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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Hosea 14:4-7

We have here an answer of peace to the prayers of returning Israel. They seek God's face, and they shall not seek in vain. God will be sure to meet those in a way of mercy who return to him in a way of duty. If we speak to God in good prayers, God will speak to us in good promises, as he answered the angel with good words and comfortable words, Zech. 1:13. If we take with us the foregoing words in our coming to God, we may take home with us these following words for our faith to feast upon;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hosea 14:6

His branches shall spread ,.... As the well rooted cedars in Lebanon; see Numbers 24:6 . This respects the propagation of the church of God, and the interest of Christ in the world, as in the first times of the Gospel, and will be in the latter day; when the Gospel shall be spread everywhere; churches set up in all places; the Jews converted, and the fulness of the Gentiles brought in; and these like spreading branches, and fruitful boughs, abounding in grace and good works. The Targum is,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hosea 14:7

They that dwell under his shadow shall return ,.... Either under the shadow of Lebanon, as Japhet and Jarchi; the shadow of that mountain, or of the trees that grew upon it; or under the shadow of Israel, the church, to which young converts have recourse, and under which they sit with pleasure; or rather under the shadow of the Lord Israel was called to return unto, and now return, Hosea 14:1 ; as the Israelites will in the latter day. So the Targum, "and they shall be gathered out of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Hosea 14:7

They that dwell under his shadow shall return - The Targum is curious: "They shall be gathered together from the midst of their captivity; they shall dwell under the shadow of his Christ, and the dead shall revive." They shall revive as the corn - The justness and beauty of this metaphor is not generally perceived. After the corn has been a short time above the earth, in a single spike, the blades begin to separate, and the stalk to spring out of the center. The side leaves turn back to... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Hosea 14:6

Verse 6 The Prophet goes on with the same subject, but joins the beginning of the first verse with the second clause of the former verse. He had said that the roots of the people would be deep when God should restore them. Now he adds, that their branches shall go on He mentions here “to go on” metaphorically for extending far; for branches of trees seem to go on, when they extend and spread themselves far and wide. His branches, then, shall go on; which means, that a tree, after striking... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Hosea 14:7

Verse 7 The dwellers under his shadow shall return, (so it is literally;) they shall revive themselves with corn, (or, revive as the corn;) they shall grow as the vine: his odour shall be as the wine of Libanus. The Prophet proceeds with the same subject, that God would show himself bountiful to his people, that it might plainly appear from their different state that they had before suffered just punishment. And he says, The dwellers under his shadow shall return. But the verb ישבו, ishibu, in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Hosea 14:1-7

Repentance, or reformation. "O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God," etc. "After the prophet has set before the sinful nation in various ways its own guilt, and the punishment that awaits it, viz. the destruction of the kingdom, he concludes his addresses with a call to thorough conversion to the Lord, and the promise that the Lord will bestow his grace once more upon those who turn to him, and will bless them abundantly" (Delitzsch). The subject of these words is Repentance; or, the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Hosea 14:4-7

I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. The penitential prayer put in the mouth of the people receives in this verse a gracious response; words of contrite confession are echoed back in accents of compassion and consolation. When thus penitent and prayerful they returned to the Lord, he promises them favor as well as forgiveness, so as to heal the moral malady under which they had long labored, remedy the evil effects of their apostasy,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Hosea 14:4-7

These verses describe the happy result of Israel's penitence and the merciful response to Israel's prayer. 1. The pardon sought is secured, and that for the greatest sin—that of backsliding, and so for all minor trespasses. The acceptance prayed for is presently and plentifully vouchsafed. The dark storm-cloud of God's wrath is dispersed and dispelled forever. 2. We next learn the fullness of God's forgiving love and his superabundant mercy to them that trust in him. By the most... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Hosea 14:4-8

God's response to the penitent. Israel's repentance will be followed by the turning away of God's anger, and by superabundant blessings. Figures are heaped on each other, and one figure is employed to fill in another, to set forth the fullness with which this blessing will descend. The prophecy, hitherto so dark and troubled, ends in heavenly peace. I. BACKSLIDING HEALED . ( Hosea 14:4 ) No time is lost in answering Israel's prayer. Forgiveness follows close upon return. So David... read more

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