John Calvin Commentary Hosea 14

Here the Prophet exhorts the Israelites to repentance and still sets forth some hope of mercy. This may seem inconsistent, as he had already testified that there would be no remedy anymore because they had extremely provoked God. The Prophet seems in this case to contradict himself. But the solution is readily available: in speaking before of the final destruction of the people, he was referring to the whole body of the people, but now he directs his discourse to the few who had still remained faithful.

This distinction, as we have reminded you in other places, should be carefully noticed; otherwise, we will find ourselves perplexed in many parts of Scripture. So now we see for what purpose the Prophet added this exhortation after having asserted that God would be implacable to the people of Israel. For concerning the whole body, there was no hope of deliverance; God had now indeed determined to destroy them, and He wished this to be made known to them by the preaching of Hosea.

Yet God had always some seed remaining among His chosen people. Though the body, as a whole, was putrid and corrupt, yet some sound members remained, just as in a large heap of chaff some grains may be found concealed. Since God then had preserved some (as He always does), He sets forth His mercy to them. And as they had been carried away, as it were, by a tempest—when iniquity so prevailed among the people that there was nothing sound—the Prophet addresses them here because they were not completely incurable.

So let us understand that the irreclaimable, the whole body of the people, are now dismissed; for they were so obstinate that the Prophet could address them with no prospect of success. Then his sermon here should be especially applied to the elect of God, who, having fallen away for a time and become entangled in the common vices of the age, were yet not completely incurable.

The Prophet now exhorts them and says, Return, Israel, to Jehovah thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. This reason is added because men will never repent unless they are made humble. And from where does true and genuine humility come, except from a sense of sin? Unless then men become displeased with themselves and acknowledge that they are worthy of perdition, they will never be touched by a genuine feeling of penitence.

These two things are then wisely joined together by Hosea: that Israel had fallen by their iniquities, and then, that it was time to return to Jehovah. How is this so? Because, when we are convinced that we are worthy of destruction, indeed, that we are already doomed to death for having so often provoked God, then we begin to hate ourselves; and a detestation of sin drives us to seek repentance.

But he says, Turn thou, Israel, to thy God. The Prophet now kindly invites them, for he could not succeed by severe words without mingling a hope of favor, as we know that there can be no hope of repentance without faith. Then the Prophet not only shows what was necessary to be done but also says, ‘You are Israel, you are an elect people.’ He does not, however, as it has been already stated, address all indiscriminately, but those who were the true children of Abraham, though they had for a time degenerated. “Turn then, Israel, to your God; for however much you have for a time fallen away, yet God has not rejected you: only return to Him, and you will find favor, for He is forgiving to His own people.”

He afterward shows the way of repentance, and this passage deserves to be noticed, for we know that men bring forward mere trifles when they speak of repentance. Hence when the word repentance is mentioned, men imagine that God is to be pacified with this or that ceremony, as we see to be the case with those under the Papacy.

And what is their repentance? It is this: if on certain days they fast, if they mutter short prayers, if they undertake vowed pilgrimages, if they buy masses—if with these trifles they weary themselves, they think that the right and the required repentance is brought before God: but all this is completely absurd.

As then the world does not understand what repentance means, and to what it leads, the Prophet here sets forth true repentance by its fruits. He therefore says, Take with you words, and turn to Jehovah; and say to him, Take away all iniquity and bring good, and we will render to thee the calves of our lips. When he instructs them to take or find words to present instead of sacrifice, he no doubt alluded to what the law teaches.

First, it is certain that the Prophet does not speak of insincere words, for we know what God declares by Isaiah (Isaiah 29:13):

This people draw nigh me with their lips,
but their heart is from me far distant.

But he instructs them to take words by which they might show what was conceived and felt in their heart. Then he means this first: that their words should correspond with their feeling.

Secondly, it must be noticed that the Prophet does not speak here of just any sort of words, but that there is to be a mutual relation between the words of God and the words of men. How then are we to bring words to God, words that prove the genuineness of our piety?

We do this by being teachable and submissive: by suffering willingly when He chastises us, by confessing what we deserve when He reproves us, by humbly seeking to avert vengeance when He threatens us, and by embracing pardon when He promises it.

