For I nm Gnd, l\nd not nmn; The re~ult would be R. spccrlv return of Hnly in th<' midst of thee, though I in- hie ohil,lren from the lnnds nf the West- hithit not thy eities." the conutries round or beyond tho Meditcr- Ver. 10.--Thcy ah&ll w&lk &fter the rnnonn. Lord: ho shall ::-o&r like & lion: wh,,n ho Ver. 11.-They eh&ll tremble Ba & bird sha.ll roo.r, then the ohildren sha.11 t,·,:c•h'e out of Egypt. .T!10 trembling horo is eniri,r frorn the 'l':'est. Othcr>1 tmnshl<'. ".\l':c•1· haste, or prco1p1t11to ngil.'\tion, in whi<-h the Lnr,1 ahnll they go its nftPT I\ lion thnt they would hurry home, 11nd thnt from wc,;t ronrcth." But this nec<'ssibtcs & douhlo and cl\st and south-from west o.s we infer ellip•i• of "after which." Thry would go from ver. 10, from Assyri11 in the enst nnd nft.cr the Lord in ohc,lience to his summons. Egypt in the south. 'l'hey would tbus Thnt summons is rcprrsrnted o.s far-reach- hurry R.S I\ bird home to its nest in the gl'een- ing o.nd terrible. Cnlling hie people to wo?<1 ; ns 11 dov~ no ~onger a silly dove, but return, the Lord roars as a lion, to denote at flymg home to its wmdow. '!'his oho.pter ie once the loudness of the c.all, and tho awful regnrded by some BS ending hore. Others majesty of the Lord when thus calling his include ver. 12. people to return. "As a lion," says Kimchi, Ver. 12.-Ephraim oompa11eth me about "which roars thRt the animals whose king with lies, and the honee of Israel with he is IM)' assemble to him, eo the Israelites deoeit : but Jud&h yet ruleth with God, and shall asscn,hle on hearing the ,0ice of the ii faithful with the eainta. The :first clause Lord when he roars." '!'he roarin~ of the sets forth the faithlessness and insincerity lion may signify his terrible judgments on of Israel, 11nd that in contrast with Judah. Israel's enemies, when he calls his people 'l'hus understood, the verse properly belongs home from the lands of their dispersion. to the present ohapter. But others under- stand the last clause differently, and deny the contrast, viz. "Judah ie yet defiant repetition of a thing ; in this ple.ce it has towards God and towards the All-Holy One peculio.r force and pathos. who is faithful." '
HOMILETICS. '\"ers. 1--4.-.A rich display of God's mercy, love, and long-suffering, One chieC design of Scripture is to recommend to sinners the goodness and grace of God "The whole Scripture," says Luther," aims especially at this, that we doubt not, but certainly hope, trust, and beiieve that God is gracious, merciful, and long-suffering." I. Gon's LOVE IS UNMERITED. This is evident from the condition of Israel when he became the object of thu; love. That condition was one of childhood, and so of childish ignorance, of childish impotence, of childish folly; for folly is bound up in the heart of a child. Nay, if we compare Ezek. xvi. 4-8, we find the natural state of the nation to have been still worse; that wretched state is there vividly exhibited under tho similitnde of a poor perishing infant in the most pitiable condition. So with persons individually as well as nationally. When, to use the figure of the prophet, we were polluted, literally trodden down, and perishing in our own blood, he passed by us and looked upon us, and his tone was a tone of love. II. Gon's LOVE IS A LOVE OF BENEVOLENCE. He calls Israel his son. The relation of a son to a father is a very near and dear one. The privilege of sonship is very great. David esteemed it no light thing to be a king's son-in-law. How unspeakably greater it is to be a son of God by adoption as well as by creation, and thus to be an heir of glory ! "Is Ephraim my dear son'/ " God inquires; and again he says, "I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." But though the privilege of being a son of God is great' and the dignity high, it does not necessarily exempt us from sore trials and eevere sufferings; it rather secures for us such paternal chastening as for the present is not joyous but grievous, nevertheless afterward productive of the peaceable fruits of righteousness. 'l'hough Israel was God's son, yet Israel was for years in Egypt. IIL Goo's LOVE IS A LOVE OF BE:1,.'EFICENCE. God not only wishes well but does well to every son whom he receiveth into his family. Though Israel bad been long in Egypt, he was not allowed to remain there. God in due time called his son out e,f Egypt. It was a night much to be remembered when that call reached them. God epeah the word &nd it ie done; his call is effectual for the purpose intended. However great our uietreBI!, it only requires a word from God to relieve us; and that word is as CH, XT, 1-12,] 'J'frn BOOK OF HOSEA. 337