Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hosea 7:14
And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, [and] they rebel against me.
14. with their heart, when they howled ] Rather, in their heart, but they howl. The prophet contrasts the quiet communion of the heart with Jehovah and the wild-beastlike ‘howling’ of the impenitent Israelites, who murmur at the withdrawal of material blessings. Comp. Isa 24:11.
they assemble themselves ] i.e. to lament together in their affliction. But the rendering is doubtful. Ewald, better, ‘they excite themselves’ (or, are inwardly moved). But it is much more natural to suppose that Daleth has become altered into Resh, and that we should read differently. Render therefore, with the Septuagint and some Hebrew MSS., they cut themselves. It is an allusion to a well-known sign of mourning, forbidden indeed by the Law (Deu 14:1; Lev 19:28; Lev 21:5), but habitually practised in Palestine (Jer 16:6; Jer 41:5; Jer 47:5; Jer 48:37), and still noticeable in the time of St Jerome (comm. on Jer 16:6).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And they have not cried unto him with their heart, when they howled upon their beds – Or, in the present time, they cry not unto Me when they howl. They did cry, and, it may be, they cried even unto God. At least, the prophet does not deny that they cried to God at all; only, he says, that they did not cry to Him with their heart. Their cries were wrung from them by their temporal distresses, and ended in them, not in God. There was no sincerity in their hearts, no change in their doings. Their cry was a mere howling. The secret complaint of the heart is a loud cry in the ears of God. The impetuous cry of impatient and unconverted suffering is a mere brutish howling. Their heart was set wholly on their earthly needs; it did not thank God for giving them good things, nor cry to Him truly when He withheld them.
But, it may be, that the prophet means also to contrast the acts of the ungodly, private and public, amid distress, with those of the godly. The godly man implores God in public and in private. The prayer on the bed, expresses the private prayer of the soul to God, when, the world being shut out, it is alone with Him. In place of this, there was the howling, as people toss fretfully and angrily on their beds, roar for pain; but, instead of complaining to God, complain of Him, and are angry, not with themselves, but with God. In place of the public prayer and humiliation, there was a mere tumultuous assembly, in which they clamored for grain and wine, and rebelled against God. They assemble themselves; (literally, they gather themselves tumultuously together). They rebel against Me ; (literally, they turn aside against Me). They did not only (as it is expressed elsewhere) turn aside from God. They turn aside against Me, He says, flying, as it were, in the very face of God. This tumultuous assembly was either some stormy civil debate, how to obtain the grain and wine which God withheld, or a tumultuous clamoring to their idols and false gods, like that of the priests of Baal, when arrayed against Elijah on Mount Carmel; whereby they removed the further from Gods law, and rebelled with a high hand against Him.
: What is to cry to the Lord, but to long for the Lord? But if anyone multiply prayers, crying and weeping as he may, yet not with any intent to gain God Himself, but to obtain some earthly or passing thing, he cannot truly be said to cry unto the Lord, i. e., so to cry that his cry should come to the hearing of the Lord. This is a cry like Esaus, who sought no other fruit from his fathers blessing, save to be rich and powerful in this world. When then He saith, They cried not to Me in their heart, etc., He means, they were not devoted to Me, their heart was not right with Me; they sought not Myself, but things of Mine. They howled, desiring only things for the belly, and seeking not to have Me. Thus they belong not to the generation of those who seek the Lord, who seek the face of the God of Jacob Psa 24:6, but to the generation of Esau.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Hos 7:14
They have not cried unto Me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds.
Death-bed repentance
When called to encounter dangers, every possible precaution should be taken beforehand. Seasons of peril and distress often wring from the most hardened expressions of sorrow and remorse. These are to be attributed, for the most part, to the alarming perplexity in which they are involved, and differ widely from the heart-felt supplications of the humble and contrite. The procrastinating sinner cannot delude the all-seeing God by his selfish attempt to palm off these shrieks of a terrified soul for the sincere sorrow of the penitent. There are few persons so hardened in guilt as not to promise themselves some season of amendment; and, strange as it may appear, a death bed repentance is that upon which they rely.
1. The grand motive which should influence the sinner in turning to God is love to the kind and gracious Father, who has so long borne with his waywardness, and a sincere desire to promote His glory.
2. A reliance on a death-bed repentance implies a doubt of the declarations of the Bible, that God expects us to walk before Him during the days of our earthly pilgrimage in holiness and righteousness. God commands us, most explicitly, to work while it is day, and reminds us of an hour when the Master of the house, having closed the door, all applications for admission, no matter how loud or importunate, will be in vain.
