repentance to Bring Blessing
1 [a]Return, Israel, to the Lord your God.
Your sins have been your downfall!
BAR ES, "O Israel, return - (now, quite) unto the Lord your God The heavy and
scarcely interrupted tide of denunciation is now past. Billow upon billow have rolled
over Ephraim and the last wave discharged itself in the overwhelming, indiscriminating
destruction of the seat of its strength. As a nation, it was to cease to be. its separate
existence was a curse, not a blessing; the offspring of rivalry, matured by apostasy; the
parent, in its turn, of jealousy, hatred, and mutual vexation.
But while the kingdom was past and gone, the children still remained heirs of the
promises made to their fathers. As then, before, Hosea declared that Israel, after having
long remained solitary, should in the end “seek the Lord and David their king” Hos_3:5,
so now, after these manifold denunciations of their temporal destruction, God not only
invites them to repentance, but foretells that they should be wholly converted.
Every word is full of mercy. God calls them by the name of acceptance, which he had
given to their forefather, Jacob; “O Israel.” He deigns to beseech them to return; “return
now;” and that not “toward” but “quite up to” Himself, the unchangeable God, whose
mercies and promises were as immutable as His Being. To Himself, the Unchangeable,
God invites them to return; trod that, as being still their God. They had cast off their
God; God had “not cast off His people whom He foreknew” Rom_11:2.
: “He entreats them not only to turn back and look toward the Lord with a partial and
imperfect repentance, but not to leave off until they were come quite home to Him by a
total and sincere repentance and amendment.” He bids them “return quite to” Himself,
the Unchangeable God, and their God. “Great is repentance,” is a Jewish saying , “which
maketh men to reach quite up to the Throne of glory.”
For thou hast fallen by thine iniquity - “This is the first ray of divine light on the
sinner. God begins by discovering to him the abyss into which he has fallen,” and the
way by which he fell. Their own iniquity it was, on which they had stumbled and so had
fallen, powerless to rise, except through “His” call, whose “voice is with power” Psa_
29:4, and “Who giveth what He commandeth.” : “Ascribe not thy calamity,” He would
say, “to thine own weakness, to civil dissension, to the disuse of miltary discipline, to
want of wisdom in thy rulers, to the ambition and cruelty of the enemy, to reverse of
fortune. These things had not gone against thee, hadst not thou gone to war with the law
of thy God. Thou inflictest the deadly wound on thyself; thou destroyedst thyself. Not as

2. fools vaunt, by fate, or fortune of war, but ‘by thine iniquity hast thou fallen.’ Thy remedy
then is in thine own hand. ‘Return to thy God. ‘“
: “In these words, ‘by thine iniquity,” he briefly conveys, that each is to ascribe to
himself the iniquity of all sin, of whatsoever he has been guilty, not defending himself, as
Adam did, in whom we all, Jews and Gentiles, have sinned and fallen, as the Apostle
says, ‘For we were by nature the children of wrath, even as others’ Eph_2:3. By adding
actual, to that original, sin, Israel and every other nation falleth. He would say then, O
Israel, be thou first converted, for thou hast need of conversion; ‘for thou hast fallen;”
and confess this very thing, that ‘thou hast fallen by thine iniquity;’ for such confession is
the beginning of conversion.”
But wherewith should he return?
CLARKE, "O Israel, return unto the Lord - These words may be considered as
addressed to the people now in captivity; suffering much, but having still much more to
suffer if they did not repent. But it seems all these evils might yet be prevented, though
so positively predicted, if the people would repent and return; and the very exhortation
to this repentance shows that they still had power to repent, and that God was ready to
save them and avert all these evils. All this is easily accounted for on the doctrine of the
contingency of events, i.e., the poising a multitude of events on the possibility of being
and not being, and leaving the will of man to turn the scale; and that God will not
foreknow a thing as absolutely certain, which his will has determined to make
contingent. A doctrine against which some solemn men have blasphemed, and
philosophic infidels declaimed; but without which fate and dire necessity must be the
universal governors, prayer be a useless meddling, and Providence nothing but the
ineluctable adamantine chain of unchangeable events; all virtue is vice, and vice virtue,
or there is no distinction between them, each being eternally determined and unalterably
fixed by a sovereign and uncontrollable will and unvarying necessity, from the operation
of which no soul of man can escape, and no occurrence in the universe be otherwise than
it is. From such blasphemy, and from the monthly publications which avouch it, good
Lord, deliver us!
GILL, "O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God,.... From whom they had revolted
and backslidden; whose worship and service they had forsaken, and whose word and
ordinances they had slighted and neglected, and had served idols, and had given into
idolatry, superstition, and will worship; and are here exhorted to turn again to the Lord
by repentance and reformation, to abandon their idols, and every false way, and cleave to
the Lord with full purpose of heart; and the rather, since he was their God; not only their
Creator, Preserver, and kind Benefactor, but their God, by his special choice of them
above all people; by his covenant with them; by his redemption of them; and by their
profession of him; and who was still their God, and ready to receive them, upon their
return to him: and a thorough return is here meant, a returning "even unto" (w), or quite
up to the Lord thy God; it is not a going to him halfway, but a going quite up to his seat;
falling down before him, acknowledging sin and backslidings, and having hold upon him
by faith as their God, Redeemer, and Saviour: hence, from the way of speaking here
used, the Jews (x) have a saying, as Kimchi observes,
"great is repentance, for it brings a man to the throne of glory;''

3. the imperative may be here used for the future, as some take it; and then it is a
prediction of the conversion of Israel, "thou shalt return, O Israel" (y); and which was in
part fulfilled in the first times of the Gospel, which met with many of the Israelites
dispersed among the Gentiles, and was the means of their conversion; and will have a
greater accomplishment when all Israel shall be converted and saved:
for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity; or "though thou art fallen" (z); into sin, and
by it into ruin, temporal and spiritual; from a state of great prosperity and happiness,
both in things civil and religious, into great adversity, and calamities of every sort; yet
return, repent, consider from whence thou art fallen, and by what; or thou shall return,
be recovered and restored, notwithstanding thy fall, and the low estate in which thou art.
The Targum is,
"return to the fear of the Lord.''
HE RY 1-3, "I. A kind invitation given to sinners to repent, Hos_14:1. It is directed
to Israel, God's professing people. They are called to return. Note, Conversion must be
preached even to those that are within the pale of the church as well as to heathen.
“Thou are Israel, and therefore art bound to thy God in duty, gratitude, and interest; thy
revolt from him is so much the more heinous, and thy return to him so much the more
necessary.” Let Israel see, 1. What work he has made for repentance: “Thou has fallen by
thy iniquity.” Thou has stumbled; so some read it. Their idols were their stumbling-
blocks. “Thou has fallen from God into sin, fallen off from all good, fallen down under
the load of guilt and the curse.” Note, Sin is a fall; and it concerns those that have fallen
by sin to get up again by repentance. 2. What work he has to do in his repentance:
“Return to the Lord thy God; return to him as the Lord whom thou has a dependence
upon, as thy God, thine in covenant, whom thou has an interest in.” Note, It is the great
concern of those that have revolted from God to return to God, and so to do their first
works. “Return to him from whom thou has fallen, and who alone is able to raise thee
up. Return even to the Lord, or quite home to the Lord; do not only look to him, or take
some steps towards him, but make thorough work of it.” The ancient Jews had a saying
grounded on this, Repentance is a great thing, for it brings men quite up to the throne
of glory.
II. Necessary instructions given them how to repent. 1. They must bethink themselves
what to say to God when they come to him: Take with you words. They are required to
bring, not sacrifices and offerings, but penitential prayers and supplications, the fruit of
thy lips, yet not of the lips only, but of the heart, else words are but wind. One of the
rabbin says, They must be such words as proceed from what is spoken first in the inner
man; the heart must dictate to the tongue. We must take good words with us, by taking
good thoughts and good affections with us. Verbaque praevisam rem non invita
sequentur - Those who master a subject are seldom at a loss for language. Note, When
we come to God we should consider what we have to say to him; for, if we come without
an errand, we are likely to go without an answer. Ezr_9:10, What shall we say? We must
take with us words from the scripture, take them from the Spirit of grace and
supplication, who teaches us to cry, Abba, Father, and makes intercession in us. 2. They
must bethink themselves what to do. They must not only take with them words, but
must turn to the Lord; inwardly in their hearts, outwardly in their lives.
III. For their assistance herein, and encouragement, God is pleased to put words into
their mouths, to teach them what they shall say. Surely we may hope to speed with God,
when he himself has ordered our address to be drawn up ready to our hands, and his

4. own Spirit has indited it for us; and no doubt we shall speed if the workings of our souls
agree with the words here recommended to us. They are,
1. Petitioning words. Two things we are here directed to petition for: - (1.) To be
acquitted from guilt. When we return to the Lord we must say to him, Lord, take away
all iniquity. They were now smarting for sin, under the load of affliction, but are taught
to pray, not as Pharaoh, Take away this death, but, Take away this sin. Note, When we
are in affliction we should be more concerned for the forgiveness of our sins than for the
removal of our trouble. “Take away iniquity, lift it off as a burden we are ready to sink
under or as the stumbling-block which we have often fallen over. Lord, take it away, that
it may not appear against us, to our confusion and condemnation. Take it all away by a
free and full remission, for we cannot pretend to strike any of it off by a satisfaction of
our own.” When God pardons sin he pardons all, that great debt; and when we pray
against sin we must pray against it all and not except any. (2.) To be accepted as
righteous in God's sight: “Receive us graciously. Let us have thy favour and love, and
have thou respect to us and to our performances. Receive our prayer graciously; be well
pleased with that good which by thy grace we are enabled to do.” Take good (so the word
is); take it to bestow upon us, so the margin reads it - Give good. This follows upon the
petition for the taking away of iniquity; for, till iniquity is taken away, we have no reason
to expect any good from God, but the taking away of iniquity makes way for the
conferring of good removendo prohibens - by taking that out of the way which
hindered. Give good; they do not say what good, but refer themselves to God; it is not
good of the world's showing (Psa_4:6), but good of God's giving. “Give good, that good
which we have forfeited, and which thou has promised, and which the necessity of our
case calls for.” Note, God's gracious acceptance, and the blessed fruits and tokens of that
acceptance, are to be earnestly desired and prayed for by us in our returning to God.
“Give good, that good which will make us good and keep us from returning to iniquity
again.”
2. Promising words. These also are put into their mouths, not to move God, or to
oblige him to show them mercy, but to move themselves, and oblige themselves to
returns of duty. Note, Our prayers for pardon and acceptance with God should be always
accompanied with sincere purposes and vows of new obedience. Two things they are to
promise and vow: - (1.) Thanksgiving. “Pardon our sins, and accept of us, so will we
render the calves of our lips.” The fruit of our lips (so the Septuagint), a word they used
for burnt-offerings, and so it agrees with the Hebrew. The apostle quotes this phrase
(Heb_13:15), and by the fruit of our lips understands the sacrifice of praise to God,
giving thanks to his name. Note, Praise and thanksgiving are our spiritual sacrifice, and,
if they come from an upright heart, shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock,
Psa_69:30, Psa_69:32. And the sense of our pardon and acceptance with God will
enlarge our hearts in praise and thankfulness. Those that are received graciously may,
and must, render the calves of their lips - poor returns for rich receivings, yet, if sincere,
more acceptable than the calves of the stall. (2.) Amendment of life. They are taught to
promise, not only verbal acknowledgements, but a real reformation. And we are taught
here, [1.] In our returns to God to covenant against sin. We cannot expect that God
should take it away by forgiving it if we do not put it away by forsaking it. [2.] To be
particular in our covenants and resolutions against sin, as we ought to be in our
confession, because deceit lies in generals. [3.] To covenant especially and expressly
against those sins which we have been most subject to, which have most easily beset us,
and which we have been most frequently overcome by. We must keep ourselves from,
and therefore must thus fortify ourselves against, our own iniquity, Psa_18:23. The sin
they here covenant against, owning thereby that they had been guilty of it, is giving that

5. glory to another which is due to God only; this they promise they will never do, First, By
putting that confidence in creatures which should be put in God only. They will not trust
to their alliances abroad: Asshur (that is, Assyria) shall not save us. “We will not court
the help of the Assyrians when we are in distress, as we have done (Hos_5:13; Hos_7:11;
Hos_8:9); we will not contract for it, nor will we confide in it, or depend upon it. Having
a God to go to, a God all-sufficient to trust to, we scorn to be beholden to the Assyrians
for help.” They will not trust to their warlike preparations at home, especially not those
which they were forbidden to multiply: “We will not ride upon horses, that is, we will not
make court to Egypt,” for thence they fetched their horses, Deu_17:16; Isa_30:16; Isa_
31:1, Isa_31:3. “When our enemies invade us we will depend upon our God to succour
our infantry, and will be in no care to remount our cavalry.” Or, “We will not post on
horseback, for haste, from one creature to another, to seek relief, but will take the
nearest way, and the only sure way, by addressing ourselves to God,” Isa_20:5. Note,
True repentance takes us off from trusting to an arm of flesh, and brings us to rely on
God only for all the good we stand in need of. Secondly, Nor will they do it by paying that
homage to creatures which is due to God only. We will not say any more to the works of
our hands, You are our gods. They must promise never to worship idols again, and for a
good reason, because it is the most absurd and senseless thing in the world to pray to
that as a god which is the work of our hands. We must promise that we will not set our
hearts upon the gains of this world, nor pride ourselves in our external performances in
religion, for that is, in effect, to say to the work of our hands, You are our gods.
3. Pleading words are here put into their mouths: For in thee the fatherless find
mercy. We must take our encouragement in prayer, not from any merit God finds in us,
but purely from the mercy we hope to find in God. This contains in itself a great truth,
that God takes special care of fatherless children, Psa_68:4, Psa_68:5. So he did in his
law, Exo_22:22. So he does in his providence, Psa_27:10. It is God's prerogative to help
the helpless. In him there is mercy for such, for they are proper objects of mercy. In him
they find it; there it is laid up for them, and there they must seek it; seek and you shall
find. It comes in here as a good plea for mercy and grace and an encouraging one to their
faith. (1.) They plead the distress of their state and condition: “We are fatherless
orphans, destitute of help.” Those may expect to find help in God that are truly sensible
of their helplessness in themselves and are willing to acknowledge it. This is a good step
towards comfort. “If we have not yet boldness to call God Father, yet we look upon
ourselves as fatherless without him, and therefore lay ourselves at his feet, to be looked
upon by him with compassion.” (2.) They plead God's wonted lovingkindness to such as
were in that condition: With thee the fatherless not only may find, but does find, and
shall find, mercy. It is a great encouragement to our faith and hope, in returning to God,
that it is his glory to father the fatherless and help the helpless.
JAMISO , "Hos_14:1-9. God’s promise of blessing, on their repentance: Their
abandonment of idolatry foretold: The conclusion of the whole, the just shall walk in
God’s ways, but the transgressor shall fall therein.
fallen by thine iniquity — (Hos_5:5; Hos_13:9).
CALVI , "Verse 1
Here the Prophet exhorts the Israelites to repentance, and still propounds some
hope of mercy. But this may seem inconsistent as he had already testified that there

6. would be no remedy any more, because they had extremely provoked God. The
Prophet seems in this case to contradict himself. But the solution is ready at hand,
and it is this, — In speaking before of the final destruction of the people, he had
respect to the whole body of the people; but now he directs his discourse to the few,
who had as yet remained faithful. And this distinction, as we have reminded you in
other places, ought to be carefully noticed; otherwise we shall find ourselves
perplexed in many parts of Scripture. We now then see for what purpose the
Prophet annexed this exhortation, after having asserted that God would be
implacable to the people of Israel; for with regard to the whole body, there was no
hope of deliverance; God had now indeed determined to destroy them, and he
wished this to be made known to them by the preaching of Hosea. But yet God had
ever some seed remaining among his chosen people: though the body, as a whole,
was putrid and corrupt; yet some sound members remained, as in a large heap of
chaff some grains may be found concealed. As God then had preserved some (as he
is wont always to do,) he sets forth to them his mercy: and as they had been carried
away, as it were by a tempest, when iniquity so prevailed among the people, that
there was nothing sound, the Prophet addresses them here, because they were not
wholly incurable.
Let us then know that the irreclaimable, the whole body of the people, are now
dismissed; for they were so obstinate that the Prophet could address them with no
prospect of success. Then his sermon here ought to be especially applied to the elect
of God, who, having fallen away for a time, and become entangled in the common
vices of the age, were yet not altogether incurable. The Prophet now exhorts them
and says Return, Israel, to Jehovah thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity
This reason is added, because men will never repent unless they are made humble;
and whence comes true and genuine humility, except from a sense of sin? Unless
then men become displeased with themselves, and acknowledge that they are worthy
of perdition, they will never be touched by a genuine feeling of penitence. These two
things are then wisely joined together by Hosea, that Israel had fallen by their
iniquities, and then, that it was time to return to Jehovah. How so? Because, when
we are convinced that we are worthy of destruction, nays that we are already
doomed to death for having so often provoked God, then we begin to hate ourselves;
and a detestation of sin drives us to seek repentance.
But he says, Turn thou, Israel, to thy God The Prophet now kindly invites them; for
he could not succeed by severe words without mingling a hope of favour, as we
know that there can be no hope of repentance without faith. Then the Prophet not
only shows what was necessary to be done, but says also, ‘Thou art Israel, thou art
an elect people.’ He does not, however, as it has been already stated, address all
indiscriminately, but those who were the true children of Abraham, though they
had for a time degenerated. “Turn thou, Israel, then to thy God; for how much
soever thou hast for a time fallen away, yet God has not rejected thee: only return to
him, and thou shalt find favour, for he is placable to his own people.”
BE SO , ". O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God — O Israel, return now at

7. length, after thou hast suffered so many evils, to the Lord by true repentance and
reformation of conduct. The whole family of Israel, in both its branches, seems to be
here addressed. For thou hast fallen — From God’s love and favour into his
displeasure, and consequently into misery, by thine iniquity — Which has involved
thee in endless troubles, and will be the cause of thy destruction. Take with you
words — Make your confessions, present your petitions, and signify your promises
and resolutions unto God, not only in your thoughts, but also by words well chosen
and digested; sanctioned by the Holy Scriptures, and agreeable to the will of God.
The prophet here prescribes a form of confession, petition, and supplication very
proper to be used upon their repentance and conversion. It implies in substance,
Confess your sins, entreat for pardon, and promise amendment. And turn to the
Lord — In heart and life, in faith, love, and new obedience, otherwise your
confessions and prayers will be to little purpose. Say, Take away all iniquity, &c. —
Deliver us from the guilt and power of our sins, internal and external; take entirely
away the sinful principle within us, the carnal heart of the old Adam. Create in me a
clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me; and receive us graciously —
Accept our persons and performances of thy mere grace and favour, thy unmerited
mercy and love. But this clause may be rendered, Give us what is good; that is,
bestow thy grace and blessing upon us: or, accept the good; that is, when we are
begotten again unto holiness by thy Spirit, accept, as good, what we, thus
regenerated, shall be enabled to perform. So will we render the calves of our lips —
That is, the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving uttered by our lips. By calling vocal
devotions calves, (or bullocks, as Bishop Horsley renders the word ‫),פרים‬ “is shown,
that this form of supplication is prepared for those times, when animal sacrifices
will be abolished, and prayer and thanksgiving will be the only offering.”
TRAPP, "Hosea 14:1 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen
by thine iniquity.
Ver. 1. O Israel, return unto the Lord] Usque ad Dominum, all the way to God, as
far as to the Lord: give not the half, but the whole turn; and take it for a mercy that
you are yet called upon to return, and may be received; "that yet there is hope in
Israel concerning this thing," Ezra 10:2. All the former part of the prophecy had
been mostly denunciations; this last chapter is wholly consolatory; the Sun of
Righteousness loves not to set in a cloud.
Return unto the Lord thy God] He is yet thy God: no such argument for our turning
to God as his turning to us, Zechariah 1:3. See the note there. Tantum velis et Deus
tibi praeoccurret. If ye be willing and obedient ye shall eat, &c. The father’s plenty
brought home the prodigal; he had but a purpose to return, and his father met him,
Isaiah 65:24. See Joel 2:12-13, Isaiah 55:6-7, Jeremiah 31:18, Hosea 3:5, Acts 2:38.
This is the use we should make of mercy. Say not, He is my God, therefore I may
presume upon him; but, he is mine, therefore I must return unto him. Argue from
mercy to duty, and not to liberty, for that is the devil’s logic, which the apostle holds
unreasonable, yea, to a good heart impossible, Romans 6:1-2. His mercy is bounded

8. with his truth, with which it therefore goes commonly coupled in Scripture. It is a
sanctuary for the penitent, but not for the presumptuous.
For thou hast fallen by thine iniquity] i.e. "Consumption is decreed, yet a remnant
reserved," Isaiah 10:22-23. Thou hast fallen into great calamity, and that by thine
iniquity, which puts a sting into thy misery. This it is fit thou shouldst be sensible of;
for conviction is the first step to conversion. But if thou art fallen, wilt thou there lie
and not rise again by repentance, and return to him that smiteth thee? wilt thou not
submit to his justice, and implore his mercy? Here, then, is another motive to
conversion; as indeed this verse abounds with arguments to that purpose, Pareus
well observeth. First, thou art a prince of God, who hath greatly graced thee above
all people: return to him therefore. 2. Thou hast run away from him by thine
iniquity; and turned upon him the back, and not the face: return therefore. 3. He is
the author of thy being and well-being. 4. He is God, to whom thou must either turn
or burn for ever: aut poenitendum, aut pereundum; he can fetch in his rebels. 5. He
is thy God in covenant with thee, and will accept of pence for pounds, desires for
deeds, sincerity for perfection. 6. Thou hast fallen by thine iniquity; and yet wilt fall
farther, and never rise again, as Amos 8:14, if thou stop not, step not back by
repentance, and stir up thyself to take hold of God.
SIMEO , "DIRECTIO S FOR A ACCEPTABLE APPROACH TO GOD
Hosea 14:1-3. O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for hast fallen by thine
iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all
iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. Asshur
shall not save us: we will not ride upon horses; neither will we say any more to the
work of our hands, Ye are our Gods: for in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
FOR the encouragement of all who feel the burthen of their sins, God has declared,
yea has sworn, that “he has no pleasure in the death of a sinner, but rather that he
should turn from his wickedness and live:” and the whole Scriptures bear testimony
to that blessed truth. But, lest any should be discouraged by the idea that they know
not how to approach him acceptably, it has pleased God to prescribe the very
“words” whereby he would have them address him. And assuredly, if he had
consulted all the weary and heavy-laden sinners in the universe, and had permitted
them, or any individual among them, to dictate to him what expressions he should
prescribe, the whole world could never have suggested any that were more suited to
the necessities of men, or more satisfactory to their minds, than those recorded in
our text.
In the words before us, we see, not merely our general warrant for returning to the
Lord, but more particularly,
I. What petitions to offer—
[What would any one who felt the burthen of sin, and a restoration to the Divine

9. favour, desire? What but a full remission of all his sins, and a free communication of
all spiritual and eternal blessings? He would wish for pardon to be complete;
because if so much as one sin were left upon his soul, it would inevitably plunge him
into everlasting perdition — — — He would also wish for his reception to be
perfectly gratuitous, because he can never do any thing to merit it at the hands of
God — — — Behold then, it is precisely in this way that we are directed to pray;
“Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously.” And let it be remembered, that
this address is not put into the mouths of those only who have contracted a less
measure of guilt than others, but of all, to whatever extent “their iniquities” may
have abounded, and to whatever depth they may have “fallen” by them. If only we
have a desire to “return to the Lord our God,” we are the persons invited and
commanded to return in this way.]
In our text, we are further told,
II. What promises to make—
We must not imagine that we can make to God any adequate return for his mercies
towards us; nor must we presume to offer any thing to him as an inducement to
exercise mercy towards us: nor in any point of view whatever must we promise any
thing in our own strength. But his mercies undoubtedly call for the best return that
we can make; and they lay us under an obligation to do our utmost to please and
serve him. Whatever tribute we can render to him, we should: and he here tells us
what he will accept at our hands, namely, the tribute of,
1. A grateful heart—
[The blood of bulls or “calves” is no longer required of us: there are other and
better sacrifices which he expects us to offer, namely, “the calves of our lips,” or the
sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving [ ote: Psalms 50:13-14; Psalms 50:23.]. And
these are the offerings which all who are looking to him for mercy desire to offer. In
fact, the more any persons are bowed down with a sense of sin, the more they are
ready to say, ‘How shall I praise God, if ever I should obtain mercy at his hands! If
ever God should admit me to a participation of his kingdom and glory, there will not
be one in heaven that will shout the praises of redeeming love so loud as I.’ This
tribute therefore the pardoned sinner will delight to pay — — —]
2. A devoted life—
[To turn from sin, and especially from our besetting sins, is indispensably required
of all who seek for mercy at God’s hands [ ote: Hebrews 12:1.] — — — The
besetting sins of Israel were, creature-confidence, and idolatry: they were always
looking to Egypt or Assyria for help, rather than to God; and giving to dumb idols
the worship that was due to him alone. These evils therefore they were to renounce;
and an engagement to renounce them was required of all who desired the remission
of their former sins. Thus, in approaching the Most High God, and supplicating
mercy from him, we should determine, with God’s help, never more to provoke the

10. Lord to jealousy by a renewal of those sins of which we profess to have repented.
Our besetting sins in particular must be searched out: and whatever they may have
been, whether of a spiritual or carnal nature, we must engage, through grace, to
mortify and subdue them — — — We must engage, in dependence upon God, to
“cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the
fear of God.”]
As great earnestness is required in our prayers, we are taught,
III. What pleas to urge—
[God indeed is not, nor can be, wrought upon by any considerations that we can
propose: but for the stirring up of our own souls it is proper and necessary that we
should enforce our petitions with becoming pleas. But where shall we find any
consideration fit to be presented to the Deity? o where, but in his own perfections,
or in his gracious promises. Here however we are at no loss: the compassions of our
God are infinite; and may well be pleaded by those who feel their need of mercy. “In
him the fatherless findeth mercy:” in him, too, the guilty, as well as the destitute,
find mercy. Search the records of his word; and this truth will be seen written as
with a sun-beam. Mark that stupendous effort of mercy, the gift of his only dear Son
to the accursed death of the cross! Mark the invitations, the promises, the
expostulations, the complaints; “Wilt thou not be made clean? O! when shall it once
be?” Mark these, I say; and they form such a plea, as must satisfy the most doubting
mind, and turn to transports of joy the apprehensions of every desponding soul —
— —]
Address—
1. o those who refuse to turn to God—
[Alas! how many turn a deaf ear to the solicitations of heaven! “How often would
the Saviour gather us under his wings, and we will not?” But, if you will not turn at
God’s reproof, what will ye answer him in the day when he shall judge the world?
Low as “ye are fallen,” he now is willing to raise you up: but all possibility of
recovery will then be past; and you will sink yet lower still, even into the bottomless
abyss of misery. “O consider this, ye that forget God; lest he tear you in pieces, and
there be none to deliver you.”]
2. To those who are beginning to return—
[Mind that you return in his appointed way. Seek not merely a deliverance from
wrath, but a restoration to the state from whence ye are fallen. Look back on man in
his primeval state, and see how Adam walked with God in Paradise: that is the
pattern that you should endeavour to follow, and the standard to which you should
aspire. Or, if he be too far removed from your apprehensions, look at the Saviour,
the Lord Jesus Christ, and see how he walked in the midst of this ungodly world:
and endeavour to “walk as he walked.” For the remission of your sins, and your

11. restoration to the Divine favour, let the mercy of God in Christ Jesus be your only
plea, your only hope: and, for the honouring of your reconciled God, let the sacrifice
of praise be continually offered to him on the altar of your hearts, and every
defilement be banished without hesitation or reserve. Thus coming to him, you shall
never be cast out; but shall surely be received to a participation of his favour, and to
a possession of his glory.]
PETT, "‘O Israel, return to YHWH your God, for you have fallen by your iniquity.’
Hosea’s initial call is for Israel to return to YHWH their God from the iniquity
(inherent wickedness, total disloyalty) into which they have fallen (see Hosea 4:8;
Hosea 5:5; Hosea 7:1; Hosea 8:13; Hosea 9:7; Hosea 9:9; Hosea 13:12). The need for
Israel to ‘return’ has been consistently made clear throughout the prophecy (Hosea
2:7; Hosea 2:9; Hosea 3:5; Hosea 5:4; Hosea 6:1; Hosea 7:10; Hosea 7:16; Hosea
11:5; Hosea 12:6), and is mentioned four times in this chapter (Hosea 14:1-2; Hosea
14:4; Hosea 14:7). The idea of ‘returning to YHWH’ comes initially from
Deuteronomy 1:45; Deuteronomy 30:2; Deuteronomy 30:8. Once they have been
carried off into exile it is the message that he wants them to carry with them. It will
be a reminder to them that God had not finally finished with them, but that any
return could only be on condition of full repentance and a recognition of Him in His
uniqueness as Saviour, Deliverer and Covenant God, rather than as a figure to be
manipulated through ritual. He is ‘YHWH their God’, the One Who is revealed to
them in their ancient records as the Deliverer from Egypt (Hosea 12:9; Hosea 12:13;
Hosea 13:4), the God of Sinai, the Only Saviour (Hosea 13:4), and the Upholder of
the Davidic dynasty (Hosea 1:11; Hosea 3:5; Hosea 8:4; Hosea 13:11). And it is to
Him in this capacity that they must return (Hosea 3:5).
Verses 1-9
Israel Are Called On To Return To YHWH With The Assurance That When They
Do So YHWH Will Restore Them And Love Them Freely, And They Then Learn
Of All The Good Things That He Has In Store For Them As A Result(Hosea 14:1-
9).
YHWH’s terms for His people’s return to Him are now clearly laid out. They
include a call from them to return to Him and to be forgiven, and an assurance that
they will no more look to Assyria, or to their military arms, or to their idols. And
once they do this YHWH assures them that He will heal their backslidings and love
them freely, because His anger will be turned away from them.
Once this is so He will water them with His dew, so that they will blossom and
flourish, and the result will be that those who live under the new Israel’s protecting
shadow will also revive and blossom and flourish. They will repudiate idols, and
walk in the right ways of the Lord. Comparison can be made with Hosea 6:1-3
where the same principles are in mind.
Hosea has, however, previously made clear that this would in practise not happen
until Israel had suffered the chastening of exile., and these words may well have
been spoken in the last days of Israel before Samaria was finally destroyed offering

12. hope for the future, but only once they had undergone their chastening.
Analysis of Hosea 14:1-9.
a O Israel, return to YHWH your God, for you have fallen by your iniquity
(Hosea 14:1).
b Take with you words, and return to YHWH. Say to him, “Take away all iniquity,
and accept what is good, so will we render as bullocks the offering of our lips (Hosea
14:2).
c Assyria will not save us, we will not ride on horses, nor will we say any more to the
work of our hands, “Our gods”, for in you the fatherless find mercy (Hosea 14:3).
d I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for my anger is turned
away from him (Hosea 14:3).
e I will be as the dew to Israel, he will blossom as the lily, and cast forth his
roots as Lebanon. His branches will spread, and his beauty will be as the olive-tree,
and his smell as Lebanon (Hosea 14:4-6).
d Those who dwell under his shadow will return, they will revive as the grain, and
blossom as the vine, their scent will be as the wine of Lebanon (Hosea 14:7).
c Ephraim will say, “What have I to do any more with idols? I have answered, and
will regard him. I am like a green fir-tree, from me is your fruit found.” (Hosea
14:8).
b Who is wise, that he may understand these things? Prudent, that he may know
them? (Hosea 14:9 a)
a For the ways of YHWH are right, and the righteous will walk in them, but
transgressors will fall in them (Hosea 14:9 b).
ote that in ‘a’ Israel have fallen by their iniquity, and in the parallel transgressors
will fall in the ways of YHWH. In ‘b’ they are to come to YHWH with words
indicating that they will no longer look elsewhere than YHWH, and in the parallel
they are asked who is wise to understand, and prudent to know such things. In ‘c’
they will no more call the work of their hands gods, and in the parallel they will ask
what they have more to do with idols. In ‘d’ YHWH will heal their backsliding and
love them freely, and in the parallel they will return to YHWH and will revive and
blossom Centrally in ‘e’ they will flourish under the effects of YHWH’s dew.
K&D 1-3, "After the prophet has set before the sinful nation in various ways its own
guilt, and the punishment that awaits it, viz., the destruction of the kingdom, he
concludes his addresses with a call to thorough conversion to the Lord, and the promise
that the Lord will bestow His grace once more upon those who turn to Him, and will
bless them abundantly (Hos_14:1-8). Hos_14:1. (Heb. Bib. v. 2). “Return, O Israel, to
Jehovah thy God; for thou hast stumbled through thy guilt. Hos_14:2. Take with you
words, and turn to Jehovah; say ye to Him, Forgive all guilt, and accept what is good,
that we may offer our lips as bullocks. Hos_14:3. Asshur will not help us: we will not
ride upon horses, nor say 'Our God' any more to the manufacture of our own hands;
for with Thee the orphan findeth compassion.” There is no salvation for fallen man
without return to God. It is therefore with a call to return to the Lord their God, that the
prophet opens the announcement of the salvation with which the Lord will bless His
people, whom He has brought to reflection by means of the judgment (cf. Deu_4:30;

13. Deu_30:1.). ‫יי‬ ‫ד‬ ַ‫ע‬ ‫,שׁוּב‬ to return, to be converted to the Lord, denotes complete
conversion; ‫ל‬ ֶ‫א‬ ‫שׁוּב‬ is, strictly speaking, simply to turn towards God, to direct heart and
mind towards Him. By kâshaltâ sin is represented as a false step, which still leaves it
possible to return; so that in a call to conversion it is very appropriately chosen. But if
the conversion is to be of the right kind, it must begin with a prayer for the forgiveness of
sin, and attest itself by the renunciation of earthly help and simple trust in the mercy of
God. Israel is to draw near to God in this state of mind. “Take with you words,” i.e., do
not appear before the Lord empty (Exo_23:15; Exo_34:20); but for this ye do not
require outward sacrifices, but simply words, sc. those of confession of your guilt, as the
Chaldee has correctly explained it. The correctness of this explanation is evident from
the confession of sin which follows, with which they are to come before God. In ּ‫ן‬‫ו‬ ָ‫ע‬ ‫א‬ ָ ִ ‫ל־‬ ָⅴ
, the position of col at the head of the sentence may be accounted for from the emphasis
that rests upon it, and the separation of ‛âvōn, from the fact that col was beginning to
acquire more of the force of an adjective, like our all (thus 2Sa_1:9; Job_27:3 : cf. Ewald,
§289, a; Ges. §114, 3, Anm. 1). Qach tōbh means neither “accept goodness,” i.e., let
goodness be shown thee (Hitzig), nor “take it as good,” sc. that we pray (Grotius, Ros.);
but in the closest connection with what proceeds: Accept the only good thing that we are
able to bring, viz., the sacrifices of our lips. Jerome has given the correct interpretation,
viz.: “For unless Thou hadst borne away our evil things, we could not possibly have the
good thing which we offer Thee;” according to that which is written elsewhere (Psa_
37:27), “Turn from evil, and do good.” ‫ינוּ‬ ֵ‫ת‬ ָ‫פ‬ ְ‫שׂ‬ ... ‫ה‬ ָ‫מ‬ ְ ַ‫שׁ‬ְ‫,וּנ‬ literally, “we will repay (pay) as
young oxen our lips,” i.e., present the prayers of our lips as thank-offerings. The
expression is to be explained from the fact that shillēm, to wipe off what is owing, to pay,
is a technical term, applied to the sacrifice offered in fulfilment of a vow (Deu_23:22;
Psa_22:26; Psa_50:14, etc.), and that pârım, young oxen, were the best animals for
thank-offerings (Exo_24:5). As such thank-offerings, i.e., in the place of the best animal
sacrifices, they would offer their lips, i.e., their prayers, to God (cf. Psa_51:17-19; Psa_
69:31-32). In the Sept. rendering, ᅊποδώσοµεν καρπᆵν χείλεων, to which there is an
allusion in Heb_13:15, ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ ָ has been confounded with ‫י‬ ִ‫ר‬ ְ , as Jerome has already
observed. but turning to God requires renunciation of the world, of its power, and of all
idolatry. Rebellious Israel placed its reliance upon Assyria and Egypt (Hos_5:13; Hos_
7:11; Hos_8:9). It will do this no longer. The riding upon horses refers partly to the
military force of Egypt (Isa_31:1), and partly to their own (Hos_1:7; Isa_2:7). For the
expression, “neither will we say to the work of our hands,” compare Isa_42:17; Isa_
44:17. ָ‫ך‬ ְ ‫ר‬ ֶ‫שׁ‬ ֲ‫,א‬ not “Thou with whom,” but “for with Thee” ('ăsher as in Deu_3:24). The
thought, “with Thee the orphan findeth compassion,” as God promises in His word
(Exo_22:22; Deu_10:18), serves not only as a reason for the resolution no longer to call
the manufacture of their own hands God, but generally for the whole of the penitential
prayer, which they are encouraged to offer by the compassionate nature of God. In
response to such a penitential prayer, the Lord will heal all His people's wounds, and
bestow upon them once more the fulness of the blessings of His grace. The prophet
announces this in Isa_44:4-8 as the answer from the Lord.
SBC, "While the freeness of God’s mercy is the leading idea suggested by these words, it

14. is not the only one; on the contrary, the condition of our nature is accurately expressed,
as is the mode by which alone it can be ameliorated.
I. Consider, first, the state into which man has brought himself. There are few things
more important, whether we view mankind collectively or individually, than the
fastening on the sinner all the blame of his sin. God may invite the prodigal to return,
but God has nothing to do with his wandering away into the desert. Thou hast not fallen
through an inherent inability to stand; He has so constituted thee that thou mightest
have stood. Thou hast not fallen through the ground being slippery, and thick-set with
snares; He placed thee where thy footing was firm, and thy pathway direct. Upon man
himself come home wholly all the effects of the fall. In whatever degree there may be a
necessity of sinning, in no degree is there a necessity of perishing. God places no man in
such a moral condition that his falling into perdition is unavoidable. Let a man have
once heard of Christ, and from that moment forward salvation is within arm’s length of
this man. Is he willing to be saved? Then he may be saved. Is he unwilling? Then, at
least, he perishes by his own choice; and our righteous, and merciful, and redeeming
God is clear in judgment when He leaves the obdurate one to the fruit of his own folly.
II. Observe the mode of deliverance, as it may be gathered from the invitation: "O Israel,
return unto the Lord thy God." (1) The fall did not do away with God’s claim on man.
Man could not cease to belong to God as a creature, when man had given himself to
Satan; and this important fact is assumed, if not asserted, in the words of our text. The
party addressed is the fallen, but the party addressing is still the Lord his God.
Disobedience has removed man from the centre to the outskirts of the universe, but in
one great sense it could not remove him from God, "who is that infinite sphere," as
expressed by an old writer, "whose centre is everywhere, and circumference nowhere."
(2) We gather an inference of consolation from the fact that thou, "Israel, hast fallen by
thine iniquity." There is the groundwork of hope, that God will yet look mercifully upon
us and restore us, seeing that, notwithstanding our alienation, He is still our God. The
message, "Return unto the Lord thy God," is full of consolation, because it invites us to
the Being from whom all our rebellion has not been able to divide us. (3) That which
God invites us to do must be possible for us to do. If God calls on us to return we are not
at liberty to question that there lies no impossibility against our returning. Now this
assumes two things: (i) that God has removed all existing obstacles: (ii) that He bestows
all requisite assistance in the performance of it.
H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 2143.
Hosea 14:1-2
How to return to God.
I. The first act of the awakened soul is usually an act of prayer, and it is most natural,
and indeed most proper, that it should be so. The very act of expressing our need has a
tendency both to bring about clearer views of what it is that we need, and to intensify our
desire. Inward silence and reserve tend to benumb the faculties and to check the rising
desires of the soul, when the outpouring of earnest supplication seems to stir us to our
inmost depths.
II. Notice the urgency of this utterance, which God’s love puts as it were in our mouths.
There is only one kind of prayer that is at all appropriate in the lips of an awakened

15. sinner, who finds himself without God in the world, but who desires to arise and go to
His Father: and that is the urgent, specific entreaty for present forgiveness and
salvation.
III. The divinely suggested utterance of our text is not only an urgent prayer, but it is
also the expression of a distinct change in our moral attitude towards God. It marks the
end of the life of aversion from God, and the beginning of a true conversion to God.
"Take with you words" says the voice of Heavenly Love, "and turn unto the Lord." Let
there be a distinct reversal of your former attitude of independence and alienation.
IV. When thus with all our hearts we truly seek Him, it will not be long before we
become aware of something that seems at first to rise like a barrier between Him and us,
shutting us off from all contact with Him. What about our sins? This experience is
evidently foreseen in our text, where we have a most definite and specific request for an
immediate and most necessary benefit. There stands the barrier, and nothing can be
done until it is removed; and so the Father’s love bids us pray, "Take away all iniquity."
When this fatal barrier is removed, then is the way clear and open to the Father’s house;
and may we not say into the Father’s arms? "Receive us graciously." We need not fear
going home to God. Their are no taunts on His lips, no frown on His brow; only infinite
tenderness in His heart. He is too great to be otherwise than gracious; He has done too
much to open up the new and living way not to be ready to welcome us home when at
length we do come.
W. Hay Aitken, The Mission Pulpit, No. 72.
BI, "O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God.
Man’s evil estate, and hope of deliverance
While the freeness of God’s mercy is the leading idea suggested by the text, it is not the
only one: the condition of our nature is accurately expressed, as is the mode by which
alone it can be ameliorated.
I. The state into which man has brought himself. There are few things more important
than the fastening on the sinner all the blame of his sin. Adam might have obeyed the
simple injunction, and, holding on his probation, might have won for himself and his
descendants a hereafter fenced up against the spoiler. God foreknew that Adam would
transgress, and prepared for the contingency. We can see that if there had been no ruin
there could have been no restoration. The work of redemption takes, of course, for
granted the apostasy of our race. On Adam must be fastened all the blame of his
transgression. There was no extenuating plea which the offender could in justice have
urged. The blame of the fall belongs individually to man. Thou hast not fallen through an
inherent inability to stand; He has so constituted thee that thou mightest have stood.
Thou hast not fallen through the ground being slippery, and thick-set with snares. He
placed thee where thy footing was firm, and thy pathway direct. So that upon man
himself comes home wholly all the effect of the fall. We argue from this the unqualified
gratuitousness of God’s interposition on man’s behalf. In whatever degree there may be
a necessity of sinning, in no degree is there a necessity of perishing. God places no man
in such a moral condition that our falling into perdition is unavoidable. Let a man have
once heard of Christ, and from that moment forward salvation is within arm’s length of
this man. Man can have no right to take off the burthen of responsibilities and cast it on
the secret decrees of his Maker.

16. II. The mode of man’s deliverance. “Return unto the Lord thy God.” It comes not within
our power to destroy or diminish God’s title to our service. The fall did not do away with
God’s claim on man. Some teach that God proportions His demands to our impaired
capacities, and will be satisfied with the honest endeavour, seeing that we cannot come
up to the thorough performance. But this is making God answerable for the apostasy of
man. We may, however, gather an inference of consolation as well as one of admonition.
There is the groundwork of hope, that God will yet look mercifully upon us, and restore
us, seeing that, notwithstanding our alienation, He is still our God. Man of himself hath
no power to turn unto God; but since God invites, He surely enables. He bestows all
requisite assistance, and a clear pathway has been made. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
On repentance
In the history of the children of Israel we see the perverseness and ingratitude of man,
and the forbearance and goodness of God. Israel’s sins were peculiarly aggravated by
their having been committed after repeated and wonderful deliverances, after signal
chastisements and mercies. At the period of Hosea’s prophecy Israel’s continued
rebellion against God had nearly exhausted His patience toward that people. Though
these words were primarily addressed to Israel, we shall consider them—
I. As conveying a gracious exhortation to all sinners to “return unto the lord.”
1. We must “return unto the Lord” with consideration. “Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
Consider your ways.”
2. With weeping and supplication. A proper review of our past follies and perverse
wanderings, and of God’s mercies and patience towards us, will produce sorrow of
heart, will cause tears of compunction to flow.
3. With humility. Our lofty imaginations and high opinion of ourselves must be
brought low.
4. Through the Mediator. We cannot expect to find mercy unless, we seek mercy
through Christ. Of this righteousness, not our own, we must make mention.
5. Without delay. This may be urged from the shortness and uncertainty of life, and
from the greatness of the work which we have to do.
II. As declaring the reasonableness of the exhortation. “For thou hast fallen by thine
iniquity.” The text is applicable to the case of backsliders who have fallen from their
steadfastness. But all mankind have fallen from God. Adam fell, and in him fell all his
posterity.
1. Man is fallen from the favour of God, and is under the displeasure of God.
2. Man is fallen under the dominion of sin and the curse of the law.
3. Man is fallen into the snares and power of the devil.
4. Man, if not recovered by Divine grace, will at last fall into the bottomless pit.
Apply to those who are still in their fallen state, and are wandering from God.
1. Yield to the solemn and affecting truth that you have fallen by your iniquity, and
let this truth stir you up to inquire with solicitude, “What must I do to be saved?”
2. Listen to God’s gracious invitation, and believe His willingness to receive you.

17. 3. Contemplate what has been done to accomplish the great work of your
redemption.
4. Consider the awful doom of the finally impenitent transgressor. (E. Edwards.)
Repentance as return
The Divine love is content with nothing less than return. And nothing less and nothing
else will give safety. There must not only be a cessation of the present journey, but a
definite and conclusive retracement of the steps. What the prophet sighs for, and what
his God so earnestly commands, is not the mere inactive terror of proceeding onwards
when the fiery abyss stretches to the view, nor the attempt, while that terror lasts, to
breathe a hasty vow or utter a disordered prayer. What the Divine love insists on is a
decided and complete retreat, such as when, conscious of peril and aware of only one
refuge, and that in God, he eagerly seeks Him with the whole heart. “I will arise and go to
my Father” is his earnest and practical resolution. (John Eadie, D. D. , LL. D.)
A message to backsliding Israel
I. The lord’s address unto His backsliding ones. “O Israel, return unto the Lord thy
God.” God glorifies His sanctifying grace in some, and His pardoning grace in others. Let
the children of God be in what state they may, as it respects their acts of grace or sin, this
makes no alteration in the Lord’s love unto them. As they have the body of sin and death
dwelling within them, there is a continual propensity in their fallen natures, to slide into
themselves, and to backslide from the Lord Jesus Christ. Israel’s case was extreme. Be
could not return unto the Lord by any strength of his own. He must be fallen by his
iniquity into a state and kind of desperation. This was the fruit of his iniquity. It is the
Lord Himself who here speaks. He does so in the language of commiseration. From
these words what an infinity of grace and blessed encouragement may be derived, so as
to encourage the people of the Lord to trust and hope in Him. None but backsliders
know and feel the sorrows which arise from the same.
II. One substantial reason for the return of backsliding Israel to God. “O Israel, return
unto the Lord thy God.” It lies in their relation to Him, and His relation to them. All sin
is the effect of unbelief. Every act of departure from the Lord is the fruit of it; let it be
mental, or let it be open and manifest. Backsliders need great encouragement, even from
the Lord Himself, to return to Him. He is pleased to give it them. The interest the Lord
God hath in His people can never be broken in upon, neither can their interest in Him
ever be impaired or cease. It is always the same on both sides. The intercourse between
the Lord and His people may be interrupted. But God is immutable in His love and
mercy.
III. The reason made use of to hasten God’s people’s return to Him. “Thou hast fallen by
thine iniquity.” The mercy of God in Christ Jesus exceeds the very uttermost of our
minds to receive any adequate ideas of. Guilt in the conscience produces fear in the
heart; so long as we indulge the same it weakens our faith and keeps us from Christ.
(Samuel Eyles Pierce.)
A call to repentant return

18. In Hosea’s days idolatry was first universally set up and countenanced by regal power.
Here we have—
I. An exhortation to repentance, with the motives enforcing the same. Every word hath
its weight, and in a manner is an argument to enforce this returning. “Israel” is a word of
covenant. Return unto the “Lord Jehovah,” who is the chief good, the fountain of all
good. “Thy” God in covenant, who will make good His gracious covenant unto thee.
Thou hast fallen by thine iniquity; thine own inventions have brought these miseries
upon thee, and none but God can help thee out of these miseries. God comes not as a
sudden storm upon His people, but gives them warning before He smites them. He is a
God of long-suffering, and has a special regard to His own children. Another point—
II. The best provision for preventing of destruction is spiritual means. Of all spiritual
means the best is, to return to the Lord. In this returning there must be a stop. To make
this stop there must be examination and consideration, humiliation and displeasure
against ourselves, judging and taking revenge of ourselves, for our ways and courses.
There must be a resolution to overcome impediments. In the original it is a very
emphatic, “Return even to Jehovah.” Do not only begin to return, but so return as you
never cease coming till you come to Jehovah. Where there is a falling into sin there will
be a falling into misery and judgment. The cause of every man’s misery is his own sin.
Then take heed of sin. Pray to God to make our way plain before us, and not to lead us
into temptation. “Take with you words.” They who would have help and comfort against
all sins and sorrows must come to God with words of prayer. Barrenness and want of
words to go unto God are blameworthy. This is for consolation: if they can take words,
and can pray well, they shall speed well. (R. Sibbes, D. D.)
Sin separates from God
You may sometimes see in the ocean a pile of rock rising steeply to a considerable height,
and having on it here and there, where a patch of soil covers it, the remains of what was
once a luxuriant vegetation. If you examine it, and also the mainland a few furlongs off,
you will come to the conclusion that they were at one time, now long gone by, united
together. They have become separated by the action of the sea. At first there was but a
small inlet, scarcely large enough for a single boat to anchor in; this was gradually
enlarged by the incessant beating of the surf until it became a broad bay, and at last the
sea, striking with more and more force upon the cliffs every year, cut its way completely
through, and now what was once part of the mainland is but a solitary and desolate isle.
One of the most direct and appalling effects of sin is the breach which it makes between
the human heart and God. Man is made in the likeness of God; he is an offspring of the
Divine thought and love; he is endowed with the same moral and spiritual capacities as
those which God Himself possesses; but let sin be suffered to find an entrance into his
heart, and, like the gnawing, devouring, destructive sea, it will eat away all the holy and
sacred ties which bind his:heart to God, and cut him off from God, and leave him
inwardly lonely and desolate. (B. Wilkinson, F. G. S.)
How to return to an earnest Christian life
As long as the bright summer sun shines into the forest glades the fungus has no chance
to flourish; but when the sunshine wanes, in the months of autumn, the woods are filled
with these strange products of decay. It is because we drift from God that our lives are

19. the prey to numberless and nameless ills. Make the best of all new starts, and returning
to the more earnest habits of earlier days, or beginning them from now, give yourself to
God, believing that He will receive and welcome you, without a word of remonstrance or
a moment of interval. Form habits of morning and evening prayer; especially in the
morning get time for deep communion with God, waiting at His footstool, or in the
perusal of the Bible, till He speaks to you. Take up again your habits of attendance at the
house of God: in the morning and the evening go with the multitude that, with the voice
of praise, keeps holy-day, and in the afternoon find some niche of the Christian service,
in your home or elsewhere. Then, inasmuch as you do not wish to be a slip-carriage,
which, when the couplings are unfastened, runs for a little behind the express, but gets
slower and slower till it comes to a stand, ask the grace of the Holy Spirit to confirm
these holy desires, keeping you true to them, causing you to be steadfast, immovable,
and set on maintaining life on a higher level. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
God always watching for our return
Bianconi, the introducer of the car system in Ireland, on leaving his home in Italy, found
his most trying leave-taking in separating from his mother. She fainted as he left her.
Her last words were words which he never forgot: “When you remember me, think” of
me as waiting at this window watching for your return.” We may think of God in the
same way if we have departed from Him at all. In spite of all our faults, all our sins, He is
always watching for our return, for “His mercy endureth for ever.”
For thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
Our fall by sin
The sight of fallen greatness is exceedingly affecting to the mind of a thoughtful man,
and excites inquiries concerning the cause or causes of it. The prophet looked on the
kingdom of Israel fallen from its past strength and honour, and declares the cause of the
fall to be—iniquity.
I. The fall by sin is the most grievous in human experience.
1. The fall by sin is from the highest relationships the soul can enjoy. No
relationships, how distinguished and valued soever, can equal those of God, There
are none so essential to the soul’s good and safety. Without holiness no true
relationship with Him can be sustained.
2. The fall by sin is from life’s great purpose. Short as life is, it has a great mission to
fulfil. Eternal life has to be secured. The world’s truest good has to be promoted. Sin
causes a lamentable failure.
3. The fall by sin is a loss of truest power. A right life wields a great influence. No
power can be compared with that of a holy character. This power is lost by sin.
4. The fall by sin is from truest content of soul. The hallowed quiet and peace depart.
Painful misgivings and pangs of remorse tear the breast. The consciousness of guilt
prevents the light and joy of hope.
II. This fall is the inevitable result of sin. The course of sin is the act of man’s free will.
But if he choose the path he cannot escape the ruin.
1. The path of sin leads to ruin.

20. (1) The pleasures of the way cannot avert the consequences.
(2) The fall may be delayed, but it will come.
2. None can pursue the path of sin and escape the ruin. The individual cannot; the
Church cannot; the nation cannot.
III. For this fall man himself is responsible. He falls by his own iniquity,
1. None can compel another to sin.
2. As none can compel another to sin, so none can compel his fall.
Apply—
1. Sin with such power and consequences should have our intensest hate, and should
be guarded against.
2. He who is fallen should forsake his sin, and seek mercy and grace from God. God’s
mercy can cover the past, and His grace can sanctify and secure the future.
(Rombeth.)
Message to the remnant
So the admonition of Hosea has ended, and the note of destruction has been sounded. It
only remains to look for a remnant out of the fallen nation, which by repentance and
faithfulness may plead with God for their own rescue if not for the nation’s restoration.
Hope, unwilling to be quenched in the pious patriarch’s breast, suggests words of
returning to God, to relinquishment of human politics, and reliance on His faithfulness.
To such a remnant, be it small or great, the everlasting mercy of God offers out of the
jaws of ruin, as out of death and the grave, the possibility of return to Him who is not
afar from every one of us. If there are any that will understand, let them not charge their
Maker with folly. He has dealt justly by sinful Israel, and will deal mercifully with all
men repentant. (Rowland Williams, D. D.)
God’s call to the fallen
God seems to find an argument in the very fact of our fall. He is moved with compassion
at the spectacle. He sees from what a height to what a depth man has fallen.
1. The call to return implies that we had wandered away. Our fall has indeed been
occasioned by our wandering. All sin originates in the apostasy of the human heart
from God. Sin would never have entered human hearts, and defiled the lives of men,
if man had been true to his primal relations with God. As with the race, so with the
individual. Moral deterioration and corruption naturally and necessarily ensue from
the apostasy of the soul from God. Evil works naturally flow from the corrupt
condition. The fallen soul not only loses contact and fellowship with God, but comes
under the influence of a certain feeling of aversion, and almost of antipathy, towards
God which leads him to shrink from the very thought of God. The apostate man is
fallen not only in position, but in character. Innocence has been forfeited instead of
being developed, and sin reigns where moral beauty should be crowned. Man needs
no revelation to convince him of his fall. He alone of all the animals fails to live up to
his own proper ideal, and violates in many cases systematically the laws of his own
nature. Fallen in position and character, he is fallen in conduct also. Then the first

21. thing needful for the fallen and falling is to return to God. He who invites us wants us
to come back to Him. (W. Hay Aitken, M. A.)
NISBET, "COME BACK! COME BACK!
Hosea 14:1
All sin is departing from God. Holiness is living near to God. The first thing a sinner has
got to do is to return. Repentance is returning to God. How is a sinner to return? God in
His infinite mercy and condescension has given to us a form of prayer, an inspired litany
of repentance—which may be used by every repentant sinner. There are five petitions in
this inspired litany of repentance.
I. Take away all iniquity.—The first thing is deliverance from sin, not from punishment.
Though all desire to escape punishment, all do not wish to be freed from sin. Take away
all iniquity. Some are apt to pray, Take away all iniquity—except that trick of trade, that
habit of mine, that friendship. Others, like Augustine, pray, Lord save me—but not yet.
We cannot break away from sin of ourselves. God can help us to do it. He can take it
away, and He will, if we come with this petition to Him in sincerity.
II. Receive us graciously.—Receive us into Thy favour. We are in disgrace. In disgrace
with God, what wretchedness it brings! A mother who had great power in her eye, looked
her disapproval of some wrong act. ‘Mother,’ said her child, ‘punish me, but don’t look at
me like that.’ What kind of sinners said this prayer? (see Hosea 4). How can God receive
us graciously? Hosea does not tell us, but St. Paul does. ‘He hath made Him to be sin for
us Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.’ For
Christ’s sake He receives us graciously.
III. So will we render the calves of our lips.—Calves of our lips means sacrifices of our
lips. ‘As long as we live we will praise Thy Name.’ The sinner does not merely wish to get
off, but to live to this praise. If only sin is forgiven, he will praise God as long as he lives.
IV. Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses, etc.—This, rendered in
twentieth century language, means, We will renounce all trust in an arm of flesh. We
must not trust to anything we can do ourselves. So many trust in what they can do,
instead of Christ. Prayers, tears, religious ordinances, won’t save us.
‘Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy Cross I cling.’
V. For in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy.—This is a beautiful finish to the prayer. I’m
your Father. Who so fatherless as he who has gone away from God! Though the prodigal
son, I’m your Father. ‘When his father saw him he had compassion upon him, and ran
and fell on his neck and kissed him.’ To all who use this litany of repentance, the promise
is given, ‘I will heal their back-sliding. I will love them freely, for Mine anger is turned
away from him.’

