THE FRUITS OF GOD's FAVOUR.
Hos. xiv. 5 — 7. / 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 pecu- liar 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 cli- mate ; but in Judaea the metaphor would appear very signifi- canta. For some time after the creation, dew supplied the place of rainb; and, after rain was given, it still remained of great use. The Scriptures speak of it as an important bless- ing0 : they represent the withholding of it as a calamity and a curse d.]
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 secrete; but he gains access to their in- most souls f. He cheers and revives their fainting spirits, and thus he fulfils to them his own most gracious promise8—.]
a Where the rains are periodical, and the climate hot, the dews are more abundant.
b Gen. h. 6. c See Gen. xxvii. 28, 39. and Deut. xxxiii. 13.
d 2 Sam. i. 21.
e He comes not in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire, but in the small still voice. 1 Kings xix. 11, 12.
f 2 Cor. vi. 16. b Isai. Iviii. 11.