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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>H O S E A.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. V.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The scope of this chapter is the same with that of the foregoing
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chapter, to discover the sin both of Israel and Judah, and to denounce
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the judgments of God against them.
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I. They are called to hearken to the charge,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:1,8">ver. 1, 8</A>.
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II. They are accused of many sins, which are here aggravated.
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1. Persecution,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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2. Spiritual whoredom,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:3,4">ver. 3, 4</A>.
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3. Pride,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:5">ver. 5</A>.
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4. Apostasy from God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:7">ver. 7</A>.
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5. The tyranny of the princes, and the tameness of the people in
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submitting to it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:10,11">ver. 10, 11</A>.
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III. They are threatened with God's displeasure for their sins; he
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knows all their wickedness
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:3">ver. 3</A>)
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and makes known his wrath against them for it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:9">ver. 9</A>.
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1. They shall fall in their iniquity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:5">ver. 5</A>.
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2. God will forsake them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:6">ver. 6</A>.
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3. Their portions shall be devoured,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:7">ver. 7</A>.
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4. God will rebuke them, and pour out his wrath upon them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:9,10">ver. 9, 10</A>.
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5. They shall be oppressed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:11">ver. 11</A>.
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6. God will be as a moth to them in secret judgments
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:12">ver. 12</A>)
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and as a lion in public judgments,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:14">ver. 14</A>.
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IV. They are blamed for the wrong course they took under their
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afflictions,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:13">ver. 13</A>.
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V. It is intimated that they shall at length take a right course,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:15">ver. 15</A>.
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The more generally these things are expressed of so much the more
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general use they are for our learning, and particularly for our
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admonition.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ho5_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho5_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho5_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho5_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho5_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho5_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho5_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Charge against Israel and Judah; Judgments Threatened.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 758.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and
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give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment <I>is</I> toward you,
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because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon
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Tabor.
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2 And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I
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<I>have been</I> a rebuker of them all.
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3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O
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Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, <I>and</I> Israel is defiled.
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4 They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for
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the spirit of whoredoms <I>is</I> in the midst of them, and they have
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not known the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore
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shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall
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fall with them.
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6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; but they shall not find <I>him;</I> he hath withdrawn
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himself from them.
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7 They have dealt treacherously against the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: for they have
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begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with
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their portions.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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I. All orders and degrees of men are cited to appear and answer to such
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things as shall be laid to their charge
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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<I>Hear you this, O priests!</I> whether <I>in holy orders</I> (as
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those in Judah, and perhaps many in Israel too, for in the ten tribes
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there were divers cities of priests and Levites, who, it is probable,
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staid in their own lot after the revolt of the ten tribes and did so
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much of their office as might be done at a distance from the temple) or
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<I>pretending holy orders,</I> as the priests of the calves, who, some
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think, are included here. "Hearken, <I>you house of Israel,</I> the
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common people, and <I>give ear, O house of the king!</I>" let them all
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take notice, for they have all contributed to the national guilt, and
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they shall all share in the national judgments. Note, If neither the
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sanctity of the priesthood nor the dignity of the royal family will
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prevail to keep out sin, it cannot be expected that they should avail
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to keep out wrath. If the priests, and the house of the king, though
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they bear such noble characters, sin like others, their noble
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characters will not excuse them, but they must smart like others. Nor
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shall it be any plea for <I>the house of Israel</I> that they were
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misled by their priests and princes, but they shall receive their doom
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with them, and neither their meanness nor their multitude shall be
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their exemption.</P>
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<P>
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II. Witness is produced against them, one instead of a thousand; it is
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God's omniscience
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me.</I> They have
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<I>not known the Lord</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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but the Lord has known them, knows their true character however
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disguised, knows their secret wickedness however concealed. Note, Men's
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rejecting the knowledge of God will not secure them from his knowledge
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of them; and when he contends with them he will prove their sins upon
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them by his own knowledge, so that is will be in vain to plead <I>Not
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guilty.</I></P>
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<P>
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III. Very bad things are laid to their charge.
