Hosea 14:2

Take with you words, and turn to the Lord,.... Not mere words without the heart, but such as come from it, and express the true sense of it; words of confession, as the Targum; by which sin is

Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.

Take with you words; bethink yourselves what words will best set out your sins, God’ s patience towards you, and your present sorrow and repentance for sin; prepare yourselves to make confessions, petitions, vows, and praises to God; and turn; with words join deeds, let your hearts be in your words, turn, do not as the incorrigible hypocrite. To the Lord: see . Say unto him; pray, present your petitions to him who heareth prayer: here is no mention of sheep or oxen, or any legal sacrifices; true repentance is required, which is much better, faith and hope through the great Sacrifice, in virtue of which these converts expect the grace they need and seek. Take away all iniquity: this petition for pardon of sin includes confession of it, sorrow for it, hope that God will of mere grace forgive it, and take away the guilt, prevent the punishment, and abolish the power of sin, not of some, but of all: sincere converts seek full justification, and full sanctification. Receive us into thy protection, guidance, and benediction, graciously; and this of thy mere grace and goodness; having taken away sin, take also graciously our persons, as reconciled and well-pleasing to thee. So will we render the calves of our lips: this will qualify and encourage us to give the sacrifices which are to God much more pleasing than an ox that hath horns and hoofs, ; with these calves of our lips we will give our hearts also, for those praises of the lips are fruits of what praise the heart of the convert first gives, and these here are signs of their heart given to God, that so they may be spiritual sacrifices, such as , or .

Hosea 14:2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive [us] graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.Ver. 2. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord] Confess your sins, beg pardon, and promise amendment. Sue to God to give you those words that he bids you take: go to him in his own words, put his promises in suit; crave the help of his Holy Spirit, without which what can we do? Romans 8:26. Say to God, as Job 37:19, "Teach us what we shall say unto thee: for we cannot order our words, by reason of darkness." David promiseth not only to pray, but to marshal up his prayers, to put them in good array, so the word signifieth, Psalms 5:3, "In the morning will I direct my prayer," order it in the best manner: his words should be nec lecta, nec neglecta, neither curious nor careless, but such as are humble, earnest, and direct to the point, avoiding vain babblings. Here is a form prescribed in the text (forms of prayer therefore are not so unlawful as some conceive them), words put into their mouths (as the phrase is, 2 Samuel 14:3), that they might not miss. Men must as well look to their words as to their feet, when they come before God; and see that their affections in prayer be not without answerable expressions. Take with you such words as may testify that ye turn heartily to the Lord, and not from the teeth outward, as they in the Psalmist, Psalms 78:36-37. Turn before ye begin to pray; for God heareth not sinners, since their incense smells of their hand that offereth it, Isaiah 1:13. Say unto him] Mentally and vocally; with spirit and speech. True it is, that prayer is not the labour of the lips, but the travail of the heart; and God hath promised to answer his people before they call, Isaiah 65:24. By calling upon his name we neither inform him of what he knoweth not, nor move him to show us more mercy than he intendeth. But yet prayers are necessary, as means which God will have used, that we may receive what he of free mercy giveth. Besides, it prepareth us holily to enjoy the things received; and makes us ready, either to wait for them, or to want them; and to be content that he may be glorified, though we be not gratified.

(2) Say unto him.—This putting of words into the lips of penitents and others is found in Psalms 66:3; Isaiah 48:20; Jeremiah 31:7. In the latter part of the verse render, Accept of good, and we will render as calves (or sacrificial offering) our lips—i.e., the words of true repentance which we take with us shall be our offerings in place of calves. (Comp. Psalms 51:17.)

Verse 2. Take with you words] And you may be assured that you pray aright, when you use the words which God himself has put in your mouths. On this very ground there is a potency in the LORD'S PRAYER, when offered up believingly, beyond what can be found in any human composition. And it may be presumed that it was this consideration that induced our reformers to introduce it so frequently in the public liturgy. See the order of God's directions here: - 1. Hearing these merciful invitations, believe them to be true. 2. Cast aside your idols; and return to God as your Maker, King, and Saviour. 3. Take with you the words by which you have been encouraged, and plead them before God. 4. Remember your iniquity, deeply deplore it, and beg of God to take it all away. 5. Let faith be in exercise to receive what God waits to impart. "Receive us graciously;" וקח טוב vekach tob, receive, or let us receive good; when thou has emptied us of evil, fill us with goodness. 6. Be then determined, through grace, to live to his glory, "so shall we render thee the calves" (פרים parim, for which the versions in general read פרי peri, fruits, omitting the ם mem) "of our lips;" the sacrifices of praise, thanksgiving, gratitude, and the hearty obedience which our lips have often promised. 7. Having thus determined, specify your resolutions to depend on God alone for all that can make you wise, useful, holy, and happy. The resolutions are: - 1. Asshur shall not save us - We will neither trust in, nor fear, this rich and powerful king. We will not look either to riches or power for true rest and peace of mind. 2. We will not ride upon horses - We shall no more fix our hopes on the proud Egyptian cavalry, to deliver us out of the hands of enemies to whom thy Divine justice has delivered us. We will expect no rest nor happiness in the elegances of life, and gratification of our senses. 3. Neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods - We will not trust in any thing without us; nor even in any good thing we are able to do through thy grace; knowing we have nothing but what we have received. We will trust in thy infinite mercy for our final salvation. 4. And we will do all this from the conviction, that in thee the fatherless findeth mercy; for we are all alike helpless, desolate, perishing orphans, till translated into thy family.

2. Take with you words] It is one of the most undoubtedly ancient of the religious laws of the Pentateuch that ‘none shall appear before Jehovah empty’ (Exodus 23:15; Exodus 34:20). What gift then will be most acceptable from the Israelites to their heavenly King? The answer that will naturally rise to the lips of a half-converted Israelite will be ‘sacrifice and burnt-offering’ (see note on Hosea 5:6); but the prophet in his present mood cherishes the belief that Israel’s repentance will after all not be as superficial as he once feared (contrast Hosea 5:6). He therefore urges his people, after the bitter lessons of experience, to take as their offering, not cattle, but penitent words spoken out of the abundance of the heart. Take away all iniquity] Rather, Altogether forgive Iniquity. The form of the Hebrew is singular, but not unparalleled. receive us graciously] Rather, accept the good; ‘for it is good to sing praises unto our God’ (Psalms 147:1). render the calves of our lips] Or, ‘pay (as if with) bullocks (with) our lips.’ Thus the Israelites are converted at last to the principle of chap. 6 Hosea 14:6. It is a very strange expression, however, and Archbishop Newcome may be right in preferring the reading of the Septuagint (comp. Hebrews 13:15), pay the fruit of our lips, which is a choice Hebrew phrase (Isaiah 57:19). The ‘fruit’ is of course praise and thanksgiving, or vows of obedience (Psalms 50:13-14; Psalms 69:30-31).

Take with you words - He bills them not bring costly offerings, that they might regain His favor; not whole burnt-offerings of bullocks, goats or rams; with which, and with which alone, they had

2. The Israelites were all familiar with the command, “None shall appear before me empty” (Exodus 23:15; Exodus 34:20), and they brought to Jehovah manifold gifts and offerings (Hosea 5:6; Amos 5:21