3. It is a prominent feature in the great plan of redemption that we should openly acknowledge our allegiance to God by becoming a member of His Church; and by a holy life and heavenly conversation adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour. If all should look to a death-bed repentance to fit them for heaven, what a prospect the world would present!
4. In these enlightened days, it would be difficult to find one within the limits of civilised life, who had not repeatedly heard of the offers of mercy, through the merits of a crucified Saviour. The world, however, has presented too many charms; business completely engrossed his thoughts; the care of providing for the mere earthly wants of a family engaged too much of his time to leave any for the concerns of his soul. If the thought arises, When shall I prepare for my final account? the devil stands ready to suggest that a few hours of prayer on a death-bed will be preparation enough. And the careless worldling listens most readily to the sly tempters advice. (John N. Norton.)
Insufficiency and hypocrisy of death-bed remorse
That religion can never be genuine and saving, lasting and happy, which is not the religion of the heart. By the heart is meant that which universal custom has attached to the term, namely, the choice, the affections, the pleasures, the sincerity of the soul. Religion must be our chosen portion, our beloved employ, our chief delight, our sincere and real character. There is a radical deficiency, an utter worthlessness in the religion that does not reach and possess and penetrate the heart. It is a mere name, a mere form, a mere pretence, a mere delusion. Nothing short of Divine grace can plant religion in the heart. There is in the carnal mind of man an aversion to genuine religion. The renewing of the mind is therefore plainly essential to true godliness. All means must in themselves be insufficient to produce genuine religion.
I. The deep and awful impressions often produced on the minds of sinners by the apparently near approach of death. They howled upon their beds. The word howled imports the violence of all their emotions and cries and protestations; rage mingled with their terror.
1. At such a time the soul is awakened.
2. As the natural result of the awakening of the soul it is filled with terror.
3. Now the soul of such an awakened sufferer is filled with tormenting regrets and self-upbraidings for past folly, neglect, and wicked ness.
4. Resolutions of repentance and reformation, if life should but be spared, are often most violently expressed; and no more perhaps is said than is at the moment meant. But such resolutions often betray the sufferers ignorance of the treachery, corruption, and weakness of his own heart.
II. Frequently such terrors are unaccompanied by any change of heart, and the professions and resolutions made under such circumstances are often hypocritical. Afflictions are, indeed, the established means by which God awakens the careless, slumbering souls of men to an effectual saving sense of Divine things. The man who makes death-bed professions is often more deluded than those Whom he addresses.
III. Found on these considerations an argument to enforce serious attention to the solemn affairs of the soul during the period of health and ease. Man is a being so constituted and circumstanced by his Maker that it becomes his duty and interest to carry forward his Views to the future, and to make a timely provision for it. Religion makes great use of this reasonable principle of our nature. Here is the greatest need, the highest exercise for a wise providence in preparing for futurity. We must die. Take that statement to include all that inseparably attends and follows death. With such a prospect before us can we with any wisdom, with any safety, defer to the last critical hour the great work of preparation for an event so awful and momentous? (A. W.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 14. They have not cried unto me with their heart] They say they have sought me, but could not find me; that they have cried unto me, but I did not answer. I know they have cried, yea, howled; but could I hear them when all was forced and hypocritical, not one sigh coming from their heart?
They assemble themselves for corn and wine] In dearth and famine they call and howl: but they assemble themselves, not to seek ME, but to invoke their false gods for corn and wine.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And they, immersed in these troubles. taken in the net, have not cried unto me; either they cried to their idols, not to God, see Hos 7:7; or else their tongues made noise, their hearts were silent, and that is, in Gods account, no cry at all.
With their heart; with affection, hope, humility, and sincerity; but out of some trouble, and more fear, they cried out to be delivered out of their pain and fear; it is therefore elegantly and properly called howling: though they did thus howl, yet they prayed not, they did not pour out a supplication to their God.
Upon their beds; on their couches, or in their chambers.
They assemble, in the houses of their idols, for corn and wine; that they may have plenty of these to satisfy their appetite, to live luxuriously, and in jollity.