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1. They had been very ingenious and very industrious to draw people
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either into sin or into trouble: You have been <I>a snare on Mizpah,
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and a net spread upon Tabor</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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that is, such snares and nets as the huntsmen used to lay upon those
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mountains in pursuit of their game. When the worship of the calves was
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set up in Israel the patrons of that idolatry, and sticklers for it,
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contrived by all possible arts and wiles to draw men into it and
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reconcile those to it that at first had a dread of it. Note, Those
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that allure and entice men to sin, however they may pretend friendship
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and good-will, are to be looked upon as <I>snares and nets</I> to them,
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and <I>their hands as bands,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:26">Eccl. vii. 26</A>.
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But to those whom they could not seduce into sin they were as a net and
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a snare to bring them into trouble. Some think it was their practice to
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set spies in the road, and particularly upon the mountains of Mizpah
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and Tabor, at the times of the solemn feasts at Jerusalem, to watch if
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any of their people who were piously affected went thither, and to
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inform against them, that they might be prosecuted for it, thus doing
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the devil's work, who disquiets those whom he cannot debauch.
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2. They had been both very crafty and very cruel in carrying on their
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designs
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>The revolters are profound to make slaughter.</I> Note, Those who
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have themselves apostatized from the truths of God are often the most
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subtle and barbarous persecutors of those who still adhere to them.
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Nothing will serve them but to <I>make slaughter</I> (it is the blood
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of the saints that they thirst after): and with the serpent's sting
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they have his head; they are <I>profound</I> to do it. O the depth of
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<I>the depths of Satan,</I> of the wickedness of his agents, of those
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that have <I>deeply revolted!</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+31:6">Isa. xxxi. 6</A>.
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Now that which aggravated this was the many reproofs and warnings that
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had been given them: <I>Though I have been a rebuker of them all.</I>
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The prophet had been so, a reprover by office. He had many a time told
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them of the evil of their ways and doings, had dealt plainly <I>with
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them all,</I> and had not spared either the priests or the house of the
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king. God himself had been <I>a rebuker of them all</I> by their own
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consciences and by his providences. Note, Sins against reproof are
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doubly sinful,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+29:1">Prov. xxix. 1</A>.
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3. They had <I>committed whoredom,</I> had defiled their own bodies
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with fleshly lusts, had defiled their own souls with the worship of
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idols,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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This God was a witness to, though secretly committed and artfully
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palliated. Nay, the piercing eye of God saw <I>the spirit of
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whoredom</I> that was <I>in the midst of them,</I> their secret
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inclination and disposition to those sins, the love they had to their
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sins, and the dominion their sins had over them, how much they were
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under the power of a <I>spirit of whoredom,</I> that <I>root of
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bitterness</I> which bore all this gall and wormwood, that corrupt and
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poisoned fountain.
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4. They had no disposition at all to come into acquaintance and
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communion with God. The <I>spirit of whoredoms,</I> having <I>caused
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them to err</I> from him, keeps them wandering endlessly,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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(1.) They <I>have not known the Lord,</I> nor desire to know him, but
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have rather declined, nay dreaded, the knowledge of him, for that would
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disturb them in their sinful ways.
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(2.) Therefore <I>they will not frame their doings to turn to their
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God,</I> by which it appeared that they did not know him aright. This
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intimates their obstinate persistence in their apostasy from God; they
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would not <I>turn to God,</I> though he was <I>their God,</I> theirs in
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covenant, by whose name they had been called, and whom they were bound
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to <I>serve.</I> They would not return to the worship of him, from
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which they had turned aside. Nay, <I>they would not frame their doings
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to turn to God.</I> They would not <I>consider their ways,</I> nor
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dispose themselves into a serious temper, nor apply their minds to
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think of those things that would bring them to God. It is true we
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cannot by our own power, without the special grace of God, turn to him;
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but we may by the due improvement of our faculties, and the common aids
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of his Spirit, <I>frame our doings</I> to turn to him. Those that will
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not do this, that <I>prepare not their hearts to seek the Lord</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+12:14">2 Chron. xii. 14</A>),
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owe it to themselves that they are not turned; they die because they
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will die; and to those that will do this further grace shall not be
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wanting.
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(5.) They were guilty of notorious arrogancy, and insolence in sin
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>The pride of Israel doth testify to his face,</I> doth witness
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against him that he is a rebel to God and his government. The
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<I>spirit of whoredoms</I> which was <I>in the midst of them</I> showed
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itself in the gaiety and gaudiness of their worship, as a harlot is
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known by her attire,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+7:10">Prov. vii. 10</A>.
