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   Title: Commentary on Joel, Amos, Obadiah
   Creator(s): Calvin, John (1509-1564)
   (Alternative)
   (Translator)
   Rights: Public Domain
   LC Call no: BS491
   LC Subjects:

   The Bible

   Works about the Bible
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   COMMENTARIES

   ON THE

   TWELVE MINOR PROPHETS


   BY JOHN CALVIN



   NOW FIRST TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL LATIN,

   BY THE REV. JOHN OWEN

   VICAR OF THRUSSINGTON, LEICESTERSHIRE



   VOLUME SECOND


   JOEL, AMOS, OBADIAH



   CHRISTIAN CLASSICS ETHEREAL LIBRARY
   GRAND RAPIDS, MI

   [1]http://www.ccel.org
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   Translator's Preface

   This volume contains the Writings of three Prophets. Joel exercised his
   office among the Jews; Amos, though a native of Judea, was yet
   appointed a Prophet of The Ten Tribes; and Obadiah's prophecy refers
   only to Edom.

   The great master of Hebrew criticism, Bishop Lowth, speaking, in his
   twenty-first Prelection, of Joel, says, that though he differs much in
   style from Hosea, he is yet "equally poetical." He represents him as
   "elegant, clear, diffuse, and flowing, and also very sublime, severe,
   and fervid." Admitting the perspicuity of his diction, and the
   clearness of his arrangements, he yet confesses that the matter which
   he handles is sometimes obscure, especially towards the end of his
   Prophecy.

   With regard to the style of Amos, the Bishop differs widely from
   Jerome, who has characterized the Prophet as "unskillful in speech, but
   not in knowledge," (imperitum sermone, set non in scientia.) Lowth, on
   the contrary, regarded him as "not a whit behind the very chiefest
   Prophets, being in elevation of sentiment and nobleness of mind almost
   equal to the very firsts and hardly inferior to any of them in splendor
   of diction and elegance of composition." [1]

   Of Obadiah, nothing more is said by the Bishop than that he left but a
   small monument of his genius, and that a considerable portion of that
   is contained in the prophecy of Jeremiah. Of his composition Dr.
   Henderson says, "Its principal features are animation, regularity, and
   perspicuity."

   There is especially one subject in connection with the present Volume,
   which seems to require particular notice -- The interpretation of those
   prophecies which speak of the future restoration of the Jews to their
   own land. Calvin viewed some passages, as having been already
   accomplished in their return from Babylon, which in the estimation of
   others are yet to be fulfilled; while he interpreted those which
   evidently refer to what is future, in such a way as clearly shows that
   he did not consider that the Jews are to be restored again to their own
   country. That justice may be done to him, we must know and bear in mind
   the principles by which he was guided: for it is not to be supposed,
   that one so versed in Scripture, who had studied it with so much labor,
   and manifested, as it is commonly admitted, so much penetration and
   discernment as an expounder, would have taken such a view of this
   subject on slight grounds, without adopting a rule of interpretation,
   which, according to what he thought, was countenanced by Scriptural
   examples.

   It must first be observed, that Calvin, in common with others, regarded
   the history as well erg the institutions of the people of Israel, as in
   great measure typical of things under the Gospel. Their temporal evils
   and blessings, their temporal oppressions and deliverances, were
   intended to set forth the spiritual state and condition of the
   Christian Church. The free choice of the people by God, their Egyptian
   bondage, their passage through the wilderness and their possession of
   the land of Canaan, were events symbolical of things connected with
   that spiritual community afterwards formed by the preaching of the
   Gospel; and of the same character was the subsequent captivity of that
   people in Babylon, and their restoration afterwards to their own land.

   The next thing to be noticed is, that Promises of Blessings made to the
   people of Israel had in some instances a twofold meaning, and had
   reference to two things -- the one temporal and the other spiritual.
   The restoration, for instance, from Babylon, was a prelude of the
   restoration or redemption by Christ. It was not only typical, but a
   kind of an initiative process, which was to be completed, though in a
   sublimer sense, by the Savior of man. The first was a restoration from
   temporal evils; the second was still a restoration, but from evils of a
   spiritual kind. The performance of the promise, in one case, was the
   commencement of a restorative work, which was to be completed in the
   other: the temporal restoration was eventually succeeded by that which
   is spiritual.

   But the most material point in interpreting the Prophecies is The
   Language which is Used: rightly to understand this language forms the
   main difficulty. There are Promises which, as admitted by Calvin, look
   beyond the restoration from Babylon; and they are couched in terms,
   which, if taken literally, most evidently show that there is to be a
   second restoration. What is there, it may be asked, which can justify a
   departure from the letter of the promises? This is the chief question,
   on which the whole matter depends. Calvin evidently thought that the
   literal sense cannot be taken, as that would be inconsistent with the
   general character of the ancient prophecies; for he considered that
   many of the prophecies, which relate to the Church of the New
   Testament, were conveyed in a language suitable to the institutions
   then existing, and in consistency with the notions which then
   prevailed, as to religion and divine worship. Hence the Temple, Mount
   Sion, sacrifices, offerings, the priests, as well as the restoration of
   the people to their own land, and their perpetual establishment in it,
   are often spoken of in those very promises which incontestably refer to
   the Gospel dispensation. Now, if in some cases, as confessed by most,
   if not by all, the language is not to be taken literally, but as
   representing the success, the extension and the blessings of the
   Gospel, why should it be taken literally in other similar cases? The
   possession of the land of Canaan was to the people of Israel one of
   their chief blessings, and was a signal token of the divine favor.
   Banishment from it was not only a temporal loss, but involved also the
   loss of all their religious privileges. Nothing, therefore, could have
   conveyed to their minds a higher idea of redemption than the promise of
   restoration to their own land, and a perpetual possession of it.

   The foregoing seem to have been the views by which Calvin was guided in
   his interpretation: and the Editor must be allowed to express his
   concurrence, though he is fully aware, that there have been, and that
   there are still, many celebrated men of a contrary opinion.

   There is another idea which Calvin suggests, in connection with this
   subject. He regarded The Promises made in some instances by the
   Prophets as to the future prosperity of the people of Israel, and the
   perpetuity of their institutions and privileges, as Conditional, even
   when no condition is expressed. Instances of the same kind are to be
   found in the writings of Moses and of the earlier Prophets. Promises of
   perpetuity are made, (as for instance, respecting the priesthood,) and
   often unaccompanied by any conditions; and yet they were conditional,
   as the event proved, and in accordance with the tenor of the covenant
   under which the Israelites lived. The same view may also be taken of
   such promises as are found in the later Prophets, that is, such as bear
   on them a national stamp: they were announced unconditionally; but as
   they included blessings which belonged to the people as subjects of the
   Mosaic covenant, they were necessarily conditional, dependent as to
   their accomplishment on their obedience. Hence Jeremiah, who had
   himself announced promises of this kind, says, that the time would come
   when God would establish another covenant; and for this reason, because
   the people of Israel had broken the former covenant.

   The Editor feels it to be his duty to say generally of Calvin's
   Expositions that the more maturely he considers them, after having
   compared them with those of others, both modern and ancient, the more
   satisfied he is with them, and the more he admires the acuteness and
   solid judgment they display. Perhaps no individual, possessing his high
   qualifications, natural, acquired, and spiritual, has ever, either in
   ancient or modern times, exercised himself so much in the study of the
   Holy Scriptures, and produced Comments so original and so valuable.

   What is remarkable in Calvin as an Expositor is his unvarying attention
   to the context. This was his polar star, which enabled him to steer
   clear and safe through many intricacies and ambiguities no to the
   meaning of particular words, and even of sentences. His first object
   seems to have been to ascertain the general drift of a passage or of a
   chapter; and his next, to harmonize its several parts. There are many
   words which have various meanings, and the surest way of ascertaining
   their meaning in any given sentence, is to inquire what comports with
   the context. There is indeed no other way by which we can make a
   choice, when a word admits of different senses. Probably no Commentator
   has ever paid so much attention to this canon of interpretation as
   Calvin did. The ground on which he almost at all times rejects a sense
   given by others to words or to sentences is, that it does not suit the
   place, or, to adopt an expression he frequently uses, that it does not
   square (non quadrat) with the passage.

   It has been often thought that more difficulty attends the Hebrew
   language than other languages, owing to the variety of meaning which
   belongs to some of its words. But this variety exists quite as much,
   and indeed much more, in many other languages, and even in our own.
   What enables us in numberless instances to ascertain the meaning of a
   word, and even often of a sentence, is what stands connected with it,
   that is, the context. It is what goes before and comes after, not only
   in a sentence, but often in a long passage, that explains the precise
   meaning of many words. To transfer the meaning of a word from one
   passage to another, and to say that because it has a certain meaning in
   one place, it must have the same in another, (except the word has but
   one meaning,) is certainly not the way to explain Scripture or any
   other writing. The best expositor in this respect is no doubt the
   context.

   It is well known that these Lectures were delivered extempore, and were
   taken down by some of those who heard them; and we have them now as
   thus taken down, and afterwards corrected by Calvin. This circumstance
   accounts for the occasional defect of order and for occasional
   repetitions. But these drawbacks seem to have been more than
   compensated by the freshness and vigor, the life and animation which
   these spontaneous effusion of his mind exhibit. In none of his other
   writings, as it appears to the Editor, has Calvin shone forth with so
   much lustre as an able, clear, plain, and animated an Expounder, as in
   these Lectures. There is a flow and energy to be found in them not
   equaled in those productions which he composed in private, and finished
   with more careful attention to order and style. When the mind is well
   stored and the memory retentive, as was the case in no ordinary degree
   with Calvin, a public auditory has usually the effect of calling into
   action all the powers of the mind; and, as frequently in the present
   instance, the consequence is, that the finest and the most striking
   thoughts are elicited, and are expressed in a language the most
   energetic, calculated to produce the deepest impressions.

   J.O.
   Thrussington November, 1846.
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   [1] -- Pastoreum nostrum meden husterekenai ton huper lian propheton;
   ut sensuum elatione et magnificentia spiritus prope summis parem, ita
   etiam dictionis splendore et composititonis elegantia vix quoquam
   inferioreum. -- Lowth, Prael. xxi.
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   Calvin's Preface to Joel

   I proceed now to explain The Prophet Joel. The time in which he
   prophesied is uncertain. Some of the Jews imagine that he exercised his
   office in the time of Joram, king of Israel, because a dreadful famine
   then prevailed through the whole land, as it appears evident from
   sacred history; and as the Prophet record a famine, they suppose that
   his ministry must be referred to that time. Some think, that he taught
   under Manasseh, but they bring no reason for this opinion; it is,
   therefore, a mere conjecture. Others think that he performed his office
   as a teacher not only under one king, but that he taught, at the same
   time with Isaiah, under several kings.

   But as there is no certainty, it is better to leave the time in which
   he taught undecided; and, as we shall see, this is of no great
   importance. Not to know the time of Hosea would be to readers a great
   loss for there are many parts which could not be explained without a
   knowledge of history; but as to Joel there is, as I have said, less
   need of this; for the import of his doctrine is evident, though his
   time be obscure and uncertain. But we may conclude that he taught at
   Jerusalem, or at least in the kingdom of Judah. As Hosea was appointed
   a Prophet to the kingdom of Israel, so Joel had another appointment;
   for he was to labor especially among the Jews and not among the Ten
   Tribes: this deserves to be particularly noticed.

   Now the sum of the Book is this: At the beginning, he reproves the
   stupidity of the people, who, when severely smitten by God, did not
   feel their evils, but on the contrary grew hardened under them: this is
   one thing. Then he threatens far more grievous evils; as the people
   became so insensible under all their punishments, that they were not
   humbled, the Prophet declares that there were evils at hand much worse
   than those they had hitherto experienced: this is the second thing.
   Thirdly, he exhorts the people to repentance, and shows that there was
   required no common evidence of repentance; for they had not lightly
   offended God, but by their perverseness provoked him to bring on them
   utter ruin: since, then, their obstinacy had been so great, he bids
   them to come as suppliants with tears, with sackcloth, with mourning,
   with ashes, that they might obtain mercy; for they were unworthy of
   being regarded by the Lord, except they thus submissively humbled
   themselves: this is the third subject. The fourth part of the Book is
   taken up with promises; for he prophesies of the Kingdom of Christ, and
   shows, that though now all things seemed full of despair, yet God had
   not forgotten the covenant he made with the fathers; and that therefore
   Christ would come to gather the scattered remnants, yea, and to restore
   to life his people, though they were now lost and dead.

   This is the sum and substance. But we shall see, as we proceed, that
   the chapters have been absurdly and foolishly divided. He thus begins
   --
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   Chapter 1
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   Lecture Thirty-eighth
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   Joel 1:1-4

   1. The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.

   1. Verbum Jehovae quod fuit ad Joel, filium Pethuel.

   2. Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land.
   Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?

   2. Audite hoc senes, et auscultate omnes incolae terrae, an fuerit hoc
   diebus vestris, et si diebus patrum vestrorum.

   3. Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their
   children, and their children another generation.

   3. Super hoc filiis vestris narrate, et filii vestri filiis suis, et
   filii ipsorum generationi posterae.

   4. That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that
   which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which
   the cankerworm hath the caterpiller eaten.

   4. Residuum locustae comedit (est alia species) bruchus (ita ponamus,
   quoniam non possumus certo scire quaenam fuerint istae species) et
   residuum bruchi comedit locusta et residuum locustae comedit eruca
   (alii primo loco ponunt Erucam, est proprie chenille, et puto potius
   esse hoc posterius. Picardi vocant casee, quasi lysch: verisimile est
   deductum fuisse nomen illud vulgare ab Hebraeis, quia est fere idem:
   sed tamen ego non anxie sudo in istis nominibus, quia de sensu
   Prophetae satis constabit. Nunc venio ad inscriptionem libri.)


   The word of Jehovah which came to Joel, the son of Pethuel. He names
   here his father; it is hence probable that he was a man well known and
   of some celebrity. But who this Pethuel was, all now are ignorant. And
   what the Hebrews hold as a general rule, that a prophet is designated,
   whenever his father's name is added, appears to me frivolous; and we
   see how bold they are in devising such comments. When no reason for any
   thing appears to them, they invent some fable, and allege it as a
   divine truth. When, therefore, they are wont thus to trifle, I have no
   regard for what is held by them as a rule. But yet it is probable, that
   when the Prophets are mentioned as having sprung from this or that
   father, their fathers were men of some note.

   Now what he declared by saying, that he delivered the word of the Lord,
   is worthy of being observed; for he shows that he claimed nothing for
   himself, as an individual, as though he wished to rule by his own
   judgment, and to subject others to his own fancies; but that he relates
   only what he had received from the Lord. And since the Prophets claimed
   no authority for themselves, except as far as they faithfully executed
   the office divinely committed to them, and delivered, as it were from
   hand to hand, what the Lord commanded, we may hence feel assured that
   no human doctrines ought to be admitted into the Church. Why? Because
   as much as men trust in themselves, so much they take away from the
   authority of God. This preface then ought to be noticed, which almost
   all the Prophets use, namely, that they brought nothing of their own or
   according to their own judgment, but that they were faithful dispensers
   of the truth intrusted to them by God.

   And the word is said to have been to Joel; not that God intended that
   he alone should be his disciple, but because he deposited this treasure
   with him, that he might be his minister to the whole people. Paul also
   says the same thing, -- that to the ministers of the Gospel was
   committed a message for Christ, or in Christ's name, to reconcile men
   to God, (2 Corinthians 5:20;) and in another place he says, He has
   deposited with us this treasure as in earthen vessels,' (2 Corinthians
   4:7.) We now understand why Joel says, that the word of the Lord was
   delivered to him, it was not that he might be the only disciple; but as
   some teacher was necessary, Joel was chosen to whom the Lord committed
   this office. Then the word of God belongs indeed indiscriminately to
   all; and yet it is committed to Prophets and other teachers; for they
   are, so to speak, as it were trustees (depositarii -- depositories.)

   As to the verb hyheie, there is no need of philosophizing so acutely as
   Jerome does: "How was the word of the Lord made?" For he feared lest
   Christ should be said to be made, as he is the word of the Lord. These
   are trifles, the most puerile. He could not, however, in any other way
   get rid of the difficulty but by saying that the word is said to be
   made with respect to man whom God addresses, and not with respect to
   God himself. All this, as ye must see, is childish; for the Prophet
   says here only, that the word of the Lord was sent to him, that is,
   that the Lord employed him as his messenger to the whole people. But
   after having shown that he was a fit minister of God, being furnished
   with his word, he speaks authoritatively, for he represented the person
   of God.

   We now see what is the lawful authority which ought to be in force in
   the Church, and which we ought to obey without dispute, and to which
   all ought to submit. It is then only that this authority exists, when
   God himself speaks by men, and the Holy Spirit employs them as his
   instruments. For the Prophet brings not forward any empty title; he
   does not say that he is a high priest of the tribe of Levi, or of the
   first order, or of the family of Aaron. He alleges no such thing, but
   says that the word of God was deposited with him. Whosoever then
   demands to be heard in the Church, must of necessity really prove that
   he is a preacher of God's word; and he must not bring his own devices,
   nor blend with the word any thing that proceeds from the judgment of
   his own flesh.

   But first the Prophet reproves the Jews for being so stupid as not to
   consider that they were chastised by the hand of God, though this was
   quite evident. Hence they pervert, in my judgment, the meaning of the
   Prophet, who think that punishments are here denounced which were as
   yet suspended; for they transfer all these things to a future time. But
   I distinguish between this reproof and the denunciations which
   afterwards follow. Here then the Prophet reproaches the Jews, that
   having been so severely smitten, they did not gain wisdom; and yet even
   fools, when the rod is applied to their backs, know that they are
   punished. Since then the Jews were so stupid, that when even chastised
   they did not understand that they had to do with God, the Prophet
   justly reproves this madness. "Hear", he says, "ye old men; give ear,
   all ye inhabitants of the land, and declare this to your children". But
   the consideration of this passage I shall put off till tomorrow.
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   Prayer.

   Grant, Almighty God that as almost the whole world give such loose
   reins to their licentiousness, that they hesitate not either to despise
   or to regard as of no value thy sacred word -- Grant, O Lord that we
   may always retain such reverence as is justly due to it and to thy holy
   oracles and be so moved whenever thou deignest to address us that being
   truly humbled, we may be raised up by faith to heaven, and by hope
   gradually attain that glory which is as yet hid from us. And may we at
   the same time so submissively restrain ourselves, as to make it our
   whole wisdom to obey thee and to do thee service, until thou gatherest
   us into thy kingdom, where we shall be partakers of thy glory, through
   Christ our Lord. Amen.
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   Lecture Thirty-ninth.

   Hear this, ye old men; and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land:
   has this been in your days, and in the days of your fathers? This
   declare to your children and your children to their children, and their
   children to the next generation: the residue of the locust has the
   chafer eaten, and the residue of the chafer has the cankerworm eaten,
   and the residue of the cankerworm has the caterpillar eaten [2] I have
   in the last Lecture already mentioned what I think of this passage of
   the Prophet. Some think that a future punishment is denounced; but the
   context sufficiently proves that they mistake and pervert the real
   meaning of the Prophet; for, on the contrary, he reproves here the
   hardness of the people, -- that they fell not their plagues. And as men
   are not easily moved by God's judgments, the Prophet here declares that
   God had executed such a vengeance as could not be regarded otherwise
   than miraculous; as though he said, "God often punishes men, and it
   behooves them to be attentive as soon as he raises up his finger. But
   common punishments are wont to be unheeded; men soon forget those
   punishments to which they have been accustomed. God has, however,
   treated you in an unusual manner, having openly as it were put forth
   his hand from heaven, and brought on you punishments nothing less than
   miraculous. Ye must then be more than stupid, if ye perceive not that
   you are smitten by God's hand." This is the true meaning of the
   Prophet, and may be easily gathered from the words.

   Hear, ye old men, he says. He expressly addresses the old, because
   experience teaches men much; and the old, when they see any thing new
   or unusual, must know, that it is not according to the ordinary course
   of things. He who has past his fiftieth or sixtieth year, and sees
   something new happening which he had never thought of, doubtless
   acknowledges it as the unusual work of God. This is the reason why the
   Prophet directs here his discourse to the old; as though he said, "I
   will not terrify you about nothing; but let the old hear, who have been
   accustomed for many years to many revolutions; let them now answer me,
   whether in their whole life, which has been an age on the earth, have
   they seen any such thing " We now perceive the design of the Prophet;
   for he intended to awaken the Jews that they might understand that God
   had put forth his hand from heaven, and that it was impossible to
   ascribe what they had seen with their eyes to chance or to earthly
   causes, but that it was a miracle. And his object was to make the Jews
   at length ashamed of their folly in not having hitherto been attentive
   to God's punishments, and in having always flattered themselves, as
   though God slept in heaven, when yet he so violently thundered against
   them, and intended by an extraordinary course to move them, that they
   might at last perceive that they were summoned to judgment.

   He afterwards adds, And all ye inhabitants of the land. Had the Prophet
   addressed only the old, some might seize on some pretext for their
   ignorance; hence he addressed and from the least to the greatest; and
   this he did, that the young might not exempt themselves from blame in
   proceeding in their obstinacy and in thus mocking God, when he called
   them to repentance. Hear, he says, all ye inhabitants of the land; has
   this been in your days or in the days of your fathers? He says first,
   has such a thing been in your days, for doubtless what happens rarely
   deserves a greater consideration. It is indeed true that foolish men
   are blind to the daily works of God; as the favor of God in making his
   sun to rise daily is but little thought of by us. This happens through
   our ingratitude; but our ingratitude is doubled, and is much more base
   and less excusable, when the Lord works in an unwonted manner, and we
   yet with closed eves overlook what ought to be deemed a miracle. This
   dullness the Prophet now reproves, Has such a thing, he says, "happened
   in your days, or in the days of your fathers? Ye can recall to mind
   what your fathers have told you. It is certain that for two ages no
   such thing has happened. Your torpidity then is extreme, since ye
   neglect this judgment of God, which from its very rareness ought to
   have awakened your minds."

   He then adds, Tell it to your children, your children to their
   children, their children to the next generation. In this verse the
   Prophet shows that the matter deserved to be remembered, and was not to
   be despised by posterity, even for many generations. It appears now
   quite clear that the Prophet threatens not what was to be, as some
   interpreters think; it would have been puerile: but, on the contrary,
   he expostulates here with the Jews, because they were so slothful and
   tardy in considering God's judgments; and especially as it was a
   remarkable instance, when God employed not usual means, but roused,
   and, as it were, terrified men by prodigies. Of this then tell: for lyh
   olie means no other thing than tell or declare this thing to your
   children;' and further, your children to their children. When any thing
   new happens, it may be, that we are at first moved with some wonder;
   but our feeling soon vanishes with the novelty, and we disregard what
   at first caused great astonishment. But the Prophet here showed, that
   such was the judgment of God of which he speaks, that it ought not to
   have been overlooked, no, not even by posterity. Let your children, he
   says, declare it to those after them, and their children to the fourth
   generation: it was to be always remembered.

   He adds [2]what that judgment was, -- that the hope of food had for
   many years disappointed them. It often happened, we know, that locusts
   devoured the standing corn; and then the chafers and the palmer worms
   did the same: these were ordinary events. But when one devastation
   happened, and another followed, and there was no end; when there had
   been four barren years, suddenly produced by insects, which devoured
   the growth of the earth; -- this was certainly unusual. Hence the
   Prophet says, that this could not have been chance; for God intended to
   show to the Jews some extraordinary portent, that even against their
   will they might observe his hand. When any thing trifling happens, if
   it be rare, it will strike the attention of men; for we often see that
   the world makes a great noise about frivolous things. But this wonder,
   says the Prophet, "ought to have produced effect on you. What then will
   ye do, since ye are starving, and the causes are evident; for God has
   cursed your land, and brought these insects, which have consumed your
   food before your eyes. Since it is so, it is surely the time for you to
   repent; and you have been hitherto very regardless having overlooked
   God's judgments, which have been so remarkable and so memorable." Let
   us now proceed.
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   [2] All these are different kinds of locusts. There are in Hebrew ten
   names for them, designative probably of so many kinds. There are four
   here: gzm, gizam, the young locust; 'rvh, arebe, so called from their
   number, one on the wing; ylq, ilak, one of the hairy bristly kind; and
   lpss', chesil, one unfledged. Following the probable ideal meaning of
   the words, we may give them these names, --the cutter, the multiplier,
   the licker, and the devourer. -- Ed.
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   Joel 1:5

   5. Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine,
   because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.

   5. Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine,
   because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.


   The Prophet adds this verse for the sake of amplifying; for when God
   sees men either contemptuously laughing at or disregarding his
   judgments, he derides them; and this mode the Prophet now adopts. Ye
   drunkards,' he says, awake, and weep and howl.' In these words he
   addresses, on the subject in hand, those who had willfully closed their
   eyes to judgments so manifest. The Jews had become torpid, and had
   covered themselves over as it were with hardness; it was then necessary
   to draw them forth as by force into the light. But the Prophet accosts
   the drunkards by name; and it is probable that this vice was then very
   common among the people. However that might be, the Prophet by
   mentioning this instance shows more convincingly, that there was no
   pretense for passing by things, and that the Jews could not excuse
   their indifference if they took no notice; for the very drunkards, who
   had degenerated from the state of men, did themselves feel the
   calamity, for the wine had been cut off from their mouth. And this
   expression of the Prophet, "Awake", ought to be noticed; for the
   drunkards, even while awake, are asleep, and also spend a great portion
   of time in sleep. The Prophet had this in view, that men, though not
   endued with great knowledge, but even void of common sense, could no
   longer flatter themselves; for the very drunkards, who had wholly
   suffocated their senses, and had become thus estranged in their minds,
   did yet perceive the judgment of God; though drowsiness held them
   bound, they were yet constrained to awake at such a manifest
   punishment. What then does this ignorance mean, when ye see not that
   you are smitten by God's hand?

   To the same purpose are the words, Weep and howl. Drunkards, on the
   contrary, give themselves up to mirth, and intemperately indulge
   themselves; and there is nothing more difficult than to make them to
   feel sorrow; for wine so infatuates their senses, that they continue to
   laugh in the greatest calamities. But the Prophet says, Weep and howl,
   ye drunkards! What then ought sober men to do? He then adds, Cut off is
   the wine from your mouth. He says not, "The use of wine is taken away
   from you;" but he says, from your mouth. Though no one should think of
   vineyards or of winecellars or of cups, yet they shall be forced,
   willing or unwilling, to feel the judgment of God in their mouth and in
   their lips. This is what the Prophet means. We then see how much he
   aggravates what he had said before: and we must remember that his
   object was to strike shame into the people, who had become thus torpid
   with regard to God's judgments.

   As to the word sys osis, some render it new wine. ss osas is to press;
   and hence sys osis is properly the wine that is pressed in the
   wine-vat. New wine is not what is drawn out of the bottle, but what is
   pressed out as it were by force. But the Prophet, I have no doubt,
   includes here under one kind every sort of wine. Let us go on.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 1:6-7

   6. For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number,
   whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a
   great lion.

   6. Quia gens ascendit super terram meam, robusta et absque numero,
   dentes ejus dentes leonis, et maxillae (alii vertunt, molares) leonis
   illis (quanquam aliud est nomen: alii vertunt, leunculum.)

   7. He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it
   clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.

   7. Posuit vineam meam in vastitatem (vel, desolationem) et ficulneam
   meam in decorticationem: nudando nudavit eam et disjecit, albi facti
   sunt rami ejus.


   Of what some think, that punishment, not yet inflicted, is denounced
   here on the people, I again repeat, I do not approve; but, on the
   contrary, the Prophet, according to my view, records another judgment
   of God, in order to show that God had not only in one way warned the
   Jews of their sins, that he might restore them to a right mind; but
   that he had tried all means to bring them to the right way, though they
   proved to have been irreclaimable. After having then spoke of the
   sterility of the fields and of other calamities, he now adds that the
   Jews had been visited with war. [3] Surely famine ought to have touched
   them, especially when they saw that evils, succeeding evils, had
   happened for several years contrary to the usual course of things, so
   that they could not be imputed to chance. But when God brought war upon
   them, when they were already worn out with famine, must they not have
   been more than insane in mind, to have continued astonied at God's
   judgments and not to repent? Then the meaning of the Prophet is, that
   God had tried, by every means possible, to find out whether the Jews
   were healable, and had given them every opportunity to repent, but that
   they were wholly perverse and untamable.

   Then he says, Verily a nation came up. The particle ky ki is not to be
   taken as a causative, but only as explanatory, Verily, or surely, he
   says, a nation came up; though an inference also is not amiss, if it be
   drawn from the beginning of the verse: Hear, ye old men, and tell your
   children;' what shall we tell? even this, that a nation, etc. But in
   this form also ky ki would be exegetical, and the sense would be the
   same. This much as to the meaning of the passage.

   A nation, then, came up over my land. God here justly claims the land
   of Canaan as his own heritage, and does so designedly, that the Jews
   might more clearly know that he was angry with them; for their
   condition would not have been worse than that of other nations, had not
   God resolved to punish them for their sins. There is here then an
   implied comparison between Judea and other countries, as though the
   Prophet said, "How comes it, that your land is wasted by wars and many
   other calamities, while other countries are at rest? This land is no
   doubt sacred to God, for he has chosen it for himself, that he might
   rule in it; he has here his own habitation: it then must be that there
   is some cause for God's wrath, as your land is so miserably wasted,
   when other lands enjoy tranquillity." We now perceive what the Prophet
   means. A nation, he says, came up upon my land, and what then? God
   could surely have prevented this; he could have defended his own land,
   of which he was the keeper, and which was under his protection: how
   then had it happened that enemies with impunity inundated this land,
   having marched into it and utterly laid it waste, except that it had
   been forsaken by the Lord himself?

   A nation, he says, came up upon my land, strong and without number; and
   further, who had the teeth of a lion, the jaw-bones of a young lion.
   The nations had no strength which God could not in an instant have
   broken down, nor had he need of mighty auxiliaries, for he could by a
   nod only have reduced to nothing whatever men might have attempted:
   when, therefore, the Assyrians so impetuously assailed the Jews they
   were necessarily exposed to the wantonness of their enemies, for they
   were unworthy of being protected, as hitherto, by the hand of God.

   He afterwards adds, that his vine had been exposed to desolation and
   waste, his fig-tree to the stripping of the bark. God speaks not here
   of his own vine, as in some other places, in which he designates his
   Church by this term; but he calls everything on earth his own, as he
   calls the whole race of Abraham his children: and he thus reproaches
   the Jews for having reduced themselves to such wretchedness through
   their own fault; for they would have never been spoiled by their
   enemies, had not God, who was wont to defend then, previously rejected
   them; for there was nothing in their land which he did not claim as his
   own; as he had chosen the people, so he had consecrated the land to
   himself. Whatsoever, then, enlisted in Judea, was, as it were, sacred
   to God. Now when both the vines and the fig-trees were exposed to the
   depredations of the unbelieving, it was certain that God no longer
   ruled there. How so? Even because the Jews had expelled him. He
   afterwards enlarges on the same subject; for what follows, By denuding
   he has denuded it and cast it away, is not a mere narrative; the
   Prophet here declares not simply what had taken place; but as we have
   already said, adduces more proof, and tries to awaken the drowsy senses
   of the people, yea, to arouse them from that lethargy by which the
   minds of all had been seized; hence it is that he uses in his teaching
   so many expressions. This is the reason why he says that the vine and
   the fig-tree had been denuded, and also that the leaves had been taken
   away, that the branches had been made bare and white; so that there
   remained neither produce nor growth.

   Many interpreters join these three verses with the former, as if the
   Prophet now expressed what he had said before of the palmer worm, the
   chafer, and the locust; for they think that he spake allegorically when
   he said that all the fruits of the land had been consumed by the
   locusts and the chafers. They therefore add, that these locusts, or
   chafers, or the palmer worms, were the Assyrians, as well as the
   Persian and the Greeks, that is, Alexander of Macedon and the Romans:
   but this is wholly a strained views so that there is no need of a long
   argument; for any one may easily perceive that the Prophet mentions
   another kind of punishments that he might in every way render the Jews
   inexcusable who were not roused by judgments so multiplied, but
   remained still obstinate in their vices. Let us now proceed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [3] But most commentators consider these two verses as containing a
   more particular description of the devastations produced by the locusts
   mentioned before. That they are called "a nation" is according to
   prophetic style, and what has been done by heathen poets: the wasting
   of the vine and the barking of the fig-tree seem more suitable to this
   view. It is true that nvy, nation, and not vzm people, as in Proverbs
   30:25, is here used; but, as Dr. Henderson observes, it seems to have
   been selected on purpose "to prepare the minds of the Jews for the
   allegorical use made of these insects in chapter 2." -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 1:8

   8. Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her
   youth.

   8. Plange tanquam puella, accincta sacco, super marito adolescentiae
   suae.


   The Prophet now addresses the whole land. Lament, he says; not in an
   ordinary way, but like a widow, whose husband is dead, whom she had
   married when young. The love, we know, of a young man towards a young
   woman, and so of a young woman towards a young man, is more tender than
   when a person in years marries an elderly woman. This is the reason
   that the Prophet here mentions the husband of her youth; he wished to
   set forth the heaviest lamentation, and hence he says "The Jews ought
   not surely to be otherwise affected by so many calamities, than a widow
   who has lost her husband while young, and not arrived at maturity, but
   in the flower of his age." As then such widows feel bitterly their
   loss, so the Prophet has adduced their case.

   The Hebrews often call a husband vl bol, because he is the lord of his
   wife and has her under his protection. Literally it is, "For the lord
   of her youth;" and hence it is, that they also called their idols vlym
   bolim, as though they were as we have often said in our comment on the
   Prophet Hosea, their patrons.

   The sum of the whole is, That the Jews could not have continued in an
   unconcerned state, without being void of all reason and discernment;
   for they were forced, willing or unwilling, to feel a most grievous
   calamity. It is a monstrous thing, when a widow, losing her husband
   when yet young, refrains from mourning. Now then, since God had
   afflicted his land with so many evils, he wished to bring on them, as
   it were, the grief of widowhood. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 1:9

   9. The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house
   of the Lord; the priests, the Lord's ministers, mourn.

   9. Succisa est oblatio et libamen e domo Jehovae: luxerunt sacerdotes,
   ministri Jehovae.


   Here, in other words, the Prophet paints the calamity; for, as it has
   been said, we see how great is the slowness of men to discern God's
   judgments; and the Jews, we know, were not more attentive to them than
   we are now. It was, therefore, needful to prick them with various
   goads, as the Prophet now does, as though he said, "If ye are not now
   concerned for want of food, if ye consider not even what the very
   drunkards are constrained to feel, who perceive not the evil at a
   distance, but taste it in their lips -- if all these things are of no
   account with you, do at least look on the temple of God, which is now
   destitute of its ordinary services; for through the sterility of your
   fields, through so great a scarcity, neither bread nor wine is offered.
   Since then ye see that the worship of God has ceased, how is it ye
   yourselves still remain? Why is it that ye perceive not that God's fury
   is kindled against you? For surely except God had been most grievously
   offended, he would at least have had some regard for his own worship;
   he would not have suffered his temple to remain without sacrifices."

   The Jews, we know, daily poured their libations, and offered
   meat-offerings. When, therefore, Joel mentions mnchh meneche and
   libation, he doubtless meant to show that the worship of God was nearly
   abolished. But God would have never permitted such a thing, had he not
   been grievously offended by the sins of men. Hence the indifference, or
   rather the stupidity of the people, is more clearly proved, inasmuch as
   they perceived not the signs of God's wrath made evident even in the
   very temple. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 1:10

   10. The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the
   new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.

   10. Vastatus est ager, luxit terra (hoc est, luxerunt terrae incolae;)
   quia vastatum est (idem est verbum vel, quia periit) frumentum, aruit
   (est a verbo yvs, non a vvs, quod significat pudefacere: quanquam
   utraque radix significationem hanc admittit apud Hebraeos: quia ergo
   aruit) mustum et exterminatum est (infirmatum ad verbum, ab 'ml; sed
   significat debilitatum esse) oleum.


   The Prophet goes on here with the same subject, and uses these many
   words to give more effect to what he said; for he knew that he
   addressed the deaf, who, by long habit, had so hardened themselves that
   God could effect nothing, at least very little, by his word. This is
   the reason why the Prophet so earnestly presses a subject so evident.
   Should any one ask what need there was of so many expressions, as it
   seems to be a needless use of words; I do indeed allow that all that
   the Prophet wished to say might have been expressed in one sentence, as
   there is here nothing intricate: but it was not enough that what he
   said should be understood, except the Jews applied it to themselves,
   and perceived that they had to do with God; and to make this
   application they were not disposed. It is not then without reason that
   the Prophet labors here, and enforces the same thing in many words.

   Hence he says, The field is wasted, and the land mourns; for the corn
   has perished, for dried up has the wine, for destroyed has been the
   oil. And by these words he intimates that they seeing saw nothing; as
   though he said, "Let necessity extort mourning from you; ye are indeed
   starving, all complain of want, all deplore the need of bread and wine;
   and yet no one of you thinks whence this want is, that it is from the
   hand of God. Ye feel it in your mouth, ye feel it in your palate, ye
   feel it in your throat, ye feel it in your stomach; but ye feel it not
   in your heart." In short, the Prophet intimates that the Jews were void
   of right understanding; they indeed deplored their famine, but they
   were like brute beasts, who, when hungry, show signs of impatience. So
   the Jews mourned, because their stomach disquieted them; but they knew
   not that the cause of their want and famine was their sins. It
   afterwards follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 1:11

   11. Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the
   wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.

   11. Erubescite agricolae, ululate vinitores super tritico et hordeo;
   quia periit messis agri.


   The Prophet says nothing new here, but only strengthens what he had
   said before, and is not wordy without reason; for he intends here not
   merely to teach, but also to produce an effect: And this is the design
   of heavenly teaching; for God not only wishes that what he says may be
   understood, but intends also to penetrate into our hearts: and the word
   of God, we know, consists not of doctrine only, but also of
   exhortations, and threatenings, and reproofs. This plan then the
   Prophet now pursues: Ye husband men, he says, be ashamed, and ye
   vinedressers, howl; for perished has the harvest of the field. The sum
   of the whole is, that the Jews, as we have already said, could by no
   excuse cover their indifference; for their clamor was everywhere heard,
   their complaints everywhere resounded, that the land had become a
   waste, that they were themselves famished that they were afflicted with
   many calamities; and yet no one acknowledged that God, who visited them
   for their sins, was the author. But what remains I shall put off until
   to-morrow.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Prayer

   Grant, Almighty God, that as thou invites us daily by various means to
   repentance, and continues also to urge us, because thou sees our
   extreme tardiness, -- O grant that we may at length be awakened from
   our indifference, and suffer us not to be inebriated by the charms of
   Satan and the world; but by thy Spirit rouse us to real groaning, that,
   being ashamed of ourselves, we may flee to thy mercy, and doubt not but
   that thou wilt be propitious to us, provided with a sincere heart we
   call on thee, and seek that reconciliation which thou daily offerest to
   us by thy Gospel in the name of thy only begotten Son. Amen.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 1:12

   12. The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate
   tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the
   field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.

   12. Vitis exaruit, et ficulnea infirmata est (vel, periit;)
   malogranatum, etiam palma et malus, omnes arbores exaruerunt: certe
   exaruit gaudium a filiis hominum.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Fortieth

   The Prophet now concludes his subjects which was, that as God executed
   judgments so severe on the people, it was a wonder that they remained
   stupefied, when thus reduces to extremities. The vine, he says, has
   dried up, and every kind of fruit; he adds the fig-tree, afterwards the
   rmvn remun, the pomegranate, (for so they render it,) the palm, the
   apple-tree, [4] and all trees. And this sterility was a clear sign of
   God's wrath; and it would have been so regarded, had not men either
   wholly deceived themselves, or had become hardened against all
   punishments. Now this anaisthesia (insensibility) is as it were the
   very summit of evils; that is, when men feel not their own calamities,
   or at least understand not that they are inflicted by the hand of God.
   Let us now proceed --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [4] Of the three foregoing trees we may add this account:
   The pomegranate, rmvn, grows about 20 feet high, has a straight stem
   and spreading branches, and bears large red blossoms. Its fruit is
   about the size of an orange, and is delicious and cooling.
   The palm or date-tree, tmr, is sometimes as high as 100 feet, and
   remarkably straight. Its fruit grows in clusters under its leaves, and
   is in taste very sweet. Palm branches were emblems of victory.
   What is called here the apple-tree, tphvch, was no doubt the
   citron-tree. The word is derived from nphh, to breathe, on account of
   the extreme fragrance it emits. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 1:13-15

   13. Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the
   altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for
   the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house
   of your God.

   13. Accingimini et plangete sacerdotes; ululate, ministri altaris;
   venite, pernoctate cum saccis, ministri Dei mei: quia prohibita est a
   domo Dei vestri oblatio et libamen.

   14. Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and
   all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God,
   and cry unto the Lord,

   14. Sactificate jejunium, vocate coetum, congregate senes, omnes
   incoles terrae, in domum Jehovae Dei vestri, et clamate ad Jehovam,

   15. Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a
   destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

   15. Heus Diem! Quia propinquus est dies Jehovae, et tanquam vastitas ab
   Omnipotente veniet.


   Now the Prophet begins to exhort the people to repentance. Having
   represented them as grievously afflicted by the hand of God, he now
   adds that a remedy was at hand, provided they solicited the favor of
   God; and at the same tine he denounces a more grievous punishment in
   future; for it would not have been enough that they had been reminded
   of their calamities and evils, except they also feared in time to come.
   Hence the Prophet, that he might the more move them, says, that the
   hand of God was still stretched out, and that there was something worse
   nigh at hand, except they of themselves anticipated it. This is the
   purport of the whole. I now come to the words.

   Be girded, lament and howl, he says, ye priests, the ministers of the
   altar The verb chgrv chegeru may be explained in two ways. Some
   understand it thus "Gird yourselves with sackcloth;" for shortly after
   he says with sackcloth, or in sackcloth. But we may take it as simply
   meaning, gird yourselves, that is, Hasten; for this metaphorical
   expression often occurs. As to the drift of the passage, there is but
   little difference, whether we read, "Gird yourselves with sackcloth,"
   or, "Hasten." And he addresses the priests, though a common and general
   exhortation to the whole people afterwards follows. But as God made
   them the leaders of his people, it behaved them to afford others an
   example. It is the common duty of all the godly to pray for and to
   further the salvation of their brethren; but it is a duty especially
   enjoined on the ministers of the word and on pastors. So also, when God
   calls those to repentance who preside over others, they ought to lead
   the way, and for two reasons; -- first, because they have not been in
   vain chosen by the Lord for this end, that they might outshine others,
   and be as luminaries; -- secondly, because they who bear any public
   office ought to feel a double guilty when the Lord visits public sins
   with judgment. Private men indeed sin; but in pastors there is the
   blame of negligence, and still more, when they deviate even the least
   from the right way, a greater offense is given. Rightly then does the
   Prophet begin with the priests, when he bids the whole people to
   repent. And he not only bids them to put on sackcloth, but commands
   them also, as we shall see, to proclaim a fast, and then to call an
   assembly: ye priests, he says, be girded, and put on sackcloth, wail,
   howl, and pass the night in sackcloth; and then he calls them the
   ministers of the altar and the ministers of God, but in a different
   sense; for the Prophet does not substitute the altar for God, as he
   would thus have formed an idol; but they are called the ministers of
   the altar, because they offered there sacrifices to God. They are
   indeed with strict propriety the ministers of God; but as the priests,
   when they sacrificed, stood in the presence of God, and as the altar
   was to them as it were the way of access to him, they are called the
   ministers of the altar. He calls them, at the same time, the ministers
   of God, and, as it has been stated, they are properly so called.

   But he says here 'lhy alei (my God.) The iod, my, is by some omitted,
   as if it were a servile letter, but redundant. I, however, doubt not
   but that the Prophet here mentions Him as his God; for he thus intended
   to claim more authority for his doctrine. His concern or his contest
   was with the whole people; and they, no doubt, in their usual ways
   proudly opposed against him the name of God as their shield. "What! are
   we not the very people of God?" Hence the Prophet, in order to prove
   this presumption false, sets forth God as being on his side. He
   therefore says, The ministers of my God.' Had any one objected and
   said, that he was in common the God of the whole people, the Prophet
   had a ready answer, -- "I am specially sent by Him, and sustain his
   person, and plead the cause which he has committed to me: He is then my
   God and not yours." We now then see the Prophet's meaning in this
   expression. He now adds, for cut off is offering and libation from the
   house of our God. He confesses Him at the same time to be their God
   with reference to the priesthood; for nothing, we know, was
   presumptuously invented by the Jews, as the temple was built by Godly
   command, and sacrifices were offered according to the rule of the law.
   He then ascribes to the priesthood this honor, that God ruled in the
   temple; for God, as we have already said, approved of that worship as
   having proceeded from his word: and to this purpose is that saying of
   Christ, We know what we worship.' But yet the priests did not rightly
   worship God; for though their external rites were according to the
   command of God, yet as their hearts were polluted, it is certain that
   whatever they did was repudiated by God, until, being touched with the
   fear of his judgment, they fled to his mercy, as the Prophet now
   exhorts them to do.

   He afterwards adds, sanctify a fast, call an assembly, gather the old,
   all the inhabitants of the land. qds kodash means to sanctify and to
   prepare; but I have retained its proper meaning, sanctify a fast; for
   the command had regard to the end, that is, sanctification. Then a fast
   proclaim -- for what purpose? That the people might purge themselves
   from all their pollutions, and present themselves pure and clean before
   God. Call an assembly. It appears that there was a solemn convocation
   whenever a fast was proclaimed among the people: for it was not enough
   for each one privately at home to abstain from food, except all
   confessed openly, with one mouth and one consent, that they were guilty
   before God. Hence with a fast was connected a solemn profession of
   repentance. The uses and ends of a fast, we know, are various: but when
   the Prophet here speaks of a solemn fast, he doubtless bids the people
   to come to it suppliantly, as the guilty are wont to do, who would
   deprecate punishment before a judge, that they may obtain mercy from
   him. In the second chapter there will be much to say on fasting: I only
   wish now briefly to touch on the subject.

   He afterwards bids the old to be gathered, and then adds, All the
   inhabitants of the land. But he begins with the old, and justly so, for
   the guilt of the old is always the heaviest. But this word relates not
   to age as in a former instance. When he said yesterday, Hear ye, the
   aged,' he addressed those who by long experience had learnt in the
   world many things unknown to the young or to men of middle age. But now
   the Prophet means by the old those to whom was intrusted the public
   government; and as through their slothfulness they had suffered the
   worship of God and all integrity to fall into decay, rightly does the
   Prophet wish them to be leaders and precursors to the people in their
   confession of repentance; and further, it behaved them, on account of
   their office, as we have said of the priests, to lead the way. Joel at
   the same time shows that the whole people were implicated in guilt, so
   that none could be excepted, for he bids them all to come with the
   elders.

   Call them, he says, to the house of Jehovah your God, and cry ye to
   Jehovah. We hence learn why he had spoken of fasting and of sackcloth,
   even that they might humbly deprecate God's wrath; for fasting of
   itself would have been useless, and to put on sackcloth, we know, is in
   itself but an empty sign: but prayer is what the Prophet sets here in
   the highest rank, and fasting is only an appendage, and so is
   sackcloth. Whosoever then puts on sackcloth and withholds prayer, is
   guilty of mockery; and no one can derive any good from mere fasting;
   but when fasting and sackcloth are added to prayer, and are as it were
   handmaids, then they are not uselessly practiced. We may then observe,
   that the end of fasting and sackcloth was no other, than that the
   priests together with the whole people, might present themselves
   suppliantly before God, and confess themselves worthy of destruction,
   and that they had no hope except from his gratuitous mercy. This is the
   meaning.

   It now follows, Alas the day! for nigh is the day of Jehovah. Here the
   Prophet, as it was at first stated, threatens something worse in future
   than what they had experienced. He has hitherto been showing their
   torpidity; now he declares that they had not yet suffered all their
   punishments, but that there was something worse to be feared, except
   they turned seasonably to God. And he now exclaims, as though the day
   of Jehovah was before his eyes, and he calls it the day of Jehovah,
   because in that day God would stretch-forth his hand to execute
   judgment; for while he tolerates men or bears with their sins, he seems
   not to rule in the world. And though this mode of speaking is common
   enough in Scripture, it ought yet to be carefully noticed; for all seem
   not to understand that God calls that his own day, when he will openly
   shine forth and appear as the judge of the world: but as long as he
   spares us, his face seems to be hidden from us; yea, he seems not to
   govern the world. The Prophet therefore declares here that the day of
   the Lord was at hand; for it cannot be, but that the Lord must at
   length rise up and ascend his throne to punish men, though for a time
   he may connive at them. But the interjection, expressive of grief,
   intimates that the judgment, of which the Prophet speaks, was not to be
   despised, for it would be dreadful; and he wished to strike terror into
   the Jews, for they were too secure. And he says, The day is nigh, that
   they might not procrastinate, as they were wont to do, from day to day:
   for though men be touched by God's judgments they yet even desire time
   to be prolonged to them, and they come very tardily to God. Hence the
   Prophet, that he might correct this their great slothfulness, says that
   the day was nigh.

