PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea
John James Given [1853-1943] · 418,632 words · 462 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 421
Ver. H.-Redemption from death. Different intorpretAtione are posaibie of this majestic language. According to one view, these words express the resolution of the righteous King and Ju<lge to let the powe.rs of death and destruction loose upon stposte.te Israel. According to nnother view, they express a determination…
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Ver. 8.-The life of the wicked. "Therefore they ehall be 11,1 the morning cloud, and as the enrly clew that pBl!eeth away, BI! the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of tho floor, encl BR the smoke out 0£ the chimney." This ver110 may be taken as a picture of a. human life unregenerate, out of vital sympathy w…
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Ver. 9.-Sin the destroyer, God the Restorer. " 0 Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help." L SIN THE DEBTBOYEB. "0 Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself." What connected with self does a man destroy? Not his mental facnlties, not his conscience, not his moral responsibilities. 'l'hese be cannot put …
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Eut wind will come-a wind of Jehovah, rising up from the desert, and hie fountain will dry UEt and hie spring become dried. He plunders the trea.1111rlee of all splendid veSBele" (Delitzech). "This and the following verse set forth the devastation and destruction of the kingdom of the ten tribes, which was to precod…
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epring ulterior mischief. l9rael reaped from thie seed of 11eU-wi11, sown in the hP.art of the constitution, an unforeseen harvest of evil a.nd woe. 3. A fatal step. One false step ie often decisive of e. whole future. It wa.e Ro with our first parente. Adam's sin determined the spiritual condition of the race. "In Ada…
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exe.ltiition. The egoh!tlc principle., however, had more direot manifestaUone, We have in the~e verses- I. GoD KNOWN IN ADVERSITY. "I did know thee In the wilderness In the land of great drought" (ver. 6). 1. God knew Israel,, in the great care he ~xcrcised over the nation,. leading it, providing for ite wants, ~ro…
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II. IBBAEL romBRED BY THE GRANTING TO mM OF ms OWN DF.BTRE. (Vers. 10-12.) Often nothing will please the sinner but to get his own way. God in wrath some- times grants the sinner his own way, When he gets it, he finds it 'to be to his hurt. Thie is illustrated in the case of Israel. 1. The d~ire for a king. "Thy judge…
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Vers. 15, 16.-Figure and fact. The end of the kingdom is first described in e:i:pressive figure; it is then foretold in plain terms, which give a fearful idea. of its horrors. I. THE FIGURE ANSWEBD TO THE FACTS. (Ver. 15.) Ephraim was as a fruitful tree among his brethren. But: I. The east wind would blight him. To t…
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draw near ,to God." As punishment we.a not from Y01J, when ye ~o t.o seek his favour, threatened ID ea.so of obstinate impenitonce, tre~suree or burnt otfermgs, only words with so moroy le promised on condition of :h1ch ye are to confess;" so also Kimchi: thorough rel?enta.nce. ll'or thou ha.at fallen He_ doe~ not r…
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render the oalVM of our lipl, Thie is more God of the orphan haa bowel& of t.endermt aceurRtely rendered, (1) "So will we render oorupass~on. To the presumod prnyer of young bullocks, even our lips." The word the pcmtcnt o.n e.uswer overflowing witb ,hillem, to render, or repay, is almost ~ercy i;i promised o.t _onc…
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dieeue is in the body, therefore he aeee the n_o.m~Iy, And hil IDlell u Lebanon. Thie word ' bee.I.' But God proceeds to perform s1~1fles the frngranee of this beautiful tree who.t ho ho.s promised; ho dooe not confine of righteousness. The smell of Lebanon is hie goodness to words, he oxhibits it in referred to in Can…
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t.he vino doee not always flourish, yet, not green, it is fruitless ; e.ml therefore it la like ihe oorn whiob after harvest ceases e.ddcd that God Will prove the Source of and is no more seen, its root rcme.ins, and fruitfulness, o:nd supply all that his people next yce.r grows green and yidds its fruit shall or ca…
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me.n, and loads us naturally to revert to the infancy of our ra.ce. 1. Eej,,re the Fall. When we picture to ourselves, as far as the Scripture record enables us the place of our first parents in the state of pristine innocence, we think of that lovely garden "planted eastward in Eden;" of its trees and shrubs; of its …
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h11.R m11rle np his mind, and it is doomed to fe.11. Blow e.fter blow 11 struck; the sturdy Afr.,k(·s arc red on bled; at length the root la giving way, the top l1 nodding, the tree topplcR to its fall. One creak, one crash, e.nrl the goodly tree is prostre.te; ruin spreads the grnnnd. Ere long the bre.nchcs wither …
