The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 409

from God, yet thia is the me.in thing in its dcsiros---Oh, let me have God iu them I" (2) Great vehemence and want of mo<lere.tion in our desires betoken that tho p;rati6- C1Ltion of thOl!8 desires procec,..ie re.thcr from wrath than love. In such caseH God 1 we me.y conc<•ive, se.ya, "If you must have them, if you will have them, to.kc them; but ~kc the conscquenOOI! along with them~' Hence the necessity of moderating our desires m regard to e.ll worldly thrngs. (3) uod sometimes grants man's desires but with- hold~ the blessing, so that it Hoon becomes abundantly manife11t that the girt has come in anger, not in love. The desire has been granted, but there is neither comfort with it nor satisfaction in it. 'l'hus we read, "'l'hey shall cat, but they she.II not be satis- fied." Or a worldly benefit is bestowed, yet not only is spiritual enjoyment withheld but spiritual declension follows; as the r,salmist (Pa. cvi.) says, "He gave them thei; request, :i,ut sent leanness into _their soul.' (4) When benefits are bestowed, but grace for the nght use of them not given, we have good reason to conclude that it is in anger not in love. God may gra.nt us prosperity in our business or improvement in our lot of life ; but if we have not sufficient grace to make a sanctified use of such prosperity or impro,•ement, the benefit is not a sign of love, but of anger. It has beton well said that "it is not in love for God to give any success, except he give a measure of grace proportioned to the success." (5) If our desires are e.ttained and our ends accomplished by unlawful mea.ne, we have a priori evidence that our success has been owing to anger, and not to love. Many other signs might be e.dded, but they must be left to suggest themselves, as there is little doubt they will to a re6ecting mind. • lV. RECKONING FOB. SIN IS SURE TO OOMIC ONE DAY. Men's iniquity, like that of Ephraim, is bound up as treasure in a bag ; it is sealed and kept safe, in order to be brought forth in due time. Sin, in like manner, is hid, not, however,,from God, but with God, till the day of reckoning arrives. Just as gifts are bestowed, as we have seen, 11ometimes in anger and not in love, so sin is often hid in judgment, not in mercy, that is, not for protection but desolation. 1. God's patience towards, is no acquittance of, the sin'fler. His forbearance with the autediluvians lasted several centuries, till all flesh bad corrupted its way, and the earth was filled with. violence; but bis Spirit would no longer strive, and the Flood came, sweeping all except eight souls away. He bore with Sodom till the cry of their wickedness went up to heaven, and Divine vengeance descended on its inhabitants. He bore with the Amorites till the cup of th.eir iniquity brimmed over and brought complete destruction. Every sin, however secretly committed or subtlely contrived, however long overlooked or left unpunished, shall come forth, on the day of reckoning, for just retribution, "Be sure your sin will find you out." "'Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small ; Though with patience he stands waiting, with exaetnesa grinds he all." 2. &,c'll,rity in sin is no safegua,rdfor the sinner. One of the most destructive devices of the evil one is to tempt men to sin by suggesting the thought that what they do is no sin at all, or if it be a sin, that it is a little one, or too trivial to be punishable ; or that the sin they commit is not known and shall never be known, or if it should, that it is too Jong forgott.en or unnoticed to be ever puuished. . Equally de~ilish is _the contrary device, by which, after he has succeeded in temptmg men to sm, he drives them to despair by the thought that their Bin is too great to he forgiven. 3. The less the a;ppre- J,,er,,.ioo, the nearer the punishm,ent. As in the natural world, so in the moral-a dead calm is sometimes the precursor of a storm. So in the days before the Flood, men were •• eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage," buying and selling, building and pulling down, planting and sowing, busying themselves in the various engagements of daily life, and all the while felt perfectly secure till the very day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the Flood came and took them all away. ~gag thou1sht the bitterness of death was past, just before Samuel hewed him in pieces before the Lord in Gilga.l. The inhabitants of Laish dwelt securely till of a sudden they \x-came a prey to their enemies. The Amalekites, after taking Ziklag, were feasting and making merry and fearing no danger, ~hen David came upon the_m and smote them from the twilight even unto the evenmg of the next day. So m other cases recorded in Old Testament history. So in New Testament times, as the apostle warns us that •• the day of the Lord BO cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall f!lt, Xttt. 1-18,] THE BOOK OF HOSEA. 411