3<\/strong>. Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim<\/em> ] Various attempts have been made to extract a meaning from these names, which by its appropriateness to the circumstances of the Israelites might favour the view that the events related are fictitious and not real. Gomer may plausibly be interpreted ‘perfection’ (i.e. consummate in wickedness), and Diblaim ‘cakes of figs’ (i.e. the sweetness of sin). Rahmer has pointed out this view in the Talmud (see Frankel’s Monatsschrift<\/em>, xiv. 216 foll.), so that St Jerome’s similar explanation must have come from his Jewish teacher. But the fact that the children of Hosea (like those of Isaiah) have names which are obviously symbolic does not justify us in forcing an allusion out of the name of the mother. It has been suggested, but the view is not borne out by usage, that Diblaim is the name of Gomer’s birthplace; Diblathaim was a Moabitish town (see Jer 48:22<\/span> and Moabite Stone l. 30). The termination is that of the dual.<\/p>\n bare him a son<\/em> ] i.e. bare a son, whom for the mother’s sake he recognized.<\/p>\n So he went – <\/B>He did not demur, nor excuse himself, as did even Moses Exo 4:18<\/span>, or Jeremiah Jer 1:6<\/span>, or Peter Act 10:4<\/span>, and were rebuked for it, although mercifully by the All-Merciful. Hosea, accustomed from childhood to obey God and every indication of the will of God, did at once, what he was bidden, however repulsive to natural feeling, and became, thereby, the more an image of the obedience of Christ Jesus, and a pattern to us, at once to believe and obey Gods commands, however little to our minds.<\/P> Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim – <\/B>Gomer is completion; Diblaim, a double lump of figs; which are a figure of sweetness. These names may mean, that the sweetness of sins is the parent of destruction; or that Israel, or mankind had completely forsaken God, and were children of corrupting pleasure.<\/P> Holy Scripture relates that all this was done, and tells us the births and names of the children, as real history. As such then, must we receive it. We must not imagine things to be unworthy of God, because they do not commend themselves to us. God does not dispense with the moral law, because the moral law has its source in the mind of God Himself. To dispense with it would be to contradict Himself. But God, who is the absolute Lord of all things which he made, may, at His Sovereign will, dispose of the lives or things which He created. Thus, as Sovereign Judge, He commanded the lives of the Canaanites to be taken away by Israel, as, in His ordinary providence, He has ordained that the magistrate should not bear the sword in vain, but has made him His minister, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil Rom 13:4<\/span>. So, again, He, whose are all things, willed to repay to the Israelites their hard and unjust servitude, by commanding them to spoil the Egyptian Exo 3:22<\/span>.<\/P> He, who created marriage, commanded to Hosea, whom he should marry. The prophet was not defiled, by taking as his lawful wife, at Gods bidding, one defiled, however hard a thing this was. He who remains good, is not defiled by coming in contact with one evil; but the evil, following his example, is turned into good. But through his simple obedience, he foreshadowed Him, God the Word, who was called the friend of publicans and sinners Mat 11:19<\/span>; who warned the Pharisees, that the publicans and harlots should (enter unto the kingdom of God before them Mat 21:31<\/span>; and who now vouchsafes to espouse, dwell in, and unite Himself with, and so to hallow, our sinful souls. The acts which God enjoined to the prophets, and which to us seem strange, must have had an impressiveness to the people, in proportion to their strangeness. The life of the prophet became a sermon to the people. Sight impresses more than words. The prophet, being in his own person a mirror of obedience, did moreover, by his way of life, reflect to the people some likeness of the future and of things unseen. The expectation of the people was wound up, when they saw their prophets do things at Gods command, which they themselves could not have done. When Ezekiel was bidden to show no sign of mourning, on the sudden death of the desire of his eyes Eze 24:16-18<\/span>, his wife; or when he dug through the wall of his house, and carried forth his household stuff in the twilight, with his face covered Eze 12:3-7<\/span>; the people asked, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? (Eze 24:19<\/span>, add Eze 12:10<\/span>). No words could so express a grief beyond all power of grieving, as Ezekiels mute grief for one who was known to be the desire of his eyes, yet for whom he was forbidden to show the natural expressions of grief, or to use the received tokens of mourning. God Himself declares the ground of such acts to have been, that, rebellious as the house of Israel was Eze 12:2<\/span>, with eyes which saw not, and ears which heard not, they might yet consider such acts as these.