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then, since Goel is waiting and willing to be ii;racioue, let not the sinner ignore that good- neBB, nor rcgarcl it with ineeneibility, nor trample underfoot his great mercy, nor treat his gracious uvertures aa the idle wind that paaeeth by; but allow himself to be led by the goodness of God to repentance. V. 'l'HE MO…
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Vers. 4---7.-Tbese verses describe the happy result of Israel's :penitence and tlie merciful respome to Israe'l's prayer. I. The pardon sought is secured, and that for the greatest sin-that of backsliding, and so for all minor trespBSSes. The acceptance prayed for is presently and plentifully vouchsafed. The dark st…
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In them, e.nd, like the morning dewdrops, they deck and Ol'l:lament the wide fielcl. or lrnme.nity; thus: "'rhy people shall be willing in the day of thy power in the beauties of holiness from the W'omb of the morning: thou ha.at the dew of thy youth." In like me.nner the Prophet Micah, speaking of the eonversion of th…
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spiritual fruitfulnl88 or virtues of all developed or revived. 3, God:, wise economy q/ tM dew. There is not a single drop of dew formed by the rude hand or chance or made in vain. Neither is thllre a ~hrub, or herb, or lenf, or flower, or blnde of graBB that does not collect aa much dew as is needed for its peculia…
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of Goel, deeply root.eel therein, Thus, with the flower of the lily, the believer has the root of the mountain or of the cedar tree, over which the winds of heaven have swept for centuries, He is fair as the one and firm as the other, for Christ dwells in his heart by faith; ho is rooted and grounded in love; he is roo…
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Vers. 8, 9.-A call to understanding. The former verse exhibits Ephraim bringing forth the fruits of repentance, abandoning idolatry for ever. God on his part hears his prayers, grants his petitions, and makes him the object of his paternal care and kind providence. Nor is that all; he becomes to him refreshment in ever…
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n&tlon to lie under ite doom during centuries and millenniums· but all the while the Divine heart le saying," 0 Israel, return I" How wonderful that the eternal God should ~ndescend ,to entreat men to repent I Bu~ "t~e Lord is good; his mercy is everlast- ing; and hlB truth endureth to all generations (Ps. c. 5). If, h…
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the Lord Jesus Christ, perpclue.l communion with t,he Holy Spirit, and persevering 1,rogross in the WBYB of holinel!ll. \Ve obey "the first Bnd 1:1rMt comm&ndmcnt," and fulfil the chief end of our being, when we choose Jehov&h BB the Po1'tlon of our souls, and give him our supreme and coneta.nt and most tender love, L…
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Bimilarly the grace of the Spirit "cometh not with observation" (Lnke xvii. 20). Jt work& on in secrecy, and ber,omes visible only in its beneficent results upon cbarncter o.nd life. 8. Abundant. In :1:'ale~tine t~e _dew is~ COf>iom as to compenRate t<, some extent for tho abeonce of ram. rhe Divine dew, 10 hke manner…
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manner, spiritual solidity and expansiveness are securod l1y atrikina our roots well down in~ the bidden life of faith, and p_raye_r, and com~u&ion with God, and fidelity to conscience. The moral robustness which is proof agamst whatever "tribulation or pcnmcuti~n ariseth because of the :Word" (Matt. xiii. 21) is al…
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publio teaching during his prolonged ministry, this closing verse in like manner sets before us the 9-uintessence of that written record. The conclusi~n "unspecialize~ the prophecy, as it were, and extracts the general moral lesson which uI1derlics it all" (Cheyne). Two main points are suggested here for our considerat…
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Lord's ways;" and these ways require to be walked in to be understood. The "wi!ld.om" which the prophet desideratee is not to be confounded wlth intellectual acutcneils; it is e. more.l qualification. Here, 11.11 in the Book of Pro\'erbe and indeed throughout a!l_Scripture, the" wise" are they whose so.ule havo been en…
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"return." Of tho~e addressed by Hosra, some had once .joined in Jehovah's worship, but he.rl forsaken 1t, while others had been taken as children to the alte.rs of irlols. These two cle.sses 11.re represented still. 'fhere are those who have never known Goo• to them he ie no more than the emperor of a distant land migh…
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nnd wh(l now sees thee a great way off, and hRs compaAsion on thee. When tho dove found no rest for her foot in a dark and desolate world, she returned to the ark ; nor had she to flutter outside it in vain. Noa.h saw her, and put out his l1Rnd and" took her in unto ~im into the ark." If Noah did that for a poor tired …