22. PULPIT, "The foregoing part of this book abounds with denunciations of punishment;
this closing chapter superabounds with promises of pardon. Wave after wave of
threatened wrath had rolled over Israel and come in unto their soul; now offer after offer
of grace is made to them. O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God. The invitation to return
implies previous departure, or distance, or wandering from God. The return to which
they are invited is expressed, not by ‫ל‬ֶ‫,א‬ to or towards, but by ‫,ער‬ quite up to, or as far as
right home; the penitent, therefore, is not merely to turn his mind or his face toward God,
but to turn his face and his feet home to God; he is not to go half the way and then turn
aside, or part of the way and then turn back, but the whole way; in other words, his
repentance is to be complete and entire, wanting nothing, according to the state merit of
the psalmist, "It is good for me to draw near to God." As punishment was threatened in
case of obstinate impenitence, so mercy is promised on condition of thorough
repentance. For thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. A reason is here assigned for the
preceding invitation; kashalta is properly "thou hast stumbled," "made a false step,"
fallen, yet so that recovery was among future possibilities. The same thought may be
included in the fact that Jehovah continues to call his erring people by the honored and
honorable name of Israel, and to acknowledge himself their God. Further, many and
grievous were the calamities into which by their fall they had been precipitated; neither
were any to blame but themselves—their iniquity or their folly was the cause, nor was
there any one to lift them up, now that they lay prostrate, save Jehovah. After referring
to the desolation of Samaria and the ruthless destruction of its inhabitants, as portrayed
in the last verse of the previous chapter, Jerome adds, "All Israel is invited to
repentance, that he who has been debilitated, or has fallen headlong in his iniquities,
may return to the physician and recover health, or that he who had fallen headlong may
begin to stand." The penitent is to direct his thoughts to Jehovah; to him as Center he is
attracted, and in him he finds his place of rest; nor is there ether means of recovery or
source of help. Thus Kimchi says, "For thou seest that through thine iniquity thou hast
fallen, therefore it behooves thee to return to Jehovah, as nothing besides can raise
thee from thy fall but thy return to him." "There is none," says Aben Ezra, "can raise thee
from thy fall but the Eternal alone."
MACLAREN, "ISRAEL RETURNING
Hosea is eminently the prophet of divine love and of human repentance. Both streams of
thought are at their fullest in this great chapter. In Hos_14:1-3 the very essence of true
return to God is set forth in the prayer which Israel is exhorted to offer, while in Hos_
14:4-8 the forgiving love of God and its blessed results are portrayed with equal poetical
beauty and spiritual force. Hos_14:9 closes the chapter and the book with a kind of
epilogue.
I. The summons to repentance.
‘Israel,’ of course, here means the Northern Kingdom, with which Hosea’s prophecies
are chiefly occupied. ‘Thou hast fallen by thine iniquity’-that is the lesson taught by all its
history, and in a deeper sense it is the lesson of all experience. Sin brings ruin for nations
and individuals, and the plain teachings of each man’s own life exhort each to ‘return
unto the Lord.’ We have all proved the vanity and misery of departing from Him; surely,
if we are not drawn by His love, we might be driven by our own unrest, to go back to
God.
The Prophet anticipates the clear accents of the New Testament call to repentance in his
expansion of what he meant by returning. He has nothing to say about sacrifices, nor

23. about self-reliant efforts at moral improvement. ‘Take with you words,’ not ‘the blood of
bulls and goats.’ Confession is better than sacrifice. What words are they which will
avail? Hosea teaches the penitent’s prayer. It must begin with the petition for
forgiveness, which implies recognition of the petitioner’s sin. The cry, ‘Take away all
iniquity,’ does not specify sins, but masses the whole black catalogue into one word.
However varied the forms of our transgressions, they are in principle one, and it is best
to bind them all into one ugly heap, and lay it at God’s feet. We have to confess not only
sins, but sin, and the taking away of it includes divine cleansing from its power, as well
as divine forgiveness of its guilt. Hosea bids Israel ask that God would take away all
iniquity; John pointed to ‘the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ But
beyond forgiveness and cleansing, the penitent heart will seek that God would ‘accept
the good’ in it, which springs up by His grace, when the evil has been washed from it,
like flowers that burst from soil off which the matted under-growth of poisonous jungle
has been cleared. Mere negative absence of ‘evil’ is not all that we should desire or
exhibit; there must be positive good; and however sinful may have been the past, we are
not too bold when we ask and expect that we may be made able to produce ‘good,’ which
shall be fragrant as sweet incense to God.
Petitions are followed by vows. On the one hand, the experience of forgiveness and
cleansing will put a new song in our mouths, and instead of animal sacrifices, we shall
render the praise which is better than ‘calves’ laid on the altar. Perhaps the Septuagint
rendering of that difficult phrase ‘the calves of our lips,’ which is given in Heb_13:15,
‘the fruit of our lips,’ is preferable. In either case, the same thought appears-that the
penitent’s experience of forgiving and restoring love makes ‘the tongue of the dumb
sing,’ and it will bind men’s hearts more closely to God than anything besides can do, so
that their old inclinations to false reliances and idolatries drop away from them. The old
fable tells us that the storm made the traveller wrap his cloak closer round him, but the
sunshine made him throw it off. Judgments often make men cling more closely to their
sins, but forgiving mercy makes them ‘cast off the works of darkness.’ The men who had
experienced that in God, the Israel, which by its sins had brought down the punishment
of His repudiation of being its father (Hos_1:9), had found mercy, would no longer feel
temptation to turn to Assyria for help, nor to seek protection from Egypt’s cavalry, nor to
debase their manhood by calling stocks and stones, the work of their own hands, their
gods. What earthly sweetness will tempt, or what earthly danger will affright, the heart
that is feeling the bliss of union with God? Would Judas’s thirty pieces of silver attract
the disciple reclining on Jesus’ bosom? We are most firmly bound to God, not by our
resolves, but by our experience of His all-sufficient mercy. Fill the heart with that wine of
the kingdom, and bitter or poisonous draughts will find no entrance into the cup.
II. God’s welcoming answer.
The very abruptness of its introduction, without any explanation as to the speaker,
suggests how swiftly and joyfully the Father hastens to meet the returning prodigal while
he is yet afar off. Like pent-up waters rushing forth as soon as a barrier is taken away,
God’s love pours itself out immediately. His answer ever gives more than the penitent
asks-robe and ring and shoes, and a feast to him who dared not expect more than a place
among the hired servants. He gives not by drops, but in floods, answering the prayer for
the taking away of iniquity by the promise to heal backsliding, going beyond desires and
hopes in the gift of love which asks for no recompense, is drawn forth by no desert, but
wells up from the depths of God’s heart, and strengthens the new, tremulous trust of the
penitent by the assurance that every trace of anger is effaced from God’s heart.
The blessings consequent on the gift of God’s love are described in lovely imagery,

24. drawn, like Hosea’s other abundant similes, from nature, and especially from trees and
flowers. The source of all fruitfulness is a divine influence, which comes silently and
refreshing as the ‘dew,’ or, rather, as the ‘night mist,’ a phenomenon occurring in
Palestine in summer, and being, accurately, rolling masses of vapour brought from the
Mediterranean, which counteract the dry heat and keep vegetation alive. The influences
which refresh and fructify our souls must fall in many a silent hour of meditation and
communion. They will effloresce into manifold shapes of beauty and fruitfulness, of
which the Prophet signalises three. The lily may stand for beauty of purity, though
botanists differ as to the particular flower meant. Christians should present to the world
‘whatsoever things are lovely,’ and see to it that their goodness is attractive. But the
fragrant, pure lily has but shallow roots, and beauty is not all that a character needs in
this world of struggle and effort. So there are to be both the lily’s blossom and roots like
Lebanon. The image may refer to the firm buttresses of the widespread foot-hills, from
which the sovereign summits of the great mountain range rise, or, as is rather suggested
by the accompanying similes from the vegetable world, it may refer to the cedars
growing there. Their roots are anchored deep and stretch far underground; therefore
they rear towering heads, and spread broad shelves of dark foliage, safe from any blast.
Our lives must be deep rooted in God if they are to be strong. Boots generally spread
beneath the soil about as far as branches extend above it. There should be at least as
much underground, ‘hid with Christ in God,’ as is visible to the world.
But beauty and strength are not all. So Hosea thinks of yet another of the characteristic
growths of Palestine, the olive, which is not strikingly beautiful in form, with its
strangely gnarled, contorted stem, its feeble branches, and its small, pointed, pale leaves,
but has the beauty of fruitfulriess, and is green when other trees are bare. Such ‘beauty’
should be ours, and will be if the ‘dew’ falls on us.
In Hos_14:7 there are difficulties, both as to the application of the ‘his,’ and as to the
reading and rendering of some of the words. But the general drift is clear. It prolongs the
tones of the foregoing verses, keeping to the same class of images, and expressing
fruitfulness, abundant as the corn and precious as the grape, and fragrance like the
‘bouquet’ of the choicest wine.
Hos_14:8 offers great difficulties on any interpretation. The supplement ‘shall say’ is
questionable, and it is doubtful whether Ephraim is the speaker at all, and whether, if so,
he speaks all the four clauses, and who speaks any or all of them, if not he. To the
present writer, it seems best to take the supplement as right, and possible to regard the
whole verse as spoken by Ephraim, though perhaps the last clause is meant to be God’s
utterance. The meaning will then come out as follows. The penitent Israel again speaks,
after the gracious promises preceding. The tribal name is, as usual in Hosea, equivalent
to Israel, whose penitent cry we heard at the beginning of the passage. Now we hear his
glad response to God’s abundant answer. ‘What have I to do any more with idols?’ He
had vowed (Hos_14:3) to have no more to do with them, and the resolve is deepened by
the rich grace held forth to him. Hosea had lamented Ephraim’s mad adherence to ‘his
idols’ (Hos_4:17), but now the union is dissolved, and by penitence and reception of
God’s grace, he is joined to the Lord, and parted from them. His renunciation of idolatry
is based, in the second clause, on his experience of what God can do, and on his having
heard God’s gracious voice of pardon and promise. If a man hears God, he will not be
drawn to worship at any idol’s shrine.
Further, in the third clause, Ephraim is joyfully conscious of the change that has passed
on him, in accordance with the great promises just spoken, and with grateful
astonishment that such verdure should have burst out from the dry and rotten stump of

25. his own sinful nature, exclaims, ‘I am like a green fir-tree.’ That is another reason why he
will have no more to do with idols. They could never have made his sapless nature break
into leafage. But what of the fourth clause-’From Me is thy fruit found’? Can we
understand that to mean that Ephraim still speaks, keeping up the image of the previous
clause, and declaring that all the new fruitfulness which he finds in himself he recognises
to be God’s, both in the sense that, in reality, it is produced by Him, and that it belongs
to Him? He comes seeking fruit, and He finds it. All our good is His, and we shall be
happy, productive, and wise, in proportion as we offer all our works to Him, and feel
that, after all, they are not ours, but the works of that Spirit which dwells in penitent and
believing hearts. Some have thought that this last clause must be taken as spoken by
God; but, even if so taken, it conveys substantially the same thought as to the divine
origin of man’s fruitfulness.
The last verse is rather a general reflection summing up the whole than an integral part
of this wonderful representation of penitence, pardon, and fruitfulness. It declares the
great truth that the knowledge of the pardoning mercy of God, and of the ways by which
He weans men from sin and makes them fruitful of good, makes us truly wise. That
knowledge is more than intellectual apprehension; it is experience. Providence has its
mysteries, but they who keep near to God, and are ‘just’ because they do, will find the
opportunity of free, unfettered activity in God’s ways, and transgressors will stumble
therein. Therefore wisdom and safety lie in penitence and confession, which will ever be
met by gracious pardon and showers of blessing that will cause our hearts, which sin has
made desert, to rejoice and blossom like the rose.
2 Take words with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
“Forgive all our sins
and receive us graciously,
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.[b]

26. BAR ES, "Take with you words - He bills them not bring costly offerings, that
they might regain His favor; not whole burnt-offerings of bullocks, goats or rams; with
which, and with which alone, they had before gone to seek Him (see the note above at
Hos_5:6); not the silver and gold which they had lavished on their idols; but what seems
the cheapest of all, which any may have, without cost to their substance; “words;”
worthless, as mere words; precious when from the heart; words of confession and
prayer, blending humility, repentance, confession, entreaty and praise of God. God
seems to assign to them a form, with which they should approach Him. But with these
words, they were also to turn inwardly “and turn unto the Lord,” with your whole heart,
and not your lips alone. “After ye shall be converted, confess before Him.”
Take away all iniquity - (Literally and pleadingly, “Thou will take away all
iniquity”.) They had “fallen by their iniquities;” before they can rise again, the
stumbling-blocks must be taken out of their way. They then, unable themselves to do it,
must turn to God, with whom alone is power and mercy to do it, and say to Him, “Take
away all iniquity,” acknowledging that they had manifold iniquities, and praying Him to
forgive all, “take away all. All iniquities!” “not only then the past, but what we tear for the
future. Cleanse us from the past, keep us from the future. Give us righteousness, and
preserve it to the end.”
And receive us graciously - (Literally, “and receive good” ). When God has
forgiven and taken away iniquity, He has removed all hindrance to the influx of His
grace. There is no vacuum in His spiritual, anymore than in His natural, creation. When
God’s good Spirit is chased away, the evil spirits enter the house, which is “empty, swept,
and garnished” Mat_12:44, for them. When God has forgiven and taken away man’s evil,
He pours into him grace and all good. When then Israel and, in him, the penitent soul, is
taught to say, “receive good,” it can mean only, the good which Thou Thyself hast given;
as David says, “of Thine own we have given Thee” 1Ch_29:14. As God is said to “crown in
us His own gifts;” (“His own gifts,” but “in us” ;) so these pray to God to receive from
them His own good, which they had from Him. For even the good, which God giveth to
be in us, He accepteth in condescension and forgiving mercy, “Who crowneth thee in
mercy and lovingkindness” Psa_103:4.
They pray God to accept their service, forgiving their imperfection, and mercifully
considering their frailty. For since “our righteousnesses are filthy rags,” we ought ever
humbly to entreat God, not to despise our dutifulness, for the imperfections,
wanderings, and negligences mingled therewith. For exceedingly imperfect is it,
especially if we consider the majesty of the Divine Nature, which should be served, were
it possible, with infinite reverence.” They plead to God, then, to accept what, although
from Him they have it, yet through their imperfection, were, but for His goodness,
unworthy of His acceptance. Still, since the glory of God is the end of all creation, by
asking Him to accept it, they plead to Him, that this is the end for which He made and
remade them, and placed the good in them, that it might redound to His glory. As, on
the other hand, the Psalmist says, “What profit is there in my blood, if I go down into the
pit” Psa_30:9, as though his own perishing were a loss to God, his Creator, since thus
there were one creature the less to praise Him. : “‘Take from us all iniquity,’ leave in us
no weakness, none of our former decay, lest the evil root should send forth a new growth
of evil; ‘and receive good;’ for unless Thou take away our evil, we can have no good to
offer Thee, according to that, ‘depart from evil, and do good.’ Psa_37:27.”
So will we render the calves of our lips - Literally, “and we would fain repay,
calves, our lips;” i. e., when God shall have “forgiven us all our iniquity,” and “received”

27. at our hands what, through His gift, we have to offer, the “good” which through His good
Spirit we can do, then would we “offer” a perpetual thankoffering, “our lips.” This should
be the substitute for the thank-offerings of the law. As the Psalmist says, “I will praise
the Name of God with a song, and magnify Him with thanksgiving. This also shall please
the Lord, better than a bullock that hath horns and hoofs” Psa_69:30-31. They are to
bind themselves to perpetual thanksgiving. As the morning and evening sacrifice were
continual so was their new offering to be continual. But more. The material sacrifice,
“the bullock,” was offered, consumed, and passed away. Their “lips” were offered, and
remained; a perpetual thank-offering, even a “living sacrifice,” living on like the mercies
for which they thanked; giving forth their “endless song” for never-ending mercies.
This too looks on to the Gospel, in which, here on earth, our unending thanksgiving is
beginning, in which also it was the purpose of God to restore those of Ephraim who
would return to Him. : “Here we see law extinguished, the Gospel established. For we see
other rites, other gifts. So then the priesthood is also changed. For three sorts of
sacrifices Were of old ordained by the law, with great state. Some signified the expiation
of sin; some expressed the ardor of piety; some, thanksgiving. To those ancient signs and
images, the truth of the Gospel, without figure corresponds. Prayer to God, ‘to take away
all iniquity,’ contains a confession of sin, and expresses our faith, that we place our
whole hope of recovering our lost purity and of obtaining salvation in the mercy of
Christ. ‘Receive good.’ What other good can we offer, than detestation of our past sin,
with burning desire of holiness? This is the burnt-offering. Lastly, ‘we will repay the
calves of our lips,’ is the promise of that solemn vow, most acceptable to God, whereby
we bind ourselves to keep in continual remembrance all the benefits of God, and to
render ceaseless praise to the Lord who has bestowed on us such priceless gifts. For ‘the
calves of’ the ‘lips’ are orisons well-pleasing unto God. Of which David says, ‘Then shalt
Thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt-offerings and whole
burnt-offerings; then shall they offer bullocks upon Thine altar.’ (Ps. 51 ult.).”
CLARKE, "Take with you words - And you may be assured that you pray aright,
when you use the words which God himself has put in your mouths. On this very ground
there is a potency in the Lord’s Prayer, when offered up believingly, beyond what can be
found in any human composition. And it may be presumed that it was this consideration
that induced our reformers to introduce it so frequently in the public liturgy.
See the order of God’s directions here: -
1. Hearing these merciful invitations, believe them to be true.
2. Cast aside your idols; and return to God as your Maker, King, and Savior.
3. Take with you the words by which you have been encouraged, and plead them
before God.
4. Remember your iniquity, deeply deplore it, and beg of God to take it all away.
5. Let faith be in exercise to receive what God waits to impart. “Receive us
graciously;” ‫טוב‬ ‫וקח‬ vekach tob, receive, or let us receive good; when thou has
emptied us of evil, fill us with goodness.
6. Be then determined, through grace, to live to his glory, “so shall we render thee the
calves” (‫פרים‬ parim, for which the versions in general read ‫פרי‬ peri, fruits, omitting
the ‫ם‬ mem) “of our lips;” the sacrifices of praise, thanksgiving, gratitude, and the

28. hearty obedience which our lips have often promised.
7. Having thus determined, specify your resolutions to depend on God alone for all
that can make you wise, useful, holy, and happy. The resolutions are: -
1. Asshur shall not save us - We will neither trust in, nor fear, this rich and
powerful king. We will not look either to riches or power for true rest and peace
of mind.
2. We will not ride upon horses - We shall no more fix our hopes on the proud
Egyptian cavalry, to deliver us out of the hands of enemies to whom thy Divine
justice has delivered us. We will expect no rest nor happiness in the elegances of
life, and gratification of our senses.
3. Neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods - We will
not trust in any thing without us; nor even in any good thing we are able to do
through thy grace; knowing we have nothing but what we have received. We will
trust in thy infinite mercy for our final salvation.
4. And we will do all this from the conviction, that in thee the fatherless findeth
mercy; for we are all alike helpless, desolate, perishing orphans, till translated
into thy family.
GILL, "Take with you words, and turn to the Lord,.... Not mere words without
the heart, but such as come from it, and express the true sense of it; words of confession,
as the Targum; by which sin is acknowledged, and repentance declared, and forgiveness
asked. Kimchi's note is a very good one;
"he (that is, God) does not require of you, upon return, neither gold nor silver, nor burnt
offerings, but good works; therewith confessing your sins with your whole hearts, and
not with your lips only;''
and which best agrees with evangelical repentance and Gospel times, in which
ceremonial sacrifices are no more; and not any words neither; not tautologies and
multiplicity of words, or words of man's prescribing, but of the Lord's directing to and
dictating; the taught words of the Holy Ghost, which he suggests and helps men to, who
otherwise know not how to pray, or what to pray for; and these expressed under a sense
of sin, and sorrow for it, and in the strength of faith, and are as follow:
say unto him, take away all iniquity; which is to be understood, not of the taking
away of the being of sin; which, though very desirable, is not to be expected in this life:
nor of the expiation of sin by the sacrifice of Christ, which is done already; he has taken
the sins of his people from them to himself, and has bore them, and carried them away,
and removed them out of the sight of divine justice, which is satisfied for them: nor of
the taking away of the power and dominion of sin; which is done by the Spirit of God,
and the efficacy of his grace on the hearts of converted persons: nor of an extinguishing
all sense of sin in men; for none have a quicker sense of it than pardoned sinners, or are
more humble on the account of it, or more loath it; but of the taking of it away from the
conscience of a sensible truly penitent sinner or backslider, by a fresh application of
pardoning grace and mercy: sin is a burden, a heavy one, when the guilt of it is charged
and lies upon the conscience; pardon of sin applied is a lifting up, as the word here used
signifies, a taking off of this burden from it, a causing it to pass away; which is done by
the fresh sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, which purges the conscience from sin, and
clears it from the guilt of it, and speaks peace and comfort; and which is the blessing

29. here prayed for, and every backslider, sensible of his case, sees he stands in need of, and
even to have "all" taken away; for, if but one sin remains, and the guilt of it continues, he
can have no peace, nor stand up under it; but, when God forgives sin, he forgives "all"
sin;
and receive us graciously; receive into grace and favour, that is, openly and
manifestly; the free love and favour of God is always the same, but the manifestations of
it are different; sometimes more or less, and sometimes scarce any, if any at all, and is
the ease here; and therefore a petition is made for the remembrance of it, for a renewed
discovery and application of it: or accept us in a gracious manner; acceptance with God
is not on account of the merits of men, but his own grace and mercy; not through any
works of righteousness done by them, which are impure and imperfect; but through
Christ the Beloved, in whom God is well pleased with the persons, and services, and
sacrifices of his people, and receives all for his sake, and which is here asked for; as well
as that he would take them into his protection, and open affection. It is, in the original
text, only, "receive good" (a); meaning either their good hearts, made so by the grace of
God; their broken hearts and contrite spirits, which are sacrifices not despised by him,
but acceptable to him through Christ: or their good words they were bid to take, and did
take, nod use; their good prayers offered up through Christ, in his name, and in the
exercise of faith, which are the Lord's delight: or their good works, done from a principle
of love, in faith, to the glory of God, and with which sacrifices he is well pleased: or
rather, as the same word signifies, to give as well as receive; see Psa_68:18. It may be
rendered, "give good" (b); take good, and give it to us, even all good things, temporal and
spiritual, especially all spiritual blessings in Christ; all which good things come from
God, and are his gifts; particularly the good Spirit of God, and his grace, which the Lord
gives to them that ask; and all supplies of grace from Christ; and more especially, as
some interpreters of note explain it, the righteousness of Christ imputed and applied;
which goes along with pardoning grace, or the taking away of sin, Zec_3:4; and is the
good, the better, the best robe; a gift, the gift of grace; a blessing received from the Lord,
and to be asked for of him:
so will we render the calves of our lips; not calves, bullocks, and oxen, for
sacrifice, as under the law; but the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving for pardoning
grace, for a justifying righteousness, and for all good things: these are the fruit of the
lips, as the apostle interprets it, Heb_13:15; and which are sacrifices more acceptable to
God than calves of a year old, or an ox or bullock that has horns and hoofs, Psa_69:30.
This shows that the text and context refer to Gospel times, to the times of the Messiah;
in which the Jews themselves say all sacrifices will cease but the sacrifice of praise. The
Targum is,
"turn to the worship of the Lord, and say, let it he with thee to forgive sins, and may we
be received as good, and the words of our lips be accepted with thee as bullocks for good
pleasure upon the altar.''
JAMISO , "Take with you words — instead of sacrifices, namely, the words of
penitence here put in your mouths by God. “Words,” in Hebrew, mean “realities,” there
being the same term for “words” and “things”; so God implies, He will not accept empty
professions (Psa_78:36; Isa_29:13). He does not ask costly sacrifices, but words of
heartfelt penitence.
receive us graciously — literally “(for) good.”

30. calves of our lips — that is, instead of sacrifices of calves, which we cannot offer to
Thee in exile, we present the praises of our lips. Thus the exile, wherein the temple
service ceased, prepared the way for the gospel time when the types of the animal
sacrifices of the Old Testament being realized in Christ’s perfect sacrifice once for all,
“the sacrifice of praise to God continually that is the fruit of our lips” (Heb_13:14) takes
their place in the New Testament.
SBC, "There is a porch even within the sanctuary of repentance. There is a pause of
preparation, words selected, distinct movement, accurate speaking, an order in prayer, a
new relation to God recognized, an audience asked, reception given,—leading up to self-
dedication.
I. Words are immense helps to thoughts. You will never think accurately, nor think
continuously, nor think without wandering, without words. Therefore, never be
indifferent to the language in which you clothe your religion. "Take with you words."
II. When the words are ready, "turn." Adjust the attitude of your mind. It only wants a
real "turn." The back where the face was, and the face where the back was; looking the
other way,—away from the world, away from the past, straight into the love of Christ.
III. Words are sacrifice. It is a pleasant and a holy thought that we all of us carry about
with us wherever we go the means of sacrifice to God. We should offer all we have. Our
lips should make sacrifice. Sacrifice, in its high propitiatory sense we cannot, and we
need not, offer sacerdotally. There is no sacrifice in any Christian worship. We only
plead one sacrifice, made once and for ever for the sins of the whole world. But
spiritually every one of us is a priest. And there is not a believer who has not a sacrifice
to offer: himself, his heart, his life, his soul, his body, his lips.
J. Vaughan, Sermons, 10th series, p. 173.
CALVI , "Verse 2
He afterwards shows the way of repentance: and this passage deserves to be noticed;
for we know that men bring forward mere trifles when they speak of repentance.
Hence when the word, repentance, is mentioned, men imagine that God is to be
pacified with this or that ceremony, as we see to be the case with those under the
Papacy. And what is their repentance? Even this, — if on certain days they fast, if
they mutter short prayers, if they undertake vowed pilgrimages, if they buy masses,
— if with these trifles they weary themselves, they think that the right and the
required repentance is brought before God: but all this is altogether absurd. As then
the world understands not what repentance means, and to what it leads, the Prophet
here sets forth true repentance by its fruits. He therefore says, Take with you words,
and turn to Jehovah; and say to him, Take away all iniquity and bring good, and we
will render to thee the calves of our lips When he bids them to take or find words to
present instead of sacrifice, he no doubt alluded to what the law teaches.
First, it is certain that the Prophet speaks not of feigned words; for we know what
God declares by Isaiah,
‘This people draw nigh me with their lips,
but their heart is from me far distant,’ (Isaiah 29:13.)

31. But he bids them to take words, by which they might show what was conceived and
felt in their heart. Then he means this first, that their words should correspond with
their feeling.
It must, secondly, be noticed, that the Prophet speaks not here of any sort of words,
but that there is to be a mutual relation between the words of God and the words of
men. How are we then to bring words to God, such as prove the genuineness of our
piety? Even by being teachable and submissive; by suffering willingly when he
chastises us, by confessing what we deserve when he reproves us, by humbly
deprecating vengeance when he threatens us, by embracing pardon when he
promises it. When we thus take words from God’s mouth, and bring them to him,
this is to take words according to what the Prophet means in this place. We hence
see the import of the Prophet’s exhortation, when he bids us to take words: but I
cannot proceed further now.
COFFMA , Verse 2
"Take with you words, and return unto Jehovah: say unto him, Take away all
iniquity, and accept that which is good: so will we render as bullocks the offering of
our lips."
Despite some uncertainties regarding the text, the meaning is certified to us by the
ew Testament references to this very place (Hebrews 13:15; 1 Peter 2:5), leading to
our absolute confidence that "fruit from our lips" are the new sacrifices God will
receive, that animal sacrifices would be offered no more, and that "spiritual
sacrifices" (1 Peter 2:5) would alone be offered, and that "that is all that would be
needed."[9] It would be impossible accurately to associate any of this with Judaism.
This was destined to be a characteristic of the gospel age and the kingdom of Christ.
"Take away all iniquity ..." There is a positive reference in this to the forgiveness of
sins, as indicated in the ew English Bible margin (b) which renders it, "Thou wilt
surely take away iniquity." The great prophecy of the ew Covenant in Jeremiah
31:31-35 clearly made the forgiveness of sins to be the distinctive hallmark of the
ew Covenant; and thus this is another sure and certain indicator that Hosea in this
chapter has that ew Covenant and the ew Israel of God in Christ Jesus in
constant view. He was prophesying of Christianity. Ward rendered these words,
"Forgive all guilt, that we may receive what is good and offer the fruit of our
lips."[10] We believe that catches the thought exactly.
"Take with you words ..." Mauchline commented thus: "Do not take with you
lambs and rams for sacrificial offerings as you have been wont to do ... but take
words."[11] The cessation of animal sacrifice never occurred until the proclamation
of the gospel after Pentecost and the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70. It is of
those later times, the present dispensation of God's grace, that the prophet wrote in
these lines. Butler's brilliant and eloquent summary of the meaning of this chapter is
as follows:

32. "The idyllic portrait of the Messianic Age now comes to a climax from the artist
Hosea. God's gracious invitation is responded to by the ew Israel who finds God
able to do exceeding abundantly above all that can be imagined."[12]
ELLICOTT, "(2) Say unto him.—This putting of words into the lips of penitents
and others is found in Psalms 66:3; Isaiah 48:20; Jeremiah 31:7. In the latter part of
the verse render, Accept of good, and we will render as calves (or sacrificial
offering) our lips—i.e., the words of true repentance which we take with us shall be
our offerings in place of calves. (Comp. Psalms 51:17.)
TRAPP, "Hosea 14:2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him,
Take away all iniquity, and receive [us] graciously: so will we render the calves of
our lips.
Ver. 2. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord] Confess your sins, beg pardon,
and promise amendment. Sue to God to give you those words that he bids you take:
go to him in his own words, put his promises in suit; crave the help of his Holy
Spirit, without which what can we do? Romans 8:26. Say to God, as Job 37:19,
"Teach us what we shall say unto thee: for we cannot order our words, by reason of
darkness." David promiseth not only to pray, but to marshal up his prayers, to put
them in good array, so the word signifieth, Psalms 5:3, "In the morning will I direct
my prayer," order it in the best manner: his words should be nec lecta, nec neglecta,
neither curious nor careless, but such as are humble, earnest, and direct to the
point, avoiding vain babblings. Here is a form prescribed in the text (forms of
prayer therefore are not so unlawful as some conceive them), words put into their
mouths (as the phrase is, 2 Samuel 14:3), that they might not miss. Men must as well
look to their words as to their feet, when they come before God; and see that their
affections in prayer be not without answerable expressions. Take with you such
words as may testify that ye turn heartily to the Lord, and not from the teeth
outward, as they in the Psalmist, Psalms 78:36-37. Turn before ye begin to pray; for
God heareth not sinners, since their incense smells of their hand that offereth it,
Isaiah 1:13.
Say unto him] Mentally and vocally; with spirit and speech. True it is, that prayer is
not the labour of the lips, but the travail of the heart; and God hath promised to
answer his people before they call, Isaiah 65:24. By calling upon his name we
neither inform him of what he knoweth not, nor move him to show us more mercy
than he intendeth. But yet prayers are necessary, as means which God will have
used, that we may receive what he of free mercy giveth. Besides, it prepareth us
holily to enjoy the things received; and makes us ready, either to wait for them, or to
want them; and to be content that he may be glorified, though we be not gratified.
And although God knoweth our thoughts, and understands the mind of the spirit, as
being the searcher of hearts, Romans 8:27, yet he calls for the calves of our lips, the
service of our tongues, James 3:9, guiding them now and then in a wonderful
manner, far beyond all natural apprehension: and strangely enabling his praying
servants, who do also find no small benefit by this practice of pouring out their

33. hearts before him, both of the preventing of distractions, and kindling affections,
and discerning their profiting in holy desires; for the more worthy effect followeth
where more fervent affection went before.
Take away all iniquity] Few words, but full of matter: O quam multa, quam paucis!
(Cicero, de Bruti epistola). What a short but pithy prayer is this! Such was that of
the publican, Luke 18:13; that of our Saviour in his agony, when yet he is said to
pray more fervently; that also which he taught us to pray, Matthew 6:7-8, &c., set in
fiat opposition to Paganish battologies. This in the text is not much unlike that
perfect pattern; for here they are taught to beg, Ut auferantur sua maleficia,
conferantur Dei beneficia, Take away all evil, and give good; and then to restipulate
thanks, "So will we render," &c. Take away from us, as an unsupportable burden,
such as we cannot stand under, all iniquity, stain and sting, crime and curse, power
and punishment, that there be no later reckonings; cross out the black lines of our
sins with the red lines of thy Son’s blood, that Lamb of God, that taketh away the
sins of the world by his merit and Spirit, by his value and virtue; that true scape
goat, that carrieth the sins of his people into the wilderness, John 1:29, Hebrews
9:28.
And receive us graciously] Heb. Receive good, that is (as some interpret it), Accept,
out of thy fatherly favour, the true witnesses and effects of our thorough conversion.
But better they that thus sense it, Take good, to wit, to bestow upon us, as Psalms
68:19 cf. Ephesians 4:8. And it is not improbable (saith Dr Reynolds) that the
prophet here secretly leadeth us to Christ the Mediator, who first receiveth gifts
from his Father, and then poureth out them forth upon his Church, Acts 2:33.
So will we render the calves of our lips] Thy benefits shall not be cast away upon
unthankful persons; but we will present unto thee a sacrifice that will please thee
better than an ox or bullock, that hath horns and hoofs, Psalms 69:31. This cannot
be done but by a sound convert; for the leper’s lips must be covered according to the
law; and the sacrifice of the wicked is abomination to the Lord. To the wicked God
saith, "What hast thou to do to take my name into thy mouth," &c.; he liketh not a
good motion from an ill mouth, as that state in the story: The lip of excellence
becometh not a fool, [Proverbs 17:7] no more than lying doth a worthy man that is
renowned for his wisdom. It well becometh the saints to be thankful, to cover God’s
altar with the calves of their lips. This expression implieth (saith one) that God’s
people should not offer their thankfulness to God of that which cost them nothing;
but bring, 1. A calf; do something to farther God’s worship, or relieve the necessities
of others. 2. It must be a dead calf, that is, it must proceed from humble and
mortified minds. 3. A sacrificed calf: where is required, 1. An altar; our praises
must be tendered in the mediation of Christ; 2. Fire; for the bare throwing out of
words, though in the name of Christ, will not serve without feeling, ardency, and
zeal. 3. We must lay our hands on the head of the calf; that is, in all humility,
confess our unworthiness of the blessings we give thanks for, as being less than the

34. least, Genesis 32:10.
PETT, "Verse 2-3
‘Take with you words, and return to YHWH. Say to him, “Take away all iniquity,
and accept what is good, so will we render as bullocks the offering of our lips.
Assyria will not save us, we will not ride on horses, nor will we say any more to the
work of our hands, “Our gods”, for in you the fatherless find mercy.’
The way in which YHWH must be approached when they return to Him is not
through ritual but through ‘words’. This is not a lessening of requirements but
because they have committed ‘sins with a high hand’ for which sacrifices cannot
avail (compare David’s sentiments in Psalms 51). Their only hope now is to come to
YHWH with deeply repentant words. And Hosea makes clear the kind of words that
will be required. They can be analysed as follows:
1) They must approach YHWH ‘with words’ revealing their genuineness. They
had sinned with a high hand so that, like David (Psalms 51) sacrifices were
insufficient. What was now required was a response of genuine contrition and
repentance.
2) They must ‘return to YHWH’, genuinely seeking forgiveness, and asking
Him to take away all iniquity.
3) They must call on Him to ‘accept what is good’ (compare Hosea 8:3). In
other words, to accept a genuine response of heart that sets aside all evildoing and
social injustice, together with all idolatry, and offers a life responsive to Him and
His covenant. For this is how they will offer to Him the acceptable offering of their
lips.
4) They must renounce Assyria and all foreign assistance, and must trust in
YHWH alone.
5) They must no longer trust in their own military might, and especially on
horses obtained, as they would be, from Egypt.
6) They must guarantee that they will no longer call their own workmanship,
‘our gods’, praying to the work of their own hands.
7) They must submit to Him as ‘orphans’ (the fatherless), acknowledging
thereby that they had rejected Him as Father, and seeking His mercy in order to
obtain re-acceptance.
It will be noted that three positive responses (1-3) are followed by three
renunciations (4-6). It is not enough just to turn from what is wrong, we must first
ensure that our relationship with God is put right. The sevenfold picture that ensues
is evidence of the divine perfection of their response.
‘So will we render bullocks, (the offering of) our lips.’ ‘The offering of’ is not in the
Hebrew and is inserted in order to convey the sense in English. The idea is that their
words of repentance and supplication have taken the place of blood sacrifices which,
in accordance with the covenant, would not suffice for sins of a high hand. And
anyway sacrifices could not lawfully be offered in a foreign country unless YHWH
had ‘revealed His ame there’.
It has, however, been suggested that prym (bullocks) should be seen as signifying

35. pry (fruit) with an enclitic ‘m’ attached, added for emphasis. Then it will read, ‘so
will we render the fruit of our lips’ indicating that what they say they also perform.
YHWH’s Responsive Love Song.
The words that follow are reminiscent of the Song of Solomon, which may well have
been known to Hosea, and are in the form of a love song by which YHWH gives His
response. Israel are now no longer an adulterous wife, but a wife who is beloved and
fruitful.
BI, "Take with you words, and turn to the Lord.
Turning to God in prayer
This passage teaches us how we are to come back to God. “Take with you words and
turn.” We are to come in prayer to God. We are to come in supplication, to come and
acknowledge that we have nothing, and with an entreaty that He will furnish us with that
which we require. The prophet gives us the very prayer we are to offer. That must be an
acceptable prayer which God Himself has indited! Here is the sum and substance of
every acceptable prayer that has ever been offered to God. Two things which this prayer
presents to us—
1. It teaches in what character we are to draw nigh to God; who they are that are
warranted to come to the Father of mercy and God of all grace- sinners.
2. In “Receive us graciously” we have our Saviour presented to us. It is in Him that
the grace of God is manifested. In the latter part of the text and in the succeeding
verse there is presented a sort of supplement to this prayer. It contains the promises
of the servant, the vows which he offers to the Most High, and which he is
determined to pay. The besetting evil of the Israelites was their trusting to the
neighbouring heathen nations for help, and forming associations and unions with
them. We too have our besetting evils. We trust to anything rather than to God in our
various emergencies and distresses. We use all the means that are placed within our
power to relieve us in our distresses, but we use them without reference to God.
When in repentance we turn to the Lord, then in His strength we determine to
abandon our sins. (Dr. Thorpe.)
Israel’s petition in time of trouble
The blessing of Ephraim was fruitfulness. And throughout this prophecy the judgments
of God against Ephraim are expressed by needs, emptiness, barrenness, dryness of roots,
of fruits, of branches, of springs, etc.
I. An invitation to repentance. The matter of it is conversion; which must be to the Lord,
and spiritual. It must be a full, thorough, constant, continued conversion, with a whole,
fixed, rooted, united, and established heart. The motives to this duty are, God’s mercies
and God’s judgments.
II. The institution: how to perform it.
1. A general instruction. “Take unto you words,” which importeth the serious
pondering and choosing of requests to put up to God. He expects there should be
preparation in our accesses to Him. Preparation of our persons; by purity of life.

36. Preparation of our services; by choice of matter. Preparation of our hearts; by
finding them out, and stirring them up. We must attend unto His will, as the rule of
our prayers. Unto His precepts and promises, as the matter of our prayers. Unto the
guidance of His Holy Spirit, as the life and principle of our prayers. There is a kind of
omnipotency in prayer, as having an interest and prevalence with God’s
omnipotency.
2. A particular form. A prayer for two benefits: the removal of sin, the conferring of
good. A promise of two things. Thanksgiving, and a special care for the amendment
of their lives. Observe especially the ground of their confidence so to pray, and of
their resolutions so to promise. “Because in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
(Edward Reynolds.)
Israel exhorted to return unto the Lord
I. An awful fact stated. “Thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.” Israel had—
1. Fallen from their allegiance to God.
2. Fallen from His worship.
3. Fallen from the enjoyment of His favour.
II. An affectionate exhortation urged. “O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God.”
Observe—
1. The persons addressed. “Israel.”
2. The nature of the address. “Return.”
3. The object to whom they were to return. “The Lord thy God.”
III. Instructive direction administered. “Take with you words.” Words of sincerity.
Appropriate words. Words of humble confession. Words of petition. “Take away all
iniquity”—
1. From our affections, that we may no longer love it.
2. From our consciences, that we may no longer labour under the burden of it.
3. From our lives, that it may no longer have dominion over us.
4. From our hearts, that we may be dead to it. “Receive us graciously.” Receive our
prayers. Receive our persons. Receive us into Thy favour.
IV. Returns of gratitude expressed. “Render calves of our lips.”
1. Gratitude is a debt which all owe to, God.
2. Gratitude is a debt which gracious souls are ready to pay. Learn—
(1) That neither our civil nor religious privileges will preclude the possibility of
falling by iniquity.
(2) That those who have fallen by iniquity should be induced to return to the
Lord their God.
(3) Those whose iniquity is taken away should bless the Lord. (C. Simeon, M. A.)

37. The need for expression is words
What need God words? He knows our hearts before we speak unto Him. God needs no
words, but we do, to stir up our hearts and our affections. Our words must not be empty,
but such as are joined with a purpose of turning to God. To turn to Him with a purpose
to live in any sin is the extremity of profane impudence. The petition is, “Take away all
iniquity.” Because where there is any true good ness in the heart, that hatred which
carries the bent of the soul against one sin is alike against all. Because the heart which
desires to be at peace with God desires also to be like God, who hates all sin. “Take away
all” sin; both the guilt and the reign of every sin, that none may rule in me. Forgive the
sin, and overcome the power of it by sanctifying grace, and remit the judgments
attending it. They pray for the taking away of their iniquity; for take away this and all
other mercies follow after; because this alone stops the current of God’s favours, which
removed, the current of His mercies run amain. Many say, How shall I know whether or
no my sins are forgiven? You may know by something that goes before, and by
something which follows after. Before, a humble and hearty confession. After, when a
man finds strength against it; for where God forgives He gives strength withal. Another
evidence is some peace of conscience, though not much perhaps, yet so much as
supports us from despair. Again, where sin is pardoned our hearts will be much enlarged
with love to God. And forgiveness frames the soul suitably to be gentle and merciful, and
to pardon others. Therefore let us labour for the forgiveness of our sins, that God would
remove and subdue the power of them, take them away, and the judgments due to them,
or else we are but miserable, though we enjoyed all the pleasures of the world. “Receive
us graciously, and do good to us.” So it is in the original. All the goodness we have from
God, it is out of His grace. God’s mercy to His children is complete and full. God not only
takes away ill, but He doth good. We cannot honour God more than by making use of
His mercy in the forgiveness of sins; and of His goodness, in going to Him for it. The
prayer is an acknowledgment of our own emptiness. The best that we can bring to thee is
emptiness, therefore do Thou do good to us, fill us with Thy fulness. Do good to us every
way. “So shall we render the calves of our lips.” Here is the re-stipulation or promise.
They return back to God. There should be a rendering according to the receiving. This
promise of praise is a kind of vow. “So will we render.” To bind one’s self is a kind of
vow. The Church therefore binds herself that she may bind God. It is good thus to vow, if
it were but to excite and quicken our dulness and forgetfulness of our general vow; to put
us in mind of our duty, the more to oblige us to God, and refresh our memories. The
“calves of our lips” implies not only thankfulness to God, but glorifying of God, in setting
out His praise. In glorifying there are two things, a supposition of excellency, and the
manifestation of this glory. The yielding of praise to God is a wondrous acceptable
sacrifice. Besides this “the calves of our lips” carries us to work. The oral thanksgiving
must be justified by our works and deeds; or else our actions will give our tongue the lie.
Why doth the prophet especially mention lips, or words? Because—
1. Christ, who is the Word, delights in our words.
2. Because our tongue is our glory, and that by which we glorify God.
3. Our tongue is that which excites others. (R. Sibbes, D. D.)
A form of prayer for backsliders
It pleased the Lord to draw up for them a form of prayer, which He puts into their

38. mouths, and with which He sends them, that they might present themselves before Him
at His throne and mercy-seat, and there repeat it.
I. The connection of these words with the former, Israel is fallen by her iniquity. -What
is requisite in this case? Most assuredly, a return to the Lord. But Israel might say, “I
know not how to return.” To prevent despairing thoughts the Lord gives suitable words
for those who would return but hardly know how to do so. The words are cogent and
most particular, and exactly suited unto and expressive of the grace which those persons
stood in need of.
II. Open and explain the expressions made use of in this prayer. They contain for
substance the whole grace and gracious design of the everlasting Gospel. If all iniquity
were not taken away there could be no expectation of being received graciously,
therefore the order, propriety, and connection of these words, with the vast subject and
importance of them.
III. The suitableness of them to such as are in a state of backsliding, or are on the verge
of the same. There is a continual change, a flux and reflux, in the frames, temper, cases,
and feelings of the people of God. None are safe, one single moment, but as they are kept
by the power of God.
IV. The most grateful acknowledgments of these suppliants. “We will render the calves
of our lips.” When the Lord is pleased to overcome our minds by the manifestations of
His pardoning mercy, we cannot but open our mouth, and with our lips shew forth His
glorious praise. (Samuel Eyles Pierce.)
The prophet’s call to repentance
We are furnished in this chapter with a most vivid picture of God’s unchangeable love
towards His people. No sooner are the children of Israel brought to a sense of their
helpless wretchedness, and led to betake themselves to the footstool of their God, to ask
for pardon and mercy, than they obtain grace, and find help in the time of need. They no
sooner assay to go to Him than He anticipates them; binds up their broken hearts, pours
the balm of consolation into their wounded spirits.
I. The prophet’s call to repentance. This is pathetic to a degree. “O Israel!” What
boundless instances of unspeakable love does this single expression imply! “In Me is thy
help.” Return, only return, and it shall be well with you again. You must have learnt, long
ere this, the hopelessness of the prodigal, without a father’s love and protecting care. But
let that return be a sincere, earnest, and permanent return. Let it be a truthful and
spiritual return. Only genuine repentance can do us any effectual good. The wording of
the call suggests that the prophet’s appeal is dictated by mercy and judgment, Mercy.
“Return unto the Lord thy God.” Jehovah is still thy God, and not yet thy Judge, still
gracious and merciful, long-suffering, of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil. It
is by the attribute of mercy that God first appeals to His covenant people to return to
Him. What a glorious motive for repentance! The Lord Jehovah is still ready and willing
to be your God, in order to smooth the way for your return to Him. Judgment. “For thou
hast fallen by thine iniquity,” and art therefore amenable to the just punishment which is
the portion of all those who transgress God’s law. If mercies do not work upon your love,
let judgment work upon your fear.
II. The nature of genuine repentance. “Take with you words,” etc. The penitent is not
left., to frame words according to his own fancy or imagination, but the Holy Sprat

39. actually puts words into the sinner’s mouth. We must also be prepared personally, we
must endeavour to begin a pure and holy life. It was for lack of a personal preparation
that Israel’s prayer was rejected. It is also necessary to endeavour to be possessed of
such a state of mind as to entitle the suppliant to the benefits of paternal compassion.
We need preparation of the heart. This fourfold preparation must be obtained from Him
alone who is almighty. Of ourselves we can do nothing. From the simple expression,
“Take with you words,” we learn—
1. That God’s will must be our rule in prayer, for it is under such circumstances only
that we need expect our supplications to be accepted.
2. That God’s precepts and promises must be the subject-matter of our prayer. We
are too short-sighted to know what is good for us, or what God in His inscrutable
dispensations has appointed for us.
3. That the help of the Holy Spirit must be the life and principle of our prayer. The
Spirit who now abides with us must be our teacher in all things, and bring all things
to our remembrance. He will teach us what is the will of God. Observe now the
“sound form” dictated for the use of the penitents, when really and truly returning
unto the Lord their God. “Take away all iniquity,” etc. In this passage there is a
petition and a promise. The petition is subdivided into two distinct requests, an
entreaty for the pardon of sin, and a solicitation for granting unmerited favours. The
promise consists of thanksgiving. “So will we render the calves of our lips”; and of
amendment of life. “Asshur shall not save us,” etc. The text concludes with a reason
for the petition and promise. “For in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy.” Note that
repentance cannot exist without thanksgiving, nor can sincere thanksgiving be found
in an individual not truly penitent. “Asshur shall not save us,” means, we give up all
human succour. Genuine repentance takes the heart from all carnal confidence.
Many are the gods and lords which the unconverted create for themselves. Men of
power deify strength. Men of wisdom deify knowledge and prudence. Men of
morality and virtue deify their good works. (Moses Margoliouth.)
How to return to God
God not only invites us to return, but He tells us how to do it. He puts the very words in
our mouth. The first act of the awakened is usually an act of prayer. The very act of
expressing our need has a tendency both to bring about clearer views of what it is that
we need, and to intensify our desire. A true conversion involves, above everything else,
personal transactions between the penitent, on the one hand, and his wronged and
injured God on the other. Now the very act of prayer tends to bring to the front and
impress upon our consciousness this personal aspect of the case. It is, however, of the
utmost importance that the awakened soul should abstain from anything that might be
called making a prayer. I would to God that men were more simple and definite in their
prayers. God knows our needs before we utter them. But do we know them? Indefinite
notions as to what we require at the hands of God must paralyse our faith and rob our
approach of all reality. Notice the urgency of the prayer which God’s love puts into the
mouth of the penitent. It is also the expression of a distinct change in our moral attitude
towards God. It seems asking a great deal to say, “Take away all iniquity.” Can it all be
taken away? (W. Hay Aitken, M. A.)

40. Israel exhorted to return unto the Lord
I. An awful fact stated. “Thou hast fallen,” etc. The term “fall” is used literally, when we
speak of a body descending from a higher to a lower situation. When the fall of angels or
of men is mentioned, we understand the term figuratively. Thus Israel had—
1. Fallen from their allegiance to God.
2. Fallen from His worship.
3. Fallen from the enjoyment of His favour.
II. An affectionate exhortation urged. “Return unto the Lord.” Observe—
1. The persons addressed. “Israel.” No reproachful name is used.
2. The nature of the address. “Return.” This implies previous wandering.
3. To whom they were to return. “The Lord thy God.”
III. Instructive direction administered. “Take with you words.” Not bullocks or
sacrifices. Words of sincerity. Appropriate words. Words of confession. Words of
petition. They were to pray for the removal of iniquity.
1. Take it away from our affections, that we may no longer love it.
2. From our consciences, that we may no longer labour under the burden of it.
3. From our lives, that it may not have dominion over us.
4. “From our hearts, that we may be dead to it.” Receive our prayers graciously.
Receive our persons graciously.
IV. Returns of gratitude expressed. “So will we render the calves of our lips.” (Sketches
of Four Hundred Sermons.)
The iniquity of the people
The Gospel itself has gone no further than the elements which constitute this closing
chapter. The nation is addressed in its unity. “Return unto the Lord.” Come back; do not
any longer pursue the way of folly and the path of darkness; turn round; be converted, be
healed, come home. That is an evangelical cry, that is the very passion and the very
meaning of the Cross of Christ. “For thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.” Man is not called
to come down, but to come up. Thou hast fallen fiat upon the earth. This is a call from a
fall. The fall is not to be argued into a man; the fall is an experience which must be
confirmed by the consciousness of the heart itself. The experience of the heart about this
matter of the fall is a varied, conflicting, tumultuous experience. “Take with you words.”
When men are in earnest their words are themselves. Leave all ritualism, and take with
you yourselves speech of the heart, prayer of the soul, cry of the felt necessity. “Take
away all iniquity.” Here is confession, “Receive us graciously.” Here is petition. “So will
we render the calves of our lips.” Our sacrifice shall be a living sacrifice. But can Israel so
pray and so promise, and then repeat yesterday as if nothing had occurred in the night-
time of penitence? Israel must be complete in confession, and complete in renunciation.
A man must at some point say good-bye to his ruined self. If any man be in Christ he is a
new creature. Now we come upon words never excelled by John or by Paul for sweep of
thought and tenderness of pathos. “I will love them freely,” literally, “I am impelled to
love them.” When God sees the returning prodigal, He sees more than the sin—He sees

41. the sinner within the man, the man within the sinner, the God within the man. (Joseph
Parker, D. D.)
The penitent returning to God
Not only is the obligation to repent universal, the main features of real repentance are
invariably the same. It is the like corruption of heart and practice over which the contrite
sinner of every age and country has to mourn; it is the same mercy-seat he has to
approach; it is the same God to whom he has to be reconciled.
I. As to the general circumstances of mankind. The expression, “Thou hast fallen,”
applies primarily and directly to the case of the Jews. They had fallen in every sense of
the word. Their vices had been their ruin; their city was destroyed, their temple
consumed, and they themselves were captives in a strange land. The work of devastation
had reached their minds as well as their bodies. Many of them clung still to their sins
and idolatries. Consider, more generally—
1. The state of degradation to which man has fallen. How often have we, in
contemplating our own hearts, or the conduct of others, to blush for the creature
who was originally formed in the image of his God.
2. The state of corruption and depravity into which human nature has fallen. It is
quite possible to overstate the limits of this corruption. But we may say that spiritual
qualities are absolutely extinct in the unconverted mind.
3. The state of suffering to which we have fallen. Some compare the world to a vast
hospital, and others to a huge prison.
4. The state of danger and condemnation to which we are fallen. Look at the strong
bias of the heart to evil—at the snares of the world, and the temptations of the devil.
II. The duty of man under such circumstances. Our Heavenly Father has been pleased to
give us, in our guilty and lost circumstances, certain express directions for returning to
the God from whom we have fallen. In our text the injunction is—
1. That we should “turn to the Lord.” With the help of the Spirit, and by a strong
effort on your own part, you should set your face heavenwards.
2. “Take with you words, and say unto God, Take away all iniquity, and receive us
graciously.” Feel that your first business and object, in the presence of the Lord, is to
seek by earnest and devout supplication, a release from guilt, and wrath, and
punishment. This release and pardon you are to seek, not on the ground of any
merits of your own, but from the free and unmerited love of God.
3. You are to say unto God, “We will render the calves of our lips.” Or as the apostle
puts it, “The fruit of our lips giving praise to Him.” The feelings of heartfelt gratitude
and praise are to accompany prayer.
4. We are to renounce all dependence upon and all allegiance to other masters. Our
sincerity will be testified by an abandonment of the paths of sin. A change in the
direction of our affections and our services will uniformly follow real conversion.
III. The encouragement suggested by the text for thus turning to god. It is stated in
those simple but beautiful words, “For in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy.” Apply to
the despondent; to the believer; to the contrite sinner. (J. W. Cunningham.)

42. An exhortation to repentance
I. These verses in their primary reference to israel.
1. The prophet calls upon the people to return unto the Lord their God. He was their
God in an especial manner. He had never been wanting to them while they owned
and served Him as the Lord their God. He directs them in what manner and with
what spirit they should return. They were to take with them words, and make their
petition to this effect, that God would be pleased to “take away all iniquity.” To take
away the guilt of it, and grant them His gracious pardon: to take away the power of
it, and grant them His effectual grace to resist and subdue it. They were to pray that
God would receive them graciously, graciously implying that merit was not to be
pleaded in any degree by the petitioners. They were to promise the tribute of their
lips, grateful language flowing from a grateful heart. In returning to the Lord the
people were further to express their renunciation of all former and false confidences.
And they were frankly to acknowledge that Jehovah alone was the effectual succour
of the helpless and destitute.
II. Consider these verses as of more general extent in their application. Kingdoms and
nations may “fall by their iniquity.”
1. There is a cad to wandering sinners to return unto the Lord their God. A door of
hope is left open for them.
2. God uses inducements. He assures the sinner that he has “fallen by his iniquity.”
Every sinner is fallen from that state of happiness and holiness in which God
originally created man.
3. You are to take words and pray. The removal of sin must take place in order to our
restoration. If the guilt of it is not taken away by pardoning grace, the wrath of God
must abide on us. If the power of it is not broken, and the love of it subdued in the
soul, it must exclude us from the holy and happy society of God and glorified spirits
above.
4. You are to entreat that God would “receive you graciously”: take you into His
favour, and admit you into His family.
5. Such surprising grace will demand the most fervent affections of your hearts, and
the most devoted and obedient submission of your lives.
6. You are to approach the throne of grace with a solemn and deliberate disavowal of
all forbidden dependencies, and an acknowledgment that the God of grace is the only
helper of helpless sinners. Glorify God by acknowledging the freeness and fulness of
His grace, and by accepting the blessed and complete deliverance offered to you in
the Gospel. (S. Knight, M. A.)
Total repentance
The prophet entreats them not only to turn back, and look toward the Lord with a partial
and imperfect repentance, but not to leave off till they were come quite home to Him by
a total and sincere repentance and amendment. He bids them return quite to Himself,
the unchangeable God and their God. “Great is repentance,” is a Jewish saying, “which
maketh men to reach quite up to the throne of glory.” (E. B. Pusey, D. D.)

43. Repentance or reformation
I. Its nature and method indicated.
1. Its nature. “O Israel, return unto the Lord your God.” The description contained in
the first and third verses of this reformation implies three things—
(1) That the soul is away from God.
(2) The renunciation of all dependence upon creatures. “Asshur shall not save
us; we will not ride upon horses.” This means, we will not trust to Asshur—that
is, Assyria—for help.
(3) Utter abandonment of all idols. “Neither will we say any more to the work of
our hands, Ye are our gods. For in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy.”
2. Its method. “Take with you words, and turn to the Lord.” Why take words to God?
(1) Not because words can inform Him of anything of which He is ignorant.
(2) Not because words can induce Him to be more kind to us than He is. “Then
will we offer the calves of our lips.” And before Him pray. Pray for two things—
(a) His forgiveness. “Take away all sin.”
(b) His acceptance. “Receive us graciously.”
II. Its cause and blessedness specified.
1. Its cause—God. “I will heal their backsliding. I will love them freely. I will be as the
dew.” I will act upon the soul silently, penetratingly, revivifyingly—“as the dew.” All
true reformation brings with it God’s silent but effective agency.
2. Its blessedness.
(1) Health. “I will heal their backsliding.” The soul is diseased. God is its great
Physician.
(2) Divine favour. “I will love them freely, for Mine anger is turned away from
them.”
(3) Growth. “He shall grow as the lily.”
(a) The growth is connected with beauty. Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like it.
(b) Its growth is connected with strength. “Cast forth his roots as Lebanon.”
(c) Its growth is connected with expansiveness. “His branches shall spread.”
How a Divinely formed soul expands. Its sympathies become world wide.
(d) Its growth is connected with fragrance. “His beauty shall be as the olive
tree, and his smell as Lebanon.” How delectable the fragrance of a holy life!
(e) Its growth is connected with social usefulness. It shall offer protection to
men. “They that dwell under his shadow shall return.” Not only protection,
but beneficent progress: “They shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine.”
(Homilist.)

44. So will we render the calves of our lips.
By “taking with us words,” in speech or in sacred song, we can render to God the calves,
i.e., the sacrifice of our lips. There is—
I. A sacrifice of silence. It is a great thing to know how to serve our Lord and our
neighbour by keeping our lips closed. To be silent when we are tempted to speak, but
when the closed mouth is wiser and kinder than the uttered word.
II. The sacrifice of truthfulness. We are bound to truthfulness by the express
commandment of God, and by the claims of our fellow-men. We render this sacrifice,
not merely by refusing to stoop to downright, deliberate falsehood, but by avoiding the
utterance which is fitted to convey a false impression; by avoiding the evil and
pernicious habit of exaggeration and caricature. Others should be able to trust our word
absolutely.
III. The sacrifice of praise. We can hardly conceive of Divine service without the element
of praise, and this is the best and truest Christian form of the sacrifice of the lips.
Unitedly, intelligently, heartily, spiritually should we render this most pleasant, most
acceptable sacrifice.
IV. The sacrifice of prayer. By utterance of our thought we help ourselves to pray; for
expression kindles, sustains, directs devotion. And by uttering our thought we help
others to pray.
V. The sacrifice of humility and confession. Humility is the gateway that opens into the
kingdom of Christ. When with deep and true penitence of spirit we take with us words,
we offer an acceptable sacrifice, and “with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
VI. The sacrifice of helpfulness. By the timely, thoughtful, helpful word, we may render
service to man and sacrifice to God.
1. The word of warning.
2. The word of comfort.
3. The word of encouragement.
4. The word of challenge. Thus by timely and helpful words shall we “render the
calves of our lips.” (Sunday in Church.)
A living sacrifice
Our sacrifice shall be a living sacrifice; we have nothing to slay; we will live unto the
Lord. The “lips” here stand for life; the “calves” must be regarded as representing
symbolically the old sacrifice in a new form,—not the unintelligent and irresponsive
calves of the meadow, but the calves of our lips, the living sacrifice, the personal offering.
What a prayer, thus modelled and outlined! Here is confession, here is hope, here is
poetry, here is consecration, here is communion with God: yet is there no bargain-
making. Man is not inviting God to enter into a covenant in which there shall be so much
for so much. Forgive us, and we will obey. Pardon us, and reckon then upon our
worship;—the worship does not come as payment, but as a necessity of nature; it will be
the utterance of gratitude; it represents the irrepressible music of spiritual thanksgiving.
(Joseph Parker, D. D.)

45. NISBET, "CHRISTIAN SACRIFICES
‘So will we render the calves of our lips.’
Hosea 14:2
There is but One Priest Who in His own right can approach God; but One Mediator,
Who can plead His own goodness; and so there is but One propitiatory, expiatory
sacrifice, even ‘the One full, perfect, and sufficient Sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction,’
once made upon the Cross, for the sins of the whole world. There never has been, there
never will be, any other. Except for this one and only Atonement, nothing we could say,
think, or do, would be acceptable to God; but for this we should remain, as we were
born, an accursed race.
But though this be true, yet with respect to those who rely on the intercession of that one
great Priest, and, by faith, plead and apply to their souls the merits of that One expiatory
sacrifice, the Spirit teaches us that they render unto God acceptable service; God for
Christ’s sake will permit them to approach Him, and accept a service at their hands. And
this gives us the idea of a sacrifice. For a sacrifice is something presented to God, in
behalf of man, by persons Divinely appointed to ‘offer gifts unto the Lord.’ In this sense,
the ‘blood of bulls and of goats,’ under the law, became a typical sacrifice; and, under the
Gospel, the Eucharist is thus designated, being a commemorative sacrifice. But
according to Scripture, public worship is also a sacrifice, and it is very essential to
represent it as such.
I. This doctrine is directly implied in the text by a figure of speech.—As calves were
offered in sacrifice, so are the lips of worshippers to be as calves; they are to offer to God
the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving (Amos 4:5; Hebrews 13:15). St. Peter, speaking
of the Christian Church, says: ‘Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an
holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ’ (1
Peter 2:5). He cannot here refer to the Eucharist, because he is addressing Christians
generally as a holy priesthood, and the celebration of the Eucharist requires the
intervention of a special order of men separated from among the general body of
believers; he must, therefore, refer to the service of public or common prayer, which he
describes as a spiritual sacrifice.
II. The sacrifice offered in public worship is the sacrifice of prayer and praise.—It is
offered in each congregation for the Church universal, for the Church of the province, for
the Church of the diocese, more especially for the Church of the parish, and for all the
members of the same; it is offered by the assembled worshippers, being baptized
persons, ‘continuing steadfastly in the Apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking
of bread, and in prayers’ (Acts 2:42). Such persons are for this purpose ‘an holy
Priesthood,’ appointed to offer up these ‘spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus
Christ’ (1 Peter 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:5-6; Revelation 5:9-10). As certain believers
are elected from their brethren, and ordained to be priests for the higher service of the
Holy Eucharist, and that they may bless the people in the Name of Him Whose ministers
they are; so are the members of the Church, as their name denotes (Ecclesia), a people
‘called out’ of mankind, to act as priests in the general sacrifice of Christian worship.

46. Illustration
‘David tells us that the service God wants is the opening of the lips, that the mouth may
show forth God’s praise. The sacrifices which please Him are a broken spirit, a broken
and a contrite heart. God wants our lips. Praise is a very important part of religion.’
3 Assyria cannot save us;
we will not mount warhorses.
We will never again say ‘Our gods’
to what our own hands have made,
for in you the fatherless find compassion.”
BAR ES, "Asshur shall not save us - After prayer for pardon and for acceptance
of themselves, and thanksgiving for acceptance, comes the promise not to fall back into
their former sins. Trust in man, in their own strength, in their idols, had been their
besetting sins. Now, one by one, they disavow them.
First, they disclaim trust in man, and making “flesh their arm” Jer_17:5. Their
disclaimer of the help of the Assyrian, to whom they had so often betaken themselves
against the will of God, contains, at once, that best earnest of true repentance, the
renewal of the confession of past sins, and the promise to rely no more on any princes of
this world, of whom he was then chief. The horse, in like way, is the symbol of any
warlike strength of their own. As the Psalmist says, “Some put their trust in chariots and
some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God” Psa_20:7; and, “a
horse is a vain thing for safety, neither shall he deliver any by his great strength” Psa_
33:17; and Solomon, “The horse is prepared for the day of battle but salvation is of the
Lord” Pro_21:31. War was almost the only end for which the horse was used among the
Jews. If otherwise, it was a matter of great and royal pomp. It was part of a standing
army. Their kings were especially forbidden to “multiply horses” Deu_17:16 to
themselves. Solomon, indeed, in his prosperity, broke this, as well as other commands of
God. The pious king Hezekiah, although possessed at one time of large treasure, so kept
that command as to furnish matter of mockery to Rabshakeh, the blaspheming envoy of
Assyria, that he had neither horses nor horsemen 2Ki_18:23. The horses being procured

47. from Egypt 1Ki_10:28, the commerce gave fresh occasion for idolatry.
Neither will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ye are our gods -
This is the third disavowal. Since it was folly and sin to trust in the creatures which God
had made, apart from God, how much more, to trust in things which they themselves
had made, instead of God, and offensive to God!
For in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy - (or, O Thou, in whom). He is indeed
fatherless who hath not God for his Father. They confess then, that they were and
deserved to be thus “fatherless” and helpless, a prey to every oppressor; but they appeal
to God by the title which He had taken, “the Father of the fatherless” Psa_68:5, that He
would have mercy on them, who had no help but in Him. : “We promise this, they say,
hoping in the help of Thy mercy, since it belongeth to Thee and is for Thy Glory to have
mercy on the people which believeth in Thee, and to stretch forth Thine Hand, that they
may be able to leave their wonted ills and amend their former ways.”
GILL, "Ashur shall not save us,.... This is still a continuation of the words repenting
and returning Israel are directed to make use of before the Lord, declaring they would
not do any more as they had done; to Assyria, or the kings of Assyria, as the Targum, for
help, and desire assistance, and expect deliverance and salvation from thence; see Hos_
5:13;
we will not ride upon horses; to seek for help elsewhere; or go to Egypt for them, as
they had done; or put their trust in them for safety, in a time of war; or think to make
their escape by them when in danger; see Psa_20:8;
neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, ye are our gods; that
is, say so to, or concerning, their idols, which were made by their hands, or by their
orders, as they had formerly done to the golden calf in the wilderness, and to the calves
at Dan and Bethel; see Exo_32:4; now, by all these expressions is meant, that they would
determine not to put any confidence in any creature, or in any creature performance;
that they would not trust in their own merits, but in the mercy of God through Christ for
the of their sins; nor in any works of righteousness for their justification before God, and
acceptance with him; nor expect salvation in any other way than by the free grace of
God, and his abundant mercy in Christ:
for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy; and in thee only; hereby declaring that
the Lord was the only Saviour; that there was salvation in Christ, and in no other; and
that they would have no other saviour but him; that they would look to the mercy of God
proclaimed in him, and communicated from and through him, the mercy seat, and to his
mercy alone for eternal life; in whom the most destitute persons, as the fatherless, who
are destitute of friends, of help and assistance, of counsel and advice, find favour,
kindness, and mercy, even such as are most hopeless and helpless; which is a great
encouragement to look to the Lord, to trust in him, and hope in his mercy
JAMISO , "Three besetting sins of Israel are here renounced, trust in Assyria,
application to Egypt for its cavalry (forbidden, Deu_17:16; compare Hos_7:11; Hos_11:5;
Hos_12:1; 2Ki_17:4; Psa_33:17; Isa_30:2, Isa_30:16; Isa_31:1), and idolatry.
fatherless — descriptive of the destitute state of Israel, when severed from God, their
true Father. We shall henceforth trust in none but Thee, the only Father of the
fatherless, and Helper of the destitute (Psa_10:14; Psa_68:5); our nation has
experienced Thee such in our helpless state in Egypt, and now in a like state again our

48. only hope is Thy goodness.
CALVI , "Verse 3
This verse ought to be joined with the last, as the Israelites show here more clearly
and fully in what they had sinned, and, at the same time, give proof of their
repentance; for when they say, The Assyrian shall not save us, we shall not mount
on horses, we shall not say to the work of hands, Our gods, it is to be understood as
a confession, that they had in these various ways roused against themselves the
vengeance of God; for they had hoped for safety from the Assyrians, ran here and
there, and had thus alienated themselves from God; they had also fled to statues and
idols, and had transferred to dumb images the honour due to the only true God. We
hence see, that though the faithful speak of future time, they yet indirectly confess
that they had grievously sinned, had forsaken the only true God, and transferred
their hopes to others, either to the Assyrians or to fictitious gods. But at the same
time, they promise to be different in future; as though he said, that they would not
only be grateful to God in celebrating his praises, but that their way of living would
be also new, so as not to abuse the goodness of God. This is the substance of what is
here said.
By saying, The Assyrian shall not save us, they doubtless condemned, as I have
already stated, the false confidence with which they were before deluded, when they
sought deliverance by means of the Assyrians. There is, indeed, no doubt, but that
the Israelites were ever wont to pretend to trust in the name of God; but in thinking
themselves lost without the succour of the Assyrians, they most certainly defrauded
God of his just honour, and adorned men with spoils taken from him. For except we
be convinced that God alone is sufficient for us, even when all earthly aids fail us,
we do not place in him our hope of salvation; but, on the contrary, transfer to
mortals what belongs alone to him. For this sacrilege the Israelites therefore
condemn themselves, and, at the same time, show that the fruit of their repentance
would be, to set their minds on God, so as not to be drawn here and there as before,
or to think that they could be preserved through the help of men. Let us hence learn,
that men turn not to God, except when they bid adieu to all creatures, and no longer
fix their hopes on them. This is one thing.
What follows, On a horse we shall not mount, may be explained in two ways; — as
though they said, that they would no longer be so mad as to be proud of their own
power, or consider themselves safe because they were well furnished with horses
and chariots; — but the clause may be more simply explained, as meaning, that they
would not as before wander here and there to procure for themselves auxiliaries;
We shall not then mount a horse, but continue quiet in our country; and this sense
seems more appropriate. I do not then think that the Prophet brings forward any
new idea, but I read the two sentences conjointly, The Assyrian shall not save us, we
shall not then mount on a horse, that is, that we may ride in haste; for they had
wearied themselves before with long journeys: as soon as any danger was at hand,
they went away afar off into Assyria to seek help, when God commanded them to
remain quiet.

49. The meaning of this will be better understood by referring to other passages, which
correspond with what is here said. God says by Isaiah, ‘On horses mount not; but ye
said, We will mount: then mount,’ says he, (Isaiah 30:16.) Here is a striking
intimation, that the Jews against God’s will rode and hastened to seek aids. “I see
you,” he says, “to be very prompt and swift: then mount, but it shall be for the
purpose of fleeing.” We see what was the design of this reproof of the Prophet; it
was to show that the Jews, who ought to have remained still and quiet, fled here and
there for the sake of seeking assistance. So also in this place, when they would show
the fruit of their repentance, they say, “We will not hereafter mount a horse, for the
Lord, who promises to be our aid, is not to be sought as one far off: we will not then
any more fatigue ourselves in vain.” It seems to me that this is what is meant by the
Prophet.
Then he adds, And we shall not say, Our gods, to the work of our hands. As they
had spoken of the false trust they placed in men, so now they condemn their own
superstition. And these are the two pests which are wont to bring destruction on
men; for nothing is more ruinous than to transfer our hope from God; and this is
done in two ways, either when men trust in their own strength, or pride themselves
on human aids and despise God, as if they can be safe without him, — or when they
give up themselves to false superstitions. Both these diseases ever prevail in the
world, when men entangle themselves in their own superstitions, and form for
themselves new gods, from whom they expect safety; as we see to be the case with
those under the Papacy. God is almost of no account with them, Christ is not
sufficient. For how comes it that they contrive so many patrons for themselves, that
they devise so many guardianships, except that they despise the help of God, or so
extenuate it, that they dare not to hope for salvation from him? We hence see that
superstition draws men away from God, and becomes thus the cause of the worst
destruction. But there are some, who are not thus given up to superstitions, but who
derive a hope from their own valour or wisdom; for the children of this world are
inflated with their own strength; and when princes have their armies prepared,
when they have fortified cities, when they possess abundance of money, when they
are strengthened by many compacts, they are blinded with false confidence. So then
this verse teaches us, that these are two destructive pests, which commonly draw
men away from real safety; and if then we would repent sincerely from the heart, we
must purge our minds from these two evils, so that we may not ascribe any thing to
our own strength or to earthly helps, nor form any idols to be in the place of God,
but feel assured that God alone is a sufficient help to us.
But it follows, For in thee will the fatherless find mercy. Here the Israelites show
that it is necessary for us to be depressed that we may remain dependent on God
alone; for those are compared to the fatherless who are so humbled, that they cast
away all vain hopes, and, conscious of their nakedness and want, recumb on God
alone. Hence, that God’s mercy may find a way open to come to us, we must become
fatherless. ow what this metaphor means is well known to us. The fatherless, we
know, are, first, destitute of aid, and, secondly, of wisdom; and they are also without
strength. They are then dependent on the aid of another, and stand in need of

50. direction; in short, their safety depends on the assistance of others. Thus, also, we
are really fatherless, when we rely not on our own prudence, nor recumb on our
own strength, nor think that we can be safe through the aids which come from the
earth, but cast all our hopes and cares on God alone. This is one thing. The
fatherless then shall find mercy in thee; that is, “When thou, Lord, dost so afflict us,
that we become wholly cast down, then we shall find mercy in thee; and this mercy
will be sufficient for us, so that we shall no more wander and be drawn aside by
false devices, as it has hitherto been the case with us.” When, therefore, they say,in
God will the fatherless find mercy, they mean that the grace offered by the Lord will
be sufficient, so that there will be no need any more of seeking aid from any other.
We now understand what the Prophet means in this verse. It follows —
COFFMA , ""Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; neither will
we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods; for in thee the
fatherless findeth mercy."
"Assyria ..." This word is "Asshur" in the Hebrew text; but the two terms were
almost synonymous. "The Semitic name served for the god Asshur as well as for the
city and empire. In the present context, this dual meaning is particularly
appropriate."[13]
"True repentance involves abandoning known sin; and here the double sins of
relying on nations and idolatry are confessed."[14]; "We will not ride upon horses
..." is supposed to be a metaphorical way of declaring that, "neither can Egypt help
us." Egypt was the principal source of the world's war horses in those times.
There are some further strong suggestions of the ew Covenant in this verse: (1) the
projected abandonment of idolatry, and (2) the mercy extended to the fatherless,
perhaps a prophecy of the adoption of the Gentiles into the kingdom of God after
Pentecost. In fact, the rejection of the reliance upon secular states may also be
viewed as an ear-mark of Christianity, making three witnesses of the ew Covenant
in this single verse. We shall note each of them:
(1) The reliance upon having their own state with their own chosen rulers was the
original sin of the Old Israel; and this passage indicates that in the period of the
ew Covenant, God's people would not set up their own governments, or rely upon
states, Assyria and Egypt, cited here, being the greatest states of that era. Christ
flatly declared that his followers would not trust in such things, saying, "It shall not
be so among you" (Matthew 20:25,26). This has been a characteristic of Christianity
throughout the ages. Christians have not set up their own earthly governments, but
submitted to whatever government presided over the place where they lived. Only
the Mormons, the apostate Church, and a few others ever departed from this. But
how about secular Israel? This very day they are back again in the secular state
business!
(2) The projected abandonment of idolatry would become in time a characteristic of

51. the ew Israel. Paganism has disappeared wherever Christianity is known. o
Christian religion of any name or creed ever sanctioned idolatry; and even the
consecration of sacred images has vanished from the earth wherever true
Christianity abounds. The lapses of the Medieval Church in this particular do not
deny the general truth.
(3) The mercy to the fatherless as a hallmark of the ew Covenant has been fulfilled
in two ways. ever before in the world's history has so much time, money, and
thoughtful care been expended upon behalf of orphan children as by the saints of
God's holy church. But there is likely something else also inherent here. The pre-
Christian Gentiles were "fatherless" as far as their relation to God was concerned;
but they were adopted "in Christ Jesus." Paul wrote to a Gentile church, saying,
"Ye received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father" (Romans 8:15).
Could there remain any doubt of the pertinence of this chapter to "the kingdom of
heaven in Christ"?
ELLICOTT, "(3) The three crying sins of Israel are here recounted: (1) Expected
salvation from Assyria; (2) dependence on the world-power of Egypt, famed for
war-horses and chariots; (3) ascription of Divine names and homage to wrought
images of the Divine glory. God’s paternal love to the orphan, peculiarly applicable
to Israel now, cast on a cold and fatherless world.
BE SO , "Hosea 14:3. Asshur shall not save us — We will not rely on Assyria for
protection and help. The Israelites frequently sought the alliance of the Assyrians,
and are often reproved by the prophets for so doing. We will not ride upon horses
— We will not implore the help of Egypt, as we did formerly, nor depend on horses
brought thence, or on any of our military preparations. It was chiefly on account of
their cavalry that the Jews and Israelites courted the help of Egypt, having no
cavalry of their own. This is the first part of the people’s repentance. It consists in
their renouncing all dependance on foreign alliances, and on every arm of flesh. The
second is, their renouncing every species of idolatry and image-worship, expressed
in the next clause, either will we say, &c., to the work of our hands, Ye are our
gods — This is often spoken of in the prophets, as an introduction to that state of the
church which is to commence from the time of the conversion of the Jews: see notes
on Hosea 2:17; and Isaiah 1:29. For in thee the fatherless findeth mercy — Thou art
the helper of the weak and friendless; of us, who are unable to help ourselves, and
are exposed to the injuries of others, having none to defend us. Observe, reader,
God never fails to be the helper of all that are destitute of strength in themselves,
and destitute of help from others: and who, being sensible of their helpless
condition, look for it from God, who hath sufficient power, mercy, and wisdom to
help.
TRAPP, "Hosea 14:3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither
will we say any more to the work of our hands, [Ye are] our gods: for in thee the
fatherless findeth mercy.

