the" bow, the Aword, nnd the battle." As a rule, bad M human nature is, it v;ill not intentionally injure the unquestionably good and unoffending. It is the moral powerof goodness tbnt can alone break" the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth.'' III. 'l.'HEY MIOHT ENJOY A PERFE0T SP:CURITY. " Will make them to lie down safely." Every man might have God as his Refnge and Strength, as his Shield and Buckler. "The Name of Lhe Lord is a strong tower: the righteous shall flee thereto and be safe.''' " Who shall harm you, if ye he followers of that which is good?" "If God be for us who can be against us?" . What is the true safet.v? Not the mere safety of the hod/ 'l'he body i~ not the man; it is his-not him. The body may be in safety when the soul is in peril, and it might be in, danger when the soul is secure. Soul-safety is the safety of the man; and soul-safety means protection from all that is unholy in thought, impure in feeling, unrighteous in volition. Blessed is the man that feels his spirit safe I IV. 'l'HEY MIGHT ENJOY VITAJ, UNION WITH THE EVERLASTING FOUNTAilil' OF GOOD:)IESS, "I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, aJ1d, in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies." Here is a union! the closest union., one represented by that of a husband and wife; a union formed by immutable ties, , Righteousness, judgment, loving-kindness, faithfulness,-who can break these bonds? "The mountains shall depart, the hills be removed, but my kind- ness shall not depart from tliee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed." CONCLUSION, Learn the supreme importance of moral goodness to man. With godliness man has everything. All things are his, and he is Christ's, and Christ is God's,-::-D, T. Vers. 21.,:...23.-God and hi; universe. "And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear J ezreel. And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy npon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God." As the word" Jezreel" literally means "seed of Gop," I shall take it in its etymological sense, and regard it as denoting the good in every age and land. Our subject is God and his universe, and the text contains (hree facts. • I. That the operations of the universe are UNDER THE WISE DIRECTION OF THE GRE<I.T GoD. The universe is represented as in action. The "heaveu," the "earth," the "wine," the" corn," and" Jez reel" are all acting. There is nothing stationary. Creation is like a flowing river,.there is not a particle at rest. It is our happiness, however, to know that all its aotivities are presided over by God. It is not a self-acting machine ; the great machinist is ever in it and with it. The fact· of his superintendence serves several useful purposes. 1. To accountfO'T' the unbroken order of nature. Why does not the ocean overflow its boundaries, or the massive globes swerve from their orbits? God, is over all. 2. To impress us with the sanctity of nature. God is in all-the lustre of the light, _the beauty of the lovely, the majesty of the grand, the support of the feeble, the might of the strong. 3. To inspire with reverence for God:s greatness. How great must he be, etc. I II. That the operations of the universe are GENERALLY 0ONDUCTED Ul'ON THE MEDIATORY PRINCIPLE. "I _will hear the hee.vens," etc. One part of nature is here represented as acting upon another, in order to give a certain result. In the material as well as'the spiritual world, God works out his plans by secondary instrumentalities. Look at this in relation to man. 1. In relation to him as a material being. "\Vbence came these corporeal frames? how are they sustained? by what means are they ~roken up? A.ll through secondary means. 2. In relation to him as a spiritual being. How is he instructed, converted, sanctified? Not directly, hut mediatively. III. '!'hat the operations of the universe are MERCIFULLY SUBORDINATED TO THE INTERESTS OF THE GOOD. "Jezreel," the seed of God, i.e. good men, are spoken of as receiving three things. 1. The blessing sought. Jezreel ·prayed, and all nature is represented as eonveying its prayers to God. '!'he universe labours for the good. ~- The multiplication of their number. "I will ·say to them," etc. The strongest desire of the truly good is to make others good. 3. The heightening of the sympathy beticeen 80 THE BOOK OF HOSEA. [on. ,II. 1-23.
them rmd their God. "I will ~ay to them which were not my people" etc. What R privilege is this !-D. T. '