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it corn would not reach maturity, and olives and vineR and fi,,. trre~ wnnlrl vield nri fruit. A '?or~ terrible curse than that pronounced by Elijah in "'Ahab's reign c·ould nrit hnve been mfhcted. ChriRt Jesus foresaw the dearth of comfort and hope and 1mergv which would prevail in hia Church if his disciples were le…
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nppearanC'e nnd deeply buried in the ea1th, it must grow, hecnuse it lives. No Church cnn cxr~t the bl,•sseJness described in the text unless it is living, consisting of those who have more than a name to Jive, whose consciousness of God's presence and devotion 10 his service prove that they have 1ia.~sed from death…
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Vere. 1, 2.-0ounsels to the sinful. It was the office of the prophet to be faithful at once with man and with God. He was bound not to flatter man, not to conceal or palliate human sins. At the same time, it was his to declare the whole counsel of God as the Ruler of all men, the Judge of the obdurate, the Healer of th…
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Ver. 3.-" 'l'he fatherless findeth mercy." The sorrows of human life are many-, and some of them are, by us, largely inexplicable. The relation of father and son is a.n olJ\ ions provision of Divine wisdom and goodness, and beautifully symbolizes the relation betv.een God and his dependent children. Yettherearethe fath…
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the returning prodigal, so our heavenly }'ather is ever anxious and ready to console e.nd to restore the wnndering sinner who repents, confesses, and deplores his trana!ITessions, and casts himself upon Divine compassion. The assurances of this verse m~st have been comforting to Israel; they have been comforting to mu…
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nations rise from calamity and ch&stisemcnt, when public spirit springs into being, when the arts and industries of BOOiety are vigorous and proMperoua, when justice and mutual consideration prevail, when the poor are c&red for, when piety assumes practical and beneficent fonns,-there is life. 2. Growth. Steady and v…
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exercise of all the powers or the mind; sloth is or all things the most disastrous. On tho whole, to know what wise and great men have thought is an advant11"e to the religious inquirer ; a comparison of inspired with uninspired wisdom is likely to lead mon into the paths or true and Divine wisdom. II. DIVINE REVELATI…
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Ver. 8.-God and his reformed pwple. "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." Some think that this is a dialogistic parallel as follows: " Ephr1dm : What have I further to do with idols? God: I have answered an…
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of study. It is said that he made known hie "way" unto Moses, hie "works" unto tho children of Israel. The millions know something of hie works; only the" wi8c," tho "prudent," tho initiated, like Moses, understand his ways. Brother, come away from the study of details, asccnrl into the realm of principles. Men who und…
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i. 9). 2. TIie praJ/ef' of upri,qlitness. " Accept what le good "-for thna the eccond clau_~c must he re~rlered. The IRngu11ge le not th11t of self-righteousness, but of sincero motive. The penitent knows bis unworthineR11, but 111 coMclous e.t the earnc time that. hi6 p_rnycr no longer proceeds from feigned lipR (Pe. …
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naturo of the sun to shine, eo it iM the nature of God to love. ,J udgmen t iH his strange work, but love is the proper exncise of his being. 'fhe gospel is the manifestation of love. Salvation is the triumph of love. God rejoicu more over one Jost sheep brought back to him than over the ninety and nine that went not a…
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f.-11it found." 'l'he fir11t words a.re (as we understand them) Ephrnim'A; the lnAt wor,l1 nre God's. The cyrrcRs is an evergreen, but it does not borir fruit. Orn\, howepcr, will gh·c fruit to Ephraim M well as unf~d\ngnees. (1) Ephraim derives his fruit from God. His fru\t ie spiritual. It is on\:t a1 IHl al,ictcR in…
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rnnrB PAOR TRF.MR uon "The Lorn of the Lord toward tho The llfiAnAc of Divine ,Jml<>mont~ 151 Children of Israel" 94 The Affiiction of God'e WUhdrawal... 15:J The Kinglese State and Pdostlcs;; Divine Omniecienco 155 C~roh 91 Divine Withdrawal 155 H,,tnrning to God 9,'i Human Treachery 15.i Lo,·e to the Adulteres…
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CHAPTER xm. CHAPTER XI. Jnatiflt',11.tion of the Ways of God to A Rich Display of God's Mercy, Love, Man ... .•,••- _405 and Long-suffering 336 lllan'a Marvellous Pervuraity _and ~od's. The Ingratitude of Isra.el a11d its Restorative lllercy. ... , : 408 Punishment • • 338 The Humiliations '\Vl'Qugbt by tbe Si!l1…
539 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.