The Promises of God for the Comfort and Encouragement of the Penitent
S. Knight, M. A. Hosea 14:4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for my anger is turned away from him. I. I WILL HEAL THEIR BACKSLIDINGS. Sin is the malady, of the soul. Here is the assurance that it shall not be fatal. Healing denotes recovery from the disease. The condemnation shall be removed, and the dominion of sin subdued. II. I WILL LOVE THEM FREELY. Which implies conferring upon them everything good and desirable. III. I WILL BE AS THE DEW. God will visit the souls of His penitent people with His refreshing grace and sanctifying Spirit. In consequence they shall flourish and increase in know ledge and goodness, adorning their religious profession, and appearing before the world in the beauty of holiness. 1. Dew refreshes the face of nature. 2. Dew makes the ground fruitful.The soul shall become as a fair and fragrant garden, as a comely and flourishing plantation. IV. HE SHALL GROW AS THE LILY, etc. All the excellences of the vegetable world are here collected to express the effects produced by the dew of God's grace on the penitent's soul; beauty, fragrancy, vigour (or strength), and fertility. The salutary influence of God's blessings should reach surrounding nations. (S. Knight, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. WEB: "I will heal their waywardness. I will love them freely; for my anger is turned away from him.