Hosea 14:5-7 I will be as the dew to Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.… I. GOD HAS HERE A SIMILITUDE FOR HIMSELF. "I will be as the dew unto Israel." The dew steals down softly, unheard and unobserved by men. So silent and so secret are the operations of the blessed Spirit on the soul. It is an inward work He carries on which the world seeth not and knoweth not. The very men He condescends to visit are, for a while at least, unconscious of His presence, and are often praying for His visitations when He is actually dwelling in their hearts and helping them in their petitions. Though the dew comes softly, it comes not in vain. It brings a blessing on the fields. It is with an especial view to these kindly influences of the dew upon the ground that the Lord makes it an emblem of His own blessed influences on the soul. It is as if God said, "I will refresh the heart of a penitent and humble sinner as the dew refreshes and revives the thirsty land." It is said of the natural dew, that it "tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men." It does not depend on man's making places ready for it. So is the grace of the Divine Spirit free and sovereign in its operations. It falleth where it listeth. II. MORE THAN ONE SIMILITUDE FOR THE PEOPLE ON WHOM GOD'S GRACE IS BESTOWED. When the natural dew has fallen plentifully on the ground we expect to see a growth there — a growth among the herbs and flowers. "He shall grow as a lily." This is a quickly growing flower: and so the man on whom the dew of the Spirit is plenteously diffused is a quickly growing Christian. He is no idle, sluggish, dull professor, but is constantly gaining ground in the blessed life which is begun in him. His faith groweth exceedingly. But the lily has only a feeble footing in the soil. Nothing more easy than to take and pluck it up. Not so with the Lord's Israel, with those who have the Spirit's dew upon their souls. This emblem, therefore, does not altogether suit them. The text resorts to another emblem in order to express the firmness and stability of the child of grace. "Send forth his roots as Lebanon." The cedar trees are vast in height, and they are as vast in depth. So is it with those spiritual trees who have the dew of grace upon their branches. They are rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, as those mighty trees of Lebanon are rooted in the soil. The cedars of Lebanon are spreading trees; and so it is said of him who is watered with the dew of grace — "His branches shall spread." This refers to the useful ness and profitableness of the Christian. The man who hath the dew of heaven in his heart is a blessing to the neighbourhood in which he lives. As far as his power or influence extends it is exerted on behalf of all around him. It is also said, "His beauty shall be as the olive-tree"; a tree fair and fruitful to a proverb, and employed to set forth the spiritual beauty and fruitfulness of true believers. He who has the dew of the Spirit in his heart has "the beauty of holiness" in his life and conversation. There is a comeliness and consistency in his behaviour which even the enemies of godliness must needs admire. The last similitude alludes to some sweet-smelling shrubs with. which Lebanon abounded. "His smell shall be as Lebanon." There is a fragrancy, as it were, in the character of him who hath the dew of grace within him. He is acceptable to his brethren. His graces, like a sweet perfume, endear to them his company, and make his communications precious to them. I am afraid that to find a suitable emblem for many of ourselves we must look not to the garden, but the wilderness. It would not be the lily, or the cedar, or the olive, but the "heath of the desert," or the prickly bramble. By the grace of God's Spirit you may become trees of righteousness, lilies, cedars, and olives, in the garden of the Lord. Learn, as Christians, what trees and flowers we should resemble in the garden where our God hath planted us. We should be as lilies in growth, as cedars in establishment, as olives in beauty, and as the sweet smelling shrubs in the odour of our lives. (A. Roberts, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. |
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