52. Ver. 3. Asshur shall not save us, &c.] q.d. He cannot if he would; he shall not if he
could. The two great sins of this people were creature confidence and idolatry; both
these they do here renounce and abandon. The best repentance, saith Luther, is a
reformed life. It is true, say they, we have gone to the Assyrian (wherein we have
dealt as the silly bird flying to the snare, or as fishes, which, to avoid the pole
wherewith the water is troubled, swim into the net); we have taken our horses
instead of our prayers, and gone about to find out good; have been so foolish as to
think that dumb idols, that cannot help themselves, should help us. But now we are
otherwise resolved, experientia edocti et poenitentia ducti; we find at length (that
which we should have believed sooner, without trying conclusions) that men of high
degree are but a lie, that horses are but a vanity, that an idol is nothing, and can
give nothing: that power belongeth unto thee, none else can do it; that mercy
belongeth unto thee, none else will do it: therefore since in thee only the fatherless,
that is, the friendless and shiftless, find mercy, O be thou pleased to do us good.
For in thee the fatherless findeth mercy] The poor pupil, the forlorn orphan, that is
left to the wide world, and lost in himself, cries out, Lord, I am hell, but thou art
heaven, &c. I am an abject, oh make me an object of thy pity. Jeremiah 39:17,
"Because they call thee an outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after,
therefore I will restore health unto thee." Miseria res digna misericordia (Ruperti
Imp. symb.). The proud Assyrian, and other enemies, would be apt to insult over
Israel, as afterwards Cicero did; the Jewish nation, saith he, show how God regards
them, that have been so often overcome by Pompey, Crassus, &c. But let God’s
people be but fatherless enough, let them withdraw their confidence from men and
means, and cast it wholly upon God, making him their tutor and protector, and they
shall be both preserved and provided for. Deo confisi nunquam confusi. Have
confidence in God and you will never be disappointed, I will not leave you orphans,
saith Christ, John 14:18. Hence the Church resteth on God, in the fail of other
comforts, Psalms 10:14; Psalms 10:17-18; Psalms 27:10, Habakkuk 3:17, Psalms
102:13. The prayer of the destitute he regards. The Hebrew word signifieth a poor
worthless shrub in the wilderness, trod upon by beasts, unregarded.
BI, "Asshur shall not save us.
Giving up our vain confidences
It is a great point of wisdom to take advantages with the stream of our temper to praise
God. It is one branch of redeeming the time, to observe what state and temper of soul we
are in, and to take advantage from thence. Add some encouragements to incite us to
praise God. We honor God by it. It is a gainful trading with God. It is a most noble act of
religion. We have more cause to praise God than to pray; having many things to praise
Him for, which we never prayed for. Praise being a larger sacrifice than prayer, we ought
to be abundant in it. If we be much in praising God, we shall be much in joy, which
easeth misery. How shall we know that God accepts these sacrifices of praise? Under the
old law God witnessed by fire from heaven. If we find our hearts warmed, cheered, and
encouraged with joy, peace, and comfort in praising God, this is as it were a witness by
fire from heaven, that our sacrifices are accepted. Here is also a promise of new

53. obedience, which hath two branches.
1. A renunciation of the ill courses they took before. “Asshur shall not save us.” The
people of God, in any distress, had recourse for help to the Assyrians or the
Egyptians, as if God had not been sufficient to be their rock and shield.
Learn—
1. That man naturally is prone to put confidence in the creature.
2. That the creature is insufficient and unable to yield us this prop to uphold our
confidence.
3. That God’s people when they are endowed with light supernatural, to discern and
be convinced hereof, are of that mind to say, “Asshur shall not save us.” As a
preparative for the treatment of these points, notice that reformation of life must be
joined with prayer and praise; and that true repentance is of the particular sin which
we are most addicted to and most guilty of. The particular sin of this people was their
confidence in Assyria, horses, and idols. Naturally we are apt and prone to
confidence in outward helps and present things. Because having lost communion
with God, somewhat we must have to stay the soul. Because Satan joins with our
sense and fancy, by which we are naturally prone to live, esteeming of things not by
faith and by deeper grounds, but by fancy. These outward things cannot help us, and
so are not to be relied on. “Asshur shall not save us.” He is but a creature. He is an
enemy. He is an idolater. “A horse is a vain thing for safety.” When God alters and
changes and moulds anew the heart of a man to repentance, He altereth his
confidence in the creature. “In Thee the fatherless findeth mercy.” When a man hath
once repented, there is a closing between God and him, and he seeth an all-
sufficiency in God to satisfy all his desires. Therefore he will use all other things as
helps, and as far as it may stand with His favour. How shall we know whether we
exceed in confidence in the creature, or not? We may know it by adventuring on ill
courses and causes. When there is such confidence in the creature, as for us to
outdare God, then there is too much trust in the creature; and that trust will end in
confusion. By security and resting the soul in meaner things; never seeking to Divine
and religious helps, when we are supplied with those that are outward. Let us take
heed of carnal confidence. All is but vanity. Things do not yield that which we expect
they should yield. There is a falsehood in the things; they promise this and that in
shows, but when we possess them they yield it not; as they have no strength in deed,
so they deceive. Then there is mutability in them. And they are snares and baits to
us, to draw us away from God, by reason of the vanity of our nature. Let this be the
end of all, touching this carnal confidence, to beware that we do not fasten our
affections too much upon any earthly thing, at home or abroad, within or without
ourselves: for “God will destroy the wisdom of the wise.” Let us use all outward
helps, yet so as to rely upon God for His blessing in the use of all. (R. Sibbes, D. D.)
Penitence
We have here the true portrait of real penitents.
1. Here is a renunciation of all help and succour in all creatures, and all dependence
for salvation on anything inherent. It is good to observe here that we have all the
initials of true Gospel sorrow and godly grief for sin, with all contained in that
repentance which is unto, and belongs unto, everlasting life. Turning to the Lord;

54. acknowledging our case; deploring our sinfulness; praying for the Lord’s gracious
acceptation of us, a declaration of our future acknowledgment of these gratuitous
acts of the Lord towards us; and then a full renunciation of ourselves, with the sole
ascription to the free grace of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; this involves and includes
all contained in godly sorrow for sin. It was one of the national sins of Israel to trust
in the Assyrians for help and succour, when in trouble and distress they looked to
them. So “Asshur shall not save us,” means, we will no longer seek relief in human
means. It is a very important effect of our truly turning to the Lord to renounce
ourselves wholly and altogether.
2. A declaration of having no more to do with any works of their hands. The terms
used are very expressive of the rejection of idols and idolatrous worship.
3. The reason which is assigned for this. “In Thee the fatherless findeth mercy.”
Mercy is in the Lord. It is inherent in Him. It is a perfection of His glorious nature.
In the display and manifestation of it He takes delight. (Samuel Eyles Pierce.)
For in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
God merciful to the fatherless
And it is well that they do find mercy there, for very often they find little mercy among
men. The text contains a statement of facts with reference to former dispensations, and a
promise of blessing in the future.
I. THE VALUABLE BLESSING HERE BESTOWED—MERCY. Not riches, not honour.
Mercy is the Divine perfection, by which God is inclined to pity and succour such as are
in distress. It relates only to the miserable; there can be no manifestation of mercy
without misery. But though misery was in the world and mercy was the character of God,
there existed a strong impediment to the exercise of that mercy. That impediment was
justice. That justice has been satisfied. God can be a God of mercy through the merits of
His own Son. Why should this blessing of mercy be singled out as given to orphans?
1. It is a comprehensive blessing. It pardons all sin. It prevents evil. It supports in
danger. It supplies all wants. It guides in doubt. It heals all diseases. It sustains in
death. It comforts in sorrow. It delivers in difficulty. It saves the soul. You cannot
think of mercy without thinking of a train of mercies following it.
2. It sweetens all other blessings. Health, property, social comfort, the fireside, are
mercies, but to have all these sweetened by the mercy of God, flowing from Him
through Christ,—that gives sweetness to all other mercies. Mercy sweetens even the
Divine attributes. Mercy sweetens every affliction. Mercy paints a rainbow on the
darkest clouds of affliction and distress. There is mercy put into every cup, and this
makes it ever delightful to the sinking spirits. Mercy prepares individuals for
contentment in every situation.
3. It is a fruitful blessing. What clusters of fruit gather on the tree of mercy! The
first-fruit will be an humbled spirit. It will break down the pride of the heart. So sure
as mercy is manifested to the soul, the soul will love in return. It creates a spirit of
thank fulness.
4. It is an enduring mercy. One psalm is entirely devoted to this blessing (Psa_136:1-
26.). What a comfort it is that amid all the changing things of time there is one thing
that “endureth.”

55. II. The encouragement presented in the character of God.
1. It is part of God’s character to be merciful.
2. What assurances there are that we shall find mercy if we seek it.
3. See that orphans especially are required, and even entreated, to have this mercy.
Seeing what a choice blessing this mercy must be, both to spiritual orphans and to those
who are literally so, let us all seek to possess it. But remember that nothing provokes the
Divine anger so much as abusing His mercy, or slighting His love. (James Sherman.)
The Church as fatherless
1. It is the Church’s lot to be very desolate and orphan-like in the world.
2. God’s compassion and the sweet manifestation thereof are especially reserved for
His people’s low condition and their greatest need.
3. The confidence of God’s respect to His humble people, would be cherished by the
needy and penitent, to encourage them to come to Him and call upon Him.
4. Such as do apprehend and believe the mercy of God toward His needy people will
renounce all carnal and sinful confidences. (George Hutcheson.)
The fatherless finding mercy in God
I. The distressed case here supposed. The word “fatherless” is sometimes used in its
natural sense; and sometimes in a figurative sense, for afflicted and destitute persons in
general. Our text supposeth that the case of orphans is truly pitiable, and that, above all
others, they stand in need of assistance and mercy from God.
II. God’s kind regard to the fatherless.
1. God has commanded others not to injure, but to assist them. He made provision
in the law of Moses that they should not be wronged.
2. He hath expressly declared Himself their friend and guardian. He is their reliever,
helper, judge, redeemer, and father.
3. He hath in the course of His providence often shown mercy to them. In cases of
families deprived of their heads, we have known how remarkably providence has
taken care of them and raised them up friends.
Application.
1. How amiable a view doth this give us of the blessed God, and of His wonderful
condescension.
2. Let us imitate God in showing mercy to the fatherless.
3. Let parents take encouragement to commit their children to the care of God.
4. Let the fatherless and orphans seek mercy from God, and humbly commit
themselves to Him. (J. Orten.)

56. NISBET, "THE ORPHAN’S GOD
‘The fatherless findeth mercy.’
Hosea 14:3
This description of the pity and benignity of God is literally true. And the literal truth is
suggestive of a wider sense in which the words may be employed, and a glorious
principle of the Divine government precious to God’s people in every age. Israel might
well renounce all other confidence in order to trust in Jehovah, in whom the very
fatherless among the children of men find mercy.
I. The fact here asserted concerning the compassion of God revealed to orphans.—(1)
The privations of the fatherless are many; they are without the guardianship, the bounty,
the guidance, the affection of him who is most suited to watch over their childhood and
youth. (2) The dangers of the fatherless are many; they are exposed to the designs of the
crafty, and to the ill-treatment of the cruel. (3) God in many ways shows mercy to
orphans. He raises up friends to care for them and to protect them. He opens up before
them careers of usefulness and honour. He interposes often in a signal manner upon
their behalf.
II. The larger fact concerning the spiritual history of mankind which these words
suggest.—(1) By disobedience and rebellion sinful men have thrown off the Divine
Father’s authority, have forfeited all claims to His regard, and have done their best to
render themselves ‘fatherless’ in God’s universe. (2) The spiritual destitution and danger
thus incurred have aroused the compassion of God’s heart, and have prompted His
paternal interposition. Thus the gift of Christ, the outpouring of the Spirit, the means of
grace appointed in the Church, are all instances of the Father’s mercy, and prove His
infinite pity and His adopting love. O, for the spirit of sons, that we may cry, Abba,
Father!
PULPIT, "Asshur shall not save us: we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any
more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
This was the practical side of Israel's repentance; this was bringing forth fruits meet for
repentance. Here was a renunciation of all hope of safety from the world-powers—both
Assyria and Egypt. They would never again have recourse to Assyria for help, nor to
Egypt for horses; nor confide in their own unaided power or prowess; while this
renunciation of worldly power and carnal confidences implied, as its opposite,
unfaltering faith in the protecting power and saving strength of Jehovah. All thin was
much, and yet more was required; next to such renunciation of merely human aid, as
indicated, and its contrary, the recognition of Divine assistance, comes the absolute and
complete abandonment of their national and besetting sin of idolatry. They have so far
come to themselves and received the right use of reason as to confess that the
manufacture of man's hands cannot be man's god, thus giving up with feelings of
contempt and disgust the groveling sin of idolatry with its attendant vices. Still more,
they are penetrated with the conviction that man without God is a poor fatherless
creature, in no better, if not in a worse, condition than that of a weak orphan child. They
have the consolation at the same time that for all such, on their return to him, the father
of the fatherless and the God of the orphan has bowels of tenderest compassion. To the
presumed prayer of the penitent an answer overflowing with mercy is promised at once,

57. and by God himself in the next section, consisting of—
4 “I will heal their waywardness
and love them freely,
for my anger has turned away from them.
BAR ES, "I will heal their backsliding - God, in answer, promises to “heal” that
wound of their souls, from where every other evil came, their fickleness and
unsteadfastness. Hitherto, this had been the characteristic of Israel. “Within a while they
forgat His works, and would not abide His counsels” Psa_106:13. “They forgat what He
had done. Their heart was not whole with Him; neither continued they steadfast in His
covenant. They turned back and tempted God. They kept not His testimonies, but turned
back and fell way like their forefathers, starting aside like a broken bow” Psa_78:12,
Psa_78:37, Psa_78:42, Psa_78:57-58. Steadfastness to the end is the special gift of the
Gospel. “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. The gates of hell shall
not prevail against it” Mat_28:20; Mat_16:18. And to individuals, “Jesus, having loved
His own, loved them unto the end” Joh_13:1. In healing that disease of unsteadfastness,
God healed all besides. This He did to all, wheresoever or howsoever dispersed, who
received the Gospel; this He doth still; and this He will do completely in the end, when
“all Israel shall be saved.”
I will love them freely - that is, as the word means, “impelled” thereto by Himself
alone, and so, (as used of God) moved by His own Essential Bountifulness, the
exceedling greatness of His Goodness, largely, bountifully. God “loves” us “freely” in
loving us against our deserts, because He “is love;” He “loves” us “freely” in that He
freely became Man, and, having become Man freely shed His Blood for the remission of
our sins, freely forgave our sins; He “loves” us “freely,” in “giving us grace, according to
the good pleasure of His will” Eph_1:5, to become pleasing to Him, and causing all good
in us; He “loves” us “freely,” in rewarding infinitely the good which we have from “Him.”
: “More manifestly here speaketh the Person of the Saviour Himself, promising His own
Coming to the salvation of penitents, with sweetly sounding promise, with sweetness full
of grace.”
For Mine anger is turned away from him - As He says, “In My wrath I smote
thee; but in My favor have I had mercy on thee” Isa_60:10. He doth not withhold only,
or suspend His anger, but He taketh it away wholly. So the Psalmist saith, “Thou hast
forgiven the iniquity of Thy people; Thou hast covered all their sin; Thou hast taken

58. away all Thy wrath; Thou hast turned from the fierceness of Thine anger” Psa_85:2-3.
CLARKE, "I will heal their backsliding - Here is the answer of God to these
prayers and resolutions. See its parts: -
1. Ye have backslidden and fallen, and are grievously and mortally wounded by that
fall; but I, who am the Author of life, and who redeem from death, will heal all
these wounds and spiritual diseases.
2. I will love them freely - ‫נדבה‬ nedabah, after a liberal, princely manner. I will love
them so as to do them incessant good. It shall not be a love of affection merely, but
shall be a beneficial love. A love that not only feels delight in itself, but fills them
with delight who are its objects, by making them unutterably and supremely
happy.
3. For mine anger is turned away from him - Because he has turned back to me. Thus
God and man become friends.
GILL, "I will heal their backslidings,.... This and what follows is the Lord's answer
to the above prayer; and this clause particularly is an answer to that petition, "take away
all iniquity", Hos_14:2; sins are diseases, natural and hereditary, nauseous and
loathsome, mortal, and incurable but by the grace of God, and blood of Christ;
backslidings are relapses, which are dangerous things; Christ is the only Physician, who
heals all the diseases of sin, and these relapses also; he will do it, he has promised it, and
never turns away any that apply to him for it; and which he does by a fresh application of
his blood, whereby he takes away sin, heals the conscience wounded with it, and restores
peace and comfort; which is a great encouragement to take words, and return unto him;
see Hos_6:1;
I will love them freely; this is in answer to that petition, "receive us, graciously"; or
"receive good", or rather "give good", Hos_14:2; not that the love of God or Christ begins
when sinners repent and turn to him, or he applies his pardoning grace, since his love is
from everlasting; but that in so doing he manifests his love, and will continue in it, nor
shall anything separate from it: and this love, as it is freely set upon the objects of it,
without any merits of theirs, or any motives in them, but flows from the free sovereign
will and pleasure of God in Christ; so it is as freely manifested, and continues upon the
same bottom, and is displayed in a most liberal and profuse donation of blessings of
grace to them: this love is free in its original, and is liberal and bountiful in the effects of
it; and makes the objects of it a free, willing, and bountiful people too:
for mine anger is turned away from him: from Israel, which, under former
dispensations of Providence, seemed to be towards him, at least when under his frowns,
resentment, and displeasure, as is the case of that people at this day; but when they shall
return to the Lord, and he shall manifest and apply his pardoning grace to them, his
anger will appear no more, and they shall be in a very happy and comfortable condition,
as Israel or the church declares, Isa_12:1; which refers to the same times as these words
do; see Rom_11:26; and compare Psa_85:2; where a manifestation of pardoning grace is

59. called the Lord's turning himself from the fierceness of his anger; and especially this
suits with Gospel times, satisfaction being made for sin by the sacrifice of Christ.
HE RY, "We have here an answer of peace to the prayers of returning Israel. They
seek God's face, and they shall not seek in vain. God will be sure to meet those in a way
of mercy who return to him in a way of duty. If we speak to God in good prayers, God
will speak to us in good promises, as he answered the angel with good words and
comfortable words, Zec_1:13. If we take with us the foregoing words in our coming to
God, we may take home with us these following words for our faith to feast upon; and
see how these answer those.
I. Do they dread and deprecate God's displeasure, and therefore return to him? He
assures them that, upon their submission, his anger is turned away from them. This is
laid as the ground of all the other favours here promised. I will do so and so, for my
anger is turned away, and thereby a door is opened for all good to flow to them, Isa_
12:1. Note, Though God is justly and greatly angry with sinners, yet he is not implacable
in his anger; it may be turned away; it shall be turned away, from those that turn away
from their iniquity. God will be reconciled to those that are reconciled to him and to his
whole will.
II. Do they pray for the taking away of iniquity? He assures them that he will heal
their backslidings; so he promised, Jer_3:22. Note, Though backslidings from God are
the dangerous diseases and wounds of the soul, yet they are not incurable, for God has
graciously promised that if backsliding sinners will apply to him as their physician, and
comply with his methods, he will heal their backslidings. He will heal the guilt of their
backslidings by pardoning mercy and their bent to backslide by renewing grace. Their
iniquity shall not be their ruin.
III. Do they pray that God will receive them graciously? In answer to that, behold, it is
promised, I will love them freely. God had hated them while they went on sin (Hos_
9:15); but now that they return and repent he loves them, not only ceases to be angry
with them, but takes complacency in them and designs their good. He loves them freely,
with an absolute entire love (so some), so that there are no remains of his former
displeasure, with a liberal bountiful love (so others); he will be open-handed in his love
to them, and will think nothing too much to bestow upon them or to do for them. Or
with a cheerful willing love; he will love them without reluctancy or renitency. He will
not say in the day of thy repentance, How shall I receive thee again? as he said in the
day of thy apostasy, How shall I give thee up? Or with an unmerited preventing love.
Whom God loves he loves freely, not because they deserve it, but of his own good
pleasure. He loves because he will love, Deut, Hos_7:7, Hos_7:8.
JAMISO , "God’s gracious reply to their self-condemning prayer.
backsliding — apostasy: not merely occasional backslidings. God can heal the most
desperate sinfulness [Calvin].
freely — with a gratuitous, unmerited, and abundant love (Eze_16:60-63). So as to
the spiritual Israel (Joh_15:16; Rom_3:24; Rom_5:8; 1Jo_4:10).
CALVI , "Verse 4
God here confirms what we have observed respecting his gratuitous reconciliation,
nor is the repetition useless; for as men are disposed to entertain vain and false

60. hopes, so nothing is more difficult than to preserve them in dependence on the one
God, and to pacify their minds, so that they disturb not nor fret themselves, as
experience teaches us all. For when we embrace the promises of free pardon, our
flesh ever leads us to distrust, and we become harassed by various fancies. “What!
can you or dare you promise with certainty to yourself that God will be propitious
to you, when you know that for many reasons he is justly angry with you?” Since,
then, we are so inclined to harbour distrust, the Prophet again confirms the truth
which we have before noticed, which is, that God is ready to be reconciled, and that
he desires nothing more than to receive and embrace his people.
Hence he says, I will heal their defections The way of healing is by a gratuitous
pardon. For though God, by regenerating us by his Spirit, heals our rebellion, that
is, subdues us unto obedience, and removes from us our corruptions, which
stimulate us to sin; yet in this place the Prophet no doubt declares in the person of
God, that the Israelites would be saved from their defections, so that they might not
come against them in judgement, nor be imputed to them. Let us know then that
God is in two respects a physician while he is healing our sins: he cleanses us by his
Spirit, and he abolishes and buries all our offences. But it is of the second kind of
healing that the Prophet now speaks, when he says, I will heal their turnings away:
and he employs a strong term, for he might have said, “your faults or errors” but he
says, “your defections from God;” as though he said, “Though they have so
grievously sinned, that by their crimes they have deserved hundred deaths, yet I will
heal them from these their atrocious sins, and I will love them freely.”
The word ‫,נדבה‬ nudebe, may be explained either freely or bountifully. I will then
love them bountifully, that is, with an abounding and not a common love; or I will
love them freely, that is gratuitously. But they who render the words “I will love
them of mine own accord,” that is, not by constraint, pervert the sense of the
Prophet; for how frigid is the expression, that God is not forced to love us; and what
meaning can hence be elicited? But the Lord is said to love us freely, because he
finds in us no cause of love, for we are unworthy of being regarded or viewed with
any favour; but he shows himself liberal and beneficent in this very act of
manifesting his love to the unworthy.
We then perceive that the real meaning of the Prophet is this, that though the
Israelites had in various ways provoked the wrath of God, and as it were designedly
wished to perish, and to have him to be angry with them; yet the Lord promises to
be propitious to them. In what way? Even in this, for he will give proof of his
bounty, when he will thus gratuitously embrace them. We now see how God
becomes a Father to us, and regards us as his children, even when he abolishes our
sins, and also when he freely admits us to the enjoyment of his love. And this truth
ought to be carefully observed; for the world ever imagines that they come to God,
and bring something by which they can turn or incline him to love them. othing
can be more inimical to our salvation than this vain fancy.
Let us then learn from this passage, that God cannot be otherwise a Father to us
than by becoming our physician and by healing our transgressions. But the order

61. also is remarkable, for God puts love after healing. Why? Because, as he is just, it
must be that he regards us with hatred as long as he imputes sins. It is then the
beginning of love, when he cleanses us from our vices, and wipes away our spots.
When therefore it is asked, how God loves men, the answer is, that he begins to love
them by a gratuitous pardon; for while God imputes sins, it must be that men are
hated by him. He then commences to love us, when he heals our diseases.
It is not without reason that he adds, that the fury of God is turned away from
Israel. For the Prophet intended to add this as a seal to confirm what he taught; for
men ever dispute with themselves when they hear that God is propitious to them.
“How is this, that he heals thine infirmities? for hitherto thou hast found him to be
angry with thee, and how art thou now persuaded that his wrath is pacified?”
Hence the Prophet seals his testimony respecting God’s love, when he says, that his
wrath has now ceased. Turned away then is my fury “Though hitherto I have by
many proofs, manifested to thee my wrath, yet I now come to thee as one changed.
Judge me not then by past time, for I am now pacified to thee, and my fury is from
thee turned away It follows —
COFFMA ,""I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is
turned away from him."
The reference here is to the rich mine of spiritual benefit for the devoted Christian
who has access to the Father "in Christ," who through repentance and prayer may
be forgiven of every sin, who if he walks in the light "as he is in the light," is
continually cleansed by the blood of Christ, who has an advocate with the Father,
who enjoys the earnest of the Holy Spirit within himself, and for whom the Spirit
maketh intercession with groanings that cannot be uttered, and who also adores a
Saviour who is at the right hand of God interceding for the redeemed, and who is
able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God through him!
COKE, "Hosea 14:4. Freely— Are good works then nothing, you will say? "Is there
no place at all for them in the doctrine of repentance? I answer, that hitherto the
discourse hath been about remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. These
are entirely gratuitous, and not of our merit, but simply of the inexhaustible
goodness and compassion of God. Therefore, when we speak of the remission of sins,
it is right to be silent about our own works; which, because they are done without
the Holy Spirit, although with regard to civil society they may not be bad, yet cannot
be called good, and ought not; because of the unclean heart, from which they
proceed. But when through faith we have received remission of sins, and, together
with that, the gift of the Holy Ghost; forthwith from the heart, as from a pure
fountain, come forth works also good, and well-pleasing to God," &c. See Luther's
Commentary upon this chapter.
BE SO , "Hosea 14:4. I will heal their backsliding — I will deliver them from a
backsliding heart and way, and remove those judgments they have brought upon
themselves thereby. The Lord says, I will heal, &c., a usual metaphor in Scripture,
because sin is our disease, and God is the physician who healeth us, Psalms 103:3;

62. Jeremiah 3:22; and he doth it through Christ, in whom this promise is made to
returning backsliders. God makes this promise to the Israelites by his prophet, to
encourage them to hearken to his advice, given in the preceding verses. I will love
them freely — That is, of my own mere grace, and favour, and liberality. Bishop
Horsley renders this verse, I will restore their conversion; (that is, as he understands
it, their converted race, taking conversion as a collective noun for converts; like
captivity for the captives; and dispersion for the dispersed;) I will love them
gratuitously; for mine anger is departed from me. In these words, God promises, he
says, to restore the converted nation [of the Israelites] to his favour, and a situation
of prosperity and splendour. On the word gratuitously he quotes the following
passage from Luther’s commentary on this chapter: “Are good works then nothing?
you will say. Is there no place at all for them in the doctrine of repentance? I
answer, that hitherto the discourse hath been about remission of sins, and the gift of
the Holy Ghost. These are entirely gratuitous, and not of our merit, but simply of
the inexhaustible goodness and compassion of God. Therefore, when we speak of the
remission of sins, it is right to be silent about our own works; which, because they
are done without the Holy Spirit, although with regard to civil society they may not
be bad, yet cannot be called good, and ought not, because of the unclean heart from
which they proceed. But when through faith we have received remission of sins, and,
together with that, the gift of the Holy Ghost, forthwith from the heart, as from a
pure fountain, come forth works also good, and well-pleasing to God. For although,
by reason of the remains of original sin, the obedience even of the saints is not
perfectly pure, yet, on account of faith in Christ, it is pleasing and acceptable to
God.”
TRAPP, "Hosea 14:4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine
anger is turned away from him.
Ver. 4. I will heal their backslidings] Relapses, we know, are dangerous, and
apostasy little less than incurable, 2 Peter 2:20-21, Hebrews 6:6. Bishop Latimer, in
a sermon before King Edward VI, tells of one notorious backslider that repented;
but beware of this sin, saith he, for I have known no more but one that did so. To
fall forward is nothing so dangerous as to fall backward, with old Eli. Hence Paul so
thundereth against the Galatians, and Peter against apostatizing libertines, 2 Peter
2:22; but if Jehovah the physician (as he is called, Exodus 15:26) undertake the
cure, and say, I will heal their backslidings, what can hinder? Christ, in the Gospel,
cured the most desperate diseases; such as all the physicians in the country might
have cast their caps at, Matthew 4:23-24; Matthew 8:16. Omnipotenti medico nullus
insanabilis occurrit morbus (Isidor.). He refused none that came to him, Matthew
12:15, no, not his enemies, as Malchus. Will he then reject his Ephraim, a child,
bemoaning himself, though not a pleasant child, a towardly son, Jeremiah 31:18;
Jeremiah 31:20, a backslider indeed, but such a one, as crieth now, that God
bindeth him, Job 36:13. o sooner doth God cry, "Return, ye backsliding children,
and I will heal your backslidings, I will love you freely"; but Ephraim, melted with
such a love, replieth, "Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God,"
Jeremiah 3:22. O most happy compliance! See the like Zechariah 13:9. {See Trapp
on "Zechariah 13:9"} "They shall return even to the Lord" (from whom they had

63. deeply revolted), "and he shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them," Isaiah
19:22. They had begged of him to take away all iniquity, Hosea 14:2; and he here (in
answer) promiseth to heal their backslidings, that compound of all iniquities, that
falling sickness, that often hales hell at the heels of it, Hebrews 10:38.
I will love them freely] Ephraim might remember, and Satan would be sure to
suggest, that the prophet had said before, "Ephraim is smitten or wounded, My God
will cast them away, or hate them, Mine anger is kindled against them," Hosea 8:5;
Hosea 9:16-17. Here, therefore, upon their repentance, all this is graciously taken off
in one breath, and Satan silenced. Be it that they are backslidden and sore wounded
by their fall; I will heal their backslidings, and make their broken bones to rejoice.
Be it that there is nothing at all in them that is laudable, or loveworthy, yet I will
love them freely, ex mero motu, of mine own free, absolute, and independent grace
and favour, out of pure and unexcited love, without any the least respect to their
merit, which in nothing better than hell. Be it that they have bitterly provoked me to
anger, and (as angry people use to do) I have both threatened them and punished
them; yet now mine anger is turned away from them; I am fully reconciled unto
them in Christ, will clear up my countenance toward them, and remove mine heavy
judgments from them. God’s favour is no empty favour. It is like the winter sun,
that casts a goodly countenance when it shineth, but gives little heat or comfort. If
he love a man freely, and out of the good pleasure of his will, εν δυδοκια, cum
spontaneitate (as he doth all his, Ephesians 2:8, making them accepted in the
beloved, Ephesians 1:6), such a man may promise himself all the blessings of this
and a better life. Excellent is that of Bernard; He that sent his Son for thee, poured
his Spirit into thee, promised to clear up his countenance upon thee, what can he
deny thee? Qui misit unigenitum, immisit spiritum, promisit vultum, quid tandem
tibi negaturus est? He that inviteth thee to feed upon the fatted calf, will not only
take away all iniquity, but give good. That was the second petition they preferred,
and they have it answered in the next verse, ad cardinem desiderii; God not only
grants their prayer, but fulfils their counsel, Psalms 20:4.
SIMEO , "THE BLESSI GS THAT PE ITE TS MAY EXPECT
Hosea 14:4. I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely: for mine anger is
turned away from him.
ME who have never seen the evil of sin are ready to imagine that God will not
punish: under the idea of advancing the attribute of mercy, they deprive the Deity of
all justice, holiness, and truth. On the other hand, when they are awakened to a due
sight and sense of sin, they suppose that God can never forgive such vile and guilty
creatures as themselves: they are now as prone to limit his mercy, as before they
were to extend it beyond all bounds of truth and soberness. or is this disposition
found only in one or two instances: hard thoughts of God, and desponding thoughts
of their own state, are very common amongst those who begin to repent; and
therefore God is particularly solicitous to impress us with a confidence in his mercy.
When he proclaimed his name to Moses, there were a great many expressions

64. declarative of his mercy, while there was only one that described his justice. So we
shall find, that there is scarcely one threatening in all the book of God, which is not
followed by some free and gracious promise. In the passage before us, he has been
exhorting the ten tribes to return unto him: he has put words into their mouths, and
taught them how to approach him acceptably: and for their further encouragement,
he promises to vouchsafe them the richest of all mercies; “I will heal their
backsliding; I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.”
From these words we shall take occasion to shew,
I. What blessings penitents may expect—
[We cannot easily conceive any description of sinners to be worse than those to
whom the prophet was writing: this whole prophecy is filled with the most grievous
accusations against them: yet God encourages them to repent; and, on the first
appearance of penitence and contrition, he sends them this heart-reviving message,
“I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely.”
The first blessing then that every penitent may expect is, that God will heal his
backslidings. Sin of every kind, but more especially backsliding, makes a grievous
wound in the soul. What pain and anguish did Peter feel, when he went out and
wept bitterly! How deeply was David stricken, when he “roared for the disquietness
of his heart!” He compares his misery to that occasioned by broken bones; and
prays, that God would “make the bones which He had broken to rejoice.” Yet
grievous as these wounds are, God will heal them, if we be truly penitent. There are
two ways in which he will heal sin: its guilt he will heal, by the blood of his Son; its
power and pollution, by the influences of his Spirit.
He will heal its guilt, by the blood of his Son: there is no other balm than this: this
alone can avail for the remission of sin: nothing but that which satisfied God will
ever satisfy us: nothing but that blood which made an atonement for sin, can ever
wash away its stain from our guilty consciences. That however will cleanse from all
sin: God once opened on the cross a fountain for sin and uncleanness; nor has it lost
any of its cleansing efficacy: the deepest wound may be healed in a moment, if it be
only sprinkled with this precious blood: nor will God ever fail to impart this balm to
any soul that makes application for it: “though their sins may have been as scarlet,
they shall be made white as wool; and though they may have been red as crimson,
they shall become white as snow.”
But God will destroy the power, as well as cleanse the guilt of our backsliding: and
this he will do by the influences of his Spirit. It would be to little purpose that he
forgave the guilt, if he did not also subdue the power, of our corruptions: for,
however frequently they might be forgiven, they would still rage with unabated
fury; the wounds healed for an instant would still be breaking out afresh; nor would
our souls attain to any abiding purity or peace. God therefore will cast salt into the
bitter fountain of our hearts: he will “put his Spirit within us, and cause us to walk
in his statutes:” he will give us “grace sufficient for us:” he will strengthen us to

65. resist temptation, and to fulfil our duties: and though we cannot expect to arrive at
sinless perfection whilst we are in this world, yet shall we be so far healed, that “no
sin whatever shall have allowed dominion over us.”
This then is the first blessing which every penitent may expect; the guilt and power
of his sins, yea, even of his most grievous backsliding, shall be healed; and, whereas
there was “no soundness in him, but (as the prophet says) wounds, and bruises, and
putrefying sores,” “his health shall spring forth speedily,” “the lame man shall leap
as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.”
But is this all that the penitent may expect? o; God has in store for him a higher
and richer blessing: it is great indeed to have one’s backslidings healed; but it is
greater still to enjoy the light of God’s countenance, and to have his love shed
abroad in one’s heart: yet this also shall be vouchsafed to every repenting sinner:
God says in my text, “I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely.” God will
feel a joy and a delight over the returning Prodigal; “To this man,” says he, “will I
look, that is of an humble and contrite spirit:” I will fix my eyes upon him for good;
I will look upon him with complacency; though burning seraphs surround my
throne, and myriads of angels brighter than the sun encompass me around, I will
look through all their shining ranks, nor shall all of them together divert my
attention from the contrite sinner: “To this man will I look:” from whomsoever I
hide my eyes, I will be sure to look on him with pleasure and complacency: “I will
rejoice over him with joy; I will rest in my love; I will joy over him with singing.”
What an unspeakable blessing is this! To have God himself delighting in us, and
shedding abroad his love in our hearts, this is inestimable indeed! He adds
moreover, “I will love them freely;” i.e. without any desert in them, without any
reluctance in himself. Were he to wait till they had something in themselves worthy
to attract his notice, they could have no hope: to all eternity they must remain poor,
helpless, miserable, undone creatures: they could never of themselves entertain so
much as one good thought; much less could they do any thing to merit God’s
esteem: God therefore will not wait for any thing in them to attract his regard: if
only they be sorry for their sins, and bewail them before him in secret, he will love
them freely; not for their sakes, but for his own; not because they are good, but
because he will shew forth the freeness of his grace. And, as he will love them
without any desert in them, so will he love them without any reluctance in himself:
he delights in the exercise of mercy: it is the very joy of his heart to manifest his
mercy to all that call upon him in truth. When our iniquities compel him to give us
up, then he is all backwardness and reluctance; “How shall I give thee up? my
bowels are troubled for thee.” But when we desire to return to him, he never
deliberates; he never says, “How shall I receive such a sinner as thou art?” We may
see in the parable of the Prodigal Son what is his conduct towards every repenting
sinner: instead of hesitating whether he should receive the Prodigal, he ran to meet
him; instead of upbraiding him, he interrupts him in his confession, and seals up his
lips with kisses; instead of granting his request and making him the lowest of his
servants, he treats him as his best-beloved son, clothes him in the richest garments,
and kills the fatted calf for him. Thus does God towards every penitent; and were
every soul as much disposed to receive mercy as God is to shew mercy, there would

66. never so much as one perish, even to the end of the world.
These blessings then may every penitent expect: God has here, as also in many other
passages, expressly bound himself by his own voluntary promise; so that every
penitent may expect these blessings upon the ground of God’s truth and
faithfulness.]
But there is another ground mentioned in our text: we proceed therefore to notice,
II. On what ground they may expect them—
[This part of our subject will require peculiar care and attention, lest we be
misunderstood.
Observe the manner in which the last words of our text are introduced: God says, “I
will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away
from him:” he is here endeavouring to encourage penitents; and therefore he tells
them that he will do great things for them, because his anger is already turned away
from them. After much and careful examination of the words, we are persuaded
that this is the true sense and meaning of them; and that they are intended to convey
one of the most encouraging truths that can be found in all the book of God, namely,
that our repentance is a proof of God’s anger being turned away from us, and that
the removal of his anger from us is a pledge of greater blessings; or, in other words,
that our having the grace of repentance is a ground whereon we may expect the
richest blessings.
But we will explain ourselves more fully.
Repentance has not in itself any thing meritorious; nor can the mere work of
repentance ever afford a ground of hope towards God: to suppose that our
repentance can merit any thing at God’s hands, or bear any part in our justification
before God, would be to subvert the whole Gospel, and to render Christ’s death of
none effect. Satan cannot take any more effectual method to bring souls to
perdition, than to make them trust in their own repentance. Let us not then be
understood as though we would lead any man to trust in his repentance; for we say
again, that it is impossible to take a surer road to destruction, than he does, who
trusts in any repentance or righteousness of his own. But, in another sense,
repentance may encourage us to hope; for repentance is a sign and evidence of
grace; and grace given, warrants us to expect more grace: and therefore we say,
repentance is in some sense a ground of hope: and this, we doubt not, is the meaning
of the prophet, in our text. The latter part of our text is a reason for the former part
of it: God says in the former part, “I will do so and so;” and then, in the latter, he
tells them why they may expect him to do so and so, namely, “because mine anger is
turned away from them:” he does not say, “shall be turned away,” but is already
turned away. Their being penitent was a proof that they had grace; their having
grace was a proof that God’s anger was turned away from them; and the removal of
his anger from them was a ground whereon they might expect further blessings

67. from him. To make this matter more clear, let us substantiate two things: First,
Repentance is an evidence of grace: no one can doubt that, unless he supposes, that
he can repent without the grace of God: but a man must be ignorant indeed to
frame any such conception as that: if we believe any thing of the Scriptures, or
know any thing of our own hearts, we must know, that “Christ is ascended up on
high, to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and remission of sins;” and
that we must acknowledge our repentance, as well as “every other good and perfect
gift, to be from above, even from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness
nor shadow of turning.” It being therefore past a doubt that repentance is an
evidence of grace, let us prove next, that Grace given, warrants us to expect more
grace. The Scriptures plainly assert this; for, on what ground was Paul so confident
that God would carry on the good work in the hearts of his Philippian converts, and
perform it until the day of Christ? On this ground, namely, “that he had begun a
good work in them:” so that, to say the least, grace bestowed is a ground of
encouragement whereon we may hope to obtain more grace.
The clear indisputable conclusion from hence is, that if any man has grace to repent,
he may take encouragement from it to hope that God will give him more grace: if he
has so good an evidence that God’s anger is already turned away from him, he has
good reason to hope, that God will do more for him, that he will heal his
backslidings, and love him freely.
By way of confirming this blessed truth, we will refer you to those memorable words
of David [ ote: Psalms 56:13.]; where you will see, that he draws the very same
conclusion from the very same premises; and that too in such a way as evidently
supposes his argument to be incontrovertible: “Thou hast delivered my soul from
death: wilt thou not deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before the Lord in
the land of the living?”]
Let us now conclude, with an inference or two from what has been said:
1. What astonishing consolation is here for all that desire to turn unto God!
[A person may, from a discovery of his sins, be led to say, “There is no hope:” more
especially those who have once “tasted the good word of God and the powers of the
world to come,” if they have lost their good impressions, and turned back to the
world, are tempted to despair: Satan would suggest to them, that, because they have
sinned against light and knowledge, they have committed the sin against the Holy
Ghost. But observe what care God takes to dispel our fears, and to encourage our
return: he does not merely say, “I will heal their sins, but I will heal their
backsliding;” thereby obviating at once all their objections. He knows how Satan
will take advantage of them: that he will suggest desponding thoughts, and make
them believe their sins are too great to be forgiven; and therefore God specifies the
greatest of all sins, “I will heal their backsliding” their sins committed against all
their own vows and resolutions, their sins committed after the greatest mercies had
been vouchsafed to them; yes, even those, says God, will I heal: I will wash them
away in the blood of my dear Son, and blot them out as a thick cloud: I will cast

68. them behind my back, and remember them no more; I will pour the balm of Gilead
into your wounded spirits, and speak peace to your afflicted consciences. Still Satan
suggests, “But you will fall again, and then your last end shall be worse than the
beginning.” ‘ o’ says God, ‘it shall not be so; only come to me, and I will keep you
from falling; trust in me, and “you shall never fall; but an entrance shall be
ministered unto you abundantly into the kingdom of your Lord and Saviour:” I will
heal you, not only by my pardoning, but also by my renewing, grace: and so
effectually will I heal your wounds, that I will even renew you after mine own
image, in righteousness and true holiness.’ Perhaps Satan will still urge, ‘But you
are not worthy;’ and thus prevent your trusting in God; ‘But,’ says God, ‘I do not
look for worthiness in the creature: I will love them freely; without the smallest
regard to any thing in them: I will love them for mine own name sake, and “have
mercy merely because I will have mercy.” ’ But yet Satan suggests, ‘This is not for
you: God is your enemy, and you have nothing to do with these promises:’ but to
this also God has given you a certain answer; Are you truly desirous to have your
backslidings healed, and to live in the enjoyment of God’s free love and favour?
‘Then, says God, “mine anger is turned away from you:” it not only shall be, but is;
that very desire is a fruit of my love; that little repentance which you exercise, is the
gift of my grace; and you are to take it as a pledge and earnest of richer blessings;
you are to take encouragement from what I have given, to expect from me all that I
can give: only follow the direction I have given you, “Take with you words, and say
unto me, Take away all iniquity, and receive me graciously,” and I will answer the
very desires of your heart; for “I will heal your backslidings, which are the greatest
of all sins, and will love you freely; and, lest you should doubt this, I tell you, that, if
such be the desires of your heart, mine anger is turned away from you” ’ — — —
See now, my Brethren, what rich consolation here is for every drooping and
desponding soul! O cease to listen to the suggestions of Satan; cease to entertain
hard thoughts of God! Only come to Jesus) and see what a gracious Saviour he is;
how freely he will love) how effectually he will heal. Bring all your unworthiness
along with you; bring all your sins) and all your backslidings; and if only ye desire
to have them all healed) surely ye shall soon feel the cleansing efficacy of his blood)
and the renewing influence of his Spirit: and when he thus loveth you, he will “love
you to the end” — — —]
2. What cause of fear is here to those who are living in wilful sin!
[If you be not seeking deliverance from sin, even from your darling and besetting
sin, surely your case is awful indeed: the anger of God is not turned away from you.
o: if there be any truth in the Divine record, “the wrath of God abideth on you.” If
you seek not to have your backslidings healed, how is it possible that God should
love you? It is said, “He hateth all the workers of iniquity,” and, “He is angry with
the wicked every day.” Deceive not therefore your own souls: ye backsliders in
particular, who have fallen from your first love, deceive not yourselves; for, except
ye repent, God shall remove your candlestick, and your lamp shall go out for ever.
Examine well your own souls; see whether the world have not crept in; whether
some accursed weeds and thorns have not choked the seed, so that you bring no

69. fruit to perfection? If you can be easy in such a state, there is reason to fear that you
are given up by God to judicial hardness: but perhaps you are not easy, yet your
uneasiness does not stir you up to repent: you do not unfeignedly seek grace and
mercy from the Saviour’s hands; you do not plead with him in earnest; you do not
go with strong crying and tears to implore deliverance: what then can you expect,
but to perish by the wounds which your backslidings have made? Still, however,
there is mercy in store for you: God desires not your death, but rather that you turn
from your wickedness and live. O then, “turn, and live ye!” Be importunate at the
throne of grace; plead with Him that died for sinners: remember, He is the Sun of
Righteousness, whose beams are healing; and “the tree of life, whose leaves are for
the healing of the nations.” He is called, in Exodus 15:26, “The Lord who healeth
thee;” and he says to every convinced sinner, “If thou wilt return, return unto me, O
Israel!” “Whosoever cometh unto me, I will in no wise east out” — — —]
PETT, "‘I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for my anger is turned
away from him.’
YHWH’s response will then be that He will heal their backsliding and love them
freely, because in view of their full ‘return’, His anger will be turned away from
them. There will be full reconciliation. Their ‘backsliding’ has been briefly defined
in Hosea 14:2-3 which described what they have returned to Him from, and what is
contained in those verses has been described in more detail throughout the
prophecy. It had resulted in their total disregard for Him in the normal course of
life. But now all that will be changed as a result of their new response to Him. ote
the need for their backsliding to be ‘healed’. Only God could enable them to be truly
restored from their backsliding, (compare Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:25-27). It
would require a new heart and a new spirit. Alternately the thought may be that
they will be healed from the consequences of their backsliding.
As a result He will ‘love them freely’, that is He will love them willingly and
plentifully, with no restraint, with the responsive and overwhelming love of the
lover. The result of this love is then expanded on. It is recounted in three
descriptions of the blessing that they will receive, each of which is in three parts, and
is expressed in the context of Lebanon, a familiar theme in the Song of Solomon (see
Song of Solomon 3:9; Song of Solomon 4:8; Song of Solomon 4:11; Song of Solomon
4:15; Song of Solomon 5:15; Song of Solomon 7:4). The mountains of Lebanon were
mountains that experienced almost continual dew and were always fresh and
fruitbearing. Thus being ‘as Lebanon’ was looked on as having achieved the
ultimate in fruitfulness and blessing. They will put down strong roots like those in
Lebanon, they will give off delightful scents like those in Lebanon, and their taste
will be like that of the vines of Lebanon.
K&D 4-8, "“I will heal their apostasy, will love them freely: for my wrath has turned
away from it. Hos_14:5. I will be like dew for Israel: it shall blossom like the lily, and
strike its roots like Lebanon. Hos_14:6. Its shoots shall go forth, and its splendour shall
become like the olive-tree, and its smell like Lebanon. Hos_14:7. They that dwell in its
shadow shall give life to corn again; and shall blossom like the vine: whose glory is like
the wine of Lebanon. Hos_14:8. Ephraim: What have I further with the idols? I hear,

70. and look upon him: I, like a bursting cypress, in me is thy fruit found.” The Lord
promises first of all to heal their apostasy, i.e., all the injuries which have been inflicted
by their apostasy from Him, and to love them with perfect spontaneity (ne
dâbhâh an
adverbial accusative, promta animi voluntate), since His anger, which was kindled on
account of its idolatry, had now turned away from it (mimmennū, i.e., from Israel). The
reading mimmennı (from me), which the Babylonian Codices have after the Masora,
appears to have originated in a misunderstanding of Jer_2:35. This love of the Lord will
manifest itself in abundant blessing. Jehovah will be to Israel a refreshing, enlivening
dew (cf. Isa_26:19), through which it will blossom splendidly, strike deep roots, and
spread its shoots far and wide. “Like the lily:” the fragrant white lily, which is very
common in Palestine, and grows without cultivation, and “which is unsurpassed in its
fecundity, often producing fifty bulbs from a single root” (Pliny h. n. xxi. 5). “Strike roots
like Lebanon,” i.e., not merely the deeply rooted forest of Lebanon, but the mountain
itself, as one of the “foundations of the earth” (Mic_6:2). The deeper the roots, the more
the branches spread and cover themselves with splendid green foliage, like the evergreen
and fruitful olive-tree (Jer_11:16; Ps. 52:10). The smell is like Lebanon, which is
rendered fragrant by its cedars and spices (Son_4:11). The meaning of the several
features in the picture has been well explained by Rosenmüller thus: “The rooting
indicates stability: the spreading of the branches, propagation and the multitude of
inhabitants; the splendour of the olive, beauty and glory, and that constant and lasting;
the fragrance, hilarity and loveliness.” In Hos_14:7 a somewhat different turn is given to
the figure. The comparison of the growth and flourishing of Israel to the lily and to a
tree, that strikes deep roots and spreads its green branches far and wide, passes
imperceptibly into the idea that Israel is itself the tree beneath whose shade the
members of the nation flourish with freshness and vigour. ‫שׁוּבוּ‬ָ‫י‬ is to be connected
adverbially with ‫וּ‬ ַ‫ה‬ְ‫.י‬ Those who sit beneath the shade of Israel, the tree that is bursting
into leaf, will revive corn, i.e., cause it to return to life, or produce it for nourishment,
satiety, and strengthening. Yea, they themselves will sprout like the vine, whose
remembrance is, i.e., which has a renown, like the wine of Lebanon, which has been
celebrated from time immemorial (cf. Plin. h. n. xiv. 7; Oedmann, Verbm. Sammlung
aus der Naturkunde, ii. p. 193; and Rosenmüller, Bibl. Althk. iv. 1, p. 217). The divine
promise closes in Hos_14:9 with an appeal to Israel to renounce idols altogether, and
hold fast by the Lord alone as the source of its life. Ephraim is a vocative, and is followed
immediately by what the Lord has to say to Ephraim, so that we may supply memento in
thought. ‫לע‬ ‫עוֹד‬ ‫י‬ ִ ‫ה־‬ ַ‫,מ‬ what have I yet to do with idols? (for this phrase, compare Jer_
2:18); that is to say, not “I have now to contend with thee on account of the idols
(Schmieder), nor “do not place them by my side any more” (Ros.); but, “I will have
nothing more to do with idols,” which also implies that Ephraim is to have nothing more
to do with them. To this there is appended a notice of what God has done and will do for
Israel, to which greater prominence is given by the emphatic ‫י‬ִ‫נ‬ ֲ‫:א‬ I, I hearken (‛ânıthı a
prophetic perfect), and look upon him. ‫,שׁוּר‬ to look about for a person, to be anxious
about him, or care for him, as in Job_24:15. The suffix refers to Ephraim. In the last
clause, God compares Himself to a cypress becoming green, not only to denote the
shelter which He will afford to the people, but as the true tree of life, on which the nation
finds its fruits - a fruit which nourishes and invigorates the spiritual life of the nation.
The salvation which this promise sets before the people when they shall return to the
Lord, is indeed depicted, according to the circumstances and peculiar views prevailing

71. under the Old Testament, as earthly growth and prosperity; but its real nature is such,
that it will receive a spiritual fulfilment in those Israelites alone who are brought to
belief in Jesus Christ.
BI, "I will heal their backsliding.
The awful stale of backsliders
In the history of the Israelites there is no feature more striking than their frequent
rebellions and backslidings. It is amazing to think that a nation which had witnessed
such signal interposition of the Divine power in their behalf could be found backsliding
to such a degree. Oh, the unfathomable depths of Divine compassion! God has mercy to
heal the backslidings of His people.
I. The case of the backslider. It is the most awful to be found within the pale of the
professing Christian Church. There is a wide difference between his case and that of the
unawakened and unconverted sinner. For a man to become an apostate; to relapse into
deliberate sin; with all his light, knowledge, and advantages, to sin openly and wilfully,—
what ingratitude is implied in this, what treachery and baseness! The most awful
condition on this side hell is that of him whose once awakened conscience is now seared
as with a hot iron; whose once melted heart is turned into worse than its original
flintiness; whose once enlightened mind is given over to judicial blindness. Yet even such
a case is not beyond the reach of Divine compassion. To human eyes it is indeed
incurable. It is a cancer which spreads its fibres through the entire system, the disease
which mocks at human cures. But God says, “I will heal their backsliding.”
II. The means God employs in healing the backslider. He is not limited in the selection
or use of means; but He acts, generally speaking, by bringing the backslider into the
wilderness of affliction, and by turning the idol which seduced him away from his God,
into his scourge. It may be the idol of sensual pleasure, of fame, or of gold. By and by he
will awaken to a full sense of his danger and misery. His God forsaken, his Saviour
betrayed, his hopes of heaven blasted! He let go the substance to grasp at the shadow.
The idol which led him from God has become his curse. As he journeys on in this
wilderness, in despair and wretchedness, thinking he has turned his back for ever on
happiness and peace, then it is that a new and unexpected prospect bursts upon his
sight! An unthought of opening presents itself. Through the long vista he catches a
glimpse of a bright and glorious expanse. God gives him his vineyards from these. “The
valley of Achor becomes a door of hope.” God brings the backslider to himself by another
route than he ever thought of. Let us remember, for our own warning and heart-
searching, that there may be many a backslider in heart, where there is no open and
manifest defection from the ways of godliness. (Denis Kelly, B. A.)
The Lord’s healing
Their alienation was not only offensive to God, it was also hurtful to themselves. It had
brought spiritual malady upon them. Jehovah assumes the function of healer, and He
expects what He promises. The God whom they had offended does not suffer them to
perish, nor spurn them away as loathsome; but He revives and quickens them. The
gangrene disappears, and they return to soundness and health, with the assured
prospect of coming at length to the fulness of the stature of perfect men. (John Eadie, D.
D. , LL. D.)

72. Blacksliding healed
In this verse is set down an answer to that prayer, repentance, and reformation which
the Church made. Where God doth give a spirit of prayer, He will answer. God answers
exactly unto all that is prayed for, beginning first with the ground of all comfort, the
forgiveness of sins. Backsliding is an aggravation of sin. Sins rank thus—
1. Sins of ignorance.
2. Sins of infirmity.
3. Sins against knowledge.
4. Sins against the Holy Ghost.
In that God’s promise is “I will heal,” observe that sin is a wound and a disease. Sin, as
disease, arises either from ourselves, as we have a seminary of them in our own hearts;
or from the infection and contagion of others; or from Satan, who hath society with our
spirits. In regard to its effects, sin is like a disease. Diseases neglected breed death; they
become incurable. This is the end of sin, either to end in a good despair, or in a fruitless,
barren despair. How may we know that we are sick of this sickness and disease of sin? If
the soul be inflamed with revenge and anger, that soul is certainly diseased: the temper
of the soul is according to the passions thereof. If a man cannot relish good diet, then we
count him a sick man; so when a man cannot relish holy discourse, nor the ordinances of
God. A man may know there is a deadly sickness upon the soul, when he is senseless of
his wounds; and senseless of that which passeth from them. A man is desperately soul-
sick when oaths, lies, and deceitful speeches pass from him, and yet he is senseless of
them. Let us know and consider, that no man who lives in sins unrepented of and
uncured is to be envied, be he never so great. Let there be no dallying with sin. God is the
great physician of the soul. Healing implies taking away—
1. The guilt of sin, which is the venom of it, by justification.
2. The rage of sin, which is the spreading of it, by sanctification.
3. The removing of the judgment upon our estate.
Sense of pardon only comes after sight, sense, weariness, and confession of sin. Let us
remember this, lest we deceive our souls. (R. Sibbes, D. D.)
Backsliding
This word imports a departing or a turning away again from God. It is quite contrary, in
the formal nature of it, to faith and repentance, and implies that which the apostle calls a
“repenting of repentance.” For a man, having approved of God’s ways, and entered into
covenant with Him, after this to go from his word, and fling up his bargain, and start
aside like a deceitful bow; of all other dispositions of the soul, this is one of the worst; to
deal with our sins as Israel did with their servants, dismiss them and then take them
again (Jer_34:10-11). It is the sad fruit of an evil and unbelieving heart. Yet God says, “I
will heal their backslidings.” To understand this aright, we are to know that there is a
twofold apostasy.
1. An apostasy arising out of impotency of affection and prevalency of lust, drawing
the heart to look toward the old pleasures thereof again: it is a recidivation or relapse

73. into a former sinful condition out of forgetfulness and falseness of heart, for want of
the fear of God to balance the conscience and to fix and unite the heart to Him.
Though exceedingly dangerous, yet God is sometimes pleased to forgive and to heal
this disease.
2. An apostasy which is proud and malicious, when, after they “have tasted the good
Word of God,” men set themselves to hate, oppose, and persecute godliness, to do
“despite unto the Spirit of grace,” to fling off the holy strictness of Christ’s yoke.
Observe
(1) We should beware of backsliding, above all other sins.
(2) We should not be so terrified by any sin, which our soul mourns and labours
under, and our heart turns from, as thereby to be withheld from going to the
Physician for pardon and healing. (Jeremiah Burroughs.)
I will love them freely.
God’s promise of forgiveness
We observe God’s acknowledgment or consideration of all the three points embraced in
the supplication of the truly penitent. God healeth in four different ways, and each mode
embraces all the others.
1. By a gracious pardon.
2. By a spiritual and effectual reformation, by enabling, us to walk in newness of life,
by making us holy, even as He is holy.
3. By removing judgments which sin brought upon the sufferer, whether nationally
or individually.
4. By comforting. This mode of restoring health to the soul is one of Christ’s
principal works. The Lord is very minute and distinct in marking every article in the
penitent’s prayer. Ephraim not only besought mercy to have all his iniquity taken
away, but also that He who took away all sin, should, at the same time, receive good
gifts in his behalf. Jehovah, accordingly, does not only promise, “I will heal their
backsliding,” but proceeds to say moreover, “I will love them freely.” This is the
fundamental principle of Gospel truth. Ephraim gave a reason for his entire
dependence, henceforth and for ever, upon the Lord, which was, “For in Thee the
fatherless findeth mercy.” We can do nothing on our part to obtain the mercy
vouchsafed unto us; for God said, “I will love them freely.” It is out of man’s power to
deserve God’s love. Another consideration must be borne in mind, not to incur God’s
wrath again. (Moses Margoliouth, B. A.)
The free grace of God
Here the heart of our Heavenly Father is opened to us in the declarations of His free,
royal, and incomprehensible mercy. This as far surpasses our sins and sinfulness as His
self-existent Godhead does our creature capacities.
1. The Lord’s free grace in healing the backsliding of His people.
2. The manner in which this is made known to them.

74. 3. The way and means by which they receive the inward sense and benefit thereof.
(Samuel Eyles Pierce.)
Loving freely
St. Austin says, “Those that are to petition great persons, they will obtain some who are
skilful to frame their petitions; lest by their unskilfulness they provoke anger, instead of
carrying away the benefit desired.” So it is here with God’s people, being to deal with the
great God, and not being able to frame their own petitions. God answers them graciously
with the same mercies which He had suggested them to ask. His answer is full, “I will
love them freely.” This He does because—
1. It is His name and nature to be gracious.
2. No creature can deserve anything at God’s hands.
God did not then begin to love them, when He said, I will love them freely, but to
discover that love which He carried unto them from all eternity. Whatsoever is in God
(manifested in time) is eternal and everlasting in Him, without beginning or ending; for
whatsoever is in God, is God. His love, discovered in time, must needs be from all
eternity. This free love and favour of God is the cause of all other mercies and free
favours, whereby He discovereth His love unto us.
1. It is the cause of election.
2. Of vocation.
3. Of forgiveness of sins.
4. Of the grace of love.
5. Of justification, sanctification, etc.
6. Of eternal life.
If we would have God to manifest His free love to us, let us strive to be obedient to His
commandments, and stir up our hearts by all means to love Him, who hath so freely
loved us. The reason for the discovery of this love is thus given. “For Mine anger is
turned away from him.” There is anger in God against sin: because there is an antipathy
between Him and sin. God’s anger is the special thing in afflictions. Judgments are
called God’s anger. God will turn away His anger upon repentance. It is His nature to do
so. Learn to observe God’s truth in the performance of His gracious promises. (R.
Sibbes, D. D.)
Loving freely
The word means, impelled thereto by himself alone, and so (as used of God), moved by
His own essential bountifulness, the exceeding greatness of His goodness. God loves us
freely in loving us against our deserts, because He is love. He loves us freely, in that He
became man, and having become man freely shed His blood for the remission of our
sins, freely forgave our sins. He loves us freely, in giving us grace, according to the good
pleasure of His will, to become pleasing to Him, and causing all good in us; He loves us
freely in rewarding infinitely the cod which we have from Him. “More manifestly here
speaketh the person of tee Saviour Himself, promising His own coming to the salvation

75. of penitents, with sweetly sounding promise, with sweetness full of grace.” (E. B. Pusey,
D. D.)
The promises of God for the comfort and encouragement of the penitent
I. I will heal their backslidings. Sin is the malady, of the soul. Here is the assurance that
it shall not be fatal. Healing denotes recovery from the disease. The condemnation shall
be removed, and the dominion of sin subdued.
II. I will love them freely. Which implies conferring upon them everything good and
desirable.
III. I will be as the dew. God will visit the souls of His penitent people with His
refreshing grace and sanctifying Spirit. In consequence they shall flourish and increase
in know ledge and goodness, adorning their religious profession, and appearing before
the world in the beauty of holiness.
1. Dew refreshes the face of nature.
2. Dew makes the ground fruitful.
The soul shall become as a fair and fragrant garden, as a comely and flourishing
plantation.
IV. He shall grow as the lily, etc. All the excellences of the vegetable world are here
collected to express the effects produced by the dew of God’s grace on the penitent’s
soul; beauty, fragrancy, vigour (or strength), and fertility. The salutary influence of God’s
blessings should reach surrounding nations. (S. Knight, M. A.)
Privileges of the pardoned soul
Were it not then the wisest course to begin with making our peace, and then we may
soon lead a happy life? It is said, he that gets out of debt grows rich; most sure it is, that
the pardoned soul cannot be poor; for as soon as the peace is concluded, a free trade is
opened between God, and the soul. If once pardoned, we may then sail to any port that
lies in God s dominions, and be welcome; where all the promises stand open with their
treasure, and say: Here, poor soul, take full lading in of all precious things, even as much
as thy faith can bear and carry away. (J. Spencer.)
Love for the unlovely
The greatest sins do most and best set off the freeness and the riches of God’s grace;
there is nothing that makes heaven and earth to ring and sound out His praise so much
as the fixing of His love upon those who are most unlovely and uncomely, the bestowing
of Himself upon those who have given away themselves from Him. (Thomas Brooks.)
NISBET, "BACKSLIDING AND ITS CURE
‘I will heal their backsliding.’

