The ten tribes are reminded of HOSEA. CHAPTER XIII. : mercies which they have abused. This chapter begins with observing that the fear of God leads to prosperity, but sin to ruin; a truth most visibly exemplified in the sin and punishment of Ephraim, 1-3. As an aggravation of their guilt, God reminds them of his former favours, 4, 5; which they had shamefully abused, 6; and which now expose them to dreadful punishments, 7, 8. He, however, tempers these awful threatenings with gracious promises ; and, on their repentance, engages to save them, when no other could protect them, 9-11. But, alas! instead of repenting, Ephraim is filling up the measure of his iniquity, 12, 13. Notwithstanding this, God promises to put forth his almighty power in behalf of his people, and, as it were, raise them from the dead, 14; although, in the meantime, they must be visited with great national calamities, compared first to the noxious and parching east wind, 15, and described immediately after in the plainest terms, 16. A. M. B. C. 725. AMC Cir. 3279 WHEN Ephraim spake trem-out of the floor, and as the smoke A. M. eir. 3279. bling, he exalted himself out of the chimney. A. U. C. cir. 29. Romuli, R. Roman., cir. annum 29. in Israel but a when he offended b 4' Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for saviour beside me. B. C. cir. 725. A. U. C. cir 29. Romuli, i R. Roman, eir. annum 29. there is no 2 And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: the land of great drought. they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice e kiss the calves. 5 I did know thee in the wilderness, 1in 3 Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind a2 Kings xvii. 16, 18; chap. xi. 2.- Heb. they add to sin. Chap. ii. 8; viii. 4. Or, the sacrifices of men. 1 Kings xix. 18.- Chap. vi. 4.- - Dan. ii. 35.- — Isa. xliii. 11; chap. xi. 9. NOTES ON CHAP. XIII. Verse 1. When Ephraim spake trembling] When he was meek and humble, of a broken heart and contrite spirit. He exalted himself in Israel] He became great in God's sight; he rose in the Divine esteem in proportion as he sank in his own. But this did not continue. He offended in Baal] He became an idolater. He died.] The sentence of death from the Divine justice went out against him. This has been differently understood: "As soon as Ephraim spake (To your tents, O Israel!) there was a trembling or commotion: then the kingdom was exalted in Israel." Thus taken, it refers to the division of the ten tribes from Rehoboam, son of Solomon, 1 Kings xii. 16, &c., and the establishment of the kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam in opposition to that of Judah; which breach was never healed. Verse 2. And now they sin more and more] They increase in every kind of vice, having abandoned the great Inspirer of virtue. Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.] This was the test. If there be a Jew that pretends to sacrifice, and whose conversion is dubious, let him come openly and kiss the calves. This will show what he is; no real Jew will do this. If he be an idolater, he will not scruple. This was the ancient method of adoration. 1. They kissed the idol. 2. When the statue was too high or too far off, they presented the hand, in token of alliance. 3. They brought that hand respectfully to their mouths, and kissed it. This was the genuine act of adoration; from ad, to, and os, oris, the mouth. So PLINY, Hist. Nat., lib. xxviii., c. 1. Adorando, dexteram ad oscula referimus. And APULEIUS, Asin., lib. iv.: Admoventes oribus suis dexteram, ut ipsam prorsus deam religiosis adorationibus venerabantur. See Calmet, and see the note on Job xxxi. 17. Verse 3. Therefore they shall be as the morning CLOUD-as the early DEW-as the CHAFF—as the SMOKE] Four things, most easy to be driven about and dissipated, are employed here to show how they should be scattered among the nations, and dissipated by captivity. Verse 4. I am the Lord thy God] This was the first discovery I made of myself to you, and the first commandment I gave; and I showed you that besides me there was no Saviour. There is a remarkable addition in the Septuagint here: "But I am Jehovah thy God, who stretched out the heavens and created the earth. And I showed them not to thee, that thou shouldst walk after them. And I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt," &c. This might have been once in the Hebrew text. Verse 5. I did know thee] I approved of thee; I loved thee; and by miraculously providing for thee in that land of drought, I demonstrated my love. Verse 6. According to their pasture] They had a rich pasture, and were amply supplied with every good. They became exalted in their heart, forgat their God, and became a prey to their enemies. "He that exalteth himself shall be abased." Verse 7. I will be unto them as a lion] ↳ shachal Threatenings and A. M. cir. 3279. CHAP. XIII. 8 I will meet them as a bear 11 I gave thee a king in A. U. C. cir. 29. that is bereaved of her whelps, Romuli, R. Roman., eir. annum 29. like a lion heart, and there will I devour them the wild beast shall tear them. t thou hast destroyed thyself; " but in me is thine help. V 10 I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes? r2 Sam. xvii. 8; Prov. xvii. 12. Heb. the beast of the field. Prov. vi. 32; chap. xiv. 1; Mal. i. 9.