They rebel against me; as in the use of these to excess, so in this manner of seeking these, they rebel against God, and give that honour to the idol which is due only to God.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. not cried unto mebut untoother gods [MAURER],(Job 35:9; Job 35:10).Or, they did indeed cry unto Me, but not “with their heart”:answering to “lies,” Ho7:13 (see on Ho 7:13).
when they howled upon theirbedssleepless with anxiety; image of deep affliction.Their cry is termed “howling,” as it is the cry of anguish,not the cry of repentance and faith.
assemble . . . for corn,c.namely in the temples of their idols, to obtain from them a goodharvest and vintage, instead of coming to Me, the true Giver of these(Hos 2:5 Hos 2:8;Hos 2:12), proving that their cryto God was “not with their heart.”
rebel against meliterally,”withdraw themselves against Me,” that is, not onlywithdraw from Me, but also rebel against Me.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And they have not cried unto me with their heart,…. In their distress, indeed, they cried unto the Lord, and said they repented of their sins, and promised reformation, and made a show of worshipping God; as invocation is sometimes put for the whole worship of God; but then this was not heartily, but hypocritically; their hearts and their mouths did not go together, and therefore was not reckoned prayer; nothing but howling, as follows:
when they howled upon their beds; lying sick or wounded there; or, as some, in their idol temples, those beds of adultery, where they pretended to worship God by them, and to pray to him through them; but such idolatrous prayers were no better than the howlings of clogs to him; even though they expressed outwardly their cries with great vehemency, as the word used denotes, having one letter more in it than common:
they assemble themselves for corn and wine: either at their banquets, to feast upon them, as Aben Ezra; or to the markets, to buy them, as Kimchi suggests; or rather to their idol temples, to deprecate a famine, and to pray for rain and fruitful seasons; or if they gather together to pray to the Lord, it is only for carnal and worldly things; they only seek themselves, and their own interest, and not the glory of God, and ask for these things, to consume them on their lust. The Septuagint version is, “for corn and wine they were cut”, or cut themselves, as Baal’s priests did, when they cried to him, 1Ki 18:28; and Theodoret here observes, that they performed the Heathen rites, and in idol temples made incisions on their bodies:
[and] they rebel against me: not only flee from him transgress his laws but cast off all allegiance to him and take up arms, and commit hostilities against him. The Targum joins this with the preceding clause,
“because of the multitude of corn and wine which they have gathered they have rebelled against my word;”
and to the same sense Jarchi; thus, Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Prophet here again reproves the Israelites for having not repented, after having been so often admonished; for, as it was said yesterday, all the chastisements which God by his own hand inflicts on us, have this as the object — to heal us of our vices. Now the Prophet says here that the Israelites had not cried to God, which is yet the chief thing in repentance. But this expression is to be noticed. They have not cried to me with their heart; that is sincerely. We indeed know that some worship of God had ever remained among them; though the Israelites devised for themselves many gods, yet the name of the true God had never been wholly obliterated among them; but they blended the worship of God with their own inventions; God, at the same time, could not endure these fictitious invocations. Hence he says, that they cried not from the heart. He accuses them, not that they performed no outward act, but that they did not bring a real desire of heart; nay, they only cried to God dissemblingly. We now perceive what the Prophet meant by saying, They have not cried to me with their heart As calling on God is the chief exercise of religion, and especially manifests our repentance, the Prophet expressly notices this defect in the Israelites — that they cried not to the Lord. But as they might object and say, that they had formally prayed, he adds, that they did not do so from the heart; for the outward act ( ceremonia ) without the exercise of the heart, is nothing else but a profanation of God’s name. In short, the Prophet shows here to the Israelites their hardness; for when they were smitten by God’s hand, they did not flee to him and supplicate pardon, at least they did not do this from the heart or sincerely.
He then adds, Because they howled on their beds Some explain the particle כי, ki, adversatively; as though the Prophet had said, “Though they howl on their beds, they do not yet direct their petitions to me.” But we may take it in its proper sense, and the sentence would thus run better: They howl then on their beds, that is, “They bring not their concerns to me; for like brute animals they utter their howlings:” and this we see to be the case with the unbelieving; for they fear the presence of God, and the very mention of him is dreaded by them; hence they howl, that is, they pour forth their impetuous feelings, but at the same time they shun every access to God as much as they can. The sense then is, “They cry not to me from the heart, for they only howl; but it is only by an animal effort without any reason.” If, however, any one prefers to take the particle כי, ki, adversatively, the sense would not be unsuitable, “Though they howl on their beds, they do not yet cry to me;” that is, “Though grief urges them to make great noises, they are yet mute as to any cry of prayer.” If any one more approves of this meaning, I say nothing against it: but as the particle כי, ki, is commonly taken as a causative, I prefer thus to explain it, “As they cry on their beds, they raise not up their voice to God.”
