The Commentaries of John Calvin on the Prophet Hosea.


Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets

by John Calvin

Now first translated from the original Latin by the Rev. John Owen,
vicar of Thrussington, Leicestershire

Volume First, Hosea

Wm. M. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, 1950, Michigan.
Printed in the United States of America



Table of Contents

Translator's preface
Postscript
Portrait of Calvin
The Epistle Dedicatory
John Calvin to the Christian Reader, health.
John Budaeus, to Christian Readers, health.
John Crispin to Christian Readers, health.
The Commentaries of John Calvin on the Prophet Hosea.
Commentaries on the prophet Hosea









Translator's preface

    Prejudice has often deprived many of advantages which they
might have otherwise derived: and this has been much the case with
respect to The Works of Calvin; they have been almost entirely
neglected for a long time, owing to impressions unfavourable to the
Author. In his own and the succeeding age, the authority of Calvin
as a Divine, and especially as an Expounder of Scripture, was very
high, and higher than that of any of the Reformers. Though an
eminent writer of the present day, Dr D'Aubigne, has pronounced
Melanchthon "the Theologian of the Reformation," yet there is
sufficient reason to ascribe that distinction to Calvin; and to him,
no doubt, it more justly belongs, than to any other of the many
illustrious men whom God raised up during that memorable period.

    It is not difficult to account for what happened to our author.
Various things combined to depreciate his repute. In this country
his views on Church government created in many a prejudice against
him; and then the progress of a theological system, not more
contrary to what he held than to what our own Reformers maintained,
increased this prejudice; and where the former ground of difference
and dislike did not exist, the latter prevailed: so that, generally
in our Church, and among Dissenting bodies, the revered name of
Calvin has been regarded with no feelings of affection, or even of
respect; no discrimination being exercised, and no distinction being
made between his great excellencies as an Expounder of Scripture,
and his peculiar views on Church discipline, and on the doctrine of
Predestination.
    
    On the Continent other things operated against his reputation.
Popery owed him a deep grudge; for no one of the Reformers probed
the depths of its iniquities with so much discrimination, and with
such an unsparing hand as he did. His remarkably acute mind enabled
him to do this most effectually; and there is much on this subject
in the present work, which renders it especially valuable at this
period, when Popery makes such efforts to spread its errors and
delusions. The two weapons which he commonly employed were Scripture
and common sense, - weapons ever dreaded by Popery; and to blunt
their edge has at all times been its attempt, the first, by vain
tradition, and the other, by implicit faith, not in God, or in God's
word, but in a palpably degenerated Church. But these weapons Calvin
wielded with no common skill, dexterity, and power, being deeply
versed in Scripture, and endued with no ordinary share of sound and
penetrating judgement. In addition to this, his doctrinal views were
diametrically opposed to those of Popery, and especially to the
papal system, as modified by and concentrated in Jesuitism, which
may be considered to be the most perfect form of Popery. For these
reasons, the Writings of Calvin could not have been otherwise than
extremely obnoxious to the adherents of the Church of Rome: and the
consequence has been, that they spared no efforts to vilify his
name, and to lessen his reputation.
    
    The first writer of eminence and acknowledged learning in this
country, who has done any thing like justice to Calvin, was Bishop
Horsley; and when we consider the very strong prejudice which at
that time prevailed almost in all quarters against Calvin, to
vindicate his character was no ordinary proof of moral courage.
There were, no doubt, some points in which the two were very like.
They both possessed minds of no common strength and vigour, and
minds discriminating no less than vigorous. In clearness of
perception, also, they had few equals; so that no one needs hardly
ever read a passage in the writings of either twice over in order to
understand its meaning. But probably the most striking point of
likeness was their independence of mind. They thought for
themselves, without being swayed by authority either ancient or
modern, and acknowledged no rule and no authority in religion but
that which is divine. The Bishop had more imagination, but the
Pastor of Geneva had a sounder judgement. Hence the Bishop,
notwithstanding his strong mind and great acuteness, was sometimes
led away by what was plausible and novel; but Calvin was ever sober
minded and judicious, and whatever new view he gives to a passage,
it is commonly well supported, and for the most part gains at once
our approbation.
    
    But something must be said of the present work.
    
    It embraces the most difficult portion, in some respects, of
the old Testament, and of that portion, as acknowledged by all, the
most difficult is the Book of the prophet Hosea. Probably no part of
Scripture is commonly read with so little benefit as the Minor
Prophets, owing, no doubt, to the obscurity in which some parts are
involved. That there is much light thrown on many abstruse passages
in this work, and more than by any existing comment in our language,
is the full conviction of the writer. Acute, sagacious, and
sometimes profound, the author is at the same time remarkably
simple, plain, and lucid and ever practical and useful. The most
learned may here gather instruction, and the most unlearned may
understand almost every thing that is said. The whole object of the
Author seems to be to explain, simplify, and illustrate the text,
and he never turns aside to other matters. He is throughout an
expounder, keeps strictly to his office, and gives to every part its
full and legitimate meaning according to the context, to which he
ever especially attends.
    
    The style of Hosea is somewhat peculiar. Jerome has long ago
characterised it as being commatic, sententious; and those links,
the connective particles, by which different parts are joined
together, are sometimes omitted. This is, indeed, in a measure the
character of the style of all the Prophets, hut more so with respect
to Hosea than any other. What at the same time creates the greatest
difficulty is the rapidity of his transitions, and the change of
person, number, and gender. Persons are spoken to and spoken of
sometimes in the same verse; and he passes from the singular to the
plural number, and the reverse, and sometimes from the masculine to
the feminine gender. To account for these transitions is not always
easy.
    
    It has been thought by many critics, that the received Hebrew
text of Hosea is in a more imperfect state than that of any other
portion of Scripture; but Bishop Horsley denies this in a manner the
most unhesitating; and those emendations which Archbishop Newcome
introduced in his version, about 50 in number, the Bishop has swept
away as unauthorised, and, indeed, as unnecessary, for most of them
had been proposed to remedy the anomalies peculiar to the style of
this Prophet; and some of those few emendations, which the Bishop
himself introduced, founded on the authority of Mss., Calvin's
exposition shows to be unnecessary. The fact is, that different
readings, collected by the laborious Kennicott and others, have done
chiefly this great good - to show the extraordinary correctness of
our received text. Throughout this Prophet, there is hardly an
instance in which the collations of Mss. have supplied an
improvement, and certainly no improvement of any material
consequence.
    
    This work of Calvin appears now for the first time in the
English language. There is a French translation, but not made by the
author himself, as in the case of some other portions of his
writings, and can therefore be of no authority. The following
translation has been made from an edition printed at Geneva in 1567,
three years after Calvin's death, compared with another, printed
also at Geneva in 1610.
    
    It has been thought advisable to adopt our common version as
the text, and to put Calvin's Latin version in a parallel column.
His version is a literal rendering of the original, without any
regard to idiom, and to translate it has been found impracticable,
at least in such a way as to be understood by common readers. His
practice evidently was to translate the Hebrew word for word, and to
make this his text, and then in his Comment to modify the
expressions so as to reduce them into readable Latin, and his
version thus modified agrees in most instances with our authorised
version. The agreement is so remarkable, that the only conclusion is
that this work must have been much consulted by our Translators.
    
    In making quotations from Scripture, the author seems to have
followed no version, but to have made one of his own; and they are
often given paraphrastically, the meaning rather than the words
being regarded. The same is often done also with respect to the
passages explained, the words being frequently varied. In these
instances the author has been strictly followed throughout in this
translation, and his quotations, and the text when paraphrased, are
marked by a single inverted comma.
    
    The Hebrew words which occur in the Lectures are not
accompanied with the points, and it has not been deemed necessary to
add them. The words are given in corresponding English characters,
with the insertion of such vowels only as are necessary to enunciate
them, and these vowels, to distinguish them from the Hebrew vowels,
are put in Roman characters. The Hebrew vowels are uniformly given
the same, and not with that almost endless variety of sounds to
which the points have reduced them. The "vau" is always represented
by "u", except when in some instances it is followed by a vowel, and
then by "v". The Hebrews have four vowels corresponding with a, e,
u, i, and o, in English.
    
    This work is calculated to be of material help to those engaged
in translations. Our Missionaries may derive from it no small
assistance, as it gives as literal a version of the Hebrew as can
well be made, and contains much valuable criticism, and develops, in
a very lucid and satisfactory manner, the drift and meaning of many
difficult passages. There is no existing commentary in which the
text is so minutely examined, and so clearly explained. There are
also many of the most approved expositions given by others referred
to and stated; and the translator has added, on interesting and
difficult passages, what has been suggested by learned critics since
the time of the Author.
    
    If it be a right rule to judge of the impressions which the
perusal of this volume, now presented to the public, may produce on
others, by what one has himself experienced, the editor will mention
one thing in particular, and that is, that he fully expects that
those who will carefully read this volume will be more impressed
than ever with the extreme propensity of human nature to idolatry,
and with the amazing power and blinding effects of superstition. The
conduct of the Israelites, notwithstanding all the means employed to
restore them to the true worship of God, is here described with no
ordinary minuteness and speciality. Though God sent his prophets to
them to remind them of their sins, to reason and expostulate with
them, to threaten and to exhort them, to draw and allure them with
promises of pardon and acceptance; and though God chastised them in
various ways, and then withheld his displeasure, and showed them
indulgence, they yet continued obstinately attached to their
idolatry and superstition, and all the while professed and boasted
that they worshipped the true God, and perversely maintained that
their mixed service, the worship of God, and the worship of idols,
was right and lawful, and vastly superior to what the prophets
recommended.
    
    Having this case of the Israelites in view, we need not be
surprised at the fascinating and blinding influence of Popery, whose
idolatry and superstitions are exactly of the same character with
those of the Israelites; no two cases can be more alike. Their
identity is especially seen in this, - that there is an union of two
worships - of God and of images; and this union was the idolatry
condemned in the Israelites, and is the very idolatry that now
exists in the Church of Rome: and as among the Israelites, so among
the Papists, though God is not excluded, but owned, yet the chief
worship is given to false gods and their images. That the two
systems are the same, no one can doubt, except those who are under
the influence of strong delusion; and this is what is often referred
to and amply proved in this work.
    
    It may be useful to subjoin here an account of the time in
which the twelve Minor Prophets lived. The precise time cannot be
ascertained: they flourished between the two dates which are here
given. The names of the other four Prophets are also added.
    
    Before the Babylonian Captivity.
    
                        before Christ.
    
    1. Jonah             856 - 784.
    2. Amos              810 - 785.
    3. Hosea             810 - 725.
        1. Isaiah        810 - 698.
    4. Joel              810 - 660.
    5. Micah             758 - 699.
    6. Nahum             720 - 698.
    7. Zephaniah          640 - 609.
    
    Immediately previous to and during the Captivity.
    
        2. Jeremiah       628 - 586.
    8. Habakkuk           612 - 598.
        3. Daniel        606 - 534.
    9. Obadiah                588 - 583.
        4. Ezekiel            595 - 536.
    
    After the Captivity.
    
    10. Haggai                520 - 518.
    11. Zechariah         520 - 518.
    12. Malachi           436 - 420.
    
    In the last volume, the fourth, will be given the two indices
appended to the original work.
    
    Thrussington, September 1, 1846.
    
    J. O.
    
    
    
    
    
    

Postscript
    
    After the preceding preface had gone through the press, it has
been discovered that The Twelve Minor Prophets cannot be comprised
in four volumes of the size generally published in the present
Series of The Works of John Calvin.
    
    The Translation, though it be as brief and concise as the idiom
of the English language will well admit, takes up more space than
the editor at first anticipated. His first calculation was made from
the Latin: he was not then fully aware of the great disparity in the
two languages as to relative diffuseness of style. He has since
found, by a minute comparison, that a work in Latin, comprised in
five volumes, would require at least six of the same size and type
in English: and in the present instance, what was calculated would
be contained in four, must be extended to five volumes, on account
of the respective Prefaces and Notes, &c. by the editor, besides the
Literal Translations of each of the Books of The Twelve Minor
Prophets, which it has since been resolved shall be appended to each
successive commentary.
    
    The arrangement of this Work, now made with some degree of
certainty, is as follows:
    The first volume is to contain Hosea;
    The second volume, Joel, Amos, and Obadiah;
    The third volume, Jonah, Micah, and Nahum;
    The fourth volume, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Haggai; and
    The fifth volume, Zechariah and Malachi; with the tables and
    indices to the whole work.
    
    On this account, the volumes cannot be all of equal size, some
being considerably above, and some below, the average extent of the
present Series of Calvin's Works, being 500 pages on the average. To
avoid such inequality, it would have been needful to divide some of
the Books - a thing by no means desirable in any case, and which has
been studiously shunned in all the other commentaries.
    
    In addition to what was originally contemplated, there will be
given at the end of each Book a continuous literal translation of
Calvin's Latin version, as modified by his commentary; and the
editor is requested to state that a similar plan is to be observed
in all the other prophetical books of the Old Testament.
    
    Editor.
    
    Thrussington, September 1846.
    
    
    
    
    
    

Portrait of Calvin

Engraved in facsimile, and prefixed to the present volume.

    It has been deemed a matter of importance as well as curiosity
to preserve, in the present series of English Translations of The
Works of Calvin, facsimile engravings of all the authentic
contemporaneous portraits which can still be recovered of the great
Genevan Reformer.
    The portrait which accompanies the present volume is preserved
in the curious and valuable collection of likenesses, or portraits,
and characters of illustrious Reformers, published by Theodore Beza,
the pupil, friend, and biographer of Calvin, under the title of
"Icones", &c.; which work passed through several editions in Latin
and French. The characters of the individuals represented in the
wood engravings are annexed to each portrait, and are therefore
necessarily drawn up with great conciseness, but with Beza's usual
ability and discrimination.
    The facsimile in question has been taken from a very fresh
impression contained in a copy of the French edition belonging to
the secretary, which was formerly in the library of the Duke of
Sussex. The title-page is as follows: -
    
    "Les Vrais Pourtraits des Hommes Illustres en piete et
doctrine, du travail desquels Dieu s'est serui en ces derniers
temps, pour remettre sus la vraye Religion en divers pays de la
Chrestiente. Avec les Descriptions de leurs via & de leurs faits
plus memorables. Plus qurarantequatre Emblemes Chretiens. Traduicts
du latin de Theodore de Bexze. A Geneve, par Iean de Laon.
M.D.LXXX."
    
    Both the Latin and French copies are dedicated to James VI. of
Scotland, and have a curious early portrait of that King prefixed.
The latter is addressed, "A tres-illustre Prince, Iacques Sixiesme,
par la grace de Dieu serenissime Roy d'Escosse;" and closes, "De
Geneve, le premier iour de Mars, l'an cI-.cI-.lxxx. De vostre
serenissime & Royale Maieste le tres-humble Serviteur, Theodore de
Besze." Care has been taken to have this facsimile carefully
collated with an impression in another copy of the same edition,
also belonging to the Secretary, which was purchased by him at the
sale of the duplicates of the Library of the Faculty of Advocates,
Edinburgh.
    It has been considered indispensable that all the facsimiles
which accompany The Calvin Translations shall be executed with most
scrupulous fidelity; and therefore no liberty is allowed the artists
employed, in the way of improving the style of the original
engraving, or of remedying any artistical defects; but to present an
accurate and exact copy, line for line, &c., precisely as in the
original.
    The following graphic Character of Calvin, by Beza, is annexed
to the Portrait: -
    
John Calvin, of Noyon in Picardy,
The pastor of the Church of Geneva.
[by Theodore Beza.]

    As the testimony of a son respecting his own father cannot be
altogether free from suspicion, let all then know, by what thou hast
done, O Calvin, that thou hast been a remarkable instrument in the
hand of the Almighty and all-gracious God, who has by thy ministry
completed the Restoration of true Religion, happily commenced by
others some years before. For to thee this especially belongs - to
thy doctrine, diligence, and ardent zeal; to which France and
Scotland are indebted for the re-establishment of the kingdom of
Christ among them; other Churches, scattered in great number through
the whole world, acknowledge themselves to be also in this respect
under great obligations to thee.
    Of this let these be the witnesses - first, thy writings, which
shall ever live; and all men, who are learned and fear God, confess
them to have been prepared with judgement so remarkable, with
erudition so solid, and in a style so beautiful, that no one has
been hitherto found, who has with so much skill expounded the Holy
Scripture. And there is another band of witnesses - the furious
matheologians, (men of science,) the sworn enemies of God's truth,
who have poured the scum of their rage upon thee before and after
thy death. But thou however enjoyest, near thy Master, Jesus Christ,
the reward with which he recompenses thy faithful services. And ye,
Churches of the Son of God, continue to peruse the works of this
great Teacher; who, though he speaks no longer, has left what, in
spite of envy, you may every day learn.
    As to you, Sophists, hateful monsters and doomed to perdition,
what you do by continuing to depreciate this holy and learned
Theologian, is to discover more and more your infatuation and
wickedness, to the end that you may be condemned and accursed when
the righteous Judge shall come to give to every one according to his
works.
    It may be added, that Calvin, having become consumptive through
excessive study and abstinence, died at Geneva in one thousand five
hundred and sixty-four, on the twenty-seventh day of May, at the age
of fifty-four; twenty-five of which he had been employed in the
charge of a Pastor and Teacher to that Church, which had been built
up and established by him with no small difficulties, and which he
had happily governed in connection with other learned fellow-
labourers in the ministry during that time.
    He was interred without any pomp, according to the express
charge which he had given; and his loss was lamented as that of a
father by all at Geneva, and by many of the faithful, dispersed in
different parts of the world. Among others, I was one who expressed
my feelings on his death in a Latin Epigram, which has been
translated into French as follows: -
    
Epigram by Beza on the death of Calvin,
translated into French.

[French translation omitted]

[Latin original omitted]

The same in English.
    
    Rome's greatest terror he, whom now being dead
    The best of men lament, the wicked dread:
    Virtue itself from him might virtue learn; -
    And dost thou ask why Calvin did not earn
    A place more splendid for his last repose,
    Than that small spot which does his bones inclose?
    But know, that modesty even from the womb
    Had been his guest, - and she has built his tomb.
    O happy clod! thy tenant, great was he;
    The gorgeous shrines may justly envy thee.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

The Epistle Dedicatory

John Calvin to the most serene and most mighty King Gustavus, the
king of the Goths and Vandals.

    What I once said most excellent king, when the Annotations on
Hosea, taken from my Lectures, were published, I now again repeat, -
that I was not the author of that edition: for I am one who is not
easily pleased with works I finish with more labour and care. Had it
been in my power, I should have rather tried to prevent the wider
circulation of that extemporaneous kind of teaching, intended for
the particular benefit of my auditory and with which benefit I was
abundantly satisfied.
    But since that specimen, (The Commentary on Hosea,) published
with better success than I expected, has kindled a desire in many to
see that one Prophet followed by the other eleven Minor Prophets, I
thought it not unseasonable to dedicate to your Majesty a work of
suitable extent, and replete with important instructions not only
that it may be a pledge of my high regards, but also that the
dedication to so celebrated a name might procure for it some favour.
It is not, however, ambition that has led me to do this, for I have
long ago learned not to court the applause of the world, and have
become hardened to the ingratitude of the many; but I wished that
some fruit might come to men of your station from the recesses of
our mountains; and it has also been my legitimate endeavour, that
many to whom I am unknown, being influenced by the sacred sanction
of their king, might be made more impartial, and come better
prepared to read the work.
    And this, I promise to myself, will be the case, as you enjoy
so much veneration among all your subjects, provided you condescend
to interpose your judgement, such as your singular wisdom may
dictate; or, as age may possibly not bear the fatigue of reading,
such as your Majesty's eldest son Heric, the heir to the throne, may
suggest, whom you have taken care to be so instructed in the liberal
sciences, that this office may be safely intrusted to him. And that
I might have less doubt of your kindness, there are many heralds of
your virtues, and even some judicious and wise men, who are entitled
to be deemed competent witnesses. It is not, therefore, to be
wondered, most noble king, that a present from so distant a region
should be offered to your Majesty by a man as yet unknown to you,
who, on account of the excellent and heroic endowments of mind and
heart in which he has understood you to excel, thinks himself to be
especially attached to you.
    But though the excellency of the Book may not, perhaps, be such
as will procure much favour to myself, you will not yet despise the
desire by which I have been led to manifest the high regards I
entertain towards your Majesty, nor will you yet find this present
now offered to you wholly unworthy, however much it may be below the
elevated station of so great a king. If God has endued me with any
aptness for the interpretation of Scripture, I am fully persuaded
that I have faithfully and carefully endeavoured to exclude from it
all barren refinements, however plausible and fitted to please the
ear, and to preserve genuine simplicity, adapted solidly to edify
the children of God, who, being not content with the shell, wish to
penetrate to the kernel. What I have really done it is not for me to
say, except that pious and learned men persuade me that I have not
laboured without success. But these Commentaries may not, perhaps,
answer the wishes and expectations of all; and I myself could have
wished that I had been able to give something more excellent and
more perfect, or at least what would have come nearer to the
Prophetic Spirit. But this, I trust, will be the issue, - that
experience will prove to upright and impartial readers, and those
endued with sound judgement, provided they read with well-disposed
minds, and not fastidiously, what I have written for their benefit,
that more light has been thrown on the Twelve Prophets than modesty
will allow me to affirm.
    With the industry of others I compare not my own, (which would
be unbecoming,) nor do I ask any thing else, but that intelligent
and discreet readers, profiting by my labours, should study to be of
more extensive advantage to the public good of the Church; but as it
has not been my care, nor even my desire, to adorn this Book with
various attractives, this admonition is not unseasonable; for it may
invite the more slothful to read, until, by making a trial, they may
be able to judge whether it may be useful for them to proceed
farther in their course of reading. Indeed, the fruit which my other
attempts in the interpretation of Scripture have produced, and the
hope which I entertain of the usefulness of this, please me so much,
that I desire to spend the remainder of my life in this kind of
labour, as far as my continued and multiplied employments will allow
me. For what may be expected from a man at leisure cannot be
expected from me, who, in addition to the ordinary office of a
pastor, have other duties, which hardly allow me the least
relaxation: I shall not, however, deem my spare time in any other
way better employed.
    I now return again to you, most valiant king. He who knows your
prudence and equity in managing public affairs, your moral habits,
your whole character and virtues, will not wonder that I have
resolved to dedicate to you this work. But as it is not my design to
write a long eulogy on what is praiseworthy in you, I shall only
briefly touch on what is well known, both by report and public
writings: - God tried you in a wonderful manner before he raised you
to the throne, for the purpose not only of exhibiting in you a
singular proof of his providence, but also of setting forth to our
age as well as to posterity, an illustrious example of a steady
perseverance in a right course. You have, doubtless, been thus
proved by both fortunes, that there might not be wanting a due trial
of your temperance and moderation in prosperity, and of your
patience in adversity, until it was given you from above to emerge
at length, no less happily than in a praiseworthy manner, from so
many dangers, perils, difficulties, and hindrances, that having set
the kingdom in order, you might publicly and privately enjoy a
cheerful tranquillity. And now by the unanimous consent of all
orders, you bear a burden more splendid and honourable to you than
grievous, for all venerate your authority, and show their esteem by
love as well as by commendations.
    In addition to these benefits of God comes this, the chief,
which must not be omitted, - that your eldest son, Heric, a
successor chosen by you from your own blood, is not only of a
generous disposition, but also adorned with mature virtues; and
hardly any one more fit, had you no children, could the people have
chosen for themselves. And this, among other things, is his rare
commendation, that he has made so much progress in the liberal
sciences, that he occupies a high station among the learned, and
that he is not tired with diligent application to them, as far as he
is allowed by those many cares and distractions in which the royal
dignity is involved. At the same time, the principal thing with me
is this, that he has consecrated in his palace a sanctuary, not only
to the heathen muses, but also to celestial philosophy. The more
confidence therefore I have, that some place will be there found,
and some favour shown to these Commentaries, which he will find to
have been written according to the rule of true religion, and will
perceive calculated to be of some small help to himself.
    May God, O most serene king! keep your Majesty long in
prosperity, and continue to enrich you with all kinds of blessings.
May He guide you by his Spirit, until, having finished your course,
and migrating from earth to the celestial kingdom, you may leave
alive behind you the most serene king Heric, your successor, and his
most illustrious brothers, John Magnum and Charles: and may the same
grace of God, after your death, appear eminent in them, as well as
fraternal and unanimous concord.
    
    Geneva January 26, 1559.














John Calvin to the Christian Reader, health.

    Since I can truly and justly say, and prove by competent
witnesses, that the writings, which I have hitherto sent forth to
the public, and which might have been finished with more care and
attention, have been almost extorted from me by importunity, it is
evident that these Annotations, which I thought might bear a
hearing, but were unworthy of being read, would have never through
me been brought forth to the light. For if, by many watchings, I can
hardly succeed in rendering even a small benefit to the Church by my
meditations, how foolish were it in me to claim a place for my
sermons among the works which are published? Besides, if, with
regard to those compositions which I write or dictate privately at
home, when there is more leisure for meditation, and when a finished
brevity is attained by care and diligence, my industry is yet made a
crime by the malignant and the envious, how can I escape the charge
of presumption, if I now force upon the whole world the reading of
those thoughts which I freely poured forth for the present
edification of my hearers? But since to suppress them was not in my
power, and their publication could not be otherwise prevented by me
than by undertaking the labour (which my circumstances allowed not)
of writing the whole anew, and many friends, thinking me to be too
scrupulous a judge of my own labours, cried out, that I was doing an
injury to the Church, I chose to allow this volume, as it is, taken
from my lips, to go forth to the public, rather than by prohibition
to impose on myself the necessity of writing; which I was forced to
do as to The Psalms, before I found out, by that long and difficult
work, how unequal I am to so much writing.
    Let, then, these explanations on Hosea go forth, which it is
not in my power to keep from the public. But how they have been
taken down, it is needful to declare, not only that the diligence,
industry, and skill of those who have performed this labour for the
Church, may not be deprived of their commendation, but also that
readers may be fully persuaded, that there are here no additions,
and that the writers did not allow themselves to change a single
word for a better one. How they assisted one another, one of their
number, my best friend, and through his virtues, dear to all good
men, Mr John Budaeus, will, as I expect, more fully explain.
    But it would have been incredible to me, had I not clearly
seen, when the day after they read the whole to me, that what they
had written differed nothing from my discourse. It would have
perhaps been better had more liberty been taken to cut off
redundancies, to bring the arrangement into better order, and to
use, in some instances, more distinct or graceful language: but I do
not interpose my judgement; this only I wish to witness with my own
hand, that they have taken down what they have heard from my lips
with so much fidelity, that I perceive no change. Farewell,
Christian reader, whoever thou be, who desires with me to make
progress in celestial truth.
    
    Geneva, February 13, 1557.
    











John Budaeus, to Christian Readers, health.

    When some years ago the most learned John Calvin, at the
request and entreaty of his friends, undertook to explain in the
school The Psalms of David, some of us, his hearers, took notes from
the beginning of a few things in our own way, for our own private
meditation, according to our own judgement and discretion. But being
at length admonished by our own experience, we began to think how
great a loss would it be to many, and almost to the whole Church,
that the benefit of such Lectures should be confined to a few
hearers. Having therefore gathered courage, we fully thought that it
was our duty to unite a care and concern for the public with our own
private benefits and this seemed possible, if, instead of following
our usual practice, we tried, as far as we could, to take down the
Lectures word for word. Without delay I joined myself as the third
to two zealous brethren in this undertaking; and it so happened,
through God's kindness that a happy issue was not wholly wanting to
our attempt: for when the labours of each of us were compared
together, and the Lectures were immediately written out, we found
that so few things had escaped us, that the gaps could easily be
made up. And that this was the case as to the work in which was made
the first trial of our capacities, Calvin himself is a witness to
us; and that this has been far more fully the case with respect to
the Lectures on Hosea, (as by long use and exercise we became more
skilful,) even all the hearers will readily acknowledge.
    But the design on this occasion was to induce him, if possible,
to publish complete Commentaries on this Author; but it then
happened to us otherwise than we expected: for all hope of obtaining
this object he cut off from us from reverence to Bucer, who, in this
case, as well as in all other things, had performed most faithful
and most useful services, as the whole Church acknowledges, and as
Calvin in particular has at all times most honourably declared to us
and to all. It therefore remained that the Lectures, as taken down
by us, should be published. And as all the most pious promised to
themselves great benefit from our labour, we daily increased our
exertions, that such a hope might not pass away into smoke. Being
therefore stirred on by these desires, as well, doubtless, as by the
prospect of benefiting the godly, we exerted ourselves so much, that
all readily allowed that we exercised nothing short of the greatest
diligence. The more wonderful it may seem, that he was afterwards
induced to change his mind, so as to frustrate our hope and that of
many of the godly; and that, on the other hand, he was constrained,
however anxious to perform a most useful service to the Church, to
incur the great envy and implacable hatred of many. But those who
plead only the authority of Bucer in this affair are moved, I
willingly acknowledge, by a reason not altogether unjust; yet they
will seem to me too stiff and unbending, if they will not suffer
themselves to be influenced by sufficient excuses, which I hope will
be the case before long. But as to those who are carried away by the
insane love of evil-speaking, and avail themselves of the least
opportunity of strife, as they ought to be disregarded and detested
as monsters by all the godly, so it is not needful to labour much to
satisfy them, for the barking of dogs, provided it hurt not the
Church, may without great danger be passed by and despised.
    We have, indeed, prefaced these things for the sake of those
who have very often solicited us respecting the Lectures on the
Psalms, that they may not think themselves to have been deceived by
us with a vain expectation; for, let them know, that they shall
sometimes have, through God's favour, correct and complete
Commentaries on The Book of Psalms. But if this long desire does
much distress them, let them remember that we also no less anxiously
look for that great treasure. But it is right that we both should
pardon a man who has constant and most burdensome occupations, and
somewhat moderate our too prurient and premature wishes: and to
indulge him seems right even on this one account, that he, the least
of all, indulges himself, never taking any rest or relaxation of
mind from his vast labours, so that it is a matter of doubt to none
but that he drags a little body, not only through the divine
kindness, but by a singular miracle, which cannot be told to
posterity, - a body, by nature weak, violently attacked by frequent
diseases, and then exhausted by immense labours; and, lastly,
pierced by the unceasing stings of the ungodly, and on all sides
distressed and tormented by all kinds of reproaches.
    But as this is not the place for making complaints, I now come
to you, Christian Readers, to whom it is our purpose to dedicate
this work, The Lectures on the Prophet Hosea; and we dedicate it,
not that we claim any thing as our owns except the diligence we
employed in collecting it: but we hesitate not to make it, as it
were, our own, for it would have never come to you except through
our assistance. For though we judged the work altogether excellent
which is now offered to the Church, yet we could hardly at last
convince the author of this; and he suffered himself to be overcome
by our importunate entreaties only on this condition, that we were
to be accountable for whatever judgement good men might form of the
work: so unfit a judge he is of his own productions. But we, though
he may modestly extenuate them more than what is right, yet dare to
promise to ourselves, that not only the author's labour will be duly
appreciated by you, but that we shall also secure to ourselves no
common favour.
    These Lectures, we trust, will not be less acceptable to you,
because the author, regarding the benefit of the school, (as it was
right,) in some degree departed from the usual elegance of all his
other works, and from embellishment of style. For, being oppressed
with a vast quantity of business, he was constrained to leave home,
after having had hardly, for the most part, half an hour to meditate
on these Lectures: he preferred to advance the edification and
benefit of his hearers by eliciting the true sense and making it
plain, rather than by vain pomp of words to delight their ears or to
regard ostentation and his own glory. I would not, at the same time,
deny but that these Lectures were delivered more in the scholastic
than in the oratorical style. If, however, this simple, though not
rude, mode of speaking should offend any one, let him have recourse
to the works of others, or of this author himself, especially those
in which, being freed from the laws of the school, he appears no
less the orator than the illustrious theologian: and this we declare
without hesitation, and with no less modesty than with the full
consent and approbation of the best and the most learned.
    We do not indeed thus speak as if we would, by a censorious
superciliousness, claim for him alone the glory of an orator, or
would not, by calling him a theologian, acknowledge many others as
celebrated men. Far from us be such a folly. But an occasion such as
this being offered of testifying our mind, we could hardly, even in
any other way, excuse our neglect to the godly, to whom it is well
known, that our silence concerning Calvin has not hitherto well
pleased turbulent men; who are more willing to have their vanity
expressly reprobated by us, than to suffer us by a tacit consent and
modest silence either to approve of his doctrine, and to acknowledge
in him an evidence, the most clear, of God's kindness towards us, or
to cover by a fraternal dissimulation their madness; and thus each
of us would have to mourn by himself in silence.
    But, as I have said, the language here is unadorned and simple,
very like that which we know was ever wont to be used formerly in
Lectures: not such as many of whom we have heard employ, who repeat
to their hearers from a written paper what had been previously
prepared at home; but such as could be formed and framed at the
time, more adapted to teach and edify than to please the ear.
Except, then, we are greatly mistaken, he so expresses almost to the
life the mind of the Prophet, that no addition seems possible. For,
after having carefully examined every sentence, he then briefly
shows the use and application of the doctrine, so that no one,
however ignorant, can mistake the meaning: in short, he so unfolds
and opens the subjects and fountains of true theology, that it is
easy for any one to draw from them what is needful to restore and
refresh the soul; yea, the ministers of the word may hence
advantageously derive ample streams, with which, as by a celestial
dew, they may abundantly refresh the people of God, whether by
exhortation, or consolation, or reproof, or edification. And of
these things we clearly see some instances and examples in all his
discourses, especially in those in which he so accommodates the
doctrine of the Prophets to our own times, that it seems to suit
their age no better than ours.
    But that we may at length make an end, it remains, Christian
Readers, that we receive and embrace with suitable gratitude all the
other innumerable gifts of God which he daily pours on us in great
abundance, as well as this incomparable treasure of his goodness,
and employ them for the purpose of leading a holy and godly life to
the glory of his name, and to the edification of our brethren: and
that this may be done, we must pray for the Spirit of God, that we
may come to the reading of Scripture instructed by him, and bring a
mind purified from the defilements of the flesh, and a meek spirit
capable of receiving celestial truth. And for this end much help may
be given us by the short prayers which we have taken care to add at
the close of every Lecture, as gathered by us with the same care and
fidelity as the Lectures were: the minds of the pious may by these
be refreshed, and may collect new vigour for the next Lecture; and
the ignorant may also have in these a pattern, as it were, painted
before them, by which they may form their prayers from the words of
Scripture. For as at the beginning of the Lectures he ever used the
same form of prayer, which we intend also to add, that his manner of
teaching may be fully known to you; so he was wont ever to finish
every Lecture by a new prayer formed at the time, as given him by
the Spirit of God, and accommodated to the subject of the Lecture.
    If we shall understand that these Commentaries will be
acceptable to you, though the work is the fruit of another s labour,
we shall yet engage, God favouring us, to do the same as to the
remaining Prophets. When he shall undertake to lecture on them, it
is our purpose to follow him with no less diligence, and take down
what remains to the end. In the meantime, enjoy these. Farewell.
    
    Geneva, February 14, 1557.









John Crispin to Christian Readers, health.

    As it may seem wonderful to some, and indeed incredible, that
these Lectures were taken down with such fidelity and care, that Mr
John Calvin uttered not a word in delivering them, which was not
immediately written down; it may be needful here shortly to remind
pious readers of the plan they pursued who have transmitted them to
us. And this is done, that their singular diligence and industry may
stimulate others to do the same, and that the thing itself may not
appear incredible.
    And, first, it must be remembered, that Calvin himself never
dictated, as many do, any of his Lectures, nor gave any orders that
any thing should be noted down while he was interpreting Scripture,
much less after finishing the Lecture, or on the day after its
delivery; but he occupied a whole hour in speaking, and was not wont
to write in his book a single word to assist his memory. When,
therefore, some years ago, Mr John Budaeus and Charles Jonvill, with
two other brethren, (whom Budaeus himself mentions in his preface,
and that so it was many know,) found, in writing out The Exposition
on the Psalms, that their common labour would not be wholly in vain,
they were impelled by a stronger desire and alacrity of minds so
that they resolved to take down, with more diligence than before, if
possible, the whole exposition on what are called The Twelve Minor
Prophets. And, in copying, they followed this plan. Each had his
paper prepared in a form the most convenient, and each took down by
himself with the greatest speed. If a word had escaped one, (which
sometimes happened, particularly on points of dispute and in those
parts which were delivered with some warmth,) it was taken up by
another; and when it so happened, it was easily set down again by
the writer. Immediately at the close of the Lecture, Jonvill took
with him the papers of the other two, placing them before him, and
consulting his own, and collating them together, he dictated to some
other person for the purpose of copying what they had hastily taken
down. At last he read the whole over himself, that he might be able
to recite it the following day before Mr Calvin at home. When
sometimes any little word was wanting, it was added in its place;
or, if any thing seemed not sufficiently explained, it was readily
made plainer.
    Thus it happened that these Lectures came forth to the light;
and what great benefit they will derive from them, who will
seriously read them, can by no means be told: for who, endued with a
sound judgement, does not see that such was the way which this most
illustrious man possessed in explaining Scripture, that he had it in
common with very few? He everywhere so unfolds the design of the
Holy Spirit, so gives his genuine meaning, and also so sets before
our eyes every recondite doctrine, that you find nothing but what is
openly explained; and this is what his many writings most abundantly
testify, in which he has made every point of the Christian religion
so plain, that all, except they be wholly blind to the sun,
acknowledge him to be a most faithful interpreter.
    But that I may now say nothing of his many Commentaries, he has
so surpassed himself in these Lectures that one can hardly persuade
himself that a style so elegant, and so perfect in all its parts,
could have flowed extemporaneously, for he explains the weightiest
sentiments in suitable words, clearly handles obscure things,
clothes them with various ornaments, and so proceeds in his
teaching, that the language he uses, spontaneously poured forth,
seems to have been long and much laboured. But of all these things I
prefer that a judgement should be formed by a perusal, rather than
that I should longer detain readers by a lengthened discussion of
particulars. Then farewell all ye who hope for some benefit from
these Lectures.
    
    Geneva, February 1, 1559.










The Commentaries of John Calvin on the Prophet Hosea.



The prayer which John Calvin was wont to use at the beginning of his
lectures:

May the Lord grant, that we may engage in contemplating the
mysteries of his heavenly wisdom with really increasing devotion, to
his glory and to our edification. Amen.





Commentaries on the prophet Hosea

The Argument

    I have undertaken to expound The Twelve Minor Prophets. They
have been long ago joined together, and their writings have been
reduced to one volume; and for this reason, lest by being extant
singly in our hands, they should, as it often happens, disappear in
course of time on account of their brevity.
    Then the Twelve Minor Prophets form but one volume. The first
of them is Hosea, who was specifically destined for the kingdom of
Israel: Micah and Isaiah prophesied at the same time among the Jews.
But it ought to be noticed, that this Prophet was a teacher in the
kingdom of Israel, as Isaiah and Micah were in the kingdom of Judah.
The Lord doubtless intended to employ him in that part; for had he
prophesied among the Jews, he would not have complimented them;
since the state of things was then very corrupt, not only in Judea,
but also at Jerusalem, though the palace and sanctuary of God were
there. We see how sharply and severely Isaiah and Micah reproved the
people; and the style of our Prophet would have been the same had
the Lord employed his service among the Jews: but he followed his
own call. He knew what the Lord had intrusted to him; he faithfully
discharged his own office. The same was the case with the Prophet
Amos: for the Prophet Amos sharply inveighs against the Israelites,
and seems to spare the Jews; and he taught at the same time with
Hosea.
    We see, then, in what respect these four differ: Isaiah and
Micah address their reproofs to the kingdom of Judah; and Hosea and
Amos only assail the kingdom of Israel, and seem to spare the Jews.
Each of them undertook what God had committed to his charge; and so
each confined himself within the limits of his own call and office.
For if we, who are called to instruct the Church, close our eyes to
the sins which prevail in it, and neglect those whom the Lord has
appointed to be taught by us, we confound all order; since they who
are appointed to other places must attend to those to whom they have
been sent by the Lord's call.
    We now, then, see to whom this whole book of Hosea belongs, -
that is, to the kingdom of Israel.
    But with regard to the Prophets, this is true of them all, as
we have sometimes said, that they are interpreters of the law. And
this is the sum of the law, that God designs to rule by his own
authority the people whom he has adopted. But the law has two parts,
- a promise of salvation and eternal life, and a rule for a godly
and holy living. To these is added a third part, - that men, not
responding to their call, are to be restored to the fear of God by
threatening and reproofs. The Prophets do further teach what the law
has commanded respecting the true and pure worship of God,
respecting love; in short, they instruct the people in a holy and
godly life, and then offer to them the favour of the Lord. And as
there is no hope of reconciliation with God except through a
Mediator, they ever set forth the Messiah, whom the Lord had long
before promised.
    As to the third part, which includes threats and reproofs, it
was peculiar to the Prophets; for they point out times, and denounce
this or that judgement of God: "The Lord will punish you in this
way, and will punish you at such a time." The Prophets, then, do not
simply call men to God's tribunal, but specify also certain kinds of
punishment, and also in the same way they declare prophecies
respecting the Lord's grace and his redemption. But on this I only
briefly touch; for it will be better to notice each point as we
proceed.
    I now return to Hosea. I have said that his ministry belonged
especially to the Kingdom of Israel; for then the whole worship of
God was there polluted, nor had corruption lately begun; but they
were so obstinate in their superstitions, that there was no hope of
repentance. We indeed know, that as soon as Jeroboam withdrew the
ten tribes from their allegiance to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon,
fictitious worship was set up: and Jeroboam seemed to have wisely
contrived that artifice, that the people might not return to the
house of David; but at the same time he brought on himself and the
whole people the vengeance of God. And those who came after him
followed the same impiety. When such perverseness became
intolerable, God resolved to put forth his power, and to give some
signal proof of his displeasure, that the people might at length
repent. Hence John was by God's command anointed King of Israel,
that he might destroy all the posterity of Ahab: but he also soon
relapsed into the same idolatry. He executed God's judgement, he
pretended great zeal; but his hypocrisy soon came to light, for he
embraced false and perverted worship; and his followers were nothing
better even down to Jeroboam, under whom Hosea prophesied; but of
this we shall speak in considering the inscription of the book.








Chapter 1

Lecture first.

Hosea 1:1
The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the
days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, [and] Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in
the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

    This first verse shows the time in which Hosea prophesied. He
names four kings of Judah, - Uzziah, Jotham, Ahab, Hezekiah. Uzziah,
called also Azariah, reigned fifty-two years; but after having been
smitten with leprosy, he did not associate with men, and abdicated
his royal dignity. Jotham, his son, succeeded him. The years of
Jotham were about sixteen, and about as many were those of king
Ahab, the father of Hezekiah; and it was under king Hezekiah that
Hosea died. If we now wish to ascertain how long he discharged his
office of teaching, we must take notice of what sacred history says,
- Uzziah began to reign in the twenty seventh year of Jeroboam, the
son of Joash. By supposing that Hosea performed his duties as a
teacher, excepting a few years during the reign of Jeroboam, that
is, the sixteen years which passed from the beginning of Uzziah's
reign to the death of Jeroboam, he must have prophesied thirty-six
years under the reign of Uzziah. There is, however, no doubt but
that he began to execute his office some years before the end of
Jeroboam's reign.
    Here, then, there appear to be at least forty years. Jotham
succeeded his father, and reigned sixteen years; and though it be a
probable conjecture, that the beginning of his reign is to be
counted from the time he undertook the government, after his father,
being smitten with leprosy, was ejected from the society of men, it
is yet probable that the remaining time to the death of his father
ought to come to our reckoning. When however, we take for granted a
few years, it must be that Hosea had prophesied more than forty-five
years before Ahab began to reign. Add now the sixteen years in which
Ahab reigned and the number will amount to sixty-one. There remain
the years in which he prophesied under the reign of Hezekiah. It
cannot, then, be otherwise but that he had followed his office more
than sixty years, and probably continued beyond the seventieth year.
    It hence appears with how great and with how invincible courage
and perseverance he was endued by the Holy Spirit. But when God
employs our service for twenty or thirty years we think it very
wearisome, especially when we have to contend with wicked men, and
those who do not willingly undertake the yoke, but pertinaciously
resist us; we then instantly desire to be set free, and wish to
become like soldiers who have completed their time. When therefore,
we see that this Prophet persevered for so long a time, let him be
to us an example of patience so that we may not despond, though the
Lord may not immediately free us from our burden.
    Thus much of the four kings whom he names. He must indeed have
prophesied (as I have just shown) for nearly forty years under the
king Uzziah or Azariah, and then for some years under the king Ahab,
(to omit now the reign of Jotham, which was concurrent with that of
his father,) and he continued to the time of Hezekiah: but why has
he particularly mentioned Jeroboam the son of Joash, since he could
not have prophesied under him except for a short time? His son
Zachariah succeeded him; there arose afterward the conspiracy of
Shallum, who was soon destroyed; then the kingdom became involved in
great confusion; and at length the Assyrian, by means of
Shalmanazar, led away captive the ten tribes, which became dispersed
among the Medes. As this was the case, why does the Prophet here
mention only one king of Israel? This seems strange; for he
continued his office of teaching to the end of his reign and to his
death. But an answer may be easily given: He wished distinctly to
express, that he began to teach while the state was entire; for, had
he prophesied after the death of Jeroboam, he might have seemed to
conjecture some great calamity from the then present view of things:
thus it would not have been prophecy, or, at leas, this credit would
have been much less. "He now, forsooth! divines what is, evident to
the eyes of all." For Zachariah flourished but a short time; and the
conspiracy alluded to before was a certain presage of an approaching
destruction, and the kingdom became soon dissolved. Hence the
Prophet testifies here in express words, that he had already
threatened future vengeance to the people, even when the kingdom of
Israel flourished in wealth and power, when Jeroboam was enjoying
his triumphs, and when prosperity inebriated the whole land.
    This, then, was the reason why the Prophet mentioned only this
one king; for under him the kingdom of Israel became strong, and was
fortified by many strongholds and a large army, and abounded also in
great riches. Indeed, sacred history tells us, that God had by
Jeroboam delivered the kingdom of Israel, though he himself was
unworthy, and that he had recovered many cities and a very wide
extent of country. As, then, he had increased the kingdom, as he had
become formidable to all his neighbours, as he had collected great
riches, and as the people lived in ease and luxury, what the Prophet
declared seemed incredible. "Ye are not," he said, "the people of
the Lord; ye are adulterous children, ye are born of fornication."
Such a reproof certainly seemed not seasonable. Then he said, "The
kingdom shall be taken from you, destruction is nigh to you." "What,
to us? and yet our king has now obtained so many victories, and has
struck terror into other kings." The kingdom of Judah, which was a
rival, being then nearly broken down, there was no one who could
have ventured to suspect such an event.
    We now, then, perceive why the Prophet here says expressly that
he had prophesied under Jeroboam. He indeed prophesied after his
death, and followed his office even after the destruction of the
kingdom of Israel, but he began to teach at a time when he was a
sport to the ungodly, who exalted themselves against God, and boldly
despised his threatening as long as he spared and bore with them;
which is ever the case, as proved by the constant experience of all
ages. We hence see more clearly with what power of the Spirit God
had endued the Prophet, who dared to rise up against so powerful a
king, and to reprove his wickedness, and also to summon his subjects
to the same judgement. When, therefore, the Prophet conducted
himself so boldly, at a time when the Israelites were not only
sottish on account of their great success, but also wholly insane,
it was certainly nothing short of a miracle; and this ought to avail
much to establish his authority. We now then, see the design of the
inscription contained in the first verse. It follows --
    
Hosea 1:2
The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to
Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of
whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, [departing]
from the LORD.
    