When we thus take words from God’s mouth and bring them to Him, this is what it means to take words according to what the Prophet intends in this place. Hence we see the significance of the Prophet’s exhortation when he instructs us to take words. But I cannot proceed further now.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as we now carry about us this mortal body, indeed, and nourish through sin a thousand deaths within us—O grant that we may always by faith direct our eyes towards heaven and to that incomprehensible power which is to be manifested at the last day by Jesus Christ our Lord, so that in the midst of death we may hope that You will be our Redeemer and enjoy that redemption which He completed when He rose from the dead. May we not doubt that the fruit which He then brought forth by His Spirit will also come to us when Christ Himself shall come to judge the world. And may we thus walk in the fear of Your name, that we may be truly gathered among His members to be made partakers of that glory which by His death He has procured for us. Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

Take with you words and turn to Jehovah and say to him, Take away all iniquity, and bring good, and we will pay thee the calves of our lips. We mentioned in our last lecture the sort of words the Prophet here instructs the Israelites to take while exhorting them to repent. For as they had been previously deaf and mute, he commands them to be not only attentive to the word of the Lord but also prompt to respond, so that there might be a mutual consent between the doctrine heard and their own confession. He now explains himself and says, Take away all iniquity, and bring good. These are the words with which he instructs them to come to God. He dictates to them the confession which the Lord requires.

He first instructs them to ask for remission and the pardon of sins. For if a sinner desires to return into favor with God and yet does not confess his guilt, he adopts a very strange way. The very beginning must be a confession, such as the Prophet here describes. For the Israelites, by asking God to remit their sins, at the same time confessed themselves to be guilty before Him; indeed, they condemned themselves that they might obtain gratuitous absolution. And emphatic is what they said: Take away all iniquity. Thus they confessed themselves to be guilty not only of one sin but also of many sins, for which God might justly punish them if He had not been propitious to them. In short, they acknowledge here their various and multiplied guilt.

But they add, Bring good. This sentence is commonly explained as if the Israelites said that they had previously been barren and empty of good works, but that now, being reconciled, they would be useful and profitable servants of God.

But this sense does not seem to me suitable to this place, for he afterward adds the evidence of gratitude: We shall pay the calves of our lips. He here speaks, I doubt not, of God’s blessing, which flows from the gratuitous pardon of sins.

For God does not simply receive us into favor, but also truly shows that He is not reconciled to us in vain, for He adds the fruits of His paternal love by favoring us with His kindness.

As then the Prophet commanded the Israelites to bring words before God, so now he introduces them as praying that God would bring good. Scripture commonly joins these two together: the favor of God, by which He freely remits sins, and His blessing, which He grants to His children after He has embraced them in His paternal love.

Hence bring good; that is, “O Lord, first receive us into favor, and then prove in reality that You are propitious to us, even by outward benefits.”

It now follows, And we shall pay, or render, the calves of our lips. In this passage, the faithful confess that they have nothing with which they can pay God in return, when He has bountifully granted them all things, except that they will celebrate His goodness in their praises and confess that they owe all things to Him. This is then a remarkable passage, for it sets forth God’s goodness towards men, and then it teaches that men can render no mutual compensation, but can only bring praises by which they celebrate God’s goodness, and nothing more, as it is said in Psalm 116:

What shall I repay the Lord for all the benefits which he has conferred on me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.

There also the Prophet testifies that God is not liberal towards men because He expects or demands anything from them (for what can they give?) but that He still requires thanksgiving and that He is content with the sacrifice of praise, as we also find said in Psalm 116.

But we learn the same thing from this passage. O Lord, they say, bring good; that is, “Though we have in various ways exposed ourselves to Your judgment, having by our innumerable sins provoked Your wrath, yet let Your goodness surpass all our iniquities; having made us clean, bring also that good which has been previously, as it were, far away from us.” For while God shows signs of His wrath, we are destitute of all His blessings.

They therefore ask God, after restoring them to favor, to manifest His kindness to them. And what do they at last say? “O Lord, we promise You no compensation, for You require none, nor is it in our power to give any; but we will pay to thee the calves of the lips; that is, ‘We will confess that we owe all things to You; for it is only the sacrifice of praise that we can render You, when You have loaded us with all kinds of blessings.’”

