O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Ver. 1. _O Israel, return unto the Lord_] _Usque ad Dominum,_ all the way to God, as far as to the Lord: give not the half, but the whole turn; and take it for a mercy that you are yet called upon to return, and may be... [ Continue Reading ]
Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive [us] graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. Ver. 2. _Take with you words, and turn to the Lord_] Confess your sins, beg pardon, and promise amendment. Sue to God to give you those words that... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 3. _Asshur shall not save us, &c._] _q.d._ He cannot if he would; he shall not if he could. The two great sins of this peo... [ Continue Reading ]
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. Ver. 4. _I will heal their backslidings_] Relapses, we know, are dangerous, and apostasy little less than incurable, 2Pe 2:20-21 Hebrews 6:6. Bishop Latimer, in a sermon before King Edward VI, tells of o... [ Continue Reading ]
I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. Ver. 5. _I will be as the dew unto Israel_] I will give good in abundance; and this is sweetly set forth in a sevenfold metaphor, all answering to the name of Ephraim (which signifieth fruitful) and to... [ Continue Reading ]
_His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon._ Ver. 6. _His branches shall spread_] Heb. shall walk, or expatiate; shall reach out, and stretch themselves all abroad: so shall the Church be propagated all the earth over; she shall flourish as the p... [ Continue Reading ]
They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive [as] the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof [shall be] as the wine of Lebanon. Ver. 7. _They that dwell under his shadow shall return_] Or, shall sit still, shall be at rest. The Chaldee hath it, They shall dwell in the sha... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 8. _Ephraim shall say, What have I to do, &c._] Heb. Ephraim, what have I to do, &c. This some make to be the speech of God to Ephraim; as... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 9. _Who is wise and he shall understand these things_] A pathetic perclose, whereby the proph... [ Continue Reading ]