Hosea 14:1-9
1 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receivea us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.
3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.
5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall growb as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
6 His branches shall spread,c and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and growd as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.
9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
Hosea 14:2. So will we render the calves of our lips. The fruit of our lips, in worship, in praise, and in all holy obedience. The sacrifices of thanksgiving are pleasing to God.
Hosea 14:3. In thee the fatherless findeth mercy. The Israelites in their captivity and dispersion might indeed be called a fatherless people.
Hosea 14:5. I will be as the dew unto Israel. By doctrine, by all the effusions of the Spirit, and by the grace of the gospel. The church shall flourish in all the glory of the latter day, as the prophets have foretold. Isaiah 35, 60. to the end of the book.
Hosea 14:8. What have I to do any more with idols. When he shall come into covenant with Christ, every idol shall be abhorred.
REFLECTIONS.
It is said of Hannibal that he left Italy weeping: he had failed to capture Rome. So in the preseding Chapter s, we see the man of God, after a fight of more than fifty years, driven from the field, but not vanquished; cast down, but not destroyed. Leaving Samaria to the flames, whither could he go but to his God, and to all the glorious promises of the latter day. These promises the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform.
But the prophet going to his God, wished to take the remnant with him. He still cries, Oh Israel, return to the Lord. Take words with you, confess your sins. God will yet be the first to hear. Let the lips, which once perhaps kissed the calves, be washed and give glory to the Lord. Neither Asshur nor Egypt shall save us. We will trust no more in horses nor in chariots; then the Lord will heal our backslidings.
See here the happy effects of divine influences. When God is as the dew to his people, and pours out his Spirit upon them, they grow in knowledge, in holiness and comfort; they become strong in the Lord, appear amiable in the eyes of good people, and are real blessings to all about them. Let us constantly and earnestly pray for these influences, that all the beautiful allusions may be exemplified in us; and that our fruit, derived from God, may continually abound to his glory. Wise and upright men will cheerfully submit to divine truths and dispensations; a most important remark, with which Hosea shuts up his prophecy. When men quarrel with the word, or with the providence of God, the fault is in themselves, not in the bible. Prudent and wise men are satisfied with the reasonableness of God's laws, and the equity of his providence. Transgressors think they are unreasonable, severe, unkind; and so are led into sin and ruin. This is the consequence of indulging a perverse and conceited spirit. It is necessary therefore that we diligently study the word and providence of God, that we may become wise and prudent; then, while others fail in his ways, we shall continue to walk in them, and find them ways of pleasantness, which lead to everlasting life.