   He adds, ksd msdy yvv' kashed meshadi ibu as a desolation from the
   Almighty will it come.' The word sdy shadi signifies a conqueror; but
   it proceeds from the verb sdd shadad; and this in Hebrew means "to
   desolate," or "to destroy." The powerful and the conqueror is called
   sdy shadi; and hence they call God sdy shadi, on account of his power.
   Some derive it from udder: then they call God sdy shadi as though
   Scripture gave him this name, because from him flows all abundance of
   good things as from a fountain. But I rather refer this name to his
   strength and power, for the Jews, we know, gloried in the name of God
   as one armed to defend their safety. Whenever then the Prophets said
   that God was sdy shadi, the people laid hold on this as a ground for
   false confidence, "God is almighty, we are then secure from all evils."
   But yet this confidence was not founded on the promises: and it was, we
   know, an absurd and profane presumption to have thus abused the name of
   God. Since then the Jews foolishly pricked themselves on this, that God
   had adopted them for his people, the prophet says here, "There will
   come a desolation from the Almighty;" that is, "God is Almighty, but ye
   are greatly deceived in thinking that your safety is secured by his
   power; for he will, on the contrary, be opposed to you, inasmuch as ye
   have provoked his wrath." It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 1:16-17

   16. Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from
   the house of our God?

   16. An non coram oculis nostris cibus excisus est? e domo Dei nostri
   gaudium et exultatio?

   17. The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid
   desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.

   17. Putrefacta sunt grana subtus sulcos suos, desolata sunt
   reconditoria (vel, apothecae desolatae sunt,) diruta sunt horrea, quia
   exaruit frumentum.


   He repeats the same thing as before, for he reproaches the Jews for
   being so slow to consider that the hand of God was against them. Has
   not the meat, he says, been cut off before our eyes? joy and exultation
   from the house of our God? Here he chides the madness of the Jews, that
   they perceived not things set before their eyes. He therefore says that
   they were blind in the midst of light, and that their sight was such,
   that seeing they saw nothing: they surely ought to have felt
   distressed, when want reached the temple. For since God had commanded
   the first-fruits to be offered to him, the temple ought not by any
   means to have been without its sacrifices; and though mortals perish a
   hundred times through famine and want, yet God ought not to be
   defrauded of his right. When, therefore, there was now no offering nor
   libation, how great was the stupidity of the people not to feel this
   curse, which ought to have wounded them more than if they had been
   consumed a hundred times by famine? We see then the design of the
   Prophet's words, that is, to condemn the Jews for their stupidity; for
   they considered not that a most grievous judgment was brought on them,
   when the temple was deprived of its usual sacrifices.

   He afterwards adds, that joy and gladness were taken away: for God
   commanded the Jews to come to the temple to give thanks and to
   acknowledge themselves blessed, because he had chosen his habitation
   among them. Hence this expression is so often repeated by Moses, Thou
   shalt rejoice before thy God;' for by saying this, God intended to
   encourage the people the more to come cheerfully to the temple; as
   though he said, "I certainly want not your presence, but I wish by my
   presence to make you glad." But now when the worship of God ceased, the
   Prophet says, that joy had been also abolished; for the Jews could not
   cheerfully give thanks to God when his curse was before their eyes,
   when they saw that he was their adversary, and also when they were
   deprived of the ordinances of religion. We now then perceive why the
   Prophet joins joy and gladness with oblations: they were the symbols of
   thanksgiving.

   He shows the cause of the evil, Rotted have the grains in the very
   furrows. For they call seeds phrdvt peredut from the act of scattering.
   He then calls grains by this name, because they are scattered; and he
   says that they rotted in the fields when they ought to have germinated.
   He then adds, The granaries halve become desolated and the barns have
   been pulled down; for there was no use for them. Hence we conclude,
   that sterility had become most grievousand perpetual; for if the people
   had been only afflicted by famine for a few harvests or for one year,
   the Prophet would not have spoken thus. The famine must then have been,
   as it has been already stated for a long time. Let us now proceed --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 1:18

   18. How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because
   they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

   18. Quomodo ingemuit bestia? Confusa sunt armenta boum? Quia desunt
   illis pascua: etiam greges ovium desolati sunt.


   The Prophet amplifies his reproof, that even oxen as well as other
   animals felt the judgment of God. There is then here an implied
   comparison between the feeling of brute animals and the insensibility
   of the people, as though he said, "There is certainly more intelligence
   and reason in oxen and other brute animals than in you; for the herds
   groan, the flocks groan, but ye remain stupid and confounded. What does
   this mean?" We then see that the Prophet here compares the stupidity of
   the people with the feeling of animals, to make them more ashamed.

   How, he says, has the beast groaned? The question serves to show
   vehemence; for if he had said in the form of a narrative, that the
   animals groaned, that the cattle were confounded, and that the flocks
   perished, the Jews would have been less affected; but when he exclaims
   and, moved with astonishment, speaks interrogatively, How does the
   beast groan? He, no doubt, wished to produce an effect on the Jews,
   that they might perceive the judgment of God, which they had before
   passed by with their eyes closed, though it was quite manifest. It
   follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 1:19-20

   19. O Lord, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures
   of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the
   field.

   19. Ad te Jehovam clamabo, quia ignis consumpsit pascua (vel,
   habitacula) deserti: et flamma accendit omnes arbores agri.

   20. And the beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of
   waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the
   wilderness.

   20. Etiam bestiae agri clamabunt ad te (quanquam rg proprium est cervi,
   ut dicunt grammatici, sicuti etiam Psalmo 42 habetur: est illic idem
   verbum: clamabunt igitur bestiae ad te,) quia aruerunt decursus
   aquarum, quia ignis consumpsit habitacula (vel, pascua) deserti.


   When the Prophet saw that he succeeded less than he expected, leaving
   the people, he speaks of what he would do himself, I will cry to thee,
   Jehovah. He had before bidden others to cry, and why does he not now
   press the same thing? Because he saw that the Jews were so deaf and
   listless as to make no account of all his exhortations: he therefore
   says, "I will cry to thee, Jehovah; for they are touched neither by
   shame nor by fear. Since they throw aside every regard for their own
   safety, since they account as nothing my exhortations I will leave
   them, and will cry to thee;" which means this, -- "I see, Lord, that
   all these calamities proceed from thy hand; I will not howl as profane
   men do, but I will ascribe them to thee; for I perceive thee to be
   acting as a judge in all the evils which we suffer." Having then before
   declared that the Jews were more tardy than brute animals and having
   reproached them for feeling less acutely than oxen and sheep, the
   Prophet now says, that though they all remained obstinate, he would yet
   do what a pious man and a worshipper of God ought to do, I will cry to
   thee -- Why? Because the fire has consumed the pastures, or the
   dwellings, of the wilderness.

   He here again gives an awful record of God's judgments. Though the heat
   may burn up whole regions, yet we know that pasture-lands do not soon
   wither, especially on mountains; and of such cold pastures he speaks
   here. We know that however great may be the fertility of mountains, yet
   coolness prevails there, and that, in the greatest drought, the
   mountainous regions are ever green. But the Prophet tells us here of an
   unusual thing, that the dwellings of the wilderness were burnt up. Some
   render n'vt naut pastures; others, dwellings: but as to the meaning, we
   may read either; for the Prophet refers here to cold and humid regions,
   which never want moisture in the greatest heats. Some render the word,
   the beautiful or fair spots of the wilderness, but improperly. He
   doubtless means pastures, or dwellings, or folds. The fire then has
   consumed the dwellings, or pastures of the wilderness. This was not
   usual; it did not happen according to the ordinary course of nature: it
   then follows that it was a miracle. This is the reason why the Prophet
   says, that it was now time to cry to God; for it did not appear to be
   fortuitous, that the heat had burnt up regions which were moist and
   well watered. The flame, he says hath burnt up all the trees of the
   field.

   He afterwards adds The beasts of the field will also cry (for the verb
   is in the plural number;) the beasts then will cry. The Prophet
   expresses here more clearly what he had said before that though the
   brute animals were void of reasons they yet felt God's judgment, so
   that they constrained men by their example to feel ashamed, for they
   cried to God: the beasts then of the field cry. He ascribes crying to
   them, as it is elsewhere ascribed to the young ravens. The young
   ravens, properly speaking, do not indeed call on God; and yet the
   Psalmist says so, and that, because they confess, by raising up their
   bills, that there is no supply for their want except God supports them.
   So also the Prophet mentions here the beasts as crying to God. It is
   indeed a figure of speech, called personification; for this could not
   be properly said of beasts. But when the beasts made a noise under the
   pressure of famine, was it not such a calling on God as their nature
   admitted? As much then as the nature of brute animals allows, they may
   be said to seek their food from the Lord, when they send forth
   lamentable cries and noises, and show that they are oppressed with
   famine and want. When, therefore, the Prophet attributes crying to
   beasts, he at the same time reproaches the Jews with their stupidity,
   that they did not call on God. "What do you mean," he says. "See the
   brute animals; they show to you what ought to be done; it is at least a
   teaching that ought to have effect on you. If I and the other prophets
   have lost all our labor, if God has in vain performed the office of a
   teacher among you, let the very oxen at least be your teachers; to whom
   indeed it is a shame to be disciples, but it is a greater shame not to
   attend to what they teach you; for the oxen by their example lead you
   to God."

   We now perceive how much vehemence there is in the Prophet's words,
   when he says, Even the beasts of the field will cry to God; for the
   streams of waters have dried up, and the fire has consumed the
   dwellings, or the pastures of the wilderness. He again teaches what I
   have lately stated, that sterility proceeded from the evident judgment
   of God, and that it ought to have struck dread into men, for it was a
   sort of miracle. When, therefore the courses of waters dried up on the
   mountains, how could it be deemed natural? 'phyqym aphikim mean courses
   of waters or valleys through which the waters run. The Prophet here
   refers, no doubt, to those regions which, through the abundance of
   water, always retain their fertility. When, therefore, the very valleys
   were burnt up, they ought surely to own that something wonderful had
   happened. On this account, he ascribes crying to herds and brute
   animals, and not any sort of crying, but that by which they called on
   God. What remains we shall defer till to-morrow.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Prayer.

   Grant, Almighty God, that as thou sees us to be surrounded with the
   infirmity of our flesh, and so held by, and, as it were, overwhelmed
   with, earthly cares, that we can hardly raise up our hearts and minds
   to thee, -- O grant, that being awaked by thy word and daily warnings,
   we may at length feel our evils, and that we may not only learn by the
   stripes thou inflictest on us, but also of our own accord, summon
   ourselves to judgment, and examine our hearts, and thus come to thy
   presence, being our own judges; so that we may anticipate thy
   displeasure, and thus obtain that mercy which thou best promised to
   all, who, turning only to thee, deprecate thy wrath, and also hope for
   thy favor, through the name of one Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
     __________________________________________________________________
     __________________________________________________________________

   Chapter 2
     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Forty-first
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 2:1-11

   1. Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain:
   let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord
   cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

   1. Clangite tuba in Sion, et clamate (alii vertunt, tantarizate: sed
   est generale verbum: clamate igitur, vel, clamorem odite) in monte
   sancto meo: contremiscant omnes incolae terrae, quia venit dies
   Jehovae, quia propinquus est.

   2. A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick
   darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and
   a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more
   after it, even to the years of many generations.

   2. Dies tenebrarum et caliginis, dies nubis et obscuritatis, sicut
   aurora expanditur super montes, populus magnus et robustus (vel,
   terribilis;) similis ei non fuit a seculo, et post eum, non addet (hoc
   est, non erit amplius) ad annos generationis et generationis (ego cogor
   uno contextu legere haec omnia; dicam postea suo loco rationem.)

   3. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the
   land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate
   wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.

   3. Coram facie ejus (coram ipso) devorans ignis, et post eum exuret
   flamma: sicut hortus Eden terra coram ipso (ante faciem ejus ad
   verbum;) et post eum desertum solitudinis (vel, vastitatis;) adeoque
   evasio non erit ei.

   4. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as
   horsemen, so shall they run.

   4. Quasi aspectus equorum aspectus ejus, et tanquam equites current.

   5. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap,
   like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a
   strong people set in battle array.

   5. Sicut vocem quadrigarum (sic mrkvvt interpretes vertunt: postea
   dicam de hoc verbo,) super cacumina montium saltabunt, secundum vocem
   flammae ignis vorantis stipulam, quasi populus robustus (vel,
   terribilis) paratus ad proelium.

   6. Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall
   gather blackness.

   6. A facie ejus pavebunt populi, omnes facies colligent nigredinem.

   7. They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men
   of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not
   break their ranks:

   7. Quasi gigantes (vel, fortes) discurrent, sicut viri proelii
   ascendent murum, et vir (hoc est, quisque in viis suis ambulabit, et
   non tardabunt gressus suos (alii, non inquirent de viis suis.)

   8. Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his
   path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.

   8. Vir fratrem suum (hoc est, quisque socium suum) non premet, quisque
   in viis suis ambulabit: usque in gladium cadent (hoc est, super gladium
   cadent) non vulnerabuntur (alii, non concupiscent.)

   9. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall,
   they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows
   like a thief.

   9. Per urbem gradientur, per murum discurrent, in domos ascendent,
   usque ad fenestras intrabunt tanquam fur.

   10. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the
   sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their
   shining:

   10. Coram eo contremiscet terra, et angentur coeli; sol et luna
   nigrescent, et stellae retrahent splendorem suum.

   11. And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is
   very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of
   the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

   11. Et Jehova edet vocem suam coram exercitu suo, quia magna valde
   castra ejus: quia robustus qui facit (vel, exequitur) verbum ejus; quia
   magnus dies Jehovae, et terribilis valde, et quis sustinebit eum?


   This chapter contains serious exhortations, mixed with threatening; but
   the Prophet threatens for the purpose of correcting the indifference of
   the people, whom we have seen to have been very tardy to consider God's
   judgments. Now the reason why I wished to join together these eleven
   verses was, because the design of the Prophet in them is no other than
   to stir up by fear the minds of the people. The object of the narrative
   then is, to make the people sensible, that it was now no time for
   taking rest; for the Lord, having long tolerated their wickedness, was
   now resolved to pour upon them in full torrent his whole fiery. This is
   the sum of the whole. Let us now come to the words.

   Sound the trumpet, he says, in Zion; cry out in my holy mountain; let
   all the inhabitants of the earth tremble. The Prophet begins with an
   exhortation. We know, indeed that he alludes to the usual custom
   sanctioned by the law; for as on festivals trumpets were sounded to
   call the people, so also it was done when anything extraordinary
   happened. Hence the Prophet addresses not each individually; but as all
   had done wickedly, from the least to the greatest, he bids the whole
   assembly to be called, that they might in common own themselves to be
   guilty before God, and deprecate his vengeance. It is the same as
   though the Prophet had said that there was no one among the people who
   could exempt himself from blame, for iniquity had prevailed through the
   whole body. But this passage shows that when any judgment of God is
   impending, and tokens of it appear, this remedy ought to be used,
   namely, that all must publicly assemble and confess themselves worthy
   of punishments and at the same time flee to the mercy of God. This, we
   know, was, as I have already said, formerly enjoined on the people; and
   this practice has not been abolished by the gospel. And it hence
   appears how much we have departed from the right and lawful order of
   things; for at this day it would be new and unusual to proclaim a fast.
   How so? Because the greater part are become hardened; and as they know
   not commonly what repentance is, so they understand not what the
   profession of repentance means; for they understand not what sin is,
   what the wrath of God is, what grace is. It is then no wonder that they
   are so secure, and that when praying for pardon is mentioned, it is a
   thing wholly unknown at this day. But though people in general are thus
   stupid, it is yet our duty to learn from the Prophets what has always
   been the actual mode of proceeding among the people of God, and to
   labor as much as we can, that this may be known, so that when there
   shall come an occasion for a public repentance, even the most ignorant
   may understand that this practice has ever prevailed in the Church of
   God, and that it did not prevail through inconsiderate zeal of men, but
   through the will of God himself.

   But he bids the inhabitants of the land to tremble. By these words he
   intimates, that we are not to trifle with God by vain ceremonies but to
   deal with him in earnest. When therefore, the trumpets sound, our
   hearts ought to tremble; and thus the reality is to be connected with
   the outward signs. And this ought to be carefully noticed; for the
   world is ever disposed to have an eye to some outward service, and
   thinks that a satisfaction is given to God, when some external rite is
   observed. But we do nothing but mock God, when we present him with
   ceremonies, while there is no corresponding sincere feeling in the
   heart; and this is what we shall find handled in another place.

   The Prophet now adds threatening, that he might stir up the minds of
   the people: For coming, he says, is the day of Jehovah for nigh it is.
   By these words he first intimates that we are not to wait until God
   strikes us, but that as soon as he shows signs of his wrath, we ought
   to anticipate his judgment. When God then warns us of his displeasure,
   we ought instantly to solicit pardon: nigh, he says, is the day of
   Jehovah. What follows has a regard to the end which we have mentioned;
   for the Prophet paints the terrible judgment of God with the view of
   rousing minds wholly stupid and indifferent.

   And then he says, A day of darkness and of thick darkness, a day of
   clouds and of obscurity, as the dawn which expands over the mountains.
   By calling it a dark and gloomy day, he wished to show that there would
   be no hope of deliverance; for, according to the common usage of
   Scripture, we know that by light is designated a cheerful and happy
   state, or the hope of deliverance from any affliction: but the Prophet
   now extinguishes, as it were, every hope in this world, when he
   declares that the day of Jehovah would be dark, that is, without hope
   of restoration. This is his meaning. When he says afterwards, As the
   dawn which expands, etc., he mentions this to signify the celerity with
   which it would come; for we know how sudden is the rising of the dawn
   on the mountains: the dawn spreads in a moment on the mountains, where
   darkness was before. For the light penetrates not immediately either
   into valleys or even into plains; but if any one looks at the summits
   of mountains, he will see that the dawn rises quickly. It is then the
   settle as though the Prophet said, "The day of the Lord is nigh, for
   the Lord can suddenly stretch forth his hand, as the dawn spreads over
   the mountains."

   He then mentions its character, A people great and strong to whom there
   has not been the like from the beginning, or from ages and after whom
   there will be no more the like, to the years of a generation and a
   generation. Here the Prophet specifies the kind of judgment that would
   be, of which he had generally spoken before; and he shows that what he
   had hitherto recorded of God's vengeance ought not to be so understood
   as that God would descend openly and visibly from heaven, but that the
   Assyrians would be the ministers and executioners of his vengeance. In
   short, the Prophet shows here that the coming of that people ought to
   have been as much dreaded as if God had put forth his hand and executed
   on his people the vengeance deserved by their sins. And by these words
   he teaches us, that men gain nothing by being blind to the judgments of
   God; for God will notwithstanding execute his works and use the
   instrumentality of men; for men are the scourges by which he chastises
   his own people. The Chaldeans and the Assyrians were unbelievers; yet
   God used them for the purpose of correcting the Jews. This the Prophet
   now shows, that is, that God was the avenger in these very Assyrians,
   for he employed them as the ministers and executioners of his judgment.
   We see at the same time that the Prophet describes here the terrible
   wrath of God to shake off from the Jews their tardiness; for he saw
   that they were not moved by all his threatening, and ever laid hold on
   some new flattering pretenses. This is the reason why he gives such a
   long description.

   Before them, he says, the fire will devour, and after them the flame
   will burn. He means that the vengeance of God would be such as would
   consume the whole people: for God has in various ways begun to chastise
   the people, but, as we have seen, without any advantage. The Prophet
   then says here that the last stroke remained, and that the Lord would
   wholly destroy men so refractory, and whom he could not hitherto
   restore to a sound mind by moderate punishments. For he had in a
   measure spared them, though he had treated them sharply and severely,
   and given them time to repent. Hence, when the Prophet saw that they
   were wholly irreclaimable, he says, that it now only remained that the
   Lord should at once utterly consume them.

   He adds, As the garden of Eden the land is before them, and after them
   it is the land of solitude; and so (and also) there will be no escape
   from them. Here the Prophet warns the Jews, that though they inhabited
   a most pleasant country and one especially fruitful, there was no
   reason for them to flatter themselves, for God could convert the
   fairest lands into a waste. He therefore compares Judea to the garden
   of Eden or to Paradise. But such also was the state of Sodom, as Moses
   shows. What did it avail the Sodomites that they dwelt as in Paradise,
   that they inhabited a rich and fertile land, and thought themselves to
   be nourished as in the bosom of God? So also now the Prophet says,
   "Though the land is like Paradise, yet when the enemy shall march
   through it, a universal waste shall follow, a scattering shall
   everywhere follow, there shall be no cultivation, no pleasantness, no
   appearance of inhabited land, for the enemy will destroy every thing "
   His purpose was to prevent the Jews, by confiding in God's blessing,
   which they had hitherto experienced, from heedlessly disregarding in
   future his vengeance; for his wrath would in a moment consume and
   devour whatever fruitfulness the land had hitherto possessed. This is
   the meaning. He therefore concludes that there would be no escape from
   these enemies, the Assyrians, because they would come armed with a
   command to reduce to nothing the whole land.

   He afterwards adds many similitudes, which any one of himself can
   sufficiently understand: I shall not therefore be long in explaining
   them, and many words would be superfluous. As the appearance of horses
   their appearance, and as horsemen, so will they run. This verse sets
   forth again the suddenness of vengeance, as though the Prophet had
   said, that long distance would be no obstacle, for the Assyrians would
   quickly move and occupy Judea; for distance deceived the Jews, and they
   thought that there would be a long respite to them. Hence the Prophet
   here removes this vain confidence, when he says that they would be like
   horses and horsemen. He then adds, --

   Like the sound of chariots. They expound mrkvvt merecabut, chariots,
   though the Hebrews rather think them to be harnesses or saddles as we
   call them; but yet I prefer to view them as chariots; for what the
   Prophet says, that they shall leap on the tops of mountains like the
   sound of chariots, would not be suitably applied to the trappings of
   horses. They then shall leap on tops of mountains -- but how? as
   chariots, that is, they shall come with great force, or make a great
   and terrible noise. And he speaks of the tops of mountains for there we
   know the noise is greater when there is any commotion. The Prophet,
   therefore, does in every way amplify God's vengeance, that he might
   awaken the Jews, who by their indifference had too long provoked the
   Lord's wrath.

   Like the sound, he says, of the flame of fire, or of a fiery flame,
   devouring the stubble. He compares the Assyrians to a flame, which
   consumes all things; and he compares the Jews to stubble, though they
   thought themselves fortified by many forces and strongholds.

   At length he adds, As a strong people, prepared for battle; their face
   the people will dread, and all faces shall gather blackness. By these
   words the Prophet intimates that the Assyrians at their coming would be
   supplied with such power as would, by report only, lay prostrate all
   people. But if the Assyrians should be so formidable to all people,
   what could the Jews do? In short, the Prophet here shows that the Jews
   would by no means be able to resist enemies so powerful; for they would
   by their fame alone so lay prostrate all people, that none would dare
   to rise up against them. He then compares them to giants. As giants, he
   says, they will run here and there; as men of war they will climb the
   wall, and man (that is, every one) in his ways shall walk. The Prophet
   heaps together these various expressions, that the Jews might know that
   they had to do with the irresistible hand of God, and that they would
   in vain implore assistance here and there; for they could find no
   relief in the whole world, when God executed his vengeance in so
   formidable a manner. He says further, they shall not stop their goings,
   though some render the words, "They shall not inquire respecting their
   ways;" for he had said before, "They shall proceed in their ways:" then
   the meaning is, They shall not come like strangers, who, when they
   journey through unknown regions, make anxious inquiries, whether any be
   lying in wait, whether there be any turnings in the road, whether the
   ways be difficult and perplexed: They shall not inquire, he says; they
   shall securely proceed, as though the road was open to them, as though
   the whole country was known to them. This part also serves to show
   celerity, that the Jews might dread the vengeance of God the same as if
   it was quite nigh them.

   He then adds, A man shall not push his brother. By this mode of
   speaking the Prophet means that they would come in perfect order, so
   that the multitude would create no confusion, as it is mostly the case:
   for it is very difficult for an army to march in regular order without
   tumult, like two or three men walking together. For when a hundred
   horsemen march together some commonly hinder others. When therefore so
   large a number assemble together, it can hardly be possible for them
   not to retard and impede one another. But the Prophet declares that
   this would not be the case with the Assyrians, for the Lord would
   direct their goings. Though then the Lord would bring so large a
   multitude, it would yet be so well arranged and in such order, that no
   one would push his companion, or be any hindrance to him. A man, he
   says, shall in his way proceed, even without any impediment.

   And on swords they shall fall, and shall not be wounded: that is, they
   shall not only be strong men of war, so that they shall intrepidly face
   every kind of danger; but they shall also escape unhurt from all
   weapons; though they may rush on swords like madmen and show no care
   for themselves, they shall not yet be wounded. But this may be taken in
   a still simpler way, "They shall not be wounded" that is, as if they
   could not be wounded. And it seems to me to be the genuine sense of the
   Prophet, that they would not entertain any fear of death, so as
   cautiously to attack their enemies, but would with impunity provoke
   death itself by casting themselves on the very swords: they would not
   then fear any wound, but dare to face swords as if they were wholly
   harmless to them. Some render the word, "they shall not covet;" and
   then the word means as if the Prophet had said, that they would not be
   covetous of money. But this meaning can hardly suit this place; and we
   see that the best sense seems to be, that they would heedlessly rush on
   swords, as though they could not be wounded.

   It afterwards follows, Through the city shall they march; over the wall
   shall they run here and there; into houses shall they climb; through
   the windows shall they enter like a thief. The Prophet here shows that
   the Jews in vain trusted in their fortified cities, for the enemies
   would easily penetrate into them. They shall march, he says, through
   the city, that is, as though there were no gates to it. The meaning
   then is, that though Judea abounded in cities, which seemed impregnable
   and appeared sufficient to arrest the course of enemies, as it had
   happened almost always, so that great armies were forced to desist when
   any strong fortified city stood in their way; yet the Prophet says that
   cities would be no impediment to the Assyrians at their coming to
   Judea, for they would march through the city, as along a plain road,
   where no gates are closed against them. They shall then march through
   the midst of cities as through a plain or open fields. To the same
   purpose is what follows, They shall run here and there over the wall,
   he says. These are indeed hyperbolical words; yet, when we consider how
   slow men are to fear punishment, we must allow that the Prophet in
   these expressions does not exceed moderation. They shall then run up
   and down through the city; that is, "In vain you expect that there will
   be to you any rest or quietness, for ye think that you sill be able for
   a time to sustain the onsets of your enemies: This," he says, "will by
   no means be the case, for they shall run here and there over the wall,
   as though it were a plain. Besides, they shall climb into the houses,
   and enter in through the windows, and do this as a thief; that is,
   though there should be no hostile attack, yet they shall stealthily and
   secretly penetrate into your houses: when there will be a great tumult,
   when the whole regions shall meet in arms, and when ye will think
   yourselves able to resist, they will then as thieves quietly enter into
   your houses and come in through the windows, and ye shall not be able
   to close up the passage against them."

   Then he adds, Before their face shall the earth tremble, and in anguish
   shall be the heavens; the sun and the moon shall become dark, and the
   stars shall withdraw their brightness. The Prophet speaks here more
   hyperbolically; but we must ever remember that he addressed men
   extremely stupid: it then behaved him to speak in an unusual manner,
   that he might touch their feelings; for it avails nothing to speak in
   all ordinary way to perverse men, especially to those who have divested
   themselves of all shame, and whom Satan has fascinated, so that they
   fear nothing and grieve at nothing. When therefore each stupidity lays
   hold on the minds of men, God must thunder that his word may be heard.
   As then the listlessness of the people was monstrous, so it was
   necessary, so to speak, for the Prophet to utter monstrous words. This
   is the reason why he now says, Before their face (namely, that of the
   enemies) shall the land tremble; and then he adds, The heavens also
   shall be in anguish; not that the heavens would fear the Assyrians; but
   the Prophet intimates that such would be the vengeance, that it would
   terrify the whole world; and this he intimates, that the Jews might
   cease to expect any subterfuges, for they flattered themselves, as
   though they could fly on the clouds, or could find for themselves some
   hiding-places or some corners at a distance. The Prophet gives them to
   understand that the whole world would be full of horror, when the Lord
   would come furnished with his army. He speaks also of the sun and the
   moon; as though he said, "There will be no more any hope of aid from
   created things; for the vital light itself shall fail, when the Lord
   shall pour forth the flood of his fury: The sun and the moon, he says,
   shall become dark; and the stars shall withhold their brightness.
   Though then ye lift up your eyes, not even a spark of light will there
   be to comfort you, for darkness on every side will cover you; and ye
   shall know by heaven as well as by earth that God is angry with you.
   Here, in short, he shuts up against the Jews every avenue to hope; for
   not only the Assyrian will rage on earth, but God will also give signs
   of vengeance from heaven, so that the sun will be constrained to show
   such a sign, as well as the moon and all the stars.

   He at last adds, And Jehovah will utter his voice before his army. The
   Prophet seems in this verse to anticipate whatever objection men might
   adduce. "O! thou denounces on us great terrors, and as if the Assyrians
   were not to be counted as men, as if no other people were in the world,
   as if there was no other army, as if there were no other forces, as if
   none else had courage; but if the Assyrians are at this day formidable,
   they have yet neighbors who can gather a force sufficient easily to
   oppose them " And Egypt was then a populous country, and well
   fortified; and who would not have said that the Egyptians were equal to
   the Assyrians? and the Jews also thought themselves safe through a
   treaty with them. And then there was Syria; and there were many
   kingdoms, with which the Jews might have boasted that they were
   surrounded, so that no access to them was open to the Assyrians; for
   however insufficient were the people of Moab or the people of Amman,
   yet they were all joined together, even Edom, and Ammon, and Moab: and
   then Tyrus and Sidon, and the many neighboring kingdoms, might
   certainly have been sufficient to resist the Assyrians. Now, that no
   one might object all this, the Prophet shortly anticipates it by
   saying, that God would be the leader of his army; as though he had
   said, "I have already declared this to be the hand of God: for the
   Assyrians will not come here of their own accord; that is, without
   being stirred up by God: but as this truth has not as yet sufficiently
   moved your feelings, know that God will be the leader of this army: God
   will send forth his voice before his army." Here he distinctly calls
   the Assyrians the attendants of God; they shall not then come as
   soldiers hired by their own king, they shall not come as carrying on
   war for an earthly king, but the Lord himself shall guide them, and by
   his voice encourage them. By this expression the Prophet shows that the
   Jews would not have a contest with one nation only, but also with God
   himself and with all his celestial power.

   He therefore says, God will utter his voice before his army; for very
   great will be his camp. He again repeats that the multitude which was
   to execute the biddings of God would be so great, that the Jews would
   seek forces in vain to resist it. Strong, he says, is he who executes
   his word. He expresses more clearly what I have stated already, that
   though cupidity impelled the Assyrians, that though they were intent on
   rapine and plunder, yet they would not come merely through an impulse
   of their own, but that the Lord would prepare them and use them as his
   instruments: "Powerful, then, is he who does the word of God; that is,
   who executes his command; not that the Assyrians designed to show
   regard to God or to offer to him their service, as the faithful do, who
   willingly devote themselves to Him; but that the Lord by his secret
   providence guided them and employed them to punish his own people.

   He afterwards adds in the last place, For great will be the day of
   Jehovah and terrible, and who will endure it? In this clause he shows
   that the vengeance would be such as would reduce the Jews to nothing,
   and that it was now time to repent, and that if they still turned a
   deaf ear to what the Prophet denounces, God would punish their
   perverseness.

   Now with regard to what he says, that strong is he who does the word of
   God, we have elsewhere reminded you that men serve God in two ways, --
   they either execute his commands willingly, or are led to do so by a
   blind impulse. The angels and the faithful perform God's commands,
   because they are guided by the spirit of obedience; but the wicked
   also, and the devil who is their head, fulfill God's biddings; this,
   however, is not to be imputed to them as obedience, for they are only
   led by their own wicked purposes, and seek to destroy, as far as they
   can, the whole government of God; but they are constrained, willing or
   unwilling, to obey God, not of their own accord or willingly, as I have
   said, but the Lord turns all their efforts to answer the end which he
   has decreed. Whatever, then, Satan and the wicked attempt to do, they
   at the same time serve God and obey his commands; and though they rage
   against God, he yet holds them in by his bridle, and also so guides
   their attempts and their purposes as to answer his own ends. In this
   sense, then, it is, that Joel says, that the Assyrians would do the
   word of God; not that it was their purpose to obey God, not that God
   had commanded them anything, but he puts the word of the Lord here for
   his secret purpose. As, then, the wicked perform no voluntary obedience
   to God, but constrained, when they execute God's commands; so there is
   a twofold command or word of God: there is the command by which he
   teaches his own children and leads them to obey him; and there is
   another, a hidden command, when he deigns not to address men, and shows
   not what pleases him or what he means to do, but suffers them to be led
   by their own sinful desires; in the meantime, he has his own secret
   purpose, which by them he executes though without their intention.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Prayer.

   Grant, almighty God, that as thou invites us daily with so much
   kindness and love, and makes known to us thy paternal goodwill, which
   thou didst once show to us in Christ thy Son, -- O grant, that, being
   allured by thy goodness, we may surrender ourselves wholly to thee, and
   become so teachable and submissive, that wherever thou guidest us by
   thy Spirit thou mayest follow us with every blessing: let us not, in
   the meantime, be deaf to thy warnings; and whenever we deviate from the
   right way, grant that we may immediately awake when thou warnest us,
   and return to the right path, and deign thou also to embrace us and
   reconcile us to thyself through Christ our Lord. Amen.

     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Forty-second
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 2:12-13

   12. Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all
   your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

   12. Atque etiam nunc dicet Jehova, convertimini ad me in toto corde
   vestro, et in jejunio, et in fletu, et in planctu.

   13. And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord
   your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great
   kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

   13. Et scindite cor vestrum, et non vestimenta vestra, et convertimini
   ad Jehovam Deum vestrum, quia ipse propitius et misericors, longus ad
   iram, et multus clementia, et poenitebit eum super malo.


   The Prophet, having proclaimed the dreadful judgment which we have
   noticed, now shows that he did not intend to terrify the people without
   reason, but, on the contrary, to encourage them to repentance; which he
   could not do without offering to them the hope of pardon; for as we
   have said before, and as it may be collected from the whole of
   Scripture, men cannot be restored to the right ways except they
   entertain a hope of God's mercy inasmuch as he who has been ungodly,
   when he despairs, wholly disregards himself, observing no restraint.
   Hence the Prophet now represents God as propitious and merciful, that
   he might thus kindly allure the people to repentance.

   He says first, [3]And even now the Lord says, Turn ye to me. The
   Prophet exhorts the people, not in his own name, but speaks in the
   person of God himself. He might indeed have borne witness to the favor
   which he proclaimed; but the discourse becomes more striking by
   introducing God as the speaker. And there is a great importance in the
   words, even now; for when one considers what we have noticed in the
   beginning of the chapter, a prospect of relief could hardly have been
   deemed possible. God had, indeed, in various ways, tried to restore the
   people to the right way; but, as we have seen, the greater part had
   become so void of feeling, that the scourges of God were wholly
   ineffectual; there remained, then, nothing but the utter destruction
   which the Prophet threatened them with at the beginning of the second
   chapter. Yet, in this state of despair, he still sets forth some hope
   of mercy, provided they turned to him; even now, he says. The particles
   vgm ugam are full of emphasis, "even now" that is, "Though ye have too
   long abused God's forbearance, and with regard to you, the opportunity
   is past, for ye have closed the door against yourselves; yet even now,
   -- which no one could have expected, and indeed what ought to be
   thought incredible by yourselves, -- even now God waits for you, and
   invites you to entertain hope of salvation." But it was necessary that
   these two particles, even now, should be added; for it is not in the
   power of men to fix for themselves, as they please, the season for
   mercy. God here shows the acceptable time, as Isaiah says (Isaiah 49:8)
   to be, when he has not yet rejected men, but when he offers to be
   propitious. We must then remember that the Prophet gives not here
   liberty to men to delay the time, as the profane and scorners are wont
   to do, who trifle with God from day to day; but the Prophet here shows
   that we must obey the voice of God, when he invites us, as also Isaiah
   says, Behold now the time accepted, behold the day of salvation: seek
   God now, for he is near; call on him while he may be found.' So then,
   as I have reminded you, these two particles, even now, are added, that
   men may be made attentive to the voice of God when he invites them,
   that they may not delay till tomorrow, for the Lord may then close the
   door, and repentance may be too late. We at the same time see how
   indulgently God bears with men, since he left a hope of pardon to a
   people so obstinate and almost past recovery.

   Even now, he says, turn ye to me with your whole heart. The Prophet
   here reminds us that we must not act feignedly with God; for men are
   ever disposed to trifle with him. We indeed see what almost the whole
   world is wont to do. God graciously meets us and is ready to receive us
   unto favor, though we have a hundred times alienated ourselves from
   him; but we bring nothing but hypocrisy and disguise: hence the Prophet
   declares here distinctly, that this dissimulation does not please God,
   and that they can hide nothing, who only pretend some sort of
   repentance by external signs, and that what is required is the serious
   and sincere feeling of the heart. This is what he means by the whole
   heart; not that perfect repentance can be formed in men, but the whole
   or complete heart is opposed to a divided heart: for men well
   understand that God is not ignorant; yet they divide their heart, and
   when they bestow some portion on God, they think that he is satisfied;
   and in the meantime there remains an interior and some hidden
   perverseness, which separates them far from God. This vice the Prophet
   now condemns, when he says, Turn with the whole heart. He then shows
   that it is an hypocrisy abominable to God, when men keep the greater
   part of their heart, as it were, closed up, and think it enough, if
   only they bring, so to speak, some volatile feeling.

   He afterwards adds, fasting, and weeping, and mourning; and by these
   words he shows how grievously they had sinned; as though he said, that
   they deserved not only one kind of destruction, but were worthy of
   hundred deaths; that God therefore would not now be content with any
   common repentance, and except they came suppliantly and deeply felt
   their own guilt. It is indeed true, that we ought daily and even
   constantly to sigh, because we continue almost every hour to provoke
   God's wrath against us; but the Prophet here speaks of solemn fasting,
   because the people had so grievously offended God that there was
   required some extraordinary confession, such as he here describes. Come
   then to me with fasting, and weeping, and wailing" that is "Show at
   length that you are guilty and submissively deprecate the vengeance
   which ye have through your wickedness deserved." He speaks like a
   judge, when he tells the criminal, not to act dissemblingly, but simply
   to confess his fault. The guilty are indeed wont to weave many excuses
   to avoid punishment; but when the judge deems a man guilty, and he is
   abundantly proved to be so, he says, "What good can you do? for these
   your shuffling and subterfuges make your case worse: for now I hold you
   bound, and you cannot escape by these shifts, and will only the more
   provoke my displeasure. If then you wish me to show you favor, own how
   grievously you have offended, and without any coloring; confess now
   that you are worthy of death, and that nothing else remains for you,
   except I mercifully pardon you: for if you try to extenuate your crime,
   if you attempt by some excuse to seek reprief, you will gain nothing."
   So now does the Lord deal with this people: Turn to me, he says; first,
   sincerely; then with fasting, with weeping, and with wailing; that is,
   "Let it appear that you suppliantly deprecate the destruction which ye
   have deserved, for moderate repentance will not do, inasmuch as ye are
   guilty before me of so many crimes." We now apprehend the Prophet's
   meaning.

   He then subjoins, Rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn to
   Jehovah your God. The Prophet again repeats that we ought to deal
   sincerely with God; for all those ceremonies, by which men imagine that
   they discharge their duties, are mere mockeries, when they are not
   preceded by a pure and sincere heart. But as they were wont under
   mournful circumstances to rend their garments, he therefore says, "God
   has become now insensible to these customs; for with regard to men, ye
   are ceremonious enough, and more than enough: ye indeed rend your
   garments, and thus draw pity from men, and yet your heart remains
   whole, there is no rending, no opening; Rend then your heart," that is,
   "Leave off thus to mock God, as ye have been wont to do, and begin with
   your heart." It is indeed certain that the orientals were given to many
   ceremonies; but the vice the Prophet here condemns in the Jews is
   natural as it were to all men; so that every one of us is inclined to
   hypocrisy, and has need of having his attention drawn to the sincerity
   of the heart. We must then remember that this truth is to be set forth
   at all times and to all nations. Let any one search himself and he will
   find that he labors under this evil, -- that he would rather reed his
   garment than his heart. And since the Jews usually observed this
   custom, the Prophet does not without reason deride it, and say, that it
   was of no account with God except they rent their hearts. But when he
   bids them to rend their hearts and not their garments, though he seems
   to repudiate that external practice, he does not yet distinctly condemn
   it, but intimates that it was a lawful thing, provided the heart was
   rent. Now this expression, Rend the heart, ought not to be deemed
   harsh, for it is to be referred to the external practice: when they
   rent the garments, they made themselves naked before God and put off
   all ornaments; but he wished them to be displeased with themselves, and
   rather to make bare the heart itself. The heart of hypocrites, we know,
   is wrapped up, and they ever have recourse to hiding places, that they
   may avoid the presence of God. Then the similitude is most suitable,
   when the Prophet bids them to rend the heart. Besides, the passage is
   clear enough, and needs not many remarks; it means, that God regards
   the real feeling of the heart, as it is said in Jeremiah [4:14]; he is
   not content with ocular obedience, such as men exhibit, but he would
   have us to deal with him in sincerity and truth.

   Hence he repeats again, Turn to Jehovah your God. Here the Prophet
   shows, from what God is, that men foolishly and grossly deceive
   themselves when they would please God with their ceremonies: "What!" he
   says, "have you to do with a child?" For the import of the words is
   this, -- "When an offense against man is to be removed, ye anxiously
   come to him: now when ye perceive that God is angry with you, ye think
   that he will be propitious to you, if ye only trifle with him; can God
   bear such a reproach?" We hence see what the Prophet means when he
   says, Turn to Jehovah your God; that is, "Remember that you have not to
   do with a block of wood or with a stone, but with your God, who
   searches hearts, and whom mortals can by no crafts deceive " The same
   is said by Jeremiah, Israel, if thou turnest, turn to me,' (Jeremiah
   4:1;) that is, "Pretend not to turn by circuitous courses and windings,
   but come in a direct way, and with a real feeling of heart, for I am he
   who calls thee " So also now the Prophet says, Turn to Jehovah your God

   Then follows the promise of pardon, [4]For he is propitious and
   merciful. We have already said that repentance is preached in vain,
   except men entertain a hope of salvation; for they can never be brought
   to fear God truly, unless they trust in him as their Father, as it is
   stated in Psalm 130:4 With thee is propitiation that thou mayest be
   feared.' Hence, whenever the Prophets were anxious to effect anything
   by their doctrine, while exhorting the people to repentance, they
   joined to the invitation "Come," the second part, "Ye shall not come in
   vain." This "Come," comprehends all exhortations to repentance; "Ye
   shall not come in vain," includes this testimony respecting God's
   grace, that He will never reject miserable sinners, provided they
   return to him with the heart. The Prophet then now engaged on this
   second head; God, he says, is propitious and merciful. And this
   connection is to be observed by us; for as Satan fills us with
   insensibility when God invites us, so also he draws us away into
   despair when God denounces judgment, when he shows that it is not time
   for sleep. "What good will you gain?" Thus Satan by his craft
   disheartens us, that we may labor in vain, when we seek to be
   reconciled to God. Hence, whenever Scripture exhorts us to repentance,
   let us learn to join this second part, "God invites us not in vain." If
   then we return to him, he will be instantly inclined to grant
   forgiveness; for he wills not that miserable men should labor in vain
   or be tormented. This is the benefit of which the Prophet speaks when
   he says that God is propitious and merciful.

   He afterwards adds, that he is slow to wraths and abundant in goodness.
   These testimonies respecting God occur often in other places; and all
   the Prophets, as well as David, have borrowed these declarations from
   Exodus 34:6; where the nature of God is described; and He is said there
   to be propitious and merciful, slow to wrath, and abundant in goodness.
   Though there is no need of dwelling longer on these words, as we
   perceive the Prophet's design; yet more extended remarks will not be
   superfluous since the Prophet so much at large recommends the mercy of
   God. Though men too much indulge themselves in security, yet when God
   calls them to himself, they are not able to receive his favor; though
   he may testify twice or thrice that he will be propitious to them, yet
   he cannot persuade them but with great difficulty. This is the reason
   why the Prophet, after having said that God is propitious and merciful,
   adds, that he is slow to wrath, and abundant in goodness; it was, that
   the Jews might overcome their distrust, and that however much despair
   might keep them back, they might not yet hesitate to come to God,
   seeing that he declares himself to be so merciful.

   He at last adds, He will repent of the evil. The Prophet here not only
   describes the nature of God, but goes further and says, that God, who
   is by nature placable, will not remain fixed in his purpose, when he
   sees people returning to him in sincerity; but that he suffers himself
   to be turned to show favor, so as to remit the punishment which he had
   previously denounced. And it is a mode of speaking which often occurs
   in Scripture, that God repents of evil; not that he really changes his
   purpose, but this is said according to the apprehensions of men: for
   God is in himself immutable, and is said to turn from his, purpose,
   when he remits to man the punishment he has previously threatened.
   Whatever proceeds from God's mouth ought to be regarded as an
   inviolable decree; and yet God often threatens us conditionally, and
   though the condition be not expressed it is nevertheless to be
   understood: but when he is pacified to us and relaxes the punishment,
   which was in a manner already decreed according to the external word,
   he is then said to repent. And we know, that as we do not apprehend God
   such as he is, he is therefore described to us in such a way as we can
   comprehend, according to the measure of our infirmity. Hence God often
   puts on the character of men, as though he were like them; and as this
   mode of speaking is common, and we have spoken of it elsewhere, I now
   pass it by more briefly. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 2:14

   14. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing
   behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord
   your God?

   14. Quis novit an revertatur et poeniteat eum, et relinquat post se
   (alii vertunt, post eum; ego tamen malo sic transferre, Relinquat post
   se) benedictionem, oblationem et libamen Jehovae Deo vestro?


   The Prophet seems at first sight to leave men here perplexed and
   doubtful; and yet in the last verse, as we have seen, he had Offered a
   hope of favor, provided they sincerely repented. Hence the Prophet
   seems not to pursue the same subject, but rather to vary it: and we
   have already said, that all exhortations would be frigid, nay, useless,
   by which God stirs us up to repentance, except he were to testify that
   he is ready to be reconciled. Seeing then that the Prophet here leaves
   the minds of men in suspense, he seems to rescind what he has before
   alleged respecting God's mercy. But we must understand that this is a
   mode of speaking which often occurs in Scripture. For wherever God is
   set forth to us as one hardly willing to pardon, it is done to rouse
   our slothfulness, and also to shake off our negligence. We are at first
   torpid when God invites us, except he applies his many goads; and then
   we act formally in coming to him: it is hence needful that both these
   vices should be corrected in us, -- our torpor must be roused, -- and
   those self-complacences, in which we too much indulge ourselves, must
   be shaken off. And this is the object of the Prophet; for he addresses,
   as we have seen, men almost past recovery. If he had only said, God is
   ready to pardon, if he had used this way of speaking, they would have
   come negligently, and would not have been sufficiently touched by the
   fear of God: hence the Prophet here, as it were, debates the matter
   with them, "Even though we ought justly to despair of pardon, (for we
   are unworthy of being received by God,) yet there is no reason why we
   should despair; for who knows" which means "God is placable and we must
   not despair."

   The Prophet then sets forth here the difficulty of obtaining pardon,
   not to leave men in suspense, for this would be contrary to his former
   doctrine; but to create in them a desire for the grace of God, that
   they might by degrees gather courage, and yet not immediately rise to
   confidence, but that they might come anxiously to God, and with much
   deliberation, duly considering their offenses. We now understand the
   purpose of the Prophet.