76. Hosea 14:4
In the English Bible the word ‘backsliding’ is found fifteen times, and represents in
English several words in the original, even in the same writer. Backsliding means a
wearying of God’s yoke, an attempt to get free from it wholly or in part, and a turning
from the straight path, from dislike of its dullness or steepness, or from the existence of
counter attractions.
There are many sensitive souls who readily accuse themselves of this sin, and whose
peace is marred, and their prayers hindered by false notions of the marks of backsliding.
We shall try to help these.
I. Backsliding is not that almost inevitable alteration in feeling which comes to many
Christian people who have been for a good many years following the Divine Master, and
who find now less warmth in their emotions of fear, hope, love, and joy.—There is
something in the laws of our nature which forbids repeated impressions to be felt as
strongly as they were at first. We need not enter largely into the subject, but may
perhaps be allowed to refer to a chapter on Feeling and Will, in ‘Spiritual Life in its
Advancing Stages.’ When any believer in the Lord Jesus laments the change from an
ardent to an unimpassioned state of soul, and longs for his old feelings, he will do well to
hesitate before he pronounces this change to be due to backsliding. It is by other signs
that the sin is to be known. Habit strengthens principle, but seems to blunt feeling. The
seat of backsliding (see Hosea 4:16) is not in the feelings, but in the will.
II. Backsliding is not that depression about spiritual matters, that so-called ‘hiding of
God’s Face” which often accompanies ill-health, or physical and mental weariness.—A
preacher of a mission whose whole powers of body, mind, and spirit have been strained
for several weeks, frequently suffers afterwards from a torpidity of soul, in which he
seems little able to realize the comfort of the truths he has been so earnestly setting forth
to others. This, however, must be set down to bodily exhaustion, and the want of nerve-
rest. A couple of days in bed, with all trying subjects and letters kept from him, may do
him much good.
III. Backsliding has its causes and its signs.—The causes are generally the gradual
yielding to temptation to relax watchfulness, shorten prayer, indulge the body, read
misleading books, or cultivate unspiritual friendships. And it is easy to see how these
things which are causes, may also be used as marks of backsliding. A very common mark
is an increasing dislike to spiritual conversation, and still more to spiritual effort for the
reclaiming of sinners.
The pleasures of life lie many of them just on the border line between good and evil.
Some pleasures are so wholly pure, some so decidedly sinful that they need not enter
into discussion; but the majority of our pleasures are just of the kind that you cannot
decisively say that you may or may not innocently follow them without restraint. Now it
is here that Satan finds his cruel advantage. The bringing us into contact with the
ungodly in ‘innocent’ pleasures—all tend to draw the cloud of unspirituality over the
heart, and so these ‘harmless things’ shut out the light of the sun; a little hesitation is felt

77. in going straight from them to prayer; a day or two without prayer passes, and
backsliding, perhaps for weeks, or months, is the result.
But sometimes Satan is bolder. Counting on his ally in our own breasts, ‘for the infection
of nature doth remain even in them that are regenerate,’ he is able to blind those who are
not very watchful indeed, as to the danger of some course of action. In matters of the
affections this often happens. Many young Christians, become backsliders for years, or
for life, from allowing their affections to fix on one who has no share with them in the
Divine Love.
Money matters often spoil promising careers. Either the passion for getting, the lust of
hoarding, the dislike of giving, the reluctance to pay debts quickly, or worse still, some
untrustworthiness about the money of others, has crept in little by little on once spiritual
persons; and when this is the case, farewell to all religious life!
Self-dependence, the removing of the soul’s full trust from Jesus Christ, and from the
Holy Spirit’s power, is a fruitful spiritual source of backsliding. Was not this the cause of
St. Peter’s fall? The marks of this may not be visible in any wrong acts, but they will be
soon seen in the lowered spiritual tone, and the growth of pride and self-satisfaction; or
in some cases, by a general dissatisfaction and discontent. For who can be happy who
has removed his confidence from Jesus, and fixed it on himself?
Archdeacon G. R. Wynne.
Illustration
‘Only God can heal backsliding. Nature knows nothing about forgiveness. Nature is red
in tooth and claw. She never gives a fresh start to a life that has maimed and marred
itself. She never forgets old mistakes. Her inexorable rule is, Whatsoever a man soweth
that shall he reap. Other religions know nothing about the gracious healing. “I have
devoted as much time as any living man, to the sacred books of the world,” a famous
scholar testifies, “and I have found their keynote. Whether it be the Vedas of the
Brahmin, or the Koran of the Mohammedan, or the Zend-Avesta of the Parsee, the one
keynote of all of them is salvation by works. They all say that salvation must be bought
with a price, and that the purchase-money must be our own deservings.” There is no
word there of free and loving pardon. Men cannot entirely restore the wrongdoer. For
their knowledge of sin in all its circumstances is a partial and defective knowledge.’
PULPIT, "Hosea 14:4-7
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from
him. The penitential prayer put in the mouth of the people receives in this verse a
gracious response; words of contrite confession are echoed back in accents of
compassion and consolation. When thus penitent and prayerful they returned to the
Lord, he promises them favor as well as forgiveness, so as to heal the moral malady

78. under which they had long labored, remedy the evil effects of their apostasy, and
withhold the stripes he was going to inflict. Meshubhatham means
(a) free, anticipating its objects, not waiting to be merited or purchased, without money
and without price; it is
(b) also purest and most sincere affection, altogether unlike that feigned affection
sometimes found among men, who profess much love while their heart goeth after their
covetousness, or after some other and different object from that pretended. Then follows
an assurance that there is no barrier to the exercise and no obstacle to the outgoing of
God's love; the turning away of God's anger from Israel is the ground of such assurance.
Some copies read mimmeni, my anger is turned away from me, instead of mimmena;
this, however, is erroneous, though the sense is not much affected by it. The error may
have arisen from a misunderstanding of Jeremiah 2:35. Rashi explains the verse
correctly: "After they have thus spoken before me: I will heal them of their apostasy, and
love them of my own free will; although they themselves are not worthy of love, yet will I
love them freely, for mine anger has turned away from them." Aben Ezra says.
"Backsliding is in the soul what disease is in the body, therefore he uses the word 'heal.'
But God proceeds to perform what he has promised; he does not confine his goodness to
words, he exhibits it in works, as the following verses show." I will be as the dew unto
Israel. "The Jussive assumes different shades of meaning, varying with the situation or
authority of the speaker … . Sometimes, from the circumstances of the case, the
command becomes a permission: Hosea 14:6, 'I will be as the dew to Israel: let him
flourish, ‫ְַך‬‫י‬ְ‫ו‬, and strike forth his roots as Lebanon'" (Driver). In lands where there is little
rain, the dew, falling copiously, fertilizes the earth, refreshes the languid plants, revives
the face of nature, and makes all things grow. Thus the dew becomes the source of
fruitfulness. So God, by his Spirit's grace, is the Source of Israel's spiritual fruitfulness.
He shall grow (margin, blossom) as the lily. This comparison suggests many qualities,
any one of which may characterize, or all of which may combine in, the spiritual growth
thus pictured. There is the purity of the lily, the beauty of the lily, the fecundity of the lily,
the perfume of the lily, the rapidity of its growth, the stately slightness of its stem. We
may combine the rapidity of its growth; its fecundity, with regard to which Pliny informs
us that a single root produces fifty bulbs; its beauty, to which our Lord refers in contrast
with the glory of Solomon. But its root is weak, and he, on that account perhaps,
subjoins: And cast forth (margin, strike) his roots as Lebanon. Whether it mean that the
roots are as the trees of Lebanon or the mountain of Lebanon itself, the thought
expressed by this comparison is stability. "As the trees of Lebanon," says Jerome,
"which strike their roots as far down into the depths as they lift their heads up into the
air, so that they can be shaken by no storm, but by their stable massiveness maintain
their position." His branches shall spread; margin, go; rather, go on. This feature in the
representation denotes enlargement or expansion. The tender branches (suckers)
spreading out in all directions very aptly set forth the multiplication of Israel or their
growth and increase numerically. But branches straggling, crooked, and ill-shaped
would rather be a blemish than a beauty. It is, therefore, added: His beauty shall be as
the olive tree. The olive has been called the crown of the fruit trees of Palestine, but
besides, its fruitage so plentiful and useful, the splendor of its green, and the enduring
freshness of its foliage, make it a vivid picture of that beauty of holiness or spiritual
graces which it is here employed to represent. There is still an additional element of
interest pertaining to this goodly tree, namely, And his smell as Lebanon. This signifies
the fragrance of this beautiful tree of righteousness. The smell of Lebanon is referred to

79. in So Hosea 4:11, "And the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon." What
with its cedars, and spices, and fruit, and flowers, and aromatic shrubs, and fragrant
vines, Lebanon must perfume the air with the most delightful odors. Thus acceptable to
God and pleasing to man shall Israel become. The commentators quote with
commendation Rosenmüller's explanation of the individual features of this inimitable
picture: "The rooting indicates stability; the spreading of the branches, propagation and
the multitude of inhabitants; the splendor of the olive, beauty and glory, and that
constant and lasting; the fragrance, hilarity and loveliness." The simile changes into the
metaphor; Israel, from being likened to a tree, becomes the tree. They that dwell under
his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow (margin, blossom) as the
vine: the scent (rather, renown) thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon. There is some
difficulty and consequent diversity of rendering and explanation in connection with this
verse. If the tree be Israel in its collective or national capacity, the dwellers under its
shadow are the members of the nation, separate]y and severally, flourishing under the
widespread branches of this umbrageous tree. The word yashubhu is explained:
(b) return to their native land, so the Chaldee,—this is somewhat better;
(c) return to the worship of Jehovah, said of Israelites who had abandoned it, not
properly of Gentiles turning to that worship;
(d) Rosenmüller, comparing 15:19 and 1 Samuel 30:12, explains it in the sense of
coming to themselves, reviving.
(a) translates "shalt give life to come again," that is, "Those who sit beneath the shade
of Israel, the tree that is bursting into leaf, will revive corn, cause it to return to life, or
produce it for nourishment, satiety, and strengthening." Similarly the Vulgate, "sustain
life by corn." This, however, must appear tame after the splendid promises that went
before.
(b) Vivify; i.e. produce seed like corn, and rejoice in a numerous offspring as from a
seed of corn many proceed; according to this, "seed" ( ‫ע‬ ַ‫ֶר‬‫ז‬ ) must be supplied, and caph
of comparison. The added clause agrees with this, for the flourishing of the vine also
symbolizes prolific persons (comp. Psalms 128:3). Further, the vine does not always
flourish, yet, not like the corn which after harvest ceases and is no more seen, its root
remains, and next year grows green and yields its fruit anew. The fame of the wine of
Lebanon is celebrated for its taste and fragrance. Kimchi cites Asaph, a physician, as
writing that the wine of Lebanon, of Hermon, of Carmel, of the mountains of Israel and
Jerusalem and Caphior, surpass all others in flavor, taste, and for medicinal purposes.

80. 5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily.
Like a cedar of Lebanon
he will send down his roots;
BAR ES, "I will be as the dew unto Israel - Before, He had said, “his spring
shall become dry and his fountain shall be dried up” Hos_13:15. Now again He enlarges
the blessing; their supply shall be unfailing, for it shall be from God; yea, God Himself
shall be that blessing; “I will be the dew; descending on the mown grass” Psa_72:6, to
quicken and refresh it; descending, Himself, into the dried and parched and sere hearts
of men, as He saith, “We will come unto him and make Our abode in him” Joh_14:23.
The grace of God, like the dew, is not given once for all, but is, day by day, waited for,
and, day by day, renewed. Yet doth it not pass away, like the fitful goodness Joh_6:4 of
God’s former people, but turns into the growth and spiritual substance of those on
whom it descends.
He shall grow as the lily - No one image can exhibit the manifold grace of God in
those who are His own, or the fruits of that grace. So the prophet adds one image to
another, each supplying a distinct likeness of a distinct grace or excellence. The “lily” is
the emblem of the beauty and purity of the soul in grace; the “cedar” of Lebanon, of its
strength and deep-rootedness, its immovableness and uprightness; the evergreen “olive
tree” which “remaineth in its beauty both winter and summer,” of the unvarying
presence of Divine Grace, continually, supplying an eversustained freshness, and issuing
in fruit; and the fragrance of the aromatic plants with which the lower parts of Mount
Lebanon are decked, of its loveliness and sweetness; as a native explains this , “he takes a
second comparison from Mount Lebanon for the abundance of aromatic things and
odoriferous flowers.”
Such are the myrtles and lavender and the odoriferous reed; from which “as you enter
the valley” (between Lebanon and Anti-lebanon) “straightway the scent meets you.” All
these natural things are established and well-known symbols of things spiritual. The lily,
so called in Hebrew from its dazzling whiteness, is, in the Canticles Son_2:1-2, the
emblem of souls in which Christ takes delight. The lily multiplies exceedingly : yet hath it
a weak root and soon fadeth. The prophet, then, uniteth with these, plants of unfading
green, and deep root. The seed which “had no root,” our Lord says, “withered away”
Mat_13:6, as contrariwise, Paul speaks of these, who are “rooted and grounded in love”
Eph_3:17, and of being “rooted and built up in Christ” Col_2:7. The widespreading
branches are an emblem of the gradual growth and enlargement of the Church, as our
Lord says, “It becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the
branches thereof” Mat_13:32.
The symmetry of the tree and its outstretched arms express, at once, grace and
protection. Of the “olive” the Psalmist says, “I am like a green olive tree in the house Of
God” Psa_52:8; and Jeremiah says, “The Lord called thy name a green olive tree, fair

81. and of goodly fruit” Jer_11:16; and of “fragrance” the spouse says in the Canticles,
“because of the savor of Thy good ointments, Thy name is as ointment poured forth”
Son_1:3; and the Apostle says, “thanks be to God, which maketh manifest the savor of
His knowledge by us in every place” 2Co_2:14. Deeds of charity also are “an odor of good
smell” Phi_4:18; the prayers of the saints also are “sweet odors” Rev_5:8. All these are
the fruits of the Spirit of God who says, “I will be as the dew unto Israel.” Such reunion
of qualities, being beyond nature, suggests the more, that, that, wherein they are all
combined, the future Israel, the Church, shall flourish with graces beyond nature, in
their manifoldness, completeness, unfadingness.
CLARKE, "I will be as the dew unto Israel - On these metaphors I gladly avail
myself of the elegant and just observations of Bp. Lowth. “These verses (Hos_14:5-7)
contain gracious promises of God’s favor and blessings upon Israel’s conversion. In the
fifth verse, it is described by that refreshment which copious dews give to the grass in
summer. If we consider the nature of the climate, and the necessity of dews in so hot a
country, not only to refresh, but likewise to preserve life; if we consider also the beauty
of the oriental lilies, the fragrance of the cedars which grow upon Lebanon, the
beauteous appearance which the spreading olive trees afforded, the exhilarating coolness
caused by the shade of such trees, and the aromatic smell exhaled by the cedars; we shall
then partly understand the force of the metaphors here employed by the prophet; but
their full energy no one can conceive, till he feels both the want, and enjoys the
advantage, of the particulars referred to in that climate where the prophet wrote.” -
Lowth’s twelfth and nineteenth prelection; and Dodd on the place.
What a glorious prophecy! What a wonderful prophet! How sublime, how energetic,
how just! The great master prophet, Isaiah, alone could have done this better. And these
promises are not for Israel merely after the flesh; they are for all the people of God. We
have a lot and portion in the matter; God also places his love upon us. Here the reader
must feel some such sentiment as the shepherd in Virgil, when enraptured with the elegy
which his associate had composed on their departed friend. The phraseology and
metaphors are strikingly similar; and therefore I shall produce it.
Tale tuum carmen nobis, divine poeta,
Quale sopor fesses in gramine, quale per aestum
Dulcis aquae saliente sitim restinguere rivo.
Nec calamis solum aequiparas, sed voce magistrum.
Fortunate puer! tu nunc eris alter ab illo.
Nos tamen haec quocunque modo tibi nostra vicissim
Dicemus, Daphninque tuum tollemus ad astra:
Daphnin ad astra feremus: amavit nos quoque Daphnis.
Virgil. Ecl. v., ver. 45.
“O heavenly poet, such thy verse appears,
So sweet, so charming to my ravish’d ears,
As to the weary swain with cares oppress’d,
Beneath the sylvan shade, refreshing rest;
As to the feverish traveler, when first
He finds a crystal stream to quench his thirst.
In singing, as in piping, you excel;
And scarce your master could perform so well.

82. O fortunate young man! at least your lays
Are next to his, and claim the second praise.
Such as they are, my rural songs I join
To raise your Daphnis to the powers divine;
For Daphnis was my friend, as well as thine.”
GILL, "I will be as the dew unto Israel,.... To spiritual Israel, to those that return
to the Lord, take with them words, and pray unto him, whose backslidings are healed,
and they are freely loved; otherwise it is said of apostate Israel or Ephraim, that they
were "smitten, and their root dried up, and bore no fruit", Hos_9:16. These words,
and the whole, context, respect future times, as Kimchi observes; even the conversion of
Israel in the latter day, when they shall partake of all the blessings of grace, signified by
the metaphors used in this and the following verses. These words are a continuation of
the answer to the petitions put into the mouths of converted ones, promising them many
favours, expressed in figurative terms; and first by "the dew", which comes from heaven,
is a great blessing of God, and is quickening, very refreshing and fruitful to the earth:
and the Lord is that unto his people as the dew is to herbs, plants, and trees of the earth;
he is like unto it in his free love and layout, and the discoveries of it to them; which, like
the dew, is of and from himself alone; is an invaluable blessing; better than life itself;
and is not only the cause of quickening dead sinners, but of reviving, cheering, and
refreshing the drooping spirits of his people; and is abundance, never fails, but always
continues, Pro_19:12; and so he is in the blessings of his grace, and the application of
them; which are in heavenly places, in Christ, and come down from thence, and in great
abundance, like the drops of dew; and fall silently, insensibly, and unawares, particularly
regenerating grace; and are very cheering and exhilarating, as forgiveness of sin, a
justifying righteousness, adoption, &c. Deu_33:13; and also in the Gospel, and the
doctrines of it, which distil as dew; these are of God, and come down from heaven; seem
little in themselves, but of great importance to the conversion of sinners, and comfort of
saints; bring many blessings in them, and cause great joy and fruitfulness wherever they
come with power, Deu_32:2. The Targum is,
"my Word shall be as dew to Israel;''
the essential Word of God, the Messiah; of whose incarnation of a virgin some interpret
this; having, like the dew, no father but God, either in his divine or human nature; but
rather it is to be understood of the blessings of grace he is to his people as Mediator;
being to them wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, and every other,
even their all it, all:
he shall grow as the lily; to which the church and people of God are sometimes
compared, especially for their beauty and comeliness in Christ, Solomon in all his glory
not being arrayed like one of these; particularly for their unspotted purity, being clothed
with fine linen, clean and white, the white raiment of Christ's righteousness, and having
their garments washed and made white in his blood; see Son_2:1; and here for its
growth. The root of the lily lies buried in the earth a long time, when it seems as if it was
dead; but on a sudden it springs out of the earth, and runs up to a great height, and
becomes very flourishing; which is not owing to itself, it "toils not"; but to the dew of
heaven: so God's elect in a state of nature are dead, but, being quickened by the grace of

83. God, spring up on a sudden, and grow very fast; which is not owing to themselves, but to
the dews of divine grace, the bright shining of the sun of righteousness upon them, and
to the influences of the blessed Spirit; and so they grow up on high, into their Head
Christ Jesus, and rise up in their affections, desires, faith and hope to heavenly things, to
the high calling of God in Christ, and become fruitful in grace, and in good works. The
Targum is,
"they shall shine as the lily;''
see Mat_6:29;
and cast forth his roots as Lebanon; as the tree, or trees, of Lebanon, as the
Targum; and so Kimchi, who adds, which are large, and their roots many; or as the roots
of the trees of Lebanon, so Jarchi; like the cedars there, which, as the word here used
signifies, "struck" (c) their roots firm in that mountain, and stood strong and stable, let
what winds and tempests soever blow: thus, as in the following, what one metaphor is
deficient in, another makes up. The lily has but a weak root, and is easily up; but the
cedars in Lebanon had roots firm and strong, to which the saints are sometimes
compared, as here; see Psa_92:12; and this denotes their permanency and final
perseverance; who are rooted in the love of God, which is like a root underground from
all eternity, and sprouts forth in regeneration, and is the source of all grace; is itself
immovable, and in it the people of God are secured, and can never be rooted out; and
they may be said to "strike" their roots in it, as the phrase here, when they exercise: a
strong faith in it, and are firmly persuaded of their interest in it; see Eph_3:17; they are
also rooted in Christ, who is the root of Jesse, of David, and of all the saints; from whom
they have their life, their nourishment and fruitfulness, and where they remain
unmoved, and strike their roots in him, by renewed acts of faith on him, claiming their
interest in him; and are herein so strongly rooted and grounded, that all the winds and
storms of sin, Satan, and the world, cannot eradicate them; nay, as trees are more firmly
rooted by being shaken, so are they; see Col_2:7. The Targum is,
"they shall dwell in the strength of their land, as a tree of Lebanon, which sends forth its
branch.''
HE RY 5-7, "Do they pray that God will give good, will make them good? In answer
to that, behold, it is promised, I will be as the dew unto Israel, Hos_14:5. Observe,
1. What shall be the favour God will bestow upon them. It is the blessing of their father
Jacob, God give thee the dew of heaven, Gen_27:28. Nay, what they need God will not
only give them, but he will himself be that to them, all that which they need: I will be as
the dew unto Israel. This ensures spiritual blessings in heavenly things; and it follows
upon the healing of their backslidings, for pardoning mercy is always accompanied with
renewing grace. Note, To Israelites indeed God himself will be as the dew. He will
instruct them; his doctrine shall drop upon them as the dew, Deu_32:2. They shall know
more and more of him, for he will come to them as the rain, Hos_6:3. He will refresh
them with his comforts, so that their souls shall be as a watered garden, Isa_58:11. He
will be to true penitents as the dew to Israel when they were in the wilderness, dew that
had manna in it, Exo_16:14; Num_11:9. The graces of the Spirit are the hidden manna,
hidden in the dew; God will give them bread from heaven, as he did to Israel in the dew
in abundance, Joh_1:16.

84. 2. What shall be the fruit of that favour which shall be produced in them. The grace
thus freely bestowed on them shall not be in vain. Those souls, those Israelites, to whom
God is as the dew, on whom his grace distils,
(1.) Shall be growing. The bad being by the grace of God made good, they shall by the
same grace be made better; for grace, wherever it is true, is growing. [1.] They shall grow
upwards, and be more flourishing, shall grow as the lily, or (as some read it) shall
blossom as the rose. The growth of the lily, as that of all bulbous roots, is very quick and
speedy. The root of the lily seems lost in the ground all winter, but, when it is refreshed
with the dews of the spring, it starts up in a little time; so the grace of God improves
young converts sometimes very fast. The lily, when it has come to its height, is a lovely
flower (Mat_6:29), so grace is the comeliness of the soul, Eze_16:14. it is the beauty of
holiness that is produced by the dew of the morning, Psa_110:3. [2.] They shall grow
downwards, and be more firm. The lily indeed grows fast, and grows fine, but it soon
fades and is easily plucked up; and therefore it is here promised to Israel that with the
flower of the lily he shall have the root of the cedar: He shall cast forth his roots as
Lebanon, as the trees of Lebanon, which, having taken deep root, cannot be plucked up,
Amo_9:15. Note, Spiritual growth consists most in the growth of the root, which is out
of sight. The more we depend upon Christ and draw sap and virtue from him, the more
we act in religion from a principle and the more steadfast and resolved we are in it, the
more we cast forth our roots. [3.] They shall grow round about (Hos_14:6): His
branches shall spread on all sides. And (Hos_14:7) he shall grow as the vine, whose
branches extend furthest of any tree. Joseph was to be a fruitful bough, Gen_49:22.
When many are added to the church from without, when a hopeful generation rises up,
then Israel's branches spread. When particular believers abound in good works, and
increase in the knowledge of God and in every good gift, then their branches may be said
to spread. The inward man is renewed day by day.
JAMISO , "as the dew — which falls copiously in the East, taking the place of the
more frequent rains in other regions. God will not be “as the early dew that goeth away,”
but constant (Hos_6:3, Hos_6:4; Job_29:19; Pro_19:12).
the lily — No plant is more productive than the lily, one root often producing fifty
bulbs [Pliny, Natural History, 21.5]. The common lily is white, consisting of six leaves
opening like bells. The royal lily grows to the height of three or four feet; Mat_6:29
alludes to the beauty of its flowers.
roots as Lebanon — that is, as the trees of Lebanon (especially the cedars), which
cast down their roots as deeply as is their height upwards; so that they are immovable
[Jerome], (Isa_10:34). Spiritual growth consists most in the growth of the root which is
out of sight.
CALVI , "Verse 5
The Prophet now again repeats what he had said, that God, after restoring the
people to favour, would be so beneficent, as to render apparent the fruit of
reconciliation. Seeing that the Israelites had been afflicted, they ought to have
imputed this to their own sins, they ought to have perceived by such proofs, the
wrath of God. They had been so stupid as to have on the contrary imagined, that
their adversities happened to them by chance. The Prophet had been much engaged
in teaching this truth, that the Israelites would be ever miserable until they turned
to God, and also, that all their affairs would be unhappy until they obtained pardon.
He now speaks of a change, that God would not only by words show himself

85. propitious to them, but would also give a proof by which the Israelites might know
that they were now blessed, because they had been reconciled to God; for his
blessing would be the fruit of his gratuitous love. Thus then ought this sentence, I
will be to Israel as the dew, to be connected: He intimates that they were before dry,
because they had been deprived of God’s favour. He compares them to a rose or lily:
for when the fields or meadows are burnt up by the heat of the sun, and there is no
dew distilling from heaven, all things wither. How then can lilies and roses flourish,
except they derive moisture from heaven, and the dew refreshes the grounds that
they may put forth their strength? The reason then for the similitude is this, because
men become dry and destitute of all vigour, when God withdraws his favour. Why?
Because God must, as it were, distil dew, otherwise, as it has been said, we become
wholly barren and dry. I will be then as dew to Israel
And further, He shall Flourish as the lily, and his roots he shall send forth Some
render ‫,ויך‬ vaic, “and he will strike;” and ‫,נכה‬ nuke, means to strike. Others render
the words, “His branches will extend:” but the verb is in the singular number, and
the noun, “roots,” is in the plural. The Prophet then speaks of Israel, that he strikes
his roots; but he means to fix in a metaphorical sense: he will then fix his roots. As
when we strike, we fetch a blow, and extend our arms; so he will spread forth his
roots as Libanus. This is the second effect of God’s favour and blessing; which
means, that the happiness of the people would be perpetual. With regard to the rose
or lily, the meaning of the metaphor is, that God would suddenly, and as in a
moment, vivify the Israelites, though they were like the dead. as in one night the lily
rises, and unexpectedly also the rose; so sudden would be the change signified by
this metaphor. But as the lilies and the roses soon wither, it was not enough to
promise to Israel that their salvation would come suddenly; but it was needful to
add this second clause, — that though they would be like lilies and roses, they yet
would be also like tall trees, which have deep roots in the ground, by which they
remain firm and for a long time flourish.
We now then perceive the meaning of the Prophet. He mentions here the twofold
effect of God’s blessing as to the Israelites, — that their restoration would be
sudden, as soon as God would distil like the dew his favour upon them, and also that
this happiness would not be fading, but enduring and permanent. And the words
may be rendered, as Libanus, or as those of Libanus: as Libanus he shall cast forth
his roots, as the trees which grow there; or, he shall cast forth his roots as the trees
which are in Libanus. But as to the sense there is no difference. It follows —
COFFMA , ""I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, and cast
forth his roots as Lebanon."
"Dew ..." is to be understood here not as transitory, but as refreshing. In that
climate it was a valuable agent in the agricultural productiveness of the land.
"He shall blossom as the lily ..." "The ew Israel will have the beauty of the lily
(Matthew 6:28-29), and the noble strength and stability of the poplar (literally

86. `Lebanon')."[15]
COKE, "Hosea 14:5-6. I will be as the dew, &c.— These verses contain gracious
promises of God's favour upon Israel's conversion, represented by different
metaphors. In the fifth verse, it is described by that refreshment, which copious
dews give to the grass in the heat of summer. If we consider the nature of the
climate, and the necessity of dews in so hot a country, not only to refresh, but
likewise to preserve life; if we consider also the beauty of the oriental lilies, the
fragrance of the cedars which grow upon Lebanon, the beauteous appearance which
the spreading olive-trees afforded, the exhilarating coolness caused by the shade of
such trees, and the aromatic smell exhaled by the cedars; we shall then partly
understand the force of the metaphors here employed by the prophet; but their full
energy no one can conceive, till he both feels the want and enjoys the advantage of
the particulars referred to, in that climate wherein the prophet wrote. See Bishop
Lowth's 12th and 19th Prelection, and Genesis 27:28. Instead of, His branches shall
spread, in Hosea 14:6. Houbigant reads, His suckers shall go forth.
BE SO , "Hosea 14:5-6. I will be as the dew unto Israel — These verses contain
gracious promises of God’s favour, and of blessings upon Israel’s conversion,
represented by different metaphors. These are first described by that refreshment
which copious dews give to the grass in the heat of summer. And if we consider the
nature of the climate, and the necessity of dews in so hot a country, not only to
refresh, but likewise to preserve life; if we consider also the beauty of the oriental
lilies, the fragrance of the cedars which grow upon Lebanon, the beauteous
appearance which the spreading olive-trees afforded, the exhilarating coolness
caused by the shade of such trees, and the aromatic smell exhaled by the cedars; we
shall then partly understand the force of the metaphors here employed by the
prophet; but their full energy no one can conceive, till he feels both the want, and
enjoys the advantage of the particulars referred to, in that climate where the
prophet wrote. See Bishop Lowth’s xiith and xixth Prelection. Mr. Harmer’s
illustration of this passage will be acceptable to the reader. “The image in general,”
says he, “made use of here by Hosea, is the change that takes place upon the descent
of the dew of autumn on the before parched earth, where every thing appeared dead
or dying; upon which they immediately become lively and delightful. Israel, by their
sins, reduced themselves into a wretched, disgraceful state, like that of the earth,
when no rain or dew has descended for a long time; but God promised he would
heal their backslidings, and restore them to a flourishing state. The gentleman that
visited the holy land in autumn 1774, found the dews very copious then, as well as
the rain, and particularly observed, in journeying from Jerusalem, a very grateful
scent arising from the aromatic herbs growing there, such as rosemary, wild thyme,
balm, &c. If the fragrant herbs between Jerusalem and Joppa afforded such a
grateful smell, as to engage this ingenious traveller to remark it in his journal, the
scent of Lebanon must have been exquisite; for Mr. Maundrell found the great
rupture in that mountain, in which Canobin is situated, had ‘both sides exceeding
steep and high, clothed with fragrant green from top to bottom, and everywhere
refreshed with fountains, falling down from the rocks, in pleasant cascades; the
ingenious work of nature.’“ This sufficiently illustrates the clause, His smell, that is,

87. his fragrance, shall be like that of Lebanon. To illustrate the clause, He shall grow
as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon, Mr. Harmer quotes a passage from
Dr. Russell’s account of the natural history of Aleppo, vol. 1. c. 3: “After the first
rains in the autumn, the fields everywhere throw out the autumnal lily daffodil; and
the few plants which had stood the summer now grow with fresh vigour.” The other
trees of Lebanon, as well as the cedars, are admired by travellers on account of their
enormous size. So de la Roque, describing his ascending this mountain, says, the
farther they advanced, the loftier were the trees, which, for the most part, were
plane-trees, cypresses, and evergreen oaks. And Rauwolff, after mentioning several
kinds of trees and herbs which he found there, goes on; But chiefly, and in the
greatest number, were the maple-trees, which are large, high, and expand
themselves very much with their branches: but, above all, the size of the cedar
attracts admiration. “I measured,” says Maundrell, “one of the largest, and found it
twelve yards six inches in girt, and yet sound; and thirty-seven yards in the spread
of its boughs. At about five or six yards from the ground it was divided into five
limbs, each of which was equal to a great tree.” The beauty of the olive-tree is
frequently mentioned in Scripture, and has come under our observation before: see
note on Psalms 128:3.
TRAPP, "Hosea 14:5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and
cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
Ver. 5. I will be as the dew unto Israel] I will give good in abundance; and this is
sweetly set forth in a sevenfold metaphor, all answering to the name of Ephraim
(which signifieth fruitful) and to the ancient promises made unto him; and all again
opposite to the many contrary curses, threatened in the former parts of the
prophecy, under metaphors of a contrary importance, as Pareus and (out of him)
Tarnovius have well observed. As first of solid and fruit causing dew, in opposition
to that vanishing and barren dew, Hosea 6:4; Hosea 13:3; secondly, of the
flourishing lily, contrary to those nettles, thorns, and thistles, Hosea 9:16; Hosea
10:8; thirdly, of the well-rooted and durable trees of Libanus, contrary to dry roots,
Hosea 9:16; fourthly, of spreading and growing branches, instead of branches
consumed, Hosea 11:6; Hosea 9:16; Hosea 10:8; fifthly, of trees yielding pleasant
shade and repose, contrary to Hosea 9:3; Hosea 9:6; sixthly, of corn to satisfy
hunger, contrary to Hosea 8:7; lastly, of a vine bringing forth excellent wine,
contrary to Hosea 9:16; Hosea 10:1. And all these fruits the fruits of Lebanon, a
most fertile mountain, the valleys whereof were most rich grounds for pasture,
grain, and vineyards.
As the dew unto Israel, he shall blossom as the lily] Quot verba, tot lumina, imo
flumina orationis. This prophet aboundeth with similitudes, as is before noted. {see
Hosea 12:10} {See Trapp on "Hosea 12:10"} He beginneth here with a simile drawn
from the dew of heaven; a mercy very much set by, in those hotter countries
especially, where from May to October they had no rain. The Chaldee paraphrase
and Hebrew doctors understand this text concerning Christ and his benefit. Truly
he is good to Israel, to the pure in heart, Psalms 73:1. Peace and mercy, sanctity and

88. safety, all spiritual benedictions in heavenly things in Christ, shall be upon the
Israel of God, Galatians 6:16, Ephesians 1:3. What the dew is to the herbs, fields,
fruits, that is Christ to his Israel. 1. The dew comes when the air is clear; so doth
Christ by his blessing, when the light of his countenance is lifted up upon us, 2. As
the dew refresheth and cherisheth the dry and fady fields (hence it is called the dew
of herbs, Isaiah 26:19, which thereby recover life and beauty), so doth Christ our
hearts, scorched with the sense of sin; and fear of wrath. 3. As the dew allayeth
great heats, and moisteneth and mollifieth the earth, that it may fructify; so Christ
cooleth the devil’s fiery darts, and filleth his people with the fruits of righteousness
(Aristot. lib. 1, Meteor. cap. 10; Plin. lib. 2, cap. 60, et lib. 18, cap. 29). "He is unto
them as a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest," Isaiah 18:4, and maketh their souls
as so many watered gardens, Jeremiah 31:12 4. As the dew falls in a narrow
compass, without noise, and is felt only by those (in the force of it) on whom it
descends; so the grace of Christ watereth his faithful only; secretly and sweetly
insinuating into their hearts: the stranger meddleth not with their comforts. See
John 14:17. The cock on the dunghill knows them not.
He shall grow as the lily] Which hath its name in the Hebrew from its six leaves, and
serves here and elsewhere to set forth the great comeliness, sweet odours, and true
humility of the Church: for the lily grows in valleys, Song of Solomon 2:1; as
Theophylact upon this text notes, sweet it is but not great, εχει την ευωδιαν µεγεθος
ουκ εχει, and the more it blossometh the more it shooteth upwards, to teach us
heavenly mindedness. It is also of a perfect whiteness, to remind us of innocence.
"Her azarites were purer than snow, whiter than milk," Lamentations 4:7. Lastly,
Lilio nihil est foecundius, saith Pliny, nothing is more fruitful than the lily; et
lachryma sua seritur, saith the same author, it is sown in its own tears. Weeping
Christians grow exceedingly.
And cast forth his roots as Lebanon] i.e. as the cedars of Lebanon, as the Chaldee
Paraphrast interpreteth it; or as the frankincense tree, which taketh very deep
rooting, so Cyril senseth it. The lily (with its six white leaves, and seven golden
coloured grains within it) soon fadeth, and loseth both beauty and sweetness; but so
doth not Christ and his people. He can as well die at the right hand of his Father as
in the hearts of his elect, where he dwells by faith, Romans 6:10, whereby they are
"rooted and grounded in love, strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner
man," Ephesians 3:16-17, so that the gates of hell cannot prevail against them.
Immota manet, is the Church’s motto; ec fluctu, nec flatu movetur, It is not moved
by wind or waves, which is the Venetian motto. "They that trust in the Lord shall be
as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever," Psalms 125:1.
Winds and storms move neither Libanus nor the well-rooted cedars thereof: which
the more they are assaulted the better they are rooted. So fareth it with the saints.
Plato compareth man to a tree inverted. The Scripture often compareth a good man
to a tree planted by the rivers of waters, that taketh root downward, and beareth
fruit upward, 2 Kings 19:30.

89. - “ quae quantum vertice ad auras,
Aethereas, tantum radice ad tartara tendit. ”
Let us cast forth our roots as Lebanon; stand fast rooted in the truth, being
"stedfast and unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord," and with
full purpose of heart cleaving close unto him, 1 Corinthians 15:58, being established
by his grace, Colossians 1:11 Hebrews 12:28; Hebrews 13:9. In the civil law, till a
tree hath taken root it doth not belong to the soil whereon it is planted. It is not
enough to be in the Church, except, like the cedars of Lebanon, we cast forth our
roots, and are so planted, that we flourish in the courts of our God, and bring forth
fruit in our old age, Psalms 92:12-14.
SIMEO , "THE FRUITS OF GOD’S FAVOUR
Hosea 14:5-7. I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast
forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the
olive-tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return;
they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine; the scent thereof shall be as the
wine of Lebanon.
THERE are instances of beautiful imagery in the Scriptures equal to any that can
be found in the works of the most renowned authors; they are enhanced too by the
importance of the subjects they contain. In both respects the passage before us
deserves peculiar attention. Imagination cannot conceive a richer display of divine
blessings than God here vouchsafes to his church and people.
I. The favour which God will shew his people—
The metaphor of “dew” is at once simple and sublime—
[The benefits of the dew are but little known in this climate; but in Jud ζa the
metaphor would appear very significant [ ote: Where the rains are periodical, and
the climate hot, the dews are more abundant.]. Fur some time after the creation,
dew supplied the place of rain [ ote: Genesis 2:6.]; and, after rain was given, it still
remained of great use. The Scriptures speak of it as an important blessing [ ote: See
Genesis 27:28; Genesis 27:39 and Deuteronomy 33:13.]: they represent the
withholding of it as a calamity and a curse [ ote: 2 Samuel 1:21.].]
The communications of God to his people are fitly compared to it—
[It distils silently and almost imperceptibly on the ground; yet it insinuates itself into
the plants on which it falls, and thus maintains their vegetative powers. In the same
manner God’s visits to his people are secret [ ote: He comes not in the wind, the
earthquake, or the fire, but in the small still voice. 1 Kings 19:11-12.]; but he gains
access to their in most souls [ ote: 2 Corinthians 6:16.]. He cheers and revives their

90. fainting spirits, and thus he fulfils to them his own most gracious promise [ ote:
Isaiah 58:11.]—.]
Were his communications refreshing only, and not influential on the conduct, we
might be afraid of enthusiasm; but his favour invariably discovers itself by—
II. Its fruits and effects—
The effects of the dew are seen by the progress of vegetation: the descent of God’s
Spirit on the soul also produces growth, beauty, fragrancy, fertility.
1. Growth—
[The “lily” springs up speedily, but is of short duration. The cedars of “Lebanon
cast forth their roots” to a great extent. Thus the soul that is refreshed with divine
communications. The quickness of its growth often excites admiration. Its stability
defies the assaults of earth and hell, while it “spreads its branches,” and displays its
vigour in every good word and work.]
2. Beauty—
[There is peculiar grace and ld;beauty in the olive-tree,” and such is there in the
soul that communes much with God. What a lustre was there on the face of Moses,
when he came down from the mount [ ote: Exodus 34:30.]! And how is the lively
Christian “beautified with salvation!” His outward conduct is rendered amiable in
every part. His inward dispositions of humility and love are ornaments which even
God himself admires [ ote: 1 Peter 3:4.]. He is transformed into the very image of
his God [ ote: Ephesians 4:23-24.]; nor shall his beauty be ever suffered to decay
[ ote: The olive, as an evergreen, retains its beauty; and in this respect also is a fit
emblem of the true Christian. Psalms 1:3.].]
3. Fragrancy [ ote: This is twice mentioned in the text, and therefore deserves
peculiar notice.]—
[Lebanon was no less famous for its odoriferous vines than for its lofty cedars: and
does not the Christian diffuse a savour all around him [ ote: 2 Corinthians 2:14.]?
How animated his discourse when God is with him! How refreshing and delightful
to those who enjoy his conversation [ ote: See him before the sun has exhaled the
dew, or the world abated the fervour of his affections; and how does he verify that
saying! Proverbs 16:24.]! How pleasing is it also to his God and Saviour [ ote:
Malachi 3:16. Song of Solomon 4:16.]! In proportion as he lives near to God, he
fulfils that duty [ ote: Colossians 4:6.]—.]
4. Fertility—
[The “corn and the vine” are just emblems of a Christian’s fruitfulness. They often
wear the most unpromising appearance; yet are they “revived” by the genial

91. influences of the sun and rain. Thus the Christian may be reduced to a drooping or
desponding state; but the renewed influences of God’s Spirit will revive him. They
make him “fruitful in all the fruits of righteousness.” They too, who “dwell under
his shadow,” and are most nearly connected with him, will participate his blessings
[ ote: If he be a master, a parent, and especially a minister, the benefit of his
revivals will extend to many.]“.]
Infer—
1. How honourable and blessed is the Christian’s state!
[Often is he favoured with visits from above [ ote: John 14:23.], and glorious are
the effects produced by God upon him. The whole creation scarcely affords images
whereby his blessedness may be adequately represented. Who then is so
honourable? who so happy? Let all endeavour to maintain a sense of their high
privileges, and to “walk worthy of the calling wherewith they are called.”]
2. How hopeful is the state of those who wait on God!
[The promises in the text were given as an answer to prayer [ ote: ver. 2.]: and they
are made to all, who, “like Israel,” plead with God. If the dew be withheld from
others, it shall descend on them [ ote: Judges 6:37-38.]. Its descent shall accomplish
the utmost wishes of their souls. They shall soon experience the fulfilment of that
word [ ote: Isaiah 40:31.]—.]
PETT, "‘I will be as the dew to Israel, he will blossom as the lily, and cast forth his
roots as Lebanon.’
YHWH Himself will be as the dew to Israel (compare Song of Solomon 5:2),
resulting in their blossoming like a lily (or crocus) and putting down strong roots.
The heavy morning dew was an important feature of agricultural life in Israel,
providing moisture which enabled plants to flourish when the rains were absent.
The lily was renowned for its beauty (‘consider the lilies of the field’) and is
especially prominent in the Song of Solomon (Hosea 2:1-2; Hosea 2:16; Hosea 4:5;
Hosea 5:13; Hosea 6:2-3; Hosea 7:2), especially as describing the beauty of the
maiden and the idealistic life ‘among the lilies’. Lebanon was famous as the place
where trees grew strong roots (this reverses the judgment in Hosea 9:16). Thus the
idea was that by YHWH’s abundant provision they would flourish and blossom
(compare Song of Solomon 6:11) and put down strong roots in the covenant
(compare Isaiah 37:31). Overall it is the same idea as is found in Hosea 6:3.
SBC, "This is a gracious promise to a penitent and returning people. Israel had fallen by
her iniquity; but "He who pardoneth iniquity, transgression, and sin" had earnestly
exhorted her to arise and return by repentance and righteousness to Himself; to take
with her words of humble confession, of earnest entreaty, of renewed covenant
engagement, of grateful, loving trust, and of solemn vow and promise for the future. And
it is on the supposition that that gracious exhortation has been laid to heart that the
Lord comes forth with abundant and adapted promises, among them the promise of the

92. text.
I. The dew falls very quietly and gently. So is God to. His people when He comes to
revive and bless them. The soul must have times of recruiting and replenishment, and
probably times of silence. The filling of the hidden springs, the growing of the secret
inward strength, will be, the "man knoweth not how," as is the growing of the flowers, as
is the falling of the dew.
II. The dew falls very copiously. In the land of Israel it falls much more abundantly than
in this country. God’s grace to a Church in a time of spiritual quickening is very copious
and full. When hearts are opened to Him in expectation they never close again in
collapse and disappointment.
III. The dew is very refreshing. It makes dying nature live. When God comes in
fulfilment of this promise there is a recovery of sinking strength, a kindling of dying
graces, a returning to the first love, a doing of the first works. To those who are so visited
there is a newness in religion every day.
IV. The dew is fertilizing. This silent, copious, refreshing agent works fruitfulness out of
all growing things. And when God is as the dew unto Israel, His final end is that the
plants of His right hand’s planting may become fruitful.
V. Note, as another analogy, the nearness to us in both cases of the reviving influence—
God does not fetch the dew from stars, or from fountains in the skies. He condenses and
distils it out of the atmosphere. May not this remind us how we are surrounded with a
very atmosphere of grace, which holds all precious things in readiness to be dropped
upon us when God shall command it so? The word of life is "nigh unto us," as near the
soul as the atmosphere is to the body.
A. Raleigh, Quiet Resting Places, p. 23.
Reference: Hos_14:5.—Preacher’s Lantern, vol. ii., p. 634.
Hosea 14:5-6
I God begins: "I will be as the dew unto Israel." Of dew we may notice several things. (1)
It is beautiful and glistening; but the process by which it is formed, and the way by which
it comes, are hidden from us,—as behind a veil, in mystery. (2) Dew is always
proportionate. The greater the need, the larger the supply; the hotter the day, the thicker
it lies; and by refreshing where it falls it tends to vitality and growth. (3) And it comes
faithfully, morning and evening, wherever it is wanted, and never fails. That is like God.
How the Holy Spirit distils upon us, or why, we cannot tell. The commencement of the
Divine life and its supplies are perfectly inscrutable. The workings are secret, but the
results are patent. And just as I want it, I find it. It comes fullest in the morning of our
hottest conflicts, and the fiercer and most searching days of trial have their richest
drops. At evening what is the most worked is the most renovated. And without it all the
soul’s verdure and all the soul’s life would wither and die.
II. Now trace the consequences on the man himself. The metaphor is sustained. It is by
the dewlike, gentle workings of God’s Spirit, by myriads of drops, each imperceptibly
small. "He shall grow as the lily and cast forth his roots as Lebanon," etc. There are five
things: growth, strength, expansion, beauty, fragrance.

93. III. They that dwell under His shadow shall return. We all cast our shadows; and the
influence we carry, the effect we produce,—may be, and should be, and must be, always
for good and for God. And this is the characteristic of the Christian, that "they that dwell
under his shadow shall return"—return to what they have lost: return to peace; return to
that good land; return to Canaan; return to their God.
J. Vaughan, Sermons, 10th series, p. 181.
Hosea’s picture of what the state of Israel would be, in returning to righteousness and
becoming reconciled to heaven, is composed—curiously and daintily composed—of rich
colours, drawn from various sources. To his glowing anticipation, no single image
sufficed to represent the approaching glory. For an adequate portrayal of the brilliant
prospect which his eyes beheld, he had to borrow and cull from this quarter and that—to
gather and combine many things—selecting here a little and there a little, and binding
the medley together, in one. And it is his eclecticism here that I find inviting and
suggestive; his free flitting from object to object, in order to collect materials for an
image of perfection.
I. It reminds me of what we need to recognize and act upon, both in the intercourse of
life and in the pursuit of truth. No man is worth accepting wholly, and every man has a
grace and glory of his own that is worth searching out. See on the one hand, how we
renounce and shut ourselves up from canine, snarling, disagreeable people as though
there were no lingering lines of beauty in them with which to cultivate acquaintance. See
on the other hand, our tendency to hero-worship; to insulate and set up on high and
warn off criticism from the man who has shown himself grand and supreme in two or
three points, or perhaps in a single quality: how we foolishly assume him to be equally
grand and supreme all round on all sides. What is needed is, that we should be more
ready and quick to discern the special grace, and the consequent essentialness, of every
unit in the crowd, and less ready and quick to confine ourselves to any.
II. The perfect man is here, but not to be brought together and expressed in any single
personality. We can approximate towards securing the benefit and use of him by
association, uniting in work, study, and intercourse, what we each have—our various
distinctive characters and attainments. Instances of this may be seen in politics, in
Church fellowship, in differing religious views. What we need in order to a growing
discernment of the universe of spiritual truth among us is, comprehension—the
comprehension within our circle of intercourse, of as many visions and impressions of
earnest brother-souls as possible.
S. A. Tipple, Echoes of Spoken Words, p. 187.
BI 5-7, "I will be as the dew unto Israel.
Divine relationship and human responsiveness
Through the picturesque forms and utterances of Hebrew prophecy there breaks a very
deep and generous sympathy with the world of nature. For Israel itself, fallen and
debased by grievous backslidings, smitten as with a plague of shameless apostasy and
spiritual corruption, yet sorrowful, repentant, and growingly responsive to the
exhortations of Jehovah’s servant, no simile could more vividly illustrate the effect of

94. Divine influence on the degenerate nation, or the restoring impulses it would give to its
better life, than that to which Hosea turned. “I will be as the dew unto Israel.”
I. I will be as the dew unto israel. A more tender and beautiful comparison for God’s
association and fellowship with His people is not to be imagined. The points of
correspondence are very obvious, and can scarcely be invested now with any sense of
novelty. The silent stealth of the dew to its resting-place, its reviving and invigorating
effect on fields and gardens, its plenteous supply of moisture for the bosom of the earth,
and its most beneficent adaptation to needy physical conditions, are all so many well-
worn and widely accepted lines of interpretation. What a sense of impenetrable mystery
there is about the dew! Who shall make plain to us the process of its generation? And yet
how mild and familiar this mysterious economy of nature has become, inspiring no
dread, arousing no suspicion, creating no fear, but simply accepted as a gracious
providential arrangement that, despite the fact that it is so incomprehensible, may be
safely left to its close and constant contact with our earthly life! What marvellous
combination of force and gentleness there is in the dew! It does not strive nor cry, nor
lift up any contending voice among the powers of nature. See again the service of the
dew in replenishing nature’s waste of fertilising power. The very existence of the dew
indicates a loss sustained by nature, and a pro vision in nature for repairing that loss.
II. Fertility is begotten of the dew. Where it was given it was natural to expect growth.
The response of fields and vineyards to its productive presence was fruitfulness and
plenty: and so, in a figure, the result is applied to Israel in this splendid picture of
human responsiveness to God’s gracious influence. “He shall grow as the lily.” There will
be growth, stability, breadth, usefulness, and fragrance—the pervading sweetness of the
holy life, a characteristic of our growth before God, which must ever be most pleasing to
Him. (W. H. Tetley.)
The dew of the Holy Spirit
I. To whom the blessing is promised. To Israel. Not Israel only after the flesh. The name
Israel brings before us Jacob, concerning whom there are two remarkable circumstances
recorded.
1. God’s special choice of him.
2. His power with God in prayer.
II. The nature of the blessing set forth. “As the dew.”
1. Dew is refreshing and fertilising.
2. Dew is, in many Eastern lands, the only means for producing these effects.
3. Dew is mild and grateful in the manner of its influence.
4. Dew is generally imperceptible in its approaches.
5. Dew comes only in the night. (Joseph Jowett, M. A.)
Dew to Israel
Before, He had said, “his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up.”
Now again He enlarges the blessing; their supply shall be unfailing, for it shall be from

95. God; yea, God Himself shall be that blessing. “I will be the dew; descending on the mown
grass,” to quicken and refresh it, descending, Himself, into the dried and parched and
sore hearts of men, as He saith, “We will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
The grace of God, like the dew, is not given once for all, but is day by day waited for, and
day by day renewed. Yet doth it not pass away, like the fitful goodness of God’s former
people, but turns into the growth and spiritual substance of those on whom it descends.
(E. B. Pusey, D. D.)
The Lord as the dew
(a talk with children):—When there are clouds to lessen the heat of the sun, there is less
need of the dew at night, and so God ordains that if clouds cover the heavens, there is
little dew to be found. The clouds prevent the escape of heat from the earth, and
therefore it does not get cold so rapidly, and thus the evaporated moisture that is in the
air does not so readily condense into dewdrops and settle on the grass. When there has
been a burning sky all day, and it continues clear even at night, the heat escapes rapidly
from the earth, and the moisture that is in the warm air when it touches the colder earth
condenses rapidly, and so the dews are generally profuse. Thus there is a very wise
provision made by God. According to the burden and heat of the day, as a rule, is the
amount of dew at night. The dew does not descend upon all things equally. The moisture
does not condense to rapidly upon the gravel paths as upon the grass. The grass needs it
most. The dew in descending makes no noise. It is a gracious blessing that comes silently
without trumpeting of any kind. It visits every bud and blade of grass. It does not visit
the big trees and forget the tender little plant. God provides for the little ones as well as
the great ones. The dew comes so gently that the feeblest blade can bear it. It takes hours
to develop a dewdrop. No blade can be injured by the dew. Even the most beautiful
bloom on the fruit would not be damaged by it. I want you to feel that as God is so gentle
and loving and kind, your sin against Him is all the greater for that. But even when you
sin, He comes gently still, so patient and long-suffering is He. He comes to refresh your
strength when you get tired and sad and impatient. God is constantly coming like the
dew: not once, but time after time. It is according to the need that the dew comes. So the
Saviour comes to us even in the darkening hour when no one seems to expect the
blessing; comes and refreshes our strength so that we may be the better able to bear the
heat and burden of another day. As you grow up to be men and women you will have
special need of strength: you will have new cares, new duties, new sorrows. But if God
refreshes your strength and fits you for every duty as it shall come, all is well. Your duty
and privilege is just to wait upon God, and trust in Him for every needful blessing. (D.
Davies.)
Divine influence
The dew is the emblem of Divine grace.
I. Divine influence, like the dew, is unseen. The greatest things we know of are unseen.
II. IT IS SILENT. The most delicate ear cannot hear the descent of the dew. So is it with
the coming of Divine grace.
III. It is gentle. It falls upon the weakest flower without hurting it. Gentleness is a
property of Divine grace. Every true believer is ready to say, “Thy gentleness hath made

96. me great.”
IV. It is reviving. The source of many and great blessings. So Divine grace, upon a soul
withered up by sin, imparts a freshness and a beauty to its faded life.
V. It is abundant. It bespangles all the fields, forests, and gardens of our beautiful world.
The humblest flower has its own drop of dew. In Christ there is grace to enlighten, to
pardon, to strengthen, to comfort, to glorify every human spirit.
VI. It is free. It falls as freely on the barren rock as on the fertile soil; as sweetly upon the
rough fern as upon the delicate rose. The most precious temporal blessings we possess
are free to all. Even so Divine grace is universally free. The jewel of Divine grace is as free
to all as the light, the air, the water, or the dew. (John Dunlop.)
The measure of blessing in spiritual influence determined by human
disposition
Dew is but very sparingly deposited on hard metals, while on glass, straw, grass, cloth,
and similar substances it forms abundantly. The nature of the substance determines the
amount of moisture that rests upon it. And the nature of our feelings towards God, and
the disposition of our spirits towards holy things, determine the amount of God we are
privileged to enjoy. Too often men blame their surroundings and accuse others of being
responsible for their spiritual poverty. But our environments are not so responsible as
are our own dispositions. The callous, unbending, resisting spirit is but little blessed,
while the soul that is submissive to the Divine will, lovingly disposed towards God and
His ways, and possessing a sympathetic affinity to the Divine, is saturated with rich and
satisfying blessings. (E. Aubrey.)
God’s silent blessings
I. The dew is a type of the silent blessings of God. He descends with spiritual graces,
coming silently even as the dew falls upon the tender grass. God works no less mightily
because He works in silence. This mode of Divine working is profoundly effective. There
is something strangely impressive in perfect silence. Man’s heart is a tough and stubborn
piece of mechanism. Nevertheless it is susceptible to the influences of gentleness,
persistingly and lovingly laid upon him, and by these influences God is constantly
working.
II. The dew teaches the timeliness of the Divine blessing. The dew comes in just where
and when it is most needed, adding greatly to its benefits by the timeliness of its coming.
And this is in accordance with the modes of Divine working among the children of men.
The souls who most need the Master’s tender care are those whom He most seeks to
bless. God does not seek us because we are saints, but to make us saints. Human sorrow
is small attraction to men, but is the lodestone that draws to us the Spirit of God.
III. The dew teaches the transient character of much human goodness. “As the early dew
it goeth away.” Of how many persons may this sad complaint be spoken? How many
resolves made since this year was born have already been dispelled as dew by the
morning sun! The dew vanished and left a blessing. These broken resolves, do they leave
the heart any better? Nay, the heart is harder and the mind more perverted because of
these failures to fulfil vows. (H. C. M’Cook, D. D.)

97. Christ is as the dew
This comparison of the dew is made use of for illustration in sundry places of Scripture
(Hos_6:4; Psa_110:3; Mic_5:7; Psa_133:1; Psa_133:3).
I. What likeness is there between Jesus Christ and the dew? The dew has six properties,
all fitly applicable, without straining, to the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. The dew is Divine and heaven-born.
2. The dew descends, comes down.
3. The manner of the descending of the dew is not observable. It descends silently,
makes no noise.
4. It is the nature of the dew to soften as far as it goes.
5. The dew moistens.
6. The dew makes fruitful.
II. Who is the Israel to whom he will be as the dew? There is a twofold Israel spoken of.
Israel the person, Israel the people: this includes Israel according to the flesh, and Israel
according to the spirit. Understand this latter.
1. Of the Gospel Church in general, and
2. Of particular believing souls.
III. When especially have we need of this dew?
1. We have all need of it while we are in an unconverted state and condition.
2. When the conscience is parched at any time with the sense of guilt, through some
wilful omission or commission.
3. Under the withdrawings of the light of God’s countenance.
4. When a fit of barrenness prevails, through the stirrings of some corruption, the
success of some temptation, or through the want of quickening means and
ordinances, the Word, sacraments, Sabbaths, solemn assemblies.
5. In a time of outward trouble and calamity.
6. When we come to die.
7. When we go to an ordinance. The dew is necessary to prepare the ground for the
plough.
8. When we have been to an ordinance.
IV. What is our duty in reference to this?
1. Mix faith with it, as a Divine truth; that there is certainly such a thing as this dew,
and that the Lord Jesus Christ is in it.
2. Be more sensible of your need of it every day in everything.
3. Ask it of God; and having asked it, expect and wait for it, in the use of appointed
means.
4. Observe whence all your spiritual refreshments come, and all your fruit. It is from
Christ as your dew; and let Him have the glory of it. (Philip Henry.)

98. Improvement in religion the fruit of a Divine influence
God has so framed mankind, and so disposed the affairs of human life as that, on the one
hand, our dependence on Him should not at all lessen our obligations to diligence; and
that our diligence should not preclude our regards to the influence of Divine providence.
No inference is to be drawn from the belief of a providence that is the least unfavourable
to industry. But he acts a part equally foolish and sinful who builds his future prospects
wholly upon his own prudence and labour. It is an undoubted truth that the concurrence
of an external influence, which is not under our control, is absolutely necessary to secure
success. Let a man be as industrious as he will, if he pays no regard to the providence of
God, his conduct is as unreasonable and criminal, as if through a pretended reliance on
that providence, he were to abandon himself to sloth and indolence! In vain do we
profess faith in the influence and operations of the blessed Spirit, while we live in the
slothful neglect of appointed duties. The text is the gracious assurance of God to penitent
and returning Israel. By the blessing here promised we are to understand the influence
of Divine grace.
I. Why are the Divine influences compared to the dew? The dew is a mist, or thin small
kind of rain, which falls upon the earth morning and evening in a very gentle, gradual,
imperceptible manner, and so refreshes the ground and makes it fruitful. It has always
been esteemed a great blessing. It is a natural emblem of the Spirit.
1. As to its origin. The dew comes down from above. It is called the “dew of heaven,”
and the heavens are said to “drop down dew.” It is no effect of human art or power.
So the influences of the Spirit come down from God They are absolutely at God’s
disposal, and under His direction and control. Who shall question this? To deny that
there is a secret invisible mighty influence, which at some seasons especially
quickens the heart of a good man and animates him to his duty, is in effect to deny all
religion. The means of religion are manifestly adapted to produce the effects which
have been mentioned, just as the sowing and cultivating the ground to make it
fruitful. But these means are not alike successful with all who enjoy them. The
benefits which some reap from the means of religion must be owing to the kind and
seasonable influences of Divine grace which accompany them.
2. As to the manner in which it falls upon the earth. It descends gradually,
imperceptibly, seasonably, and some times very plentifully. So do the influences of
the Holy Spirit descend upon the Christian. They were given richly to early
Christians who had to establish Christianity and to endure persecutions. These early
disciples were filled with the Spirit.
3. As to its use. These are the effects of the Divine influences.
(1) Divine comfort and refreshment.
(2) Establishment and confirmation.
(3) Fruitfulness.
(4) Beauty and glory put upon the real Christian.
What ornament so fair and beautiful as that of a meek and quiet spirit—a mind endued
with patience and contentment, with benevolence and love?
II. To make some suitable improvement of the whole.

99. 1. Does this dew come down from God; of Him then let us earnestly seek it, and to
Him let us offer our humble thanks for it.
2. Though we receive this dew from above, let us not expect it but in the way of duty.
If we do, it is not to be wondered at that we are disappointed.
3. How vain are all their pretences to a large experience of these dews of Divine grace
who bring forth no suitable fruit in their lives!
4. Let the humble, serious, and timorous Christian be comforted—the Christian
whose concern it is to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, though through many
discourage ments he is sometimes ready to question whether he is the happy subject
of Divine influence.
5. How unspeakable will be the bliss and glory of the heavenly world, where the
effects of these Divine influences shall be enjoyed in their utmost perfection. (S.
Stenner, D. D.)
As the dew
These sweet promises in their order follow immediately upon this, that God would freely
love them, and cease to be angry with them: then He adds the fruits of His love to their
souls, and the effects of those fruits in many particulars.
1. God’s love is a fruitful love. Wheresoever He loves, He makes the things lovely.
Our hearts, in regard to themselves are barren and dry, wherefore God’s grace is
compared to the dew. The dew falls insensibly and invisibly. It falls very sweetly and
mildly. Grace is compared with dew in regard to its operations. It cools the air when
it falls, and then with coolness it hath a fructifying virtue, for falling especially on
tender herbs and plants, it soaks into the root of them and makes them fruitful. So it
is with the graces of God’s Spirit.
2. Notice the unresistibleness of the dew and of God’s grace.
Christians grow like lilies—
1. For beauty and glory.
2. In regard of purity and whiteness.
Let us then labour that the dew of God may prove the dew of grace, and that God would
make us lilies. Remember that there is a growing upward; a growing in the root; and a
spreading and growing in the fruit or sweetness. (R. Sibbes, D. D.)
The metaphor of the dew
I. Open and explain the declaration and promise here given. The fountain and spring of
these words originates from the former. Some interpret as a promise of the Holy Ghost.
The expression, “I will be as the dew unto Israel,” is indicative of Divine sovereignty.
Here is the will of God expressed in a promise. In Scripture, things very delightful and
refreshing are compared to dew. Unity amongst brethren is compared to the “dew of
Hermon.” Afflictions and sufferings are like dew and drops of the night. The metaphor
as now before us is designed to show how the Church of God and the saints of the Most
High are refreshed by the love of the Father, the salvation of the Son, and the gracious

100. influences of the Holy Ghost. He falling gradually and insensibly on the souls of the
elect, they are most blessedly revived and refreshed; so as to be strong in the grace that
is in Christ Jesus, and made fruitful in every good word and work.
II. The sudden change produced by the fulfilment of the promise. “He shall grow as the
lily.” The expression is used of spiritual growth. This can only be by the grace and Divine
influences of the Holy Spirit.
III. The establishment of the Church of Christ in this flourishing condition. “He shall
cast forth his roots as Lebanon.” The strength of Christ’s Church, and the fixation and
firmness of the same, will be such as cannot be moved. The whole of these words are an
absolute promise. God’s “I will” runs throughout them. (Samuel Eyles Pierce.)
The dew
This is a gracious promise to a penitent and returning people. Dew is of the greatest
value to all who are engaged in agricultural pursuits. It assuages the fierce drought of the
season. With its nightly baptism it invigorates the languid vegetation, and renews
greenness and growth over the whole landscape. Give some analogies between the
descent of the dew upon the ground and the gracious comings and manifestations of God
to His people.
I. The dew falls very quietly and gently. On the tempestuous night there is none. It is
distilled beneath serene heavens. Its crystal drops are formed under the wing of silence
and in the bosom of the night. So God does not usually come to bless and revive His
people amid agitations and excitements, in the stress of life, in the hurry of affairs, in the
crash of startling events. Times of recruiting and replenishment will probably be times of
silence. Elijah heard the “still small voice.” There are times in the Church’s history when
God comes graciously near amid agitations and alarms. But such comings of God have
hitherto been exceptional. God’s gracious work has gone on in sublime quietness. Many
a true religious revival has been accomplished in much quietness, without any
tremendous agonies or sublime raptures, without swift alternations of hope and fear—
just by a growing sense of the nearness and importance of Divine things. God is waiting
for the opening of your heart in the hour of quietness, that He may distil over all its
affections the sweet baptism of His grace.
II. The dew falls very copiously. In the land of Israel much more abundantly than it ever
does in this country. Travellers tell us that after a still night, when the dew has been
falling, they find their baggage and their tents dripping as though it had been heavy rain
during the night. God’s grace to a Church in a time of spiritual quickening is very
copious and full. God’s dealings are with the whole soul of a man. A man can find this
engagement of his whole nature only in religion. The copiousness of Divine influence is
seen not only in this wholeness of effect upon the individual, but also in its diffusion over
the whole Christian community. God’s dew does not come in streams; it is distilled from
all the air. It lies clear and cool on every growing thing. And God’s grace in like manner
comes to many hearts. It runs from heart to heart by the chain of sympathy.
III. The dew is very refreshing. It makes dying nature live. The husbandman looks
despondingly over his fields, and fears for the safety of his growing corn. But then begins
the silent, copious baptism of the dew. And the farmer can think with hope of the
coming harvest day. When God comes in fulfilment of the promise of the text, there is a
recovery of sinking strength, a rekindling of dying graces, a returning to first love, a

101. doing of first Works. To those who are so visited there is a newness of religion every day.
IV. The dew is fertilising. This silent, copious, refreshing agent works fruitfulness nut of
all growing things. They are thus aided in the accomplishment of the very end of their
existence. And God’s final end with His people is that the plants of His right hand’s
planting may become fruitful. Our Divine Master speaks much and very solemnly on this
subject of fruitfulness. And Christian fruitfulness is a manifold and various thing. It is
not all of one kind. Let each “planted” soul rejoice to feel rooted in Him! And then let
each grow freely according to His will—not fearing, but gladly daring to branch and
blossom and fructify according to the law of individual life. Lily, olive, corn, vine, cedar,
all are growing in God’s garden; and there is room and dew for them all.
V. There is yet another analogy in the nearness to us in both cases of the reviving
influence. God does not fetch the dew from stars or from fountains in the skies. He
condenses and distils it out of the atmosphere. A little change in temperature does it all.
This reminds us how we are surrounded by a very atmosphere of grace, which holds all
precious things in readiness to be dropt upon us when God shall command it so. May
God give us His Holy Spirit to work so on our hearts that we shall become quickly and
largely receptive of the unsearchable riches of Christ. (A. Raleigh, D. D.)
God promises to restore fruitfulness to Ephraim
Here is a continuation of Jehovah’s answer to Ephraim’s prayer, especially to the second
part of it. “Receive us graciously,” or, “Receive good gifts, both temporal and spiritual.
Ephraim shall once more realise what his name signifies, even fruitfulness, not only in
earthly things, but in every good word and work. The outpourings of all these blessings
spring from the dew of God’s mercy, and from no other source. How infinitely more
abundant is God’s grant than Israel’s request. God answers our petitions more than we
think or ask. The reasons are two.
1. God knows our wants far better than we do. We, in spiritual things, resemble
children in temporal things.
2. God answers prayer consistently with His majesty. Man answers his fellow-man,
like the treacherous echo, only by halves. “As the dew.” Ephraim, on account of
backsliding, was cursed with barrenness and bleakness; but the gift of dew shall
restore his blessings. Dew embraces several significations, comfort, refreshment,
encouragement, fecundity, and suchlike. Dew, in a spiritual point of view, means
Christ. What dew is to the earth, that is God’s grace to the soul. We are naturally
heart-hardened, and therefore barren, as regards the fruit of righteousness; but the
dew of God’s grace disposes our hearts, by softening them, in the first place, for the
purpose of receiving the seed of the Word; and, in the second place, to make that
seed fruitful. Many are the reasons why the grace of God should be likened to dew.
1. Because none can give it but Jehovah-Jesus.
2. Because it is the fruit of a serene, clear, and tranquil heaven. The grace of God is
not given to a soul which is scorched or frozen, but it is granted to such an one as
looks peacefully and steadily towards heaven for it.
3. Because it is abundant and immeasurable.
4. Because it is silent, and falls imperceptibly.
5. Because it is of a gentle and benign nature, and therefore sinks—though slow yet

102. sure—deeply into the earth. So is the Spirit of God.
6. Because it is of a quickening nature. It causes the earth to bring forth her increase.
When the Sun of Righteousness melts the moral frost from man’s heart, and the
Spirit breathes upon the parched soul, it is then that both heart and soul open to the
reception of Christ. (Moses Margoliouth, B. A.)
Dew upon Israel
The prophecy of Hosea may be likened to a tempestuous summer’s day. Here we have
peace after storm. Consider the comparison Jehovah here employs.
1. Dew is refreshing. A godless soul is like a rainless, dewless, desert land—
everything is dead or dying. There are noble faculties and Divine capacities but they
have no life. Seek, I beseech you, the benign presence of your God and Saviour.
2. Dew is beautifying. What more delightful than to go forth into the fields with the
sunrise and see them lit up with millions of sparkling diamonds, and sown with
myriad pearls! And how beautiful have been the characters of those in whose hearts
God has dwelt. And the presence of God is the true beauty of a Church.
3. Dew is fertilising. Regions where the dew falls copiously are remarkable for their
fertility. Fertility implies two things—luxuriant growth, and abundant fruit.
4. Dew is gentle. In its descent it does not break the tenderest filaments; it does not
wound the most fragile blossom. And so God deals tenderly with His children.
5. Dew is impartial in its distribution. It descends upon the evil and the good, upon
the just and unjust. It falls alike on the poor man’s plot and on the broad acres of the
rich. So impartial is the love of God, so impartial are the benefits of the Gospel.
(Joseph Halsey.)
God’s mission and expectation
The symbolism of the Bible is unrivalled for beauty and suggestiveness. The text
suggests—
I. The ministry of the Divine to the human. God’s influence comes as close to men as the
dew to the flower. It is inspiring to know that ours is not a God who lives only in the light
of His own majesty, but dwells with the humble everywhere. He not only rides in the
rolling chariot of the stormy skies, or sits in silence above the crested billows of the
heaving ocean; but He stoops to earth, and kisses the face of the flowers with His
presence, and touches the weak and the weary with a tenderness that surpasses that of
the dewdrop as it rolls into the heart of the lily, and becomes there a hidden fountain of
strength and refreshment. What is God to the soul that trusts in Him? Is He not, as the
dew to the flower, its unseen source of strength? Men need to realise, above everything
else, the readiness of God to help them. Why does the dew come to the flower? To bless
it, of course. When the dew is on its petals, it breathes its whole sweet fragrance in
response. It is for this that the Lord approaches humanity, that we may become better
men, or, to put it in the words of the text—“He shall grow as the lily.”
II. The Divine expectation. It is only natural for the Lord to expect us to “grow,” when
He has nourished us. We know how the “lily grows.” Its first endeavour is to growl.