    The Prophet shows here what charge was given him at the
beginning, even to declare open war with the Israelites, and to be,
as it were, very angry in the person of God, and to denounce
destruction. He begins not with smooth things, nor does he gently
exhort the people to repentance, nor adopt a circuitous course to
soften the asperity of his doctrine. He shows that he had used
nothing of this kind, but says, that he had been sent like heralds
or messengers to proclaim war. The beginning, then, of what the Lord
spake by Hosea was this, "This people are an adulterous race, all
are born, as it were, of a harlot, the kingdom of Israel is the
filthiest brothel; and I now repudiate and reject them, I no longer
own them as my children." This was no common vehemence. We hence see
that the word "beginning" was not set down without reason, but
advisedly, that we may know that the Prophet, as soon as he
undertook the office of teaching, was vehement and severe, and, as
it were, fulminated against the kingdom of Israel.
    Now, if it be asked, why was God so greatly displeased? why did
he not first recall the wretched men to himself, since the usual
method seems to have been, that the Prophet tried, by a kind and
paternal address, to restore those to a sound mind who had departed
from the pure worship of God, - why, then, did not God adopt this
ordinary course? But we hence gather that the diseases of the people
were incurable. The Prophet, no doubt, intimates here distinctly,
that he was sent by God, when the state of things was almost past
recovery. We indeed know that God is not wont to deal so severely
with men, but when he has tried all other remedies; and this may
doubtless be easily learned from the records of Scripture. The ten
tribes, immediately after their revolt from the family of David,
having renounced the worship of God, embraced idolatry and ungodly
superstitions. They ought to have retained in their minds the
recollection of this oracle, 'The Lord has chosen mount Zion, where
he has desired to be worshipped; this,' he said 'is my rest forever;
here will I dwell, for I have chosen it,' (Ps. 132: 13,14.) And this
prediction, we know, had not been once or ten times repeated, but a
hundred times, that it might be more firmly fixed in the hearts of
men. Since, then, they ought to have had this truth fully impressed
on their hearts, that the Lord would have himself worshipped nowhere
except on mount Zion, it was monstrous stupidity in them to erect a
new temple and to make the calves. That the people, then, had so
quickly fallen away from God was an instance of the most perverse
madness. But, as I have said, they had reached the highest point of
impiety. When God punished so great sins by Jehu, the people ought
then to have returned to the pure worship of God, and there was some
reformation in the land; but they ever reverted to their own nature,
yea, the event proved that they only dissembled for a short time; so
blinded they were by a diabolical perverseness, that they ever
continued in their superstitions. It is not, then, to be wondered
at, that the Lord made this beginning by Hosea, "Ye are all born of
fornication, your kingdom is the filthiest brothel; ye are not my
people, ye are not beloved." Who, then, will not allow, that God, by
fulminating in so dreadful a manner against this people, dealt
justly with them, and for the best reason? The contumacy of the
people was so indomitable that it could be overcome in no other way.
We now understand why the Prophet used this expression, "The
beginning of speaking which God made."
    Then it follows, "in Hosea". He had said in the first verse,
"The word of Jehovah which was to Hosea"; he now says, "beHoshea",
in Hosea; and he adds God spake and said to Hosea, repeating the
preposition used in the first verse. The word of the Lord is said to
have been to Hosea, not simply because God addressed the Prophet,
but because he sent him forth with certain commissions, for in this
sense is the word of God said to have been to the Prophets. God
addresses his word also indiscriminately to others whomsoever he is
pleased to teach by his word, but he speaks to and addresses his
Prophets in a peculiar way, for he makes them the ministers and
heralds of his word, and puts, as it were, into their mouth what
they afterwards bring forth to the people. So Christ says, that the
word of God came to kings, because he constitutes and appoints them
to govern mankind. "If he calls them gods," he says, "to whom the
word of God came;" and that psalm, we know, was written with a
special reference to kings. We now perceive what this sentence in
the first verse contains. "The word of God came to Hosea"; for the
Lord did not simply address the Prophet in a common way, but
furnished him with instructions, that he might afterwards teach the
people, as it were, in the person of God himself.
    It is now added in the second verse, "The beginning of
speaking, such as the Lord made by Hosea". They who give this
rendering, "with Hosea," seem to explain the Prophet's meaning
frigidly. The letter beth, I know, has this sense often in
Scripture; but the Prophet, no doubt, in this place represents
himself as the instrument of the Holy Spirit. God then spake "in
Hosea", or by Hosea, for he brought forth nothing from his own
brain, but God spake by him; this is a form of speaking with which
we shall often meet. On this, indeed, depends the whole authority of
God's servants that they give not themselves loose reins, but
faithfully deliver, as it were, from hand to hand, what the Lord has
commanded them, without adding any thing whatever of their own. God
then spake in Hosea. It afterwards follows, "The Lord said to
Hosea". Now this, which is said the third time, or three times
repeated, is nothing else than the commission in different forms. He
first said in general, "The word of the Lord which was to Hosea;"
now he says, "The Lord spake thus," and he expresses distinctly what
the word was which he referred to in the first verse.
    "Go", he says, "take to thee a wife of wantonness, and the
children of wantonness"; and the reason is added, "for by
fornicating, or wantoning, has the land grown wanton". He doubtless
speaks here of the vices which the Lord had long endured with
inexpressible forbearance. "By wantoning then has the land grown
wanton, that it should not follow Jehovah".
    Here interpreters labour much, because it seems very strange
that the Prophet should take a harlot for a wife. Some say that this
was an extraordinary case. Certainly such a license could not have
been borne in a teacher. We see what Paul requires in a bishop, and
no doubt the same was required formerly in the Prophets, that their
families should be chaste and free from every stain and reproach. It
would have then exposed the Prophet to the scorn of all, if he had
entered a brothel and taken to himself a harlot; for he speaks not
here of an unchaste woman only, but of a woman of wantonness, which
means a common harlot, for a woman of wantonness is she called, who
has long habituated herself to wantonness, who has exposed herself
to all, to gratify the wish of all, who has prostituted herself, not
once nor twice, nor to few men, but to all. That this was done by
the Prophet seems very improbable. But some reply as I have said,
that this ought not to be regarded as a common rule, for it was an
extraordinary command of God. And yet it seems not consistent with
reason, that the Lord should thus gratuitously render his Prophet
contemptible; for how could he expect to be received on coming
abroad before the public, after having brought on himself such a
disgrace? If he had married a wife such as is here described, he
ought to have concealed himself for life rather than to undertake
the Prophetic office. Their opinion, therefore, is not probable, who
think that the Prophet had taken such a wife as is here described.
    Then another reason, utterly unresolvable, militates against
them; for the Prophet is not only bidden to take a wife of
wantonness, but also children of wantonness, begotten by whoredom.
It is, therefore, the same as if he himself had committed whoredom.
For if we say that he married a wife who had previously conducted
herself with some indecency and want of chastity, (as Jerome at
length argues in order to excuse the Prophet,) the excuse is
frivolous, for he speaks not only of the wife, but also of the
children, inasmuch as God would have the whole offspring to be
adulterous, and this could not be the case in a lawful marriage.
Hence almost all the Hebrews agree in this opinion, that the Prophet
did not actually marry a wife, but that he was bidden to do this in
a vision. And we shall see in the third chapter almost the same
thing described; and yet what is narrated there could not have been
actually done, for the Prophet is bidden to marry a wife who had
violated her conjugal fidelity, and after having bought her, to
retain her at home for a time. This, we know, was not done. It then
follows that this was a representation exhibited to the people.
    Some object and say, that the whole passage, as given by the
Prophet, cannot be understood as relating a vision. Why not? For the
vision, they say, was given to him alone, and God had a regard to
the whole people rather than to the Prophet. But it may be, and it
is probable, that no vision was presented to the Prophet, but that
God only ordered him to proclaim what had been given him in charge.
When, therefore, the Prophet began to teach, he commenced somewhat
in this way: "The Lord places me here as on a stage, to make known
to you that I have married a wife, a wife habituated to adulteries
and whoredoms, and that I have begotten children by her." The whole
people knew that he had done no such thing; but the Prophet spake
thus in order to set before their eyes a vivid representation. Such
then, was the vision, a figurative exhibition, not that the Prophet
knew this by a vision, but the Lord had bidden him to relate this
parable, (so to speak,) or this similitude, that the people might
see, as in a living portraiture, their turpitude and perfidiousness.
It is, in short, an exhibition, in which the thing itself is not
only set forth in words, but is also placed, as it were, before
their eyes in a visible form. The reason is added, "for by wantoning
has the land grown wanton".
    We now then see how the words of the Prophet ought to be
understood; for he assumed a character, when going forth before the
public, and in this character he said to the people, that God had
bidden him to take a harlot for his wife, and to beget adulterous
children by her. His ministry was not on this account made
contemptible, for they all knew that he had ever lived virtuously
and temperately; they all knew that his household was exempt from
every reproach; but here he exhibited in his assumed character, as
it were, a living image of the baseness of the people. This is the
meaning, and I see nothing strained in this explanation; and we, at
the same time, see the meaning of this clause, "By wantoning has the
land grown wanton." Hosea might have said this in one word, but he
had to address the deaf, and we know how great and how stupid is the
madness of those who delight themselves in their own superstitions,
they cannot bear any reproof. The Prophet then would not have been
attended to, unless he had exhibited, as in a mirror before their
eyes, what he wished to be understood by them, as though he had
said, "If none of you can so know himself as to own his public
baseness, if ye are all so obstinate against God, at least know now
by my assumed character, that you are all adulterous, and derive
your origin from a filthy brothel, for God declares thus concerning
you; and as you are not willing to receive such a declaration, it is
now set before you in my assumed character."
    "That it should not follows Jehovah", literally, "From after
Jehovah", "me'acharei". We here see what is the spiritual chastity
of God's people, and what also is the signification of the word
wantoning. Then the spiritual chastity of God's people is to follow
the Lord; and what else is this to follow, but to suffer ourselves
to be ruled by his word, and willingly to obey him, to be ready and
prepared for any work to which he may call us? When then the Lord
goes before us with his instruction and shows the way, and we become
teachable and obedient, and look up to him, and turn not aside,
either to the right or to the left hand, but bring our whole life to
the obedience of faith, - this is really to follow the Lord; and it
is a most beautiful definition of the spiritual chastity of God's
people.
    And we may also, from the opposite of this, learn what it is to
grow wanton; we do so when we depart from the word of the Lord, when
we give ear to false doctrines, when we abandon ourselves to
superstitions; when we, in short, wander after our own devices, and
keep not our thoughts under the authority of the word of the Lord.
But as to the word wantoning, more will be said in chap. 2; but I
only wished now briefly to touch on what the Prophet means when he
chides the Israelites for having all become wanton. Now follows -
    
Prayer.
    
    Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast once adopted us, and
continues to confirm this thy favour by calling us unceasingly to
thyself, and dost not only severely chastise us, but also gently and
paternally invite us to thyself, and exhort us at the same time to
repentance, - 0 grant that we may not be so hardened as to resist
thy goodness, nor abuse this thine incredible forbearance, but
submit ourselves in obedience to thee; that whenever thou mayest
severely chastise us, we may bear thy corrections with genuine
submission of faith, and not continue untameable and obstinate to
the last, but return to thee the only fountain of life and
salvation, that as thou has once begun in us a good work, so thou
mayest perfect it to the day of our Lord. Amen.
    
    
Lecture Second

Hosea 1:3,4
So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived,
and bare him a son.
And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little
[while], and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of
Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.

    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." "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 "palathas". 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 "palathas",
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.
    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.
    It now follows, the wife "conceived", - the imaginary one, the
wife as represented and exhibited. She "conceived", he says, "and
bare a son: then said Jehovah to him, Call his name Jezreel". Many
render to "Jizre'el", dispersions and follow the Chaldean
paraphraser. They also think that this ambiguous term contains some
allusion; for as "zera'" is seed, they suppose that the Prophet
indirectly glances at the vain boasting of the people; for they
called themselves the chosen seed, because they had been planted by
the Lord; hence the name Jezreel. But the Prophet here, according to
these interpreters, exposes this folly to contempt; as though he
said, "Ye are Israel; but in another respect, ye are dispersion: for
as the seed is cast in various directions so the Lord will scatter
you, and thus destroy and cast you away. You think yourselves to
have been planted in this land, and to have a standing from which
you can never be shaken or torn away; but the Lord will, with his
own hand, lay hold on you to cast you away to the remotest regions
of the world." This sense is what many interpreters give; nor do I
deny but that the Prophet alludes to the words sowing and seed; with
this I disagree not: only it seems to me that the Prophet looks
farther, and intimates that they were wholly degenerate, not the
true nor the genuine offspring of Abraham.
    There is, as we see, much affinity between the names Jezreel
and Israel. How honourable is the name, Israel, it is evident from
its etymology; and we also know that it was given from above to the
holy father Jacob. God, then, the bestower of this name, procured by
his own authority, that those called Israelites should be superior
to others: and then we must remember the reason why Jacob was called
Israel; for he had a contest with God, and overcame in the struggle,
(Gen. 32: 28.) Hence the posterity of Abraham gloried that they were
Israelites. And the prophet Isaiah also glances at this arrogance,
when he says, 'Come ye who are called by the name of Israel,' (Isa.
48: 1;) as though he said, "Ye are Israelites, but only as to the
title, for the reality exists not in you."
    Let us now return to our Hosea. "Call", he says "his name
Jezreel;" as though he said, "They call themselves Israelites; but I
will show, by a little change in the word, that they are degenerate
and spurious, for they are Jezreelites rather than Israelites." And
it appears that Jezreel wag the metropolis of the kingdom in the
time of Ahab, and where also that great slaughter was made by Jehu,
which is related in the tenth chapter of 2 Kings. We now perceive
the meaning of the Prophet to be, that the whole kingdom had
degenerated from its first beginning, and could no longer be deemed
as including the race of Abraham; for the people had, by their own
perfidy, fallen from that honour, and lost their first name. God
then, by way of contempt, calls them Jezreelites, and not
Israelites.
    A reason afterwards follows which confines this view, "For yet
a little while, and I will visit the slaughters of Jezreel upon the
house of Jehu". Here interpreters labour not a little, because it
seems strange that God should visit the slaughter made by Jehu,
which yet he had approved; nay, Jehu did nothing thoughtlessly, but
knew that he was commanded to execute that vengeance. He was,
therefore, God's legitimate minister; and why is what God commanded
imputed to him now as a crime? This reasoning has driven some
interpreters to take "bloods" here for wicked deeds in general: 'I
will avenge the sins of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu.' Some say,
"I will avenge the slaughter of Naboth:" but this is wholly absurd,
nor can it suit the place, for, "upon the house of Jehu," is
distinctly expressed; and God did not visit the slaughter on the
house of Jehu, but on the house of Ahab. But they who are thus
embarrassed do not consider what the Prophet has in view. For God,
when he wished Jehu with his drawn sword to destroy the whole house
of Ahab, had this end as his object, - that Jehu should restore pure
worship, and cleanse the land from all defilements. Jehu then was
stirred up by the Spirit of God, that he might re-establish God's
pure worship. When a defender of religion, how did he act? He became
contented with his prey. After having seized on the kingdom for
himself, he confirmed idolatry and every abomination. He did not
then spend his labour for God. Hence that slaughter with regard to
Jehu was robbery; with regard to God it was a just revenge. this
view ought to satisfy us as to the explanation of this passage; and
I bring nothing but what the Holy Scripture contains. For after Jehu
seemed to burn with zeal for God, he soon proved that there was
nothing sincere in his heart; for he embraced all the superstitions
which previously prevailed in the kingdom of Israel. In short, the
reformation under Jehu was like that under Henry King of England;
who, when he saw that he could not otherwise shake off the yoke of
the Roman Antichrist than by some disguise, pretended great zeal for
a time: he afterwards raged cruelly against all the godly, and
doubled the tyranny of the Roman Pontiff: and such was Jehu.
    When we duly consider what was done by Henry, it was indeed an
heroic velour to deliver his kingdom from the hardest of tyrannies:
but yet, with regard to him, he was certainly worse than all the
other vassals of the Roman Antichrist; for they who continue under
that bondage, retain at least some kind of religion; but he was
restrained by no shame from men, and proved himself wholly void of
every fear towards God. He was a monster, and such was Jehu.
    Now, when the Prophet says, "I will avenge the slaughters of
Jezreel" upon the house of Jehu, it is no matter of wonder. How so?
For it was the highest honour to him, that God anointed him king,
that he, who was of a low family, was chosen a king by the Lord. He
ought then to have stretched every nerve to restore God's pure
worship, and to destroy all superstitions. This he did not; on the
contrary, he confirmed them. He was then a robber, and as to
himself, no minister of God.
    The meaning of the whole then is this: "Ye are not Israelites,
(there is here only an ambiguity as to the pronunciation of one
letter,) but Jezreelites;" which means, "Ye are not the descendants
of Jacob, but Jezreelites;" that is, "Ye are a degenerate people,
and differ nothing from king Ahab. He was accursed, and under him
the kingdom became accursed. Are ye changed? Is there any
reformation? Since then ye are obstinate in your wickedness, though
ye proudly claim the name of Jacob, ye are yet unworthy of such an
honour. I therefore call you Jezreelites."
    And the reason is added, "For yet a little while, and I will
visit the slaughters upon the house of Jehu". God now shows that the
people were destitute of all glory. But they thought that the memory
of all sins had been buried since the time that the house of Ahab
had been cut off. "Why? I will avenge these slaughters," saith the
Lord. It is customary, we know, with hypocrites, after having
punished one sin, to think that all things are lawful to them, and
to wish to be thus discharged before God. A thief will punish a
murder, but he himself will commit many murders. He thinks himself
redeemed, because he has paid God the price in punishing one man;
but he lets go others, who have been his accomplices, and he himself
hesitates not to commit many unjust murders. Since, then, hypocrites
thus mock God, the Prophet now justly shakes off such senselessness,
and says, "I will avenge these slaughters". "Do ye think it a deed
worthy of praise in Jehu, to destroy and root out the house of Ahab?
I indeed commanded it to be done but he turned the vengeance
enjoined on him to another end." How so? Because he became a robber;
for he did not punish the sins of Ahab, because he did the same
himself to the end of life, and continued to do the same in his
posterity, for Jeroboam was the fourth from him in the kingdom.
"Since, then, Jehu did not change the condition of the country, and
ye have ever been obstinate in your wickedness, I will avenge these
slaughters."
    This is a remarkable passage; for it shows that it is not
enough, nay, that it is of no moment, that a man should conduct
himself honourably before men, except he possesses also an upright
and sincere heart. He then who punishes evil deeds in others, ought
himself to abstain from them, and to measure the same justice to
himself as he does to others; for he who takes to himself a liberty
to sin, and yet punishes others, provokes against himself the wrath
of God.
    We now then perceive the true sense of this sentence, "I will
avenge the slaughters of Jezreel", to be this, that he would avenge
the slaughters made in the valley of Jezreel on the house of Jehu.
It is added "and I will abolish the kingdom of the house of Israel".
The house of Israel he calls that which had separated from the
family of David, as though he said, "This is a separated house." God
had indeed joined the whole people together, and they became one
body. It was torn asunder under Jeroboam. This was God's dreadful
judgement; for it was the same as if the people, like a torn body,
had been cut into two parts. But God, however, had hitherto
preserved these two parts, as though they were but one body, and
would have become the Redeemer of both people, had not a base
defection followed. And the Israelites having become, as it were,
putrified, so as now to be no part of his chosen people, our
Prophet, by way of contempt and reproach, rightly calls them the
house of Israel. It now follows -

Hosea 1:5
And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of
Israel in the valley of Jezreel.
    
    This verse was intentionally added; for the Israelites were so
inflated with their present good fortune, that they laughed at the
judgement denounced. They indeed knew that they were well furnished
with arms, and men, and money; in short, they thought themselves in
every way unassailable. Hence the Prophet declares, that all this
could not prevent God from punishing them. "Ye are," he says,
"inflated with pride; ye set up your velour against God, thinking
yourselves strong in arms and in power; and because ye are military
men, ye think that God can do nothing; and yet your bows cannot
restrain his hand from destroying you. But when he says, "I will
break the bow", he mentions a part for the whole; for under one sort
he comprehends every kind of arms. But as to what the Prophet had in
view, we see that his only object was to break down their false
confidence; for the Israelites thought that they should not be
exposed to the destruction which Hosea had predicted; for they were
dazzled with their own power, and thought themselves beyond the
reach of any danger, while they were so well fortified on every
side. Hence the Prophet says, that all their fortresses would be
nothing against God; for "in that day", when the ripe time for
vengeance shall come, the Lord will break all their bows, he will
tear in pieces all their arms, and reduce to nothing their power.
    We are here warned ever to take heed, lest any thing should
lead us to a torpid state when God threatens us. Though we may have
strength, though fortune (so to speak) may smile on us, though, in a
word, the whole world should combine to secure our safety, yet there
is no reason why we should felicitate ourselves, when God declares
himself opposed to and angry with us. Why so? Because, as he can
preserve us when unarmed whenever he pleases, so he can spoil us of
all our arms, and reduce our power to nothing. Let this verse then
come to our minds whenever God terrifies us by his threatening; and
what it teaches us is, that he can take away all the defences in
which we vainly trust.
    Now, as Jezreel was the metropolis of the kingdom, the Prophet
distinctly mentions the place, "I will break in pieces the bow of
Israel in the valley of Jezreel"; that is, the Lord sees what sort
of fortress there is in Samaria, in Jezreel; but he will make an end
of you there, in the very midst of the land. Ye think that you have
there a place of safety and a firm position; but the Lord will bring
you to nothing even in the valley of Jezreel. It follows -

Hosea 1:6
And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And [God] said unto
him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the
house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.
    
    The Prophet shows in this verse that things were become worse
and worse in the kingdom of Israel, that they sinned, keeping within
no limits, that they rushed headlong into the extremes of impiety.
He has already told us, by calling them Jezreelites, that they were
from the beginning rejected and degenerate; as though he said, "Your
origin has nothing commendable in it; ye think yourselves to be very
eminent, because ye derive your descent from holy Jacob; but ye are
spurious children, born of a harlot: a brothel is not the house of
Abraham, nor is the house of Abraham a brothel. Ye are then the
offspring of debauchery." But he now goes farther and says, that as
time advanced, they had ever been falling into a worse state; for
this word, Loruchamah, is a more disgraceful name than Jezreel: and
the Lord also denounces here his vengeance more openly, when he
says,
    "I will no more add to pursue with mercy the house of Israel".
"Racham" means to pity, and also to love: but this second meaning is
derived from the other; for "racham" is not simply to love, but to
show gratuitous favour. By calling the daughter, then, Lo-ruchamah,
God intimates that his favour was now taken away from the people. We
know, indeed, that the people had been freely chosen; for if the
cause of adoption be inquired for, it must be said to have been the
mere mercy and goodness of God. Now then God, in repudiating the
people, says, "Ye are like a daughter whom her father casts away and
disowns, because he deems her unworthy of his favour." We now, then,
comprehend the design of the Prophet; for, after having shown the
Israelites to have been from the beginning spurious, and not the
true children of Abraham, he now adds, that, in course of time, they
had become so corrupt, that God would now utterly disown them, and
would no longer deem them as his house. He, therefore, charges them
with something more grievous than before, by saying, 'Call this
daughter Lo-ruchamah;' for she was born after Jezreel. Here he
describes by degrees the state of the people, that it continually
degenerated. Though they were at the beginning depraved; but they
were now, after the lapse of some time, utterly unworthy of God's
favour.
    "I will no more add", he says, "to pursue with favour the house
of Israel". God here shows what constant forbearance he had
exercised towards this people. "I will no more add", he says; as
though the Lord had said, "I do not now sally forth at the first
heat of wrath to take vengeance on you, as passionate men are wont
to do, who seize the sword as soon as any affront is given; I become
not so suddenly hot with anger. I have, therefore, hitherto borne
with you; but now your obstinacy is intolerable; I will not then
bear with you any more." The Prophet, as we see, evidently intimates
that the Israelites had very long abused the Lord's mercy, while he
spared them, so that now the ripe time of vengeance had come; for
the Lord had, for many years showed his favour to them, though they
never ceased at any time to seek destruction to themselves. Hence we
learn, as stated yesterday, that the Prophet's vehemence was not
hasty: for God had before given warnings, more than sufficient, to
the Israelites; he had also forgiven them many sins; he had borne
with them until the state of things proved that they were altogether
incurable. Since, then, the forbearance of God produced no effect on
them, it was necessary to come to this last remedy, that the Lord
should, as it were, with a drawn sword, appear as a judge to take
vengeance.
    He afterwards says, "ki naso esa lahem". This sentence is
variously explained. Some think that the verb is derived from the
root "nasah", with a final "he"; which means "to forget", as though
it was said "By forgetting, I will forget them;" and the sense is
not unsuitable. The Chaldean paraphraser wholly departs from this
meaning, for he renders the clause, "By sparing, I will spare them."
There is no reason for this; for God, as the context clearly shows,
does not yet promise pardon to them; this meaning, then, cannot
stand. They come nearer to the design of the Prophet who thus
translate, "I will bring to them," that is, the enemy; for "nasa"
signifies to take, and also to bring into the middle. But I prefer
embracing their opinion who consider that "lahem" is placed here for
"otam"; for the servile letter "lamed", has often the same meaning
with the particle "et", which is prefixed to an objective case. Then
the rendering is, literally given, "For, by taking away, I will take
them away:" and the Hebrews often use this mode of speaking, and the
sense is plainer, "By taking away, I will take them away." Some
render the passage, "I will burn them;" but this explanation is
rather harsh. I am satisfied with the meaning, to take, but I
understand it in the sense of taking away. Then it is, "By taking
away, I will take them away."
    And this is what the following verse confirms; for when the
Prophet speaks of the house of Judah, the Lord says, "With mercy
will I follow the house of Judah, and will save them." The Prophet
sets "to save" and "to take away" in opposition the one to the
other.
    We may then learn by the context what he meant by these words,
and that is, that Israel had hitherto stood through the Lord's
mercy; as though he said, "How has it happened that ye continue as
yet alive? Do you think yourselves to be safe through your own
valour? Nay, my mercy has hitherto preserved you. Now, then, when I
shall withdraw my favour from you, your ruin will be inevitable; you
must necessarily perish, and be brought to nothing: for as I have
hitherto preserved you, so I will utterly tear you away and destroy
you." A profitable lesson may be farther gathered from this passage,
and that is, that hypocrites deceive themselves when they boast of
the present favour of God, and, at the same time, exult without any
fear against him; for as God for a time spares and tolerates them,
so he can justly destroy and reduce them to nothing. But the next
verse must be also joined.

Hosea 1:7
But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by
the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor
by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
    
    This verse sufficiently proves what I said yesterday, that the
Prophet was specifically appointed to the kingdom of Israel; for he
seems here to speak favourably of the Jews, who yet, we know, had
been severely and deservedly reproved by their own teachers. For
what does Isaiah say, after having spoken of the dreadful
corruptions which then prevailed in the kingdom of Israel? 'Come,'
he says, 'into the house of Judah, they at least continue as yet
pure: there,' he says, 'all the tables are full of vomiting; they
are drunken; there reigns also the contempt of God and all impiety,'
(Isa. 28: 8.) We see then that the Jews were not a virtuous people,
of whom the Prophet has spoken so honourably. For though the
exterior worship of God continued at Jerusalem, and the temple, at
least under Uzziah and Jotham, was free from every superstition, and
also under king Hezekiah; yet the morals of the people, we know,
were very corrupt. Avarice, and cruelty, and every kind of fraud,
reigned there, and also filthy lusts. The conduct, then, of that
people was nothing better than that of the Israelites. Why, then,
does the Prophet dignify them with so great an honour as to exempt
them from God's vengeance? Because he had an eye to the people to
whom he was appointed a Prophet. He therefore institutes a
comparison. He interferes not with the Jews, for he knew that they
had faithful pastors who reproved their sins; but he continued among
his own hearers. But this comparison served, in an especial manner,
to touch the hearts of the people of Israel; for the Prophet, we
know, made this reference particularly for this end, to condemn
fictitious worship. He now sets the worship at Jerusalem in
opposition to all those superstitions which Jeroboam first
introduced, which Ahab increased, and all their posterity followed.
Hence he says, "I will show favour" to the house of Judas.
    That we may better understand the mind of the Prophet, it may
be well to repeat what we said yesterday: - The kingdom of Judah was
then miserably wasted. The kingdom of Israel had ten tribes, the
kingdom of Judah only one and a half, and it was also diminished by
many slaughters; yea, the Israelites had spoiled the temple of the
Lord, and had taken all the gold and silver they found there. The
Jews, then, had been reduced to a very low state, they hardly dared
to mutter; but the Israelites, as our Prophet will hereafter tell
us, were like beasts well fed. Since, then, they despised the Jews,
who seemed despicable in the eyes of the world, the Prophet beats
down this vain confidence, and says, "With mercy will I follow the
house of Judah". "The house of Judah seems now to be almost nothing,
for they are few in number, nor are they very strong, and wealth
abounds not among them as among you; but with them shall dwell my
favour, and I will take it away from you."
    It after arts follows, "And I will save them by Jehovah their
God". Salvation is here set in opposition to the destruction which
the Prophet mentioned in the last verse. But Hosea shows that
salvation depends not in the least either on arms or on any of the
intervenients, as they say, of this world; but has its foundation
only on God's favour. "I will save them", he says - why? "because my
favour will I show them". This connection ought to be carefully
noticed. Where the Lord's favour is, there is life. 'Thou art our
God, then we shall never perish,' as it is written in the first
chapter of Habakkuk. Hence the Prophet here connects salvation with
God's gratuitous favour; for we cannot continue safe, but as long as
God is propitious to us. He has, on the other hand, declared that it
would be all over with the Israelites as soon as God would take away
from them his favour.
    But he says, "By Jehovah their God". An antithesis is to be
understood here between the false gods and Jehovah, who was the God
of the house of Judah. It is the same as though the Prophet said,
"Ye indeed profess the name of God, but ye worship the devil and not
God: for ye have nothing to do with Jehovah, with the God who is the
creator and maker of heaven and earth; for he dwells in his own
temple; he pledged his faith to David, when he commanded him to
build a temple for him on mount Zion; he dwells there between the
cherubim, as the Prophets invariably declare: but the true God is
become exiled from you." We hence see how he condemns here all the
worship which the Israelites then so highly valued. Why did he do
so? Because it was not acceptable to God.
    And this passage deserves to be noticed, for we see how stupid
men are in this respect. When once they are persuaded that they
worship God, they are seized by some fascination of Satan so as to
become delighted with all their own dotages, as we see to be the
case at this day with the Papists, who are not only insane, but
doubly frantic. If any one reproves them and says, that they worship
not the true God, they are instantly on fire - "What! does not God
accept our worship?" But the Prophet here shows by one word that
Jehovah is not in any place, except where he is rightly worshipped
according to the rule of his word. I will save them, he says - How?
"By Jehovah their God"; and God himself speaks: He might have said,
"I will save them by myself;" but it was not without reason that he
used this circuitous mode of speaking; it was to show the Israelites
that they had no reason to think that God would be propitious to
them. How so? Because God had chosen an habitation for himself on
mount Zion and in Jerusalem. A fuller declaration afterwards
follows, "I will save them neither by the bow, nor by the sword, nor
by war, nor by horses, nor by horsemen". But this clause, by God's
favour, I will explain tomorrow.
    
Prayer.
    
    Grant, Almighty God, that as we were from our beginning lost,
when thou wert pleased to extend to us thy hand, and to restore us
to salvation for the sake of thy Son; and that as we continue even
daily to run headlong to our own ruin, - O grant that we may not, by
sinning so often, so provoke at length thy displeasure as to cause
thee to take away from us the mercy which thou hast hitherto
exercised towards us, and through which thou hast adopted us: but by
thy Spirit destroy the wickedness of our heart, and restore us to a
sound mind, that we may ever cleave to thee with a true and sincere
heart, that being fortified by thy defence, we may continue safe
even amidst all kinds of danger, until at length thou gatherest us
into that blessed rest, which has been prepared for us in heaven by
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Lecture Third
    
    We have to explain first this clause, "I will save the house of
Judah neither by the bow, nor by the sword, nor by war, nor by
horses, nor by horsemen". What the Prophet had touched upon before
is here more clearly expressed, and that is, that God has no need of
foreign aids, for he is content with his own power. But Hosea
continues his contrast; for the people of Israel, as they possessed
much carnal power, thought themselves, as they say, beyond the reach
of darts: but the kingdom of Judah was exposed to all dangers, as it
was not powerful in forces and arms. This folly the Prophet exposes
to contempt, and says, that safety is dependent on God alone, that
men in vain trust in their own velour, and that there is no reason
why the needy and destitute should despair of their safety, as God
alone is abundantly sufficient to preserve the faithful. The meaning
then is, that though the destitute condition of the kingdom of Judah
was an object of contempt to all, yet this would be no obstacle,
that it should not be preserved through God's favour, though it
obtained no aid from men. And let us learn from this place, that we
are not so preserved by the Lord, that he never employs any natural
means; and further, that when he has no recourse to them, he is
abundantly sufficient to secure our safety. We ought then so to
ascribe our safety to the Lord as not to think that any thing comes
to us through ourselves, or through angels, or through men. Let us
now proceed -

Hosea 1:8,9
Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.
Then said [God], Call his name Loammi: for ye [are] not my people,
and I will not be your [God].
    
    The "weaning" the Prophet mentions here is by some understood
allegorically; as though he said, that the people would for a time
be deprived of prophecies, and of the priesthood, and of other
spiritual gifts: but this is frigid. The Prophet here, I have no
doubt, sets forth the patience of God towards that people. The Lord
then, before he had utterly cast away the Israelites, waited
patiently for their repentance, if, indeed, there was any hope for
it; but when he found them be ever like themselves, he then at
length proceeded to the last punishment. Hence Hosea says, that the
daughter, who was the second child, was weaned; as though he said,
that the people of Israel had not been suddenly cast away, for God
had with long patience borne with them, and thus suspended heavier
judgement, until, having found their wickedness to be unhealable, he
at length commenced what follows, "Call" the third child Lo-ammi.
    The reason is added "For ye are not my people, and I will not
hereafter be yours". This, as I have said, is the final disowning of
them. They had been before called Jezreelites, and then by the name
of the daughter God testified that he was alienated from them; but
now the third name is still more grievous, "Ye are not my people";
for God here abolishes, in a manner, the covenant he made with the
holy fathers, so that the people would cease to have any pre-
eminence over other nations. So then the Israelites were reduced to
a condition in which they differed nothing from the profane
Gentiles; and thus God wholly disinherited them. The Prophet,
doubtless, was not well received, when he denied them to be God's
people, who had yet descended from Abraham according to the flesh,
who had ever been so accounted, and who continued proudly to boast
of their election.
    But let us hence learn, that those awfully mistake who are
blind to their own vices, because God spares and indulges them. For
we must ever remember what I have said before, that the kingdom of
Israel was then opulent; and yet the Prophet denies them, who
flourished in strength, and power, and riches, to be God's people.
There is then no reason for hypocrites to felicitate themselves in
prosperity; but they ought, on the contrary, to have regard to God's
judgement. But though these, as we see to be the case, heedlessly
despise God, yet this passage reminds us carefully to beware lest we
abuse the present favours of God. It follows -

Hosea 1:10
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the
sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to
pass, [that] in the place where it was said unto them, Ye [are] not
my people, [there] it shall be said unto them, [Ye are] the sons of
the living God.
    
    Now follows consolation, yet not unmixed. God seems here to
meet the objections which we know hypocrites had in readiness,
whenever the Prophets denounced destruction on them; for they
accused God of being unfaithful if he did not save them. Arrogating
to themselves the title of Church, they concluded that it would be
impossible for them to perish for God would not be untrue in his
promises. "Why! God has promised that his Church shall be for ever:
we are his Church; then we are safe, for God cannot deny himself."
In what they took as granted they were deceived; for though they
usurped the title of Church, they were yet alienated from God. We
see that the Papists swell with this pride at this day. To excuse
all their errors they set up against us this shield, "Christ
promised to be with his own to the end of the world. Can the spouse
desert his Church? Can the Son of God, who is the eternal Truth of
the Father, fail in his faithfulness?" The Papists magnificently
extol the faithfulness of Christ, that they may bind him to
themselves: but at the same time, they consider not that they are
covenant breakers; they consider not that they are manifestly the
enemies of God; they consider not that they have divorced themselves
from him.
    The Prophet, therefore seeing that he had to do with proud men,
who were wont to arraign the justice of God, says, "The number of
the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea"; that is,
"When the Lord shall cut you off, still safe will remain this
promise which was given to Abraham; 'Look at the stars of heaven,
number, if thou can't, the sand of the sea; so shall thy seed be,'"
(Gen. 22: 5.) We indeed know, that whenever the Prophets severely
reproved the people and denounced destruction, this was ever opposed
to them, "What! can it be that the Lord will destroy us? What would
then become of this promise, Thy seed shall be as the stars of
heaven and as the sand of the sea?" Hence the Prophet here checks
this vain-confidence, by which hypocrites supported themselves
against all threatening, "Though God may cut you off, he will yet
continue true and faithful to the promise, that Abraham's seed shall
be innumerable as the sand of the sea."
    I indeed admit that the Prophet here gave hope of salvation to
the faithful; for it is certain that there were some remaining in
the kingdom of Israel. Though the whole body had revolted, yet God,
as it was said to Elijah, had preserved to himself some seed. The
Prophet then was unwilling to leave the faithful, who remained among
that lost people, without hope of salvation; but, at the same time,
he had regard to hypocrites, as we have already stated. We now see
the design of the Prophet, for he teaches that there would be such a
vengeance as he had spoken of, though God would not yet be forgetful
of his word; he teaches that there would be such a casting away of
the people, though God's election would yet remain firm and
unchangeable; in short, he teaches that the adoption by which God
had chosen the offspring of Abraham as his people would not be void.
This is the import of the whole. Then the number of the children of
Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which is not to be measured
nor numbered.
    He afterwards adds, "And it shall be in the place where it had
been said to them", (shall be said, literally,) "Ye are not my
people; there it shall be said, Ye are the sons of the living God".
It has been asked, whether this prophecy belongs to the posterity of
those who had been dispersed. This, indeed, would be strange; for so
long a time has passed away since their exile, and dejected and
broken, they dwell at this day in mountains and in other desert
places; at least many of them are in the mountains of Armenia, some
are in Media and Chaldea; in short, throughout the whole of the
East. And since there has been no restoration of this people, it is
certain that this prophecy ought not to be restricted to seed
according to the flesh. For there was a prescribed time for the
Jews, when the Lord purposed to restore them to their country; and,
at the end of seventy years, a free return was granted them by
Cyrus. Then Hosea speaks not here of the kingdom of Israel, but of
the Church, which was to be restored by a return, composed both of
Jews and of Gentiles. So Paul, a fit interpreter of this passage,
reminds us, 'Whom he has called, not only of the Jews, but also of
the Gentiles; as he says by Hosea, I will call a people, who were
not mine, my people; and her beloved, who was not beloved: and it
shall be, where it had been said to them, Ye are not my people;
there shall they be called the sons of the living God,' (Rom. 9: 24,
&c.) Paul applies this passage, and that rightly, to the whole body
of the faithful, collected without any difference, from the Jews as
well as from the Gentiles: for otherwise, as we have said, the
correctness and truth of prophecy would not be evident: and this
view also agrees best with the design of the Prophet which I have
just explained. For, since hypocrites in a manner tie to themselves
the power of God, the Prophet says, that God can, if he chooses,
raise up in an instant a new Church, which would exceed in number
the sand of the sea. How so? God will create a Church for himself.
From what? From stones, from nothing: for, as Paul says elsewhere,
'he calls those things which are not, as though they were,' (Rom. 4:
17.) At the same time, God, as it has been said, by his goodness
contended with the wickedness of that people; for though they
rejected his favour, yea, and obstinately thrust it away from
themselves, yet such perverseness did not hinder the Lord from
preserving a remnant for himself.
    Now, this passage teaches, that they are very perverted in
their notions, who, by their own feelings, form a judgement of the
state of the Church, and accuse God of being unfaithful, when its
external appearance does not correspond with their opinion. So the
Papists think; for except they see the splendour of great pomp, they
conclude that no Church remains in the world. But God at one time so
diminishes the Church, that it seems to be almost reduced to
nothing; at another time, he increases and multiplies it beyond all
hope, after having raised it, as it were, from death. Isaiah says in
the tenth chapter, ver. 22, 'Were the number of the children of
Israel as the sand of the sea, a remnant only shall be saved.' The
Prophet there designedly exposes to scorn the hypocrites, who
falsely pleaded that prophecy, 'Look on the stars of heaven, and on
the sand of the sea, if thou can't number them; so shall thy seed
be.' Since, then, Isaiah saw that hypocrites, relying on that
prophecy, were rising so perversely against him, he said, "Be it so,
be it so, that ye are as the stars of heaven, and as the sand of the
sea; yet a remnant only shall be saved;" which means, "The Lord will
at last cut you down, and reduce you to so small a number, that ye
shall be extremely few." Now, on the other hand, Hosea says, That
after the Israelites shall be reduced to a very small number, that
nothing but waste and solitude will appear, then the Lord will
restore the Church beyond all human thoughts and will prove that he
had not in vain promised to Abraham that his seed would be as the
sand of the sea. Since, then, the Lord wonderfully defends his
Church, and preserves it in this world, so that at one time he seems
to bury it, and then he raises it from death; at one time he cuts it
down as to its outward appearance, and then afterwards he renews it;
we ought to take heed, lest we measure according to our own
judgement and carnal reason, what the Lord declares respecting the
preservation of his Church. For its safety is often hid from the
eyes of men. However the case may be, God does not bind himself here
to human means, nor to the order of nature, but his purpose is to
surpass by his incredible power whatever the minds of men can
conceive.
    Thus then ought this passage, "The number of the children of
Israel shall be as the sand of the sea", to be expounded: God will
gather his Church from all quarters, from the Gentiles as well as
from the Jews when the whole world will think it to be extinct.
    "And it shall be in the place where it had been said, Ye are
not my people; there it shall be said, Ye are the sons of the living
God". The Prophet, in these words, amplifies by a comparison the
grace of God; as though he said, "When God shall restore anew his
Church, its state shall be more excellent than before." How so?
"They shall not only," he says, "be the people of God, but also the
sons of the living God;" which means, that God will more familiarly
show himself a Father to those, whom he will thus suddenly gather
into one body. I indeed allow that the ancients under the law were
honoured with this title; but we ought to attend to the present
passage; for the Prophet contrasts the two clauses, the one with the
other: "And it shall be in the place where it had been said, Ye are
not my people; it shall be said there, Ye are the sons of the living
God". He might have said, "And it shall be in the place where it had
been said, Ye are not my people; there it shall be said, Ye are nosy
my people:" but he ascends higher; God will confer more honour on
his new people, for he will more clearly manifest his favour to them
by this title of adoption: and it belongs in common to all, to the
Gentiles as well as to the Israelites. We ought not to apply this,
as it is commonly done, exclusively to the Gentiles: for Hosea
speaks not here only of the Church which God attained for himself
from the Gentiles, but of the whole Israel of God, a part of whom is
the seed of Abraham. Let us then know that God here offers his grace
generally, to the Israelites as well as to the Gentiles, and
testifies, that after having justly cast away this people, he would
make all to know that he had not been unmindful of his covenant, for
he would attain to himself a much larger Church - from whom? From
the children of Abraham, as it has been said, as well as from
strangers.
    And there is an important meaning in the verb, 'It shall be
said:' "It shall be where it had been said, Ye are not my people,
there it shall be said", - The Prophet means, that our salvation
appears not, before the Lord has begun to testify to us of his
good-will. Hence the beginning of our salvation is God's call, when
he declares himself to be propitious to us: without his word, no
hope shines on us. Hosea might have said, 'It shall be in the place
where it had been said, Ye are not my people, there they shall begin
to be the sons of God:' but he expresses more, 'It shall be where it
had been said, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said, Ye are
the sons of the living God.'
    As to the first clause, it must be referred to the threatening
which have been already explained; and in this way was also checked
the contumacy of the people, who heedlessly despised all the
Prophets. "What! God has bound himself to us: we are the race of
Abraham; then we are a holy and elect nation." But the Prophet here
claims authority to himself as a teacher: "I am a herald of God's
vengeance, and seriously proclaim to you your rejection: there is
then no reason why ye should now harden your hearts and close your
ears; for now at length will follow the execution of that vengeance
which I now declare to you." The Prophet then declares here that he
had not rashly pronounced what we before noticed, that it was not an
empty bug bear, but that he had spoken in the Lord's name; as Paul
also says, 'Vengeance is prepared by us against all them who extol
themselves against Christ,' (2 Cor. 10: 6.) And we see also what was
said to Ezekiel, 'Go and besiege Jerusalem; turn thy face, and stand
there until thou stormest it, until thou overthrowest it.' The
prophet was not certainly furnished with an army, so that he could
make an attack upon Jerusalem: but God means there that there is
power enough in his word to destroy all the ungodly. So also Hosea
signifies the same here: "When by the word alone the Israelites
shall be cast away it shall be said, Ye are the sons of the living
God." Let us then know, that God rises upon us with certain
salvation, when we hear him speaking to us. It follows

Hosea 1:11
Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be
gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall
come up out of the land: for great [shall be] the day of Jezreel.
    
    The Prophet speaks here peculiarly of the children of Abraham;
for though God would make no more account of them than of other
nations, he yet wished it to be ascribed to his covenant, that they
in honour excelled others; and the right of primogeniture, we know,
is everywhere given to them. Then as Abraham's children were
first-begotten in the Church, even after the coming of Christ, God
here especially addresses them, "Ascend together from the land shall
the children of Israel and the children of Judah, and they shall
assemble together, and appoint for themselves one head". In the last
verse, Hosea spake of the universal gathering of the Church; but now
he confines his address to the natural race of Abraham. Why? Because
God commenced a restoration with that people, when he extended his
hand to the miserable exiles to bring them back from the Babylonian
captivity to their own country. As then this was the beginning of
the gathering, the Prophet, not without reason, turns his address
here to them, and thus sets them in higher honour, not that they
were worthy, not that they could by any merit claim this dignity;
but because God would not make void his covenant, and because he had
chosen them that they might be the first-begotten, as it has been
already stated, and as they are also elsewhere called, 'My
first-begotten is Ephraim,' (Jer. 31:  9.) We now then understand
the order and arrangement of the Prophet, which is to be carefully
noticed, and the more so, because interpreters confound all these
things, and make no distinctions, when yet the Prophet has not here
mingled together the children of Israel and the children of Judah
with the Gentiles, except for a certain purpose.
    Let us now consider the words of the Prophet. "Assembled
together", he says, "shall be the children of Israel and the
children of Judah". No doubts the Prophet has in view the
scattering, which had now lasted more than two hundred years, when
Jeroboam had led away the ten tribes. Inasmuch as the body became
then torn asunder, the Prophet says, "Together shall be gathered the
children of Judah and the children of Israel". And designedly does
he thus speak, lest the Israelites should felicitate themselves on
their own power; since they were a mutilated body without a head;
for the king of Israel, properly speaking, was not legitimate. The
Lord had indeed anointed Jeroboam; and afterwards Jehu, I admit, had
been anointed; but it was done for the sake of executing judgement.
For when the Lord intended really to bless the people, he chose
David to rule over them; and then he committed the government over
all the children of Abraham to the posterity of David. There was
therefore no legitimate head over the people of Israel. And the
Prophet intended distinctly to express this by saying, "Gathered
together shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel";
which means this, "Ye are now secure, because fortune smiles on you;
because ye are overflowing with money and all good things; because
ye are terrible to your neighbours; because ye have cities well
fortified; but your safety depends on another thing, even on this, -
that ye be one body under one head. For ye must be miserable except
God rules over you; and the only way in which this can be is, that
ye be under the government of David. Your separation, then, proves
your state to be accursed; your earthly happiness in which you
felicitate yourselves, is unhappiness before God." The Prophet then
reminded the people of Israel, that God would at last deal kindly
with them by restoring them to their first unity. The import of the
whole then is, that the children of Abraham shall then at length be
blessed, when they shall unite again in one body, and when one head
shall rule over them. They "shall" then "be gathered together, and
appoint one head". The Prophet shows here also what kind of
assembling this will be which he mentions, which was to be this, -
they shall be gathered under the government of one king. For
whenever God speaks of the restoration of the people, he ever calls
the attention of the faithful to David: 'David shall rule, there
shall be one shepherd.' Then one king and one head shall be among
them. We now perceive the design of the Prophet.
    But this passage clearly teaches, that the unity of men is of
no account before God, except it originates from one head. Besides,
it is well known that God set David over his ancient people until
the coming of Christ. Now, then, the Church of the Lord is only
rightly formed, when the true David rules over it; that is, when all
with one consent obey Christ, and submit to his bidding, and how
Christ designs to rule in his Church, we know; for the sceptre of
his kingdom is the gospel. Hence, when Christ is honoured with the
obedience of faith, all things are safe; and this is the happy state
of the Church, of which the Prophet now speaks. It seems, indeed,
strange, that what is peculiar to God should be transferred to men -
that is, to appoint a king. But the Prophet has, by this expression,
characterised the obedience of faith; for it is not enough that
Christ should be given as a king, and set over men, unless they also
embrace him as their king, and with reverence receive him. We now
learn, that when we believe the gospel we choose Christ for our
king, as it were, by a voluntary consent.
    He afterwards subjoins, "They shall ascend from the land". He
expresses more than at the beginning of the verse; for he says, that
God would restore them from exile to their own country. He then
promises what was very necessary, that exile would be no hindrance
to God to renew his Church; for it was the people's ruin to be
removed far from their country, and consequently to be deprived of
their promised inheritance during their dispersion among heathen
nations. The Lord then takes away this difficulty, and distinctly
declares, that though for a time they should be as wholly destroyed,
they should yet come again to their own land. They "shall",
therefore, "ascend", (this is said with regard to Judea, for it is
higher than Chaldea) - they "shall", therefore, "ascend" from
Chaldea and other places in which they had been dispersed. We now
understand what the Prophet means by saying, "Gathered together
shall be the children of Israel and the children of Judah" - that
is, into one body; and further, they shall appoint for themselves
one head. This is the manner of the gathering; and it must be also
added, that the Church then obeys God, when all, from the first to
the last, consent to one head: for it is not enough to be
constrained, unless all willingly offer themselves to Christ; as it
is said in Psalm 110:, 'There shall be a willing people in the day
in which the King will call his own.' Then the Prophet intended to
express the obedience of faith, which the faithful will render to
Christ, when the Lord shall restore them.
    And they "shall ascend", he says, "from the land; for great
shall be the day of Jezreel". It may be asked, why does he here call
the day of Jezreel great; for it seems contrary to prophecy? This
passage may be explained in two ways. Great shall be the day of
Jezreel, some say, because Goal will sow the people whom he had
before scattered. So they think that the Prophet, as in a former
instance, alludes to the word, Jezreel. But the sense seems to me to
be another. I do not restrict this clause to the last, nor to the
promise, but apply it to the slaughter which has been before
mentioned; for they correspond with one another. "They shall ascend
from the land; for great shall be the day of Jezreel". The
Israelites were as yet resting in their nests, and thought that they
could not by any means be torn away; besides, the kingdom of Judah
did not then fear a near destruction. The Prophet, therefore,
intimates here, that there would be a need of some signal and
extraordinary remedy; for it shall be the severe and dreadful
slaughter in the day of Jezreel. We now perceive the real meaning of
the Prophet, "They shall ascend from the land; for I great shall be
the day of Jezreel".
    They might, indeed, have otherwise objected, and said, "Why
dost thou thus prophesy to us about ascending? What is this
ascending? Do we not rest quietly in the inheritance which God
formerly promised to our fathers? What meanest thou, then, by this
ascending?" The Prophet here rouses them, and reminds them that they
had no reason to trust in their now quiet state, as wine settled on
its lees; and this very similitude is even used in another place,
(Jer. 48: 11.) The Prophet here declares, that there would be a most
dreadful slaughter, which Would call for the signal mercy of God;
for he would in a wonderful manner restore the people, and draw them
out like the dead from their graves: "for great" then shall be the
day of Jezreel; that is, "As the calamity which the Lord shall bring
on you will be grievous and dreadful, I do not in vain promise to
you this return and ascending." This seems to be really the meaning
of the Prophet.
    
Prayer.

