4 I heal their backsliding, I love them freely, For turned back hath Mine anger from him. 5 I am as dew to Israel, he flourisheth as a lily, And he striketh forth his roots as Lebanon. 6 Go on do his sucklings, And his beauty is as an olive, And he hath fragrance as Lebanon. 7 Return do the dwellers under his shadow, They revive 'as' corn, and flourish as a vine, His memorial 'is' as wine of Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, what to Me any more with idols? I—I afflicted, and I cause him to sing: 'I 'am' as a green fir-tree,' From Me is thy fruit found.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Hosea 14:4-8
Commentary on Hosea 14:4-8
(Read Hosea 14:4-8)
Israel seeks God's face, and they shall not seek it in vain. His anger is turned from them. Whom God loves, he loves freely; not because they deserve it, but of his own good pleasure. God will be to them all they need. The graces of the Spirit are the hidden manna, hidden in the dew; the grace thus freely bestowed on them shall not be in vain. They shall grow upward, and be more flourishing; shall grow as the lily. The lily, when come to its height, is a lovely flower, Isaiah 27:9. See the nature of repentance; it is a firm and fixed resolution to have no more to do with sin. The Lord meets penitents with mercy, as the father of the prodigal met his returning son. God will be to all true converts both a delight and a defence; they shall sit under his shadow with delight. And as the root of a tree; From me is thy fruit found: from Him we receive grace and strength to enable us to do our duty.