<\/P> <\/p>\n Verse 3<\/span>. He went and took Gomer<\/B><\/I>] All this appears to be a real transaction, though having a typical meaning. If he took an Israelite<\/I>, he must necessarily have taken an idolatress<\/I>; one who had worshipped the calves of Jeroboam at Dan or at Bethel.<\/P> <\/p>\n So he went and took Gomer; as commanded, so he did, whether you take it parabolically or literally. If you take it literally, this Gomer will be some known harlot, and perhaps she was famous for her beauty, and skill in the courtesans art, as her name may import. If you take it as a parable, we must take this name for a made name, assumed for its signification; both in the best sense Israel was perfect with the perfection which God did put upon her, Eze 16:14<\/span>, he made her <\/P> Gomer; <\/B>and in the worst sense she made herself Gomer<\/I>, one who was drawing to her end, who had undone and consumed herself; thus the word, Psa 12:1<\/span>; and so, in one word, Gods bounty and mercy, and Israels ingratitude and sin, is set forth, together with her punishment hastening upon her. <\/P> The daughter of Diblaim:<\/B> literally understood, this Diblaim must be either father or mother of this Gomer, or else the name of the place where she was born. Parabolically understood, Diblaim, bunches of dried figs<\/I>, may imply the deliciousness of her provision made of God, such as was made for great feasts, 1Sa 25:18<\/span>; so 1Ch 12:40<\/span>; thus it will suit Hos 2:5<\/span>,9<\/span>, and the places where the fig is mentioned as fruit with which God had blessed Israel. All which abused to luxury and sin, will now make her a daughter of Diblaim, of wilderness, desolate. <\/P> Bare him a son:<\/B> this seems to favour the literal acceptation of all this as really done, and not only as represented in vision, parable, or hieroglyphic. But while either way it will be well applied to the purpose in hand, I shall leave it to the choice of every judicious reader to interpret and apply as best likes him. <\/P> <\/p>\n 3. Gomer . . . daughter ofDiblaim<\/B>symbolical names; literally, “completion, daughterof grape cakes”; the dual expressing the double layers in whichthese dainties were baked. So, one completely given up tosensuality.<\/I> MAURERexplains “Gomer” as literally, “a burning coal.”Compare Pro 6:27<\/span>; Pro 6:29<\/span>,as to an adulteress; Job 31:9<\/span>;Job 31:12<\/span>.<\/P><\/p>\n So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim<\/strong>,…. In the course of prophesying he made mention of this person, who was a notorious common strumpet; and suggested hereby that they were just like her; or these were fictitious names he used to represent their case by Gomer signifies both “consummation” and “consumption” l; and this harlot is so called, because of her consummate beauty, and her being completely mistress of all the tricks of one; or, being consummately wicked, a perfect whore, common to all; and because her ruin and destruction, persisting in such practices, were inevitable, and so a fit emblem of the present and future condition of Israel. Diblaim may be considered either as the name of a man, a word of the same form with Ephraim; or of a woman, the mother of Gomer; or else of a place, the wilderness of Diblath, Eze 6:14<\/span> and signifies “a cake of dried figs” m; which, in that country, was reckoned delicious eating; and so denotes, either that both the sin and ruin of this people were owing to their luxury, or indulging themselves in carnal pleasures, through the great affluence they were possessed of; or that their original was from a wilderness, and for their sins should be reduced to a desolate state again:<\/p>\n which conceived and bare him a son<\/strong>; whose name, and what he was an emblem of, are declared in the following verse. The Targum is,<\/p>\n “and he went and prophesied over them, that if they returned, it should be forgiven them: but, if not, as fig tree leaves drop off, so should they; but they added, and did evil works.”