Hosea 13:9 O Israel, you have destroyed yourself; but in me is your help. This gracious declaration of the blessed God involves two truths. I. THAT IN GOD IS OUR ONLY HELP, AND THAT WE HAVE NO OTHER MEANS OF DELIVERANCE BUT IN HIM. That aversion from God which constitutes our guilt and misery, prompts us to seek relief anywhere else, rather than from Him. That might be prudent, if any dependence could be placed in those refuges which we rely on. That God is our only help is obvious from the circumstance of His having interposed on our behalf. Infinite wisdom can do nothing unnecessary. We could not by any means accomplish our own deliverance. Reason and conscience tell us that no future repentance, though we were disposed to repent, can atone for the guilt of a single transgression. And we do not want to repent; we are unwilling to return to our allegiance, or to be reconciled to our offended Judge. Some say that, under the Gospel, the demands of the moral law are abridged, and that it is now satisfied with a sincere, though imperfect obedience. Can this be true? The fact is that we can do nothing towards relieving ourselves from that destruction and misery in which we are involved by sin. It is not in our power, though we were willing; and we are not willing, although it were in our power. It is impossible that our circumstances should be retrieved by any other means than those which God Himself hath appointed. II. GOD IS AN ALL-SUFFICIENT HELP, BOTH ABLE AND WILLING TO BRING US RELIEF. It may be said, Is not God almighty, so that He can do whatsoever He pleaseth? Yes, He is able to effect any natural act whatever. But our circumstances are such that something else than mere power is necessary to bring us relief. The power of God cannot act in opposition to His other perfections. God is not only powerful, but just and holy. A plan must be devised by which all His perfections may be illustrated at once. God must be just, though man should perish. What circumstances render the scheme of redemption, which God hath wrought for us by Jesus Christ, fully sufficient for all the purposes of our salvation? Consider the dignity of the person of the Redeemer and His resurrection. His death was not more necessary to atone for our sins than His resurrection to apply the redemption He had purchased to the souls of His people. He hath not only begun, but completed the work of redemption. (James French.) Parallel Verses KJV: O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.WEB: You are destroyed, Israel, because you are against me, against your help. |
    |