And calves of the lips the Prophet fitly calls the praises which God requires as the chief sacrifice, for under the law, some offered calves when they paid their vows. But the Prophet shows that God does not regard external sacrifices, but only those exercises which men perform in another way, even the sacrifices of thanksgiving. This then is the meaning of the metaphor, as though he said, “The calves which are usually offered are not the true sacrifices in which God delights, but tend rather to show that men are to offer praise to God.” So now we perceive the meaning of this verse.

This verse should be joined with the last, as the Israelites show here more clearly and fully how they had sinned and, at the same time, give proof of their repentance. For when they say, The Assyrian shall not save us, we shall not mount on horses, we shall not say to the work of hands, Our gods, it is to be understood as a confession that they had in these various ways provoked God's vengeance against themselves. They had hoped for safety from the Assyrians, rushed here and there, and thus alienated themselves from God; they had also fled to statues and idols and had transferred to mute images the honor due to the only true God.

From this, we see that although the faithful speak of the future, they still indirectly confess that they had grievously sinned, had forsaken the only true God, and transferred their hopes to others—either to the Assyrians or to fictitious gods. At the same time, they promise to be different in the future, as if to say that they would not only be grateful to God in celebrating His praises, but that their way of living would also be new, so as not to abuse God's goodness. This is the essence of what is said here.

By saying, The Assyrian shall not save us, they undoubtedly condemned, as I have already stated, the false confidence by which they were previously deluded when they sought deliverance through the Assyrians. Indeed, there is no doubt that the Israelites were always accustomed to pretend to trust in God's name; but in thinking themselves lost without the help of the Assyrians, they most certainly defrauded God of His due honor and adorned men with spoils taken from Him.

For unless we are convinced that God alone is sufficient for us, even when all earthly help fails us, we do not place our hope of salvation in Him; but, on the contrary, transfer to mortals what belongs to Him alone. For this sacrilege, therefore, the Israelites condemn themselves and, at the same time, show that the fruit of their repentance would be to set their minds on God, so that they would not be drawn here and there as before, or think that they could be preserved through the help of men.

From this, let us learn that people do not turn to God unless they bid farewell to all creatures and no longer fix their hopes on them. This is one thing.

What follows, On a horse we shall not mount, may be explained in two ways: first, as if they said that they would no longer be so foolish as to be proud of their own power, or consider themselves safe because they were well supplied with horses and chariots.

But the clause may be more simply explained as meaning that they would not, as before, wander here and there to procure auxiliaries for themselves. We shall not then mount a horse, but remain quiet in our country; and this sense seems more appropriate.

I do not, therefore, think that the Prophet brings forward any new idea, but I read the two sentences together: The Assyrian shall not save us, we shall not then mount on a horse, meaning, so that we may ride in haste. For they had previously wearied themselves with long journeys: as soon as any danger was near, they went far away into Assyria to seek help, when God commanded them to remain quiet.

The meaning of this will be better understood by referring to other passages that correspond with what is said here. God says by Isaiah, On horses mount not; but ye said, We will mount: then mount, says He (Isaiah 30:16). This is a striking intimation that the Jews, against God’s will, rode and hastened to seek aid.

“I see you,” He says, “to be very prompt and swift: then mount, but it will be for the purpose of fleeing.” We see the purpose of this reproof from the Prophet; it was to show that the Jews, who should have remained still and quiet, fled here and there to seek assistance.

So also in this passage, when they want to show the fruit of their repentance, they say, “We will not from now on mount a horse, for the Lord, who promises to be our aid, is not to be sought as someone far away: we will not then fatigue ourselves anymore in vain.” It seems to me that this is what the Prophet means.

Then he adds, And we shall not say, Our gods, to the work of our hands. As they had spoken of the false trust they placed in men, so now they condemn their own superstition.

And these are the two plagues that are accustomed to bring destruction on people, for nothing is more ruinous than to transfer our hope from God. This is done in two ways: either when people trust in their own strength, or pride themselves on human aid and despise God, as if they can be safe without Him—or when they give themselves up to false superstitions.

Both these diseases always prevail in the world when people entangle themselves in their own superstitions and form new gods for themselves, from whom they expect safety—as we see to be the case with those under the Papacy. God is of almost no account with them; Christ is not sufficient.

For how does it happen that they contrive so many patrons for themselves and devise so many guardianships, except that they despise God's help, or so diminish it, that they dare not hope for salvation from Him? From this, we see that superstition draws people away from God and thus becomes the cause of the worst destruction.