<\/p>\n l A rad. “perfecit, desiit”, Gussetius. m Vox “significat massas ficuum compressarum et siccatarum”, Rivetus, Tarnovius.<\/p>\n “And he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim; and she conceived, and bare him a son.” Gomer<\/em> does indeed occur in Gen 10:2-3<\/span>, as the name of a people; but we never meet with it as the name of either a man or a woman, and judging from the analogy of the names of her children, it is chosen with reference to the meaning of the word itself. Gomer<\/em> signifies perfection, completion in a passive sense, and is not meant to indicate destruction or death (Chald. Marck), but the fact that the woman was thoroughly perfected in her whoredom, or that she had gone to the furthest length in prostitution. Diblaim<\/em>, also, does not occur again as a proper name, except in the names of Moabitish places in Num 33:46<\/span> ( Almon<\/em> – diblathaim <\/em>) and Jer 48:22<\/span> ( Beth<\/em> – diblathaim <\/em>); it is formed from d <\/em> e bhelah <\/em>, like the form ‘Ephraim, and in the sense of d <\/em> e bhelm <\/em>, fig-cakes. “Daughter of fig-cakes,” equivalent to liking fig-cakes, in the same sense as “loving grape-cakes” in Hos 3:1<\/span>, viz., deliciis dedita <\/em>.<\/p>\n (Note: This is essentially the interpretation given by Jerome: “Therefore is a wife taken out of Israel by Hosea, as the type of the Lord and Saviour, viz., one accomplished in fornication, and a perfect daughter of pleasure ( filia voluptatis <\/em>), which seems so sweet and pleasant to those who enjoy it.”)<\/p>\n The symbolical interpretation of these names is not affected by the fact that they are not explained, like those of the children in Hos 1:4<\/span>., since this may be accounted for very simply from the circumstance, that the woman does not now receive the names for the first time, but that she had them at the time when the prophet married her.<\/p>\n We said in yesterday’s Lecture, that God ordered his Prophet to take a wife of whoredoms, but that this was not actually done; for what other effect could it have had, but to render the Prophet contemptible to all? and thus his authority would have been reduced to nothing. But God only meant to show to the Israelites by such a representation, that they vaunted themselves without reason; for they had nothing worthy of praise, but were in every way ignominious. It is then said, Hosea went and took to himself Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim גמר, Gomer, means in Hebrew, to fail; and sometimes it signifies actively, to consume; and hence Gomer means consumption. But Diblaim are masses of figs, or dry figs reduced to a mass. The Greeks call them παλαθας. The Cabalists say here that the wife of Hosea was called by this name, because they who are much given to wantonness at length fall into death and corruption. So consumption is the daughter of figs, for by figs they understand the sweetness of lusts. But it will be more simple to say, that this representation was exhibited to the people, that the Prophet set before them, instead of a wife, consumption, the daughter of figs; that is, that he laid before them masses of figs or παλαθας, representing Gomer, which means consumption and that he adopted a similar manner with mathematicians, when they describe their figures, — “If this be so much, then that is so much.” We may then thus understand the passage, that the Prophet here named for his wife the corrupt masses of figs; so that she was consumption or putrefaction, born of figs, reduced into such masses. For I still persist in the opinion I expressed yesterday, that the Prophet did not enter a brothel to take a wife to himself: for otherwise he must have begotten bastards, and not legitimate children; for, as it was said yesterday, the case with the wife and the children was the same. <\/p>\n We now then understand the true meaning of this verse to be, that the Prophet did not marry a harlot, but only exhibited her before the eyes of the people as though she were corruption, born of putrified masses of figs. <\/p>\n CRITICAL NOTES.