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The wantonness of her dress testifies to her face that she is not a
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modest woman. Or their pride in confronting the prophets God sent them
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and the message they brought
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+43:2">Jer. xliii. 2</A>),
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or a haughty scornful conduct towards their brethren and those that
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were under them, <I>witnessed against</I> them that they were not God's
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people and justified God in all the humbling judgments he brought upon
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them. His pride testifies <I>in his face;</I> so some read it, agreeing
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with
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+3:9">Isa. iii. 9</A>,
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<I>The show of their countenance doth witness against them.</I> They
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have that <I>proud look</I> which <I>the Lord hates.</I>
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(6.) They departed from God to idols, and bred up their children in
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idolatry
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>They have dealt treacherously against the Lord,</I> as a wife, who,
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in contempt of the marriage covenant, forsakes her husband, and lives
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in adultery with another. Thus those who are guilty of spiritual
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idolatry, whose god is their money, whose god is their belly, <I>deal
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treacherously against the Lord;</I> they violate their engagements to
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him and frustrate his expectations from them. Note, Wilful sinners are
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treacherous dealers. <I>They have begotten strange children,</I> that
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is, their children which they have begotten are estranged from God, and
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trained up in a false way of worship; they are a spurious brood, as
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<I>children of fornication</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+8:41">John viii. 41</A>),
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whom God will disown. Note, Those deal treacherously with God indeed
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who not only turn from following him themselves but train up their
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children in wicked ways.</P>
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<P>
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IV. Very sad things are made to be their doom. In general
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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"<I>Judgment is towards you.</I> God is coming forth to contend with
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you, and to testify his displeasure against you for your sins." It is
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time to hearken when judgment is towards us. In particular,</P>
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<P>
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1. They shall <I>fall in their iniquity.</I> This follows upon their
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<I>pride testifying to their face</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>)
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<I>Therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity.</I> Note,
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Pride will have a fall; it is the certain presage and forerunner of it.
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Those that exalt themselves shall be abased. The face in which pride
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testifies shall be filled with confusion. They shall not only fall, but
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fall in their iniquity, the saddest fall of any. Their pride kept them
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from repenting of their iniquity, and therefore they shall fall in it.
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Note, Those that are not humbled for their sins are likely to perish
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for ever in their sins. It is added, <I>Judah also shall fall with
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them</I> in her iniquity. As the ten tribes were carried captive into
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Assyria, for their idolatry, so the two tribes, in process of time,
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were carried into Babylon for following their bad example; but the
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former fell and were utterly cast down, the latter fell and were raised
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up again. Judah had the temple and priesthood, and yet these shall not
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secure them, but, if they sin with Israel and Ephraim, with them they
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shall fall.</P>
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<P>
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2. They shall fall short of God's favour when they profess to seek it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the
|
|
Lord,</I> but in vain; <I>they shall not find him.</I> This seems to be
|
|
spoken principally of Judah, when they fell into their iniquity, and
|
|
when they fell in their iniquity.
|
|
|
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(1.) When they fell into their iniquity they <I>sought the Lord;</I>
|
|
but they did not <I>seek him only,</I> and therefore he was not
|
|
<I>found of them.</I> When they worshipped strange gods, yet they kept
|
|
up the show and shadow of the worship of the true God; they went as
|
|
usual, at the solemn feasts, <I>with their flocks and herds to seek the
|
|
Lord;</I> but their hearts were not <I>upright with him,</I> because
|
|
they were not <I>entire for him,</I> and therefore he would not accept
|
|
them; for <I>then</I> only shall we find him when we <I>seek him with
|
|
our whole heart,</I> not divided between God and Baal,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+14:3">Ezek. xiv. 3</A>.
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(2.) When they fell in their iniquity, or found themselves falling by
|
|
it, they <I>sought the Lord;</I> but they did not seek him
|
|
<I>early,</I> and therefore he will not be found of them. They shall
|
|
see ruin coming upon them, and shall then, in their distress, flee to
|
|
God, and think to make him their friend with burnt-offerings and
|
|
sacrifices; but it will be too late then to turn away his wrath when
|
|
<I>the decree has gone forth.</I> Even Josiah's reformation did not
|
|
prevail to <I>turn away the wrath of God,</I>
|
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|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+23:25,26">2 Kings xxiii. 25, 26</A>.
