The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 375

of God still; what waH written l\foretime waA written for our learnin'.!', that we through palienco nnd comfort or the Scriptures might have hope. Ver. 6, "J!Jven the Lora (Jod, uf host,; the Lordi, hi, memorial." 'l'he God who appeared to Jacob, wbo conversed with him in reference to hie po1terity u well as himself, and whom ,Jacob found at Bothe], was the God of Jacob's eucceedins,: race; the God against whom they had tree-- paHseJ, but to whom they are now urged to tarn. (1) That God is Jehmnh, the self- 01isting Ono whose title is "I am that I am," which is a. sort of paraphrase of the name Jehovah. He is the fint of all beings, the greatest of all beinis, supreme over all beings, whoee being is without limit of time-everla.eting, a.nd without bound of space; infinite, having all being in himself, and giving to all creatnre11 life and breath and all things. He is Jehovah, the everliving and never-changing God, the same in kind- ness, the same in covenant relation to his people, and the same in accessibility. What he did to Ja.cob he Wa.H ready to do for the posterity of the patriarch, yea, be is willing to do to all people that call.upon him in truth, seeking his face and favour free. (2) He is, moreover, God of hoata ; the armies or heaven a.re at his command, the inhabi- tants of the earth are subject to hie will, the powers of nature and all the forces of the univeree are under bis coµtrol. This expression ia employed in allusion to those hoata of Q-od that met him after he ha.d wrestled with God, after hia name had been changed, and of whom we, read, "The angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he eai,d, Tl;us ~ God's host," and in rela.tion t.o whom he ea.lled the place Mahanaim, the twc;, camps or ho11te of God. (3) Jehovah is his memorial. Men abort-lived and mortal raise m,onuments to keep up their remembrance; bat the name Jehovah is the Divine memorial, the name by which he wishes to be remembered through all generations, a.a he says .elsewhere, ":'l'his is my name for ever, and this is my memorial to all gene- rations." 'l'hiH term may have reference to the memorial stone which Ja.cob had si,t up for a pillar, to keep up the remembrance of the gracious vision that had been vouchsafed to him, and as a. memorial of hie vow. (4) The case of Ja.cob provcH the need we have of a, memorial to help our memories; for oh, ho\V deceitful our hearts arc; how treac)leroue our me~ories in the things of God ! We need helps, and means, and memorials, and remembrancers. Pictures are not needed for this purpose, images are not needed. God's name, aH indicating his nature, is sufficient memorial of him; his Word and his works are to keep men in remembrance of him. The name Jehovah is God's memorial; every time we read, or hear, or speak that name, we are reminded of the glory and greatness of him who is the first a.nd best or beings, as also of his good- ness and grace. We are reminded by that name of the unchangeablenees of his nature and bis never-ceasing mercy to man-the same to the posterity of Jacob a.a to the patriarch himself, the ea.me to us as to our forefathers, the God of our fathers being still the God of their succeeding race. . " There is no shortening of hie power and no darkening of hie glory, but with whatsoever power God baa wrought, in whataoever glory he has appeared, in former times, he may manifest the ea.me for U8 now." V. 'l'HE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OB' THE PRECEDING STATEMENTS. The application which the prophet makes of the subject is introduced with a .. therefore." This " therefore ' gathers up the several foregoing thoughts into one or.'.!;cnt appeal. I. Motives to repentance. lly the fa.et of Jacob's wrestling with God and the success of this spiritual struggle, by the memorial of the name Jehovah as an index of the unchanging mercifulness of hie nature, and by the implied spiritual declension of his descendants, the people of both the northern and southern kingdoms in general and each individual in particuliu are earnestly admonished to turn to God, their fathers' God, their own God, as it is 11tated, "Therefore turn thou to thy God." 2. Froti.ta meet for repentance. 'l'he amendment answerable to repentance comprises the duties of the so-called second table of the Law. Justice and mercy may be regarded as a. summary. (1) 'l'he golden rule of all justice is that royal law of Christ, "All things w batsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them ; for this is the Law and the prophets." It would be out of place to enter into the details of justice ; this one principle includes all, it is plain to all, it is applicable to all; it comprebencl,i princes and people, masters and Hervante, brothers and sisters ; it extends to all stations nnd relations, it ie unvarying in its application to all pcr8ons in all matters and at all times; it embraces not only all the business transactions of buyers and sellers, but all situations and stations in which we can stancl towards ot.r brother man, whether 378 'l'lm BOOtc. Ot!' BOSIA. [oa. 111. 