The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-06-02

| Golden Text.--Thou art a God ready
to pardon. gracious and merciful. slow
to anger.--Neh. 9:I7.
| For several Sundays we have been
taking little peeps here and there into
the prophetical books. We now come
to the prophecy of Hosea We ind
this book among the Minor Prophets
Let us not assume from this that IL il
OF minor Importance. The twelve
books called the Minor Prophets were
so named by the early Christian faith
ers not because of their inferiority to
the five Major Prophets but because
| OF their relatively small size
| In point OF time Amos comes first
In the list OF the Minor Prophets. The
books of Hosea probably comes next.
Or Hosea himself we know nothing
but what can be inferred from, his
oook.. lie seems to have been n native
OF the Northern Kingdom: you will
notice that all the places he mentions
are In that Kingdom and that his sym
pathies are all in that direction. Gan
the other prophetical writer's belong
to Judah.) He prophesied in the time
of Jerohoam II and probably Zacha-
riah. Shallum and Menahem about r.
c. 746-735
There is little of this book that can
be read by young people with profit,
Whether the first part is a narrative
OF facts, or an ailegory. or a Let us
suppose case, can hardly be deter
mined with certainty. Hut it's teach
ing Is wonderful. Nowhere else in the
Old Testament have We picture set
ting forth the wonderful love OF God
as does this picture of the love of a
man for the wife that has been un-
faithful to him. The whole book 10 a
tremendous emphasis laid upon the
love OF God for his waywari people
Perhaps It viii be sufficient for our
purpose to study only the last chap
ter-the chapter which has been
chosen for our lesson.
Tho Lesson Text in Everyday Drcss,
With burning words Hosea pleads
with fallen Israel to come back to
GOD. You have fallen by your own
iniqufty," he tells them. '.All this
trouble has come upon you because
you forsook Jehovah your God Come
back to him. do not mean merely,
come to the temple and offer sacrifices
God wants genuine repentance rath-
er than burnt ofYerings.--come and
offer him the sacrifice Of broken
heart. Pray to him Beg him to take
away your iniquity to accent your
desires, but 20 take away all that 10
evil. Tell him that you are done with
trusting in others,-that you will not
look to Assyria to save you, neither
will you depend upon Egypt Egypt
that sends you horses in return for
your homage. Nor win you trust In
Idols Henceforth you will trust only
in God. the helper OF the fatherless"
Then, to encourage them, Hosea
repreEeufS Jehovah Snaakipu 70
turning Israel. He will pardon their
backsliding, he assures them: he will
love them freely, for his anger is
turned away; he will be to Israel as
the dew, that Is such a blessing to
the land through the long dry season; ,
he will cause Israel to grow like the
lily in richness and beauty; In strength
like the roots OF the cedars OF Leha-
non: 1t shall spread like the branches
Of the great cedars. II shall be as
beautiful as the olive-tree. which Is as
useful MS It Is beautiful: 1t shall be az
fragrant as the great cedars of Leba-
non. Those who dwe~ under it's shade
shall turn unto God and they shall
take on new life. and grow, and bring
forth fruit.
Then Hosea seems to make Israel
say In response What more then
have we to do with IDOLS" And Je-
hovah answers: II have heard Israefs
prayers and will look upon him with
favor"
The passage is obscure but perhaps
Israel at this point speaks: II am like
green fr-tree. strong and vigorous"
And Jehovah responds: Your strength, |
your fruits from me"
The writer closes his book with |
word OF admonition. Let him who !
would be wise and prudent understand
what has been written: from this book |
he will learn that the ways Of the
Lord are right; the JUST shall walk |
in them without tumbling. but tho
wicked shal fall"
The Heart OF tho Lesson.
Have you wandered from God |
Then return and ask him to forgive |
xsa.vq TaM, hssl4yshas Yasa AGO .acsasr asAtss. !
the things in which you have trusted |
and that henceforth your trust IL in |
him. the Infinitely Mercifu One. n |
you VIII do this In ali sincerity God |
Will forgive you, and bestow his love /
upon you. and bless you and help |
you. that you may grow In grace and |
become stronger and purer and more |
beautiful in character every day.
Thin Is the heart OF the lesson |
which you want to lay upon your own |
heart to-day. You want to come. to |
God. You want to be saved. What |
must a poor sinner do to be saved
We are always asking this question I
with knitted brow, az II it was fun |
OF mystery or difficulty. And often |
when we have tried to answer II for |
Others we have only succeeded in add |
ing to the poor sinners perplexity |
And yet there Is nothing simpler II
we will only brush aside the mysteri- |
Gus words with which men have OBJ /
scured 1t. Not long ago + undertook |
to write down the answer with all the |
mysterious words left out. The re-
suit was an eight-page leafiet entitled !
The Supreme Question, which Is now
being scattered over the world. Let |
me reprint It here with the hope that |
1t will help many who have been kept
In the dark by the imaginary mys-
teries of the gospel:
Other Important Truths.
/. As Gods chosen people the Is
raelites had the privilege Of looking to
God for the supply Of all their needs.
Yet they looked to Assyria and to
Egypt and to idols instead. Was 1t
because God had failed them when
they put their trust in him? No. The
history OF these people does not show
single instance In which they were
disappointed In him. Never did they
look to him that he did not wonder
fully deliyer them. Why. than, did
they turn from God and put their .
trust in the things that were an abom-
ination to God? Because trusting in
God means something more than be-
iAsvfng" that God will. come TO your,ll.