The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 418

by thoir defection from Jehovah, and by their zeal in the service of Baal and other gods of the nations. Ono sin led to another; and they sinned "more and more." In these words e. gre~t principle is enunciated. ~her~ is a tendency on the part of sinner~ not only to contmue, but even to exceed, m em. To understand this, it must be observed the.t-- 1. 'l'EMPTA,TlONS BECOME GROWINGLY NUltEBOUS AND POWERFUL. 1. Circumstances e.re often in an increasing me1LSure favourable to sin. The sinner puts himself in the way of stronger temptations. 2. Wicked companions and instigators to sin gain in boldness o.nd persuasiveness. They learn by experience that no resistance need be anticipated. 3. Restraints are culpably removed. The practice of sin breaks down the fences which virtue sets up around the law-abiding and obedient. II. RESISTANCE DECOMES GROWINGLY MORE FEEBLE AND J'AINT, 1. Desire is stren<Ythened by indulgence. Unbridled p!LSsion, ungoverned pride, insatiable selfishness, hav; every- thing as they would. 2. Shame is lessened. The reproach of conscience is silenced. Fear is quieted and stifled. The blush no longer rises to the cheek; and the toncrue is habituated to falsehood, or profanity, or impurity, without any check. 3. Moral po~er is weakened. At first there is a contest within between the better feelings and the worse; but after a while there is no conflict, and the vanquished protest dares no longer assert itseif. . APPLICATION. The picture thus drawn of the sinner's progress is eo fearful, that the contemplation of it may well lead him who is on the downward road to pause. Facilis descensus .Averni. The only hope lies in immediate and sincere repentance, and (by Divine grace) an urgent application for forgiveness, and for a new and better mind.-T. Ver. 3.-Driven chaff and vanished smoke. The imagery here employed is of obvious interpretation. When the blast of the whirlwind or of the winnowing fan passes ever the threshing-floor, the chaff is driven away and dispersed. When the fire is kindled upon the earth, the smoke makes its escape through the lattice-work below the roof into the open air. Even so, those who wickedly depart from Jehovah and addict themselves to the worship of idols shall, says the _prophet, learn by bitter experience the folly of their cqurse and the vanity of their trust. No safety, no stability, but certain ruin and destruction shall be their lot. J. DEFECTION FBOM TRUE BELIGlON EXCITES THE DISPLEASURE AND INDIGNATION OF TBJ!: ONLY TRUE Goo, There are many who refuse to admit that the supreme Ruler coilcerns himself with the conduct of men. And others consider that benevolence is so all-absorbing an attribute of Deity that they will' not hear of punishment either in this world or in a world to ~me. The qeclarations of the prophet are utterly inconsistent with suc4 views as these. II, RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE WILL CERTAINLY ASSERT lTSELJ' 1N THE CONDEMNATION AND PUNISHMENT OF THE IRRELIGIOUS. 1. There is national retn"bution, 1LB the history of Israel and of every nation abundantly proves. 2. There is individual chastisement, as every human life in a measure may convince us. 3. The punishment inflicted upon the ungodly and impenitent is not limited to this earthly life, to this transitory scene of probation.-T. Ver. 4.-The only Saviour. The prophets were in the habit of appealing to the past history of Israel as a nation when they would urge the people to repent of present sin, and would encourage them to seek Divine favour and acceptance. Certainly the records of the past proved that only in returning and in rest had the people ever been saved, and that when they had turned elsewhere than to Jehovah they had only met with disappointment and misery, I. THE VANITY AND INBUIFFICIENOY OJ' ALL EARTHLY HELPERS. 1. As Israel, when seeking help and deliverance from the deities of the heathen_, ever fo~nd such a _refuge vain, so will all men who look elsewhere than to the Most High expenence certam and bitter disappointment. "The idols of the heathen have ears, but they hear :iot ; •.. they that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them." 2. Even tho best-intentioned of human friends and counsellors are powerless to aid and save. The lesson has to be learned afresh by every generation that the help of man is vain. " It is better to trust in the Lord than to put your confidence in princes."  4'.'0 THE BOOK OF HOSEA. [oa. xm. 1-16.