The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 449

it corn would not reach maturity, and olives and vineR and fi,,. trre~ wnnlrl vield nri fruit. A '?or~ terrible curse than that pronounced by Elijah in "'Ahab's reign c·ould nrit hnve been mfhcted. ChriRt Jesus foresaw the dearth of comfort and hope and 1mergv which would prevail in hia Church if his disciples were left to themselves. Hence T;c gave the promise of the Comforter, whom he would send from the J!'ather to !earl his di8ciples \nto 1111 truth,_ an~ to convince ~he world_or sin, of rig~teousness, ~nd of jndg- mcnt. 'lbc garden, ghttenng and beautiful after its dewy baptism, may illustrate such spiritual refreshment us we see in Peter coming from the upper room 11t Pentecost or in John rejoicing even in the exile of Patmos. What are the graceR and gifts-the' fruits of the Spirit in us, which need the heavenly benediction? Whence tlieir impoverish- ment? Where their source of revival? " Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." IV. DEW IS REPEATED AND ADUNDANT IN ITS FALL. Its departure, as well 88 itR coming, is rapid and secret. Hence HoHea elsewhere uses it aa an illustration of transient religious feeling. To give a. dewfa.11 once in a season would be of little use. 1. It comes night after night, and this is in ac,cordance with the Divine method. Thus God gave the mauna, which could not be hoarded or stored up for future use. By this means the people learnt their constant dependence on God. Still we are taught to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread "-a prayer which includes spiritual as well as temporal sustenance. Israel could not live on yesterday's manna. You cannot live on the relics of your old faith. Your character will break down if it rests on the memorv of your past experience. The feeling aroused when you first thought of God was enongn to bring you to him, but not enough to keep you near him. The prayer which brough: pardon must be daily repeated for purification from sin. And in our weakness this ,. necessary, lest we should lapse into a prayerless life, and go on our way in a spirit of presumptuous self-dependence. 2. It is not that God cannot give grace abundantly, or that he willingly withholds from the feeblest and most worthless what they want and can receive. He does not stint the world of dew. The humblest flower has its drop; unsightly things are baptized with that blessing; the rough bracken shares it equally with the rose, and the tiny flower on the window-sill of the pauper is as much blessed as the garden of the peer. Free to all, it is a fit emblem of the f□ lness of tbe Holy Spirit which God will in nowise withhold from him who seeks. "I will be as the de\v unto Israel." CONCLUSION. Jf God is prepared to give, are we prepared to receive, Let ns not make a mistake about the Holy Spiri~ similar to that which men formerly made abou~ the dew, which represents him. 'l'hey supposed that the moon an,l planets poured i: down upon the earth, regardless of its condition. But at the beginning of this centur~·. Dr. Wells, by three years' experiments, established the theory which, as Dr. Tyndnll says, "has stood the test of all subsequent criticism, and is now universally accepted." It was demonstrated, in short, that dew was not devendent on the condition of the heavens only, but on the condition of the earth; ay, and of the various things upon the earth. It was shown that the aqueous vapour condenses on things which are cooled by the radiation of their own heat, and on those only; so that if anything, a cloud, for example, comes between them and heaven, which prevents the giving off of their heat, the dew does not come; or, if they do not themselves freely give off their heat, though all around are blessed, they are not. Carry the thought into the higher sphere of which we have spoken. If there be no outgoing of warm earnest desire on your part, if there be not an honest putting away of any cloud, be it of doubt or of sin, which lies between your soul and heaven, though others may be blessed, you will fail to receive the fulfil- ment of the promise, "I will be as the dew unto Israel."-A. R. Vers. 5, 6.-Tlie bedewed Ohurch. This is a description of the condition of a. Church which has received the fulfilment of the promise," I will be as the dew unto Israel." Its blessedness is so full and so varied in its manifestations that no one emblem would suffice to represent it. Hence the text is crowded with imagery. 'l.'he bedewed Church has these characteristics. I.' GROWTH. "He shall grow as the lily." 1. This presupposes life. A lifeless log would not grow, however 1ich tho soil, favourable the season, abundant the sunshine ~nd dew; but if these conditions }:,e ·,i:iven to a. lily bulb, though it be unsightly in  152 ']'J] E nooK OF HOSEA. [en. XIV, 1--0,