\Ve mny hnve courogo without tenderneRR, patience withont r,nterpriRr,, ann th11~ )rnvo follow ground yet to be broken up. (2) Make appli~nUnn t,, the arfoanr,e ,,f Clil'i~t•s kingdom. Parts of the wor!d sown with ~h~ good Reed aro fairly prodnctiv;,, other i.mrts are moral wnstes. This calls for m1ss1ona.ry enterpriRc. Con~re"'ati,,,,~ comforlnbly worship, yet amongst the godless and ignorant "fallow around" still J;,,.~ around them. 'l'he world will become a paradise only when each doe/his own wr,rk in his own sphere. In the Western States, land is not brought under cultivatiou hy the expenditure of e. millionaire; but each settler hae his own allotment, effect~ his own clearing, builds his own log hut, adds field to field till his farm touches the next, nnd by this process the wilderness begins to rejoice and bloseom like the rose. 3. Seekinq the Lord. Hosea would have the people eagerly expecting Messiah, and ready to welcome him. Some of John's disciples were thus" seeking the Lord," and it was on thcso Christ rained righteousness, in the truths he taught and the Spirit he gave, !:earliness for the second advent becomes the Christian still; and the Church is sigh in~ for it. Meantime the Lord comes in holy thonght, in right resolve, in chastened fecl- in 6. He comes down on weary hearts like "rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth." II. DIVINE RECOMPENSE. 1. It is generous. uReap [not 'in,' but] accordincr to mercy;" not in proportion to ~esert, or to justice, but to the boundless mercy ol' the Lord. Of all reaping that is true. When we sow our seed we give it over to the care of God. It would be something to receive it back again uninjured; hut it is multiplied, "according to the mercy" of God, and harvest-fields come from a few bushels of seer!. God gives "good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over." If we are thus requited in the natural, we shall be in the moral husbandry. Grace usrd brings more grace. The five talents employed become the ten talents. If we give, the habit of giving becomes a luxury. If we pray, prayer becomes easier, more refresh- ing, more essential. If ours are the tears of penitence, the light of God's love shines through them and creates the rainbow of peaoe. If, like the prodigal, we sow in righteous acknowledgment of sin, we reap peace and joy" according to God's mercy." 2. It is from above. "Until he come and rain righteousness upon you." When rain falls from heaven it blesses your garden, or your carefully tended plant, but it does not content itself with that. Fields you never saw are greener, limpid streams in distant counties. are fuller, leaves and ferns and unnoticed flowers are touched aild blessed. All Churches need this outpouring from above. To do the right, to break up the fallow: ground which has been unblessed before by enterprise, will all be use- less unless he rains righteousness upon us. And for this great blessing a sinful world, a weakened Church, a conscious yearning, say, "It is time to seek the Lord." CONCLUSION, Beware lest, in the sight of the Searcher of hearts, your condition should be described by the words which follow our text. "Ye have ploughed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity." "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."-A. R.
Ver. 2.-.A divided heart. The history of the people of Israel furnishes many an illustration of the state of mind vividly depicted in these words. For instance, in the time of Elijah, the heart of Israel was divided between Jehovah and Baal. Hosea had to complain of the same distraction of mind as characteristic of the generation to which he ministered. And what congregation is there addressed by a Christian preacher which does not contain many "a divided heart"? I. THE CAUSES OF A DIVIDKD HEART. 1. Others beside the Lord lay claim to the heart. In the case of Israel, there were idols who were reputed by neighbouring nations to he powerful e.nd helpful. In the case of those professing Christianity, there are many rivals, in the person of earthly and human claimants, and in the shape of various pre- occupations, pleasures, and pursuits. 2. There is native weakness and vacillation. Many natures are by constitution unstable• and many have encouraged weakness by yielding to temptation. ' II. THE SYMPTOMS OF A DIVIDED HEART. The case is not that of one who has actually renounced and abjured the worship and service of the Lord. But in hesitat- ing between the two different and inconsistent allegiances, the divided heart is faithlul to neither. We meet with instances of such indecision in domestic and social liie. HOSEA, y 322 THE BOOK OF HOSEA, [oR, X. 1-16,