The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 438

spiritual fruitfulnl88 or virtues of all developed or revived. 3, God:, wise economy q/ tM dew. There is not a single drop of dew formed by the rude hand or chance or made in vain. Neither is thllre a ~hrub, or herb, or lenf, or flower, or blnde of graBB that does not collect aa much dew as is needed for its peculiar wants, Grass-lands and cultivated soils radiate very freely by night the heat which they absorb by <lay; con- sequently they cool down speedily and condense plentifully into de1v the vapour of the air as it passes over them. Gravel, rocks, barren lands, on the contrary, radiate very slowly and very little heat, so that very little dew forms upon them. '!'hue there are rlaces where little or no dew falls and which no dew refreshes. '!'here is the barren rock-no dew refreshes it; there are the gravel walk and the sandy desert-little or no dew iR formed, collected, or needed thereon ; there is the stone-paved street-no dew is needed to moisten it. Exactly so there a.re hearts so hardened by unbeliet that no dew of grace either eettles on them or softens them. The seed of Divine truth may be ~cattered on them from sabbath to sabbath, but it makes no impression on them, and t.akes no root in them; it lies, it may be, for a little on the surface, then cometh the wicked one and catcheth away that which was sown thereon. It is not for want of willingness in God to bestow the dew of his grace, or for want of sufficiency in Divine grace, that such is the case; but btcauso the heart has been so hardened by the deceit'." fulness of sin, the conscience so seared by iniquity, and the whole man so alienated from the life of God, that there is no disposition to receive or profit by the heavenly boon. IV. EFFECTS PRODUCED BY THE DEW OF Goo's <lRAOE, 'l'he first effect is growth as of the lily. 1. The growth of the lily is rapid as it is beautiful. Here we may con- sider it as an emblem of beauty. Thus our Lord says, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." In a passage in Ezekiel God says to his people, "Thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God." The comeliness to which the prophet refers is the comeliness of the soul. There is nothing so beautiful as holiness; there is no ornament like piety. The earth is beautiful when God adorns it with the bounties of his providence; when he replenishes it with fruit and flower, with grass for the cattle and herb for the service of man; when he carpets its surface with li viug green, clothing the fields with verdure, and covering the hills with corn. There is beauty in the over-canopyin11: sky, in the bright orbs that sparkle like gems in the firmament. There is beauty in the wide- spread world of waters, and in the waves that dimple ocean's cheek. There is beauty twinkling in every star above us, sparkling in the dewdrops at our feet, and shining in every shimmer of noonday splendour. All these testify how beautiful this world once was, and how brautiful it would still be but for sin. There ie beauty in the human face divine : there is beauty in the face of fair woman, and beauty of a rougher cast in the countenance of man, and beauty, playful, cheerful beauty, in the pretty countenance of childhood. But all the varied beauties of a lovely world are not to be compared with the beauty of holiness. It is a beauty that reflects God's own image, and by wLich we resemble Christ. "Corne, then, 0 house of Jacob, come, To worship at his shrine; And, walking in the light of God, With holy beauties shine." Tliere n,ay be beauty in the adornin~ of the person, in the plaiting of the hair, the weariug of gold, and the putting on of apparel; but the true beauty is the hidden man of tLe heart in that which lil uot corruptible, even the beauty of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 2. The next characteristic of this gn,wth is 6ta,bility. The growth of the lily may. be fair or fast, but it soon fades; it 1uay be easily plucked up, and so another figure 1e added to show the firmness of the Leliever. He is tirmly rooted as well as spiritually fair. Some colours are very beauti- ful and very showy, but they are not fa.et colours; they soon fade, they soon lose their vividness. Some plants are very beautiful in their bloom, but weak ln their root 11,nd soon ui:,torn. Not so the Christian. He casts forth hie roots as Lebanon-either as tLe u,uuu taiu iteeH, one of earth's deep foundations ; or as the forest trees, those cedar11 Olr, XIV, 1-9.] THE BOOK OF HOAEA.