Grant, Almighty God, that as we have not only been redeemed from
Babylonian exile, but have also emerged from hell itself; for when
we were the children of wrath thou didst freely adopt us, and when
we were aliens, thou didst in thine infinite goodness open to us the
gate of thy kingdom, that we might be made thy heirs through thy
Son, - O grant that we may walk circumspectly before thee, and
submit ourselves wholly to thee and to thy Christ, and not feign to
be his members, but really prove ourselves to be his body, and to be
so governed by his Spirit, that thou mayest at last gather us
together into thy celestial kingdom, to which thou daily invites us
by the same Christ our Lord. Amen.




Chapter 2.

Lecture Fourth.

Hosea 2:1
Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.
    
    The Prophet having spoken of the people's restoration, and
promised that God would some time receive into favour those whom he
had before rejected, now exhorts the faithful mutually to stir up
one another to receive this favour. He had previously mentioned a
public proclamation; for it is not in the power of men to make
themselves the children of God, but God himself freely adopts them.
But now the mutual exhortation of which the Prophet speaks follows
the proclamation; for God at the same time invites us to himself.
After we are taught in common, it remains then that each one should
extend his hand to his brethren, that we may thus with one consent
be brought together to the Lord.
    This then is what the Prophet means by saying, "Say ye to your
brethren, ami, and to your sisters ruchamah"; that is, since I have
promised to be propitious to you, you can now safely testify this to
one another. We then see that this discourse is addressed to each of
the faithful, that they may mutually confirm themselves in the
faith, after the Lord shall offer them favour and reconciliation.
Let us now proceed -

Hosea 2:2
Plead with your mother, plead: for she [is] not my wife, neither
[am] I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of
her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;
    
    The Prophet seems in this verse to contradict himself; for he
promised reconciliation, and now he speaks of a new repudiation.
These things do not seem to agree well together that God should
embrace, or be willing to embrace, again in his love those whom he
had before rejected, - and that he should at the same time send a
bill of divorce, and renounce the bond of marriage. But if we weigh
the design of the Prophet, we shall see that the passage is very
consistent, and that there is in the words no contrariety. He has
indeed promised that at a future time God would be propitious to the
Israelites: but as they had not yet repented, it was needful to deal
again more severely with them, that they might return to their God
really and thoroughly subdued. So we see that in Scripture, promises
and threatening are mingled together, and rightly too. For were the
Lord to spend a whole month in reproving sinners they may in that
time fall away a hundred times. Hence God, after showing to men
their sins adds some consolation and moderates severity, lest they
should despond: he afterwards returns again to threatening, and does
so from necessity; for though men may be terrified with the fear of
punishment, they do not yet really repent. It is then necessary for
them to be reproved not only once and again, but very often.
    We now then perceive what the Prophet had in view: he had
spoken of the people's defection; afterwards he proved that the
people had been justly rejected by the Lord; and then he promised
the hope of pardon. But now seeing that they still continued
obstinate in their vices, he reproves again those who had need of
such chastisement. He, in a word, has in view their present state.
    Almost all so expound this verse as if the Prophet addressed
the faithful: and with greater refinement still do they expound, who
say, that the Prophet addresses the faithful who had fallen away
from the synagogue. They have and I have no doubt, been much
deceived; for the Prophets on the contrary, shows here that God was
justly punishing the Israelites, who were wont to excuse themselves
in the same way as hypocrites are wont to do. When the Lord treated
them otherwise than according to their wishes, they expostulated,
and raised up contention - "What does this mean?" So do we find them
introduced as thus speaking, by Isaiah in chapter 58. There, indeed,
they fiercely contend with God, as if the Lord dealt with them
unjustly, for they seemed not conscious of having done any evil.
Hence the Prophet, seeing the Israelites so senseless in their sins,
says, "Contend, contend with your mother". He speaks here in the
person of God: and God, as it has been stated, uses the similitude
of a marriage. Let us now see what is the import of the words.
    When a husband repudiates his wife, he fixes a mark of disgrace
on the children born by that marriage: their mother has been
divorced; then the children, on account of that divorce, are held in
less esteem. When a husband repudiates his wife through waywardness,
the children justly regard him with hatred. Why? "Because he loved
not our mother as he ought to have done; he has not honoured the
bond of marriage." It is therefore usually the case, that the
children's affections are alienated from their father, when he
treats their mother with too little humanity or with entire
contempt. So the Israelites, when they saw themselves rejected,
wished to throw the blame on God. For by the name, "mother", are the
people here called; it is transferred to the whole body of the
people, or the race of Abraham. God had espoused that people to
himself, and wished them to be like a wife to him. Since then God
was a husband to the people, the Israelites were as sons born by
that marriage. But when they were repudiated, the Israelites said,
that God dealt cruelly with them, for he has cast them away for no
fault. The Prophet now undertakes the defence of God's cause, and
speaks also in his person, "Contend, contend," he says "with your
mother". In a word, this passage agrees with what is said in the
beginning of the 50th chapter of Isaiah, 'Where is the bill of
repudiation? Have I sold you to my creditors? But ye have been sold
for your sins, and your mother has been repudiated for her
iniquity.' Husbands were wont to give a bill of divorce to their
wives, that they themselves might see it: for it freed them from
every reproach, inasmuch as the husband bore a testimony to his
wife: "I dismiss her, not that she has been unfaithful, not that she
has violated the bond of marriage; but because her beauty does not
please me, or because her manners are not agreeable to me." The law
compelled the husband to give such a testimony as this. God now says
by his Prophet, "Show me now the bill of repudiation: have I of my
own accord cast away your mother? No, I have not done so. Ye cannot
accuse me of cruelty, as though her beauty did not please me, and as
though I had followed the common practice approved by you. I have
not willingly rejected her, nor at my own pleasure, and I have not
sold her to my creditors, as your fathers were sometimes wont to do,
as to their children, when they were in debt." In short, the Lord
shows there that the Jews were to be blamed, that they were rejected
together with their mother. So he says also in this place, Contend,
contend with your mother; which means, "Your dispute is not with
me:" and by the repetition he shows how inveterate was their
perverseness, for they never ceased to glamour against God. We now
see the real meaning of the Prophet.
    In vain then do they philosophise, who say that the mother was
to be condemned by her own children; because, when they shall be
converted to their former faith, they ought then to condemn the
synagogue. The Prophet meant no such thing; but, on the contrary, he
brings this charge against the Israelites, that they had been
repudiated for the flagitious conduct of their mother, and had
ceased to be counted the children of God. For the comparison between
husband and wife is here to be understood; and then the children are
placed as it were in the middle. When the mother is dismissed, the
children indignantly say that the father has been too inhuman if
indeed he wilfully divorces his wife: but when a wife becomes
unfaithful to her husband, or prostitutes herself to any shameful
crime, the husband is then free from every blame; and there is no
cause for the children to expostulate with him; for he ought thus to
punish a shameless wife. God then shows that the Israelites were
justly rejected, and that the blame of their rejection belonged to
the whole race of Abraham; but that no blame could be imputed to
him.
    And for a reason it is added, "Let her then take away her
fornication from her face, and her adulteries from the midst of her
breasts". The Prophet, by saying, "Let her then take away her
fornications", (for the copulative "waw" ought to be regarded as an
illative,) confirms what we have just now said; that is that God had
stood to his pledged faith, but that the people had become
perfidious; and that the cause of the divorce or separation was,
that the Israelites persevered not, as they ought to have done, in
the obedience of faith. Then God says, "Let her take away her
fornications". But the phrase, "Let her take away from her face and
from her breasts", seems singular; and what does it mean? because
women commit fornication neither by the face nor by the breasts. It
is evident the Prophet alludes to meretricious finery; for harlots,
that they may entice men, sumptuously adorn themselves, and
carefully paint their face and decorate their breasts. Wantonness
then appears in the face as well as in the breasts. But interpreters
do not touch on what the Prophet had in view. The Prophet, no doubt,
sets forth here the shamelessness of the people; for they had now so
hardened themselves in their contempt of God, in their ungodly
superstitions, in all kinds of wickedness, that they were like
harlots, who conceal not their baseness, but openly prostitute
themselves, yea, and exhibit tokens of their shamelessness in their
eyes as well as in every part of their bodies. We see then that the
people are here accused of disgraceful impudence as they had grown
so callous as to wish to be known to be such as they were. In the
same way does Ezekiel set forth their reproachful conduct, 'Spread
has the harlot her feet, she called on all who passed by the way,'
(Ezek. 16: 25.)
    We now then understand why the Prophet expressly said, "Let her
take away from her face her fornication, and from her breasts her
adulteries": for he teaches that the vices of the people were not
hidden, and that they did not now sin and cover their baseness as
hypocrites do, but that they were so unrestrained in their contempt
of God, that they were become like common harlots.
    Here is a remarkable passage; for we first see that men in vain
complain when the Lord seems to deal with them in severity; for they
will ever find the fault to be in themselves and in their parents:
yea, when they look on all impartially, they will confess that all
throughout the whole community are included in one and the same
guilt. Let us hence learn, whenever the lord may chastise us, to
come home to ourselves, and to confess that he is justly severe
towards us; yea, were we apparently cast away, we ought yet to
confess, that it is through our own fault, and not through God's
immoderate severity. We also learn how frivolous is their pretext,
who set up against God the authority of their fathers, as the
Papists do: for they would, if they could, call or compel God to an
account, because he forsakes them, and owns them not now as his
Church. "What! has not God bound his faith to us? Is not the Church
his spouse? Can he be unfaithful?" So say the Papists: but at the
same time they consider not, that their mother has become utterly
filthy through her many abominations; they consider not, that she
has been repudiated, because the Lord could no longer bear her great
wickedness. Let us then know, that it is in vain to bring against
God the examples of men; for what is here said by the Prophet will
ever stand true, that God has not given a bill of divorce to his
Church; that is, that he has not of his own accord divorced her, as
peevish and cruel husbands are wont to do, but that he has been
constrained to do so, because he could no longer connive at so many
abominations. It now follows -

Hosea 2:3
Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born,
and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay
her with thirst.
    
    Though the Prophet in this verse severely threatens the
Israelites, yet it appears from a full view of the whole passage,
that he mitigates the sentence we have explained: for by declaring
what sort of vengeance was suspended over them, except they timely
repented, he shows that there was some hope of pardon remaining,
which, as we shall see, he expresses afterwards more clearly.
    He now begins by saying, "Lest I strip her naked, and set her
as on the day of her nativity". This alone would have been dreadful;
but we shall see in the passage, that God so denounces punishment,
that he cuts not off altogether the hope of mercy: and at the same
time he reminds them that the divorce, for which they were disposed
to contend with God, was such, that God yet shows indulgence to the
repudiated wife. For when a husband dismisses an adulteress, he
strips her entirely, and rightly so: but God shows here, that though
the Israelites had become wanton, and were like a shameless woman,
he had yet so divorced them hitherto, that he had left them their
dowry, their ornaments and marriage gifts. We then see that God had
not used, as he might have done, his right; and hence he says, "Lest
I strip her naked"; which means this, "I seem to you too rigid,
because 1 have declared, that I am no longer a husband to your
mother: and yet see how kindly I have spared her; for she remains as
yet almost untouched: though she has lost the name of wife, I have
not yet stripped her; she as yet lives in sufficient plenty. Whence
is this but from my indulgence? for I did not wish to follow up my
right, as husbands do. But except she learns to humble herself, I
now gird up myself for the purpose of executing heavier
punishments." We now comprehend the whole import of the passage.
    What the Prophet means by the day of nativity, we may readily
learn from Ezek. 16; for Ezekiel there treats the same subject with
our Prophet, but much more at large. He says that the Israelites
were then born, when God delivered them from the tyranny of Egypt.
This then was the nativity of the people. And yet it was a miserable
sight, when they fled away with fear and trembling, when they were
exposed to their enemies: and after they entered the wilderness,
being without bread and water, their condition was very wretched.
The Prophet says now, "Lest I set her as on the day of her
nativity", and "set her as the desert". Some regard the letter caph
to be understood, as if it were written, "kavemidbar", as in the
desert; that is, I will set her as she was formerly in the desert;
and this exposition is not unsuitable; for the day of nativity, the
Prophet doubtless calls that time, when the people were brought out
of Egypt: they immediately entered the desert, where there with the
want of every thing. They might then have soon perished there, being
consumed by famine and thirst, had not the Lord miraculously
supported them. The sense then seems consistent by this rendering,
"Lest I set her as in the deserts and as in a dry land". But another
exposition is more approved, "Lest I set her like the desert and dry
land".
    With regard to what the Prophet had in view, it was necessary
to remind the Israelites here of what they were at their beginning.
For whence was their contempt of God, whence was their obstinate
pride, but that they were inebriated with their pleasures? For when
there flowed an abundance of all good things, they thought of
themselves, that they had come as it were from the clouds; for men
commonly forget what they formerly were, when the Lord has made them
rich. As then the benefits of God for the most part blind us, and
make us to think ourselves to be as it were half-gods, the Prophet
here sets before the children of Abraham what their condition was
when the Lord redeemed them. "I have redeemed you," he says, "from
the greatest miseries and extreme degradation." Sons of kings are
born kings, and are brought up in the midst of pomps and pleasures;
nay, before they are born, great pomps, we know, are prepared for
them, which they enjoy from their mother's womb. But when one is
born of an ignoble and obscure mother, and begotten by a mean and
poor father, and afterwards arises to a different condition, if he
is proud of his splendour, and remembers not that he was once a
plebeian and of no repute, this may be justly thrown in his face,
"Who were you formerly? Why! do you not know that you were a
cow-herd, or a mechanic, or one covered with filth? Fortune has
smiled on you, or God has raised you to riches and honours; but you
are so self-complacent as though your condition had ever been the
same."
    This is the drift of what the Prophet says: "I will set thy
mother", he says, "as she was at her first nativity. For who are
you? A holy race, a chosen nation, a people sacred to me? Be it so:
but free adoption has brought all this to you. Ye were exiles in
Egypt, strangers in the land of Canaan, and were nothing better than
other people. Besides, Pharaoh reduced you to a base servitude, ye
were then the most abject of slaves. How magnificent, with regard to
you, was your going forth! Did you not flee away tremblingly and in
the night? And did you not afterwards live in a miraculous way for
forty years in the desert, when I rained manna on you from the
clouds? Since then your poverty and want has been so great, since
there is nothing to make you to raise your crests, how is it that
you show no more modesty? But if your present condition creates in
you forgetfulness, I will set you as on the day of your nativity."
It now follows -

Hosea 2:4,5
And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they [be] the
children of whoredoms.
For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them
hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that
give [me] my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and
my drink.
    
    The Lord now comes close to each individual, after having
spoken in general of the whole people: and thus we see that to be
true which I have said, that it was far from the mind of the Prophet
to suppose, that God here teaches the faithful who had already
repented, that they ought to condemn their own mother. The Prophet
meant nothing of the kind; but, on the contrary, he wished to check
the waywardness of the people, who ceased not to contend with God,
as though he had been more severe than just towards their race. Now
then he reproves each of them; "your children", he says, "I will not
pity; for they are spurious children". He had indeed said before
that they had been born by adultery; but he afterwards received them
into favour. This is true; but what I have said must be remembered
that the Prophet as yet continues in his reproofs; for though he has
mingled some consolation, he yet saw that their hearts were not as
yet contrite and sufficiently humbled. We must bear in mind the
difference between their present state and their future favour. God
before promised that he would be propitious to apostates who had
departed from him: but now he shows that it was not yet the ripe
time, for they had not ceased to sin. Hence he says, "I will not
pity your children".
    Having spoken of the mother's divorce, he now says that the
children, born of adultery, were not his: and certainly what the
Prophet promised before was not immediately fulfilled; for the
people, we know, had been disowned, and when deprived of the land of
Canaan, were rejected, as it were, by the Lord. The Babylonian exile
was a kind of death: and then when they returned from exile, a small
portion only returned, not the whole people; and they were tossed,
we know, by many calamities until Christ our Redeemer appeared.
Since then the Prophet included the whole of this time, it is no
wonder that he says that the children were to be repudiated by the
Lord, because they were born of adultery: for until they returned
from captivity, and Christ was at length revealed, this repudiation,
of which the Prophet speaks, ever continued. "Thy children", he
says, "I will not pity". At first sight it seems very dreadful, that
God takes away the hope of mercy; but we ought to confine this
sentence to that time during which it pleased God to cast away his
people. As long, then, as that temporary casting away lasted, God's
favour was hid; and to this the Prophet now refers, "I will not"
then pity her children, "for they are born by adultery". At the same
time, we must remember that this sentence specifically belonged to
the reprobate, who boasted of being the children of Abraham, while
they were profane and unholy, while they impiously perverted the
whole worship of God, while they were wholly ungovernable. Then the
Prophet justly pronounces such a severe judgement on obstinate men,
who could be reformed by no admonitions.
    He afterwards declares how the children became spurious; "their
mother, who conceived" or bare "them, has been wanton; with shameful
acts has she defiled herself". "Bosh" means, to be ashamed; but here
the Prophet means not that the Israelites were touched with shame,
for such a meaning would be inconsistent with the former sentence;
but that they were like a shameless and infamous woman, touched with
no shame for her baseness. "Their mother", then, "had been wanton,
and she who bare them had become scandalous". Here the Prophet
strips the Israelites of their foolish confidence, who were wont to
profess the name of God, while they were entirely alienated from
him: for they had fallen away by their impiety from pure worship,
they had rejected the law, yea, and every yoke. Since then they were
wild beasts, it was extreme stupidity ever to set up for their
shield the name of God, and ever to boast of the adoption of their
father Abraham. But as the Jews were so perversely proud, the
Prophet here answers them, "Your mother has been wanton, and with
shameful acts has she defiled herself; I will not therefore count
nor own you as my children, for ye were born by adultery."
    This passage confirms what I have shortly before explained, -
that it is not enough that God should choose any people for himself,
except the people themselves persevere in the obedience of faith;
for this is the spiritual chastity which the Lord requires from all
his people. But when is a wife, whom God has bound to himself by a
sacred marriage, said to become wanton? When she falls away, as we
shall more clearly see hereafter, from pure and sound faith. Then it
follows that the marriage between God and men so long endures at
they who have been adopted continue in pure faith, and apostasy in a
manner frees God from us, so that he may justly repudiate us. Since
such apostasy prevails under the Papacy, and has for many ages
prevailed, how senseless they are in their boasting, while they
would be thought to be the holy Catholic Church, and the elect
people of God? For they are all born by wantonness, they are all
spurious children. The incorruptible seed is the word of God; but
what sort of doctrine have they? It is a spurious seed. Then as to
God all the Papists are bastards. In vain then they boast themselves
to be the children of God, and that they have the holy Mother
Church, for they are born by filthy wantonness.
    The Prophet pursues still the same subject: "She said, I will
go after my lovers, the givers of my bread, of my waters, of my
wool, and of my flax, and of my oil, and of my drink." The Prophet
here defines the whoredom of which he had spoken: this part is
explanatory; the Prophet unfolds in several words what he had
briefly touched when he said, "your mother has been wanton". Now, if
the Jews object and say, How has she become wanton? Because, "she
said, I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my waters,
&c." The Prophet here compares false gods to lovers, who seduce
women from their conjugal fidelity; for he pursues the similitude
which he had introduced. The Church, to whom God has pledged his
faith, is represented as a wife; and as a woman does, when enticed
by gifts, and as many women follow covetousness and become
lascivious, that they may dress sumptuously, and live luxuriously,
so the Prophet now points out this vice in the Israelitic Church,
"She said, I will go after my lovers". Some understand by lovers
either the Assyrians or the Egyptians; for when the Israelites
formed connections with these heathen nations, they were drawn away,
we know, from their God. But the Prophet inveighs especially against
false and corrupt modes of worship, and all kinds of superstitions;
for the pure worship of God, we know, is ever to have the first
place, and that justly; for on this depend all the duties of life. I
therefore doubt not, but that he includes all false gods, when he
says, "I will go after my lovers".
    But by introducing the word, "said", he amplifies the
shamelessness of the people, who deliberately forsook their God, who
was to them as a legitimate husband. It indeed happens sometimes
that a man is thoughtlessly drawn aside by a mistake or folly, but
he soon repents; for we see many of the unexperienced deceived for a
short time: but the Prophet here shows that the Israelites
premeditated their unfaithfulness, so that they wilfully departed
from God. Hence "she said"; and we know that this "said" means so
much; and it is to be referred, not to the outward word as
pronounced, but to the inward purpose. "She" therefore "said", that
is, she made this resolution; as though he said, "Let no one make
this frivolous excuse, that they were deceived, that they did it in
their simplicity: ye are, he says, avowedly perfidious, ye have with
a premeditated purpose sought this divorce." He, however, ascribes
this to their mother: for defection began at the root, when they
were drawn away by Jeroboam into corrupt superstitions; and the
promotion of this evil became as it were hereditary. He therefore
intended to condemn here the whole community. Hence, "she said, I
will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my waters". But I
cannot finish today; I must therefore break off the sentence.
    
Prayer.
    
    Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast not only of late adopted
us as thy children, but before we were born, and as thou hast been
pleased to sign us, as soon as we came forth from our mother's womb,
with the symbol of that holy redemption, which has been obtained for
us by the blood of thy only begotten Son, though we have by our
ingratitude renounced so great a benefit, - O grant, that being
mindful of our defection and unfaithfulness, of which eve are all
guilty, and for which thou hast justly rejected us, we may now with
true humility and obedience of faith embrace the grace of thy gospel
now again offered to us, by which thou reconciles thyself to us; and
grant that we may steadfastly persevere in pure faith, so as never
to turn aside from the true obedience of faith, but to advance more
and more in the knowledge of thy mercy, that having strong and deep
roots, and being firmly grounded in the confidence of sure faith, we
may never fall away from the true worship of thee, until thou at
length receives us in to that eternal kingdom, which has been
procured for us by the blood of thy only Son. Amen.

Lecture Fifth.
    
    It remains for us to explain what the Prophet declares
concerning the Israelites, that they boasted of their abundance of
wine and oil, and all good things as having come to them through
their superstitions. What, then, they ought to have ascribed to God
alone, they absurdly transferred to their idols. Of this ingratitude
the Prophet here accuses them in the person of God himself, and at
the same time shows that the ungodly are so deluded by prosperity,
that they harden themselves more and more in their superstitions;
and this is not the case only at one time, but almost universally in
the world. We see how full of pride the Papists are at this day,
because they bear rule in the world, and possess riches and honours.
They think their services acceptable to God, because he shows not
himself openly opposed to and angry with them; and so it has been
from the beginning.
    But the Prophet here condemns this foolish presumption, that we
may learn not to judge at all times of God's love by the prosperous
issue of events. There are then two things to be observed here, -
that the superstitious falsely ascribe to their idols what comes
from God alone; - and further, that they conclude that they are
loved by God, whenever he does not immediately take vengeance on
them. The Sodomites, we find, became obstinate in their sins for the
same reason; when all kinds of pleasures abounded, they thought
themselves to be approved of God. Let us now proceed to what
follows.

Hosea 2:6
Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a
wall, that she shall not find her paths.

    The Prophet here pursues the subject we touched upon yesterday;
for he shows how necessary chastisement is, when people felicitate
themselves in their vices. And God, when he sees that men confess
not immediately their sins, defends as it were his own cause, as one
pleading before a judge. In a word, God here shows that he could not
do otherwise than punish so great an obstinacy in the people, as
there appeared no other remedy.
    "Therefore", he says, "behold I"--. There is a special meaning
in these words; for God testifies that he becomes the avenger of
impieties, when people are brought into straits; as though he said,
"Though the Israelites are not ready to confess that they suffer
justly, yet I now declare that to punish them will be my work, when
they shall be deprived of their pleasures, and when the occasion of
their pride shall be removed from them." And he intimates by the
metaphorical words he uses, that he would so deal with them, as to
keep the people from wandering, as they had done hitherto, after
their idols; but he retains the similitude of a harlot. Now when an
unchaste wife goes after her paramours, the husband must either
connive at her, or be not aware of her base conduct. However this
may be, wives cannot thus violate the marriage-vow, except they are
set at liberty by their husbands. But when a husband understands
that his wife plays the wanton, he watches her more closely, notices
all her ways day and night. God now takes up this comparison, "I
will close up", he says, "her way with thorns, and surround her with
a mound", that there may be no way of access open to adulterers.
    But by this simile the Prophet means that the people would be
reduced to such straits, that they might not lasciviate, as they had
done, in their superstitions; for while the Israelites enjoyed
prosperity, they thought everything lawful for them; hence their
security, and hence their contempt of the word of the Lord. By
hedge, then, and by thorns, God means those adversities by which he
restrains the ungodly, so that they may cease to flatter themselves,
and may not thoughtlessly follow, as they were before wont to do,
their own superstitions. "She shall not" then "find her ways"; that
is, "I will constrain them so to groan under the burden of evils,
that they shall no longer, as they have hitherto done, allow loose
reins to themselves." It afterwards follows -

Hosea 2:7
And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake
them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find [them]: then shall
she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then [was it]
better with me than now.

    God now shows what takes place when he chastises hardened and
rebellious people with heavy punishment. In the first clause he
shows that perverseness will cleave so completely to their hearts,
that they will not immediately return to a sound mind. "She will
follow her lovers", he says, "and seek them". Here the Prophet tells
us, that though the Israelites should be chastised by frequent
punishments, they would yet continue in their obstinacy. It hence
appears how hard a neck they had, and how uncircumcised in heart
they were; and such did the Prophets, as well as Moses, represent
them to be. And we hence learn, that had they been only moderately
corrected, it would not have been sufficient for their amendment.
Amazing, indeed, was their obstinacy; for God had divorced them, and
then led them into great straits; and yet they went on in their
course, as though they were utterly stupid and destitute of every
feeling. Is it not a prodigious madness, when men run on so
obstinately, even when God sets his hand so strongly against them?
Such, however, is represented to have been the obstinacy of the
Israelites.
    The meaning then is, that when they were subdued, God would not
immediately soften their hearts. Then God, though he bruised, did
not yet reform them; for their hardness was so great, that they
could not be turned immediately to a docile state of mind; but, on
the contrary, they followed their lovers. By the word, follow, is
expressed that mad zeal which possesses idolaters; for as we see,
they are like men who are frantic. As then the superstitious know no
bounds, nor any moderation, but a mad zeal at times lays hold on
them, the Prophet says "She will follow her lovers and shall not
overtake them". What does the latter clause mean? That God will
frustrate the hope of the ungodly, that they may know that they in
vain worship false gods and follow with avidity absurd
superstitions. "They will seek them", he says, "and shall not find
them". He ever speaks of the people under the character of a
shameless and unfaithful wife.
    We then see what the Prophet intended to do, - to vindicate God
from every blame, that men might not raise a glamour, as though he
dealt unkindly with them. He shows that God, even when so rigid,
produces hardly any effect; for the ungodly in their perverseness
struggle against his scourges, and suffer not themselves to be
brought immediately into due order.
    But in the second clause the Prophet adds, that some benefit
would at length arise, that though idolaters abused God's goodness,
and even hardened themselves against his rods, yet this would not be
perpetually the case; for the Lord would grant better success. Hence
it follows, "She will then say, I will go and return to my former
husband". Here the Prophet shows more clearly a hope of pardon,
inasmuch as he speaks of the people's repentance; for men, we know,
repent not without benefit, as God is ever ready to receive them
when they return to him in genuine sorrow. Then the Prophet here
avowedly speaks of the repentance of the people, that the Israelites
might hence know, that corrections, which men naturally ever
dislike, would be profitable to them. It is our wish that God should
always favour us, and that we should be nourished kindly and
tenderly in his bosom; but in the meantime, he cannot allure us to
himself, by whatever means he may try to do so: and hence it is,
that chastisements are bitter to us, and our flesh immediately
murmurs. When the Lord raises his finger, before he strikes us, we
instantly groan and become angry, and even roar against him: in
short, men can never be brought willingly to offer themselves to be
chastised by God. Hence the Prophet now shows, that the severity of
God is profitable to us; for it drives us at length to repentance:
in a word, he commends the favour of God in his very severity, that
we may know that he furthers our salvation, even when he seems to
treat us most unkindly. "She will then say, I will go and return to
my former husband".
    But we must observe, that when men really repent, they do so
through the special influence of the Spirit; for they would
otherwise perpetually remain in that perverseness of which we have
spoken. Were God for a hundred years continually to chastise
perverse men, they would not yet change their disposition; and true
is that common saying, "The wicked are sooner broken than reformed."
But when men, after many admonitions, begin to be wise, this change
comes through the Spirit of God. We may also learn from this passage
what true repentance is; that is, when he who has sinned not only
confesses himself to be guilty, and owns himself worthy of
punishment, but is also displeased with himself, and then with
sincere desire turns to God. Many, we see, are ready enough, and
disposed, to confess their sins, and yet go on in the same course.
But the Prophet shows here that true repentance is something very
different, "I will go and return", he says. Repentance then consists
(as they say) in the act itself; that is, repentance produces a
reforming change in man, so that he reconciles himself to God, whom
he had forsaken.
    "I will then go and return to my former husband". Why? "Because
better was it with me then than now". The Prophet again confirms
what I lately said, - that the faithful are not made wise, except
they are well chastised; for the Prophet speaks not here of the
reprobate, but of the remnant seed. The people of Israel were to be
exterminated; but the Prophet now declares that there would be some
remaining who would at last receive benefit from God's
chastisements. Since then we must understand the Prophet as speaking
of the elect, we may hence readily conclude, that chastisements are
necessary for us; for we grow torpid in our vices, as long as God
spares us. Unless, then it appears that God is really displeased
with us, it will never come to our minds, that we ought to repent.
Let us now proceed -

Hosea 2:8
For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and
multiplied her silver and gold, [which] they prepared for Baal.
Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof,
and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my
flax [given] to cover her nakedness.
    
    God here amplifies the ingratitude of the people, that they
understood not whence came such abundance of good things. "She
understood not", he says, "that I gave to her corn and wine". The
superstitious sin twice, or in two ways; - first, they ascribe to
their idols what rightly belongs to God alone; and then they deprive
God himself of his own honour, for they understand not that he is
the only giver of all things, but think their labour lost were they
to worship the true God. Hence the Prophet now complains of this
ingratitude, "She understood not that I gave to her corn and wine
and oil". And this was an inexcusable stupidity in the Israelites,
since they had been abundantly instructed, that the abundance of all
good things, and every thing that supports man, flow from God's
bounty. Of this they had the clear testimony of Moses; and then the
land of Canaan itself was a living representation of the Divine
favour. It was then a prodigious madness in the people, that they
who had been taught by word and by fact, that God alone is the Giver
of all things, should yet not consider this truth. The Prophet,
therefore, condemns this outrageous folly of the people, that
neither experience nor the teaching of the law availed anything,
"She knew not", he says. There is stress to be laid on the pronoun,
she; for the people ought to have been familiarly acquainted with
God, inasmuch as they had been brought up in his household, as a
wife, who is her husband's companion. It was then incapable of any
excuse, that the people should thus turn their minds and all their
thoughts away from God.
    "She knew not" then "that I had given to her corn and wine and
oil, that I had multiplied to her the silver, and also the gold she
has prepared for Baal". The verb "'asah" means specifically, to
make: but here to appropriate to a certain purpose. They have,
therefore, prepared gold for Baal; when they ought to have dedicated
to me the first-fruits of all good things, in obedience to me and to
the honour of my name, they have appropriated to Baal whatever
blessings I have bestowed on them. We then see that in this verse
two evils are condemned, - that the people deprived God of his just
honour, -  and that they transferred to their own idols what they
ought to have given to God only. But he touched upon the last
wickedness in the fifth verse, where he said in the person of the
people, "I will go after my lovers, who give my bread and my waters,
my wool and my wine, &c." Here again he repeats, that they had
prepared gold for Baal.
    As to the word Baal, no doubt the superstitious included under
this name all those whom they called inferior gods. No such madness
had indeed possessed the Israelites, that they had forgotten that
there is but one Maker of heaven and earth. They therefore
maintained the truth, that there is some supreme God; but they added
their patrons; and this, by common consent, was the practice of all
nations. They did not then think that God was altogether robbed of
his own glory, when they joined with him patrons or inferior gods.
And they called them by a common name, Baalim, or, as it were,
patrons. Baal of every kind was a patron. Some render it, husband.
But foolish men, I doubt not, have ever had this superstitious
notion, that inferior gods come nearer to men, and are, as it were,
mediators between this world and the supreme God. It is the same
with the Papists of the present day; they have their Baalim; not
that they regard their patrons in the place of God: but as they
dread every access to God, and understand not that Christ is a
mediator, they retake themselves here and there to various Baalim,
that they may procure favour to themselves; and at the same time,
whatever honour they show to stones, or wood, or bones of dead men,
or to any of their own inventions, they call it the worship of God.
Whatever then, is worshipped by the Papists is Baal: but they have,
at the same time, their patrons for their Baalim. We now then
perceive the meaning of the Prophet in this verse.
    It now follows "Therefore will I return, and take away my corn
in its time, and my new wine in its stated time". Here, again, the
Prophet shows that God was, by extreme necessity, constrained to
take vengeance on an ungodly and irreclaimable people. He makes
known how great was the hardness of the people, and then adds, "What
now remains, but to deprive those who have been so ungrateful to me
of all their blessings?" It is, indeed, more than base for men to
enjoy the gifts of God and to despise the giver; yea, to exalt his
creatures to his place, and to reduce, as it were, all his authority
to nothing. This the superstitious indeed do, for they thrust God
from his pre-eminence, and insult his glory. Will God, in the
meantime, so throw away his blessings as to suffer them to be
profaned by the ungodly, and himself to be thus mocked with
impunity? We now then see the object of the Prophet; for God here
shows that there was no other remedy, but to deprive the Israelites
of all their gifts: he had indeed enriched them, but they had abused
all their abundance. It was therefore necessary to reduce them to
extreme want, that they might no longer pollute God's gifts which
ought to be held sacred by us.
    And he uses a very suitable word; for "natsal" means properly,
to pluck away to set free. "I will by force take away", he says, "my
wool and my flax". It seems, indeed, to denote an unjust possession,
as when one takes away by force from the hand of a robber what he
unjustly possesses, or as when any one rescues wretched men from the
power of a tyrant. So God now speaks, 'I will pluck away my gifts
from these men who basely and unjustly pollute them.'
    And he adds, "to cover her nakedness". "'Erwah", properly,
though not simply, means nakedness: it is the nakedness of the
uncomely parts. Moses calls any indecorous part of the body
"'erwah"; and so it means what is uncomely. This word we ought
carefully to notice; for God here shows, that except he denudes
idolaters, they will ever continue obstinate. How so? Because they
use coverings for their baseness. While the ungodly enjoy their
triumphs in the world, they regard them as veils drawn over them, so
that nothing base or disgraceful can be seen in them. The same is
the case with great kings and monarchs; they think that the eyes of
all are dazzled by their splendour; and hence it is, that they are
so audaciously dissolute. They think their own filth to be fine
odour: such is the arrogance of the world. It is even so with the
superstitious; when God is indulgent to them, they think that they
have coverings. When, therefore, they abandon themselves to any kind
of wickedness, they regard it as if it were a holy thing. How so?
Because, whatever obscene thing is in them, it is covered by
prosperity. When God observes such madness as this in men, can he do
otherwise than pluck away his blessings, that such a pollution may
not continually prevail? For it is an abuse extremely gross, that
when God's blessings are so many images of his glory, and when his
paternal goodness shines forth even towards the ungodly, the world
should convert them to a purpose wholly contrary, and make them as
coverings for themselves, that they may conceal their own baseness,
and more freely sin and carry on war against God himself. Hence he
says, "That they may no longer cover their baseness, I will pluck
away whatever I have bestowed on them."
    When he says, "I will take away the corn and wine in its time,
and in its stated time", he alludes, I have no doubt, to the time of
harvest and vintage; as though he said, "The harvest will come, the
vintage will come: there has been hitherto great fruitfulness; but I
will show that the earth and all its fruits are subject to my will.
Though, then, the Israelites are now full, and have their
storehouses well furnished, they shall know that I rule over the
harvest and the vintage, when the stated time shall come." Now, the
Spirit of God denounced this punishment early, that the Israelites,
if reclaimable, might return to a right course. But as their
blindness was so great that they despised all that had been said to
them, no excuse remained for them. It now follows -

Hosea 2:10-12
And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and
none shall deliver her out of mine hand.
I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new
moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.
And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath
said, These [are] my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I
will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.
    
    He pursues the same subject; and the Prophet explains at large,
and even divides what he had briefly said before, into many clauses
or particulars. He says firsts "I will uncover her baseness". How
was this done? By God, when he took away the coverings by which the
Israelites kept themselves hid: for, as we have said hypocrites
felicitate themselves on account of God's gifts, and thus hide
themselves as thieves do in caverns; and they think that they can
mock God with impunity; for, through the fatness of their eyes, as
it is said in Psal. 73: 7, they have but a very dim sight. Now then
God declares, that the filthiness of the people would be made to
appear, when he deprived them of those gifts with which he had for a
time enriched them.
    "Now", he says, "will I uncover her baseness before the eyes of
her lovers". By this sentence he intimates a change, of which the
people were not apprehensive; for, as long as the wicked feel not
the strokes, they laugh at all threatening. Hence God, that he might
rouse them from such an indifference, says, "Now will I uncover her
before the eyes of her lovers". The Prophet, no doubt, speaks of
false gods, and of all those devices by which the Israelites
corrupted the pure worship of God: for I cannot be persuaded to
explain this either of the Assyrians or of the Egyptians. I indeed
know, as I mentioned briefly yesterday, that the treaties into which
the Jews, as well as the Israelites, entered with idolaters, were
the tenter-hooks of Satan: this I allow; but at the same time, I
look on what the Prophet especially treats of; for he directly
inveighs here against absurd and vicious modes of worship. What then
does he mean by saying, that God will uncover the baseness of the
people before their lovers? He alludes to shameless women, who dare,
by terror, to check their husbands, that they may not exercise their
own right. "What! do you treat me ill? there is one who will resent
this conduct." Even when husbands indignantly bear their own
reproach, they often attempt not to assert their own right, because
they see that fear is in the way. But God says, "Nothing will hinder
me from chastising thee as thou deserves (for he addresses the
people under the character of a wife;) before thy lovers then will I
uncover thy baseness."
    "And no man shall rescue thee from my hand". The word man is
put here for idols; for it is a word of general import among the
Hebrews. Sometimes when brute animals are spoken of, this word, man,
is used; and it is also applied to the fragments of a carcass. For
when Moses describes the sacrifice made by Abraham, 'Man,' he says,
'was laid to his fellow;' that is, Abraham joined together the
different parts of the sacrifice, as we say in French, Il n'y a
piece. God then speaks here of idols: "No one", he says, "shall
rescue them from my hand". We now comprehend the meaning of the
Prophet.
    We must, at the same time, see what he had in view. The
Israelites indeed thought, that as long as their corrupt modes of
worship prevailed, they were safe and secure: it seemed impossible
to them that any adversity should happen to them while idolatry
continued. As, then, they imagined their false gods to be to them
like an invincible rampart, "Thy idols," he says, "shall remain, and
yet thou shalt fall: for I will before thy lovers uncover thy
baseness, and not one of them shall deliver thee from my hand."
    The Prophet now descends to particulars; and, in the first
place, he says, that the people would be deprived of their
sacrifices and feast-days, and of that whole external pomp, which
was with them the guise of religion. He then adds, that they would
be spoiled of their food, and all their abundance. He has hitherto
been speaking of their nakedness; but he now describes what this
nakedness would be: and he specially mentions, that sacrifices would
cease, that feast days, new-moons, and whatever belonged to external
worship, would cease. "I will make to cease", he says, "all her
joy". He speaks doubtless, of sacred joys; and this may be easily
collected from the context. He adds, "her every festal-day". As they
were wont to dance on their festal-days, this word may be referred
to that practice. He afterwards adds, "her sabbath", and all
feast-days. Then the first kind of nakedness was, that God would
take away from the Israelites that fallacious and empty form of
religion in which they foolishly delighted. The second kind of
nakedness was, that they were to be stripped of all earthly riches,
and be reduced to misery and extreme want. But I cannot finish
to-day.
    
Prayer.
    
Grant, Almighty God, that inasmuch as we are so dull and slothful,
that though often admonished, we yet consider not our sins, yea,
though chastised by thy hand, we yet return not immediately to a
right mind, - O grant, that we may hereafter profit more under thy
rod, and not he refractory and untractable; but as soon as thou
raises thy hand, may each of us mourn, know our own evils, and then,
with one consent, surrender ourselves to be ruled by thee; and may
we, in the meantime, patiently and calmly endure thy chastisements,
and never murmur against thee, but ever aspire to the attainment of
true repentance, until, having at length put off all the vices and
corruptions of our flesh, we attain to the fulness of righteousness,
and to that true and blessed glory which has been prepared for us in
heaven by Jesus Christ. Amen.

Lecture Sixth.

    We began yesterday to explain the verse in which the Lord
speaks of the intermission of the Sabbath, and of the new-moon, and
of external worship. The people of Israel, as we have stated, were
to be deprived of these excellent gifts with which they had been
favoured. And God, we know, is in two respects bountiful to men.
There is his common bounty as to foods and other earthly benefits:
but he is especially bountiful to his people in those gifts which
are called supernatural. Hence the Prophet says in the first place,
"I will make to cease the sabbath, and the new-moon, and the
festal-days". They indeed thought themselves, blessed when they
celebrated the festal-days, when they offered sacrifices, and in a
word, when the external pomp of God's worship shone forth among
them: yet we know that they worshipped God neither in a lawful place
nor in a right manner, as he had commanded in the law; for they
mingled many superstitions; nay, the whole of religion among them
was polluted; and yet they thought that their worship pleased God.
We now see that the object of their punishment was this, - that the
people of Israel might now cease to felicitate themselves on account
of their external form of religion, when deprived of their temple,
and sacrifices, and all outward worship: and all this happened when
the Israelites were driven away into exile. We indeed know that they
did not leave off their superstitions until they were deprived of
their country and driven into banishment.
    I now come to the second kind of nakedness: the Prophet says,
"I will waste" or "destroy her vine and her fig-tree, of which she
has said, Reward are these to me; that is", These things are wages
to me, "which my lovers have given to me: and I will make them a
forest, and feed on them shall the beast of the field". The second
part of the spoiling, as we have said, is, that the Israelites would
be reduced to miserable want, who, before, had not only great
abundance of good things, but also luxury, as we shall hereafter see
more fully in other passages. As then they were swollen with pride
on account of their prosperity, the Prophet now announces their
future nakedness, "I will take away", he says, "the vine and the
fig-tree". It is a mode of speaking by which a part is to be taken
for the whole; for under the vine and the fig-tree the Prophet
intended to comprehend every variety of temporal blessings. Whatever
then belongs to man's support, the Prophet here includes in these
two words: and he repeats what he had said before, that the
Israelites falsely thought, that it was a reward paid them for their
superstitions, while they worshipped false gods.
    "She said, These are my reward". The word is derived from the
verb "tanah": some have rendered it gift, but not rightly. I indeed
allow that "natnu", which means to give, follows shortly after; from
which some derive this word. But we know that in many parts of
Scripture "'etnah" is strictly taken for reward; and is sometimes
applied to hired soldiers: but the Prophets often use this word when
they speak of harlots. Hence the Prophet here introduces the people
of Israel under the character of a harlot; "These are my reward",
or, "These things are my reward, which to me have my lovers given".
    Since then the Israelites had so hardened themselves in their
superstitions, that this false persuasion could not be driven out of
them, until they were deprived of all their blessings, he announces
to them this punishment, - that God would take away whatever they
thought had come to them from their idols or false gods: "I will
turn", he says, "all these into a forest", that is, "I will reduce
to a waste, both the vineyards and all the well cultivated parts; so
that they will produce nothing, as is usually the case with desert
places." We now understand the whole meaning of the Prophet. Let us
proceed -

Hosea 2:13
And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned
incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her
jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the
LORD.
    
    He confirms what he taught last. We have said before, that this
admonition is very necessary, that whenever God deals severely with
men, he thus visits their sins, and inflicts a just punishment. For
though men may consider themselves to be chastised by the Lord, they
yet do not thoroughly search and examine themselves as they ought.
Hence the Prophet repeats what we have before met with, and that is,
that this chastisement would be just; and at the same time, he shows
us as by the finger what chiefly displeased God in the Israelites,
which was, that religion was corrupted by them: for there is nothing
more necessary to be known than that in order that men may ever
habituate themselves to worship God in a pure manner, this should be
testified to them, that all superstitions are such an abomination to
God that he cannot bear them.
    He therefore says, "I will visit upon her the days of Baalim";
that is, when the Israelites shall find themselves to be without a
temple, deprived of sacrifices and new-moons, and having no more any
external form of worship, let them know that they are thus punished,
because they worshipped Baalim instead of the only true God. The
Prophet, at the same time, alludes again to harlots, who more finely
adorn themselves and with greater care, when they look for their
lovers, that they may captivate them with their charms. "She decked
herself", he says, "with her ear-ring and her jewel". This the
superstitious usually do, when they celebrate their fast-days; for
they think that a great part of holiness consists in the splendour
of vestments; and we see that this stupidity prevails at this day
among those under the Papacy: for they would think themselves to be
doing great dishonour to God, or rather to their idols, were they
not to adorn themselves when going to perform sacred duties. This,
no doubt, was then a common error and custom. But in order to show
more clearly that God abominated each gross superstitions, the
Prophet says that they were like harlots. For as a strumpet, in
order to allure men, paints herself, and also dresses splendidly,
puts on her ornaments, and decks herself with jewels and gold; even
so, he says, the Israelites did; they played the wanton, and bore
the tokens of their lewdness. This then is the allusion, when the
Prophet says, that "she decked herself with jewels and an ear-ring,
and went after her lovers".
    But most grievous is what he adds at the end of the verse,
"Me", he says, "has she forgotten". God here complains that the
fellowship of marriage availed nothing: though he had lived with the
people a long time, and treated them bountifully and kindly, yet the
memory of this was buried, "Me", he says, "has she forgotten". There
is then here an implied comparison between the Israelites whom God
had joined to himself, and other nations who had known nothing of
true religion, nor understood who the true God was. It was indeed no
wonder for the Gentiles to be deceived by the impostures of Satan:
but it was a monstrous ingratitude for the Israelites, who had been
rightly taught and long habituated to the pure worship of God, to
cast away the recollection of him. It was like the bestial depravity
of a wife, who, having for a time lived with her husband, and having
been kindly treated by him, afterwards prostitutes herself to
adulterers, and no more cherishes or retains in her heart any love
for her husband. We now see for what end it was added, that the
Israelites had forgotten God. It was indeed a grave and severe
reproof to say, that they, after having long worshipped the true
God, had been led away into such madness as to worship false gods,
the figments of their own brains: for they had before learnt who the
true and the only God was.
    The Prophet, in a word, confirms in this verse (as I have
before reminded you) the truth, that the punishment which God was
about to inflict on this ungodly people would not only be just, but
also necessary; and he proves at the same time, how basely they had
violated their marriage-vow, since the recollection of God did not
prevail among them, after they had become the followers of idols,
and of the figments of their own hearts. Let us now go one -

Hosea 2:14
Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the
wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

    Here the Lord more clearly expresses, that after having long,
and in various ways, afflicted the people, he would at length be
propitious to them; and not only so, but that he would also make all
their punishments to be conducive to their salvation, and to be
medicines to heal their diseases. But there is an inversion in the
words, "Behold, I will incline her", and "I will make her to go into
the wilderness"; and so they ought to be explained thus, "Behold, I
will incline her, or, persuade her, after I shall have drawn her
into the desert; then, I will speak to her heart." "Patah" is often
taken in a bad sense, to deceive, or, to persuade by falsehoods or,
to use a vulgar word, to wheedle: but it means in this place, to
speak kindly; so that God persuades a rebellious and obstinate
people as to what is right: and then he declares that this would
take place, when he led the people into the wilderness. This is
connected with the former sentence, where it is said, 'I will set
her as on the day of her nativity:' for God alludes to the first
redemption of the people, which was like their birth; for it was the
same as though the people had emerged from their grave; they
obtained a new life when they were freed from the tyranny of Egypt.
God therefore begot them a people for himself.
    But the Prophet adds, After having led her into the wilderness,
"I will incline her"; that is, render her pliable to myself. He
intimates by these words, that there would be no hope of repentance
until the people were led to extreme evils; for had their punishment
been moderate, their perverseness would not have been corrected.
Then God shows in this verse, that there would be no end or
lessening of evils until the people were drawn into the wilderness,
that is, until they were deprived of their country and sacrifices,
and all their wealth; yea, until they were deprived of their
ordinary food, and cast into a wilderness and solitude, where the
want of all things would press upon them, and extreme necessity
would threaten them with death. If then the people had been visited
with light punishment, nothing would have been effected; for their
hardness was greater than could have been softened by slight or
common remedies.
    But this declaration was full of great comfort. The faithful
might have otherwise wholly desponded, when they found themselves
led into exile, and the sight of the land, which was, as it were,
the mirror of the divine adoption, was taken from them, when they
saw themselves scattered into various parts, and that there was now
no community, no seed of Abraham. The Lord, therefore, that despair
might not swallow up the faithful, intended in this way to ease
their sorrow; assuring them, that though they were drawn again into
the wilderness, God, who first redeemed them, was still the same,
and endued with the same strength and power which he put forth in
behalf of their fathers. We now apprehend the design of the Prophet.
Calamity might have shaken their hearts with so much terror, as to
take away every confidence in God's favour, and make them to think
themselves wholly lost: but God sets the desert before them, "What!
have I not once drawn you out of the desert? Has my power diminished
since that tithe? I indeed continue to be the same God as your
fathers found me to be: I will again draw you out of the
wilderness." But at the same time, God reminded them that their
diseases would be unhealable, until they were led into the
wilderness, until they were deprived of their country and all the
tokens of his favour, that they might no more delude themselves with
vain confidence.
    He therefore says, "After I shall draw her into the wilderness,
then I will persuade, or, turn her". I prefer the word, turning or
inclining, though the word, persuading, is by no means unsuitable.
But there seems to be an implied comparison between the present
contumacy of the people, and the obedience they would render to
their God after having been subdued by various afflictions. "The
people," he says, "will be then pliable, when they shall be drawn
into the wilderness."
    "And I will speak then to her heart". What is the import of
this expression we know from Isa. 40. To speak to the heart is to
bring comfort, to soothe grief by a kind word, to offer kindness,
and to hold forth some hope, that he who had previously been worn
out with sorrow may breathe freely, gather courage, and entertain
hope of a better condition. And this kind of speaking ought to be
carefully observed; for God means, that there was now no place for
his promises, because the Israelites were so refractory. Paul did
not say in vain to the Corinthians 'Open ye my mouth, O Corinthians;
for I am not narrow towards you; but ye are narrow in your own
bowels,' (2 Cor. 6: 11,12.) The Corinthians, when alienated from
Paul, had obstructed, as it were, the passage of his doctrine, that
he could not address them in a paternal manner. So also in this
place, the Lord testifies that the floor was closed against his
promises; for if he gave to the Israelites the hope of pardon, it
would have been slighted; if he had invited them kindly to himself,
they would have scornfully refused, yea, spurned the offer with
contempt, so great was their ferocity; if he had wished to be
reconciled to them, they would have despised him, or refused, or
proceeded in abusing his kindness as before. He then shows, that it
was their fault that he could not deal kindly and friendly with
them. Hence, "After I shall draw her into the wilderness, I will
address her heart."
    Let us then know, that whenever we are deprived of the sense of
God's favour, the way has been closed up through our fault; for God
would ever be disposed willingly to show kindness, except our
contumacy and hardness stood in the way. But when he sees us so
subdued as to be pliable and ready to obey, then he is ready in his
turn, to speak to our heart; that is, he is ready to show himself
just as he is, full of grace and kindness.
    We hence see how well the context of the Prophet harmonises.
There are, in short, two parts, - the first is, that God takes not
away wholly the hope of pardon from the Israelites, provided there
were any healable among them, but shows that though the chastisement
would be severe, it would yet be useful, as it would appear from its
fruit; this is one clause; - and the other is, that they might not
be too hasty in inquiring why God would not sooner mitigate his
severity, he answers that the time was not as yet ripe; for they
would not be capable of receiving his kindness, until they were by
degrees subdued and humbled by heavier punishment. Let us now
proceed -

Hosea 2:15
And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of
Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days
of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of
Egypt.
    
