The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 257

<:xperieooe. Isr&el was an example of this truth. The people had forsaken God hBd t ~r~ed to idols, and were therefore sunk in the licentiousness of pagan wo~ship. '1 be1r only hope of moral restoration and of future blessedness lay in the fulfilment of the promise," Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee." 'l'he converse of our first ~tatement is equally true. The habitual consciousness that God is near cannot but tzive ~implicity, dignity, reverence, and holiness to life. This was the source of Abraham's magnanimity, of Joseph's purity, of Moses' dignity, of Daniel's heroism. " They endured as seeing him who is invisible." Our hope is to be found in the same source: "This is life eternal, that they might know thee," etc. l. 'l'HE MEANS OF KNOWING GoD. They can be seen in the experience of Jacob who first won for himself the name" Isr~el." ~- Reper:-tance is the first step in such knowledge. No one can see goodness while gazmg on sm, or know God while absorbed in self. A moral change, not a mental, is required of us as of Israel. The teachinu of Christ was not too abstruse for comprehension, but it was too Divine for thos: absorbed in earthliness. His foes "loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." Paul was surrounded by men of culture, yet declared "the natural man receivet.h not the things of God . . . neither can he know them, for they are spirituully discerned." John knew the advantages of intelligent study, but he said " He that lovetl, not knoweth not God." The change from sin to holiness involves, i~ the spiritual realm, the change from ignorance to knowledge. Exhibit this in the ,ision Jacob had at Mahanaim. He knew God's Name after he had repented of his old sin against Esau, and of the habitual subtlety it revealed. Then as Israel he could say, "My God, I know thee." 2. Prayer is the outcry of repentance. "Israel shall cry to me." We know a man by fellowship with him, and thus we may know God; and he who speaks to God oftenest knows him best. How infinite the con- descension that permits this, the love that encourages it! None can make God known to others unless they know him themselves. Hence the special need of prayer on the part of all who speak of him. The Divine teachers of the race have been those who have come from the presence of the Eternal. Illustrations found in the great lawgiver, who had spoken to God in M.idian and on Sinai; in David, wbose psalms show the agony of his prayer, the intensity of his worship; in the prophets, who saw visions of God; in the apostles, who were prepared for service by being with Jesus, and not by rnbbinical culture; in reformers and others, whose spiritual power has been pro- portionate to their intimacy with God. If all professing Christians could say, "My God, we know thee,'' a human priesthood would be abolished, and the scepticism of the world would be paralyzed. It is true of this knowledge, as of all the higher blessings, "He that asketli receiveth." II. THE JOYS OF KNOWING GoD. 1. The sense of personal relationship to him. "My God." He who can say, "My God," implies such blessings as these: (1) Thou art the Pardoner of my sin ; e.g. David in Ps. li. (2) The Bearer of my burdens: Esther and Nehemiah. (3) The Source of my strength: Paul, "I can do all things," etc. (4) The Place of my safety: Noah and Elijah. (5) 'l'he Spring of my hope: John in Patmos. (6) The Crowner of my life: Paul," Henceforth there is laid up," etc. 2. The sense of saintly association. "Israel shall cry." In this cry the people of Hosea's time were associated with their forefathers. The God of their fathers was their God. lie is the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever. Hence the helpfulness of the Scripture histories, which tell us what God has been to others. Dwell on the advantao-ts of the history and the memories of the past. Show how the saints were accusto~ed to strengthen themselves for their present need by recalling former help. David recalled his experience as a shepherd; the exiles their former glory; the Jews their early deliverances, etc. Christian fellowship enlarges the possibilities of this. The experience of one is enriched by the memories of others. The joy of heaven will consist partly in the remembracces the redeemed have of _the loving-kindness of God. ABsociatiuns with the saintly are the noblest and most abiding. III. TRE llESPON>IlllLITIEB OF KNOWING GoD. 'l'hcy who know him are called upon: 1. To wait on him in lowly Frayer. If he be God, he demands our constant humage. 2. To 6trve him with loyal heart, with no reserve of thought, or wish, or l ),·c. 3. To learn of him by wnstant thought. To one who knows him he sayH, " l 11 JI guide the~ wi~b mine eye." lfo; glance, his whisper, is e(loug4 for 1.111, ¾. f11 cu. vrm 1-14.] 'l'IIE BOOK OF HOSEA. 257