Then it follows, They assemble, or, will assemble themselves for corn and wine This place is explained in two ways. Some think that the Israelites are here in an indirect way reproved, inasmuch as when they found wine and corn in the market, having obtained their wishes, they went on heedlessly in their sins, and despised God, as if they had no more need of his help. They then ran together for wine and corn; that is, as soon as they heard of wine or corn, they provided themselves with provisions, and afterwards neglected God. But this sense seems too frigid and strained. The Prophet then, I doubt not, opposes the running together of which he speaks, to true and sincere attention to prayer; as though he said, “They are not touched with grief for having offended me, though they see by evident proofs that I am displeased with them; they regard not my favor or my displeasure, provided they enjoy plenty of wine and corn: this satisfies them, and it is all the same with them whether I am adverse or propitious to them.” This seems to be the genuine meaning of the Prophet.
But that this reproof may be more evident, we must observe what Christ teaches, that we ought first to seek the kingdom of God. (48) For men act strangely when they anxiously labour only for this life, and strive only to procure for themselves food, and what is needful for the wants of the flesh: we ever make a beginning here; and yet it is a most thoughtless anxiety, when we are so attentive to a frail life, and in the meantime neglect the kingdom of God. Inasmuch then as men by this perverted feeling derange the whole order of religion, the Prophet here shows that the Israelites did not truly and from the heart cry unto God, because they were only solicitous about wine and corn; for except when they were hungry, they despised God, and allowed him to rest quietly in heaven: hence penury and want constrained them. As brute beasts, when they are hungry, go to the stall, and seek not to be fed by the Lord; so also did the Israelites, when they were touched by some feeling of need; but at the same time they were contented with their wine and corn; nor had they any other God. Hence they so cried, that their voice did not come to God, as they did not indeed go really and directly to him. The Prophet then does here, by a particular instance, convict the Israelites of impious dissimulation, inasmuch as they did not seek God, but were only intent on food; and provided the stomach was well supplied, they neglected God, and desired not his favor, and only wished to have full barns and full cellars; for plenty of provisions, without the paternal favor of God, was their only desire. It is hence sufficiently evident that they did not cry to the Lord.
This place is worthy of being observed; for we here see that our prayers are faulty before God, if we begin with wine and bread, and seek not first the kingdom of God, that is, his glory; and if we apply not our minds to this — to live, so to have God propitious to us. When we go to Him, the fountain of divine blessing, God only desire to glut ourselves with the abundance of the good things which he has to bestow, then all our prayers are deservedly rejected by him. We see this to be the case with the Papists; when they present their supplications, they are wholly like animals. They indeed implore God for rain and for dry weather; but have they any desire of reconciling themselves to God? By no means; for they wish, as much as possible, to be at the farthest distance from him: but when want and famine constrain them, they then ask for rain, — for what purpose? only that they may abound in bread and wine. We ought then to preserve a legitimate order in our prayers. If the Lord shows to us proofs of his wrath, we must strive first to return into favor with him, and then his glory must be regarded by us, and he is to be sought with the real feeling of piety, that he may be a Father to us: and then may be added in their place the things which belong to the condition and preservation of the present life.
We must also notice what he adds, They have revolted from me The verb סור, sur, means, “to recede,” and also “to revolt;” and this second sense is the most suitable; for the Prophet said before that they had receded or departed from God; but now he seems to signify something more grievous, and that is, that they had revolted from God. Thus hypocrites, when they pretend to seek God in a circuitous course, betray their own revolt; for they are unwilling to be reconciled to him on the condition that they are to change for the better their life, to cast away the affections of the flesh, to renounce themselves and their depraved desires. These things they by no means seek. Hence then it becomes evident that they are witnesses to their own revolt, and also to dissimulation in their prayers, even when there is some appearance of piety. It follows —
(48) Mat 6:33. — fj.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Hos. 7:14. Cried] in anguish, not in penitence. Howled] in deep affliction and despair. Assemble] Crowd together in idol temple to deprecate famine and depart from God. Rebel] Lit. withdraw themselves. Against] From me; they cast off all allegiance to God.
HOMILETICS
THE HOWLING OF DISTRESS.Hos. 7:14
If the sinner will not take warning, but madly rush on, he must take the consequence of his folly. But when sorrow and punishment come upon him, he frets and cries to God in distress. When Israel suffered, they wept for their sins. God reproves them; they should have turned to him before. It is often too late to repent when the deed is done.