    The Prophet now plainly declares, that God's favour would be
evident, not only by words, but also by the effects and by
experience, when the people were bent to obedience. The Prophet said
in the last verse, 'I will speak to her heart;' now he adds, 'I will
bring a sure and clear evidence of my favour, that they may feel
assured that I am reconciled to them.' He therefore says that he
would give them vines. He said before, 'I will destroy her vines and
fig-trees;' but now he mentions only vineyards: but as we have said,
the Prophet, under one kind, comprehends all other things; and he
has chosen vines, because in vines the bounty of God especially
appears. For bread is necessary to support life, wine abounds, and
to it is ascribed the property of exhilarating the heart, Psal. 104:
'Bread strengthens,' or, 'supports man's heart; wine gladdens man's
heart.' As then vines are usually planted not only for necessary
purposes, but also for a more bountiful supply, the Prophet says,
that the Lord, when reconciled to the people, will give them their
vineyards from that place.
    "And I will give", he says, "the valley of Achor," &c. He
alludes to their situation in the wilderness: as soon as the
Israelites came out of the wilderness, they entered the plain of
Achor, which was fruitful, pleasant, and vine-bearing. Some think
that the Prophet alludes to the punishment inflicted on the people
for the sacrilege of Achan, but in my judgement they are mistaken;
for the Prophet here means nothing else than that there would be a
sudden change in the condition of the people, such as happened when
they came out of the wilderness. For in the wilderness there was not
even a grain of wheat or of barley, nor a bunch of grapes; in short,
there was in the wilderness nothing but penury, accompanied with
thousand deaths; but as soon as the people came out, they descended
into the plain of Achor, which was most pleasant, and very fertile.
The Prophet meant simply this, that when the people repented, there
would be no delay on God's part, but that he would free them from
all evils, and restore a blessed abundance of all things, as was the
case, when the people formerly descended into the plain of Achor. He
therefore brings to the recollection of the Israelites what had
happened to their fathers, "Her vines", then, "will I give her from
that place", that is, "As soon as I shall by word testify my love to
them, they shall effectually know and find that I am really and from
the heart reconciled to them, and shall understand how inclined I am
to show kindness; for I shall not long hold the people in suspense."
    And he adds, "For an opening", or "a door of hope". He
signifies here, that their restoration would be as from death into
life. For though the people daily saw with their eyes that God took
care of their life, for he rained manna from heaven and made water
to flow from a rock; yet there was at the same time before their
eyes the appearance of death. As long, then, as they sojourned in
the wilderness, God did ever set before them the terrors of death:
in short, their dwelling in the wilderness, as we have said, was
their grave. But when the people descended into the plain of Achor,
they then began to draw vital air; and they felt also that they at
length lived, for they had obtained their wishes: they had now
indeed come in sight of the inheritance promised to them. As then
the valley of Achor was the beginning, and as it were the door of
good hope to their fathers, so the Prophet, now alluding to that
redemption, says, that God would immediately deal with so much
kindness with the Israelites as to open for them a door of hope and
salvation, as he had done formerly to their fathers in the valley of
Achor.
    "And she shall sing there". We may easily learn from the
context that those interpreters mistake who refinedly philosophise
about the valley of Achor. It is indeed true that the root of the
word is the verb "'achar", which means, to confound or to destroy,
and that this name was given to the place on account of what had
occurred there: but the Prophet referred to no such thing, as it
appears clearly from the second clause; for he says, "She shall sing
there as in the days of her youth", and as in the day in which she
ascended from the land of Egypt. For then at length the people of
God openly celebrated his praises, when they beheld with their eyes
the promised land, when they saw an end to God's severe vengeance,
which continued for forty years. Hence the people then poured forth
their hearts and employed their tongues in praises to God. The
Prophet, therefore, teaches here, that their restoration would be
such, that the people would really sing praises to God and offer him
no ordinary thanks; not as they are wont to do who are relieved from
a common evil, but as those who have been brought from death into
life. She "shall sing then as in the days of her childhood, as in
that day when she ascended from the land of Egypt".
    Thus we see that a hope of deliverance is here given, that the
faithful might sustain their minds in exile, and cherish the hope of
future favour; that though the face of God would for a time be
turned away from them, they might yet look for a future deliverance,
nor doubt but that God would be propitious to them, after they had
endured just punishment, and had been thus reformed: for as we have
said, a moderate chastisement could not have been sufficient to
subdue their perverseness. It follows -

Hosea 2:16
And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, [that] thou shalt call
me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.
    
    The Prophet now expands his subject, and shows that when the
people repented, the fruits of repentance would openly appear. One
fruit he records, and that is, that they would then begin to worship
God purely, all superstitions being abolished. "It shall be", he
says, "in that day that thou shalt call me, My husband"; and he
mentions the word, husband, to show to the people, that after having
been corrected, they would be mindful of the covenant which God had
made with them; and in that covenant, as stated before, there was
the condition of a mutual engagement.
    We hence see what the Prophet means: he tells us that the
people would then be no more given to superstitions as before, but
on the contrary would be mindful of God's covenant, and would
continue sincere and true to their conjugal vow. Hence, "thou shalt
call me, My husband"; that is, "Thou shalt know what I am to thee,
that I am joined to thee by a sacred and inviolable marriage." "And
thou shalt not call me, My Baal; that is, "Thou shalt not give me a
false and heathenish name:" for the word, Baal, as I have said
before, was everywhere in every one's mouth. But the next verse must
be added -

Hosea 2:17
For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they
shall no more be remembered by their name.
    
    In this verse the Prophet more clearly unfolds what he said
before, that there would be a new mind in the people, so that they
would worship God purely, though they were before entangled in their
superstitions. The meaning then is, that religion will then return
to its true state, for the names of Baalim shall cease. We have
already stated whence this name had arisen. Not even the heathens
wished to thrust the only true God from his celestial throne, by
forming for themselves many gods: but while they allowed some
Supreme Being, they wished to have patrons, whom they employed in
conciliating his favour and good-will. That this was for the most
part the common doctrine, may be easily learnt from Plato: and the
Jews also, no doubt, thought of becoming wise by following the
common judgement of others; they hence had their Baalim. But though
they called their patrons Baalim, they yet gave this name to God:
"Let us worship Baalim." The Papists do the same; when they enter
their temples, they immediately turn to the image of Mary or of some
saint, and dare not come to God. At the same time they worship God,
that is, pretend to worship God, and they call superstition God's
worship. So it was among the Israelites; though the majesty of the
Supreme God was not denied, yet that happened which the Papists also
say, "That Christ is not distinguished from his Apostles;" all
things were with them mixed together and confused. He therefore
says, "I shall take away Baalim from her mouth, and she will no more
remember the name of Baalim"; which means, "They will be content
with the profession of pure faith, and will celebrate the name of
the only true God; they will no more mix their own glosses with the
doctrine of the law, and thus vitiate the pure and holy worship of
God;" We now understand the meaning of the Prophet.
    Now we learn from this place, that the Church cannot be rightly
reformed except it be trained to obedience by the frequent scourges
of God; for the Lord thereby creates a new people for himself. We
see at this day what great stupidity possesses their minds, who have
not been well prepared for the worship of God. They indeed laugh at
the superstitions of the Papacy; but, at the same time, they are a
sort of Cyclops: we see that there is nothing but barbarous
ignorance in their hearts. The Prophet then says, not in vain, that
the state of religion would then be right, when the Lord had wholly
subdued his people. Hence "in that day", which refers to the heavy
punishment which God would inflict on the Israelites - "In that
day", then, "saith the Lord, thou wilt no more call me, Baal; but
thou wilt call me, Husband". How so? Because "I will take away" the
names of Baalim from thy mouth; that is, I will make the people to
cast away their own devices, and to be content with the pure
doctrine of my law.
    We ought also to remember that a confession of faith is here
commended by the Prophet. It is no doubt the fruit of true
penitence, when we testify by the mouth and tongue that the only
true God is our God, and when we are not ashamed to confess his name
before the world, though it may rage madly against us.
    We are further reminded by these words, that too much diligence
and care cannot be taken to cleanse ourselves wholly from all sorts
of pollutions; for as long as any relics of superstition continue
among us, they will ever entangle us, and thus we shall stumble, or,
at least not run so briskly as we ought. Since, then whatever men
retain of their own corrupt devices is a hindrance to them in
obtaining a direct access to God, it is meet for us to labour that
the names of Baalim should cease, and be abolished among us; and for
this end, that nothing may hinder and retard us in the true worship
of God. Now follows -

Prayer.

Grant, Almighty God, that as we set up against thee so many
obstacles through the depravity of our flesh and natural
disposition, that we seem as it were to be designedly striving to
close up the door against thy goodness and paternal favour, O grant,
that our hearts may be so softened by thy Spirit, and the hardness
which has hitherto prevailed may be so corrected, that we may submit
ourselves to thee with genuine docility, especially as thou dost so
kindly and tenderly invite us to thyself, that being allured by thy
sweet invitation, we may run, and so run as not to be weary in our
course, until Christ shall at length bring us together to thee, and,
at the same time, lead us to thee for that eternal life, which he
has obtained for us by his own blood. Amen.

Lecture Seventh.

Hosea 2:18
And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of
the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and [with] the creeping
things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the
battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.
    
    The Prophet shows here that the people would be in every way
happy after their return to God's favour: and, at the same time, he
reminds us that the cause of all evils is, that men provoke God's
wrath. Hence, when God is angry, all things must necessarily be
adverse to us; for as God has all creatures at his will, and in his
hand, he can arm them in vengeance against us whenever he pleases:
but when he is propitious to us, he can make all things in heaven
and earth to be conducive to our safety. As then he often threatens
in the Law, that when he purposed to punish the people, he would
make brute animals, and the birds of heaven, and all kinds of
reptiles, to execute his judgement, so in this place he declares
that there would be peace to men when he received them into favour.
    "I will make a covenant", he says, "in that day with the beast
of the field". We know what is said in another place, 'If thou
shuttest thyself up at home, a serpent shall there bite thee; but if
thou goest out of thy house, either a bear or a lion shall meet thee
in the way,' (Amos 5: 19;) by which words God shows that we cannot
escape his vengeance when he is angry with us; for he will arm
against us lions and bears as well as serpents, both at home and
abroad. But he says here, 'I will make a covenant for them with the
beasts;' so that they may perform their duty towards us: for they
were all created, we know, for this end, - to be subject to men.
Since, then, they were destined for our benefit, they ought,
according to their nature, to be in subjection to us: and we know
that Adam caused this, - that wild beasts rise up so rebelliously
against us; for otherwise they would have willingly and gently
obeyed us. Now since there is this horrible disorder, that brute
beasts, which ought to own men as their masters, rage against them,
the Lord recalls us here to the first order of nature, "I will make
a covenant for them, he says, with the beast of the field", which
means, "I will make brute animals to know for what end they were
formed, that is, to be subject to the dominion of men, and to show
no rebelliousness any more."
    We now then perceive the intention of the Prophet: he reminds
the Israelites that all things were adverse to their safety as long
as they were alienated from God; but that when they returned into
favour with him, this disorder, which had for a time appeared, would
be no longer; for the regular order of nature would prevail, and
brute animals would suffer themselves to be brought to obedience.
This is the covenant of which the Prophet now speaks when he says,
"I will make a covenant for them, that is, in their name, with the
beast of the field, and with the bird of heaven, and with the
reptile of the earth".
    It follows, "I will shatter the bow, and the sword, and the
battle", that is, every warlike instrument; for under the word
"milchamah", the Prophet includes every thing adapted for war.
Hence, "I will shatter" every kind of weapons "in that day, and make
them dwell securely". In the last clause he expresses the end for
which the weapons and swords were to be shattered, - that the
Israelites before disquieted by various fears, might dwell in peace,
and no more fear any danger. This is the meaning.
    But it is meet for us to call to mind what we have before said,
that the Prophet so speaks of the people's restoration, that he
extends his predictions to the kingdom of Christ, as we may learn
from Paul's testimony already cited. We then see that God's favor,
of which the Prophet now speaks, is not restricted to a short time
or to a few years but extends to Christ's kingdom, and is what we
have in common with the ancient people. Let us therefore know, that
if we provoke not God against us by our sins, all things will be
subservient to the promotion of our safety, and that it is our fault
when creatures do not render us obedience: for when we mutiny
against God, it is no wonder that brute animals should become
ferocious and rage against us; for what peace can there be, when we
carry on war against God himself? Hence were men, as they ought, to
submit to God's authority, there would be no rebelliousness in brute
animals; nay, all who are turbulent would gently rest under the
protection of God. But as we are insolent against God, he justly
punishes us by stirring up against us various contentions and
various tumults. Hence, then swords, hence bows, are prepared
against us, and hence wars are stirred up against us: all this is
because we continue to fight against God.
    It must, at the same time, be further noticed, that it is a
singular benefit for a people to dwell in security; for we know that
though we may possess all other things, yet miserable is our
condition, unless we live in peace: hence the Prophet mentions this
as the summit of a happy life. It now follows -

Hosea 2:19,20
And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee
unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness,
and in mercies.
I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt
know the LORD.
    
    The Prophet here again makes known the manner in which God
would receive into favor his people. As though the people had not
violated the marriage vow, God promises to be to them like a
bridegroom, who marries a virgin, young and pure. We have before
spoken of the people's defection; but as God had repudiated them, it
was no common favor for the people to be received again by God, and
received with pardon. When a woman returns to her husband, it is a
great thing in the husband to forgive her, and not to upbraid her
with her former base conduct: but God goes farther than this; for he
espouses to himself a people infamous through many disgraceful acts;
and having abolished their sins, he contracts, as it were, a new
marriage, and joins them again to himself. Hence he says, "I will
espouse thee to me". We now perceive the import of the word,
espouse: for God thereby means, that he would not remember the
unfaithfulness for which he had before cast away his people, but
would blot out all their infamy. It was indeed an honorable
reception into favor, when God offered a new marriage, as though the
people had not been like an adulterous woman.
    And he says, "I will espouse thee to me for ever". There is
here an implied contrast between the marriage of which the Prophet
had hitherto spoken, and this which God now contracts. For God,
having redeemed the people, had before entered, as we have said,
into marriage with them: but the people had departed from their vow;
hence followed alienation and divorce. That marriage was then not
only temporary, but also weak and soon broken; for the people did
not continue long in obedience: but of this new marriage the Prophet
declares, that it will continue fast and for ever; and thus he sets
its durable state in contrast with the falling away which had soon
alienated the people from God. Hence he says, "I will espouse thee
to me for ever".
    He then declares by what means he would do this, even in
righteousness and judgment, and then in kindness and mercies, and
thirdly, in faithfulness. God had indeed from the beginning
covenanted with the Israelites in righteousness and judgment; there
was nothing disguised or false in his covenant: as then God had in
sincerity adopted the people, to what vices does he oppose
righteousness and judgment? I answer, These words must be applied to
both the contracting parties: then, by righteousness God means not
only his own, but that also which is, as they say, mutual and
reciprocal; and by "righteousness" and "judgment" is meant
rectitude, in which nothing is wanting. We now then perceive what
the Prophet had in view.
    But he adds, secondly, "In kindness and mercies": by which
words he intimates, that though the people were unworthy, yet, this
would be no impediment in their way, to prevent them to return into
favor with God; for in this reconciliation God would regard his own
goodness, rather than the merits of his people.
    In the third place, he adds, "In faithfulness": and this
confirms what we have before briefly referred to, - the fixed and
unchangeable duration of this marriage.
    The words, righteousness and judgment, are, I know, more
refinedly explained by some. They say that righteousness is what is
conferred on us by God through gratuitous imputation; and they take
judgment for that defense which he affords against the violence and
the assaults of our enemies. But here the Prophet, I doubt not,
intimates in a general way, that this covenant would stand firm,
because there would be truth and rectitude on both sides. That this
may be more clearly understood, let us take a passage from the 31st
chapter of Jeremiah; where God complains, that the covenant he had
made with the ancient people had not been firm; for they had
forsaken it. 'My covenant,' he says, 'with your fathers has not
continued.' - Why? 'Because they departed from my commandments.' God
indeed in perfect sincerity adopted the people, and no righteousness
was wanting in him; but as there was no constancy and faithfulness
in the people, the covenant came to nothing: hence God afterwards
adds, 'I will hereafter make a new covenant with you; for I will
engrave my laws on your hearts,' &c. We now then see what the
Prophet means by righteousness and judgment, even this, that God
would cause the marriage vow to be kept on both sides; for the
people, restored from exile, would no more violate their pledged
faith nor act unfaithfully.
    But we must notice what is added, "In goodness and mercies".
And this part Jeremiah does not omit, for he adds, 'Their iniquities
I will not remember.' As then the Israelites, conscious of evils
might tremble through fear, the Prophet seasonably anticipates their
diffidence, by promising that the marriage which God was prepared
anew to contract, would be in kindness and mercies. There is then no
reason why their own unworthiness should frighten away the people;
for God here unfolds his own immense goodness and unparalleled
mercies. The Prophet might indeed have expressed this in one word,
but he adds mercies to goodness. The people had indeed sunk into a
deep abyss, that restoration could have been hardly hoped: hence the
word, kindness, or goodness, would have been hardly sufficient to
raise up their minds, had not the word, mercies, been added for the
sake of confirmation.
    Now he adds, "in faithfulness"; and by faithfulness is to be
understood, I doubt not, that stability of which I have spoken; for
what some philosophize on this expression is too refined, who give
this explanation, 'I will espouse thee in faith,' that is by the
gospel; for we embrace God's free promises, and thus the covenant
the Lord makes with US is ratified. I simply interpret the word as
denoting stability.
    And the Prophet shows afterwards that this covenant would be
confirmed, because faithfulness would be reciprocal, "they shall
know", he says, "Jehovah". Jeremiah, I doubt not, borrowed from this
place what is written in the 31st chapter; for there he also adds,
'No one shall hereafter teach his neighbor, for all, from the least
to the greatest shall know me, saith Jehovah.' Our Prophet says here
in one sentence, they shall know Jehovah. Hence then is the
stability of the covenant, because God by his light shall guide the
hearts of those who had before strayed in darkness and wandered
after their own superstitions. Since then a horrible darkness
prevailed among the Israelitic people, Hosea promises the light of
true knowledge; and this knowledge of God is such, that the people
fall not away from the Lord, nor are they seduced by the fallacies
of Satan. Hence God's covenant stands firm. We now understand the
import of the words.
    Jerome thinks that the Prophet promises espousals thrice,
because the Lord once espoused the people to himself in Abraham,
then when he led them out of Egypt, and, thirdly, when once he
reconciled the whole world in Christ: but this is too refined, and
even frivolous. I take a simpler meaning, - that the Prophet
proclaims an espousal thrice, because it was difficult to restore
the people from fear and despair, for they well understood how
grievously and in how many ways they had alienated themselves from
God: it was hence necessary to apply many consolations, which might
serve to confirm their faith. This is the reason why the Lord does
not say once, "I will espouse thee to myself", but repeats it
thrice. The Prophet indeed seemed then to speak of a thing
incredible: for what sort of an example is this, that the Lord
should take for his wife an abominable harlot? Nay, that he should
contract a new marriage with an unclean adulteress, immersed in
debauchery? This was like something monstrous. Hence the Prophet,
that nothing might hinder souls from recumbing on the promise, says,
"Doubt not, for the Lord very often assures you, that this is
certain."
    Now, since we have this promise in common with them, we see by
the words of the Prophet what is the beginning of our salvation: God
espoused the Israelites to himself, when restored from exile through
his goodness and mercies. What fellowship have we with God, when we
are born and come out of the womb, except he graciously adopts us?
for we bring nothing, we know, with us but a curse; this is the
heritage of all mankind. Since it is so, all our salvation must
necessarily have its foundation in the goodness and mercies of God.
But there is also another reason in our case, when God receives us
into favor; for we were covenant-breakers under the Papacy; there
was not one of us who had not departed from the pledge of his
baptism; and so we could not have returned into favor with God,
except he had freely united us to himself: and God not only forgave
us, but contracted also a new marriage with us, so that we can now,
as on the day of our youth, as it has been previously said, openly
give thanks to him.
    But we must notice this short clause, "They shall know
Jehovah". We indeed see that we are in confusion as soon as we turn
aside from the right and pure knowledge of God, nay, that we are
wholly lost. Since then our salvation consists in the light of
faith, our minds ought ever to be directed to God, that our union
with him, which he has formed by the gospel, may abide firm and
permanent. But as this is not in the power or will of man, we draw
this evident conclusion, that God not only offers his grace in the
outward preaching, but at the same time in the renewing of our
hearts. Except God then recreates us a new people to himself, there
is no more stability in the covenant he makes now with us than in
the old which he made formerly with the fathers under the Law; for
when we compare ourselves with the Israelites, we find that we are
nothing better. It is, therefore, necessary that God should work
inwardly and efficaciously on our hearts, that his covenant may
stand firm: nay, since the knowledge of him is the special gift of
the Spirit, we may with certainty conclude, that what is said here
refers not only to outward preaching, but that the grace of the
Spirit is also joined, by which God renews us after his own image,
as we have already proved from a passage in Jeremiah: but that we
may not seem to borrow from another place, we may say that it
appears evident from the words of the Prophet, that there is no
other bond of stability, by which the covenant of God can be
strengthened and preserved, but the knowledge he conveys to us of
himself; and this he conveys not only by outward teaching, but also
by the illumination of our minds by his Spirit, yea, by the renewing
of our hearts. It follows -

Hosea 2:21
And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD,
I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;
And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and
they shall hear Jezreel.
    
    The Lord promises again that he will not be wanting to the
people, when they shall be reconciled to him. We must, indeed, in
the first place, seek that God may be propitious to us; for they are
very foolish who desire to live well and happily, and in the
meantime care nothing for God's favor. The Prophet shows when the
happiness of men begins; it begins when God adopts them for his
people, and when, having abolished their sins, he espouses them to
himself. It is therefore necessary, in the first place, to seek
this; for as we have said, the desire of being happy is
preposterous, when we first seek the blessings of an earthly life,
when we first seek ease, abundance of good things, health of body,
and similar things. Hence the Prophet now shows, that we are then
only happy when the Lord is reconciled to us, and not only so, but
when he in his love embraces us, and contracts a holy marriage with
us, and on this condition, that he will be a father and preserver to
us, and that we shall be safe and secure under his protection and
defense.
    But at the same time he comes down to things of the second
rank. Our happiness is, indeed, as we have said, in the enjoyment of
God's love; but there are accessions which afterwards follow; for
the Lord provides for us, and exercises a care over us, so that he
supplies whatever is needful for the support of life. Of this later
part the Prophet now treats: he says, "In that day". We see that he
reminds us of the covenant, lest we be content with worldly
abundance; for as it has been said, men are commonly devoted to
their present advantages. Hence the Prophet sets here before our
eyes the Lord's covenant; he afterwards adds, that God's favor would
reach to the corn, and to the wine, and the oil.
    But we must notice the Prophet's words, "I will hear", he says,
or "I will answer", ("'anah" means to answer, but it is here
equivalent to hear,) "I will hear" then, "I will hear the heavens,
and they will hear the earth". The repetition is not superfluous;
for the Israelites had been for some time consumed by famine, before
they were led away into exile; as though the heavens were iron, no
drop of rain came down. They might hence have thought that there was
now no hope; but God here raises them up, "I will hear, I will
hear", he says; as though he said, "There is no reason for the
miserable condition in which I have suffered you long to languish as
your sins deserved, to discourage you; for I will hereafter hear the
heavens." As the Prophet before reminded them that when the beasts
were cruel to them, it was a token of God's wrath; so also he
teaches by these words that the heavens are not dry through any
hidden influence; but that when God withholds his favor, there is no
rain by which the heavens irrigate the earth. Then God here plainly
shows that the whole order of nature, as they say, is in his hand,
that no drop of rain descends from heaven except by his bidding, nor
can the earth produce any grass; in short, that all nature would be
barren were he not to fructify it by his blessing. And this is the
reason why he says, "I will hear the heavens and they will hear the
earth, and the earth will hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil,
and all these will hear Jezreel".
    The Prophet used the word, Jezreel, before in a bad sense; for
his purpose was to reproach the Israelites with their
unfaithfulness: when they boasted of being the seed of Abraham, and
always claimed that honorable and noble distinction, the Lord said,
'Ye are Jezreel, and not Israel.' It may be that the Prophet wished
to show again what they deserved; but he teaches, at the same time,
that God would by no means be prevented from showing kindness to the
unworthy when reconciled to him. Though, then, they were rather
Jezreelites than Israelites, yet their unworthiness would be no
impediment, that God should not deal bountifully with them. There
may also be an allusion here to a new people; for it follows in the
next verse, "uzra'tiha", and I will sow her; and the word, Jezreel,
has an affinity to this verb, it is indeed derived from "zara'",
which is to sow: and as the Prophet presently adds, that Jezreel is,
as it were, the seed of God, I do not disapprove of this supposed
allusion. But yet the Prophet seems here to commend the grace of
God, when he declares that they were Jezreelites with whom God would
deal so kindly as to fructify the earth for their sake.
    Let us now again repeat the substance of the whole, "The corn,
and the wine, and the oil, will hear Jezreel". The Israelites were
famished, and as it is usual with those in want of food, they cried
out, 'Who will give us bread, and wine, and oil?' For the stomach,
as it is said, has no ears; nor has it reason and judgment: when
there is extreme want, men, as if they were distracted, will call
for bread, and wine, and oil. God then has regard for these blind
instincts of men, which only crave what will gratify them: hence he
says, The corn, and wine, and oil, will hear Jezreel, - but when?
Even when the earth will supply trees with sap and moisture, and
extend to the seed its strength; it is then that the earth will hear
the corn, and the wine, and the oil: for these grow not of
themselves, but derive supplies from the earth; and hence the earth
is said to hear them. But cannot the earth of itself hear the corn,
or the wine, or the oil? By no means, except rain descends from
heaven. Since, then, the earth itself draws moisture and wetness
from heaven, we see that men in vain cry out in famine, except they
look up to heaven: and heaven is ruled by the will of God. Let men,
therefore, learn to ascend up to God, that they may seek from him
their daily bread.
    We now, then, see how suitable is this gradation employed by
the Prophet, by which God, on account of the rude and weak
comprehension of men, leads them up at last to himself. For they
turn their thoughts to bread, and wine, and oil; from these they
seek food: they are in this matter very stupid. Be it so; God is
indulgent to their simplicity and ignorance; for by degrees he
proceeds from corn, and wine, and oil, to the earth, and then from
the earth to heaven; and he afterwards shows that heaven cannot pour
down rain except at his will. It follows at last -

Hosea 2:23
And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon
her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to [them which were]
not my people, Thou [art] my people; and they shall say, [Thou art]
my God.
    
    The Prophet here takes the occasion to speak of the increase of
the people. He had promised a fruitful and large increase of corn,
and wine, and oil; but for what end would this be, except the land
had numerous inhabitants? It was hence needful to make this
addition. Besides, the Prophet had said before, 'Though ye be
immense in number, yet a remnant only shall be preserved.' He now
sets God's new favor in opposition to his vengeance, and says, that
God will again sow the people.
    From this sentence we learn that the allusion in the word,
Jezreel, has not been improperly noticed by some, that is, that
they, who had been before a degenerate people and not true
Israelites shall then be the seed of God: yet the words admit of two
senses; for "zara'" applies to the earth as well as to seed. The
Hebrews say, 'The earth is sown,' and also, 'The wheat is sown,' or
any other grain. If then the Prophet compares the people to the
earth, the sense will be, I will sow the people as I do the earth;
that is, I will make them fruitful as the earth when it is
productive. It must then be thus rendered, 'I will sow her for me as
the earth', that is, as though she were my earth. Or it may be
rendered thus, I will sow her for myself in the earth, and for this
end, that the earth, which was for a time waste and desolate, might
have many inhabitants, as we know was the case. But the relative
pronoun in the feminine gender ought not to embarrass us, for the
Prophet ever speaks as of a woman: the people, we know, have been as
yet described to us under the person of a woman.
    And he afterwards adds, "Lo-ruchamah". He speaks here either of
Lo-ruchama, an adulterous daughter, or an adulterous woman, whom a
husband takes to himself. As to the matter itself, it is easy to
learn what the Prophet means, which is, that God would diffuse an
offspring far and wide, when the people had been brought not only to
a small number, but almost to nothing: for how little short of
entire ruin was the desolation of the people when scattered into
banishment? They were then, as it has been stated, like a body torn
asunder: the land in the meantime enjoyed its Sabbaths; God had
disburdened it of its inhabitants.
    We then understand the meaning of the Prophet to be, that God
would multiply the people, that the small remnant would increase to
a great and almost innumerable offspring. "I will then sow her in
the earth", that is, throughout the whole land; "and I will have
mercy on Lo-ruchama", that is, I will in mercy embrace her, who had
not obtained mercy; "and I will say to the no-people, Ye are now my
people". We see that the Prophet insists on this, - That the people
would not only seek the outward advantages of the present life, but
would make a beginning at the very fountain, by regaining the favor
of God, and knowing him as their propitious Father: for this is the
meaning of the Prophet, of which something more will be said
to-morrow.
    
Prayer.
    
Grant, Almighty God, that as we are in this life subject to so many
miseries, and in the meantime grow insensible in our sins, - O grant
that we may learn to search ourselves and consider one sins, that we
may be really humbled before thee, and ascribe to ourselves the
blame of all our evils, that we may be thus led to a genuine feeling
of repentance, and so strive to be reconciled to thee in Christ,
that we may wholly depend on thy paternal love, and thus ever aspire
to the fulness of eternal felicity, through thy goodness and that
immeasurable kindness which thou testifies is ready and offered to
all those, who with a sincere heart worship thee, call upon thee,
and flee to thee, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
    
    

Chapter 3.
    
Lecture Eighth.
    
    We said in our lecture yesterday, that the Prophet does not in
vain bear a testimony again to God's paternal favor to his people;
for it is our chief happiness, when God acknowledges us as his own,
and when we also can come to his presence with sure confidence.
Hence the order of the Prophet's words ought to be noticed: "I will
have mercy", he says, "on Lo-ruchama"; which means, I will be
propitious to the Israelites whom I have hitherto deprived of my
favor: "and I will say to the no-people, My people are you": then it
follows "and they will say to me, Thou art our God.
    The Prophet, indeed, means that God anticipates us with his
favor; for we are otherwise restrained from access to him. Then God
of his own good-will precedes, and extends his band to us, and then
follows the consent of our faith. Hence God first speaks to the
Israelites, that they might know that they are now counted his
people: and then, after God has testified of his favor, they answer,
'Thou beginnest now to be from henceforth our God.' We hence see
that the beginning of all good is from God, when he makes of aliens
friends, and adopts as his sons those who were before his enemies.
    The third chapter follows.

Hosea 3:1
Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of [her]
friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward
the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of
wine.

    The substance of this chapter is, That it was God's purpose to
keep in firm hope the minds of the faithful during the exile, lest
being overwhelmed with despair they should wholly faint. The Prophet
had before spoken of God's reconciliation with his people; and he
magnificently extolled that favor when he said, 'Ye shall be as in
the valley of Achor, I will restore to you the abundance of all
blessings; in a word, ye shall be in all respects happy.' But, in
the meantime, the daily misery of the people continued. God had
indeed determined to remove them into Babylon. They might,
therefore, have despaired under that calamity, as though every hope
of deliverance were wholly taken from them. Hence the Prophet now
shows that God would so restore the people to favor, as not
immediately to blot out every remembrance of his wrath, but that his
purpose was to continue for a time some measure of his severity.
    We hence see that this prediction occupies a middle place
between the denunciation the Prophet previously pronounced and the
promise of pardon. It was a dreadful thing, that God should divorce
his people and cast away the Israelites as spurious children: but a
consolation was afterwards added. But lest the Israelites should
think that God would immediately, as on the first day, be so
propitious to them as to visit them with no chastisement, it was the
Prophet's design expressly to correct this mistake, as though he
said, 'God will indeed receive you again, but in the meantime a
chastisement is prepared for you, which by its intenseness would
break down your spirits were it not that this comfort will ease you,
and that is, that God, though he punishes you for your sins, yet
continues to provide for your salvation, and to be as it were your
husband.' We now perceive the intention of the Prophet. But I shall
first run over the words, and then return to the subject
    "Jehovah said to me, Go yet and love a woman". There is no
doubt but that God describes here the favor he promises to the
Israelites in a type or vision: for they are too gross in their
notions, who think that the Prophet married a woman who had been a
harlot. It was then only a vision, as though God had set a picture
before the eyes of the people, in which they might see their own
conduct. And when he says, "yet", he refers to the vision, mentioned
in the first chapter. But he bids a woman to be loved before he took
her to be the partner of his conjugal bed; which ought to be
noticed: for God intends here to make a distinction between the
people's restoration and his hidden favor. God then before he
restored the people from exile, loved them as it were in their
widowhood. We now understand why the Prophet does not say, 'Take to
thee a wife,' but, 'love a woman.' The meaning is this: God
intimates, that though exile would be sad and bitter, yet the
people, whom he treated with sharpness and severity, were still dear
to him. Hence, "Love a woman, who had been loved by a husband".
    The word "rea'" is here to be taken for a husband, as it is in
the 2d chapter of Jeremiah where it is said, 'Perfidiously have the
children of Israel dealt with me, as though a woman had departed
from her husband, "mere'ah"', or, 'from her partner.' And there is
an aggravation of the crime implied in this word: for women, when
they prostitute themselves, often complain that they have done so
through too much severity, because they were not treated with
sufficient kindness by their husbands; but when a husband behaves
kindly towards his wife, and performs his duty as a husband, there
is then less excuse for a wife, in case she fixes her affections on
others. To increase then the sin of the people, this circumstance is
stated that the woman had been loved by her friend or partner, and
yet that this kindness of her husband had not preserved her mind in
chastity.
    He afterwards says, "According to the love of Jehovah towards
the children of Israel"; that is, As God loved the people of Israel,
who yet ceased not to look to other gods. This metaphor occurs often
in Scripture, that is, when the verb "panah", which means in Hebrew,
to look to, is used to express hope or desire: so that when men's
minds are intent on any thing, or their affections fixed on it, they
are said to look to that. Since then the Israelites boiled with
insane ardor for their superstitions, they are said to look to other
gods.
    It then follows, "And they love flagons of grapes". The
Prophet, I doubt not, compares this rage to drunkenness: and he
mentions flagons of grapes rather than of wine, because idolaters
are like drunkards, who sometimes so gorge themselves, that they
have no longer a taste for wine; yea, the very smell of wine offends
them, and produces nausea through excessive drinking; but they try
new arts by which they may regain their fondness for wine. And such
is the desire of novelty that prevails in the superstitious. At one
time they go after this, at another time after that, and their minds
are continually tossed to and fro, because they cannot acquiesce in
the only true God. We now then perceive what this metaphor means,
when the Prophet reproaches the Israelites, because they loved
flagons of grapes.
    I now return to what the Prophet, or rather God, had in view.
God here comforts the hearts of the faithful, that they might surely
conclude that they were loved, even when they were chastised. It was
indeed necessary that this difference should have been well
impressed on the Israelites, that they might in exile entertain hope
and patiently bear God's chastisement, and rise that this hope might
mitigate the bitterness of sorrow. God therefore says that though he
shows not himself as yet reconciled to them, but appears as yet
severe, at the same time he is not without love. And hence we learn
how useful this doctrine is, and how widely it opens; for it affords
a consolation of which we all in common have need. When God humbles
us by adversities, when he shows to us some tokens of severity or
wrath, we cannot but instantly fail, were not this thought to occur
to us, that God loves us, even when he is severe towards us, and
that though he seems to cast us away, we are not yet altogether
aliens, for he retains some affection even in the midst of his
wrath; so that he is to us as a husband, though he admits us not
immediately into conjugal honor, nor restores us to our former rank.
We now then see how the doctrine is to be applied to ourselves.
    We must at the same time notice the reproachful conduct of
which I have spoken, - That though the woman was loved yet she could
not be preserved in chastity, and that she was loved, though an
adulteress. Here is pointed out the most shameful ingratitude of the
people, and contrasted with it is God's infinite mercy and goodness.
It was the summit of wickedness in the people to forsake their God,
when he had treated them with so much benignity and kindness. But
wonderful was the patience of God, when he ceased not to love a
people, whom he had found to be so perverse, that they could not be
turned by any acts of kindness nor retained by any favors.
    With regard to the flagons of grapes we may observe, that this
strange disposition is ever dominant in the superstitious, and that
is, that they wander here and there after their own devices, and
have nothing fixed in them. Lest, then, such charms deceive us, let
us learn to cleave firmly and constantly to the word of the Lord.
Indeed the Papists of this day boast of their ancientness, when they
would create an ill-will towards us; as though the religion we
follow were new and lately invented: but we see how modern their
superstitions are; for a passion for them bubbles up continually and
they have nothing that remains constant: and no wonder, because the
eternal truth of God is regarded by them as of no value. If, then,
we desire to restrain this depraved lust, which the Prophet condemns
in the Israelites, let us so adhere to the word of the Lord, that no
novelty may captivate us and lead us astray. It now follows -

Hosea 3:2-5
2 So I bought her to me for fifteen [pieces] of silver, and [for] an
homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:
3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt
not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for [another] man: so
[will] I also [be] for thee.
4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king,
and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image,
and without an ephod, and [without] teraphim:
5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD
their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his
goodness in the latter days.
    
    These verses have been read together, for in these four the
Prophet explains the vision presented to him. He says, first, that
he had done what had been enjoined him by God; which was conveyed to
him by a vision, or in a typical form, that by such an exhibition he
might impress the minds of the people: "I bought", he says, a wife
for fifteen silverings, and for a corus of barley and half a corus;
that is, for a corus and a half. He tells us in this verse that he
had bought the wife whom he was to take for a small price. By the
"fifteen" silverings and the corus and half of barley is set forth,
I have no doubt, her abject and mean condition. Servants, we know,
were valued at thirty shekels of silver when hurt by an ox, (Exod.
21: 32.) But the Prophet gives her for his wife fifteen silvering;
which seemed a contemptible gift. But then the Lord shows, that
though he would but scantily support his people in exile, they would
still be dear to him, as when a husband loves his wife though he
does not indulge her, when that would be inexpedient: overmuch
indulgence, as it is well known, has indeed often corrupted those
who have gone astray. When a husband immediately pardons an
adulterous wife, and receives her with a smiling countenance, and
fawningly humbles himself by laying aside his own right and
authority, he acts foolishly, and by his levity ruins his wife: but
when a husband forgives his wife, and yet strictly confines her
within the range of duty, and restrains his own feelings, such a
moderate course is very beneficial and shows no common prudence in
the husband; who, though he is not cruel, is yet not carried away by
foolish love. This, then is what the Prophet means, when he says,
that he had given for his wife fifteen silverings and a corus and
half of barley. Respectable women did not, indeed, live on barley.
The Prophets then, gave to his wife, not wheat-flour, nor the fine
flour of wheat, but black bread and coarse food; yea, he gave her
barley as her allowance, and in a small quantity, that his wife
might have but a scanty living. We now then understand the Prophet's
meaning.
    Some elicit a contrary sense, that the Lord would splendidly
and sumptuously support the wife who had been an adulteress; but
this view by no means harmonizes with the Prophet's design, as we
have already seen. Besides, the words themselves lead us another
way. Jerome, as his practice is, refines in allegorizing. He says,
that the people were bought for fifteen silverings, because they
came out of Egypt on the fifteenth day of the month; and then he
says, that as the Hebrew homer contains thirty bushels, they were
bought for a corus and half, which is forty-five bushels. because
the law was promulgated forty-five days after. But these are puerile
trifles. Let then the simple view which I have given be sufficient
for us, - that God, though he favored her, not immediately with the
honor of a wife and liberal support, yet ceased not to love her.
Thus we see the minds of the faithful were sustained to bear
patiently their calamities; for it is an untold consolation to know
that God loves us. If a testimony respecting his love moderates not
our sorrows, we are very ill-natured and ungrateful.
    The Prophet then more clearly proves in these words, that God
loved his people, though he seemed to be alienated from them. He
might have wholly destroyed them: he yet supplied them with food in
their exile. The people indeed lived in the greatest straits; and
all delicacies were no doubt taken from them, and their fare was
very sordid and very scanty: but the Prophet forbids them to measure
God's favor by the smallness of what was given them; for though God
would not immediately receive into favor a wife who had been an
adulteress, yet he wished her to continue his wife.
    Hence he adds, "I said to her, For many days shalt thou tarry
for me, and thou shalt not become wanton, and thou shalt not be for
any man", that is, 'Thou shalt remain a widow; for it is for this
reason that I still retain thee, to find out whether thou wilt
sincerely repent. I would not indeed be too easy towards thee, lest
I should by indulgence corrupt thee: I shall see what thy conduct
will be: you must in the meantime continue a widow.' This, then was
God's small favor which remained for the people, even a sort of
widowhood. God might, indeed, as we have said, have utterly
destroyed his people: but he mitigated his wrath and only punished
them with exile, and in the meantime, proved that he was not
forgetful of his banished people. Though then he only bestowed some
scanty allowance, he yet did not wholly deprive them of food, nor
suffer them to perish through want. This treatment then in reality
is set forth by this representation, that the Prophet had bidden his
wife to remain single.
    He says, "And I also shall be for thee": why does he say, "I
also"? A wife, already joined to her husband, has no right to pledge
her faith to another. Then the Prophet shows that Israel was held
bound by the Lord, that they might not seek another connection, for
his faith was pledged to them. Hence he says, I also shall be for
thee; that is, 'I pledge my faith to thee, or, I subscribe myself as
thy husband: but another time must be looked for; I yet defer my
favor, and suspend it until thou givest proof of true repentance.'
"I also", he says, "shall be for thee"; that is, 'Thou shalt not be
a widow in vain, if thou complainest that wrong is done to thee,
because I forbid thee to marry any one else, I also bind myself in
turn to thee.' Now then is evident the mutual compact between God
and his people, so that the people, though a state of widowhood be
full of sorrows ought not yet to succumb to grief, but to keep
themselves exclusively for God, till the time of their full and
complete deliverance, because he says, that he will remain true to
his pledge. "I will then be thine: though at present, I admit thee
not into the honor of wives, I will not yet wholly repudiate thee."
    But how does this view harmonize with the first prediction,
according to which God seems to have divorced his people? Their
concurrence may be easily explained. The Prophet indeed said, that
the body of the people would be alienated from God: but here he
addresses the faithful only. Lest then the minds of those who were
healable should despond, the Prophet sets before them this comfort
which I have mentioned, - that though they were to continue, as it
were, single, yet the Lord would remain, as it were, bound to them,
so as not to adopt another people and reject them. But we shall
presently see that this prediction regards in common the Gentiles as
well as the Jews and Israelites.
    He afterwards adds, "For many days shall the children of Israel
abide". He says, for many days, that they might prepare themselves
for long endurance, and be not dispirited through weariness, though
the Lord should not soon free them from their calamities. "Though
then your exile should be long, still cherish," he says, "strong
hope in your hearts; for so long a trial must necessarily be made of
your repentance; as you have very often pretended to return to the
Lord, and soon after your hypocrisy was discovered; and then ye
became hardened in your wilful obstinacy: it is therefore necessary
that the Lord should subdue you by a long chastisement." Hence he
says, "The children of Israel shall abide without a king and without
a prince.
    But it may still be further asked, What is the number of the
days of which the Prophet speaks, for the definite number is not
stated here; and we know that the exile appointed for the Jews was
seventy years? (Jer. 29: 10.) But the Prophet seems here to extend
his prediction farther, even to the time of Christ. To this I
answer, that here he refers simply to the seventy years; though, at
the same time, we must remember that those who returned not from
exile were supported by this promise, and hoped in the promised
Mediator: but the Prophet goes not beyond that number, afterwards
prefixed by Jeremiah. It is not to be wondered at, that the Prophet
had not computed the years and days; for the time of the captivity,
that is, of the last captivity, was not yet come. Shortly after,
indeed, four tribes were led away, and then the ten, and the whole
kingdom of Israel was destroyed: but the last ruin of the whole
people was not yet so near. It was therefore not necessary to
compute then the years; but he speaks of a long time indefinitely,
and speaks of the children of Israel and says, "They shall abide
without a king and without a prince": and inasmuch as they placed
their trust in their king, and thought themselves happy in having
this one distinction, a powerful king, he says, They shall abide
without a king, without a prince. He now explains their widowhood
without similitudes: hence he says, "They shall be without a king
and a prince", that is, there shall be among them no kind of civil
government; they shall be like a mutilated body without a head; and
so it happened to them in their miserable dispersion.
    "And without a sacrifice", he says, "and without a statue". The
Hebrews take "matsevah" often in a bad sense, though it means
generally a statue, as a monument over a grave is called "matsevah":
but the Prophet seems to speak here of idols, for he afterwards
adds, "teraphim"; and teraphim were no doubt images, (Gen. 31:
19-30,) which the superstitious used while worshipping their
fictitious gods, as we read in many places. The king of Babylon is
said to have consulted the teraphim; and it is said that Rachel
stole the teraphim, and shortly after Laban calls the teraphim his
gods. But the Hebrews talk idly when they say that these images were
made of a constellation, and that they afterwards uttered words: but
all this has been invented, and we know what liberty they take in
devising fables. The meaning is, that God would take away from the
people of Israel all civil order, and then all sacred rites and
ceremonies, that they might abide as a widow, and at the same time
know, that they were not utterly rejected by God without hope of
reconciliation.
    It is asked, why "ephod" is mentioned; for the priesthood
continued among the tribe of Judah, and the ephod, it is well known,
was a part of the sacerdotal dress. To this I answer, that when
Jeroboam introduced false worship, he employed this artifice - to
make religion among the Israelites nearly like true religion in its
outward form: for it seems to have been his purpose that it should
vary as little as possible from the legitimate worship of God: hence
he said, 'It is grievous and troublesome to you to go up to
Jerusalem; then let us worship God here,' (1 Kings 12: 28.) But he
pretended to change nothing; he would not appear to be an apostate,
departing from the only true God. What then? "God may be worshipped
without trouble by us here; for I will build temples in several
places, and also erect altars: what hinders that sacrifices should
not be offered to God in many places?" There is therefore no doubt
but that he made his altars according to the form of the true altar,
and also added the ephod and various ceremonies, that the Israelites
might think that they still continued in the true worship of God.
    But it follows, "Afterwards shall the children of Israel return
and seek Jehovah their God, and David their king". Here the Prophet
shows by the fruit of their chastisement, that the Israelites had no
reason to murmur or clamour against God, as though he treated them
with too much severity; for if he had stretched out his hand to them
immediately, there would have been in them no repentance: but when
thoroughly cleansed by long correction, they would then truly and
sincerely confess their God. We then see that this comfort is set
forth as arising from the fruit of chastisement, that the Israelites
might patiently bear the temporary wrath of God. "Afterwards", he
says, "they shall return"; as though he said, "They are now led away
headlong into their impiety, and they can by no means be restrained
except by this long endurance of evils."
    "They shall" therefore "return, and then will they seek Jehovah
their God". The name of the only true God is set here in opposition,
as before, to all Baalim. The Israelites, indeed, professed to
worship God; but Baalim, we know, were at the same time in high
esteem among them, who were so many gods, and had crept into the
place of God, and extinguished his pure worship: hence the Prophet
says not simply, They shall seek God, but they shall "seek Jehovah
their God". And there is here an implied reproof in the word
"Elohehem"; for it intimates that they were drawn aside into ungodly
superstitions, that they were without the true God, that no
knowledge of him existed among them; though God had offered himself
to them, yea, had familiarly held intercourse with them, and brought
them up as it were in his bosom, as a father his own children. Hence
the Prophet indirectly upbraids them for this great wickedness when
he says, "They shall seek their God". And who is this God? He is
even Jehovah. They had hitherto formed for themselves vain gods: and
though, he says, they had been deluded by their own devices, they
shall now know the only true God, who from the beginning revealed
himself to them even as their God. He afterwards adds a second
clause respecting King David: but I cannot now finish the subject.
    
Prayer.
    