But there are some who are not given up to superstitions in this way, but who derive hope from their own valor or wisdom. For the children of this world are inflated with their own strength; and when princes have their armies prepared, have fortified cities, possess abundant money, and are strengthened by many alliances, they are blinded by false confidence.

So then, this verse teaches us that these are two destructive plagues which commonly draw people away from true safety. If we would then repent sincerely from the heart, we must purge our minds from these two evils, so that we do not ascribe anything to our own strength or to earthly help, nor form any idols to be in God's place, but feel assured that God alone is a sufficient help to us.

But it follows, For in thee will the fatherless find mercy. Here the Israelites show that it is necessary for us to be humbled so that we may remain dependent on God alone. For those are compared to the fatherless who are so humbled that they cast away all vain hopes and, conscious of their nakedness and need, rely on God alone.

Therefore, so that God’s mercy may find an open way to come to us, we must become fatherless. Now, what this metaphor means is well known to us. The fatherless, we know, are, first, destitute of aid; secondly, of wisdom; and they are also without strength.

They are then dependent on another's aid and need direction; in short, their safety depends on the assistance of others. Thus, we are also truly fatherless when we do not rely on our own prudence, nor rest on our own strength, nor think that we can be safe through help that comes from the earth, but cast all our hopes and cares on God alone. This is one thing.

The fatherless then shall find mercy in thee; that is, “When You, Lord, do so afflict us that we become completely cast down, then we will find mercy in You. This mercy will be sufficient for us, so that we will no longer wander and be drawn aside by false devices, as has been the case with us until now.”

When, therefore, they say, in God will the fatherless find mercy, they mean that the grace offered by the Lord will be sufficient, so that there will no longer be any need to seek aid from any other. We now understand what the Prophet means in this verse.

God here confirms what we have observed concerning his gratuitous reconciliation, nor is the repetition useless. For as people are disposed to entertain vain and false hopes, so nothing is more difficult than to keep them dependent on the one God and to pacify their minds, so that they do not disturb or fret themselves, as experience teaches us all.

For when we embrace the promises of free pardon, our flesh always leads us to distrust, and we become harassed by various fancies: “What! Can you, or dare you, promise with certainty to yourself that God will be propitious to you, when you know that for many reasons he is justly angry with you?”

Since, then, we are so inclined to harbor distrust, the Prophet again confirms the truth which we have previously noticed: that God is ready to be reconciled and desires nothing more than to receive and embrace his people.

Hence he says, I will heal their defections. The way of healing is by a gratuitous pardon. For though God, by regenerating us by his Spirit, heals our rebellion, that is, subdues us to obedience, and removes from us our corruptions, which stimulate us to sin; yet in this place the Prophet no doubt declares, speaking as God, that the Israelites would be saved from their defections, so that these defections might not come against them in judgment, nor be imputed to them.

Let us understand then that God is a physician in two respects while he is healing our sins: he cleanses us by his Spirit, and he abolishes and buries all our offenses. But it is of the second kind of healing that the Prophet now speaks, when he says, I will heal their turnings away; and he employs a strong term, for he might have said, “your faults or errors,” but he says, “your defections from God.” As though he said, “Though they have sinned so grievously that by their crimes they have deserved a hundred deaths, yet I will heal them from these their atrocious sins, and I will love them freely.”

The word נדבה, nudebe, may be explained either freely or bountifully. I will then love them bountifully, that is, with an abounding and not a common love; or I will love them freely, that is, gratuitously. But those who render the words “I will love them of my own accord,” that is, not by constraint, pervert the sense of the Prophet. For how cold is the expression, that God is not forced to love us; and what meaning can be elicited from this? But the Lord is said to love us freely, because he finds in us no cause for love, for we are unworthy of being regarded or viewed with any favor; but he shows himself liberal and beneficent in this very act of manifesting his love to the unworthy.

We then perceive that the real meaning of the Prophet is this: that though the Israelites had in various ways provoked the wrath of God, and, as it were, intentionally wished to perish and to have him be angry with them, yet the Lord promises to be propitious to them. In what way? Even in this: for he will give proof of his bounty when he will thus gratuitously embrace them.

We now see how God becomes a Father to us and regards us as his children—even when he abolishes our sins and also when he freely admits us to the enjoyment of his love. And this truth ought to be carefully observed, for the world always imagines that they come to God and bring something by which they can turn or incline him to love them. Nothing can be more inimical to our salvation than this vain fancy.