<\/strong><\/p>\n Hos. 1:3<\/span><\/strong>. Gom<\/strong>.] The name of a nation (Gen. 10:2-3<\/span>); symbolically G. = completion; i.e. completely given up to whoredom. Dib<\/strong>.] = daughter of grape-cakes, indicating pleasure and sensuality. The sweetness of sins is the parent of destruction [Pusey<\/em>]. <\/p>\n Hos. 1:4<\/span><\/strong>. Jez<\/strong>.] = I will sow, scatter or disperse, like a seedsman, which happened by the Assyrians (2Ki. 17:5-6<\/span>). Avenge<\/strong>] Heb. visit. Jehu commanded to destroy the house of Ahab, externally obeyed, and rewarded in measure. He acted not from principle, or as he pretended out of zeal, but to serve his own political ends (2Ki. 9:10<\/span>; 2Ki. 9:36<\/span>; 2Ki. 10:16<\/span>). And so the blood which was shed according to the righteous judgment of God, became sin to him<\/em> who shed it, in order to fulfil, not the will of God, but his own [Pusey<\/em>]. Jez. symbol of past sins, intermediate punishment and final overthrow. <\/p>\n Hos. 1:5<\/span><\/strong>. Bow<\/strong>] Might, military prowess (Gen. 49:24<\/span>; Jer. 49:35<\/span>). <\/p>\n Hos. 1:6<\/span><\/strong>. Daughter<\/strong>] A symbol of a degenerate race, some; of the totality of men and women of the nation, others; seems to intensify Lo-ruh<\/strong>.] = not pitied, lit. I will not add any more to. The original expresses tender yearning towards one (Rom. 9:25<\/span>; 1Pe. 2:10<\/span>); but God would not continue to show compassion as he had done; Divine mercy exhausted and Israel was left in a defenceless state. I will utterly<\/strong>] Lit. taking away, I will take away everything they have. Marg. another sense, to take away, i.e. to forgive sin. <\/p>\n Hos. 1:7<\/span><\/strong>. The Lord their God<\/strong>] More emphatic than through me (Gen. 19:24<\/span>). Judah worshipped God; Israel turned to idols. One a witness for God, the other apostates from God. Judah saved in marked contrast to Israel punished. <\/p>\n Hos. 1:9<\/span><\/strong>. Lo-am<\/strong>.] = not my people; the covenant relation dissolved. Son<\/em> may typify the revival of strength in the reign of Jeroboam II., but prosperity brought no revival of piety. They were not Gods people. Not be your God<\/strong>] Lit. I will not be to you or for you; for you<\/em> by providence, to you<\/em> by love [Pusey<\/em>]. Deprivation of all that God can be to them. When God ceases to belong to men, to compassionate them, rejection follows. <\/p>\n HOMILETICS<\/em><\/p>\n THE THREE JUDGMENTS.Hos. 1:3-9<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n The names of the three children given by God himself were to be significant. The life of the prophet was to be a living sermon before the people. His marriage preached Gods mercy, and his children Gods judgment. If they refused his words, they should see his actions. In the first name we have a warning of terrible judgment, in the second its connection with the Divine nature, in the third the result. Destruction, cessation of mercy, and rejection, would be dreadful to any nation, but to Israel they involved the loss of special privileges and distinctions, their social, political, and theocratical position.<\/p>\n I. The destruction of the Royal Family<\/strong>. Upon the house of Jehu. J. anointed at Gods command to execute judgment upon the house of Ahab (2Ki. 9:6-7<\/span>); was rewarded in measure for his conduct, yet served his own ends, and in executing judgment upon others, brought it upon himself and family. God loves justice, and will punish those who administer it from wrong motives and feelings. Kings and men in authority must not fall short of duty, nor exceed it in any respect. So awful a thing it is to be the instrument of God in punishing or reproving others if we do not by his grace keep our own hearts and hands pure from sin [Pusey<\/em>], that we may be rejected ourselves. The slaughter of the Gibeonites by Saul, the conduct of Amalek towards Israel, seemed to be forgotten, but punishment came at last. Jehus house is visited, his progeny extinguished in the fourth generation for his offences. If we judge others we should not do the same things ourselves. <\/p>\n II. The destruction of the Regal Sovereignty<\/strong>. And will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. The strength of the kingdom was paralyzed after the destruction of the house of Jehu. Of five kings that followed Zechariah, only one died a natural death, the others were murdered and dethroned. The kingdom was distracted and broken, and in about 50 years completely destroyed by the captivity of