   But this will be easier understood by supposing two gradations in
   repentance. Then the first step is, when men feel how grievously they
   have offended. Here sorrow is not to be immediately removed after the
   manner of impostors, who cajole the consciences of men, so that they
   indulge themselves, and deceive themselves, with empty self-flatteries.
   For the physician does not immediately ease pain, but considers what is
   more necessary: it may be he will increase it, for a thorough clearing
   may be needful. So also do the Prophets of God, when they observe
   trembling consciences, they do not immediately apply soothing
   consolations, but on the contrary show that they ought not, as we have
   already said, to trifle with God, and exhort them while willingly
   running to God, to set before them his terrible judgment, that they may
   be more and more humbled. The second step is, when the Prophets cheer
   the minds of men, and show that God now willingly meets them, and
   desires nothing more than to see men willing to be reconciled to him.

   The Prophet is now urging them to take the first step, when he says,
   Who knows whether the Lord will turn? But some may object and say,
   "Then the Prophet has spoken inconsistently; for first he has described
   God as merciful, and has spoken of his goodness without any reserve;
   and then he throws in a doubt: he seems here to observe no
   consistency." I answer, that the Prophets of God do not always very
   anxiously hold to what seems consistent in their discourses; and
   farther, that the Prophet has not spoken here in vain or
   inconsiderately; for he, in the first place, generally sets forth God
   as merciful, and afterwards addresses particularly a people who were
   almost past recovery, and says, "Though ye think that it is all over
   with you as to your salvation, and ye deserve to be rejected by God,
   yet ye ought not to continue in this state; rather entertain a hope of
   pardon " This is what the Prophet had in view; he throws in no doubt,
   so as to make the sinner uncertain, whether or not he could obtain
   pardons; but as I have said, he wished only to rouse torpidity, and
   also to shake off vain self-flatteries.

   He then adds, And leave after him a blessing. We here see more clearly
   what I have already said, that the Prophet, considering the state of
   those whom he addressed, states a difficulty; for the Jews were not to
   escape temporary punishment, and the Prophet did not intend to dismiss
   them in a secure state, as though God would inflict on them no
   punishment; nay, he wished to bend their necks that they might receive
   the strokes of God, and calmly submit to his correction. But all hope
   might have been lost, when the Jews saw, that though the Prophet had
   declared that God would be propitious, they were yet not spared, but
   suffered severe punishment for their sins, -- "What does this mean? Has
   God then disappointed us? We hoped that he would be propitious, and yet
   he ceases not to be angry with us." Hence the Prophet now subjoins,
   [5]Who knows whether he will leave behind him a blessing?

   What is this -- behind him? What does it mean? Even this, that as God
   was to be a severe judge to punish the people's wickedness, the Prophet
   now says, "Though God beats you with his rods, he can yet relieve you
   by administering comfort. Ye indeed think that you are beaten almost to
   death; but the Lord will temperate his wrath, so that a blessing will
   follow these most grievous punishments " We now, then, understand the
   purpose of the Prophet: for he does not simply promise pardon to the
   Jews, but mitigates the dread of punishment, that is, that though God
   would chastise them, he would yet give place to mercy. Then God will
   leave behind him a blessing; that is "These strokes shall not be
   incurable " And this admonition is very necessary, whenever God deals
   severely with us; for when we feel his wrath, we then think that there
   is no grace remaining. It is then not without reason that the Prophet
   says, that God leaves behind him a blessing; which means, that when he
   shall pass by us with his rod, he will yet restrain his severity, so
   that some blessing will remain.

   He afterwards adds, mnchh vnsk lyhvh 'lhykm meneche unesac laIeuve
   Aleicam, an offering and a libation, he says, to Jehovah your God. This
   has been designedly added, that the Jews might entertain more hope. For
   with regard to them, they had deserved to be wholly exterminated a
   hundred times; yea, they deserved to pine away utterly through famine:
   but the Prophet intimates here, that God would have a regard for his
   own glory and his worship. "Though," he says, "we have deserved to
   perish by famine, yet God will be moved by another consideration, even
   this, -- that there may be some offering, that there may be some
   libation in the temple: since then God has chosen us a people to
   himself, and has required the first-fruits to be offered to him, and
   has consecrated for himself all our provision and all our produce in
   the first-fruits, and also in the daily offerings, though he has now
   resolved to consume us with famine and want, yet that his worship may
   continue, he will make the land fruitful to us, corn and wine will yet
   be produced for us," But the Prophet does not mean that there would
   only be so much corn as would be enough for offerings, or only so much
   wine as would be sufficient for libations; but he means, as I have
   already said, that though God would not provide for the safety of the
   people, he would yet have a regard for his own glory. God required the
   corn and the wine to be offered to him, not that he needed them, but
   because he consecrated to himself our provision. As then he would have
   the food and provisions, on which we live, to be sacred to him, he will
   not allow them wholly to fail. "God will yet surely pity us, and he
   will pity us, because he has deigned to choose us a people to himself,
   and so to join us with himself, that he wishes to eat, as it were, with
   us." For God seemed then to partake, as it were, of the same table with
   his people; for the law required bread or the ears of corn, and also
   wine, to be offered to God: not that he, as I have said, needed such
   supports; but that he might show that he had all things in common with
   his people. This communion then, or fellow-participation of God with
   his chosen people, gave them more hope; and this is what the Prophet
   had in view.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Prayer.

   Grant, Almighty God, that as thou seest us so foolish in nourishing our
   vices, and also so ensnared by the gratifications of the flesh, that
   without being constrained we hardly return to thee, -- O grant, that we
   may feel the weight of thy wrath, and be so touched with the dread of
   it, as to return gladly to thee, laying aside every dissimulation, and
   devote ourselves so entirely to thy service, that it may appear that we
   have from the heart repented, and that We have not trifled with thee by
   an empty pretense, but have offered to thee our hearts as a sacrifice,
   so that we and all our works might be sacred offerings to thee through
   our whole life, that thy name may be glorified in us through Christ our
   Lord. Amen.

     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Forty-third
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 2:15-17

   15. Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:

   15. Clangite tuba in Sion, sanctificate jejunium, indicite conventum:

   16. Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders,
   gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the
   bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.

   16. Colligite populum, sanctificate coetum, coedunate senes, colligite
   parvulos et sugentes ubera, et egrediatur sponsus e penetrali suo et
   sponsa e thalamo suo.

   17. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch
   and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not
   thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them:
   wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?

   17. Inter atrium et altare plorent sacerdotes, ministri Jehovae, et
   dicant, Propitius esto Jehova super populum tuum; et ne des
   haereditatem tuam in opprobrium, ut dominentur super eos gentes: cur
   dicent in populis, Ubi est Deus corum?


   Here again the Prophet reminds them that there was need of deep
   repentance; for not only individuals had transgressed, but the whole
   people had become guilty before God; and we also know how many and
   grievous their sins had been. There is no wonder then that the Prophet
   requires a public profession of repentance.

   He bids them first to sound the trumpet in Zion. This custom, as we
   have seen at the beginning of the chapter, was in common use under the
   Law; they summoned their meetings by the sound of trumpets. There is
   then no doubt but that the Prophet here refers to an extraordinary
   meeting. They sounded the trumpets whenever they called the people to
   the festivals. But it must have been unusual for the Jews to proclaim a
   fast on account of God's heavy judgment, which was to come on them
   unless it was prevented. He then shows the purpose of this, bidding
   them to sanctify a fast By this word qds kodesh, he means a
   proclamation for a holy purpose. Sanctify, then a fast, that is,
   Proclaim a fast in the name of God.

   We slightly touched on the subject of fasting in the first chapter, but
   deferred a fuller discussion to this place. Fasting, we know, is not of
   itself a meritorious work, as the Papists imagine it to be: there is,
   indeed, strictly speaking, no work meritorious. But the Papists dream
   that fasting, in addition to its merit and worth, is also by itself of
   much avail in the worship of God; and yet fasting, when regarded in
   itself is an indifferent work. [5] It is not then approved by God,
   except for its end; it must be connected with something else, otherwise
   it is a vain thing. Men, by private fastings prepare themselves for the
   exercise of prayer, or they mortify their own flesh, or seek a remedy
   for some hidden vices. Now I do not call fasting temperance; for the
   children of God, we know, ought through their whole life to be sober
   and temperate in their habits; but fasting, I regard that to be, when
   something is abstracted from our moderate allowance: and such a fast,
   when practiced privately, is, as I have said, either a preparation for
   the exercise of prayer, or a means to mortify the flesh, or a remedy
   for some vices.

   But as to a public fast, it is a solemn confession of guilt, when men
   suppliantly approach the throne of God, acknowledge themselves worthy
   of death, and yet ask pardon for their sins. Fasting then, with regard
   to God, is similar to black and mean garments and a long beard before
   earthly judges. The criminal goes not before the judge in a splendid
   dress, with all his fine things, but casts away every thing that was
   before elegant in his appearance, and by his uncombed hair and long
   beard he tries to excite the compassion of his judge. There is, at the
   same time, another reason for fasting; for when we have to do with men,
   we wish to please their eyes and conciliate their favor; and he who
   fasts, not only testifies openly that he is guilty, but he also reminds
   himself of his guilt; for as we are not sufficiently touched by the
   sense of God's wrath, those aids are useful which help to excite and
   affect us. He then who fasts, excites himself the more to penitence.

   We now perceive the right use of fasting. But it is of public fasting
   that the Prophet speaks here. For what purpose? That the Jews, whom he
   had before summoned, might present themselves before God's tribunal,
   and that they might come there, not with vain excuses, but with humble
   prayer. This is the design of fasting. We now see how foolishly the
   Papists have abused fasting; for they think it to be a meritorious
   work; they imagine that God is honored by abstinence from meat; they
   also mention those benefits of fasting to which I have referred; but
   they join fasts with festivals, as if there was some religion in
   abstaining from flesh or certain meats. We now then perceive by what
   gross puerilities the Papists trifle with God. We must then carefully
   notice the end in view, whenever the Scripture speaks of fasting; for
   all things will be confounded, except we lay hold on the principle
   which I have stated -- that fasting ought ever to be connected with its
   end. We shall now proceed.

   Proclaim, he says, a meeting tsrh otsare is not properly an assembly,
   but the deed itself: [6] hence also the word is transferred to
   festivals. Proclaim, then, a meeting, call the people, sanctify the
   assembly. The word, sanctify, seems to be taken here in a sense
   different from what it had been before. The people, in order to engage
   in holy services, performed those rites, as it is well known, by which
   they cleansed themselves from their pollutions. No one entered the
   temple without washing; and no one offered a sacrifice without
   abstaining from an intercourse with his wife. The Prophet then alludes
   to these legal purgations when he says Sanctify the assembly.

   He afterwards adds, Bring together the old, gather the young sucking
   the breasts. With regard to the old, we have said before that they are
   separately named, because they ought to have taken the lead by their
   example; and further a greater guilt belonged to them, for we know that
   it is a duty incumbent on the old to govern others, and, as it were, to
   hold the reins. But when the old themselves become dissolute, and
   restrain not the lusts of the young, they are doubly culpable before
   God. It is no wonder then that the Prophet bids here the old to be
   called; for it became them to be the leaders of others in confessing
   their repentance. But what follows seems strange. He would have the
   young, sucking the breasts, to be assembled. Why are these brought in
   as involved in guilt? Besides, the people were to own their repentance;
   and yet infants are without understanding and knowledge; so that they
   could not humble themselves before God. It must, then, have been a
   mockery and a vain show; nay, the Prophet seems to encourage the people
   in hypocrisy by bidding young infants to assemble together with men and
   women. To this I answer, that children ought to have been brought
   together, that those grown up and advanced in years might through them
   perceive what they deserved; for the wrath of God, we know, reached to
   the very infants, yea, and to brute animals: when God puts forth his
   hand to punish any people, neither asses nor oxen are exempt from the
   common scourge. Since, then, God's wrath comes upon brute animals and
   upon young infants, it is no wonder that the Lord bids all to come
   forth publicly and to make a confession of repentance; and we see the
   same to have been the case with brute animals; and when, if the Lord
   grants, we shall come to [6]the Prophet Jonah, we shall then speak on
   this subject. The Ninevites, when they proclaimed a fast, not only
   abstained themselves from meat and drink, but constrained also their
   oxen and horses to do the same. Why? Because the very elements were
   involved, as it were, with them in the same guilt: "Lord, we have
   polluted the earth; whatever we possess we have also polluted by our
   sins; the oxen the horses, and the asses, are in themselves innocent,
   but they have contracted contagion from our vices: that we may
   therefore obtain mercy, we not only offer ourselves suppliantly before
   thy face, but we bring also our oxen and horses; for if thou exercises
   the fullest severity against us, thou wilt destroy whatever is in our
   possession." So also now, when the Prophet bids infants to be brought
   before God, it is done on account of their parents. Infants were in
   themselves innocent with regard to the crimes of which he speaks; but
   yet the Lord could have justly destroyed the infants together with
   those of advanced age. It is then no wonder that in order to pacify
   God's wrath the very infants are summoned with the rest: but as I have
   already said, the reason is on account of their parents, that the
   parents themselves might perceive what they deserved before God, and
   that they might the more abhor their sins by observing that God would
   take vengeance on their children, except he was pacified. For they
   ought to have reasoned from the less to the greater: "See, if God
   exercises his own right towards us, there is destruction not only
   hanging over us, but also over our children; if they are guilty through
   our crimes, what can we say of ourselves, who are the authors of these
   evils? The whole blame belongs to us; then severe and dreadful will be
   God's vengeance on us, except we be reconciled to him."

   We now then perceive why infants were called, together with their
   parents; not that they might confess their penitence, as that was not
   compatible with their age, but that their parents might be more moved,
   and that such a sight might touch their feelings, and that dread might
   also seize them on seeing that their children were doomed to die with
   them for no other reason, but that by their contagion and wickedness
   they had infected the whole land and everything that the Lord had
   bestowed on them.

   He afterwards subjoins, Let the bridegroom go from his closet, or
   recess, and the bride from her chamber. It is the same as though the
   Prophet had bidden every joy to cease among the people; for it was of
   itself no evil to celebrate nuptials; but it behooved the people to
   abstain from every rejoicing on seeing the wrath of God now suspended
   over them. Hence, things in themselves lawful ought for a time to be
   laid aside when God appears angry with us; for it is no season for
   nuptials or for joyful feasts, when God's wrath is kindled, when the
   darkness of death spreads all around. No wonder, then, that the Prophet
   bids the bridegroom and the bride to come forth from their chamber,
   that is, to cast aside every joy, and to defer their nuptials to a more
   suitable time, and now to undergo their delights, for the Lord appeared
   armed against all. It would have been then to provoke, as it were, His
   wrath, to indulge heedlessly in pleasures, when he wished not only to
   terrify, but almost to frighten to death those who had sinned; for when
   the Lord threatens vengeance, what else is indifference but a mockery
   of his power? "I have called you to weeping and wailing; but ye have
   said, We will feast:' as I live, saith the Lord, this iniquity shall
   never be blotted out." We see how extremely displeased the Lord appears
   there to be with those who, having been called to weeping and fasting,
   did yet indulge themselves in their pleasures; for such, as I have
   said, altogether laugh to scorn the power of God. The Prophet's
   exhortation ought then to be noticed, when he bids the bridegroom and
   the bride to leave their nuptials, and to put on the same mournful
   appearance as the rest of the people. He thus shook off heedlessness
   from all, since God had appeared with tokens of his wrath. This is the
   sum of the whole.

   Then it follows, Between the court and the altar let the priests, the
   ministers of Jehovah, weep. It was the priests' office, we know, to
   pray in the name of the whole people; and now the Prophet follows this
   order. It was not, indeed, peculiar to the priests to pray and to ask
   pardon of God; but they prayed in the name of all the people. The
   reason must be well known to us; for God intended by these legal types
   to remind the Jews, that they could not offer prayers to him, except
   through some mediator; the people were unworthy to offer prayers by
   themselves. Hence the priest was, as it were, the middle person. The
   whole of this is to be referred to Christ; for by him we now pray; he
   is the Mediator who intercedes for us. The people stood then afar off,
   we now dare to come nigh to God; for the vail is rent, and through
   Christ we are all made priests. Hence, we are allowed in familiar way
   and in confidence to call God our Father: and yet without Christ's
   intercession, no access to God would be open to us. This then was the
   reason for the legal appointment. Hence the Prophet now says, Let the
   priests weep; not that he wished the people in the meantime to neglect
   their duty; but he expresses what had been prescribed by the law of
   God; that is, that the priests should offer supplications in the name
   of the people.

   And he says, Between the court and the altar; for the people remained
   in the court, the priests themselves had a court by its side which they
   called the sacerdotal court; but the people's court was over against
   the sanctuary. Then the priest stood, as it were, in the middle between
   God, that is, the ark of the covenant, and the people: the people also
   were standing there. We now perceive that what the Prophet meant was,
   that the people had the priests as their mediators to offer prayers;
   and yet the confession of them all was public. He calls the priests the
   ministers of Jehovah, as we have before found. He thus designates their
   office; as though he had said, that they were not more worthy than the
   rest of the people, as though they excelled by their own virtue or
   merits; but that the Lord had conferred this honor on the tribe of Levi
   by choosing them to be his ministers. It was then on account of their
   office that they came nearer to God, and not for any merit in their own
   works.

   He further adds, Spare, Lord, or be propitious to, thy people; and give
   not thy heritage to reproach, that the Gentiles may rule over them.
   Here the Prophet leaves nothing to the priests, but to flee to God's
   mercy; as though he had said that now no plea remained for the people,
   and that they were greatly deceived if they pretended any excuse, and
   that their whole hope was in God's mercy. He afterwards shows the
   ground on which they were to seek and to hope for mercy; and he calls
   their attention to God's gratuitous covenant, Give not thy heritage for
   a reproach to the Gentiles. By these words he shows, that if the Jews
   depended on themselves, they were past recovery; for they had so often
   and in such various ways provoked God's wrath, that they could not hope
   for any pardon: they had also been so obstinate that the door as it
   were had been closed against them on account of their hardness. But the
   Prophet here reminds them, that as they had been freely chosen by God
   as his peculiar people, there remained for them a hope of deliverance,
   but that it ought not to have been sought in any other way. We now then
   understand the design of the Prophet, when he speaks of God's heritage;
   as though he had said, that the people could now undertake nothing to
   pacify God, had they not been God's heritage: Give not then thy
   heritage to reproach. He had in view the threatening, which he had
   before mentioned; for it was an extreme kind of vengeance, when the
   Lord determined to visit his people with utter destruction; after
   having worn them out and consumed them by famine and want, God resolved
   wholly to consume them by the sword of enemies. It is then to this
   vengeance that he now alludes when he says, That the Gentiles may not
   rule over them. It is therefore absurd, as many do, to connect with
   this the discourse concerning the locusts: such a thing is wholly
   inconsistent with the design of the Prophet. [7]

   It is then added, Why should they say among the people, Where is their
   God? The Prophet now adduces another reason, by which the Jews might
   propitiate God, and that is, because his own glory is concerned: this
   reason has indeed an affinity to the former, for God could not expose
   his heritage to the reproaches of the Gentiles without subjecting also
   his holy name to their blasphemies. But the Prophet shows here more
   distinctly that God's glory would be subject to reproach among the
   nations, if he dealt with the people according to the full demands of
   justice; for the Gentiles would contemptuously deride him, as though he
   could not save his people. Hence in this second clause he reminds us,
   that when engaged in seeking pardon, we ought to place before our eyes
   The glory of God, that we ought not to seek our own salvation without
   remembering the holy name of God, which ought of right to be preferred
   to all other things. And at the same time he strengthens also the hope
   of the people, when he teaches that the glory of God is connected with
   the salvation of those who had sinned; as though he had said, "God,
   that he may provide for his own glory, will have mercy on you." They
   must then have come more willingly to God's presences when they saw
   that their salvation was connected with the glory of God, and that they
   would be saved that the name of God might be preserved safe and free
   from blasphemies.

   We now then perceive what the Prophet meant in this verse: he first
   strips the Jews of all confidence in works, showing that nothing
   remained for them except they fled to God's free mercy. He then shows
   that this mercy is folded on God's gratuitous covenant, because they
   were his heritage. In the third place, he shows that God would be
   merciful to them from a regard to his own glory, lest he should expose
   it to the reproaches of the Gentiles, if he exercised extreme severity
   towards his people. Let us now proceed --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [5] Medium opus, "a middle work, neutral, neither good nor bad". -- Ed.

   [6] That is, restraint. Literally it is, Proclaim a restraint. And as
   it means a restraint generally from labor as well as from food, it is
   applied to designate a feast-day, when men are detained or restrained
   from labor. -- Ed.

   [7] Dr. Henderson, in his learned work on the Minor Prophets, lately
   published, agrees with Calvin in rejecting the interpretation alluded
   to here, though adopted by many learned men. He considers that the
   Assyrians, and not locusts, are described in the beginning of this
   chapter and that the Prophet "employs language borrowed from the
   appearance and movements of these insects, in order to make a deeper
   impression upon his hearers, whose minds were full of ideas derived
   from them as instruments of the calamity under which they were
   suffering." The locusts in the first chapter are spoken of as having
   already appeared; but the judgment detailed in this chapter is
   represented as future. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 2:18-19

   18. Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people.

   18. Et aemulatus est (aemulabitur, ad verbum) Jehova (hoc est, zelo
   ducetur Jehova) super terram suam, et propitius erit (et miserabitur,
   vel, parcet; nam chml est parcere) populo suo.

   19. Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will
   send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith:
   and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen.

   19. Et respondit Jehova (vel, respondebit) et dicit (vel, dicet) populo
   suo, Ecce ego mitto vobis triticum et mustum et oleum, et saturabimini
   eo (vel illis potius, est mutatio numeri,) et non dabo vos amplius
   opprobium inter Gentes.


   The Prophet here again repeats, that prayers would not be in vain,
   provided the Jews truly humbled themselves before God. Then God, he
   says, will be jealous for his land and spare his people. He confirms
   what I have already said that God would deal mercifully with his
   people, because they were his heritage, that is because he had chosen
   them for himself. For the title of heritage, whence does it proceed
   except from the gratuitous covenant of God? for the Jews were not more
   excellent than others, but election was the only fountain from which
   the Jews had to draw any hope. We now then see why these words, God
   will be jealous for his land, are added; as though he said "Though this
   land has been polluted by the wickedness of men, yet God has
   consecrated it to himself: He will, therefore, regard his own covenant,
   and thus turn away his face from looking on their sins." He will spare,
   he says, his people, that is, his chosen people: for, as I have said,
   the Prophet no doubt ascribes here the safety of the people, and the
   hope of their safety, to the gratuitous election of God; for the
   jealousy of God is nothing else but the vehemence and ardor of his
   paternal love. God could not, indeed, express how ardently he loves
   those whom he has chosen without borrowing, as it were, what belongs to
   men. For we know that passions appertain not to him; but he is set
   forth as a father, who burns with jealousy when he sees his son
   ill-treated; he acknowledges his own blood, his bowels are excited, --
   or, as a husband, who, on seeing dishonor done to his wife, is moved;
   and though he had been a hundred times offended, he yet forgets every
   offense; for he regards that sacred union between himself and his wife.
   Such a character, then, does God assume, that he might the better
   express how much and how intensely he loves his own elect. Hence he
   says, God will be jealous for his land. As he has hitherto been
   inflamed with just wrath, so now a contrary feeling will overcome the
   former; not that God is agitated by various passions, as I have already
   said, but this mode of speaking transferred from men, is adopted on
   account of our ignorance.

   He afterwards says, God has answered [8] and said to his people,
   Behold, I will send to you corn, wine, and oil. The Prophet does not
   here recite what had been done, but, on the contrary, declares, that
   God in future would be reconciled to them; as though he said, "I have
   hitherto been a herald of war, and bidden all to prepare themselves for
   the coming evil: but now I am a messenger to proclaim peace to you; if
   only you are resolved to turn to God, and to turn unfeignedly, I do now
   testify to you that God will be propitious to you; and as to your
   prayers know that they are already heard; that is, know that as soon as
   they were conceived, they were heard by the Lord." Hence he says, He
   has answered; that is "If, moved by my exhortation, ye return with
   sincerity to God, he will meet you, nay, he has already met you; he
   waits not until ye have done all that ye ought to do; but when he bids
   you to come to his temple and to weep, he at the same time wipes off
   your tears, he removes every cause of sorrow and anxiety." God, then,
   has answered; that is, "I am to you a certain and sufficient witness,
   that your prayers have been already accepted before God, though, as I
   have before reminded you, ye have not offered them."

   And, at the same time, he speaks of the effect, Behold, I will send to
   you corn, wine, and oil; and ye shall be satisfied. Here, by the
   effects, he proves that God would be propitious; for want of food was
   the first evidence of God's displeasure, to be followed by the
   destruction which the Prophet had threatened. What does he say now? God
   will restore to you abundance of corn, wine, and oil; and he says
   further, I will not give you to the Gentiles for a reproach that they
   may rule over you

   We now then apprehend the meaning of the Prophet; for he not only
   promises that God would be placable but also declares that he was
   already placable; and this he confirms by external tokens; for God
   would immediately remove the sins of his wrath, and turn them into
   blessings. Hence he says, He will give you abundance of corn, wine, and
   oil, so as fully to satisfy you.' As they had perceived that God was
   angry with them by the sterility of the land, and also by its produce
   being consumed by chafers, by locusts, and other animals or insects; so
   now the Lord would testify his love to them by the abounding
   fruitfulness of every thing. And then he joins another sentence, I will
   not give you any more for a reproach to the Gentiles. When he says,
   "any more," he intimates that they had been before exposed to reproach;
   and we indeed know that they were then suffering many evils; but there
   remained that destruction of which we have heard. God does then here
   promise, that they should no more be subject to the reproaches of the
   Gentiles provided they repented; for the Prophet ever speaks
   conditionally. It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [8] There is no reason for rendering this in the past tense: it is in
   the same predicament with the verb, "will be jealous," in the former
   verse, and ought to be rendered like it in the future time, "will
   answer." The comment founded on this rendering, though true in itself,
   is yet too refined, and suits not this place. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 2:20

   20. But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will
   drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the
   east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink
   shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done
   great things.

   20. Et Aquilonarem procul abigam a vobis, et disjiciam eum ad terram
   desertam et siccitatis: facies ejus ad mare orientale, et terminum ejus
   (disjiciam; ego enim apo tou koinou repeto) ad mare novissimum: et
   ascend et foetor ejus, et ascendet putredo ejus; quia magnificavit ad
   faciendum (hoc est, quia magnifice se extulit ad faciendum.)


   In this verse he more fully confirms the Jews, that they might not be
   afraid of reproach from the Gentiles. It may have been that the
   Assyrians were now in readiness, prepared for war; it was then
   difficult to free the Jews from every fear. The Prophet had said
   generally that they would be no more subject to the mockeries of the
   Gentiles; but yet fear could not but be felt by them. "We see the
   Assyrians already armed; and what can we expect but to be devoured by
   them? for we are not able to resist them." Anxiety then must have
   constantly tormented the Jews, had he not distinctly and in express
   words declared, "It is in God's power to drive away the Assyrians, and
   to confound all their attempts." The Prophet, therefore, is now on this
   subject. The Northlander, [9] he says, will I remove far from you. The
   Chaldeans and the Assyrians, we know, were northward of Judea. He then
   means here by the North those enemies, whose preparations terrified the
   Jews. Hence he says, I will drive them from you, and drive them far
   into a land of desert and of drought [10] . By these words he
   intimates, that though furnished with the greatest forces, and gaping
   for the land of Judea, and ready in their cupidity to devour it, the
   Syrians would yet return home without effecting anything; I will cast
   them into a desert land. In vain, he says, they covet your abundance,
   and desire to satisfy themselves with the fertility of your land; for I
   will drive them and their dread away.

   He then adds, His face to the east sea, and his rear to the hindmost
   sea; that is, I will scatter them here and there, so that his front
   shall be to one sea, (supposed to be the Salt Sea,) and his extremity
   to the hindermost sea, which was doubtless the Mediterranean: for the
   Salt Sea was east to the Jews, that is, it lies, as it is well known,
   towards the east. We now perceive in part what the Prophet means. But
   it must, at the same time, be added, that the Prophet removes fear from
   the Jews, which occupied their minds by observing the power of the
   Assyrians so great and extensive. "What is to be done? though God is
   present with us, and protects us by his help, yet how will he resist
   the Assyrians, for that army will fill the land". "God will yet find
   means," says the Prophet; "though the Assyrians should occupy the whole
   land, from the Salt or the East Sea to the Meridian or Mediterranean
   Sea, yet will God drive away this vast multitude: there is no reason
   then that ye should fear." Hence the Prophet has designedly set forth
   how terrible the Assyrian forces would be, that he might show that they
   could not be resisted, unless the Lord should disperse them and
   disappoint all their efforts. At last he adds, And his ill savor shall
   ascend: but I am not able to finish to-day.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [9] Dr. Henderson agrees with Calvin in rendering this word, Northern
   or Highlander, and quotes Coverdale as rendering it, Him of the North.
   He considers this word as of "prime importance in the interpretation of
   this prophecy." Locusts visited Palestine not from the north, but from
   the south. "That, however," he adds, "which determines the question, is
   the addition of the patronymic y to tsphvn, indicating that the North
   was not merely the quarter whence the subject of the discourse came,
   but that its native country lay to the North of Palestine; just as
   htymny, the Temanite, means the Southern, etc. -- Ed.

   [10] Literally, "Into a land dry and desolate." -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Prayer.

   Grant, Almighty God, that as we continue to excite thy wrath against
   us, and are so insensible, though thou exhortest us daily to
   repentance, -- O grant, that what thy Prophet teaches may penetrate
   into our hearts, and be like a sounding trumpet, that we may be really
   and sincerely made humble before thee, and be so touched with the sense
   of thy wrath, that we may learn to put off all the depraved affections
   of our flesh, and not merely to deplore the sins we have already
   committed: and do thou also look upon us in future, that we may
   diligently walk in thy fear, and consecrate ourselves wholly to thee;
   and as thou hast deigned to choose us for thine inheritance, and gather
   us under thy Christ, may we so live under him as our leader, until we
   be at length gathered into thy celestial kingdom to enjoy that happy
   rest, which thou hast promised to us, and which thou promisest also
   daily, and which has been purchased by the blood of the same, our Lord
   Jesus Christ. Amen.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Forty-fourth

   Yesterday the Prophet spake of the northern enemy, and said that it was
   in God's power to drive him far away, that he might not hurt the
   people, that his vast army would not prevent the dispersion of his
   power and enterprises. Now he adds this, which we could not finish
   yesterday, Ascend will his ill savor, and ascend will his rottenness;
   for highly has he borne or [7]exalted himself to do his purpose The
   Prophet expresses here more than in the former sentence, and that is,
   that God would turn to reproach the whole power of the Assyrian. The
   reason he subjoins deserves to be noticed, He has highly exalted
   himself in his doings,' which means, that he was elated with great
   pride, thinking he could do anything; therefore he says, Ascend will
   his rottenness and ill savor.' This contains a very striking allusion;
   for when men deliberate about great things, it is the game as if they
   were to raise up themselves on high; and we also observe that hither
   tend their designs, who are engaged in difficult and arduous
   undertakings; for they are not content with their lots but try to climb
   above the clouds. Since then the design of all mortals is to rise
   aloft, when they seek for themselves more than what is just, the
   Prophet, deriding this folly, says, "Ascend will the ill savor of the
   Assyrian, as a bad smell ascends from a putrid carcass. He thinks," he
   says, "that he can do what he pleases, as though heaven and earth were
   under his control: his power, enterprises forces and splendor, shall
   not ascend; but his ill savor only shall ascend as from a dead
   carcass." Why so? "He has mightily exalted himself," he says, "to do
   his purpose."

   He now understand the design of the Prophet: and hence this useful
   instruction may be gathered, that God so checks the foolish confidence
   of those who pride themselves on their own strength, that he not only
   casts them down, but also turns their glory into shame, so that nothing
   ascends from them but ill savor and the smell of rottenness. Now
   follows what is of an opposite character: --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 2:21

   21. Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great
   things.

   21. Ne timeas terra, exulta et laetare; quia magnifice extulit se
   Jehova ad faciendum.


   Here he shows that God would have his turn to exalt himself, which the
   Assyrian presumptuously attempted to do. For God seems for a time to
   lie still, when he withholds himself, when he puts not forth his power,
   but waits to see the tendency of the insane conspiracies and the
   Satanic madness of those who rise up against him and his Church. But
   having for a time thus restrained himself, he at length comes forth;
   and this is what the Prophet means when he says, God has highly exalted
   himself to do his purpose. The Assyrian first attempted this; but now
   the Lord in his turn will raise up himself. God indeed could have done
   this before, but he would not; and we see this to be his usual mode of
   proceeding, to connive at the presumption of men, till the ripened time
   comes which he has predetermined; and then he dissipates in a moment
   their enterprises.

   God, then, has now nobly exalted himself; therefore rejoice and exult,
   O Land. But he says first, Fear not, O Land; and then, Exult and
   rejoice For it was necessary, in the first place, to remove the fear
   with which the minds of all were now seized. The Prophet, then, begins
   with consolation; for the Jews could have hardly entertained any joy,
   except the fear that oppressed them was first shaken off. Hence the
   Prophet maintains due order by saying, "Fear not, O Land, but rather
   exult and rejoice." He afterwards subjoins --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 2:22

   22. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the
   wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and
   the vine do yield their strength.

   22. Ne timeatis bestiae agri, quia germinarunt pascua deserti, quia
   arbor protulit fructum suum, ficulnea et vitis protulerunt virtutem
   (vel, substantiam) suam.


   Here the Prophet turns his address to the beasts; not that his
   instruction suited them; but it was a more efficacious mode of
   speaking, when he invited the very beasts to a participation of the
   people's joy; for except the Jews had been made to know that God's
   wrath was now nigh at hand, no consolation which the Prophet has
   hitherto applied would have been of any weight with them. But now since
   they perceived that God's wrath did not only suspend over them, but
   extended much farther, even to the beasts, and since the Lord would
   have mercy on them, so that his blessing would be partaken in common by
   the beasts and brute animals, the address was far more impressive. We
   hence see that the Prophet, for the best reason, directed his discourse
   to the very beasts, though destitute of mind and discernment. For in
   addressing brute animals he addressed men with double force; that is,
   he impressed their minds more effectually, so that they might seriously
   confess how great was God's wrath, and also how great would be his
   blessing.

   Beasts, he says, fear not. Then the beasts of the field ought to have
   dreaded the judgment of God which he had before denounced; for except
   God had been pacified to his people, the fire of his wrath would have
   consumed the whole land, trees and pastures; so all the beasts must
   have been famished. But now when God is reconciled to his people, his
   blessing will smile on the brute animals. What then is to be said of
   men? For God is properly propitious to them, and not to brute animals.
   We hence see that the fruit of reconciliation is made more evident,
   when it is in part extended to the brute creation.

   He therefore says, Fear not, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures
   of the desert will grow, the trees will bring forth their fruit. By
   these words the Prophet intimates, that had God's wrath toward his
   people been implacable, the sterility of the land would not have been
   improved. Now then whence came so sudden a change that the pastures
   grew, that the trees produced their fruits, both the fig-tree and the
   vine, except that God was pleased to bless the land, after having
   received men into favor? We now then apprehend the meaning of the
   Prophet, even this, -- that the land would be made by an angry God to
   execute his judgment, and that there would be no remedy for the
   barrenness of the land until men propitiated God. This is the sum of
   the whole. It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 2:23

   23. Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your
   God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will
   cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter
   rain in the first month

   23. Et filii Sion exultate, et gaudete in Jehova Deo vestro, quia dedit
   vobis pluviam ad justitiam (alii vertunt, doctorem justitiae; sed de eo
   paulo post dicemus) et descendere faciet vobis imbrem pluviam (vel,
   pluviam tempestivam, ut vertunt: dicemus etiam de hac voce) et pluviam
   in mense primo.


   He now exhorts the Jews also to rejoice, but in a way different from
   that of the land and of the beasts. Rejoice, he says, in your God. For
   the beasts and the sheep, while rejoicing, cannot raise their thoughts
   higher than to their food: hence, the joy of brute animals, as they
   say, terminates in its object. But the Prophet sets forth God before
   the Jews as the ground of their joy. We then see how he distinguishes
   them from brute animals from the land and other elements; for he not
   only bids them to rejoice in meat and drink, in the abundance of
   provisions, but he also bids them to rejoice in the Lord their God; and
   he says no more, "The land will yield its strength, or the vines and
   fig-trees, or the trees, will produce their fruit, and the pastures
   will grow;" no, he speaks not now in this manner, but he says "God
   himself will give you rain:" for he had to do with men, endued with
   understanding, yea, with those very Jews who had been from their
   childhood taught in the law of God: he speaks, not only of the land,
   not only of bread and wine, but of the Giver himself.

   He then reminds them of God's blessing, and declares that God would be
   so propitious to them as to pour down his grace upon them, and act the
   part of a father and a guardian towards them. God then, he says, will
   bring forth or give to you rain according to what is necessary. Some
   translate hmvrh emure a teacher; and the meaning of the word, we know,
   is doubtful. At the same time mvrh mure is very often taken for rain,
   and sometimes generally, and sometimes for a particular kind of rain,
   as we shall presently see. Though then mvrh mure signifies a teacher,
   yet the context here seems not to allow that sense. They who have thus
   taken it seem to have been led by this one reason, -- that it is absurd
   to set in the first place, and as it were on a higher grade, those
   fading blessings which belong only to the support and nourishment of
   the body. But this reason is very foolish; for the Prophets, we know,
   lead children as it were by initial principles to a higher doctrine. No
   wonder then that the Prophet here affords them a taste of God's favor
   in blessings belonging to the body; he afterwards ascends higher, as we
   shall see: and this view is certainly what the context demands; for the
   Prophet says at last, "I will hereafter pour my Spirit on all flesh,"
   etc. In these words the Prophet commends the favor of God, which ought
   to be held as the most valuable: but he begins now with temporal
   benefits, that he might lead by degrees, and by various steps, a
   people, rude and weak, to something higher.

   Then the word, teacher, by no means suits this place; and we must mark
   also what immediately follows. He introduces a word derived from mvrh
   mure; he afterwards adds mvrh mure the second time, which no doubt,
   means rain; all confess this, and confess it to be taken for rain in
   the same verse. When all agree then on this point, it seems somewhat
   strained to render it in the same verse a teacher and also rain;
   especially since we find that the Prophet's object is this, -- to make
   the people to recognize God's blessing in outward things. There is also
   another thing which has lead astray these interpreters. There follows
   immediately the word ltsdqh latsadke, according to what is just. When
   they join together these word, hmvrh ltsdqh emure latsadke, they ask,
   What is the rain of righteousness? They have hence thought that a
   teacher is here meant. But we know that mspht and tsdqh meshapheth and
   tsadke are often taken in Scripture for a just measure, for equity.
   "God then will not deal with you unequally as hitherto; but having been
   reconciled to you, he will reassume the part of a father, and will also
   observe towards you a legitimate order; for things have been on both
   sides in confusion, inasmuch as ye have been carrying on war against
   God, and your wickedness has subverted the whole order of nature. But
   now, God being pacified towards you, there will be on both sides an
   equable state of things, everything will be in a fitting condition; he
   will not deal with you any more in an irregular manner." We now then
   perceive the real meaning of the Prophets and see how frivolous are the
   reasons which influenced these interpreters, who have rendered the
   words, "Teacher of righteousness." I do not love strained expositions.

   Let us now return to the words of the Prophet: He will give to you, he
   says, rain according is what is fit; then he adds, He will make to
   descend on you showering rain, (using another word;) and he adds again
   the word mvrh mure, which, no doubt, means rain, and no one denies
   this. But yet it seems that the word gsm geshem has here a specific
   meaning, and some think it to be a violent shower, occasioned by a
   storm or tempest; and yet we may gather from many parts of Scripture
   that the word means rain in general. Now mvrh mure seems here to be
   taken for the rain of September, which the Greeks call txoimon,
   proimon; and so they call mlqvs melkush opsimon, opsimon, or the latter
   rain, as a common interpreter has rendered it. And the cultivated land,
   we know, needs these two rains, that is, after sowing, and when the
   fruit is ripening, -- after sowing, that the ground by receiving
   moisture may make the seed to grow; for it then wants moisture to
   nourish the roots. Hence, the rain of September or October, which is
   after sowing, is rightly called seasonable rain; and the Greeks, as I
   have already said, call it proimon proimon; and James, following them,
   so calls it in James 5, He will give you rain,' he says, both of the
   first time and the late rain,' that is, of the month of March. For in
   those warm climates the harvests we know, is earlier than with us. We
   here gather the corn in July but they gather it there in May. The fruit
   then ripens with them in March, when they need the late rain. And in
   Jeremiah 5 it appears quite evident, that mvrh mure, as in this place,
   is called the rain, which comes down after sowing; for God says there,
   I will give you,' etc., and first he uses the general word gsm geshem,
   and then he adds the two kinds of rain, which are also mentioned here;
   and afterwards he adds, In their time,' that is, each rain in its time
   and season. -- Then mvrh mure has its time, and mlqvs melkush also has
   its time; otherwise the words of the prophet would not be consistent.

   We now see what the Prophet means. Of the word mlqvm melkush we have
   said something in [8]Hosea. Then the Prophet says now, that God would
   be so propitious to the Jews, as to neglect no means of testifying his
   favor towards them; for he would give them rain in the month of October
   and in the month of March, to fertilize the ground after sowing, and
   before the harvest or before the fruit came to maturity. Here then is
   promised to the Jews that the land would be made fertile by natural
   means. It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 2:24

   24. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow
   with wine and oil.

   24. Et implebuntur horrea frumento et resonabunt torcularia vino
   (musto, ad verbum: diximus de hac voce prius,) et oleo.


   He goes on with the same subject in this verse, and shows the effects
   of rain; for when the earth is irrigated and satiated with sufficient
   moisture, it brings forth fruit, rich and plentiful. God then will
   cause that the rains shall not be useless, for the floors shall be full
   of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine as well as oil. He
   afterwards adds --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 2:25

   25. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the
   cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army
   which I sent among you.

   25. Et reddam vobis annos (pro aliis annis, subaudiendum est) quibus
   comedit locusta, bruchus, eruca (chsyl, alii vertunt, rubiginem: sed
   dixi primo capite me non adeo solicitum esse de istis vocibus, quia
   etiam ignotae sunt hodie ipsis Judaeis; sed certum est esse insecta,
   quae corrumpunt omnes terrae fruges, ut tunc diximus,) exercitus meus
   magnus, quem miseram ad vos.


   The Prophet confirms what he had previously said, and states what is of
   an opposite character, -- that God can as easily restore a rich
   fruitfulness to the land as he had before rendered it barren by sending
   devouring insects. I will give you years, (for the other years,) he
   says; and that the Jews might more fully understand that all this was
   in God's hand, he expressly declares that the cankerworms, the chafers,
   and the locusts [11] , were his army and as it were his hired army,
   whom he had employed as it seemed good to him. The spoilers, then,
   which had destroyed the whole produce of the land, were, as the Prophet
   declares, the messengers of God: it was not, he says, by chance that
   the locusts, or the cankerworms, or the chafers came; but God hired
   these soldiers, they were his forces and his army to distress the whole
   people; then famine and want consumed them. It is not then to no
   purpose that the Prophet mentions here that these destructive insects
   were God's army; it is to show more fully what is here promised; for
   God, who had by this army devoured the whole increase of the land, can
   now easily restore plenty for the barrenness of past years. Now, when
   any one lays down his arms, the land is afterwards cultivated, and
   brings forth its usual fruit: so the Lord also now shows, that the land
   had been barren, because he had sent forth his army, which laid waste
   its whole produce. But now, he says, when I shall restore you to favor,
   there will be no army to devour your fruit: the land then will nourish
   you, for there will be nothing to prevent you to receive its wonted
   produce.

   Had not the Jews been made assured that the land had been sterile,
   because the locusts, and the chafers, and the cankerworms, were the
   army which the Lord had prepared they might have ever dreaded these
   spoilers: "Surely the locusts will spring up, the chafers and the
   cankerworms will come, to devour all the fruit." The Prophet shows that
   this happened not by chance: "Now then, when God shall be reconciled to
   you, the land will yield its increase, and nothing shall hinder you
   from enjoying its abundance."

   [9]By calling this army great, he shows that God has no need of strong
   forces to subdue men; for when he prepares locusts and insects, which
   are but little things, they snatch food from the mouths of men and
   leave them in want; though no one puts forth a sword against them, they
   yet pine away with hunger. The Prophet then derides here the arrogance
   of men, and shows that God needs not do much, when he intends to reduce
   them to nothing. Let us now proceed --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [11] There are four sorts mentioned in Hebrew as in [10]the first
   chapter: one of them is omitted here and in the Latin text. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 2:26

   26. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name
   of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my
   people shall never be ashamed.

   26. Et comedetis comedendo et vos satiando, et laudabitis nomen Jehovae
   Dei vestri; quia egit vobiscum mirabiliter (ad miraculum,) et non
   pudefiet populus meus in perpetuum.


   He now concludes what he has hitherto said of God's blessing. As the
   Jews were starving while God was offended, so he promises that when
   reconciled to him they should have abundance of produce from the land:
   Ye shall eat plentifully, he says, and satisfy yourselves. But he
   mentions also their gratitude; for it was an evidence of true
   repentance when they praised the name of God, whom they understood to
   be the giver of their abundance; for he had before proved that the land
   was under his power, when he consumed its whole substance, so that none
   of it came to supply the wants of man. Hence the Prophet exhorts them
   to give thanks, that they might thus declare that they from the heart
   repented. Ye shall then praise the name of Jehovah your God". Why?
   "Because he will deal with you wonderfully. He takes away here every
   plea for ignorance. We know how difficult it is to lead men to do this
   act of religion, for which we yet confess that we were born; for what
   is more natural than to acknowledge God's bounty towards us, when we
   enjoy many blessings? But yet, though God in various ways stimulates
   us, he cannot draw from us genuine gratitude. This is the reason why
   the Prophet now says, "God will deal with you wonderfully: though ye
   are stupid, God will yet by his power awaken you; for he will not deal
   with you in a common way." He then mentions something miraculous, that
   he might leave to the Jews no excuse, in case they considered not God's
   bounty and perceived not in this change, first, what they had deserved
   and then how merciful God had been to them: for this change could not
   have been ascribed to chance; nor was it a common thing, that when the
   Jews had been for four successive years nearly consumed with wants and
   when the enemy was at hand, they should see the land now fruitful, that
   they should see it freed from destructive insects, that they should be
   also at peace, and not disturbed by the dread of any foreign enemy.
   Since the Lord, then, would beyond hope give them a serene instead of a
   turbulent sky, should not such a wonderful change deeply affect them?
   This is what the Prophet now means, -- "As the Lord will deal with you
   wonderfully, there will be no excuse for your torpidity, if ye will not
   be diligent in praising his name."

   Not ashamed, he says, shall my people be for ever. The Jews are here
   reminded by implication of their former disgrace; for they had been
   greatly confounded; though enemies touched them not, no, not even with
   their finger, they yet died through famine; an enemy was also prepared,
   as we have seen, to destroy them. They were therefore frightened with
   dread, and also perplexed with their own evils, by which God had almost
   worn them out. The Prophet says now, My people shall not be ashamed for
   ever, intimating that God would at length relieve his people from their
   evils, that they might not, as hitherto, be ashamed. He at last
   subjoins --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 2:27

   27. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am
   the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

   27. Et cognoscetis, quia in medio Israel ego, et ego Jehova Deus
   vester, et nullus praeterea: et non pudefiet populus meus in seculum.


   He repeats the same sentence; and in the beginning of the verse he
   unfolds what I have already said -- that the miracle would be such as
   to constrain the people to praise God. Ye shall know that I am in the
   midst of Israel: and this was the case, because God showed not in an
   ordinary way his kindness to them, and especially because it had been
   foretold, and also because this reason had been adduced -- that God was
   mindful of his covenant. The manner, then, in which he dealt with them,
   and farther, the prediction itself, left to the people no pretext for
   ignorance. Hence the Prophet now says, Ye shall know that I am in the
   midst of Israel,' and still more, that I am Jehovah your God.' By these
   words the Prophet reminds us, that the deliverance of the people from
   their evils was to be wholly ascribed to the gratuitous mercy of God;
   for we have already seen, that things would have been past hope, had
   not this consolation been added -- Turn ye even now to me.' The Prophet
   therefore repeats, that there would be no other reason why God would
   deal so kindly with his people, and so mercifully spare them, but this
   -- that he dwelt in the midst of Israel: but whence was this dwelling,
   except that God had gratuitously chosen this people? This indeed
   availed much to raise up the people; for how could they have hoped that
   God would be propitious to them, had they not been reminded of this
   truth that God was dwelling in the midst of them? Not because they were
   worthy, but because he deigned to come down to them.