Let us then learn from this passage that God cannot be a Father to us otherwise than by becoming our physician and by healing our transgressions. But the order also is remarkable, for God puts love after healing. Why? Because, as he is just, he must regard us with hatred as long as he imputes sins. It is then the beginning of love when he cleanses us from our vices and wipes away our spots. When, therefore, it is asked how God loves people, the answer is that he begins to love them by a gratuitous pardon; for while God imputes sins, people must be hated by him. He then commences to love us when he heals our diseases.

It is not without reason that he adds that the fury of God is turned away from Israel. For the Prophet intended to add this as a seal to confirm what he taught, because people always dispute with themselves when they hear that God is propitious to them. “How is this, that he heals your infirmities? For until now you have found him to be angry with you, and how are you now persuaded that his wrath is pacified?” Hence the Prophet seals his testimony concerning God’s love when he says that his wrath has now ceased. Turned away then is my fury. “Though until now I have by many proofs manifested to you my wrath, yet I now come to you as one changed. Do not judge me then by past time, for I am now pacified toward you, and my fury is from you turned away.”

The Prophet now again repeats what he had said: that God, after restoring the people to favor, would be so beneficent as to make apparent the fruit of reconciliation. Seeing that the Israelites had been afflicted, they should have imputed this to their own sins; they should have perceived by such proofs the wrath of God.

They had been so foolish as, on the contrary, to imagine that their adversities happened to them by chance. The Prophet had been much engaged in teaching this truth: that the Israelites would always be miserable until they turned to God, and also that all their affairs would be unhappy until they obtained pardon.

He now speaks of a change: that God would not only by words show Himself propitious to them, but would also give a proof by which the Israelites might know that they were now blessed because they had been reconciled to God; for His blessing would be the fruit of His gratuitous love.

This, then, is how this sentence, I will be to Israel as the dew, should be connected: He intimates that they were previously dry because they had been deprived of God’s favor. He compares them to a rose or lily. For when the fields or meadows are burned up by the heat of the sun, and there is no dew distilling from heaven, all things wither.

How then can lilies and roses flourish, unless they derive moisture from heaven, and the dew refreshes the ground so that they may put forth their strength? The reason then for the similitude is this: because people become dry and destitute of all vigor when God withdraws His favor. Why? Because God must, as it were, distill dew; otherwise, as has been said, we become wholly barren and dry. I will be then as dew to Israel.

And further, He shall Flourish as the lily, and his roots he shall send forth. Some render ויך, vaic, “and he will strike;” and נכה, nuke, means to strike. Others render the words, “His branches will extend;” but the verb is in the singular number, and the noun, “roots,” is in the plural.

The Prophet then speaks of Israel, that he strikes his roots; but the meaning is to fix them in a metaphorical sense: he will then fix his roots. Just as when we strike, we deliver a blow and extend our arms, so he will spread forth his roots like Libanus. This is the second effect of God’s favor and blessing, which means that the happiness of the people would be perpetual.

With regard to the rose or lily, the meaning of the metaphor is that God would suddenly, and as in a moment, vivify the Israelites, though they were like the dead. Just as in one night the lily rises, and unexpectedly also the rose, so sudden would be the change signified by this metaphor.

But as the lilies and the roses soon wither, it was not enough to promise Israel that their salvation would come suddenly; but it was necessary to add this second clause—that though they would be like lilies and roses, they yet would also be like tall trees, which have deep roots in the ground, by which they remain firm and flourish for a long time.

We now, then, perceive the meaning of the Prophet. He mentions here the twofold effect of God’s blessing concerning the Israelites—that their restoration would be sudden, as soon as God would distill like the dew His favor upon them, and also that this happiness would not be fading, but enduring and permanent. And the words may be rendered as Libanus, or as those of Libanus: (for instance) as Libanus he shall cast forth his roots, like the trees which grow there; or, he shall cast forth his roots like the trees which are in Libanus. But as for the sense, there is no difference.

The Prophet continues with the same subject, but joins the beginning of the first verse with the second clause of the former verse. He had said that the roots of the people would be deep when God would restore them. Now he adds that their branches shall go on.

