exercise of all the powers or the mind; sloth is or all things the most disastrous. On tho whole, to know what wise and great men have thought is an advant11"e to the religious inquirer ; a comparison of inspired with uninspired wisdom is likely to lead mon into the paths or true and Divine wisdom. II. DIVINE REVELATION 0ALLS FOR THE EXERCISE OF RIGHTEOUS OBEDIENCE. Man is not a purely speculative being; he is eminently practical, and knrJwled"e of the truth answers the intended purpose when it leads to the love and practice of ~ectitude. 'J'hat abandoned sinners have been converted is true and is ground for rejoicing; that correctness of outward conduct has sometimes stood in the way of a spiritual life is also sadly undeniable. Yet the just are likely to long for a higher righteousness. To admire nod to aspire to goodness is to be in the way for the perfect satisfaction which attends those who walk "in the ways of the Lord." These ways are right. And it is hypocrisy to profess to know the revelation of God unless we accept its practical precepts, and make the Scriptures the lamp of our feet and the light of our path. They are trnly wise who understand and know God's declarations, and they are truly just who walk In his ways.-T. Vers.1-7.-Repentance, or reformation. "0 lsrael;retum nnto the Lord thy God," etc. "After the prophet has set before the sinful nation in various ways its own guilt, and the punishment that awaits it, viz. the destruction of the kingdom, he concludes his addresses with a call to thorough conversion to the Lord, and the promise that the Lord will bestow his grace once more upon those who tum to him, and will bless them abundantly" (Delitzscb). The subject of these words is-Repent- ance; or, the greater.t reformation. Reformation is a subject on which men are never tired of talking: it is the grand text of the demagogue, as well as the leading purpose of the philanthropist. There are various kinds of reformation. There is the d«trinal reformation-reformation in creed, the renunciation of one set of opinions and the ndoption of another. There is the institutional reformation-reformation in political, in ecclesiastical, and in social laws. There is the reformation in e:i:ternal character- involving the renunciation of old habits and the formation of new ones. But all such reformations are of little, if any worth, apart from the moral reformation-a reformation in the leading spirit and controlling dispositions of the soul, a reformation involving a thorough change of heart. This is the only reformation worth working for. In these verses we have Heveral things worth notice in relation to it. I. ITS NATURE AND METHOD INDICATED. 1. Its nature. "0 Israel, return unto the Lord thy God." The description contained in the first and third verses of this refor- mation implies three things. (1) That the soul is away from God. Truly the moral heart of humanity is far gone from the great Father. The souls of men are in the "far country" of sin. "Fallen by thine iniquity." It has gone down. from the high bills of spiritual purity and Divine communion. (2) The renunciation of all dtpend- ence upon creatures. " Asshur shall not save us ; we will not ride upon horses." This means-We will not trust to Asshur-that is, Assyria-for help. Nor will we ride upon horses-court friendship wi.th Egypt from whence they are fetched. When danger comes, we will trust in God, and him only, Moral reformation involves all this. All dependence on anything short of God for salvation is given up-science, philosophy, ritualism, priesthood, shall not save us. (3) Utter abandonment of all idols. "Neither will we say any more to the work of our bands, Ye are our gods. For in thee the fatherless findeth mercy." 2. Its method. "Take with you words, and turn to the Lord." Why take words to God? (1) Not because words can inform him of anything of which be is ignorant. With words we enlighten men; but Omniscience knows all connected with us-all that we are, have been, and shall be, through all the ages of the future, (2) Not because words can induce him to be more kind to us than he is. With words we persuade men to grant us our requests; but our words can never dispose him to do what he has not been always ready to accomplish. Words can never make him more kind and merciful than he bas ever been. Why, then, use words? Because words relieve our own spirits; words aid our own devotions. This, then, is the method-go to God at once, and pour out your souls before him. Before him resolve, "So will we render the calves of our lips." And before him pray. Pray for two things. (u) His forgiveness. "Tnke away all sin." (b) His acceptance. "Receive us graciously." 458 THE BOOK OF HOSEA. [en. XIV. 1-0.
II. ITs CAUSE AND BLEBSEDNltBB Bl'ECIFIED. 1. lea cauae, God. "I will heal their bachlidini;:, I will love them freely . . . . I will be AS the dew." All reformation la hrought about by his agency. I will act upon the sou1 silently, penetratingly, reuivify- i11gly, "88 the dew," All tme reformation brings with it God's silent but effective agency. 2. Its blessedness. (1) Health. "I wi\( heal their backsliding." Tho soul is diseaeed. God is its great Physician. (2? Divine favour. "I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.' The anger with which their guilty con- sciences invested him is removed as a thick cloud from the sky of their soul, and it glows in the sunshine of their love. (3) Growth. "He shall grow as the lily.'' (a) The growth is connected with beauty. Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like it. (b) Its growth is connected with strength. "Cast forth his roots as Lebanon." How deeply did the roots of the cedar in Lebanon strike into the earth I and how firm their grasp! The storms of centuries could not remove them. (cJ Its growth is con- nected with expansivrness. "His branches shall spread." Widely grew the branches of those old cedars, offering to the traveller a cooling shade from the sun and a shelter from the tempest. How a divinely formed soul expands I It outgrows the boundaries of sects and the limits of creeds. Its sympathies become world-wide. (d) Its growth is connected with fragrance. "His beauty shall be as the olive t.ree, and his smell as Lebanon." Sweet was the aroma that was swept by the wind over those old hills. How delectable the fr11grance of a holy life! (e) Its growth is connected with social 11s,fulness. It shall offer protection to men. "They that dwell under his shadow shall retum." Where can we flee in distress but to the sympathy and love of the ,:ood? Not only protection, but beneficent progress. "They shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine."-D. T.