"And thou shalt not be for another man; so will I also be for thee." - Hosea 3:3
My soul, was not God the Holy Ghost representing, by the similitude of
his servant the prophet's marriage with an adulteress, the astonishing
marriage of Jesus with our nature, and his personal-union with every
individual of his church and people? Look at this scripture, and see
how sweetly it points to Jesus. The prophet was commanded to love this
woman beloved of her friend, and yet an adulteress. He was to buy her
also to himself: and he was to charge her to abide with him, and not to
play the harlot any more, saying unto her: "And thou shalt not be for
another man, so will I also be for thee." Precious Jesus, do I not
behold thee in all this? Can anything more strikingly shadow forth thy
grace, thy mercy, thy love, to thy people? Was not our whole nature
estranged from thee, when thou camest down from heaven to seek and save
that which was lost? Were not all in a state of daring adultery, when
thou hadst from everlasting betrothed thyself to us, in standing up our
glorious Husband and Surety? And how striking the expression: "Then
said the Lord unto me, go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend!"
Surely at the command of God thy Father, and not uncalled, unsent,
unauthorized, didst thou come. Our nature was indeed yet beloved of
thee, our best and dearest friend, though in a state of spiritual
adultery, and wholly gone away from thee. Yes, blessed Jesus! in
defiance of all our multiplied transgressions, it might be truly said,
we were yet beloved adversity: for thou went then, as now, unchangeable
in thy love, the same Jesus yesterday, to-day, and forever. And surely,
Lord, in another feature the prophet shadowed thee forth; for as he
purchased the harlot, so thou, Lord, before we became thine, didst
purchase us by thy blood. And dost thou now say to me this day: "Abide
with me, and thou shalt not be for another man, so will I also be for
thee?" Oh condescending God! Oh precious, lovely, all loving Saviour!
Lord, make me thine; yea, altogether thine! Let my whole soul, and
body, and spirit be all thine, both by the conquests of thy grace, as
they are justly thine, and by the purchase of thy blood, that never,
never more, I may depart from thee, but with the same full consent as
the church of old, I may exult in this blessed assurance, "My beloved
is mine, and I am his."
Showing posts with label Hosea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hosea. Show all posts
Hosea 14:3
"In thee the fatherless findeth mercy." - Hosea 14:3
Sweet thought! In Jesus, and the relationship, which he hath condescended to place himself in, all his poor followers may find a supply to till up every vacancy. My soul, contemplate Jesus in this blessed feature of character. What relation do we need? The fatherless are commanded to look to him whose name is the everlasting Father. The motherless also; for he hath said, "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort thee." Doth death make a breach between the husband and the wife? Then the scripture saith, "Thy Maker is thine husband, the Lord of Hosts is his name." Are we friendless? "Jesus is the friend that loveth at all times, that sticketh closer than a brother." In short, there is no situation among the affinities of life, the kinder charities of nature, but what Jesus fills and infinitely transcends all. Pause, my soul, over this view of Jesus, and behold how he graciously proposeth himself to supply all wants, and to fill all vacancies. Jesus is both the Father, the Friend, the Brother, the Husband, the whole in one of all relationships and of all connections. And amidst all the changes, the fluctuating circumstances of human affairs, the frailties, and infirmities of our own hearts and the hearts of others, which sometimes separate chief friends, what a blessed thought it is; "Nothing can separate from the love of Christ!" Precious Lord, give me to cry out with the church, under the full assurance of thine unalterable love; "This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem."
Sweet thought! In Jesus, and the relationship, which he hath condescended to place himself in, all his poor followers may find a supply to till up every vacancy. My soul, contemplate Jesus in this blessed feature of character. What relation do we need? The fatherless are commanded to look to him whose name is the everlasting Father. The motherless also; for he hath said, "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort thee." Doth death make a breach between the husband and the wife? Then the scripture saith, "Thy Maker is thine husband, the Lord of Hosts is his name." Are we friendless? "Jesus is the friend that loveth at all times, that sticketh closer than a brother." In short, there is no situation among the affinities of life, the kinder charities of nature, but what Jesus fills and infinitely transcends all. Pause, my soul, over this view of Jesus, and behold how he graciously proposeth himself to supply all wants, and to fill all vacancies. Jesus is both the Father, the Friend, the Brother, the Husband, the whole in one of all relationships and of all connections. And amidst all the changes, the fluctuating circumstances of human affairs, the frailties, and infirmities of our own hearts and the hearts of others, which sometimes separate chief friends, what a blessed thought it is; "Nothing can separate from the love of Christ!" Precious Lord, give me to cry out with the church, under the full assurance of thine unalterable love; "This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem."