I. Men are often in great distress. Suffering of some kind we cannot avoid; it is incident to our mortal state. The ills that flesh is heir to are many. But sin brings suffering; neglect of Divine warnings brings Divine chastisement.
1. Men often lack the necessities of life. Corn and wine are not always given, often in justice withheld, and then famine results. The Irish famine through failure of potatoes created great distress. The luxuries and the necessities are taken away to humble our pride, punish our sin, and teach us dependence upon God. The Lord gave is the language of Scripture; that of atheism and pride, My own hand hath gotten me this wealth (Deu. 8:17). Heathens even acknowledged God as the Giver of good things. He has the right to withdraw at his pleasure. Gods hand must be seen in losses as well as gains. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.
2. Men are often put on beds of affliction. They howled upon their beds. Active energetic persons are confined to their habitations, thrown helpless on their beds, and led to cry for mercy. Many have wearisome nights and days; bitter pains and sorrows; then they cry for mercy in sickness, which they despised in health. Their punishment is greater than they can bear. A sick bed is a place of trial and a school of discipline.
II. Men cry to God in great distress. In prosperity and freedom they are right enough. Even beasts do not utter their cry when they have food. But how natural to feel and complain under severe suffering! It is not palatable to reap the reward of our own doings. Hence
1. Men cry, but it is not the cry of penitence. It is the howling of anguish; the cry of despair; mere noise without spiritual feeling.
2. They cry to God. Like the atheist on the gean Sea, they may forget or ridicule the idea of God in calm and sunshine. When the storms come they change their creed and cry to their God. Men may live without God, but they never want to suffer or die without him. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble.
3. Their cry is insincere. (a) It is not from the heart. They have not cried unto me with their heart. Their tears were wrung from them on account of distress and not sin. Their hearts were not set on God, and they could not pray unto him. The howling of the ancient heathen or the modern Indian is not true devotion. The prayer from a sense of pain and want is not the prayer of a broken and contrite spirit, which is acceptable to God.
Pleads he in earnest? look upon his face:
His eyes do drop no tears, his prayers are in jest;
His words come from his mouth, ours from our breast:
He prays but faintly, and would be denied:
We pray with heart and soul, and all beside.
(b) Their cry is public clamour. They assemble themselves, gather tumultuously together, to join in stormy debate or clamour to their gods. They thought more of corn and wine than pardon of sin and peace with God. Men are more anxious for the body than the soul, and when deprived of the blessings of this life fret and murmur against God.
4. Their cry ended in rebellion. They rebel against me, turn away from God, and then turn round to insult him to his face. This proved the insincerity of their prayer. Sanctified afflictions improve and wean from the world; unsanctified afflictions harden and lead to ungodliness. The iron when heated by the fire is soft and flexible, but afterwards goes hard and cold. When God slays men, then they seek him, return and inquire early after him. When restored they forget their vows and prayers, and live in estrangement from him. For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works (Psa. 78:32; Psa. 78:34).
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 7
Hos. 7:14. Cried. Many have been greatly afflicted and cried to God; been humbled, yet not made humble; humbled by force in their outward condition, but not humbled in their inward temper. But when the sickness has passed away, the sweetness of the forbidden fruit again comes to mind; and as the dog returneth to his vomit,to the food which had caused his sickness,so a fool returneth to his folly [Bridge].
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(14) Cried . . . HowledGod discriminates between a heart-cry to Him, and a howl of despair, resembling the yell of a wild beast. A howl upon their bed is not a sob of true repentance.
They assemble themselves.To supplicate Jehovah for fruitful harvests. This rendering is supported by several eminent authorities. Others follow Ewald in translating, they excite themselves with dervish-like devices and cries. The LXX. render with great force, they cut themselves. (Comp. 1Ki. 18:28; Deu. 14:1; Jer. 16:6.) This is based on a slightly different reading, contained in some of Kennicotts and De Rossis MSS., which is not improbably the right one. The charge is that all their simulated penitence is to secure physical comforts, not to show conformity with the Divine will.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And they have not cried to me with their heart,
But they howl on their beds,
They assemble themselves for grain and new wine,
They rebel against me.’
