The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 444

manner, spiritual solidity and expansiveness are securod l1y atrikina our roots well down in~ the bidden life of faith, and p_raye_r, and com~u&ion with God, and fidelity to conscience. The moral robustness which is proof agamst whatever "tribulation or pcnmcuti~n ariseth because of the :Word" (Matt. xiii. 21) is always the result of a deep sense of tnn, a. thorough apprehension of the gospel, and a. profound love to the Saviour, , IIL _BEUJTY AND FRAGRANCE. "~is beau_ty shall be as the olive tree" (ver. 6), 'I here 1s doubtless a natural glory of its own 1n the slender grey-green. foliage of the olive; but to the Oriental the attractiveness of this tree consists largely in its capacity of yielding that oily matter(" fatness," Judg. ix. 9) which is so essential to health in the dry and hot climate of the East, "His smell as Lebanon" (rer. 6) ; the reference being to the fresh breezes of the mountain, laden in early summer with the fragrance of the vines and the balsamic odour of the cedars and aromatic. plants, "The scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon" (ver. 7), which was celebrated for its fine flavour and its rich aroma. These emblems are suggest~ve of the beauty of holiness, and the fragrance which proceeds from the renewed heart and life. The Divine dew is sent to make one nature bloom as the lily, and to clotl\e another with verdure like the ever-green olive. It should impart to every child of. God some healthful fragrance or sweetness of disposition which shall lead others to " take knowledge of him, that he has been with Jesus" (Ps. xlv. 8). How many Christians, unhappily, la.ck this blessed. aroma! How many a.re morose and moody, ra,ther than sunny and joyful ; thereby giving countenance to the impression that religion is a. melancholy thing, instead of being "cheerful as the day " ! _ IV. FRUITFUL~Ess. This is the most important of the results, and Hosea's mind ,l wells on it in vers. 7 e.nd 8 as the prevailing thought of the pas.sage. Fruitfulness is the ultimate test and the final end of every revival. . In ver. 7 the restored lsraelitish nation is spoken of as a widesprea.ding tree, under whos.e grateful shadow. its people also shall be individually restored from their ba.ckslidings. The corn" falls iuto the ground and dies," and may seem to be killed a second time by the storms of winter; but when spring comes it revives, and at length yields an abundant harvest. The vine, when its fruit-beariog branches have been carefully pruned, sprqut~ agaia, with new ~our and bears choicer fruit. So is it with a. Church .or with an individua.l believer at the close of a. long winter of declension, and after experience of the, pruning- knife of affliction. With the blessed consciousness of sin forgiven, and of the restored favour of God, and under the fertilizing imluence of the dew of the Holy Spirit, the. revived Church ripens like a waving harvest-field, and hangs with lus.cious clusters. like a fragrant vineyard. The purpose of the gift of Divine grace is frui~be1J,ring. '!'he dew of the Spirit is sent with a view to "the fruit of the Spirit" (Gal. v. 22, 23). The scheme of redemption is God's plan for the promotion of morality. The Saviour says to his disciples, "I have chosen you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." "Herein is _my Father glorified, that ye bear mull!:\ fruit" (John :xv. 8, 16). It is true, of course, that in different lives spiritual fruit- fulness varies in chara.cter. One believer has the beauty of the lily; another, the stability of the cedar; a third, the fatness of the olive. But in the communion of the saints, and even within each separate Christian congregation, all the fortns of strength, beauty, and usefulness should meet. A revived Uhurch, watered _with the Divine dew, should be garden, orchard, vineyard, fruitful field, and forest, all in one. CoNCLUSlON. In ver. 8 Jehovah joyfully anticipates the permanence of Ephraim'!! reformation. He "hears" him resolving to put away idols for ever, and" observes" him bringing forth fruit meet for repentance. The ba~~sl_iders ha_ve ret,urned, an~ ~ave repented/:rom. sin as well as/or it. Those who were Jomed. to idols are now Joined to the Lord. And the Lord ri:rninds ,them, in a closing word, that all their "springs''. are in himself. Jehovah is "like a green cypr_ess tree; n he is" the Tree of !if~;" ~nd the Giver of " fruit" to all who d wel\ under his shadow. May the good Lord incline our hearts al!!o to abjure every idolatry, and to seek our" fruit" in himself only, that be may with joy address UB as "Ephraim," because he finds in us "double fruit- fulness " !-C. J. Ver. 9.-TJ,e epi'logue. With this weighty sentence the prophet seals up the written record of hiil life-message, AB the foregoing chapters express the essence of Hosev.'s OU, XIV, 1-9,] 'fHE BOOK OF HOSEA. 447