——" Ver. 4.- Heb. in thy help Rather, Where is thy king? King Hoshea being then in prison; 2 Kings xvii. 4.- Deut. xxxii. 38; chap. x. 3; ver. 4. 12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid. promises. A. M. cir. 3279. B. C. cir. 725. Romuli, R. Roman., cir. annum 29. 13 The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children. d e 14 f I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death; y 1 Sam. viii. 5, 19.- 1 Sam. viii. 7; x. 19; xv. 22, 23; xvi. 1; chap. x. 3.- - Deut. xxxii. 34; Job xiv. 17. Isa. xiii. 8; Jer. xxx. 6. Prov. xxii. 3.- d2 Kings xix. 3. Heb. a time. f Isa. xxv. 8; Ezek. xxxvii. 12. Hebrew, the hand. is supposed to mean here the black lion, frequent in to the time in which they cast off the Divine theocracy, Ethiopia. As a leopard] namar, so termed from its spotted skin, for to be spotted is the signification of the root. Will I observe them] The leopard, tiger, and panther will hide themselves in thick bush-wood, near where they expect any prey to pass; near, spring suddenly upon it. in the text: "By the way will I observe them;" watch for them as the leopard does. They shall be greatly harassed even on their way to Assyria, when going into captivity. and chose Saul in the place of Jehovah. Verse 11. I gave thee a king in mine anger] Such was Saul; for they highly offended God when they clamoured to have a king like the heathen nations that were around them. and as soon as it comes. Took him away in my wrath.] Permitted him and To this is the allusion the Israelites to fall before the Philistines. Others think that Shalmaneser was the king thus given, and Hoshea the king thus taken away. Verse 8. As a bear-bereaved] This is a figure to denote excessive ferocity. See the note on 2 Sam. xvii. 8, where a remarkable instance is given. And will rend the caul of their heart] Every savage beast goes first to the seat of the blood when it has seized its prey; as in this fluid they delight more than in the most delicate parts of the flesh. There will I devour them like a lion] labi, the old strong lion; drinking the blood, tearing the flesh, and breaking the bones to extract the marrow. The wild beast shall tear them] Probably this refers to the chakal or jackal, who frequently hunts down the prey, which the lion takes the liberty to devour, while the jackal stands by, and afterwards picks the bones. Hence he has been called the lion's PROVIDER, and the lion's waiting-man. Verse 9. O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself] These evils come not by my immediate infliction; they are the consequences of thy own crimes. In the above terrifying figures of the ferocious beasts, the prophet only shows what they would meet with from the hand of the Assyrians in the war, the famine, and the captivity; God being represented as doing what he only permits to be done. Verse 12. The iniquity of Ephraim is bound upl It is registered in my court of justice; the death warrant is in store, and will be produced in due time. Though there be not at present the judgment inflicted which such glaring transgressions demand, yet it will surely come. Such crimes cannot go unpunished. Verse 13. The sorrows of a travailing woman] These judgments shall come suddenly and unavoidably. The place of the breaking forth of children.] As there is a critical time in parturition in which the mother in hard labour may by skilful assistants be eased of her burden, which, if neglected, may endanger the life both of parent and child; so there was a time in which Ephraim might have returned to God, but they would not; therefore they are now in danger of being finally destroyed. And, speaking after the manner of men, he must be deemed an unwise son, who, if he had power and consideration, would prolong his stay in the porch of life, where he must necessarily be suffocated; so is Ephraim, who, though warned of his danger, having yet power to escape, continued in his sin, and is now come to destruction. I could illustrate the allusion in the text farther, and show the accurate propriety of the original; but the subject forbids it. Verse 14. I will ransom them from the power of the grave] In their captivity they are represented as dead and buried, which is a similar view to that taken of the Jews in the Babylonish captivity by Ezekiel in his vision of the valley of dry bones. They are now lost as to the purpose for which they were made, for which God had wrought so many miracles for them and for their ancestors; but the gracious purpose of God shall not be utterly defeated. He will bring them Verse 10. Give me a king and princes?] Referring out of that grave, and ransom them from that death; for But in me is thine help.] "Though thou hast destroyed thyself, yet in me alone can thy help be found."