   He afterwards adds, And none else. By this sentence the Prophet more
   sharply stimulates them to return immediately to God; for if they
   deferred longer disappointment would be in delay. That the Jews, then,
   might not, after their usual manner, procrastinate, he says that there
   is no other God; and thus he shows that there was no remedy for their
   evils, except they sought to be reconciled to God. "There is then no
   God besides me, and I dwell in the midst of thee." The Lord claims to
   himself every power, and then kindly invites the people to himself, and
   for this reason, -- because he dwells in the midst of them. That the
   people, then, might not form other expectations, God shows that all
   their hope was in him alone. He farther shows, that salvation was not
   to be sought afar off, provided the people had not forgotten the
   covenant, that God was dwelling in the midst of them. But a higher
   doctrine follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 2:28

   28. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit
   upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your
   old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

   28. Et accidet post sic (hoc est, postea,) effundam Spiritum meum super
   omnem carnem: et prophetabunt filii vestri et filiae vestrae: senes
   vestri somnia sommabunt: juvenes vestri (aut, viri electi) visiones
   videbunt.


   We have explained why the Prophet began with earthly blessings. One may
   indeed think that this order is not regular; for Christ does not in
   vain remind us, that the kingdom of God ought to be first sought, and
   that other things shall be added in their place, (Matthew 6;) for food,
   and every thing that belongs to this frail life, are, as it were,
   additions to the spiritual life. But the Prophet designedly mentioned
   first the evidence of God's favor in outward benefits; for we see how
   slow the perceptions of men are, and how slothful they are in seeking
   spiritual life. As, then, men rise to things above with so much
   difficulty, the Prophet makes use of the best helps; and we must indeed
   be dealt with as we usually deal with children. For as there is not so
   much discernment in them as to be influenced by reasons, we set before
   them what is suitable to their weak and simple comprehension; so the
   Prophet did; for he showed first that God would be kind to the Jews in
   food for the body, and having used this as a help, he then added,
   Afterwards I will pour my Spirit upon all flesh.

   By these words the Prophet reminds us, that people act absurdly when
   they are satisfied with vanishing things, when they ask of God nothing
   more excellent than to be pampered like brute animals; for in what do
   the children of God differ from asses and dogs, except they aspire
   after spiritual life? The Prophet, then, after having set before them
   lower things, as though they were children, now brings before them a
   more solid doctrine, (for thus they were to be led,) and affords them a
   taste of the favor of God in its external signs. "Ascend, then, now,"
   he says, "to spiritual life: for the fountain is one and the same;
   though when earthly benefits occupy and engross your attention, ye no
   doubt pollute them. But God feeds you, not to fill and pamper you; for
   he would not have you to be like brute animals. Then know that your
   bodies are fed, and that God gives support to you, that ye may aspire
   after spiritual life; for he leads you to this as by the hand; be this
   then your object." We now, then, understand why the Prophet did not at
   first speak of the spiritual grace of God; but he comes to it now. He
   began with temporal benefits, for it was needful that an untutored
   people should be thus led by degrees, that on account of their
   infirmity, sluggishness, and dullness, they might thus make better
   progress, until they understood that God would for this end be a Father
   to them.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Prayer.

   Grant, Almighty God, that since we want so many aids while in this
   frail life, and as it is a shadowy life, we cannot pass a moment,
   except thou dost continually, and at all times, supply through thy
   bounty what is needful, -- O grant, that we may so profit by thy so
   many benefits, that we may learn to raise our minds upwards, and ever
   aspire after celestial life, to which by thy gospel thou invites us so
   kindly and sweetly every day, that being gathered into thy celestial
   kingdom, we may enjoy that perfect felicity, which has been procured
   for us by the blood of thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Forty-fifth

   And it shall be, that I shall afterwards pour my Spirit upon all flesh,
   and prophesy shall your sons and your daughters and your old men shall
   dreams dream, and your young men shall visions see. We mentioned in our
   last lecture why the Prophet now at length speaks of the spiritual
   grace of God, having before spoken of earthly blessings. The order may
   seem indeed irregular; but it can be easily accounted for. The Prophet
   said first that God, being reconciled to the people, would openly
   manifest this by external proofs, by restoring abundance of wine and
   corn; for the almost wearing out of the people by famine and want,
   being the evidence of God's vengeance, the Prophet made the testimony
   of reconciliation to be in tokens of a contrary kind. But as the
   restoration of the Church consists not either in the fruitfulness of
   the land, or in the abundance of provisions, the Prophet now raises
   higher the thoughts of the godly, and makes them to look for the
   spiritual grace of God: hence he says, I shall afterwards pour my
   Spirit upon all flesh

   The Prophet, no doubt, promises here something greater than what the
   fathers under the Law had experienced. The gift of the Spirit, we know,
   was enjoyed even by the ancients; but the Prophet promises not what the
   faithful had before found; but, as we have said, something greater: and
   this may easily be gathered from the word here used, "pour out;" for
   sphk shephek means not to distill, but to pour forth in great
   abundance; and God did not pour out his Holy Spirit so abundantly and
   so largely under the law as after the manifestation of Christ. Since,
   then, the gift of the Spirit was more copiously given to the Church
   after the advent of Christ, the Prophet uses here an unwonted
   expression -- that God would pour out his Spirit.

   Another circumstance is added, upon all flesh. Though the Prophets, as
   we know, had formerly their colleges, yet they were but few in number.
   As then the gift of prophecy was rare among the Jews, the Prophets in
   order to show that God would deal more bountifully to his new Church
   when restored, says, that he would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh.
   He then intimates that all in common would be partakers of the gift of
   the Spirit, and of its rich abundance, while under the law a few had
   but a sparing taste of it. We now then perceive the design of the
   Prophet; it was to make a manifest difference between the state of the
   ancient people and the state of the new Church, of the restoration of
   which he now speaks. The comparison is, that God would not only endow a
   few with his Spirit, but the whole mass of the people, and then that he
   would enrich his faithful with all kinds of gifts, so that the Spirit
   would seem to be poured forth in full abundance: I will then pour out
   my Spirit upon all flesh. We hence learn how absurdly the Greek
   interpreter has rendered this, "I will pour out from my Spirit:" for he
   diminishes this promise by saying, "From my Spirit," as though God
   promised here some small portion of his Spirit; while, on the contrary
   the Prophet speaks of abundance, and intended to express it.

   It follows, Prophesy shall your sons and your daughters. The Prophet
   now proceeds to explain what he had said, unfolding at large what he
   meant by the expression, "upon all flesh," which was this, -- that the
   whole people would prophesy, or that the gift of prophecy would be
   common and prevail every where among all the Jews, in a new and unusual
   manner. The ancients had also Prophets though in number few; but now
   the Prophet extends this gift and favor to all orders: Prophesy then
   shall your sons and your daughters, he says, so that he does not
   exclude women.

   He afterwards mentions two kinds of prophesying, Your old men shall
   dreams dream, and your young men shall visions see. "Young men" mean
   literally "chosen," vchvrym bechurim: but as in middle age strength
   prevails most in man, those who possess vigor and judgment, and as yet
   retain their strength, are called "chosen:" hence by "chosen" he means
   those of mature age. When God manifested himself to the Prophets, it
   was usually done, we know, by dreams and visions, as it is said in
   Numbers 12: this was, as we may say, the ordinary method. The Prophet
   now refers to these two modes of communication, and says, that the gift
   of prophecy would be common to men and women, to the old and those of
   middle age. We now perceive the import of this verse. There is then no
   difference between dreams and visions, only the Prophet mentions these
   two kinds, that readers might better understand, that what the Prophet
   had stated before generally would be common to all.

   But I have already said that this prophecy must be referred to the
   advent of Christ; for we know that what is here described was not
   fulfilled until after Christ appeared in the world: and the Prophet now
   preaches of the new restoration of the Church, which we know, was
   suspended until the Gospel was proclaimed. Let us now then see whether
   God, after Christ was revealed, performed what he had spoken by his
   Prophet. Peter, in Acts 2, says, that this prophecy was fulfilled when
   the Spirit was sent. But it may be objected, that all were not endued
   with the gift of prophecy, even when God opened all the treasures of
   his grace; and Paul says that they were not all prophets even when the
   Church especially flourished; and experience proves the same. How then
   could Peter say, that this -- that God would pour out his Spirit upon
   all flesh, was fulfilled? To give a reply to this is not difficult: let
   us only remember, that the Prophet speaks comparatively, as the
   Scripture is wont to do. He affirms not in express terms that all would
   be partakers of this gift, but that in comparison with the ancient
   Church, this gift would be as it were common, and that it was so is
   well known: for if any one compares the ancient Church with that
   abundance which God vouchsafed to his people after Christ's advent, he
   will certainly find true what I say -- that the Spirit of God, who was
   given only to few under the law, was poured out upon all flesh. True
   then is what the Prophet says, provided this contrast is to be
   understood -- that God was much more bountiful towards his new Church
   than formerly towards the fathers: for the Prophets then were not many,
   but they were many under the gospel.

   We must also remember that the Prophet hyperbolically extols the grace
   of God; for such is our stupidity and dullness, that we can never
   sufficiently comprehend the grace of God, except it is set forth to us
   in hyperbolical language; nor is there indeed any excess in the thing
   itself, if we take a right view of it: but as we hardly understand the
   hundredth part of God's gifts, when he presents them before our eyes,
   it was needful to add a commendation, calculated to elevate our
   thoughts. The spirit of God is then constrained to speak hyperbolically
   on account of our torpidity or rather carelessness. We need not however
   to fear, lest our thoughts should go beyond the words; for when God
   would carry us above the heavens, we can hardly ascend two or three
   feet.

   We now then perceive why the Prophet mentions all flesh without
   exception: first, there were more Prophets, as I have said, under the
   gospel than under the law; hence, the comparison is very suitable; --
   and, secondly the Prophet speaks not here of the public office of
   teaching, for he calls those Prophets who had not been called to teach,
   but who were endued with so much of the light of truth, that they might
   be compared with the Prophets; and certainly the knowledge which
   flourished in the primitive Church was such, that the meanest were in
   many respects equal to the ancient Prophets; for what did God confer on
   the ancient Prophets except the power of foretelling something to come?
   It was a special gift, and very limited. Besides these predictions are
   hardly worthy to be compared with the celestial wisdom made known in
   the gospel. Faith then after the coming of Christ, if rightly estimated
   according to its value, far excels the gift of prophecy. And so the
   Prophet here, not without reason, dignifies with so honorable name
   those who were private men, and to whom was not intrusted the office of
   teaching among the people, but who were only illuminated; for their
   light was much superior to the gift of prophecy in many of those who
   lived under the law. We now understand what the Prophet means when he
   makes the Spirit of God to be common, without distinction, to all the
   godly, so that they possess what excels the gift of prophesying.

   Now as to the two kinds of gifts mentioned here, it must be observed,
   that the Prophet spoke according to what was commonly known among the
   people: for as the Jews were accustomed to dreams and visions, the
   Prophet therefore made use of these terms; and this manner of speaking
   occurs often in the Prophets, and it ought to be borne in mind by us.
   When they speak of the worship of God, they mention sacrifices, They
   shall come and bring frankincense and gold; they shall lead camels
   laden with the wealth of the land.' In short, in their prophecies they
   raise altars and build a temple: and yet no such things were seen after
   Christ appeared: for the Gentiles came not to Jerusalem to offer
   sacrifices; nay, shortly after the temple was destroyed, there was no
   altar among them, and the whole legal worship ceased. What then is to
   be understood by such expressions, as -- that people shall come from
   all places to sacrifice together? Even this -- They set forth under a
   visible form the spiritual worship of God. It is so in this place; as
   it was the usual way among the ancients that God manifested himself by
   dreams and visions to the Prophets, so he says, your old men shall
   dreams dream, and your young men shall visions see: but the Prophet no
   doubt sets forth under these forms of speech that light of knowledge in
   which the new Church excelled after Christ appeared: he indeed compares
   the light of faith to prophecy, as we have already stated; but he
   accommodates his manner of speaking or his discourse to the
   comprehension of his people, for he knew whom he addressed. All the
   Prophets have followed the same rule; There shall be offered a
   sacrifice,' says Malachi, from the rising to the setting of the sun.'
   What is this sacrifice? The Papists take this for the mass; "Then under
   the kingdom of Christ there is to be some sacrifice; and we do not now
   offer to God sheep and calves; it therefore follows, that there is to
   be the sacrifice of bread and wine:" and this is said, as though the
   Prophet had thus refinedly philosophized on the word, sacrifice, while
   he was teaching a rude people according to what they could bear. But
   what he meant was, that the worship of God would be universal among all
   nations. The same thing is intended by Joel when he says, I shall pour
   forth my Spirit upon all flesh: your old men shall dreams dream, and
   your young men shall visions see. We now see the whole meaning of the
   Prophet. Now it follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 2:29

   29. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days
   will I pour out my spirit.

   29. Atque etiam super servoset super ancillas in diebus illis effundam
   Spiritum meam.


   As the particle gm gam amplifies in Hebrew, it seems singular that the
   Prophet now limits to a few a gift common to all; for he had previously
   said, "Upon all flesh will I pour out my Spirit;" and now, "Upon
   servants and handmaids;" and he puts down "Also". If he had simply said
   "Upon servants and handmaids will I pour out my Spirit," there would
   have been no inconsistency, for it would have been the explanation of
   his former statement; for we know that what the Prophet says of all men
   must be taken with exception, inasmuch as many who were unbelievers
   were without this gift, and even those who before excelled in some sort
   of divine knowledge; we indeed know that the Jews were blinded, and we
   also know that not all among the common people were partakers of this
   excellent gift. There is no doubt, therefore, but that this which is
   said of "all flesh," must be limited to the Church. It would not, then,
   have appeared strange, had the Prophet now added, "Upon servants and
   handmaids;" but the particles vgm ugam, "And also," create difficulty:
   it is a way of speaking to enlarge on what has been said, but here it
   seems not to enlarge; for to pour out the Spirit upon all the people,
   is more than to pour it out on servants and handmaids. The solution is
   twofold: the particles vgm ugam are sometimes to be taken
   confirmatively. I have blessed him,' said Isaac of his son Jacob, and
   also blessed shall he be.' So in this place we may take the words of
   the Prophet to be, yea surely, being a repetition serving to confirm
   what had been said: but I prefer another sense; for the Prophet, I
   doubt not, meant here to add something more incredible than what he had
   previously said, "Upon servants and maid-servants will I pour out my
   Spirit," that is, even upon those who were before Prophets; for they
   shall be enriched with a new gift, and shall gain increasing knowledge
   after the restoration of the Church, which is now approaching. We
   apprehend this to be the meaning of the Prophet. He had promised the
   grace of the Spirit to the whole body of the faithful, which appears,
   as I have said, from comparing the ancient state with our own: but now,
   after having spoken of the mass or the common people, he comes to the
   Prophets, who were superior to others who before performed the office
   of teaching, who attained rank and degree in the Church; these also
   shall gain accessions; that is, "My Spirit shall not only be
   conspicuous in the ignorant and the common people, but also in the
   Prophets themselves."

   Surely it is a greater thing when they are taught who were before
   superior to others, and whom the Lord had set over the Church, and when
   they appear as new men, after having received a gift which the Lord had
   not previously conferred on them. When, therefore, new light appears in
   such men, it is certainly a greater thing than when the Spirit is
   poured out on the common people. We now then see the Prophet's meaning
   as to the servants and the handmaids. [12]

   He then repeats, In those days, intimating that so sudden and
   incredible the change will be, that Prophets will seem to have been
   before untaught men; for a much more excellent doctrine shall be given
   them. Then God shall so pour out his Spirits that all the ancient
   prophecies will appear obscure and of no value, compared with the great
   and extraordinary light which Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, will
   bring at his rising. And he mentions "handmaids", for there were, we
   know, Prophetesses under the Law. Let us now go on --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [12] However true in itself is what is here advanced, yet the
   exposition seems rather too refined, and what the passage does not
   require. The difficulty stated will vanish, when we consider that "all
   flesh" is a general expression, afterwards particularized and limited:
   and "and all flesh," according to what is subsequently specified,
   evidently means all conditions of men, men in all states and of every
   age, and not the whole of mankind. "And also," in verse 29, is very
   emphatical, as the persons afterwards mentioned were of the lowest
   grade, "servants and handmaids," that is, slaves: and such were many of
   the first converts to Christianity. See Galatians 3:28; Colossians
   3:11. Though the word for servants' does not necessarily mean those in
   a servile condition, yet it has that meaning. The same is true of the
   word for handmaids. Hagar, expressly called a bondwoman by Paul, is
   called by this name, Genesis 16:1. And to view the words as signifying
   slaves, would make the prophecy more striking, as being literally
   fulfilled at the first promulgation of the Gospel.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 2:30-31

   30. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and
   fire, and pillars of smoke.

   30. Et ponam (statuam) prodigia in coelis et terra, sanguinem et ignem
   et columnas nubis.

   31. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,
   before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.

   31. Sol vertetur in tenebras et luna in sanguinem, antequam veniat dies
   Jehovae magnus et terribilis.


   The Prophet seems here to contradict himself; for he had hitherto
   promised that God would deal kindly and bountifully with his people;
   and every thing he has said tended to elevate the spirits of the people
   and fill them with joy: but now he seems again to threaten them with
   God's wrath and to strike miserable men with fear; who had not as yet a
   breathing time; for at the time the Prophet spoke, the Jews, we know,
   were in the greatest sorrow. What then is his purpose in adding a new
   cause of grief, as though they had not sorrow and lamentation enough?
   But it is rather an admonition than a threatening. The Prophet warns
   them of what would be, lest the faithful should promise themselves some
   happy condition in this world, and an exemption from all cares and
   troubles; for we know how prone men are to self-indulgence. When God
   promises any thing, they flatter themselves and harbor vain thoughts,
   as though they were beyond the reach of harm, and free from every grief
   and every evil. Such indulgence the flesh contrives for itself. Hence
   the Prophet reminds us, that though God would bountifully feed his
   Church, supply his people with food, and testify by external tokens his
   paternal love, and though also he would pour out his Spirit, (a token
   far more remarkable,) yet the faithful would continue to be distressed
   with many troubles; for God designs not to deal too delicately with his
   Church on earth; but when he gives tokens of his kindness he at the
   same time mingles some exercises for patience, lest the faithful should
   become self-indulgent or sleep on earthly blessings, but that they may
   ever seek higher things.

   We now then understand the Prophet's design: he intends not to threaten
   the faithful, but rather to warn them, lest they should deceive
   themselves with empty dreams, or expect what is never to be, that is,
   to enjoy a happy rest in this world. Besides, the Prophet regards also
   another thing: we know indeed that men are hardly led to seek the grace
   of God, except when they are, as it were, forcibly drawn; hence
   spiritual life is neglected, and whatever belongs to the celestial
   kingdom, when we have all kinds of supplies on earth. The Prophet then
   commends here the spiritual grace of which he speaks, for this reason,
   -- that the condition of men would be miserable, were not the Lord to
   exhilarate their minds and refresh them with the comfort which we have
   already noticed. -- How so? [11]There will be prodigies in heaven and
   on earth, the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into
   blood, and all things shall be in disorder and in horrible darkness.
   What then would become of men, were not God to shine on them by the
   grace of his Spirit, to support them under such a confusion in heaven
   and on earth, and to show himself to be their Father?

   We then see that this was added for the fuller commendation of God's
   grace, that men might know, that they would be much more miserable if
   God called them not to himself by the shining light of his Spirit. And
   that this was the Prophet's design, we may learn from the discourse of
   Christ, which he made to his disciples a short time before his death.
   They asked what would be the sign of his coming, when he reminded them
   of the destruction of the temple, (Matthew 24:3-25:46). They thought
   that he would immediately accomplish that triumph of which they had
   heard, that they would be made participators of that eternal beatitude
   of which Christ had so often spoken to them. Christ then warned them
   not to be deluded with so gross a notion. He spoke of the destruction
   of Jerusalem, and then declared that all these things would be only the
   presages of evils -- "These," he says, "shall be only the preludes; for
   tumults will arise, wars shall be, and all places will be full of
   calamities; in a word, there will be an immense mass of all evils." As
   Christ then corrected the mistake, with which the minds of the
   disciples were imbued, so the Prophet here checks vain imaginations,
   lest the faithful should think that Christ's kingdom would be earthly,
   and fix their minds on corn and wine, on pleasures and quietness, on
   the conveniences of the present life: I will give you, he says,
   prodigies in heaven and on earth blood, fire, and dark clouds; the sun
   all be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before it shall
   come -- the day of Jehovah, great and terrible

   We now see why the Prophet adds here this sad catalogue, and how well
   these things harmonize together, -- that God would testify his paternal
   love by the manifestation of Christ, -- and that he would exhibit
   tokens of his wrath, which would fill the whole world with anxiety and
   fear.

   What he says of blood and darkness is, no doubt, to be taken
   metaphorically for a disordered state of things; for we know that
   calamities are often compared to obscurity and darkness. It is the same
   as though he said, "So great will be the succession of evils, that the
   whole order of nature will seem to be subverted that the very elements
   will put on a new form; the sun, which illuminates the earth, will be
   turned into darkness, the moon into blood; the calamities which shall
   come will take away every token of God's kindness. Then nothing will
   remain, but that men, sunk, as it were, in the deepest abyss of all
   evils, will seek some spark of grace from God and never find it; for
   heaven will be dark, the earth will be covered with thick darkness." We
   then see that the Prophet does not express what would be, word for
   word, nor is he to be understood as speaking, as they say, literally,
   but he uses a figurative mode of speaking, by which he sets forth such
   a dreadful state of things, that the very elements would put on a new
   appearance; for the sun would not any more perform its office, and the
   moon would refuse its light to the earth. As God, then, would take away
   all tokens of his favor, so the Prophet, by blood, by darkness and by
   dark clouds, sets forth metaphorically that sorrows by which the minds
   of men would necessarily be possessed.

   Now if any one asks, why by the coming of Christ was God's wrath more
   stirred up against men? for this may seem to be without reason. To this
   I answer, that it was, as it were accidental: for if Christ had been
   received as he ought to have been, if all embraced him with due
   reverence, he would have certainly been the giver, not only of
   spiritual grace, but also of earthly happiness. The felicity of all,
   then, would have in every respect been made complete by the coming of
   Christ, had not their wickedness and ingratitude kindled up anew the
   wrath of God; and we see what a flood of evils burst forth immediately
   after the preaching of the gospel. Now when we consider how severely
   God afflicted his people formerly, we cannot but say that much heavier
   have been the calamities inflicted on the world since the manifestation
   of Christ, -- whence this? Even because the world's ingratitude had
   arrived to its highest point, as indeed it is at this day: for the
   light of the gospel has gone forth again, and God has exhibited himself
   to the world as a Father, and we see how great is the wickedness and
   perversity of men in rejecting the gifts of God; we see some
   contemptuously rejecting the Gospel, and others impelled by satanic
   fury to resist the doctrine of Christ; we see them making a boast of
   their blasphemies, and we see them kindled with cruel rage and
   breathing slaughters against the children of God; we see the world full
   of ungodly men and of the despisers of God; we see an awful contempt of
   God's grace prevailing everywhere: we see such an unbridled
   licentiousness in wickedness, that it ought to make us ashamed of
   ourselves and weary of our life. Since, then, the world is so
   ungrateful for such a favor, is it a wonder that God should show more
   dreadful tokens of his vengeance? For certainly at this day, when we
   closely examine the condition of the world, we find that all are
   miserable, and even those who applaud themselves, and whom the world
   admire as semigods. How can it be otherwise? The common people,
   doubtless, groan under their miseries, and that because God thus
   punishes the contempt of his grace, which he has again offered to us,
   and which is so unworthily rejected. Inasmuch, then, as so base an
   ingratitude on the part of men has provoked God's wrath, it is no
   wonder that the sound of his scourges is everywhere heard: for the
   servant who knows his lord's will and does it not, is worthy, as Christ
   declares, of heavier stripes, (Luke 12.) And what happens through the
   whole world is, that after God has shone by his gospel, after Christ
   has everywhere proclaimed reconciliation, they now openly fall away,
   and show that they prefer having God angry than propitious to them: for
   when the gospel is rejected, what else is it but to declare war against
   God, and to scorn and not to receive the reconciliation which God is
   ready to give, and of which he treats of his own accord with men?

   It is then no wonder that the Prophet says here, that the world would
   be full of darkness after the appearance of Christ, who is the Sun of
   Righteousness, and who has shone upon us with his salvation: but it
   was, as it were, accidental, that God exhibited himself with so much
   severity to the world, when yet it was the acceptable time, when it was
   the day of salvation and of good-will; for the world suffered not that
   to be fulfilled which God had promised to us by the Prophet Joel, nor
   received the Spirit of adoption, when they might have safely fled to
   God; nay, when God was ready to cherish them in his own bosom. But
   since they were refractory and untractable, it was necessary for God to
   visit such perverseness in an unusual manner. It is no wonder then that
   the Prophet says, that in those days there shall be prodigies in heaven
   and on earth, for the sun shall be turned into darkness, etc., before
   it shall come -- the day of Jehovah, great and terrible

   It may be asked what day the Prophet refers to: for he has hitherto
   spoken of the first coming of Christ; and there seems to be some
   inconsistency in this place. I answer, that the Prophet includes the
   whole kingdom of Christ, from the beginning to the end; and this is
   well understood, and in other places we have stated that the Prophets
   common speak in this manner: for when the discourse is concerning
   Christ's kingdom, they sometimes refer to its commencement only, and
   sometimes they speak of its termination; but they often mark out by one
   delineation the whole course of the kingdom of Christ, from its
   beginning to its end; and such is the case here. The Prophet, by
   saying, After those days I will pour out my Spirit,' no doubt meant
   that this, as we have explained, would be fulfilled when Christ should
   commence his kingdom, and make it known through the teaching of the
   gospel: Christ poured out then his Spirit. But as the kingdom of Christ
   is not for a few days, or for a short time, but continues its course to
   the end of the word, the Prophet turns his attention to that day or
   that time, and says, "There shall, in the meanwhile, be the greatest
   calamities: and whosoever shall not flee to the grace of God shall be
   very miserable; they shall never find rest nor comfort, nor the light
   of life, for the world shall be sunk in darkness; and God shall take
   away from the sun, the moon, the elements, and all other aids, the
   tokens of his favor; and he will show himself everywhere to be angry
   and offended with men." The Prophet further shows, that these evils of
   which he speaks would not be for a few days or a few years, but
   perpetual; Before,' he says, the day of Jehovah, great and terrible,
   shall come.' In short, he means that all the scourges of God, which he
   had hitherto mentioned, would be, as it were, preparations to subdue
   the hearts of men, that they might with reverence and submission
   receive Christ. As, therefore, men carry by nature a high spirit, and
   cannot bend their neck to recede the yoke of Christ, hence the Prophet
   says here that they were to be subdued by severe scourges, when God
   would remove all evidences of his love, and fill heaven and earth with
   dread. Thus, then, he would in a manner change the hardness and
   contumacy which is innate in men, that they might know that they had to
   do with God. And, at the same time, the Prophet reminds them, that
   unless they were amended by these scourges, something more dreadful
   remained for them, -- the Judge would at last come from heaven, not
   only to clothe the sun and moon in darkness, but to turn life into
   death. It would, indeed, be far better for the reprobate to die a
   hundred times than always to live and thus to sustain eternal death in
   life itself.

   The Prophet then means, that men persisting in their obstinacy shall
   meet with something more grievous and more ruinous than the evils of
   this life, for they must all at last stand before the tribunal of the
   celestial Judge: for the day of Jehovah, great and terrible, will come.
   He refers, in this sentence, to unbelievers and rebels against God; for
   when Christ shall come, he will be a Redeemer to the godly; no day in
   their whole life will shine on them so pleasantly; so far will this day
   be from bringing terror and fear to them, that they are bidden, while
   expecting it, to lift up their heads, which is a token of cheerfulness
   and joy. But as the Prophet Joel's object was to humble the confident
   pride of the flesh, and as he addressed the refractory and the
   rebellious, it is no wonder that he sets before them what is terrific
   and dreadful.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Prayer.

   Grant, Almighty God, that as we are now surrounded on every side by so
   many miseries, and as our condition is such, that amidst groans and
   continual sorrows, our life could be hardly sustained without being
   supported by spiritual grace, -- O grant, that we may learn to look on
   the face of thine Anointed, and seek comfort from him, and such a
   comfort as may not engross our minds, or at least not retain us in the
   world, but raise our thoughts to heaven, and daily sell to our hearts
   the testimony of our adoption, and that though many evils must be borne
   by us in this world, we may yet continue to pursue our course, and to
   fight and to strive with invincible perseverance, until having at
   length finished all our struggles, we reach that blessed rest, which
   has been obtained for us by the blood of thy only-begotten Son, our
   Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

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   Lecture Forty-sixth
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   Joel 2:32

   32. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of
   the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall
   be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord
   shall call.

   32. Et erit, quisquis invocaverit nomen Jehovae liberabitur: quia in
   monte Sion et in Jerusalem erit evasio, sicuti promisit Jehova, et in
   residuis quos Jehova vocaverit.


   We said yesterday that the Prophet denounced future calamities, that he
   might thus stimulate men, distressed by many evils, to seek God: we
   indeed know how tardy we are by nature, except the Lord goads us
   continually. The subject, then, on which we discoursed yesterday tended
   to show, that as so many and so grievous calamities would press on the
   Jews, all would be miserable who fled not to God, and that this
   consolation only would remain to them in their extreme evils: but now
   the Prophet seasonably adds, Whosoever shall call on the name of the
   Lord shall be delivered. Having then stimulated men to seek God, he now
   gives them firm assurance of being saved, provided they in sincerity
   and from the heart fled to God.

   This is indeed a remarkable passage, for God declares that the
   invocation of his name in a despairing condition is a sure port of
   safety. What the Prophet had said was certainly dreadful, -- that the
   whole order of nature would be so changed, that no spark of light would
   appear, and that all places would be filled with darkness. What,
   therefore, he says now is the same as though he declared, that if men
   called on the name of God, life would be found in the grave. They who
   seem to be even in despair, and from whom God seems to have taken away
   every hope of grace, provided they call on the name of God, will be
   saved, as the Prophet declares, though they be in so great a despair,
   and in so deep an abyss. This circumstance ought to be carefully
   noticed; for if any one takes this sentence of the Prophet by itself,
   though then it would not be frigid, it would not yet be so striking;
   but when these two things are joined together, -- that God will be the
   judge of the world, who will not spare the wickedness of men, but will
   execute dreadful vengeance, -- and that yet salvation will be given to
   all who will call on the name of the Lord, we see how efficacious the
   promise is; for God offers life to us in death, and light in the
   darkest grave.

   There is, therefore, great importance in the expression, vhyh ueie,
   Then it shall be;' for the copulative is to be regarded as an adverb of
   time, Then whosoever shall invoke the name of the Lord,' etc. And he
   uses the word "deliver;" for it was needful to show that the saved
   differ nothing from the lost. Had the Prophet used the word "preserve,"
   he would have spoken less distinctly; but now when he promises
   deliverance, he bids us to set up this shield against trials even the
   heaviest; for God possesses power sufficiently great to deliver us,
   provided only we call on him.

   We now then understand what the Prophet had in view: He shows that God
   would have us to call on him not only in prosperity, but also in the
   extreme state of despair. It is the same as though God had called to
   himself the dead, and declared that it was in his power to restore life
   to them and bring them out of the grave. Since then God invites here
   the lost and the dead, there is no reason why even the heaviest
   distresses should preclude an access for us or for our prayers; for we
   ought to break through all these obstacles. The more grievous, then,
   our troubles are, the more confidence we ought to entertain; for God
   offers his grace, not only to the miserable, but also to those in utter
   despair. The Prophet did not threaten a common evil to the Jews, but
   declared that by the coming of Christ all things would be full of
   horror: after this denunciation he now subjoins, Whosoever shall call
   on the name of the Lord shall be delivered.'

   But as Paul cites this place in Romans 10, and extends it to the
   Gentiles, we must inquire in what sense he takes the testimony of the
   Prophet. Paul means to prove that adoption was common to the Gentiles,
   that it was lawful for them to flee to God, and familiarly to invoke
   him as a Father: Whosoever,' he says, shall call on the name of the
   Lord shall be saved.' He hence proves that the Gospel ought to have
   been preached even to the Gentiles, as invocation arises from faith:
   for except God shines on us by his word, we cannot come to him; faith,
   then, is ever the mother of prayer. Paul seems to lay stress on the
   universal particle, Whosoever; as though he said, that Joel did not
   speak of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles, that he testified
   that God would indiscriminately, and without exception, receive all who
   would seek him. But Paul appears to misapply the Prophet's words; for
   Joel no doubt addresses here the people, to whom he was appointed as a
   teacher and prophet. What Paul then applies generally to all mankind
   seems not to have been so intended by the Prophet. But to this there is
   an easy answer; for the Prophets after having spoken of the kingdom of
   Christ, had no doubt this truth in view, that the blessing in the seed
   of Abraham had been promised to all nations; and when he afterwards
   described the miserable state in which the whole world would be, he
   certainly meant to rouse even the Gentiles, who had been aliens from
   the Church, to seek God in common with his elect people: the promise,
   then, which immediately follows, is also addressed to the Gentiles,
   otherwise there would be no consistency in the discourse of the
   Prophet. We therefore see that Paul most fitly accommodates this place
   to his subject: for the main thing to be held is this, that the
   blessing in Christ was promised not only to the children of Abraham but
   also to all the Gentiles. When, therefore, the Prophet describes the
   kingdom of Christ, it is no wonder that he addresses the Jews and
   Gentiles in common: and then, what he said of the state of the world,
   that it would be full of horrible darkness, undoubtedly refers, not to
   the Jews only, but also to the Gentiles. Why was this done, except to
   show that nothing else remains for them but to flee to God? We then see
   that an access is here opened to the Gentiles that they may with one
   consent call on God together with the Jews.

   If there is promised salvation and deliverance to all who shall call on
   the name of the Lord, it follows as Paul reasons that the doctrine of
   the Gospel belongs to the Gentiles also; for their mouths must have
   otherwise been closed, yea, and the mouths of us all: had not God
   himself anticipated us by his word, and exhorted us to pray, we must
   have been dumb. It would have been a great presumption in us to present
   ourselves before God, except he had given us confidence and promised to
   hear us. If then the liberty of praying is common to all, it follows
   that the doctrine of salvation is common to all. We must now also add,
   that as deliverance is promised to all who shall call on the name of
   God, his own power is taken from God, when salvation is sought in any
   other but in him alone: and we know that this is an offering which he
   claims exclusively for himself. If, then, we desire to be delivered,
   the only remedy is, to call on the name of Jehovah.

   He afterwards adds, For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be
   deliverance, as Jehovah has promised. The Prophet here intimates, that
   though the people might seem apparently to have been destroyed, yet God
   would be mindful of his covenant so as to gather the remnant. Such,
   indeed, was the slaughter of the people, that no hope whatever,
   according to the flesh, remained; for they were scattered through
   various parts of the world; there was no social body, no distinct
   nation, no civil government, no worship of God. Who, then, could have
   thought that the Church of God would survive? Nay, the probability was,
   that after thirty or fifty years, the name of Abraham and of his seed
   would have become wholly extinct; for they had joined in one body with
   the Chaldees and the Assyrians. That scattering then was, as it were,
   the death of the whole nation. But God, by Joel, declares here, that
   there would yet be deliverance in mount Zion and in Jerusalem; that is,
   "Though I shall for a time exterminate this people, that the land may
   remain desolate, there shall yet be a restoration, and I will again
   gather a certain body, a Church, on mount Zion and in Jerusalem." This
   is the substance.

   We learn from this place, that however much God may afflict his Church,
   it will yet be perpetuated in the world; for it can no more be
   destroyed than the very truth of God, which is eternal and immutable.
   God indeed promises, not only that the state of the Church shall be
   perpetual, but that there will be, as long as the sun and moon shall
   shine in heaven, some people on earth to call on his name. Since it is
   so, it follows, that the Church cannot be utterly subverted or wholly
   perish, however severely and heavily the Lord may chastise it. However
   great then the scattering of the Church may be, the Lord will yet
   gather members, that there may be a people on earth to show, that he
   who is in heaven is true and faithful to his promises. And this truth
   deserves a careful attention; for when we see the Church scattered,
   immediately this doubt creeps into our minds, "Does God intend wholly
   to destroy all his people, -- does he mean to exterminate all the seed
   of the faithful?" Then let this passage be remembered, "In mount Zion
   there will be deliverance," after the Lord shall have punished the
   profane despisers of his name, who abused his patience, and falsely
   professed his name.

   But he adds, As Jehovah has promised, which serves for confirmation;
   for the Prophet bids us here to regard God rather than our own state.
   When indeed we believe our eyes, we cannot but think sometimes that it
   is all over with the Church; for when God inflicts heavy punishment on
   his servants, there seems to us no remedy; and when we believe the
   diseases of the Church to be incurable, our hearts immediately fail us,
   except God's promise comes to our minds. Hence the Prophet recalls our
   thoughts to God, as though he had said, "Judge not of the safety of the
   Church by sight, but stand and rely on the word of God: he has spoken,
   he has said, that the Church shall be perpetual." Let us plant our foot
   on this promise, and never doubt but that the Lord will perform what he
   has declared.

   But it is subjoined by the Prophet as a sort of correction, And in the
   remnant whom Jehovah shall call: and it was necessary to state this
   distinctly, lest hypocrites, as they usually do, abuse what had been
   said. They who occupy high stations in the Church, and pass in name for
   the children of God, swell, we know, with great confidences and boldly
   trifle with God; for they think that he is bound to them, when they
   make a show either of external badges or of profession, in which they
   glory before men: they think this display sufficient. We may indeed
   gather from many parts of Scripture, that the Jews were inflated with
   this false presumption of the flesh, that they imagined God to be bound
   to them. Hence the Prophet shows, that he did not address all the Jews
   indiscriminately, because many of them were spurious children of
   Abraham, and had become degenerated. If then under this pretense alone
   they wished to lay hold on the promise of salvation, the Prophet shows
   that they were excluded from the Church of God, since they were not
   legitimate children, after having departed from the faith and piety of
   their father Abraham. He therefore mentions remnant: and by this word
   be means, in short, that the whole multitude could not be saved, but
   only a small number.

   When therefore we speak of the salvation of the Church, we ought not to
   gather into one bundle all who profess themselves to be the children of
   God; for we see that hardly one in a hundred worship God in truth and
   without hypocrisy, for the greater part abuse his name. We see, at this
   day, how dishonest is the boasting of the Papists; for they think that
   the Church of God dwells among them, and they scorn us because we are
   few. When we say that the Church of God is to be known by the word and
   the pure administration of the sacraments, "Indeed," they say, "could
   God have forsaken so many people among whom the gospel has been
   preached?" They think that after Christ has been once made known, his
   grace remains fixed, and cannot by any means be taken away whatever may
   be the impiety of men. Since then the Papists so shamefully lay claim
   to the name of Church, because they are many in number, it is no wonder
   that the Prophet, who had the same contest with the Jews and
   Israelites, had here expressly mentioned a remnant; as though he said,
   "In vain do the ungodly boast of God's name, since he regards them not
   as his people." The same truth we observe in Psalm 15, and in Psalm 24;
   where the citizens of the Church are described; they are not those who
   pride themselves on external symbols, but who worship God with a
   sincere heart, and deal honestly with their neighbors; such dwell on
   the mountain of God. It was not a difficult thing for hypocrites to
   thrust themselves into the sanctuary, and to present there their
   sacrifices to God; but the Prophet shows that none are owned by God,
   but those who have a sincere heart and pure hands. So also in this
   place Joel says, that this Church indeed would be saved, but not the
   vast multitude, -- who then? the remnant only.

   But the clause which follows must be noticed, Whom Jehovah shall call.
   We have already seen that the Church of God consists often of a very
   small number; for God counts not any his children, but those who devote
   themselves sincerely and from the heart to his service, as Paul says
   Whosoever calls on the name of God, let him depart from iniquity;' and
   many such are not found in the world.

   But it is not enough to hold, that the Church of God is only in the
   remnant; it must be also added that the remnant abide in God's Church
   for no other reason but that the Lord has called them. Whence then is
   it that there is a portion in the Church, which shall remain safe,
   while the whole world seems to be doomed to destruction? It is from the
   calling of God. And there is no doubt but that the Prophet means by the
   word, call, gratuitous election. The Lord is indeed often said to call
   men, when he invites them by the voice of his gospel; but there is what
   surpasses that, a hidden call, when God destines for himself those whom
   he purposes to save. There is then an inward call, which dwells in the
   secret counsel of God; and then follows the call, by which he makes us
   really the partakers of his adoption. Now the Prophet means, that those
   who will be the remnant shall not stand by their own power, but because
   they have been called from above, that is, elected. But that the
   election of God is not to be separated from the outward call, I allow;
   and yet this order ought to be maintained, that God, before he
   testifies his election to men, adopts them first to himself in his own
   secret counsel. The meaning is, that calling is here opposed to all
   human merits, and also to virtue and human efforts; as though he said,
   "Men attain not this for themselves, that they continue a remnant and
   are safe, when God visits the sins of the world; but they are preserved
   by his grace alone, because they have been chosen." Paul also speaks of
   the remnant in Romans 11, and wisely considers that passage, I have
   kept for myself seven thousand.' [1 Kings 19:18.]

   It is then God's peculiar province to keep those who fail not: and
   hence Paul says that they are the remnant of grace; for if God's mercy
   were taken away, there would be no remnant among the whole human race.
   All, we indeed know, are worthy of death, without any difference: it is
   therefore the election of God alone which makes the difference between
   some and others. Thus we see that the gratuitous goodness of God is
   extolled by the Prophet, when he says that a remnant shall be saved,
   who shall be called by the Lord: for it is not in the power of men to
   keep themselves unless they are elected; and the gratuitous goodness of
   God is the security as it were of their salvation. Now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________
     __________________________________________________________________

   Chapter 3
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 3:1-3

   1. For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring
   again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

   1. Quia ecce, diebus illis et tempore illo, quo convertam captivitatem
   Jehudah et Jerusalem;

   2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the
   valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and
   for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and
   parted my land.

   2 Et congregabo (tunc congregabo) omnes gentes, et descendere faciam in
   vallem Jesephat, et disceptabo illic cum ipsis super populo meo et
   super haereditate mea Israel, quia disperserunt inter gentes et partiti
   sunt terram meam (addemus et hunc etiam versum.)

   3 And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an
   harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

   3 Et super populo meo jecerunt sortem et posuerunt, puerum pro scorto
   (hoc est, addixerunt pro scorto) et pullam vendiderunt pro vino ut
   biberunt.


   The Prophet confirms in these words what he had before taught
   respecting the restoration of the Church; for it was a thing difficult
   to be believed: when the body of the people was so mutilated, when
   their name was obliterated, when all power was abolished, when the
   worship of God also, together with the temple, was subverted, when
   there was no more any form of a kingdom, or even of any civil
   government, who could have thought that God had any concern for a
   people in such a wretched condition? It is then no wonder that the
   Prophet speaks so much at large of the restoration of the Church; he
   did so, that he might more fully confirm what would have otherwise been
   incredible.

   He therefore says, Behold, in those days, and at that time, in which I
   shall restore the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I shall then make
   all Gentiles to come down into the valley of Jehoshaphat. And the
   Prophet says this, because the Jews were then hated by all people, and
   were the execration and the dregs of the whole world. As many nations
   as were under heaven, so many were the enemies of the Jews. A fall then
   inter despair was easy, when they saw the whole world incensed against
   them: "Though God may wish to redeem us, there are yet so many
   obstacles, that we must necessarily perish; not only the Assyrians are
   enraged against us, but we have found even greater hatred in our own
   neighbors." We, indeed, know that the Moabites, the Ammonites, the
   Syrians, the Sidonians, the Idumeans, the Philistines, and, in short,
   all in the surrounding countries, were very hostile to the Jews. Seeing
   then every access to their land was closed up to the Jews, it was
   difficult to entertain any hope of deliverance, though God encouraged
   them. For this reason the Prophet now says, that God would be the judge
   of the whole world, and that it was in his purpose and power to call
   together all the Gentiles, as though he said, "Let not the number and
   variety of enemies frighten you: the Assyrians alone, I know, are not
   your enemies, but also all your neighbors; but when I undertake the
   defense of your cause, I shall be alone sufficient to protect you; and
   however much all people may oppose, they shall not prevail. Then
   believe that I shall be a sufficient defender, and shall deliver you
   from the hand of all the nations " We now perceive the Prophet's design
   when he declares, that God would come to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and
   there call together all nations.

   But the Prophet says, In those days, and at that time, when the Lord
   shall restore the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, etc. This time the
   Jews limit to their return: they therefore think, that when liberty to
   return was granted them by Cyrus and Darius, what the Prophet declares
   here was then fulfilled; Christian doctors apply this prediction to the
   coming of Christ; but both interpret the words of the Prophet otherwise
   than the drift of the passage requires. The Prophet, no doubt, speaks
   here of the deliverance we have just noticed, and at the same time
   includes the kingdom of Christ; and this, as we have seen in other
   parts, is very commonly done. While then the prophets testify that God
   would be the redeemer of his people, and promise deliverance from
   Babylonian exile, they lead the faithful, as it were, by a continuous
   train or course, to the kingdom of Christ. For what else was the Jewish
   restoration, but a prelude of that true and real redemptions afterwards
   effected by Christ? The Prophet then does not speak only of the coming
   of Christ, or of the return of the Jews, but includes the whole of
   redemption, which was only begun when the Lord restored his people from
   the Babylonian exile; it will then go on from the first coming of
   Christ to the last day; as though he said, "When God will redeem his
   people, it will not be a short or momentary benefit, but he will
   continue his favor until he shall visit with punishment all the enemies
   of his Church." In a word, the Prophet here shows, that God will not be
   a half Redeemer, but will continue to work until he completes
   everything necessary for the happy state of his Church, and makes it in
   every respect perfect. This is the import of the whole.

   We also see that the Prophet Haggai speaks in the same manner of the
   second temple, -- that the glory of the second temple shall be greater
   than that of the first, (Haggai 2) He, however referred, no doubt, to
   the prophecy of Ezekiel; and Ezekiel speaks of the second temple, which
   was to be built after the return of the people from exile. Be it so,
   yet Ezekiel did not confine to four or five ages what he said of the
   second temple: on the contrary he meant that the favor of God would be
   continued to the coming of Christ: so also Joel means here, when he
   says, When God shall restore the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, he
   will then call together all the nations; as though he said, "God will
   pour out not a small portion of grace, but will become the complete
   Redeemer of his people; and when the whole world shall rise against
   him, he will yet prevail; he will undertake the cause of his Church,
   and will secure the salvation of his people. Whosoever then will
   attempt to delay or hinder the restoration of the Church, shall by no
   means succeed; for the Lord, the defender of his people, will judge all
   nations."

   Let us now see why the Prophet particularly mentions the valley of
   Jehoshaphat. Many think that valley to be intended, which was called
   the Valley of Blessing, where Jehoshaphat obtained a signal and a
   memorable victory, when yet he was not provided with large forces, and
   when many nations conspired against him. Though Jehoshaphat fought
   against a large army with a few people, he yet wonderfully succeeded;
   and the people there presented thanks to God, and gave a name to the
   place. Hence, many think that this valley is mentioned, that the
   Prophet might remind the Jews how wonderfully they were saved; for
   their enemies had come for the very purpose of destroying the whole of
   God's people, and thought that this was wholly in their power. The
   memory then of this history must have animated the minds of the godly
   with a good hope; for God then undertook the cause of a small number
   against a vast multitude; yea, against many and powerful nations. And
   this view seems to me probable. Some place this valley of Jehoshaphat
   half way between the Mount of Olives and the city; but how probable
   their conjecture is I know not.

   Unquestionably, with regard to this passage, their opinion, in my
   judgment, is the most correct, who think that there is here a recalling
   to mind of God's favor, which may in all ages encourage the faithful to
   entertain hope of their salvation. Some, however, prefer to take the
   word as an appellative; and no doubt yhvspht ieushaphath means the
   judgment of God; and so they render it, "The valley of the judgment of
   God." If this is approved I do not oppose. And, doubtless, though it be
   a proper name, and the Prophet speak here of that holy King, to
   encourage the Jews to follow his example, he yet alludes, no doubt, to
   the judgment of God, or to the contest which he would undertake for the
   sake of his people: for it immediately follows vk sphtty mm sm
   uneshaphathti omem shim, "And I will contend with them there:" and this
   verb is derived from spht shephath. Hence also, if it be the proper
   name of a place, and taken from that of the King, the Prophet here
   meant, that its etymology should be considered; as though he said, "God
   will call all nations to judgment, and for this end, that he may dwell
   in the midst of his people, and really testify and prove this."