103. 1. Strong. We are to “grow” like sturdy Christians. It is the stunted growths, the
dwarfs of Christianity, that bring it most discredit. But it also grows—
2. Beautiful. We are to “grow” in the beauty of holiness. The Lord wants all His
servants to be giants, but He does not want them to be clumsy. We are to develop
symmetry as well as strength. Next, the “lily” grows—
3. Useful. It has medicinal as well as floral uses. Our characters can never be
complete until we “grow” after this order—strength, beauty, service. Application. The
Lord is waiting to fill every life, as the dew fills every flower. And when He enters,
and not till then, will our lives burst into blossom, and fragrance, and fruit. (J. W.
Bray.)
The grace of God like the dew
In the text, the Lord is introduced as promising the copious and refreshing influences of
the Holy Spirit, in the most unrestrained and engaging manner.
I. The propriety and force of the comparison between the dew and the grace of God. As
natural philosophers are not agreed as to the source whence dew is formed, so neither
can, we discover what is the cause of the grace of God. The love of God in Christ Jesus
procures it for us; but how that is effected we know not; nor why, in the Gospel, it is
offered so universally, and yet received so indifferently. As the dew is diffused during the
night, in a silent and imperceptible manner, after the sun has withdrawn its shining; so
the grace of God has been extensively diffused since Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness, left
this lower world, and the sweet operations of the Holy Spirit are, in a silent but powerful
manner, carried on, without our notice or our help. As the dew is regular in its returns,
at the seasons when the earth is most in need of it, so the grace of God is regularly
granted to His chosen people in every time of need, and is, in general, accompanied with
the use of appointed means. As the dew is the free gift of a bountiful providence, so grace
is the free gift of our most merciful Father. The dew nourishes and refreshes the whole
vegetable creation, and when the grace of God descends upon men by the saving
influences of the Holy Spirit, they are refreshed and revived, quickened and made alive
to God and holiness. As the dew causes all things which grow out of the earth to advance
to maturity, so the Spirit of God works upon the hearts of His people, making them
fruitful in good works, obedient in every duty, and wise unto eternal life. It Is said, “he
shall grow as the lily.” The lily is by nature delicate and weakly, but by the repeated
visitations and refreshings of the dew, it puts forth its tender buds, and by degrees
assumes strength and increases in size. The grace of God, by the agency of the Holy
Spirit, enables the soul to go on towards perfection. Observe concerning the growth
promised, that God will not only supply the believer’s wants, but will Himself be to him
all that he needs. “I will be as the dew upon Israel.” The grace of God in the soul is an
active principle.
II. The effects of the grace of God upon his people’s hearts and lives. Various similitudes
are employed in Scripture. It is likened to “seed fallen in good ground,” to being “made
willing,” to being “raised from the dead,” to being transformed into another likeness, etc.
Then remember that when we profess faith in the Divine promise, we should give
evidence of it by our sincere repentance, and our obedience to the holy law of God.
Application. Through faith and patience the believer shall at last inherit the promises in
their fullest acceptation. “What shall we then say to these things.” If God be for us, who
can be against us?” (James Kidd, D. D.)

104. Spiritual blessings for the true Israel of God
The text is part of a description of the flourishing condition of the chosen people when
returned to God. It may be accommodated to the Church of Christ among the Gentiles.
I. The promise. “I will be as the dew unto Israel.” We know the value of dew, but in
Eastern lands much more vivid ideas are called up by it. In Palestine little or no rain is
known during the summer. Were it not for the cool nights and the heavy dew all
vegetation must perish. The bestowal of the dew has been accounted one of God s
especial blessings—and the withdrawal of it a curse. What the dew is in the natural
world, causing the earth to soften, to bring forth, to fructify, that is the Holy Spirit of
God to the soul of man. It softens the heart, implants the principles of grace, sows the
seed of eternal life, and puts forth all the evident tokens of a new creation within. As the
dew is essential to the production and preservation of herbs and plants, so is it every way
necessary to the reviving of the heart of man, that the Spirit of God work in it, because
left to himself man could never change one feature of his original corrupt and unfruitful
nature. As the dew descends on every plant, leaving not one leaf unwatered, in silence
refreshing even the smallest blade of grass, so does the Holy Spirit work silently,
warning, teaching, convincing, in the hearts of all. When in the text it is stated that Israel
shall grow as a lily and cast forth his roots as Lebanon, of course it is implied that an
earnest and faithful reception of the good Spirit has been given.
II. The effects which are to follow God’s Spirit being as the dew unto Israel. Whatever
effects may be expected from any future outpouring of the Spirit, the same in their
measure and kind are to be looked for in our immediate dispensation. “Grow as the lily.”
This is a beautiful emblem of the loveliness and purity of a truly Christian character. The
chief attributes of the lily of the East are beauty, fragrance, and certain medicinal
qualities. These qualities, morally considered, should be found in every Christian. We
read of the beauty of holiness. St. Peter speaks of the ornament of a meek and quiet
spirit. The Christian should be noted among his brethren for the excellence of his
principles, for conscientious behaviour, and for a display of love and sympathy in all his
actions. Like the fragrance of a beautiful flower, the name of the Christian ought to be
acceptable to all men. There should be a loveliness, a seriousness in his manner, an
habitual holiness evincing everywhere that he is a disciple of Christ. Such graces can
only flow from constant communion with his God. As the lily is endued with medicinal
properties, so is the Christian to be as the “salt of the world.” He must be jealous of
God’s honour. Sin must never be unreproved in his presence. He, by his principles and
practice, placed as he is in a wicked world, must preserve it from corruption. The margin
says, “He shall blossom as the lily.” This is precisely what God expects from us. Too
many forget the truth that a Christian should be a marked man. If any of you feel your
shortcomings, flee to the Saviour for grace and pardon. Copy the example of your
Master; learn of Him; emulate His innocence, His purity, His fragrance, His faithfulness.
He compares Himself to a lily, and thus condescends to show us His humility, His love,
His “oneness” with His Church and people. “He shall cast forth his roots as Lebanon.”
This figure shows the stability which true religious principles impart. It is a forcible
image of the security of him whose heart has yielded to the strivings of Divine grace.
Here is found an argument for the necessity of progress in religion. Seasons of trouble,
sorrow, inquiry; the hour of death, the day of judgment, are before us. It is needful,
therefore, to have some settled principles, some well-ascertained and surely laid
foundation upon which we may then rest. “It is a good thing that the heart be established

105. by grace.” (R. H. Whitworth.)
The progressive Christian
I. The spiritual influence which God promises to his people. It is like the dew—
1. In its source.
2. In its silence.
3. In its seasonableness.
4. In its abundance.
II. Its beneficial results.
1. Growth.
2. Stability.
3. Beauty.
4. Fragrance.
5. Fertility. (G Brooks.)
The dew of Israel and the lily of God
I. Christ, as set forth by the dew unto Israel. Jehovah Himself is the dew. This promise
implies that there is a dry and withered field somewhere. This field we are, in so far as
we are not yet partakers of His life. As the dew falls in the sultry nights of summer, when
the fields thirst and languish, so does the dew of God descend only upon thirsting and
fainting souls. As the dew fans from heaven in the stillness of the night, so is the way of
Christ. The manner and way of His coming to the soul is a mystery hidden in night; and
who can unveil it? The dew of the field has a bright lustre within it, for it has communion
with the light of heaven. When once Christ has come in unto us, all is bright and pellucid
in the depths of our disordered nature. But Christ covers all our misery with His own
self, with His own righteousness. How fructifying is the dew I And what a life does Christ
impart to the soul!
II. Christ compares his bride the Church, and herein every believing soul, to the
beautiful lily. The people of Palestine knew of no flower more truly sweet and lovely than
the noble lily. The lily is often found growing among thorns. Thorns represent the many
spiritual and temporal troubles with which the chosen of God are encompassed. Observe
by what means the lily thrives and flourishes. It toils not, neither does it spin. It
passively waves in the sunshine, and opens its cup to the morning dew. May, then, the
Spirit of the Lord Jesus come upon each of us as dew! (F. W. Krummacher.)
The dew of God’s grace, and its results
I. The influences of the spirit, “as the dew.”
1. Dew is never far off (humidity of atmosphere); waits around; makes itself felt at
proper season by whatsoever thirsts for it. So the Giver of life is ever present with

106. His own; ready to refresh, cleanse, strengthen. He is round about us (Psa_139:1-24.)
the atmosphere of His promises, His providences, His presence.
2. Falls in quiet of evening, and believers specially realise God’s presence in
quietness. “Commune . . . and be still.” Eventide experiences; “cool of the day.” Do
you serve with quiet mind? Too much excitement, worldly or “religious”; bustling,
mechanical? Troubled souls, be comforted.
3. Falls in due measure; never in excess: grasses, flowers, olives, cedars; each
receives in proportion to need. Similarly, the workings of the Spirit, infinitely wise,
gracious. Dew of “youth,” babes, elders. Class, condition, character; our
responsibilities,. . . “the grace that is given to us,”—given abundantly, tenderly.
4. Falls silently; not see or hear. So with the ordinary operations of the Spirit.
Stillness, secrecy of reception; gradual formation of habits; transformation (2Co_
3:18); growth, “grace for (upon) grace”; renewing of the hidden life with energy
invisible; loving influences, mighty, mysterious, silent, but sure (Mar_4:27).
5. Regularly: to-day’s dryness, to-day’s dew. Even so we pray for “the continual dew”
of God’s blessing; fresh joy and vigour from the “healthful Spirit” of His grace (Job_
29:19). Daily hallowing. Not spasmodic.
II. The results of the spirit’s influences. “He shall grow . . . They that dwell . . . ”
1. Believers blessed. Notice first the position: lilly, cedar, olives, herbs; and grasses;
mountain crest, slope, clefts, and rich soil; exposed, admired, hidden. Each plant its
own place. So each member of the Church his own vocation: what we are, where we
are—of God. The poor and unlearned may as truly, though not as widely, glorify God,
as the high-placed and greatly gifted. Notice second, perfection; in all bedewed
vegetation, luxuriance and beauty of vigorous life. Special services and
pleasantnesses; purity and loveliness—the lily; strength and expansion—the cedar;
fruitfulness—the olive; fragrance (“smell”) of herbs, and scented tufty “Lebanon.”
“Diversities of gifts” and “of operations” (1Co_12:4). A Conway, a Living stone, a
Monod, a Lyre, a Selwyn, a Hedley Vicars; “stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
What variety! Humility, sweetness, purity, fervour, fruitful ness, self-sacrificing
patience, courage, steadfastness, etc. But be not contented with some special grace:
pray to “worthily magnify” His name in full orbed holiness.
2. Believers a blessing. “They that dwell under His shadow shall return.” The
influence of consistent Christian living; it wins, helps, warms, comforts. Try thus to
be, more and more, a means of grace. (Clergyman’s Magazine.)
A fertilized Church
God promised to be as dew to His chosen people. He was so. Their entire history proves
it. He was the beauty of their character, their strength in battle, the wisdom of their
counsels, the giver of food—as the dew. God is as dew to His people now by the
operations of the. Holy Spirit. Dew is a type Of spiritual influence because it is essential.
Nature pro vides no substitute. Its operations are mysterious, unlike rain. Its workings
are silent. It is one of God’s many quiet workers. Its influence is beautify ing. It feeds
flowers. It is fertilising. No drink of vegetation is more grateful.
I. The growth of a God-watered Church. In nature, stability is never reached rapidly.
Strength is always crowned with hoary years. This law affects also the works of man. A

107. new kingdom is feeble; an old one strong. In the growth of a God-watered Church we
have a beautiful exception to this law of nature. In it the peculiarities of the lily and the
cedar are blended. It has beauty that is not fragile. It has strength that is not of tedious
growth.
II. The power of a God-watered Church. Preachers often say that but two classes of
persons inhabit earth—the saved and the unsaved. But the unsaved divide into those
who have never known God, and those who have apostatised from Him. A God-watered
Church has power with both classes.
1. It has power with the world at large.
(1) This power is the power of law.
(2) Of loveliness.
(3) Of love.
2. It has power with relapsed Christians.
(1) They revive as the corn from apparent death.
(2) They grow as the vine rapidly.
(3) Their growth is towards the fragrance of mature Christian life, holiness, and
love. (I. K. Jackson.)
God as the dew
The comfortable, fruitful, sanctifying grace of God is compared to dew.
1. The dew doth come from above. It cannot be commanded by the creature.
2. The dew doth fall insensibly and invisibly. So the grace of God. We feel the
comfort, sweetness, and operation of it, but it falls insensibly, without observation.
3. It falls sweetly and mildly, not violating the nature or course of anything, but
rather helping and cherishing the same.
4. Grace is compared to dew, in regard of the operations of dew. What effects hath
dew upon the earth?
(1) It cools the air when it falls, and with coolness it hath a fructifying virtue.
(2) The soul is not only cooled and refreshed, but it is also sweetened and made
fruitful with comfort to the soul.
5. Dew is irresistible. Nothing can hinder the dew from falling. Use. Let none be
discouraged with the deadness, dryness, and barrenness of their own hearts, but let
them know that God doth graciously promise, if they will take the Course formerly
set down, to be “as the dew unto them.” Therefore let them come to the ordinances of
God, with wondrous hope, confidence, and faith that He will bless the means of His
own ordaining and appointing, for His own ends. (R. Sibbes.)
The Holy Spirit as the dew
The Holy Ghost came down on the day of Pentecost. He comes down now also, though

108. not in any extraordinary manner, or with any remarkable manifestation. Quietly, calmly,
but mightily, now as then He comes, the Lord, the Giver of Life, to quicken the dead soul
and to revive the drooping, The manner of His ordinary coming is likened to the falling
of the dew, and the various effects of His coming are likened to the luxuriance of the
most beautiful plants of an Eastern climate.
I. The coming of the Spirit is as the dew.
1. As the dew all day long hangs suspended in the atmosphere waiting only for the
fitting moment to form itself into sensible drops upon every blade of grass which is
thirsting for its fall, so is the blessed Spirit of God ever moving on all sides around
us, unseen indeed, but not altogether unfelt, waiting for the hour when the glare of
this world shall have gone down, and man’s heart, as in the coolness of the evening
hour, be prepared-to receive Him. The Spirit is ever in contact with our hearts,
gently yet strongly, inclining them to receive Jesus as their Lord, and to live for Him.
Above, beneath, around, within you is God the Spirit, and every moment He is
striving with your conscience to lead you on to God.
2. There is a likeness in the seasons when the dew falls, and when the Holy Spirit
most sensibly comes. The dew settles in drops upon the herbs at evening. The Spirit’s
seasons come when the gathering night-clouds of sickness or of sorrow, or the calm
still hours of Sabbath meditation, have shut out the glare of earthly things and
cooled down the heart. You were still and calm in your own spirit, and so inclined to
receive the impressions of the blessed Spirit of God.
3. The manner in which the dew falls. Gently, and again and again. So while the
Spirit humbles the heart of the stoutest sinner, He does not overwhelm the spirit of
the most timorous and feeble disciple. He settles on our hearts, and shows us the
things of Jesus.
4. The dew falls much more fully on the grass which thirsts for it than on the stones
which have no longing for it. The Spirit is about us all, but His fulness of grace comes
to those who really need.
II. The effect of the Holy Spirit as pictured by the growth of plants when watered by the
dew. The prophet illustrates by the beauty of the lily, the fruitfulness of the olive, and the
deep-rooted strength and far-spreading sweetness of the cedar of Lebanon. Each one has
its own peculiar properties, but each of these properties is nourished and brought to
perfection by the dew. To Jesus the Spirit was given without measure; and therefore in
Jesus all graces and all gifts are combined; each is in perfection, and no one clashes with
another. In meekness alike and in firmness, in depth of thought and in activity of work,
He stood alone, the perfect man, and in Him alone the words of the prophet are
completely fulfilled. (Canon Morse.)
The Divine dew and its result
s:—We think of God as being the dew in connection with the influences of His Spirit.
These influences of the Spirit descend in consequence of the work of Christ.
I. The connection between the Divine dew and its results.
1. It is a gentle influence, but has great results. The dew is never anything but gentle.
It does not seem a force at all. And yet it is an arrangement by which some of the
greatest effects in nature are produced. To those whose backslidings have been

109. healed, and from whom God’s anger has been turned away, there is no storm
influence, there is only the influence of the dew. God is gentleness itself, and His
Spirit falls on our life with no violent action, yet accompanied with the greatest
results.
2. It is a silent influence, but has visible results. If plants were always in the glare of
the sun they would soon wither and die. But at nightfall, after the heat of the day, the
dews noiselessly descend. Every blade of grass has its own drop of dew. There has
been no sound of anything going on, and yet when morning comes the effects are
plainly visible. Drooping plants have revived; nature comes forth refreshed. The
Divine workings cannot be traced, but the fruits of the Spirit are manifest.
3. It is a Divine influence, and yet its results are entirely human. The dew is a pure
ethereal influence. It is not like the fogs or pestilential vapours from swamps, which
rise only a little from earth. It is the dew of heaven. And yet it has an affinity to all
forms of vegetable life on the earth. So the influences of the Spirit come from above,
from a source high above us; and yet they have an affinity to us. There is that which
is foreign to us, namely, sin. To that the Spirit has no affinity. As dew, He mingles
with and brings out all that is truly human.
II. The results by themselves and in their mutual connection. It requires three things to
set forth the excellence of the Christian life. The lily, the cedar, and the olive-tree are
brought together to give us, in their combination, a conception of what our life should be
under the clews of the Spirit.
1. The results of rapid growth, and yet solidity. “He shall grow as the lily, and cast
forth His roots as Lebanon.” There must be solidity as well as rapidity of growth. The
cedar is especially deep rooted in the soil. We strike our roots down when we wrestle
with God in prayer, when we read God’s Word so as to take firm hold of it, and when,
in temptation, we steadfastly adhere to principle.
2. The results are breadth of growth and fertility. “His branches shall spread,” etc. It
belongs to the idea of a perfect tree that while it grows upward it grows all round,
and at the same time. The cedar especially is widespreading. And so while we have
heavenly aspiration we are always to be broadening in our human views and
sympathies. But trees that grow to breadth do not grow so much to fatness. So one
tree does not suffice to complete the idea. The olive is superior to the cedar in one
respect—in fruitfulness. It spends its strength, not on spreading but on fruit-bearing.
So we are to combine the cedar and the olive, and, while keeping up our breadth, we
are to increase in the rich elements of our life.
3. There results a variety of beauty. There is the beauty of the lily, and also of the
olive-tree. There is always a dignity and stateliness about the lily. Whatever belongs
to us, whether it be more of the lily or of the olive, will be brought out under the
dews of the Spirit. The results are healthfulness, and pleasantness of influence. (R.
Finlayson, B. A.)
Grace reviving Israel
I. The promise of grace made to Israel, notwithstanding Israel’s sin. “I will be as the dew
unto Israel.” The Christian is here compared to a plant which cannot be watered by any
water that is to be found on earth, a plant which needs heavenly watering, even the dew
from above. The Eastern figure of the dew has in it several beauties.

110. 1. Grace, like the dew, often comes down imperceptibly into man’s heart. Who ever
heard the foot steps of the dew coming down upon the meadow-grass?” And
Christianity is very often imperceptible in its operations. Do not despise spiritual
things, because thou hearest not a sound thereof.
2. The dew is always sufficient. If God waters the earth with dew, foolish would be
the man who should go after wards to water after his Maker. God’s grace, when it
comes upon a man’s heart, is all sufficient.
3. The dew, when it is required, is constant. As thou wantest the dew of grace, so
shalt thou find it.
II. The influences of Divine Grace in the soul are here set forth in metaphor.
1. It makes us grow upward. “Grow as the lily.” This refers to the daffodil lily, which
on a sudden, in a night, will spring up. That is what grace does in a man’s soul. Its
first operation is to make us grow up.
2. After they have been growing” upward they have to grow downward. “Cast forth
his roots as Lebanon.” God will not have His people all flower and foliage; He wants
them also to take deep root, and throw out strong fibres. Growing down is quite as
good as growing up. We should be rooted in humility, and growing in zeal; but
usually the two do not come together. Growing downward is a very excellent thing to
promote stability. Perhaps that is the exact meaning of the passage.
3. The Christian must next make a profession. “His branches shall spread.”
4. The next effect of grace is, the Christian must be beautiful, as “the olive-tree.” Its
beauty lies in its fruitfulness. And the olive-tree is an evergreen.
5. A good report must go forth about the Christian. “His smell as Lebanon.”
Wherever the Christian goes he will cast a perfume about him.
II. The benefits of grace to others. “They that dwell under His shadow shall return.” You
will not wish yours to be a selfish religion. I like an expansive religion. By a godly
conversation the Christian man shall spread the sweetness of perfume wherever he goes.
(Anon.)
What God will be to His people, and what He will make His people to be
I. What God will be to His people. It is not what God does For His people, but what He
is. What does the dew do?
1. It nourishes the growing plants; All along the course of life God comes Himself to
our hearts, to keep alive and nourish the good which He has planted there.
2. The dew refreshes the drooping plant. How often have we been drooping and
withering, but then God in His love draws near to us, and whispers kind thoughts of
His love and pardon and help. Or perhaps we have been treated unkindly, or have
been much tempted to sin. Then God comes like the gentle dew from heaven. The
dew comes softly; and without being seen; and day by day.
II. What God’s people shall be through Him. The character of the true Christian shall be
likened—
1. To the lily. This plant is used to signify the beauty and purity of God’s sanctified
ones. God will make us pure in heart and life, afraid of what is wrong, with a tender

111. conscience, disturbed at little sins, and that we shall be continually striving after
greater holiness.
2. To the cedar of Lebanon. Which has deep roots, a strong trunk, great height, and
spreading branches. God will make us to be so firmly fixed on God’s truth and love
that we cannot be turned away from it by false teaching or temptation to evil.
3. To the olive-tree. Which is always fresh in appearance and abundant in
fruitfulness. God will add to His other gifts, continued joy from continual intercourse
with Himself. As God leads us on, nearer to Himself, dropping His grace and Holy
Spirit more unceasingly into our hearts, He makes to spring up within us an
overflowing well of joy and peace in believing. And He will make us abound in all
good works. He will make us do good things abundantly, acts of kindness, and
forgiveness, and helpfulness to others.
4. To the smell of Lebanon. The country immediately around this mountain smells
sweetly of the many fragrant flowers which bloom at its foot. God by His grace makes
us to do what is right in His own sight, and He condescends to be pleased with it;
and other Christians are pleased with the good they see in us—so that to God and
man we are pleasing, like the delicious scent which rises up in our faces from
fragrant flowers. How does God do His work of grace? As the dew He comes—not
like the noisy, violent thunderstorm. The dew comes very gently, stealing softly and
unobserved. Its work is very gradual, but it is continuous, day by day. It is in secret
unobserved ways that God works His great work in our hearts. Then use all your
opportunities diligently. Do not seek for excitement. Seek to draw near to God in all
the ordinary and even little ways. He will surely come to you to do you good. (W. H.
Ridley, M. A.)
On Divine influence
The figure here is borrowed from one of the finest and most efficient operations of
nature. The promise was made to Israel, not at a time when God had reason to
commend, but to reprove them. We would not lessen in your estimation, the evil of sin;
but it must not be concealed that the spirit, burdened and oppressed width guilt, may
derive from this fact abundant consolation.
I. The origin of the Divine influence. “As the dew.”
1. This influence cometh from God. Hence we call it Divine influence. Of all the
operations of nature, there is nothing more independent of human agency than the
dew.
2. This influence cometh from God as reconciled in Christ. The dew is the offspring
of an unclouded sky, the benediction of a placid atmosphere. Is not God a consuming
fire? How then can He be as the dew? Inspiration answers the question: “God was in
Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.” Brought into a state of unity, and having
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, there descends upon our souls that
influence of His Spirit which is here beautifully compared to the dew.
3. This influence comes from God, as a sovereign and distinguished blessing to His
chosen people. It is not a common, but a peculiar blessing. It belongs not to the
world, but to the Church.
II. The properties of this Divine influence. It is like the dew, which is silent, copious,

112. penetrating, irresistible, and fertilising.
III. The results of divine influence.
1. Growth; as the lily: spiritual increase,—rapid progress in knowledge, in faith, in
zeal, in love, in hope, in confidence, in whatever adorns the Christian character.
2. Stability. Lebanon is, by a figure of speech, put for the cedars which grow there.
The stability of the Christian refers to three things—the security of his state, the
firmness of his principles, and the perpetuity of his character. His faith, the root of
his profession, takes firm hold of the holy covenant. Holy principles, like so many
fibres of that root, by adherence to the truth, give a stability to His Christian
profession, like that of the majestic cedar. This stability distinguishes the real
Christian.
3. Expansion. “His branches shall spread.” Spreading branches may denote the
extended and extending influence of the Church. There is a celebrated oak which
casts its shadow and sheds its acorns upon four counties of England.
4. Corresponding beauty. The beauty of the olive was as proverbial as the strength of
the cedar. The proportion of its branches, the perfection of its symmetry, the
perpetual freshness of its verdure, and the beauty of its colours constitute that which
in nature we call beauty. It may indicate the glory which is put upon the Christian, by
imputation of the Saviour’s righteousness. It sometimes refers to that moral and
spiritual beauty which consists in conformity to the image of Christ. It is the
concentration and exhibition of all the graces of the Holy Spirit.
5. Moral fragrance. This expresses the happy effect, the delightful influence, of
Christian feeling and Christian character. Two things are intended by this fragrance.
(1) That which is acceptable to God.
(2) That which is agreeable to men.
6. Universal excellence. The enjoyment of sacred repose. A gracious revival. The
earnest of abundant fruitfulness. “Blossom as the vine.” Grateful commemoration.
Learn—
1. The absolute necessity of Divine influence. Be solicitous to obtain a copious
effusion of the Holy Spirit.
2. The end for which Divine influence is given, and for which it should be desired.
3. The ground on which Divine influence is hoped for, and the exercises with which
its attainment stands inseparably connected. (John Hunt.)
The dew and the plants
Hosea is eminently the prophet of repentance and pardoning love. He has also a poet’s
eye with which he looks on nature. The text comes from a fervent and tender appeal to
Israel to come back to its God. We have here, with lovely symbolism, the various aspects
of the Christian ideal of character, and the productive energy which makes them all
possible.
I. The source of fruitfulness. The dew in Palestine is peculiar. The strong summer sun
carries on evaporation with great activity over the surface of the Mediterranean, and the

113. prevailing summer winds bring masses of vapour, which are condensed by the cold when
evening falls, and wrap the land in a moist veil which refreshes the drooping vegetation,
and saves many a little floweret. It is that moistening mist, not properly “dew” as we
know it, which the prophet picks out as being a fitting emblem of tile secret, silent,
refreshing, quickening, life-giving influences which God will bestow upon the spirit that
comes back to Him in lowly penitence. Is there no fierce sunshine blazing down on us,
which needs in like manner that our inward life should be moistened and refreshed by
the visitations of that silent guest that will come and bring the moisture we need? The
deceitful ray of prosperity is full of danger to the spiritual life, and no less cruel are the
fervid beams of fiery temptation with which we have all to be tried. And where is our
strength? I know but of one source of it,—that we shall receive the communications of
that spiritual life, the gift of which is the central blessing of the Gospel; the impartation
of the life of God to our hearts and spirits, mediated by the indwelling in us of the Spirit
of God which is the Spirit of Christ.
II. The profuse beauty which will follow the fall of the dew. The lily is most probably
identified as the scarlet anemone. The idea conveyed in the figure “He shall grow as the
lily “ is twofold profusion, or what gardeners call freedom of growth and beauty. A
profusion of grace ought to match the profusion with which the dew comes from God.
The real beauty is goodness. That beauty of goodness will come wherever a man keeps
himself in touch with God and Christ. We are all bound to try and make our Christianity
attractive. A great many very good people are repellent and not attractive. There ought to
be the beauty of holiness where there is the dew from the Lord.
III. The strength which should go with the beauty. “He shall cast forth his roots as
Lebanon; his branches shall spread.” To the beauty of the fragile lily we must add the
strength of the stable cedar. There must be strength conjoined with beauty in a world
like ours, full of conflict and strife.
IV. The fruitfulness which should crown beauty and strength. The olive is not a beautiful
tree. It has a gnarled, often twisted and distorted, sometimes a monstrous stem and
mean branches, and insignificant, pointed, pale leaves, with a silvery grey underside. Its
beauty lies in its fruit, and in nothing else, and that fruit produces the oil which sustains
and soothes, and smoothes and gives light. Our deeds, which are our fruit, are
important, not in themselves so much as because they are the outcome and
manifestation of what we are. Our fruit is the test of our Christianity. (A. Maclaren, D.
D.)
Sacred similitudes
I. God has here a similitude for himself. “I will be as the dew unto Israel.” The dew steals
down softly, unheard and unobserved by men. So silent and so secret are the operations
of the blessed Spirit on the soul. It is an inward work He carries on which the world
seeth not and knoweth not. The very men He condescends to visit are, for a while at
least, unconscious of His presence, and are often praying for His visitations when He is
actually dwelling in their hearts and helping them in their petitions. Though the dew
comes softly, it comes not in vain. It brings a blessing on the fields. It is with an especial
view to these kindly influences of the dew upon the ground that the Lord makes it an
emblem of His own blessed influences on the soul. It is as if God said, “I will refresh the
heart of a penitent and humble sinner as the dew refreshes and revives the thirsty land.”
It is said of the natural dew, that it “tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of
men.” It does not depend on man’s making places ready for it. So is the grace of the

114. Divine Spirit free and sovereign in its operations. It falleth where it listeth.
II. More than one similitude for the people on whom God’s Grace is bestowed. When the
natural dew has fallen plentifully on the ground we expect to see a growth there—a
growth among the herbs and flowers. “He shall grow as a lily.” This is a quickly growing
flower: and so the man on whom the dew of the Spirit is plenteously diffused is a quickly
growing Christian. He is no idle, sluggish, dull professor, but is constantly gaining
ground in the blessed life which is begun in him. His faith groweth exceedingly. But the
lily has only a feeble footing in the soil. Nothing more easy than to take and pluck it up.
Not so with the Lord’s Israel, with those who have the Spirit’s dew upon their souls. This
emblem, therefore, does not altogether suit them. The text resorts to another emblem in
order to express the firmness and stability of the child of grace. “Send forth his roots as
Lebanon.” The cedar trees are vast in height, and they are as vast in depth. So is it with
those spiritual trees who have the dew of grace upon their branches. They are rooted and
grounded in the love of Christ, as those mighty trees of Lebanon are rooted in the soil.
The cedars of Lebanon are spreading trees; and so it is said of him who is watered with
the dew of grace—“His branches shall spread.” This refers to the useful ness and
profitableness of the Christian. The man who hath the dew of heaven in his heart is a
blessing to the neighbourhood in which he lives. As far as his power or influence extends
it is exerted on behalf of all around him. It is also said, “His beauty shall be as the olive-
tree”; a tree fair and fruitful to a proverb, and employed to set forth the spiritual beauty
and fruitfulness of true believers. He who has the dew of the Spirit in his heart has “the
beauty of holiness” in his life and conversation. There is a comeliness and consistency in
his behaviour which even the enemies of godliness must needs admire. The last
similitude alludes to some sweet-smelling shrubs with which Lebanon abounded. “His
smell shall be as Lebanon.” There is a fragrancy, as it were, in the character of him who
hath the dew of grace within him. He is acceptable to his brethren. His graces, like a
sweet perfume, endear to them his company, and make his communications precious to
them. I am afraid that to find a suitable emblem for many of ourselves we must look not
to the garden, but the wilderness. It would not be the lily, or the cedar, or the olive, but
the “heath of the desert,” or the prickly bramble. By the grace of God’s Spirit you may
become trees of righteousness, lilies, cedars, and olives, in the garden of the Lord. Learn,
as Christians, what trees and flowers we should resemble in the garden where our God
hath planted us. We should be as lilies in growth, as cedars in establishment, as olives in
beauty, and as the sweet smelling shrubs in the odour of our lives. (A. Roberts, M. A.)
The dew unto Israel
These words follow immediately the healing of the backsliding and the proclamation of
God’s free love. With us the dew is little noticed. We look to the clouds to supply all that
grows upon the earth with sufficient moisture. In Judaea the great heat and little rain
make the dew as important as it is beautiful. Three circumstances render the dew a
peculiarly appropriate symbol of God’s sustaining care for His people.
1. The dew falls regularly, in summer as in winter, in autumn as in spring.
2. It comes quietly in the night, when no one perceives its advent.
3. There is a mystery connected with it,—at least in popular thought. Thus watered
from on high, Israel “shall grow as the lily (or blossom).” With the lily is associated
the idea of purity. The tall lily, elegant in shape, gorgeous in colouring, prolific in
growth, sending forth leaves and flowers freely, forms a choice emblem of Christian

115. beauty and fertility. But the lily is extremely fragile and short-lived. Another
comparison must exhibit Israel s strength and stability. What type can better set
forth firmness than the cedar of Lebanon! It retains its vigour for centuries. The
roots clasp themselves around the rock, and therefore the tree stands unshaken. So
the Christian is strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. “His branches
shall spread.” The flourishing tree sends out new suckers continually, which take
root, and themselves grow into trees, to repeat the process again and again. Israel
multiplies as well as grows. “His beauty shall be as the olive-tree.” To an Oriental eye
the olive-tree is actually beautiful. To us it is an emblem of usefulness. The very
character of a true Christian renders him useful. He is ever ready to render to all men
kindly service and help. “His smell as Lebanon.” Travellers say that the smell of
Lebanon extends to a considerable distance from its mountains and valleys, owing
partly to its cedars and partly to various sweet-smelling plants which are produced
profusely. The metaphor may illustrate the influence exerted by the Christian
ceaselessly and often unconsciously. “They that dwell under his shadow shall return.”
The figure represents Israel as a widespreading umbrageous tree. It may refer to the
protection the Church affords. Or it may allude to the teaching and instructing power
of the Church. “They shall revive as the corn.” Even prosperous Israel may have his
seasons of depression and apparent feebleness. The green stalk of corn may lie
seemingly lifeless upon the parched earth, stricken by the sun. But the night mists
and morning dew enwrap it, so that it drinks in the blessed moisture, and once more
it erects its head and recovers its greenness. Thus tribulation, or persecution, or the
assaults of insidious sin may render the Christian feeble, and may cause him to fall;
but the dew of Divine grace descends upon him. He who restoreth the soul
vouchsafes His Holy Spirit to him, and again he rises strong in humility and trust.
Through the merciful communications of God to him he may revive when his disease
seems desperate and recovery hopeless. “And grow as the vine.” The preceding
metaphors imply power to stand alone. The vine must lean on something else. And
the Christian must ever rely on a strength beyond his own. “The scent (memorial)
thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.” Travellers speak enthusiastically of the
manifold virtues of the wine of Lebanon, of its invigorating qualities, etc. Can a more
appropriate illustration be conceived of the abiding influence of a Christian’s life,
example, work after he has left this world? His memory is an inspiration. His good
deeds live after him. (J. Robinson Gregory.)
The dew and its energies
God is no less with us day by day, in the calmer moods of our soul, than in the
experiences in which we seem with more or less of terror to apprehend His awful
presence. We speak of the thundercloud as His dark chariot; let us none the less think of
the floweret and the dewdrop as telling of Him.
I. This image of god’s character—the dew.
1. You see the herbage languishing under the heat of the scorching sun. What hope is
there for the languishing, thirsty flowers? Penetrating copious dews will bathe the
dying vegetation with liquid life; and in the morning, when the sun looks forth, from
myriad leaves shall flash the reflection of God’s own light and glory, and upon every
petal shall rest the spangled dewdrop to tell how the most blessed offices of nature
are wrought in silence and secrecy. Observe that God does not always come as the
dew. It is to bruised and moaning penitents God appears as the dew. God comes

116. often, like the dew, without observation. A restoration of religious life may be
unaccompanied by great startling signs. We may scarcely know by what means our
spiritual pulses are quickened from their languor, so silently and stealthily comes the
grace of God into our hearts. And the dew represents to us the penetrativeness of
God’s grace. God’s Spirit works beyond escape. A shower might miss the tender life
overgrown by widespreading leaves; but the dew carries its blessing to the tiny
flowerets that lie concealed beneath the broad cover of the more regal growths. To
lowly, humble spirits God’s blessing comes, diffuse and copious, refreshing and life-
giving; as well to them as to the more observed and outstanding. Many millions, in
ways we know not, shall be reached by God’s gracious penetrative Spirit.
II. The threefold picture of the results of God’s gracious activity.
1. The beauty of vitality. Growth with rapidity and beauty. Some of the earlier stages
of the Divine life have about them an apparent rapidity which finds its image in this
growth of the lily. This lily is fitly chosen to represent the idea of beautiful, vital
growth; no plant more redundant. This picture tells how, by a mighty force, our life
should begin to be a prosperous life; we should grow as the lily, and become plants of
the Lord, beyond all doubts, by the very rapidity of our growth and enlargement of
our activity.
2. Forceful reserve. There is a hidden life, as we call it, a life away from general
observation. With the change of figure, rapidity of development gives place to
steadfastness, and the more tedious processes of the spiritual life—steadfastness of
will and purpose—all that goes to make character. Some of the processes of Divine
life, some of the most needful processes too, are out of sight, and not for observation.
I pity the man who has no reserve force in him. He will endure but for a season, and
then wither away.
3. Varieties of usefulness. There will be fruit and fragrance, and shelter and
refreshment. Its branches will spread, and leaf and fruit in all their manifoldness will
abound. Some trees are so beautiful that they utter no apology for their existence. So
of the Divine life; it ought never to need an apology. It should be self-assertive; it
should command admiration, not pity, never contempt. Fruitfulness and usefulness
may command admiration, where even beauty and sublimity may fail. By all our
systems we may fail to measure the effects of a truly productive spiritual life. The
indirect blessedness flowing from a true life, who can calculate it? The “odour of
sanctity” is a phrase which has come to mean some thing not pleasant, but the odour
of real goodness and worth—think of this. And let your smell be that of Lebanon. (G.
J. Proctor.)
Divine refreshings
I. God’s refreshing communications to His people. The communications of God to His
people are fitly compared to the influence of dew, which—
1. Distils silently and almost imperceptibly.
2. Yet insinuates itself into plants.
3. And thus maintains vegetative powers.
II. God’s refreshing communications are attested by gracious fruits and effects.
1. Growth. The quickness of the growth of the lily often excites admiration. Its

117. stability defies the assaults of earth and hell. While it spreads its branches and
displays its vigor in every good word and work.
2. Beauty. Peculiar grace and beauty in the olive-tree. And such there is in the soul
that communes much with God. How is the lively Christian beautified with salvation!
(1) His outward conduct is rendered amiable in every part.
(2) His inward dispositions of humility and love are ornaments which even God
Himself admires (1Pe_3:4). He is transformed into the very image of his God
(Eph_4:23-24).
(3) Nor shall his beauty be ever suffered to decay (Psa_1:3). The olive an
evergreen.
3. Fragrancy (twice mentioned in text). Lebanon was no less famous for its
odoriferous vines than for its lofty cedars.
(1) And does not the Christian diffuse a “sweet savour of Christ” all around him?
See him fresh from the presence of God before the sun has exhaled the dew, or
the world abated the fervour of his affections. How refreshing and delightful his
conversation (Pro_16:24).
(2) How pleasing are his character and life also to his God and Saviour! “The
Lord hearkened,” etc. (Mal_3:16). “Awake, O north wind,” etc. (Son_4:16). “Let
your speech,” etc. (Col_4:6). The nearer you live to God the better will you fulfil
that duty.
4. Fruitfulness. The corn and the vine are just emblems of a Christian’s fruitfulness.
(1) They often wear s most unpromising appearance.
(2) Yet they are “revived” by the genial influences of sun and rain. Thus the
Christian may be reduced to a drooping or desponding state. But the renewed
influences of the Holy Spirit will revive him.
(3) They make him “fruitful in every good word and work,” he yields the “fruits
of righteousness.” Note especially the beneficent influences a Christian exerts.
They who “dwell under his shadow” are most nearly connected with him, and feel
the influences of his character, will participate his blessings e.g., Master: he is
considerate, gentle, wise, in relation to his dependants. Parent: Christianity
sweetens family life, and blesses the children. Minister: he sheds a sacred and
elevating influence—strengthening, solacing, saving. Infer—
1. How honourable and blessed is the Christian state! Often is he favoured with visits
from above. Glorious are the effects produced by God upon him. The whole creation
scarcely affords images whereby his blessedness may be adequately represented.
Who, then, is so honourable? Who so happy? Let all endeavour to maintain a sense
of their high privileges; and to “walk worthily of the calling wherewith they are
called.”
2. How hopeful is the state of those who wait on God! The promises in the text were
given as an answer to prayer. And they are made to all who, like Israel, plead with
God.
(1) If the dew” be withheld from others, it shall descend on them e.g., Gideon
(Jdg_6:37-38).

118. (2) The Spirit’s descent shall accomplish the utmost, wishes of their souls.
(3) They shall soon experience the fulfilment of that word: They that wait upon
the Lord shall renew their strength (Isa_40:31). (Preacher’s Assistant.)
Five good marks
I. The lily mark. A good life is like a lily; it is a fruitful life, it does more good than
anybody knows but God. Everything carries seeds about—birds and bees, roaring storms
and whispering breezes. Well, so it is with a good life; it is very fruitful. Anything that
touches it is the better for it.
II. The mountain mark. “Cast forth his roots like Lebanon.” The lily is fruitful, but very
soon uprooted. It is a very weak thing. Well, a good life is not only like the lily, it is also
like Mount Lebanon—that is, strong, firm, and steadfast. Now, there are some people
who are good by fits and starts; they are very good in the morning, but before dinner-
time their goodness has gone away. They have little bits of goodness that look very nice
at the time, out when a strong wind arises—that is, when they are tempted in any way,
crossed or provoked—the nice little bits get blown clean away. But a really good life is
like Lebanon. It has roots. Winds, come and go. It remains unmoved.
III. The shadow mark. “His branches shall spread.” Just think of a hot day in a tropical
country. A weary traveller comes trudging along, and he says to himself, “Oh, for a bit of
shade! I feel so tired, the sun will kill me.” And then he sees in the distance a great tree
that seems to say to him, “Come here to me; I will shade you, and stand between you and
the heat, and you shall rest and sleep and be refreshed.” Well, now, a good life is like
that, it does good to others, and it spreads its branches so that others may be benefited.
The shadow mark means usefulness.
IV. The beauty mark. “And his beauty shall be as the olive tree.” What is the beauty of
the olive tree? Why, it is “ever green,” it is beautiful all the year round. Some trees are
beautiful for a few months, but the olive tree is ever green; it is beautiful all through the
seasons of the year. That is another mark of a good life. You boys will grow up to be
men—old men, perhaps—and you will lose a great deal of the outward beauty you have
to-day, and so will you girls, for the body will decay; but if you believe in Jesus Christ,
and are like Jesus Christ, every year will be like a painter’s brush adding to your beauty,
every day will make you more and more beautiful to the very end.
V. The wildflower mark. “And his smell shall be like Lebanon,”—that is, a good life gives
joy and pleasure to others. Lebanon was a mountain; it had great trees growing on it,
and a great many beautiful flowers too, and these had a beautiful smell; and when the
wind blew over Lebanon, and people were coming up the valley towards it, and came
round a certain corner, there came a beautiful spicy breeze from Lebanon, and they drew
it in and said, “What a sweet smell! the smell of Lebanon on the breeze!” Well, now, a
good life is like that. It gives other people pleasure, it makes the earth a better place to
live in, and makes people happier. (J. M. Gibbon.)
Dew unto Israel
This is one of the exceeding great and precious promises which God has given to His
Church, in which every true believer has a special interest, and for the fulfilment of

119. which to himself and to others he is to look, and long, and pray.
I. As to the analogies.
1. As natural dew in ordinary language is spoken of as descending from heaven or
from above, so is the spiritual. In the blessing of Moses to Israel before his death, His
heavens, it is promised, shall drop down dew; and Solomon speaks of the clouds as
dropping down dew (Pro_3:20); and the Spirit, in His gracious influences, comes
down from the highest heaven. In waiting for the promise of the Spirit, Jesus
commanded His disciples to tarry in the city of Jerusalem till they should be endued
with power from on high; and the prophet Isaiah declares, that on the land Of God’s
people will come up thorns and briars until the Spirit be poured upon us from on
high” (Isa_32:13-15).
2. As the natural dew comes down freely, so does the spiritual. The husbandman has
generally to pay a large rent for his land; he has also to expend much in manuring
and preparing the ground, and replenishing it with appropriate seed; but the dew,
which contributes so largely to the return which he reaps in harvest, costs him
nothing. It is also distributed over his field in the best possible way, without any
labour on his part. And this is still more emphatically true of the gracious influences
of the Holy spirit. I, says Jesus, “will pray the Father, and He shall give you another
Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever”; and again—“If ye, being evil, know
how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” This is an unspeakably precious
gift, which no money could purchase, and without which men would labour in vain
in trying to cultivate the field of their own fallen nature and the heritage of God.
3. As the natural dew comes down seasonably, and sometimes very copiously, so
does the spiritual. It is after the heat and drought of the day that the dew descends
during the night, to refresh and invigorate the herbs and plants of the field; and in
warm, eastern countries it often descends so plentifully as not only to water the
herbs and plants, but also to moisten the soil, and drench the raiment of those
exposed to it. And it is in this world, in which His people are exposed to the
scorching and withering influences of manifold temptations, that God sends the
refreshing dew and rain of the Spirit’s benign influences. “As thy days, so shall thy
strength be.” “When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their
tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake
them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will
make the wilderness a pool of water, and dry land springs of water.” God is pleased
to give His people the most abundant enjoyment of the gracious influences of the
Spirit in tile season of deep adversity.
4. As the natural dew descends very extensively, so does the spiritual. It is thus
diffused not merely over all the hills and valleys, mountains and plains of one
country, but of many countries in the four quarters of the globe. And the spiritual
dew is also widely diffused. On how many living souls is this falling from day to day
and night to night? On every living soul over the habitable globe. In respect of
constancy, the analogy between the natural and the spiritual dew fails—the natural
dew falls only during the night, but the spiritual descends day and night. The natural
dew does not fall amidst storm and tempest; but it is when the storms and tempests
of life rage most fiercely in the experience of the believer that the dews of the Spirit’s
influence fall most plentifully on his soul. The natural dew only falls from a serene
and cloudless sky, but the spiritual comes down when the sky of the people of God is

120. most deeply overcast.
5. The natural dew comes down very gently, and almost imperceptibly,—and so does
the spiritual.
II. The varied effects of the fulfilment of this promise as held forth in the figurative
language here employed. The effect of this is—
1. Revival and growth,—“He shall grow as the lily.” “They shall revive as the corn,
and grow as the vine.” There are few more pleasing sights than a field of young corn,
every blade of which stands erect with its drop of dew, as if it rejoiced in drinking in
the cold moisture by which it is rendered healthful and vigorous. And such are the
delightful effects of the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit on the Church and
people of God. This produces health of the most precious kind—soul health. This
renders the plants of grace in the believer healthful and vigorous, constituting a
leading part of the beauties of true holiness.
2. The effect of this is stability and strength,—“He shall cast forth his roots as
Lebanon.” It is generally known that the taller a tree grows the deeper do its roots
sink into the soil. The cedars of Lebanon were distinguished for the loftiness of their
stature and the extent of their boughs, and consequently for the depth to which their
roots were struck into the soil, and the breadth to which they extended under the
ground. This figurative language intimates very impressively the strength and
stability which the influences of the Holy Spirit give to the people of God, preventing
them from being driven to and fro as the chaff, and carried about with every wind of
doctrine, or laid prostrate by assaults of temptation like uprooted trees of the forest
after the hurricane.
3. Another effect of this is, an increase of the Church’s genuine members. He shall
not only grow as the lily, but as the vine, which, when in a prosperous state, abounds
with branches; and “his branches shall spread.” Such was the effect of an abundant
effusion of the Spirit in the apostolic age, when thousands of true converts were
added to the Church in one place in one day, and when there was a fulfilment of the
prediction of such rapid increase to the Church as is indicated in the question, “Who
are these that fly as a cloud, and as doves to their windows?”
4. Another effect of this is, beauty: moral and spiritual beauty. “His beauty shall be
as the olive tree.” Any tree richly clothed with leaves is a beautiful sight. But the olive
tree, with its verdant leaves, either when adorned with its gorgeous blossoms or
loaded with fruit, excels in beauty. And to this the beauties of holiness with which
the saints of God are adorned, when richly replenished with the Spirit, are likened.
However delightful the beauties of the landscape are to the natural, such spiritual
beauty spread over the heritage of God is unspeakably more precious and delightful
in the sight of God, and in the esteem of His people, in proportion as they have been
made like Him.
5. The effect of this is, the diffusion of a delightful spiritual fragrance. “His smell
shall be as Lebanon”; and again, “tire scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.”
God, in His amazing beneficence, as displayed even in nature, is pleased to furnish
men with what gives pleasure to every sense—to the eye, to the ear, to the taste, and
to the sense of smelling. Lebanon, doubtless, in the days of its glory, excelled in such
richly garnished spots; and to this the savour of the holy, consistent lives of the
people of God to the spiritual sense are compared; and such, we are assured, shall be
the lives of Christians and their heavenly conversation, when God fulfils the promise
largely in their experience. This last word, here rendered “scent,” has reference to

121. memory. And of the righteous it is testified, that they shall be had in everlasting
remembrance. The examples of the saints in ancient times, which have been
embalmed in the inspired record, and the fragrant reminiscences of the excellent of
the earth in subsequent ages, which have been preserved in authentic uninspired
history, are special means by which, through the Divine blessing, the power of
godliness has been perpetuated in our fallen world. Let us, then, seek to be enabled,
by the Holy Spirit, so to bye from day to day, and from Sabbath to Sabbath in
particular, that our example and our counsels shall exert a benign influence on
children and children’s children, and on posterity generally. Let us try to unite in
praying earnestly for an abundant fulfilment of this promise to ourselves, as
individuals, as families, as congregations, and to the Church in all her branches.
With what beauty of the best kind would this adorn her! What stability would this
impart to her! What a blessing would this make her among the nations, yea, to the
whole world! (Original Secession Magazine.)
He shall grow as the lily.—
Spiritual beauty
We have here—
I. The secret of spiritual beauty. “I will be as the dew unto Israel,” therefore “he shall
grow as the lily.” Not the mere outward, but the outward as it grows from the inward.
The dew may wash the dust off the fine petals of the lily, but it is not this that makes it
grow beautiful and causes it to unfold its grandeur, but by going down its capillaries and
saturating its roots. It is, in the language of modern science, first an involution, and then
an evolution. First it takes in and then gives out. Not the amount of God’s blessings that
rest upon us promote our spiritual beauty, but the amount of God that we absorb into
our souls. If the former will, as it were, wash our faces, and it does this, as it makes
national customs more pure and humane and beautiful, as it promotes a clean morality,
as it gives sweetness to our habits and modes of living, yet it is the blessings that we take
into our very being that make beauty a growth, a living product of the Divine within.
There is a beauty of art, the result of the magic pencil or chisel of the artist, but it is not a
growth; it is still, cold, and lifeless. It is a decoration and external addition, but not a
production. It is the difference between the decorated Christmas-tree and the living,
fruit-laden tree of the orchard. Spiritual beauty is the result of Divine blessings
appropriated and converted by the Divine life within into outgrowing grandeur. The
addition of external decorations is sometimes mistaken for this. Spiritual beauty is a
living product, the natural outgrowth of the life within. A life dependent upon the
nourishment that the Fountain of Life supplies. Be beautiful without God! Yes, when
nature can wear her gorgeous apparel without the blessings and the light of heaven.
II. Then the figure suggests the pronounced character of true spiritual beauty. “Blossom
as the lily.” Blossom like this. Changed into the plain prose of the New Testament it
means Christians growing like Christ; beautiful with His beauty, grand with His
grandeur. For as He is the unchanging standard of spiritual beauty. Making no
pretensions, it frequently hides half-buried among more obtrusive and gaudy blooms,
yet is known when seen. To grow as the lily is to have a beauty inseparable from real
quality. The disciples in the council and Stephen before the court were too real and
beautiful to be ignored, and we read that men took note of them. Such men are the living
yet unconscious preachers of the nature and grandeur of the Divine character. It is
unnecessary to be anxious about our appearance, about being demonstrative, about

122. showing our character and piety; we need be anxious only about being real and the
character will show itself. See that the inner life is Christ in us, filling our spirits, and the
outer life will be a natural, agreeable product requiring no effort on our part to produce
it.
III. Again we learn that our spiritual beauty is God’s concern rather than ours. Be not
concerned about your beauty, but be concerned about your goodness; not about what
you are to become, but about what you are, about doing your duty to God, and He will
see to your beauty. He does not bid us chisel our own beauty; it would certainly be very
inferior work. The fashioning of the spiritual beauty of the Christian character is in the
hands of the Master Artist of the universe, and we can profitably leave it to Him. (E.
Aubrey.)
Spiritual growth
Coleridge defined genius as “the faculty of growth”; goodness belongs to the same order,
and may be similarly defined. It is ever “becoming,” changing into a more complete and
Diviner thing.
1. There is growth in purity. Wesley said, “I believe this perfection is always wrought
in the soul by faith, by a simple act of faith; consequently in an instant.” But I believe
a gradual work, both preceding and following that instant. The gift received in faith
was preceded by a gracious preparation, the gift received in faith is slowly realised in
its fulness of meaning in after years. We must look for growth in clearness of insight,
for increasing freedom from pride and self, for new blossomings in purity of thought
and motive and life.
2. There is growth in depth. How little many of us read, or meditate, or pray. And
this is the reason that our branches are bare, that we wither at the top. We want
more pondering in our heart, more of that secret assimilation which takes fast, hold
of the eternal grounds of reason and righteousness. The plants which grow in the
Alps are, as a rule, firmly and largely rooted. It is much the same with the Christian
character. Whenever we find strength or beauty of character, we may be sure that it
springs from depth of soul, that the fibres have struck deep in the everlasting truth
and love. And when we gain this depth we enjoy a blessed stability and peace. The
Christian life is strong and stable, hidden with Christ in God.
3. There is growth in breadth. Spreading of roots, and spreading of boughs. Not
unusually we commence the spiritual life with narrow and ignorant views of the
Divine character and government; but justly cultured, the soul expands in the
knowledge and love of God. We sorely need to grow out of all narrow and unworthy
misconceptions. There is also a growth in charity—a growth in heart. The growth in
kindness, sympathy, catholicity, is the Divinest growth of all.
4. There is growth in beauty. Mount Lebanon is decked with loveliness, and it has an
abundance of aromatic things and odoriferous flowers. The olive is a tree with a
charm of its own. The olive is by no means a picturesque tree, it even sometimes
looks stunted and shabby. But the soft, delicate beauty of the olive grows upon you,
until, stirred by the wind, the shimmering silver of its leaves makes a picture. So
Christian character is often not in the least brilliant, not heroic or striking. The
noblest men and women living are modest, homely, simple souls; but they are
marked by a mild and serious grace which is in truth the perfection of beauty. In this

123. unconscious winsomeness we ought to grow unto our lives’ end.
5. There is a growth in useful ness. What corn and wine are to men, the children of
God are to the world they diffuse life and gladness. Usefulness is the very glory of the
Christian. The glory of the Christian is that he lives to bless. And we are reminded
that every thing is possible in the power of grace, as all beauty and fruitfulness are
possible in the dewdrop. God says, “I will be as the dew unto Israel.” (Wesleyan
Magazine.)
The believer’s growth in grace
These words contain the gracious promise of God’s favour and blessing upon Israel
converted. The Lord gives refreshment to His people, which produces in them the
firmness of the tree that is deeply rooted, the beauty and spotless purity of the lily, the
fragrance of an odoriferous plant, the smell of Lebanon. The dew which is promised is
grace, grace which justifies, as well as grace which sanctifies. This grace is given in order
to produce certain fruits. The beauty of holiness may be fitly represented by the purity
and comeliness of this flower. Then spiritual growth is not all outwards, it consists
mostly in growth of the root, which is out of sight. The more we depend upon Christ, and
draw our virtue from Him, the more we act from principle, the more steadfast we are in
faith. Another blessing, following the operation of grace, is the increase of God’s Church.
There is one metaphor more. The Christian plant is pleasing to the sight; it is pleasant
also to the smell. The olive-tree has the advantage of being always green. And the
spiritual sacrifices, like the smell of Lebanon, are as a sweet savour unto God. The
Church of Christ is compared to a garden of spices. The fragrance of true piety is felt
where it is not acknowledged. (Richard Burgess, D. D.)
Spiritual prosperity
The cause of all which follows is this, God by His gracious Spirit will be “as the dew unto
Israel.” Upon that note of the prosperous success this dew of God’s Spirit hath in them.
“They shall grow as the lily.” Objection—
1. The lily grows but hath no stability. Then “they shall cast out their roots as
Lebanon.” With growth they shall have stability; not only grow in height speedily,
but also grow fast in the root with firmness. Objection—
2. As everything that grows in root and firmness doth not spread itself, he says “his
branches shall spread,” making him more fruitful and comfortable to others.
Objection—
3. Everything is not fruitful, therefore he shall be as the olive-tree for fruitfulness.
Objection-
4. The olive hath no pleasant smell or good taste. Therefore he adds another
blessing. They shall, in regard to their pleasantness to God and man, be “as the smell
of Lebanon,” which was a wondrous, pleasant, and delightful place. (R. Sibbes.)
And cast forth his roots as Lebanon.—

124. Spiritual strength
The lesson here directs attention to spiritual strength, not in its manifestations so much
as in its invisible secret growth and power, agreeing with the New Testament expression,
“Strengthened with might in the inner man.”
I. That spiritual strength is primarily an invisible growth. We see the stem of the tree
coming to view, its branches spreading, its foliage budding and opening; but this is
secondary. Previous to this the roots have spread themselves and absorbed
nourishment, and fastened themselves to the hidden rocks. And our life in its visible
beauty, in its vigour, in its fruitfulness, will be just in proportion to the extent that our
desires and affections and motives grow towards God, and cling to Him and draw their
nourishment from Him. A man is really outwardly what he is really inwardly. Root
principles are not conveniences but necessities. Faith is first a conviction and then an
effort. Trees without deep roots have been seen sprouting and bearing leaves, but they
have soon withered. Virtues without principle, tim result of training or environment, or
even imitation, may in their bearings upon mankind prove beneficial. The man may act
or give to satisfy another, or to obtain applause, or from some other selfish motives; but
the virtues of the truly religious spring from a deep invisible principle that is rooted in
and gathers its strength from God. And one of the results of absorbing abundantly God’s
blessings is that it develops righteous principles and convictions in the soul, bringing the
invisible in us into living and growing contact with the invisible Eternal.
II. That spiritual strength is ours in proportion to the growth of our internal principles.
We may have a laudable ambition to be strong, vigorous Christians, having resisting
power to fight manfully and successfully all alluring temptations, persisting power to
pursue with firm step our godly course, maintaining a large measure of devoutness
whatever may be the hindrances and difficulties “in our way, and possessing conquering
power whereby we may overcome self as well as Satan. Then our desires and anxieties
and ambitions must move towards God, to settle themselves in Him, and derive their
strength from Him, and become “strong in the strength which God supplies through His
eternal Son.”
III. A strength that shall be seen in unwavering steadfastness. Storms sweep over the
Lebanon forests in mad fury, but they only help to consolidate the roots of the cedar, and
help them to strike themselves deeper among the rocks, to have a still firmer hold, and
then to stand in stately grandeur. The powers of our soul are capable of expansion, and
don’t try and tie them down to any circumscribed rule of your own, and sinfully stunt
their growth! Give them scope, being careful that they ever move in the direction of God
and eternal realities. Why the wavering and vacillating on the part of so many? Why the
painful unrest so generally apparent? The answer is not far to find. The roots are not
deep. Conviction is at a discount, and principle is not the sacred and important concern
that it rightly should be in the estimate of large numbers of professing Christians. How
different they who are rooted and grounded in God, with convictions firm, and
principles a guiding rule! Compromise and expediency find no countenance with them,
Such men were Moses, Job, Daniel, and others in Old Testament times, and Peter, Paul,
John, and others in apostolic times, and the martyrs and others in later years. (E.
Aubrey.)
Spiritual restoration
I. THIS EXPRESSION IMPLIES A SAD AND PAINFUL TRUTH. A truth, alas! only too

125. evidently confirmed by our own experiences, namely, that there lies in us a possibility to
err from the ways of God. Among the many causes that contribute to this is—
1. Too large a measure of self-confidence. There is a confidence that is legitimate and
necessary, the confidence that has God for its foundation. But if in exalting self our
trust rests upon our own powers, and we reason confidently from an exaggerated
conception of the ability of those powers, then do we sin both against God and
ourselves. Self-confidence is false confidence, and like all things false, it must wither
and decay. The chequered career of Israel as a nation is a striking object-lesson that
illustrates this truth. Its several declensions are preceded by unmistakable evidences
of a growing self-confidence, that leads to ignoring God, and eventually makes them
the captive slaves of their victorious enemies. And history in its recital of the careers
of individuals bears testimony to the operation of the same law here. Self-confidence
has proved the sure harbinger of declension. It was so with Peter.
2. Another cause of spiritual declension is the neglect of the means Divinely
appointed to ensure our stability and progress. This naturally follows the other. An
exalted self means a belittled God. Self-satisfaction means despised Divine provision.
We cannot live and grow and prosper without God. And so are His appointed means.
3. Again, too close a tie to the world in its enervating influences conduces to
declension. We cannot live in the miasma and fever swamps of sin without being
spiritually affected for ill. Indications of such declension are also present in our own
spirits.
(1) There is a low tone to our spirituality. And matters are looked at not in the
light of revelation under the illumination of God’s Spirit, but with eyes dimmed
and vision darkened by too close a contact with the world.
(2) Relish for the spiritual is lost.
(3) To which may be added as a further indication the harassing sense of unrest
that rains us.
II. Voices a consolatory truth. “They shall return.” Recover the ground lost by their
declension, on condition that in quiet, trustful receptiveness they dwell under God’s
shelter. It is our comfort to know that God works our restoration. Have we asked, “What
shall I do to win back the joys of former days”? We may have vowed and planned and
promised and striven in our own strength away from God, but all in vain. How shall we
compass again the experiences of a brighter day? Here is the answer, “They that abide
under His shadow shall return.” (E. Aubrey.)
Soul revival
The figure implies—
I. The possession of a living energy.
II. The figure again suggests that soul revival is promoted by coming under the influence
of the necessary and adapted means. The grain to germinate and grow and produce must
be placed in congenial soil, be watered by the clouds of heaven, and warmed by the
abounding rays of the sun Israel’s revival is ensured by being in God’s presence, with His
fertilising blessings resting upon them and His gracious favours awakening their
sleeping powers. Prayer, the Word of God, and the influences of the Holy Spirit are a

126. necessity.
III. Soul revival shall mean the increase and multiplication of life. “Revive as the corn.”
How? To grow? Yes, and to multiply. When God is ours, He multiplies life through us.
We live to-day, when God is ours, to live to-morrow, not only in ourselves, but in others,
and become immortal both in heaven” and on earth. Immortality is inseparable from the
life lived in God and nourished by Him. Its very nature, for it is Divine, ensures its
perpetuation. The saints that have gone before never lived as they do to-day. They fill a
larger circle, and sway a greater influence than when in the flesh. When filled with God
we produce what becomes seed for greater harvests. What magnificent possibilities
belong to us! (E. Aubrey.)
And grow as the vine.—
Spiritual growth by dependence and pruning
I. It is growth by dependence upon superior strength. While all the trees and plants of
forest, field, and garden in many ways evince their dependence, in none, perhaps, except
the ivy and its class, is it manifested more openly than in the vine. Growth by clinging to
superior strength seems to be the primary lesson that it teaches. “The Lord was my stay,”
says David. “Who is among you that feareth the Lord let him trust in the name of the
Lord, and stay upon his God.” It is no dishonour to our devout character, no disgrace to
our virtues, no disparagement of our powers to acknowledge our utter dependence upon
God, and to exhibit it. “Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe.” It was no empty platitude,
or mere figure of speech, that exhortation of Barnabas’s to the brethren in the Church at
Antioch: “That with full purpose of heart they should cleave unto the Lord.” Clinging to
the Lord is not only weakness laying hold of strength, but life gathering force and finding
support to expand and grow and be fruitful. This is not merely a wise policy, but an
absolute necessity.
II. Growing in an elevated situation. We are told that “the elevation of the hills and
tablelands of Judah is the true climate of the vine.” This natural fact suggests a parallel
in Christian history and experience. The souls that have dwelt in the heights of God,
above the world in their desires, affections, and aims, standing on an elevated platform
in the principles that they have ever acted upon, and the methods which they have
adopted, have ever proved the most fruitful, and the product of their life most
wholesome and rich. As the vine is indigenous to an elevated position, and grows best
there, so our souls are indigenous to a higher mode of life than the worldly, and meant in
that higher position to breathe a holier and purer atmosphere, and grow best in our
native soil, which is God and the Divine.
III. That our spiritual growth is promoted by necessary purging and pruning. To grow is
one thing; to grow pure, strong, healthy, and fruitful is another thing. And the latter is
ensured by the wise arrangement that ordains a measure of trial and sorrow and
suffering. To grow as the vine is to grow to the sharp, necessary touch of the pruning
knife as it lops off the superfluous, and as it bleeds by skilful incisions to draw off the
infected sap, which being allowed to remain would work destruction. Conscious as we
are of the presence in our spirits of much that is injuriously superfluous, it is a loving
hand that in affliction comes to purge, since it makes the zeal stronger and the soul
holier. “It was good for me that I was afflicted,” is a confession that has often been
endorsed. Is it not a privilege to be helped to grow strong and healthy? Is it not a favour
to be assisted to greater purity and more abundant fruitfulness?

