September 7

"The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Jeash, king of Israel." Hosea 1:1.

We are not informed whether he had been trained up for the holy office, or been called in a manner sudden and unlooked for. Some of the prophets were taken at once from following their common occupations, as we see in the instances of Elisha and Amos. Others were taken, and this was more generally the case, from the schools of the prophets; where, by retirement and prayer and meditation and instruction, they were gradually prepared to minister in holy things. Thus God both sanctified the use of means, and showed that he was not confined to them. It is the same now. Some of the most pious, eminent, and useful ministers the churches ever possessed have been educated for the purpose; and we ought to be thankful for such institutions; and on these, for our spiritual supplies, we must principally depend. But we must not limit the Holy One of Israel. He will sometimes take a man out of our rules, and give him acceptance and success. And we must receive a Bunyan as well as an Owen. When will persons allow God to work in his own way, and learn that, because one thing is right, another need not be wrong?

But Hosea was darnely commissioned: "The word of the Lord came unto him." "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." And they could demand attention in the name of Him who sent them: "Thus saith the Lord."

His descent is also remarked. He was "the son of Beeri." The Jews have a rule, that the prophet whose father is named was the son of a prophet. But this does not always hold. Nothing is recorded of Beeri. Yet it is reasonably concluded that unless he had been a man of some distinction, and from whom Hosea derived honor, he would not have been mentioned. And this he might have been, without possessing worldly rank and riches. The righteous is more excellent than his neighbor. He is happily and nobly descended who springs from those who are great in the sight of the Lord. He may well exult and say,

"My boast is, not that I deduce my birth From lions enthroned, and rulers of the earth; But higher far my proud pretensions rise— The son of parents passed into the skies."

Let us so live as that our children may derive from us advantage and respect.

But the principal thing is the time of his ministration: "In the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel." Now if he prophesied only from the end of Jeroboam's reign, the son of Joash, to the beginning of Hezekiah's, it would have been near seventy years. But he prophesied in the reign of both. And if we allow him a few years in each of these, and reckon up the length of the reigns between, his ministry must have been little short of eighty years; and it was probably even more. And five things may be observed from hence.

First, how very little we have of his prophesyings. Fourteen short chapters, read in much less time than a modern sermon, include all that has been perpetuated of far the longest ministry on record. Some labor for posterity, and leave behind them works which will render them a blessing to future ages. Others are called more to serve their own generation, by the will of God, and are preachers rather than writers. How useful was Whitefield as a preacher, while his few writings have had little circulation, and serve rather to excite wonder that he was so powerful in another capacity. How useful has Hervey been as a writer, while his preaching was without excitement, and scarcely distinguished by any effect. Some, like Doddridge, have excelled both in the pulpit and from the press. Every servant of God has his peculiar gifts, and his appropriate sphere. "Even so, Father; for so it seemeth good in thy sight."

Secondly, he must have begun his ministry very young. Paul forbids the ordination of a novice, lest he should be lifted up with pride. Talent is not all that is necessary for the sacred office. How necessary is the knowledge that is derived from experience, and the confidence that grows out of the trial of character. Thirty was the age for entering on the Levitical service. And not earlier than this period did John and Jesus commence their public ministry. But "the word of God is not bound." Timothy was young, so young that Paul was obliged to say, "Let no man despise thy youth." Samuel was employed while yet a child. Jeremiah was consecrated from the womb. And this was nearly the case with Hosea. What a privilege, what an honor to be early dedicated to the service of God! "I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth."

Thirdly, he must have been very old before he retired from labor. Some do not resign early enough, but stand about as a hinderance in the way of usefulness. The excellent Cornelius Winter often prayed to be preserved from this error. Indeed, few can sit well, and say of a successor, with proper feelings, "I must decrease, but he must increase." Others resign too soon. They would retire upon a pension before they are disabled in the holy war. A minister may want the sprightliness and vigor of youth, and yet have the ripeness and richness of age, and the fruit may drop without much hard shaking. Some nobly fall at their post, sword in hand, faithful unto death, and with the crown of life, obtain the commendation, "Thou hast labored, and hast not fainted."

Fourthly, he must have passed through a vast variety of condition. He lived in the reign of one good king and of four bad ones. He saw peace, and much war. He saw plenty, and, more than once, scarceness and famine. He saw a few partial revivals of religion, but witnessed general and constant wickedness. How many of his relations, friends, and pious connections had fallen! How lonely must he have felt! How changed his views! How convinced must he have been that all below is vanity and vexation of spirit, while yet God was the strength of his heart, and his portion for ever. How much he knew of what was doing in other countries, we cannot determine. But within the compass of his ministry lived Lycurgus, the famous Lacedemonian legislator, and Hesiod, the Greek poet. Rome also was now begun.

Finally, a man of God may labor long and do very little good. The people he addressed not only continued wicked, but waxed worse and worse; and the captivity he had threatened he lived to see commenced. He certainly saw a part of Israel carried away captive by Tiglath-Pileser, and probably the entire destruction of the kingdom of the ten tribes by Salmanczer. This must have been very painful. But it did not slacken his efforts. We are not answerable for our success. If we lose our labor, we shall not lose our reward. A greater than all said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for naught, and in vain; yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God."