   Some apply this passage to the last judgment, but in too strained a
   manner. Hence also has arisen the figment, that the whole world shall
   be assembled in the valley of Jehoshaphat: but the world, we know,
   became infected with such delirious things, when the light of sound
   doctrine was extinguished; and no wonder, that the world should be
   fascinated with such gross comments, after it had so profaned the
   worship of God. [13]

   But with respect to the intention of the Prophets he, no doubt,
   mentions here the valley of Jehoshaphat, that the Jews might entertain
   the hope that God would be the guardian of their safety; for he says
   everywhere that he would dwell among them, as we have also seen in the
   last chapter, "And God will dwell in the midst of you." So also now he
   means the same, I will assemble all nations, and make them to come down
   to the valley of Jehoshaphat; that is, though the land shall for a time
   be uncultivated and waste, yet the Lord will gather his people, and
   show that he is the judge of the whole world; he will raise a trophy in
   the land of Judah, which will be nobler than if the people had ever
   been safe and entire: for how much soever all nations may strive to
   destroy the remnant, as we know they did, though few remained; yet God
   will sit in the valley of Jehoshaphat, he will have there his own
   tribunal, that he may keep his people, and defend them from all
   injuries. At the same time, what I have before noticed must be borne in
   mind; for he names here the valley of Jehoshaphat rather than
   Jerusalem, because of the memorable deliverance they had there, when
   God discomfited so many people, when great armies were in an instant
   destroyed and without the aid of men. Since God then delivered his
   people at that time in an especial manner through his incredible power,
   it is no wonder that he records here the name of the valley of
   Jehoshaphat.

   I will contend, he says, with them there for my people, and for my
   heritage, Israel. By these words the Prophet shows how precious to God
   is the salvation of his chosen people; for it is no ordinary thing for
   God to condescend to undertake their cause, as though he himself were
   offended and wronged; and God contends, because he would have all
   things in common with us. We now then, see the reason of this
   contention, -- even because God so regards the salvation of his people,
   that he deems himself wronged in their person; as it is said in another
   place, "He who toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eye". And to
   confirm his doctrine still more, the Prophet adds, For mine heritage,
   Israel. God calls Israel here his heritage, to strengthen distressed
   minds, and also to comfort them; for if the Jews had only fixed their
   minds on their own state, they could not but think themselves unworthy
   of being regarded by God; for they were deemed abominable by all
   nations; and we also know that they were severely chastised for having
   departed from all godliness and for having, as it were, wholly
   alienated themselves from God. Since, then, they were like a corrupted
   body, they could not but despond in their adversity: but the Prophet
   here comes to their assistance, and brings forward the word heritage,
   as though he said, "God will execute judgment for you, not that ye are
   worthy, but because he has chosen you: for he will never forget the
   covenant which he made with your father Abraham " We see, then, the
   reason he mentions heritage: it was, that the Jews might not despair on
   account of their sins; and at the same time he commends, as before, the
   gratuitous mercy of God, as though he had said, "The reason for your
   redemption is no other, but that God has allotted to himself the
   posterity of Abraham and designed them to be his peculiar people " What
   remains we must defer until to-morrow.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [13] "To this valley or glen, in which is the celebrated burying-place
   of the Jews, the Rabbins have appropriated the name, (the valley of
   Jehosaphat,) and maintain, that in it the final judgment of the world
   is to be held; -- a conceit in which they have been followed by many
   Christian writers, as well as by the Mohammedans." -- Dr. Henderson.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Prayer

   Grant, Almighty God, that as thou not only invites us continually by
   the voice of thy Gospel to seek thee, but also offerest to us thy Son
   as our Mediator, through whom an access to thee is open, that we may
   find thee a propitious Father, -- O grant, that relying on thy kind
   invitation, we may through life exercise ourselves in prayer: and as so
   many evils disturb us on all sides, and so many wants distress and
   oppress us, may we be led more earnestly to call on thee, and, in the
   meantime, be never wearied in this exercise of prayer; that, being
   through life heard by thee, we may at length be gathered to thy eternal
   kingdom, where we shall enjoy that salvation which thou hast promised
   to us, and of which also thou daily testifiest to us by thy Gospel, and
   be for ever united to thy only begotten Son, of whom we are how
   members; that we may be partakers of all the blessings, which he has
   obtained for us by his death. Amen.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Forty-seventh.

   We said in our yesterday's Lecture, that God proves the singular love
   he has to his Church by condescending to undertake her cause, and
   contend as a worldly man would do for his paternal inheritance. He
   says, that his heritage, Israel, had been dispersed among the nations;
   as though he said, that it was an intolerable thing that enemies
   should, like robbers, thus divide his heritage. He speaks first of the
   people, then of the land; for God, as it is well known, consecrated the
   land to himself, and he would not have it occupied by profane nations.
   There was then a twofold sacrilege, -- the people were carried away
   into distant lands, and others were sent to inhabit and possess their
   land, which God had destined for his children and elect people.

   There follows now another indignity still greater; for they cast lot on
   God's people, -- On my people they have cast lot, and prostituted a boy
   for a harlot, and a girl have they sold for wine, that they might
   drink. By these words the Prophet enhances the injury done them; for
   the Jews had been reproachfully treated. Some measure of humanity is
   mostly shown when men are sold; but the Prophet here complains in the
   person of God, that the Jews had been exposed to sale, as though they
   were the off scourings of mankind, and of no account. They have cast
   lots he says; and this was to show contempt; and the Prophet expresses
   more clearly what he meant, and says, that a boy had been given for a
   harlot, and a girl for wine. Some consider the Prophet as saying, that
   boys were prostituted to base and scandalous purposes; but I prefer
   another view, -- that the enemies sold them for a mean price to gratify
   their gluttony, or their lust; as though the Prophet had said, that the
   Jews had to endure a grievous reproach by being set to sale, as they
   say, and that at the lowest price. He farther adds another kind of
   contempt; for whatever price the enemies procured by selling, they
   spent it either on harlot or on feasting. We hence see that a twofold
   injury is here mentioned, -- the Jews had been so despised as not to be
   regarded as men, and had been sold not for the usual prices, but had
   been disposed of in contempt by their enemies almost for nothing; --
   and the other reproach was, that the price obtained for them was
   afterwards spent on gluttony and whoredom: yet this people was sacred
   to God. Now this contumelious treatment, the Prophet says, God would
   not endure, but would avenge such a wrong as if done to himself. This
   is then the meaning.

   But the reason which induces me thus to interpret the Prophet is
   because he says that a girl was sold for wine, as the boy for a harlot;
   and the construction of the Prophet's words is the same. It is indeed
   certain that in the latter clause the Prophet meant nothing else but
   that the price was wickedly spent for vile and shameful purposes; then
   the former clause must be understood in the same way. Let us proceed --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 3:4-6

   4. Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the
   coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye
   recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon
   your own head;

   4. Atque etiam, quid vobis mecum Tyre et Sidon, et cuncti termini
   Palestinae? An mercedem vobis rependitis mihi? Etsi confertis hoc in
   me, velox (subito) rependam mercedem vestram in caput vestrum;

   5. Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into
   your temples my goodly pleasant things:

   5. Quia argentum meum et aurum meum abstulistis, et desiderabilia mea
   bona transtulistis in templa vestra (alii, palatia.)

   6. The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye
   sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their
   border.

   6. Et filios Jehudah et filios Jerusalem vendidistis filiis Graecorum,
   ut elongaretis eos a termino suo (hoc est, procul abduceretis eos a
   finibus suis.)


   God expostulates here with Tyre and Sidon, and other neighboring
   nations, and shows that they vexed his people without cause Had they
   been provoked some excuse might have been made; but since they made war
   of their own accord, the wrong was doubled. This is what God means
   these words. What have ye to do with me, O Tyre and Sidon? He indeed
   continues the subject before explained: but he speaks of the concern
   here as hid own; he seems not now to undertake the protection of his
   own people, but detents his own cause. "What have ye to do with me?" he
   says. God then interposes himself; as though he said, that the Syrians
   and Sidonians were not only called by him to judgment because they had
   unjustly wronged his people, and brought many troubles on men deserving
   no such things; but he says also, that he stood up in his own defense.
   "What have I to do with you, O Syrians and Sidonians?" as we say in
   French, Qu'avons-nous a desmeller? (what have we to decide?) Now the
   Prophet had this in view, that the Syrians and Sidonians became
   voluntary enemies to the Jews, when they had no dispute with them; and
   this, as we have said, was less to be borne. "What then have ye to do
   with me, O Syrians and Sidonians? Do I owe anything to you? Am I under
   any obligation to you? Do ye repay me my recompense?" that is, "Can you
   boast of any reason or just pretense for making, war on my people?" He
   then means, that there had been no wrong done to the Syrians and
   Sidonians, which they could now retaliate, but that they made an attack
   through their own wickedness, and were only impelled by avarice or
   cruelty thus to harass the miserable Jews: "Ye repay not," he says, "a
   recompense to me; for ye cannot pretend that any wrong has been done to
   you by me."

   But if ye repay this to me, he says, I will swiftly return the
   recompense on your head. gml gimel means not only to repay, as the
   Hebrew scholars ever render it, but also to confer, to bestow,
   (conferre, ut loquuntur Latine) as it has been stated in another place.
   What shall I repay to the Lord for all the things which he has
   recompensed to me?' This is the common version; but it is an improper
   and inconsistent mode of speaking. David no doubt refers to God's
   benefits; then it is, What shall I repay for all the benefits which the
   Lord has bestowed on me?' Then he who first does wrong, or bestows
   good, is said to recompense; and this is the sense in this place. If
   ye,' he says, thus deal with me, "swiftly", mhrh mere suddenly (for the
   word is to be taken as an adverb,) will I return recompense on your
   head;' that is, "Ye shall not be unpunished, since ye have acted so
   unjustly with me and my people." We now perceive the whole meaning of
   the Prophet: He enhances the crime of the Syrians and Sidonians,
   because they willfully distressed the Jews, and joined themselves to
   their foreign enemies, for the purpose of seizing on a part of the
   spoil. As, then, vicinity softened not their minds, their inhumanity
   was on this account more fully proved. But, as I have said, the Lord
   here places himself between the two parties, to intimate, that he
   performs his own proper office when he takes care of the safety of his
   Church.

   He afterwards shows that this wickedness should not be unpunished -- If
   ye deal thus with me, he says, I shall swiftly (suddenly) return the
   recompense on your heads. This passage contains a singular consolation;
   for God declares that whatever evils the faithful endure belong to him,
   and also that he will not suffer those under his protection and defense
   to be distressed with impunity, but will quickly return recompense on
   the heads of those who unjustly injure his heritage. We now understand
   the Prophet's design: he doubtless intended to support the minds of the
   godly with this thought, -- that their afflictions are objects of
   concern with God and that he will shortly be the avenger of them,
   however necessary it may be that they should for a time be thus
   violently and reproachfully treated by wicked men.

   Let us now proceed: He says that their silver and their gold had been
   taken away by the Syrians and the Sidonians. All who were the neighbors
   of that people, no doubt, derived gain from their calamity, as is
   usually the case. They were at first ill disposed towards them; there
   was then a new temptation; they gaped after booty: and they showed
   themselves openly their enemies, when they saw that there was hope of
   gain. Such was the case with the Syrians and Sidonians. There is no
   doubt, but that they sedulously courted the favor of the Assyrians,
   that they helped them with provisions and other things, that they might
   partake of the spoil. It was, therefore, no wonder that gold and silver
   was taken away by them, for the carriage of them to Assyria would have
   been tedious: and, as I have just hinted, it is usually the case, that
   conquerors gratify those by whom they have been assisted. Many extend
   this plunder generally to the whole wealth of the people; that is, that
   the enemies plundered what gold and silver there was in Judea, and that
   the Sidonians got a portion of it for themselves. But there seems to
   have been a special complaint, that the sacred vessels of the temple
   were taken away by the Syrians and Sidonians: I therefore prefer to
   render the word, temples, rather than palaces. Some say, Ye have
   carried away my silver and my gold to your palaces.' Though the word is
   capable of two meanings, yet the Prophet, I have no doubt, refers here
   to the temples. The Syrians, then, and the Sidonians profaned the
   silver and the gold of the temple by dedicating them to their idols;
   they adorned their idols with spoils taken from the only true God. This
   was the reason why God was so exceedingly displeased. There was,
   indeed, a cause why God, as we have said, contended for the whole
   nation of Israel: but it was a far more heinous wrong to spoil the
   temple, and to strip it of its ornaments, and then to adorn idols with
   its sacred vessels; for God was thus treated with scorn; and in
   contempt of him, the Syrians and Sidonians built, as it were, a trophy
   of victory in their own dens, where they performed sacrilegious acts in
   worshipping fictitious gods.

   Ye have taken away, he says, my gold and silver, and my desirable good
   things. God speaks here after the manner of men; for it is certain that
   even under the law he stood in no need of gold or silver, or of other
   precious things; he wished the temple to be adorned with vessels and
   other valuable furniture for the sake of the ignorant (rudis -- rude)
   people; for the Jews could not have been preserved in pure and right
   worship, had not God assisted their weak faith by these helps.
   (adminiculis -- props, aids) But yet, as obedience is acceptable to
   him, he says that whatever was an ornament in the temple was a
   desirable thing to him; while, at the same time, by speaking thus, he
   put on, as I have said, a character not his own, as he has no need of
   such things, nor is he delighted with them. We ought not, indeed, to
   imagine God to be like a child, who takes delight in gold and silver
   and such things; but what is said here was intended for the benefit of
   the people, that they might know that God approved of that worship, for
   it was according to his command. He therefore calls every thing that
   was in the temple desirable, Ye have, he says, carried away into your
   temples my desirable good things.

   It follows, And the children of Judah, and the children of Jerusalem,
   have ye sold to the children of the Grecians [14] . There is here
   another complaint subjoined, -- that the Syrians and Sidonians had been
   sacrilegious towards God, that they had cruelly treated God's afflicted
   people. In the last verse, God inveighed against the Syrians, and
   Sidonians for having prostituted to their idols gold and silver stolen
   from him; he now again returns to the Jews themselves, who, he says,
   had been sold to the children of the Grecians; that is, to people
   beyond the sea: for as Javan passed into Europe, he includes under that
   name the nations beyond the sea. And he says, that they sold the Jews
   to the Greeks that they might drive them far from their own borders, so
   that there might be no hope of return. Here the cruelty of the Syrians
   and Sidonians becomes more evident; for they took care to drive those
   wretched men far away, that no return to their country might be open to
   them, but that they might be wholly expatriated.

   We now perceive what the Prophet had in view: He intended that the
   faithful though trodden under foot by the nations, should yet have
   allayed their grief by some consolation, and know that they were not
   neglected by God; and that though he connived at their evils for a
   time, he would yet be their defender, and would contend for them as for
   his own heritage, because they had been so unjustly treated. He
   afterwards adds --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [14] lvny hyvnym, to the children of the Ivanites, or Javanites. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 3:7

   7. Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold
   them, and will return your recompense upon your own head:

   7. Ecce ego excitabo eos e loco in quem vendidistis eos, et rependam
   mercedem vestram in caput vestrum.


   The Prophet declares here more fully and expressly, that God had not so
   deserted the Jews, but that he intended, in course of time, to stretch
   forth his hand to them again. It was indeed a temporary desertion: but
   it behaved the faithful in the meantime to rely on this assurance, --
   that God purposed again to restore his people: and of this the Prophet
   now speaks, Behold, he says, I will raise them from the place unto
   which ye have sold them; as though he said "Neither distance of place,
   nor the intervening sea, will hinder me from restoring my people." As
   then the Syrians and Sidonians thought that the Jews were precluded a
   return to their country, because they were taken away into distant
   parts of the world, God says that this would be no obstacle in his way
   to collect again his Church.

   But it may he asked, When has this prediction been fulfilled? as we
   indeed know that the Jews have never returned to their own country: for
   shortly after their return from exile, they were in various ways
   diminished; and at length the most grievous calamities followed, which
   consumed the greatest part of the people. Since this then has been the
   condition of that nation, we ought to inquire whether Christ has
   collected the Jews, who had been far dispersed. We indeed know that
   they were then especially scattered; for the land of Judea never ceased
   to be distressed by continual wars until Jerusalem was destroyed, and
   the people were almost wholly consumed. Since then it has been so, when
   can we say that this prediction has been fulfilled? Many explain the
   words allegorically, and say, that the Prophet speaks of apostles and
   martyrs, who, through various persecutions, were driven into different
   parts; but this is a strained view. I therefore do not doubt, but that
   here he refers to a spiritual gathering: and it is certain that God,
   since the appearance of Christ, has joined together his Church by the
   bond of faith; for not only that people have united together in one,
   but also the Gentiles, who were before alienated from the Church, and
   had no intercourse with it, have been collected into one body. We hence
   see, that what the Prophet says has been spiritually fulfilled; even
   the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have been redeemed
   by the Lord, and restored again, not on foot or by sea; for Jerusalem
   has been built everywhere as it is said in Zechariah.

   I will therefore gather them, he says; and he adds, I will return
   recompense on your head He again confirms what he said before, -- that
   though the ungodly should exult, while ruling over the children of God,
   their cruelty would not be unpunished; for they shall find that the
   Church is never neglected by God; though he may subject it to various
   troubles, and exercise its patience, and even chastise it, he will yet
   be ever its defender. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 3:8

   8. And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the
   children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people
   far off: for the LORD hath spoken it

   8. Et vendam filios vestros et filias vestras in manum filiorum
   Jehadah, et vendent eos Sabaeis, genti lonquinquae, quia Jehovah
   loquutus est.


   The Prophet describes here a wonderful change: the Syrians and
   Sidonians did sell the Jews; but who is to be the seller now? God
   himself will take this office, -- I, he says, will sell your children,
   as though he said, "The Jews shall subdue you and reduce you to
   bondage," -- by whose authority? "It shall be, as if they bought you at
   my hands." He means that this servitude would be legitimate; and thus
   he makes the Jews to be different from the Syrians and Sidonians, who
   had been violent robbers, and unjustly seized on what was not their
   own: and hence the manner of the sale is thus described, -- "I myself
   shall be the author of this change, and the thing shall be done by my
   authority, as if I had interposed my own name;" and the Jews themselves
   shall sell, he says, your sons and your daughters to the Sabeans, a
   distant nation; that is, the people of the East: for the Prophet, I
   doubt not, by mentioning a part for the whole, meant here to designate
   Eastern nations, such as the Persians and Medes; but he says, that the
   Tyrians and Sidonians shall be driven to the meet distant countries;
   for the Sabeans were very far distant from the Phoenician Sea, and were
   known as being very nigh the Indians. [15]

   But it may be asked here, When has God executed this judgment? for the
   Jews never possessed such power as to be able to subdue neighboring
   nations, and to sell them at pleasure to unknown merchants. It would
   indeed be foolish and puerile to insist here on a literal fulfillment:
   at the same time, I do not say, that the Prophet speaks allegorically;
   for I am disposed to keep from allegories, as there is in them nothing
   sound nor solid: but I must yet say that there is a figurative language
   used here, when it is said, that the Syrians and Sidonians shall be
   sold and driven here and there into distant countries, and that this
   shall be done for the sake of God's chosen people and his Church, as
   though the Jews were to be the sellers. When God says, "I will sell,"
   it is not meant that he is to descend from heaven for the purpose of
   selling, but that he will execute judgment on them; and then the second
   clause, -- that they shall be sold by the Jews, derives its meaning
   from the first; and this cannot be a common sake, as if the Jews were
   to receive a price and make a merchandise of them. But God declares
   that the Jews would be the sellers, because in this manner he signifies
   his vengeance for the wrong done to them; that is, by selling them to
   the Sabeans, a distant nation. We further know, that the changes which
   then followed were such that God turned upside down nearly the whole
   world; for he drove the Syrian and the Sidonians to the most distant
   countries. No one could have thought that this was done for the sake of
   the Jews, who were hated and abominated by all. But yet God declares,
   that he would do this from regard to his Church even sell the Syrians
   and the Sidonians, though it was commonly unknown to men; for it was
   the hidden judgment of God. But the faithful who had been already
   taught that God would do this, were reminded by the event how precious
   to God is his heritage, since he avenges those wrongs, the memory of
   which had long before been buried. This then is the import of the
   whole. The Prophet now subjoins --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [15] "This prophecy was fulfilled before and during the rule of the
   Maccabees, when the Jewish affairs were in so flourishing a state, and
   the Phoenician and Philistine powers were reduced by the Persian arms
   under Artaxerxes Mnemon, Darius Ochus, and especially Alexander and his
   successors. On the capture of Tyre by the Grecian monarch, 13,000 of
   the inhabitants were sold into slavery. When he took Gaza also, he put
   10,000 of the citizens to death and sold the rest, with the women and
   children, for slaves." -- Dr. Henderson.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 3:9-11

   9. Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty
   men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:

   9. Publicate hoc in Gentibus, sanctificate proelium, excitate robustos,
   venient, ascendent omnes viri bellatores.

   10. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into
   spears: let the weak say, I am strong.

   10. Concidite vomeres vestros in gladios et falces vestras in lanceas;
   debilis dicat, Ego sum robustus.

   11. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather
   yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come
   down, O Lord.

   11. Congregamini et venite omnes gentes, congregamini in circuitu (hoc
   est, undique congregamini;) illic prosteruet Jehova fortes tuos.


   Some think these words were announced lest the people, being terrified
   by their evils, should become wholly dejected; and they elicit this
   meaning, -- that God placed this dreadful spectacle of evils before
   their eyes, that the Jews might prepare and strengthen themselves for
   enduring them; that though nations should everywhere rise up, they
   might yet abide arm in the hope, that God would be the defender of his
   own Church. But the Prophet, I doubt not, continues the same discourse,
   and denounces war on the heathen nations, who had molested the Church
   with so many troubles; Publish this, he says, among the nations,
   proclaim war, rouse the strong; let them come, let them ascend: and we
   know how necessary it was by such means to confirm what he had
   previously said: for the ungodly are moved by no threats, nay, they
   laugh to scorn all God's judgments; while the faithful yielding to
   their evils, can hardly raise up their minds, even though God promises
   to be a helper to them. Except, then, the matter had been set forth as
   painted before their eyes they would not have experienced the power of
   consolation. Hence the lively representation we see here was intended
   for this end, -- that the people, being led to view the whole event,
   might entertain hope of their future salvation, while they now saw God
   collecting his army, and mustering his forces to punish the enemies of
   his Church. The faithful, then not only hearing by mere words that this
   would be, but also seeing, as it were, with their eyes what the Lord
   sets forth by a figure, and a lively representation, were more
   effectually impressed and felt more assured that God would become at
   length their deliverer.

   We now then see why the Prophet here bids war to be everywhere
   announced and proclaimed, and also why he bids the strong to assemble,
   and all warlike men to ascend; as though he said, "The Lord will not
   disappoint you with empty words, but will come provided with an army to
   save you. When ye hear, then, that he will be the author of your
   salvation, think also that all nations are in his power, and that the
   whole world can in a moment be roused up by his rod, so that all its
   forces may from all quarters come together, and all the power of the
   world meet in obedience to him. Know, then, that being provided with
   his forces, he comes not to you naked, nor feeds you with mere words,
   as they are wont to do who have no help to give but words only: this is
   not what God does; for he can even to-day execute what he has
   denounced; but he stays for the ripened time. In the meanwhile, give
   him his honor, and know that there is not wanting the means to protect
   you, if he wished; but he would have you for a time to be subject to
   the cross and to tribulations that he may at length avenge the wrongs
   done to you."

   It may be now asked who are the nations meant by the Prophet? for he
   said before, that God would visit all nations with punishment, whereas,
   there was then no nation in the world friendly to the Jews. But in this
   there is nothing inconsistent; for God caused all the enemies of the
   Church to assail one another on every side, and to destroy themselves
   with mutual slaughters. Hence, when he designed to take vengeance on
   the Tyrians and Sidonians, he roused up the Persian and Medes; and when
   he purposed to punish the Persian and Medes, he called the Greeks into
   Asia; and he had before brought low the Assyrians. Thus he armed all
   nations, but each in its turn; and one after the other underwent the
   punishment they deserved. And so the expression of the Prophet must not
   be taken in a too restricted sense, as though the Lord would at the
   same time collect an army from the whole world, to punish the enemies
   of his Church; but that he rouses the whole world, so that some suffer
   punishment from others; and yet no enemy of the Church remains
   unpunished. We now perceive the Prophet's objects in saying, Publish
   this among the nations; that is, God will move dreadful tumults through
   the whole world, and will do this for the sake of his Church: for
   though he exposes his people to many miseries, he will yet have the
   remnant, as we have before seen, to be saved.

   He afterwards adds, Beat your plowshares into swords. When Isaiah and
   Micah prophesied of the kingdom of Christ, they said, Beat your swords
   into pruninghooks, and your spears into plowshares', (Isaiah 2:4, Micah
   4:3.) This sentence is now inverted by Joel. The words of Isaiah and
   Micah were intended figuratively to show that the world would be at
   peace when Christ reconciled men to God, and taught them to cultivate
   brotherly kindness. But the Prophet says here, that there would be
   turbulent commotions everywhere, so that there would be no use made of
   the plough or of the pruninghook; husbandmen would cease from their
   labor, the land would remain waste; for this is the case when a whole
   country is exposed to violence; no one dares go out, all desert their
   fields, cultivation is neglected. Hence the Prophet says, Turn your
   plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears;' that is,
   field labor will cease, and all will strenuously apply themselves to
   war. And let the weak say, I am strong, for there will then be no
   exemption from war. Excuses, we know, availed formerly on the ground of
   age or disease, when soldiers were collected; and if any one could have
   pleaded disease, he was dismissed; but the Prophet says, that there
   will be no exemption then; "God", he says, "will excuse none, he will
   compel all to become warriors, he will even draw out all the sick from
   their beds; all will be constrained to put on arms". It hence appears
   how ardently the Lord loves his Church, since he spares no nations and
   no people, and exempts none from punishment; for all who have vexed the
   Church must necessarily receive their recompense. Since then God so
   severely punishes the enemies of his Church, he thereby gives a
   singular evidence of his paternal love to us.

   At length he concludes, There will Jehovah overthrow thy mighty ones.
   Though the Prophet uses the singular number, "thy", he no doubt refers
   to the whole earth; as though he said, "Whatever enemies there may be
   to my people, I will cut them down, however strong they may be." We now
   perceive that everything the Prophet has hitherto said has been for
   this end -- to show, that God takes care of the safety of his Church,
   even in its heaviest afflictions, and that he will be the avenger of
   wrongs, after having for a time tried the patience of his people and
   chastised their faults -- that there will be a turn in the state of
   things, so that the condition of the Church will be ever more
   desirable, even under its greatest evils, than of those whom the Lord
   bears with and indulges, and on whom he does not so quickly take
   vengeance.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Prayer.

   Grant, Almighty God, that as we are assailed on every side by enemies,
   and as not only the wicked according to the flesh are incensed against
   us, but Satan also musters his forces and contrives in various ways to
   ruin us, -- O grant, that we being furnished with the courage thy
   Spirit bestows, may fight to the end under thy guidance and never be
   wearied under any evils. And may we, at the same time, be humbled under
   thy mighty hand when it pleases thee to afflict us and so sustain all
   our troubles that with a courageous mind we may strive for that victory
   which thou promises to us, and that having completed all our struggles
   we may at length attain that blessed rest which is reserved for us in
   heaven through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Forty-eighth
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 3:12

   12. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of
   Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.

   12. Expergefiant et ascendant gentes ad vallem Josaphat: quia illic
   sedebo ad judicandum omnes gentes ex circuitu.


   The Prophet proceeds with the same subject, -- that God will at length
   become an avenger of the wrongs of his people, when they shall be
   unjustly harassed by profane men. We indeed know that God does not
   immediately succor his servants but rests as though he did not regard
   their troubles; but this he does to try their patience; and then at a
   suitable time he declares that he had not been indifferent, but had
   noticed the evils done to them, and deferred punishment until the
   wickedness of his enemies had been completed. So he says now, that God
   will at length be the defender of his people against all the nations
   assembled from every quarter in the valley of Jehoshaphat. Of this
   valley we have said enough already. But the chief thing is, that the
   afflictions of the Church shall not go unpunished; for God at the right
   time will ascend his tribunal, and cause all nations from every part of
   the earth to assemble and to be there judged. Now it follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 3:13

   13. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down;
   for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is
   great.

   13. Mittite falcem, quia maturuit messis: venite, descendite, quia
   plenum est torcular, refertae sunt cuppae, quia multiplicata est
   malitia ipsorum.


   As God defers his judgments when miserable men groan under their
   burdens, the Prophet uses a form of speech, which represents God as not
   delaying, but, on the contrary, as hastening to judgment, though this
   be not perceived by carnal minds; for these two things well agree
   together -- God waiting his opportunity as to the ungodly and
   suspending the punishment they deserve -- and yet quickly accelerating
   their destruction; for he is said to defer with respect to men, because
   one day with us is like a hundred years; and he is said to hasten,
   because he knows the exact points of time. So he says in this place,
   Put forth the sickle, for the harvest has ripened. He uses metaphorical
   words, but he afterwards expresses without a figure what he means and
   says, that their wickedness had multiplied

   But there are here two metaphors, the one taken from the harvest, and
   the other from the vintage. The Prophet calls those reapers who have
   been destined to execute his judgment; for God makes use as it were of
   the hired work of men, and employs their hands here and there as he
   wills. He afterwards adds another metaphor, taken from the vintage,
   Full, he says, are the presses and the vats overflow; and at last he
   expresses what they mean, -- that their wickedness had multiplied, that
   is, that it was overflowing. God said to Abraham, that the wickedness
   of the Canaanites was not then completed; and long was the space which
   he mentioned for he said that after four hundred years he would take
   vengeance on the enemies of his people: that was a long time; and
   Abraham might have objected and said "Why should God rest for so long a
   time?" The answer was this, -- that their wickedness was not as yet
   completed. But the Prophet says here, that their wickedness had
   multiplied; he therefore gives to God's servants the hope of near
   vengeance, as when the harvest approaches and the vintage is nigh at
   hand; for then all have their minds refreshed with joy. Such is the
   Prophet's design; to encourage the faithful in their hope and
   expectation of a near deliverance, he declares that the iniquities of
   their enemies had now reached their full measure, so that God was now
   ready to execute on them his vengeance. This is the purport of the
   whole. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 3:14

   14. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of
   the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

   14. Populi, populi in vale concisionis (vel, tribulae,) quia propinquus
   dies Jehovae in valle concisionis.


   The Prophet confirms the same truth; but he multiplies words, because
   the devastation of the Church might have taken away all hope from God's
   servants; for who could have said that the Church could be restored
   when it was so miserably wasted, yea, almost reduced to nothing? For
   the people were so scattered that the name of Israel was of no account.
   The people then had ceased to exist, for they had lost their name; in
   short, the constitution of the Church was dissolved, and all might have
   said, that the people were given up to thousand modes of destruction,
   as all execrated the name of Israel. Since it was so, whatever the
   Prophets said of the restoration of the people might certainly have
   seemed incredible. The repetition then is not superfluous, when the
   Prophet in various forms of words testifies and affirms that God would
   abide faithful, and that, though Israel should perish according to what
   men could see, yet God had power enough to vivify the people when dead:
   hence the Prophet speaks emphatically, Nations! Nations! for he assumes
   here the character of a herald, as indeed this office had been
   committed to him, and shows that his predictions would not be
   fruitless, that he declared not words which would vanish into air, but
   that whatever he declared in God's name was full of power and energy.
   It might indeed have appeared ridiculous in the Prophet to summon all
   nations since his doctrine was laughed to scorn, even at Jerusalem. How
   could his voice penetrate to the utmost borders of the world and be
   there heard? Though hidden then was the power of this prediction, it
   yet showed itself at last, and it was really made evident that the
   Prophet spoke not in vain.

   Besides, he addresses the nations as though they could hear; but he
   raises thus his voice, and nobly triumphs over all the wicked for the
   sake of the godly, though the wicked then proudly ruled and with high
   disdain: "They shall come," he says, "at length before God's tribunal,
   though they now tread the Church under foot; yea, the nations, the
   nations." He does not now mention the valley of Jehoshaphat, but of
   concision. chrvph cheruts some take for a fixed decree; but the word
   means a sledge or an instrument for threshing. We know not the mode of
   threshing used by the Jews, but it is evident from several passages
   that chrvph cheruts was an instrument with which they were wont to
   thresh; and I am inclined to adopt this sense; for the Prophet had
   first called God's judgment a harvest, then he compared it to presses.
   But if the word "concision" is more approved, I object not; at the same
   time, I do not doubt but that the Prophet alludes to threshing, as he
   ascribes to God his own office, that of scattering nations, who seem
   now to have conspired for the destruction of the Church. If any one
   considers it to mean a fixed decree, or a cutting off, as it means in
   Isaiah, I make no objection; for many give this interpretation. I have,
   however, explained what I most approve.

   As to the drift of the subject, there is no ambiguity; the meaning of
   the Prophet is, -- that God will so punish all the ungodly, that he
   will cut down and scatter them all, as when the corn is threshed on the
   floor.

   At last he adds, that nigh was the day of Jehovah in the valley of the
   sledge. He intimates, that though God as yet connived at their
   wickedness, yet the day was coming on, unknown indeed to men, and that
   he would come at length to that valley, that is, that he would inflict
   such punishment as would prove that he was the protector of his people.
   Of this valley we have spoken already; and no doubt he has throughout a
   reference to it, otherwise he would not have used a suitable language,
   when he said, Ascend into the valley. But what is to ascend into the
   valley? for, on the contrary, he ought to have spoken of descending.
   But he compares Judea with other parts of the world; and it is, as it
   is well known elevated in its situation. Then the higher situation of
   Judea well agrees with the ascent of which the Prophet speaks. But he
   ever means that God would so punish the nations as to make it evident
   that he did this in favor of his Church, as we shall soon see more
   clearly. But he says --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 3:15

   15. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall
   withdraw their shining.

   15. Sol et luna obscurabuntur (vel, contrahent nigredinem,) et stellae
   retrahent splendorem suum.


   I have already explained this verse in [12]chapter 2: the Prophet, as
   we then stated, describes in these words the terrible judgment of God,
   in order to shake off the indifference of men, who carelessly hear and
   despise all threatening, except the Lord storms their hearts. These
   figurative expressions then are intended to awaken the ungodly, and to
   make them know that it is a serious matter when the Lord proclaims his
   judgment. Let us now go on with the passage --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 3:16

   16. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from
   Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will
   be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

   16. Et Jehova e Sion rugiet, et e Jerusalem dabit (edat) vocem suam; et
   contremiscent coeli et terra: et Jehova spes erit populo suo, et
   fortitudo filiis Israel.


   The Prophet explains here more clearly his object, or the end for which
   he had hitherto spoken of God's judgment; for what we have heard served
   only to spread terror: but now the Prophet shows that his purpose was
   to console the faithful, and to give some relief to their troubles and
   sorrows. This is the reason why he introduces God as roaring from Zion
   and crying from Jerusalem. Roaring is ascribed to God, inasmuch as he
   compares himself in another place to a lion, when representing himself
   as the faithful protector of the salvation of his people: "I will be,"
   he says, "like the lion, who suffers not the prey to be taken from him,
   but boldly defends it with all the fierceness he possesses: so also
   will I do, I will not suffer my people to be taken from me." In this
   sense does the Prophet now say, that God will roar from Zion. God had
   been for a time despised; for the nations had prevailed against his
   chosen people, and plundered them at their pleasure; and God then
   exercised not his power. Since God had been for a time still, the
   Prophet says now, that he will not always conceal himself, but that he
   will undertake the defense of his people, and be like a lion; for he
   will rise up in dreadful violence against all his enemies.

   And tremble, he says, shall the heaven and the earth. As almost the
   whole world was opposed to his elect people, the Prophet carefully
   dwells on this point, that nothing might hinder the faithful from
   looking for the redemption promised to them: "Though the heaven and the
   earth," he says, "raise oppositions God will yet prevail by his
   wonderful power. Tremble, he says, shall all the elements; what, then,
   will men do? Though they muster all their forces, and try all means,
   can they close up the way against the Lord, that he may not deliver his
   people?" We now understand the Prophet's design in speaking of the
   shaking of heaven and earth.

   He at last adds, God will be a hope to his people, and strength to the
   children of Israel. In this part he gives a sufficient proof of what I
   have stated, -- that he denounces extreme vengeance on the nations for
   the sake of his Church; for the Lord will at length pity his people,
   though they may seem to have perished before he succors them. However
   past hope then the people may be in their own estimation and in that of
   all others, yet God will again raise up the expectation of all the
   godly, who shall remain, and will inspire them with new courage. He
   speaks in general of the children of Israel; but what he says belongs
   only to the remnant, of which the Prophet had lately spoken; for not
   all, we know, who derive their origin from the fathers according to the
   flesh, were true Israelites. The Prophet refers here to the true
   Church; and hence Israel ought to be taken for the genuine and
   legitimate children of Abraham; as Christ, in the person of Nathanael,
   calls those true Israelites who imitated the faith of their father
   Abraham. I shall to-day finish this Prophet; I do not therefore dwell
   much on every sentence. It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 3:17

   17. So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my
   holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no
   strangers pass through her any more.

   17. Et cognoscetis quod ego sim Jehova Deus vester, habitans iu Sion,
   monte sanctitatis meae: et erit Jerusalem sanctitas, et alieni non
   transibunt per eam amplius.


   This is a confirmation of the preceding doctrine, ye shall know, he
   says, that I am your God. The Prophet intimates that the favor of God
   had been so hidden during the afflictions of the people, that they
   could not but think that they were forsaken by God. His word ought
   indeed to be sufficient for us in the greatest evils; for though God
   may cast us into the deepest gulfs, yet when he shines upon us by his
   word, it ought to be a consolation abundantly available to sustain our
   souls. But yet, unless God really appears, we are confounded, and ask
   where is his power. For this reason the Prophet now says, that the
   faithful shall at length know, that is, really know him as their God.

   There is a twofold knowledge, -- the knowledge of faith, received from
   his word, -- and the knowledge of experience, as we say, derived from
   actual enjoyment. The faithful ever acknowledge that salvation is laid
   up for them in God; but sometimes they stagger and suffer grievous
   torments in their minds, and are tossed here and there. However it may
   be with them, they certainly do not by actual enjoyment know God to be
   their Father. The Prophet therefore now treats of real knowledge, when
   he says, that they shall know that they have a God, -- how are they to
   know this? By experience. Now this passage teaches us, that though God
   should not put forth his hand manifestly to help us, we ought yet to
   entertain good hope of his favor; for the Prophet spoke for this end,
   -- that the godly might, before the event or the accomplishment of the
   prophecy should come, look to God and cast on him all their cares. Then
   the faithful, before they had real knowledge, knew God to be their
   Father, and hence hesitated not to flee to him though what the Prophet
   testified had not yet been visibly accomplished.

   Dwelling in Zion, the mountain of my holiness: This has been designedly
   added, that the faithful might know, that God made not a covenant in
   vain with Abraham, that mount Zion had not in vain been chosen, that
   they might there call on God; for we must have our attention called to
   the promises, otherwise all doctrine will become frigid. Now we know
   that all the promises have been founded on a covenant, that is, because
   God had adopted the people, and afterwards deposited his covenant in
   the hand of David, and then he designated mount Zion as his sanctuary.
   Since, then, all the promises flow from this fountain, it was necessary
   to call the attention of the Jews to the covenant: and this is the
   reason why the Prophet says now that God dwells in Zion; for otherwise
   this doctrine would no doubt only lead to superstition. God, indeed, we
   know, cannot be included within the circumference of any place, much
   less could he be confined to the narrow limits of the temple; but he
   dwelt on mount Zion on account of his own law, because he made a
   covenant with Abraham, and afterwards with David.

   It then follows, And Jerusalem shall be holy, and aliens shall not pass
   through it any more. While he declares that Jerusalem shall be holy, he
   exempts it at the same time from profanation. We know that it is a
   common mode of speaking in Scripture, and what often occurs, that God's
   heritage is holy, and also, that they profaned it. Hence, when the
   people were exposed as a prey to the pleasure of their enemies, the
   heritage of God became forsaken and polluted, profane men trod
   Jerusalem as it were under foot. But now the Prophet exempts the holy
   city from this pollution, as though he said, "The Lord will not allow
   his people to be thus miserably harassed, and will show that this city
   has been chosen by him, and that he has in it his dwelling. Aliens then
   shall no more pass through it -- Why? For it is first the holy city of
   God, and then, of his Church.

   But as this promise extends to the whole kingdom of Christ, God
   doubtless makes here a general promise, that he will be the protector
   of his Church, that it may not be subject to the will of enemies; and
   yet we see that it often happens otherwise. But this ought to be
   imputed to our sins, for we make the breaches. God would, indeed be a
   wall and a rampart to us, as it is said elsewhere, (Isaiah 26:1;) but
   we betray his Church by our sins. Hence aliens occupy a place in it: Ye
   we see at this day; for Antichrist, as it has been foretold, has now
   for ages exercised dominion in God's sanctuary. Since it is so, we
   ought to mourn at seeing God's holy Church profaned. Let us yet know,
   that God will take care to gather his elect, and to cleanse them from
   every pollution and defilement. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Joel 3:18-19

   18. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall
   drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the
   rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth
   of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.

   18. Et erit in die illa, stillabunt montes mustum, et colles decurrere
   facient lac; et omnes rivi Jehudah emittent aquas (hoc est, descendere
   facient,) et fons e domo Jehovae egredietur et irrigabit vallem Sittim.

   19. Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate
   wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because
   they have shed innocent blood in their land.

   19. Aegyptus in solitudinem erit, et Edom in desertum solitudinis erit,
   propter vexationem filiorum Jehudah; quia fuderunt sanguinem innoxium
   (vel, purum) in terra sua (vel, ipsorum.)


   The Prophet here declares that God will be so bountiful to his people,
   that no good things will be wanting to them either in abundance or
   variety. When God then shall restore his Church, it will abound, he
   says, in every kind of blessing: for this is the meaning of this
   language, Distill new wine shall the mountains, and the hills shall
   make milk to run down; and all rivers also shall have abundant waters,
   and a fountain shall arise from the house of Judah to irrigate the
   valley of Shittim. We now perceive the design of Joel. But we must
   remember that when the Prophets so splendidly extol the blessings of
   God, they intend not to fill the minds of the godly with thoughts about
   eating and drinking; but profane men lay hold on such passages as
   though the Lord intended to gratify their appetite. We know, indeed,
   that God's children differ much from swine: hence God fills not the
   faithful with earthly things, for this would not be useful for their
   salvation. At the same time, he thus enlarges on his blessings, that we
   may know that no happiness shall in any way be wanting to us, when God
   shall be propitious to us. We hence see that our Prophet so speaks of
   God's earthly blessings, that he fills not the minds of the godly with
   these things but desires to raise them above, as though he said, that
   the Israelites would in every way be happy, after having in the first
   place been reconciled to God. For whence came their miseries and
   distresses of every kind, but from their sins? Since, then, all
   troubles, all evils, are signs of God's wrath and alienation, it is no
   wonder that the Lord, when he declares that he will be propitious to
   them, adds also the proofs of his paternal love, as he does here: and
   we know that it was necessary for that rude people, while under the
   elements of the Law, to be thus instructed; for they could not as yet
   take solid food, as we know that the ancients under the Law were like
   children. But it is enough for us to understand the design of the Holy
   Spirit, namely, that God will satisfy his people with the abundance of
   all good things, as far as it will be for their benefit. Since God now
   calls us directly to heaven, and raises our minds to the spiritual
   life, what Paul says ought to be sufficient, -- that to godliness is
   given the hope, not only of future life, but also of that which is
   present, (1 Timothy 4;) for God will bless us on the earth, but it will
   be, as we have already observed, according to the measure of our
   infirmity.

   The valley of Shittim was nigh the borders of the Moabites, as we learn
   from Numbers 25:1, and Joshua 2:1. Now when the Prophet says, that
   waters, flowing from the holy fountains would irrigate the valley of
   Shittim, it is the same as though he said, that the blessing of God in
   Judea would be so abundant, as to diffuse itself far and wide, even to
   desert valleys.

   But he afterwards joins, that the Egyptians and Idumeans would be
   sterile and dry in the midst of this great abundance of blessings, for
   they were professed enemies to the Church. Hence God in this verse
   declares that they shall not be partakers of his bounty; that though
   all Judea would be irrigated, though it would abound in honeys milk,
   and wine, yet these would remain barren and empty; Mizraim, then, shall
   be a solitude, Edom shall be a desert of solitude. Why? Because of the
   troubles, he says, brought on the children of Judah. God again confirms
   this truth, that he has such a concern for his Church, that he will
   avenge wrongs done to it. God, then, does not always come to our help
   when we are unjustly oppressed, though he has taken us under his
   protection; but he suffers us for a time to endure our evils; and yet
   the end will show, that we have been ever dear to him and precious in
   his sight. So he says now, that for the harassments which the Egyptians
   and Idumeans occasioned to the children of Judah, they shall be
   destitute, notwithstanding the abundance of all good things.

   Because they shed, he says, innocent blood in their (or, in their own)
   land. If we refer this to Egypt and Idumea, the sense will be, that
   they had not protected fugitives, but, on the contrary, cruelly slew
   them, as though they had been sworn enemies. Many, we know, during
   times of distress, fled to Egypt and Idumea, to seek refuge there. As,
   then, the Egyptians had been so inhuman towards the distressed, the
   Prophet threatens them with vengeance. But I prefer to view what is
   said as having been done in Judea; they have then shed innocent Blood,
   that is, in Judea itself. As God had consecrated this land to himself
   to pollute it with unjust slaughters was a more atrocious crime.
   Forasmuch then as the Egyptians and Idumeans thus treated the Jews, and
   slew them in their own country in a base manner, though they were
   abiding quietly at home, it is no wonder that God declares, that he
   would be the avenger of these wrongs. It follows --
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   Joel 3:20

   20. But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to
   generation.

   20. Et Jehudah in aeternum habitabit (alii passive accipiunt,
   habitabitur) et Jerusalem erit in generationem et generationem.


   God here testifies that his redemption would not be for a short time,
   but that its fruit would be for a long, period, yea, perpetual: for it
   would be but a small thing for the Church to be redeemed, except God
   kept it safe under his own power. This second thing the Prophet now
   adds, -- that Judah shall always remain safe, and that Jerusalem shall
   be for a continued succession of ages. The ungodly, we know, sometimes
   flourish for a time, though before God they are already doomed to
   destruction. But the Prophet here declares, that the fruit of the
   redemption he promises will be eternal: for God is not led to deliver
   his Church only for a moment, but he will follow it with perpetual
   favor, and remain constant in his purpose and ever like himself; he is
   therefore the eternal and faithful protector of his people. The last
   verse follows --
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   Joel 3:21

   21. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the
   Lord dwelleth in Zion.

   21. Et mundabo sanguinem corum, non mundavi: et Jehova habitans in
   Sion.


   The beginning of the verse is in various ways explained. Some make a
   stop after cleanse thus, "I will cleanse, yet their blood I will not
   cleanse;" as though God had said, that he would forgive heathen nations
   all their other wrongs, but could not forgive them the great cruelty
   they had exercised against his elect. So the sense would be, "Avarice
   may be borne, I could pass by robberies; but, since they slew my
   people, I am in this case wholly unforgiving." Hence, according to this
   view, God shows how precious to him is the life of his saints, inasmuch
   as he says, that he will not be pacified towards those ungodly men who
   have shed innocent blood. But this sense seems rather too forced.
   Others render thus, "Their blood will I cleanse, and will not cleanse,"
   that is, "I will cleanse the Jews from their defilements, but I will
   not use extreme severity;" as he says also in Isaiah 48, I will not
   refine thee as gold or silver, for thou wouldest turn all into dross.'
   They hence think that God promises here such a cleansing of the Church,
   as that he would not use extreme rigor, but moderate his cleansing, as
   it is needful with regard to our defilements, of which we are all so
   full.

