of results than oven Jeromioh's. 1. He denrw1ncerl Ephraim's sin, 'fhe nation l,a<l rojcctc<l Jehovah ae ite Husband, and gone a-whoring after other gods. So Hosea wa~ raised up on purpose to rebuke this unfaithfulness in all ite forms: the Baal-worship, the calf-worship, the ra.mpa.nt licentiousness, the revolt from the house of David, and the loa.ning for a.id upon heathen powers. 2. He :;rronmunced Ephraws do=. When ho began his ministry there were as yet no signs of ruin. Hosea's thunderbolts droppe,i at first out of II clear sky. It wae the time of Jeroboam II., when the kingdom waR iu the zenith of ite prosperity. But from first to last the prophet warned the ten tribes that their commonwealth would soon become II total wreck. They would be carried away into perpetual exile. God would set their kingdom aside on account of its sins, and not for seventy years only (as would be the case with Judah), but for ever. 3. ]le announced redeeming love in storef<YT' Ephravm. For, after all, Hosea was not a despairing pessilllist. lie spoke with confidence of the continuance of the Divine tender mercy towards Israel. The northern kingdom, as such, must perish; but, notwith- standing, Jehovah will yet have a. people for himself, who shall be gathered out of all the twelve tribes. So Hosea mingled with his menaces urgent calls to repentance. His appeals are surcharged with the tenderest pathos. It has been pointed out that he is the first of the Hebrew prophets who calls God's affection for his people by the name of "love;" the first clearly to forecast the Christian conception of the fatherhood of God, with the infinite tenderness implied in it. Hosea's message of grace was that God has still the heart of a husband towards Israel, and the heart of a father towards her children. IV. His BOOK. It is important to distinguish between a prophet's life-work and his contribution to Holy Scripture. 1. The arrangement. This book is by no means a. methodical record of Hosea's long ministry. It comprises only a few notes indicative of its burden and spirit. Yet the order of the book seems to be chronological. 'l'he first three chapters tell of the" word" given him before the fall of Jehu's house, and while the kingdom still seemed strong and flourishing. The other chapters reflect those vicissitudes of frightful anarchy and feeble misrule which characterized the fifty years that followed (see Pusey's Introduction, p. 5). 2. The speaker. It is worthy of notice that throughout the book the speaker is generally the Lord in his own person. 'l'he whole prophecy contemplates Israel's disobedience to "the first and great command- ment ; " and so the first personal pronouns usually refer to God himself. The Lamen- tations of Jeremiah is a sad book, but the Book of Hosea reverberates with even a profounder bass of sorrow; it is the saddest book of Holy Scripture, being in effect the lamentations of Jehovah. Hosea shows us the Divine heart as it were agitated with such conflicts of passion as a good man might experience whose conjugal and parental love had been cruelly blighted. 3. The style. Hosea is really a poem. It is so even in literary form; for only eh. i. and iii. are written in prose. The first three chapters constitute a symbolical introduction, while the body of the book (eh. iv.-xiv.) is a dirge, composed of mingled wailings, entreaties, threatenings, and promises. The style is abrn pt, sententious, laconic, and " rather to be called Hosea's sayings than Hosea's sermons" (Matthew Henry). But "a verse may find him who a sermon flies." 4. The profitableness of the book to us. Although Hosea was raised up primari1y for Israel, his prophecy has its place as an elect stone in the temple of Divine revelation. It teaches the politician that only "righteousness exalteth a nation." It reminds the moralist that a sound and pure ethics can rest only upon a foundation of living religion. It warns the Christian of the danger of harbouring idols within his heart. Hosea is by no means a shallow book. It is not for superficial minds. It requires-as its epilogue (eh. xiv. 9) suggests-very deep and diligent study.-C. J.
Vers. 2, 3.-Hosea's marriage ana propheti~ training. When this text is announced, -possibly some may say," What a shocking subject to preach about!" Well, it is shocking indeed. God intends it to be so. But to our feelings spiritual adultery should lie even more revolting than the literal whoredom which the Holy Spirit presents here as its prophetic symbol. And we must not forget that this painful passagu records " the beginning of the word of thu Lord by Hosea." I. HosE,1 's QONJV1AL I>lBBONOll'B, How are we to explain the nar~tive portions H~E~ 0 18 THE BOOK OF HOSEA. [OH, I, 1-11,