4 Assyria will not be our salvation; we will not go on horses; we will not again say to the work of our hands, You are our gods; for in you there is mercy for the child who has no father. 5 I will put right their errors; freely will my love be given to them, for my wrath is turned away from him. 6 I will be as the dew to Israel; he will put out flowers like a lily, and send out his roots like Lebanon. 7 His branches will be stretched out, he will be beautiful as the olive-tree and sweet-smelling as Lebanon.
8 They will come back and have rest in his shade; their life will be made new like the grain, and they will put out flowers like the vine; his name will be like the wine of Lebanon.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Hosea 14:4-8
Commentary on Hosea 14:4-8
(Read Hosea 14:4-8)
Israel seeks God's face, and they shall not seek it in vain. His anger is turned from them. Whom God loves, he loves freely; not because they deserve it, but of his own good pleasure. God will be to them all they need. The graces of the Spirit are the hidden manna, hidden in the dew; the grace thus freely bestowed on them shall not be in vain. They shall grow upward, and be more flourishing; shall grow as the lily. The lily, when come to its height, is a lovely flower, Isaiah 27:9. See the nature of repentance; it is a firm and fixed resolution to have no more to do with sin. The Lord meets penitents with mercy, as the father of the prodigal met his returning son. God will be to all true converts both a delight and a defence; they shall sit under his shadow with delight. And as the root of a tree; From me is thy fruit found: from Him we receive grace and strength to enable us to do our duty.