1-1'. u inferio!'II or 11uperion or equRle; It 11 a rule ea,,ily undentood, eaaily put in prRctloo, and oommend11 itaelf to every m1m'11 conlclenoo. Thuw rmdlng the Scripture toxi before ue in the light of our Lord'11 teaching, we have a rulo of juetlco enHily nccom• modllted to all cu., and of reAdy Rd&ptatlon to Rll the vut variety of circumstnncoa that bring ue into relntion with our fellow-ereAturee. In thl1 duty of keeping juclgmcnt or justice, which ie the Mme word (miehpat) in tbo original, you have only to make the C&l!e of your fellow-man your own, to ooncelve circumstances changed with him and you~lf In his position; and then whatever you could reaBOnably oxpoot of him, 11uppo8ing your11elf to be in hie circumetanoee, that do to the utmost of your ability to every chil,t of m&n. Thie principle not only include■ that more obvious duty of acting justly in all the tnmllBCtiona of life which the apostle enjoins, saying, "Let no man ~o beyond or defrand hie brother," but also prohibits thoae acts of injustice that might not chance to fall within the bounds of human law or of civil enactments, by awarding to every one his due-honour to whom honour is due, fear to whom fear, tribute to whom tribute, instruction to the ignorant, relief to the oppressed, bowels of compa,1Bion to the poor, and, in the words of Solomon, by withholding not good (of whatever kind) from them to whom it is due. (2) Strict justice ill much, very much more than, alas I ill often dispensed; yet it is not enough. There must be mercy too, and mercy tempering justice. When we have done full justice to a fellow-being we have not done all that God requires of ns toward& our fellow-creature; he ha.s other claims upon us, and God has given him thoee claims. Reversing the order of the words according to the parallel pa.saage in Micah," Do jnstly and love mercy," we may uy, "Just first and kind next '\ia the requirement of this Scripture; "Just first and then generous" is a common 11aying. We might exact strict jusLice for ourselves, standing upon our bond like him of old and demanding our pound of fleah, we might exact what is justly our due, bnt what benevolence would not and mercy could not claim, and so verify the old Latin proverb about the "height of justice being the height of injury ; " bnt the requirement of mercy prohibits and prevents that. Then, 0 man, love mercy-it is the characteristic of your heavenly Father, who is the Father and Fountain of mercies; love mercy, that generous, large-hearted benevolence which does good according to its power to all men under all circumstances, " especially to them who ere of the household of faith ; " love mercy, that heaven-born principle which, if even an enemy hunger, feeds him, if he thlnt gives him drink, if he be naked clothes him "And," to borrow the well-known words," as in the courae of justice none of us should eee 118.lvation, we do therefore pray for mercy, and that same prayer doth teach us all to render the deeds of mercy." (3) Further, we are not only to do jwitly and to love mercy, but to delight therein. Thus we shall not only do some acts of justice and perform some ect.e of mercy, but kup them both; mercy first, as having the pre-eminence and being the consummation of justice-the one the fruit, and the other the root. In this way we are required to keep mercy and justice, that is, to observe uniformly and practise habitnally mercy and jaatice. For a pattern of mercy, read the parable of the good Samaritan; for the opposite, the story of Hazael, and the parable of the ma.n who owed ten thowiand talents. VJ TBUE BEPENTAlliCE Jll'CLUDES, AS ITS NATURAL EFFECT AND TRUE EVIDENCE, THE PEBFORIIAll'CE OF OUR DUTY TO GoD Al! WELL A8 TO HAN. The former duty i11 here exprcucd in the words "wait on thy God continually." 'l'he connection of the words is very 1mggestive. Repentance is put to a practical test and its 11incerity proved ; the proof consistll of a right diecharge of the duties we owe both to man and God. The duties to man are put first, because we not unfrequently find persons Bhowina a zeal for the outward ordinances of religious worship and yet neglectful of mer~y and judgment to their fellow-creatures; and, on the other hand, such duties a.ri, never discharged ari)!ht where God is not truly worshipped; they may be per- formed Ly fits and 11ta.rt8, Lut not steadily and continuously as the keeping of them requires, uuless there is genuine godliness. 'l'hWl morality has its root in religion, and religion without morality is only a name without reality, In order, therefore, to keep, iri the 11ense of regularly observing mercy and justice, there must be continual waiting UJr>D God. VII. Tai!: MATt.:11E OF WAl1'1XG Oli Gov. Waiting on God implies want and Wl'ak11c1111 aud dangi,r c,n our part, as alwo that God ill the Source of f'ulneH, of strength, dlt, XU. 1-14,] THE BOOK OJ HOSEA. 877