Ver. 6.-Mercy denied. The iniquity of Israel surpassed that of the sister kingdom of Judah. Hence the awful message of the Lord to the former, contrasting with the declaration of favour made towards the latter. There is perhaps nothing more terrible in the whole of revelation tb~the name symbolically given to the daughter of Hosea, regarded as representing the i, olatrous and rebellious nation of Israel-the Un pitied ! I. HERE IS A WITNESS TO T E ENORMITY OF HUMAN SIN. Men sometimes imagine that God is indifferent to the conduct of man. But the truth is that while be is merciful, while his mercy endureth for ever, he is not on this account an unobservant Governor. If he were not righteous, his mercy would be unmeaning. If he forgets to be gracious, if he lays aside bis compassion, that which provokes him to such actiou must be iniquity of the deepest dye. II. THIS WITNESS IR ALL THE MORE STRIKING BECAUSE OF Goo's MERCIFUL NATURE AND DIBl'OSITION. That some kings show no pity to their enemies, to rebels and traitors, seems only natural; their character is stern and unforgiving. But this is far from being the co.se with Jehovah. All Scripture concurs in exhibiting hiru as rich in mercy, as delighting in mercy, as unfailing in mercy. If, tlien, he in any case refuses or withholds mercy, his most glorious attribute seems to be in abeyance. He does not refuse mercy for his own pleasure, but only when its exercise would lead to anarchy and encourage rebellion. III. THE REFUSAL OF MERCY IS NOT IRBEVOCABT,E. It is not for us to question the consistency of contiguous representations of the Divine government and purposes. We take them as we find them. And we observe that even when denunciations so terrible as that of the text have been uttered, after all they are followed by promises ot· deliverance and blessing. IV. ACCORDINGLY THE THREATS OF Goo SHOULD NOT LEAD THE SlliNER TO DESP.HR, DUT RATHER To REPENTANCE. 'l'o some temperaments especially, language like that of the text is productive of great depression as well as of seriou_s concern. Let it, how- ever, ·oe remembered that to dread the Divine displeasure 1s one step towards tbe Divine farnur. It is the insensible and impenitent who are working out their own destruction ; whilst the man who trembles at God's word is in the way for blessing. 'l'hey who deservo no mercy may nevertheless obtain mercy; but on_ly by sincere ,;ontritkn, unrestrained confession, deep repentance, and a confideoce m the Divine gracti, which ia warrirnted by the gospel of Jesus Christ,-T. ,'lO THE BOOK OF HOSEA.
Ver. 7.-f!al_wti<m, not oj'ffl,(J,n, but of <Jod. It may well be that thcro wl\B in this wrsc a pred1ct1on of one oertain definite interposition of the Lord on behalf of Judah. Whilst the north~rn kingdom should be forsaken, and consequently couqnered aud <le~lat~, Judah, 1t was foretold, should experience a very signal instance of Divine delivering mercy. The destruction of the host of Sennacherib, when " The angel of death spread hie wings on the blast, And breath'd in the face of the foe as he paes'd," ~xactly corresponds with the language of this verse. Human power and bravery were nnt the means of the deliverance of Jerusalem, this was dno to the iutorvcutiou of 11 l li ,-ine and omnipot~nt hand. It is well that pious minds should reco,.nizo tho wisdom and the power of God in every work of deliverance, and especially it~ the unparalleled iutcrposition wrought on behalf of our humanity by Jesus Christ our Saviour. I. MAl','S SALVATIOS IS NOT WROUGHT BY HUMAN MIGHT. 1. History records tho insufficiency, the Yanity, of all human endeavours to effect the deliverance of man from sin. Rul_t"rs by le~isla~ion,_ warriors by arms, philosophers by systems of thought, poets by emotion and 1magmat1on, have all essayed the reformation, the moral eleva- tion, of the race; and all who have tried have failed. The wisdom of the world bas been proved folly, and its strength weakness. 2. The explanation of this failure is not far to _seek. All human means are powerless in affecting the government of God; whatever lS to affect that must of necessity originate with the Divine Gove·rnor him- felf. A.nd all human means fail to reach the root of the mischief in man's spiritual nature. They deal with the surface, but do not penetrate to the centre; they do not reach the heart of the individual; they do not, consequently, prove able·to reconstitute societv. II. .SALVATION IS FBOM THE LORD OUR Goo, AND FROM HIM ONLY. 1. It m_ight be presumed that such is the case, from the infinity of the Divine resources. God is not baffled in the execution of his purposes, as men constantly are, by insufficient power. On the one hand, the nature of his creatures is accessible to him, and is known per- fectly by him ; on the other hand, the means of affecting that nature are all at his disposal. 2. We observe the supreme proof of this in the gospel of Jesus Christ. (1) The Saviour himself was from God. (2) The Spirit, who effects the internal change, is the Spirit of God. (3) The gospel itself is" the glorious gospel of the blessed God." Thus it is apparent that the whole provision for man's redemption and recovery is nothing less than Divine:· A.rPLibATION. This declaration is especially encouragini; to those who feel pro- foundly at once their own need of salvation and the insufficiency of all human pro- vision; a Divine interposition satisfies all the conditions and necessitieiil of the sinner's case.-T.