He explains that “to go on” is used metaphorically, meaning to extend far. For branches of trees seem to “go on” when they extend and spread themselves far and wide. His branches, then, shall go on; this means that a tree, after striking roots, does not remain in the same state but grows and spreads out its branches in all directions.

In short, God promises a daily increase to His blessing after He has once begun to show Himself generous to the people of Israel. “I will then be generous at the beginning; and further,” He says, “my blessing will, as time passes, increase and be multiplied.”

He afterwards adds, His comeliness shall be like the olive. The Prophet accumulates similes so that he might more fully confirm the people.

And we certainly see that the minds of people grow faint when they look for prosperity from this or that quarter. Indeed, there is hardly one in a hundred who is fully persuaded that when God is gracious, all things turn out well and happily. For people do not regard the love of God when they wish for things to be well with them, but wander here and there throughout the whole world; now they seek prosperity from themselves, then from the earth, now from the air, then from the sea.

Since, then, it is so difficult to impress this truth fully on the hearts of people—that the love of God is the fountain of all blessings—the Prophet has collected a number of similes to confirm what he teaches. Then, he says, his comeliness shall be like the olive; and further, his fragrance like that of Libanus. Fragrant trees, we know, grow on Mount Libanus.

But by these various similes, the Prophet shows that the state of the people would be prosperous and happy as soon as they are received by God into favor. He afterwards adds, the dwellers under his shadow shall return; but I will defer this until tomorrow.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as we are so miserable as soon as You withdraw Your favor from us, O grant that we may deeply feel this conviction. May we thus learn to be humble before You and to hate ourselves. May we not in the meantime deceive ourselves with such allurements as commonly prevail, causing us to put our hope in creatures or in this world.

Instead, let us raise our minds upwards to You, fix our hearts on You, and never doubt that when You embrace us with Your paternal love, nothing will be lacking for us. And in the meantime, may we humbly flee to Your mercy. With true and genuine confession, may we acknowledge this to be our only protection: that You are gracious enough to receive us into favor and to abolish our sins.

Into these sins we not only daily fall, but by them we also deserve eternal death. May we daily rise through Your free pardon, until at length our Redeemer Christ, Your Son, will appear to us from heaven. Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

The dwellers under his shadow shall return (so it is literally); they shall revive themselves with corn (or, revive as the corn); they shall grow as the vine: his odour shall be as the wine of Libanus. The Prophet proceeds with the same subject: that God would show Himself generous to His people, so that it might plainly appear from their different state that they had before suffered just punishment.

And he says, The dwellers under his shadow shall return. But the verb ישבו, ishibu, in this place rightly means “to be refreshed,” as in Psalm 19, where the law of God is spoken of as משיבת, meshibet, converting the soul, which signifies the same as refreshing or restoring the soul.

So the Prophet intimates that after the Israelites begin to flourish again, their shadow would be life-giving, such as would restore and refresh those lying under it. He identifies “the dwellers under his shadow” as all those who belong to the people. He compares the common state of the people of Israel to a tree full of leaves, which extends its branches far and wide, so that those who flee under its shadow are defended from the heat of the sun. We now see the design of this metaphor and what the Prophet means by the verb ישבו, ishibu.

He afterwards adds, They shall vivify themselves with corn, or, revive as corn. If we read the word in the nominative case, the preposition כ, caph, is to be understood. The ablative case is more approved by some: “They shall vivify themselves with corn.”

But the former sense seems more suitable; for, as I have said yesterday, the Prophet, as he handles a truth difficult to be believed, on this account accumulates similes that serve for confirmation. Hence, they shall revive as corn; that is, they shall increase. As from one grain, we know, many stalks proceed, so also, since the Prophet speaks of the increase of the people after their restoration to God’s favor, he says that they would grow like corn.

But he adds, They shall germinate as the vine. This simile strengthens what I have just said: that the people are compared both to trees and to corn, and also to vines. And what is said of dwellers ought not to appear strange, for he wished more fully to express how this common benefit would come, that is, to every one.

He afterwards adds, His odour shall be as the wine of Libanus. That is, when they germinate as the vine, they will not produce common or sour wine, but the sweetest, such as is made on Mount Libanus, and which is of the best odour. But the Prophet means no other thing than that the Israelites will be happy, and that their condition will be prosperous and joyful, when they are converted from their superstitions and other vices and wholly surrender themselves to be governed by God. This is the meaning.