Hosea 3:5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king… "Not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance." I. THERE IS MUCH THAT MEN DO NOT KNOW. II. ONE THING THAT MEN DO NOT KNOW IS THE GOODNESS OF GOD. Goodness is a comprehensive term. God saw creation, and pronounced it "good." Goodness includes beneficence, forbearance, patience. It may be likened to a rich flowing river, or to the sun shedding light and warmth all around. But goodness is not the thing that most strikes men in God. But it should be. It may be seen everywhere. 1. Trace it in Scripture story. Life of Jacob. Tale of the wanderings. Time of captivity. Life of Jesus. 2. See it in gracious providences. Winter snows. Summer storms. Autumn harvests. 3. See it in individual experiences. If we read the story of our lives aright, we shall be able to trace everywhere upon us the "good hand of our God for good." But is this man's chief thought of God? Is it not rather the Gospel which has to be declared? Is not this the surprising, melting, persuading Gospel, whose chief rays fall from Christ crucified? III. IF MEN DID BUT KNOW THE GOODNESS OF GOD THEY WOULD FEEL THE HOLY FEAR AND HEAR THE CALL TO REPENTANCE. Men either find a sort of excuse in persisting that God is a God of wrath and judgment, or they presume on His goodness, and say that He will take no notice of sin. Spite of this, the mightiest of all moral forces is goodness. It is mother's power. It is Christ's power. It melts, draws, wins. But it is goodness not in the abstract. It is goodness brought home to us. "Who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Goodness says, "Repent." Is that hard? Nay, it is but the first step on the way to trust, love, and life eternal. God's new goodness seems to freshen the sense of His lifelong goodness, and of His saving goodness, until the cords of God seem to be all about us, and it becomes evident that He is graciously leading us to Himself. (Robert Tuck, B. A.). Parallel Verses KJV: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. |
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