For rather than calling on YHWH from their hearts, they have howled to Baal from their cushion beds which they had placed around his altar as they assembled in order to seek to obtain grain and wine (compare Amo 2:8; Isa 57:7-8; Mic 2:1). One of the rituals in the worship of Baal was the mournful howling that accompanied the idea of his ‘death’ when everything died in the dry season (only to be followed by rejoicing when he came back to life, when the seed and bushes sprang to life, indicating the beginning of a new harvest) These beds would also be the very ones on which they performed adultery with the cult prostitutes, which they claimed was a means of bringing about a ‘sympathetic’ birth of nature, following Baal’s death. And it was all a sign of rebellion against YHWH.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Hos 7:14. And they have not cried unto me, &c. Nor do they cry unto me from their heart: They howl on their beds, for the want of corn and wine. They are enraged, and take counsel or rebel against me. Houbigant.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 1161
THE PRAYERS OF UNREGENERATE MEN CONSIDERED
Hos 7:14. They have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds.
IT is not without reason that prayer has been called by some, the pulse of the soul: for by that more than by any thing else may be discerned the increase or declension of our spiritual health. Somewhat like prayer may be offered by the most ungodly in seasons of deep distress: but their supplications differ widely from those which proceed from a penitent and contrite heart. The ten tribes, who, in despite of all the warnings given them, would go to Egypt and Assyria, rather than to God, for help, found themselves taken in the net which God had spread for them. Then they began to call upon God for help: but, the heart-searching God testifies respecting them, that they cried not unto him with their heart when they howled upon their beds.
To shew how common and awful this state is, we shall,
I.
Consider the prayers of unregenerate men
It is confessed such persons often howl upon their beds
[In these words two things are to be noticed, namely, the time, and the manner of their prayers. With respect to the time, it is too generally found, that they who are not in earnest about their salvation, defer their prayers till bed-time: instead of transacting their business with God whilst their faculties are alive, they stay till exhausted nature is become incapable of any energetic exertion; and then hurry over some form of prayer, as a school-boy does his task, without feeling one word they utter. Even this is too favourable a representation of the prayers of many; who stay till they have lain down upon their bed, and then fall asleep in the midst of their devotions. As for praying in the morning, they have no time for that: the concerns of the past, or of the present day have pre-occupied their minds; and if they offer two or three cold petitions while they are dressing, it is quite as much as their necessities require, or as God deserves. As to the manner, we may interpret the prophets expression as importing in general, that their prayers are altogether irrational, and forced: and indeed, if we take into the account the state of the suppliants as guilty and condemned sinners, and the majesty of him whom they profess to address, their prayers are a most horrid mockery, yea, as unsuitable to the occasion as the howling of a dog would be. But the expression may be taken more strictly and literally: for these persons will not pray with any degree of fervour, except in seasons of great affliction. Perhaps they have suffered some heavy loss, or are in embarrassed circumstances, or have some peculiar guilt upon their conscience, that greatly disturbs them; but even then they have no disposition to spread their case before God; and so they lie down upon their beds as miserable as they can be, howling and whining like dogs, and perhaps wishing that they were dogs, or any thing, rather than rational and accountable beings [Note: See this exemplified in David, Psa 32:3-4.].]
But, whatever their prayers be, they cry not unto God with their heart
[View them in their public devotions semi; they will confess themselves miserable sinners, and implore mercy for Christs sake at the hands of God, and desire grace from him that they may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of his holy name: but if they were afterwards told by their minister, that they were miserable and hell-deserving sinners; that nothing but an application of the blood of Christ to their souls could ever save them; and that, to evince the sincerity of their repentance, they must devote themselves unreservedly to God; they would shew by their answers, that they neither believed, nor desired, any one of the things, which they had uttered before God.
Inquire, further, into their private prayers, and it will be found that they are not sincere in any petition that they offer. If, for instance, they were to pray that they might become true and faithful disciples of the Lord Jesus; and Jesus were to tell them, as he did the Rich Youth in the Gospel, that they must first give up all that they possess in this world, before they can be brought to love him supremely and to serve him acceptably; would they reply to him, Thy will be done? Would they not rather plead for this or that possession, O, spare it; is it not a little one? and, when they found that the terms could not be lowered, would they not pray back again their prayers with ten-fold more earnestness than they at first uttered them; yea, and forego all their hope in Christ, rather than sacrifice their worldly interests?
Such are the prayers of the unregenerate, if they pray at all: but the greater part of them, except on very particular occasions, do not so much as preserve even an appearance of devotion [Note: Mar 10:21-22. This shews with what lamentable propriety they speak of saying their prayers.].]
We shall have a little clearer view of the worth-lessness of such prayers, if we,
II.
Contrast them with those of the regenerate
In every thing that is essential to prayer, the difference may be seen. Particularly they differ in respect of,
1.