Grant, Almighty God, that as thou often dost justly hide thy face
from us, so that on every side we see nothing but evidences of thy
dreadful judgment, - O grant, that we, with minds raised above the
scene of this world, may at the same time cherish the hope which
thou constantly settest before us, so that we may feel fully
persuaded that we are loved by thee, however severely thou mayest
chastise us and may this consolation so support and sustain our
souls, that patiently enduring whatever chastisements thou mayest
lay upon us, we may ever hold fast the reconciliation which thou
hast promised to us in Christ thy Son. Amen.

Lecture Ninth.
    
    We have now to consider the second clause, respecting King
David. The Prophet tells us, that when the Israelites shall be moved
with the desire of seeking God, they shall also seek David their
king. They had, as it is well known, departed from their allegiance
to him; though God had set David over the whole people for this end,
- that they might all be happy under his power and dominion, and
remain safe and secure, as though they beheld God with their own
eyes; for David was, as it were, the angel of God. Then the revolt
of the people, or of the ten tribes, was like a renunciation of the
living God. The Lord said to Samuel, 'Thee have they not despised,
but rather me,' (1 Sam. 8: 7:) this must have been much more the
case with regard to David, whom Samuel, by God's command, had
anointed, and whom the Lord had honored with so many bright
commendations; they could not have cast away his yoke, without
openly rejecting, as it were, God himself. Hence Hosea, speaking of
the people's repentance, does not, without reasons distinctly
mention this, that they shall return to David their king: for they
could not sincerely and from the heart seek God, without subjecting
themselves to that lawful authority to which they had been bound,
not by men, nor by chance, but by God's command.
    It is indeed true that David was then dead; but Hosea sets
forth here, in the person of one man, that everlasting kingdom,
which the Jews knew would endure as the sun and moon: for well known
to them all was this remarkable promise, 'As long as the sun and
moon shall shine in heaven, they shall be faithful witnesses to me,
that the throne of David shall continue,' (Psal. 72: 5, 18.) Hence,
after the death of David, the Prophet shows here that his kingdom
would be forever, for he survived in his children; and, as it
evidently appears, they commonly called their Messiah the son of
David. We must now of necessity come to Christ: for Israel could not
seek their king, David, who had been long dead; but were to seek
that King whom God had promised from the posterity of David. This
prophecy, then, no doubt extends to Christ: and it is evident that
the only hope of the people being gathered was this, that God had
testified that he would give a Redeemer.
    We now then see what the Prophet had in view: the Israelites
had become degenerate; and, by their perfidy, they ceased to be the
true and genuine people of God, as long as they continued alienated
from the family of David. The Prophet, speaking of their full
restoration, now joins David with God; for they could not be
restored to the body of the Church, without uniting with the Jews in
honoring one and the same head. But we must, at the same time,
remember, that the king, whom the Prophet mentions, is not David,
who had been long dead, but his son, to whom the perpetuity of his
kingdom had been promised.
    This doctrine is especially useful to us; for it shows that God
is not to be sought except in Christ the mediator. Whosoever, then,
forsakes Christ, forsakes God himself; for as John says, 'He who has
not the Son, has not the Father,' (1 John 2: 23.) And the thing
itself proves this; for God dwells in light inaccessible; how great,
then is the distance between us and him? Except Christ, then,
presents himself to us as a middle person, how can we come to God?
But then only we begin really to seek God, when we turn our eyes to
Christ, who willingly offers himself to us. This is the only way of
seeking God aright.
    Some, with more refinement, contend, that Christ is Jehovah,
because the Prophet says, that he is to be sought not otherwise than
as God is. By the word, seeking, the Prophet indeed means, that the
Israelites bad no other way of being safe and secure than by fleeing
under the guardianship and protection of their legitimate king, whom
they knew to have been divinely ordained for them. This, then, would
not be sufficient to confute the Jews. I take the passage in a
simpler way, as meaning, that they would seek their God in the
person of the king, whose hand and efforts God intended to employ in
the preservation of the people.
    It further follows, "And they shall fear Jehovah and his
goodness in the last days". The verb "pachad" means sometimes; to
dread, to be frightened as they are who are so terrified as to lose
all courage. But in this place it is to be taken in a good sense, to
fear, as it appears evident from the context. Then he says, "They
shall fear God and his goodness". The Israelites had before shaken
off the yoke of God: for it was a proof of wanton contempt in them
to build a new temple; to devise, at their own will, a new religion;
and, in a word, to allow themselves an unbridled licentiousness.
Hence he says, They shall hereafter begin to fear God, and shall
continue in his service.
    And he adds, "and his goodness"; by which he means that God
would not be dreaded by them, but that he would sweetly allure them
to himself, that they might obey him spontaneously and freely, and
even joyfully: and doubtless God does then only make us really to
fear him, when he gives us a taste of his goodness. For God's
majesty strikes terror into us; and we, in the meantime, seek hiding
places; and were it possible for us to withdraw from him, each of us
would do so gladly; but it is not to worship God with due honor,
when we flee away from him. It is then a sense of his goodness that
leads us reverentially to fear him. 'With thee,' says David, 'is
forgiveness, that thou mayest be feared,' (Ps. 130: 4:) for except
men know God to be ready to be at peace with them, and feel assured
that he will be propitious to them, no one will seek him, no one
will fear him, for without knowing this, we could not but wish his
glory to be abolished and extinguished, and that he should be
without authority, lest he should become our judge. But every one
who has tasted of God's goodness, so orders himself as to obey God.
    What the Prophet then means when he says, "They shall then fear
God", is this, that they shall understand that they were miserable
as long as they were alienated from him, and that true happiness is
to submit to his authority.
    But further, this goodness is to be referred to Christ. Some
take "tuvo" for glory, as in Exod. 33; but the connection of this
passage requires the word to be taken in its proper sense. And God's
goodness, we know, is so exhibited to us in Christ, that not a
particle of it is to be sought for anywhere else: for from this
fountain must we draw whatever refers to our salvation and happiness
of life. Let us then know that God cannot from the heart be
worshipped by us, except when we behold him in the person of his
Son, and know him to be a kind Father to us: hence John says, 'He
who honors not the Son, honors not the Father,' (John 5: 23.)
    Lastly, he adds, "In the extremity of days"; for the Prophet
wished again to remind the Israelites of what he had said before, -
that they had need of long affliction, by which God would by degrees
reform them. He then shows that their perverseness was such, that
they would not soon be brought into a right mind; but that this
would be "in the extremity of days". At the same time he relieves
the minds of the godly, that they might not, through weariness, grow
faint: for though they were not at first to taste of God s goodness,
the Prophet reminds them that there was no reason to despair,
because the Lord would manifest his goodness in the extremity of
days. We may add, that this extremity of days had its beginning at
the return of the people. When liberty was granted to the Jews to
return to their own country, it was the extremity or fulness of
days, of which the Prophet speaks. But a continued series from the
people's return to the coming of Christ, must at the same time be
understood; for the Lord then performed more fully what he declares
here by his Prophet. Hence everywhere in Scripture, especially in
the New Testament, the manifestation of Christ is placed in the last
times. This chapter is now explained. The fourth now follows.
    
    
    
Chapter 4.

Hosea 4:1,2
Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath
a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because [there is]
no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing
adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
    
    This is a new discourse by the Prophet, separate from his
former discourses. We must bear in mind that the Prophets did not
literally write what they delivered to the people, nor did they
treat only once of those things which are now extant with us; but we
have in their books collected summaries and heads of those matters
which they were wont to address to the people. Hosea, no doubt, very
often descanted on the exile and the restoration of the people,
forasmuch as he dwelt much on all the things which we have hitherto
noticed. Indeed, the slowness and dullness of the people were such,
that the same things were repeated daily. But it was enough for the
Prophets to make and to write down a brief summary of what they
taught in their discourses.
    Hosea now relates how vehemently he reproved the people,
because every kind of corruption so commonly prevailed, that there
was no sound part in the whole community. We hence see what the
Prophet treats of now; and this ought to be observed, for hypocrites
wish ever to be flattered; and when the mercy of God is offered to
them, they seek to be freed from every fear. It is therefore a
bitter thing to them, when threatening are mingled, when God sharply
chides them. "What! we heard yesterday a discourse on God's mercy,
and now he fulminates against us. He is then changeable; if he were
consistent, would not his manner of teaching be alike and the same
today?" But men must be often awakened, for forgetfulness of God
often creeps over them; they indulge themselves, and nothing is more
difficult than to lead them to God; nay, when they have made some
advances, they soon turn aside to some other course.
    We hence see that men cannot be taught, except God reproves
their sins by his word; and then, lest they despond, gives them a
hope of mercy; and except he again returns to reproofs and
threatening. This is the mode of address which we find in all the
Prophets.
    I now come to the Prophet's words: "Hear", he says, "the word
of Jehovah, ye children of Israel, the Lord has a dispute", &c. The
Prophet, by saying that the Lord had a dispute with the inhabitants
of the land, intimates that men in vain flatter themselves, when
they have God against them, and that they shall soon find him to be
their Judge, except they in time anticipate his vengeance. But he
also reminds the Israelites that God had a dispute with them, that
they might not have to feel the severity of justice, but reconcile
themselves to God, while a seasonable opportunity was given them.
Then the Prophet's introduction had this object in view - to make
the Israelites to know that God would be adverse to them, except
they sought, without delay, to regain his favor. The Lord then,
since he declared that he would contend with them, shows that he was
not willing to do so. for had God determined to punish the people,
what need was there of this warning? Could he not instantly execute
judgment on them? Since, then, the Prophet was sent to the children
of Israel to warn them of a great and fatal danger, God had still a
regard for their safety: and doubtless this warning prevailed with
many; for those who were alarmed by this denunciation humbled
themselves before God, and hardened not themselves in wickedness:
and the reprobate, though not amended, were yet rendered twice less
excusable.
    The same is the case among us, whenever God threatens us with
judgment: they who are not altogether intractable or unhealable,
confess their guilt, and deprecate God's wrath; and others, though
they harden their hearts in wickedness, cannot yet quench the power
of truth; for the Lord takes from them every pretext for ignorance,
and conscience wounds them more deeply, after they have been thus
warned
    We now then understand what the Prophet meant by saying, that
God had a dispute with the inhabitants of the land. But that the
Prophet's intention may be more clear to us, we must bear in mind,
that he and other faithful teachers were wearied with crying, and
that in the meantime no fruit appeared. He saw that his warnings
were heedlessly despised, and that hence his last resort was to
summon men to God's tribunal. We also are constrained, when we
prevail nothing, to follow the same course: "God will judge you; for
no one will bear to be judged by his word: whatever we announce to
you in his name, is counted a matter of sport: he himself at length
will show that he has to do with you." In a similar strain does
Zechariah speak, 'They shall look on him whom they have pierced,'
(Zech. 12: 10:) and to the same purpose does Isaiah say, that the
Spirit of the Lord was made sad. 'Is it not enough,' he says, 'that
ye should be vexatious to men, except ye be so also to my God?'
(Isa. 7: 13.) The Prophet joined himself with God; for the ungodly
king Ahab, by tempting God, did at the same time trifle with his
Prophets.
    There is then here an implied contrast between the dispute
which God announces respecting the Israelites, and the daily strifes
he had with them by his Prophets. For this reason also the Lord
said, 'My Spirit shall no more strive with man, for he is flesh,'
(Gen. 6: 3.) God indeed says there, that he had waited in vain for
men to return to the right way; for they were refractory beyond any
hope of repentance: he therefore declared, that he would presently
punish them. So also in this place, '"The Lord has a trial at law";
he will now himself plead his own cause: he has hitherto long
exercised his Prophets in contending with you; yea, he has wearied
them with much and continual labour; ye remain ever like yourselves;
he will therefore begin now to plead effectually his own cause with
you: he will no more speak to you by the mouth, but by his power,
show himself a judge.' The Prophet, however, designedly laid down
the word, dispute, that the Israelites might know that God would
severely treat them, not without cause, nor unjustly, as though he
said, "God will so punish you as to show at the same time that he
will do so for the best reason: ye elude all threatenings; ye think
that you can make yourselves safe by your shifts: there are no
evasions by which you can possibly hope to attain any thing; for God
will at length uncover all your wickedness." In short, the Prophet
here joins punishment with God's justice, or he points out by one
word, a real (so to speak) or an effectual contention, by which the
Lord not only reproves men in words, but also visits with judgment
their sins.
    It follows, "Because there is no truth", no kindness, no
knowledge of God. The dispute, he said, was to be with the
inhabitants of the land: by "the inhabitants of the land", he means
the whole body of the people; as though he said, "Not a few men have
become corrupt, but all kinds of wickedness prevail everywhere." And
for the same reason he adds, "that there was no truth", &c. in the
land; as though he said, "They who sin hide not themselves now in
lurking-places; they seek no recesses, like those who are ashamed;
but so much licentiousness is everywhere dominant, that the whole
land is filled with the contempt of God and with crimes." This was a
severe reproof to proud men. How much the Israelites flattered
themselves, we know; it was therefore necessary for the Prophet to
speak thus sharply to a refractory people; for a gentle and kind
warning proves effectual only to the meek and teachable. When the
world grows hardened against God, such a rigorous treatment as the
words of the Prophet disclose must be used. Let those then, to whom
is intrusted the charge of teaching, see that they do not gently
warn men, when hardened in their vices; but let them follow this
vehemence of the Prophet.
    We said at the beginning, that the Prophet had a good reason
for being so warm in his indignation: he was not at the moment
foolishly carried away by the heat of zeal; but he knew that he had
to do with men so perverse, that they could not be handled in any
other way. The Prophet now reproves not only one kind of evil, but
brings together every sort of crimes; as though he said, that the
Israelites were in every way corrupt and perverted. He says first,
that there was among them no faithfulness, and no kindness. He
speaks here of their contempt of the second table of the law; for by
this the impiety of men is sooner found out, that is, when an
examination is made of their life: for hypocrites vauntingly profess
the name of God, and confidently arrogate faith to themselves; and
then they cover their vices with the external show of divine
worship, and frigid acts of devotion: nay, the very thing mentioned
by Jeremiah is too commonly the case, that 'the house of God is made
a den of thieves,' (Jer. 7: 11.) Hence the Prophets, that they might
drag the ungodly to the light, examine their conduct according to
the duties of love: "Ye are right worshipers of God, ye are most
holy; but in the meantime, where is truth, where is mutual
faithfulness, where is kindness? If ye are not men, how can ye be
angels? Ye are given to avarice, ye are perfidious, ye are cruel:
what more can be said of you, except that each of you condemns all
the rest before God, and that your life is also condemned by all?'
    By saying that truth or faithfulness was extinct, he makes them
to be like foxes, who are ever deceitful: by saying that there was
no kindness, he accuses them of cruelty, as though he said, that
they were like lions and wild beasts. But the fountain of all these
vices he points out in the third clause, when he says, that they had
no knowledge of God: and the knowledge of God he takes for the fear
of God which proceeds from the knowledge of him; as though he said,
"In a word, men go on as licentiously, as if they did not think that
there is a God in heaven, as if all religion was effaced from their
hearts." For as long as any knowledge of God remains in us, it is
like a bridle to restrain us: but when men become wanton, and allow
themselves every liberty, it is certain that they have forgotten
God, and that there is in them now no knowledge of God. Hence the
complaints in the Psalms, 'The ungodly have said in their heart,
There is no God,' (Ps. 14: 1:) 'Impiety speaks in my heart, There is
no God.' Men cannot run headlong into brutal stupidity, while a
spark of the true knowledge of God shines or twinkles in their
minds. We now then perceive the real meaning of the Prophet.
    But after having said that they were full of perfidiousness and
cruelty, he adds, "By cursing, and lying, and killing", &c., "'Alah"
means to swear: some explain it in this place as signifying to
forswear; and others read the two together, "'aloh wechachesh", to
swear and lie, that is to deceive by swearing. But as "'alah" means
often to curse, the Prophet here, I doubt not, condemns the practice
of cursing, which was become frequent and common among the people.
    But he enumerates particulars in order more effectually to
check the fierceness of the people; for the wicked, we know, do not
easily bend their neck: they first murmur, then they clamour against
wholesome instruction, and at last they rage with open fury, and
break out into violence, when they cannot otherwise stop the
progress of sound doctrine. How ever this may be, we see that they
are not easily led to own their sins. This is the reason why the
Prophet shows here, by stating particulars, in how many ways they
provoked God's wrath: 'Lo,' he says 'cursings, lyings, murder,
thefts, adulteries, abound among you.' And the Prophet seems here to
allude to the precepts of the law; as though he said, "If any one
compares your life with the law of God, he will find that you
avowedly and designedly lead such a life, as proves that you fight
against God, that you violate every part of his law."
    But it must be here observed, that he speaks not of such
thieves or murderers as are led in our day to the gallows, or are
otherwise punished. On the contrary, he calls them thieves and
murderers and adulterers, who were in high esteem, and eminent in
honor and wealth, and who, in short, were alone illustrious among
the people of Israel: such did the Prophet brand with these
disgraceful names, calling them murderers and thieves. So also does
Isaiah speak of them, 'Thy princes are robbers and companions of
thieves,' (Isa. 1: 23.) And we already reminded you, that the
Prophet addresses not his discourses to few men, but to the whole
people; for all, from the least to the greatest, had fallen away.
    He afterwards says, "They have broken out". The expression no
doubt is to be taken metaphorically, as though he said, "There are
now no bonds, no barriers." For the people so raged against God,
that no modesty, no shame on account of the law, no religion, no
fear, prevailed among them, or checked their intractable spirit.
Hence "they broke out". By the word, breaking out, the Prophet sets
forth the furious wantonness seen in the reprobate; when freed from
the fear of God, they abandon themselves to what is sinful, without
any moderation, without any restraint.
    And to the same purpose he subjoins, "Bloods are contiguous to
bloods". By bloods he means all the worst crimes: and he says that
bloods were close to bloods, because they joined crimes together,
and as Isaiah says, that iniquity was as it were a train; so our
Prophet says here, that such was the common liberty they took to
sin, that wherever he turned his eyes, he could see no part free
from wickedness. Then bloods are contiguous to bloods, that is,
everywhere is seen the horrible spectacle of crimes. This is the
meaning. It now follows -

Hosea 4:3
Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein
shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of
heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

    The Prophet now expresses more clearly the dispute which he
mentions in the first verse; and it now evidently appears, that it
was not a judgment expressed in words, for God had in vain tried to
bring the people to the right way by threats and reproofs: he had
contended enough with then; they remained refractory; hence he adds,
"Now mourn shall the whole land"; that is, God has now resolved to
execute his judgment: there is therefore no use for you any more to
contrive any evasion, as you have been hitherto wont to do; for God
stretches forth his hand for your ultimate destruction. Mourn,
therefore, shall the land, and "cut off shall be every one that
dwells in it", as I prefer to render it; unless the Prophet, it may
be, means, that though God should for a time suspend the last
judgment, yet the Israelites would gain nothing, seeing that they
would, by continual languor, pine away. But as he mentions mourning
in the first place, the former meaning, that God would destroy all
the inhabitants, seems more appropriate. He adds, "gathered shall
they be all", or destroyed, (for either may suit the place,) "from
the beast of the field, and the bird of heaven, to the fishes of the
sea". The Prophet here enlarges on the greatness of God's wrath; for
he includes even the innocent beasts and the birds of heaven, yea,
the fishes of the sea. When Godly vengeance extends to brute
animals, what will become of men?
    But some one may here object and say, that it is unworthy of
God to be angry with miserable creatures, which deserve no such
treatment: for why should God be angry with fishes and beasts? But
an answer may be easily given: As beasts, and birds, and fishes,
and, in a word, all other things, have been created for the use of
men, it is no wonder that God should extend the tokens of his curse
to all creatures, above and below, when his purpose is to punish
men. We seek, indeed, for the most part, some vain comforts to
delight us, or to moderate our sorrows when God shows himself angry
with us: but when God curses innocent animals for our sake, we then
dread the more, except, indeed, we be under the influence of extreme
stupor.
    We now then understand why God here denounces destruction on
brute animals as well as on birds and fishes of the sea; it is, that
men may know themselves to be deprived of all his gifts; as when a
person, in order to expose a wicked man to shame, pulls down his
house and burns his whole furniture: so also does God do, who has
adorned the world with so much and such varied wealth for our sake,
when he reduces all things to a waste: He thereby shows how
grievously offended he is with us, and thus constrains us to become
humble. This then is the Prophet's meaning.
    
Prayer.
    
Grant, Almighty God, that since we are at this day as guilty before
thee as the Israelites of old were, who were so rebellious against
thy Prophets, and that as thou hast often tried sweetly to allure us
to thyself without any success, and as we have not hitherto ceased,
by our continual obstinacy, to provoke thy wrath, - O grant, that
being moved at least by the warnings thou givest us, we may
prostrate ourselves before thy face, and not wait until thou puttest
forth thy hand to destroy us, but, on the contrary, strive to
anticipate thy judgment; and that being at the same time surely
convinced that thou art ready to be reconciled to us in Christ, we
may flee to Him as our Mediator; and that relying on his
intercession, we may not doubt but that thou art ready to give us
pardon, until having at length put away all sins, we come to that
blessed state of glory which has been obtained for us by the blood
of thy Son. Amen.

Lecture Tenth.

Hosea 4:4
Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people [are] as
they that strive with the priest.
    
    The Prophet here deplores the extreme wickedness of the people,
that they would bear no admonitions, like those who, being past
hope, reject every advice, admit no physicians, and dislike all
remedies: and it is a proof of irreclaimable wickedness, when men
close their ears and harden their hearts against all salutary
counsels. Hence the Prophet intimates, that, together with their
great and many corruptions, there was such waywardness, that no one
dared to reprove the public vices.
    He adds this reason, "For the people are as chiders of the
priest", or, they really contend with the priest: for some take
"caph", in this place, not as expressive of likeness, but as
explaining and affirming what is said, 'They altogether strive with
the priest.' But I prefer the former sense, which is, that the
Prophet calls all the people the censors of their pastors: and we
see that froward men become thus insolent when they are reproved;
for instantly such an objection as this is made by them, "Am I to be
treated like a child? Have I not attained sufficient knowledge to
understand how I ought to live?" We daily meet with many such men,
who proudly boast of their knowledge, as though they were superior
to all Prophets and teachers. And no doubt the ungodly make a show
of wit and acuteness in opposing sound doctrine: and then it appears
that they have learnt more than what one would have thought, - for
what end? only that they may contend with God.
    Let us now return to the Prophet's words. "But", he says: "ach"
is not to be taken here as in many places for "verily:" but it
denotes exception, "In the meantime". "But", or, in the meantime,
"let no one" chide and reprove another. In a word, the Prophet
complains, that while all kinds of wickedness abounded among the
people, there was no liberty to teach and to admonish, but that all
were so refractory, that they would not bear to hear the word; and
that as soon as any one touched their vices, there were great
doctors, as they say, ready to reply.
    And he enlarges on the subject by saying, that they "were as
chiders of the priest"; for he declares, that they who, with
impunity, conducted themselves so wantonly against God, were not yet
content in being so wayward as to repel all reproofs, but also
willfully rose up against their own teachers: and, as I have already
said, common observation sufficiently proves, that all profane
despisers of God are inflated with such confidence, that they dare
to attack others. Some conjecture, in this instance, that the priest
was so base, as to become liable to universal reprobation; but this
conjecture is of no weight, and frigid: for the Prophet here did not
draw his pen against a single individual, but, on the contrary,
sharply reproved, as we have said, the perverseness of the people,
that no one would hearken to a reprover. Let us then know that their
diseases were then incurable, when the people became hardened
against salutary counsels, and could not bear to be any more
reproved. It follows -

Hosea 4:5
Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall
fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.

    The copulative is to be taken here for an illative, "Fall,
therefore, shalt thou". Here God denounces vengeance on refractory
men; as though he said, "As ye pay no regard to my authority, when
by words I reprove you, I will not now deal with you in this way;
but I will visit you for this contempt of my word." And thus God is
wont to do: he first tries men, or he makes the trial, whether they
can be brought to repentance; he severely reproves them, and
expostulates with them: but having tried all means by words, he then
comes to the last remedy, by exercising his power; for, as it has
been said, he deigns no longer to contend with men. Hence the Lord,
when he saw that his Prophets were despised, and that their whole
teaching was a matter of sport, determined, as it appears from this
passage, that the people should shortly be destroyed.
    Some render "hayom", to-day, and think that a short time is
denoted: but as the Prophet immediately subjoins, "And fall together
shall the Prophet with thee", "laylah", "in the night", I explain it
thus, - that the people would be destroyed together, and then that
the Prophets, even those who, in a great measure, brought such
vengeance on the people, would be drawn also into the same ruin.
Fall shalt thou then in the day, and fall in the night shall the
Prophet, that is, "The same destruction shall at the same time
include all: but if ruin should not immediately take away the
Prophets, they shall not yet escape my hand; they shall follow in
their turn." Hence the Prophet joins day and night together in a
continued order; as though he said, "I will destroy them all from
the first to the last, and no one shall rescue himself from
punishment; and if they think that those shall be unpunished who
shall be later led to vengeance, they are mistaken; for as the night
follows the day, so also some will draw others after them into the
same ruin." Yet at the same time the Prophet, I doubt not, means by
this metaphor, "the day", that tranquil and joyous time during which
the people indulged their pride. He then means that the punishment
he predicted would be sudden: for except the ungodly see the hand of
God near, they ever, as it has been observed before, laugh to scorn
all threatening. God then says that he would punish the people "in
the day", even at mid-day, while the sun was shining; and that when
the dusk should come, the Prophets would also follow in their turn.
    It is evident enough that Hosea speaks not here of God's true
and faithful ministers, but of impostors, who deceived the people by
their blandishments, as it is usually the case: for as soon as any
Prophet sincerely wished to discharge his office for God, there came
forth flatterers before the public, - "This man is too rigid, and
makes a wrong use of God's name, by denouncing so grievous a
punishment; we are God's people." Such, then, were the Prophets, we
must remember, who are here referred to; for few were those who then
faithfully discharged their office; and there was a great number of
those who were indulgent to the people and to their vices.
    It is afterwards added, "I will also consume thy mother". The
term, mother, is to be taken here for the Church, on account of
which the Israelites, we know, were wont to exult against God; as
the Papists do at this day, who boast of their mother church, which,
as they say, is their shield of Ajax. When any one points out their
corruptions, they instantly flee to this protection, - "What! Are we
not the Church of God?" Hence when the Prophet saw that the
Israelites made a wrong use of this falsely-assumed title, he said,
'I will also destroy your mother,' that is, "This your boasting, and
the dignity of Abraham's race, and the sacred name of Church, will
not prevent God from taking dreadful vengeance on you all; for he
will tear from the roots and abolish the very name of your mother;
he will disperse that smoke of which you boast, inasmuch as you hide
your crimes under the title of Church." It follows -

Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast
rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no
priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will
also forget thy children.

    Here the Prophet distinctly touches on the idleness of the
priests, whom the Lord, as it is well known, had set over the
people. For though it could not have availed to excuse the people,
or to extenuate their fault, that the priests were idle; yet the
Prophet justly inveighs against them for not having performed the
duty allotted to them by God. But what is said applies not to the
priests only; for God, at the same time, indirectly blames the
voluntary blindness of the people. For how came it, that pure
instruction prevailed not among the Israelites, except that the
people especially wished that it should not? Their ignorance, then,
as they say, was gross; as is the case with many ungodly men at this
day, who not only love darkness, but also draw it around them on
every side, that they may have some excuse for their ignorance.
    God then does here, in the first place, attack the priests, but
he includes also the whole people; for teaching prevailed not, as it
ought to have done, among them. The Lord also reproaches the
Israelites for their ingratitude; for he had kindled among them the
light of celestial wisdom; inasmuch as the law, as it is well known,
must have been sufficient to direct men in the right way. It was
then as though God himself did shine forth from heaven, when he gave
them his law. How, then, did the Israelites perish through
ignorance? Even because they closed their eyes against the celestial
light, because they deigned not to become teachable, so as to learn
the wisdom of the eternal Father. We hence see that the guilt of the
people, as it has been said, is not here extenuated, but that God,
on the contrary, complains, that they had malignantly suppressed the
teaching of the law: for the law was fit to guide them. The people
perished without knowledge, because they would perish.
    But the Prophet denounces vengeance on the priests, as well as
on the whole people, "Because knowledge hast thou rejected", he
says, "I also will thee reject, so that the priesthood thou shalt
not discharge for me". This is specifically addressed to the
priests: the Lord accuses them of having rejected knowledge. But
knowledge, as Malachi says, was to be sought from their lips, (Mal.
2: 7;) and Moses also touches on the same point in Deut. 33: 10. It
was then an extreme wickedness in the priests, as though they wished
to subvert God's sacred order, when they sought the honor and the
dignity of the office without the office itself: and such is the
case with the Papists of the present day; they are satisfied with
its dignity and its wealth. Mitred bishops are prelates, are chief
priests; they vauntingly boast that they are the heads of the
Church, and would be deemed equal with the Apostles: at the same
time, who of them attends to his office? nay, they think that it
would be in a manner a disgrace to give attention to their office
and to God's call.
    We now then see what the Prophet meant by saying, "Because thou
hast knowledge rejected, I also will thee reject, so that thou shalt
not discharge for me the priesthood". In a word, he shows that the
divorce, which the priests attempted to make, was absurd, and
contrary to the nature of things, that it was monstrous, and in
short impossible. Why? Because they wished to retain the title and
its wealth, they wished to be deemed prelates of the Church, without
knowledge: God allows not things joined together by a sacred knot to
be thus torn asunder. "Dost thou then," he says, "take to thyself
the office without knowledge? Nay, as thou hast rejected knowledge,
I will also take to myself the honor of the priesthood, which I
previously conferred on thee."
    This is a remarkable passage, and by it we can check the
furious boasting of the Papists, when they haughtily force upon us
their hierarchy and the order, as they call it, of their clergy,
that is, of their corrupt dregs: for God declares by his word, that
it is impossible that there should be any priest without knowledge.
And further, he would not have priests to be endued with knowledge
only, and to be as it were mute; for he would have the treasure
deposited with them to be communicated to the whole Church. God
then, in speaking of sacerdotal knowledge, includes also preaching.
Though one indeed be a literate, as there have been some in our age
among the bishops and cardinals, - though then there be such he is
not yet to be classed among the learned; for, as it has been said,
sacerdotal learning is the treasure of the whole Church. When
therefore a boast is made of the priesthood, with no regard to the
ministration of the word, it is a mere mockery; for teacher and
priest are, as they say, almost convertible terms. We now perceive
the meaning of the first clause.
    It then follows, "Because thou hast forgotten the law of thy
God, I will also forget thy children". Some confine this latter
clause to the priests, and think that it forms a part of the same
context: but when any one weighs more fully the Prophet's words, he
will find that this refers to the body of the people.
    This Prophet is in his sentences often concise, and so his
transitions are various and obscure: now he speaks in his own
person, then he assumes the person of God; now he turns his
discourse to the people, then he speaks in the third person; now he
reproves the priests, then immediately he addresses the whole
people. There seemed to be first a common denunciation, 'Thou shalt
fall in the day, the Prophet in the night shall follow, and your
mother shall perish.' The Prophet now, I doubt not, confirms the
same judgment in other words: and, in the first place, he advances
this proposition, that the priests were idle, and that the people
quenched the light of celestial instruction; afterwards he denounces
on the priests the judgment they deserved, 'I will cast thee away,'
he says, 'from the priesthood;' now he comes to all the Israelites,
and says, "Thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also
forget thy children". Now this fault was doubtless what belonged to
the whole people; there was no one exempt from this sin; and this
forgetfulness was fitly ascribed to the whole people. For how it
happened, that the priests had carelessly shaken off from their
shoulders the burden of teaching the people? Even because the people
were unwilling to have their ears annoyed: for the ungodly complain
that God's servants are troublesome, when they daily cry against
their vices. Hence the people gladly entered into a truce with their
teachers, that they might not perform their office: thus the
oblivion of God's law crept in.
    As then the Prophet had denounced on the priests their
punishment, so he now assures the whole people that God would bring
a dreadful judgment on them all, that he would even blot out the
whole race of Abraham, "I will forget", he says, "thy children". Why
was this? The Lord had made a covenant with Abraham, which was to
continue, and to be confirmed to his posterity: they departed from
the true faith, they became spurious children; then God rightly
testifies here, that he had a just cause why he should no longer
count this degenerate people among the children of Abraham. How so?
"For ye have forgotten my law," he says: "had you remembered the
law, I would also have kept my covenant with you: but I will no more
remember my covenant, for you have violated it. Your children,
therefore, deserve not to be under finch a covenant, inasmuch as ye
are such a people." It follows -

Hosea 4:7
As they were increased, so they sinned against me: [therefore] will
I change their glory into shame.

    Here the Prophet amplifies the wickedness and impiety of the
people, by adding this circumstance, that they the more perversely
wantoned against God, the more bountiful he was to them, yea, when
he poured upon them riches in full exuberance. Such a complaint we
have before noticed: but the Prophets, we know, did not speak only
once of the same thing; when they saw that they effected nothing,
that the contempt of God still prevailed, they found it necessary to
repeat often what they had previously said. Here then the Prophet
accuses the Israelites of having shamefully abused the indulgence of
God, of having allowed themselves greater liberty in sinning, when
God so kindly and liberally dealt with them.
    Some confine this to the priests, and think the meaning to be,
that they sinned more against God since he increased the Levitical
tribe and added to their wealth: but the Prophet, I doubt not, meant
to include the whole people. He, indeed, in the last verse,
separated the crimes of the priests from those of the people, though
in the beginning he advanced a general propositions: he now returns
to that statement, which is, that all, from the highest to the
lowest, acted impiously and wickedly against God. Now we know that
the Israelites had increased in number as well as in wealth; for
they were prosperous, as it has been stated, under the second
Jeroboam; and thought themselves then extremely happy, because they
were filled with every abundance. Hence God shows now that they had
become worse and less excusable, for they were grown thus wanton,
like a horse well-fed, when he kicks against his own master, - a
comparison which even Moses uses in his song, (Deut. 32: 19.) We now
see what the Prophet means. Hence, when he says, "kerubam",
"according to their multiplying", I explain this not simply of men
nor of wealth, but of every kind of blessing: for the Lord here, in
a word, accuses the people of ingratitude, because the more kind and
liberal he was to them, the more obstinately bent they were on
sinning.
    He afterwards subjoins, "Their glory will I turn to shame". He
here denounces God's judgment on proud men, which they feared not:
for men, we know, are blinded by prosperity. And it is the worst
kind of drunkenness, when we seem to ourselves to be happy; for then
we allow ourselves every thing that is contrary to God, and are deaf
to all instruction, and are, in short, wholly intractable. But the
Prophet says, "I will commute this glory into shame", which means,
"There is no reason for them to trust in themselves, and foolishly
to impose on themselves, by fixing their eyes on their present
splendor; for it is in my power," the Lord says, "to change their
glory." We then see that the Prophet meant here to shake off from
the Israelites their vain confidence; for they were wont to set up
against God their riches, their glory, their power, their horses and
chariots. "This is your glorying; but in my hand and power is
adversity and prosperity; yea," the Lord says, "on me alone depends
the changing of glory into shame." But at the same time, the Prophet
intimates, that it could not be that God would thus prostitute his
blessings to unworthy men as to swine: for it is a kind of
profanation, when men are thus proud against God, while he bears
with them, while he spares them. This combination then applies to
all who abuse God's kindness; for the Lord intends not that his
favor should be thus profaned. It follows -

Hosea 4:8
They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their
iniquity.

    This verse has given occasion to many interpreters to think
that all the particulars we have noticed ought to be restricted to
the priests alone: but there is no sufficient reason for this. We
have already said, that the Prophet is wont frequently to pass from
the people to the priests: but as a heavier guilt belonged to the
priests, he very often inveighs against them, as he does in this
place, "They eat", he says, "the sin of my people, and lift up to
their iniquity his soul", that is, 'every one lifts up his own
soul,' or, 'they lift up the soul of the sinner by iniquity;' for
the pronoun applies to the priests as well as to the people. The
number is changed: for he says, "yochelu" and "yis'u" in the plural
number, "They will eat the sin, and shall lift up", &c., in the
third person; and then "his soul"; it may be, their own; it is,
however, a pronoun in the singular number: hence a change of number
is necessary. We are then at liberty to choose, whether the Prophet
says this of the people or of the priests: and as we have said, it
may apply to both, but in a different sense.
    We may understand him as saying, that the priests lifted up
their souls to the iniquity of the people, because they anxiously
wished the people to be given to many vices, for they hoped thereby
to gain much prey, as the case is, when any one expects a reward
from robbers: he is glad to hear that they become rich, for he
considers their riches to be for his gain. So it was with the
priests, who gaped for lucre; they thought that they were going on
well, when the people brought many sacrifices. And this is usually
the case, when the doctrine of the law is adulterated, and when the
ungodly think that this alone remains for them, - to satisfy God
with sacrifices, and similar expiations. Then, if we apply the
passage to the priests, the lifting up of the soul is the lust for
gain. But if we prefer to apply the words to sinners themselves, the
sense is, 'Upon their iniquity they lift up their soul,' that is,
the guilty raise up themselves by false comforts, and extenuate
their vices; or, by their own flatteries, bury and entirely smother
every remnant of God's fear. Then, according to this second sense,
to lift up the soul is to deceive, and to take away all doubts by
vain comforts, or to remove every sorrow, and to erase every guilt
by a false notion.
    I come now to the meaning of the whole. Though the Prophet here
accuses the priests, yet he involves, no doubt, the whole people,
and deservedly, in the same guilt: for how was it that the priests
expected gain from sacrifices? Even because the doctrine of the law
was subverted. God had instituted sacrifices for this end, that
whosoever sinned, being reminded of his guilt, might mourn for his
sin, and further, that by witnessing that sad spectacle, his
conscience might be more wounded: when he saw the innocent animal
slain at the altar, he ought to have dreaded God's judgment.
Besides, God also intended to exercise the faith of all, in order
that they might flee to the expiation which was to be made by the
promised Mediator. And at the same time, the penalty which God then
laid on sinners, ought to have been as a bridle to restrain them. In
a word, the sacrifices had, in every way, this as their object, - to
keep the people from being so ready or so prone to sin. But what did
the ungodly do? They even mocked God, and thought that they had
fully done their duty, when they offered an ox or a lamb; and
afterwards they freely indulged themselves in their sins.
    So gross a folly has been even laughed to scorn by heathen
writers. Even Plato has so spoken of such sacrifices, as to show
that those who would by such trifles make a bargain with God, are
altogether ungodly: and certainly he so speaks in his second book on
the Commonwealth, as though he meant to describe the Papacy. For he
speaks of purgatory, he speaks of satisfactions; and every thing the
Papists of this day bring forward, Plato in that book distinctly
sets forth as being altogether sottish and absurd. But yet in all
ages this assurance has prevailed, that men have thought themselves
delivered from God's hand, when they offered some sacrifice: it is,
as they imagine, a compensation.
    Hence the Prophet now complains of this perversion, "They eat",
he says, (for he speaks of a continued act,) "the sins of my people,
and to iniquity they lift up the heart of each"; that is, When all
sin, one after the other, each one is readily absolved, because he
brings a gift to the priests. It is the same thing as though the
Prophet said, "There is a collusion between them, between the
priests and the people." How so? Because the priests were the
associates of robbers, and gladly seized on what was brought: and so
they carried on no war, as they ought to have done, with vices, but
on the contrary urged only the necessity of sacrifices: and it was
enough, if men brought things plentifully to the temple. The people
also themselves showed their contempt of God; for they imagined,
that provided they made satisfaction by their ceremonial
performances, they would be exempt from punishment. Thus then there
was an ungodly compact between the priests and the people: the Lord
was mocked in the midst of them. We now then understand the real
meaning of the Prophet: and thus I prefer the latter exposition as
to 'the lifting up of the soul,' which is, that the priests lifted
up the soul of each, by relieving their consciences, by soothing
words of flattery, and by promising life, as Ezekiel says, to souls
doomed to die, (Ezek. 13: 19.) It now follows -

Hosea 4:9,10
And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them
for their ways, and reward them their doings.
For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom,
and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to
the LORD.
    
    The Prophet here again denounces on both a common punishment,
as neither was free from guilt. "As the people", he says, "so shall
be the priest"; that is "I will spare neither the one nor the other;
for the priest has abused the honor conferred on him; for though
divinely appointed over the Church for this purpose, to preserve the
people in piety and holy life, he has yet broken through and
violated every right principle: and then the people themselves
wished to have such teachers, that is, such as were mute. I will
therefore now" the Lord says, "inflict punishment on them all alike.
As the people then, so shall the priest be."
    Some go farther, and say, that it means that God would rob the
priests of their honor, that they might differ nothing from the
people; which is indeed true: but then they think that the Prophet
threatens not others as well as the priests; which is not true. For
though God, when he punishes the priests and the people for the
contempt of his law, blots out the honor of the priesthood, and so
abolishes it as to produce an equality between the great and the
despised; yet the Prophet declares here, no doubt, that God would
become the vindicator of his law against other sinners as well as
against the priests. This subject expands wider than what they mean.
The rest we must defer till to-morrow.
    
Prayer.
    
Grant, Almighty God, that, since thou hast hitherto so kindly
invited us to thyself, and daily invites us, and often interposes
also thy threatening to rouse our inattention, and since we have
been inattentive to thy reproofs, as well as to thy paternal
kindness, - O grant, that we may not, to the last, proceed in this
our wickedness, and thus provoke the vengeance thou here denounces
on men past recovery; but that we may anticipate thy wrath by true
repentance, and be humbled under thy hand, yea, be thy word, that
thou mayest receive us into favor, and nourish us in thy paternal
bosom, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
    
Lecture Eleventh.

    One thing escaped me in yesterday's lecture, on which I shall
now briefly touch. It may be asked why the Prophet says, that the
priest was to be robbed of his honour, who was not a true nor a
legitimate priest; for there was among the Israelites, we know, no
temple in which God was rightly worshipped. For though it was
customary with them to profess the name of the true God, yet we are
aware that all their pretenses were vain. Since the lord had chosen
one sanctuary only at Jerusalem, it hence follows, that all the
priests among the people of Israel were false. It could not then be
that God had taken from them their honor. But it is nothing new for
God to punish the ungodly, by taking from them what they seem to
possess.
    The case is the same this day as to the Papacy; for they who
vaunt themselves as being clergy and priests are mere apes: as,
however, they retain the title, what the Prophet threatened to the
false priests of his age may be justly said to them, that their
shame shall be made manifest, so that they shall cease to boast of
their dignity, by which they now deceive the simple and ignorant.
    We now then understand the Prophet's meaning: his meaning is
the same as when he said before, "I will draw thee to the desert,
and then the ephod shall cease, and the seraphim shall cease." There
was, we know, no ephod which the Lord approved, except that alone
which the legitimate priest did wear: but as there was emulation
between the Israelites and the Jews, and as they who had departed
from the true and pure worship of God, did yet boast that they
worshipped the God of Abraham, the Lord here declares, that he would
not suffer them to lurk under such masks.
    I now return to that passage of the Prophet, in which he says,
"They shall eat and shall not be satisfied", and again, "They shall
play the wanton and shall not increase; because Jehovah have they
left off to attend to". The Prophet here again proclaims the
judgment which was nigh the Israelites. And first, he says, "They
shall eat and shall not be satisfied"; in which he alludes to the
last verse. For the priests gaped for gain, and their only care was
to satisfy their appetites. Since then their cupidity was
insatiable, which was also the cause why they conceded sinful
liberty to the people, he now says, "They shall eat and shall not be
satisfied". The Prophet intimates further by these words, that men
are not sustained by plenty or abundance of provisions, but rather
by the blessing of God: for a person may devour much, yet the
quantity, however large, may not satisfy him; and this we find to be
often the case as to a voracious appetite; for in such an instance,
the staff of bread is broken, that is, the Lord takes away support
from bread, so that much eating does not satisfy. And this is the
Prophet's meaning, when he says, "They shall eat and shall not be
satisfied". The priests thought it a happy time with them, when they
gathered great booty from every quarter; God on the contrary
declares, that it would be empty and useless to them; for no
satisfying effect would follow: however much they might greedily
swallow up, they would not yet be satisfied.
    He afterwards adds, "They shall play the wanton and shall not
increase"; that is, "However much they might give the reins to
promiscuous lusts, I will not yet suffer them to propagate: so far
shall they be from increasing or generating an offspring by lawful
marriages, that were they everywhere to indulge in illicit
intercourse, they would still continue barren." The Prophet here, in
a word, testifies that the ungodly are deceived, when they think
that they can obtain their wishes by wicked and unlawful means; for
the Lord will frustrate their desires. The avaricious think, when
they have much, that they are sufficiently defended against all
want; and when penury presses on all others, they think themselves
beyond the reach of danger. But the Lord derides this folly:
"Gather, gather great heaps; but I will blow on your riches, that
they may vanish, or at least yield you no advantage. So also strive
to beget children; though one may marry ten wives, or everywhere
play the wanton, he shall still remain childless." Thus we see that
a just punishment is inflicted on profane men, when they indulge
their own lusts: they indeed promise to themselves a happy issue;
but God, on the other hand, pronounces upon them his curse.
    He then adds, "They have left Jehovah to attend", that is that
they may not attend or serve him. Here the Prophet points out the
source and the chief cause of all evils, and that is, because the
Israelites had forsaken the true God and his worship. Though they
indeed retained the name of God, and were wont, even boldly, to set
up this plea against the Prophets, that they were the children of
Abraham, and the chosen of the supreme God, he yet says that they
were apostates. How so? Because whosoever keeps faith with God,
keeps himself also under the tuition of his word, and wanders not
after his own inventions; but the Israelites indulged themselves in
any thing they pleased. Since then it is certain that they had
shaken off the yoke of the law, it is no wonder that the Prophet
says, that they had departed from the Lord. But we ought to notice
the confirmation of this truth, that no one can continue to keep
faith with God, except he observes his word and remains under its
tuition. Let us now proceed -

Hosea 4:11
Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.
    
    The verb "lakach" means to take away; and this sense is also
admissible that wine and wantonness take possession of the heart;
but I take its simpler meaning, to take away. But it is not a
general truth as most imagine, who regard it a proverbial saying,
that wantonness and wine deprive men of their right mind and
understanding: on the contrary, it is to be restricted, I doubt not,
to the Israelites; as though the Prophet had said, that they were
without a right mind, and like brute animals, because drunkenness
and fornication had infatuated or fascinated them. But we may take
both in a metaphorical sense; as fornication may be superstition,
and so also drunkenness: yet it seems more suitable to the context
to consider, that the Prophet here reproaches the Israelites for
having petulantly cast aside every instruction through being too
much given to their pleasures and too much cloyed. Since then the
Israelites had been enriched with great plenty, God had given way to
abominable indulgences, the Prophet says, that they were without
sense: and this is commonly the case with such men. I will not
therefore treat here more at large of drunkenness and fornication.
    It is indeed true, that when any one becomes addicted to
wantonness, he loses both modesty and a right mind, and also that
wine is as it were poisonous, for it is, as one has said, a mixed
poison: and the earth, when it sees its own blood drank up
intemperately, takes its revenge on men. These things are true; but
let us see what the Prophet meant.
    Now, as I have said, he simply directs his discourse to the
Israelites, and says, that they were sottish and senseless, because
the Lord had dealt too liberally with them. For, as I have said, the
kingdom of Israel was then very opulent, and full of all kinds of
luxury. The Prophet then touches now distinctly on this very thing:
"How comes it that ye are now so senseless, that there is not a
particle of right understanding among you? Even because ye are given
to excesses, because there is among you too large an abundance of
all good things: hence it is, that all indulge their own lusts; and
these take away your heart." In short, God means here that the
Israelites abused his blessings, and that excesses blinded them.
This is the meaning. Let us now go on -

Hosea 4:12
My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth
unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused [them] to err,
and they have gone a whoring from under their God.
    
    The Prophet calls here the Israelites the people of God, not to
honor them, but rather to increase their sin; for the more heinous
was the perfidy of the people, that having been chosen, they had
afterwards forsaken their heavenly Father. Hence "my people": there
is here an implied comparison between all other nations and the seed
of Abraham, whom God had adopted; "This is, forsooth! the people
whom I designed to be sacred to myself, whom of all nations in the
world I have taken to myself: they are my heritage. Now this people,
who ought to be mine, consult their own wood, and their staff
answers them!" We hence see that it was a grievous and severe
reprobation when the Lord reminded them of the invaluable kindness
with which he had favored the children of Abraham.
    So at this day our guilt will be more grievous, if we continue
not in the pure worship of God, since God has called us to himself
and designed us to be his peculiar flock. The same thing that the
Prophet brought against the Israelites may be also brought against
the Papists; for as soon as infants are born among them, the Lord
signs them with the sacred symbol of baptism; they are therefore in
some sense the people of God. We see, at the same time, how gross
and abominable are the superstitions which prevail among them: there
are none more stupid than they are. Even the Turks and the Saracenes
are wise when compared with them. How great, then, and how shameful
is this baseness, that the Papists, who boast themselves to be the
people of God, should go astray after their own mad follies!
    But the Prophet says the Israelites "consulted" their own wood,
or inquired of wood. He no doubt accuses them here of having
transferred the glory of the only true God to their own idols, or
fictitious gods. They consult, he says, their own wood, and the
"staff" answers them. He seems, in the second clauses to allude to
the blind: as when a blind man asks his staff, so he says the
Israelites asked counsel of their wood and staff. Some think that
superstitions then practiced are here pointed out. The augurs we
know used a staff; and it is probable that diviners in the East
employed also a staff, or some such thing, in performing their
incantations. Others explain these words allegorically, as though
wood was false religion, and staff the ungodly prophets. But I am
inclined to hold to simplicity. It then seems to me more probable,
that the Israelites, as I have already stated, are here condemned
for consulting wood or dead idols, instead of the only true God; and
that it was the same thing as if a blind man was to ask counsel of
his staff, though the staff be without any reason or sense. A staff
is indeed useful, but for a different purpose. And thus the Prophet
not only contemptuously, but also ironically, exposes to scorn the
folly of those who consult their gods of wood and stone; for to do
so will no more avail them than if one had a staff for his
counselor.
    He then subjoins, "for the spirit of fornication has deceived
them". Here again the Prophet aggravates their guilt, inasmuch as no
common blame was to be ascribed to the Israelites; for they were, he
says, wholly given to fornication "The spirit", then, "of
fornication deceived them": it was the same as if one inflamed with
lust ran headlong into evil; as we see to be the case with brutal
men when carried away by a blind and shameful passion; for then
every distinction between right and wrong disappears from their eyes
- no choice is made, no shame is felt. As then such heat of lust is
wont sometimes to seize men, that they distinguish nothing, so the
Prophet says with the view of shaming the people the more, that they
were like those given to fornication, who no longer exercise any
judgment, who are restrained by no shame. "The spirit", then, "of
fornication has deceived them": but as this similitude often meets
us, I shall not dwell upon it.
    "They have played the wanton", he says, "that they may not obey
the Lord". He does not say simply, 'from their God,' but 'from
under' "mitachat"; "they have then played the wanton, that they
might no more obey God", or continue under his government. We may
hence learn what is our spiritual chastity, even when God rules us
by his word, when we go not here and there and rashly follow our own
superstitions. When we abide then under the government of our God,
and with fixed eyes look on him, then we chastely preserve our
faithfulness to him. But when we follow idols, we then play the
wanton and depart from God. Let us now proceed -

Hosea 4:13,14
They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon
the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow
thereof [is] good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom,
and your spouses shall commit adultery.
I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your
spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with
whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people [that]
doth not understand shall fall.
    
