Middletown transcript., 1899-07-01
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON /, THIRD QUARTER. INTERNA-
TIoNAL SERIES, JuLY2.

TIoNAL SERIES, JULY 2.
Text of the Lesson, Hos. xiv, 1-0.
Memory Verses, 4-7-Go1den Text,
Hos. vi, documentary Prepared
i by the Rev. ID. NJ. stearns.
| copyright, 1S99 by D. M stearns.l
i. 90 Israel, return unto the Lord thy
God, for thou hast fallen by thine in
iquity." Our lesson is entitled Gracious
Invitations, i" but all prophecy is full of
such, and SO is all Scripture from "Come
thou and all thy house into the ark'' to
"Whosoever will, let him take the water
Of life freely" (Gen. vii, /; Rev. xxi, III.
Hosea was contemporary with Isaiah and
Micah, as we learn by comparing the first
verse of each book, and this chapter which
we are about to study gives fair sample
Of the gracious invitations which abound
In these books and in all Scripture
Q. "Take with you words and turn to
the Lord; say unto Him, Take away all
iniquity and receive us graciously; SO viii
we render the calves Of our lips" So gra-
/ cious is our God that He puts the very
| words in our mouths which we may ap-
proach Him with, and while words Of
themselves amount to nothing He never
fails to hear and answer words which
come from the heart. These words imply
on the part of those who utter them a
| conviction of sin and of utter unworthi-
| ness before God, and determination, by
| His grace, when He has forgiven US, to
serve Him, but on our part there must be
sincerity 4 Is Is written tsTAeEs
shalt be sincere with the Lord thy God
| Deut xviii, 13, margin).
| 8. "Asshur shall not save us; we win
not ride upon horses; neither will we say
any more to the work of our hands, Ye are
| our gods for in thee the fatherless fndeth
mercy" When we turn to God, there must
be a turning away from every arm of flesh
and from all that is Of man or of self
| Israel had been redeemed by the mighty
hand and power of God; God Himself was
their deliverer and their king, but they
turned their backs upon Him, leaned upon
Egypt and Assyria and worshiped idols,
thus bringing bondage and oppression
| upon themselves and dishonor upon God
| If now they would turn to the Lord, it must
be as Joshua said, to fear the Lord and
serve Him in sincerity and truth, putting
away all idols (Joshua xiv, 14). Or as
|
Him in truth with all your heart, for con-
slider how great things He hath done for
| you" q Sam. xii, 24).
At will heal their backsliding, will
love them freely, for mine anger is turned
away from him." The Lord God of Israel
Is merciful and gracious, forgiYing in
iquity, transgression and sin (Ex. xxxiv,
| 6, y. He is not willing that any should
| perish, but has provided life and life
abundant for all who will come to Him,
assuring that none shall in any wise be
cast out Gil Pet iii, 9; John K, 10; vi, 37).
| In Rom. iii, a. the word freely" means
without cause as in John XIV, 25. We
| can give God no cause to forgive us or love
| us; the cause is all in Himself He is rich
| in mercy and loved us when we were dead
in sins (Eph. ii, 4, 81. In Jer. iii, 13, Il,
| He says "Only acknowledge thine in
| iquity; turn, 0 backsliding children, for
am married unto you"
3. "I will be as the dew unto Israel; he
shall grow as the lily and cast forth his
roots as Lebanon" Rooted and grounded
in the love of God, rooted and built up in
Christ (Eph lii, II; Col. ii, y, not only
Israel, but all believers shall grow as the
lilies, which neither toll nor spin, yet are
more beautifully clothed than Solomon in
| all his glory. Not by struggling or effort
do we grow, but by abiding in His love-
which is everlasting and unchanging
When Israel as people shall turn to the
Lord, at His second coming in glory, and
shall receive Him as their Messiah, then
shall the Lord be as the dew unto Israel,
and Israel shall be in many lands as dew
from the Lord (Mic. V, y.
e. "His branches shall spread, and his
beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his
smell as Lebanon" She shall then be
good vine, bearing fruit unto God, no
longer an empty vine bearing fruit unto
self (chapter K, u. No longer shall she
bear wild grapes, but will be indeed a
pleasant plant unto the Lord lisa. v, 2, y.
They shall be trees Of righteousness, the
planting of the Lord that He may be glori-
fed lisa Xxi, S) It shall be true again of
Israel and to a greater degree than ever
that she shall be beautiful with the beauty
which the Lord God shall put upon her
(Ezek. xvi, 14) Fruitful beautiful and
fragrant to God shall she be by His grace
1t may be so with us now.
T. "They that dwell under His shadow
shall return; they shall revive as the corn
and grow as the vine; the scent thereof
shall be as the wine of Lebanon He Of
(John xix, 81 shall be as the shadow of a
great rock in a weary land lisa xxi, q.
Multitudes will sit under His shadow
with great delight, and His fruit shall be
sweet to their taste (Canticles ii, 3d. He
who spread cloud for covering in the
wilderness will spread His glory over
Israel lisa. iv, 5, 81, and many nations win |
flow to Israel because of the glory of the |
Lord upon her. If believers learn to |
rejoice In Eph. |, 8, and make it manifest |
in their lives that they are possessing and |
enjoying Him in whom is all blessing,
God will be glorifed and sinners won to |
Christ
8 "Ephraim shall say, What have to |
do any more with idolsP have heard him |
and observed him; I am like green fir |
tree. From me is thy fruit found" Be- |
ing occupied with Christ causes us to be |
changed into His image from day to day |
(II Cor. iii, 18). We grow in grace and in |
the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour /
Jesus Christ (1 Pet. iii, 1s) and are able |
to say, My meditation Of Him is sweet;
am glad in the Lord (Ps. civ, 34). Be. |
holding the beauty of the Lord and inquir-
ing in His temple FPS. xvii, 4), we cease
from idols, and find such fullness of joy in |
Him that we want none Of earths vanities
to satisfy our souls. The last clause of
the verse suggests John xv, 5, "Without
Me ye can do nothing"
9. who Is wise, and he shall under
stand these things; prudent, and he shall
know themp For the ways of the Lord are
right, and the just shall walk in them, but
the transgressors shall fall therein" Our
Lord Jesus said, 81 thank Thee, o Father,
Lord Of heaven and earth, because Thou
a Al Il
prudent and hast revealed them unto
babes (Math. d, 25). Those who are
wise in their own eyes cannot understand,
for the things of God can only be under
stood by those who are taught by the
Spirit Of God These closing words Of
Hosea remind us of Rev. XIV, 8-s just and
true are Thy ways, Thou King of Ma
lions and many similar words, such as
Ps xviii. 80 As for God. His way Is per
feet :.
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