the ten tribes. Kingdoms are built up, extended, and established by God; but the immorality of the rulers and the idolatry of the people will sow the seeds of decay and death. When God has numbered their days, no power, no splendour can hold them up. Foreign invasion and civil revolution may overturn. That kingdom is the strongest, the most splendid and secure, which makes God its sovereign. The skill of parliaments, the valour of soldiers, and the power of wealth are no security against the judgment of God. Put them in fear, O Lord; that the nations may know themselves to be but men. <\/p>\n III. The destruction of Military Prowess<\/strong>. I will break the bow of Israel. The bow was the special pride of Jehu (2Ki. 9:24<\/span>); the military strength upon which Israel relied, and for which it was famous (Jer. 49:35<\/span>). <\/p>\n 1. This strength shall be broken<\/em>. When God blows with the blast of his anger, individual health, family prosperity, and national glory fade like a flower. The strength of body, the vigour of mind, and the power of numbers are weak before him. God can humble the pride of men and nations, and take from them whatever they make their strength and defence. <\/p>\n 2. This strength shall be irreparably broken<\/em>. All power and projects defeated. When God breaks none can piece; when man pieces God can break. The shield, the sword, and the battle, weapons offensive and defensive, God can dash in pieces. In the spiritual conflicts of this and every age, no weapon formed against his people and his purpose shall prosper. <\/p>\n IV. The destruction of National Prestige<\/strong>. In the valley of Jezreel. This valley was the very centre and security of the kingdom, their Marathon and their Waterloo. It was the scene of their exploits and skill; the place of Ahabs wickedness and Jehus zeal. Here God had executed judgments against the enemies, and delivered his people from danger. In this very spot in which the nations history was localized the nations glory should fade away, and the nations guilt be punished. Places of carnal security often exposed to shame and destruction. Thus it is ever; when retribution comes it seems to despise the very things in which its victim gloried. A noble lineage, great wealth, patrimonial possessions, elevated positions, brilliant genius, and distinguished abilities; these are the modern Jezreels of sinners. In these they boast. But what are these? God, when he comes to judgment, will strike them in those very places, he will break their bow in the valley of Jezreel [The Homilist<\/em>].<\/p>\n HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES<\/em><\/p>\n Jehus conduct<\/em>. <\/p>\n 1. Service insincere<\/em>. Gods will done half way, not fully. He killed the priests, but clave to the calves. <\/p>\n 2. Service from wrong motives<\/em>. He acted not, as he pretended, out of zeal for God, but served his own political ends, and did Gods will from selfish and base motives. <\/p>\n 3. Service divested of real virtue<\/em>. It had no principle in it, and of was no true worth in the sight of God. His piety gave way to policy, and policy stained his piety. By the ends, and not by the works done, are virtues distinguished from vices. Two things make a good Christian, and declare him sogood actions and good aims. And although a good aim doth not make a bad action good (as in Uzziah), yet a bad aim makes a good action bad, as here in Jehu [Trapp<\/em>]. <\/p>\n 4. Service involving his house and kingdom in ruin<\/em>. The massacre therefore, says Calvin, was a crime so far as Jehu was concerned, but with God it was a righteous vengeance. Even if he did not make Gods command a mere pretext, yet his conduct was an act of blood-guiltiness which called for vengeance upon posterity. Things done by Gods desire or command may become crimes in the performer, if he acts from evil and selfish designs, and not from love to God. Religion must never be a cloak for the lusts of an evil and ambitious heart. Retribution will swiftly follow. Be sure your sins will find you out.<\/p>\n Jehus character<\/em>. J was one of those quick, ambitious men, whom God raises up to change the fate of empires and execute judgment upon the earth. His zeal was great so long as it squared with his own interests, but cooled wonderfully when directed against them. He was not a great or good man, but an agent for the accomplishment of great purposes. In his sudden elevation to the throne; in the ruthlessness with which he carried out his purposes; in the union of profound dissimulation with fanatic zeal, he is not without his likeness in modern times.