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Those that go <I>with their flocks and their herds</I> only to seek the
|
|
Lord, and not with their hearts and souls, cannot expect to find him,
|
|
for his favour is not to be purchased with <I>thousands of rams.</I>
|
|
Nor shall those speed who do not seek the Lord <I>while he may be
|
|
found,</I> for there is a time when he will not be found. They shall
|
|
not find him, for he has withdrawn himself; he will not be enquired of
|
|
by them, but will turn a deaf ear to their sacrifices. See how much it
|
|
is our concern to seek God early, now while the accepted time is, and
|
|
the day of salvation.</P>
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|
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<P>
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3. They and their portions shall all be swallowed up. They have
|
|
<I>dealt treacherously against the Lord,</I> and have thought to
|
|
strengthen themselves in it by their alliances with strange children;
|
|
but <I>now shall a month devour them with their portions,</I> that is,
|
|
their estates and inheritances, all those things which they have taken,
|
|
and taken up with, as their portion; or by their <I>portions</I> is
|
|
meant their idols, whom they chose for their portion instead of God.
|
|
Note, Those that make an idol of the world, by taking it for their
|
|
portion, will themselves perish with it. A <I>month</I> shall
|
|
<I>devour</I> them, or eat them up--a certain time prefixed, and a short
|
|
time. When God's judgments begin with them they shall soon make an end;
|
|
one month will do their business. How much may a body be weakened by
|
|
one month's sickness, or a kingdom wasted by one month's war! <I>Three
|
|
shepherds</I> (says God) <I>I cut off in one month,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+11:8">Zech. xi. 8</A>.
|
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|
|
Note, The judgments of God sometimes make quick work with a sinful
|
|
people. A month devours more, and more portions, than many years can
|
|
repair.</P>
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|
<A NAME="Ho5_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho5_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho5_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho5_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho5_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho5_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho5_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ho5_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Threatenings of Judgment.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 758.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
|
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, <I>and</I> the trumpet in Ramah: cry
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|
aloud <I>at</I> Beth-aven, after thee, O Benjamin.
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|
9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the
|
|
tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
|
|
10 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound:
|
|
<I>therefore</I> I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.
|
|
11 Ephraim <I>is</I> oppressed <I>and</I> broken in judgment, because he
|
|
willingly walked after the commandment.
|
|
12 Therefore <I>will</I> I <I>be</I> unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the
|
|
house of Judah as rottenness.
|
|
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah <I>saw</I> his wound,
|
|
then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet
|
|
could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.
|
|
14 For I <I>will be</I> unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion
|
|
to the house of Judah: I, <I>even</I> I, will tear and go away; I will
|
|
take away, and none shall rescue <I>him.</I>
|
|
15 I will go <I>and</I> return to my place, till they acknowledge
|
|
their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will
|
|
seek me early.
|
|
</FONT></P>
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|
<P>
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|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. A loud alarm sounded, giving notice of judgments coming
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Blow you the cornet in Gibeah</I> and <I>in Ramah,</I> two cities
|
|
near together in the confines of the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel,
|
|
Gibeah a frontier-town of the kingdom of Judah, Ramah of Israel; so
|
|
that the warning is hereby sent into both kingdoms. "<I>Cry aloud at
|
|
Beth-aven,</I> or Bethel, which place seems to be already seized upon
|
|
by the enemy, and therefore the trumpet is not sounded there, but you
|
|
hear the outcries of those that shout for mastery, mixed with theirs
|
|
that are overcome." Let them <I>cry aloud, "After thee, O Benjamin!</I>
|
|
comes the enemy. The tribe of Ephraim is already vanquished, and the
|
|
enemy will be upon thy back, O Benjamin! in a little time; thy turn
|
|
comes next. The cup of trembling shall go round." The prophet had
|
|
described God's controversy with them as a trial at law
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+4:1"><I>ch.</I> iv. 1</A>);
|
|
|
|
here he describes it as a trial by battle; and here also <I>when he
|
|
judges he will overcome.</I> Let all therefore prepare to meet their
|
|
God. He had before spoken of the judgments as certain; here he speaks
|
|
of them as near; and, when they are apprehended as just at the door,
|
|
they are very startling and awakening. The blowing of this cornet is
|
|
explained,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely
|
|
be,</I> that which is <I>true</I> or <I>certain,</I> so the word is.