-Newcome. And others read, And who will help thee? reading "mi, who, forbi, in me. Though this is countenanced by the Syriac, yet there is no evidence of it in any of the MSS. yet collated, nor do I think it to be the true reading. A glorious promise of the B. C. cir. 725. he A. M. cir. 3279. A. U. C. cir. 29. B. C. cir. 725. all A. M. cir. 3279. h O death, I will be thy plagues; | fountain shall be dried up: Romuli, R. Roman., i 15 Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his i Jer. xv. 6; Rom. xi. 29.- * See Gen. m n solate; Romuli, R. Roman., cir. annum 29. for she hath rebelled against her they shall fall by the sword: their shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up. Fulfilled, cir. 721; 2 Kings xvii. 6.2 Kings xviii. 12. Jer. iv. 11; Ezek. xvii. 10; xix. 12; P2 Kings viii. 12; xv. 16; Isa. xiii. 16; chap. x. 14, 15; Amos m Heb. vessels of desire; Nah. ii. 9. i. 13; Nah. iii. 10. h1 Cor. xv. 54, 55.xli. 52; xlviii. 19.Chap. iv. 19. as they have deserved that death and disgraceful burial, they must be redeemed and ransomed from it, or still lie under it. And who can do this but God himself? And he will do it. In the prospect of this the prophet exclaims, in the person of the universal Redeemer, "O death, I will be thy plagues;" I will bring into thy reign the principle of its destruction. The Prince of life shall lie for a time under thy power, that he may destroy that power. O grave, I will be thy destruction] I will put an end to thy dreary domination by rising from the dead, and bringing life and immortality to life by my Gospel, and by finally raising from death the whole human race in the day of the general resurrection. given the words, chose to adapt them to the subject Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.] On these points I will not change my purpose; this is the signification of repentance when attributed to God. Verse 15. Though he be fruitful]_yaphri ; a paronomasia on the word D ephrayim, which comes from the same root parah, to be fruitful, to sprout, to bud. An east wind shall come] As the east wind parches and blasts all vegetation, so shall Shalmaneser blast and destroy the Israelitish state. sheol, which we translate grave, is the state of the dead. maveth, which we translate death, is the principle of corruption that renders the body unfit to be longer the tenement of the soul, and finally decomposes it. Sheol shall be destroyed, for it must deliver up all its dead. Maveth shall be annihilated, for the body shall be raised incorruptible. See the use which the apostle makes of this passage, 1 Cor.was the capital of the Israelitish kingdom. What xv. 54, 55; but he does not quote from the Hebrew, nor from any of the ancient versions. He had to apply the subject anew; and the Spirit, which had originally Verse 16. Samaria shall become desolate] This follows is a simple prophetic declaration of the cruelties which should be exercised upon this hapless people by the Assyrians in the sackage of the city. CHAPTER XIV. By the terrible denunciation of vengeance which concludes the preceding chapter, the prophet is led to exhort Israel to repentance, furnishing them with a beautiful form of prayer, very suitable to the occasion, 1-3. Upon which God, ever ready to pardon the penitent, is introduced making large promises of blessings, in allusion to those copious dews which refresh the green herbs, and which frequently denote, not only temporal salvation, but also the rich and refreshing comforts of the Gospel, 4–7. Their reformation from idolatry is foretold, and their consequent prosperity, under the emblem of a green flourishing fir tree, 8; but these promises are confined to those who may bring forth the fruits of righteousness, and the wicked are declared to have no share in them, 9. God will heal A. M. cir. 3279. cir. annum 29. f e B. C. cir. 725. A. U. C. cir. 29. 3 • Asshur shall not save us ; | them freely for mine anger is 4. M. cir. 3279. 