    The Prophet shows here more clearly what was the fornication
for which he had before condemned the people, - that they worshipped
God under trees and on high places. This then is explanatory, for
the Prophet defines what he before understood by the word,
fornication; and this explanation was especially useful, nay,
necessary. For men, we know, will not easily give way, particularly
when they can adduce some color for their sins, as is the case with
the superstitious: when the Lord condemns their perverted and
vicious modes of worship, they instantly cry out, and boldly contend
and say, "What! is this to be counted fornication, when we worship
God?" For whatever they do from inconsiderate zeal is, they think,
free from every blame. So the Papists of this day fix it as a matter
beyond dispute that all their modes of worship are approved by God:
for though nothing is grounded on his word, yet good intention (as
they say) is to them more than a sufficient excuse. Hence they dare
proudly to clamour against God, whenever he condemns their
corruptions and abuses. Such presumption has doubtless prevailed
from the beginning.
    The Prophet, therefore, deemed it needful openly and distinctly
to show to the Israelites, that though they thought themselves to be
worshipping God with pious zeal and good intention, they were yet
committing fornication. "It is fornication," he says, "when ye
sacrifice under trees." "What! has it not ever been a commendable
service to offer sacrifices and to burn incense to God?" Such being
the design of the Israelites, what was the reason that God was so
angry with them? We may suppose them to have fallen into a mistake;
yet why did not God bear with this foolish intention, when it was
covered, as it has been stated, with honest and specious zeal? But
God here sharply reproves the Israelites, however much they
pretended a great zeal, and however much they covered their
superstitions with the false title of God's worship: "It is nothing
else," he says, "but fornication."
    "On tops of mountains", he says, "they sacrifice, and on hills
they burn incense, under the oak and the poplar and the teil-tree",
&c. It seemed apparently a laudable thing in the Israelites to build
altars in many places; for frequent attendance at the temples might
have stirred them up the more in God's worship. Such is the plea of
the Papists for filling their temples with pictures; they say, "We
are everywhere reminded of God wherever we turn our eyes; and this
is very profitable." So also it might have seemed to the Israelites
a pious work, to set up God's worship on hills and on tops of
mountains and under every tall tree. But God repudiated the whole;
he would not be in this manner worshipped: nay, we see that he was
grievously displeased. He says, that the faith pledged to him was
thus violated; he says, that the people basely committed
fornication. Though the Prophet's doctrine is at this day by no
means plausible in the world, so that hardly one in ten embraces it;
we shall yet contend in vain with the Spirit of God: nothing then is
better than to hear our judge; and he pronounces all fictitious
modes of worship, however much adorned by a specious guise, to be
adulteries and whoredoms.
    And we hence learn that good intention, with which the Papists
so much please themselves, is the mother of all wantonness and of
all filthiness. How so? Because it is a high offense against heaven
to depart from the word of the Lord: for God had commanded
sacrifices and incense to be nowhere offered to him but at
Jerusalem. The Israelites transgressed this command. But obedience
to God, as it is said in 1 Sam. 15, is of more value with him than
all sacrifices.
    The Prophet also distinctly excludes a device in which the
ungodly and hypocrites take great delight: "good:", he says, "was
its shade"; that is, they pleased themselves with such devices. So
Paul says that there is a show of wisdom in the inventions and
ordinances of men, (Col. 2: 23.) Hence, when men undertake voluntary
acts of worship, - which the Greeks call "etelotreskeias",
superstitions, being nothing else than will-worship, - when men
undertake this or that to do honor to God, there appears to them a
show of wisdom, but before God it is abomination only. At this
practice the Prophet evidently glances, when he says that the shade
of the poplar, or of the oak, or of teil-tree, was good; for the
ungodly and the hypocrites imagined their worship to be approved of
God, and that they surpassed the Jews, who worshipped God only in
one place: "Our land is full of altars, and memorials of God present
themselves everywhere." But when they thought that they had gained
the highest glory by their many altars, the Prophet says, that the
shade indeed was good, but that it only pleased wantons, who would
not acknowledge their baseness.
    He afterwards adds, "Therefore your daughters shall play the
wanton, and your daughters-in-law shall become adulteresses: I will
not visit your daughters and daughters-in-law". Some explain this
passage as though the Prophet said, "While the parents were absent,
their daughters and daughters-in-law played the wanton." The case is
the same at this day; for there is no greater liberty in
licentiousness than what prevails during vowed pilgrimages: for when
any one wishes to indulge freely in wantonness, she makes a vow to
undertake a pilgrimage: an adulterer is ready at hand who offers
himself a companion. And again, when the husband is so foolish as to
run here and there, he at the same time gives to his wife the
opportunity of being licentious. And we know further, that when many
women meet at unusual hours in churches, and have their private
masses, there are there hidden corners, where they perpetrate all
kinds of licentiousness. We know, indeed, that this is very common.
But the Prophet's meaning is another: for God here denounces the
punishment of which Paul speaks in the first chapter of the Romans,
when he says, 'As men have transferred the glory of God to dead
things, so God also gave them up to a reprobate mind,' that they
might discern nothing, and abandon themselves to every thing
shameful, and even prostitute their own bodies.
    Let us then know, that when just and due honor is not rendered
to God, this vengeance deservedly follows, that men become covered
with infamy. Why so? Because nothing is more equitable than that God
should vindicate his own glory, when men corrupt and adulterate it:
for why should then any honor remain to them? And why, on the
contrary, should not God sink them at once in some extreme baseness?
Let us then know, that this is a just punishment, when adulteries
prevail, and when vagrant lusts promiscuously follow.
    He then who worships not God, shall have at home an adulterous
wife, and filthy strumpets as his daughters, boldly playing the
wanton, and he shall have also adulterous daughters-in-law: not that
the Prophet speaks only of what would take place; but he shows that
such would be the vengeance that God would take: 'Your daughters
therefore shall play the wanton, and your daughters-in-law shall be
adulteresses;' and "I will not punish your daughters and your
daughters-in-law"; that is, "I will not correct them for their
scandalous conduct; for I wish them to be exposed to infamy." For
this truth must ever stand firm, 'Him who honors me, I will honor:
and him who despises my name, I will make contemptible and
ignominious,' (1 Sam. 2: 30.) God then declares that he will not
visit these crimes, because he designed in this way to punish the
ungodly, by whom his own worship had been corrupted.
    He says, "Because they with strumpets separate themselves".
Some explain this verb "parad" as meaning, "They divide husbands
from their wives:" but the Prophet, no doubt, means, that they
separated themselves from God, in the same manner as a wife does,
when she leaves her husband and gives herself up to an adulterer.
The Prophet then uses the word allegorically, or at least
metaphorically: and a reason is given, which they do not understand
who take this passage as referring literally to adulteries; and
their mistake is sufficiently proved to be so by the next clause,
'and with strumpets they sacrifice.' The separation then of which he
speaks is this, that they sacrificed with strumpets; which they
could not do without violating their faith pledged to God. We now
apprehend the Prophet's real meaning: 'I will not punish,' he says,
'wantonness and adulteries in your families.' Why? "Because I would
have you to be made infamous, for ye have first played the wanton."
    But there is a change of person; and this ought to be observed:
for he ought to have carried on his discourse throughout in the
second person, and to have said, "Because ye have separated with
strumpets, and accompany harlots;" this is the way in which he ought
to have spoken: but through excess, as it were, of indignation, he
makes a change in his address, 'They,' he says, 'have played the
wanton,' as though he deemed them unworthy of being spoken to. They
have then played the wanton with strumpets. By "strumpets", he
doubtless understands the corruptions by which God's worship had
been perverted, even through wantonness: "they sacrifice", he says,
"with strumpets", that is, they forsake the true God, and resort to
whatever pollutions they please; and this is to play the wanton, as
when a husband, leaving his wife, or when a wife, leaving her
husband, abandon themselves to filthy lust. But it is nothing
strange or unwonted for sins to be punished by other sins. What Paul
teaches ought especially to be borne in mind, that God, as the
avenger of his own glory, gives men up to a reprobate mind, and
suffers them to be covered with many most disgraceful things; for he
cannot bear with them, when they turn his glory to shame and his
truth to a lie.
    He afterwards adds, "And the people, not understanding, shall
stumble". They who take the verb "lavat as meaning, "to be
perverted," understand it here in the sense of being "perplexed:"
nor is this sense inappropriate. "The people then shall not
understand and be perplexed;" that is, They shall not know the right
way. But the word means also "to stumble," and still oftener "to
fall;" and since this is the more received sense, I am disposed to
embrace it: "The people" then, "not understanding, shall stumble".
    The Prophet here teaches, that the pretence of ignorance is of
no weight before God, though hypocrites are wont to flee to this at
last. When they find themselves without any excuse they run to this
asylum, - "But I thought that I was doing right; I am deceived: but
be it so, it is a pardonable mistake." The Prophet here declares
these excuses to be vain and fallacious; for the people, who
understand not, shall stumble and that deservedly: for how came this
ignorance to be in the people of Israel, but that they, as it has
been before said, willfully closed their eyes against the light?
When, therefore, men thus willfully determine to be blind, it is no
wonder that the Lord delivers them up to final destruction. But if
they now flatter themselves by pretending, as I have already said, a
mistake, the Lord will shake off this false confidence, and does now
shake it off by his word. What then ought we to do? To learn
knowledge from his word; for this is our wisdom and our
understanding, as Moses says, in the fourth chapter of Deuteronomy.
    
Prayer.
    
Grant, Almighty God, that inasmuch as we are so disposed and
inclined to all kinds of errors, to so many and so various forms of
superstitions, and as Satan also ceases not to lay in wait for us,
and spreads before us his many snares, - O grant, that we may be so
preserved in obedience to thee by the teaching of thy word, that we
may never turn here and there, either to the right hand or to the
left, but continue in that pure worship, which thou hast prescribed,
so that we may plainly testify that thou art indeed our Father by
continuing under the protection of thy only-begotten Son, whom thou
hast given to be our pastor and ruler to the end. Amen.

Lecture Twelfth.

Hosea 4:15
Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, [yet] let not Judah offend;
and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor
swear, The LORD liveth.
    
    The Prophet here complains that Judah also was infected with
superstitions, though the Lord had hitherto wonderfully kept them
from pollutions of this kind. He compares Israel with Judah, as
though he said, "It is no wonder that Israel plays the wanton; they
had for a long time shaken off the yoke; their defection is well
known: but it is not to be endured, that Judah also should begin to
fall away into the same abominations." We now then perceive the
object of the comparison. From the time that Jeroboam led after him
the ten tribes, the worship of God, we know, was corrupted; for the
Israelites were forbidden to ascend to Jerusalem, and to offer
sacrifices there to God according to the law. Altars were at the
same time built, which were nothing but perversions of divine
worship. This state of things had now continued for many years. The
Prophet therefore says, that Israel was like a filthy strumpet, void
of all shame; nor was this to be wondered at, for they had cast away
the fear of God: but that Judah also should forsake God's pure
worship as well as Israel, - this the Prophet deplores, "If then
thou Israel playest the wanton, let not Judah at least offend".
    We here see first, how difficult it is for those to continue
untouched without any stain, who come in contact with pollutions and
defilements. This is the case with any one that is living among
Papists; he can hardly keep himself entire for the Lord; for
vicinity, as we find, brings contagion. The Israelites were
separated from the Jews, and yet we see that the Jews were corrupted
by their diseases and vices. There is, indeed, nothing we are so
disposed to do as to forsake true religion; inasmuch as there is
naturally in us a perverse lust for mixing with it some false and
ungodly forms of worship; and every one in this respect is a teacher
to himself: what then is likely to take place, when Satan on the
other hand stimulates us? Let all then who are neighbors to
idolaters beware, lest they contract any of their pollutions.
    We further see, that the guilt of those who have been rightly
taught is not to be extenuated when they associate with the blind
and the unbelieving. Though the Israelites boasted of the name of
God, they were yet then alienated from pure doctrine, and had been
long sunk in the darkness of errors. There was no religion among
them; nay, they had hardly a single pure spark of divine light. The
Prophet now brings this charge against the Jews, that they differed
not from the Israelites, and yet God had to that time carried before
them the torch of light; for he suffered not sound doctrine to be
extinguished at Jerusalem, nor throughout the whole of Judea. The
Jews, by not profiting through this singular kindness of God, were
doubly guilty. This is the reason why the Prophet now says, "Though
Israel is become wanton, yet let not Judah offend".
    "Come ye not to Gilgal", he says, "and ascend not into Beth-
aven". Here again he points out the superstitions by which the
Israelites had vitiated the pure worship of God; they had built
altars for themselves in Bethel and Gilgal, where they pretended to
worship God.
    Gilgal, we know, was a celebrated place; for after passing
through Jordan, they built there a pillar as a memorial of that
miracle; and the people no doubt ever remembered so remarkable an
instance of divine favor: and the place itself retained among the
people its fame and honorable distinction. This in itself deserved
no blame: but as men commonly pervert by abuse every good thing, so
Jeroboam, or one of his successors, built a temple in Gilgal; for
the minds almost of all were already possessed with some reverence
for the place. Had there been no distinction belonging to the place,
he could not have so easily inveigled the minds of the people; but
as a notion already prevailed among them that the place was holy on
account of the miraculous passing over of the people, Jeroboam found
it easier to introduce there his perverted worship: for when one
imagines that the place itself pleases God, he is already captivated
by his own deceptions. The same also must be said of Bethel: its
name was given it, we know, by the holy father Jacob, because God
appeared there to him. 'Terrible,' he said, 'is this place; it is
the gate of heaven,' (Gen. 28: 17.) He hence called it Bethel, which
means the house of God. Since Jacob sacrificed there to God,
posterity thought this still allowable: for hypocrites weigh not
what God enjoins, but catch only at the Fathers' examples, and
follow as their rule whatever they hear to have been done by the
Fathers.
    As then foolish men are content with bare examples, and attend
not to what God requires, so the Prophet distinctly inveighs here
against both places, even Bethel and Gilgal. "Come not", he says,
"to Gilgal, and ascend not into Beth-aven". But we must observe the
change of name made by the Prophet; for he calls not the place by
its honorable name, Bethel, but calls it the house of iniquity. It
is indeed true that God revealed himself there to his servant Jacob;
but he intended not the place to be permanently fixed for himself,
he intended not that there should be a perpetual altar there: the
vision was only for a time. Had the people been confirmed in their
faith, whenever the name of the place was heard, it would have been
a commendable thing; but they departed from the true faith, for they
despised the sure command of God, and preferred what had been done
by an individual, and were indeed influenced by a foolish zeal. It
is no wonder then that the Prophet turns praise into blame, and
allows not the place to be, as formerly, the House of God, but the
house of iniquity. We now see the Prophet's real meaning.
    I return to the reproof he gives to the Jews: he condemns them
for leaving the legitimate altar and running to profane places, and
coveting those strange modes of worship which had been invented by
the will or fancy of men. "What have you to do," he says, "with
Gilgal or Bethel? Has not God appointed a sanctuary for you at
Jerusalem? Why do ye not worship there, where he himself invites
you?" We hence see that a comparison is to be understood here
between Gilgal and Bethel on the one hand, and the temple, built by
God's command on mount Zion, in Jerusalem, on the other. Moreover,
this reproof applies to many in our day. So to those who sagaciously
consider the state of things in our age, the Papists appear to be
like the Israelites; for their apostasy is notorious enough: there
is nothing sound among them; the whole of their religion is rotten;
every thing is depraved. But as the Lord has chosen us peculiarly to
himself, we must beware, lest they should draw us to themselves, and
entangle us: for, as we have said, we must ever fear contagion;
inasmuch as nothing is more easy than to become infected with their
vices, since our nature is to vices ever inclined.
    We are further reminded how foolish and frivolous is the excuse
of those who, being satisfied with the examples of the Fathers, pass
by the word of God, and think themselves released from every
command, when they follow the holy Fathers. Jacob was indeed, among
others, worthy of imitation; and yet we learn from this place, that
the pretence that his posterity made for worshipping God in Bethel
was of no avail. Let us then know that we cannot be certain of being
right, except when we obey the Lord's command, and attempt nothing
according to men's fancy, but follow only what he bids. It must also
be observed, that a fault is not extenuated when things, now
perverted, have proceeded-from a good and approved origin. As for
instance the Papists, when their superstitions are condemned, ever
set up this shield, "O! this has arisen from a good source." But
what sort of thing is it? If indeed we judge of it by what it is
now, we clearly see it to be an impious abomination, which they
excuse by the plea that it had a good and holy beginning.
    Thus in baptism we see how various and how many deprivations
they have mixed together. Baptism has indeed its origin in the
institution of Christ: but no permission has been given to men to
deface it by so many additions. The origin then of baptism affords
the Papists no excuse, but on the contrary renders double their sin;
for they have, by a profane audacity, contaminated what the Son of
God has appointed. But there is in their mass a much greater
abomination: for the mass, as we know, is in no respect the same
with the holy supper of our Lord. There are at least some things
remaining in baptism; but the mass is in nothing like Christ's holy
supper: and yet the Papists boast that the mass is the supper. Be it
so, that it had crept in, and that through the craft of Satan, and
also through the wickedness or depravity of men: but whatever may
have been its beginning, it does not wipe away the extreme infamy
that belongs to the mass: for, as it is well known, they abolish by
it the only true sacrifice of Christ; they ascribe to their own
devices the expiation which was made by the death of the Son of God.
And here we have not only to contend with the Papists, but also with
those wicked triflers, who proudly call themselves Nicodemians. For
these indeed deny that they come to the mass, because they have any
regard for the Papistic figment; but because they say that there is
set forth a commemoration of Christ's supper and of his death. Since
Bethel was formerly turned into Beth-aven, what else at this day is
the mass? Let us then ever take heed, that whatever the Lord has
instituted may remain in its own purity, and not degenerate;
otherwise we shall be guilty, as it has been said, of the impious
audacity of those who have changed the truth into a lie. We now
understand the design of what the Prophet teaches, and to what
purposes it may be applied.
    He at last subjoins, "And swear not, Jehovah liveth". The
Prophet seems here to condemn what in itself was right: for to swear
is to profess religion, and to testify our profession of it;
particularly when men swear honestly. But as this formula, which the
Prophet mentions, was faultless, why did God forbid to swear by his
name, and even in a holy manner? Because he would reign alone, and
could not bear to be connected with idols; for "what concord,' says
Paul, 'has Christ with Belial? How can light agree with darkness?'
(2 Cor. 6: 15:) so God would allow of no concord with idols. This is
expressed more fully by another Prophet, Zephaniah, when he says, 'I
will destroy those who swear by the living God, and swear by their
king,' (Zeph. 1: 5.) God indeed expressly commands the faithful to
swear by his name alone in Deut. 6 and in other places: and further,
when the true profession of religion is referred to, this formula is
laid down, 'They shall swear, The Lord liveth,' (Jer. 4: 2.) But
when men associated the name of God with their own perverted
devices, it was by no means to be endured. The Prophet then now
condemns this perfidy, Swear not, Jehovah liveth; as though he said,
"How dare these men take God's name, when they abandon themselves to
idols? for God allows his name only to his own people." The faithful
indeed take God's name in oaths as it were by his leave. Except the
Lord had granted this right, it would have certainly been a
sacrilege. But we borrow God's name by his permission: and it is
right to do so, when we keep faith with him, when we continue in his
service; but when we worship false gods, then we have nothing to do
with him, and he takes away the privilege which he has given us.
Then he says, 'Ye shall not henceforth blend the name of the only
true God with idols.' For this he cannot endure, as he declares also
in Ezek. 20, 'Go ye, serve your idols; I reject all your worship.'
The Lord was thus grievously offended, even when sacrifices were
offered to him. Why so? Because it was a kind of pollution, when the
Jews professed to worship him, and then went after their ungodly
superstitions. We now then perceive the meaning of this verse. It
follows -

Hosea 4:16
For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will
feed them as a lamb in a large place.
    
    The Prophet compares Israel here to an untamable heifer. Some
render it, "A straying heifer", and we may render it, "A wanton
heifer." But to others a defection seems to have been more
especially intended, because they had receded or departed from God:
but this comparison is not so apposite. They render it, "As a
backsliding," or "receding heifer:" but I prefer to view the word as
meaning, one that is petulant or lascivious: and the punishment
which is subjoined, "The Lord will now feed them as a tender lamb in
a spacious place", best agrees with this view, as we shall
immediately see.
    It must, in the first place, be understood, that Israel is
compared to a heifer, and indeed to one that is wanton, which cannot
remain quiet in the stall nor be accustomed to the yoke: it is hence
subjoined, "The Lord will now feed them as a lamb in a spacious
place". The meaning of this clause may be twofold; the first is,
that the Lord would leave them in their luxuries to gorge themselves
according to their lust, and to indulge themselves in their
gormandizing; and it is a dreadful punishment, when the Lord allays
not the intemperateness of men, but suffers them to wanton without
any limits or moderation. Hence some give this meaning to the
passage, "God will now feed them as a lamb", that is, like a sheep
void of understanding, and in a large place, even in a most fruitful
field, capable of supplying food to satiety. But it seems to me that
the Prophet meant another thing, even this, that the Lord would so
scatter Israel, that they might be as a lamb in a spacious place. It
is what is peculiar to sheep, we know, that they continue under the
shepherd's care: and a sheep, when driven into solitude, shows
itself, by its bleating, to be timid, and to be as it were seeking
its shepherd and its flock. In short, a sheep is not a solitary
animal; and it is almost a part of their food to sheep and lambs to
feed together, and also under the eye of him under whose care they
are. Now there seems to be here a most striking change of figure:
"They are", says the Prophet, "like unnamable heifers", for they are
so wanton that no field can satisfy their wantonness, as when a
heifer would occupy the whole land. "Such then," he says, "and so
outrageous is the disobedience of this people, that they can no
longer endure, except a spacious place be given to each of them. I
will therefore give them a spacious place: but for this end, that
each of them may be like a lamb, who looks around and sees no flock
to which it may join itself."
    This happened when the land was stripped of its inhabitants;
for then a small number only dwelt in it. Four tribes, as stated
before, were first drawn away; and then they began to be like lambs
in a spacious place; for God terrified them with the dread of
enemies. The remaining part of the people was afterwards either
dispersed or led into exile. They were, when in exile, like lambs,
and those in a wide place. For though they lived in cottages, and
their condition was in every way confined, yet they were in a place
like the desert; for one hardly dared look on another, and waste and
solitude met their eyes wherever they turned them. We see then what
the Prophet meant by saying, They are like an untamable or a wanton
heifer: "I will tame them, and make them like lambs; and when
scattered, they will fear as in a wilderness, for there will be no
flock to which they can come." Let us proceed -

Hosea 4:17
Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.
    
    As if wearied, God here bids his Prophet to rest; as though he
said, "Since I prevail nothing with this people, they must be given
up; cease from thy work." God had set Hosea over the Israelites for
this end, to lead them to repentance, if they could by any means be
reformed: the duty of the Prophet, enjoined by God, was, to bring
back miserable and straying men from their error, and to restore
them again to the obedience of pure faith. He now saw that the
Prophet's labour was in vain, without any success. Hence he was, as
I have said, wearied, and bids the Prophet to desist: Leave them, he
says; that is, "There is no use for thee to weary thyself any more;
I dismiss thee from thy labour, and will not have thee to take any
more trouble; for they are wholly incurable." For by saying that
they had joined themselves to idols, he means, that they could not
be drawn from that perverseness in which they had grown hardened; as
though he said, "This is an alliance that cannot be broken." And he
alludes to the marriage which he had before mentioned: for the
Israelites, we know, had been joined to God, for he had adopted them
to be a holy people to himself; they afterwards adopted impious
forms of worship. But yet there was a hope of recovery, until they
became wholly attached to their idols, and clave so fast to them,
that they could not be drawn away. This alliance the Prophet points
out when he says, "They are joined to idols".
    But he mentions the tribe of Ephraim, for the kings, (I mean,
of Israel,) we know, sprang from that tribe; and at the same time he
reproaches that tribe for having abused God's blessing. We know that
Ephraim was blessed by holy Jacob in preference to his elder
brother; and yet there was no reason why Jacob put aside the
first-born and preferred the younger, except that God in this case
manifested his own good pleasure. The ingratitude of Ephraim was
therefore less excusable, when he not only fell away from the pure
worship of God, but polluted also the whole land; for it was
Jeroboam who introduced ungodly superstitions; he therefore was the
source of all the evil. This is the reason why the Prophet now
expressly mentions Ephraim: though it is a form of speaking,
commonly used by all the Prophets, to designate Israel, by taking a
part for the whole, by the name of Ephraim.
    But this passage is worthy of being noticed, that we may attend
to God's reproofs, and not remain torpid when he rouses us; for we
ought ever to fear, lest he should suddenly reject us, when he is
wearied with our perverseness, or when he conceives such a
displeasure as not to deign to speak to us any more. It follows -

Hosea 4:18
Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her
rulers [with] shame do love, Give ye.
    
    The Prophet, using a metaphor, says here first, that their
drink had become putrid; which means, that they had so intemperately
given themselves up to every kind of wickedness, that all things
among them had become fetid. And the Prophet alludes to shameful and
beastly excess: for the drunken are so addicted to wine, that they
emit a disgusting smell, and are never satisfied with drinking,
until by spewing, they throw up the excessive draughts they have
taken. The Prophet then had this in view. He speaks not, however, of
the drinking of wine, this is certain: but by drunkenness, on the
contrary, he means that unbridled licentiousness, which then
prevailed among the people. Since then they allowed themselves every
thing they pleased without shame, they seemed like drunken men,
insatiable, who, when wholly given to wine, think it their highest
delight ever to have wine on the palate, or to fill copiously the
throat, or to glut their stomach: when drunken men do these things,
then they send forth the offensive smell of wine. This then is what
the Prophet means, when he says, "Putrid has become their drink";
that is, the people observe no moderation in sinning; they offend
not God now, in the common and usual manner, but are wholly like
beastly men, who are nothing ashamed, constantly to belch and to
spew, so that they offend by their fetid smell all who meet them.
Such are this people.
    He afterwards adds, "By wantoning they have become wanton".
This is another comparison. The Prophet, we know, has hitherto been
speaking of wantonness in a metaphorical sense, signifying thereby,
that Israel perfidiously abandoned themselves to idols, and thus
violated their faith pledged to the true God. He now follows the
same metaphor here, 'By wantoning they have become wanton.' Hence he
reproaches and represents them as infamous on two accounts, -
because they cast aside every shame, like the drunken who are so
delighted with wine, that through excess they send forth its
offensive smell, - and because they were like wantons.
    At last he says, "Her princes have shamefully loved, Bring ye".
Here, in a peculiar way, the Prophet shows that the great sinned
with extreme licentiousness; for they were given to bribery: and the
eyes of the wise, we know, are blinded, and the hearts of the just
are perverted, by gifts. But the Prophet designedly made this
addition, that we might know that there were then none among the
people who attempted to apply a remedy to the many prevailing vices;
for even the rulers coveted gain; no one remembered for what purpose
he had been called. Hence it happened that every one indulged
himself with impunity in whatever pleased him. How so? Because there
were no censors of public morals. Here we see in what a wretched
state the people are, when there are none to exercise discipline,
when even the judges gape for gain, and care for nothing but for
gifts and riches; for then what the Prophet describes here as to the
people of Israel must happen. "Her princes, then, have loved, Bring
ye".
    Respecting the word "kalon" we must shortly say, that Hosea
does not simply allude to any kinds of gifts, but to such gifts as
proved that there was a public sale of justice; as though he said,
"Now the judges, when they say, Bring ye, when they love, Bring ye,
make no distinction whatever between right and wrong, and think all
this lawful; for the people are become insensible to such a
disgraceful conduct: hence they basely and shamefully seek gain."
    
Prayer.
    
Grant, Almighty God, that since thou hast at this time deigned in
thy mercy to gather us to thy Church, and to enclose us within the
boundaries of thy word, by which thou preserves us in the true and
right worship of thy majesty, - O grant, that we may continue
contented in this obedience to thee: and though Satan may, in many
ways, attempt to draw us here and there, and we be also ourselves,
by nature, inclined to evil, O grant, that being confirmed in faith,
and united to thee by that sacred bond, we may yet constantly abide
under the guidance of thy word, and thus cleave to Christ thy
only-begotten Son, who has joined us for ever to himself, that we
may never by any means turn aside from thee, but be, on the
contrary, confirmed in the faith of his gospel, until at length he
will receive us all into his kingdom. Amen.
    
Lecture Thirteenth.

Hosea 4:19
The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed
because of their sacrifices.
    
    If this rendering be approved, "The wind hath bound her in its
wings", the meaning is, that a sudden storm would sweep away the
people, and thus would they be made ashamed of their sacrifices. So
the past tense is to be taken for the future. We may indeed read the
words in the past tense, as though the Prophet was speaking of what
had already taken place. The wind, then, has already swept away the
people; by which he intimates, that they seemed to have struck long
and deep roots in their superstitions, but that the Lord had already
given them up to the wind, that it might hold them tied in its
wings. And wings, we know, is elsewhere ascribed to the wind, Ps.
104: 3. And thus the verse will be throughout a denunciation of
vengeance.
    The other similitude or metaphor is the most appropriate, and
harmonizes better with the subject; for were not men to support
their minds with vain confidence, they could never with so much
audacity despise God's word. Hence they are said to tie the wind in
their wings; being unmindful of their own condition, they attempt as
by means of the wind to fly; but when they proudly raise up
themselves, they have no support but the wind. Let us now proceed -


Chapter 5.

Hosea 5:1
Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give
ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment [is] toward you, because
ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.
    
    The Prophet here again preaches against the whole people: but
he mainly directs his discourse to the priests and the rulers; for
they were the source of the prevailing evils: the priests, intent on
gain, neglected the worship of God; and the chief men, as we have
seen, were become in every way corrupt. Hence the Prophet here
especially inveighs against these orders, and at the same time,
records some vices which then prevailed among the people, and that
through the fault of the priests and rulers. But before I pursue
farther the subject of the Prophets something must be said of the
words.
    When he says, "To you is judgment", some explain it, "It is
your duty to do judgment," to maintain government, that every one
may discharge his own office; for judgment is taken for rectitude;
the word "mishpat" means a right order of things. Hence they think
that the priests and rulers are here condemned for discharging so
badly their office, because they had no care for what was right. But
this sense is too strained. The Prophet, therefore, I doubt not,
summons here the priests and the king's counselors to God's
tribunal, that they might give an answer there; for the contempt of
God, we know, prevailed among the great; they were secure, as though
exempt from judgment, as though released from laws and all order.
"To you", then "is judgment"; that is, God addresses you by name,
and declares that he will be your avenger, though ye heedlessly
despise his judgment.
    Some again take "Mitspah" for a beacon, and thus translate, "Ye
have been a snare instead of a beacon." But this mistake is refuted
by the second clause, for the Prophet adds immediately, "a net
expanded over Tabor": and it is well known that Mizpah and Tabor
were high mountains, and for their height celebrated and renowned;
we also know that hunting was common on these mountains. The
Prophet, then, no doubt means here, that both the priests and the
king's counselors were like snares and nets: "As fowlers and hunters
were wont to spread their nets and snares on mount Mizpah and on
Tabor; so the people also have been ensnared by you." This is the
plain meaning of the words. Some conjecture, that robbers were there
located by the kings of Israel to intercept the Israelites, when
they found any ascending into Jerusalem, as we now see everywhere
persons lying in wait, that no one from the Papacy may come over to
us. But this conjecture is too far fetched. I have already explained
the Prophet's meaning: he makes use, as we have said, of a
similitude.
    Let us now return to what he teaches: "Hear this", he says, "ye
Priests, and attend, ye house of Israel, and give ear, ye house of
the king". The Prophet, indeed, includes the whole people in the
second clause, but turns his discourse expressly to the priests and
the king's counselors; which ought to be specially noticed; for it
is indeed, as we shall hereafter see, the general subject of this
chapter. He did not without reason attack the princes, because the
main fault was in them; nor the priests, because they were dumb
dogs, and had also led away the people from God's pure worship into
false superstitions; and so great was their avidity for filthy lucre
that they perverted the law and every thing that was before pure
among the people. It is no wonder then that the Prophet, while
treating a general subject, suitable to all orders indiscriminately,
should yet denounce judgment on the priests and the king's
counselors. With regard to these counselors, they, in order to
confirm the kingdom, had also approved of false and spurious forms
of worship, as it has been before stated; and they had also followed
other vices; for the Prophet, I doubt not, condemns here other
corruptions besides superstitions, and those which we know
everywhere prevailed among the people, and of which something has
been already said.
    And to show his earnestness, he uses three sentences: "Ye
priests, hear this"; then, "house of Israel, attend"; and in the
third place, "house of the king, give ear"; as though he said, "In
vain do they seek subterfuges, for the Lord will execute on them the
judgment he now declares:" and yet he gives them opportunity and
time for repentance, inasmuch as he bids them to attend to this
denunciation.
    Now this passage teaches, that even kings are not exempted from
the duty of learning what is commonly taught, if they wish to be
counted members of the Church; for the Lord would have all, without
exception, to be ruled by his word; and he takes this as a proof of
men's obedience, their submission to his word. And as kings think
themselves separated from the general class of men, the Prophet here
shows that he was sent to the king and his counselors. The same
reason holds good as to priests; for as the dignity of their order
is the highest, so this impiety has prevailed in all ages, that the
priests think themselves at liberty to do what they please. The
Prophet therefore shows, that they are not raised up so much on
high, but that the Lord shines eminently above their heads with his
word. Let us know, lastly, that in the Church the word of God so
possesses the highest rank, that neither priests, nor kings, nor
their counselors, can claim a privilege to themselves, as though
their conduct was not to be subject to God's word.
    This then is a remarkable passage for establishing the word of
God: and thus we see how abominable is the boast of the Papal clergy
of this day; for they spread before us the mask of the priesthood,
when the word of God is brought forward, as though they would
outshine by the splendor of their dignity the whole Law, all the
Prophets, and the very Gospel. But the Lord here upholds his word
against all degrees of men, and shows that both kings and priests
must be brought down from their eminence, that they may obey the
word. Yea, we must bear in mind what I have before said, that though
the whole people had sinned, yet kings and priests are here in a
special manner reproved, because they deserved a heavier punishment,
inasmuch as by their depraved examples they had corrupted the whole
people.
    When he compares them to snares and nets, I do not then confine
this to one thing; but as the contagion among the whole people had
proceeded from the priests and the king's counselors, and also from
the king himself, the Prophet compares them, not without reason, to
snares; not only because they were the authors of superstitions, but
also because they perverted judgment and all equity. Let us go on -

Hosea 5:2
And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I [have
been] a rebuker of them all.

    The verb "shachat" means, to kill, to sacrifice; and this place
is usually explained of sacrifices; and this opinion I do not
reject. But though the Prophet spake of sacrifices, he no doubt
called sacrificing, in contempt, killing: as though one should call
the temple, the shambles, and the killing of victims, slaughtering,
so also the Prophet says, "In sacrificing and killing, they, having
turned aside, have become deeply fixed"; that is, By turning aside
to their own sacrificing, they have completely hardened their
hearts, so that their depravity is incurable. For by saying that
they had gone deep, the meaning is, that they were so addicted to
their own superstitions, that they could not be restored to a sound
mind, however often admonished by the Prophets. Yet this verb has
another meaning in Scripture, even this, that men flatter themselves
with their own counsels, and think that by twining together reasons
of their own, they can deceive God: and this metaphor the Prophets
employ with regard to profane despisers of God, whom they call
"letsim", mockers: for these, while they deceive men, think that
they have nothing to do with God. The same we see at this day:
courtiers and proud men of the same character, flatter themselves
with their own deceptions, and complacently laugh at our simplicity;
because they think that wisdom was born with them, and that it is
enclosed as it were within their brains. But I know not whether this
idea is suitable to this passage. That simpler meaning which I have
already stated, I prefer, and that is, that the Israelites were so
obstinate in their superstitions, that they perversely despised all
counsels, all admonitions, yea, that they petulantly resisted every
instruction.
    But each word must be noticed: "turning aside in sacrificing",
he says, "they became deep". By saying, that they had turned aside
in sacrificing, he no doubt makes a distinction between false and
strange forms of worship and the true worship of God, prescribed in
the law. The frequency of sacrificing could not indeed have been
condemned in itself either as to the Israelites or the Jews; but
they turned aside, that is, departed from what the law prescribes.
Hence the more zealously they engaged in sacrificing, and the more
victims they offered to God, the more they provoked God's vengeance
against themselves. We then see that the Prophet points out here as
by the finger the sin he reproved in the people of Israel, and that
was, - they sacrificed not according to God's command and according
to the ritual of the law, but turned aside and followed their own
devices. Hence it is, that in contempt and in scorn he calls their
sacrificing, killing, or cutting the throat: "they are," he says
"executioners," or, "they are butchers. What is it to me, that they
bring their victims with great pomp and show? That they use so many
ceremonies? I repudiate," the Lord says, "the whole of this; it is
profane butchering; these slaughterings have nothing in common with
the worship which I approve."
    That our sacrifices then may please God, they must be according
to the rule of his word; for 'obedience,' as it has been said
already, 'is better than all sacrifices,' (1 Sam. 15: 22.) But when
men retake themselves to false forms of worship or such as are
invented, nothing then is holy or acceptable to God, but an
abominable filth. And further, the Prophet, as I have said, not only
accuses the people of having turned aside to perverted forms of
worship, but also of having become obstinately fixed in them. They
have become deep, he says, in their superstitions: as he said
before, that they were fast joined to their idols, that they could
not be torn away from them; so also he says now, that they were
deeply rooted in their iniquity.
    It follows, "And I" have been, or will be, "a correction to
them all". Some think that the Prophet in the person of God
threatens the Israelites, that God declares that he himself would
become the avenger, because the people had so stubbornly followed
wicked superstitions, - "I sit as a judge in heaven, nor will I
suffer you to fall away with impunity, since you are become so
hardened in your wickedness." But they are more correct who think
that their sin was more increased by this circumstance, that God by
his Prophets had not ceased to recall the Israelites to a sound
mind, since they might not have been wholly irreclaimable: I have
been to them a correction; that is, "They cannot excuse themselves
and say, that they had fallen through error and ignorance; for there
has been in them a wilful obstinacy, as I have not ceased to show
them the right way by my Prophets. I have, then, been a correction
to them; but I could not bend them, so indomitable has been that
stubbornness, or rather madness, with which they were inflamed
towards their idols." It is now seen which of the two views I deem
the most correct.
    But I will adduce a third: God may be thought to be here
complaining that he had been an object of dislike to the Israelites,
as though he said, "When I sent my Prophets, they could not bear to
be admonished, because my word was too bitter for them." Reproofs
are not easily endured by men. We indeed know, that those who are
ill at ease with themselves, are yet not willing to hear any
reproof: every one who deceives himself, wishes to be deceived by
others. As then the ears of men are so tender and delicate, that
they will patiently receive no reproof, this meaning seems not
inappropriate, "I have been to them all a correction", that is, "My
doctrine has been by them rejected because it had in it too much
asperity." But the other explanation, which I have mentioned as the
second, has been more approved: I was, however, unwilling to omit
what seems to me to be no less suitable.
    We may now choose or receive either of these two expositions, -
either that the Lord here takes away from the Israelites the excuse
of error, because he had continued to reprove their vices by his
Prophets, - or that he expostulates with the Israelites for having
rejected his word on the ground that it was too rigid and severe:
yet this main thing will still remain the same, that the people of
Israel were not only apostates, having fallen away from the lawful
worship of God into their own superstitions but were also
contumacious and refractory in their wickedness, so that they would
receive no instruction, no salutary counsels. Let us proceed -

Hosea 5:3
I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim,
thou committest whoredom, [and] Israel is defiled.
    
    God shows here that he is not pacified by the vain excuses
which hypocrites allege, and by which they think that the judgment
of God himself can be turned away. We see what great dullness there
is in many, when God reproves them, and brings to light their vices;
for they defend themselves with vain and frivolous excuses, and
think that they thus put a restraint on God, so that he dares not
urge them any more. In this way hypocrites elude every truth. But
God here testifies, that men are greatly deceived when they thus
judge, by their own perception, of that celestial tribunal to which
they are summoned; "I", he says, "know Ephraim, and Israel is not
hid from me". There is to be understood an implied contrast, as
though he said, that they were ignorant of themselves; for they
covered their vices, as I have said, with frivolous excuses. God
testifies that his eyes were not dazzled with such fine pretenses.
"How much soever, then, Ephraim and Israel may excuse themselves,
they shall not escape my judgment: vain and absurd are these shifts
which they use; I indeed am not ignorant."
    Let us then learn not to belie, by our own notions, the
judgment of God; and when he reproves us by his word, let us not
delude ourselves by our own fancies; for they who harden themselves
in such a state of security gain nothing. God sees more keenly than
men. Let use then, beware of spreading a veil over our sins, for
God's eyes penetrate through all such excuses.
    That he names Ephraim particularly, was not done, we know,
without reason. From that tribe sprang the first Jeroboam: it was
therefore by way of honor that the name of Ephraim was given to the
ten tribes. But the Prophet names Ephraim here, who thought
themselves superior to the other tribes, by way of reproach: I know
them, and Israel is not hid from me. He afterwards expresses what he
knew of the people, which was, that Ephraim was wanton, and that
Israel was polluted; as though he said "Contend as you please; but
you will do so without profit: I have indeed my ears stunned by your
lies; but after you have adduced everything, after you have
sedulously pleaded your own cause, and have omitted nothing which
may serve for an excuse, the fact still will be, that you are
wantons and polluted." In short, the Prophet confirms in this second
clause what I have before stated, that men, when they flatter
themselves, deceive themselves; for God in the meantime condemns
them, and allows no disguise of this kind. Israel and Ephraim
gloried, then, in their superstitions, as though they held God bound
to them: "This is wantonness," he says, "This is pollution." The
Prophet indeed does here cut off the handle from all those
self-deceptions which men use as reasons, when they defend
fictitious forms of worship; for God from on high proclaims, that
all are polluted who turn aside from his word.

Hosea 5:4
They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the
spirit of whoredoms [is] in the midst of them, and they have not
known the LORD.

    Some translate thus, "their inclinations allow them not to turn
themselves;" and this meaning is probable, that is, that they were
so much given to their own superstitions, that they were not now
free, or at liberty, to return to the right way; as though the
Prophet said, "They are entirely enslaved by their own diabolical
inventions, that their inclinations will not allow them to repent."
But the former meaning (it is also more generally approved) seems
more adapted to the context. "They will not apply", he says, "their
endeavors to turn to their God". Here God declares that it was all
over with the people, and that no hope whatever remained: as he said
before, "Leave them, why shouldest thou do anything more? for they
will not receive wholesome instruction; as they are entirely given
up to destruction, there is now no reason for thee to be solicitous
about their salvation, for that would be useless;" - so also he says
in this place, They will not apply their endeavors to turn to their
God
    If the Prophet speaks here in his own person, the meaning is,
"Why do I weary myself? God has indeed commanded me to reprove this
people; but I find that my labour is in vain; for I have to do with
brute animals, or with stones rather than with men; there is in them
no reason, no discernment; for the devil has fascinated their minds:
never, then, will they apply their endeavors to turn to their God."
If we prefer to view the sentence as spoken in the person of God,
still the doctrine will remain nearly the same: God here declares
that the people were incurable. "Never", then, "will they apply
their endeavors". How so? For they are sunk, as it were, into a deep
gulf, and their obstinacy is like the abyss. Inasmuch, then, as they
are thus fixed in their superstitions, they will never apply their
endeavors to turn to their God
    But God in the meantime not only shows here, that there was no
more any remedy for the diseases of the people; but he also gravely
and severely reprobates their iniquity, because they thought not of
seeking reconciliation with their God; as though he said, "What,
then, do I require of these wretched men, but to return to their
God? This they ought to have done of their own accord; but now, when
they are admonished, they care not; on the contrary, they fiercely
resist wholesome instruction. Is not this a strange and monstrous
madness?" We hence see that there is an important meaning in the
words, "They will not apply their endeavors to return to their God";
for the Prophet might have simply said, "to return to Jehovah," or
"to God;" but he says, "to their God", and he says so, because God
had made himself familiarly known to them, nay, brought them up in
his own bosom, as though they were his children and he their Father:
they had forsaken him and had become apostates; and when the Lord
would now reprove this perfidy, was it not strange that the people
should close their ears and harden their hearts against every
instruction? We hence see how sharp this reproof is.
    And he says, "Because the spirit of wantonness is in the midst
of them"; that is, they are so pleased with their own filthiness,
that there is no shame, no fear. But the reason of this comparison,
which I have before explained, must be borne in mind. As a wife,
though not faithful to her husband, yet retains still some modesty,
as long as she continues at home, and while she is in any place
classed with faithful and chaste women; but when she once enters a
brothel, and openly prostitutes herself to all, when she knows that
her baseness is universally known, she then throws off every shame,
and entirely forgets her own character: so also the Prophet says,
that the spirit of wantonness was in the midst of the people of
Israel; as though he said, "The Israelites are so imbrued with their
superstitions, that they cannot now be touched or moved by any
reverence for God; they cannot be restored to the right way, for the
devil has demented them, and having cast off every shame, they are
like abominable strumpets."
    And he afterwards adds, "Jehovah they have not known". By this
sentence the Prophet extenuates not the sin of the people, but, on
the contrary, amplifies their ingratitude, because they had
forgotten their God, who had so indulgently treated them. As they
had been redeemed by God's hand, as the teaching of the law had
continued among them, as they had been preserved to that day through
God's constant kindness, it was truly an evidence of monstrous
ignorance, that they could in an instant adopt ungodly forms of
worship, and embrace those corruptions which they knew were
condemned in the law. It was surely an inexcusable wickedness in the
people thus to withdraw themselves from their God. This is the
reason why the Prophet now says, that "they knew not Jehovah". But
if they were asked the cause, they could not have said that they had
no light; for God had made known to them the way of salvation.
Hence, that they knew not Jehovah, was to be imputed to their
perverseness; for, closing their eyes, they knowingly and willfully
ran headlong after those wicked devices, which they knew, as it had
been stated before, to be condemned by God.
    
Prayer.
    
Grant, Almighty God, that since thou continues daily to exhort us,
and though thou sees us often turning aside from the right course,
thou yet ceases not to stretch forth thy hand to us, and also to
rouse us by reproofs, that we may repent, - O grant, that we may not
be permitted to reject thy word with such perverseness as thou
condemnest here in thine ancient people by the mouth of thy Prophet;
but rule us by thy Spirit, that we may meekly and obediently submit
to thee, and with such teachableness, that if we have not hitherto
been willing to become wise, we may not at least be incurable, but
suffer thee to heal our diseases, so that we may truly repent, and
be so wholly given to obey thee, as never to attempt any thing
beyond the rule of thy word, and without that wisdom which thou hast
revealed to us, not only by Moses and thy Prophets, but also by thy
only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Lecture Fourteenth.

Hosea 5:5
And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall
Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall
with them.
    
    The Prophet having condemned the Israelites on two accounts -
for having departed from the true God - and for having obstinately
refused every instruction, now adds, that God's vengeance was nigh
at hand. "Testify then shall the pride of Israel in his face"; that
is, Israel shall find what it is thus to resist God and his
Prophets. The Prophet no doubt applies the word, pride, to their
contempt of instruction, because they were so swollen with vain
confidence, as to think that wrong was done them whenever the
Prophets reproved them. It must at the same time be observed, that
they were thus refractory, because they were like persons inebriated
with their own pleasures; for we know that while men enjoy
prosperity, they are more insolent, according to that old proverb,
"Satiety begets ferocity."
    Some think that the verb "'anah" means here "to be humbled;"
and this sense is not unsuitable: "The pride of Israel shall then be
humbled before his face." But another exposition has been most
approved; I am therefore inclined to embrace it, and that is, that
God needed no other witness to convict Israel than their own pride;
and we know that when any one becomes hardened, he thinks that there
is to be no judgment, and has no thought of rendering an account to
God, for his pride takes away every fear. For this reason the
Prophet says, "God will convict you, because ye have been hitherto
so proud, that he could effect nothing by his warnings."
    But he adds, "Israel and Ephraim shall fall in their iniquity".
He pursues the same subject, which is, that they in vain promised
impunity to themselves, for the Lord had now resolved to punish
them. He adds, "Judah also shall fall with them." The Prophet may
seem to contradict himself; for when he before threatened the people
of Israel, he spoke of the safety of Judah, - 'Judah shall be saved
by his God, not by the sword, nor by the bow.' Since then the
Prophet had before distinguished or made a difference between the
ten tribes and the kingdom of Judah, how is it that he now puts them
all together without any distinction? To this I answer, that the
Prophet speaks here not of those Jews who continued in true and pure
religion, but of those who had with the Israelites alienated
themselves from the only true God, and joined in their
superstitions. He then refers here to the degenerate and not to the
faithful Jews; for to all who worshipped God aright, salvation had
been already promised. But as many as had abandoned themselves to
the common superstitions, he declares that a common punishment was
nigh them all. "The Jews then shall fall together", that is, "As
many of the Jews as have followed impious forms of worship and other
deprivations, shall not escape God's judgment." We now then perceive
the true meaning of the Prophet. It now follows -

Hosea 5:6
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the
LORD; but they shall not find [him]; he hath withdrawn himself from
them.
    