|
|
Note, The destruction of impenitent sinners is a thing which shall
|
|
surely be; it is not mere talk, to frighten them, but it is an
|
|
irrevocable sentence. And it is a mercy to us that it is <I>made
|
|
known</I> to us, that we have timely warning given us of it, that we
|
|
may <I>flee from the wrath to come.</I> It is the privilege of the
|
|
tribes of Israel that, as they are told their duty, so they are told
|
|
their danger, by the oracles of God committed to them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The ground of God's controversy with them.
|
|
|
|
1. He has a quarrel with <I>the princes of Judah,</I> because they were
|
|
daring leaders in sin,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
They are <I>like those that remove the bound,</I> or the ancient
|
|
land-marks. God has given them his law, to be a fence about his own
|
|
property; but they have sacrilegiously broken through it, and set it
|
|
aside; they have encroached even upon God's rights, have trampled upon
|
|
the distinctions between good and evil, and the most sacred obligations
|
|
of reason and equity, thinking, because they were princes, that they
|
|
might do any thing, <I>Quicquid libet, licet--Their will was a law.</I> Or it
|
|
may be understood of their invading the liberty and property of the
|
|
subject for the advancing of the prerogative, which was like removing
|
|
the ancient land-marks. Some have observed that the princes of Judah
|
|
were more absolute, and assumed a more arbitrary power, than the
|
|
princes of Israel did; now, for this, God has a controversy with them:
|
|
<I>I will pour out my wrath upon them like water,</I> in great
|
|
abundance, like the waters of the flood, which were poured upon the
|
|
<I>giants</I> of the <I>old world,</I> for the violence which the earth
|
|
was filled with through them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+6:13">Gen. vi. 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, There are <I>bounds</I> which even princes themselves must not
|
|
remove, bounds both of religion and justice, which they are limited by,
|
|
and, if they break through them, they must know that there is a God
|
|
above them that will call them to account for it.
|
|
|
|
2. He has a quarrel with the <I>people of Ephraim,</I> because they
|
|
were sneaking followers in sin
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>He willingly walked after the commandment,</I> that is, the
|
|
commandment of Jeroboam and the succeeding kings of Israel, who obliged
|
|
all their subjects by a law to worship the calves at Dan and Bethel,
|
|
and never to go up to Jerusalem to worship. This was <I>the
|
|
commandment;</I> it was the law of the land, and backed with reasons of
|
|
state; and the people not only walked after it in a blind implicit
|
|
obedience to authority, but they willingly walked after it, from a
|
|
secret antipathy they had to the worship of idols. Note, An easy
|
|
compliance with the commandments of men that thwart the commandments of
|
|
God ripens a people for ruin as much as any thing. And the punishment
|
|
of the sequacious disobedience (if I may so call it) answers to the
|
|
sin; for it is for this that <I>Ephraim is oppressed and broken in
|
|
judgment,</I> has all his civil rights and liberties broken in upon and
|
|
trodden down; and,
|
|
|
|
(1.) It is just with God that it should be so, that those who betray
|
|
God's property should lose their own, that those who subject their
|
|
consciences to an infallible judge, and an arbitrary power, should have
|
|
enough of both.
|
|
|
|
(2.) There is a natural tendency in the thing itself towards it.
|
|
<I>Those</I> that <I>willingly walk after the commandment,</I> even
|
|
when it walks contrary to the command of God, will find the commandment
|
|
an encroaching thing, and that the more power is given it the more it
|
|
will claim. Note, Nothing gives greater advantage to a mastiff-like
|
|
tyranny, that is fierce and furious, than a spaniel-like submission,
|
|
that is fawning and flattering. Thus is <I>Ephraim oppressed and broken
|
|
in judgment,</I> that is, he is wronged under a face and colour of
|
|
right. Note, It is a sad and sore judgment upon any people to be
|
|
oppressed under pretence of having justice done them. This explains the
|
|
threatening
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke.</I> Note, Daring
|
|
sinners must expect that a day of rebuke will come, and such a day of
|
|
rebuke as will make them desolate, will deprive them of the comfort of
|
|
all they have and all they hope for.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The different methods that God would take both with Judah and
|
|
Ephraim, sometimes one method and sometimes the other, and sometimes
|
|
both together, or rather by which, first the one and then the other, he
|
|
would advance towards their complete ruin.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. He would begin with less judgments, which should sometimes work
|
|
silently and insensibly
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I will be</I> (that is, my providences shall be) <I>unto Ephraim as
|
|
a moth;</I> nay (as it might better be supplied), they <I>are unto
|
|
Ephraim as a moth,</I> for it is such <I>a sickness</I> as Ephraim now
|
|
sees,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, The judgments of God are sometimes to a sinful people <I>as a
|
|
moth,</I> and <I>as rottenness,</I> or as <I>a worm.</I> The former
|
|
signifies the little animals that breed in clothes, the latter those
|
|
that breed in wood; as these consume the clothes and the wood, so shall
|
|
the judgments of God consume them.
