The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 216

Chnrcb-are in this ijad cOlldition of spiritual -declensiqu, e.Ull Jiardly conscious o( HI Grey hairs arc here and there upon them, and they know it not, The dwelling-place of ~od is not so love!>', nor the te.bernacles of his grace so amiable, as they once were; there 1s not the same relish for the Word of God as there once was ; p~ayer is not so fcrve;o.t or i;o frequent ns formerly; praises are not so hearty nor so heavenly as w)len, the Christian life began ;--all such circumstances give evidence that grey hairs are here'and there upon persons in the condition indicated, whether thQY perceive them or tiot. But we cannot tstay to dwell on the nature 01 spiritual decay anJ the marks thereof; we may, however, briefly sum them up. They a.re such as the iollowing: diminished appreci,ation of the Divine \Vorel, without se1r-application of it or growth in the knowledge of it; restrainiu"' prayer before God, without supplication for one's self on special occasions .·and unde~ particulM circumstances, and without earnest intercession for others ; less love to Christ and less leaning on him; less hatred o( sin and less es~cem for the r)ghteou11; 3. It is uf prime importance to ascertain the causes of decay. What caused the nation~l decay of Israel ? There w~ th_e prevalence of lust: " They are .all a~ul~rers, as. an. oven heated by the baker; this was one of the causes of Israel1s declme. Another Cil,-use was their intercourse with the ungodly: "Ephraim, he hath,m.ixed hirn,self among.the people." These may be taken as specimens of the causes which lir9ught about the national decline of Israel. When lust prevailed, or when they associated freely among the nations instead of dwelling alone, grey hairs appeared here and there upon them. So is it with spiritual decay in the case of Christians'. When sensual luet, or lus(for gold, or for pleasure, or for praise, overmasters a follower of Christ, decay has·set in, grey hai, s show themselves here and there upon him. Again, when worldly society is eagerly ~ouglit and keenly relished by Christians, forgetful tlmt, like Israel of old, th'ey are a JJeculiar people, as our Lord has said," Ye are not of the world, as I am not· of the world," then spiritual affections are decaying, grey hairs are here and there upon them. 4. The most surprising circumstance of all is the ignorance of those who are • sufferers by this process of decay. Israel did not know because he did not wish to know, as if by ignoring it he could conceal it from himselr or others. "He knoweth not," says Pusey," the tokens of decay in himself, but jiides them from himself; he knoweLh not God, who is the Author of them; he knoweth not the cause of them, his sins; be knoweth not the end and object of thei:n, his conversion; he knoweth. not what, since he knoweth not any of these things, will be the issue of them, his destruc- tion." Somehow thus it is with spiritual decay. Most p!lrsons dislike the' idea of growing old, or even of being thought old. 'l'hey care not to notice themsel Y:es,. 1and they conceal from others as much as po.ssible, the marks of age and the progress of decay. All the while grey hairs multiply, and old age creeps on apace, almost il:Iiper- ceptibly and without being observed, so that in a certain sense ma::iy persons become old without fully realizing the fact. Likewise in the decay of life in a Christian's souJ, it goes on secretly, and little, if at all, not,iced, like the silent advance of. age_ ~ith jts gradually increasing decrepitude and decay; ~r~y_hairs are here and,. t?ere upon ~il;n, and he knows it not. Let us beware of the ms1d1ous approach of spmtua~ decay, and be on our guard against it. . ... •· '. IV. P&DE RAISES A GREAT BARRIER llETWEEN THE SOUL AND GoD. Notwithstanding Israel's decline, pride attended them still; it remained unsubdued; it prevented th.eir return to God; it stood in the way of their seeking him. Or, if the other translation he preferred, and if it be granted that Israel's pride was humbled by the calamities t.hat had come upon them, those calamities had not been sanctified, and so they retur~,~a not to nor sou;:ht the Lord. For all this, and in spite of all God's merciful dealings with them, they persisted in their impenitence and Btood out against the Most Hi 9h. God had showu them his loving-kindness, and again he had visited them with seyef'e corrections• he had almost exhausted the resources of his grace; and yet they wer~ ip no way bettered, but rather grew worse. So is it with many. God's gracious dlialirlgs fail to draw thew to God; his afflictive dispensations too often· drive them away fr~m God, And yet, when he sends affliction, it is a loud call on men, not only t.o seek relief from God but also to seek God himself, his face and favour-free as well as. that help which he 'alone can give; whereas obs~inate. iwpenitencc ·.f~ustrates the. c;lispcnsntio~s of l'rovideuce, l\n_cl afilictio11s up.sanctified 1D. no way l:>etter ,:nen or .. ~mprove theu: lilate. OH. Vll, 1-16.] 'rfIE BOOK OF HOSEA. 21G