   But this sense seems to me more simple, -- that God would cleanse the
   blood which he had not cleansed; as though he said, "I have not
   hitherto cleansed the pollutions of my people; they are then become, as
   it were, putrid in their sins; but now I will begin to purify all their
   wickedness, that they may shine pure before me." There is a relative
   understood as is often the case in Hebrew. But nqh neke is taken in
   Jeremiah 30:11, in another sense, that God will exterminate his Church:
   but we cannot in this place elicit any other meaning than that God will
   cleanse his Church from pollutions; for the Prophet, no doubt, means
   the defilements of which the people were full. They will not, then, be
   able to enjoy the favor of God while lying in their filth. Now God, in
   promising to be a Redeemer, comes to the very fountain and the first
   thing, -- that he will wash away their filth; for how could God be the
   Redeemer of the people, except he blotted out their sins? For as long
   as he imputes sins to us, he must necessarily be angry with us, we must
   be necessarily altogether alienated from him and deprived of his
   blessing. He then does not say in vain that he will be a purifier; for
   when pollutions are cleansed, there follows another thing, which we
   have already noticed as to this, future redemption, and with this --

   He at last concludes and says And Jehovah shall dwell in Zion. The
   Prophet recalls again the attention of the people to the covenant; as
   though he said, "God has willingly and bountifully promised all that
   has been mentioned, not because the people have deserved this, but
   because God has deigned long ago to adopt the children of Abraham, and
   has chosen mount Zion as his habitation." He shows then this to be the
   reason why God was now inclined to mercy, and would save a people, who
   had a hundred times destroyed themselves by their sins.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Prayer.

   Grant, Almighty God, that as we have, in this world, to fight
   continually, not only with one kind of enemies, but with numberless
   enemies, and not only with flesh and blood, but also with the devil,
   the prince of darkness, -- O grant, that, being armed with thy power,
   we may persevere in this contest; and when thou afflictest us for our
   sins, may we learn to humble ourselves, and so submit to thy authority,
   that we may hope for the redemption promised to us; and though tokens
   of thy displeasure may often appear to us, may we yet ever raise up our
   minds by hope to heaven, and from thence look for thy only begotten
   Son, until, coming as the Judge of the world, he gathers us and brings
   us to the fruition of that blessed and eternal life, which he has
   obtained for us by his own blood. Amen.

   End of the Commentaries on Joel.
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   Lecture Forty-ninth

   He shows himself the time when he began to discharge his office of a
   teacher; but it does not appear how long he prophesied. The Jews
   indeed, think that his course was long; he continued his office, as
   they write, under four kings. But he mentions here only the reigns of
   Uzziah and Jeroboam. His purpose was to mark the time when he began to
   execute his office of a Prophet, but not to express how long he labored
   for God in that office; and why he mentions only the beginning, we
   shall in its proper place notice. It is, indeed, certain, that he
   commenced his work under king Uzziah, and under king Jeroboam: and this
   also is to be noticed, that he was appointed a Prophet to the kingdom
   of Israel. For though he arose from the tribe of Judah, yet the Lord,
   as we shall see set him over the kingdom of Israel. He sometimes turns
   his discourse to the tribe of Judah, but only, as it were,
   accidentally, and as occasion led him; for he mainly addressed the Ten
   Tribes. I now come to his words.
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   Chapter 1.
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   Amos 1:1

   1. The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw
   concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days
   of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the
   earthquake.

   1. Verba Amos, qui fuit inter pastores (vel, pecuarios) ex Tucua: quae
   vidit super Israel diebus Uzziah regis Juhudah, et diebus Jarobeam
   filii Joas regis Israel, biennio ante motum (vel chasma) terrae.
   nominibus, quia de sensu Prophetae satis constabit. Nunc venio ad
   inscriptionem libri.)


   Amos boasts not here, in speaking of his own words, that he adduced
   anything as from himself, but avows himself to be only the minister of
   God; for he immediately adds that he received them by a vision. God
   himself raised up the Prophets and employed their labor; And, at the
   same time, guided them by his Spirit, that they might not announce
   anything but what had been received from him, but faithfully deliver
   what had proceeded from him alone. These two things then, well agree
   together, -- that the prophecies which follow were the words of Amos
   and that they were words revealed to him from above; for the word chzh,
   chese, which Amos uses, properly means, to see by revelation; [16] and
   these revelations were called prophecies.

   But he says, that he was among the shepherds of Tekoa. This was a mean
   towns and had been shortly before surrounded by walls and had ever been
   previously a village. He then mentions not his country, because it was
   celebrated, or as though he could derive thereby more authority or
   renown: but, on the contrary he calls himself a Tekoan, because God
   drew him forth from an obscure place, that he might set him over the
   whole kingdom of Israel. They are therefore mistaken, as I think, who
   suppose that Amos was called one of the shepherds on account of his
   riches, and the number of his flocks; for when I weigh every thing, I
   see not how could this be. I indeed allow that nqdym, nukodim are not
   only shepherds who do the work, but men possessing flocks, carrying on
   a large business; for the king of Moab is said to have been a nqd,
   nukod, and that he fed large flocks; but it was by hired shepherds. As
   to the Prophets I do not see how this can be applied to him; for Tekoa
   was not a place famous for wealth; and as I have said, it was a small
   town, and of no opulence. I do not then doubt, but that Amos, by saying
   that he was a shepherd, pours contempt on the pride of the king of
   Israel, and of the whole people; for as they had not deigned to hear
   the Prophets of God, a keeper of sheep was sent to them.

   It must be further noticed, that he is not called a shepherd of Tekoa,
   but from Tekoa; and interpreters have not observed this preposition. We
   shall see in [13]chapter seven, that though Amos sprang from the tribe
   of Judah, he yet dwelt in the kingdom of Israel: for the priest, after
   he had slandered him before the king, bade him to go elsewhere, and to
   eat his own bread, and not to disturb the peace of the country. He
   therefore dwelt there as a stranger in a land not his own. Had he been
   rich, and possessing much wealth, he would have surely dwelt at home:
   why should he change his place? Since then it appears evident, that he
   was a sojourner in the land of Israel, he was, no doubt, one of the
   common people. So that his low condition (ignobilitias--ignobility) was
   intended for this purpose, -- that God might thereby repress the
   arrogance of the king of Israel, and of the whole people; for we know
   how much inflated they were on account of the fruitfulness of their
   land and their riches. Hence Amos was set over them as a Prophet, being
   a shepherd, whom God had brought from the sheepfolds.

   The time also is to be observed, when he is said to have seen these
   prophecies; it was in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, two years
   before the earth-quake, and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash.
   What the state of that time was, I described in explaining the
   prophecies of [14]Hosea. Sacred history relates that the kingdom of
   Israel flourished under the second Jeroboam; for though he was an
   ungodly and wicked man, yet God spared then his people, and caused that
   not only the ten tribes should remain entire, but also that Jeroboam
   should enlarge his kingdom; for he had recovered some cities which had
   been lost. The state of the people was then tranquil, and their
   prosperity was such as filled them with pride, as it commonly happens.
   Uzziah also so reigned over the tribe of Judah, that nothing adverse
   prevailed there. Shortly after followed the earthquake. The time this
   earthquake happened, sacred history does not mention. But Josephus
   says, that it was when Uzziah seized on the priestly office, and was
   smitten with leprosy. He therefore makes that stroke of leprosy and the
   earthquake to be at the same time. But Amos, as well as other Prophets,
   spoke of it as a thing well known: thus Zechariah, after the people's
   return, refers to it in chapter 14: (Zechariah 14:5),

   There shall be to you a terror,
   such as was in the earthquake under king Uzziah.'

   He states not the year, but it was then commonly known.

   Then the Prophet meant nothing more than to show by this event, that he
   denounced God's vengeance on the Israelites, when they were in
   prosperity, and were immersed, as it were, in their pleasures. And
   satiety, as it ever happens, made them ferocious; hence he was not well
   received; but his authority is hereby more confirmed to us; for he did
   not flatter the people in their prosperity, but severely reproved them;
   and he also predicted what could not be foreseen by human judgment,
   nay, what seemed to be altogether improbable. Had he not then been
   endued with the heavenly Spirit, he could not have foretold future
   calamities, when the Jews, as I have already said, as well as the
   Israelites, and others, promised themselves all kinds of prosperity;
   for God then spared the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah, nor
   did he execute his judgment on neighboring nations.

   We must now observe this also, that the words which he saw were
   concerning Israel. We hence learn, as I have already said that the
   Prophet was specifically appointed for the Israelites, though born
   elsewhere. But how and on what occasion he migrated into the kingdom of
   Israel, we know not; and as to the subject in hand, it matters not
   much: but it is probable, as I have said before, that this was
   designedly done, that God might check the insolence of the people, who
   flattered themselves so much in their prosperity. Since, then, the
   Israelites had hitherto rejected God's servants, they were now
   constrained to hear a foreigner and a shepherd condemning them for
   their sins, and exercising the office of a judge: he who proclaims, an
   impending destruction is a celestial herald. This being the case, we
   hence see that God had not in vain employed the ministry of this
   Prophet; for he is wont to choose the weak things of the world to
   confound the strong, (1 Corinthians 1) and he takes Prophets and
   teachers from the lowest grade to humble the dignity of the world, and
   puts the invaluable treasure of his doctrine in earthly vessels, that
   his power, as Paul teaches us, may be made more evident (2 Corinthians
   4:7.)

   But there was a special reason as to the Prophet Amos; for he was sent
   on purpose severely to reprove the ten tribes: and, as we shall see, he
   handled them with great asperity. For he was not polite, but proved
   that he had to do with those who were not to be treated as men, but as
   brute beasts; yea, worse in obstinacy than brute beasts; for there is
   some docility in oxen and cows, and especially in sheep, for they hear
   the voice of their shepherd, and follow where he leads them. The
   Israelites were all stubbornness, and wholly untamable. It was then
   necessary to set over them a teacher who would not treat them
   courteously, but exercise towards them his native rusticity. Let us now
   proceed; for of the kingdom of Uzziah and of Jeroboam the son of Joash,
   the second of that name, we have spoken on the in [15]Hosea 1:1. It now
   follows --
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   [16] There is an incongruity in our language in saying, "The words of
   Amos, which he saw." To see words, except when written, is no proper
   expression. To avoid this, Newcome has paraphrased the passage thus, --
   "Which had come to him in a vision." There would be no necessity for
   this, had we a suitable term for "words," which in Hebrew has the same
   latitude of meaning with logos in Greek. Dathius renders it, Effata,
   oracles. They were the things, the matters, the events, which the
   Prophet saw, or were discovered to him in a supernatural manner. The
   faculty of sight seems to have been used, because scenes were presented
   often to the prophets, when these communications were made to them; and
   then seeing became the term to designate these divine revelations, when
   nothing but messages, either of mercy or of judgment, were conveyed to
   the prophets. -- Ed.
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   Amos 1:2

   2. And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from
   Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the
   top of Carmel shall wither.

   2. Et dixit, Jehova e Sion ruget, et e Jerusalem edet (vel, emittet)
   vocem suam; et lugebunt (vel, disperibunt) habitacula pastorum; et
   arescet (vel, pudefiet) vertex Carmeli. [17]


   He employs here the same words which we explained yesterday in the
   [16]Lecture on Joel; but for another purpose. By saying, Jehovah from
   Zion shall roar,' Joel intended to set forth the power of God, who had
   been for a time silent, as though he was not able to repel his enemies.
   As God was then despised by the ungodly, Joel declares that he had
   power, by which he could instantly break down and destroy all his
   enemies and defend his Church and chosen people. But now Amos, as he
   addresses the Israelites, does here defend the pure worship of God from
   all contempt and declares to the Israelites, that how much soever they
   wearied themselves in their superstitions they still worshipped their
   own devices; for God repudiated all the religion they thought they had.
   There is, then, to be understood an implied or indirect contrast
   between mount Zion and the temples which the first Jeroboam built in
   Dan and Bethel. The Israelites imagined that they worshipped the God of
   their father Abraham; and there were in those places greater displays
   (pompae -- pomps) than at Jerusalem. But the Prophet Amos pours
   contempt on all these fictitious forms of worship; as though he said,
   "Ye indeed boast that the God of Abraham is honored and worshipped by
   you; but ye are degenerate, ye are covenant breakers, ye are perfidious
   towards God; he dwells not with you, for the sanctuaries, which you
   have made for yourselves, are nothing but brothels; God has chosen no
   habitation for himself, except mount Zion; there is his perpetual rest:
   Roar then will Jehovah from Zion."

   We now see what the Prophet had in view: for he not only shows here,
   that God was the author of his doctrine, but at the same time
   distinguishes between the true God and the idols, which the first
   Jeroboam made, when by this artifice he intended to withdraw the ten
   tribes from the house of David and wholly to alienate them from the
   tribe of Judah: it was then that he set up the calves in Dan and
   Bethel. The Prophet now shows that all these superstitions are
   condemned by the true God: Jehovah then shall roar from Zion, he will
   utter his voice from Jerusalem. He no doubt wished here to terrify the
   Israelites, who thought they had peace with God. Since, then, they
   abused his long-suffering, Amos now says that they would find at length
   that he was not asleep. "When God then shall long bear with your
   iniquities, he will at last rise up for judgment."

   By roaring is signified, as we said yesterday, the terrible voice of
   God; but the Prophet here speaks of God's voice, rather than of what
   are called actual judgments really executed, that the Israelites might
   learn that the examples of punishments which God executes in the world
   happen not by chance, or at random, but proceed from his threatening;
   in short, the Prophet intimates that all punishments which God inflicts
   on the ungodly and the despisers of his word, are only the executions
   of what the Prophets proclaimed, in order that men, should there be any
   hope of their repentance, might anticipate the destruction which they
   hear to be nigh. The Prophet then commends here very highly the truth
   of what God teaches, by saying that it is not what vanishes, but what
   is accomplished; for when he destroys nations and kingdoms, it comes to
   pass according to prophecies: God then shall utter his voice from
   Jerusalem

   Then it follows, And mourn shall the habitations of shepherds 'vl,
   abel, means to mourn, and also to be laid waste, and to perish. Either
   sense will well suit this place. If we read, mourn, etc., then we must
   render the following thus, and ashamed shall be the head, or top, of
   Carmel. But if we read, perish, etc., then the verb vs besh must be
   translated, wither; and as we know that there were rich pastures on
   Carmel, I prefer this second rendering: wither then shall the top of
   Carmel; and the first clause must be taken thus, and perish shall the
   habitations of shepherds

   As to what is intended, we understand the Prophet's meaning to be, that
   whatever was pleasant and valuable in the kingdom of Israel would now
   shortly perish, because God would utter his voice from Zion The meaning
   then is this, -- "Ye now lie secure, but God will soon, and even
   suddenly, put forth his power to destroy you; and this he will do,
   because he denounces on you destruction now by me, and will raise up
   other Prophets to be heralds of his vengeance: this will God execute by
   foreign and heathen nations; but yet your destruction will be according
   to these threatening which ye now count as nothing. Ye indeed think
   them to be empty words; but God will at length show that what he
   declares will be fully accomplished."

   With respect to Carmel, there were two mountains of this name; but as
   they were both very fertile, there is no need to take much trouble to
   inquire of which Carmel the Prophet speaks. Sufficient is what has been
   said, -- that such a judgment is denounced on the kingdom of Israel as
   would consume all its fatness; for as we shall hereafter see, and the
   same thing has been already stated by the Prophet [17]Hosea, there was
   great fertility as to pastures in that kingdom.

   We must, at the same time, observe, that the Prophet, who was a
   shepherd, speaks according to his own character, and the manner of life
   which he followed. Another might have said, Mourn shall the whole
   country, tremble shall the palaces,' or something like this; but the
   Prophet speaks of mount Carmel, and of the habitations of shepherds,
   for he was a shepherd. His doctrine no doubt was despised, and many
   profane men probably said, "What! he thinks that he is still with his
   cows and with his sheep; he boasts that he is God's prophet, and yet he
   is ever engrossed by his stalls and his sheepfolds." It is then by no
   means improbable, but that he was thus derided by scornful men: but he
   purposely intended to blunt their petulance, by mingling with what he
   said as a Prophets those kinds of expressions which savored of his
   occupation as a shepherd. Let us now proceed --
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   [17] Rendered literally from the Hebrew, this verse is a fine specimen
   of sublime simplicity: the poetical inversion of words is preserved: --
   And he said,-- Jehovah from Zion will roar,
   And from Jerusalem will he send forth his voice;
   Then mourn with the inhabitants of shepherds,
   And wither will the top of Carmel. The roarings of lions are dreadful
   to shepherds. God's voice is either of mercy or of judgment; it is the
   latter here, and evidently that of drought, (see Amos 5:6,) as the
   withering of Carmel was to be the effect. -- Ed.
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   Amos 1:3-5

   3. Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for
   four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have
   threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:

   3. Sic dixit Jehova, Super tribus sceleribus Damasci et super quatuor
   non ero propitius ei; quia trituraverunt serris (vel, tribulis ferreis)
   Gilead.

   4. But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour
   the palaces of Benhadad.

   4. Et mittam ignem in domum Chasael, et vorabit palatia Ben-Adad.

   5. I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant
   from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house
   of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir,
   saith the Lord.

   5. Et confringam vectem Damasci et excidam habitatorem ex Bikath-Aven
   (vel, ex planitie Aven, vel, molestiae vel, doloris: alii vertunt, ex
   templo idoli) et tenentem sceptrum e domo Eden (alii appellative
   accipiunt, e domo voluptatis;) et transferetur populus Syriae Kirah (in
   Kir) dicit Jehova.


   It is singular that Amos said that his words were concerning Israel,
   and that he should now turn to speak of Damascus and the country of
   Syria. This seems inconsistent; for why does he not perform the office
   committed to him? why does he not reprove the Israelites? why does he
   not threaten them? why does he not show their sins? and why does he
   speak of the destruction then nigh to the people of Syria? But it is
   right here to consider what his design was. He shows briefly, in the
   last verse, that ruin was nigh the Israelites; for God, who had
   hitherto spared them, was now resolved to ascend his tribunal. But now,
   that he might better prepare the Israelites, he shows that God, as a
   judge, would call all the neighboring nations to an account. For had
   the Prophet threatened the Israelites only, they might have thought
   that what they suffered was by chance, when they saw the like things
   happening to their neighbors: "How is it credible that these evils and
   calamities have flowed from God's vengeance, since the Idumeans, the
   Moabites, the Ammonites, the Syrians, and the Sidonians, are implicated
   in these evils in common with ourselves? For if God's hand pursues us,
   it is the same with them: and if it is fate, that with blind force
   exercises its rule over the Moabites, the Idumeans, and the Syrians,
   the same thing, doubtless, is to be thought of our case." Thus all the
   authority of the Prophet must have lost its power, except the
   Israelites were made to know that God is the judge of all nations.

   We must also bear in mind, that the kingdom of Israel was laid waste,
   together with other neighboring countries, as war had spread far and
   wide; for the Assyrian, like a violent storm, had extended through the
   whole of that part of the world. Not only, then, the Israelites were
   distressed by adversities at that time, but all the nations of which
   Amos prophesied. It was hence necessary to add the catalogue which we
   here find, that the Israelites might have as many confirmations
   respecting God's vengeance, as the examples which were presented to
   their eyes, in the dire calamities which everywhere prevailed. This is
   to be borne in mind. And then the Prophet regarded another thing: If
   the Idumeans, the Moabites, the Syrians, and Ammonites, were to be
   treated so severely, and the Prophet had not connected the Israelites
   with them, they might have thought that they were to be exempted from
   the common punishments because God would be propitious to them; for
   hypocrites ever harden themselves the more, whenever God spares them:
   "See, the Ammonites and the Moabites are punished; the Idumeans, the
   Syrians, and other nations, are visited with judgment: God then is
   angry with all these; but we are his children, for he is indulgent to
   us." But the Prophet puts here the Israelites in the same bundle with
   the Moabites, the Idumeans, and other heathen nations; as though he
   said, "God will not spare your neighbors; but think not that ye shall
   be exempt from his vengeance, when they shall be led to punishment; I
   now declare to you that God will be the judge of you all together."

   We now apprehend the design of the Prophet. He wished here to set
   before the eyes of the Israelites the punishment of others to awaken
   them, and also to induce them to examine themselves for we often see,
   that those who are intractable and refractory in their disposition,
   when directly addressed are not very attentive; but when they hear of
   the sins of others, and especially when they hear something of
   punishment, they will attend. The Prophet therefore designed by degrees
   to lead the Israelites to a teachable state of mind, for he knew them
   to be torpid in their indulgences, and also blinded by presumption, so
   that they could not be easily brought under the yoke: hence he sets
   before them the punishment which was soon to fall on neighboring
   nations.

   We must yet observe that there was another reason I do not throw aside
   what I have already mentioned; but the Prophet no doubt had this also
   in view, -- that God would punish the Syrians, because they cruelly
   raged against the Israelites especially against Gilead and its
   inhabitants. As God, then, would inflict so grievous a punishment on
   the Syrians, because they so cruelly treated the inhabitants of Gilead,
   what was to be expected by the Israelites themselves who had been
   insolent towards God, who had violated his worship who had robbed him
   of his honor, who had in their turn destroyed one another! For, as we
   shall hereafter see, there was among them no equity, no humanity; they
   had forgotten all reason. Since, then, the Israelites were such, how
   could they hope that so many and so detestable crimes should go
   unpunished, when they saw that the Syrians, though uncircumcised, were
   not to be spared, because they so cruelly treated professed enemies, on
   whom they lawfully made war?

   I now come to the words of the Prophet: Thus saith Jehovah, For three
   transgressions of Damascus, and for four, will not be propitious to it;
   literally, I will not convert it [18] : but I take this actively that
   God would not turn himself to mercy, or that he would not be propitious
   to Damascus. We know that Damascus was the capital of Syria; And the
   Prophet here, by mentioning a part for the whole, threatens the whole
   people, and summons all the Syrians to God's tribunal, because they had
   inhumanely treated, as we shall see, the city of Gilead. But he says,
   God will not be propitious for three and four transgressions of
   Damascus. Some take this meaning, "For three transgressions I have been
   propitious, for four I will not be." But there is no need of adding
   anything to the Prophet's words; for the most suitable sense here is
   that for the many sins of Damascus God would not be propitious to it:
   and the Prophet, I have no doubt, intended by the two numbers to set
   forth the irreclaimable perverseness of the Syrians. Seven in Scripture
   is an indefinite number, and is taken, as it is well known, to express
   what is countless. By saying then, three and four transgressions, it is
   the same as if he had said seven: but the Prophet more strikingly
   intimates the progress the Syrians made in their transgressions, until
   they became so perverse that there was no hope of repentance. This then
   is the reason, that God declares that he would no more forgive the
   Syrians, inasmuch as without measure or limit they burst forth into
   transgressions and ceased not, though a time for change was given them.
   This is the true meaning. And the Prophet repeats the same form of
   speech in speaking of Gaza, of Amman, of Edom, and of other nations.

   Let us learn from this place, that God, whom the world regards as too
   cruel, when he takes vengeance on sins, shows really and by sure proof
   the truth of what he declares so often of himself in Scripture, and
   that is, that he bears long and does not quickly take vengeance: though
   men are worthy to perish yet the Lord suspends his judgments. We have a
   remarkable proof of this in these prophecies; for the Prophet speaks
   not only of one people but of many. Hence God endured many
   transgressions not only in the Syrians, but also in other nations:
   there was not then a country in which a testimony to God's forbearance
   did not exist. It hence appears, that the world unjustly complains of
   too much rigor, when God takes vengeance, for he ever waits till
   iniquity, as it was stated yesterday, reaches its highest point.

   There is besides presented to us here a dreadful spectacle of sins
   among so many nations. At the same time, when we compare that age with
   ours, it is certain that greater integrity existed then: all kinds of
   evils so overflow at this day, that compared with the present, the time
   of Amos was the golden age; and yet we hear him declaring here, that
   the people of Judah and of Israel, and all the other nations, were
   monstrously wicked, so that God could not bring them to repentance. For
   he testifies not here in vain, that he would punish wickedness wholly
   obstinate since they had not turned to him, who had advanced to the
   number seven; that is, who had sinned, as it has been before stated,
   without measure or limits: and this ought also to be noticed in the
   Prophet's words; but I cannot now proceed farther.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [18] Eam non restituam -- I will not restore it.' -- Bishop Lowth. Of
   all commentators, Dathius gives the best explanation of the first part
   of this verse. His remarks are these: -- "There is here mentioned a
   fourth sin, for which God would no longer defer punishment. The three
   sins, which had preceded the fourth, signify all those sins which they
   had besides committed, a definite number being put for a number
   indefinite." But as to the phrase, l' 'syvnv, non avertam illud -- I
   will not turn it away,' so as to forgive it, that is, the fourth sin,
   he seems not to have been so felicitous; for the reference is evidently
   to Damascus. It will admit of either these renderings, -- "I will not
   restore it," that is, to favor; or "I will not turn away from it," so
   as to let it go unpunished. The whole verse I would render thus: --
   Thus saith Jehova, --
   For three transgressions of Damascus,
   Yea, for the fourth, I will not turn away from it;
   For it threshed Gelead with iron wains. Literally, it is, "they
   threshed;" for it is usual with the prophets, when speaking of a city
   or people, to pass from the singular to the plural number. -- Ed.
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   Prayer.

   Grant, Almighty God, that as thou seest us to be of a disposition so
   hard and rebellious, that we are not, without great difficulty, drawn
   to thee, -- O grant, that we may at least be subdued by the
   threatenings thou daily denouncest on us, and be so subdued, that being
   also drawn by thy word, we may give up ourselves to thee, and not only
   suffer ourselves to be constrained by punishments and collections, but
   also obey thee with a willing mind, and most readily offer ourselves to
   thee as a sacrifice of obedience, so that being ruled by the Spirit of
   thy Son, we may at length attain that blessed rest, which has been
   prepared for us by the same thy Son our Lord. Amen.
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   Lecture Fiftieth

   We explained in yesterday's Lecture, that what the Prophet means by the
   three and four transgressions of Damascus, is perverse and incurable
   wickedness; for God here declares that he had borne long enough with
   the sins of Damascus, and that now he is in a manner forced to proceed
   to extreme rigor, seeing that there was no hope of amendment. But what
   follows may seem strange; for immediately the Prophet subjoins, Because
   they have threshed Gilead with iron wains, or serrated machines. He
   records here only one wickedness: where, then, were the seven of which
   he spoke? The answer may be easily given. By naming the three and four
   sins of Damascus, he means not different kinds of sins, but rather the
   perverseness which we have mentioned; for they had been extremely
   rebellious against God, and God had suspended his vengeance, till it
   became evident that they were unhealable. It was, therefore, not
   necessary to mention here seven different sins; for it was enough that
   Damascus, which means the kingdom of Syria, was held bound by such a
   degree of obstinacy, that no remedy could be applied to its
   transgressions; for it had for a long time tried the patience of God.

   Now the Prophet subjoins, I will send fire unto the house of Hazael,
   which will devour the palaces of Ben-hadad. The Prophet speaks still of
   the kingdom of Syria; for we know that both Ben-hadad and Hazael were
   kings of Syria. But Jerome is much mistaken, who thinks that Ben-hadad
   was here put in the second place, as if he had been the successor of
   Hazael, [19] while sacred history relates that Hazael came to Elisha
   when Ben-hadad was ill in his bed, (2 Kings 8:9;) and he was sent to
   request an answer. Now the Prophet declared that Hazael would be the
   king of Syria, and declared this not without tears; for he pitied his
   own people, of which this Syrian would be the destroyer. After he
   returned home, he strangled Ben-hadad, and took to himself the royal
   dignity. But it is common enough in Scripture to speak of a thing
   present, and then, as in this place, to add what has past, I will send
   fire into the house of Hazael, and this fire will devour the palaces of
   Ben-hadad; as though he said, "I will destroy the kingdom of Syria, I
   will consume it as with burning." But he first names the house of
   Hazael, and then the palaces of Ben-hadad; as though he said, "No
   ancientness shall preserve that kingdom from being destroyed." For,
   metaphorically, under the word fire, he designates every kind of
   consumption; and we know how great is the violence of fire. It is then
   as though he said, that no wealth, no strength, no fortifications,
   would stand in the way to prevent the kingdom of Syria from being
   destroyed.

   He then adds, I will break in pieces the bar of Damascus The Prophet
   confirms what he had already said; for Damascus, being strongly
   fortified, might have seemed unassailable. By bar, the Prophet,
   mentioning a part for the whole, meant strongholds and everything which
   could keep out enemies. Nothing, then, shall prevent enemies from
   taking possession of the city of Damascus. How so? Because the Lord
   will break in pieces its bars.

   It is then added, I will cut off, or destroy, the inhabitant from
   Bikoth Aven, or from the plain of Aven. It is uncertain whether this
   was the proper name of a place or not, though this is probable; and yet
   it means a plain, derived from a verb, which signifies to cut into two,
   or divide, because a plain or a valley divides or separates mountains;
   hence a valley or plain is called in Hebrew a division. Now, we know
   that there were most delightful plains in the kingdom of Syria, and
   even near Damascus. Aven also may have been the name of a place, though
   it means in Hebrew trouble or laborer. But whatever it may have been,
   the Prophet no doubt declares here, that all the plains nigh Damascus,
   and in the kingdom of Syria, would be deprived of their inhabitants. I
   will then destroy the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and the holder
   of the scepter from the house of Eden, or from the house of pleasure.
   This also may have been the name of a place, and from its situation a
   region, which, by its pleasantness greatly delighted its inhabitants.
   But the Prophet, I have no doubt, alludes, in these two words, to
   trouble and pleasure Removed, he says, shall be the people of Syria
   into Kir. The purport of this is, that the kingdom of Syria would be
   wasted, so that the people would be taken into Assyria; for the Prophet
   declares that the Assyrians would be the conquerors, and remove the
   spoils into their own kingdom, and lead away the people as captives;
   for the word city, as a part for the whole, is put here for the whole
   land. It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [19] There were two Ben-hadads: the one whom Hazael strangled, 2 Kings
   8:15; and his son who succeeded him, 2 Kings 13:3. But ben-hadad seems
   to have been the name of many of the kings of Syria, as Pharaoh was the
   common name of the kings of Egypt. Hence the palaces of Ben-ha-dad were
   probably those built by several kings of that name. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 1:6-8

   6. Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four,
   I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away
   captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:

   6. Sic dicit Jehova, Super tribus sceleribus Gazae et super quatuor,
   non ero propitius ei, quia transtulerunt captivitatem perfectam, ut
   concluderent in Edom:

   7. But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the
   palaces thereof:

   7. Et mittam ignem in murum Gazae, qui devorabit palatia ejus:

   8. And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth
   the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and
   the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord God.

   8. Et excidam habitatorem de Azoto et tenentem sceptrum de Ascalon; et
   convertam (vel, reducam) manum meam super Ekron, et peribunt reliquiae
   Philistinorum, dicit Dominus Jehova.


   Amos directs here his discourse against Gaza, which the Philistine
   occupied. It was situated in the tribe of Judah, towards the sea; but
   as the Anakims were its inhabitants, the Philistine kept possession of
   it. Then the Jews had these enemies as aktorekous, (guardians of the
   shore), who had a greater opportunity of doing harm from being so near:
   and we may learn from the Prophet's words, that the Philistines, who
   dwelt at Gaza, when they saw the Israelites oppressed by their enemies,
   joined their forces to foreign allies, and that the Jews did the same.
   God then now denounces punishment on them.

   As to the word, Gaza, some think that it was given to the city, because
   Cambyses, when warring with the Egyptians, had deposited there his
   money and valuable furniture; and because the Persian call a treasure,
   gaza; but this is frivolous. We indeed know that the Greek translators
   ever put g (gamma) for an , (oin); as of Omorrha they make Gomorrha, so
   of Oza they make Gaza. Besides, the city had this name before the time
   of Cambyses. It was then more probably thus called from its strength:
   and that the Greeks rendered it Gaza was according to their usual
   practice, as I have said as to other words. But there were two Gazas;
   when the first was demolished, the inhabitants built another near the
   sea. Hence Luke, in the 8^th chapter of the Acts says, that Gaza was a
   desert; and he thus makes a difference between Gaza on the sea-side and
   the old one, which had been previously demolished. But Amos speaks of
   the first Gaza; for he threatens to it that destruction, through which
   it happened that the city was removed to the shores of the
   Mediterranean.

   I come now to the Prophet's words: "God, he says, will not be
   propitious to Gaza for three and four transgressions, as the Philistine
   had so provoked God, that they were now wholly unworthy of pardon and
   mercy. I reminded you in yesterday's Lecture, that there is presented
   to us here a sad spectacle, but yet useful; for we here see so many
   people in such a corrupted state, that their wickedness was become to
   God intolerable: but at this day the state of things in the world is
   more corrupt, for iniquity overflows like a deluge. Whatever then men
   may think of their evils, the Lord from heaven sees how great and how
   irreclaimable is their obstinacy. It is nothing that some throw blame
   on others, or look for some alleviation, since all are ungodly and
   wicked: for we see that God here declares that he would, at the same
   time, take vengeance on many nations. The Idumeans might then have
   objected, and said, that their neighbors were nothing better; others
   might have made the same excuse; every one might have had his defense
   ready, if such a pretext availed, that all were alike implicated in the
   same guilt and wickedness. But we see that God appears here as a judge
   against all nations. Let us not then be deceived by vain delusions,
   when we see that others are like us; let every one know that he must
   bear his own burden before God: I will not then be propitious for three
   and for four transgressions

   Because they carried away, he says, a complete captivity The Prophet
   records here a special crime, -- that the Gazites took away Jews and
   Israelites, and removed them as captives into Idumea, and confined them
   there. I have already said that it was not the Prophet's design to
   enumerate all their sins, but that he was content to mention one crime,
   that the Israelites might understand that they were involved in a
   heavier guilt, because they had grievously offended both God and men.
   If then so severe a vengeance was to be taken on Gaza, they ought to
   have known, that a heavier vengeance awaited them, because they were
   guilty of more and greater sins. But he says that they had effected a
   complete captivity, inasmuch as they had spared neither women, nor
   children, nor old men; for captivity is called perfect or complete,
   when no distinction is made, but when all are taken away
   indiscriminately, without any selection. They then carried away a
   complete captivity, so that no pity either for sex or for age touched
   them: that they might shut them up, he says, in Edom.

   Now follows a denunciation of punishment, -- that God would send a fire
   on the wall of Gaza, to devour its palaces. And it hence appears that
   Gaza was a splendid town, and sumptuously built; and for this reason
   the Prophet speaks of its palaces. He shows, at the same time, that
   neither strength nor wealth would prevent God from executing the
   punishment which the Gazites deserved. He names also other cities of
   Palestine, even Ascalon and Azdod, or Azotus, and Ecron. These cities
   the Philistine then possessed. The Prophet then intimates, that
   wheresoever they might flee, there would be no safe place for them; for
   the Lord would expose as a prey to enemies, not only Gaza, but also all
   the other cities. We may conclude that Ascalon was the first city; for
   there was the royal residence, though Gaza was the capital of the whole
   nation; it might yet be that the pleasantness of its situation, and
   other attractions, might have induced the king to reside there, though
   it was not the metropolis; Him then who holds the scepter I will cut
   off from Ascalon. He at last concludes, that all the remnants of
   Palestine would be destroyed. Now, whenever God denounces destruction
   on the Jews, he ever gives some hope, and says that the remnant would
   be saved: but here the Prophet declares that whatever remained of that
   nation would be destroyed; for God purposed to destroy them altogether,
   and also their very name.

   He therefore adds, that Jehovah Lord had spoken, saith the Lord Jehovah
   This was added for confirmation; for the Philistine were then in
   possession of many and strong defenses, so that they boldly laughed to
   scorn the threatening of the Prophet. He therefore brings forward here
   the name of God. Now follows the prediction respecting Tyrus: --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 1:9-10

   9. Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for
   four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they
   delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the
   brotherly covenant:

   9. Sic dicit Jehova, Super tribus sceleribus Tyri et super quatuor non
   ero ei propitius, quia concluserunt captivitatem perfectam in Edom, et
   non recordati sunt foederis fratrum:

   10. But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the
   palaces thereof.

   10. Et mittam ignem in murum Tyri, qui comedet palatia ejus.


   He uses nearly the same words respecting Tyrus which he did respecting
   Gaza, and charges it with the same sin, which was that of removing the
   Jews from their country, as refugees and exiles, into Idumea, and of
   selling them as captives to the Idumeans. As of all the rest, he
   declares the same of Tyrus, that they had not lightly sinned, and that
   therefore no moderate chastisement was sufficient; for they had for a
   long time abused God's forbearance, and had become stubborn in their
   wickedness.

   But what he says, that they had not been mindful of the covenant of
   brethren, some refer to Hiram and David; for we know that they had a
   brotherly intercourse, and called each other by the name of brothers;
   so great was the kindness between them. Some then think that the
   Tyrians are here condemned for having forgotten this covenant; for
   there ought to have remained among them some regard for the friendship
   which had existed between the two kings. But I know not whether this is
   too strained a view: I rather incline to another, and that is, that the
   Syrians delivered up the Jews and the Israelites to the Idumeans, when
   yet they knew them to be brethren: and they who implicate themselves in
   a matter of this kind are by no means excusable. When I see one
   conspiring for the ruin of his own brother, I see a detestable and a
   monstrous thing; if I abhor not a participation in the same crime, I am
   involved in the same guilt. When therefore the Syrians saw the Idumeans
   raging cruelly against their brethren, for they were descended from the
   same family, they ought doubtless to have shown to the Idumeans how
   alienated they were from all humanity and how perfidious they were
   against their own brethren and relatives. Now the Prophet says, that
   they had been unmindful of the covenant of brethren, because they made
   themselves assistants in so great and execrable a crime as that of
   carrying away Jews into Idumea, and of shutting them up there, when
   they knew that the Idumeans sought nothing else but the entire ruin of
   their own brethren. This seems to be the real meaning of the Prophet.

   But he adds, that God would send a fire on the wall of Tyrus to consume
   its palaces. When this happened, cannot with certainty be known: for
   though Tyrus was demolished by Alexander, as Gaza also was, these
   cities, I doubt not, suffered this calamity long before the coming of
   Alexander of Macedon; and it is probable, as I have already reminded
   you, that the Assyrians laid waste these countries, and also took
   possession of Tyrus, though they did not demolish that city; for in
   Alexander's time there was no king there, it had been changed into a
   republic; the people were free, and had the chief authority. There must
   then have been there no small changes, for the state of the city and
   its government were wholly different from what they had been. We may
   then conclude that Tyrus was laid waste by the Assyrians, but
   afterwards recovered strength, and was a free city in the time of
   Alexander the Great. Let us now proceed: for I dwell not on every word,
   as we see that the same expressions are repeated by the Prophet.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 1:11-12

   11. Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Edom, and for
   four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did
   pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his
   anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:

   11. Sic dicit Jehova, Super tribus sceleribus Edom et super quatuor non
   ero ei propitius, quia persequutus est gladio fratrem suum, et violavit
   misericordias suas, et diripuit in seculum ira ejus, et indignationem
   servavit perpetuo:

   12. But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces
   of Bozrah.

   12. Et mittam ignem in Theman, qui comedet palatia Bozrah.


   The Prophet now passes to the Idumeans themselves. He had denounced
   ruin on the uncircumcised nations who delivered up the Jews into their
   hands: but they deserved a much heavier punishment, because their crime
   was much more atrocious. The Idumeans derived their origin, as it is
   well known, from their common father Isaac and bore the same symbol of
   God's covenant, for they were circumcised. Since nearness of blood, and
   that sacred union, could not make them gentle to the Jews, we hence
   perceive how brutal was their inhumanity. They were then unworthy of
   being forgiven by God, when he became so severe a judge against heathen
   nations. But the Prophet says now, that the Idumeans had sinned more
   than their neighbors, and that their obstinacy was unhealable and that
   hence they could no longer be borne, for they had too long abused God's
   forbearance, who had withheld his vengeance until this time.

   He charges them with this crime, that they pursued their brother with
   the sword. There is here an anomaly of the number, for he speaks of the
   whole people. Edom then pursued his brother, that is, the Jews. But the
   Prophet has intentionally put the singular number to enhance their
   crime: for he here placed here, as it were, two men, Edom and Jacob,
   who were really brothers, and even twins. Was it not then a most
   execrable ferocity in Edom to pursue his own brother Jacob? He then
   sets before us here two nations as two men, that he might more fully
   exhibit the barbarity of the Idumeans in forgetting their kindred, and
   in venting their rage against their own blood. They have then pursued
   their brother with the sword; that is, they have been avowed enemies,
   for they had joined themselves to heathen nations. When the Assyrians
   came against the Israelites, the Idumeans put on arms: and this,
   perhaps, happened before that war; for when the Syrians and Israelites
   conspired against the Jews, it is probable that the Idumeans joined in
   the same alliance. However this may have been, the Prophet reproaches
   them with cruelty for arming themselves against their own kindred,
   without any regard for their own blood.

   He afterwards adds, They have destroyed their own compassions; some
   render the words, "their own bowels;" and others in a strained and
   improper manner transfer the relative to the sons of Jacob, as though
   the Prophet had said, that Edom had destroyed the compassions, which
   were due, on account of their near relationship, from the posterity of
   Jacob. But the sense of the Prophet is clearly this, -- that they
   destroyed their own compassions, which means, that they put off all
   sense of religion, and cast aside the first affections of nature. He
   then calls those the compassions of Edom, even such as he ought to have
   been influenced by: but as he had thrown aside all regard for humanity,
   there was not in him that compassion which he ought to have had.

   He then adds, His anger has perpetually raged He now compares the
   cruelty of the Idumeans to that of wild beasts; for they raged like
   fierce wild animals, and spared not their own blood. They then raged
   perpetually, even endlessly, and retained their indignation
   perpetually. The Prophet seems here to allude to Edom or Esau, the
   father of the nation; for he cherished long, we know, his wrath against
   his brother; as he dared not to kill his brother during his father's
   life. Hence he said, I will wait till my father's death, then I will
   avenge myself, (Genesis 27:41) Since Esau then nourished this cruel
   hatred against his brother Jacob, the prophet here charges his
   posterity with the same crime; as though he had said, that they were
   too much like their father, or too much retained his perverse
   disposition, as they cherished and ever retained revenge in their
   hearts, and were wholly implacable. There may have been other causes of
   hatred between the Idumeans and the posterity of Jacob: but they ought,
   notwithstanding, whatever displeasure there may have been, to have
   forgiven their brethren. It was a monstrous thing past endurance, when
   a regard for their own blood did not reconcile those who were, by
   sacred bonds, connected together. We now perceive the object of the
   Prophet: and we here learn, that the Idumeans were more severely
   condemned than those mentioned before, and for this reason, -- because
   they raged so cruelly against their own kindred.

   He says in the last place, I will send fire on Teman, to consume the
   palaces of Bozrah By fire he ever means any kind of destruction. But he
   compares God's vengeance to a burning fire. We know that when fire has
   once taken hold, not only on a house, but on a whole city, there is no
   remedy. So now the Prophet says, that God's vengeance would be
   dreadful, that it would consume whatever hatred there was among them: I
   will then send fire on Teman; which, as it is well known, was the first
   city of Idumea. Let us now proceed --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 1:13-15

   13. Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of the children of
   Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof;
   because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they
   might enlarge their border:

   13. Sic dicit Jehova, Super tribus sceleribus filiorum Ammon, et super
   quatuor non ero ei propitius; quia secuerunt gravidas (praegnantes)
   Gilead, ut propagarent suum terminum:

   14. But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour
   the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest
   in the day of the whirlwind:

   14. Et accendam ignem in muro Rabbah, qui vorabit palatia ejus in
   clamore (vel, jubilo) in die proelii, in turbine die tempestatis:

   15. And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes
   together, saith the LORD.

   15. Et transibit rex eorum in captivitatem, ipse et principes ejus
   simul, dicit Jehova.


   He now prophesies against the Ammonites, who also derived their origin
   from the same common stock; for they were the posterity of Lot, as it
   is well known; and Lot was counted as the son of Abraham, as Abraham,
   having taken him with him from his country brought him up, no doubt, as
   his own son. Then Abraham was the common father of the Jews and of the
   Ammonites. Now, when the children of Ammon, without any regard to
   relationship, joined their forces to those of enemies, and conspired
   together, their cruelty admitted of no excuse. And there is no doubt
   but that they were guilty of many other crimes; but God, by his
   Prophet, enumerates not all the sins for which he had purposed to
   punish them, and only points out distinctly, as in passing, but one
   sin, and generally declares, that such people were utterly past hope,
   for they had hardened themselves in their wickedness.

   He therefore says of the children of Ammon, that they rent the pregnant
   women Some take hrvt, erut, for hrym, erim, mountains; but I see not
   what can induce them, unless they think it strange that pregnant women
   were rent, that the Ammonites might extend further their borders; and
   for this ends it would be more suitable to regard the word as meaning
   mountains; as though he said, "They have cut through mountains, even
   the earth itself; there has been no obstacle through which the
   Ammonites have not made their way: an insatiable cupidity has so
   inflamed them, that they have rent the very mountains, and destroyed
   the whole order of nature." Others take mountains metaphorically for
   fortified cities; for when one seeks to take possession of a kingdoms
   cities stand in his way like mountains. But this exposition is too
   strained.

   Now, since hrvt, erut, mean women with child, the word, I doubt not, is
   to be taken in its genuine and usual sense, as we see it to be done in
   Hosea. [Hoseah 13:16.] But why does the Prophet say, that the Ammonites
   had rent pregnant women? It is to show, that their cupidity was so
   frantic, that they abstained not from any kind of cruelty. It is
   possible that one be so avaricious as to seek to devour up the whole
   earth, and yet be inclined to clemency. Alexander, the Macedonian,
   though a bloody man, did yet show some measure of kindness: but there
   have been others much more cruel; as the Persian, of whom Isaiah
   speaks, who desired not money, but shed blood, (Isaiah 13:17) So the
   Prophet says here of the Ammonites, that they not only, by unlawful
   means, extended their borders, used violence and became robbers who
   spoiled others of their property, but also that they did not spare even
   women with child. Now this is the worst thing in the storming of towns.
   When a town has wearied out an enemy, both pregnant women, and
   children, and infants may, through fury, be destroyed: but this is a
   rare thing, and never allowed, except under peculiar circumstances. He
   then reproaches the Ammonites, not only for their cupidity, but also
   for having committed every kind of cruelty to satisfy their greediness:
   they have then torn asunder women with child, that they might extend
   their borders.

   I will therefore kindle a fire in the wall of rvh, Rabe, which shall
   devour its palaces, (the Prophet adds nothing new, I shall therefore go
   on,) and this by tumult, or by clamour, in the day of war. The Prophet
   means that enemies would come and suddenly lay waste the kingdom of
   Ammon; and that this would be the case, as a sudden fire lays hold on
   wood, in the day of war; that is as soon as the enemy attacked them, it
   would immediately put them to fight, and execute the vengeance they
   deserved, by a whirlwind in the day of tempest By these figurative
   terms the Prophet intimates that the calamity destructive to the
   Ammonites, would be sudden.

   He finally adds, And their king shall go into captivity, he and his
   princes together As mlkm, melcam, was an idol of the people, some
   regard it here as a proper name; but he says, mlkm hv' vsryv, melcam
   eva ushariu, their king, he and his princes;' hence the Prophet, no
   doubt, names the king of Ammon, for he joins with him his princes. He
   says then that the ruin of the kingdom would be such, that the king
   himself would be led captive by the Assyrians. This prediction was no
   doubt fulfilled, though there is no history of it extant.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Prayer.

   Grant, Almighty God, that since thou hast designed, by so many
   examples, to teach the world the fear of thy name, we may improve under
   thy mighty hand, and not abuse thy forbearance, nor gather for
   ourselves a treasure of dreadful vengeance by our obstinacy and
   irreclaimable wickedness, but seasonably repent while thou invites us,
   and while it is the accepted time, and while thou offerest to us
   reconciliation, that being brought to nothing in ourselves, we may
   gather courage through grace, which is offered to us through Christ our
   Lord. Amen.

     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Fifty-first
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 2:1-3

   1. Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four,
   I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the
   bones of the king of Edom into lime:

   1. Sic dicit Jehova, Super tribus sceleribus Moab et super quatuor non
   convertam eum (vel, non convertam me, sicut prius diximus,) quia ipse
   combussitossa regis Edom in calcem:

   2. But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of
   Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the
   sound of the trumpet:

   2. Et mittam ignem in Moab qui comedet palatia, (qryvt, alii vertunt
   urbium appellative: sed magis arbitror esse proprium nomen loci) et
   morietur in tumultu Moab, in strepitu, in clangore tubae.

   3. And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay
   all the princes thereof with him, saith the Lord.

   3. Et excidam judicem e medio ejus, et omnes principes ejus occidam cum
   eo, dicit Jehova.


   Now Amos prophesies here against the Moabites, and proclaims respecting
   them what we have noticed respecting the other nations, -- that the
   Moabites were wholly perverse, that no repentance would be hoped for,
   as they had added crimes to crimes, and reached the highest pitch of
   wickedness; for, as we have said, the number, seven, imports this. The
   Prophet then charges the Moabites here with perverseness: and hence we
   learn that God's vengeance did not come hastily upon them, for their
   wickedness was intolerable since they thus followed their crimes. But
   he mentions one thing in particular, -- that they had burnt the bones
   of the king of Edom.