5 I will be as 1 the dew are our gods: findeth mercy. grow as Romuli, R. Roman., eir. annum 29. h for in thee the fatherless the lily, and cast forth his roots as Le shows that they still had power to repent, and that God was ready to save them and avert all these evils. All this is easily accounted for on the doctrine of the contingency of events, i. e., the poising a multitude of events on the possibility of being and not being, and leaving the will of man to turn the scale; and that God will not foreknow a thing as absolutely certain, which his will has determined to make contingent. A doctrine against which some solemn men have blasphemed, and philosophic infidels declaimed; but without which fate and dire necessity must be the universal governors, prayer be a useless meddling, and Providence nothing but the ineluctable adamantine chain of unchangeable events; all virtue is vice, and vice virtue; or there is no distinction between them, each being eternally determined and unalterably fixed by a sovereign and uncontrollable will and unvarying necessity, from the operation of which no soul of man can escape, and no occurrence in the universe be otherwise than it is. From such blasphemy, and from the monthly publications which avouch it, good Lord, deliver us! Verse 2. Take with you words] And you may be assured that you pray aright, when you use the words which God himself has put in your mouths. On this very ground there is a potency in the LORD'S PRayer, when offered up believingly, beyond what can be found in any human composition. And it may be presumed that it was this consideration that induced our reformers to introduce it so frequently in the public liturgy. to depend on God alone for all that can make you | wise, useful, holy, and happy. The resolutions are,— 1. Asshur shall not save us-We will neither trust in, nor fear, this rich and powerful king. We will not look either to riches or power for true rest and peace of mind. 2. We will not ride upon horses-We shall no more fix our hopes on the proud Egyptian cavalry, to deliver us out of the hands of enemies to whom thy Divine justice has delivered us. We will expect no rest nor happiness in the elegances of life, and gratification of our senses. 3. Neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods-We will not trust in any thing without us; nor even in any good thing we are able to do through thy grace; knowing we have nothing but what we have received. We will trust in thy infinite mercy for our final salvation. 4. And we will do all this from the conviction, that in thee the fatherless findeth mercy; for we are all alike helpless, desolate, perishing orphans, till translated into thy family. Verse 4. I will heal their backsliding] Here is the answer of God to these prayers and resolutions. See its parts :: 1. Ye have backslidden and fallen, and are grievously and mortally wounded by that fall; but I, who am the Author of life, and who redeem from death, will heal all these wounds and spiritual diseases. 2. I will love them freely- nedabah, after a liberal, princely manner. I will love them so as to do them incessant good. It shall not be a love of affec See the order of God's directions here :1. Hearing these merciful invitations, believe them tion merely, but shall be a beneficial love. A love that to be true. not only feels delight in itself, but fills them with de 2. Cast aside your idols; and return to God as light who are its objects, by making them unutterably your Maker, King, and Saviour. and supremely happy. 3. Take with you the words by which you have been encouraged, and plead them before God. 3. For mine anger is turned away from him— Because he has turned back to me. Thus God and 4. Remember your iniquity, deeply deplore it, and man become friends. beg of God to take it all away. 5. Let faith be in exercise to receive what God waits to impart. "Receive us graciously;" np vekach tob, receive, or let us receive good; when thou hast emptied us of evil, fill us with goodness. 6. Be then determined, through grace, to live to his glory, "so shall we render thee the calves" (0 parim, for which the versions in general read peri, fruits, omitting the □ mem) "of our lips;" the sacrifices of praise, thanksgiving, gratitude, and the hearty obedience which our lips have often promised. 