127. IV. In which fruitfulness is its purposed end. The vine that grows to a purpose, being
advantageously situated, carefully and skilfully tended and trimmed is the one that
repays the attention bestowed upon it with rich clusters of luscious fruit. And it is this
that explains the attention. “That ye may abound in every good work” is the key that
unlocks the mysteries of our life, and explains the trying dispensations through which
the believing soul is made to pass. (E. Aubrey.)
His branches shall spread.—
Spiritual progress
First the growth of our inner virtues, then the growth of our outer graces. First deep-
rooted convictions, pure desires, holy affections, honest motives; then manifest
activities, wide sympathies, and powerful influences, the natural and irresistible
outcome.
I. To the manifest and visible in spiritual growth. Grace, which is the New Testament
term for the Divine blessings, cannot be concealed. Besides, we cannot absorb more
unless we produce with what we have. We must give God out in our life, if we would take
in more of God into our spirit. God has not meant that we should be reservoirs to store,
but channels to communicate. It is as false as it is selfish to suppose that, God being
ours, He is ours to conserve for ourselves, as if the ideal of religion consisted in getting
as much from Him for our own aggrandisement aa we can contain. Then verily would
our portion be small. Not how much of enjoyment can we derive in the sanctuary makes
us religious, but how much of God can we exhibit in our homes and its duties, in the
workshop, in the office, and in the street. Religion is not personal enjoyment so much as
a relative blessing. The ideal is not our own enriching as being blessed in being means of
enriching others.
II. A truth not less applicable to our influence than to our acts. Society has mistakenly
joined the epithet “influential” to mere worldly position and material wealth, and calls
him the influential man who possesses these. But the standard is a low one, and neither
true to history or experience. True influence, an influence that lives and elevates the
race, is that which emanates from goodness and is joined to disinterested piety. Caesar,
Charlemagne, Napoleon, and others are but mere names in history as compared with the
living influence of the disciples. Their branches spread and are spreading still.
III. Then, again, progress is characteristic of our visible graces when God is ours. This
sentence in its literal form presents to us a complex figure, seemingly contradictory—
“His branches or sucking offshoots shall go on.” And having God as ours even now
progress is characteristic of our life as we go “from strength to strength,” adding virtue
to virtue. Our life’s history is a “going on.” From grace to grace; from effort to effort;
from experience to experience; from achievement to achievement. The branches are
going on. Desires are becoming more holy, devotion’s fires burn brighter and stronger,
zeal becomes increasingly fervent, and religion is more transparent. (E. Aubrey.)
His beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his smell as Lebanon.—
Like the olive and Lebanon
“His beauty shall be as the olive-tree,” which though fruitful and excellent, yet hath no
sweet smell; therefore it is added, “His smell shall be as Lebanon.” The olive is a very

128. fruitful tree, and the oil which comes and distils from it hath many excellent properties,
agreeing to graces. It is a royal kind of liquor, that will be above the rest: so grace
commands all other things, it gives a sanctified use of the creature, and subdues all
corruption. And then it is unmixed, it will mingle with nothing: light and darkness will
not mingle, no more will grace and corruption. And it is sweet, strengthening, and
feeding the life. It is the excellence and glory of a Christian to be fruitful in his place and
in his particular calling. Every one that is fruitful, God hath a special care of. A Christian
by his fruitfulness doth delight others. Note the figure, “dwell under His shadow.” What
is the use of a shadow? It is for a retiring place to rest in. It is for defence against the
extremity of heat. It is for delight, if the shades be good and wholesome. What solace
and rest do men find under the shadow of the Church? There is rest and peace. God is
about His Church as a wall to protect it. (R. Sibbes, D. D.)
Abiding beauty of the godly life
So the, beauty of the pious life is by this figure set forth.
I. As being unintermittent. A striking contrast to the ever-changing and short-lived so-
called beauty of the world. Dressed in the charm of novelty and breaking upon the world
at certain seasons, the beauty of much that society boasts of, or even nature presents to
our view, is thereby deemed especially attractive. But true spiritual beauty is an ever
present quality. Not the cold beauty of a statue or of a finely painted picture, the result of
human skill and artistic manipulation, but the living production of a healthy, God-filled
soul. The strength within counteracting the destroying forces without, and triumphing
over them. The winter of life no less than summer witnesses its continuance. As sure as
it is the result of the God-life in us, so sure will it abide and live unintermittently. The
unbelieving observer will occasionally complain that it is not sufficiently apparent, and
some, because they cannot see it, deny its existence, forgetting that spiritual things are
spiritually discerned. Besides, the pious man’s surroundings occasionally prevent the
world from seeing his real character.
II. That it is beauty combined with utility. The olive-tree, while symbolical of beauty,
stands none the less noted for its wealth, with its proverbial fatness, combining with its
abiding vigour and beauty the virtue of being pre-eminently serviceable—its stock,
branches, sap, leaves, and fruit being all of the highest value. And that is the truly
beautiful which is preeminently useful. The beauty of an object to the pious mind is that
it awakens gratifying spiritual sensations, and so far is subjective; and, moreover, is ever
fresh with unfading glory, serves a useful purpose, harmonises with the grandeur of the
Divine creation, and stands in due order and rightful proportion to the universe in its
symmetry and forces. The spiritual theory, as one puts it, is that it is “the expression of
the invisible and spiritual under sensible material forms,” or, in theological phraseology,
it is the inner life manifesting itself in holy fruitfulness and blessing, glorious with the
attraction of felt benefits. Such is the really beautiful life—a life of positive activity and
blessing. Speak we of spiritual beauty? We ever associate it with self-sacrificing labours.
We view the representatives of the truly beautiful in the gallery of Scripture; and inquire
wherein does their beauty lie? And we find it consists in the manifestation of this self-
sacrificing spirit and effort. They found their beauty by distributing their powers and
blessings, regardless of self.
III. It is beauty of an ever-enduring character. (E. Aubrey.)

129. Spiritual fragrance
I. Such fragrance is the product of internal grace and divine favour. Vain is the hope to
be able to diffuse a sweetening and hallowing influence unless God is in us in His
sweetening and sanctifying life. The botanist tells us that the perfume of flowers depends
upon the volatilisation of an essential oil which they secrete in their most hidden
recesses, whether a sweet oil diffusing rich fragrance or a nauseous oil that exhales itself
in repulsive smell. Still the possession of this oil is one thing, its volatile character
another. Turning from the figure to the lesson it embodies, it manifestly suggests two
things: first, the necessity of possessing internal graces, being filled with the fulness of
God, and then, that these graces should become external influences, as they dispose
themselves in pleasing and effective forms. Such influences are the holy fragrance of the
devout life, arresting attention, awakening inquiry, and inspiring fondness, being neither
heard nor seen but powerfully felt. Appearance and sweetness do not always go together.
To the eye the richly-hued dahlia is more fascinating than the spray of mignonette,
which can scarcely lay claim to be regarded as a flower. But which is it that gives the
greatest sense of sweetness? True spiritual influence is more a felt than a seen power.
There are parallels in human life to the dahlia and the mignonette: the beauty that
expends itself in colour—not to be despised—and that still greater beauty that touches us
with pleasing and arresting force, though still unseen—the subtle, penetrating, and
captivating influence whose presence is a felt reality. It is so in the life of many a humble,
modest, retiring disciple of Jesus Christ’s, who dread nothing more than conspicuous
publicity, who would blush to find themselves famous, and yet whose presence gives a
healthy, fragrant character to the workshop, warehouse, office, or in whatever circle they
are found. Their life is a diffusion of Divine sweetness. To scatter a Divine aroma in the
community, to diffuse a holy fragrance in our life, grace must be obtained from God, and
our virtues must be of a diffusive nature.
II. Spiritual fragrance means again the harmonious blending of Christian virtues. As the
fragrance of Lebanon was the blended odours diffused by the various fragrant plants
that grew on that mountain range, so the spiritual fragrance of the Christian Church is
the harmonious unity and co-operation of its members, and in the case of the individual
believer it is the union of the several virtues that go to make up Christian character.
There is a spiritual deformity that hinders the diffusion of spiritual influence, where only
one grace, or set of graces, is cultivated to the neglect of all the test, and symmetry is lost
and beauty and sweetness consequently absent. Christian character, to prove an
influence, must be symmetrical and complete. “Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue
knowledge,” etc. Men may admire boldness, revere meekness, take pleasurable notice of
sturdy faith, applaud charity, speak of kindness, and trust honesty when beheld singly;
but it is when they are joined together in one character that men are afraid of
committing evil in its presence, and are inspired by it to holy effort.
III. The emblem suggests again unconfined expansion. Lebanon loads the passing
breezes with a rich profusion of flagrance to be carried anywhere and everywhere—a
fragrance that defies the artificial limitations of men’s erecting. A high wall may shut in
the colour, but the fragrance will overleap it and scatter itself in ever-widening
directions. (E. Aubrey.)
Lily, cedar, olive

130. Look at the picture of what the dew does, that we may claim the promise and drink in
the blessing.
I. The dew makes bloom. When God heals the backsliding of Israel, “he shall blossom as
the lily.” God comes as the dew to dower us with eternal bloom. His secret influences are
meant to urge us to an open and increasing beauty. God promises in this figure, to give
us, not merely the lily lines, but also the lily glow. He shall lead us not only to do the
right, but to do it from a noble motive, and in a noble manner. He aims at colour as well
as form.
II. The dew makes root. “Shall cast forth his roots as Lebanon.” The famous rid is known
the world over for its groves of cedar, and the cedar-tree is remarkable for its deep,
strong grip of the soil. It takes its name indeed from the way in which it “coils” its roots
about the rocks. It is the very figure of immovability. Our faith roots itself in truths as
sure as the changeless, tremulous rock. We lay hold of the eternal love, and we know that
we must shake the universe and wreck all existence before we can move that. Therefore
our hope rears itself ever nearer heaven, and fears not the blasts of temptation nor the
tooth of time.
III. The dew makes fruit. God promises the luxuriant growth of the olive. Here is the
symbol of a life that is visible in open majesty and usefulness. It bears an ever fuller
harvest of fruit. It shows a constant freshness. The spiritual olive-tree, weighted with its
berries, is God’s secret benediction to the soul given forth again as an open blessing to
the world.
IV. The dew makes scent. The lily, when it has much colour, has little fragrance. The
cedar and the olive are sweet-smelling trees. Thus the three foregoing figures not only
represent gracefulness, steadfastness, and usefulness, but also imply the virtue which is
typified by scent. God would have His Church fling far beyond its borders a pleasant
savour. As we send our own special sweetness into the air we make a fragrance which
woes the world to think well of God’s work. Popular opinion as to godliness is not
formed from the aroma of one saintly life, but from the general experience of men in
their dealings with saintly people. How necessary then that every plant of the Lord,
however lowly, should be richly fragrant. The dew, which is God, nourishes the continual
incense that ascends to God. Sweeter than our songs, truer than our prayers, our godly
spirit is a delight to God, and a worship ever waited for. (Anon.)
Fragrant influence
(for children):—Lebanon is the name of two great ranges of mountains on the northern
border of Palestine. Travellers who have visited the place tell us that when you enter the
valley between these mountains there meets you at once “a perfect gust of fragrant
odours.” It tomes from the flowers, from the aromatic shrubs, from the fig-trees,
mulberry-trees, vines and cedars which abound in the valley. The perfume is delightful,
and cannot easily be described. Hosea must have passed that way and caught some of
the exquisite fragrance, else he could not have written about it so forcibly. But what can
the prophet mean when he speaks of Israel—God’s people, men, women, Children—
having a “smell as Lebanon”? Was the smell in their clothes, or in their bodies? No.
Clothes may smell of grease, of smoke, of scent; and vulgar persons are sometimes vain
enough to make themselves known in a company by means of their favourite perfume.
He was a silly little boy who, after nurse had washed his face, removed his pinafore, put
some sweet pomatum on his hair and a drop of scent on his handkerchief, came strutting

131. into the drawing-room among his mother’s guests, and, looking all around, proudly said,
“Now, if anybody smells a smell, that is me.” We shall do well to shun that kind of folly
and vanity. If good people have a “smell as Lebanon,” it is not in their clothes, or in their
bodies, but in their character—their influence is what the prophet refers to as fragrance.
Influence is not an easy word to define, yet we all know what it is. Influence is like the
scent Of shrubs and flowers; you cannot see it, touch it, hear it, but it never fails to make
its presence known. The fragrance of a plant is part of itself—that part which it gives
forth in minute particles, in atoms so small the eye cannot see them, yet they float in the
air, and reach the organs of smell. And influence is something going forth from us in
little, almost imperceptible ways; in looks, tones, gestures, tempers, actions. It is the
outcome of our inner self. It may be good, or bad, sweet or foul, wholesome or noxious;
and like the magnet, it has power to draw or repel. Every one of us has influence. No hair
is so small that it is without a shadow. No violet is so hidden that it yields no scent. No
child is too young, too lowly, to sweeten daily life in home and school. If boys and girls
live for Jesus, in the sunshine of His love, and under the dew of His Spirit, theirs will be
a fragrant life. They will bring joy into the family, love into the playground, good temper
into every quarrel, happiness and gladness into many hearts. The missionary who settles
among strange people in a foreign land may not be able, at first, to speak their language,
or say a word to change their bad habits. Yet there is something he can do. He may live a
life of kindness, goodness, compassion, truthfulness, purity; and, so living, the influence
of his character will be sure to “impress the heathen favourably, and do them good. Of
King Jesus it Is said, All Thy garments smell of myrrh.” Keep company with Jesus, and
He will give you of His sweetness, wherewith to influence others. The Chinese have a
wood which, however deeply buried underground, fills the air with fragrance; and in the
higher peak of Teneriffe, far above the clouds, in a dry, burning waste, grows a plant
which in summer emits a delicious odour far and wide. Let me so live, that, whether my
lot be in the vale or on the hill-top, others may find some good and gracious influence
proceeding from me, like that in Israel of which the prophet testified, “His smell as
Lebanon.” (A. A Ramsey.)
God does everything beautifully
Everything that God does is beautifully done. His stars are jewels set in velvet; His
flowers are sapphires set in emerald. Everything of His creation, in shape and colour, as
it lies bathed in the sunlight, has upon it the touch of the beautiful. And this teaches us
to do beautifully everything that we do. Especially in our conduct towards each other
ought there to gleam the beauty of star and breathe the fragrance of flower.
The uses of the olive
Anybody that has ever seen a grove of olives knows that their beauty is not such as
strikes the eye. If it were not for the blue sky overhead, that rays down glorifying light,
they would not be much to look at or talk about: The tree has a gnarled, grotesque trunk,
which divides into insignificant branches, bearing leaves mean in shape, harsh in
texture, with a silvery under side. It gives but a quivering shade and has no massiveness
nor sympathy. Ay! but there are olives on the branches. And so the beauty of the humble
tree is in what it grows for man’s good. The olive is crushed into oil, and the oil is used
for smoothing and suppling joints and flesh, for nourishing and sustaining the body as
food, for illuminating darkness as oil in the lamp. And these three things are the three
things for which we Christian people have received all our dew, and all our beauty, and
all our strength—that we may give other people light, that we may be the means of

132. conveying to other people nourishment, that we may move gently in the world as
lubricating, sweetening, soothing influences. The question, after all, is, Does anybody
gather fruit of us, and would anybody call us “trees of righteousness the planting of the
Lord, that He may be glorified”? (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the
corn.—
The blessings of the Church of Christ to others
1. Who are those that are under his shadow, and what is their return? What is the
shadow? Is it Christ, or is it the visible Church? A shadow is literally the
representation which any solid body, interposing between the sun, or light, and
another body makes of itself. Christ, and God in Him, are the shadow and protection
of the Church. But the Church of God seems to be the shadow meant in the text, to
which those who dwell under the shade of the same return.
2. Their revival on their having returned, and being under his shadow. This is
described as the growth of corn. Corn, in this metaphor, includes wheat, barley, oats,
rye, etc.
3. Set forth the growth of these converts, thus returned to the Church, Who, being
received into it, and protected by it, and being hereby under the shadow of the same,
“are revived as the corn, and grow as the vine.”
4. The spiritual fragrancy of those who thus return to the Lord. “The scent, or
memorial (see margin), shall be as the wine of Lebanon.” Thus we have the Church
of Christ in the open, visible state in which she will shine forth in all her gifts and
graces. (Samuel Eyles Pierce.)
NISBET, "‘I WILL BE AS THE DEW UNTO ISRAEL’
‘I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as
Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his
smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return.’
Hosea 14:5-7
Observe the order. First, what God is to us, for we may safely take ‘Israel’ to be ‘the
Church’ in every age. Then, what we are in ourselves and to God. And then what we do
for others. Divine operation, spiritual growth, religious influence.
And religion always must be in that order. God’s grace to begin with. All first principles
there. What God is in Himself, and what He is to us. Then, our personal condition, and
our relations to God. And then the power we exercise, and the work we do in the world. ‘I
will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as
Lebanon. Its branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his
smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return.’

133. God begins: ‘I will be as the dew unto Israel.’ Where the peculiar charm and excellence of
the promise is—not that God will shed ‘dew’ upon Israel, but that He will be ‘the dew.’
We find what we want in Himself—in a personal God. And to have the Giver is better
than to have the gift. ‘I will be as the dew unto Israel.’
How the Holy Spirit distils upon us, or why, we cannot tell. The commencement of the
Divine life, and its supplies, are perfectly inscrutable. Why God should ever have visited
me, how His Spirit can mingle with my spirit, and become a part of my being—I cannot
tell. But I know it is lovely and comely. The workings are secret, but the results are
patent.
Such is God to His people, and the great secret of the possession of it lies in finding it in
God Himself, not in His ordinances, not in His word,—not in His sacraments,—not in
His people. They are beautiful channels, only channels. In Himself! A felt Presence—a
realised Indwelling, an appropriated, Living Being,—our own—a God we go to, a God we
hear, a God we speak to, a God we feel. ‘I will be as the dew unto Israel.’
II. Now trace the consequences on the man himself.—The metaphor is sustained. It is by
the dew-like, gentle workings of God’s Spirit—by myriads of drops, each imperceptibly
small: ‘He shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall
spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.’ There are five
things: growth, strength, expansion, beauty, fragrance.
III. But I have to carry the image a little further, to the point of influence.—In this colder
region of our earth, the idea of ‘shade’ is almost always associated with what is
unpleasant, and drear, and chill! But, in the hotter latitudes, where the scenes of the
Bible mainly lie, it is naturally the reverse. ‘Shade’ is good—a thing to be desired.
Therefore, with the exception that it is sometimes used as a metaphor for shortness, I
am not aware that ‘shadow’ is ever taken in any but a happy way in the Bible.
Now we all ‘cast our shadows’; and though our ‘shadow’ cannot be what St. Peter’s was,
yet our ‘shadow’—the influence we carry, the effect we produce—may be, and should be,
and must be always for good and for God. And this is the characteristic of a Christian,
that ‘they that dwell under his shadow shall return’!—‘return’ to what they have lost;
‘return’ to peace; ‘return’ to the good land; ‘return’ to Canaan; ‘return’ to Him.
There are many that are ‘dwelling under your shadow’: more perhaps, than you have
thought of. And very few realise their own weight and power for good or evil in the
world.
Let me ask, have all those ‘under your shadow’ reason to be thankful that they ever came
there? Have they ‘returned’? Has your influence led them towards ‘returning’? Have you
tried? Or, are you a upas tree? Awful thought! if you have sent them farther off! if it had
been better for them that they had never come near you!

134. So throw your ‘shadow’—make such use of the contracts of life everywhere—that you
may be always either bringing back a lost one, or helping a seeker, or strengthening
some one on the way, that all who come near to you may have cause to bless God that
they ever were brought ‘under your shadow’!
Rev. Jas. Vaughan.
MACLAREN, "THE DEW AND THE PLANTS
Like his brethren, Hosea was a poet as well as a prophet. His little prophecy is full of
similes and illustrations drawn from natural objects; scarcely any of them from cities or
from the ways of men; almost all of them from Nature, as seen in the open country,
which he evidently loved, and where he had looked upon things with a clear and
meditative eye. This whole chapter is full of emblems drawn from the vegetable world.
The lily, the cedar, the olive, are in my text. And there follow, in the subsequent verses,
the corn, and the vine, and the green fir-tree.
The words which I have read, no doubt originally had simply a reference to the
numerical increase of the people and their restoration to their land, but they may be
taken by us quite fairly as having a very much deeper and more blessed reference than
that. For they describe the uniform condition of all spiritual life and growth,’ I will be as
the dew unto Israel’; and then they set forth some of the manifold aspects of that growth,
and the consequences of receiving that heavenly dew, under the various metaphors to
which I have referred. It is in that higher signification that I wish to look at them now.
I. The first thought that comes out of the words is that for all life and growth
of the spirit there must be a bedewing from God.
‘I will be as the dew unto Israel.’ Now, scholars tell us that the kind of moisture that is
meant in these words is not what we call dew, of which, as a matter of fact, there falls, in
Palestine, little or none at the season of the year referred to in my text, but that the word
really means the heavy night-clouds that come upon the wings of the south-west wind, to
diffuse moisture and freshness over the parched plains, in the very height and fierceness
of summer. The metaphor of my text becomes more beautiful and striking, if we note
that, in the previous chapter, where the Prophet was in his threatening mood, he
predicts that ‘an east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord shall come up from the
wilderness’-the burning sirocco, with death upon its wings-’and his spring shall become
dry, and his fountain shall be dried up.’ We have then to imagine the land gaping and
parched, the hot air having, as with invisible tongue of flame, licked streams and pools
dry, and having shrunken fountains and springs. Then, all at once there comes down
upon the baking ground and on the faded, drooping flowers that lie languid and
prostrate on the ground in the darkness, borne on the wings of the wind, from the
depths of the great unfathomed sea, an unseen moisture. You cannot call it rain, so
gently does it diffuse itself; it is liker a mist, but it brings life and freshness, and
everything is changed. The dew, or the night mist, as it might more properly be
rendered, was evidently a good deal in Hosea’s mind; you may remember that he uses
the image again in a remarkably different aspect, where he speaks of men’s goodness as
being like ‘a morning cloud, and the early dew that passes away.’
The natural object which yields the emblem was all inadequate to set forth the divine gift

135. which is compared to it, because as soon as the sun has risen, with burning heat, it
scatters the beneficent clouds, and the ‘sunbeams like swords’ threaten to slay the tender
green shoots. But this mist from God that comes down to water the earth is never dried
up. It is not transient. It may be ours, and live in our hearts. Dear brethren, the prose of
this sweet old promise is ‘If I depart, I will send Him unto you.’ If we are Christian
people, we have the perpetual dew of that divine Spirit, which falls on our leaves and
penetrates to our roots, and communicates life, freshness, and power, and makes growth
possible-more than possible, certain-for us. ‘I’-Myself through My Son, and in My
Spirit-’I will be’-an unconditional assurance-’as the dew unto Israel.’
Yes! That promise is in its depth and fulness applicable only to the Christian Israel, and
it remains true to-day and for ever. Do we see it fulfilled? One looks round upon our
congregations, and into one’s own heart, and we behold the parable of Gideon’s fleece
acted over again-some places soaked with the refreshing moisture, and some as hard as a
rock and as dry as tinder and ready to catch fire from any spark from the devil’s forge
and be consumed in the everlasting burnings some day. It will do us good to ask
ourselves why it is that, with a promise like this for every Christian soul to build upon,
there are so few Christian souls that have anything like realised its fulness and its depth.
Let us be quite sure of this-God has nothing to do with the failure of His promise, and let
us take all the blame to ourselves.
‘I will be as the dew unto Israel.’ Who was Israel? The man that wrestled all night in
prayer with God, and took hold of the angel and prevailed and wept and made
supplication to Him. So Hosea tells us; and as he says in the passage where he describes
the Angel’s wrestling with Jacob at Peniel, ‘there He spake with us’-when He spake, He
spake with him who first bore the name. Be you Israel, and God will surely be your dew;
and life and growth will be possible. That is the first lesson of this great promise.
II. The second is, that a soul thus bedewed by God will spring into purity and
beauty.
We go back to Hosea’s vegetable metaphors. ‘He shall grow as the lily’ is his first
promise. If I were addressing a congregation of botanists, I should have something to
say about what kind of a plant is meant, but that is quite beside the mark for my present
purpose. It is sufficient to notice that in this metaphor the emphasis is laid upon the two
attributes which I have named-beauty and purity. The figure teaches us that ugly
Christianity is not Christ’s Christianity. Some of us older people remember that it used
to be a favourite phrase to describe unattractive saints that they had ‘grace grafted on a
crab stick.’ There are a great many Christian people whom one would compare to any
other plant rather than a lily. Thorns and thistles and briers are a good deal more like
what some of them appear to the world. But we are bound, if we are Christian people, by
our obligations to God, and by our obligations to men, to try to make Christianity look as
beautiful in people’s eyes as we can. That is what Paul said, ‘Adorn the teaching’; make it
look well, inasmuch as it has made you look attractive to men’s eyes. Men have a fairly
accurate notion of beauty and goodness, whether they have any goodness or any beauty
in their own characters or not. Do you remember the words: ‘Whatsoever things are
lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, whatsoever things are venerable . . . if there
be any praise’-from men-’think on these things’? If we do not keep that as the guiding
star of our lives, then we have failed in one very distinct duty of Christian people-
namely, to grow more like a lily, and to be graceful in the lowest sense of that word, as
well as grace full in the highest sense of it. We shall not be so in the lower, unless we are
so in the higher. It may be a very modest kind of beauty, very humble, and not at all like
the flaring reds and yellows of the gorgeous flowers that the world admires. These are

136. often like a great sunflower, with a disc as big as a cheese. But the Christian beauty will
be modest and unobtrusive and shy, like the violet half buried in the hedge-bank, and
unnoticed by careless eyes, accustomed to see beauty only in gaudy, flaring blooms. But
unless you, as a Christian, are in your character arrayed in the “beauty of holiness,’ and
the holiness of beauty, you are not quite the Christian that Jesus Christ wants you to be;
setting forth all the gracious and sweet and refining influences of the Gospel in your
daily life and conduct. That is the second lesson of our text.
III. The third is, that a God-bedewed soul that has been made fair and pure
by communion with God, ought also to be strong.
He “shall cast forth his roots like Lebanon.” Now I take it that simile does not refer to the
roots of that giant range that slope away down under the depths of the Mediterranean.
That is a beautiful emblem, but it is not in line with the other images in the context. As
these are all dependent on the promise of the dew, and represent different phases of the
results of its fulfilment, it is natural to expect thus much uniformity in their variety, that
they shall all be drawn from plant-life. If so, we must suppose a condensed metaphor
here, and take “Lebanon” to mean the forest which another prophet calls “the glory of
Lebanon.” The characteristic tree in these, as we all know, was the cedar.
It is named in Hebrew by a word which is connected with that for “strength.” It stands as
the very type and emblem of stability and vigour. Think of its firm roots by which it is
anchored deep in the soil. Think of the shelves of massive dark foliage. Think of its
unchanged steadfastness in storm. Think of its towering height; and thus arriving at the
meaning of the emblem, let us translate it into practice in our own lives. “He shall cast
forth his roots as Lebanon.” Beauty? Yes! Purity? Yes! And braided in with them, if I may
so say, the strength which can say “No!” which can resist, which can persist, which can
overcome; power drawn from communion with God. “Strength and beauty” should
blend in the worshippers, as they do in the “sanctuary” in God Himself. There is nothing
admirable in mere force; there is often something sickly and feeble, and therefore
contemptible in mere beauty. Many of us will cultivate the complacent and the amiable
sides of the Christian life, and be wanting in the manly “thews that throw the world,” and
can fight to the death. But we have to try and bring these two excellences of character
together, and it needs an immense deal of grace and wisdom and imitation of Jesus
Christ, and a close clasp of His hand, to enable us to do that. Speak we of strength? He is
the type of strength. Of beauty? He is the perfection of beauty. And it is only as we keep
close to Him that our lives will be all fair with the reflected loveliness of His, and strong
with the communicated power of His grace-“strong in the Lord, and in the power of His
might.” Brethren, if we are to set forth anything, in our daily lives, of this strength,
remember that our lives must be rooted in, as well as bedewed by, God. Hosea’s
emblems, beautiful and instructive as they are, do not reach to the deep truth set forth in
still holier and sweeter words; “I am the Vine, ye are the branches.” The union of Christ
and His people is closer than that between dew and plant. Our growth results from the
communication of His own life to us. Therefore is the command stringent and obedience
to it blessed, “Abide in Me, for apart from Me ye can do”-and are-“nothing.” Let us
remember that the loftier the top of the tree and the wider the spread of its shelves of
dark foliage, if it is steadfastly to stand, unmoved by the loud winds when they call, the
deeper must its roots strike into the firm earth. If your life is to be a fair temple-palace
worthy of God’s dwelling in, if it is to be impregnable to assault, there must be quite as
much masonry underground as above, as is the case in great old buildings and palaces.
And such a life must be a life “hid with Christ in God,” then it will be strong. When we
strike our roots deep into Him, our branch also shall not wither, and our leaf shall be
green, and all that we do shall prosper. The wicked are not so. They are like chaff-

137. rootless, fruitless, lifeless, which the wind driveth away.
IV. Lastly, the God-bedewed soul, beautiful, pure, strong, will bear fruit.
That is the last lesson from these metaphors. “His beauty shall be as the olive-tree.”
Anybody that has ever seen a grove of olives knows that their beauty is not such as
strikes the eye. If it was not for the blue sky overhead, that rays down glorifying light,
they would not be much to look at or talk about. The tree has a gnarled, grotesque trunk
which divides into insignificant branches, bearing leaves mean in shape, harsh in
texture, with a silvery underside. It gives but a quivering shade and has no massiveness,
nor symmetry. Ay! but there are olives on the branches. And so the beauty of the humble
tree is in what it grows for man’s good. After all, it is the outcome in fruitfulness which is
the main thing about us. God’s meaning, in all His gifts of dew, and beauty, and purity,
and strength, is that we should be of some use in the world.
The olive is crushed into oil, and the oil is used for smoothing and suppling joints and
flesh, for nourishing and sustaining the body as food, for illuminating darkness as oil in
the lamp. And these three things are the three things for which we Christian people have
received all our dew, and all our beauty, and all our strength-that we may give other
people light, that we may be the means of conveying to other people nourishment, that
we may move gently in the world as lubricating, sweetening, soothing influences, and
not irritating and provoking, and leading to strife and alienation. The question after all
is, Does anybody gather fruit off us, and would anybody call us ‘trees of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified’? That is lesson four from this text.
May we all open our hearts for the dew from heaven, and then use it to produce in
ourselves beauty, purity, strength, and fruitfulness!
6 his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.
GILL, "His branches shall spread,.... As the well rooted cedars in Lebanon; see
Num_24:6. This respects the propagation of the church of God, and the interest of
Christ in the world, as in the first times of the Gospel, and will be in the latter day; when
the Gospel shall be spread everywhere; churches set up in all places; the Jews converted,
and the fulness of the Gentiles brought in; and these like spreading branches, and
fruitful boughs, abounding in grace and good works. The Targum is,

138. "they shall multiply or increase with sons and daughters:''
and his beauty shall be as the olive tree; which lies in its being laden with excellent
fruit, and being always green; for which reasons particular believers, and the whole
church of God, are sometimes compared to it; having that fatness in them, with which
God and men are honoured; and that true grace, which is signified by oil in the vessels of
the heart, and is called the unction and anointing of the Holy One; and they persevering
in this grace to the end, which is evergreen and durable, immortal, and dies not; see
Psa_52:8. Here again it may be observed, that the trees of Lebanon, though they had
strong roots, and spreading branches, yet were not fruitful; and the deficiency of that
metaphor is supplied by this of the olive:
and his smell as Lebanon; as the trees of Lebanon, the cedars, trees of frankincense,
and other odoriferous trees and plants, which grew upon it; here what is wanting in the
olive tree, whose smell is not so grateful, is made up by this simile of the trees of
Lebanon, and the smell of them; which may denote the sweet and grateful smell the Lord
smells in his people, or his gracious acceptance of them in Christ; whose garments of
righteousness and salvation on them are as the smell of Lebanon; and whose graces in
them exceed the smell of all spices; and whose prayers are odours, and their praises a
sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour to God; see Son_4:10. Some render it, "as incense"
(d) called "lebonah" in Hebrew, from whence the mountain is thought to have its name,
frankincense growing upon it. So the Targum,
"and their smell as the smell of the incense of spices.''
Jarchi says, as the sanctuary, which was made of the cedars of Lebanon.
HE RY, "They shall be graceful and acceptable both to God and man. Grace is the
amiable thing, and makes those that have it truly amiable. They are here compared to
such trees as are pleasant, [1.] To the sight: His beauty shall be as the olive-tree, which
is always green. The Lord called thy name a green olive-tree, Jer_11:16. Ordinances are
the beauty of the church, and in them it is, and shall be, ever green. Holiness is the
beauty of a soul; when those that believe with the heart make profession with the mouth,
and justify and adorn that profession with an agreeable conversation, then their beauty
is as the olive-tree, Psa_52:8. It is a promise to the trees of righteousness that their leaf
shall not wither. [2.] To the smell: His smell shall be as Lebanon (Hos_14:6) and his
scent as the wine of Lebanon, Hos_14:7. This was the praise of their father Jacob, The
smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed, Gen_27:27. The
church is compared to a garden of spices (Son_4:12, Son_4:14), which all her garments
smell of. True believers are acceptable to God and approved of men. God smells a sweet
savour from their spiritual sacrifices (Gen_8:21), and they are accepted of the
multitude of the brethren. Grace is the perfume of the soul, the perfume of the name,
makes it like a precious ointment, Ecc_7:1. The memorial thereof shall be as the wine of
Lebanon (so the margin reads it), not only their reviving comforts now, but their
surviving honours when they are gone, shall be as the wine of Lebanon, that has a
delicate flavour. Flourishing churches have their faith spoken of throughout the world
(Rom_1:8) and leave their name to be remembered (Psa_45:17); and the memory of
flourishing saints is blessed, and shall be so, as theirs who by faith obtained a good
report.

139. JAMISO , "branches — shoots, or suckers.
beauty ... as the olive — which never loses its verdure. One plant is not enough to
express the graces of God’s elect people. The lily depicts its lovely growth; but as it wants
duration and firmness, the deeply rooted cedars of Lebanon are added; these, however,
are fruitless, therefore the fruitful, peace-bearing, fragrant, ever green olive is added.
smell as Lebanon — which exhaled from it the fragrance of odoriferous trees and
flowers. So Israel’s name shall be in good savor with all (Gen_27:27; Son_4:11).
CALVI , "Verse 6
The Prophet goes on with the same subject, but joins the beginning of the first verse
with the second clause of the former verse. He had said that the roots of the people
would be deep when God should restore them. ow he adds, that their branches
shall go on He mentions here “to go on” metaphorically for extending far; for
branches of trees seem to go on, when they extend and spread themselves far and
wide. His branches, then, shall go on; which means, that a tree, after striking roots,
remains not in the same state, but grows and spreads forth its branches in all
directions. In short, God promises a daily increase to his blessing, after he has once
begun to show himself bountiful to the people of Israel. “I will then be bountiful at
the beginning; and further, he says, my blessing shall, as time passes, increase and
be multiplied.”
He afterwards adds, His comeliness shall be like the olive The Prophet accumulates
similitudes, that he might more fully confirm the people. And we certainly see that
the minds of men grow faint, when they look for prosperity from this or that
quarter; for there is hardly one in a hundred who is fully persuaded that when God
is propitious, all things turn out well and happily: for men regard not the love of
God when they wish things to be well with them, but wander here and there through
the whole world; and now they seek prosperity from themselves, then from the
earth, now from the air, then from the sea. Since then it is so difficult to impress this
truth fully on the hearts of men, that the love of God is the fountain of all blessings,
the Prophet has collected together a number of similitudes to confirm what he
teaches. Then his comeliness, he says, shall be like the olive; and further, his
fragrance like that of Libanus: and odoriferous trees, we know, grow on Mount
Libanus. But by these various similes the Prophet shows that the state of the people
would be prosperous and happy as soon as they should be received by God into
favour. He afterwards adds, the dwellers under his shadow shall return; but I defer
this till to-morrow.
COFFMA , ""His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive-tree,
and his smell as Lebanon."
"The loveliest of figures are here employed to describe the consequences"[16] of
union with the Lord Jesus Christ in the ew Covenant. God's goodness will not
merely forgive and restore, but also beautify .and make fruitful and fragrant the
eW Israel of God.

140. TRAPP, "Hosea 14:6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive
tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
Ver. 6. His branches shall spread] Heb. shall walk, or expatiate; shall reach out, and
stretch themselves all abroad: so shall the Church be propagated all the earth over;
she shall flourish as the palm tree, which though it have many weights hung on the
top, and many snakes hissing at the root, yet it still saith, ec premor, nec perimor, I
am insuperable: "I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the
mercy of God for ever and ever," Psalms 52:8.
And his beauty shall be as the olive tree] That goodly tree, Leviticus 23:40, that
retaineth her greenness in the depth of winter; yea, in that universal deluge, oah’s
dove met with an olive leaf. "The Lord hath called thy name," saith the prophet to
the Church, Jeremiah 11:16, "a green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit." The
cypress is fair, but not fruitful; the fig tree fruitful, but not fair and flourishing. But
the olive tree is both fair and fruitful; her fruit also is of singular use to mankind,
both for food and medicine and light for the lamp, Exodus 29:20, Leviticus 6:15-16.
In one respect it is an emblem of peace, it maketh the face shine, Psalms 104:15; and
in the other, it is an emblem of grace and spiritual gifts, 1 John 2:20, of increasing
with the increase of God, by the Spirit, and of reigning with him in eternal glory.
And his smell as Lebanon] Whereby is meant the sweet savour of the gospel, which
spreadeth itself abroad in the ministry of the word, and in the lives of believers, 2
Corinthians 2:14-15, who besides their continual offering up to God spiritual
incense and services in prayers, thanksgivings, alms, and good works, they perfume
the very air they breathe upon by their gracious and savoury communication,
Ephesians 4:29; yea, the very company they come into: as a man cannot come where
sweet spices and odours are beaten to the smell but he shall carry away the scent
thereof in his clothes. When the Spirit of Christ blows upon them, and grace is
poured into their hearts, then their lips drop sweet-smelling myrrh, Song of
Solomon 5:13; Song of Solomon 4:16, then also their "good name is better than a
precious ointment," Ecclesiastes 7:1; see the note there; when the wicked stink alive
and dead, ihil nisi foetidum et foedum exhalavit (Rivet.).
PETT, "Verse 6
‘His branches will spread, and his beauty will be as the olive-tree, and his odour as
Lebanon.’
As a result of their strong roots their branches will spread, the sign of a healthy tree,
and they will have the beauty of an olive tree, one of the most desirable of trees in
Israelite eyes (compare Jeremiah 11:16; Psalms 52:8), whilst the odour that issued
forth from them would be ‘as Lebanon’ (compare Song of Solomon 2:14; Song of
Solomon 4:10-11). o one who had visited Lebanon could forget the beautiful aroma
of the trees. It is an idealistic picture.

141. 7 People will dwell again in his shade;
they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom like the vine—
Israel’s fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.
BAR ES, "They that dwell under his shadow - that is, the shadow of the
restored Israel, who had just been described under the image of a magnificent tree
uniting in itself all perfections. : “They that are under the shadow of the Church are
together under the shadow of Christ the Head thereof, and also of God the Father.” The
Jews, of old, explained it , “they shall dwell under the shadow of their Messias.” These,
he says, “shall return,” i. e., they shall turn to be quite other than they had been, even
back to Him, to whom they belonged, whose creatures they were, God. “They shall revive
as the corn.” The words may be differently rendered, in the same general meaning. The
simple words, “They shall revive” (literally, “give life” to, or “preserve in life,”) “corn,”
have been filled up differently. Some of old, (from where ours has been taken)
understood it, “they shall revive” themselves, and so, “shall live” , and that either “as
corn,” (as it is said, “shall grow as the vine”); or “by corn” which is also very natural,
since “bread is the staff of life,” and our spiritual Bread is the support of our spiritual
life.
Or lastly, (of which the grammar is easier, yet the idiom less natural) it as been
rendered “they shall give life to corn,” make corn to live, by cultivating it. In all ways the
sense is perfect. If we render, “shall revive” as “corn,” it means, being, as it were, dead,
they shall net only live again with renewed life, but shall even increase. Corn first dies in
its outward form, and so is multiplied; the fruit-bearing branches of the vine are pruned
and cut, and so they bear richer fruit. So through suffering, chastisement, or the heavy
hand of God or man, the Church, being purified, yields more abundant fruits of grace. Or
if rendered, “shall make corn to grow,” since the prophet, all around, is under figures of
God’s workings in nature, speaking of His workings of grace, then it is the same image,
as when our Lord speaks of those “who receive the seed in an honest and true heart and
bring forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” Mat_13:23. Or if we
were to render, “shall produce life through wheat,” what were this, but that seed-corn,
which, for us and for our salvation, was sown in the earth, and died, and “brought forth
much fruit;” the Bread of life, of which our Lord says, “I am the Bread of life, whoso
eateth of this bread shall live forever, and the bread which I will give is My Flesh, which I

142. will give for the life of the world?” Joh_6:48, Joh_6:51.
The scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon - The grapes of Lebanon
have been of the size of plums; its wine has been spoken of as the best in the East or even
in the world . Formerly Israel was as a luxuriant, but empty, vine, bringing forth no fruit
to God Hos_10:1. God “looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth
wild grapes” Isa_5:2. Now its glory and luxuriance should not hinder its bearing fruit,
and “that,” the noblest of its kind. Rich and fragrant is the odor of graces, the inspiration
of the Spirit of God, and not fleeting, but abiding.
CLARKE, "They that dwell under his shadow shall return - The Targum is
curious: “They shall be gathered together from the midst of their captivity; they shall
dwell under the shadow of his Christ, and the dead shall revive.”
They shall revive as the corn - The justness and beauty of this metaphor is not
generally perceived. After the corn has been a short time above the earth, in a single
spike, the blades begin to separate, and the stalk to spring out of the center. The side
leaves turn back to make way for the protruding stalk; and fall bending down to the
earth, assuming a withered appearance, though still attached to the plant. To look at the
corn in this state, no one, unacquainted with the circumstance, could entertain any
sanguine hope of a copious harvest. In a short time other leaves spring out; the former
freshen, and begin to stand erect; and the whole seems to revive from a vegetative death.
This is the circumstance to which the prophet refers “they shall revive as the corn.” Of
this a prudent and profitable use may be made.
1. When a soul is first “drawn by the cords of love,” Hos_11:4, every thing seems to it
promising, comfortable, and delightful, like the corn in its first state.
2. But when the Spirit of judgment brings to the light of conscience the hidden things
of iniquity, and repentance is deepened into contrition, the broken and the contrite
heart groans, and thinks that all is lost; deep distress takes place, and
discouragement succeeds discouragement. This answers to the corn in its second
state.
3. By and by the pardon comes, and God’s love is shed abroad in the heart by the
Holy Ghost; every hope is revived and realized, the full corn in the ear becomes
manifest; and this answers to the corn in its third state. “They shall revive as the
corn.” Glory be to God for his unspeakable gift!
GILL, "They that dwell under his shadow shall return,.... Either under the
shadow of Lebanon, as Japhet and Jarchi; the shadow of that mountain, or of the trees
that grew upon it; or under the shadow of Israel, the church, to which young converts
have recourse, and under which they sit with pleasure; or rather under the shadow of the
Lord Israel was called to return unto, and now return, Hos_14:1; as the Israelites will in
the latter day. So the Targum,
"and they shall be gathered out of the midst of their captivity, they shall dwell under the
shadow of their Messiah;''
thus truly gracious persons sit under the shadow of Christ, who come to themselves, and
return unto the Lord; even under the shadow of his word and ordinances, where they

143. desire to sit, and do sit with delight and pleasure, as well as in the greatest safety; and
find it a very refreshing and comfortable shadow to them; even a shadow from the heat
of avenging justice, a fiery law, the fiery darts of Satan, and the fury of the world; and,
like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land, exceeding pleasing and cheering to weary
travellers; see Son_2:3 Isa_25:4;
they shall revive as the corn: which first dies, and then is quickened; or which, after
a cold nipping winter, at spring revives again: thus do believers under the dews of divine
grace, under the shadow of Christ, and the influences of his Spirit: or, "shall revive with
corn" (e); by means of it; by which may be signified the corn of heaven, angels' food, the
hidden manna, the Gospel of Christ, and Christ himself, the bread of life; by which the
spirits of his people are revived, their souls upheld in life, and their graces quickened;
which they find and eat, and it is the joy and rejoicing of their hearts:
and grow as the vine: which, though weak, and needs support, and its wood
unprofitable; yet grows and spreads very much, and brings forth rich fruit in clusters: so
the saints, though they are weak in themselves, and need divine supports, and when they
have done all they can are unprofitable servants; yet through the power of divine grace,
which is like the dew, they grow in every grace, and are filled with the blessings of it, and
bring forth much fruit to the glory of God:
and the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon; like the wine of those
vines which grow on Mount Lebanon, and judged to be the best. On Mount Lebanon,
about the midway between the top and the bottom of it, there is now a convent called
Canobine, situated in a very pleasant place; and Le Bruyn in his travels relates, that it is
preferable to all other places on account of its wines, which are the richest and finest in
the world; they are very sweet, of a red colour, and so oily that they stick to the glass. At
Lebanon was a city called by the Greeks Ampeloessa, from the excellency of its wine, as
Grotius from Pliny (f) observes. Gabriel Sionita (g) assures us, that even to this day the
wines of Libanus are in good reputation. Kimchi relates from Asaph, a physician, that
the wines of Lebanon, Hermon, and Carmel, and of the mountains of Israel and
Jerusalem, and of the mountains of Samaria, and of the mountains of Caphtor Mizraim,
were the best of wines, and exceeded all others for scent, taste, and medicine. Japhet
interprets it, the smell of their vine afar off was as the wine of Lebanon; and so Kimchi,
the smell of the wine of the vine, to which Israel is compared, is like the smell of the wine
of Lebanon. This may denote the savouriness of truly converted gracious souls, of their
graces, doctrines, life, and conversation. Some choose to render it, "their memory (h)
shall be as the wine of Lebanon"; so the Targum interprets it of
"the memory of their goodness;''
the saints obtain a good report through faith, and have a good name, better than
precious ointment; their memory is blessed; they, are had in everlasting remembrance;
the memory of them is not only dear to the people of God in after ages; but the memory
of their persons, and of their works, is exceeding grateful to God and Christ.
HE RY, "They shall be fruitful and useful. The church is compared here to the vine
and the olive, which brings forth useful fruits, to the honour of God and man. Nay, the
very shadow of the church shall be agreeable (Hos_14:7): Those that dwell under his
shadow shall return - under God's shadow (so some), under the shadow of the Messias,

144. so the Chaldee. Believers dwell under God's shadow (Psa_91:1), and there they are and
may be safe and easy. But it is rather under the shadow of Israel, under the shadow of
the church. Note, God's promises pertain to those, and those only, that dwell under the
church's shadow, that attend on God's ordinances and adhere to his people, not those
that flee to that shadow only for shelter in a hot gleam, but those that dwell under it.
Psa_27:4. We may apply it to particular believers; when a man is effectually brought
home to God all that dwell under his shadow - children, servants, subjects, friends. This
day has salvation come to this house. Those that dwell under the shadow of the church
shall return; their drooping spirits shall return, and they shall be refreshed and
comforted. He restores my soul, Psa_23:3. They shall revive as the corn, which, when it
is sown, dies first, and then revives, and brings forth much fruit, Joh_12:24. It is
promised that God's people shall be blessings to the world, as corn and wine are. And a
very great and valuable mercy it is to be serviceable to our generation. Comfort and
honour attend it.
JAMISO , "They that used to dwell under Israel’s shadow (but who shall have been
forced to leave it), shall return, that is, be restored (Eze_35:9). Others take “His
shadow” to mean Jehovah’s (compare Psa_17:8; Psa_91:1; Isa_4:6), which Hos_14:1,
Hos_14:2 (“return unto the Lord,” etc.) favor. But the “his” in Hos_14:6 refers to Israel,
and therefore must refer to the same here.
revive as ... corn — As the corn long buried in the earth springs up, with an
abundant produce, so shall they revive from their calamities, with a great increase of
offspring (compare Joh_12:24).
scent thereof — that is, Israel’s fame. Compare Hos_14:6, “His smell as Lebanon”;
Son_1:3 : “Thy name is as ointment poured forth.” The Septuagint favors the Margin,
“memorial.”
as the wine of Lebanon — which was most celebrated for its aroma, flavor, and
medicinal restorative properties.
CALVI , "Verse 7
The dwellers under his shadow shall return, (so it is literally;) they shall revive
themselves with corn, (or, revive as the corn;) they shall grow as the vine: his odour
shall be as the wine of Libanus. The Prophet proceeds with the same subject, that
God would show himself bountiful to his people, that it might plainly appear from
their different state that they had before suffered just punishment. And he says, The
dwellers under his shadow shall return. But the verb ‫,ישבו‬ ishibu, in this place
rightly means, “to be refreshed,” as in Psalms 19:7; where the law of God is spoken
of as ‫,משיבת‬ meshibet, converting the soul; which signifies the same as refreshing or
restoring the soul. So the Prophet intimates, that after the Israelites shall begin to
flourish again, their shadow would be vivifying, such as would restore and refresh
those lying under it. He calls the “dwellers under his shadow”, all those who belong
to the people; and compares the common state of the people of Israel to a tree full of
leaves, which extends its branches far and wide, so that they who flee under its
shadow are defended from the heat of the sun. We now see the design of this
metaphor, and what the Prophet means by the verb ‫,ישבו‬ ishibu
He afterwards adds They shall vivify themselves with corn, or, revive as corn. If we

145. read the word in the nominative case, the preposition ‫,כ‬ caph, is to be understood.
The ablative case is more approved by some, “They shall vivify themselves with
corn.” But the former sense seems more suitable; for, as I have said yesterday, the
Prophet, as he handles a truth difficult to be believed, does on this account
accumulate similitudes, such as serve for confirmation. Hence they shall revive as
corn; that is, they shall increase. As from one grain, we know, many stalks proceed;
so also, since the prophet speaks of the increase of the people after their restoration
to God’s favour, he says that they would grow like corn.
But he adds, They shall germinate as the vine This similitude strengthens what I
have just said, that the people are compared both to trees and to corn, and also to
vines. And what is said of dwellers ought not to appear strange, for he wished more
fully to express how this common benefit would come, that is, to every one. He
afterwards adds, His odour shall be as the wine of Libanus; that is, when they shall
germinate as the vine, they shall not produce common or sour wine, but the
sweetest, such as is made on Mount Libanus, and which is of the best odour. But the
Prophet means no other thing than that the Israelites will be happy, and that their
condition will be prosperous and joyful, when they shall be converted from their
superstitions and other vices, and shall wholly surrender themselves to be governed
by God. This is the meaning. Let us now proceed —
COFFMA , "They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as
the grain, and blossom as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of
Lebanon."
"This, of course, cannot be applied in any ultimate sense to the restoration of the
Jews in the days of Ezra and Zerubbabel, for the subsequent history of the Jews
does not bear this description out. This is Hosea's way of expressing God's promise
to fulfil the covenant God made with Abraham and Abraham's spiritual posterity
(Christians). It is evident that Hosea 14 is entirely Messianic in its "terminus ad
quem" (end). It is a prophecy describing the spiritual inheritance that was to come
in Christ."[17]
ELLICOTT, "(7) It would be more in accordance with the Hebrew idiom to render,
The dwellers under its shadow shall once more cause the corn to grow. The word
translated “scent” (margin, “memorial”) should be renown. The form of these
promises is derived from the external signs of national prosperity. (Comp. Hosea
12:10.) But corn and wine are throughout the Scriptures the great symbols of
spiritual refreshment, and are still the memorials of the supreme love of Him whose
body was broken and whose blood was shed for us.
BE SO , "Hosea 14:7. They that dwell under his shadow shall return — “ ot only
was Israel to regain its former prosperity, but those smaller tribes of people that
were connected with Israel, and shared in its depression, which are here described
by dwelling under his shadow.” But many versions translate this clause, They shall
return and dwell under his shadow. That is, they shall return to their own country,
and rest safely under the protection of the Almighty. They shall revive as the corn

146. — They shall arise out of their calamities: this is properly expressed by reviving as
the corn, because the corn is buried, and lies as it were dead in the earth, till, after
some time, it springs forth. And grow as the vine — Which in winter seems dead,
but yet has life, sap, and a fructifying virtue in it. The reference here is to a vine that
had been stripped of its leaves, and afterward flourishes again, recovering its lost
verdure. A lively emblem this of the Jewish nation, arising from a state of great
depression and affliction, and recovering its former prosperity and dignity. And a
still more lively image of the revival and increase of true religion in the church of
God, and of the graces and virtues of its members after a time of barrenness and
unprofitableness. The scent thereof shall be as the vine of Lebanon — Their
wisdom, holiness, and usefulness, their piety and virtue, shall diffuse an agreeable
fragrance far and wide, and shall be acceptable both to God and man. Mr. Harmer
produces several testimonies in proof of the excellence of the wine of Lebanon above
all the wines of that part of the world: and indeed above those which have been most
celebrated elsewhere.
TRAPP, "Hosea 14:7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall
revive [as] the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof [shall be] as the wine of
Lebanon.
Ver. 7. They that dwell under his shadow shall return] Or, shall sit still, shall be at
rest. The Chaldee hath it, They shall dwell in the shadow of his Christ. See a like
promise of reconcillation and protection, Isaiah 4:6; Isaiah 25:4, Psalms 35:8. The
refuge and refreshment of the Church is wholly from Christ; under the shadow of
whose divine grace she resteth in her members, shaded and sheltered under the
hollow of his hand, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall,
Isaiah 25:4, when indignation is kindled, Isaiah 26:20, and when the Lord cometh
out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the land for their iniquity; then shall
true converts have a chamber of rest, a Pella provided for them; or, at least, be able
to sing David’s requiem, return to thy rest, O my soul, hover and cover under God’s
wing, run to his name as a tower, and be safe. Why art thou case down? trust in
God, trust in an angry God, in a killing God, as Job, believe him upon his bare
word; and that against sense, in things invisible; and against reason, in things
incredible. This is faith’s triumph, and this is the saint’s safety.
They shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine] The Seventy and Latin render
it, They shall live with corn; that is, they shall have great plenty of all things
necessary, as Psalms 87:1-7; Psalms 144:13. But the other reading is better; They
shall revive as the corn, which suffering much from frost, hail, snow, tempest, lieth
for dead, as it were, in winter; but at the return of the sun in springtide reviveth,
and yieldeth a great increase, John 12:24, 1 Corinthians 15:36-38. In like sort the
vine, when pruned and lopped, spreads again, and is the more fruitful; so those that
are viti verae inserti, set into the true vine, though lopped and harrowed with sore
and sharp afflictions, yet can truly and triumphantly say, "As dying, and, behold,
we live; as chastened, and not killed," 2 Corinthians 6:9. Their bodies also by death
are not so much rotted as refined, and shall be conformed to Christ’s most glorious

147. body the standard, Philippians 3:21.
And the scent thereof as the wine of Lebanon] Which was noted for the best, as
Kimchi proves, and Athenaeus confirmeth. Among the Jews at this day the women,
when they speak of their dead husbands, say, His scent, or his memorial, is as the
wine of Lebanon.
PETT, "‘Those who dwell under his shadow will return, they will revive as the
grain, and blossom as the vine, their taste (name/memorial) will be as the wine of
Lebanon.’
And those who dwell under the shadow of the new Israel’s spreading branches will
return to YHWH, (or return from exile, compare Hosea 11:11), and there they will
revive like the grain (recalling the sudden coming to life of the greenery when the
rains fell after the hot season, a transformation remarkable in its suddenness), and
blossom as the vine (the blossoming of the vine promising a good harvest was always
greeted with rapture). The picture is one of abundant fruitfulness and joy. ‘Their
taste (literally ‘name/memorial’; compare Hosea 12:5) will be as the wine of
Lebanon’. o one ever forgot the taste of Lebanese wine, and the taste of Israel will
be as sumptuous.
Some see ‘under his shadow’ as referring to YHWH (compare Song of Solomon
2:3), but ‘his’ in context clearly refers to Israel, and the distinction between Israel as
a nation and the Israelites as a people was already contained in the picture found in
chapters 1-2 of Israel as the mother and the Israelites as her children. The central
idea is of all returning to the covenant into which Israel as a whole have now re-
entered.
8 Ephraim, what more have I[c] to do with idols?
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;
your fruitfulness comes from me.”

