Hosea 7:14

“And they have not cried unto me with their heart, etc.] In their distress, indeed, they cried unto the Lord, and said they repented of their sins, and promised reformation, and made a show of worshipping God; as invocation is sometimes put for the whole worship of God; but then this was not heartily, but hypocritically; their hearts and their mouths did not go together, and therefore was not reckoned prayer; nothing but howling, as follows: when they howled upon their beds; lying sick or wounded there; or, as some, in their idol temples, those beds of adultery, where they pretended to worship God by them, and to pray to him through them; but such idolatrous prayers were no better than the…”

“not cried unto me--but unto other gods [MAURER], (Job 35:9-10). Or, they did indeed cry unto Me, but not "with their heart": answering to "lies," Hos 7:13 (see on Hos 7:13). when they howled upon their beds--sleepless with anxiety; image of deep affliction. Their cry is termed "howling," as it is the cry of anguish, not the cry of repentance and faith. assemble . . . for corn, &c.--namely in the temples of their idols, to obtain from them a good harvest and vintage, instead of coming to Me, the true Giver of these (Hos 2:5, Hos 2:8, Hos 2:12), proving that their cry to God was "not with their heart." rebel against me--literally, "withdraw themselves against Me," that is, not only withdraw…”

“And they have not cried unto him with their heart, when they howled upon their beds - Or, in the present time, “they cry not unto Me when they howl.” They did “cry,” and, it may be, they “cried” even “unto God.” At least, the prophet does not deny that they cried to God at all; only, he says, that they did “not cry to” Him “with their heart.” Their cries were wrung from them by their temporal distresses, and ended in them, not in God. There was no sincerity in their hearts, no change in their doings. Their cry was a mere howling. The secret complaint of the heart is a loud cry in the ears of God. The impetuous “cry” of impatient and unconverted suffering is a mere brutish “howling.” Their…”

“They assembled - In the houses of their idols. Hosea 7:15”

“7:14 They cut themselves: Self-mutilation was characteristic of Canaanite worship (see 1 Kgs 18:28); it was prohibited in Israel (Deut 14:1).”

“they have not: Job 35:9, Job 35:10; Psa 78:34-37; Isa 29:13; Jer 3:10; Zac 7:5 when: Isa 52:5, Isa 65:14; Amo 8:3; Jam 5:1 assemble: Hos 3:1; Exo 32:6; Jdg 9:27; Amo 2:8; Mic 2:11; Rom 16:18; Phi 3:19; Jam 4:3 Hosea 7:15”