The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 38

Vars. 6, 7.-Goa's ,,,-cy. "For I will no more have l'nercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. Dut l will have mercy upon the house of ,ludah, and will save them by the Lord theiT God, and will not save them by bow nor by sword, nor bs battle, by horses, nor by horsemen." This passage leads us to 'cor,, template God's mercy. Mercy is a modification of goodness. God is good to all, but is only merciful to the suffering sinner. Mercy not only implies suffering, but sufferino- arising from sin. If suffering were a necessity springing out of the constitution of things, its removal or mitigation would be an act of justice rather than mercy. Earth is a sphere where God shows his mercy, for here is suffering springing from sin.' Here we have- I. MERCY WITHHELD FROM SOME. "For I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel ; but I will utterly take them away." "There are," says Bu1Toughs," three estates of the people, signified by the three children of Hosea: First, their scattered estate, and that was signified by Jezreel, the first son, and the story of that you have in 2 Kings xv. 9-19, where you may read their woeful seditions; for Zachariah reigned but six months, and then Shallum slew him, and reigned in his stead; and he reigned but one month. for Mena.hem came and smote Shall um and slew him, and reigned in his stead; ao here were nothing bot murders e.nd seditions amongst them; A scattered people, The scattered state of the people of Israel was their weak condition. signified by the daughter; and the history of that you have from ver. 16 of that chapter onwards, where, when Pol, the King of Assyria, came against Israel, Menahem yielded to him his demand, gave him a. thousand talents of silver to go from him, and laid a tax upon the people for it. Here they were brought into a. very low and weak condition. And afterwards this King of Assyria came to them a.gain, and carried part of them into captidty. The third child was Lo-a.mmi, and the history of the stat.e of the people signified by what you have in 2 Kings xviL 6, where they were fully carried a.way and wholly rejected for ever. And because they were a little before that time grown up to some strength more than formerly, therefore this last was a. sou." God now threatened to withhold mercy from Israel, and we know that when he did so the consequence wae national ruin. Where mercy has been abused the time comes when it is withheld, and the subjects are left abandoned of God. When mercy is withheld from nations they perish, from Churches they .decay, from families they sink to corruption, from individuals they a.re lost. "My Spirit shall not always strive with men;" "Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone." II. MERCY BESTOWED UPON OTHERS. "I will have mercy upon the house of Judah." This mercy was signally shown to Judah. "When the Assyrian armies had destroyed Samaria, and carried the ten tribes away into captivity, they ·proceeded to besiege Jerusalem ; but God had mercy on the house of Judah, and saved ,them ; they, were saved by the Lord their God immediately, and not by sword or 'bow.' When tbe ten tribes were carried into captivity, and their land was possessed by others, they being utterly ta.ken away, God had mercy on. the house of Judah and save~ ~~em, and after seventy years brought them back, not by might or power, but by the Spmt_ of the ~ord of hosts.'' And truly most signal was the mercy shown to Judah, when 1n one mght one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrian warriors were slain, • "The angel of .death spread his wio·gs on the blast, Ancl bre.ath'd in the face of the foe as he pass'd ; Aud the eyes of the sleepers wax'd deadly and chill, . Aud their hearts but once heav'd and for ever grew still I "And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide, But through it there roll'd not the breath of hie ptide1 Oil, I, 1-11.] THE BOOK OF' HOSE.,. 35