   Some take bones here for courage, as though the Prophet had said, that
   the whole strength of Edom had been reduced into ashes: but this is a
   strained exposition; and its authors themselves confess that they are
   forced to it by necessity, when yet there is none. The comment given by
   the Rabbis does not please them, -- that the body of a certain king had
   been burnt, and then that the Moabites had strangely applied the ashes
   for making a cement instead of lime. Thus the Rabbis trifle in their
   usual way; for when an obscure place occurs, they immediately invent
   some fable; though there be no history, yet they exercise their wit in
   fabulous glosses; and this I wholly dislike: but what need there is of
   running to allegory, when we may simply take what the Prophet says,
   that the body of the king of Edom had been burnt: for the Prophet, I
   doubt not, charges the Moabites with barbarous cruelty. To dig up the
   bodies of enemies, and to burn their bones, -- this is an inhuman deed,
   and wholly barbarous. But it was more detestable in the Moabites, who
   had some connection with the people of Edom; for they descended from
   the same family; and the memory of that relationship ought to have
   continued, since Abraham brought up Lot, the father of the Moabites;
   and thus the Moabites were under an obligation to the Idumeans. If then
   any humanity existed in them, they ought to have restrained their
   passions, so as not to treat so cruelly their brethren. Now, when they
   exceeded all moderation in war, and raged against dead bodies, and
   burnt the bones of the dead, it was, as I have said, an extremely
   barbarous conduct. The meaning then is, that the Moabites could no
   longer be borne with; for in this one instance, they gave an example of
   savage cruelty. Had there been a drop of humanity in them, they would
   have treated more kindly their brethren, the Idumeans; but they burnt
   into lime, that is, into ashes, the bones of the king of Edom, and
   thereby proved that they had forgotten all humanity and justice. We now
   understand the Prophet's meaning.

   He therefore adds a threatening, I will send a fire on Moab, which
   shall devour the palaces of qryvt, Koriut We have stated that what the
   Prophet means by these modes of speaking is that God would consume the
   Moabites by a violent punishment as by a burning fire, that fortified
   places could not hinder him from executing his vengeance, and that
   though they were proud of their palaces, yet these would avail them
   nothing.

   And he subjoins, Moab shall die with tumult, with noise, with the sound
   of the trumpet; that is, I will send strong enemies, who will come and
   make no peace with the Moabites, but will take possession of every
   place, and of fortified cities, by force and by the sword. For what the
   Prophet means by tumult, by shouting, by the sound of the trumpet, is,
   that the Moabites would not come under the power of their enemies by
   certain agreements and compacts, as when a voluntary surrender is made,
   which usually mitigates the hostile rage of enemies; no, he says, it
   shall not be so; for their enemies shall have not only their wealth but
   their lives also.

   He finally adds, And I will cut off the judge from the midst of her,
   and will slay her princes, saith Jehovah. God here declares, that the
   kingdom of the Moabites and the people shall be no more; for we know
   that men cannot exist as a body without some civil government. Wherever
   then there is an assemblage of men, there must be princes to rule and
   govern them. Hence, when God declares that there would be no more a
   judge among the Moabites, it is the same thing as if he had said, that
   their name would be blotted out; for had the people of Moab continued,
   some princes must have necessarily, as we have said, remained among
   them. When princes then are destroyed, the people must also perish, for
   there is no security for them. The Prophet then denounces not here a
   temporary punishment on the Moabites, but utter ruin, from which they
   were never to rise. This is the meaning. Let us now proceed --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 2:4-5

   4. Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for
   four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have
   despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and
   their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have
   walked:

   4. Sic dicit Jehova, Super tribus sceleribus Jehudah, et super quatuor
   non convertam cum; quia spreverunt (vel, abjecerunt) legem Jehovae, et
   statuta ejus non custodierunt; et errare eos fecerunt mendacia sua,
   post quae ambulaverunt patres ipsorum:

   5. But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces
   of Jerusalem.

   5. Et mittam ignem in Jehudah, qui devorabit palatia Jerusalem.


   Amos turns now his discourse to the tribe of Judah, and to that
   kingdom, which still continued in the family of David. He has hitherto
   spoken of heathen and uncircumcised nations: what he said of them was a
   prelude of the destruction which was nigh the chosen people; for when
   God spared not others who had through ignorance sinned, what was to
   become of the people of Israel, who had been taught in the law? For a
   servant, knowing his master's will, and doing it not, is worthy of many
   stripes, (Luke 12:47) God could not, then, forgive the children of
   Abraham, whom he had adopted as his peculiar people, when he inflicted
   each grievous punishments on heathen nations, whose ignorance, as it is
   commonly thought by men, was excusable. It is indeed true, that all who
   sin without law will justly perish, as Paul says in Romans 2, but when
   a comparison is made between the children of Israel and the wretched
   heathens, who were immersed in errors, the latter were doubtless worthy
   of being pardoned, when compared with that people who had betrayed
   their perverseness, and, as it were, designedly resolved to bring on
   themselves the vengeance of God.

   The Prophet then having hitherto spoken of the Gentiles, turns his
   discourse now to the chosen people, the children of Abraham. But he
   speaks of the tribe of Judah, from which he sprang, as I said at the
   beginning; and he did this, lest any one should charge him with
   favoring his own countrymen: he had, indeed, migrated into the kingdom
   of Israel; but he was there a stranger. We shall now see how severely
   he reproved them. Had he, then, been silent as to the tribe of Judah,
   he might have been subject to calumny; for many might have said, that
   there was a collusion between him and his own countrymen and that he
   concealed their vices, and that he fiercely inveighed against their
   neighbors, through a wicked emulation, in order to transfer the kingdom
   again into the family of David. Hence, that no such suspicion might
   tarnish his doctrine, the Prophet here summons to judgment the tribe of
   Judah, and speaks in no milder language of the Jews than of other
   nations: for he says, that they, through their stubbornness, had so
   provoked God's wrath, that there was no hope of pardon; for such was
   the mass of their vices, that God would now justly execute extreme
   vengeance, as a moderate chastisement would not be sufficient. We now
   then understand the Prophet's design.

   I come now to the words: For they have despised, he says, the law of
   Jehovah. Here he charges the Jews with apostasy; for they had cast
   aside the worship of God, and the pure doctrine of religion. This was a
   crime the most grievous. We hence see, that the Prophet condemns here
   freely and honestly as it became him, the vices of his own people, so
   that there was no room for calumny, when he afterwards became a severe
   censor and reprover of the Israelites; for he does not lightly touch on
   something wrong in the tribe of Judah, but says that they were
   apostates and perfidious, having cast aside the law of God. But it may
   be asked, why the Prophet charges the Jews with a crime so atrocious,
   since religion, as we have seen in the Prophecies of Hosea, still
   existed among them? But to this there is a ready answer: the worship of
   God was become corrupt among them, though they had not so openly
   departed from it as the Israelites. There remained, indeed,
   circumcision among the Israelites; but their sacrifices were
   pollutions, their temples were brothels: they thought that they
   worshipped God; but as a temple had been built at Bethel contrary to
   God's command, the whole worship was a profanation. The Jews were
   somewhat purer; but they, we know, had also degenerated from the
   genuine worship of God. Hence the Prophet does not unjustly say here,
   that they had despised the law of God.

   But we must notice the explanation which immediately follows, -- that
   they kept not his statutes. The way then by which Amos proves that the
   Jews were covenant-breakers, and that having repudiated God's law, they
   had fallen into wicked superstitions, is by saying, that they kept not
   the precepts of God. It may, however, appear that he treats them here
   with too much severity; for one might not altogether keep God's
   commands either through ignorance or carelessness, or some other fault,
   and yet be not a covenant-breaker or an apostate. I answer, -- That in
   these words of the Prophet, not mere negligence is blamed in the Jews;
   but they are condemned for designedly, that is, knowingly and willfully
   departing from the commandments of God, and devising for themselves
   various modes of worship. It is not then to keep the precepts of God,
   when men continue not under his law, but audaciously contrive for
   themselves new forms of worship; they regard not what God commands, but
   lay hold on anything pleasing that comes to their minds. This crime the
   Prophet now condemns in the Jews: and hence it was that they had
   despised the law of God. For men should never assume so much as to
   change any thing in the worship of God; but due reverence for God ought
   to influence them: were they persuaded of this -- that there is no
   wisdom but what comes from God -- they would surely confine themselves
   within his commands. Whenever then they invent new and fictitious forms
   of worship, they sufficiently show that they regard not what the Lord
   wills, what he enjoins, what he forbids. Thus, then, they despise his
   law, and even cast it away.

   This is a remarkable passage; for we see, first, that a most grievous
   sin is condemned by the Prophet, and that sin is, that the Jews
   confined not themselves to God's law, but took the liberty of
   innovating; this is one thing: and we also learn how much God values
   obedience, which is better, as it is said in another place, than all
   sacrifices, (1 Samuel 15:22) And that we may not think this a light or
   a trifling sin, let us notice the expression -- that they despised the
   law of God. Every one ought to dread this as the most monstrous thing;
   for we cannot despise the law of God without insulting his majesty. And
   yet the Holy Spirit declares here, that we repudiate and reject the law
   of God, except we wholly follow what it commands, and continue within
   the limits prescribed by it. We now perceive what the Prophet means.

   But he also adds, that their own lies deceived or caused them to go
   astray. He here confirms his preceding doctrine; for the Jews had ever
   a defense ready at hand, that they did with good intent what the
   Prophet condemned in them. They, forsooth! sedulously worshipped God,
   though they mixed their own leaven, by which their sacrifices were
   corrupted: it was not their purpose to spend their substance in vain,
   to undergo great expenses in sacrifices, and to undertake much labor,
   had they not thought that it was service acceptable to God! As then the
   pretense of good intention, (as they say,) ever deceives the
   unbelieving, the Prophet condemns this pretense, and shows it to be
   wholly fallacious, and of no avail. "It is nothing," he says, "that
   they pretend before God some good intention; their own lies deceive
   them." And Amos, no doubt, mentions here these lies, in opposition to
   the commands of God. As soon then as men swerve from God's word, they
   involve themselves in many delusions, and cannot but go astray; and
   this is deserving of special notice. We indeed see how much wisdom the
   world claims for itself: for as soon as we invent anything we are
   greatly delighted with it; and the ape, according to the old proverb,
   is ever pleased with its own offspring. But this vice especially
   prevails, when by our devices we corrupt and adulterate the worship of
   God. Hence the Prophet here declares, that whatever is added to God's
   word, and whatever men invent in their own brains is a lie: "All this,"
   he says, "is nothing but imposture." We now see of what avail is good
   intention: by this indeed men harden themselves; but they cannot make
   the Lord to retract what he has once declared by the mouth of his
   Prophet. Let us then take heed to continue within the boundaries of
   God's word, and never to leap over either on this or on that side; for
   when we turn aside ever so little from the pure word of God, we become
   immediately involved in many deceptions.

   It then follows, After which have walked their fathers; literally it
   is, Which their fathers have walked after them: [20] but we have given
   the sense. The Prophet here exaggerates their sin, the insatiable rage
   of the people; for the children now followed their fathers. This vice,
   we know, prevailed in all ages among the Jews; leaving the word of God,
   they ever followed their own dreams, and the delusions of Satan. Since
   God had now often tried to correct this vice by his Prophets, and no
   fruit followed, the Prophet charges them here with hardness, and by
   this circumstance enhances the sin of the Jews: "It is nothing new," he
   says, "for children to imitate their fathers, and to be wholly like
   them: they are then the bad eggs of bad ravens." So also said Stephen,

   Ye are hard and uncircumcised in heart, and resist the Holy Spirit, as
   your fathers also did formerly,' (Acts 7:51.)

   We now understand the intention of the Prophet.

   But we hence learn of what avail is the subterfuge resorted to by the
   Papists, when they boast of antiquity. For they set up against the Law,
   the Prophets, and the Gospel, this shield, -- that theirs is the old
   religion, that they have not been the first founders, but that they
   follow what has been handed down to them from early times, and observed
   for many ages. When the Papists boastingly declare all this, they think
   that they say enough to put God to silence, and wholly to reject his
   Word. But we see how frivolous is this sort of caviling, and how
   worthless before God: for the Prophet does not concede to the Jews the
   example of the fathers as an excuse, but sets forth their sin as being
   greater because they followed their perfidious fathers, who had
   forsaken the Law of the Lord. The same thing is also said by Ezekiel,

   After the precepts of your fathers walk not,'
   (Ezekiel 20:18.)

   We now see what sort of crime is that of which the Prophet speaks. At
   last a threatening follows, "The Lord saith, Fire will I send on Judah,
   which shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.' But all this we have
   already explained. Let us now proceed --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [20] This is one of the peculiarities of the Hebrew language -- the use
   of two pronouns, the one before, and the other after the verb; and the
   preposition, when necessary, is given with the latter, and not the
   former. There is a similar peculiarity in the Welsh, exactly the same
   and of common occurrence. There are several instances of likeness
   between the two languages, and even an identity of idiom, and that in
   those things in which they differ from other languages. In the present
   instance the Welsh is literally, word for word, the Hebrew -- y shai yr
   aeth eich tadau ar eu hol -- which your fathers have gone after them.
   -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 2:6

   6. Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for
   four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold
   the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;

   6. Sic dicit Jehova, Super tribus sceleribus Israel et super quatuor
   non convertam cum (vel, ad eum,) quia emerunt (vel, vendiderunt: quidam
   enim deducunt a krt, et putant m esse literam formalem nominis: alii
   autem deducunt a mkr quod est vendere vel mercari; sed sensus Prophetae
   eodem redit, quia intelligit quasi ad nundinationem expositos fuisse
   justos; ideoque proestabit vertere, pretium ipsorum; quasi diceret,
   commercium non secus ac de merce voenale fuisse habitum; quoniam ergo
   emerunt) justum pro argento, et miserum pro calceamentis.


   The Prophet here assails the Israelites, to whom he had been sent, as
   we have said at the beginning. He now omits every reference to other
   nations; for his business was with the Israelites to whom he was
   especially appointed a teacher. But he wished to set before them, as in
   various mirrors, the judgment of God, which awaited them, that he might
   the more effectually awaken them: and he wished also to exhibit in the
   Jews themselves an example of the extreme vengeance of God, though
   there was greater purity among them, at least a purer religion, and
   more reverence for God prevailed as yet among them. He in this way
   prepared the Israelites, that they might not obstinately and proudly
   reject his doctrine. He now then addresses them, and says that they
   continued unmoved in their many sins. The import of the whole is, that
   if the Moabites, the Idumeans, the Tyrians, the Sidonians, and other
   nations, and that if the Jews as well as these were irreclaimable in
   their obstinacy, so that their diseases were incurable, and their
   wickedness such as God could no longer endure, the Israelites were also
   in the same condition; for they also continued perverse in their
   wickedness, and provoked God, and repented not, though God had waited
   long, and exhorted them to repent.

   It is now meet for us to bear in mind what we have before said, -- that
   if impiety was so rampant in that age, and the contempt of God so
   prevailed, that men could not be restored to a sane mind, and if
   iniquity everywhere overflowed, (for Amos accuses not a few people, but
   many nations,) let us at this day beware, lest such corruptions prevail
   among us; for, certainly, the world is now much worse than it was then:
   nay, since the Prophet says here, that both the Israelites and the Jews
   were wholly irreclaimable in their obstinacy, there is no excuse for us
   at this day for deceiving ourselves with an empty name, because we have
   the symbol of faith, having been baptized; and in case we have other
   marks, which seem to belong to the Church of God, let us not think that
   we are therefore free from guilt, if we allow ourselves that unruliness
   condemned here by the Prophet both in the Israelites and in the Jews;
   for they had become hardened against all instructions, against all
   warnings. Let, then, these examples rouse our attention, lest we, like
   them, harden ourselves so much as to constrain the Lord to execute on
   us extreme vengeance.

   Let us now especially observe what the Prophet lays to the charge of
   Israel. He begins with their cruel deeds; but the whole book is taken
   up with reproofs; there is to the very end a continued accusation as to
   those crimes which then prevailed among the people of Israel. He does
   not then point out only one particular crime, as with respect to the
   other nations; but he scrutinizes all the vices of which the people
   were guilty, as though he would thoroughly anatomize them. But these we
   shall notice in their proper order.

   Now as to the first thing, the Prophet says, that the just among the
   Israelites was sold for silver, yea, for shoes. It may be asked, Why is
   it that he does not begin with those superstitions, in which they
   surpassed the Jews? for if God had resolved to destroy Jerusalem and
   his own temple, because they had fallen away into superstitious and
   spurious modes of worship, how much more ought such a judgment to have
   been executed on the Israelites, as they had perverted the whole law,
   and had become wholly degenerate; and even circumcision was nothing but
   a profanation of God's covenant? Why, then, does not the Prophet touch
   on this point? To this I answer, -- That as superstition had now for
   many years prevailed among them, the Prophet does not make this now his
   subject; but we shall hereafter see, that he has not spared these
   ungodly deprivations which had grown rampant among the Israelites. He
   indeed sharply arraigns all their superstitions; but he does this in
   its suitable place. It was now necessary to begin with common evils;
   and this was far more opportune than if he had at first spoken of
   superstitions; for they might have said, that they did indeed worship
   God. He therefore preferred condemning the Jews for alienating
   themselves from the pure commandments of God; and as to the Israelites,
   he reproves here their gross vices. But after having charged them with
   cruelty, shameless rapacity, and many lusts, after having exposed their
   filthy abominations, he then takes the occasion, as being then more
   suitable of exclaiming against superstitions. This order our Prophet
   designedly observed, as we shall see more fully from the connection of
   his discourse.

   I now return to the words, that they sold the just for silver, and the
   poor for shoes. He means that there was no justice nor equity among the
   Israelites, for they made a sale of the children of God: and it was a
   most shameful thing, that there was no remedy for injuries. For we
   hence, no doubt, learn, that the Prophet levels his reproof against the
   judges who then exercised authority. The just, he says, is sold for
   silver: this could not apply to private individuals, but to judges, to
   whom it belonged to extend a helping hand to the miserable and the
   poor, to avenge wrongs, and to give to every one his right. It is then
   the same as though the Prophet had said, that unbridled licentiousness
   reigned triumphant among the Israelites, so that just men were exposed
   as a prey, and were set, as it were, on sale. He says, first, that they
   were sold for silver, and then he adds for shoes: and this ought to be
   carefully observed; for when once men begin to turn aside from the
   right course, they abandon themselves to evil without any shame. When
   an attempt is first made to draw aside a man that is just and upright
   and free from what is corrupt, he is not immediately overcome; though a
   great price may be offered to him, he will yet stand firm: but when he
   has sold his integrity for ten pieces of gold, he may afterwards be
   easily bought, as the case is usually will women. A woman, while she is
   pure, cannot be easily drawn away from her conjugal fidelity: she may
   yet be corrupted by a great price; and when once corrupted, she will
   afterwards prostitute herself, so that she may be bought for a crust of
   bread. The same is the case with judges. They, then, who at first covet
   silver, that is, who cannot be corrupted except by a rich and fat
   bribe, will afterwards barter their integrity for the meanest reward;
   for there is no shame any more remaining in them. This is what the
   Prophet points out in these words, -- That they sold the just for
   silver; that is, that they sold him for a high price, and then that
   they were corrupted by the meanest gift, that if one offered them a
   pair of shoes, they would be ready without any blush of shame to
   receive such a bribe.

   We now then see the crime of which Amos accused the Israelites. They
   could not raise an objection here, which they might have done, if he
   touched their superstitions. He wished therefore to acquire authority
   by reprobating first their manifest and obvious crimes. He afterwards,
   as it has been stated, speaks in its proper place, of that fictitious
   worship, which they, after having rejected the Law of God, embraced. It
   follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 2:7

   7. That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and
   turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in
   unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:

   7. Anhelantes super pulverem terrae ad caput inopum, viam miserorum
   (vel, pauperum) deflectere facient: vir et pater ejus ingredientur ad
   puellam ut profanent nomen sanctum meam (vel, nomen sanctitatis meae.)


   Here Amos charges them first with insatiable avarice; they panted for
   the heads of the poor on the dust of the earth. This place is in my
   judgment not well understood. s'ph, shaph, means to pant and to
   breathe, and is taken often metaphorically as signifying to desire:
   hence some render the words, "They desire the heads of the poor to be
   in the dust of the earth;" that is, they are anxious to see the
   innocent cast down and prostrate on the ground. But there is no need of
   many words to refute this comment; for ye see that it is strained.
   Others say, that in their cupidity they cast down the miserable into
   the dust; they therefore think that a depraved cupidity is connected
   with violence, and they put the lust for the deed itself.

   But what need there is of having recourse to these extraneous meanings,
   when the words of the Prophet are in themselves plain and clear enough?
   He says that they [18]panted for the heads of the poor on the ground;
   as though he had said, that they were not content with casting down the
   miserable, but that they gaped anxiously, until they wholly destroyed
   them. There is then nothing to be changed or added in the Prophet's
   words, which harmonize well together, and mean, that through cupidity
   they panted for the heads of the poor, after the poor had been cast
   down, and were laid prostrate in the dust. The very misery of the poor,
   whom they saw to be in their power, and lying at their feet, ought to
   have satisfied them: but when such an insatiable cupidity still
   inflamed them, that they panted for more punishment on the poor and the
   miserable, was it not a fury wholly outrageous? We now perceive the
   Prophet's meaning: He points out again what he has said in the former
   verse, -- that the Israelites were given to rapacity, avarice, and
   cruelty of every kind.

   He adds at last, and the way of the miserable they pervert. He still
   inveighs against the judges; for it can hardly comport with what
   belongs to private individuals, but it properly appertains to judges to
   pervert justice, and to violate equity for bribery; so that he who had
   the best cause became the loser, because he brought no bribe
   sufficiently ample. We now see what was the accusation he alleged
   against the Israelites. But there follows another charge, that of
   indulgence in lusts.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Prayer.

   Grant, almighty God, that since we see so grievous punishments formerly
   executed on unbelievers who had never tasted of the pure knowledge of
   thy word, we may be warned by their example, so as to abstain from all
   wickedness, and to continue in pure obedience to thy word; and that, as
   thou hast made known to us that thou hatest all those superstitions and
   depravations by which we turn aside from thy word, -- O grant, that we
   may ever be attentive to that role which has been prescribed to us by
   thee in the Law, as well as in the Prophets and in the Gospel, so that
   we may constantly abide in thy precepts, and be wholly dependent on the
   words of thy month, and never turn aside either to the right hand or to
   the left, but glorify thy name, as thou has commanded us, by offering
   to thee a true, sincere, and spiritual worship, through Christ our
   Lord. Amen.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Fifty-second

   It follows, in the seventh verse, that the son and the father entered
   in into the same maid. The Prophet here charges the people of Israel
   with the unbridled lusts which prevailed then among them; which were
   promiscuous and even incestuous. It is, we know, a detestable
   monstrosity when a father and a son have connection with the same
   woman; for the common feeling of mankind abhors such flagitousness. But
   the Israelites were so much addicted to their own lusts, that the
   father and the son had the same woman in common; as indeed it must
   happen when men allow themselves excessive indulgences. A strumpet
   will, indeed, readily admit a son and a father without any difference,
   for she has no shame; and no fear of God restrains abandoned women
   given up to filthiness. It hence becomes a common thing for a father
   and a son to pollute themselves by an incestuous concubinage. But it is
   no diminution of guilt before God, when men, blinded by their lusts,
   make no difference, and without any discrimination, and without any
   shame, follow their own sinful propensities. Whenever this happens, it
   certainly proves that there is no fear of God, and that even the common
   feeling of nature is extinct. Hence the Prophet now justly condemns in
   the Israelites this crime, that the father and the son entered in into
   the same woman.

   An amplification of this crime is also added, -- that they thus
   polluted the holy name of God. We indeed know that the people of Israel
   were chosen for this end -- that the name of God might be supplicated
   by them; and well known is that declaration, often repeated by Moses,

   Be ye holy, for I am holy' (Leviticus 11:44)

   Hence the children of Israel could not defile themselves without
   polluting at the same time the name of God, which was engraven on them.
   God then complains here of this profanation; for the children of Israel
   not only contaminated themselves, but also profaned whatever was sacred
   among them, inasmuch as the name of God was exposed to reproach, when
   the people thus gave way to their filthy lusts. We now understand what
   the Prophet means. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 2:8

   8. And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every
   altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their
   god.

   8. Et super vestes oppignoratas accubuerunt prope omne altare, et vinum
   damnatorum biberunt in domo Dei sui.


   Here the Prophet again inveighs against the people's avariciousness,
   and addresses his discourse especially to the chief men; for what he
   mentions could not have been done by the common people, as the lower
   and humbler classes could not make feasts by means of spoils gained by
   judicial proceedings. The Prophet then condemns here, no doubt, the
   luxury and rapacity of men in high stations. They lie down, he says, on
   pledged clothes nigh every altar. God had forbidden, in his law, to
   take from a poor man a pledge, the need of which he had for the support
   of life and daily use, (Exodus 22:26) For instance, it was prohibited
   by the law to take from a poor man his cloak or his coat, or to take
   the covering of his bed, or any thing else of which he had need. But
   the Prophet now accuses the Israelites, that they took away pledges and
   clothes without any distinction, and lay down on them nigh their
   altars. This belonged to the rich.

   Then follows another clause, which, strictly speaking, must be
   restricted to the judges and governors, They have drunk the wine of the
   condemned in the house, or in the temple, of their God This may also be
   understood of the rich, who were wont to indulge in luxury by means of
   ill-gotten spoils: for they litigated without cause; and when they
   gained judgment in their favor, they thought it lawful to fare more
   sumptuously. This expression of the Prophet may therefore be extended
   to any of the rich. But he seems here to condemn more specifically the
   cruelty and rapaciousness of the judges. We now then perceive what the
   Prophet had in view by saying, that they lay down on pledged garments.

   He then says that they drank wine derived from fines, which had been
   laid on the condemned. But this circumstance, that is added, ought to
   be observed, -- that they lay down near altars and drank in the very
   temple: for the Prophet here laughs to scorn the gross superstition of
   the Israelites, that they thought that they were discharging their duty
   towards God, provided they came to the temple and offered sacrifices at
   the altar. Thus, indeed, are hypocrites wont to appease God, as if one
   by puppets played with a child. This has been a wickedness very common
   in all ages, and is here laid to the charge of the Israelites by the
   Prophet: they dared with an open front to enter the temple, and there
   to bring the pledged garments, and to feast on their spoils. Hypocrites
   do ever make a den of thieves of God's temple, (Matthew 21:13) for they
   think that all things are lawful for them, provided they put on the
   appearance, by external worship, of being devoted to God. Since, then,
   the Israelites promised themselves impunity and took liberty to sin,
   because they performed religious ceremonies, the Prophet here sharply
   reproves them: they even dared to make God a witness of their cruelty
   by bringing pledged garments and by blending their spoils with their
   sacrifices, as though God had a participation with robbers.

   We hence see that rapaciousness and avarice are not alone condemned
   here by the Prophet, but that the gross superstition of the Israelites
   is also reprobated, because they thought that there would be no
   punishment for them, though they plundered and robbed the poor,
   provided they reserved a part of the spoil for God, as though a
   sacrifice from what had been unjustly got were not an abomination to
   him.

   But it may be asked, Why does the Prophet thus condemn the Israelites
   for they had no sacred temple; and we also know (as it has been
   elsewhere stated) that the temples, in which they thought that they
   worshipped God, were filthy brothels, and full of all obscenity. How is
   it, then, that the Prophet now so sharply inveighs against them,
   because they mingled their spoils with their impure sacrifices? To this
   the answer is, That he had regard to their views, and derided the
   grossness of their minds, that they thus childishly trifled with the
   God whom they imagined for themselves. We say the same at this day to
   the Papists, -- that they blend profane with sacred things, when they
   prostitute their masses, and also when they trifle with God in their
   ceremonies. It is certain that whatever the Papists do is an
   abomination; for the whole of religion is with them adulterated: but
   they yet cease not to wrong God, whose name they pretend to profess.
   Such also were then the Israelites: though they professed still to
   worship God, they were yet sacrilegious; though they offered sacrifices
   to the calves in Dan and in Bethel, they yet reproached God, for they
   ever abused his name. This, then, is the crime the Prophet now condemns
   in them. But what I have said must be remembered, -- that this blind
   assurance is reprehended in the Israelites, that they thought spoils to
   be lawful provided they professed to worship God: but they thus
   rendered double their crime, as we have said; for they tried to make
   God the associate of robbers, mingling as they did their pollutions
   with their sacrifices. Let us proceed --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 2:9-12

   9. Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the
   height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed
   his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

   9. Et ego exterminavi Amorrhaeum a facie ipsorum, cujus proceritas erat
   sicut proceritas cedrorum, et qui fortis erat sicut quercus; et perdidi
   fructum ejus superne et radicem ejus subtus.

   10. Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty
   years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.

   10. Et ego eduxi vos e terra Egypti, et deduxi vos (ambulare feci vos
   ad verbum) in deserto per quadraginta annos ad possidendam terram
   Amorrhaei.

   11. And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men
   for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the
   Lord

   11. Et suscitavi ex filiis vestris prophetas, et ex juvenibus vestris
   Nazaraeos: annon etiam hoc, filii Israel? dicit Jehovah.

   12. But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the
   prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

   12. Et propinastis Nazaraeis vinum, et super prophetis mandastis,
   dicendo, Non prophetabitis.


   God expostulates here with the Israelites for their ingratitude. He
   records the benefits he had before conferred on that people; and then
   shows how unworthily and disgracefully they had conducted themselves;
   for they forgot their many blessings and proudly despised God, and
   acted as if they were like other nations, and not bound to God for the
   singular benefit of adoption. The sum then is that God here complains
   that he had ill bestowed his blessings; and he reproves the people for
   their impiety, inasmuch as they did not lead a holier life after having
   been freely redeemed.

   He says first, I have exterminated the Amorite before their face. God
   shows here that he was disgracefully defrauded by the Israelites, for
   whose sake he had previously destroyed the Amorites. For why were the
   Amorites exterminated, but that God would cleanse the land, and also,
   that he might give there a dwelling to his own people, that he might be
   purely worshipped? Then the people of Israel ought to have given up
   themselves wholly to the service of God; but as they neglected to do
   this, they frustrated the purpose of God, who had expelled the Amorites
   from that land, yea, and entirely destroyed them. The first complaint
   then is, that the children of Israel were nothing better than the
   Amorites, though God had given them the land, which was taken from its
   natives, that they might dwell in it, and on the condition, that his
   name should be there worshipped. Hence the Prophets say elsewhere, that
   they were Amorites. They ought to have been a new people; but as they
   followed the examples of others, in what did they differ from them?
   They are therefore called their posterity. But the Prophet speaks not
   here so severely; he only reproves the Israelites, because they
   differed in nothing from the Amorites, whom they knew to have been
   destroyed that they might be introduced into their place, and succeed
   to their inheritance.

   It is then added, that the Amorites were tall in stature, and also that
   they were strong men. By these words the Prophet intimates that the
   Amorites were not conquered by the people's valor, but by the wonderful
   power of God. We indeed know that they were dreaded by the people of
   Israel, for they were like giants. Then the Prophet speaks here of
   their height and strength, that the Israelites might consider that they
   overcame them not by their own valor, but that the land was given them
   by a miracle, for they had to do with giants, on whom they could hardly
   dare to look. It was then God who prostrated the cedars and the oaks
   before his people. We hence learn, that the Israelites could not boast
   of their own strengths as though they took possession of the land,
   because by means of war they ejected their enemies; for this was done
   by the singular kindness of God. They could not indeed have contended
   with their enemies, had not that been fulfilled which the Lord had so
   often foretold, For you, while still, I will fight,' (Exodus 14:14) We
   now perceive the Prophet's intention. But we may hence farther learn,
   that the Israelites had not possessed the land, because they were more
   excellent than the Amorites, its ancient inhabitants; but because it so
   pleased God. There was therefore no reason for the people of Israel to
   be proud on account of any excellency. It hence appears that they, who
   did not consider this remarkable kindness done to them, were more than
   doubly ungrateful to God.

   He says that their fruit above and root below were destroyed. By this
   metaphor God enlarges on what he said before, that the Amorites had
   been exterminated, so that none of them remained. "I have demolished,"
   he says, or, "I have entirely destroyed the root beneath and the fruit
   above; I have extinguished the very name of the nation." And yet the
   Israelites were not better, though the Amorites were thus destroyed;
   but having succeeded in their place, they became like them: this was
   utterly inexcusable. The more severe God's vengeance had been towards
   the Amorites, the more ought the Israelites to have extolled his favor:
   but when with closed eyes they passed by so remarkable a testimony of
   God's paternal love, it appears that they were extremely wicked and
   ungrateful.

   He afterwards subjoins, I have made you to ascend from the land of
   Egypt; I have made you to walk in the desert for forty years, in order
   to possess the land of the Amorite. The circumstances here specified
   are intended to confirm the same thing, that God had miraculously
   redeemed his people. Men, we know, for the most part extenuate the
   favors of God; nay, this evil is innate in us. This is the reason why
   the Prophet so largely describes and extols the redemption of the
   people. Hence he says now that they had been led out of the land of
   Egypt. And they ought to have remembered what had been their condition
   in Egypt; for there they were most miserably oppressed. When therefore
   that coming out was set before them, it was the same as if God had
   reminded them how shamefully they had been treated, and how hard had
   been their bondage in Egypt. That beginning ought to have humbled them,
   and also to have stimulated them to the cultivation of piety. When now
   they proudly exulted against God, when no recollection of their
   deliverance laid hold on them, this vice is justly laid to their charge
   by the Prophet: "See," he says, "I have brought you forth from the land
   of Egypt; what were ye then? what was your nobility? what was your
   wealth or riches? what was your power? For the Egyptians treated you as
   the vilest slaves; your condition then was extremely ignominious; ye
   were as lost, and I redeemed you: and now buried is the recollection of
   so illustrious a kindness, which deserved to be for ever remembered."

   He afterwards adds, I have made you to walk, etc. The Prophet here
   reminds them of the desert, that the Israelites might know that God
   might have justly closed up against them an entrance into the land,
   though he had promised it for an inheritance to Abraham. For how was it
   that the Lord led them about for so long a time, except that they, as
   far as they could, had denied God, and rendered themselves unworthy of
   enjoying the promised land? Then the Prophet indirectly blames the
   Israelites here for having been the cause why God detained them for
   forty years without introducing them immediately into the promised
   land; which might have easily been done, had they not closed the door
   against themselves by their ingratitude. This is one reason why the
   Prophet now speaks of the forty years. And then, as God had in various
   ways testified his kindness towards the Israelites, he had thus bound
   them the more to himself; but an ungodly forgetfulness had buried all
   his favors. God daily rained manna on them from heaven; he also gave
   them drink from a dry rock; he guided them during the day by a pillar
   of cloud, and in the night by fire: and we also know how often God bore
   with them, and how many proofs he gave them of his forbearance. The
   Prophet, then, by speaking here of the forty years, meant to counsel
   the Israelites to call to mind the many favors, by which they were
   bound to God, while they were miraculously led by him for forty years
   in the desert.

   He now subjoins, I have raised from your sons Prophets, and Nazarites
   from your young or strong men, (for vchrym, becharim, as we have
   elsewhere said, are called by the Hebrews chosen men;) then from your
   youth or chosen men have I raised Nazarites. Was it not so, O children
   of Israel? or certainly it was so: for the particle 'ph, aph, sometimes
   is a simple affirmation, and sometimes an addition. Is not then all
   this true, O children of Israel? saith Jehovah. God first reminds them
   that he had raised up Prophets from their sons. It if a remarkable
   proof of God's love, that he deigns to guide his people by Prophets:
   for if God were to speak himself from heaven, or to send his angels
   down, it would apparently be much more dignified; but when he so
   condescends as to employ mortal men and our own brethren, who are the
   agents of his Spirit, in whom he dwells, and by whose mouth he speaks,
   it cannot indeed be esteemed as highly as it deserves, that the Lord
   should thus accommodate himself to us in so familiar a manner. This is
   the reason why he now says, that he had raised up Prophets from their
   sons. They might have objected and said, that he had introduced the
   Law, and that then the heaven was moved, and that the earth shook: but
   he speaks of his daily favor in having been pleased to speak
   continually to his people, as it were, from mouth to mouth, and this by
   men: I have raised up, he says, Prophets from your sons; that is, "I
   have chosen angels from the midst of you." The Prophets are indeed, as
   it were, celestial ambassadors, and God commands them to be heard, the
   same as if he himself appeared in a visible form. Since then he choose
   angels from the midst of us, is not this an invaluable favor? We hence
   see how much force is contained in this reproof, when the Lord says,
   that Prophets had been chosen from his own people.

   And he mentions also the Nazarites. It appears sufficiently evident
   from Numbers 6:1-8, why God appointed Nazarites. Nothing is more
   difficult, we know, than to induce men to follow a common rule; for
   they ever seek something new; and hence have arisen so many devices, so
   many additions, in short, so many leavenings by which God's worship is
   corrupted; for each wishes to be more holy than another, and affects
   some singularity. In case then any one had a wish to consecrate himself
   to God beyond what was commonly required, the Lord instituted a
   peculiar observance, that the people might not attempt any thing
   without at least his permission. Hence, when any one wished to
   consecrate himself to God, though they were all holy, he yet observed
   certain regulations: he abstained from wine; he allowed his hair to
   grow; in a word, he observed those ceremonial rites which we find in
   the chapter already referred to. God now reminds the Israelites that he
   had omitted nothing calculated to preserve them pure and holy, and
   entire in his worship.

   After having related these two things, he asks them, Is not all this
   true? The facts were indeed well known: then the question, it may be
   said, was superfluous. But the Prophet designedly asked the Israelites
   the question here -- Is it not so? that he might more deeply touch
   their hearts. We indeed often despise things well known, and we see how
   many heedlessly allow what they hear, and pass by things without any
   thought. Such must have been the torpidity of the Israelites; they
   might have confessed without disputing that all this was true, -- that
   the Lord had raised up Prophets from their children, and that he had
   given to them that peculiar service of which we have spoken; but they
   mighty at the same time, have contemptuously overlooked the whole, had
   not this been added: "What do ye mean, O Israelites? ye do indeed see
   that nothing has been left undone by me to retain you in my service:
   how then is it now, that your lust leads you away from me, and that
   having shaken off the yoke, ye grow thus wanton against me?" We now
   perceive why the Prophet inserted this clause, for it was necessary
   that the Israelites should be more sharply roused, that being
   convicted, they might acknowledge their guilt.

   But it now follows, Ye have to the Nazarites quaffed wine, and on the
   Prophets ye have laid a command, that they should not prophesy God
   complains here that the service which he had instituted had been
   violated by the people. It seems indeed a light offense, that wine had
   been given to the Nazarites; for the kingdom of God, we know, is not
   meat and drink, (1 Corinthians 8:8) though this saying of Paul was not
   yet made known, it was yet true in all ages. It was then lawful for the
   Nazarites to drink wine, provided they used moderation. To this the
   simple answer is that it was lawful to drink wine, for they of their
   own accord undertook to abstain from it. In similar manner God forbade
   the priests to drink wine or strong drink whenever they entered the
   temple. God indeed did not wish to be served with this kind of
   ceremony; but his intention was to show, by such a rite, that a greater
   temperance is required in priests than in the people in general. His
   purpose then to withdraw them from the common mode of living, when they
   entered the temple; for they were as mediators between God and his
   people: they ought then to have consecrated themselves in a special
   manner. We now see that the priests were reminded by this external
   symbol, that greater holiness was required in them than in the people.
   The same thing must be also said of the Nazarites. The Nazarites might
   drink wine; but during the time they consecrated themselves to God,
   they were not allowed to drink wine, that they might thereby
   acknowledge that they were in a manner separated from the common habits
   of men, and were come nearer to God. We now understand why it was not
   lawful for the Nazarites to drink wine.

   But it is frivolous for the Papists to pretend this example, and to
   introduce it in defense of their superstitions, and of their foolish
   and rash vows, which they undertake without any regard to God: for God
   expressly sanctioned and confirmed whatever the Nazarites did under the
   law. Let the Papists show a proof for their monastic vows, and foolish
   rites, by which they now trifle with God. We also know that there is a
   great difference between the Nazarites and the Papal monks; for the
   monks vow perpetual celibacy; others vow abstinence from flesh during
   life; and these things are done foolishly and rashly. They indeed think
   that the worship of God consists in these trifles. They promise what is
   not in their own power; for they renounce marriage, when they know not
   whether they are endued with the gift of chastity. And to abstain from
   flesh all their life is more foolish still, because they make this to
   be a part of God's service. I do, at the same time, wonder that they
   bring forward this example, since there are none so holy under the
   Papacy as to abstain from wine. As for the Carthusians and other monks
   of the holier sort, they seem determined to take revenge on abstinence
   from flesh, for they choose the sweetest and the liveliest wine; as
   though they intended to get a compensation for the loss and deprivation
   they undergo, when they pledge to God their abstinence from flesh, by
   reserving the best wine for themselves. These things are extremely
   ludicrous. Besides it is a sufficient reply if we adduce what I have
   already said, that the Nazarites did nothing under the law but what God
   in his word approved and sanctioned.

   Since God then so sharply and severely reproved the Israelites for
   giving wine to the Nazarites, what must be expected now, when we
   transgress the chief commandments of God, when we corrupt his whole
   spiritual worship? It seemed apparently but a venial sin, so to speak,
   in the Nazarites to drink wine. Had they become wanton or robbed, or
   had they done wrong to their brethren, or committed forgery, the charge
   against them would have doubtless been much more atrocious. Yet the
   Prophet does not now abstain from bitterly complaining that they drank
   wine. Then, since God would have us to worship him in a spiritual
   manner, a much heavier charge lies against us, if we violate his
   spiritual worship. As, for instance, if we now pollute the sacraments,
   if we corrupt the purity of divine worship, if we treat his word with
   scorn, yea, if we transgress as to these main points of religion, much
   less is our excuse. Let us then remember that the Prophet here reproves
   the Israelites for giving wine to the Nazarites.

   He then adds, that they commanded the Prophets not to prophesy. It is
   certain that the Prophets were not forbidden to speak, at least
   expressly forbidden: but when the liberty of teaching faithfully as
   they ought to do is taken away from God's servants, and a command to
   this effect is given them, it is the same thing as to reject wholly
   their doctrine. The Israelites wished Prophets to be among them; and
   yet they could not endure their plain reproofs. But when they had
   polluted the worship of God, when their whole conduct became dissolute,
   the Prophets sharply inveighed against them: this freedom could not be
   endured by the Israelites; they wished to be spared and flattered. What
   then the Prophet now lays to their charge is that they forbade God's
   servants to declare the word freely and honestly as God had commanded
   them. Hence he says, On the Prophets they have laid a charge, that they
   should not prophesy.

   This evil reigns in the world at this day. It would indeed be an
   execrable audacity wholly to reject the Lord's word; this is what even
   ungodly men dare not openly to do: but they wish at the same time some
   middle course to be adopted, that God might not fully exercise
   authority over them. They then would gladly put restraint on the Holy
   Spirit, so as not to allow him to speak but within certain limitations:
   "See, we willingly allow thee some things, but this we cannot bear: so
   much asperity is extremely odious." And under the Papacy at this day
   the liberty of prophesying is wholly suppressed: and among us how many
   there are who wish to impose laws on God's servants beyond which they
   are not to pass? But we see what the Prophet says here, -- that the
   word of God is repudiated when the freedom of teaching is restrained,
   and men wish to be flattered, and desire their sins to be covered, and
   cannot bear free admonitions.

   Let us also notice the word command, which the Prophet uses. tsvh,
   tsue, means to order, to command, or to determine, in an authoritative
   manner. The Prophet then does not expostulate with them, because there
   were many who clamored, who murmured against the Prophets, as it is
   always the case; but he rather condemns the audacity of the chief men
   for daring to consult how they might silence the Prophets, and not
   allow them the free liberty of teaching, as we find it to be done even
   now. For not only in taverns and lurking-places do the ungodly clamor
   when their sins are severely reproved, but they also go forth publicly
   and complain that too much liberty is allowed the ministers of the
   word, and that some course ought to be adopted to make them speak more
   moderately. It is then this sacrilege that the Prophet now rebukes,
   when he says, that the ungodly commanded the Prophets, that they should
   not prophecy, as though they made a law, as though they wished to
   proclaim a decree, that the Prophets should not speak so boldly and so
   freely. It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 2:13

   13. Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full
   of sheaves.

   13. Ecce ego angustians (vel, angustiatus, constrictus, vel,
   constringens) in loco vestro (vel, sub vobis,) sicuti constringitur
   plaustrum quod plenum est manipulo (id est, manipulis.)


   The verb yq, oik, in Hebrew is often transitive, and it is also a
   neuter. This place then may admit of two interpretations. The first is,
   that God was pressed under the Israelites, as a wagon groans under too
   much weight; and so God expostulates by Isaiah, that he was weighed
   down by the Israelites, Ye constrain me,' he says, to labor under your
   sins' (Isaiah 1:14) The sense then, that God was pressed down under
   them, may be viewed as not unsuitable: and yet the more received
   interpretation is this, "Behold, I will bind you fast as a wagon is
   bound." I am, however, more inclined to take the first meaning, -- that
   God here reprehends the Israelites, because he had been pressed down by
   them: for tchtykm, tacheticam, properly signifies, "Under you," which
   some render, but strainedly, "Is your place:" for when the verb is
   transitive, they say, that tchtykm, tacheticam, must be rendered "In
   your place:" but this is frigid and forced; and the whole passage will
   run better, if we say, "I am bound fast under you, as though ye were a
   wagon full of sheaves; [21] " that is, "Ye are to me intolerable." For
   God carried that people on his shoulders; and when they loaded him with
   the burden of iniquities, it is no wonder that he said that they were
   like a wagon -- a wagon filled with many sheaves: "Ye are light as
   wind, but ye are also to me very burdensome, and I am forced at length
   to shake you off:" and this he afterwards shows.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [21] This verse has caused great labor to commentators; and many have
   been the views given. The first difficulty is in the words rendered in
   our version, "under you." tcht and with the Iod commonly added when
   there is a suffix, often occurs, and means on doubt, an place, a spot,
   a standing, as in the following passages: Exodus 10:23; 16:29; 1 Samuel
   14:9; Habakkuk 3:16; and this seems to be its meaning here. Then the
   second difficulty is about "the cart" or wagon. Some consider it to be
   the vehicle to carry corn; and others, the machine to thresh it as
   Newcome and others do: but this view is not consistent with the other
   expressions used in this clause. A critic, quoted by Poole, evidently
   gives the meaning in these words, Sensus est, q.d. Ego vos in eas
   angustas adducam, unde vos ipsos mimime expedire valeatis -- "The sense
   is, as though he said, I will bring you to those straits, from which ye
   will by no means be able to deliver yourselves." I would then translate
   the verse thus: -- Behold, I will confine you in your place,
   As a wagon confines its load--the sheaves;
   or word for word,
   As a wagon confines the filling of it -- the sheaf. The rendering of
   the last line by Newcome is certainly not what the original will bear;
   his translation of the whole verse is this: -- Therefore, behold I will
   press your place,
   As a loaded corn-wain presseth its sheaves. It is not pressing or
   crushing that corresponds with the contents of the following verses,
   but confining and reducing to straits from which they could not escape.
   -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Prayer.

   Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast not only redeemed us by the
   blood of thy only begotten Son, but also guides us during our earthly
   pilgrimage, and suppliest us with whatever is needful, -- O grant, that
   we may not be unmindful of so many favors, and turn away from thee and
   follow our sinful desires, but that we may continue bound to thy
   service, and never burden thee with our sins, but submit ourselves
   willingly to thee in true obedience, that by glorifying thy name we may
   carry thee both in body and soul, until thou at length gatherest us
   into that blessed kingdom which has been obtained for us by the blood
   of thy Son. Amen.

     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Fifty-third
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 2:14-16

   14. Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong
   shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver
   himself:

   14. Peribit fuga a veloce, et fortis non roborabit vires suas, et
   robustus non servabit (non liberabit) animam suam:

   15. Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift
   of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the
   horse deliver himself.

   15. Et tenens arcum non stabit, et velox pedibus suis non liberabit,
   neque ascensor equi liberabit animam suam.

   16. And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in
   that day, saith the Lord

   16. Et qui robustus est corde suo inter fortes nudus fugiet die illa,
   dicit Jehova.


   I explained yesterday the verse, in which the Prophet says, in the name
   of God, that the people were like a grievous and heavy burden, as
   though they were a wagon laden with many sheaves. I stated that the
   Prophet's words are differently explained by many interpreters, who
   give this view, -- that God compares himself to a loaded wagon, under
   which the people were to be crushed. But no necessity constrains us to
   take the same verb in two senses, active and neuter, as they do; and
   then the comparison seems not quite suitable; and farther, it is
   better, as I have said, to say, that God complains, that he was loaded
   and pressed down under the people, than to render tchtykm, tacheticm,
   "In your place;" for this is wholly a strained rendering. But most
   suitable is the Prophet's meaning, when understood as the complaint of
   God, that it was a grievous thing to bear the burdens of the people,
   when he saw that they were men of levity, and, at the same time,
   burdensome.