<\/p>\n Jehus punishment<\/em>. I will visit, &c., <\/p>\n 1. Gods government<\/em>. God supreme, exalted above the heavens, and ruleth over the kings and nations of the earth. <\/p>\n 2. Gods purpose<\/em>. I will<\/em> visit. This purpose not capricious and arbitrary; in harmony with fixed principles, and regards moral conduct and desert. <\/p>\n 3. Gods providence<\/em>. I will visit. The providence fulfils the purpose of God in the events of history and by the agencies of men. <\/p>\n (1.) It is active<\/em>. I will visit. My Father worketh<\/em>. All things work<\/em> together. <\/p>\n (2.) It is just<\/em> as well as benevolent. <\/p>\n 4. Gods power<\/em>. I will avenge<\/em>. God omnipotent can easily destroy or punish. Gods providence and presence are sensibly felt among men. Hence the ruin of the wicked certain, irresistible, terrible, and complete.<\/p>\n The destruction of the kingdom<\/em>. <\/p>\n 1. God is the Creator and Destroyer of nations<\/em>. Men build often upon weak foundations, with unsuitable materials, and for base designs. Except the Lord build, &c., <\/p>\n 2. When God determines to destroy nations no power can avail against him<\/em>. I will break the bow. No bow can abide in strength without him. Seeming prosperity or outward grandeur of no account with him. <\/p>\n 3. The destruction of nations is not always by outward force<\/em>. God has many ways, and can work without means. Loss in battle, invaded borders, and mercantile panics may be recovered. But vital corruption and decay of religion reach the very heart of a nation. Nothing can preserve a people wholly given to whoredom and idolatry. <\/p>\n 4. Destruction of national exigence<\/em>. If all the historians who recorded the ultimate extinction of nations were inspired of God to give the true reasons of their fall, we should often meet this testimony: Perished of national pride, producing contempt of God and of fundamental morality! [Cowles<\/em>].<\/p>\n Yet a little while<\/em>. Space for repentance in human life and national affliction. Men perish not without warning. Judgment lingers long, but falls heavily at last. Gods measurement of time disregarded and sinned away can never be given again. I gave her space to repent of her fornication.<\/p>\n HOMILETICS<\/em><\/p>\n JUDGMENT AND MERCY.Hos. 1:6-7<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n The second judgment, the punishment foretold in the name of the daughter, is greater than that of the first. God would scatter, now Israel will be unpitied. By reference to the opposite lot of Judah, all false hope in Gods mercy is taken away. Those who forsake God, forsake their own mercy, and may reckon upon nothing but judgment.<\/p>\n I. Judgment without Mercy<\/strong>. Israel owed its preservation and prosperity amid anarchy and prevailing idolatry entirely to Gods mercy. God long-suffering, but sinners may exhaust his patience. <\/p>\n 1. Mercy may be withheld from men<\/em>. When former mercies are received with ingratitude, or abused, God will add no more (Psa. 59:5<\/span>). Goodness and mercy should lead to repentance, but if despised, men will treasure up wrath for themselves against the day of wrath (Rom. 2:4-5<\/span>). Day by day, hour by hour, individuals may be heaping up this awful treasure. The cup may soon be filled, Gods forbearance withheld, and judgment without mercy. <\/p>\n 2. Mercy withheld from men will lead to utter ruin<\/em>. I will utterly take them away. The ten tribes never returned (except very few) from captivity. Judgment fell upon the Churches in Asia Minor, and now they are warnings to others. The long-suffering of God waited in vain in the days of Noah; the flood came and destroyed an ungodly world. Because sentence is not suddenly executed, men plunge into deep sin, ripen themselves for greater judgment, which comes in ten-fold vengeance and utterly takes them away. <\/p>\n 3. Mercy withheld from us and given to others is a sad ingredient in the cup of sorrow<\/em>. This life is often embittered by opposite lots. The sobriety of one condemns the drunkenness of another. The spendthrift sees in the happiness and prosperity of his neighbour what he might have been himself. There is a necessary and natural connection between conduct and reward here. So in the future; condition will result from character; the fruit will grow from the tree. Say to the righteous, it shall be well with him. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him (Isa. 3:10-11<\/span>). One thing is set against another to teach men righteousness. <\/p>\n II. Mercy in the midst of Judgment<\/strong>. I will have mercy upon the house of Judah. Mercy was wonderfully shown to Judah in her danger from Assyrians, in deliverance from Babylon, in her beaten and plundered condition at the present by. Israel (2Ki. 14:12<\/span>). This a type of Gods dealings now. None deserve mercy, all are alike guilty. <\/p>\n 1. Mercy Divine in its source<\/em>. Israel had no mercy upon Judah; men have no mercy upon one another, but God shows mercy. I<\/em> will have mercy. <\/p>\n 2. Mercy sovereign in its objects<\/em>. Upon Judah<\/em>, not Israel. God has mercy upon whom he will have mercy (Rom. 9:15<\/span>). Often sinners beyond all others, liars, thieves, and drunkards are chosen. Paul, Bunyan, and Newton become patterns of mercy unto others. In this there is no unrighteousness in God, nor injury to man. <\/p>\n 3. Mercy without human merit<\/em>. Man clings to means, and wants to be saved by works. Not by works of the law, lest man should boast, but entirely of grace, through faith. Human efforts, instrumentalities of men, the power of intellect, and the energy of will avail nothing. Not by bow nor by sword, not by horses and chariots, on which nations rely in battle. God needs no creature helps; exalted in power, he will magnify his grace. It is salvation complete, without sorrow, humiliation, and bloodshed. By the Lord their God, whom they worshipped when Israel committed whoredom.<\/p>\n This passage leads us to contemplate Gods mercy. Mercy is a modification of goodness. God is good to all, but is only merciful to the suffering sinner. Mercy not only implies suffering, but suffering arising from sin<\/em>. If suffering were a necessity springing out of the constitution of things, its removal or mitigation would be an act of justice rather than mercy. Earth is a sphere where God shows his mercy, for here is suffering springing from sin. Here we have<\/p>\n I. Mercy withheld from some<\/strong>. For I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel, &c. When mercy has been abused the time comes when it is withheld, and the subjects are left abandoned of God. When mercy is withheld from nations they perish, from churches they decay, from families they sink to corruption, from individuals they are lost. My spirit shall not always strive with men. <\/p>\n II. Mercy bestowed upon others<\/strong>. I will have mercy upon the house of Judah. This mercy was signally shown to Judah, when in one night one hundred and eighty-five thousand warriors were slain. Looking at the words in their spiritual application they suggest two remarks in relation to mans deliverance. First, It is of mercy<\/em>. The deliverance of man from the guilt, the power, and consequence of sin, is entirely of Gods mercy, free, sovereign, boundless mercy. Secondly, Mans deliverance is: By moral means<\/em>. Will not save them by bow, &c. No material force can deliver the soul from its spiritual difficulties and perils. Moral means alone can effect the object. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord. Conclusion: Use mercy rightly while you have it. Its grand design is to produce reformation of character, and meetness for the high service and lofty fellowship with the great God, here and yonder, now and for ever [The Homilist<\/em>].<\/p>\n HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES<\/em><\/p>\n Hos. 1:7<\/span>. Mercy upon the house of Judah<\/em>. When Divine justice is glorified in some, yet there are others in whom free grace is glorified. And though some through unbelief are broken off, yet God will have a Church in this world till the end of time. It aggravates the rejection of Israel that God will have mercy on Judah, and not on them, and magnifies Gods mercy to Judah, that though they also have done wickedly, yet God did not reject them as he rejected Israel [Matt. Henry<\/em>].