Hosea 2:20

I will even betroth thee unto Me in faithfulness; and thou shalt know the Lord.

The husband of the Church

I. The condescension of Christ in calling Himself the husband of His church. This appears if we consider that--

1. She is a debtor.

2. Deformed (Isaiah 1:6).

3. A prostitute (Jeremiah 3:1).

4. An enemy.

II. The properties of this relation.

1. Righteousness.

2. Judgment.

3. Loving-kindness.

4. Mercies.

5. For ever.

6. Faithfulness.

III. The experience she has of this relation. “Thou shalt know.” “Know” signifies--

1. To choose (Amos 3:2).

2. To delight in (Psalms 1:6).

3. To be familiar with (2 Samuel 3:25). (H. Foster.)

And thou shalt know the Lord.

Knowing Jehovah

We indeed see that we are in confusion as soon as we turn aside from the right and pure knowledge of God. Since then our salvation consists in the light of faith, our minds ought ever to be directed to God, that our union with Him, which He hath formed by the Gospel, may abide firm and permanent. But as this is not in the power or will of man, we draw this evident conclusion that God not only offers His grace in the outward preaching, but at the same time in the renewing of our hearts. It is necessary that God should work inwardly and efficaciously on our hearts, that His covenant may stand firm; nay, since the knowledge of Him is the special gift of the Spirit, we may with certainty conclude that what is said here refers not only to outward preaching, but that the grace of the Spirit is also joined, by which God renews us after His own image. The covenant of God can be strengthened and preserved only by the knowledge He conveys to us of Himself by the illumination of His Spirit. (John Calvin.)

Of the knowledge of God

There can be no cordial obedience to God by those who are ignorant of Him. Ignorance is not the mother of devotion, but the parent of superstition and idolatry. An unknown person cannot be truly and cordially loved.

I. Persons in a natural ann unregenerate state are destitute of Divine knowledge. (Acts 17:30.)

1. Sin has deprived us of communion with God, corrupted our nature, and darkened our understandings (Ephesians 4:18).

2. This ignorance is increased by a course of sinning.

3. There is many an affected ignorance which is very criminal. Men are unwilling to understand what they might. They love darkness rather than light.

4. Some are given up to judicial blindness and hardness of heart (Romans 1:28). Whilst men are in this state of darkness, they are ignorant--

(1) Of God, His nature, and perfections.

(2) Of Christ, His person and offices, and the way of salvation by Him.

(3) Of the Spirit of God.

(4) Of themselves, and of their state and condition by nature.

(5) Of sin, and the sad effects of it.

(6) Of the sacred Scriptures, and the truths contained in them.

II. In every regenerate person there is a knowledge of God and of Divine things. Observe--

1. The object of it--God.

(1) There is a knowledge by the light of nature, through the works of creation, which show His eternal power and Godhead: and through the works of providence, by which He has not left Himself without a witness of His being and beneficence.

(2) There is a knowledge of God by the moral law. It came by Moses, and it shows what is His good and perfect will. It is a transcript of His nature, His justice and holiness.

(3) There is a knowledge of God which comes by the Gospel, the doctrine of grace and truth, that is, by Christ, who declares God’s person, nature, grace, mind, and will to men. This knowledge of God may be considered as respecting the three Divine Persons in the Godhead. The knowledge of God is of Him as Father. The knowledge of Christ is affectionate, confidential, experimental, and appropriating. The knowledge of the Spirit is of Him as a Spirit of conviction and illumination; as the Comforter; as the Spirit of adoption; as a Spirit of grace and of supplication.

III. The nature and properties of this knowledge.

1. It is practical. The mere theory of any science is of little avail.

2. It is of a soul-humbling nature. Other knowledge puffs up.

3. It is pleasant, savoury, and satisfying.

4. It is super-excellent.

5. It is but imperfect in this life, yet it is progressive. (T. Hannam.)

A sanctified knowledge of God

This passage teaches--

1. God is the undertaker for, and worker in His people of all that is required on their part for entering into, and keeping covenant with Him.

2. A right and sanctified knowledge of God is the root and companion of all sanctifying graces and covenant dispositions; therefore all are comprehended in this, to “know the Lord.” Faith gets that name, not only because of the certitude and evidence it brings with it, but because it is begotten by His Word, and by the knowledge of Him in it, and is cherished and confirmed by taking Him up still more, as He is revealed there. (George Hutcheson.)

“Thou shalt know the Lord”: the best knowledge

Luther described theology, the knowledge of God, as “the queen of the sciences.” And in comparison with it, all other knowledge is vain. “We have lost,” said Dr. Bennett, Bishop of Cloyne, to Dr. Parr, when announcing the death of John Cowper, brother of the poet, “the best classic and most liberal thinker in the university.” What said John Cowper himself in his dying hours? “I have laboured day and night to perfect myself in things of no profit. I have sacrificed myself to these pursuits, and am suffering the consequences of my mis-spent labour. I wanted to be highly applauded, and was flattered up to the height of my wishes. Now I must learn a new lesson.”