Hosea 14:7
"They shall grow as the vine." - Hosea 14:7
And how doth the vine grow? Why, in those soils that are favourable to it, vines are not erect like trees, neither are they fixed, as we do our vines, against walls; but the vine creeps along upon the ground, and rests its tender stalk and branches upon the nearest prop that will stay it. And, my soul, is it not so with the believer that wholly leans upon Jesus, and throws the arms of faith wholly upon him, as the staff, and stay, and support of all confidence. And there is another property of the vine which carries with it a striking resemblance to the believer, namely, the tenderness of its nature, and danger to which it is exposed. How very weak, and poor, and frail, and helpless, is the child of God. What can a believer perform in himself. And what an host of foes is he exposed to; corruption within, and the enemy on every side, makes his case truly like the vine, exposed to the wild beasts, and nipping winds, and storms, which every moment threaten to destroy it. And there is a third particularity by which both are known. While flourishing, to what an extensive length will the vine throw out her branches, and what an abundance of fruit will it bear[ And doth not the believer in this sense grow as the vine, when, from being ingrafted in Jesus, and nourished by him, and from him, his fruit being found, sends forth the graces and fruits of the Spirit, and brings forth some thirty, some sixty, some an hundred fold? And, to mention no more, what a likeness is there between the dry unpromising stick of the vine, and the lifeless and unpromising appearance of the believer. As Jesus himself, when upon earth, was like a root out of a dry ground, so all his followers now are men everywhere wondered at. Precious Jesus, thou glorious Vine of thy church, cause me to be so united to thee, as a branch in thee, the one heavenly plant thy Father hath planted, that in thee my fruit may be found; that I may be perpetually receiving fresh communications from thee, and living upon thee, and to thee, and rejoicing in thee, the source and fountain of all that is gracious here, and the everlasting spring of glory, happiness, and joy, that shall be hereafter.
And how doth the vine grow? Why, in those soils that are favourable to it, vines are not erect like trees, neither are they fixed, as we do our vines, against walls; but the vine creeps along upon the ground, and rests its tender stalk and branches upon the nearest prop that will stay it. And, my soul, is it not so with the believer that wholly leans upon Jesus, and throws the arms of faith wholly upon him, as the staff, and stay, and support of all confidence. And there is another property of the vine which carries with it a striking resemblance to the believer, namely, the tenderness of its nature, and danger to which it is exposed. How very weak, and poor, and frail, and helpless, is the child of God. What can a believer perform in himself. And what an host of foes is he exposed to; corruption within, and the enemy on every side, makes his case truly like the vine, exposed to the wild beasts, and nipping winds, and storms, which every moment threaten to destroy it. And there is a third particularity by which both are known. While flourishing, to what an extensive length will the vine throw out her branches, and what an abundance of fruit will it bear[ And doth not the believer in this sense grow as the vine, when, from being ingrafted in Jesus, and nourished by him, and from him, his fruit being found, sends forth the graces and fruits of the Spirit, and brings forth some thirty, some sixty, some an hundred fold? And, to mention no more, what a likeness is there between the dry unpromising stick of the vine, and the lifeless and unpromising appearance of the believer. As Jesus himself, when upon earth, was like a root out of a dry ground, so all his followers now are men everywhere wondered at. Precious Jesus, thou glorious Vine of thy church, cause me to be so united to thee, as a branch in thee, the one heavenly plant thy Father hath planted, that in thee my fruit may be found; that I may be perpetually receiving fresh communications from thee, and living upon thee, and to thee, and rejoicing in thee, the source and fountain of all that is gracious here, and the everlasting spring of glory, happiness, and joy, that shall be hereafter.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)