Voluntariness
[The wicked will pray only under some heavy calamity, or in the near prospect of death and judgment [Note: Jer 2:27. Psa 78:34. Isa 26:16.]: all their petitions are extorted by anguish or by terror. The regenerate, on the contrary, go to God willingly and cheerfully as to their father and their friend. We do not mean to say, that the godly never feel backwardness to this duty (for, alas! they too often do) but they do not indulge it; they do not rest satisfied in such a state; they condemn themselves for it as much as an unregenerate person would condemn himself for the grossest sins: and when they are enabled, in any measure, to realize their principles, they account it their sweetest privilege to draw nigh to God, and to pour out their souls before him: they even pant for God as the hart after the water brooks, and go to him as to their exceeding joy [Note: Psa 42:1-2; Psa 43:4.].]
2.
Constancy
[When the distresses or terrors, that instigated the ungodly to prayer, are removed, there is an end of the importunity which was occasioned by them [Note: Job 27:10.]. The persons who for a while seemed melted in the furnace, are no sooner taken out of it, than they return to their wonted coldness and obduracy. But a regenerate person can say, My heart is fixed, O Lord, my heart is fixed: at evening, and at morning, and at noon-day will I pray, and that instantly [Note: Psa 57:7; Psa 55:17.]. There are seasons indeed, when he may, through the corruptions of his heart, be led to relax his diligence: but he can never give over prayer: whether he be in prosperity or adversity, he feels that he is altogether dependent upon God, both for his present and eternal happiness; and therefore he returns again and again to God, in order to maintain fellowship with him, and to receive at his hands the blessings he stands in need of.]
3.
Humility
[Persons may use very strong language and express a kind of indignation against themselves in reference to their inward corruptions, while yet they are not truly humbled before God: but true humility consists, not in vehement expressions, but in a tenderness of spirit mixed with self-lothing and self-abhorrence [Note: Job 42:6. Eze 20:43.]. Of this, an unregenerate man has no conception: yet it is this that constitutes the chief excellence of prayer; and without it our prayers can find no more acceptance with God, than the howling of a dog [Note: Mat 15:8-9.]. In this view, God himself calls the services of the temple a hateful noise [Note: Amo 5:21-23.]; and declares that the offering of a lamb with an unhumbled spirit, is as odious in his sight, as the offering of swines blood, or the cutting off a dogs neck [Note: Isa 66:3.].]
Infer
1.
How little dependence can be placed on a death-bed repentance!
[Far be it from us to discourage repentance at the last hour. On the contrary, if we behold symptoms of it, we would in the judgment of charity conclude well respecting its issue. But it is God alone who can perfectly distinguish between the feigned humiliation of Ahab, and the sincere contrition of Peter: and perhaps, where we think we hear the supplications of a Christian, God may hear nothing but the howling of a dog. Repentance, like every Christian grace, must be judged of by its fruits: and if we would have in ourselves, or leave in the mind of surviving friends, an unquestionable evidence of our sincerity, let us repent without delay, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance.]
2.
What encouragement have all real penitents to call upon God!
[As God can distinguish hypocrites in the midst of their most specious services, so can he discern the upright in the midst of all their infirmities. The sigh, the groan, the tear, the broken accents of contrition, are more pleasing to him than the most fluent petitions that are destitute of a divine unction [Note: Psa 6:8; Psa 38:9; Psa 79:11 and especially Lam 3:56.]. Let none then be discouraged because they do not find a ready utterance in prayer; but let them be chiefly solicitous to cry to God with their hearts. Then they will have nothing to fear; for God will hear them, yea, and answer too, while they are yet speaking to him [Note: Isa 65:24.], and will do for them abundantly above all that they can ask or think [Note: Eph 3:20.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Hos 7:14 And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, [and] they rebel against me.
