The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 441

n&tlon to lie under ite doom during centuries and millenniums· but all the while the Divine heart le saying," 0 Israel, return I" How wonderful that the eternal God should ~ndescend ,to entreat men to repent I Bu~ "t~e Lord is good; his mercy is everlast- ing; and hlB truth endureth to all generations (Ps. c. 5). If, however there is to be salvation, there must be repentance, and all true repentance takes its ri~ in the call of God's Spirit. The Lord seeks the sinner with his grace before the sinner can seek him. And thus "Return unto the Lord" is the burden of the entire revelation of the Bible - it is the key-note of all Hebrew prophecy, a.s of all New Testament gospel. Not only so, but in this passage God also condescends to direct the people as to the thoughts and "words" with which they may acceptably approach him in complying with his urgent entreaty (vers. 2, 3). How different all this from "the manner of man" I II. THE PENITENT PRAYING. (Ver. 2.) This verse and ver. 3 form a. sort of " Lord's Prayer" for back.sliders. God desires no longer the animal sacrifices of the Law; indeed, the twelve tribes cannot in their exile offer any, for the temple-worship has now ceased. But he requires " words" which shall be the evidence of" a broken and a contrite heart." Even these, however, he here provides for his penitent children. "What need God words? He knows our hearts before we speak unto him. It is true God needs no .words; but we do, to stir up our hearts and affections" (Sibbes)'. Although the Lord d6es not now demand sacrifices, the kind of" words" which he asks recalls to our :minds the three principal forms of sacrifice ordained by the Levitical Law, viz. the propitiatory, the dedicatory, and the eucharistic, represented respectively by the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering. In a true return to God there will be: 1. Words of confession. "Take away all iniquity." A child who bas done wrong recovers his father's favour so soon as he confesse~ his fault; so J eher vah'a children, who have made themselves " fatherless" by their apostasy, take the first step in the direction of" finding mercy" when they" return up to" (ver. 1) him with words of repentance. The penitent draws near with the leper's confession," Unclean! unclean·r " and with the publican's prayer, "God be mercifnl to me a sinner." His first and deepest need is pardon; he wants mercy for the past, and grace to help for the future. He prays to be delivered from the power of evil; and pleads, in doing so, the merit of Jesus Christ as his Sin Offering. 2. Words of dedication. "Receive us graciously;" literally, "receive good." The barrier of sin being removed through faith in· the atonement, the next step in revival is the presentation of the person "a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God" (Rom. xii. 1). It is true that of ourselves we have no good which we can offer; but we are to give to the Lord of his own. The grace which he bestows upon us we are to employ in his service and for his glory. The Christian dedicates his reoewed humanity, in body and soul, to his Redeemer (Micah vi. 6-8). •3. Words of thanksgiving. "So will we render the calves of our lips," i.e. we shall offer our lips as a peace off1iring, instead of calves. The praise of a redeemed heart is an acceptabHqacrifice, and " shall please the Lord better than a bullock that bath horns and hoofs" (Pa. lx:x. 31); The soul that has been forgiven much loves much, a,nd should therefore overflow with thanksgiving and praise (Heb. xiii. 15). Such an, the three sorts of" words" which God expects from all who "return" to him. He wants words of confession like those of Ps. Ii.; of self-dedication, like those of Ps. cxvi.; of thanksgiving, like those of Ps. ciii. And, now that Uhrist has come, these are "the sacrifices of God," alike for the sons of Israel and for sinners of the Gentiles. III. THE PENITENT RENOUNCING CREATURE-CONFIDENCES, (Ver. 3.) After the three- fold word-sacrifice, comes the promise of practical amendment and reformation. Israel resolves to forsake his great national sins, viz. his habit of looking for help to Assyria, his reliance upon the cavalry of Egypt or other warlike strength, and his idolatry of Baal and the calves.' The people will show the sincerity of their conversion by endeavours after new obedience. They will realize that away from God they are helpless orphans; and, in all their approaches to him, appeal to his "mercy" as the "Father of the fatherless." 'l'his is just what every sinner must do in returning to the Lord. '\Ve all have Asshurs and horses and idols which we must abjure. If we will "return quite up to Jehovah our God" (ver. 1) we must put away confidence in every creature-help, and in any defence which is our own handiwork. We may have been" glued to idols" (eh. iv. 17); but we must at any cost tear them out of our hearts, even although the soul should seem to be rent asunder in the process. For true conversion implies perfect union to  THE BOOK OF HOSEA, [oR, XIV, 1-0,