The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 319

Our Lord hRB distinctly declared that the frequent and llinful attempt of men.to serve God and mRmmon ie vain. Subject-The divided heart. I. ITS OONDITION first demands considerati~n. Whelhor in the physical or in the IDOl"Ql life of man, if we are in doubt about the stale of our hea.rtl.we cannot be too careful in diagnosis. Diseases &SAAil it which are so occult that the;y may not reveal themselves till they become fatal in result. Other diseases may have outward e\gns which any onlooker Cl\n recognize. Some heart-<liseases are as insidious. as they are perilous, betraying themselves neither by rash nor by pain. As the.h"1nt is the centre of our physical. life, so here a.od elsewhere in Scripture it is alluded ,to,,as. the centre of mol"Ql life; and in that aspect of it the words are true, "Tho hoart is deceittul above all things." (Some such idea underlies the Hebrew word which Keil translates "smooth," or "flattering.") None but God and a man's own consciousness can decla.re whether this be true of any one, "his he:ut is rlil'ided," This is so, however, with any whose attitude towards God and bis trnth is as follows: (1) If their minds are co,nvinced; (2) if their foarB are aroused; (3) if their consciences a.re disturbed; whil~ yet they yield no gei;iuine hom&{!e to him whose existence and cl.aims they dare not deny. II. lTs EVIDENCES may be di8covered in such characteristics a.s these: 1. FormalieJ in wor6hip. "'l'his people draweth nigh to mo with their mouth," etc. "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth... The scribes and Pharisees were examples of this, exposed and rebuked by our Lo.rd. 2. Inconsistency in conduct. This may be glaringly conspicuous, or it may be that the unboliness or unrighteousness is toq _secretly practised to be discovered by the world, or Mo subtle to be described and condemned b_y the Church, or too gerierally practised to be reprobated by society. Give examples of each in' professional, or commerci11,l, or social life. 3. Fickleness in effort. It is a sure sign of reality when we ine "s!,eadfast and immovable, alway6 .a.bounding in the work of the Lord·;". when the world frown11 as well as when it smiles; when the service is nncongenialas well a.s when it is delightful. He who readily takes up Christian work and then suddenly abandons it, may fairly:a.sk himself whether his heart is not divicj.ed. The great Sower still.sees the .sha.llow soil of a sentimental character, where there.is no depth and therefore no stability. IIL ITS CAUSES. 1. The l,ove of sin. We must lay aside" the sin that doth so .easily beset us" if we would run the raoe and win the crown. lie who wiBnot give sin up for Christ's sake has the "divided heart." 2. The/ear of man. The lad a.t school, .or. the man in business, is often disloyal t.o conviction,.a.nd refuses to.lay tQ ,he11rt the depla.- ration of Christ, " He that is not with me is. agai_nst me .." . 3.. The habit, of procra,~ti- 11.ation. The child says, " I will wait till I am old enough to take xny own plaGe-Jn life ; " the bnsy man or woman waits the leisure of old age; the. vigorous delay tiU illness gives time for thought; and so life speeds away, and the words of Christ are unheeded "My son, give me thine heart." . . . IV. IT; EFFECTS. L Present unhappiness. The undecided p:ian knows too much to find rest in the world, but he loves too little to find rest iµ._ Christ. The conscious- ness of being wrong, the thought of a solemn duty left undo:q.e, the fear of disco:very, by Christian friends, the dread of death and its issue, with more or less frequency and intensity, bring him misery. 2. Disastrous influence. If he professes to be a Chri1;1tian, he dishonours his Lord by his conduct in the world far more than one who avows him- self to be an unbeliever. His Christian name injures the world, while his worldly character injures the Church. Examples: Judas, Demas, Ananias. 3. Oertain.retrib,u- tion. "Some will awake . . . to everlasting contempt." "Let both grow together tQ the harvest," etc. , • ., , CoNCLUSION. E'f/.CDUra,gement to offer to OU'I' God the brolcen heart of true peqitence, which he will not despise.-A. R. Ver. 11.-Moral alxuement. Figures drawn from the work of husbandry a.re f~e- qnently found in the sacred Scriptures. No others could have been so wisely employed. As Divine truths were intended for a.11 nations, it was well that illustrations of them should. be found in all lan.ds. The breaking up of the ground, the sowing of seed, .the reaping of the harvest, a.re phenomena well known in every country, 11nd the p.rQceea Las be.en essentially the same in every age. Whether the harvest grows in the small allotment of the Eastern labourer, who irri~ates it with toil aud care, or whether it is en. x.,1-16.) LTRE BOOK OF HOSEA. 319