Ver. 14. And they have not cried unto me with their heart ] Hitherto hath been said what they had done; now what they had not done. Omissions are sins as well as commissions. Not serving of God, not sacrificing, is condemned, Mal 3:18 Ecc 9:2 . Not robbing only, but the not relieving of the poor, was the rich man’s ruin, Luk 16:19 . Omission of diet breeds diseases, and makes work for hell, or for the physician of our souls. It is the character of a graceless man, that he calleth not upon God; and we have too many of that profane Earl of Westmoreland’s mind, who said, that he needed not to pray at all, for he had tenants enough to pray for him. Some wicked pray (so as it is; indeed they cant, or charm, rather than pray; Isa 26:16 , they poured forth a charm, when thy chastening was upon them), but they pray not with their heart. Their hearts are exercised with covetousness, 2Pe 2:14 , and inhabited by the devil, Act 5:3 . Simon Magus’ heart was not right with the Lord, Act 8:21 . How could it be, when it was “in the gall of bitterness, and bond of perdition,” Act 8:23 , as every unregenerate heart is? Hence though God be near in their mouths, yet he is far from their reins, Jer 12:2 ; and though they honour him a little with their lips, yet their heart is far from him, Mat 15:8 . A little artificial breath they can give God; and that is all. The breath that comes from life is warm (as that from the body), whereas artificial breath is cold, as that from bellows. The deeper and hollower the belly of the lute or viol the more pleasant is the sound; the fleeter, the more grating and harsh in our ears. The voice which is made in the mouth is nothing so sweet as that which comes from the depth of the breast. Eph 6:6 , Do the will of God “from the heart”: serve God “in the spirit,” Rom 1:9 . Lift up hands and hearts to God in the heavens, Lam 3:41 . Lip labour is but lost labour, yea, it is sin, Pro 15:8 . Displeasing service is double dishonour; as dissembled sanctity is double iniquity. These men cried vociferabantur, voce stentorea sonum edebant. They did set up their note, yea, they howled upon their beds, whereupon they had cast themselves, being sick, not of wantonness, as once Ahab was, but of want: which made them howl as dogs do when tied up from their meat and hunger bitten; but were no more regarded than a dog that howleth, or than the cuckoo in June. For what reason? They howled indeed to some tune (as they say), the Hebrew word hath a letter more than ordinary, to note as much (Jejelilu). Hebrew Text Note It was the heathen fashion to cry hideously to their gods; as also the Indians do to this day. So did these, because kept short, and held to strait allowance. It is said of the ravens of Arabia, that when they are hungry they screech horribly. And a parrot, when he is beaten, utters a hoarse and harsh voice. “The songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day,” Amo 8:3 ; their sacrifices as the cutting off a dog’s neck, which is not done without much howling and yelling, Isa 66:3 .
They assemble themselves
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
they have not cried. Compare Job 35:9, Job 35:10. Psa 78:36. Jer 3:10. Zec 7:5.
with their heart. They cried with their voice.
assemble themselves. In their idol temples.
wine = new wine. Hebrew. tirosh. App-27. Not the same word as in Hos 7:5.
rebel against = apostatized from.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
they have not: Job 35:9, Job 35:10, Psa 78:34-37, Isa 29:13, Jer 3:10, Zec 7:5
when: Isa 52:5, Isa 65:14, Amo 8:3, Jam 5:1
assemble: Hos 3:1, Exo 32:6, Jdg 9:27, Amo 2:8, Mic 2:11, Rom 16:18, Phi 3:19, Jam 4:3
Reciprocal: Exo 33:4 – they mourned Job 15:4 – restrainest Job 27:9 – his cry Job 35:13 – God Psa 18:41 – General Psa 32:3 – roaring Psa 78:37 – their heart Psa 119:58 – I entreated Psa 145:18 – call upon Isa 24:11 – a crying Isa 26:16 – in trouble Isa 59:11 – roar Isa 64:7 – there is Jer 2:27 – but in the time Jer 22:23 – how Lam 2:18 – heart Dan 9:13 – made we not our prayer before Hos 7:7 – there Hos 8:2 – General Amo 4:6 – yet Jon 1:5 – cried
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Hos 7:14. The people howled upon their beds because they were suffering from the evil effects of their sinful deeds. They did not cry to the Lord with a pure heart, but only out of a selfish desire for their own indulgences. They would clique together to obtain the luxuries of life, at the same time rebelling against divine law.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
7:14 And they have not cried unto me with their heart, {l} when they howled upon their beds: {m} they assemble themselves for corn and wine, [and] they rebel against me.
(l) When they were in affliction, and cried out in pain, they did not seek me for help.
(m) They only seek their own benefit and wealth, and care not for me their God.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
When the people cried out, it was not in prayer to God but out of self-pity over their miserable condition. These tears did not impress Him. They assembled (or gashed themselves, maybe both) to obtain food and drink from their idols. Crying out, wailing, and slashing oneself were all aspects of the self-destructive Canaanite worship style that the Israelites adopted (cf. 1Ki 18:28). They turned away from Yahweh, the only one who could provide their needs, like stubborn children.