Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Hosea
Book: Hosea
Chapter: 14
Overview:
An exhortation to
Repentance.
(1-3) Blessings promised,
showing the rich comforts of the
Gospel.
(4-8) The just and the
wicked.
(9)
1-3 Israel is exhorted to return unto
Jehovah, from their sins
and idols,
By Faith in his
Mercy, and
Grace through the promised
Redeemer, and
By diligently attending
On his
Worship and
service. Take away iniquity; lift it off as a
Burden we are
ready to sink under, or as the stumbling-block we have often
fallen over. Take it all away
By a free and full forgiveness,
for we cannot strike any of it off. Receive our
Prayer
graciously. They do not say what good they seek, but refer it to
God. It is not good of the world's showing, but good of
God's
giving. They were to consider their sins, their wants, and the
remedy; and they were to take, not sacrifices, but words stating
the desires of their hearts, and with them to address the
Lord.
The whole forms a clear description of the nature and tendency
of a sinner's
Conversion to
God through
Jesus Christ. As we draw
near to
God By the
Prayer of
Faith, we should first beseech him
to teach us what to ask. We must be
Earnest with him to take
away all iniquity.
4-8 Israel seeks
God's
Face, and they shall not seek it in
vain. His
Anger is turned from them. Whom
God loves, he loves
freely; not because they deserve it, but of his own good
pleasure.
God will be to them all they need. The graces of the
Spirit are the hidden
Manna, hidden in the
Dew; the
Grace thus
freely bestowed
On them shall not be in vain. They shall grow
upward, and be more flourishing; shall grow as the
Lily. The
Lily, when come to its height, is a lovely flower, Mt 6:28,29.
They shall grow downward, and be more firm. With the flower of
the
Lily shall be the strong root of the
Cedar of
Lebanon.
Spiritual growth consists most in the growth of the root, which
is out of sight. They shall also spread as the
Vine, whose
branches extend very widely. When believers abound in good
Works, then their branches spread. They shall be acceptable both
to
God and
Man.
Holiness is the beauty of a soul. The
Church is
compared to the
Vine and the
Olive, which bring forth useful
fruits.
God's promises pertain to those only that attend
On his
ordinances; not such as flee to this
Shadow only for shelter in
a hot gleam, but all who
Dwell under it. When a
Man is brought
to
God, all who
Dwell under his
Shadow fare the better. The
sanctifying fruits shall appear in his
Life. Thus believers grow
up into the experience and fruitfulness of the
Gospel.
Ephraim
shall say,
God will
Put it into his
Heart to say it, What have I
to do any more with idols!
God's promises to us are more our
security and our strength for mortifying
Sin, than our promises
to
God. See the power of Divine
Grace.
God will work such a
change in him, that he shall loathe the idols as much as ever he
loved them. See the benefit of sanctified
Afflictions.
Ephraim
smarted for his
Idolatry, and this is the
Fruit, even the taking
away his
Sin, Isa 27:9. See the nature of
Repentance; it is a
firm and fixed resolution to have
No more to do with
Sin. The
Lord meets penitents with
Mercy, as the
Father of the prodigal
met his returning son.
God will be to all true converts both a
delight and a defence; they shall sit under his
Shadow with
delight. And as the root of a tree; From me is thy
Fruit found:
from Him we receive
Grace and strength to enable us to do our
duty.
9 Who profit
By the truths the
Prophet delivered? Such as set
themselves to understand and know these things. The ways of
God's
Providence towards us are right; all is
Well done.
Christ
is a Foundation
Stone to some, to others a
Stone of stumbling,
and a
Rock of
Offence. That which was ordained to
Life, becomes,
through their abuse of it,
Death to them. The same
Sun softens
Wax and hardens
Clay. But those transgressors certainly have the
most dangerous, fatal falls, who fall in the ways of
God, who
split
On the
Rock of Ages, and suck
Poison out of the
Balm of
Gilead. Let sinners in Zion fear this. May we learn to walk in
the right ways of
God, as his righteous servants, and may none
of us be disobedient and unbelieving, and stumble at the
Word.