148. BAR ES, "Ephraim shall say, what have I to do anymore with idols? - So
Isaiah fortells, “The idols He shall utterly abolish” Isa_2:18. Aforetime Ephraim said
obstinately, in the midst of God’s chastisements; “I will go after my lovers, who give me
my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink” Hos_2:5. Now she
shall renounce them wholly and forever. This is entire conversion, to part wholly with
everything which would dispute the allegiance with God, to cease to look to any created
thing or being, for what is the gift of the Creator alone. So the Apostle says, “what
concord hath Christ with Belial?” 2Co_6:15. This verse exhibits in few, vivid, words,
converted Ephraim speaking with God, and God answering; Ephraim renouncing his
sins, and God accepting him; Ephraim glorying in God’s goodness, and God reminding
him that he holds all from Himself.
I have heard and observed him - God answers the profession and accepts it. I,
(emphatic) “I Myself have heard and have answered,” as He says, “Before they call I will
answer” Isa_65:24. Whereas God, before, had hid His face from them, or had “observed”
Hos_13:7 them, only as the object of His displeasure, and as ripe for destruction, now
He reverses this, and “observes” them, in order to forecome the wishes of their hearts
before they are expressed, to watch over them and survey and provide for all their needs.
To this, Ephraim exulting in God’s goodness, answers, “I” am “like a green fir tree,” i. e.,
ever-green, ever-fresh. The “berosh,” (as Jerome, living in Palestine, thought) one of the
large genus of the “pine” or “fir,” or (as others translated) the cypress , was a tall stately
tree Isa_55:13; in whose branches the stork could make its nest Psa_104:17; its wood
precious enough to be employed in the temple (1 Kings 5:22, 24 (1Ki_5:8, 1Ki_5:10,
English); 6:15, 34); fine enough to be used in all sorts of musical instruments 2Sa_6:5;
strong and pliant enough to be used for spears Nah_2:3.
It was part of the glory of Lebanon Isa_37:24; Isa_60:13. A Greek historian says that
Lebanon “was full of cedars and pines and cypresses, of wonderful beauty and size” . A
modern traveler says, of “the cypress groves of Lebanon” ; “Each tree is in itself a study
for the landscape painter - some, on account of their enormous stems and branches.
Would you see trees in all their splendor and beauty, then enter these wild groves, that
have never been touched by the pruning knife of art.” This tree, in its majestic beauty,
tenacity of life, and undying verdure, winter and summer, through the perpetual supply
of sap, pictures the continual life of the soul through the unbroken supply of the grace of
God. Created beauty must, at best, be but a faint image of the beauty of the soul in grace,
for this is from the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit.
From Me is thy fruit found - Neither the pine nor the cypress bear any fruit, useful
for food. It is probable then that here too the prophet fills out one image by another and
says that restored Israel, the Church of God, or the soul in grace, should not only have
beauty and majesty, but what is not, in the way of nature, found united therewith,
fruitfulness also. From Me is thy fruit found; as our Lord says, “I am the vine, ye are the
branches” Joh_15:5. Human nature, by itself, can as little bear fruit well-pleasing to
God, as the pine or cypress can bear fruit for human use. As it were a miracle in nature,
were these trees to bring forth such fruit, so, for man to bring forth fruits of grace, is a
miracle of grace. The presence of works of grace attests the immediate working of God
the Holy Spirit, as much as any miracle in nature.
CLARKE, "What have I to do any more with idols? - The conversion of
Ephraim is now as complete as if was sincere. God hears and observes this.
I am like a green fir tree - Perhaps these words should be joined to the preceding,

149. as Newcome has done, and be a part of God’s speech to Ephraim. “I have heard him; and
I have seen him as a flourishing fir tree.” He is become strong and vigorous; and from
his present appearance of healthiness, his future increase and prosperity may be safely
anticipated.
From me is thy fruit found - All thy goodness springs from the principle of grace
which I have planted in thy soul; for as the earth cannot bring forth fruit without the
blessing of God, sending the dews and rains, with the genial rays of the sun, so neither
can the soul of man, even of the most pious, bear fruit, without a continual influence
from the Most High. Without the former, neither grass could grow for cattle, nor corn
for the service of man; without the latter, no seeds of righteousness could take root, no
stalk of promise could grow, no fruit of grace could be produced. And the unclean spirit,
which was cast out, would soon return; and, finding his former house empty, swept, and
garnished, would re-enter with seven demons of greater power and worse influence; and
the latter end of that man would be worse than the first. Reader, ever consider that all
thy good must be derived from God; and all that good must be preserved in thee by his
continued influence of light, love, and power upon thy soul.
GILL, "Ephraim shall say, what have I to do any more with idols?.... This is to
be understood, not of apostate Ephraim, as in the times of the prophet, who was so
wedded and glued to the idols, that there was no hope of getting him from them; and
therefore is bid to let him alone, Hos_4:17; but of Ephraim Israel returning to God at his
call, under the influence of his grace, in the latter day, Hos_14:1. Idols are the same with
the works of their hands, Hos_14:3; and to be interpreted, not of graven or molten
images, to the worship of which the Jews have not been addicted since their captivity to
this day; see Hos_3:4; but of the idols of their hearts, their impiety, their unbelief, their
rejection of the Messiah, which, at the time of their conversion, they will loath, abhor,
and mourn over; likewise the traditions of their elders, they are now zealous and
tenacious of, and prefer even to the written word; but will now relinquish them, and
embrace the Gospel of Christ; as well as the idol of their own righteousness they have
always endeavoured to establish; but shall now renounce, and receive Christ as the Lord
their righteousness. The like to this is to be found in common in all truly penitent and
converted sinners; who, being made sensible of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, detest
and abhor it, and declare they will have nothing to do with it; not but that it continues in
them, and has to do with them, and they with that; yet not so as to live and walk in it; to
yield their members as instruments of it; to serve and obey it as their master; to make
provision for it, and to have the course of their lives under the direction and power of it;
and so likewise, being convinced of the imperfection and insufficiency of their own
righteousness to justify them, they will have nothing to do with that in the business of
justification before God, and acceptance with him: now these are the words of the Lord,
affirming what Ephraim should say, as Kimchi rightly observes; he promises for him, as
he well might, since it is he that gives repentance to Israel, and works in his people
principles of grace, and enables them both to will and to do, to make such holy
resolutions, and perform them. Some render the words, "O Ephraim, what have I to do"
(i)? &c. and take them to be words of God concerning himself, declaring he would have
nothing to do with idols, nor suffer them in his service, nor should they; for "what
concord hath Christ with Belial?" or "what agreement hath the temple of God with
idols?" 2Co_6:15; but the former sense is much best; rather what Schmidt suggests is
more agreeable, who, rendering the words in the same way, makes them to be the words
of a believing Gentile returning and dwelling under the shadow of Israel; so he interprets

150. Hos_14:7, and takes this to be the language of such an one throughout. The Targum is,
"they of the house of Israel shall say, what is it to us to serve idols any more?''
I have heard him; says the Lord; Ephraim bemoaning himself, repenting of his sins,
and confessing them; his prayers for pardon and acceptance, and the resolutions made
by him in the strength of divine grace, Hos_14:2; see Jer_31:18; and this is what his
idols he once served could not do, who had ears, but heard not; but the Lord not only
heard, but answered, and granted his request. So the Targum,
"I by my Word will receive the prayer of Israel, and will have mercy on him:''
and observed him; looked at him, and on him; with an eye of pity and compassion;
with a favourable and propitious look, as the Lord does towards those that are poor, and
of a contrite spirit; observed the ways and steps he took in returning to him; marked his
tears and humiliations, groans and moans, and took notice of his wants in order to
supply them;
I am like a green fir tree: these are the words of the Lord continued; though some
take them to be the words of Ephraim; or, as Schmidt, of the Gentile believer, like those
of David, Psa_52:8; but they best agree with Christ, who may be compared to such a
tree, as he is to many others in Scripture; because a choice one, as he is to his Father,
and to all believers, chosen and precious, lovely and beloved; a tall tree, so Christ is
highly exalted as Mediator, higher than the kings of the earth, above the angels in
heaven, yea, higher than the heavens. The boughs of this tree, as Jarchi and Kimchi
observe, bend downward so low as to be laid hold on; Christ, though the high and lofty
One, dwells with humble souls, and suffers himself to be laid hold upon by the faith of
everyone that comes to him. Pliny says (k), that this tree is of a cheerful aspect, smooth,
and scarce any knots upon it; and its leaves so thick that a shower of rain will not pass
through it: Christ is most amiable, and altogether lovely to look at in his person and
fulness; and he looks in a loving smiling manner upon his people; he is without any knot
of sin or corruption in him, as to principle or practice; and is a delightful shade from the
wrath of God, or rage of man, from the heat of a fiery law, and the darts of Satan: and as
this tree, as here, is ever green, so he is always the same; he ever lives, and his people in
him, and by him; his fulness always continues to supply them. Once more, the fir tree is
the habitation of the stork, an unclean creature by the law of God; so Christ is the
dwelling place of sinners, he receives them, and converses with them, Psa_104:17. The
Septuagint version renders it, "as a thick juniper tree": which naturalists say (l) has such
a virtue in it, as by the smell to drive away serpents. So the old serpent the devil was
drove away by Christ in the wilderness, in the garden, and on the cross; and resisting by
faith, holding out his blood and righteousness, causes him to flee from the saints, The
Arabic version is, "as the fruitful cypress tree"; which is of a good smell, and its wood
very durable; and so may be expressive of the savour of Christ, his righteousness and
sacrifice, the graces of his Spirit, and of his duration. Some take this to be a promise that
Ephraim should be as a green fir tree, so Aben Ezra; with which agrees the Targum,
"I by my word will make him as the beautiful fir tree;''
and to which sometimes the saints are compared; see Isa_41:19; and this being a tree
that bears no fruit, it follows, to make up that defect in the metaphor,

151. from me is thy fruit found; from Christ are all the spiritual blessings of grace, peace,
pardon, righteousness, adoption, a right and meetness for eternal life, and that itself; all
the fruits and graces of the Spirit, as faith, hope, love, &c. and all good works, which
spring from union with him, are done in his strength, and influenced by his grace and
example; see Phi_1:1
HE RY, "Let us now hear the conclusion of the whole matter.
I. Concerning Ephraim; he is spoken of and spoken to, Hos_14:8. Here we have,
1. His repentance and reformation: Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more
with idols? As some read it, God here reasons and argues with him, why he should
renounce idolatry: “O Ephraim! what to me and idols? What concord or agreement can
there be between me and idols? What communion between light and darkness, between
Christ and Belial? 2Co_6:14, 2Co_6:15. Therefore thou must break off thy league with
them if thou wilt come into covenant with me.” As we read it, God promises to bring
Ephraim and keep him to this: Ephraim shall say, God will put it into his heart to say it,
What have I to do any more with idols? He has promised (Hos_14:3) not to say any
more to the works of his hands, You are my gods. But God's promises to us are much
more our security and our strength for the mortifying of sin than our promises to God;
and therefore God himself is here surety for his servant to good, will put in into his
heart and into his mouth. And, whatever good we say or do at any time, it is he that
works it in us. Ephraim had solemnly engaged not to call his idols his gods; but God
here engages further for him that he shall resolve to have no more to do with them. He
shall abolish them, he shall abandon them, and that with the utmost detestation; for it is
necessary not only that in our lives we be turned from sin, but that in our hearts we be
turned against sin. See here, (1.) The power of divine grace. Ephraim had been joined to
his idols (Hos_4:17), was so fond of them that one would have thought he could never
fall out with them; and yet God will work such a change in him that he shall loathe them
as much as ever he loved them. (2.) See the benefit of sanctified afflictions. Ephraim had
smarted for his idolatry; it had brought one judgment after another upon him, and this
at length is the fruit, even the taking away of his sin, Isa_27:9. (3.) See the nature of
repentance; it is a firm and fixed resolution to have no more to do with sin. This is the
language of the penitent: “I am ashamed that ever I had to do with sin; but I have had
enough of it; I hate it, and by the grace of God I will never have any thing to do with it
again, no, not with the occasions of it.” Thou shalt say to thy idol, Get thee hence (Isa_
30:22), shalt say to the tempter, Get thee behind me, Satan.
2. The gracious notice God is pleased to take of it: I have heard him, and observed
him. I have heard, and will look upon him; so some read it. Note, The God of heaven
takes cognizance of the penitent reflections and resolutions of returning sinners. He
expects and desires the repentance of sinners, because he has no pleasure in their ruin.
He looks upon men (Job_33:27), hearkens and hears, Jer_8:6. And, if there be any
disposition to repent, he is well pleased with it. When Ephraim bemoans himself before
God, he is a dear son, he is a pleasant child, Jer_31:20. He meets penitents with mercy,
as the father of the prodigal met his returning son. God observed Ephraim, to see
whether he would bring forth fruits meet for this profession of repentance that he made,
and whether he would continue in this good mind. He observed him to do him good, and
comfort him, according to the exigencies of his case.
3. The mercy of God designed for him, in order to his comfort and perseverance in his
resolutions; still God will be all in all to him. Before, Israel was compared to a tree, now
God compares himself to one. He will be to his people, (1.) As the branches of a tree: “I
am like a green fir-tree, and will be so to thee.” The fir-trees, in those countries, were

152. exceedingly large and thick, and a shelter against sun and rain. God will be to all true
converts both a delight and a defence; under his protection and influence they shall both
dwell in safety and dwell in ease. He with be either a sun and a shield or a shade and a
shield, according as their case requires. They shall sit down under his shadow with
delight, Son_2:3. He will be so all weathers, Isa_4:6. (2.) As the root of a tree: From me
is thy fruit found, which may be understood either of the fruit brought forth to us (to
him we owe all our comforts) or of the fruit brought forth by us - from him we receive
grace and strength to enable us to do our duty. Whatever fruits of righteousness we
brought forth, all the praise of them is due to God; for he works in us both to will and to
do that which is good.
JAMISO , "Ephraim shall say - being brought to penitence by God’s goodness,
and confessing and abhorring his past madness.
I have heard ... and observed him — I Jehovah have answered and regarded him
with favor; the opposite of God’s “hiding His face from” one (Deu_31:17). It is the
experience of God’s favor, in contrast to God’s wrath heretofore, that leads Ephraim to
abhor his past idolatry. Jehovah heard and answered: whereas the idols, as Ephraim
now sees, could not hear, much less answer.
I am ... a green fir — or cypress; ever green, winter and summer alike; the leaves not
falling off in winter.
From me is thy fruit found — “From Me,” as the root. Thou needest go no farther
than Me for the supply of all thy wants; not merely the protection implied by the shadow
of the cypress, but that which the cypress has not, namely, fruit, all spiritual and
temporal blessings. It may be also implied, that whatever spiritual graces Ephraim seeks
for or may have, are not of themselves, but of God (Psa_1:3; Joh_15:4, Joh_15:5, Joh_
15:8; Jam_1:17). God’s promises to us are more our security for mortifying sin than our
promises to God (Isa_27:9).
CALVI , "Verse 8
The Prophet again introduces the Israelites speaking as before, that they would
deplore their blindness and folly, and renounce in future their superstitions. The
confession then which we have before noticed is here repeated; and it is a testimony
of true repentance when men, being ashamed, are displeased with themselves on
account of their sins, and apply their minds to God’s service, and detest their whole
former life. To this subject belongs what the Prophet now says. It is a concise
discourse; but yet its brevity contains nothing obscure. Ephraim, he says, What
have I to do with idols? There is indeed a verb understood, ‘Ephraim “shall say”,
What have I to do with idols?’ But still it is evident enough what the Prophet means.
There is then in these words, as I have said, a sincere confession; for the ten tribes
express their detestation of their folly, that they had alienated themselves from the
true God, and became entangled in false and abominable superstitions: hence they
say, What have we to do with idols? and when they add, any more, they confess that
their former life had been corrupt and vicious: at the same time they announce their
own repentance, when they say that they would have nothing more to do with
fictitious gods.
The reason follows, because God will hear and look on Israel, so as to become to him

153. a shady tree. Some so explain this, as though God promised to be propitious to
Israel after they had manifested their repentance. But they pervert the sense of the
Prophet; for, on the contrary, he says, that after the Israelites shall perceive, and
find even by the effect, that God is propitious to them, they will then say, “How
foolish and mad we were, while we followed idols? It is now then time that our souls
should recumb on God.” Why? “Because we see that there is nothing better for us
than to live under his safeguard and protection; for he hears us, he regards us, he is
to us like a shady tree, so that he protects us under his shadow.” We now perceive
how these two clauses are connected together; for God shows the reason why
Ephraim will renounce his idols because he will perceive that he was miserably
deceived as long as he wandered after his idols. How will he perceive this? Because
he will see that he is now favoured by the Lord, and that he was before destitute of
his help. When God then shall give such a proof to his people, he will at the same
time produce this effect, that they will cast away all false confidences, and confess
that they were miserable and wretched while they were attached to idols. He
therefore says, I have heard and favoured him What is then later in the words of the
Prophet goes before; it precedes in order of things this clause, Ephraim shall say,
What have I to do with idols?
In saying, I will be as a shady fir-tree, and adding at the same time, From me is thy
fruit found, the two similitudes seem not to accord; for, as it is well known, the fir-
tree bears no fruit. Why then is fruit mentioned? The answer is that these two
similitudes are not connected. For when God compares himself to a fir-tree, he
speaks only of protection: and we know that when one seeks a cooling shade, he may
find it under a fir-tree; besides, it is always green, as we all know, when leaves fall
from other trees; and further, its height and thickness afford a good shadow. The
reason, then, why God promises to be like a fir-tree to his people is this, because all
who will fly under his shadow shall be preserved from the heat. But the meaning of
the second similitude, that God would supply his people with fruit, is different. The
Prophet had said before that the Israelites would be like a tree, which fixes its roots
deep in the ground. He now transfers the name of a tree to God. Both these things
are true; for when God makes us fruitful we are branches set in the best vine; and it
is also true, that the whole fruit we have is from him; for all vigour would fail us,
except God were to supply us with moisture, and even life itself. We now then see
that there is no inconsistency in the words of the Prophet, as the object is different
From me then is thy fruit found; as though God said, that the Israelites, if wise,
would be content with his favour; for they who seek support from him will be
satisfied; because they will find from him fruit sufficiently rich and abundant. We
now then understand what is meant. But it follows —
COFFMA , "Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have
answered and will regard him: I am like a green fir-tree; from me is thy fruit
found."
It should be noted that God is the speaker in the last part of the verse where a very
unusual Biblical comparison extols the Father as the source of fruit and safety. The
metaphorical structure of much of this chapter, in which spiritual blessings appear

154. under the terminology of material and earthly prosperity should not obscure the
actual meaning. Butler's quotation from Keil explains it thus:
"The salvation which this promise sets before the people when they shall return to
the Lord is indeed depicted according to the circumstances and peculiar views
prevailing in the Old Testament, as earthly growth and prosperity; but its real
nature is such that it will receive a spiritual fulfillment in those Israelites alone who
are brought to belief in Jesus Christ."[18]
ELLICOTT, "(8) It would be better to adopt the slightly different reading indicated
by the rendering of the LXX., and translate, As for Ephraim, what has he to do
with, &c. Here again, as in Hosea 13:15, the Hebrew for “thy fruit” contains a play
on the name Ephraim. I (says Jehovah) am to thee an evergreen tree of life and
protection, and from me is thy fruit found.
BE SO , "Hosea 14:8. Ephraim shall say, &c. — The words, shall say, are not in
the Hebrew. The clause is therefore translated thus by Bishop Horsley, Ephraim!
What have I to do any more with idols, “an exultation,” says he, “of Jehovah over
idols. Ephraim! even he is returned to me. I have no more contest to carry on with
idols. They are completely overthrown. My sole Godhead is confessed.” I have heard
him, and observed him — It is I, not his idols, who have heard his petitions and
watched over him to preserve him. I am like a green fir-tree — If these be
understood as the words of God, the meaning is, It is I, who am ever-existing, and
have it in my power to give my people blessings at all times; as the fir is ever green
and flourishing, and affords its shelter, not only in the summer, but in the winter
too, when all the rest of the trees are stripped of their leaves and can afford no
shelter at all. In other words, As a weary traveller finds rest and safety under a
green, thick, and flourishing tree, so there are safety and refreshment under the
protection of Jehovah. But some understand these as the words of Ephraim, or
Israel, acknowledging that he is in a flourishing condition; and then God reminds
him in the next words, that his fruitfulness and prosperity are wholly owing to the
divine blessing. Thus the church of God, and all the members thereof, how much
soever they may abound in the fruits of righteousness, and in the comforts
connected therewith, must confess, that from Christ the true and living vine is their
fruit found; and they must not fail to give him the glory thereof, remembering, that
without him they can do nothing excellent or praiseworthy; nothing that will
ultimately promote the glory of God, or their own salvation.
TRAPP, "Hosea 14:8 Ephraim [shall say], What have I to do any more with idols? I
have heard [him], and observed him: I [am] like a green fir tree. From me is thy
fruit found.
Ver. 8. Ephraim shall say, What have I to do, &c.] Heb. Ephraim, what have I to do,
&c. This some make to be the speech of God to Ephraim; as if Ephraim here were
the vocative case and God were brought in abhorring the notion of parting stakes
with idols, of sharing his glory with another. But because this God never did (for
what communion hath light with darkness, Christ with Belial?) and because the

155. Chaldee Paraphrast, and from him the best interpreters, supply "shall say," I take
this latter to be the better translation. Here, then, God promiseth, first, what
Ephraim shall do, or rather, what he by his grace will cause him to do; he shall
utterly abominate and abandon his idols, whereunto his heart had been joined, or
glued, Hosea 4:17; secondly, what he will thereupon do for Ephraim; what special
favour he will show him, and what a gracious compensation he will make him: "I
have heard him, and observed him," &c. Ephraim, now grown penitent, shall say
(see the like ellipsis supplied, Isaiah 5:9), with utmost indignation and aversion, with
greatest heat of anger and height of hatred, shall he utter it. See the like 2 Samuel
16:10, 2 Kings 3:13, Matthew 8:29.
What have I to do any more with idols] Or sorrows, or bugs, those Balaam’s blocks,
those images and monuments of idolatry, those images of jealousy, that provoke to
jealousy, Ezekiel 8:3, those dunghill deities, that can produce no good, hear no
prayers, work no deliverance, bring nothing but evil and auguish to us. What, then,
should we rather do, than pollute those images that we had perfumed, cast them
away with detestation, as a menstruous cloth, and say unto them, Get ye hence?
Isaiah 30:22. Then will God soon say, I have heard him thus bemoaning and
befooling himself, Jeremiah 31:18. God hath a quick ear in such a case; he hath also
an eye open to the supplications of his servants, in all that they call upon him for, as
Solomon telleth us, 1 Kings 8:52.
I have observed him] Or fixed mine eyes upon him, with a most vigilant care and
critical inspection. It would be wide with God’s Ephraims, and they would want
many things, if he should not see as well as hear, if he should not seriously and
solicitously consider and care for them, above all that they ask or think, Ephesians
3:20, and without any monitor, aid and accommodate them. He is many times better
to them than their prayers; for what reason? "The eyes of the Lord are upon the
righteous, as well as his ears are open to their cry," Psalms 34:15. The Vulgate Latin
rendereth it, Dirigam eum, I will direct him, as a tutor and guardian doth his pupil,
his orphan, see Hosea 14:8. He will also protect him, that nothing may be wanting to
his happiness.
I am like a green fir tree] Green all the year about, and of so large branches, and
broad leaves thick set, that neither sun nor rain can easily come at the wearied
passenger, reposing himself under them. And whereas Ephraim might say, Here is
repose, but where shall I have repast? it is added;
In me is thy fruit found] q.d. The fir tree is indeed green and shady, but also barren;
it bears no fruit, either ad esum, or ad usum to eat or to use. It boweth itself down to
the earth, so that a man may easily lay hold upon the branches, saith Rabbi David
and other Hebrews. But what shall he get by that more than a green bower, a refuge
from the storm, a shadow from the heat? &c. As an ancient, speaking of Ahab,

156. describeth him sitting in his ivory palace in Samaria, in the time of the three years’
famine: He had everything else, but wanted bread; so Ephraim here hath shade, but
can he live by that? what shall he do for food? He shall not want for that, saith God
all-sufficient; for
From me is thy fruit found] Praesto est (so some render it), here it is ready, and
mouth meet; yea, satis est (so others render it), it is enough of it, satisfactory, and
proportionable to thy necessity. Yea, I would thou shouldest know that what fruit
soever thou hast, or shalt bear as an olive or vine, Hosea 14:6-7, it is found in me,
proceeds in me; the root of the matter is in me, as Job speaketh in another case. Sine
Deo omnis copia est egestas (Bern.). Without God, all plenty is poverty.
SIMEO , "GOD’S OTICE OF PE ITE TS
Hosea 14:8. Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard
him, and observed him: I am like a green fir-tree: from me is thy fruit found.
THE conversion of a sinner is a work of infinite difficulty; no efforts of the creature
can accomplish it: none but He who spake the universe into existence, can renew the
soul: but when his time is come, the work is done both easily and effectually. As a
ship, forsaken by the ebbing tide, can never be dragged along, but is easily put in
motion when borne up by the returning waters, so the sinner is immoveable in his
iniquities, till the Spirit of God flows in upon him: and then “old things quickly pass
away, and, behold, all things become new.” This observation is verified continually
before our eyes: persons who have been warned and entreated for many years, and
have not only withstood all the most awful and endearing considerations, but have
been more and more hardened by the means used to convert them, have at last been
turned to God through a secret and invisible influence upon their souls, and have
become burning and shining lights in their day and generation. Such were the
effects produced on the day of Pentecost, when thousands to whom our blessed Lord
had preached in vain, and on whom the most stupendous miracles had wrought no
change, were constrained to renounce all their former habits and opinions, and to
embrace a new, a spiritual, a despised, and persecuted religion. A similar instance
we have in the passage before us. If we look to the account given us of Ephraim in
chap. 4:17, we shall find, that he was “joined to idols,” yea, so glued to them, that
neither warnings from man, nor judgments from God, could separate him from
them; and therefore God said respecting him, “Ephraim is joined to idols, let him
alone;” it is to no purpose to use any further means for his recovery; he is
incorrigible, and irreclaimable. But, behold the change, when once God is pleased to
put forth his power! When once he says, “I will heal their backsliding, I will be as
the dew to Israel,” “I will manifest my grace and mercy to his soul,” the obdurate
heart relents; the abandoned sinner turns from his iniquities, and even with
indignation and abhorrence renounces his most beloved lusts; “Ephraim saith,
What have I to do any more with idols?” If God therefore have such pity on an
impenitent transgressor, we shall not wonder at the gracious declaration which he
makes for the comfort of this penitent and returning sinner; “I have heard him, and

157. observed him: I am like a green fir-tree: from me is thy fruit found.”
In discoursing on these words, we shall be naturally led to shew you,
I. The disposition of the true penitent—
[The unconverted man, though he may never have bowed down to stocks and stones,
is an idolater: he “loves and serves the creature more than the Creator.” All indeed
do not worship the same idol: one gives his heart to riches, another to honour,
another to pleasure; and though all these find a higher place in our affections than
we allow to God, yet each person has his favourite idol, to which he is in a more
especial manner devoted: but when grace has renewed the heart, then the penitent
says with Ephraim of old, “What have I to do anymore with idols?” His disposition
is, To renounce all sins in general,—his besetting sin in particular;— and this too
with indignation and abhorrence.
He renounces all sins in general.—A person who is not truly penitent may exchange
one sin for another; he may exchange lewdness and intemperance for the love of
honour and ambition: he may turn from prodigality to avarice; or from indifference
and profaneness to Pharisaism and hypocrisy. But he never remits one sin without
taking some other in its stead; yea, he frequently puts more into the scale of pride
and conceit, than ever he took out of that of sensuality or profaneness. But it is not
thus with the true penitent: he has commenced a war against sin in general; he
endeavours to attack it in all quarters; he knows that sin is idolatry, in that it is a
preference given to the creature above God himself; and therefore, without making
any reserves, he determines to extirpate sin, root and branch, if possible, and says,
“What have I to do any more with idols?”
But he more particularly devotes to destruction his besetting sin.—The besetting sin
of the ten tribes was idolatry: and therefore when Ephraim is brought to
repentance, he is represented as fixing his eyes more particularly on that sin. Indeed
this was remarkably exemplified in the Jews, after their return from the Babylonish
captivity: for though, before their captivity, they could never be kept long together
from idolatry, they could not after their return be drawn to it; insomuch, that when
it was proposed to set up a statue of Augustus in the Temple, the Jews determined to
perish rather than submit to it. ow every man has some sin which more easily
besets him: and it is oftentimes a very difficult matter to find it out, by reason of the
various shapes which it assumes, and the deep recesses in which it lurks. But it is a
distinguishing mark of the true penitent, that, whatever he imagines to be his
besetting sin, he will be more particularly solicitous to mortify and subue it. The
hypocrite and self-deceiver will plead for his darling lust; he will make excuses for
it; he will cast the blame on his constitution, or his situation in life; he will palliate
his guilt, and not endure to be admonished respecting it: but the truly upright soul
will be exceeding glad to discover his secret enemy, and will by prayer and all other
means labour to bring it into subjection.
or is this all: he will prosecute his lurking foe with vigilance, and cast him out with

158. indignation and abhorrence. This is strongly intimated in the text: Ephraim does
not merely resolve that he will not have any more to do with idols; but with an holy
indignation against them, and an everlasting abhorrence of them, he says, “What
have I to do any more with idols?” He determines never to join himself to them
again: the folly and wickedness of such conduct appear to him now in such glaring
colours, that he cannot endure the thought of ever relapsing into it any more. Thus
it is with the true penitent: O! how does he lothe the sins that have led him captive,
and the secret sins that have so defiled his conscience! How does he determine, if
possible, to withstand the baneful influence of his in-dwelling corruption, and to
watch and pray against it! How does he aggravate the guilt of his besetting lust, till
he sees it in all its vileness and deformity! How unreasonable does it appear to him
to harbour such an enemy in his bosom! How does he mourn because he cannot get
rid of it! How desirable does the furnace itself appear, if it may but purify and
retine his soul!
Say, Believer, are not these the thoughts of thy heart? Say, thou that weepest, like
Mary, at thy Saviour’s feet, dost thou not hate thy sins, and thyself on account of
them? Couldst thou but bring forth the lurking foe, and slay him utterly, wouldst
thou not rejoice? Is it not thy grief that thou canst not get more complete victory
over him? Is it not thy shame that thou art at any time deceived by him? Does it not
make thee lothe thyself, to think how ready thou art to favour this enemy, and to be
enticed by him before thou art aware? Art thou not often filled with indignation
against thyself, to think that thou shouldst ever offend thy God through the
solicitations of some base lust or evil principle within thee? Yea, I go further, and
ask, Dost thou not hate thyself because thou canst not hate thyself more? I know thy
heart vibrates; I know it is in unison; I know there is no discordant string; I know
that these must be thy feelings, if thou be upright before God.]
It is with pleasure therefore that I proceed to set before you,
II. The notice which God takes of this disposition—
[It is impossible that there should be the smallest good in our hearts, and God not
observe it: there was but “some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel” in the
heart of young Abijah, and the Lord noticed it, and remembered him on account of
it. The Prophet Jeremiah sets this in a striking point of view: he represents Ephraim
[ ote: Chap. 31:18.] as mourning over his sins in secret, and God as listening to
him, and at last as breaking out into this soliloquy; “I have surely heard Ephraim
bemoaning himself thus:” then, after repeating the substance of Ephraim’s
complaint, he adds, “Is not Ephraim my dear son? is he not a pleasant child? for
since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still; yea, my bowels are
troubled for him, I will surely have mercy on him [ ote: Chap. 31:20.].” Exactly
thus, in my text, God hears Ephraim saying, “What have I to do any more with
idols?” and he adds immediately, “I have heard and observed him;” I have had my
eye fixed upon him, though he did not know it; I have attended to every word he has
been saying; he has not uttered a sigh, but it has entered my ears; he has not poured
forth a groan, but it has pierced my heart; he has not shed a tear, but I have

159. treasured it up in my vial: he thinks I will not regard him, but I have heard and
observed him all the while: there is not a thought of his heart that has escaped my
notice; and what is more, I now say respecting him, and respecting all that shall
resemble him even to the end of the world, “I am, and will be, to him as a green fir-
tree; and of me shall his fruit be found.”
I must here just observe, that the words of my text which are printed in different
characters are not in the original, but are supplied by the translators; and that
therefore the verse maybe read, and I think should be read, thus; “Ephraim saith,
What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him and observed him: I will
be like a green fir-tree: of me shall thy fruit be found.” The sense is the same indeed
either way; only in the latter it is more clear: and according to it we have two
blessed promises of God to the penitent and contrite soul, namely, that he will afford
him protection, and engage for his perseverance.
First, he promises protection to the repenting sinner, “I will be as a green fir-tree.”
The fir-tree affords a remarkably thick shade, which cannot be penetrated either by
sun or rain; so that it afforded a safe retreat, either from the rays of the meridian
sun, or from the violence of the impending tempest. Conceive then a burthened
sinner travelling towards Zion: see him either trembling from an apprehension of
Divine judgments, even of that “fire and brimstone, storm and tempest, which God
will rain upon the ungodly;” or fainting through the heat of temptation and
persecution, What a reviving cordial to his soul is here! Let him come to me, says
God; “I will be as a green fir-tree to him;” I will shelter him from the curses of my
broken law; I will guard him from the fiery darts of Satan; I will hide him from the
assaults of all his enemies; none shall hurt him: I will hide him in the secret of my
tabernacle, even in my pavilion, where he shall have not only safety, but all manner
of refreshing viands: “he shall sit under my shadow with great delight.” Hear this,
ye who desire to renounce your idols; ye who long to be delivered from the attacks
of your great adversary, and to find a place of rest unto your souls: to you God says,
“Surely I will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome
pestilence: I will cover thee with my feathers, and under my wings shalt thou trust:
my truth shall be thy shield and buckler [ ote: Psalms 91:3-4.].” You know how our
blessed Saviour complains of the Jews, that when he would often have gathered
them, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, they would not. O! let
him not utter the same complaint against you. They indeed would not flee to him,
because they would not believe their danger; but you are in danger of keeping from
him through a doubt of his ability or willingness to protect you. But, O! flee to him:
he is a sure Refuge: only rest under his shadow, and you need not fear: none can
ever hurt you, if you be found under the shadow of his wings: he promises that he
will be as a green fir-tree to you; and he will fulfil his word unto all that put their
trust in him.
The other promise which God here makes to the repenting sinner is, that he himself
will engage for his perseverance in the ways of holiness; “Of me shall thy fruit be
found.” The penitent no sooner determines to cast his idols to the moles and to the
bats, than fears arise in his mind, and he says, “But how shall I do this? Who is

160. sufficient for these things?” To silence therefore all such doubts as these, God
himself undertakes the work; “Be not afraid, sinner;” I will take that work upon
myself; “my grace shall be sufficient for thee;” I will furnish thee with strength
according to thy day of trial; “Of me shall thy fruit be found:” “I will make thee
fruitful in all the fruits of righteousness: the things thou desirest are the fruits of my
Spirit; and my Spirit shall produce them in thee.”
Can we conceive a more comforting declaration than this? If the drooping sinner
were permitted to dictate what God should say to him, could he devise any thing
more calculated to comfort and refresh the soul? My dear brethren, behold your
God undertaking for you, not merely to bring you to heaven, (for that would be a
small matter, if you were not made holy,) but to deliver you from all your sins. Hear
his gracious words, as they are recorded by Ezekiel; “From all your filthiness, and
from all your idols, will I cleanse you: a new heart will I give you, and a new spirit
will I put within you; and I will cause you to keep my statutes and my judgments to
do them.” Hear again what he says to the same purpose by Jeremiah; “I will make
an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not depart from them to do them
good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me: yea,
I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly
with my whole heart and with my whole soul.” Is it possible for God to express more
earnestness in your cause, or a more full determination to preserve you in spite of all
your in-dwelling corruptions; or rather, I should say, to deliver you from them? O!
lift up your heads, ye drooping penitents, for your redemption draweth nigh: only
commit yourselves into the hands of a faithful God and a loving Saviour: there is a
fulness of all that you can want treasured up in Jesus; and out of his fulness ye may
all receive, grace for grace. He is the Vine, from whom you must receive sap and
nourishment continually; “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide
in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in him: separate from him ye can do
nothing: but if ye abide in him, ye shall bring forth much fruit;” yea, ye may“do all
things, through Christ strengthening you.” However inveterate therefore your
corruptions be, fear not, but look unto Christ: instead of being terrified, as though
they were invincible, let the sight of them remind you what great things the Saviour
has undertaken for you: instead of despairing on account of your own weakness,
rather learn to glory in it, as the means of displaying your Saviour’s strength. Do
not misunderstand me, as though I would have you glory in sin: God forbid! sin is,
and ought to be, your shame and aversion: but I say again, your inability to any
thing that is good ought not to discourage you, because the Apostle says, “When you
are weak, then are you strong:” and therefore, while you lament your sins, you may
at the same time “glory in your weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon
you.” Your extremity shall assuredly be the season of God’s interposition: “In the
mount of difficulty the Lord shall be seen;” according as it is written in
Deuteronomy 32:36. “The Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his
servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up or left.”]
Here let us close, with one obvious reflection—
Do ye not see from hence how excellent repentance is?

161. [Whether it be viewed in its nature or its consequences, surely it is a most
inestimable blessing. What can be more desirable than to be delivered from those
base lusts and idolatrous affections, which rob us of our happiness, and God of his
glory? If we had discarded all our idols, and were determined to have nothing more
to do with them, we should have a very heaven upon earth; especially if we found
the grace of Christ sufficient for us; as we certainly should do, if we sought it
humbly, and depended on it simply. God will never disappoint our expectations
which are founded on his promises. If indeed we presume to limit him with respect
to the time and manner in which he shall deliver us, we may be disappointed; but if
we commit ourselves to him, to carry on his work in the time and manner that he
sees fit, we shall never be disappointed: he will assuredly cover our defenceless
heads, and make fruitful our withered branches: he will perfect that which concerns
us, and fulfil in us all the good pleasure of his goodness; nor will he ever leave us till
he has accomplished all the good things which he has spoken concerning us. And is
this the nature, is this the consequence, of repentance? Shall every contrite soul have
an experience of these things? O that God may grant us all, “repentance unto life,
even that repentance which is not to be repented of!” May we thus experience the
power and grace of Christ, and find everlasting rest unto our souls!
But let not those whose hearts are yet cleaving to their idols conclude themselves
penitent. What repentance has the worldling, who is minding nothing but his
earthly business? Surely Mammon is his God; and, till this idol be put away, there is
no repentance, no salvation to his soul. or has the proud, passionate, carnal,
worldly-minded professor any pretensions to repentance; for what repentance has
he, when he is yet harbouring idols in his heart? o, professor, thou must be
delivered from thine idols; thy besetting sin in particular must be lamented, lothed,
and mortified: nor, till this be thine experience, wilt thou have any defence against
the impending wrath of God: thou mayest talk of Christ, and have a clear head-
knowledge of the truth; but knowledge will not serve instead of repentance: thou
must be divorced from thy lusts, thine evil tempers, and every thing else to which
thou hast been glued. Christ gave himself to redeem us from all iniquity, and to
purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works; and therefore, if thou
wouldst ever dwell under the shadow of God in heaven, see that this fruit be found
on thee on earth. God is willing to produce it in you: look therefore to Him; and he
will be as the dew unto you; he will heal your backslidings, and love you freely — —
—]
PETT, "‘Ephraim (will say), “What have I to do any more with idols? I have
answered, and will regard him. I am like a green fir-tree, from me is your fruit
found.”
The bare word ‘Ephraim’ (it is not ‘O Ephraim’) probably indicates that at least the
first phrase is spoken by Ephraim, with ‘Ephraim’ signifying the whole of Israel.
But recognising that in the whole of the Old Testament YHWH is never likened to a
tree, and certainly not to a green tree, a description which could have resulted in
dangerous misinterpretation because ‘green trees’ were notoriously regularly
connected with idolatrous worship (‘under every green tree’ - Deuteronomy 12:2;

162. Isaiah 57:5; Jeremiah 2:20; Jeremiah 3:6; Jeremiah 3:13; Jeremiah 17:2; etc), we
are probably to see the whole of the verse as spoken by Ephraim. In it Ephraim
rejects idolatry once and for all, and declares that, having ceased to regard idols he
has rather ‘answered’ YHWH (responded to Him, compare Hosea 2:15), and will
from now on ‘regard’ Him (by obeying the covenant and following the procedures
in Hosea 14:2-3). He has thus now become like a green fir tree (the evergreen
element indicating permanent loyalty) from whom Israel’s people can ‘find fruit’
(compare Hosea 14:7 for the similar differentiation in context between Israel as a
nation and the people), a fruit which being from a fir tree will itself grow into strong
trees. The picture can be compared with that of Israel as the blossoming lily and the
beautiful olive tree (Hosea 14:5-6). Here Israel is now a green fir tree. This
interpretation suitably caps off the prophecy with a declaration by Ephraim/Israel
that they are once more the covenant community through whom permanent and
self-sustaining life is offered to all. It is therefore a declaration of the triumph of
YHWH.
The majority of commentators, however, rather see the reference to the ‘green fir-
tree’ as (uniquely) a reference to YHWH, with the implication being that from now
on their fruit will be found from Him and not from Baal (even though fir-tree fruit
was not one of Baal’s specialities. His supposed expertise was the grain and the oil
and the wine).
BI, "Ephraim shall say, what have I to do any more with idols.
Joined to idols
Compare this account of Ephraim with that given in Hos_4:17. How is this surprising
Change to he accounted for?
I. A sinner in his natural state is joined to idols. Herein consisteth the essence of man’s
apostasy. Something that is not God is the supreme object of his love, and possesseth
that place in his heart which is due only to the living and true God. This world, the things
of the world, its riches and pleasures and honours, are the great rivals of God which, ever
since the fatal apostasy, have usurped the throne of the human heart. This present
world, in one shape or other, is loved and served in preference to God by every man,
without exception, who hath no other principle of life than what he derived from the first
Adam.
II. To separate a sinner from his idols must be the peculiar work of God himself. The
natural man may change the object of his devotion; but he will only turn from one idol to
another. He stops short of God. All the objects of his pursuit belong to the present state
of things. The conversion of a sinner is in Scripture represented as the effect of
omnipotent creating power. It is called “a new creation,” a being “born again,” “a
resurrection,” a “passing from death to life.” The apostate creature is really dead, in the
truest and most important sense of the word.
III. How does God accomplish this work? By the discovery and application of His
pardoning mercy and sanctifying grace. Fear is the immediate consequence of guilt,
which soon degenerates into hatred, or that enmity against God which is the
distinguishing characteristic of the carnal mind. The report of God’s pardoning mercy
presents him in a light so suited to the necessities of the apostate creature that, in
proportion as it is believed, the sinner is encouraged to look to Him with hope. Then

163. how powerful must the actual experience of such pardoning mercy be.
IV. These words of Ephraim will be adopted by all upon whom God hath been pleased to
confer His pardoning mercy. By this means alone can the sinner be separated from idols.
Learn—
1. How to account for that idolatry which is so prevalent in the world.
2. That nothing can avail for the cure of this idolatry which doth not relieve from the
guilt of sin and vanquish the tormenting fear of wrath, by representing God in a light
wherein we can behold Him with pleasure. 3 The importance and use of faith in
Christ. (R. Walker.)
Some of our idols
When the Holy Spirit comes into any heart He drives out the buyers and sellers. If you
have received the Spirit you will be crying now in your heart: Lord, take these things
hence; what have I to do any more with idols? Some of the idols to be cast away are—
1. Self-righteousness. The largest idol of the human heart—the idol which man loves
most and God hates most.
2. Darling sins. Every man has his darling sins. Dash down family idols, and secret
idols of your own heart.
3. Unlawful attachments. There is not a more fruitful source of sin and misery than
this.
4. Ministers. It is right to love them, but beware of making idols of them.
5. Earthly pleasures. This is a smiling, dazzling idol. Lovers of pleasure more than
lovers of God. Sometimes it is a gross idol.
6. Money. You must not love money. You must be more open-hearted, more open-
handed.
7. Fear of man. Grim idol! Many souls has he devoured. His eyes are full of hatred to
Christ’s disciples. This keeps some of you from secret prayer, from worshipping God
in your family, from going to lay your case before ministers, from openly confessing
Christ. (R. M. M’Cheyne.)
Turnings in life
This is a touching delineation of true repentance, not the less applicable to us in our
turning to God because it describes the repentance of a nation, not of an individual, or
because it was written thousands of years ago. Israel and Judah were at this time in a
miserable condition. The form under which the prophet presents the lesson he would
teach his people is very curious. He was directed to take a wife; she was faithless to him,
and fell lower and lower in infidelity and infamy. In his own distracted home-life the
prophet is taught to see a parable of the state of his country. The words of the text are
spoken partly by returning and repentant Israel, and partly by God. Ephraim exclaims,
“What have I to do any more with idols?” The response of God is, “I have heard him, and
observed him.”
1. The recoil and disgust of Ephraim when he remembers his past idolatries. Idolatry

164. in the Bible is always associated with moral debasement. It is not necessary that the
idol should be an image of wood or stone. It may be money, position, a splendid
establishment, or aesthetic feeling; it may be senseless parsimony, or drink, or
licentiousness. And sooner or later there comes a sense of debasement, a wonder
that we could have brought ourselves so low. If we have ever known true repentance,
we must have known also that feeling which is of its very essence,—“What have I to
do any more with idols” To hate our idol, even though we confess its power over our
souls, is at least an advance, the beginning of spiritual life, But by one manly effort to
say,—“What have I to do any more with idols?” and to lay our heart’s allegiance and
love and reverence before Him who deserves it and asks it, this is repentance or
change of mind, this is to pass from death unto life.
2. But that is a tremendous revolution. Such a resolve demands the very highest
form of moral courage. The spell of our false gods does not withdraw itself all at
once: But God is not unaware of the struggle in which you are engaged. And to
returning Ephraim His loving response is, “I have heard him and observed him.” Our
warfare is so feeble because we do not believe that God is witnessing and approving
and aiding us. It is well to hear Ephraim recognising his own weakness in the words,
“I am like a green fir-tree.” “I do not think I am a giant of the forest; I know I am but
a slight and delicate sapling.” Then comes the response of God, deepening Ephraim’s
humility and trust, “From Me is thy fruit found.” The great spiritual need of our souls
is to trust God more perfectly, to lay the full weight of our spiritual being on His
promises and His character; not to trust Him a little, and ourselves much, but to say
out of the fulness of our hearts, “All my fresh springs are in Thee.” Such trust means
strength, not weakness. It is manly; it is truthful; it is self-respecting. (J. A. Jacob, M.
D.)
True penitents
I. THE LANGUAGE AND CHARACTER OF TRUE PENITENTS. Godly sorrow for sin is
always found when sin is perceived in its pollution and native deformity. The language,
“What have I to do any more with idols?” is the language of confession: a sincere
acknowledgement of sin committed against God. Unless the sinner confess his sins unto
God he cannot entertain the least degree of hope that they will be forgiven. But this
sorrow is not that godly sorrow which issues in repentance unto salvation, unless it has
respect to Him who was made a sin-offering for us. Godly sorrow is the gift of God. It is
the effect of His Spirit brooding on the heart, softening and melting it. A constituent part
of true repentance is faith in the Saviour of sinners. It implies also a steadfast
determination to break away from idols, to cast them off. The idols of the heart are to be
treated as heathen should treat their idols of wood and stone. But this costs us supreme
difficulty.
II. God’s disposition towards such as call upon Him in penitential prayer.
1. His attentive observation. The words of this passage depict the notice which God
takes of those who have any spark of generous indignation against themselves. The
ears of the Almighty are open to the very first words which betoken humiliation and
penitence.
2. His favourable mind towards them. He regards them with a placable mind, as well
as a favourable eye. If there is any one truth to which we should cling with the
greatest tenacity it is surely this, the favourable disposition of God towards returning

165. penitents.
3. He is a shadow of protection for those who repair to Him in penitence and faith. “I
am a green fir-tree.” He will shield and defend them from the fiery darts of Satan,
from their own clamorous lusts, and from the depraved examples of the world.
III. Fruit proceeding prom the relation into which the truly penitent are brought with
God.
1. What is to be deemed “fruit.” The worth of a tree consists in its bringing forth the
fruit which is proper to its nature. The fruit differs according to the kind of the tree.
God’s people are called “trees of righteousness.” They bring forth the fruits of the
Spirit.
2. This fruit is produced by the grace of God working in those who are in union with
Christ.
3. This fruit is found in all who are truly turned to God, truly converted to God. Faith
is lifeless and dead if it produce no fruit. There must be life and reality in our religion
if we would glorify our Father who is in heaven. (H. J. Hastings, M. A.)
Ephraim forsaking idols
Here are two voices—first, the penitent voice of the returning wanderer, then the
welcoming answer of the Father. Here is a wonderful expression of the perfect simplicity
of a true return to God. “What have I to do any more with idols?” That is all! No
paroxysms of grief, no agonies of repentance, no prescription of so much sorrow, so
much grief, for so much sin; no long, tedious process, but, like the finger put upon the
key here, the sound yonder. Look at the answer, the echo of this confession which comes
from heaven: it is the welcoming voice of the Father, “I hear him, and observe him.”
Note how instantaneously that Divine ear, strong enough to hear the grass grow, fine
enough to hear the first faint shootings of the new life in a man’s heart, catches the
sound that is inaudible to all besides, and as soon as the word comes from the pale
penitent lip of Ephraim the answer comes from God. Observation is here used in a good
sense: watching as a nurse watches a feeble child. Then comes a singular metaphor. “I
am like a green cyprus-tree.” The cyprus is an evergreen. So God means, I am unchanged
amidst the changing seasons, unaffected by all the change. To the prophet this tree, with
its wealth of continual shadow, was an emblem of an unchanging blessing and
protection. There is another possible association in these words—fanciful but beautiful—
for which I am indebted to an old Jewish rabbi and commentator. He says a cyprus-tree
bends down, and anybody that has seen one knows that its shelves of leafage do droop
and come down near to the ground; that a man may lift up his hand and grasp the
branches. There is an old legend that the boughs of the tree of life used to droop of
themselves to the level of Adam’s hand when he was pure and good. And when he had
sinned and fallen they lifted themselves above his reach. This metaphor, then, may hint
the condescension of the great loving Father, who stoops down from heaven in order
that He may bring Himself within our reach. If you take these three points,
unchangeableness, protection, condescension, you exhaust the force of this lovely
emblem. And so it all comes to this: the humblest voice of conscious unworthiness and
lowly resolve to forsake evil, though it be whispered only in the very depths of the heart,
finds its way into the ears of the merciful Father, and brings down the immediate
answer, the benediction of His shadowing love and perpetual presence, and the fulness
of fruit, which He alone can bestow. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

166. Portraiture of a Christian
The text exhibits the temper of all converted people towards God. Converted men
forsake their idols. The Christian knows that everything becomes an idol to a man which
occupies more of his thoughts, his time, his care, his desires, and his pursuit than God
and His glory. In setting before you the temper and characteristics of a child of God, our
attention must be directed before all things to its principles, which is that of universal
conformity to the image of Jesus Christ. If it be said that the character of our blessed
Lord is too grand and too holy for our imitation, the excuse may be met by saying, that
imitation does not mean perfection. It is by the perpetual earnest study of the character
of Christ that we are first of all brought to love, and afterwards impelled to imitation.
The more we study Christ, the more we must love Him; and the more we love Him, the
more we shall assuredly copy His features. The Christian’s temper of heart and mind is,
of course, displayed in the two great duties of life—
1. That which concerns his Maker.
2. That which concerns his neighbour.
With the former of these only are we now engaged. In casting away the idols of his heart
and life, the Christian, like Ephraim, serves, loves, and acknowledges no other but God.
The first thing in the character of the child of God is holy fear. The next is obedience.
How many idols are overthrown by obedience! Then comes gratitude, which makes a
man seek all occasions of showing love and honour to his benefactor. Then trust. This is
ever a peculiar mark of the Christian’s temper towards God. This trust keeps the
Christian watching, striving, praying, and expecting. Then comes supreme desire for the
glory of God, which over throws the great idol of selfishness. This temper is very
necessary to prevent many deceptions of the heart. It is of all things most difficult to
keep the motives pure; and without pure motives how barren and contemptible ‘is our
abstinence from evil and our practice of good. Purity is the temper of right motives.
Purity of heart is the most eminent and distinguished temper in the circuit of the
Christian graces. This temper brings with it the love of God. Love is the spring that
moves all the wheels. It is that delight in God which makes us choose Him above all
things. There is one more characteristic of the child of God—a constant endeavour to
draw nigh to Him. For this cause the Christian loves and values the ordinances of
religion. He prizes them as gracious means whereby he is brought into that nearer
fellowship with God after which he is aspiring. Humility forms the crowning feature in
the Christian’s temper towards God. It is the seeing our own proper position before God.
(W. Harrison, M. A.)
Ephraim renouncing his idols
The necessity and power of Divine influence to regenerate the heart is a truth in which
all Christians will agree who make the Word of God their sole guide. This doctrine
receives confirmation from the history of Ephraim. Two things. Ephraim’s abandonment
of idols; and God’s reception of him.
I. The renunciation. Here is—
1. The language of confession. The strong aversion he expresses is a virtual
admission of his precious attachment. The state of Ephraim in his degeneracy is a

167. correct picture of the entire family of man in their irreligious condition.
2. The language of detestation. The predominating sin of Israel was the worship of
idols. With us the sin which has been most prevalent lies the heaviest on the
conscience, and becomes the object of the most unqualified indignation.
3. Ephraim resolved on the abandonment of his idols. There is a noble promptitude
in this pious determination.
II. the reception.
1. The Divine attention. “I have heard him.”
2. The Divine observation. “I have observed him:”
3. The Divine protection. “I am like a green fir-tree,” which affords grateful shade
and security to the traveller. It conveys the ideas of repose, refreshment, safety.
4. Fruitfulness is provided for. This extends the previous image. Reference probably
is to the fruit which the penitent bears after conversion to God. This subject is a
check to despondency. No true penitent has cause for despair. (Anon.)
Idols abandoned
1. What men pursue, before conversion, are idols, i.e. things which give trouble.
2. When the grace of the Gospel is received into the heart it divorces the sinner from
his sins.
3. The language of a penitent renouncing his sins is most pleasing to God.
4. Converts shall find that happiness in Christ Which idols offered, but gave not.
5. Whatever good we do and enjoy is in and from Jesus Christ.
6. True wisdom is to know and understand God’s Word, in its threatenings and in its
promises. (H. Foster.)
Giving up idols
Ephraim does not give up his idols without a reason. He says, I have tried you, and you
are vain; I have leaned upon you, and you are broken staves; I have consulted you, and
you had no answer; I have looked to you, but you never turned a kind eye upon me. The
great apostle says, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols”; the old Scotch version
says, “Wee bairns, keep yourselves frae dolls”; the meaning is the same. I like the
quaintness of the Scotch version. There is a caressing tenderness in that gruff old tone;
listen to it; it is the kind of tone that grows upon the heart. At first it is very singular, and
not wholly desirable, but there is in it a latent music; if you say the words over and over
again you will come to like them. The time is on the surface; open it, and you find
eternity. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
True repentanc
e:—

168. I. THE EVIDENCE OF A TRUE REPENT ANCE. Entire renunciation of idolatry. The
repentant sinner is led to confess the folly and sin of his empty pursuits (Rom_6:21).
Sinful pleasures (1Co_6:9-11). False confidences: e.g., self-righteousness. Unconditional
mercy, etc. And to determine to renounce them. This gracious melting: of heart is the
Lord’s doing. Jesus is exalted to give repentance (Act_5:31):It is produced here as the
blessed fruit of sanctified afflictions. Illus.
Manasseh. Prodigal.
II. The notice which God takes of a repentant sinner. “He listens to his meanings.”
(Job_33:27). He watches for his return. His eye is upon the repentant sinner when least
he thinks so. He observes him.
III. The gracious encouragement which God gives to him.
1. A promise of security. Shadow from the heat. Shelter from the storm.
2. An assurance of supply. Fruits of comfort derived from God. Fruits of grace
produced by God’s help. (John D. Lowe, M. A.)
The pious determination of the true penitent
Whatever we set our affections upon, in preference to God, is an idol; and grace will
teach us to renounce it. Every man in an impenitent state seeks his happiness in some
forbidden and sinful enjoyment. He is therefore an idolater. We have here—
I. A confession of guilt. “Any more” implies that in the past he had been concerned with
idols.
II. A determination to renounce sins. Implied in the language taken form as an
interrogation.
III. The determination is a humble one, formed in reliance on God’s heavenly Grace.
Reasons for renunciation of sin are—
1. Penitent sees something of the real nature and evil of it.
2. Penitent has had experience of the vanity and unprofitableness of all sinful
pleasures and pursuits.
3. Penitent has already experienced some, and expects more of, solid and permanent
happiness.
4. A principle of love and gratitude to God in the penitent’s heart cannot but operate
to make him abhor and renounce all iniquity.
5. Every true penitent has the strongest reason to express and maintain the most
determined disavowal of all iniquity, in consequence of having surrendered himself
to God, and in solemn covenant devoted himself to His service. And this is true
religion. This is genuine repentance. All that comes short of this is but vanity and
deception. (S. Knight, M. A.)
Ephraim and his idols
The statement here is, that Ephraim shall and will go on in abominating idols, be

169. constant in his former resolution. Under the term “idols” gather—
1. False doctrine, which is the foundation of idolatry.
2. Idols themselves.
3. Idolatry, which they tend to.
4. Idolaters. Idolatry frameth base conceits of God.
Consider the opposition between any representation of God, and God. Because God is a
jealous God, He will not give His glory to another. Unconverted persons are prone to
idolatry; to set up their own wits and wills, instead of God’s. Some commit this great sin
of idolatry by trusting to the outward performances and tasks of religion. Consider God’s
hatred unto all sorts of idolaters; for He accounts such to hate Him, and so accordingly
punishes them. (R. Sibbes, D. D.)
God corroborates Ephraim’s promise
There are two causes of repentance, one is fear, the other is love. That repentance which
owes its existence to fear is to be repented of, but that which originates in love tends to
the soul’s salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Repentance which owes its existence
to love is distinguished by the infallible effects of a new heart and a right spirit.
Penitents, from the effects of redeeming love, endeavour to keep God’s commandments.
The truly penitent is never left to the treachery of self-dependence The text is a
ratification or corroboration of the terms of the covenant which Israel promises to fulfil.
Unless the Almighty confirms our promises and resolves our own determination would
be of no avail. We learn the confidence of the truly penitent in God’s mercy. The truly
penitent ascribes all to the great First Cause. And the truly penitent loses no time to
make a firm stand against his former sins. The words also express that the penitent does
not cavil or reason as to the effect his conversion might have upon his worldly prospects.
Genuine repentance affords comfort in every condition of life. (Moses Margoliouth, B.
A.).
NISBET, "EPHRAIM FORSAKING IDOLS
‘Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have beard him, and
observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From Me is thy fruit found.’
Hosea 14:8
These are the last words of Hosea’s prophecy. They sum up his whole hopes for his
people. They are somewhat difficult of understanding, from the perplexity in which the
frequent occurrence of the word ‘I’ involves us. But it is quite clear, I think, that we have
in them two speakers: ‘Ephraim’—that is, the personification of the kingdom of Israel—
‘shall say, What have I to do any more with idols?’ And then there follows the answer to
that word, from another speaker, and that other speaker is God.
Here are two voices—first, the penitent voice of the returning wanderer, then the
welcoming answer of the Father. ‘What have I to do any more with idols?’ The nation
which is here represented as thus speaking, as the last point and object of the whole
prophecy, is described in a former part of this remarkable book as being ‘joined to his

170. idols.’ And now that strait band and bond that link him to his idols is snapped, and he is
set free.
I. We get here, first of all, a wonderful expression of the perfect simplicity of a true
return to God.—‘What have I to do any more with idols?’ That is all! No paroxysms of
grief, no agonies of repentance, no prescription of so much sorrow, so much grief, for so
much sin; no long, tedious process; but, like the finger put upon the key here, the sound
yonder.
Heard far away, the nation has only to whisper the resolve, to break away from the evil,
and immediately there, in the heavens, the voice is heard.
And then there follows: ‘And the Lord hath made to pass from me the iniquity of my
soul.’ Two words—for it is only two words in the original—two words; we pass out of the
evil when a man turns to God. ‘What have I to do any more with idols?’
II. Then look at the answer, the echo of this confession which comes from heaven; it is
the welcoming voice of the Father, ‘I hear him, and observe him.’ (1) Notice how,
instantaneously, that Divine ear, strong enough, according to the old story about the
ears of the gods, to hear the grass grow, fine enough to hear the first faint shootings of
the new life in a man’s heart, catches the sound that is inaudible to all besides, and as
soon as the words come from the pale, penitent lips of Ephraim, the answer comes from
God—‘I hear him; and if I hear him, that is all that is necessary. I hear him, and observe
him.’
There, of course, observation is used in a good sense. The insecure, uncertain footsteps
of the returning child are watched and kept by the gracious Father: ‘I hear him, and I
turn My eye upon him.’ The good eye and the good hand of the Lord upon the returning
prodigal for good.
And then we come to a very beautiful, although a very singular metaphor: ‘I am like a
green cypress tree.’ The singularity of this metaphor has led many people to suppose that
it cannot be intended to apply to the Divine nature. But I think there can be no question
but that it does, and that it yields a worthy and a very beautiful signification. The cypress
tree, for one thing, is an evergreen, unchanged amidst the changing seasons, unaffected
by all the change. An everlasting metaphor, ‘the same yesterday, and to-day, and for
ever.’ Our melancholy associations were altogether foreign to the mind and imagination
of the prophet. To him this tree, with its wealth of continual shadow, was an emblem of
unchanging blessing and protection.
So my text says, ‘I am like a green cypress,’ strong, immutable; a shadow, a protection to
all those that come beneath my branches, shielding them from the hot sunshine; keeping
them dry in all the tempests and rain of the winter time; spreading a green bough above
them in the summer; putting my broad sheaf of leaves between them and the blistering

171. heat, and so preserving them from outward and from inward dangers. ‘The Lord is thy
shade at thy right hand.’
So I think that if you will take these two points—unchangeableness and protection,
condescension—you understand the force of this lovely emblem. (2) And then there
follows a last truth: ‘From Me is thy fruit found.’ The hard cones of the cypress are not
worth calling fruit; there is no fruit on it that anybody can eat; but it has so embodied in
itself the virtues of all, and having the shadow of the cypress has the fruit, like that of the
grape and the pomegranate.
But all that is not enough. The fruit that we bear in ourselves is not fruit that any man
can take pleasure in. The fruit that shall sustain and help us must be the fruit that we
gather from the rich branches of that ‘tree that bare all manner of fruits, and bare them
every month,’ and whose very leaves were ‘for the healing of the nations.’ Not enough
that we should have the productive energy within ourselves; we must feed upon the rich
harvest that is provided for us in God.
So it all comes to this, the humblest voice of conscious un-worthiness and lowly resolve
to forsake evil, though it be whispered only in the very depths of our heart, finds its way
into the the ears of the merciful Father, and brings down the immediate answer, the
benediction of His shadowing love and perpetual presence, and the fullness of fruit,
which He alone can bestow.
Illustration
‘There is some mistake often made as to what are “idols.” Remember that “idols” are,
generally, rather objects of fear than of affection. Almost all heathen deities are
worshipped in dread—to avert the evil which they might otherwise do. This is the first
intention. Nevertheless, there is a fascination in “an idol,” by which, though feared, it
becomes almost a subject of love. So that the thing which we fear, and while we fear, has
a fascination over us which is hurtful. An “idol” is anything too lovable. A person who
exercised a bad power over you, and whom you feared, and almost you disliked—but to
whom you were still strangely attracted, and by whom you were badly bound and
enthralled—that would be “an idol.”’
PULPIT, "Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? This is full, final,
and for over a renunciation of idolatry on the part of Israel. I have heard him, and
observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found. This is God's
promise, that his eye is fixed on Israel in order to look after him, care for him, and
provide for him, and to protect and prosper him; while the figure of a green fir tree is the
pledge of shelter and security. But, though the fir tree is evergreen, it is fruitless; and
therefore it is added that God will prove the Source of fruitfulness, and supply all that his
people shall or can ever need.

