God, and to a participation in the blessings which He bestows,--all this is so obvious as to require nothing beyond a simple suggestion. A perfectly sound interpretation of this passage is to be found in _Calvin_, who remarks: "David was, as it were, a messenger of the Lord, and, hence, that defection of the ten tribes was tantamount to a rejection of the living God. The Lord had, on a former occasion, said to Samuel (1 Sam. viii. 7), 'They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me.' But how much more was this applicable in the case of David, whom Samuel had anointed at the command of God, and whom the Lord had adorned with so many glorious attributes, that they could not reject his rule without, at the same time, publicly rejecting, to a certain extent, the Lord Himself! It is true, indeed, that David was then dead; but Hosea here represents, in his person, his everlasting dominion, which the Jews knew would last as long as the sun and moon." The expression, [Pg 290] "They tremble to the Lord," graphically describes the disposition of heart in him, who, trembling with terror and anxiety on account of the surrounding danger and distress, flees to Him who can alone afford help and deliverance. That we must thus explain it,--that we cannot entertain the idea of any trembling which proceeds from the inconceivable greatness of the blessing--a disposition of heart so graphically described by _Claudian_ in the words, "Horret adhuc animus, manifestaque gaudia differt Dum stupet et tanto cunctatur credere voto,"--