The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 354

Ver. 8.-" Bow shall I give thee up 1" It was an idolatrous and rebellious genera-, tion to which Hosea prophesied. Sundered from Jerusalem, Israel had lapsed from the worship and service of Jehovah The prophet was not sati$6ed merely to discover in forcible language the sin of the people, merely to threaten with deserved punishment. He was touched with the spectacle of apostasy. He expressed the mind of the Lord in mingling expostulations aod promises with denunciations and •threats. The most pathetic language of the text implies-- , L EFFORTS ALREADY JU.DE FOB THE SALVATION OF THE SINFUL. Evidently this was not a first appeal; many and urgent counsels and entreaties had .been already addressed to Israel. Looking over a wider field, we may recognize that God h~ in. mercy ,isited men, in the messages of revelation, in the Law which declares his will, by the prophets ,·ho have presented motives and appeals, and especially by his own Son, his own Spirit, his own gospel. His aim in all has been to lee.d men to repentance and faith, to bring them to eternal life. II. 'l'BE THWARTING OF SUCH EFFORTS BY HUllAN NEGLECT A.'ID WILFULNESS, The free nature with which God the Creator has endowed man is capable of rebellion ; and_ he ce.n only save us upon our repentance and renewal. But what resistance do his gra.cions designs meet from sinful men l In some c:ises, obstinate love of sin, _d.eter- mined opposition to truth, prolonged insensibility; in other case~, transient gleams of good, followed by relapse; in yet other cases, shameful apostasy;-account for this alienation of the heart from a God of mercy. Yet observe- . III. Gon's GRACIOUS RELUCTANCE ro AB.U.DON EVEN REBELS. 1. This arises from his own cO'l'Tlpasswnate nature. Exhibited e.g. in the long-suffering during the days of Noah;· hy the Lord Jesus in hiH grief over Jerusalem. 2. .And from his desire that the gift of his Son =Y not be in vain. He is the Saviour, in order that he may save. The Father delights in the satisfaction of the Son, when he sees of the travail of his sou); 3. An\i, from his regard for men's interests and happiness. .As the mechanic wishes the engine he has made to work well, as the husbandma.n wishes to reap a harvest from the land upon which he has laboured, as the statesman hopes for the succe,SS of the me!\sure he has devised, as the parent longs for the realization of the plans he has formed for his child, so the Lord and J<'ather of us all desires our salvation. He knows that there is 110 happiness for men except in their subjection and devotion to him. He can have no ruotive in seeking our welfare except Divine, unwearying, and unmerited love; and he asks," How can I give thee up?" APPLICATION. 1. If God so bears with uR, we Christiana, and especially Christian ministers, must not be ready to "give up" even obstinate sinners. 2. God pleads a.gain with the unbelieving and the wavering, saying, "Why will ye die? "-T. OH. XI, 1-12.] THE BOOK OF HOSEA.