    The Prophet here laughs to scorn the hypocrisy of the people,
because they thought they had ready at hand a way of dealing with
God, which was, to pacify him with their sacrifices. He therefore
shows that neither the Israelites nor the Jews would gain any thing
by accumulating burnt-offerings, for they could not in this way
return into favor with God. He thereby intimates that God requires
true repentance, and that he will not be reconciled to men, except
from the heart they seek him and consecrate themselves to his
service; and not because they offer brute beasts. The faithful, no
doubt, expiated their sins at that time by sacrifices, but only
typically: for they knew for what end and purpose God had made the
law concerning sacrifices, and that was, that the sinner, being
reminded by the sight of the victim, might confess himself to be
worthy of eternal death, and thus flee to God's mercy and look to
Christ and his sacrifice; for in him, and nowhere else, is to be
found true and effectual expiation. For this end then had God
instituted sacrifices: so the faithful, while offering sacrifices,
did not suppose any satisfaction to be done by the external work,
nor even imagined it to be the price of redemption; but they
exercised themselves in these rites in faith and repentance.
    The Prophet now, by implication, sets oxen, and rams, and
lambs, in opposition to spiritual sacrifices; for a contrast is to
be understood in the words, "They shall come with their sheep", &c.
What bring they to God's presence? They bring, he says, only their
rams, they bring oxen; but God commands what is far different: he
commands men to consecrate themselves to him, and that in a
spiritual manner, and as to external rites, to refer them to Christ,
and to the true expiation, which was yet hid in hope. Since then the
Israelites brought only their oxen and lambs to God, they in vain
expected him to be propitious to them; for he is not pacified by
such trifles; inasmuch as every one who separates the outward
sacrifice from its design, brings nothing but what is profane.
Indeed, the true and lawful consecration is by the word; and by the
word we are guided to faith in Christ, we are guided to repentance:
when these are neglected and disregarded, and men securely trust in
their sacrifices, they do nothing but mock God. We hence see that
the Prophet exposes not here without reason this folly of the
Israelites, that they sought God with their flocks and their herds.
    And he says, "They shall come", or shall go, "to seek God". By
this sentence he intimates that hypocrites sedulously labour to
reconcile God to themselves; and we even see with what zeal they
weary themselves; and of this there is a remarkable instance at this
day in the Papists; for they spare no diligence, when they seek to
pacify God. But the Prophet says that this labour is vain and
foolish. "Let them go," he says, that is, "Let them weary
themselves; but they shall do so without profit, for they shall not
find God." But when he says, that they would come to seek Jehovah,
he is not to be understood as saying, that they would really do so;
for hypocrites turn aside from God by circuitous courses and
windings, rather than seek access to him. But yet they propose it as
their final intention, as they speak, to seek God: they do not
indeed come afterwards to him; nay, they dread his face, and shun it
as much as they can; and yet when one asks them what they intend by
sacrificing and by performing other rites, the answer is ready on
their lips, "We worship God," that is, "We desire to worship him."
Since then hypocrites are wont to boast of this, the Prophet speaks
by way of concession, and says, "They shall come to seek God, but
shall not find him".
    The Papists of this day pursue a similar course, when they go
round their altars, when they gad away to perform vowed pilgrimages,
when they whisper their prayers, when they hear and buy masses; for
to what purpose are all these things, but by interposing these veils
to escape God's judgment? They know themselves to be exposed to his
judgment; their conscience forces them to pacify God: but what do
they in the meantime? "I will find out a way in which God will not
pursue me: let this then be the price of redemption, let this be a
compensation." In a word, we see that the Papists mock God with
their ceremonies, that they have nothing else in view but to seek
hiding-places: and hence the Lord by his Prophet complains, that his
temple was like a den of robbers, (Jer. 7: 11:) for men securely
sin, when they publicly offer such expiations. Nay, the Papists,
when they mutter their prayers, say that the final intention is
pleasing to God, though they may wander in their thoughts: for if,
when they begin to pray, it should come to their minds, that God is
prayed to, though they may not attend to their prayers, though they
may pollute themselves with many depraved lusts yet, if with the
mouth they utter prayers, they maintain that the final intention
pleases God. -  Why? Because their design is to seek God. This is,
indeed, extremely sottish and puerile: but, as I have already said,
the Prophet does not press this point, but concedes to the
Israelites what they pretended, "Ye seek God; but yet ye run not in
the right way; and these circuitous courses will not lead you to
God." How so? "For ye recede farther from him." So Isaiah says, 'She
will greatly weary herself in her ways:' but in the meantime she
followed not the right way, but, on the contrary, turned aside after
various errors, and thus receded from the Lord, and came not to him.
    By saying, that "God had removed or separated himself from
them", he intimates that he is not propitious but to the faithful,
who think not so grossly of him, as to seek to feed him with the
flesh of oxen or other sacrifices, or to pacify him with
disagreeable odour; but who seek him spiritually and from the heart,
who bring true repentance. It now follows -

Hosea 5:7
They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have
begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their
portions.

    He says that "they had acted perfidiously with God", for they
had violated his covenant. We must bear in mind what I have said
before of the mutual faith which God stipulates with us, when he
binds himself to us. God then covenants with us on this condition,
that he will be our Father and Husband; but he requires from us such
obedience as a son ought to render to his father; he requires from
us that chastity which a wife owes to her husband. The Prophet now
charges the people with unfaithfulness, because they had despised
the true God, and prostituted themselves to idols.
    And he also aggravates this crime by saying, that they had
"begotten strange children": for he intimates, that their condition
had become so vitiated, that there remained no better hope as to
their posterity. Some explain the words, that they had begotten
strange children, in this way, - that they had taken wives from
heathen nations, contrary to the law. But this sense is very frigid.
Others understand, that they had begotten spurious children, because
they brought up their children badly, having, from their infancy,
attached them to depraved superstitions. This is indeed true, but
the prophet, as I have already said, looked further; he meant that
the Israelites had not only become alienated from God, but had also
taken away every hope as to the future. It may indeed be, and it
sometimes happens, that men for a time abandon themselves to many
vices, and afterwards return to the right way; but when corruption
has so prevailed that the children are infected with the same vices,
and impiety itself takes full possession of them, then the state of
things is past recovery. We now then see that the Prophet means,
that the Israelites were not only covenant-breakers with respect to
God, but that they had also led their children into the game
perfidy, so that there was no hope of repentance.
    He therefore subjoins the punishment, "Devour them shall a
month together with their portions." Some restrict the word, month,
to the times of the new moon, or to the new moons; and these days,
we know, were festivals among the Jews: but this seems too
far-fetched and strained. The Prophet therefore, I doubt not, takes
here a month for a short time; and so the Hebrew scholars explain
it, and yet they do not sufficiently unfold this form of speaking.
Now, the Prophets are wont to use various figures, when they intend
to mark out a short time. Isaiah says, 'Yet for three years, as the
time of a hireling:' for hirelings were wont to hire themselves for
three years; hence he says, This is the time fixed by the Lord as
the appointed day. Contracts, also, we know, were then monthly, as
they are at this day yearly, both with reference to the interest of
money and other exchanges. Since, then, they usually made agreements
for single months, the Prophet here, I have no doubt, takes a month
metaphorically for a certain and fixed time. I do not therefore
agree with the Hebrew scholars, who say that only a short time is
expressed by the Prophet, but he expresses not only a short, but
also a fixed time; and he did this that the Israelites might not
vainly look for any deferring or respite, for hypocrites ever
procrastinate and extend time by vain delusions. The Prophet
therefore says here, "A month shall devour them", which means,
"Vengeance is now suspended over their heads, and this they shall
not escape."
    And he says, "with their portions". He intimates here, no
doubt, that though they then overflowed with abundance, yet nothing
would be a help to them to keep them from being destroyed, for the
hand of God was against them. We indeed know, that as long as men
are well furnished with provisions and protection, they are not very
solicitous about their state, but heedlessly despise whatever
dangers there may be in the world: therefore the Prophet says, that
though they were opulent and well supplied, though they possessed
every kind of defense, yet nothing would avail for their safety, but
a month should devour them, together with all their wealth. It
follows -

Hosea 5:8
Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, [and] the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud
[at] Bethaven, after thee, O Benjamin.
    
    The Prophet speaks here more emphatically, and there is in
these words a certain lively representation; for the Prophet assumes
here the character of a herald, or he introduces heralds who declare
and proclaim war. The truth itself ought indeed to storm not only
our ears, but also our hearts, and be more powerful than any
trumpet: but we yet see how unconcerned we are. Hence the Lord is
constrained here to clothe his servant with the character of a
herald, or at least he bids his servant to send forth heralds to
proclaim war everywhere throughout the whole kingdom of Israel. This
was not, properly speaking, the office of a Prophet; but we see that
Ezekiel was ordered by the Lord to besiege Jerusalem for a time, -
and why? Because his whole teaching, after the Jews had been a
thousand times threatened, became frigid: God then added visions,
which more effectually roused torpid men. So also does Hosea in this
place, "Shout with the trumpet in Gibeah, blow the cornet in Ramah,
and sound the horn in Beth-aven"; for God, as we have said, is
pursuing Israel, and will not suffer them to rest; so that the
Israelites might know that God threatens not in vain, that his
reproofs are not bugbears, but that he deals in earnest when he
reproves the ungodly, and that execution, as they say, will follow
what he teaches. In the same manner does Paul also say, 'Vengeance
is prepared by us, and is in readiness against all those who extol
themselves against the greatness of Christ, how great soever they
may be,' (2 Cor. 10: 5, 6.) As, then, the ungodly are wont to make
this objection, that the Prophets preach nothing but words, Hosea
here testifies that he did not in vain terrify men, but that the
effect, as they say, would immediately follow, unless they
reconciled themselves to God.
    Now, as we perceive the Prophet's purpose, let us take care to
receive by faith that peace which the Lord daily proclaims to us by
his messengers. For what is the Gospel but what Paul declares it to
be? 'We discharge the office of ambassadors,' he says, 'for Christ,
that ye may be reconciled to God, and in Christ's name we exhort you
to return into favor with God,' (2 Cor. 5: 20.) We then see that all
the ministers of the Gospel are God's heralds, who invite us to
peace, and promise that God is ready to grant us pardon, if with the
heart we seek him. But if we receive not this message and this
embassy, there will remain for us the dreadful judgment, of which
the Prophet now speaks, and our impiety will procure for us this
awful doom. As though God then were now declaring war against all
the ungodly and the despisers of his grace, the Prophet says that
they shall find that God is armed for vengeance.
    Moreover, the Prophet doubtless has here mentioned "Gibeah,
Ramah", and "Beth-aven", because in these places great assemblies
usually met; and it may be also that they were strong fortresses.
Since then the Israelites thought themselves unconquerable, because
they had invincible strongholds against their enemies, the Prophet
here expressly declares war against them. Everywhere then sound ye
the trumpet, or blow the horn, or blow the cornet, especially in the
chief places of the kingdom.
    "After thee, O Benjamin". Benjamin is here to be taken, by a
figure of speech, for the whole of Israel, because he was a brother
of Joseph by the same mother: the tribe of Benjamin is therefore
everywhere joined with Ephraim. It is at the same time certain, that
the Prophet confines not here his address to one tribe, but
includes, under one tribe or one part, the whole kingdom of Israel.
It follows -

Hosea 5:9
Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of
Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
    
    Here the Prophet asserts, without any figure, that their
chastisement would not be slight or paternal, but that God would
punish the Israelites as they deserved, that he would reduce them to
nothing. God, we know, sometimes spares the ungodly, while he
chastises them: signs of his wrath daily appear through the whole
world; but at the same time they are moderate punishments which God
inflicts on men; and he in a manner invites them to repentance, when
he thus mercifully chastises their sins. But the Prophet says here,
that God would no longer act in this manner; for he would destroy
and wholly blot out the whole kingdom of Israel. They had been
already often warned, not only in words, but also in deeds and had
often felt the wrath of God; but they still persisted in their
course. And now, as God saw that they were wholly stupid, he says,
"Now, in the day of correction, Ephraim shall be for desolation"; as
though he said, "I will not correct Israel as heretofore, for they
have been before in various ways chastised, but have not repented; I
will therefore now lay aside those paternal corrections which I have
hitherto used, for I have in vain applied such remedies: I will then
henceforth so correct Israel, that they shall be entirely
destroyed." We now comprehend the Prophet's meaning.
    But this is a remarkable passage; for men are always slow and
dilatory; even when God pricks them, as it were, with goads, they
remain slothful in their sins. God adds corrections, one after the
other; and when he sees men continuing as it were out of their
senses, he then testifies that it is no time for reproof, but that
final destruction is at hand. We hence see that every hope is here
cut off from the Israelites, that they might not think that they
would be punished in the usual way for their sins; for as soon as
the Lord would begin to reprehend them, he would destroy and blot
out their names: Israel then shall be for desolation in the day of
correction.
    He then adds, "through the tribes of Israel I have made known
the truth". Some regard this sentence as spoken in the person of
God, and refer it to the first covenant which God made with the
whole people; and so consider this to be the sense, "I do not now of
a sudden proceed to take vengeance on the Israelites; for I have
begotten this people, nourished them, brought them up to manhood.
Since this is the case, there is now no reason for them to complain,
that I am too precipitant in taking vengeance." This is one meaning:
but I rather incline to their opinion, who regard this as spoken in
the person of the Prophet; I do not yet follow altogether their
opinion, for they suppose that the fault of the people in being
unteachable is alone set forth: I have made known the truth through
the tribes of Israel, as though the Prophet had said, "This people
is unworthy that God should chastise them in a paternal manner, for
they have hardened themselves in their wickedness; and though they
have been more than sufficiently taught their duty, they have yet
openly despised God, and have done this, not through ignorance, but
through perverseness: since then the people of Israel have blinded
and demented themselves, as it were, willfully, what now remains,
but that God will bring them to desolation?" So they expound this
place. But it seems to me that a protestation is what suits this
passage: I have made known the truth through the tribes of Israel,
as though he said, "This is fixed and ratified, which I now declare,
and it shall certainly be; let then no one seek any escape for
himself, for God threatens not now, as often before, for the purpose
of recalling men to repentance, but declares what he will do."
    That this may be better understood, the mode of speaking in
familiar use among all the Prophets is to be noticed: they often
threaten, and then give hope of pardon, and promise salvation, so
that they seem to exhibit some sort of contradiction: for after
having fulminated against the people, they come at once to preach
grace, they offer salvation, they testify that God will be
propitious. At first sight the Prophets seem not to be consistent
with themselves. But the solution is easy, for they threatened
vengeance to men under condition; afterwards, when they saw some
fruit, they then set forth the mercy of God, and began to be heralds
of peace, to reconcile men to God, and make an agreement between
them. Thus our Prophet often threatened the Israelites; and had they
repented, the hope of salvation would not have been cut off from
them. But after he had found them to be so obstinate that they would
not receive any instruction, he then said, "I have announced the
truth through the tribes of Israel", that is, God does not now say,
"Except ye repent, you are lost;" but he speaks positively; because
he sees that the well known doctrine has been despised: this then is
the truth. It is the same as if he said, "This is the last
denunciation, which shall be fixed and unalterable."
    And Jeremiah also speaks in the same manner: his book is full
of various threatenings; and yet they are conditional threatening.
But after God had taken the matter in hand, he began to act in a
different way: "I now call you no more to repentance, I contend not
with you, I do not now set forth God as a judge, that ye may flee to
him for mercy; all these things are come to an end; what remains
now", he says, "is the last command, to show that you are now past
hope." This is the true and real meaning of the Prophet here; and
whosoever will consider the whole context, will easily perceive that
this was the Prophet's intention. He had said before, "Ephraim shall
be for desolation in the day of correction," that is, "The Lord will
no longer reprove Ephraim as heretofore, but will entirely destroy
him:" then he adds, "I have promulgated or published the truth
through the tribes of Israel:" "Now," he says, "know ye that
vengeance will come shortly, and that it is ratified before God;
know also that I speak authoritatively, as if the hand of God were
now stretched forth before your eyes." Now follows -
    
Prayer.

Grant, Almighty God, that as we are already by nature the children
of wrath, and yet thou hast deigned to receive us into favour, and
hast set before us a sacred pledge of thy favor in thine
only-begotten Son, and that as we have not yet ceased often to
provoke thy wrath against us, and also to fall away by shameful
perfidy from the covenant thou hast made with us, - O grant, that
being at least touched by thy admonitions, we may not harden our
hearts in wickedness, but be pliant and teachable, and thus endeavor
to return unto favor with thee, that through the interceding
sacrifice of thy Son, we may find thee a propitious Father, and be
for the future so wholly devoted to thee, that those who shall
follow and survive us may be confirmed in the worship of thy
majesty, and in true religion, through the same Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
    
Lecture Fifteenth.

Hosea 5:10
The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound:
[therefore] I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.
    
    Here the Prophet transfers the blame of all the evils which
then reigned in the tribe of Judah to their princes. He says, that
the people had fallen away and departed from God through their
fault, and he uses a most fit similitude. We know that there is
nothing certain in the possessions of men, except the boundaries of
fields be fixed; for no one can otherwise keep his own. But by the
metaphor of boundaries in fields, the Prophet refers to the whole
political order. The meaning is, that all things were now in a state
of disorder and confusion among the Jews; because their leaders who
ought to have ruled the people and kept them in obedience, had
destroyed the whole order of things. We now then understand what the
Prophet had really in view.
    But it must be observed that the tribe of Judah had been
hitherto kept separate, as it were by limits, as God's heritage; for
Israel had become alienated. The possession of God had been
diminished by the defection of Jeroboam; and he retained only one
tribe and a half in his service. The Prophet says now, that the Jews
had mixed with the Israelites, and had thus become themselves
alienated from the Lord; for the princes themselves had taken away
the boundaries, that is, they had, through indolence and other
vices, destroyed all reverence for God, all care for religion, and
also every concern for what was just and right: he therefore
severely threatens them, "I will pour out", he says, "my wrath upon
them like waters".
    By this metaphor, he means that God would deal much more
severely with them than with the common people: "I," he says, "will
with full force pour forth upon them my fury, as if it were the
deluge of antiquity." The meaning is, "I will overwhelm them in my
vengeance, because they have done more evil by their bad examples,
than if they had been private individuals." We hence see that the
corruption of the people is imputed to the princes, and therefore
God's more dreadful vengeance is denounced on them.
    But we must bear in mind what I have before said, that the
Prophet gives here metaphorically the name of boundaries to the
lawful worship of God, and to whatever he had enjoined on the
people, that they might be his certain possession, as fields among
men are usually separated by bounds that every one may keep his own.
It follows. -

Hosea 5:11
Ephraim is oppressed [and] broken in judgment, because he willingly
walked after the commandment.

    Here again the Prophet shows that the vengeance of God would be
just against Israel, because they willingly followed the impious
edicts of their king. The people might indeed have appeared to be
excusable, since religion had not been changed by their voice, or by
public consent, or by any contrivance of the many, but by the
tyrannical will of the king alone: Jeroboam was not induced by
superstition, but by subtile wickedness, to erect altars elsewhere,
and not at Jerusalem. The people then might have appeared to be
without blame; for the king alone devised this artifices to secure
himself from danger. But the Prophet shows that all were implicated
in the same guilt before God, because the people adopted with
alacrity the impious forms of worship which the king had commanded.
He therefore says, that "Ephraim is exposed to plunder, that he is
broken by judgment", (or, "shall be broken," for the words may be
rendered in the future tense.) That the people then were thus torn,
and were also to bear in future far more grievous things, was not,
as he says, because they had to suffer all these things
undeservedly, for they were not innocent. - How so? Because they
willingly followed the commands of their king; for the king did not
force them to forsake the doctrine of the law, but every one went
voluntarily after impious superstitions. Since then they willingly
obeyed their king, they could not now excuse themselves, they could
not object that this was done by one man, and that they were not
admitted to consult with him. Their promptitude proved them to be
perfidious.
    Some render "ho'il" to begin," and "ya'al" is often taken in
this sense: but as it oftener signifies, "to be willing," the
Prophet no doubt means here, that the Israelites had not been
compelled by force and fear to go astray after superstitions; but
that they were prompt and ready to obey, for there was in them no
fear of God, no religion. If any one should now ask, whether they
are excusable, who are tyrannically drawn away into superstitions,
as we see to be done under the Papacy, the answer is ready, that
those are not here absolved who regarded men more than God: nor is
terror, as we know, a sufficient excuse, when we prefer our own life
to the glory of God, and when, anxious to provide for ourselves and
to avoid the cross, we deny God, or turn aside from making a
confession of the right and pure faith: but the fault is rendered
double, when men easily comply with any thing commanded by tyrants;
for they show, that they were already fully inclined to despise God
and to deny true religion. Hence the impiety of Jeroboam discovered
the common ungodliness and wickedness of the whole people; for as
soon as he raised his finger and bid them to worship God corruptly,
all joyfully followed the impious edict. There was an occasion then
offered to them; but the evil dwelt before in their hearts; for they
were not so inclined and prompt to obey God. We now then see what
the Prophet had in view.
    He says that God would justly punish all the Israelites, yea,
even all the common people; for though Jeroboam alone had commanded
them to worship God corruptly, yet all of them willingly embraced
what he wished to be done: and thus it became manifest that they had
in them no fear of God. We now see how vain is the excuse of those
who say that they ought to obey kings, and at the same time forsake
the word of God: for what does the Prophet reprove here, but that
the Israelites had been too submissive to their king? "But this in
itself was worthy of praise." True, when the king commanded nothing
contrary to God's word; but when he perverted God's worship, when he
set up corrupt superstitions, then the people ought to have firmly
resisted him: but as they were too pliant, nay, willingly allowed
themselves to be drawn away from the true worship of God, the
Prophet says here, that they had no reason to complain, that they
were too sharply and too severely chastised by the Lord. It follows
-

Hosea 5:12
Therefore [will] I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of
Judah as rottenness.
    
    God now denounces punishment in common on the two kingdoms; but
he speaks not as before, he says not that his fury would be like a
deluge, to overwhelm and drown the people. What then? He compares
himself to little worms which gnaw wood and consume cloths; or he
compares himself to rottenness; for, as we have said, the second
word is to be so taken, as "rakav" is properly rottenness, and is
derived from "rakav", to rot;" it is then rottenness or putrescence.
But as I have said, some would render it, "a grub;" and there is a
probable reason for this, because he first mentioned moth; and these
two, moth and grub, would be more suitable to each other, than moth
and rottenness. However, the meaning of the Prophet is by no means
obscure, and that is, that the Lord would by a slow corrosion
consume both the people; that though he would not by one onset
destroy them, yet they would pine away until they became wholly
rotten. This is the meaning.
    But we must observe why the Prophet used this metaphor. It was,
that the Israelites and the Jews might understand, that though the
Lord would in some measure withhold his hand from resting heavily
upon them, and that though he would spare them, yet they would not
be safe, because they would by little and little feel a slow decay,
that would consume them. And the Lord meant in this way to turn the
people to repentance; but he effected nothing: for such was their
hardness, that they felt not this slow decay; as those who are
stupid are not moved, except they feel a most grievous pain; they
think that they are doing well, and they struggle against their own
disease: many such we see. Hence the Prophet here reminds them, that
though the Lord should not openly fulminate against the Israelites
and the Jews, they yet in vain flattered themselves, because the
Lord would be to them a moth and a worm; that is, that however
gradually he might consume them, they would yet be greatly deceived,
if they did not perceive that they had to do with him.
    The chief instruction is, that God does not always punish men
in the same way; for he deals with them differently, either to
promote their salvation, or to render them in this way more
inexcusable. Hence God sometimes pours forth his severity, and at
another time he slowly chastises us. But whatever may be the way, we
are reminded that we ought not to sleep, whenever the Lord awakens
us; nor should we wait until he appears as a lion or a bear, until
he devours us, until he rages against us in dreadful fury. We are
then reminded that there is no reason why we should wait for this;
but that when God consumes us by degrees, it ought instantly to
occur to us, that though the moth and the worm are but very small
insects, hardly seen by the eyes, yet a hard and firm tree is
consumed by these little worms, or by its own cariousness; and that
cloths are consumed with putridity, when once the moth enters into
them; we see valuable furniture perishing. Since it is so, there is
no reason for men to be secure when God shows any sign of his wrath,
though he pours not forth his horrible vengeance, but is as a hidden
putrefaction. We now perceive what Hosea means in this verse. It now
follows -

Hosea 5:13
When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah [saw] 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.

    Here the Lord complains that he had in vain chastised the
Israelites by the usual means, for they thought that they had
remedies ready for themselves, and turned their minds to vain hopes.
This is usually done by most men; for when the Lord deals mildly
with us, we perceive not his hand, but think that what evils happen
to us come by chance. Then, as if we had nothing to do with God, we
seek remedies, and turn our minds and thoughts to other quarters.
This then is what God now reproves in the Jews and the Israelites:
"Ephraim", he says, "saw his disease, and Judah his wound". What
then did he do? "Ephraim went to Assyria", he says, "and sent to
king Jareb", that is, "They returned not to me, but thought that
they had remedies in their own hand; and thus vain became the labour
which I have taken to correct them." This is the meaning.
    He says that Ephraim had seen his disease, and Judah his wound:
but it is not right so to take this, as if they well considered the
causes of these; for the ungodly are blind to the causes of evils,
and only attend to their present grief. They are like intemperate
men, who, when disease seizes them, feel heat, feel pain in the
head, and other symptoms, at the same time there is no concern for
the disease, neither do they inquire how they procured these pains
for themselves, that they might seek fit remedies.
    So "Ephraim knew his disease", but at the same time overlooked
the cause of his disease, and was only affected by his present pain.
So also "Judah knew his wound"; but he understood not that he was
struck and wounded by the hand of God; but was only affected with
his pain, like brute beasts who feel the stroke and sigh, while they
have, in the meantime, neither reason nor judgment to understand
whence, or for what cause the evil has come to them. In a word, the
Prophet here condemns this brutish stupidity in both people; for
they did not so far profit under God's rod as to return to him, but,
on the contrary, they sought other remedies; because stupor had
taken such hold on their minds, that they did not consider that they
were chastised by God, and that this was done for just reasons. As
then no such thing came to their mind, but they only felt themselves
ill and grieved as brutes do, they went to the Assyrian, and sent to
king Jareb.
    The Prophet seems here to inveigh only against the ten tribes;
but though he expressly speaks of the kingdom of Israel, there is no
doubt but that he accused also the Jews in common with them. Why
then does he name only Ephraim? Even because the beginning of this
evil commenced in the kingdom of Israel: for they were the first who
went to the king of Assur, that they might, by his help, resist
their neighbors, the Syrians: the Jews afterwards followed their
example. Since then the Israelites afforded a precedent to the Jews
to send for aids of this kind, the Prophet expressly confines his
discourse to them. But there is no doubt, as I have already said,
but that the accusation was common.
    We now perceive what the Prophet meant: "Ephraim", he says,
"saw his disease, and Judah his wound"; that is, "Though I have,
like a moth and a worm, consumed the kingdom of Israel as well as
the kingdom of Judah, and they have felt themselves to be, as it
were, decaying, and though their disease ought to have led them to
repentance, they have yet turned their thoughts elsewhere; they have
even supposed that they could be made whole by seeking a remedy
either from the Assyrians or some others: thus it happened that they
hastened to Assyria, and sought help from king Jareb." We then see,
in short, that the stupidity and hardness of the people are here
reproved, because they were not turned by these evils to repentance.
    Some think Jareb to have been a city in Assyria; but there is
no ground for this conjecture. Others suppose that Jareb was a
neighboring king to the Assyrian, and was sent to when the Assyrian,
from a friend and a confederate, became an enemy, and invaded the
kingdom of Israel; but this conjecture also has no solid grounds. It
may have been the proper name of a man, and I prefer so to take it.
For it seemed not necessary for the Prophet to speak here of many
auxiliaries; but after the manner of the Hebrews, he repeats the
same thing twice. Some render it, "to revenge;" because they sent
for that king, even the Assyrian, as a revenger. But this exposition
also is forced. More simple appears to me what I have already said,
that they sent for the Assyrian, that is, for king Jareb.
    Then it follows, "Yet could he not heal you, nor will he cure
you of your wound". Here God declares that whatever the Israelites
might seek would be in vain. "Ye think," he says, "that you can
escape my hand by these remedies; but your folly will at length
betray itself, for he will avail you nothing; that is, king Jareb
will not heal you." In this clause the Prophet shows, that unless we
immediately return to God, when he warns us by his scourges, it will
be in vain for us to look here and there for remedies: for in this
world many allurements come in our way; but when we hope for any
relief, the Lord will at length show that we have been deluded.
There is, then, but one remedy, - to go directly to God; and this is
what the Prophet means, and this is the application of the present
doctrine. He had said before that Ephraim had felt his disease and
Judah his wounds; that is, "I have led them thus far, that they have
acknowledged themselves to be ill; but they have not gone on as they
ought to have done, so as to return to me: on the contrary, they
have turned aside to king Jareb and to other delusions." Then it
follows, "But these remedies have turned ant rather for harm to you;
they certainly have not profited you." A confirmation of this
sentence follows -

Hosea 5:14
For I [will be] unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the
house of Judah: I, [even] I, will tear and go away; I will take
away, and none shall rescue [him].
    
    As I have said, the Prophet confirms this truth, that Israel
had recourse in vain to false physicians, when they left God. How
so? Because the whole world, were it to favor us, could not yet help
us, against the will of God and his opposing power. But God here
declares that he would be adverse to the Israelites; as though he
said, "Provide human aids as much as you please; but will the
Assyrian be superior to me in power? Can he hinder me from pursuing
you as I have determined?" Thus God shows that he would deal in a
new and different manner with the Israelites and the Jews: "I will
not," he says, "be any longer like a moth and a worm; I shall come
like a lion to you, with an open mouth to devour you: now let the
Assyrian king come forth, when I shall thus go armed against you;
can he put any hindrance in my way, that I should not execute my
vengeance, as it shall seem good to me?" We now then perceive the
design of the Prophet.
    He had said, that God would punish the Israelites and the Jews,
by consuming them by degrees, that there might be more time for
repentance: but he says that this would be useless, for they would
not think that it was done seriously. They would therefore deceive
themselves with vain fallacies. What would then at last remain? Even
this, "I will," he says, "put on a new form and go to battle: I will
be to you as a lion and a young lion; I will rage against you as a
fierce wild beast: your grievance shall not now be from moths and
worms; but you shall have an open and dreadful contest with the lion
and the young lion. What then will the Assyrian king avail you?" And
this place teaches, that men, when they attempt to oppose vain helps
to the wrath of God, gain only this, that they more and more provoke
and inflame his wrath against themselves. After God has first
gnawed, he will at length devour; after he has pricked, he will
deeply wound; after he has struck, he will wholly destroy. All this
we bring on ourselves by our perverse attempts, when we try to seek
escapes for ourselves. Except, then, we would willingly kindle God's
displeasure, that he may appear as a lion and rage against us with
the whole force of his wrath, let us take heed, that we deceive not
ourselves by vain reliefs.
    He therefore says, "I, I will take away", or, "tear," or, "tear
in pieces;" for "taraf" properly means this, and it agrees better
with the rest of the context. "I will then, as lions and young lions
are wont to do, tear in pieces, limb from limb, the whole people."
Then he says, I will "go away" as a lion, who, after he has enjoyed
his prey, departs a conqueror with more courage being not put to
flight, for he is moved by no fear. So also the Prophet says, "Let
the Assyrian king come, he will not constrain me to retreat, nor
will he rescue the spoil from me: and when I shall be satiated with
your destruction, I shall not then have any fear on account of the
Assyrian king, that I should stealthily flee away, as foxes are wont
to do; I will not craftily contend; but I will go forth openly, my
violence will be sufficient to put him to flight: I will thus depart
of my own accord; for your subsidies will occasion me no fear. I
will tabs away, he says, and none shall rescue." We now comprehend
the whole meaning of the Prophet.

Hosea 5:15
I will go [and] return to my place, till they acknowledge their
offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me
early.
    
    The word "shachar" signifies the morning: hence the verb means,
"to seek early," or, "to rise early," as men do when they apply
themselves diligently to anything: but in many places of Scripture
it is taken simply in the sense of seeking; and this simple meaning
seems most suitable to this place, "They will seek me in their
tribulation". God here declares, that after having been dreadfully
fierce against both the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, he would for a
time rest quietly and wait from heaven what they would do. He then
adds, "They will at length return to a sane mind: when they shall
perceive the finishing part, they will then, having lost their
perverseness, acknowledge their sins and be truly humbled." This is
the meaning.
    The mode of speaking seems apparently strange, when God says,
that he will go away; for he neither so hides himself in heaven,
that he neglects human affairs, nor withdraws his hand, but that he
sustains the world by the continued exercise of his power, nor even
takes away his Spirit from men, especially when he would lead them
to repentance; for men never of their own accord turn themselves to
God, but by his hidden influence. What then does he mean by this, "I
will go and return to my place?" Why, indeed, he speaks here of the
external state of the people: then the meaning is, "After the two
kingdoms shall be cut off, I will then for a time hide my face from
both the people; and they will think that I care not for their
salvation; they will think that they are far removed from me." We
hence see that the Prophet here only refers to what would be the
external condition of the people; and then we also see, that these
forms of speech are accommodated to the perceptions of men. So God
also himself speaks in Isaiah 18, though for a different purpose;
yet the Prophet expresses there in reality the same thing; 'I will
rest,' he says, 'and I will wait in my tabernacle.' What was that
rest of God, and what was his tabernacle? Why, when God exercised
his judgments, we are then constrained to feel his presence, and
when he kindly favors us and exhibits the kindness of a Father, he
then really shows himself propitious to us: but when he neither
visits us for our sins, nor gives us tokens of his favor, he seems
to withdraw himself from us, and to show no regard for our life. We
now then understand that the Prophet speaks of the time of exile; as
though he said, "After God shall execute against you his extreme
judgment, and ye shall be liken away into exile, God will then
forsake you, as if he in no way regarded you, but were unmindful of
you; for he will leave you there to rest, even in Chaldea and
Assyria; and then he will not send forth any light of salvation. God
therefore will be as it were idle in heaven." This is one thing.
    But the Prophet shows at the same time the final issue, that
is, that they will afterwards return to the Lord; and that this is
also the purpose of God he affirms, "Till they acknowledge", he
says, "that they have sinned". For it is the beginning of healing,
when men consider the cause of their disease. He had said before
that Israel saw his disease, but not in a right way; for the origin
of the disease was hid from him, and continued as yet hid. But now
the Prophet distinctly shows that it is to seek God, when people
acknowledge and confess their sins. This word continually occurs in
Scripture when sacrifices are spoken of. Hence men are said then to
sin, when they go forth before God, making a true confession, when
they acknowledge their guilt and pray for pardon. So also in this
place he says, "Until they confess that they have sinned I will for
a time hide myself." And he adds, "They will seek my face". This is
the second thing in attaining salvation - to seek the face of God:
for we are reconciled to God, we know, by repentance and faith; not
that repentance procures pardon for us, but because it is
necessarily required; it is a cause, as they say, which is
indispensable.
    The first step then towards healing, as we have already said,
is to be touched with grief, when we perceive that we have provoked
the wrath of God, and when thus our sins displease us. But he who is
thus become in himself a sinner, that is, who begins to be his own
judge, ought afterwards to add this second thing - to seek the face
of God, that is, to present himself a suppliant before God, and to
ask for pardon; and this arises from faith. It is then to repentance
that the word "'asham" belongs, which is to "acknowledge sin:" and
to "seek the face of God," properly belongs to faith.
    Now let us see what is the application of this doctrine as to
both people. When the Israelites and the Jews lived in exile, it was
of great benefit for them to have this testified, that God was
hiding his face for a time, that he might afford them time to
repent; this is one thing. Now when men considerately attend to
this, that they are to seek God, that they may repent, they are
encouraged; and this is the sharpest goad to rouse men, that they
may no longer be torpid in their vices: and this is what the Prophet
meant. When the Lord shall banish into exile both the Jews and the
Israelites, let them not think that though for a time he will seem
to cast them away they are wholly deserted; for as yet a convenient
time for repentance will be given them. He afterwards describes the
way of reconciliations that is, that they shall acknowledge that
they have sinned, and then that they shall seek the face of God.
    And at the same time he makes known the fruit of affliction,
and says, "Where affliction shall be to them, then they will seek
me". The Prophet here shows, that exile, though very bitter to
Israel, would yet be useful; as when a physician gives a bitter
draughts or is compelled to use strong medicine to cure an
inveterate disease; so the Prophet shows that this punishment would
be useful to the people, and even pleasant, however bitter it might
be for a time. How so? For they will return to the Lord; and he says
distinctly, "They will seek me". He includes in this expression both
faith and repentance; for he separates not the two clauses as
before, but shows generally that the end of affliction would be,
that the people would turn themselves to God. With respect to the
expression, "to seek early," I have said already that I do not
approve of that meaning; for neither the Israelites nor the Jews,
sought God early, but were with difficulty at lasts after a long
period, and a long series of seventy years, led to repentance. What
sort of seeking early was this? I do not then approve of rendering
the word, 'They shall seek me early;' but, as I have said the simple
idea of "seeking" is more suitable.
    
Prayer.
    
Grant, Almighty God, that as we continue to kindle often thy wrath
against us by our innumerable sins, - O grant, that when thou
warnest and wouldest restore us to the right way, we may at least be
pliant, and without delay attend to the scourges of thy hand, and
not wait for extreme severity, but timely repent; and that we may
truly and from the heart seek thee, let us not put on false
repentance, but strive to devote ourselves wholly to thee, through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


Chapter 6.

Lecture Sixteenth.

Hosea 6:1
Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will
heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
    
    In the last chapter the Prophet said, that the Israelites,
after having been subdued by chastisements and judgments, would
again turn back from following error to seek God. But as terror
drives men away from approaching God, he now adds, that the measure
of afflictions would not be such as would discourage their minds and
produce despair; but rather inspire them with the assurance, that
God would be propitious to them: and that he might set this forth
the better, he introduces them as saying, "Come, let us go to the
Lord": and this mode of speaking is very emphatical.
    But we must know that the reason here given, why the Israelites
could return safely and with sure confidence to God, is, that they
would acknowledge it as his office to heal after he has smitten, and
to bring a remedy for the wounds which he has inflicted. The Prophet
means by these words, that God does not so punish men as to pour
forth his wrath upon them for their destruction; but that he
intends, on the contrary, to promote their salvation, when he is
severe in punishing their sins. We must then remember, as we have
before observed, that the beginning of repentance is a sense of
God's mercy; that is, when men are persuaded that God is ready to
give pardon, they then begin to gather courage to repent; otherwise
perverseness will ever increase in them; how much soever their sin
may frighten them, they will yet never return to the Lord. And for
this purpose I have elsewhere quoted that remarkable passage in Ps.
130, 'With thee is mercy, that thou mayest be feared;' for it cannot
be, that men will obey God with true and sincere heart, except a
taste of his goodness allures them, and they can certainly
determine, that they shall not return to him in vain, but that he
will be ready, as we have said, to pardon them. This is the meaning
of the words, when he says, "Come, and let us turn to the Lord; for
he has torn and he will heal us"; that is, God has not inflicted on
us deadly wounds; but he has smitten, that he might heal.
    At the same time, something more is expressed in the Prophet's
words, and it is this, that God never so rigidly deals with men, but
that he ever leaves room for his grace. For by the word, torn, the
Prophet alludes to that heavy judgment of which he had before spoken
in the person of God: the Lord then made himself to be like a cruel
wild beast, "I will be as a lion, I will devour, I will tear, and no
one shall take away the prey which I have once seized." God wished
then to show that his vengeance would be dreadful against the
Israelites. Now, though God should deal very sharply with them, they
were not yet to despair of pardon. However, then, we may find God to
be for a time like a lion or a bear, yet, as his proper office is to
heal after he has torn, to bind the wounds he has inflicted, there
is no reason why we should shun his presence. We see that the design
of the Prophet's words was to show, that no chastisement is so
severe that it ought to break down our spirits, but that we ought,
by entertaining hope, to stir up ourselves to repentance. This is
the drift of the passage.
    It is further needful to observe, that the faithful do here, in
the first place, encourage themselves, that they may afterwards lead
others with them; for so the words mean. He does not say, "Go,
return to Jehovah;" but, "Come, let us return unto Jehovah". We then
see that each one begins with himself; and then that they mutually
exhort one another; and this is what ought to be done by us: when
any one sends his brethren to God, he does not consult his own good,
since he ought rather to show the way. Let every one, then, learn to
stimulate himself; and then, let him stretch out his hand to others,
that they may follow. We are at the same time reminded that we ought
to undertake the care of our brethren; for it would be a shame for
any one to be content with his own salvation, and so to neglect his
brethren. It is then necessary to join together these two things, -
To stir up ourselves to repentance, - and then to try to lead others
with us. Let us now proceed -

Hosea 6:2
After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us
up, and we shall live in his sight.
    
    This place the Hebrew writers pervert, for they think that they
are yet to be redeemed by the coming of the Messiah; and they
imagine that this will be the third day: for God once drew them out
of Egypt, this was their first life; then, secondly, he restored
them to life when he brought them back from the Babylonish
captivity; and when God shall, by the hand of the Messiah, gather
them from their dispersion, this, they say, will be the third
resurrection. But these are frivolous notions. Not withstanding,
this place is usually referred to Christ, as declaring, that God
would, after two days, and on the third, raise up his Church; for
Christ, we know, did not rise privately for himself, but for his
members, inasmuch as he is the first-fruits of them who shall rise.
This sense does not seem then unsuitable, that is, that the Prophet
here encourages the faithful to entertain hope of salvation, because
God would raise up his only-begotten Son, whose resurrection would
be the common life of the whole Church.
    Yet this sense seems to me rather too refined. We must always
mind this, that we fly not in the air. Subtle speculations please at
first sight, but afterwards vanish. Let every one, then, who desires
to make proficiency in the Scriptures always keep to this rule - to
gather from the Prophets and apostles only what is solid.
    Let us now see what the Prophet meant. He here adds, I doubt
not, a second source of consolation, that is, that if God should not
immediately revive his people, there would be no reason for delay to
cause weariness, as it is wont to do; for we see that when God
suffers us to languish long, our spirits fail; and those who at
first seem cheerful and courageous enough, in process of time become
faint. As, then, patience is a rare virtue, Hosea here exhorts us
patiently to bear delay, when the Lord does not immediately revive
us. Thus then did the Israelites say, "After two days will God
revive us; on the third day he will raise us up to life".
    What did they understand by two days? Even their long
affliction; as though they said, "Though the Lord may not deliver us
from our miseries the first day, but defer longer our redemption,
our hope ought not yet to fail; for God can raise up dead bodies
from their graves no less than restore life in a moment." When
Daniel meant to show that the affliction of the people would be
long, he says, 'After a time, times, and half time,' (Dan. 7: 25.)
That mode of speaking is different, but then as to sense it is the
same. He says, 'after a time,' that is, after a year; that would be
tolerable: but it follows, 'and times,' that is, many years: God
afterwards shortens that period, and brings redemption at a time
when least expected. Hosea mentions here two years, because God
would not afflict his people for one day, but, as we have before
seen, subdue them by degrees; for the perverseness of the people had
so prevailed, that they could not be soon healed. As when diseases
have been striking roots for a long time, they cannot be immediately
cured, but there is need of slow and various remedies; and were a
physician to attempt immediately to remove a disease which had taken
full possession of a man, he certainly would not cure him, but take
away his life: so also, when the Israelites, through their long
obstinacy, had become nearly incurable, it was necessary to lead
them to repentance by slow punishments. They therefore said, "After
two days God will revive us"; and thus they confirmed themselves in
the hope of salvation, though it did not immediately appear: though
they long remained in darkness, and the exile was long which they
had to endure, they yet did not cease to hope: "Well, let the two
days pass, and the Lord will revive us."
    We see that a consolation is here opposed to the temptations,
which take from us the hope of salvation, when God suspends his
favor longer than our flesh desires. Martha said to Christ, 'He is
now putrid, it is the fourth day.' She thought it absurd to remove
the stone from the sepulchre, because now the body of Lazarus was
putrified. But Christ in this instance designed to show his own
incredible power by restoring a putrid body to life. So the faithful
say here, "The Lord will raise us up after two days": "Though exile
seems to be like the sepulchre, where putridity awaits us, yet the
Lord will, by his ineffable power, overcome whatever may seem to
obstruct our restoration." We now perceive, as I think, the simple
and genuine sense of this passage.
    But at the same time I do not deny but that God has exhibited a
remarkable and a memorable instance of what is here said in his
only-begotten Son. As often then as delay begets weariness in us,
and when God seems to have thrown aside every care of us, let us
flee to Christ; for, as it has been said, His resurrection is a
mirror of our life; for we see in that how God is wont to deal with
his own people: the Father did not restore life to Christ as soon as
he was taken down from the cross; he was deposited in the sepulchre,
and he lay there to the third day. When God then intends that we
should languish for a time, let us know that we are thus represented
in Christ our head, and hence let us gather materials of confidence.
We have then in Christ an illustrious proof of this prophecy. But in
the first place, let us lay hold on what we have said, that the
faithful here obtain hope for themselves, though God extends not
immediately his hand to them, but defers for a time his grace of
redemption.
    Then he adds, "We shall live in his sight", or before him. Here
again the faithful strengthen themselves, for God would favor them
with his paternal countenance, after he had long turned his back on
them, "We shall live before his face". For as long as God cares not
for us, a sure destruction awaits us; but as soon as he turns his
eyes to us, he inspires life by his look alone. Then the faithful
promise this good to themselves that God's face will shine again
after long darkness: hence also they gather the hope of life, and at
the same time withdraw themselves from all those obstacles which
obscure the light of life; for while we run and wander here and
there, we cannot lay hold on the life which God promises to us, as
the charms of this world are so many veils, which prevent our eyes
to see the paternal face of God. We must then remember that this
sentence is added, that the faithful, when it pleases God to turn
his back on them, may not doubt but that he will again look on them.
Let us now go on -

Hosea 6:3
Then shall we know, [if] we follow on to know the LORD: his going
forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the
rain, as the latter [and] former rain unto the earth.
    
    In this verse the faithful pursue what we have before
considered, making the hope of salvation sure to themselves: nor is
it a matter of wonder that the Prophet dwells more fully on this
subject; for we know how prone we are to entertain doubt. There is
nothing more difficult, especially when God shows to us signs of his
wrath, than to recover us, so that we may be really persuaded that
he is our physician, when he seems to visit us for our sins. We must
then, in this case, earnestly strive, for it cannot be done without
labour. Hence the faithful now say, "We shall know, and we shall
pursue to know Jehovah". They show then by these words that they
distrust not, but that light would arise after darkness; for this is
the meaning of the words: We shall then know, they say; that is,
"Though there is now on every side horrible darkness, yet the Lord
will manifest his goodness to us, even though it may not immediately
appear." They therefore add, "And we shall pursue after the
knowledge of Jehovah". We now perceive the purport of the words.
    Now this passage teaches us, that when God hides his face, we
act foolishly if we cherish our unbelief; for we ought, on the
contrary, as I have already said, to contend with this destructive
disease, inasmuch as Satan seeks nothing else but to sink us in
despair. This his device then ought to be understood by us, as Paul
reminds us, (2 Cor. 2: 11;) and the Holy Spirit supplies us here
with weapons, by which we may repel this temptation of Satan, "What?
Thou seest that God is angry with thee; nor is it of any use to thee
to attempt to come to him, for every access is shut up." This is
what Satan suggests to us, when we are sensible of our sins. What is
to be done? The Prophet here propounds a remedy, "We shall know;"
"Though now we are sunk in thick darkness, though there never shines
on us, no, not even a spark of light, yet we shall know (as Isaiah
says, 'I will hope in the Lord, who hides his face from Jacob') that
this is the true exercise of our faith, when we lift up our eyes to
the light which seems to be extinguished, and when in the darkness
of death we yet continue to promise to ourselves life, as we are
here taught: We shall then know; further, We shall pursue after the
knowledge of Jehovah; though God withdraws his face, and, as it were
designedly, doubles the darkness, and all knowledge of his grace be,
as it were, extinct, we shall yet pursue after this knowledge; that
is, no obstacle shall keep us from striving, and our efforts will at
length make their way to that grace which seems to be wholly
excluded from us."
    Some give this rendering, We shall know, and shall pursue on to
know Jehovah, and explain the passage thus, - that the Israelites
had derived no such benefit from the law of Moses, but that they
still expected the fuller doctrine, which Christ brought at his
coming. They then think that this is a prophecy respecting that
doctrine, which is now by the Gospel set forth to us in its full
brightness, because God has manifested himself in his Son as in a
living image. But this is too refined an exposition; and it is
enough for us to keep close to the design of the Prophet. He indeed
introduces the godly thus speaking for this reason - because there
was need of great and strong effort, that they might rise up to the
hope of salvation; for it was not to be the exile of one day, but of
seventy years. When therefore so heavy a trial awaited the godly,
the Prophet here wished to prepare them for the laborious warfare:
"We shall then know, and follow on to know Jehovah".
    Then he says, "As the morning shall come to us his going
forth", - a similitude the most appropriate; for here the faithful
call to mind the continued succession of days and nights. No wonder
that God bids us to hope for his grace, the sight of which is yet
hid from us; for except we had learnt by long experience, who could
hope for sudden light when the darkness of night prevails? Should we
not think that the earth is wholly deprived of light? But seeing
that the dawn suddenly shines, and puts an end to the darkness of
night, and dispels it, what wonder is it that the Lord should shine
forth beyond our expectation? His going forth then shall be like the
morning.
    He here calls a new manifestation the going forth of God, that
is, when God shows that he regards his people with favor, when he
shows that he is mindful of the covenant which he made with Abraham;
for as long as the people were exiled from their country, God seemed
not, as we have said, to look on them any more; nay, the judgment of
the flesh only suggested this, that God was far distant from his
people. He then calls it the going forth of God, when God should
show himself propitious to the captives, and should wholly restore
them; then the going forth of God shall come, and shall be like the
morning. We now then see that he confirms them by the order of
nature, as Paul does, when he chides the unbelief of those to whom a
future resurrection seemed incredible, because it surpasses the
thoughts of the flesh; "O fool!" he says, "does thou not see that
what thou sowest first decays and then germinates? God now sets
before thee in a decaying seed an emblem of the future
resurrection." So also in this place, since light daily rises to us,
and the morning shines after the darkness of night, what then will
not the Lord effect by himself, who works so powerfully by material
things? When he will put forth his full power, what, think we, will
he do? Will he not much more surpass all the thoughts of our flesh?
We now then see why this similitude was added.
    He afterwards describes to us the effect of this manifestation,
"He shall come", he says, "as the rain to us, as the late rain, a
rain to the earth". This comparison shows, that as soon as God will
deign to look on his people, his countenance will be like the rain,
which irrigates the earth. When the earth is dry after long heat and
long drought, it seems to be incapable of producing fruit; but rain
restores to it its moisture and vigor. Thus then the Prophet, in the
person of the faithful, does here strengthen the hope of a full
restoration. He shall come to us as the rain, as the late rain.
    The Hebrews call the late rain "malkosh", by which the corn was
ripened. And it seems that the Prophet meant the vernal rain by the
word "geshem". But the sense is clearly this, that though the
Israelites had become so dry that they had no longer any vigor,
there would yet be no less virtue in God's grace than in the rain,
which fructifies the earth when it seems to be barren. But when at
the end he adds, a rain to the earth, I doubt not but that he meant
seasonable rain, which is pleasant and acceptable to the earth, or
which the earth really wants; for a violent shower cannot be called
properly a rain to the earth, because it is destructive and hurtful.
It follows -

Hosea 6:4
O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto
thee? for your goodness [is] as a morning cloud, and as the early
dew it goeth away.