7. Having thus determined, specify your resolutions Verse 5. I will be as the dew unto Israel] On these metaphors I gladly avail myself of the elegant and just observations of Bp. Lowth. "These verses (5, 6, 7) contain gracious promises of God's favour and blessings upon Israel's conversion. In the fifth verse, it is described by that refreshment which copious dews give to the grass in summer. If we consider the nature of the climate, and the necessity of dews in so hot a country, not only to refresh, but likewise to preserve life; if we consider also the beauty of the oriental lilies, the fragrance of the cedars which grow upon Lebanon, the beauteous appearance which the . A M. cir. 3279. beauty shall be as the olive tree, observed him: I am like a green B. C. cir. 725. A. U. C. cir. 29. Romuli, R. Roman., cir. annum 29. and his smell as Lebanon. fir tree. 7 They that dwell under his found. shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon. 8 8 Ephraim shall say, "What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and V 9 Gen. xxvii. 27; Cant. iv. 11. som. Or, memorial." Ver. 3.i. 17. Psa. xci. 1. Or, blos- From me is thy fruit to Ephraim. B. C. cir. 725. A. U. C. cır. 29. A. M. cir. 3279. Romulí, R. Roman., cir. annum 29. 9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein. * Psa. cvii. 43; Jer. ix. 12; Dan. xii. 10; Ecclus. xxxix. 24 27; John viii. 47; xviii. 37. Psa. cxix. 14, 27, 33; cxlv. 17; Prov. x. 29; Luke ii. 34; 2 Cor. ii. 16; 1 Pet. ii. 7, 8. spreading olive trees afforded, the exhilarating coolness caused by the shade of such trees, and the aromatic smell exhaled by the cedars; we shall then partly understand the force of the metaphors here employed by the prophet; but their full energy no one can conceive, till he feels both the want, and enjoys the advantage, of the particulars referred to in that climate where the prophet wrote.' ."--Lowth's twelfth and nine-appearance, though still attached to the plant. teenth prelection; and Dodd on the place. They shall revive as the corn] The justness and beauty of this metaphor is not generally perceived. After the corn has been a short time above the earth, in a single spike, the blades begin to separate, and the stalk to spring out of the centre. The side leaves turn back to make way for the protruding stalk; and fall bending down to the earth, assuming a withered What a glorious prophecy! What a wonderful prophet! How sublime, how energetic, how just! The great master prophet, Isaiah, alone could have done this better. And these promises are not for Israel merely after the flesh; they are for all the people of God. We have a lot and portion in the matter; God also places his love upon us. Here the reader must feel some such sentiment as the shepherd in Virgil, when enraptured with the elegy which his associate had composed on their departed friend. The phraseology and metaphors are strikingly similar; and therefore I shall produce it. Tale tuum carmen nobis, divine poeta, Quale sopor fessis in gramine, quale per æstum Dulcis aquæ saliente sitim restinguere rivo. Nec calamis solum æquiparas, sed voce magistrum. "O heavenly poet, such thy verse appears, And scarce your master could perform so well. Το look at the corn in this state, no one, unacquainted with the circumstance, could entertain any sanguine hope of a copious harvest. In a short time other leaves spring out; the former freshen, and begin to stand erect; and the whole seems to revive from a vegetative death. This is the circumstance to which the prophet refers; "they shall revive as the corn." Of this a prudent and profitable use may be made. 1. When a soul is first "drawn by the cords of love," chap. xi. 4, every thing seems to it promising, comfortable, and delightful, like the corn in its first state. 2. But when the Spirit of judgment brings to the light of conscience the hidden things of iniquity, and repentance is deepened into contrition, the broken and the contrite heart groans, and thinks that all is lost; deep distress takes place, and discouragement succeeds discouragement. This answers to the corn in its second state. 3. By and by the pardon comes, and God's love is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost; every hope is revived and realized, the full corn in the ear becomes manifest; and this answers to the corn in its third state. 66 They shall revive as the corn." Glory be to God for his unspeakable gift! Verse 8. What have I to do any more with idols ?] The conversion of Ephraim is now as complete as it was sincere. God hears and observes this. I am like a green fir tree.] Perhaps these words should be joined to the preceding, as Newcome has done, and be a part of God's speech to Ephraim. "I have heard him; and I have seen him as a flourishing fir tree." He is become strong and vigorous; and from his present appearance of healthiness, his future increase and prosperity may be safely anticipated. From me is thy fruit found.] All thy goodness springs from the principle of grace which I have planted in thy soul; for as the earth cannot bring forth fruit without the blessing of God, sending the dews and rains, with the genial rays of the sun; so neither can the soul of man, even of the most pious, |