The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 219

JI. TEE OHARACTEB OF MANY WHO MAKE A PROFESSION OF RELIGION. 1. In this connection various ideas are suggested. 1. Hypocrisy. Ephraim bon..~ted that he was a nation sacred to Jehovah all the while that be addicted himself to the idolatry of Baal an,l .Ashtaroth. So, still, the man who sings at meeting and swears at market is a hypocri t<'. It is in vain to call out "Lord, Lord,'' if we do not the things which Christ says. Obedience in the letter is valueless, when divorced from obedience in the spirit. The bottles of profession a.re of no use if we do not pour into them the wine of principle. 2. Inconsistency. The people of the northern kingdom betrayed this in "mixing themselves" spiritually with the uncircumcised and unclean Gentiles. And, in our own day, how many there a.re whose fixed resolve seems to be to wear the Christian name, and at the same time take care not to part from the world ! 'l'beir business habits assume the form of an ingeniously adjusted compromise between the service of God and that of mammon. .And in social and domestic life they try to retain some relish for the pleasures of religion, even amidst the pursuit of amusements that are distinctively worldly. But it is a wretched thing to be "neither fish nor flesh" as regards character. lt is impossible to "run both with the bare and the bounds." Spiri- tually, each of us is really either one thing or the other, and we should seem to be what we are. 'l'he Lord's command is, " Be not conformed to this world " (Rom. xii. 2) ; " Come out from among them, and be ye separate" (2 Cor. vi. 17). 3. Half-heartedness. There are many who name Christ's Name by partaking of the Lord's Supper, whose religion, as reflected in their daily lives, seems little more than nominal. You cannot say that they are wicked sinners, but neither dare you call them saints. They are too good to ban, and too bad to bless; too good for hell, but not nearly good enough for heaven. 'l'heir character is one of insipid negative respectability. Then there are those also who make only a half-and-he.If profession-who .confess Christ's Name so far as to attend public w?rship, but stop short at the threshold of the ~ne~t-chamber, where the Lord's Supper 1s spread. Perhaps they think that only consc1eut10us scruples keep them back; but God, who knows the heart, may judge that it is rather ha\t-hcan,,d- ness. For, if Uhristirmity be true, it is a tremendous verity. And if it bQ right tv  218 THE BOOK OF HOSEA. [on. vn. l--16.