    Some so expound this passage as that God would not once
irrigate his people, but would continue this favor; as though he
said, "He is deceived, who thinks that the redemption, which I bid
you to hope from me, will be momentary, for I will, by a continued
progress, lead my people to a full fruition of salvation." But this
sense is altogether foreign. The Prophet then, no doubts introduces
God here as speaking thus, "What shall I do to you? because ye
cannot receive my favor, so great is your depravity." The context
seems indeed to be in this way broken off; but we must remember this
canon, that whenever the Prophets make known the grace of God, they
at the same time add an exception, lest hypocrites falsely apply to
themselves what is offered to the faithful alone. The Prophets, we
know, never threatened ruin to the people, but that they added some
promise, lest the faithful should despair, which must have been the
case, except some mitigation had been made known to them. Hence the
Prophets do this in common, - they moderate their threatening and
severity by adding a hope of God's favor. But at the same time, as
hypocrites ever draw to themselves what belongs only to the
faithful, and thus heedlessly deride God, the Prophets add another
exception, by which they signify, that God's promise of being
gracious and merciful to his people is not to be deemed universal,
and as appertaining to all indiscriminately.
    I will more fully repeat this again: The Prophets had to do
with the whole people; they had to do with the few faithful, for
there was a small number of godly people among the Israelites as
well as among the Jews. When therefore the Prophets reproved the
people, they addressed the whole body: but at the same time, as
there was some remnant seed, they mingled, as I have said,
consolations, and mingled them, that the elect of God might ever
recumb on his mercy, and thus patiently submit to his rod, and
continue in his fear, knowing that there is in him a sure salvation.
Hence the promises which we see inserted by the Prophets among
threats and chidings, ought not to be referred in common to all, or
indiscriminately to the people, but only, as we have said, to the
faithful, who were then but few in number. This then is the reason
why the prophets shook off self-complacencies from the wicked
despisers of God, when they added, "Ye ought not to hope any
salvation from the promise I set forth to God's children; for God
throws not to dogs the bread which he has destined for his children
alone." In the same strain we find another Prophet speaking, 'To
what end is the day of the Lord to you? It is a day of darkness, and
not of light, a day of death, and not of life,' (Amos 5: 18.) For as
often as they heard of the covenant which God made with Abraham,
that it would not be void, they thus vaunted, "We are now indeed
severely treated, but in a little while God will rescue us from our
evils; for he is our Father, he has not in vain adopted us, he has
not in vain redeemed and chosen our race, we are his peculiar
possession and heritage." Thus then the presumptuous flatter
themselves; and this indeed they seem to have in common with the
faithful; for the faithful also, though in the deepest abyss of
death, yet behold the light of life; for by faith, as we have said,
they penetrate beyond this world. But at the same time they approach
God in real penitence, while the ungodly remain in their
perverseness, and vainly flatter themselves, thinking that whatever
God promises belongs to them.
    Let us now then return to our Prophet. He had said, "In their
tribulation they will seek me:" he had afterwards, in the words used
by the people, explained how the faithful would turn themselves to
God, and what true repentance would bring with it. It now follows,
"What shall I do to thee, Ephraim? what shall I do to thee, Judah?"
that is, "What shall I do to all of you?" The people was now divided
into two kingdoms: the kingdom of Judah had its own name; the ten
tribes had, as it has been said, the common name of Israel. Then
after the Prophet gave hope of pardon to the children of God, he
turns himself to the whole body of the people, which was corrupt,
and says, "What shall I do now to you, both Jews and Israelites?"
Now God, by these words, intimates that he had tried all remedies,
and found them useless: "What more then," he says, "shall I do to
you? Ye are wholly incurable, ye are inexcusable, and altogether
past hope; for no means have been omitted by me, by which I could
promote your salvation; but I have lost all my labour; as I have
effected nothing by punishments and chastisements, as my favor also
has had no account among you, what now remains, but that I must
wholly cast you away?"
    We now then see how varied is the mode of speaking adopted by
the Prophets; for they had to do, not with one class of men, but
with the children of God, and also with the wicked, who continued
obstinately in their vices. Hence then it was, that they changed
their language, and so necessarily. Alike is the complaint we read
in Isaiah, chap. 1, except that there mention is only made of
punishments, 'Why should I strike you more? for I have hitherto
effected nothing: from the sole of the foot to the top of the head
there is no soundness; and yet ye remain like yourselves.' In chap.
5 he speaks of God's favors, 'What could have been done more to my
vineyard than what I have done?' In these two places the Prophet
shows that the people were so lost, that they could not be brought
into a sane mind; for God had in various ways tried to heal them,
and their diseases remained incurable.
    Let us now return to the words of Hosea, "What shall I do to
thee, Ephraim? What shall I do to thee Judah?" "I indeed offer
pardon to all, but ye still continue obstinately in your sins; nay,
my favor is by you scorned: I do not therefore now contend with you;
but declare to you that the door of salvation is closed." Why?
"Because I have hitherto in various ways tried in vain to heal you."
    He afterwards says that their goodness was like the morning
dew, "Your goodness", he says, is as the dew of the morning." Some
take "chesed" for the kindness which God had exercised towards both
the Israelites and the Jews. Then it is, "Your kindness," that is,
the mercy which I have hitherto exhibited to you, "is as the morning
dew, as the cloud which passes away early in the morning", that is,
"Ye immediately dry up my favor;" and this seems not unsuitable, for
we see that the unbelieving by their wickedness absorb the mercy of
God, so that it produces no good, as when rain flows over a rock or
a stone, while the stone within, on account of its hardness, remains
dry. As then the moisture of rain does not penetrate into stones, so
also the grace of God is spent in vain and without advantage on the
unbelieving.
    But the Prophet speaks rather of their goodness, that they made
a show of feigned excellency, which vanished like the morning dew;
for as soon as the sun rises, it draws the dew upwards, so that it
appears no more; the clouds also pass away. The Prophet says that
the Jews and the Israelites were like the morning clouds and the
dew, because there was in them no solid or inward goodness, but it
was only of an evanescent kind; they had, as they say, only the
appearance of goodness.
    We now then perceive the meaning of the Prophet, that God here
complains that he had to do with hypocrites. Faith, we know, is
regarded by him; there is nothing that pleases God more than
sincerity of heart. We know further, that doctrine is spread in
vain, except it be received in a serious manner. Then, as hypocrites
transform themselves in various ways, and make a display of some
guises of goodness, while they have nothing solid in them, God
complains that he loses all his labour: and he says at length that
he will no longer spend labour in vain on hypocritical men, who have
nothing but falsehood and dissimulation; and this is what he means,
when he intimates that he should do nothing more to the Israelites
and the Jews.
    
Prayer.
    
Grant, Almighty God, that as we do not, by due gratitude, respond to
thy favors, and after having tasted of thy mercy, have willingly
sought ruin to ourselves, - O grant, that we, being renewed by thy
Spirit, may not only remain constant in the fear of thy name, but
also advance more and more and be established; that being thus armed
with thy invincible power, we may strenuously fight against all the
wiles and assaults of Satan, and thus pursue our warfare to the end,
- and that being thus sustained by thy mercy, we may ever aspire to
that life which is hid for us in heaven, through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.

Lecture Seventeenth.

Hosea 6:5
Therefore have I hewed [them] by the prophets; I have slain them by
the words of my mouth: and thy judgments [are as] the light [that]
goeth forth.

    God shows here, by his Prophet, that he was constrained by
urgent necessity to deal sharply and roughly with the people.
Nothing, we know, is more pleasing to God than to treat us kindly;
for there is not found a father in the world who cherishes his
children as tenderly: but we, being perverse, suffer him not to
follow the inclination of his nature. He is therefore constrained to
put on, as it were, a new characters and to chide us severely,
according to the way in which he here says, he had treated the
Israelites; "I have cut them, he says, by my prophets, and killed
them by the words of my mouth".
    Some render the words otherwise, as though God had killed the
Prophets, meaning thereby the impostors, who corrupted the pure
worship of God by their errors. But this view seems not to me in any
way suitable; and we know that it was a common mode of speaking
among the Hebrews, to express the same thing in two ways. So the
Prophet speaks here, I have cut or hewed them by my Prophets, I have
killed them by the cords of my mouth. In the second clause he
repeats, I doubt note what we have already briefly explained,
namely, that God had cut or hewed them by his Prophets.
    But we must see for what purpose God declares here that he had
commanded his Prophets to treat the people roughly. Hypocrites we
indeed know, however much in various ways they mock God, are yet
tender, and cannot bear any rebuke. Their sine are gross, except
when they disguise themselves; but at the same time, when God begins
to reprove, they expostulate and say, "What does this mean? God
everywhere declares that he is kind and merciful; but he fulminates
now against us: this seems not consistent with his nature." Thus
then hypocrites would have God to be their batterer. He now answers,
that he had been constrained, not only for a just cause, but also
necessarily, to kill them, and to make his word by the Prophets like
a hammer or an ax. This is the reason, he says, why my Prophets have
not endeavored mildly and gently to allure the people. For God
kindly and sweetly draws or invites to himself those whom he sees to
be teachable; but when he sees so great a perverseness in men, that
he cannot bend them by his goodness, he then begins, as we have
said, to put on a new character. We now then under stand God's
design: that hypocrites might not complain that they had been
otherwise treated than what is consistent with God's nature, the
Prophet here answers in God's name, "Ye have forced me to this
severity; for there was need of a hard wedge, as they say, for a
hard knot: "I have therefore hewed you by my Prophets, I have hewed
you by the words of my mouth"; that is, I have used my word as an
ax: for ye were like knotty and tough wood; it was therefore
necessary that my word should be to you like an ax: and I have
killed you by the words of my mouth; that is my word has not been
sweet food to you, as it is wont to be to meek men; but it has been
like a two-edged sword; it was therefore necessary to slay you, as
ye would not bear me to be a Father to you."
    It then follows "Thy judgments are light that goes forth". Some
understand by "judgments" prosperity as if God were here reproaching
the Israelites, that it was not his fault that he did not win them:
"I have not neglected to treat you kindly, and under my protection
to defend you; but ye are ungrateful." But this is a strained
exposition. The greater part of interpreters explain the passage
thus, "That thy judgments might be a light going forth." But I do
not see why we should change any thing in the Prophet's words. God
then simply intimates here, that he had made known to the Israelites
the rule of a religious and holy life, so that they could not
pretend ignorance; for the Hebrews often understand "judgments" in
the sense of rectitude. I refer this to the instruction given them:
Thy judgments then, that is, the way of living religiously, was like
light; which means this, "I have so warned you, that you have sinned
knowingly and willfully. Hence, that you have been so disobedient to
me, must be imputed to your perverseness; for when ye were pliant, I
certainly did not conceal from you what was right: for as the sun
daily shines on the earth, so my teaching, has been to you as the
light, to show to you the way of salvation; but it has been with no
profit." We now then understand what the Prophet meant by these
words. It follows -

Hosea 6:6,7
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God
more than burnt offerings.
But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they
dealt treacherously against me.
    
    God in this place declares that he desires mercy, and not
sacrifices; and he does so to prevent an objections and to
anticipate all frivolous pretenses. There is never wanting to
hypocrites, we well know, a cover for themselves; and so great is
their assurance, that they hesitate not sometimes to contend with
God. It is indeed their common practice to maintain that they
worship God, provided they offer sacrifices to him, provided they
toil in ceremonies, and accumulate many rites. They think then that
God is made bound to them, and that they have fully performed their
duty. This evil has been common in all ages. The Prophet therefore
anticipates this evasion, and says, "Mercy I desire, and not
sacrifice"; as though he said, "I know what you are ready to allege,
and that you will say, that you offer sacrifices to me, that you
perform all the ceremonies; but this excuse is deemed by me
frivolous and of no moment." Why? "Because I desire not sacrifices,
but mercy and faith." We now understand the main object of this
verse.
    It is a remarkable passage; the Son of God has twice quoted it.
The Pharisees reproached him for his intercourse with men of bad and
abandoned life, and he said to them in Matth. chap. 9, 'Mercy I
desire, and not sacrifice:' he shows, by this defense, that God is
not worshipped by external ceremonies, but when men forgive and bear
with one another, and are not above measure rigid. Again, in the
twelfth chapter of Matthew, when the Pharisees blamed the disciples
for gathering ears of corn, he said 'But rather go and learn what
this is, Mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.' Inasmuch as they were
so severe against his disciples, Christ shows that those who make
holiness to consist in ceremonies are foolish worshipers of God; and
that they also blamed their brethren without a cause, and made a
crime of what was not in itself sinful, and what could be easily
defended by any wise and calm expounder.
    But that we may more fully understand this sentence of the
Prophet, it must be observed, firsts that the outward worship of
God, and all legal ceremonies, are included under the name of
sacrifice and burnt-offerings. These words then comprise a part for
the whole. The same may be said of the word "chesed", which means,
mercy or kindness; for the Prophet here, no doubt, sets faith or
piety towards God, and love towards neighbors, in opposition to all
external ceremonies. "I desire," he says, "mercy;" or, "mercy
pleases me more than sacrifice, and the knowledge of God pleases me
more than burnt-offerings." The knowledge of God here is doubtless
to be taken for faith or piety, because hypocrites suppose that God
is rightly worshipped when they use many ceremonies. The Prophet
derides all such pomp and empty show, and says, that the worshipping
of God is far different; it being only done when he is known. The
chief point is, that God desires to be worshipped otherwise than
sensual men dream; for they only display their rites, and neglect
the spiritual worship of God, which stands in faith and love.
    These two clauses ought then to be read conjointly - that
kindness pleases God - and that faith pleases God. Faith by itself
cannot please God, since it cannot even exist without love to our
neighbor; and then, human kindness is not sufficient; for were any
one to abstain from doing any injury, and from hurting his brethren
in any thing, he might be still a profane man, and a despiser of
God; and certainly his kindness would be then of no avail to him. We
hence see that these two sentences cannot be separated, and that
what the Prophet says is equally the same as if he had connected
piety with love. The meaning is, that God values faith and kindness
much more than sacrifices and all ceremonies. But when the Prophet
says that sacrifice does not please God, he speaks, no doubt,
comparatively; for God does not positively repudiate sacrifices
enjoined in his own law; but he prefers faith and love to them; as
we more clearly learn from the particle "mem", when he says,
"me'olot", than burnt-offerings." It then appears that God is not
inconsistent with himself, as though he rejected sacrifices which he
himself had appointed; but that he condemns the preposterous abuse
of them, in which hypocrites gloried.
    And here two things are to be noticed: God requires not
external ceremonies, as if they availed any thing of themselves, but
for a different end. Faith of itself pleases God, as also does love;
for they are, as they say, of the class of good works: but
sacrifices are to be regarded differently; for to kill an ox, or a
calf, or a lamb, what is it but to do what the butcher does in his
shambles? God then cannot be delighted with the slaughter of beasts;
hence sacrifices, as we have said, are of themselves of no account.
Faith and love are different. Hence the Lord says, in Jer. chap. 7,
'Have I commanded your fathers, when I brought them out of Egypt, to
offer sacrifices to me?' no such thing; 'I never commanded them,' he
says, 'but only to hear my voice.' But what does the law in great
measure contain except commands about ceremonies? The answer to this
is easy, and that is, that sacrifices never pleased God through
their own or intrinsic value, as if they had any worth in them. What
then? Even this, that faith and piety are approved, and have ever
been the legitimate spiritual worship of God. This is one thing.
    It is further to be noticed, that when the Prophets reprove
hypocrites, they regard what is suitable to them, and do not
specifically explain the matters which they handle. Isaiah says in
one place, 'He who kills an ox does the same as if he had killed a
dog,' and a dog was the highest abomination; 'nay, they who offer
sacrifices do the same as if they had killed men,' (Isa. 66: 3.)
What! to compare sacrifices with murders! This seems very strange;
but the Prophet directed his discourse to the ungodly, who then
abused the whole outward worship prescribed by the law: no wonder
then that he thus spake of sacrifices. In the same manner also ought
many other passages to be explained, which frequently occur in the
Prophets. We now then see that God does not simply reject
sacrifices, as far as he has enjoined them, but only condemns the
abuse of them. And hence what I have already said ought to be
remembered, that the Prophet here sets external rites in opposition
to piety and faith, because hypocrites tear asunder things which
are, as it were, inseparable: it is an impious divorce, when any one
only obtrudes ceremonies on God, while he himself is void of piety.
But as this disease commonly prevails among men, the Prophet adds a
contrast between this fictitious worship and true religion.
    It is also worthy of being observed, that he calls faith the
knowledge of God. We then see that faith is not some cold and empty
imagination, but that it extends much farther; for it is then that
we have faith, when the will of God is made known to us, and we
embrace it, so that we worship him as our Father. Hence the
knowledge of God is required as necessary to faith. The Papists then
talk very childishly about implicit faith: when a man understands
nothing, and has not even the least acquaintance with God, they yet
say that he is endued with implicit faith. This is a romance more
than foolish; for where there is no knowledge of God, there is no
religion, piety is extinct and faith is destroyed, as it appears
evident from this passage.
    God then subjoins a complaint, - "But they like men have
transgressed the covenant; there have they dealt treacherously
against me". Here God shows that the Israelites boasted in vain of
their sacrifices and of all the pomps of their external worship, for
God did not regard these external things, but only wished to
exercise the faithful in spiritual worship. Then the import of the
whole is this, "My design was, when I appointed the sacrifices and
the whole legal worship, to lead you so to myself, that there might
be nothing carnal or earthly in your sacrificing; but ye have
corrupted the whole law; you have been perverse interpreters; for
sacrifices have been nothing else among you but mockery as if it
were a satisfaction to me to have an ox or a ram killed. You have
then transgressed my covenant; and it is nothing that the people say
to me, that they have diligently performed the outward ceremonies,
for such a worship is not in the least valued by me."
    And he proceeds still farther and says, "There have they dealt
treacherously against me". He had said before, 'They have
transgressed the covenant;' as though he said, "If they wished to
keep my covenant, this was the first thing, - to worship me
spiritually, even in faith and love; but they, having despised true
worship, laid hold only on what was frivolous: they have therefore
violated my covenant." But now he adds, that "there" appeared their
perfidy; yea, that they were convicted of violating their faith, and
shown to be covenant-breakers, by this, - that they abused the
sacred marks by which God had sanctioned his covenant, to cover
their own perfidy. There is then great importance in the adverb
"sham", as if he had said, "In _that_ particular you have acted
perfidiously:" for the Prophet means, that when hypocrites
especially raise their crests, they are convicted of falsehood and
perjury. But how? Because they set forth their own ceremonies, as we
see them introduced as speaking thus in the fifty-eighth chapter of
Isaiah, 'Wherefore have we fasted, and thou hast not regarded?' In
this passage they accuse God of too much rigor, because they lost
all their toil when they worshipped so laboriously, "We have then in
vain spent labour and so diligently worshipped him." God answers:
'Who has required this at your hands?' So also in this place the
Prophet says, and more sharply, There have they dealt treacherously
against me: that is, "They think that my mouth would be stopped by
this defense only, when they brought forward their sacrifices, and,
after their manner, made a great display, as if they were the best
observers of religion; but I will show that in this very thing they
are covenant-breakers." How? "Because there is no falsehood worse
than to turn the truth of God into a lie, and to adulterate his pure
doctrine." And this is what all hypocrites do, when they thus turn
sacraments into gross abuses and false worship, when they build
temples, when they imagine that God is rightly worshipped whenever
an ox or a ram is offered. Since then hypocrites so grossly mock God
and turn away sacrifices from Christ, they turn away from the
doctrine of repentance and faith; in a word, they regard God only as
a dead idol. When then they thus deprave the whole worship of God
and adulterate it, when they so impiously corrupt the word of God
and pervert his institutions, are they not covenant-breakers? There
then they perfidiously acted against me. This ought to be carefully
observed, because it has not been noticed by interpreters.
    Some thus render the word "adam", - "As the covenant of man
have they transgressed it," transferring it to the genitive case,
"And they have transgressed the covenants as if it was that of man;"
that is, as if they had to do with a mortal man, so have they
despised and violated my holy covenant; and this exposition is not
very unsuitable, except that it somewhat changes the construction;
for in this case the Prophet ought to have said, "They have
transgressed the covenant as that of a man;" but he says, 'They as a
mere,' &c. But this rendering is far from being that of the words as
they are, 'They as men have transgressed the covenant.' I therefore
interpret the words more simply, as meaning, that they showed
themselves to be men in violating the covenant.
    And there is here an implied contrast or comparison between God
and the Israelites; as though he said, "I have in good faith made a
covenant with them, when I instituted a fixed worship; but they have
been men towards me; there has been in them nothing but levity and
inconstancy." God then shows that there had not been a mutual
concord between him and the Israelites, as men never respond to God;
for he sincerely calls them to himself, but they act unfaithfully,
or when they have given some proof of obedience, they soon turn back
again, or despise and openly reject the offered instruction. We then
see in what sense the Prophet says that they had transgressed the
covenant of God as men.
    Others explain the words thus, "They have transgressed as Adam
the covenant." But the word, Adam, we know, is taken indefinitely
for men. This exposition is frigid and diluted, "They have
transgressed as Adam the covenant;" that is, they have followed or
imitated the example of their father Adam, who had immediately at
the beginning transgressed God's commandment. I do not stop to
refute this comment; for we see that it is in itself vapid. Let us
now proceed -

Hosea 6:8
Gilead [is] a city of them that work iniquity, [and is] polluted
with blood.
    
    I shall first speak of the subject, and then something shall be
added in its place of the words. The Prophet here notices, no doubt,
something special against Gilead, which through the imperfection of
history is now to us obscure. But in the first place, we must
remember, that Gilead was one of the cities of refuge; and the
Levites possessed these cities, which were destined for fugitives.
If any one killed a man by chance, that the relatives might not take
revenge, the Lord provided that he should flee to one of these
cities appointed for his safety. He was there safe among the
Levites: and the Levites received him under their protection, the
matter being previously tried; for a legal hearing of the cause must
have preceded as to whether he who had killed a man was innocent. We
must then first remember that this city was occupied by the Levites
and the priests; and they ought to have been examples to all others;
for as Christ calls his disciples the light of the world, so the
Lord had chosen the priests for this purpose, that they might carry
a torch before all the people. Since then the highest sanctity ought
to have shone forth in the priests, it was quite monstrous that they
were like robbers, and that the holy city, which was as it were the
sanctuary of God, became a den of thieves.
    It was then for this reason that the Prophet especially
inveighs against the city Gilead, and says "Gilead is a city of the
workers of iniquity, and is covered with blood". But if Gilead was
so corrupt, what must have been the case with the other cities? It
is then the same as if the Prophet had said, "Where shall I begin?
If I reprove the people indiscriminately, the priests will then
think that they are spared, because they are innocent; yea, that
they are wholly without blame: nay," he says, "the priests are the
most abandoned, they are even the ringleaders of robbers. Since then
so great corruptions prevail among the order of priests, in whom the
highest sanctity ought to have shone forth, how great must be the
licentiousness of the people in all kinds of wickedness? And then
what must be said of other cities, since Gilead is so bad, which God
has consecrated for a peculiar purpose, that it might be a sort of
sanctuary? Since then Gilead is a den of robbers, what must be the
other cities?" We now comprehend the meaning of the Prophet.
    "Polluted with blood," "'akubah midam": "akav" in Hebrew, means
"to deceive," and also, "to hold" or "retain." "'Akev" is the sole
of the foot; hence "'akav" signifies "to supplant." And there is no
doubt but that "to deceive" is its meaning metaphorically. I will
now come to the meaning of the Prophet; he says that the city was
"'akubah midam"; some say, "deceptive in blood," because they did
not openly kill men, but by lying in wait for them; and hence they
elicit this sense. But I approve more of what they hold who say,
that the city was "full of blood;" not that such is the strict sense
of the Hebrew word; but we may properly render it, "occupied by
blood." Why so? Because "'akav", as I have said, means sometimes to
hold, to stay, and to hinder. We may then properly and fitly say,
that Gilead was "occupied" or "possessed by blood." But here follows
a clearer and a fuller explanation of this sentence -

Hosea 6:9
And as troops of robbers wait for a man, [so] the company of priests
murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness.

    The Prophet pursues more at large what he had briefly touched;
for he does, not now confine himself to the common people, but
directs his accusation against the sacerdotal order. "See," he says,
"the priests conspire among themselves like robbers, that they may
slay wretched men, who may meet them in the way." It is indeed
certain that the Prophet speaks not here of open murders; for it is
not credible that the priests had proceeded into so great a
licentiousness, that Gilead had become a slaughter-house. But the
Prophets, we know, are thus wont to speak, whenever they upbraid men
with being sanguinary and cruel; they compare them to robbers, and
that justly. Hence he says, "The faction of the priests kill men in
the way", as if they were robbers conspiring together. And then he
shows that the priests were so void of every thing like the fear of
God, that they perpetrated every kind of cruelty as if they were
wholly given to robberies. This is the meaning.
    The word "shechmah" is no doubt taken by the Prophet for
"consent." What is meant by "shechem" is properly the "shoulder;"
but it is metaphorically changed into the sense which I have
mentioned; as it is in the third chapter of Zephaniah, 'They shall
serve the Lord "shechem echad", with one shoulder;' that is, "with
one consent." So also in this place, the priests conspire together
"shechmah" ,with consent." For they who think that the name of a
place is intended are much mistaken.
    Now in the last clause of the verse it is made evident why the
Prophet had said that the priests were like robbers, 'because,' he
says, 'they do the thought,' or 'wickedness.' The verb to "zamam"
signifies "to think," as it has been already said: hence "zimah" is
"thought" in general; but is often taken by the Hebrews in a bad
sense, for a "bad design," or "wicked trick:" They do then their
conceived wickedness. We hence learn that they were not open
robbers, and publicly infamous in the sight of men, but that they
were robbers before God, because the city was full of wicked
devices, which were there concocted; and since they executed their
schemes, it is justly said of them by the Prophet, that they
imitated the licentiousness of robbers. Let us now go on -

Hosea 6:10,11
I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there [is] the
whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.
Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the
captivity of my people.
    
    Here God declares that he is the fit judge to take cognizance
of the vices of Israel; and this he does, that he might cut off the
handle of vain excuses, which hypocrites often adduce when they are
reproved. Who indeed can at this day persuade the Papists that all
their worship is a filthy abomination, a mere profanation? We see
how furiously they rise up as soon as any one by a whisper dares to
touch their superstitions. Whence this? Because they wish their own
will to stand for reason. Why? Good intention, they say, is the
judge; as if this good intention were, forsooth, the queen, who
ought to rule in heaven and earth, and God were now excluded from
all his rights. This fury and this madness, even at this day,
possess the Papists; and no wonder, for Satan dementates men, when
he leads them to corrupt and degenerated forms of worship, and all
hypocrites have been thus inebriated from the beginning. This then
is the reason why the Prophet now says in the person of God, "I have
seen", or do see, "infamy in the kingdom of Israel". God does here
by one word lay prostrate whatever men may set up for themselves,
and shows that there remains no more defense for what he declares he
does not approve, however much men may value and applaud it. "What!
you think this to be my worship; and in your imagination, this is
most holy religion, this is the way of salvation, this is
extraordinary sanctity; but I on the contrary declare, that it is
profanation, that it is turpitude, that it is infamy. Go now," he
says, "pass elsewhere your fopperies, with me they are of no value."
    We now understand the meaning of the Prophet, when he says, "In
the house of Israel have I seen infamy": and by the house of Israel
the Prophet means the whole kingdom of the ten tribes. How so?
"Because there is the fornication of Ephraim"; that is, there
idolatry reigns, which Jeroboam introduced, and which the other
kings of Israel followed.
    Thus we see that the Prophet spared neither the king, nor his
counselors, nor the princes of the kingdom; and he did not spare
before the priests. And this magnanimity becomes all God's servants,
so that they cast down every height that rises up against the word
of the Lord; as it was said to Ezekiel, 'Chide mountains and reprove
hills,' (Ezek. 6: 2; 36: 1.) An example of this the Prophet sets
before us, when he compares priests to robbers, and then compares
royal temples to a brothel. Jeroboam had built a temple in which he
thought that God would be in the best manner worshipped; but this,
says the Prophet, is a brothel, this is filthy fornication.
    Then he adds, "Judah also has set a plantation for thee". That
I may finish the chapter, I will briefly notice this verse.
Interpreters render it thus, "Also Judah, thou hast set for thyself
an harvest:" but the verb, as it is evident, is in the third person;
it cannot then be rendered otherwise than, 'Also Judah has set.'
They who render it in the second person, "Thou hast set for thyself
an harvest," elicit this sense, "Thou also Judah, whom I have chosen
for myself, hast set for thyself an harvest, that is, thou hast
prepared a miserable harvest for thyself; for thou sowest
ungodliness, whose fruit thou shalt hereafter gather:" but this is
strained. Now since the word "katsir" signifies in Hebrew not only
"harvest," but also "a plant," it may properly be so taken in this
place, "Also Judah, while I was returning the captivity of my
people, did set for himself a plant"; that is, he propagated his own
impieties. God indeed addresses here the Israelites, and complains
of Judah; for the Jews, we know, were retained by the Lord, when the
ten tribes separated. This defection of the ten tribes did not cause
religion to fail wholly among the whole people. There remained the
pure worship of God, at least as to the outward form, at Jerusalem.
The Lord then complains not here of Judah without a cause. He had
said before, 'Judah shall be saved by his God;' but now he says,
'Judah also has set for himself a plant;' that is, "superstitions
have been long and widely enough springing up among all Israel, they
have spread through all the corners of the land: and now Judah
also," he says, "is planting his own shoots, for he draws the
Israelites to himself;" there is therefore a new propagation, and
this is done, "While I am returning the captivity of my people";
that is, "while I am seeking to restore the scattering of my
people."
    In a word, God shows here that there was no part any longer
whole. When one undertakes the cure of a diseased body, and when he
sees at least some parts whole, he has some hope of applying a
remedy; but when not even a finger remains sound, what can the
physician do? So also the Lord says in this place, "There was at
least some hope of Judah, for some form of my worship remained
there, and the purer teaching of the law continued; out now Judah
propagates superstitions for Israel; observing that the whole land
of Israel is full of superstitions, he takes from thence shoots and
slips, and corrupts the remaining portion of the land, which has
hitherto remained sacred to me." We now perceive, as I think, the
genuine meaning of the Prophet.
    
Prayer.
    
Grant, Almighty God, that as we are prone to every kind of
wickedness, and are so easily led away to imitate it, when there is
any excuse for going astray and any opportunity is offered, - O
grant, that being strengthened by the help of thy Spirit, we may
continue in purity of faith, and that what we have learnt concerning
thee, that thou art a Spirit, may so profit us, that we may worship
thee in spirit and with a sincere heart, and never turn aside after
the corruptions of the world, nor think that we can deceive thee;
but may we so devote our souls and bodies to thee, that our life may
in every part of it testify, that we are a pure and holy sacrifice
to thee in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
    
Lecture Eighteenth.

Chapter 7.

Hosea 7:1
When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was
discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit
falsehood; and the thief cometh in, [and] the troop of robbers
spoileth without.
    
    God, that he might show how corrupt was the state of all the
people of Israel, compares himself here to a physician, who, while
he wishes to try remedies, acknowledges that there are hid more
grievous diseases; which is often the case. When a sick person sends
for a physician, his disease will be soon discovered; but it may be
that he has for many years labored under other hidden complaints,
which do not immediately come to the knowledge of the physician. He
may indeed think that the symptoms of the disease are those which
proceed from a source more hidden; but on the third or fourth days
after having tried some remedies he then knows that there is some
hidden malady. God then says, that by applying remedies he had found
out how corrupt Israel was, "While I was healing my people", he
says, "then I knew what was the iniquity of Samaria and of all
Ephraim".
    By Samaria he means the principal part of the kingdom; for that
city, as it is well known, was the capital and the chief seat of
government. The Prophet therefore says, that the iniquities of
Samaria were then discovered to be, not common, but inveterate
diseases. This is the meaning. We now see what God had in view; for
the people might deceive themselves, as it often happens, and say,
"We are not indeed wholly free from every vice; but God ought not
however to punish us so severely, for what nation is there under the
sun which does not labour under the common diseases?" But the
Prophet here answers, that the people of Israel were so corrupt,
that light remedies would not do for them. God then here undertakes
the office of a physician, and says, "I have hitherto wished to heal
Israel, and this was my design, when I hewed them by my Prophets,
and employed my word as a sword; and afterwards when I added
chastisements; but now I have found that their wickedness is greater
than can be corrected by such remedies." The inequity of Ephraim
then has been discovered, he says, and then I perceived the vices of
Samaria.
    Now this place teaches, that though the vices of men do not
immediately appear, yet they who deceive themselves, and disguise
themselves to others, gain nothing, nor are they made free before
God, and their fault is not lessened, nor are they absolved from
guilt; for at last their hidden vices will come to light: and this
especially happens, when the Lord performs the office of a physician
towards them; for we see that men then cast out their bitterness,
when the Lord seeks to heal their corruptions. Under the papacy,
even those who are the worst conceal their own vices. How so?
Because God does not try them; there is no teaching that cauterizes
or that draws blood. As then the Papists rest quietly in their own
dregs, their perverseness does not appear. But in other places,
where God puts forth the power of his word, and where he speaks
effectually by his servants, there men show what great impiety was
before hid in them; for in full rage they rise up against God, and
they cannot bear any admonition. As soon then as God begins to do
the office of a physician, men then discover their diseases. And
this is the reason why the world so much shun the light of heavenly
doctrine; for he who does evil hates the light, (John 3: 20.) We may
also observe the same as to chastisements. When God indulges the
wicked, they then with the mouth at least bless him; but when he
begins to punish their sins they clamour against him and are angry,
and at length show how much fury was before hid in their hearts. We
now see what the Prophet here lays to the charge of the people of
Israel. It may also be observed at this day through the whole world,
that the curing of diseases discovers evils which were before
unknown.
    But we have said, and this ought to be borne in mind, that
Ephraim is here expressly named by the Prophet, and also the city,
Samaria, because he wished to intimate that their diseases were
inveterate, existing not only in the extreme members, but deeply
fixed in the head and bowels, and occupying the vital parts. It then
follows, "Because they have acted mendaciously, or, done falsely.
The Prophet signifies by this expression, that there was nothing
sound in the whole people, because they were addicted to their own
depravities. By the word "sheker", he means every kind of falseness,
that is, that men were thoroughly imbued with depraved lusts, and
that there was now remaining in them nothing sound or whole. This
then is the main point, that the wickedness of the people was
discovered, and that it could not be cured by moderate severity,
because it had penetrated into the very bowels and spread over the
whole body.
    What follows interpreters are wont to regard as the punishment
which God had already inflicted. The Prophet says "The thief has
entered in, and the robber has plundered without". They therefore
think that this is to be referred to the manner in which God had
already begun by punishment to recall the people to a sound mind; as
though he said, "You have been pillaged by thieves as well as
harassed by robbers." But I rather think that the Prophet here
pursues the same subject, and shows that the people were inwardly
and outwardly so infected with vices, that there was now no whole
part; and that by mentioning a part for the whole, he here
designates every kind of evil, for he specifies two kinds which may
stand for all things in general. He therefore says, "The thief has
entered in", that is, stealthily, and does mischief insidiously, or
even openly like robbers, who use open violence; which means, that
impiety so prevailed, either by frauds or by open war, that they
were in every way corrupt. But when he says, that the thief had
entered in, he means, that many of the people were like foxes, who
craftily do mischief; and when he says, that the robber had
plundered abroad, he means that others, like lions, seized openly
and without shame on what belonged to others, and thus by open force
stripped and plundered the miserable and the poor.
    We now apprehend the meaning of the Prophet. Having said that
the Israelites and the citizens of Samaria had conducted themselves
so deceitfully, he now, by specifying two things, shows how they had
departed from all uprightness, and prostituted themselves to every
kind of wickedness; because where violence reigned, there also
frauds and all kinds of evil reigned. The thief then had entered in,
and the robber plundered abroad; that is, they secretly circumvented
their neighbors, and also went forth like robbers openly and without
any shame. It then follows -

Hosea 2:2
Plead with your mother, plead: for she [is] not my wife, neither
[am] I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of
her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;

    The Prophet shows here that the Israelites had advanced to the
highest summit of all wickedness; for they thought that no account
was ever to be given by them to God. Hence arises the contempt of
God; that is, when men imagine that he is, as it were, sleeping in
heaven, and that he rests from every work. They dare not indeed to
deny God, and yet they take from him what especially belongs to his
divinity, for they exclude him from the office of being a judge.
Hence then it is that men allow themselves so much liberty, because
they imagine that they have made a truce with God; yea, they think
that they can do any thing with impurity, as if they had made a
covenant with death and hell, as Isaiah says, (Isa. 28: 15.) Of this
sottishness then does the Prophet here arraign the Israelites, "They
have not said", he says, "in their heart, that I remember all their
wickedness"; that is, "They so audaciously mock me, as though I were
not the judge of the world; they consider not that all things are in
my sight, and that nothing is hid from me. Since then they suppose
me to be like a dead idol, they have no fear, nay, they abandon
themselves to every wickedness."
    He then adds, "Now their wicked deeds have surrounded them",
for
"they are in my sight"; that is, "Though they promise impunity to
themselves, and flatter themselves in their hypocrisy, all their
works are yet before me; and thus they surround them;" that is,
"They shall at last perceive that they are infolded in their own
sins, and that no escape will be open to them." We now understand
the object of the Prophet; for after having complained of the
stupidity of the people, he now says that they thus flattered
themselves with no advantage, because God is not in the meantime
blind. Though then they think that a veil is drawn over their sins,
they are yet mistaken; for all their sins are in my sight, and this
they themselves shall at last find out by experience, because their
sins will surround or besiege them.
    Let us learn from this place, that nothing ought to be more
feared than that Satan should so fascinate us as to make us to think
that God rests idly in heaven. There is nothing that can stir us up
more to repentance, than when we adorn God with his own power, and
be persuaded that he is the judge of the world, and also when we
walk as in his sight, and know that our sins cannot come to
oblivion, except when he buries them by pardon. This then is what
the Prophet teaches in the first part of the verse. Now when we
imagine that we have peace with God, and with death and hell, as
Isaiah says in the place we have quoted, the prophet teaches that
God is yet awake, and that his office cannot be taken from him, for
he knows whatever is carried on in this world; and that this will at
length be made openly known, when our sins shall surround us, as it
is also said in the fourth chapter of Genesis, 'Sin will lie down at
thy door.' For we may for a time imagine that we have many escapes
or at least hiding-places; but God will at length show that all this
is in vain, for he will come upon us, and has no need of forces,
procured from this or that quarter; we shall have enemies enough in
our own vices, for we shall be besieged by them no otherwise than if
God were to arm the whole world against us. Let us go on -

Hosea 7:3
They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with
their lies.

    The Prophet now arraigns all the citizens of Samaria, and in
their persons the whole people, because they rendered obedience to
the king by flattery, and to the princes in wicked things,
respecting which their own conscience convicted them. He had already
in the fifth chapter mentioned the defection of the people in this
respect, that they had obeyed the royal edict. It might indeed have
appeared a matter worthy of praise, that the people had quietly
embraced what the king commanded. This is the case with many at this
day, who bring forward a pretext of this kind. Under the papacy they
dare not withdraw themselves from their impious superstitions, and
they adduce this excuse, that they ought to obey their princes. But,
as I have already said, the Prophet has before condemned this sort
of obedience, and now he shows that the defection which then reigned
through all Israel, ought not to be ascribed to the king or to few
men, but that it was a common evil, which involved all in one and
the same guilt, without exception. How so? "By their wickedness", he
says, "they have exhilarated the king, and by their lies the
princes"; that is, If they wish to cast the blame on their
governors, it will be done in vain; for whence came then such a
promptitude? As soon as Jeroboam formed the calves, as soon as he
built temples, religion instantly collapsed, and whatever was before
pure, degenerated; how was the change so sudden? Even because the
people had inwardly concocted their wickedness, which, when an
occasion was offered, showed itself; for hypocrisy did lie hid in
all, and was then discovered. We now perceive what the Prophet had
in view.
    And this place ought to be carefully noticed: for it often
happens that some vice creeps in, which proceeds from one man or
from a few; but when all readily embrace what a few introduce, it is
quite evident that they have no living root of piety or of the fear
of God. They then who are so prone to adopt vices were before
hypocrites; and we daily find this to be the case. When pious men
have the government of a city, and act prudently, then the whole
people will give some hope that they will fear the Lord; and when
any king, influenced by a desire of advancing the glory of God,
endeavors to preserve all his subjects in the pure worship of God,
then the same feeling of piety will be seen in all: but when an
ungodly king succeeds him, the greater part will immediately fall
back again; and when a magistrate neglects his duty, the greater
portion of the people will break out into open impiety. I wish there
were no proofs of these things; but throughout the world the Lord
has designed that there should exist examples of them.
    This purpose of God ought therefore to be noticed; for he
accuses the people of having made themselves too obsequious and
pliant. When king Jeroboam set up vicious worship, the people
immediately offered themselves as ready to obey: hence impiety
became quite open. They then "delighted the king by their
wickedness, and the princes by their lies"; as though he said, "They
cannot transfer the blame to the king and princes. Why? Because they
delighted them by their wickedness; that is, they haltered the king
by their wickedness and delighted the princes by their lies." It
follows -

Hosea 7:4
They [are] all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, [who]
ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be
leavened.

    The Prophet pursues the same subject in this verse: he says
that they were all adulterers. This similitude has already been
often explained. He speaks not here of common fornication, but calls
them adulterers, because they had violated their faith pledged to
God, because they gave themselves up to filthy superstitions, and
also, because they had wholly corrupted themselves, for faith and
sincerity of heart constitute spiritual chastity before God. When
men become corrupt in their whole life, and degenerate from the pure
worship of God, they are justly deemed adulterers. In this sense
does the Prophet now say, that they were all adulterers, and thus he
confirms what I have said before, that as to the corruptions which
then prevailed, it was not few men who had been drawn into them, but
that the whole people were implicated in guilt; for "they were all
adulterers". To say that they had been deceived by the king, that
they had been forced by authority, that they had been compelled by
the tyranny of their princes, would have been vain and frivolous,
for "all" of them were "adulterers".
    He afterwards compares them to a furnace or an oven, "They
are", he says, "as a furnace or an oven, heated by the baker, who
ceases from stirring up until the meal kneaded is well fermented".
The Prophet by this similitude shows more clearly, that the people
were not corrupted by some outward impulse, but by their own
inclination and propensity of mind; yea, by a mad and furious desire
of acting wickedly. He had previously said that they had willfully
sinned, when they readily embraced the edict of the king; but now he
goes still farther and says that they had been set on fire by an
inward sinful instinct, and were like a hot oven. Then he adds that
this had not been a sudden impulse, as it sometimes happens; but
that it had so continued, that they were confirmed in their
wickedness. When he says, that adulterers are like a burning oven,
he means, that their defection had not only been voluntary, so that
the blame was in themselves; but that they had also ardently seized
on the occasion of sinning, and had been heated, as an hot oven. The
ungodly often restrain their desires, and suppress them when no
occasion is presented, but give vent to them when they have the
opportunity of sinning with impunity. So God now declares that the
people of Israel had not only been prone to defection, but had also
greedily desired it, so that their madness was like a burning flame.
    But a third thing follows, and that is, that this fire had not
been suddenly lighted up, but had been for a long time gathering
strength. Hence he says "As an oven heated by the baker, who
ceases", he says, "from stirring up after the shaking or mixing of
the meal, until it be fermented. "Lush" means "to besprinkle,"
"empaster" is what they say here. Some foolishly hold that they were
like those who sleep and afterwards awake early in the morning. But
the Prophet had a different thing in view, and that was, that by
length of time their wickedness had increased, and, as it were, by
degrees. He means, in short, that they had not been under a sudden
impulse, like men who often break out through want of thought, and
immediately repent; and their lust, which had been in a moment set
on fire, in a short time abates. The Prophet says, that the frenzy
of the people of Israel had been different; for they had been like
an oven, which the baker, after having lighted up, allows to grow
quite hot even to the highest degree; for he waits while the dough
is becoming well fermented. It was not then the intemperance and
lust of a few days; but they made their hearts quite hot, as when a
baker heats his oven, and puts in a great quantity of fuel, that
after a time it may become heated, while the dough is fermenting.
    The word "me'ir", "from stirring up," is to be taken for
"meha'ir"; for what some say, that the baker rested from the city,
that is, to manage public affairs, is frigid. Others render it thus,
"He rests from the city," so as not to be a citizen, - to what
purpose? There is then no doubt but that the Prophet here pursues
his own similitudes which he will again shortly repeat. It follows -

Hosea 7:5
In the day of our king the princes have made [him] sick with bottles
of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.
    
    The Prophet here reproves especially the king and his
courtiers. He had spoken of the whole people, and showed that the
filth of evils was every where diffused: but he now relates how
strangely the king and his courtiers ruled. Hence he says, "The day
of our king! the princes have made him sick"; that is, so great has
been the intemperance of excess, that the king himself became sick
through too much drinking, and extended his hand to mockers. In
short, the Prophet means, that the members of government in the
kingdom of Israel had become so corrupt, that in the hall or palace
of the king there was no regard for decency, and no shame.
    By "the day of the king," some understand his birth-day; and we
know that it has been a very old custom even for the common people
to celebrate their birth-day. Others refer it to the day of
coronation, which is more probable. Some take it for the very
beginning of his reign, which seems strained. "The day of our king!"
that is "Our king is now seated on his throne, he has now undertaken
the government of the kingdom; let us then feast plentifully, and
glut ourselves with eating and drinking." This sense suits well; but
I do not know whether it can bear the name of day; he calls it "the
day of the king". I would then rather adopt their opinion, who
explain it as the annual day of coronation: The day then of our
king. There are yet interpreters, who render the sentence thus, "In
the day the princes have made the king sick;" but I make this
separation in it, "The day of the king! the princes have made him
sick".
    It was not indeed sinful or blamable to celebrate yearly the
memory of the coronation; but then the king ought to have stirred up
himself and others to give thanks to God; the goodness of the Lord,
in preserving the kingdom safe, ought to have been acknowledged at
the end of the year; the king ought also to have asked of God the
spirit of wisdom and strength for the future, that he might
discharge rightly his office. But the Prophet shows here that there
was nothing then in a sound state; for they had turned into gross
abuse what was in itself, as I have said, useful. The day then of
our king - how is it spent? Does the king humbly supplicate pardon
before God, if he has done any thing unworthy of his station, if in
any thing he has offended? Does he give thanks that God has hitherto
sustained him by his support? Does he prepare himself for the future
discharge of his duty? No such thing; but the princes indulge
excess, and stimulate their king; yea, they so overcome him with
immoderate drinking, that they make him sick. This then, he says, is
their way of proceeding; nothing royal now appears in the king's
palace, or even worthy of men; for they abandon themselves like
beasts to drunkenness, and so great intemperance prevails among
them, that they ruin the king himself with a bottle of wine.
    Some render this, "a flagon;" "chamat" means properly a bottle;
and we know that wine was then preserved in bottles, as the
Orientals do to this day. Then "with a bottle of wine", with
immoderate drinking, they made the king sick.
    He then says, that the king "stretched forth his hand to
scorners"; that is, forgetting himself, he retained no gravity, but
became like a buffoon, and indecently mixed with worthless men. For
the Prophet, I doubt not, calls those "scorners," who, having cast
away all shame, indulge in buffoonery and wantonness. He therefore
says, that the king held forth his hand to scorners, as a proof of
friendship. As he was then the companion of buffoons and worthless
men, he had cast away from him everything royal which he ought to
have had. This is the meaning. The Prophet, therefore, deplores this
corruption, that there was no longer any dignity or decency in the
king and his princes, being wholly given, as they were, to excess
and drunkenness; yea, they turned sacred days into this abuse, when
the king ought to have conducted himself in a manner worthy of the
rank of the highest honor: he prostituted himself to every kind of
wantonness, and his princes were his leaders and encouragers. This
so great a depravity the Prophet now deplores. It follows -

Hosea 7:6
For they have made ready their heart like an oven, whiles they lie
in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it
burneth as a flaming fire.
    
    Here the Prophet says, that the Israelites did secretly, and by
hidden means, prepare their hearts for deeds of evil; and he takes
up nearly the same similitude as he did a little while before,
though for a different purpose; for he says that they had prepared