The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 260

11bother examplo. So we.a ThomM Cromwell, of whom Macaulay says "No one ever made a more unscrupulous use of the legislative power for the destmcti~n of his foes • " !Ind it wos by these means he we.II himself destroyed. 3, Oomnnm r,roverbs illustrdt6 the text. "Ashes always fly in the face of him who throws them.' "Harm watch h11rni catch,'' etc. Thus, even in outward circumstances, the words of the text hav; been fulfilled; but how much more t.erribly in that inward retribution which is veiled even from the victim's dearest friends I The anxiety that fears detection, the loss of solf-respect, the horror of being alone, the failure of hope, the growing dread of the future, have caused many a man, even on earth, to know what it is to "reap the whirlwind." But observe finally- III. THAT THIS LAW WILL ULTIMATELY PROOLAIH ITSELJI' WITH UNMISTAKABLE DISTINCTNESS. Sin's retribution is not always seen here. Human Jaws may be power- less to reach a recognized offender. Social mOYe.lity may be too degraded to rebuke his sin. For these e.nd other reasons much is necessarily left to the future when ~rooked things will be made straight; Perhaps it is well that it should be so.' It is for our profit that we should walk by faith, and not by sight. God does not append instant pain to every act of disobedience. He deals with us as men., not as children. To do right not because it pays, but because Jt is right, is the obedience of the wise man, not that of the petted child; and it lis the higher God. ever seeks. Hence he has contented himself with giving a few elgns that his La.w cannot be broken with impunity 1nd these point us on to the da.y when righteousness a.nd truth shall be crowned, and wrong _a.nd falsehood cursed amidst the" Amens" of the universe. In such events a.s those to-which ·we have referred, we see a few ripening ears which tell us what the harvest' will be when those who have· sown the wind shall reap the whirlwind. This experience, so far as it refers to the futnre retribution, denotes: 1. That it is sudden in its arrival. (See Matt. xxiv. 37-39; Prov. xxix. 1; 1 Thess; v. 2;) 2. Tha;t it is resistless in its· approach. Who can arrest the whirlwind (see Ps. i. 4; Rev. vi. 15)? 3. That it is terrible in its effects. • Com1>a.re the destruction of inel:L's works by a. whirl- wind, with the desolation of the worldling's hopes by death. CoNOLUBION. 1: ,show how ·close is the connection between this life and the life to come. That is the reaping •of this· sowing. Therefore do not wait till harvest-time before beginning to sow in righteousness.· 2. Sh(YUJ. how possible it is, through God's goodness, to reap a harvest. Both of Christian character and of Christian work the promise is-true," He that soweth and he that rea.peth will r1,j<Yi,ce together."-A. R. Ver. 12.-The inspiration of Scripture. This is an emphatic declaration of the Divine origin of Scripture; If it required utterance in Hosea's day, it equally demands our ea.rriest consideration; The accessibility and ·cheapness ol God's Word has tended to its neglect. Bec!l,use it is less rare it appears to many less precious. In the reign of Edward I. a copy would cost £37, and as a. labourer earned only three ha.If-pence as his daily wage, it represented to him the product of fifteen years' work. How different now! Probably the abundance of religious a.nd other literature ha.s also done some- thing to divert attention from the Bible. In fear of this Luther wished that his own books were burnt, "because,'' said ha, "I fear lest they should hinder men from read- ing the Bible, that Book of books, in comparison whereof all the books in the world are but waste pa.per." If all were convinced that Soripture is a revelation from God, such neglect 'Yould be less frequent; and therefore it, may be well to consider our belief in Divine inspiration, whioh the occult influence of materialistic philosophy has done much to weaken. May the Spirit of truth give us definiteness of conception, a.nd ma.y the Spirit of love give U:s generosity of tone! I. THAT INSPIRATION IS CONSONANT WITH •REASON. If it be admitted that God exists as the Creator of man, it is reasonable t~ expect that he would so far direct and control the human mind as to secure the ends of moral government. We do not believe that the laws of physical necessity are paramount. '\Ve refuse to throw the reins to the modern Phaeton, who drives he knows not whither, and who cares not though the whc;,le world of Christian thought and of moral life be burnt to ashes. The theory that the universe is a vast maohine, governed'only by the laws of material organizat,ion, anc. that all its affairs are carried on by its own concreated powers, leads ultimately to th~ abasement of man and to the abolition of God; and from the abyss of despair to which  260 Tl'IE BOOK OF HOSEA. [OH. vw. 1--H.