172. 9 Who is wise? Let them realize these things.
Who is discerning? Let them understand.
The ways of the Lord are right;
the righteous walk in them,
but the rebellious stumble in them.
BAR ES, "Who is wise and he shall understand these things? - The prophet
says this, not of the words in which he had spoken, but of the substance. He does not
mean that his style was obscure, or that he had delivered the message of God in a way
difficult to be understood. This would have been to fail of his object. Nor does he mean
that human acuteness is the key to the things of God. He means that those only of a
certain character, those “wise,” through God, unto God, will understand the things of
God. So the Psalmist, having related some of God’s varied chastenings, mercies and
judgments, sums up, “Whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they shall
understand the loving kindness of the Lord” Psa_107:43. So Asaph says that God’s
dealings with the good and bad in this life were “too hard” for him to “understand, until”
he “went into the sanctuary of God;” then “understood” he “their end” Psa_73:16-17.
In like way Daniel, at the close of his prophecy, sums up the account of a sifting-time,
“Many shall be purified and made white and tried, and the wicked shall do wickedly; and
none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand” Dan_12:10. As these
say that the wise alone understand the actual dealings of God with man, so Hosea says,
that the wise alone would understand what he had set forth of the mercy and severity of
God, of His love for man, His desire to pardon, His unwillingness that any should perish,
His longing for our repentance, His store of mercies in Christ, His gifts of grace and His
free eternal love, and yet His rejection of all half-service and His final rejection of the
impenitent. “Who is wise?” “The word “who” is always taken, not for what is impossible,
but for what is difficult.” So Isaiah saith, “Who hath believed our report, and to whom is
the Arm of the Lord revealed?” Isa_53:1.
Few are wise with “the wisdom which is from above;” few understand, because few
wish to understand, or seek wisdom from Him who “giveth to all men liberally, and
upbraideth not” Jam_1:5. The question implies also, that God longs that people should

173. understand to their salvation. He inquires for them, calls to them that they would
meditate on His mercies and judgments. As Paul says, “Behold the goodness and severity
of God; on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in His
goodness. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how
unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out” Rom_11:22, Rom_
11:33. Unsearchable to intellect and theory; intelligible to faith and for acting on.
And he shall understand these things - (that is, that he may understand). The
worldly-wise of that generation, too, doubtless, thought themselves too wise to need to
understand them; as the wise after this world counted the Cross of Christ foolishness.
Prudent - Properly “gifted with understanding,” the form of the word expressing,
that he was “endowed with” this “understanding,” as a gift from God. And He shall know
them. While the wise of this world disbelieve, jeer, scoff at them, in the name of human
reason, he who has not the natural quickness of man only, but who is endued with the
true wisdom, shall “know” them. So our Lord says, “If any man will do His will, he shall
know of the doctrine whether it is of God” Joh_7:17. The word, “wise,” may especially
mean him who contemplates these truths and understands them in themselves, yet
plainly so as to act upon them; and the word “endued with prudence,” may especially
describe such as are gifted with readiness to apply that knowledge to practice, in
judgment, discrimination, act . By uniting both, the prophet joins contemplative and
practical wisdom, and intensifies the expression of God’s desire that we should be
endowed with them.
For the ways of the Lord are right - If in the word, “ways,” the figure is still
preserved, the prophet speaks of the “ways,” as “direct and straight;” without a figure, as
“just and upright.”
The ways of the Lord - Are, what we, by a like figure, call “the ‘course’ of His
providence;” of which Scripture says, “His ways are judgment” Deu_32:4; Dan_4:37;
“God, His ways are perfect” Psa_18:30; “the Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy
in all His works” Psa_145:17; “Thy way is in the sea, and Thy paths in the great waters,
and Thy footsteps are not known” Psa_77:19; “lo, these are parts of His ways, but how
little a portion is heard of Him, and the thunder of His power who can understand?”
Job_26:14; “who hath enjoined Him His way, and who can say, Thou hast wrought
iniquity?” Job_36:23. These “ways of God” include His ordering for us, in His eternal
wisdom, that course of life, which leads most directly to Himself. They include, then, all
God’s commandments, precepts, counsels, His whole moral law, as well as His separate
purpose for each of us. In the one way, they are God’s ways toward us; in the other they
are God’s ways for us.
The just shall walk in them - God reveals His ways to us, not that we may know
them only, but that we may do them. “The end of moral science is not knowledge, but
practice,” said the Pagan philosopher . But the life of grace is a life of progress. The
word, “way,” implies not continuance only, but advance. He does not say,” they shall
“stand” in God’s ways,” but “they shall walk in them.” They shall go on in them “upright,
safe, and secure, in “great peace” and with “nothing whereat to stumble” . In God’s ways
there is no stumbling block, and they who walk in them, are free from those of which
other ways are full. Whereas, out of God’s ways, all paths are tangled, uneven, slippery,
devious, full of snares and pitfalls, God maketh His “way straight,” a royal highway,
smooth, even, direct unto Himself.
But - (and) the transgressors shall fall therein - Literally, “shall stumble
thereon” Psa_119:165. Transgressors, i. e., those who rebel against the law of God,
“stumble” in divers manners, not “in,” but “at” the ways of God. They stumble at God
Himself, at His All-Holy Being, Three and One; they stumble at His attributes; they

174. stumble at His providence, they stumble at His acts; they stumble at His interference
with them; they stumble at His requirements. They rebel against His commandments, as
requiring what they like not; at His prohibitions, as refusing what they like. They
stumble at His Wisdom, in ordering His own creation; at His Holiness, in punishing sin;
but most of all, they stumble at His Goodness and condescension. They have a greater
quarrel with His condescension than with all His other attributes. They have stumbled,
and still stumble at God the Son, becoming Man, and taking our flesh in the Virgin’s
womb; they stumble at the humility of the Crucifixion; they stumble at His placing His
Manhood at the Right Hand of God; they stumble at the simplicity, power and
condescension, which He uses in the sacraments; they stumble at His giving us His Flesh
to eat; they stumble at His forgiving sins freely, and again and again; they stumble at His
making us members of Himself, without waiting for our own wills; they stumble at His
condescension in using our own acts, to the attainment of our degree of everlasting
glory.
Every attribute, or gift, or revelation of God, which is full of comfort to the believer,
becomes in turn an occasion of stumbling to the rebellious. “The things which should
have been for his wealth, become to him an occasion of falling. “They cannot attemper
their own wishes and ways to the divine law, because, obeying what they themselves
affect, “the law of their members,” they stumble at that other law, which leadeth unto
life” Psa_69:22. : With this the prophet sums up all the teaching of the seventy years of
his ministry. This is the end of all which he had said of the severity and mercy of God, of
the Coming of Christ, and of our resurrection in Him. This is to us the end of all; this is
thy choice, Christian soul, to walk in God’s ways, or to stumble at them. As in the days
when Christ came in the Flesh, so it is now; so it will be to the end. So holy Simeon
prophesied, “‘This Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel’ Luk_2:34;
and our Lord said of Himself, ‘For judgment I am come into this world, that they which
see not might see, and that they which see might be made blind’ Joh_9:39. And Peter;
‘Unto you which believe He is precious; but unto them which be disobedient, the stone
which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of
stumbling and rock of offence, to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient’
1Pe_2:7-8. ‘Christ crucified was unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks
foolishness, but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the Power of
God, and the Wisdom of God’ 1Co_1:23-24. The commandment, which’ was ordained ‘to
life,’ Paul, when yet unregenerate, ‘found’ to be ‘unto death’ Rom_7:10. : “Pray we then
the Eternal Wisdom, that we may be truly wise and understanding, and receive not in
vain those many good things which Christ has brought to the race of man. Let us cleave
to Him by that ‘faith, which worketh by love;’ let us seek the Good, seek the Just, ‘seek
the Lord while He may be found, and call upon Him while He is near.’ Whatever God
doeth toward ourselves or others, let us account right; ‘for the ways of the Lord are
right,’ and ‘that’ cannot be unjust, which pleaseth the Just. Whatever He teacheth,
whatever He commandeth, let us believe without discussion, and embrace most firmly
for “that” cannot be false, which the Truth hath taught. Let us walk in His ways;” for
Christ Himself is “the Way” unto Himself, “the Life.” : “Look up to heaven; look down to
Hell; live for Eternity.” “Weigh a thousand, yea thousands of years against eternity what
dost thou, weighing a finite, how vast soever, against Infinity.”
CLARKE, "Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? - What
things? Those which relate to the backslidings, iniquity, and punishment of Israel; and

175. to the mercy and kindness of God in their promised restoration. The things which belong
to the work of sin in the heart; the things which belong to the work of grace in the soul;
and particularly the things mentioned in this wonderful chapter.
Prudent, and he shall know them? - He who endeavors to understand them, who
lays his heart to them, such a person shall understand them.
For the ways of the Lord are right - This is the conclusion which the prophet
makes from the whole. All God’s conduct, both in the dispensation of justice and mercy,
is right: all as it should be, all as it must be; because he is too wise to err, too good to be
unkind.
The just shall walk, in them - This is a truth which he will always acknowledge;
and illustrate it by a righteous and godly life.
But the transgressors shall fall therein - Howsoever good they might have been
before, if they do not consider the necessity of depending upon God; of receiving all their
light, life, power, and love from him; ever evidencing that faith which worketh by love;
maintaining an obedient conduct, and having respect to all God’s precepts; they shall
fall, even in the “way of righteousness.” When still using the Divine ordinances, and
associating with God’s people, they shall perish from the way; and be like Ephraim, who
once “spoke trembling,” and “was exalted in Israel,” who was “God’s beloved son,” and
“called out of Egypt;” yet, by “offending in Baal,” giving way to “the idols of his heart,”
fell from God, fell into the hands of his enemies, and became a wretched thrall in a
heathen land.
“Whoso is wise, let him understand these things!
Whoso is prudent, let him know them!” -
He who is well instructed will make a proper application of what he has here read; will
tremble at the threatenings, and embrace the promises, of his God.
The Targum is worthy the most serious attention.
“The ways of the Lord are right, and the just who walk in them shall live
for ever; but the ungodly, because they have not walked in them, shall be
delivered into hell.”
How instructive, how convincing, how awakening, and yet how consolatory, are the
words of this prophecy! Reader, lay them to heart. A godly mind cannot consider them
in vain; such shall know them, and know that the ways of the Lord are right.
GILL, "Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent,
and he shall know them?.... Contained in this book, and particularly in this chapter;
which expresses so much of the goodness of God and grace of Christ to Israel; though it
may be applied to the whole Scripture, and to all the mysteries and doctrines of the
Gospel, respecting Christ and his grace; and be a recommendation of these to the
consideration of every wise and prudent man; where he will find enough to exercise his
wisdom and understanding; though he need not be discouraged in his search and
inquiry into them. It suggests as if there were but few such wise persons, and that they
are the only wise men that do know and understand these things; and all others are but
fools, let them be thought as wise as they will:

176. for the ways of the Lord are right; straight, plain, even, according to the rules of,
justice and equity; there is no unrighteousness in them; none in the ways in which he
himself walks; either in his ways and methods of grace, his decrees and purposes, his
counsels and covenant; or in his providential dispensations; nor in those he directs
others to walk in, the paths of faith and doctrine; or the ways of his commandments:
and the just shall walk in them; such as are, justified by the righteousness of Christ,
and have ills grace wrought in them, and live righteously; these walk, and continue to
walk, in the ways of God; which shows that the doctrine of justification by Christ's
implored righteousness is no licentious doctrine:
but the transgressors shall fall therein; the transgressors of the law of God, not
being used to his ways, as Kimchi's father observes, stumble in them and fall; or rather,
as Jarchi and the Targum, they fall into hell, into ruin and destruction, because they
walk not in them; though the sense seems to be, that as Christ himself, so his ways and
his word, his doctrines and his ordinances, are stumbling blocks to wicked men, at
which they stumble, and fall, and perish; see Luk_2:34 Rom_9:33.
HE RY, " Concerning every one that hears and reads the words of the prophecy of
this book (Hos_14:9): Who is wise? and he shall understand these things. Perhaps the
prophet was wont to conclude that sermons he preached with these words, and now he
closes with them the whole book, in which he has committed to writing some fragments
of the many sermons he had preached. Observe, 1. The character of those that do profit
by the truths he delivered: Who is wise and prudent? He shall understand these things,
he shall know them. Those that set themselves to understand and know these things
thereby make it to appear that they are truly wise and prudent, and will thereby be made
more so; and, if any do not understand and know them, it is because they are foolish and
unwise. Those that are wise in the doing of their duty, that are prudent in practical
religion, are most likely to know and understand both the truths and providences of
God, which are a mystery to others, Joh_7:17. The secret of the Lord is with those that
fear him, Psa_25:14. Who is wise? This intimates a desire that those who read and hear
these things would understand them (O that they were wise!) and a complaint that few
were so - Who has believed our report? 2. The excellency of these things concerning
which we are here instructed: The ways of the Lord are right; and therefore it is our
wisdom and duty to know and understand them. The way of God's precepts, in which he
requires us to walk, is right, agreeing with the rules of eternal reason and equity and
having a direct tendency to our eternal felicity. The ways of God's providence, in which
he walks toward us, are all right; no fault is to be found with any thing that God does, for
it is all well done. His judgments upon the impenitent, his favours to the penitent, are all
right; however they may be perverted and misinterpreted, God will at last be justified
and glorified in them all. His ways are equal. 3. The different use which men make of
them. (1.) The right ways of God to those that are good are, and will be, a savour of life
unto life: The just shall walk in them; they shall conform to the will of God both in his
precepts and in his providences, and shall have the comfort of so doing. They shall well
understand the mind of God both in his word and in his works; they shall be well
reconciled to both, and shall accommodate themselves to God's intention in both. The
just shall walk in those ways towards their great end, and shall not come short of it. (2.)
The right ways of God will be to those that are wicked a savour of death unto death: The
transgressors shall fall not only in their own wrong ways, but even in the right ways of
the Lord. Christ, who is a foundation stone to some, is to others a stone of stumbling and

177. a rock of offence. That which was ordained to life becomes through their abuse of it,
death to them. God's providences, being not duly improved by them, harden them in sin
and contribute to their ruin. God's discovery of himself both in the judgments of his
mouth and in the judgments of his hand is to us according as we are affected under it.
Recipitur ad modum recipientis - What is received influences according to the qualities
of the receiver. The same sun softens wax and hardens clay. But of all transgressors
those certainly have the most dangerous fatal falls that fall in the ways of God, that split
on the rock of ages, and suck poison out of the balm of Gilead. Let the sinners in Zion be
afraid of this.
JAMISO , "Epilogue, summing up the whole previous teaching. Here alone Hosea
uses the term “righteous,” so rare were such characters in his day. There is enough of
saving truth clear in God’s Word to guide those humbly seeking salvation, and enough of
difficulties to confound those who curiously seek them out, rather than practically seek
salvation.
fall — stumble and are offended at difficulties opposed to their prejudices and lusts,
or above their self-wise understanding (compare Pro_10:29; Mic_2:7; Mat_11:19; Luk_
2:34; Joh_7:17; 1Pe_2:7, 1Pe_2:8). To him who sincerely seeks the agenda, God will
make plain the credenda. Christ is the foundation-stone to some: a stone of stumbling
and rock of offense to others. The same sun softens wax and hardens clay. But their fall
is the most fatal who fall in the ways of God, split on the Rock of ages, and suck poison
out of the Balm of Gilead.
K&D, "Hos_14:9 (10) contains the epilogue to the whole book. “Who is wise, that he
may understand this? understanding, that he may discern it? For the ways of Jehovah
are straight, and the righteous walk therein: but the rebellious stumble in them.” The
pronoun ‫ה‬ ֶ ֵ‫א‬ and the suffix to ‫ם‬ ֵ‫ע‬ ָ‫ד‬ֵ‫י‬ refer to everything that the prophet has laid before the
people in his book for warning, for reproof, for correction, for chastening in
righteousness. He concludes by summing up the whole substance of his teaching in the
one general sentence, which points back to Deu_32:4 : The ways of the Lord are straight.
“The ways of Jehovah” (darkhē Ye
hōvâh) are the ways taken by God in the guidance and
government of men; not only the ways which He prescribes for them, but also His
guidance of them. These ways lead some to life and others to death, according to the
different attitudes which men assume towards God, as Moses announced to all the
Israelites that they would (Deu_30:19-20), and as the Apostle Paul assured the church at
Corinth that the gospel of Jesus also would (1Co_1:18).
CALVI , "Verse 9
The Prophet, I have no doubt, very often inculcated what he here says, and
frequently recalled it to mind, for we know that he had a constant struggle with
extreme obstinacy. It was not only for one day that he found the people hard and
perverse, but through the whole course of his preaching. Since then the Israelites
continued, either openly to despise the Prophet’s teaching, or at least to regard as
fables what they heard from his mouth, or to chide him in words, and even to
threaten him, when he treated them with severity and when the Prophet saw that

178. the wickedness of the people was irreclaimable, he, being armed with confidence, no
doubt went forth very often among them, and said “Ye think that you shall be
unpunished, while ye make a mock of what I teach; ye shall surely find at last that
the ways of the Lord are right.” And I have already reminded you, that the
Prophets, after having harangued the people at large and in many words, reduced at
last into brief heads what they had taught; for it is not probable, that since Hosea
had so long discharged the office of a teacher, he had spoken only these few things,
which might have been gone through in three hours. This is absurd. But when he
had diligently attended to the office deputed to him, he afterwards, as I have said,
collected together these few chapters, that the remembrance of his teaching might be
perpetuated. What he was constrained then often to repeat, he now lays down at the
end of his book, that it might be as it were a complete sealing up of his teaching.
Who is wise, he says, and he will understand these things? who is intelligent, and he
will know them? This interrogatory mode is expressive; for Hosea was amazed at
the fewness of those who yielded themselves to be taught by God. The Israelites no
doubt, arrogated to themselves great wisdom, as ungodly men are wont to do. For
they seem to themselves to be then especially acute, when they laugh at every thing
like piety, when they treat God’s name with scorn, and indulge themselves, as we see
at this day, in their own impiety. And this diabolical rage lays hold on many,
because they think that they would be very simple and stupid, were they to embrace
any thing the Scripture contains. “O! what is faith but foolish credulity?” This is the
thought that comes to their minds. There are also filthy dogs, who hesitate not to
vomit forth such a reproach as this, “Only believe! But what is this thy believing,
but wilfully to give up all judgement and all choice, and to allow thyself to be like
mute cattle driven here and there? If then thou art wise, believe nothing.” Thus
godless men speak; and hence, as I have said, they pride themselves on their own
acuteness, when they can shake off every fear of God and all regard for divine truth.
There were many such, we may easily believe, in the time of the Prophet. Since then
the whole land was filled with dreadful contempt of God, and yet men commonly
thought themselves wise, nay, imagined in their deep thoughts, as Isaiah says, (101)
that they could deceive God, he now asks, Who is wise, and he will understand? As
though he said, “I indeed see, that if I believe you, ye are all wise; for, imitating the
giants, ye dare to rise up against God, and ye think yourselves ingenious when ye
elude every truth, when ye proudly tread religion under foot; in this way ye are all
wise. But at the same time, if there be any grain of wisdom in you, you must surely
acknowledge me to be sent by God, and that what I declare is not the invention of
men, but the word of the living God.” We now then see what force there is in this
question, when the Prophet says, Who is wise, and he will understand these things?
Who is intelligent, and he will know them?
We at the same time see that the Prophet here condemns all the wisdom of men, and
as it were thunders from heaven against the pride of those who thus presumptuously
mock God; for how much soever they imagined themselves to be pre-eminent, he
intimates that they were both blind and stupid and mad. Who then is wise? he says.
But at the same time, he shows that the true wisdom of men is to obey God and to
embrace his word; as it is said in another place, that wisdom and the beginning of

179. wisdom is the fear of God, (Proverbs 1:7.) Whosoever then wishes to be truly wise,
he must begin with the fear of God and with reverence to his word; for where there
is no religion, men cannot certainly understand any thing aright. Let us suppose
men endued, not only with great clearness of mind, but also with the knowledge of
all the sciences; let them be philosophers, let them be physicians, let them be
lawyers, let nothing be wanting to them, except that they have no true knowledge of
eternal life, would it not be better for them to be mere cattle than to be thus wise, to
exercise their minds for a short time on fading things, and to know that all their
highly valued treasure shall perish with their life? Surely to be thus wise is far more
wretched than if men were wholly void of understanding. Justly then does the
Prophet intimate here that those were not only foolish, but also mad, and wholly
destitute of all understanding, who regarded not celestial truth, and were deaf to the
Prophets, and discerned not when God spake, nor understood the power of his
word. All then who are not thus wise, the Prophet justly says, are utterly void of all
prudence and judgement: he therefore repeats the same thing, Who is wise, and he
will understand these things? Who is intelligent, and he will know them? that is, “If
any excels others, he ought surely to show in this particular his wisdom, and if any
one is endued with common understanding, he ought to know what this doctrine
means, in which the image and glory of God shine forth brightly. All then who know
and understand nothing in this respect are no doubt altogether foolish.”
He afterwards adds, For right are the ways of Jehovah He alleges this truth in
opposition to the profane rashness of men, who haughtily reject God, and dare to
despise his word. Right, he says, are the ways of the Lord: and by saying that they
are right, he no doubt glances at the abominable blasphemies which the ungodly
have recourse to, when they wish to render the word of God not only odious and
contemptible, but also absurd, so as not to deserve any respect. Thus we see at this
day, that godless men not only in words reject both the Law and the Prophets, but
also search out pretences, that they may appear to be doing right in destroying all
faith in the oracles of God. For instance, they seek out every sort of contradiction in
Scripture, every thing not well received, every thing different from the common
opinion, — all these absurdities, as they call them, they collect together, and then
they draw this conclusion, that all those are fools, who submit to any religion, since
the word of God, as they say, contains so many absurd things. This raving madness
prevailed then no doubt in the world: and the Prophet, by saying that right are the
ways of Jehovah, means, that how much soever the ungodly may clamour, or
murmur, or taunt, nothing is yet done by the Lord but what is right, and free from
every blame and defect. However much then the ungodly may vomit forth slanders
against the word of God, it is the same as if they threw dust into the air to darken
the light of the sun; just so much they effect, he seems to say, by their audacity: for
perfect rectitude will ever be foundin the ways of the Lord; his word will ever be
found free from every stain or defect.
He then adds, And the just shall walk in them, but in them shall the ungodly
stumble By saying that the just shall walk in them, he confirms the last sentence by
experience, for the just really find the ways of the Lord to be right We ought also to
be furnished with this assurance, if we would boldly repel all the impious calumnies,

180. which are usually heaped together by profane men against the word of God: for if
we know not what it is to walk in the ways of the Lord, we shall surely, as soon as
any thing is alleged against them, be suspended in doubt, or be wholly upset; for we
see that many, not deeply rooted in the word of God, instantly quail, as soon as any
thing is said against it, because they know not what it is to walk in the ways of the
Lord; but they who walk in the Lord’s ways courageously fight against all the
temptations of the world; they carry on the context that they may attain celestial
life; they feel assured that though now miserable for a time, they shall yet be
blessed, for they have embraced the grace of God in Christ; they are sustained too
by their own conscience, so that they can look down on all the reproaches and
slanders of the world, and proceed onward in their course. They then who thus walk
in the ways of the Lord are unconquerable; yea, were the whole world to oppose
them, and were the ungodly with their profane words to infect the whole
atmosphere, the godly would still pursue their course until they reached the end. All
the ways of Jehovah are therefore right, the just shall walk in them; but in them
shall the ungodly stumble, or fall; for ‫,כשל‬ cashel, means both, but I prefer
rendering it “stumble,” as it seems more suitable to the design of the Prophet. The
just then find a plain and an even way in the word of the Lord, and nothing stands
in their path to obstruct their course, and by daily advances they attain that to
which the Lord calls them, even their celestial inheritance. The just shall thus walk
in the Lord’s ways, because the Lord will lead them, as it were, by his hand; faith
will be to them for hundred eyes, and also for wings: and hope, at the same time,
sustains them; for they are armed with promises and encouragements; they have
also stimulants, whenever the Lord earnestly exhorts them; they have, besides, in his
threatenings, such terrors as keep them awake. Thus then the faithful find in the
word of the Lord the best ways, and they follow them. But what of the ungodly?
They imagine all doubts, even the least, to be mountains: for as soon as they meet
with any thing intricate or obscure, they are confounded, and says “I would gladly
seek to know the Holy Scriptures but I meet with so many difficulties.” Hence when
a doubt is suggested, they regard it as a mountain; nay, they purposely pretend
doubts, that they may have some excuse, when they wish to evade the truth, and
turn aside that they may not follow the Lord. The ungodly, then,stumble in the ways
of Jehovah. But this ought to be read adversatively, “Though the ungodly stumble,
yet the just shall always walk in the ways of Jehovah;” which means, that there is no
reason why the ungodly should stop or retard us by their continual stumbling, and
by exclaiming that the word of God is full of what gives offence; for we shall find in
it an even way, only let us ascribe to God this glory, that he is just, and that his ways
are right. This is the meaning of the sentence.
End of the Prophecies of Hosea
COFFMA , "Who is wise, that he may understand these things? prudent, that he
may know them? for the ways of Jehovah are right, and the just shall walk in them;
but the transgressors shall fall therein."
Most of the commentators set this verse at naught, making of it a somewhat insipid

181. comment by some later editor; but we will have none of that. Hosea had just written
a chapter that doubtless appeared enigmatical even to himself, one that seemed
totally at variance with practically the entire message of previous chapters in his
prophecy. It was the astounding prophecy of the ultimate Israel of God to be
attained in the church of Jesus Christ; but the homely metaphors of it seemed to
him no doubt to be impossible of understanding in the light of all God had
previously revealed to him. This ninth verse is the proof that Hosea very well knew
that something lay in this chapter which was totally beyond the reach of his earthly
vision; yet he faithfully declared it, uttering the warning in this verse, to the effect
that there was a lot more in it than met the eye. Hosea was profoundly correct. Most
of the commentators we have read regarding this chapter do not even now have any
adequate understanding of it, applying it to all kinds of millennial theories,
restorations of secular Israel in Palestine and otherwise missing totally the glimpse
of the Church of Christ which shines in every line of it. How wonderful are the
words of the Lord.
BE SO , "Hosea 14:9. Who is wise, &c. — That is, who is so truly wise as duly to
weigh and consider the important things contained in this prophecy, the duties
prescribed, the blessings promised to the obedient, and the judgments threatened to
the disobedient? The prophet’s words imply, that there were but few that were
endued with such spiritual wisdom and understanding as to do so; but that those
who were, would seriously consider and be affected by these things. He shall
understand — he shall know them — Those that set themselves to understand and
know these things, thereby make it appear that they are truly wise and prudent, and
will thereby be made more so; and that many do not understand and know them, is
because they are inconsiderate and unwise. Those that are wise in the doing of their
duty, that are prudent in practical religion, are most likely to know and understand
both the truths and providences of God, which are a mystery to others. The secret of
the Lord is with them that fear him. For the ways of the Lord are right — “The
ways of the Lord are both the ways which he himself takes in his moral government
of the world, and the ways of godliness which he prescribes to man. These, taken
together, are the ways of the Lord, and they are right, or straight,” (as ‫ישׁרים‬ may be
properly rendered,) “because they go straight forward, without deviation, to the
end, — the happiness of man, and the glory of God.” And the just shall walk therein
— The truly righteous will conform to the will of God, both in his precepts and in
his providences, and shall have the comfort of so doing. They shall well understand
the mind of God, both in his word and in his works, shall be well reconciled to both,
and shall accommodate themselves to God’s intention in both. The righteous shall
walk in those ways toward their great end, and shall not come short of it. Bishop
Horsley renders this clause, And in them shall the justified proceed, but revolters
shall stumble. “In the ways of God,” says he, “as they have been described, the
justified, those who by faith in Christ have obtained remission of their sins and the
gift of the Holy Ghost, shall proceed; they will be making daily and hourly
approaches to their journey’s end. They shall be able to advance continually in the
understanding of the ways of Providence, and of the way laid out by Jehovah for
them. But to the incorrigible enemies of God, the very scheme of mercy itself will be

182. a cause of error, confusion, and ruin.” Thus also Mr. Lowth: “They who are
sincerely desirous to know and do the will of God, will be fully satisfied of the
reasonableness of his laws, and the methods of his providence, and will readily
comply with the directions of both, to the securing of their own eternal happiness;
whereas men of perverse and disobedient tempers take offence at God’s commands,
and repine against his providence, to their own ruin and perdition. The same sense
is expressed in that observation of the son of Sirach, Sirach 39:24, As God’s ways
are plain to the holy, so they are stumbling blocks to the workers of iniquity. To the
same purpose are those words of Christ, Every one that is of the truth heareth my
voice, John 18:37; and, He that is of God heareth God’s word, chap. John 8:47. And
St. Peter says, that Christ is become a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence to the
disobedient, 1 Peter 2:8. The observation of Grotius is very remarkable upon this
subject, De Verit. Christian. Relig., lib. 2. c. ult. The doctrine of the gospel was
designed to be ‘tanquam lapis Lydius, ad quem ingenia sanabilia explorarentur,’ as
a touchstone to try the tempers of men, whether they were corrigible or not.”
TRAPP, "Hosea 14:9 Who [is] wise, and he shall understand these [things]?
prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD [are] right, and the
just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
Ver. 9. Who is wise and he shall understand these things] A pathetic perclose,
whereby the prophet (orator-like) would leave a sting in the hearts of his hearers,
and so seal up, and set on all that he had said before, conclusio gnomica, exclamatio
emphatica.
Who is wise?] q.d. I could wish there were more; but I see there are not many. Store
there are of fools, Stultorum plena aunt omnia, such dust-heaps there are in every
corner to be found, not a few that either know not the will of God, or stumble at it.
"But who hath known the mind of the Lord?" 1 Corinthians 2:16. "Who among you
will give ear to this? Who hath believed our report? or to whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed? Who is the wise man, that may understand this?" Isaiah 42:23;
Isaiah 53:1, Jeremiah 9:12. Lucerna accensa hominem quaerebat Aesopus. Jeremiah
was bidden run to and fro to find a man that sought the truth, v. 1. Rari quippe boni
(Juven. Sat. 13). ot many wise, wise, I mean, to salvation, 2 Timothy 3:15, that
make sure work for their souls, and draw their wisdom from God’s holy word, from
the mine of the mystery of Christ, Psalms 119:98-99. All others are "foolish people,
sottish children; they have no understanding," Jeremiah 4:22, be they never so
shrewd and of deep reach for the world, be they never so wise in their generation.
The fox is so in his; and the devil in his, for when he was but young he outwitted our
first parents, 2 Corinthians 11:3, who yet were no babes, simple and weak in
understanding, as the Socinians affirm them to have been or else they would not
(say they) have so sinned. A fond conceit, and without footing in God’s holy word,
where we find that they were created in God’s image, which consisteth in
knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, as saith the apostle, Ephesians 4:24.

183. And he shall understand these things] "Which none of the princes of this world
know," 1 Corinthians 2:8, because their learning hangs in their light; and, like
moles, they dig dexterously under-ground, but are blind above-ground. Sapiens est
cui res sapiunt prout sunt, saith Bernard. He is the wise man that savoureth things
as they are. And herein lieth the whole wisdom of a man, saith Lactantius, ut Deum
cognoscat, et colat, that he know and worship God aright, that with a practical
judgment he ponder the words and ways of God, in order to salvation. This is that
wisdom that dwelleth with prudence, Proverbs 8:12. Aristotle, in many places of his
works, distinguisheth between wisdom and prudence. Wisdom he maketh to be a
right apprehending of truths in general; prudence, an applying them to particular
cases and uses. But Socrates said, that there was no such difference; since he that
knoweth good things to do them, and evil things to avoid them, is to be held a wise
man, and none else. They may seem here to be put for one and the same; since the
wise man is said not to know, but to understand, judge, and ponder, and the
prudent to know; teaching us, that God calls for a prudent wisdom, and a wise
prudence, directing the soul to aa orderly carriage, and a holy care, that godliness
(which is the only wisdom) may run through our whole lives, as the woof doth
through the web.
For the ways of the Lord are right] Understand it not so much of the ways of
predestination, providence, &c., wherein God walks towards us (which yet are all
right and equal), as of those ways of his will, word, and worship, wherein he
requireth us to walk towards him. These are called the way of God, Matthew 22:16,
and the way of salvation, Acts 16:17, and the way of truth, 2 Peter 2:2, and the right
way, 2 Peter 2:15, and the way of righteousness, 2 Peter 2:21. Right these ways are
called, or straight. First, because they are conformed to the will of a righteous God,
which is the mensura mensurans, the first rule of right, the standard, on solum
recta, sed et regula. Secondly, because the matter of it is holy, and just, and good, a
doctrine of righteousness, that teacheth us to give God his due, and men theirs. It is
also put for every purpose, Psalms 19:7-8, Proverbs 30:5. Of the Book of Psalms,
Athanasius hath observed, that they are so penned that every man may well think
they speak de se, in re sun, of himself, and to his own particular necessities. Thirdly,
because it rectifieth us, and transformeth us into the same image; it maketh such as
deliver up themselves thereunto to walk as patterns of the rule, as a transcript of the
word, that dwelleth richly in them, and worketh effectually, as a seed of
immortality. Fourthly, because it carrieth us on in a straight line unto a right end
without crooking or compassing about, Psalms 19:8; Psalms 25:4; Psalms 125:5. Has
vias qui terit, non terit. Pray therefore as David did, Psalms 18:29, lest breaking out
into byways (all which are highways to hell), or but stepping over the hedge, to
avoid a piece of foul way, we brush and bruise ourselves to get in again, break our
bones with David.
And the just shall walk in them] Such as are just with a double righteousness,
imputed and imparted; that of justification, and this of sanctification: these will

184. choose the way of truth, Psalms 119:39; Psalms 25:12, and be willing to walk
honestly, Hebrews 13:18, orderly, and by rule, Galatians 5:25, accurately, and to the
utmost, Ephesians 5:15, directly and distinctly, eyeing the mark, and propounding
to themselves the highest pitch, and the best patterns ( στοιχεινακριβως): often
comparing themselves with the rule, laying their lives by the line, and reforming
their outstrays, Psalms 119:59-60, making it the main of their endeavour, that all
their deeds may be wrought in God, John 3:21. Lo, this is the just man’s practice;
and it is here propounded for a precedent.
But the transgressors shall fall therein] They perish from the way, Psalms 2:12; they
stumble at the Word and fall into perdition, as the Chaldee here hath it; and so
show themselves to be transgressors, traitors, rebels, yea, reprobates. See 1 Peter
2:8, they "stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto also they were
appointed." Oh, fearful! "A bridge is made" (saith a reverend divine) "to give us a
safe passage over a river, but he who stumbleth on the bridge is in danger to fall
into the river. The Word is given us as a means to carry us over hell to heaven; but
he who stumbleth and quarrelleth at this means shall fall in thither, from whence
otherwise he had been delivered by it." either may we think the worse of the Word
for this accidental effect of it upon transgressors; since the fault is merely in
themselves: as when a lame man stumbleth in a plain path, the fault is not in the
way, but in the foot. Blear eyes cannot abide the light; nor children endure honey
when they have sore mouths. The same sun makes flowers smell sweet, but carrions
stink loathsomely. Moses saved the Israelite, killed the Egyptian; and Abigail’s voice
pacified David, but made abal’s heart died within him as a stone. Oecumenius
telleth us that the fragrance of precious ointments is wholesome for doves, but kills
the beetle, columbam vegetat, scarabaeum necat. And Aristotle affirmeth, that oil of
roses is deadly to vultures, who hunt after only dead men’s carcases. Christ himself,
who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, was set for the fall and rising again of
many in Israel, and for a sign to be spoken against, Luke 2:34, for a butt mark,
against whom his enemies should shoot the shaft of their gainsayings. To the Jews
he became a stumblingblock, and unto the Gentiles foolishness, 1 Corinthians 1:23.
Let them alone (saith he, concerning the Pharisees, who were offended at his
sayings, Matthew 15:14). Let them stumble and fall, and be broken, and snared, and
taken, Isaiah 8:15. Christ in his ordinances is to reprobates a rock of offence, 2 Peter
2:8, but such a rock as that, 6:21, out of which goeth fire and consumeth them. "For
if any love not the Lord Jesus Christ, he is Anathema Maranatha," 1 Corinthians
16:22. "Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in
them?" Jeremiah 8:9.
“ Linea ducta mihi est, gratia, Christe, tibi. ”
“By the plumline it has been leading to me, oh Christ by grace to thee”
PETT, "‘Who is wise, that he may understand these things?
Prudent, that he may know them?

185. For the ways of YHWH are right,
And the righteous will walk in them,
But transgressors will fall in them.’
There is a hint of wisdom writing in these final words (compare the similar parallel
situation in Psalms 107:43), but it will be noted that whilst the wisdom writers in the
Old Testament always contrast ‘the righteous’ with ‘the wicked’, here Hosea
contrasts ‘the righteous’ with ‘transgressors’. Being familiar with wisdom writing
he calls on it and fashions it in accordance with his own purpose, at least in the first
two lines. We should, however, note that the thoughts behind the second two lines
are found elsewhere in Scripture, in what some would call ‘Deuteronomic’
literature, with the phrase ‘the ways of YHWH’ appearing in 2 Samuel 22:22 (and
not appearing in any wisdom literature). Compare also Psalms 138:5; Deuteronomy
32:4. Furthermore the thought of ‘walking in His ways’ is comparable to
Deuteronomy 10:12 (compare also Deuteronomy 5:33). Reference to ‘transgressors’
is found in the Davidic Psalms 51:13 and in Isaiah 1:28 (whose ministry would by
now be under way).
That being said Hosea’s purpose here is simply to make his readers consider his
prophecy more deeply, something which indicates that the heart of the prophecy is
by this stage already in writing. He is emphasising, with all the authority of a
wisdom teacher, that the wise and the prudent will take note of what he has said,
and with all the authority of the Scriptures available to him that they will do so
because YHWH’s ways are right, and because those who are righteous will
therefore walk in them.
In contrast he points out that transgressors will fall in them. So all must consider
seriously which path they take, and will know whether they are righteous or
transgressors by how they respond. Furthermore while the wise will know that His
ways are right, it is the righteous who will walk in them. It is a reminder that it is
possible to be ‘wise’ without being obedient, and that that then makes the person a
transgressor.
COKE, "Hosea 14:9. Who is wise, &c.— Many interpreters are of opinion, that the
prophet here hints at the obscurity of his prophesy: as much as to say, "Behold, I
have set before you what is dark and difficult, surrounded with obscurity: who will
have penetration sufficient to enter into and develope the mystery?" See Calmet,
and Bishop Reynolds's Sermons on this chapter; where the reader will find a variety
of useful and improving remarks.
Transgressors— It should be rendered revolters. ‫פשׁעים‬ poshiim. This word
expresses a degree and enormity of disobedience far beyond any thing contained in
the notion of "transgressors, prevaricators," or any other denomination of guilt, by
which the word is rendered in our English Bible. It denotes rebels, in the highest
sense of the word; and, in a religious sense, such as wilfully, with premeditation,
disobey God from hatred of his authority. It is bold avowed rebellion, or revolt,
disowning the authority of the sovereign, and having for its end the overthrow of his

186. sovereignty. But it will be said, Who ever was so mad, as to avow or entertain a
design or hope of overthrowing the sovereignty of God? I say, numbers in all ages of
the world. Atheists, deists, idolaters, and secular powers that persecute revealed
religion. Many of these, indeed, retain the name of a god, or gods, as signifying, in
their conceptions, an animus mundi, or physical powers in the different parts of the
material world. But they all disown and oppose the God of the Old Testament, and
the ew; the God of Jews, and of Christians. And they endeavour what they can to
overthrow his authority, by uniting their efforts (in vain, but much in earnest) for
the extirpation of the Christian religion. If those, who, in the present day, are the
most forward, and most powerful, in this work of impiety, affect a partiality for the
Jews; it is because they hope to draw them in, to take part in the demolition of
Christianity; and, when that is effected, they expect to find in Judaism an easy
conquest. Whether any part, or what part, of the Jews may be drawn into this snare
of hell, we presume not to predict. We hope that the great majority of that race will
have too much discretion to be duped. This at least we know, that ultimately the
whole race of Israel, of the natural Israel, will return and seek Jehovah their God,
and the David their king. They shall return, and, sitting under his shadow, they will
flourish. The head of the faction leagued against us and them, against our God and
theirs, is the devil. If I am not much mistaken, he is more than once named in
Scripture ‫פשׁע‬ posheang, The Rebel, The Apostate. And the same participle in the
plural, which is the word here, denotes the followers of that chief, rebels, revolters.
See Bishop Horsley. This ninth verse, the close of Hosea's written prophesies, much
resembles those grave moral sayings, with which the Greek dramas are usually
closed by the chorus; but for the weightiness of the matter, and the simplicity,
brevity, and solemnity of easy unaffected diction, it is not to be equalled by any
thing that the Attic muse, in her soberest mood, produced.
REFLECTIO S.—1st, A door of hope is here opened for God's believing people. He
is not inexorable, if we will return: he waiteth to be gracious.
1. They are called upon and enjoined to come to him. O Israel, return unto the Lord,
who is still ready to receive the perishing but returning sinner, to pardon and save
him; and, though so long rejected, will not in that case refuse to be called thy God:
for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity, which then, now, and ever, was, is, and will be,
the cause of all our miseries; but when we see, feel, and lament it, and turn to God,
then shall not iniquity be our destruction.
2. Words are suggested to them, suitable to their state and condition. Take with you
words, and turn to the Lord; say unto him, Take away all iniquity, this being the
first great want of the penitent sinner's soul. His guilt lies upon him as a heavy
burden, which he longs to have removed; his corruptions thrust sore at him, and he
is without power of himself to help himself: earnestly, therefore, he prays for a sense
of God's pardoning love, to deliver him from the condemnation of sin, of all sin, as
blotted out through the blood of Jesus; and for power against iniquity, against every
iniquity, that it may be mortified and conquered by divine grace: and receive us
graciously; for we have no desert to plead, but the very reverse: or receive good;
accept us and our services as well-pleasing in Christ Jesus: or give good, every

187. blessing which we need, and the ability for that goodness which thou dost enjoin; for
from him alone cometh every good and perfect gift: so will we render the calves of
our lips, those sacrifices of praise which shall please the Lord better than a bullock
that hath horns and hoofs. Asshur shall not save us, we will not ride upon horses,
seeking to Assyria or Egypt for help; neither will we say any more to the work of
our hands, Ye are our gods, their idols being renounced and abhorred; and thus the
returning sinner, who in simplicity approaches a pardoning God, feels his heart
constrained to part with every idol; to renounce his most easily besetting sin; to
disclaim all dependence upon his own doings and duties, and every trust upon
creature help, that he may solely rest on the blood, the infinite merit, and the Spirit
of a Redeemer, and expect his whole salvation from the rich and unmerited grace of
God. For in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. It is God's great honour and glory,
that he doth not despise nor reject the prayer of the poor destitute penitent: nay,
though our distresses arise from our own folly and perverseness, he will not
therefore cast us out, if we penitently apply to him for mercy; but the more magnify
the wonders of his mercy in the depths of our misery, and in the views of our utter
unworthiness.
2nd, Great and precious are the promises recorded in this chapter, in answer to the
prayer of real penitence. God assures the penitent,
1. Of the removal of that wrath which they dreaded: mine anger is turned away
from him. There is no wrath in God against the sinner who returns to him through
Jesus Christ, and pleads the full atonement and infinite merit of his divine
Substitute.
2. I will love them freely. Sin, the cause of his displeasure, being now through the
Redeemer forgiven and blotted out, he can, consistently with his own glory, love
them; and he will do it freely, not in consideration of any desert in his believing
people, for they have none; but according to his own rich mercy and amazing love.
3. I will heal their backsliding; recover his returning people from their sinful
departures, apply the suitable medicines of grace to their wounds, and deliver them
from the power of all that iniquity against which they pray.
4. He will quicken, comfort, stablish, strengthen, settle them. I will be as the dew
unto Israel, refreshing the parched ground; and so do his Word and Spirit revive
the drooping heart of the poor dejected sinner. He shall grow as the lily, in the
beauty of a gracious profession, and the unsullied exemplariness of a good
conversation; and cast forth his roots as Lebanon, firm rooted on the rock Christ,
enabled to withstand every stormy blast of temptation and the united force of earth
and hell. Thus in the faithful believer the purity of the lily and the strength of the
cedar are united. His branches shall spread, the gospel-church being enlarged with
converts, and each believing soul increasing in the knowledge and love of God; and,
abounding in every good word and work, his beauty shall be as the olive-tree, whose
leaves are ever green; so pleasing in the beauty of holiness shall God's people
appear; and his smell as Lebanon, the graces that he exercises, and the acceptable

188. sacrifices that he offers, fragrant as the odoriferous trees which grew on that famed
mountain. They that dwell under his shadow shall return, under the shadow of
Jesus, which covers the genuine believer from the scorching heat of a fiery law, and
refreshes the soul of the weary; and to him shall they confidently fly for shelter and
consolation; they shall revive as the corn, which in the spring vegetates strongly
after the nipping blasts of winter's cold; so the saints of God rise from their
afflictions and temptations, fairer and stronger than before; and grow as the vine,
supported by the divine power, and fruitful in all good works, to the praise and
glory of God; and the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon, diffusing their
fragrance, and by their examples and gracious discourse serving as cordials to
revive the dejected and disconsolate.
3rdly, We have,
1. Penitent Ephraim's final determination. Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any
more with idols? with abhorrence casting them away, and purposing in the strength
of divine grace to return to them no more. Thus does the converted soul renounce,
with detestation, its once most beloved sins; not that we can fulfil the least of these
resolutions in our own natural strength, but by the grace of God, and by his love
shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost given unto us. o. It is God who
promises, that he will enable penitent returning Ephraim to speak thus; and he will
give him the ability to perform his resolutions.
2. God's gracious regard towards him. I have heard him, and observed him; heard
his prayers, and seen his tears, and noted all the gracious purposes which his heart
has formed; for God delights to behold the returning prodigal, and looks with
tenderest compassion and warmest affection on him that is poor and of a contrite
spirit, ready to answer and relieve all his complaints.
3. The Lord will bless, protect, and save him. I am like a green fir-tree. Under the
shadow of Jesus, his believing people sit with delight, safe from the sultry beams of
day, and protected from storm and rain, from every spiritual enemy, and from the
power of evil: from me is thy fruit found; all our spiritual blessings being derived
from him, and all our fruits of grace springing from the supplies ministered by him
the living root, are therefore to be ascribed entirely to his praise and glory.
4. The prophet closes with recommending these words to our most serious attention:
Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know
them? such will be inquisitive into the mind of God, and searching the scriptures
daily, shall be enlightened with the knowledge of the truth: for the ways of the Lord
are right, all his dispensations of providence and grace being consonant to the
strictest rules of eternal justice; and the more they are truly understood, the more
shall we acknowledge them to be so; and the just shall walk in them; obedient to his
will, submissive to his providences; but the transgressors shall fall therein; the same
word, which is a savour of life unto life to some, will prove the savour of death unto
death to others, through their disobedience to God's word, or their abuse of the
most glorious truths contained therein; the same doctrines of gospel-grace affording

189. the sweetest consolations, and suggesting to the faithful the strongest arguments for
all holy conversation, while the hypocrite and apostate suck from them deadly
poison, and make that which should have been for their help an occasion of falling.
SIMEO , "SPIRITUAL K OWLEDGE PECULIAR TO GOD’S PEOPLE
Hosea 14:9. Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he
shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in
them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
TO guide mankind into the way of peace, and to proclaim the glad tidings of
salvation to their souls, is certainly the most pleasant and honourable employment
in the world: but it is an employment accompanied, for the most part, with heavy
discouragements, and those peculiar to itself. If we labour to convey instruction in
any branch of science, we find our labours attended with some degree of success to
all: for though all make not the same proficiency, yet all reap some advantage. This
however is very far from being the case when we would impart spiritual knowledge:
some, blessed be God! receive benefit; but the generality of our hearers continue as
ignorant and blind as ever. Many indeed get somewhat of head-knowledge; but as to
any saving experience of the things we teach (and that alone is worthy the name of
knowledge), few, very few, attain to it. or is this unteachableness peculiar to the
present age: it is frequently represented in the Scriptures as a subject of
lamentation, not only to the prophets, but even to God himself. How often does God
call his people foolish and unwise; and, with a mixture of tenderness and
disappointment, say, “O that they were wise, and that they understood these things
[ ote: Deuteronomy 32:6; Deuteronomy 32:29.]!” Hence the inspired writers, as
though they had no expectation that all should profit from their instructions,
express themselves as looking for success only among those who were endued with
heavenly wisdom. Thus the Psalmist, after expatiating largely upon the goodness of
God, both in his works of providence and grace, concludes the psalm [ ote: Psalms
107.] with saying, “Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall
understand the loving-kindness of the Lord.” And in nearly the same terms the
Prophet Hosea, having preached no less than seventy years with very little effect,
and having comprised the principal and most important parts of the Divine
messages in a book, concludes the whole with these most affecting words; “Who is
wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for
the ways of the Lord are right; and the just shall walk in them; but the
transgressors shall fall therein.”
From these words we shall take occasion to shew,
I. Who they are that will understand divine things—
[The things which the prophet is speaking of in the former part of our text, are the
same which he afterwards calls “the ways of the Lord.” ow we might be led to
suppose that he refers to the sins against which he had guarded them, the duties he

190. had inculcated, the punishments he had denounced, and the blessings which he had
promised them in the name of God; seeing that these things are the general scope of
the whole book: but he limits his own words to one particular sense, and teaches us
to understand him as speaking, not so much of those ways wherein God had walked
towards them, as of the ways wherein they were to walk before him: and therefore
the things which the wise only can understand, are the things which pertain to vital
experimental religion: and indeed this best agrees with the preceding context; for
through the whole chapter, God delineates the experience of true penitents, and
shews, that when he shall come down as the dew upon their souls, they shall
resemble the olive in their beauty, the lily in their growth, the cedar in their
stability, the wines of Lebanon in their fragrancy, and the corn itself, or vine, in
their fruitfulness. These things, it must be confessed, surpass the comprehension of
the natural man; and therefore the prophet adds, “Who is wise, and he shall
understand these things; prudent, and he shall know them.”
But here we must attentively consider whom the prophet intends under the
description of the “wise and prudent?” Is it worldly wisdom and worldly prudence
of which he speaks in such high terms? Are these the great requisites for the right
understanding of spiritual matters? Surely not; this cannot be the meaning of the
prophet; for then he would directly oppose the whole tenour of the sacred writings.
Carnal wisdom and prudence are universally represented in the Scriptures as most
adverse to divine truth, and as the greatest obstacles to the attainment of spiritual
knowledge. Hear how St. Paul speaks of the wisdom and prudence of this world, in
1 Corinthians 1:18, and following verses; “The preaching of the cross is to them that
perish, foolishness; but unto us who are saved, it is the power of God; for it is
written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the
understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the
disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? for,
after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God
by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” Then, in ver. 26, he
appeals to their own experience and observation; “Ye see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are
called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise,
that no flesh should glory in his presence.” If any additional testimony were needed,
we might take that of our Lord himself, who not only affirmed the same truth, but
was exhilarated and comforted by the consideration of it, and made it the subject of
his devoutest thanksgiving: “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed
them unto babes.” God indeed has been pleased in all ages to enlighten and convert
some who were reputed wise; because he would shew to all the world, that his
truths, however despised, were consistent with the profoundest wisdom, and capable
of enlarging the most refined understanding: nevertheless, the wise and prudent of
this world have always been the foremost to reject the truth of God. one cavilled
more at our Lord’s discourses than the Scribes and Pharisees; nor were any more
contemptuous in their treatment of Paul than the philosophers at Athens. We may
be sure, therefore, that such are not the persons intended by the prophet in my text?

191. Who then are the wise? who are the prudent? First, they are those whose
understandings have been enlightened by the Holy Ghost. True “wisdom is from
above, and cometh down from the Father of lights.” We have not the smallest spark
of it by nature: on the contrary, we are blind; and folly is bound up in our hearts:
nor unless He, who first commanded light to shine out of darkness, shine into our
hearts, can we ever see one ray of that divine glory which shines in the person of
Jesus Christ. Hence they who are truly wise have learned that most humiliating
lesson, to “become fools, that they may be wise:” they have been deeply convinced
that they needed a divine illumination, and have obtained it in answer to their
prayers: to them has been fulfilled that blessed promise, “All thy children shall be
taught of God.” This therefore is the first part of the wise man’s character, that he
has been taught by the Holy Ghost. But a further mark whereby the wise and
prudent are to be distinguished is, that they view things in their proper colours; they
no longer “call good evil, and evil good; they no longer put bitter for sweet, and
sweet for bitter;” but they see things in the light of God’s word, and estimate every
thing, in a measure, according to the judgment of God respecting it: the body
appears to them of small value, when set in competition with the soul; nor do the
enjoyments or sufferings of this present world appear worthy to be compared with
the glory that shall ere long be revealed in them. Sin is now considered by them as a
most tremendous evil, more to be shunned than death itself: and a life of holiness
appears to be the perfection and happiness of man. But most of all, true wisdom and
prudence discover themselves in this, that they unite their influence to govern our
whole lives: “I Wisdom dwell with prudence,” says Solomon. They who are truly
enlightened do not rest satisfied with clear notions, but desire to have their practice
conformable to the convictions of their minds: they therefore take the word of God
as a light to their feet and a lantern to their paths: they strive to walk in the fear of
the Lord all the day long: this, I say, is the best evidence of their wisdom; for indeed
it is the very beginning of wisdom; as Solomon has observed, “The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom;” and as Job also says, “The fear of the Lord, that is
wisdom; and to depart from evil, that is understanding [ ote: Chap. 28:28.].”
We see then who are the wise and prudent. ot they who boast of their intellectual
powers, and abound with human learning, but those who are taught of God to judge
and act agreeably to the sacred oracles.
ow these persons shall have a true knowledge and understanding of divine things:
the ways of the Lord shall be clear to them from their own experience: they shall
know how delightful it is to live a life of faith on the Son of God: they shall
understand what it is to have fellowship with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ:
they shall enjoy that sweet security which they possess, who are instructed in the
Covenant of Grace, and who know the faithfulness of a promise-keeping God. These
indeed are secrets hid from the natural man; but we are assured, that they are, and
shall be, revealed unto those who are spiritual: David says, (and he himself had
experienced the truth of it,) “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and
he will shew them his covenant.”]
But this knowledge is peculiar to the persons above described; and this leads me to

192. shew you,
II. Why this knowledge is peculiar to them—
[Two reasons the prophet assigns: one taken from the peculiar excellence of the
things known, and the other from the use which different persons make of them.
The first reason is taken from the excellence of the things known—“Who is wise,
and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the
ways of the Lord are right.” There is a rectitude in a life of godliness; there is
something in it which is fit and proper in itself; something which is agreeable to the
mind and will of God; something which is calculated to promote the perfection and
happiness of man. The most refined reason cannot conceive any thing more fit and
becoming, than that He, whose loveliness and loving-kindness are infinite, should be
the supreme object of our affections; or that He who is omnipotent, immutable, and
eternal, should be honoured, trusted, and obeyed with our whole hearts. To a carnal
eye, that views only the Majesty of God, it might appear unsuitable, that the Deity
should condescend to commune with such sinful worms: but his condescension and
grace reflect a lustre on all his other attributes, and overwhelm us with wonder and
astonishment. As for the pleasantness and peace which are found in the ways of
religion, or the effect of it on our hearts and lives, we have the united testimony of
all who ever devoted themselves to it, that “in keeping of God’s commandments
there is great reward.” Indeed it is this excellency which helps the godly to know
and understand the things themselves; at least it helps to enlarge and perfect their
knowledge of them. The Holy Spirit first leads them to a life of godliness, and then
discovers to them how fit in itself, how honourable to God, and beneficial to man,
such a life is: and then this discovery confirms them in their ways: confirms them, I
say, beyond every thing in the world; so that though they began to walk in the
Lord’s ways from the fear of hell, and from a desire after heaven, they now walk in
his ways because they are right; they now see, that to “yield themselves a living
sacrifice to God is the most reasonable service” in the world: and so much is their
knowledge and understanding confirmed by this discovery of the rectitude and
excellency of God’s ways, that they would wish to walk in them, even though there
were no heaven to reward their obedience, nor any hell to punish their
disobedience: they can say with David, “I esteem thy commandments concerning all
things to be right, and I hate every false way;” that is, “My soul approves the way of
duty, therefore would I walk in it, and not for the sake of the reward: I hate sin, and
therefore would I avoid it to the uttermost, and not merely because I am afraid of
punishment: I would not be excused from my duty, if I might; nor would I practise
sin, though I might do it with impunity.” On the other hand, this very excellency is
one reason why none but the wise and prudent can know these things. A weak and
disordered eye cannot bear the light. This is true with respect to spiritual light, as
well as to the light of the sun. Our Lord says, that the ungodly “hate the light,
neither come to the light; they love darkness rather than light.” If we draw a picture
of morality, the amiableness of it will commend itself to them; but if we set before
them a life of godliness, they are dazzled by it; they are hurt with it; its splendour,
like that of the sun, overwhelms them: it is so high above them, that they cannot

193. comprehend it: not having a spiritual discernment, they account it foolishness: it
appears to them more like the ravings of enthusiasm, than the words of truth and
soberness: they know not how to annex a proper meaning to our words: being low
and carnal in their apprehensions, they cannot rise above a carnal sense of our
expressions. We see therefore, that the very excellency of these things is one reason
why the true knowledge of them is peculiar to the wise and prudent. Thus it was in
our Lord’s time: he told his hearers, that the reason they murmured at his words
was, that their apprehensions were carnal, whereas his words were spiritual: “Doth
this offend you? The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
At another time he said, “Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye
cannot hear my words.”
The other reason assigned by the prophet is taken from the use which different
persons make of spiritual truths: “The just,” he observes, “will walk in them, but
the transgressors will fall therein.”
ow the just and righteous, as far as they are acquainted with the ways of God, will
endeavour to walk in them: they desire to reduce every truth to practice, and wish
to have even “the thoughts of their hearts brought into captivity to the obedience of
Christ:” and their knowledge is wonderfully furthered and advanced by this
disposition: their apprehension is quickened by the previous disposition which they
feel to embrace the truth; and their memory is strengthened by the love which they
bear towards it, when once it is discovered. Hence unenlightened persons, who have
studied the Scriptures critically for many years, are often not half so well
acquainted with them as others of very inferior abilities, who, under the influence of
such a disposition, have studied them but a short time: to the one, the Bible is “a
sealed book;” its contents are dark, intricate, and unintelligible: to the other, it is
clear, perspicuous, and easy to be understood: the one meets with nothing but
difficulties and stumbling-blocks; the other has a clew to every truth contained in it.
And whence is it that the one knows the mysteries of the kingdom, while the other
sees nothing but dark and obscure parables? Our Lord enables us to solve this
difficulty; “If any man,” says he, “will do my will, he shall know of the doctrine,
whether it be of God;” his disposition and desire to do my will shall operate in such
a manner as greatly to facilitate the understanding of my word.
On the other hand, the indisposition which others feel towards the ways of God will
prevent the introduction of Divine knowledge into the soul: “the transgressors will
fall therein.” The pillar and the cloud by which God led the Israelites, may serve to
illustrate the operation of his word, by which he leads us: the cloud was a pillar of
fire to give light to the Israelites by night, while it was a cloud of darkness towards
the Egyptians, insomuch that they could not advance, but were obstructed in their
march by means of it. ow so it is with the word of God: to God’s people, it exhibits
a bright and luminous appearance, so that they can walk in the light of it: but to
transgressors, who do not desire above all things to be conformed to it, it is an
offence: to the former it is “a savour of life unto life;” but unto the latter it is “a
savour of death unto death:” yea, Christ himself, who is the sum and substance of
the Bible, is to the former “a sanctuary;” but to the latter “a snare and a gin, and a

194. stone of stumbling and a rock of offence,” by means of which “many are snared, and
taken, and fall,” to their more aggravated condemnation. Daily experience shews us
that the strictness and purity of God’s ways are an offence unto many: they take
occasion from what they hear to shew their enmity against God, more than ever they
would have done, if the light had not been thus set before them: Christ being set
forth, they make him only “a sign to be spoken against; and thus the thoughts of
their hearts are revealed.” And that this vile and wicked disposition blinds them
more than ever, we are sure from the testimony of our Lord: the Pharisees had shut
their hearts against conviction, and then were incensed against our Lord for
intimating that they were blind; “Are we blind also?” Upon which our Lord
answers them, “If ye were blind, ye would have no sin: but now ye say, We see;
therefore your sin remaineth.” It is evident therefore, that the very opposite uses
which different persons make of the ways of God, must necessarily, and of
themselves, as well as by Divine appointment, contribute greatly to enlighten the
one, while the others are confirmed in ignorance and unbelief.]
Let us now conclude with an application of the foregoing truths;
1. To those who are unacquainted with the truths and ways of God—
[Many, it is to be feared, there are among you, who are wise and prudent enough
with respect to the things of this world, but yet are miserably ignorant of the nature
and excellency of vital godliness. Your own consciences testify, that you know not
what it is to have God come down as the dew upon your souls: you know not what is
meant by that beauty, that growth, that stability comma; that fragrancy, and that
fruitfulness, which characterize the true Christian. ay, some perhaps, instead of
experiencing these things in their own souls, are hurt and offended by the very
mention of them: instead of judging the ways of the Lord to be right, they are ready
to condemn them as enthusiastic or righteous overmuch. To all such persons
therefore, whether they be only ignorant of these things, or have taken offence at
them, we must testify, that the ways of the Lord are right: whatever exception may
be taken against them, they will assuredly prove right in the issue: “Wisdom will be
justified of all her children.”We may challenge all the world to shew, that there is
any thing unreasonable in a life of devotedness to God, or that such a life is not
calculated to make us happy. Let me therefore entreat you to seek the knowledge of
these things: your not having the wisdom and learning of this world will be no
obstacle to your proficiency in divine knowledge: it is spiritual wisdom that you
want: seek wisdom therefore from Him who has promised to “give it liberally, and
without upbraiding:” seek prudence also; for “a prudent man,” says Solomon,
“foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on and are punished.”
But if you will not be persuaded, remember what God has said, “My people perish
for lack of knowledge;” and again, “They are a people of no understanding;
therefore He that made them will not have mercy on them, and He that formed them
will shew them no favour.” Such declarations as these fully prove how awful it is to
remain in ignorance: and therefore I entreat you all to improve your present
opportunities. “Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom; and, with all
your getting, get understanding.”]

195. 2. To those who know and walk in the ways of God—
[What do you owe to God, my Brethren, for the divine wisdom and prudence which
he has bestowed upon you! Surely you were once foolish and unwise, even as others;
and perhaps were ready to say of those who felt what you now experience, “Thou
art beside thyself: much attention to religion hath made thee mad.” Well, bless God
that your eyes are opened, and that, though ye were once blind, ye now see. Yet rest
not in what ye have attained: you know but little yet in comparison of what remains
to be known: there are heights and depths in divine things, which will be opened
more and more to your view to all eternity; and the promise is, that “you shall
know, if you follow on to know the Lord:” therefore seek to “grow in knowledge
and in grace: while others stumble at the word, and make the ways of God an
occasion of falling, do you be pressing forward; and let “your profiting appear unto
all men.” Pray more and more for “a spirit of wisdom and understanding;” and
endeavour, with truly Christian prudence, to act up to the convictions of your
conscience: so shall your knowledge and holiness advance each other, till you come
to that blessed place, where faith shall be turned into sight, and hope be
consuminated in enjoyment.]
BI, "Who is wise, and he shall understand these things?
Who is wise
There must be prudence and wisdom before we can understand Divine truths; there
must be an illumination within. A man may know whether he be prudent and wise by his
relishing of Divine truths, for otherwise he is not wise and prudent in these things which
are the main. The prophet now comes to shew and defend the equity of God’s ways, how
crooked soever they seem to flesh and blood. By “ways” he understandeth the whole law
and Gospel, the whole Word of God; which he calleth right, not only because they are
righteous in themselves, but because they reform whatsoever is amiss in us, and rectify
us; and work whatsoever is needful for our good and salvation. God’s ways are those
wherein He walks to us: the ways that He prescribes us to walk in; and our ways as they
are comformable to His. “The ways of the Lord are right”; as they agree to that which is
right or straight; and right likewise, because they lead directly to a right end. Observe
that man is not a prescriber of his own way, and that no creature’s will is a rule. The
Word of the Lord is every way perfect, and brings us to perfection. The best way to come
to a good and right end is to, take God’s ways. Shew the divers effects these right ways of
God have in two sorts of people, the godly and the wicked.
1. The just shall walk in them. They are just who give to every one their due, and give
God His due. They are such as have respect unto all God s commandments. They do
things to a good end, even the glory of God and the good of man. They desire to grow
in grace and they love the brethren. In the worst times, God will have always a people
that shall justify wisdom. Men must have spiritual life, and be just, before they can
walk. For our encouragement to walk in God’s ways, know that they are the most safe
ways of all; they are the most pleasant, and they are the cleanest and holiest. “The
transgressors shall fall therein.” The same word which is a word of life and salvation
to the godly is an occasion of sin and perdition unto the wicked. (R. Sibbes.)

196. Who are the truly wise and prudent?
I. The character of the persons who would give heed to the words of this prophecy, and
to these doctrines.
1. What does the Spirit mean by “wise”? Wisdom is described in the Book of
Proverbs. In it wisdom calls, reproves, and has a spirit to pour out, actions and
attributes which belong only to the very and eternal God. In it wisdom is said to be
the source of royal and judicial authority. It is described as eternal. It is said to have
a temple and sacrifices.. It promises to do that which the Almighty alone can do. It
threatens to execute judgment upon those who refuse to accept the proffered mercy.
Then who else can wisdom be but the Lord of Hosts? “Wise” must mean those who
make the knowledge of God their chief study and pursuit. They are wise whose heart,
mind, and soul are pervaded by wisdom.
2. What does the Spirit mean by prudent? The original means, an “understanding
one,” or “a sound reasoner.” So the real meaning of the expression differs
considerably from the apparent one. The Spirit means an individual who, by diligent
searching and study of God’s dispensations and providential visitations, arrives at
accurate conclusions with reference to the Almighty’s promises and threats; to the
consequences of obedience and disobedience; to the effects of impenitence and
repentance. A prudent man, in Scripture, but especially in this place, means a
knowing individual in the deep mysteries of God’s holy Word.
II. The nature of the doctrines taught. “The ways of the Lord are right.” This is an
expression for true religion which binds and knits man to God. True religion is
irresistible. What can be more “reasonable” than that He who made all things for
Himself should demand us to Himself? The ways of the Lord “are right,” with regard to
their conformity to the holy nature and will of God, with regard to the peace which they
confer.
III. The double use made of the ways of the Lord by different parties. “The just shall
walk in them: the transgressors shall fall therein.” We never make the Word of the Lord
our rule of life whereby to walk, until we are made righteous; until the sun of
righteousness hath shone in our hearts, and illumined our souls. But how fearful is the
doom of those who have despised the wisdom and prudence which the prophet
recommended for their knowledge and understanding. The same Being who helps
forward the just on their way, and removes every impediment from their path, becomes
the insurmountable obstruction in the way of transgressors. Many are the things in the
Word of God at which corrupt hearts are apt to stumble. The profoundness and
incomprehensibleness of some of its mysterious doctrines, instead of humbling the finite
mind and bringing it into subjection to the infinite, puffs up with pride and arrogance
the depraved and scanty reason, and makes it exalt itself against Him who is exalted
above all. The sanctity and strictness of God’s ways make many an unholy temper and
disposition revolt against making those ways their choice. (Moses Margoliouth, B. A.)
The right ways of the Lord
Here the prophet makes an application of his subject.
I. The import of this question of appeal.

197. 1. Vain men would fain be wise. The question implies that the number of the wise
and intelligent on these subjects was but small. And those who did not understand
such things as the prophet had delivered did not deserve the name of wise and
intelligent, however they might assume it to themselves.
I. The important declaration. “The ways of the Lord are right.” Need not prove this. It is
a first principle in religion. It is now before us as matter of reflection.
III. The different views of the ways of God which are entertained, and the different
effects produced thereby. The righteous, being taught of God, have a proper and
spiritual discernment of things. Transgressors, blinded by the god of the world, discern
no spiritual objects in their proper colours. (S. Knight, M. A.)
God’s ways made known unto the wise
The truth is, that men live the chief part of their lives without any knowledge of their
own separation from the Lord; they do not understand that sin separates the sinner from
his Maker.
I. Who are the wise?
1. They are willing hearers of God’s truth. Like Cornelius of old.
2. Humble receivers of truth. Like the jailer at Philippi.
3. They are careful thinkers. Like Mary, who pondered things in her heart. No others
but these can really be spoken of as wise.
II. God’s right ways. He has a right to demand obedience on our part to whatever He
may please to lay down. If we walk in His ways we shall have grace to support us, and
supply our various wants, we shall have guidance in the hour of difficulty, we shall have
our hearts prepared for the enjoyment of those pleasures which are at God’s right hand
for evermore. He will give us strength for the day, and grace unto the end. The ways of
the just shall be increasingly clear. “The wicked shall fall therein.” The ways are the
same, but men receive them and walk in them differently. That which is really good for
those who are anxious to serve God, we are told here, is turned into evil in the case of the
wicked. (H. Montagu Villiers, M. A.)
Walking or failing in God’s ways
In the worst times God will have always a people that shall justify wisdom. Some are
foolish; not caring for the ways of God, cavilling at them. But the “just shall walk in
them,” that is, they take a contrary course to the world that slights wisdom. In ill times,
let us labour to justify truth, both the truth of things to be believed and all just religious
courses.
1. Men must have spiritual life, and be just, before they can walk. Walking is an
action of life; there must be life before there can be walking. Unless there is first
spiritual life in the inward man there will not be a harmony and correspondency
betwixt a man and his ways.
2. Because a just man is also a prudent and wise man, he walks in God’s ways.
Spiritual wisdom and prudence lead to walking in obedience.

198. What things doth this walking in the ways of God imply?
1. Perspicuity. Those who walk in the ways of God discern those ways to be God’s
ways, and discern them aright.
2. Resolution to go on in those ways till he come to the end, though there be never so
much opposition.
How shall we know whether we go on in this way or not?
1. When earthly profits and pleasures seem little, and heaven and heavenly things
seem near.
2. It implies a uniform course of life.
3. He who would walk in God’s ways must be resolute against all opposition
whatsoever.
The use of this teaching may be—
1. Reprehension unto those who can talk, but not walk; that have tongues, but not
feet.
2. It is for instruction, to stir us up to walk in God’s ways.
3. It is for consolation. If this be our walk, then God will walk with us, and the angels
of God shall have charge of us, to keep us in all our ways. (R. Sibbes, D. D.)
The cause and cure of social evils
It cannot be said that our position as a nation is like that of Israel in those days when she
was tottering to her fall. But the same, or very similar, evils to those which proved the
ruin of Israel exist among us to a deplorable degree. Those who are familiar with the
prophecy will know what I mean when I say that evil is with us at the moth stage, not yet
at the lion stage (see chap. 5.). The moth stage is when evil keeps eating like a canker
into the vitals of a people, but where there is nothing, or very little, to attract attention;
no noise, nothing to alarm. But let the moth stage go on, let corruption increase among
the people, and presently the roar of a lion will be heard; there will be tumult and
commotion, there will be the outbreak of open rebellion against the powers that be, in
heaven and on earth too. Hosea has it for his great object throughout to show the cause
and the cure of all these evils. The cause is unfaithfulness to God, and the cure is
returning to Him with the whole heart. There is never more vigour in Hosea’s tone than
when, reminding of the sin of Jehovah, he says, “Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off!”
Has modern society no calf? Does it not make a god of gold? Is not that “covetousness
which is idolatry” a national vice? Israel had a calf at Dan as well as at Bethel. This may
be taken to represent the idol of natural law. People trust in the laws of evolution,
working through the struggle for existence to the survival of the fittest. The great effort,
of these people is to bring man and all that concerns him under the stern operation of
that law. What shall we do? A question much more easily asked than answered. There
are many reforms, and these by far the most needful and far-reaching in their result,
which can only be accomplished by the diffusion of a spirit of love; and this is only
possible by a general return of the people to the Lord their God. The humanitarian spirit
which is shown by not a few of those who make no profession of faith in God is much to
be commended; but it never can by its inherent force make way in society. To flow as a
fertilising stream through the waste places of society, it must take its rise in the high

199. mountains of Divine faith and hope and love. The nether springs of human generosity
must be fed by the upper springs of Divine grace. (J. Monro Gibson, D. D.)
NISBET, "THE MORAL OF HOSEA’S PROPHECIES
‘These things.’
Hosea 14:9
Hosea was a good man in a bad time. He let his light shine, and it shone the brighter
because of the darkness. He walked straight in crooked surroundings. He dared to be
right when all the world was wrong. The voice of the people did not shut his ears to the
voice of God. He listened to hear what God might say, and then he spoke without fear or
withholding. God needs prophets wherever there is wickedness.
I. The story of the Prodigal Son was repeated in Hosea’s time, with the difference that a
nation was the prodigal.—Israel had left the Father’s house, and now it was eating the
unsatisfying husks of sin. Hosea was the voice to call the prodigal home. It is true that
whole nations may sin and incur God’s punishment. Our own nation’s hope is in being
true to God. Her wealth and possessions cannot make her great; Israel was never richer
nor larger than in Hosea’s time. Our patriotism and our religion should unite in
impelling us to labour for the holiness of our country. Righteousness alone exalteth a
nation.
II. Foolish persons sometimes get ‘too big’ for religion.—They think they can get along
very well without it. Nations have adopted the same principle, scores of times, and have
surrendered their faith in God. Inevitably, of course, iniquity has followed infidelity in
the history of nations, as usually in the case of individuals. When we give up God it does
not take long to give up goodness. When a tide of unbelief sweeps over a people it is
usually followed by a wave of wickedness. And, as in the case of Israel, prosperity cannot
long abide with dissoluteness and debauchery. Drunken hands cannot hold either gold
or land. So poverty stalks after sin. The bad people soon become the poor people. It
never pays—to consider the subject on the lowest ground—to try to get along without
God. When religion departs, righteousness and prosperity follow.
III. The trouble with Israel, as with us, was one that Assyria or Egypt could not mend.—
There are some difficulties in which friends and neighbours can be of no help. The secret
of Israel’s distress was sin, which is likewise the secret of most everything that is wrong
in our life and in the world to-day. There is only one source of help for sin—God. The
remedy that alone can make whole and holy is the love and power of our offended
Father. Turning to God is the only way to better our condition and to secure happiness.
In His forgiveness is peace and prosperity. God alone can kelp in life’s greatest
difficulties.
Illustration
‘“Have you ever been here before?” demanded a magistrate of a prisoner. “Once, your

200. honour, and you let me go. Please let me off again.” But the second offence found no
mercy with the court, and the man was sent to jail. This is the world’s way. It may forgive
once, but there its forgiveness ends. But the mercy of God—how great it is! Again and
again He forgives the penitent sinner. His pity and tender mercy are beyond finding out.’
PULPIT, "Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall
know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the
transgressors shall far therein. This verse demands attention to all the prophet has
written, whether for warning, or reproof, or correction in righteousness, or
encouragement to piety and virtue, and evidently alludes to Deuteronomy 32:4. The
ways of the Lord are those he prescribes for them to walk in, as also the ways he takes in
guiding, guarding, and governing men. Like the dictates of the Word, so the
dispensations of his providence are to some the savor of life, to others the savor of death;
therefore it is added that, while the righteous walk therein, the wicked stumble in them
(comp. Deuteronomy 30:19, Deuteronomy 30:20).