THE FOURTEENTH SERMON.
Who is wise, and he shall understand these thinr/s ? pi-udent, and he shall know them / for the ways of the Lord arc equal, the just sJiall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein. — Hos. XIV. 9.
These words seal up the whole prophecy ; for the prophet, imme- diately before prophesying of the capti^ity, discovers to them at length their sins, as we heard, their idolatry, adding new idols to their former idols, Baal to the calves. The princes removed the bounds, old orders and laws ; the prophets they were fools, and did not see the judgments of God hang- ing over their heads ; and none of them all could see their ' grey hairs,' Hosea vii. 9, that is, the signs of their own ruin. After which, out of a Christian love, care, and conscience of his duty, by direction of the Spirit of God, he prescribes an excellent way how they should carry themselves, by returning to the Lord. ' Take words unto yourselves,' renounce all false confidence in Asshur, and all domestic helps at home, horses and the like, and fly to God as your best sanctuary. Then he shews what God will do to them, answer all the desires he had put into their hearts. ' I will heal their backslidings, and love them freely,' &c.
Now, because these were gi-eat matters of great consequence, to make them either happy in the observing them, or miserable in neglecting them, you see how he shuts up all in a most weighty close. ' Who is wise, and he shall understand these things ? prudent, and he shall Imow them ? for the ways of the Lord are equal,' &c.
HOSEA XIV. 9.j THE RETURNING BACKSLIDER. 411
Wherein the scope of the prophet is to stir up a holy regard of what hath been spoken. He would not have all lost for want of attention or applica- tion ; and therefore he here stirs them up to a holy use of all, which stir- ring up is excellently and figin-atively clothed with an epiphonemy, or acclamation, ' Who is wise, and he shall understand these things ?' &c. He doth not say, Let men understand these things, but * Who is wise, and who is pnident ? ' let them consider of these things ; and then the exhortation is backed with many reasons.
1. It is wisdom and prudence to regard these things I have spoken.
* Who is tvise ? and who is jn-iident ? '
2. And then again, thei/ are the ways of God that are spoken of, and they are straight and equal in themselves. ' For the ways,' &c.
3. And they lead to happiness directly, without winding and turiviny. A man is sure to attain his journey's end in them ; and if they will take ex- ample of those who only ai'e exemplar}^ to them, he tells them, ' the just shall walk in them.' They shall not walk alone ; they shall have the com- pany of ' a cloud of witnesses,' who prosper and walk on cheerfully in this way, and attain happiness in the end.
4. Then the last argument is taken from the contrary end of all them ivho cavil and snarl at God's ivays and truth, that think themselves witty to pick quarrels with somewhat in God's book, as it is a common fashion now-a- days to have a divinit}^ of men's own. ' Transgi'essors,' such as are oppo- site to God's ways, ' they shall fall in tliese ways ;' that is, they take offence at these ways, and so fall into sin, and by falHng into sin, fall into misery, till at last they fall into hell, which is the end of all quan-ellers with divine truths. They fall and dash themselves upon them, and so eternally perish.
Now, these are strong and forcible reasons to enforce care and attention of what hath been spoken. It is ' wisdom and prudence ;' and ' the ways of the Lord' here ' are straight,' and then ' all godly people walk in them,'
* and those that stumble at them are sure to perish,' and do perish in them ; not that they are a cause of their perishing, but by reason of the mahce of men, finding fault and picking quarrels with them, they fall first into sin, and then into misery. Thus we have the scope of the words.
' Who is wise, and he shall understand these things.'
Fii-st of all, we must know that the prophet here in this figurative speech makes a kind of exclamation, ' Who is wise ! ' He doth, as it were, secretly mourn at the apostasy and fewness of those that be truly wise ; as if he had said, I have given you many directions, and shewed you what sins lead to destruction ; I have shewed what course ye are to take, and the bounty of God to those that return ; but ' who is wise and prudent to regard these things ? '
In the words, therefore, in regard of the speaker, the prophet, we may observe this ere we come particularly to them, the character of a holy, mer- ciful, gracious, and icise wan ; that when he hath spoken things to excellent purpose, he would not have those things lost, but out of mercy and com- passion, mingled with a great deal of heavenly wisdom, would have the best fruit of all he hath spoken. "Wliich was the custom of the men of God in the Scriptures, the Spirit of God leading them to strike the nail home ; when they taught truths, to lay the word close upon the conscience, as much as they could. What is the whole book of Deuteronomy, as the word signitieth,* but a repeating of the former laws ? I\Ioses thought all to * Deuterouoiuy, i.e., Aivrtfcvo/Miov = the Law again or repeated. — G.