|
|
|
|
(1.) Silently, so as not to make any noise in the world, nay, so as
|
|
they themselves shall not be sensible of it; they shall think
|
|
themselves safe and thriving, but, when they come to look more narrowly
|
|
into their state, shall find themselves wasting and decaying.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Slowly, and with long delays and intervals, that he may give them
|
|
<I>space to repent.</I> Many a nation, as well as many a person, in the
|
|
prime of its time, dies of a consumption.
|
|
|
|
(3.) Gradually. God comes upon sinners with less judgments, so to
|
|
prevent greater, if they will be wise and take warning; he comes upon
|
|
them step by step, to show he is not willing that they should perish.
|
|
|
|
(4.) The moth breeds in the clothes, and the worm or rottenness in the
|
|
wood; thus sinners are consumed by a fire of their own kindling.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. When it appeared that those had not done their work he would come
|
|
upon them with greater
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and to the house of Judah as a
|
|
young lion,</I> though Judah is himself, in Jacob's blessing, a
|
|
<I>lion's whelp.</I> Lest any should think his power weakened, because
|
|
he was said to be <I>as a moth</I> to them, he says that he will now be
|
|
as <I>a lion</I> to them, not only to frighten them with his roaring,
|
|
but to pull them to pieces. Note, If less judgments prevail not to do
|
|
their work, it may be expected that God will send greater.
|
|
<I>Christ</I> is sometimes a lion of the tribe of Judah, here he is a
|
|
lion against that tribe. See what God will do to a people that are
|
|
secure in sin: <I>Even I will tear.</I> He seems to glory in it, as his
|
|
prerogative, to be able to <I>destroy,</I> as the <I>alone
|
|
lawgiver,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+4:12">Jam. iv. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
"<I>I, even I,</I> will take the work into my own hands; I <I>say
|
|
it</I> that will <I>do it.</I>" There is a more immediate work of God
|
|
in some judgments than in others. <I>I will tear, and go away.</I> He
|
|
will go away,
|
|
|
|
(1.) As not fearing them; he will go away in state, and with a majestic
|
|
face, as the lion from his prey.
|
|
|
|
(2.) As not helping them. If God tear by afflicting providences, and
|
|
yet by his graces and comforts stays with us, it is well enough; but
|
|
our condition is sad indeed if he <I>tear</I> and <I>go away,</I> if,
|
|
when he deprives us of our creature comforts, he does himself depart
|
|
from us. When he goes away he will take away all that is valuable and
|
|
dear, for, when God goes, all good goes along with him. He will take
|
|
away, <I>and none shall rescue him,</I> as the prey cannot be rescued
|
|
from the lion,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:8">Mic. v. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, None can be delivered out of the hands of God's justice but those
|
|
that are delivered into the hands of his grace. It is in vain for a man
|
|
to strive with his Maker.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. The different effects of those different methods.
