Hos. ii. 19. 20. I will betroth thee unto me for ever ; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness : and thou shalt know the Lord.
THERE are various figures used in Scripture to represent the care which God will take of his people : but that which is the most endearing, the most honourable, and, perhaps I might add, the most frequent, of any, is a marriage covenant. The Old Testament abounds with expressions to this effect. Jeremiah has whole chapters addressed to the Church as an adulterous wife, and inviting her to be recon- ciled to her divine Husband. Hosea not only delivers messages in similar terms, but was actually com- manded to take an adulteress (i. e. either one who had been so, and was now penitent, or one who, though chaste at the time of his union with her, afterwards proved abandoned) to be his wife, in order that he might be a visible sign unto the Jewish nation. By this, Jehovah, having for a season put away his people for their unfaithfulness, here makes known to them his purpose to restore them yet again to his favour. Let us notice,
I. How God contemplates the restoration of his ancient people —
He considers himself as standing in the relation of a husband to them —
[He had chosen them, and set them apart for that enda
He acknowledges himself as still bearing that relation
to themb. And complains of their unfaithfulness to him in
terms peculiar to that relation0 And urges their return
to him by the consideration of their duty to him under that relation11.
Amongst men, such a restoration of the offending party would be inexpedient6 : but God both can and will do it in
a Ezek. xvi. 8. b Isai. liv. 5. c ver. 2 — 5.
d Jer. iii. 14. e Jer. iii. 1.