<\/p>\n The Lord their God<\/em>. The antithesis is not merely to the false gods of the heathen, but to the conduct of Israel who cast off Jehovah. Hence God withheld mercy from Israel, but gave it to Judah, who owned him as theirs<\/em>, and whom they outwardly worshipped in pursuance of the covenant with them. Notice the benefits of national worship<\/em>. Even outward forms of worship and Sabbath observance remind us of the reality, tend to ameliorate the prejudices and intone the spirit of society. Men are in danger of sinking into animal life by the pressure of labour and materialism. Neglect of national worship would break down moral barriers, and flood the land with amusements and wickedness. The human race feel the necessity of a purer and better life. Hence whatever interferes with Sabbath observances, whatever hinders the worship of God and the moral culture of men, should be avoided. Without national worship<\/p>\n 1. Many would observe no worship at all. HOMILETICS<\/em><\/p>\n A CAST OFF PEOPLE.Hos. 1:8-9<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n The third judgment is the most severe of all. Lo-ammi, not my people. God ceases to compassionate the rebellious tribes, the state of rejection ensues, and they are no longer my people, Jehovah will not belong to them. I will not be your God. Notice the gradual steps to this result.<\/p>\n 1. Fellowship with God is interrupted<\/strong>. God was the God of Israel, but they did not own him as suchdid not worship him, but committed whoredom. The service of Jehovah was irksome. Idolatry weaned their hearts from him, and they neglected religious privileges and despised religious teaching. Neglect of public worship and private devotion, contempt for the ordinances of the gospel, any wilful interruptions of communion with God, are signs of declension and steps to utter abandonment of God. <\/p>\n II. The Covenant relation is dissolved<\/strong>. Israel would not have God, and God would have nothing to do with them; would not be to them what he had been, and what they vainly expected he would be. They deprived themselves of his love and mercy, of his providence and protection. Many despise God and contemn his laws. They despise the authority of the Father, the death of the Son, and the influence of the Spirit. They disregard every office they sustain, and dishonour every relation they bear to us. They break from their allegiance, and live alienated from God by wicked works. They are without God in the world. To be without food and shelter is sad enough; to be without friends and supporters is sadder still; but to be without God, the sublimest being, the greatest good, is the real and awful condition of those whom God disowns. <\/p>\n III. Utter rejection results<\/strong>. Not my people. Forget God, and you will depart from him. Cast off God, and he will forsake you for ever (2Ch. 15:2<\/span>). When God deserts in providence, and withholds his grace in Christ, men are doomed to be cut off from hope here, and eternal life hereafter. I will not be your God, describe their dreadful condition; <\/p>\n 1. Disowned, HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES<\/em><\/p>\n Not be your God<\/em>. <\/p>\n 1. In the exigencies of life; to supply your need. The Three Judgments<\/em>. <\/p>\nFuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
2. Men would have no opportunities for moral and religious instruction at all.
3. Generous feelings would not be cherished, the mutual equality of men in the sight of God would be forgotten, the highest ranks would not be inspired with humility and condescension, nor the lowest with feelings of gratitude and love.
4. The people would have no regard for God; eventually cast off all fear and restraint; and judgment without mercy would strip us of our national prestige and position. When utterly taken away no bow could defend us, and no battle save us.<\/p>\n
2. Disinherited, and
3. Cursed.<\/p>\n
2. In the providences of life; to guide your steps.
3. In the end of life; at the solemn hour of death. Continuance in sin after once smiting will bring greater judgment upon nations, churches, and individuals. No limits must be set to Gods mercy, yet it often happens when God contends with nations that they prove so obstinate in sin, so incessant in departing from God, that nothing but rejection ends it for a time. The same is seen in individuals. God often first chastens them lightly, then more heavily, and brings them down in their iniquities; but if they still harden themselves, he withdraws both his chastisements and his grace, so that the sinner even prospers in this world, but, remaining finally impenitent, is cast off for ever [Pusey<\/em>].<\/p>\n