|
|
|
|
1. When God contended with them by less judgments they neglected him,
|
|
and sought to creatures for relief, but sought in vain,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
When God was to them <I>as a moth,</I> and <I>as rottenness,</I> they
|
|
perceived <I>their sickness</I> and <I>their wound;</I> after a while
|
|
they found themselves going down the hill, and that they were
|
|
behind--hand in their affairs, their estate was sensibly decaying, and
|
|
then they sent <I>to the Assyrian,</I> to come in to their assistance,
|
|
made their court to king Jareb, which some think, was one of the names
|
|
of Pul, or Tiglathpileser, kings of Assyria, to whom both Israel and
|
|
Judah applied for relief in their distress, hoping by an alliance with
|
|
them to repair and re-establish their declining interests. Note, Carnal
|
|
hearts, in time of trouble, see their sickness and see their wound, but
|
|
do not see the sin that is the cause of it, nor will be brought to
|
|
acknowledge that, no, nor to acknowledge the hand of God, his <I>mighty
|
|
hand,</I> much less his righteous hand, in their trouble; and
|
|
therefore, instead of going the next way to the Creator, who could
|
|
relieve them, they take a great deal of pains to go about to creatures,
|
|
who can do them no service. Those who repent not that they have
|
|
offended God by their sins are loth to be beholden to him in their
|
|
afflictions, but would rather seek relief any where than with him. And
|
|
what is the consequence? <I>Yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of
|
|
your wound.</I> Note, Those who neglect God, and seek to creatures for
|
|
help, will certainly be disappointed; those who depend upon them for
|
|
support will find them, not <I>foundations,</I> but <I>broken
|
|
reeds;</I> those who depend upon them for supply will find them, not
|
|
<I>fountains,</I> but <I>broken cisterns;</I> those who depend upon
|
|
them for comfort and a cure will find them <I>miserable comforters,</I>
|
|
and <I>physicians of no value.</I> The kings of Assyria, whom Judah and
|
|
Israel sought unto, <I>distressed them</I> and <I>helped them not,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+28:16,28">2 Chron. xxviii. 16, 28</A>.
|
|
|
|
Some make king <I>Jareb</I> to signify the <I>great, potent,</I> or
|
|
<I>magnificent king,</I> for they built much upon his power; others
|
|
<I>the king that will plead,</I> or <I>should plead,</I> for they built
|
|
much upon his wisdom and eloquence, and in his interesting himself in
|
|
their affairs. They had sent him <I>a present</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:6"><I>ch.</I> x. 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
a good fee, and, having so retained him of counsel for them, they
|
|
doubted not of his fidelity to them; but he deceived them, as an arm of
|
|
flesh does those that trust in it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+17:5,6">Jer. xvii. 5, 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. When, to convince them of their folly, God brought greater judgments
|
|
upon them, then they would at length be forced to apply to him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+5:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
When he has <I>torn</I> as a <I>lion,</I>
|
|
|
|
(1.) He will leave them: <I>I will go and return to my place,</I> to
|
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heaven, or to the mercy-seat, the throne of grace, which is his glory.
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When God punishes sinners he <I>comes out of his place</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+26:21">Isa. xxvi. 21</A>);
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but, when he designs them favour, he <I>returns to his place,</I> where
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he <I>waits to be gracious,</I> upon their submission. Or he will
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<I>return to his place</I> when he has corrected them, as not regarding
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them, hiding his face from them, and not taking notice of their
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troubles or prayers; and this for their further humiliation, till they
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are qualified in some measure for the returns of his favour.
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(2.) He will at length work upon them, and bring them home to himself,
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by their afflictions, which is the thing he waits for; and then he will
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no longer withdraw from them. Two things are here mentioned as
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instances of their return:--
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[1.] Their penitent confession of sin: <I>Till they acknowledge their
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offence;</I> marg. <I>Till they be guilty,</I> that is, till they be
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sensible of their guilt, and be brought to own it, and humble
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themselves before God for it. Note, When men begin to complain more of
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their sins than of their afflictions then there begins to be some hope
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of them; and this is that which God requires of us, when we are under
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his correcting hand, that we own ourselves in a fault and justly
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corrected.
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[2.] Their humble petition for the favour of God: Till they <I>seek my
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face,</I> which, it may be expected, they will do when they are brought
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to the last extremity, and they have tried other helpers in vain.
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<I>In their affliction they will seek me early,</I> that is, diligently
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and earnestly, and with great importunity; and if they seek him thus,
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and be sincere in it, though it might be called seeking him late,
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because it was long ere they were brought to it, yet it is not too
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late, nay, he is pleased to call it seeking him early, so willing is he
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to make the best of true penitents in their return to him. Note, When
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we are under the convictions of sin, and the corrections of the rod,
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our business is to seek God's face; we must desire the knowledge of
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him, and an acquaintance with him, that he may manifest himself to us,
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and for us, in token of his being at peace with us. And it may
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reasonably be expected that affliction will bring those to God that had
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long gone astray from him, and kept at a distance. <I>Therefore</I> God
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for a time turns away from us, that he may turn us to himself, and then
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return to us. <I>Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray.</I></P>
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