   Hence the Prophet now denounces vengeance such as they deserved; and he
   says first, Perish shall flight from the swift, etc., that is, no one
   will be so swift as to escape by fleeing; and the valiant shall do
   nothing by fighting; for it is to confirm strength when one resists an
   adversary and repels assaults. The valiant, therefore, shall fight with
   no advantage; and then, The strong shall not deliver his own life: he
   who holds the bow shall not stand; that is, he who is equipped with a
   bow, and repels his enemy at a distance, shall not be able to stand in
   his place. He who is swift on foot shall not be able to flee, nor he
   who mounts a horse; which means that whether footmen or horsemen, they
   shall not, by their celerity, be able to escape death. And, lastly, he
   who is stout and intrepid in heart among the valiant shall flee away
   naked, being content with life alone, and only anxious to provide for
   his own safety.

   The Prophet intimates by all these words, that so grievous would be the
   slaughter of the people, that it would be a miracle if any should
   escape.

   We now then see how severely the prophet at the very beginning handled
   this people. He no doubt observed their great obduracy: for he would
   not have assailed them so sharply at first, had they not been for a
   long time rebellious and had despised all warnings and threatening.
   Amos was not the first who addressed them; but the Israelites had
   hardened themselves against all threatenings before he came to them. It
   therefore behaved him sharply to reprove them, as God treats men
   according to their disposition. I come now to the third chapter.
     __________________________________________________________________
     __________________________________________________________________

   Chapter 3.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 3:1-2

   1. Hear this word that the Lord hath spoken against you, O children of
   Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of
   Egypt, saying,

   1. Audite verbum hoc quod pronunciat Jehova super vos, filii Israel,
   super totam familiam eduxi (vel, ascendere feci) e terra Aegypti,
   dicendo,

   2. You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I
   will punish you for all your iniquities.

   2. Tantummodo vos cognovi ex omnibus familiis terrae: propterea
   visitabo super vos omnes iniquitates vestras.


   The Prophet wished doubtless by these words to confirm his own
   authority, for he saw that his doctrine was regarded with contempt: and
   it is probable that the words recited here were not only once delivered
   by him, but had been often repeated. We know how great was the pride
   and confidence of that people: it was therefore needful to beat it
   down, that they might be habituated to dread and fear, when God
   reproved them by his Prophets.

   It was then the common mode of speaking, when he said, Hear the word
   which God has spoken concerning your, O children of Israel. He brings
   forward here the name of God, that they might know that they had not to
   do with a mortal man, or with a shepherd, such as he was. We then
   observe here, what I have just referred to, and that is, that the
   Prophet seeks to strengthen his authority as a teacher, that he might
   gain more respect among the people. But he adds, concerning the whole
   family which I brought up out of Egypt It is certain that this
   discourse was not addressed except to the ten tribes; why, then, does
   the Prophet speak here so generally? Even because the kingdom of Israel
   formed the greater portion of the race of Abraham, and on this account
   they boasted that the adoption continued to be possessed by them.
   Since, then, they despised the tribe of Judah, and the half-tribe of
   Benjamin, which was connected with it, and had ever boasted of their
   great number, the Prophet says here, by way of concession, that they
   were indeed the blessed seed, the posterity of Abraham; in a word, the
   elect people, whom God had redeemed from Egypt. Then the Prophet
   includes not here the kingdom of Judah, but concedes to the Israelites
   what they boasted, -- that they were the elect people, the holy race of
   Abraham, the very nation which had been miraculously delivered. "Let,
   then," he says, "all these boastings be granted, yet God will not, on
   this account, desist from executing his judgment upon them."

   We now apprehend the design of the Prophet: he first seeks to gain
   respect for his doctrine, and takes occasion to speak of his own
   vocation, that he brought nothing of his own, but only discharged
   faithfully the office committed to him; yea, that he was the organ of
   the Holy Spirit, and adduced nothing from his own mind, but only spoke
   what the Lord had commanded him. And then, as the Israelites, relying
   on their large number, thought that wrong was done them, when they were
   severely reprehended by the Prophets, and as there was an absurd
   rivalship between them and the kingdom of Judah, the Prophet concedes
   to them that for which they were foolishly proud; but, at the same
   time, he shows that they in vain confided in their number, inasmuch as
   God summoned them to judgment, though they were the elect people, and
   the holy seed, and the redeemed nation. These are the main points.

   The Prophet afterwards declares what he had in charge, Only you have I
   known of all the families of the earth: I will therefore visit you for
   your iniquities. Many think that he still concedes to the Israelites
   what they were wont to boast of, -- that they were separated from the
   common class of men, because the Lord had adopted them: but it seems
   rather to be a reproach cast on them. God then brings forward here his
   benefits, of which we noticed yesterday a similar instance, that he
   might enhance the more the sin of the people, in returning the worst
   recompense to God, by whom they had been so liberally and so kindly
   treated: "I," he says, "have loved you only." It is indeed true, that
   the Israelites, as we have in other places often observed, gloried in
   their privileges; but the Prophet seems not to have this in view. God
   then expostulates with them for being so ungrateful: You only, he says,
   have I known. It is indeed certain that God's care is extended to the
   whole human race, yea even to oxen and asses, and to the very sparrows.
   Even the young of ravens cry to him, and the smallest bird is fed by
   him. We hence see that God's providence extends to all mortal beings;
   but yet not in an equal degree. God has ever known all men so as to
   give what is needful to preserve life. God has, therefore, made his sun
   to rise on all the human race, and has also made the earth to produce
   food. Then as to the necessaries of life, he performs the office of a
   Father towards all men. But he has known his chosen people, because he
   has separated them from other nations, that they might be like his own
   family. Israel, then, is said to be known, because God favored them
   alone with a gratuitous adoption, and designed them to be a peculiar
   people to himself. This is the knowledge of which the Prophet now
   speaks.

   But by saying that they only, rq, rek, had been known, he shows that
   they had been chosen through God's singular favor, for there was no
   difference between the seed of Abraham and other nations, when regarded
   in themselves, otherwise this exception would have been superfluous.
   For if there had been any superiority or merit in the people of Israel,
   this objection might have readily been made, "We have indeed been
   chosen, but not without cause, for God had respect to our worthiness."
   But as they in nothing differed from other nations, and as the
   condition of all was alike by nature, the Lord upbraids them with this,
   that he had known them only; as though he said "How has it happened,
   that ye are my peculiar possession and heritage? Has it been by your
   merit? Has it been because I was more bound to you than to other
   nations? Ye cannot allege these things. It has therefore been my
   gratuitous adoption. Ye are then the more bound to me, and less
   excusable is your ingratitude for rendering to me so unjust a
   recompense." So also Paul says, Who makes thee to differ?' (1
   Corinthians 4:7) He wished to show that every excellency in men ought
   to be ascribed to God. For the same purpose it is said here, you only
   have I loved and known of all the families of the earth: "What were
   you? Ye were even the children of Adam, as all other nations; the same
   has been the beginning of all. There is then no reason for you to say,
   that I was attached to you by any prepossession; I freely chose you and
   chose you alone." All this tends to amplify grace; and ingratitude on
   their part does hereby appear more evident. For had God spoken these
   words of his general benefits, the guilt of his chosen people would not
   have been so great: but when he says that they only had been chosen,
   when others were passed by, their impiety seemed doubtless more base
   and wicked in not acknowledging God in their turn, so as to devote
   themselves wholly to Him, to whom they owed every thing.

   And the bounty of God shines forth also in this respect, that he had
   known the Israelites alone, though there were many other nations. Had
   God owed any thing to men, he would not have kept it from them; this is
   certain. But since he repudiated all other nations, it follows, that
   they were justly rejected, when he made no account of them. Whence then
   was it that he chose the Israelites? We here see how highly is God's
   grace exalted by this comparison of one people with all other nations.
   And the same thing also appears from these words, of all the families
   of the earth; as though God had said, "There were many nations in the
   world, the number of men was very great; but I regarded them all as
   nothing, that I might take you under my protection; and thus I was
   content with a small number, when all men were mine; and this I have
   done through mere favor, for there was nothing in you by which ye
   excelled others, nor could they allege that they were unjustly
   rejected. Since then I preferred you of my own will, it is evident that
   I was under no obligation to you." We now then understand the design of
   the Prophet's words.

   He then subjoins, I will therefore visit upon you your iniquities. God
   declares here, that the Israelites would have to suffer a heavier
   judgment, because they acknowledged not their obligations to God, but
   seemed willfully to despise his favor and to scorn him, the author of
   so many blessings. Since then the Israelites were bound by so many and
   so singular benefits, and they at the same time were as wicked as other
   nations the Prophet shows, that they deserved a heavier punishment, and
   that God's judgment, such as they deserved, was nigh at hand. This is
   the substance of the whole. It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 3:3-8

   3. Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

   3. An duo ambulabunt simul nisi inter ipsos conveniat?

   4. Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young
   lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?

   4. An rugiet leo in sylva et praeda non erit ei? an dabit leo (vel,
   leunculus edet, vel, emittet) vocem suam e cubili suo (vel, lustro)
   quum nihil ceperit?

   5. Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him?
   shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at
   all?

   5. An cadet avis super laqueum ad terram absque aucupe (et auceps non
   erit ei? Ad verbum;) an tollet auceps laqueum ex terra priusquam
   capturam ceperit? (ad verbum, et capiendo non capiet: sed ego redidi
   sensum Prophetae.)

   6. Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid?
   shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?

   6. An clanget tuba in urbe et populus non contremiscet? An erit malum
   in urbe quod Jehova non fecerit?

   7. Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret
   unto his servants the prophets.

   7. Quia (vel, certe) non faciet Dominator Jehova quidquam nisi
   revelaverit secretum suum servis suis Prophetis.

   8. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord God hath spoken,
   who can but prophesy?

   8. Leo rugivit, quis non timeat? Dominator Jehova locutus est, quis non
   prophetet?


   The Prophet here accumulates similitudes which may, however, be reduced
   to five particulars. He first shows that he uttered no empty words, but
   had God's authority for what he said; and he appeals to him as his
   witness and approver: this is one thing. Then he shows that God
   designedly announces the punishment he would inflict on transgressors,
   that they might in time repent, and that he does not cry out for no
   reason, as unreflecting men grow angry for nothing, but that he is
   driven to anger by just causes, and therefore terrifies them by his
   Prophets. He teaches, thirdly, that nothing happens by chance, that the
   Israelites might thereby be made to consider more attentively the
   judgments of God. In the fourth place, he declares that men are
   extremely stupid, when they are not moved by the threats which they
   hear proceed from God. He intimates, in the fifth place, that the
   execution of them was ready to take place, and that when God has
   denounced anything, his threatenings are not vain, such as those by
   which children are terrified.

   These, then, are the five points, which we shall hereafter notice in
   their due order. He at the same time confirms what he said at the
   beginning of the chapter, -- that God did not suddenly take vengeance
   on the Israelites, but called them to repentance, provided they were
   healable. He had indeed spoken before more distinctly, For three
   transgressions, and for four, I will not be propitious to them:' but
   now he demands attention from the people of Israel, "Hear this ye
   children of Israel, Will two men walk together, except they agree among
   themselves?" By these words he teaches, that though God might have
   immediately and unexpectedly brought punishment on them, he yet spared
   them and suspended his judgment, until they repented, provided they
   were not wholly irreclaimable. Amos now then confirms the truth, that
   God would not punish the Israelites, as he might justly, but would
   first try whether there was any hope of repentance.

   Let us now come to the first similitude; he asks Will two walk together
   without agreeing? Some forcibly misapply the Prophet's words, as though
   the meaning was, that God was constrained to depart from that people,
   because he saw that they were going astray so perversely after their
   lusts. The sense, according to these, would be, "Do you wish me to walk
   with you?" that is "Do you wish that my blessing should dwell among
   you, that I should show to you, as usual, my paternal love, and
   bountifully support you? Why then do ye not walk with me, or, why
   should there not be a mutual consent? Why do ye not respond to me? for
   I am ready to walk with you." But this exposition, as ye see, is too
   strained. There are other two, which are these, -- either that the
   Prophet intimates here that so many of God's servants did not, as it
   were with one mouth, threaten the Israelites in vain, -- or, that the
   consent of which he speaks was that of God with his Prophets. This last
   exposition being rather obscure, requires to be more clearly explained.
   Some, then, take the sense of this verse to be the following, -- "I am
   not alone in denouncing punishment on you; for God has before warned
   you by other Prophets; many of them still live; and ye see how well we
   agree together: we have not conspired after the manner of men, and it
   has not happened by any agreements that Isaiah and Micah denounce on
   you what ye hear from my mouth. It is then a hidden accordance, which
   proceeds from the Holy Spirit." This sense is not unsuitable.

   But there is a third equally befitting, to which I have briefly
   referred, and that is, that the Prophet here affirms that he speaks by
   God's command, as when two agree together, when they follow the same
   road; as when one meets with a chance companion, he asks him where he
   goes, and when he answers that he is going to a certain place, he says
   I am going on the same road with you. Then Amos by this similitude very
   fitly sets forth the accordance between God and his Prophets; for they
   did not rashly obtrude themselves so as to announce anything according
   to their own will, but waited for the call of God, and were fully
   persuaded that they did not by any chance go astray, but kept the road
   which the Lord had pointed out. This could not itself have been a
   sufficiently satisfactory proof of his call; but the Prophet had
   already entered on his course of teaching; and though nearly the whole
   people clamored against him, he yet had given no obscure proofs of his
   call. He does not then here mention the whole evidence, as though he
   intended to show that he was from the beginning the Prophet of God; but
   he only confirms, by way of reproof, what his teaching had before
   sufficiently attested. Hence he asks, Will two walk together except
   they agree among themselves? as though he said, "Ye are mistaken in
   judging of me, as though I were alone, and in making no account of God:
   ye think me to be a shepherd, and this is true; but it ought to be
   added, that I am sent by God and endued with the gift of prophecy.
   Since then I speak by God's Spirit, I do not walk alone; for God goes
   before, and I am his companion. Know then that whatever I bring forward
   proceeds not from me, but God is the author of what I teach."

   This seems to be the genuine meaning of the Prophet: by this similitude
   he affirms that he faithfully discharged his office, for he had not
   separated himself from God, but was his companion: as when two agree
   together to travel the same road; so also he shows that he and God were
   agreed. If, however, the former interpretation be more approved, I will
   not dispute the point; that is, that the Prophet here confirms his own
   doctrine by alleging that he was not alone, but had other colleagues;
   for it was no common confirmation, when it appeared evident that the
   other Prophets added their testimony to what he taught. As, however, he
   does not apply this similitude in this way, I know not whether such was
   his design: I have therefore brought forward what seems to me to be a
   simpler view.

   The second similitude follows, Will a lion roar in the forest without a
   prey? Will a lion send forth his voice from his den when he has caught
   nothing? By this verse he intimates that God does not cry out for
   nothing by his Prophets; for ungodly men supposed that the air was only
   made to reverberate by an empty sound, when the Prophets threatened,
   "These," they said, "are mere words;" as though indeed they could not
   find that the necessity of crying arose from themselves, because they
   had provoked God by their vices. Hence the Prophet, meeting their
   objection, says, "If lions roar not, except when they have obtained a
   prey, shall God cry from heaven and send forth his voice as far as the
   earth, when there is no prey?" The meaning is, that the word of God was
   very shamefully despised by the Israelites, as though there was no
   reason for crying, as though God was trifling with them. His word is
   indeed precious, and is not thrown heedlessly into the air, as if it
   were a mere refuse; but it is an invaluable seed. Since the Lord cries,
   it is not, says Amos, without a lawful cause. How so? The lions do not
   indeed roar without prey; God then does not cry by his Prophets, except
   for the best reason. It hence follows that the Israelites were hitherto
   extremely stupid inasmuch as they did not listen with more earnestness
   and attention to the teaching of the Prophets, as though God had
   uttered only an empty sound.

   The third similitude now follows, [19]Will a bird fall on the earth, he
   says, without a fowler? The Prophet means here that nothing happens
   without being foreseen by God; for as nets are laid for birds, so God
   ensnares men by his hidden punishments. Unexpectedly indeed calamity
   comes, and it is commonly ascribed to chance; but the Prophet here
   reminds us that God stretches his nets, in which men are caught, though
   they think that chance rules, and observe not the hand of God. They are
   deceived, he says; for the bird foresees not the ensnaring prepared for
   him; but yet he falls not on the earth without the fowler: for nets
   weave not themselves by chance, but they are made by the industry of
   the man who catches birds. So also calamities do not happen by chance,
   but proceed from the secret purpose of God. But we must observe, that
   similitudes ought not to be too strictly applied to the subject in
   hand. Were one to asks how God could compare himself here to a fowler,
   as there is craft and artifice employed in catching innocent birds,
   when nets are laid for them, it would be a frivolous question; for it
   is evident enough what the Prophet meant, and that the design of his
   words was to show, that punishments fall on men, and that they are
   ensnared through the secret purpose of God; for God has long ago
   foreseen what he will do, though men act heedlessly, as the birds who
   foresee nothing.

   Then it follows in the fourth place, Will the fowler remove his snare
   before he has made a capture? In this second clause the Prophet
   intimates that the threatening of God would not be without effect; for
   he will execute whatever he declares. It is indeed certain, that
   fowlers often return home empty, and gather their nets though they have
   taken nothing; but the Prophet, as I have said, in using these
   similitudes, only states what fowlers usually do, when they are in hope
   of some prey. As for instance, when one spreads his nets, he will wait,
   and will not gather his nets until he takes some prey, if so be that a
   prey should come; he may indeed wait in vain all night. Then as fowlers
   are not wearied, and wish not to lose their labor after they have
   spread their nets, so also the Prophet says that God does not in vain
   proclaim his threatenings to serve as empty bugbears, but that his nets
   remain until he has taken his prey; which means, that God will really
   execute what he has threatened by his Prophets. The meaning then is,
   that God's word is not ineffectual, but when God declares any thing, it
   is sure to be accomplished: and hence he reproves the Israelites for
   receiving so heedlessly and with deaf ears all God's threatening, as
   though he was only trifling with them. "It will not be," he says, "as
   you expect; for God will take his prey before he takes up his nets."

   He adds, in the last place, Shall a trumpet sound and the people
   tremble not? Here he reprehends, as I have said, the torpidity of the
   people, to whom all threatening were a sport: "When a trumpet sounds,"
   he says, "all tremble; for it is a signal of danger. All then either
   fly for aid or stand amazed, when the trumpet sounds. God himself
   cries, his voice deserves much more attention than the trumpet which
   fills men's minds with dread; and yet it is a sound uttered to the
   deaf. What then does this prove, but that madness possesses the minds
   of men? Are they not destitute of all judgment and of every power of
   reason?" We hence see that the Prophet in these words intended to show,
   that the Israelites were in a manner fascinated by the devil, for they
   had no thought of evils; and though they knew that God sounded the
   trumpet and denounced ruin, they yet remained heedless, and were no
   more moved than if all things were in a quiet state. What remains I
   cannot now finish.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Prayer.

   Grant, Almighty God, that as thou art pleased daily to exhort us to
   repentance, and dost not suddenly execute thy judgment by which we
   might be in an instant overwhelmed, but givest us time to seek
   reconciliation, -- O grant, that we may now attend to thy teaching, and
   all thy admonitions and threatenings, and become teachable and obedient
   to thee, lest thou be constrained on finding us hardened against thy
   threatening, and wholly irreclaimable, to bring on us extreme
   vengeance: make us then so to submit ourselves to thee in the spirit of
   teachableness and obedience, that being placed under the protection of
   thy Son, we may truly call on thee as our Father, and find thee to be
   so in reality, when thou shalt show to us that paternal love, which
   thou hast promised, and which we have all experienced from the
   beginning, who have truly and from the heart called on thy name,
   through the same, even Christ our Lord. Amen.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Fifty-fourth

   In our last Lecture were noticed these words of Amos -- that a whole
   people tremble at the sound of a trumpet; he now seems to add a
   sentence wholly different, and says, No calamity happens, except
   through God. But he had before said what we already noticed respecting
   the sound of the trumpet, that the people might understand that nothing
   happens by accident, and that punishments are, for just reasons,
   inflicted by the Lord; and this he soon after confirms by saying, that
   God did nothing, without having first revealed his secret to his
   Prophets. The meaning then is that the people at Israel were extremely
   stupid for not having repented after so many warnings; nay, they
   remained still in their perverseness, though they had been constrained
   by the most powerful means.

   We now then comprehend what the Prophet means; but that the whole
   subject may be made more clear, let us notice this intervening
   sentence, there is no evil in the city which God has not done. By these
   words the Prophet reminds us, that calamities happen not by chance, as
   the vulgar of mankind believe; for the words, "Prosperous or adverse
   fortunes" are, we know, in the mouths of all, as though God was idle in
   heaven, and took no care of human affairs. Hence, whatever happens, the
   world usually ascribes it to fortune. But the Prophet here shows that
   the government of this world is administered by God, and that nothing
   happens except through his power. He does not, indeed, treat here of
   sin: but the Prophet, according to the usual practice, calls whatever
   is adverse to us, rh, roe, evil. Whatever, then, we naturally shun, is
   usually called an evil; and this mode of speaking Amos follows here, as
   God is said by Isaiah to have in his power night and day, light and
   darkness, good and evil, (Isaiah 45:7) When good and evil are spoken of
   there, it is certain that what is referred to is prosperity and
   adversity. So also here, the Prophet teaches that men are chastised by
   God whenever anything adverse happens to them, as though he said that
   fortune rules not, as the world imagines, and that things do not take
   place at random; but that God is at all times the judge of the world.
   In short, Amos wished to recall the people to an examination of their
   lives, as though he summoned them to the tribunal of God; and he showed
   by evident external tokens that God was justly offended with the
   Israelites: "Ye see that you are severely dealt with, do you think that
   God sleeps idly in heaven? Since nothing happens but by the will of
   God, he now designs to awaken you by treating you with so much
   sharpness and severity, so that you may know your vices." We now then
   perceive the design of the Prophet in saying, that there was no evil in
   the city which God had not done.

   In a similar manner, also, does God by Jeremiah sharply expostulate
   with the people, because they imputed slaughters in war, famine, and
   other evils, to fortune. When, therefore, any calamity happened, the
   Jews complained of bad fortune, as the world are wont to do. God was
   displeased and severely reproved this profane notion; for the
   government of the world was thus taken away from him: for, were any
   thing to take place against his will, so much would be abstracted from
   his power; and farther men would grow hardened in their sins; for
   however grievously he might punish them, they would not yet acknowledge
   his hand: they might indeed cry out under the strokes, and feel how
   severe his scourges were; but they would not regard the hand of the
   striker, which is the principal thing, as it is stated elsewhere,
   (Isaiah 9:13) Then the Prophet takes this as granted, that, whenever
   any calamity happens, men are extremely stupid, if they are not roused
   and reflect on their sins, and consider the tokens of God's wrath, so
   as to flee to him, and confess themselves guilty and implore his mercy.

   But he had before spoken of the sound of the trumpet; for every excuse
   was thereby taken away from the Israelites, as God had not only
   recalled them to the right way by his scourges but also preceded these
   by his word: and he shows how justly he was displeased with them; hence
   the Prophet adds another sentence, For the Lord Jehovah will do nothing
   without revealing his secret to his servants, the Prophets. The Prophet
   declares in this verse, that God dealt not with the Israelites as with
   heathen nations; for God punished other people without warning them by
   his word; he summoned to judgment neither the Idumeans, nor the
   Ammonites, nor the Egyptians, but executed his vengeance, though he
   never addressed them. Different was his dealing with the Israelites;
   for God not only brought on them such punishment as they deserved, but
   he preceded it by His word, and showed beforehand what evil was nigh
   them, that they might anticipate it; he indeed gave them time to
   repent, and was ready to pardon them, had they been capable of being
   restored. Now then the Prophet aggravates the guilt of the people,
   because they had not only been chastised by the Lord, but they might,
   if they chose, have turned aside their punishment; instead of doing so
   they hardened themselves in their wickedness.

   God then will do nothing without revealing his secret to his servants,
   the Prophets. This ought to be confined to that people, and it ought
   also to be confined to the punishments of which the Prophet speaks. It
   is certain that God executes many judgments which are hid both from men
   and angels; and Amos did not intend to impose a necessity on God, as if
   he was not free to do any thing without previously revealing it; such
   was not the Prophet's design; but his object was simply to condemn the
   Israelites for their irreclaimable perverseness and obstinacy, that,
   having been warned, they did not seriously think of repenting, but
   despised all God's threatening, and even scorned them. God then will do
   nothing, that is, "God will not treat you in an ordinary way, as he
   does with other nations, whom he chastises without speaking to them.
   They, for the most part, understand not what is done; but God in a
   paternal manner kindly reminds you of your sins, shows why he resolves
   to chastise you and forewarns you, that you may have time to seek and
   ask forgiveness."

   God therefore reveals his secret to his Prophets; that is, "He does not
   suddenly or unexpectedly punish you, as he might do, and as ye see that
   he does with respect to others; but he proclaims what he will do, and
   sends his messengers, as though they were heralds sent to denounce war
   on you; and at the same time they open a way for reconciliation,
   provided ye are not wholly past recovery, and perverse in your
   wickedness. Ye are then doubly inexcusable, if God can do nothing by
   his word and by the punishment which he afterwards subjoins to his
   word." We now comprehend the object of the Prophet. Then foolish is the
   question, at least unreasonable, "Does God here bind himself by a
   certain law, that he will do nothing, but what he previously reveals to
   his Prophets?" For Amos means not this, but only affirms that it was
   the common method which the Lord adopted in chastising that people. It
   is certain, that the Prophets did not know many things; for God
   distributed his Spirit to them by measure: all things then were not
   revealed to the Prophets. But Amos here only intimates that God did not
   deal with his chosen people as he did with heathen nations; for these
   often found God unexpectedly displeased with them, and had no time to
   reflect, that they might repent. Much more kindly and mercifully has
   God acted, says Amos, with that people; for God was unwilling suddenly
   to overwhelm or to surprise them, but has warned them by his Prophets.
   We see how widely this doctrine opens; but it is enough to understand
   the Prophet's design, and to know the purpose to which his discourse
   ought to be applied.

   God then will do nothing without revealing first his secret to the
   Prophets. He calls it a secret, because men are perplexed when God
   executes vengeance on them, and stand amazed: but when they are in time
   warned, then what God designs becomes evident to them, and they know
   the cause and the source of punishment. Thus then the secret is
   revealed which was hid from miserable men: and the guilt of the people
   is doubled, when, after these threatening, they do not repent.

   It now follows, The lion roars who would not fear? The Lord Jehovah
   speaks, who would not prophesy? In this verse the Prophet reproved the
   Israelites for their usual contentions with the Prophets when their
   sins were sharply reprehended. Thus indeed are men wont to do; they
   consider not that Prophets are sent from above, and that there is a
   charge committed to them. Hence, when Prophets are severe in their
   words, the world clamors and wrangles: "What do these men intend? Why
   do they urge us so much? Why do they not allow us to rest quietly? for
   they provoke against us the wrath of God." Whenever then men are
   roused, they immediately menace God's Prophets with strife and
   contention, and regard not threatening as coming from God himself. This
   vice the Prophet now condemns: The lion roars, he says, who would not
   fear? God speaks, who would not prophesy? "Ye think that I am your
   adversary; but ye can gain nothing by quarreling with me: were I
   silent, the voice of God would of itself be formidable enough. The evil
   then proceeds not from my mouth, but from God's command; for I am
   constrained, willing or unwilling, to obey God: he has chosen me to be
   a Prophet, and has showed what he intends that I should proclaim. What
   can I do, he says? I am not at liberty to invent revelations; but I
   faithfully bring forth to you what has been delivered to me by the
   Lord. How great then is your madness, that ye contend with me, and
   consider not that your strife and contention is with God himself?" We
   now see what the Prophet meant, and also understand, why he adduced the
   four similitudes, of which we have already spoken. I now proceed with
   the remaining context.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 3:9

   9. Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of
   Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and
   behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the
   midst thereof.

   9. Promulgate in palatiis Asdod, et in palatiis terrae Aegypti, et
   dicite, Congregamini super montes Samaria, et videte tumultus multos
   (vel, concussiones multas) in medio ejus, et oppressiones in medio
   ejus.


   Amos begins here to set judges over the Israelites; for they would not
   patiently submit to God's judgment: and he constitutes and sets over
   them as judges the Egyptians and Idumeans. This prophecy no doubt
   increasingly exasperated the minds of the people, who were already very
   refractory and rebellious; but yet this was necessary. God, indeed, had
   cited them to his tribunal, as long as a hope of reconciliation
   remained: when they became angry on account of God's threatening,
   clamored against his servants, yea, and obstinately disputed, as though
   they were guilty of no fault, what remained, but that God should
   constitute judges over them, whom the Prophet names, even the Egyptians
   and Idumeans? "Ye cannot bear my judgment; unbelievers, who are already
   condemned, shall pronounce sentence upon you. I am indeed your
   legitimate judge; but as ye have repudiated me, I will prove to you how
   true my judgment is; I will be silent, the Egyptians shall speak." And
   who were these Egyptians? Even those who were equally guilty with the
   Israelites, and labored under the same charges, or were at least not
   far from deserving a similar punishment; and yet God would compel the
   Israelites to hear the sentence that was to be pronounced on them by
   the Egyptians and Idumeans. We know how proudly the Israelites gloried
   in their primogeniture; but the Lord here exposes to scorn this
   arrogance, because they made such bad use of his benefits. We now then
   perceive the Prophet's intention.

   Publish, he says, in the palaces of Ashdod, in the palaces of the land
   of Egypt, and say -- what? "Assemble on the mountains of Samaria." He
   would have the Egyptians and the Idumeans to meet together, and the
   mountains of Samaria to be as it were the theater, though the idea of a
   tribunal is more suitable to the similitude that is used. It was then,
   as though the Egyptians and Idumeans were to be seated on an elevated
   place; and God were to set before them the oppressions, the robberies
   and iniquitous pillages, which prevailed in the kingdom of Israel.
   Assemble then on the mountains of Samaria. The Prophet alludes to the
   situation of the country: for though Samaria was situated on a plain,
   [22] there were yet mountains around it; and they thought themselves
   hid there, and were as wine settled on its lees. God says now, "Let the
   Egyptians and Idumeans meet and view the scene; I will allot them a
   place, from which they can see how greatly all kinds of iniquity
   prevail in the kingdom of Israel. They indeed dwell in their plain, and
   think themselves sufficiently defended by the mountains around; but
   from these mountains even the very blind will be able to see how
   abominable and shameful is their condition."

   Let them come and see, he says, the oppressions in the midst of her.
   The word he uses is mhvmt, meumet, tumults; but he means oppressions,
   committed without any regard to reason or justice, when all things are
   done with glamour and violence. "Let them see then the oppressions, let
   them see the distresses." He speaks of their deeds; he afterwards
   mentions the persons; but the Prophet means the same thing, though he
   uses different forms of expression, that is, that the kingdom of Israel
   was filled with many crimes; for plunder of every kind prevailed there
   and men kept within no bounds of moderation, but by tumult and clamor
   pillaged the poor and the miserable. It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [22] This is a mistake: Samaria was situated on a hill, and not on a
   plain: but there were hills or mountains surrounding it; so that what
   is said here equally applies to the place. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 3:10

   10. For they know not to do right, saith the Lord, who store up
   violence and robbery in their palaces.

   10. Et non noverunt facere rectum, dicit Jehova, thesaurizantes rapinam
   et praedam in palatiis suis.


   In this verse he confirms what I have already said of oppressions: he
   says that they despised every thing right. But not to know this lessens
   not their guilt, as though they ignorantly offended; but the Prophet
   means, on the contrary, that they had cast away far from them
   everything that was just and allowed themselves all liberty in sinning,
   without any discrimination, without any shame; as though he said, "They
   are brute animals, who are void of all judgments of all reason, and of
   all shame; for they seek not to have a light understanding any more."
   here then he accuses the Israelites of wilful blindness; for they
   hardened themselves in every evil, and extinguished all judgments shame
   and reasons so that they no longer distinguished between what was just
   and unjust: and he mentions one thing in particular -- that they
   accumulated much wealth by plunder and robbery. The Israelites were no
   doubt guilty of many other crimes; but by stating a part for the whole,
   he mentions one thing which includes other things, and intimates, that
   the people were wholly given to all kinds of crimes, and that as they
   had cast aside every shame, obliterated every distinction, and
   repudiated every regard for justice, they abandoned themselves to every
   kind of wickedness. This, is the import of the Prophet's words.

   But our Prophet points out here the gross sins of the Israelites,
   because he had previously constituted the blind as their judges. Hence
   it was the same as though he had said, "Though the Egyptians and the
   Idumeans are void of light, yet your iniquity is so palpable, that they
   will be able to perceive it. There is indeed no necessity of any subtle
   disputation, since plunders and pillages are carried on with so much
   violence, since no moderation or equity is any longer observed, and no
   shame exists; but men rush headlong with blind impetuosity into every
   kind of evil; so that the very blind, though without eyes, can know
   what your state is. Then the Egyptians and Idumeans will perceive your
   vices, when located on the neighboring mountains." This is the meaning.
   It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 3:11-12

   11. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; An adversary there shall be even
   round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee,
   and thy palaces shall be spoiled.

   11. Propterea sic dicit Dominus Jehova, Adversarius et quidem in
   circuitu terrae, et tollet abs te robur tuum et diripientur palatia
   tua.

   12. Thus saith the Lord; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the
   lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be
   taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus
   in a couch.

   12. Sic dicit Jehova, Quemadmodum eripit pastor ex ore leonis duo crura
   vel externam partem auris, sic eripientur filii Israel qui habitant in
   Samaria in angulo lecti, et in Damasco tanquam in grabato.


   The Prophet here announces the punishment God would inflict on the
   Israelites. An enemy, he says, and indeed one around you, etc. Some
   think tsr, tsar, to be a verb in the imperative mood; but this cannot
   be maintained. But Amos, here declares that an enemy was near the
   Israelites, who would besiege them on every side. The ungodly are ever
   wont to seek escapes, and if they see the smallest hole, they think
   that they can escape. Strange is the presumption of men with regard to
   God: when they see themselves hemmed in, they are really frightened,
   yea, they become wholly disheartened; but yet they seek subterfuges on
   the right hand and on the left, and never submit to God except when
   constrained. This is the reason why the Prophet now says, that an enemy
   was near, and indeed around them; as though he said, "You have no
   reason to think that there is any way of escape open to you; for God
   has hemmed you in on every side; there is therefore a siege which so
   confines you, that you in vain hope to escape." An enemy, he says, is
   indeed around -- around the whole land, who will take away from thee
   thy strength. Here the Prophet removes from the Israelites their vain
   confidence; for they could not think of God's vengeance, while looking
   on their own power. They indeed thought that they had sufficient
   protection in their own large number, riches, and arms, as men are wont
   to set up against God what proceeds from himself, as though creatures
   could do anything against him, and as though God could not take away,
   when he pleases, what he has given: and yet such is the blindness of
   men. Hence the Prophet says, that all the wealth and all the strength
   in which the Israelites excelled would be useless, inasmuch as an
   enemy, he says, armed by God, shall take from thee thy strength; and
   thy palaces shall be plundered.

   In the next verse he leaves some hope, though this is not avowedly
   done. For when he says that some would be saved, as when a shepherd
   snatches from the jaws of a lion the ear of a sheep or two legs, it is
   not the Prophet's design to mitigate the severe judgment of which he
   had before spoken; but shows, on the contrary, that when any should be
   saved, it would not be because the people would defend themselves, or
   were able to resist; but that it would be as when a trembling shepherd
   snatches some small portion of a spoil from the lion's mouth. We must
   bear in mind what I have just said of the proud confidence of the
   people; for the Israelites thought that they were safe enough from
   danger; and therefore despised all threatenings. But what does Amos
   say? "Think not," he says, "that there will be any defense for you, for
   your enemies will be like lions, and there will be no more strength in
   you to resist them than in sheep when not only wolves but lions, seize
   them and take them as their prey." When any thing is then saved, it is
   as it were by a miracle; the shepherd may perhaps take a part of the
   ear or two legs from the lion's mouth when he is satisfied. The
   shepherd dares not to contend with the lion; he always runs away from
   him, but the lion will have his prey and devour it at his pleasure;
   when he leaves a part of the ear or two legs, the shepherd will then
   seize on them, and say, "See, how many sheep have been devoured by
   lions:" and these will be the proof's of his loss. So now the Prophet
   says, "The Lord will expose you as a prey to your enemies, and their
   rapacity will not be less dreaded by you than that of a lion: in vain
   then ye think yourselves defended by your forces; for what is a sheep
   to a lion? But if any part of you should remain, it will be like an ear
   or a leg: and still more, -- as when a lion devours a sheep, and leaves
   nothing after having taken his prey until he is satisfied, so shall it
   happen to you".

   They are then mistaken who think that the preceding commination is here
   designedly mitigated; for the Prophet does not do this, but continues
   the same subject, and shows that the whole people would become a prey,
   that their enemies would be like lions, and that they would have no
   strength to resist. Some hope, I indeed allow, is here given to the
   people; for, as it has been before seen, God intended that there should
   ever be some remnant as a seed among that chosen people. This, I admit,
   is true: but we must yet regard what the Prophet treats of; and what he
   had in view. He then did not intend here expressly to console the
   Israelites; though incidentally he says, that some would remain, yet
   his object was to show that the whole kingdom was now given up as a
   prey to lions, and that nothing would be saved except a very small
   portion, as when a shepherd carries away an ear when the wolves and
   lions had been satiated. [23] It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [23] For further commentary on the end of this verse, see this
   selection in [20]Lecture 55. -- fj.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 3:13-14

   13. Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord GOD, the
   God of hosts,

   13. Audite et testificamini in domo Jacob, dicit Dominus Jehova, Deus
   exercituum,

   14. That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel
   upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the
   altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.

   14. Quia die quo visitabo scelera Israel super ipsum, etiam visitabo
   super altaria Bethel: et scindentur cornua altaris et cadent ad terram.


   Amos, I have no doubt, added this passage, to show that the
   superstitions, in which he knew the Israelites falsely trusted, would
   be so far from being of any help to them, that they would, on the
   contrary, lead them to ruin, because the people were by them provoking
   God's wrath the more against themselves. When the Israelites heard that
   God was offended with them, they looked on their sacrifices and other
   superstitions, as their shield and cover: for thus do hypocrites mock
   God. But we know that the sacrifices offered at Bethel were mere
   profanations; for the whole worship was spurious. God had indeed chosen
   to himself a place where he designed sacrifices to be offered. The
   Israelites built a temple without any command, nay, against the
   manifest prohibition of God. Since then they had thus violated and
   corrupted the whole worship of God, strange was their madness to dare
   to obtrude on God their superstitions, as though they could thus pacify
   his displeasure! The Prophet then rebukes now this stupidity and says,
   In the day when God shall visit the sins of Israel, he will inflict
   punishment on the altars of Bethel By the sins, which the Prophet
   mentions, he means plunder, unjust exactions, robbery, and similar
   crimes; for there prevailed then, as we have seen, among the people, an
   unbridled cruelty, avarice, and perfidiousness.

   Hence he says now, When God shall visit the sins of Israel; that is,
   when he shall punish avarice, pride, and cruelty; when he shall execute
   vengeance on pillages and robberies, he shall then visit also the
   altars of Bethel. The Israelites thought that God would be propitious
   to them while they sacrificed though they were wholly abandoned in
   their lives: they indeed thought that every uncleanness was purified by
   their expiations; and they thought that God was satisfied while they
   performed an external worship. Hence, when they offered sacrifices,
   they imagined that they thus made a compact with God, and presented
   such a compensation, that he dared not to punish their sins. Their own
   fancy greatly deceives them," says Amos. For, as we know, this was, at
   the same time, their principal sin, -- that they rashly dared to change
   the worship of God, that they dared to build a temple without his
   command; in short, that they had violated the whole law. God then will
   begin with superstitions in executing judgment for the sins of the
   people. We now then understand the Prophet's design in saying, that God
   would visit the altars of Bethel when inflicting punishment on the sins
   of Israel.

   But as it was difficult to produce conviction on this subject, the
   Prophet here invites attention, Hear ye, and testify, he says, in the
   house of Jacob. Having bidden them to hear, he introduces God as the
   speaker: for the Israelites, as we know they were wont to do, might
   have pretended that Amos had, without authority, threatened such a
   punishment. "Nothing is mine," he says. We then see the design of this
   address, when he says, Hear: he shows God to be the author of this
   prophecy, and that nothing was his own but the ministration. Hear ye,
   then, and testify in the house of Jacob By the word testify, he seals
   his prophecy that it might have more weight, that they might not think
   that it was a mere mockery, but might know that God was dealing
   seriously with them, Then testify ye in the house of Jacob. And for the
   same purpose are the titles which he ascribes to God, The Lord Jehovah,
   he says, the God of hosts He might have used only one word, "Thus saith
   Jehovah," as the prophets mostly do; but he ascribes dominion to him,
   and he also brings before them his power, -- for what end? To strike
   the Israelites with terror, that vain flatteries might no longer, as
   heretofore, take possession of them; but that they might understand,
   that so far were they from doing anything towards pacifying God's wrath
   by their superstitions, that they thereby the more provoked him.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Prayer.

   Grant, Almighty God, that inasmuch as we so provoke thee daily by our
   sins, that we are worthy of eternal destruction, and no good remains in
   us, and though we are severely chastised with temporal punishments,
   thou dost not yet take from us the hope of that mercy, which thou hast
   promised in thy Son to those who truly and from the heart repent and
   call on thee as their Father, -- O grant, that being touched with the
   sense of our evils, we may, in true humility, and with the genuine
   feeling of penitence, offer ourselves as a sacrifice to thee, and seek
   pardon with such groaning, that having undergone temporal punishments,
   we may finally enjoy that grace which is laid up for all sinners, who
   truly and from the heart turn to thee and implore that mercy which has
   been prepared for all those who really prove themselves to be the
   members of thine only begotten Son. Amen.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Fifty-fifth

   One thing escaped me yesterday: pain in my head prevented me to look on
   the book. The Prophet says in the twelfth verse, that the children of
   Israel would be so delivered as when a shepherd rescues only an ear, or
   some part of a sheep: he adds, "So the children of Israel shall be
   rescued who dwell in Samaria in a corner of a bed, and at Damascus on a
   couch This similitude I did not explain. Some think that Damascus is
   here compared with Samaria, as the more opulent city; for Jeroboam the
   Second had extended the limits of his kingdom to that city, and subdued
   some portion of the kingdom of Syria: they then suppose, that Samaria
   is called a corner of a bed on account of its confined state, and
   Damascus a couch; but there is no reason for this. He might have better
   called Damascus a bed. Others give this exposition, "They who shall
   escape among the people of Israeli shall not be the valiant and the
   brave, who will oppose the attack of the enemy, or with arms in hand
   defend themselves; but those shall be safe who will hide themselves and
   flee to their beds." But the Prophet seems here to compare Damascus and
   Samaria to beds for this reason, because the Israelites thought that
   they would find in them a safe receptacle: "Thought then ye dwell at
   Samaria and Damascus as in a safe nest, it will yet be a miracle if a
   few of you will escape; it will be as when a shepherd carries away the
   ear of a sheep, after the lion has satiated himself." This seems to be
   the genuine meaning of the Prophet; for I doubt not but that he derides
   the foolish confidence in which the Israelites indulged themselves,
   thinking that they were secure from all danger when shut up within the
   gates of Samaria or of Damascus. "Ye think that these nests will be
   safe for you; but lions, shall break through, and hardly one in a
   hundred, or in a thousand, shall in a corner of a bed escape; it will
   be as when a lion leaves an ear or part of a leg." Let us now proceed
   --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 3:15

   15. And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the
   houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end,
   saith the Lord.

   15. Et percutiam domum hyemalem cum domo aestiva, et peribunt domus
   eburneae et deficient domus magnae, dicit Jehova.


   Amos shows again that in vain the great people trusted in their wealth
   and fortified places; for these could not hinder God from drawing them
   forth to punishment. As then abundance blinds men, and as they imagine
   themselves to be as it were inaccessible, especially when dwelling in
   great palaces, the Prophet here declares, that these houses would be no
   impediment to prevent God's vengeance to break through; I will then
   destroy the winter-house together with the summer-house. Amos no doubt
   intended by this paraphrase to designate the palaces. The poor deem it
   enough to have a cottage both for winter and summer; for they change
   not the parts of their buildings, so as to inhabit the hotter in
   winter, and to refresh themselves in the colder during summer: no such
   advantage is possessed by the poor, for they are content with the same
   dwelling through life. But as the rich sought warmth in winter, and had
   their summer compartments, the Prophet says, that their large and
   magnificent buildings would be no protection to the rich, for God's
   vengeance would penetrate through them; I will destroy then the winter
   with the summer house

   And then he says, Fail shall the houses of ivory. We now see more
   clearly that the Prophet speaks here against the rich and the wealthy,
   who inhabited splendid and magnificent palaces. Perish then shall the
   houses of ivory and fail shall the great houses; some say, many houses,
   but improperly; for the Prophet continues the same idea; and as he had
   before mentioned houses of ivory so he now calls them great houses; for
   they were not only built for use and convenience, like common and
   plebeian houses, but also for show and display; for the rich, we know,
   are ever lavish and profuse, not only in their table and dress, but
   also in their palaces. This is the meaning. Now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________
     __________________________________________________________________

   Chapter 4.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 4:1

   1. Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of
   Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to
   their masters, Bring, and let us drink.

   1. Audite verbum hoc vaccae Basan, qui estis in monte Samariae, quae
   opprimitis pauperes, quae conteritis egenos, quae dicitis dominis
   eorum, Affer et bibemus.


   He who divided the chapters seems not to have well considered the
   Prophet's argument: for he pursues here his reproof of the rich, and he
   had been prophesying against the chief men in the kingdom of Israel. We
   indeed know how much ferocity there is in the rich, when they become
   formidable to others by their power. Hence the Prophet here laughs to
   scorn their arrogance: Hear, he says, this word; as though he said, "I
   see how it will be; for these great and pompous men will haughtily
   despise my threatening, they will not think themselves exposed to God's
   judgment; and they will also think that wrong is done to them: they
   will inquire, Who I am,' and ask, How dares a shepherd assail them with
   so much boldness?' "Hear then ye cows; as though he said, that he cared
   not for the greatness in which they prided themselves. "What then is
   your wealth? It is even fatness: then I make no more account of you
   than of cows; ye are become fat; but your power will not terrify me;
   your riches will not deprive me of the liberty of treating you as it
   becomes me and as God has commanded me." We hence see that the Prophet
   here assails with scorn the chief men of the kingdom, who wished to be
   sacred and untouched. The Prophet asks by what privilege they meant to
   excuse themselves for not hearing the word of the Lord. If they pleaded
   their riches and their own authority; "These," he says, "are fatness
   and grossness; ye are at the same time cows and I will regard you as
   cows; and I will not deal with you less freely than I do with my
   cattle." We now then perceive the Prophet's intention.

   But he goes on with his similitude: for though he here accuses the
   chiefs of the kingdom of oppressing the innocent and of distressing the
   poor, he yet addresses them in the feminine gender, who dwell, he says,
   on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who consume the
   needy, who say, etc. He does not think them worthy of the name of men;
   and yet they wished to be viewed a class separate from the common
   people, as though they were some heroes or halfgods. The Prophet, by
   way of contempt, calls them here cows; and he also withholds from them
   the name of men. Bashan, we know, derived its name from fatness; it was
   a very rich mountain, and celebrated for its pastures: as the fertility
   of this mountain was well known among that people, the Prophet gave the
   name of the cows of Bashan to those fat and full men: and it was right
   that they should be thus roughly handled, because through fatness, as
   it is usually the case, they had contracted dullness; for when men
   abound in riches, when they become great in power, they forget
   themselves and despise God, for they think themselves beyond the reach
   of danger. As then this security makes the rich torpid and inattentive
   to any threatenings, and disobedient to God's word, so that they regard
   all counsels superfluous, the Prophet here rebukes them with greater
   asperity, and addresses them, by way of reproach, under the name of
   cows. And when he says that they were on the mountain of Samaria, this
   is still ironical; for they might have made this objection, that they
   dwelt in the royal city, and were watchful over the state of the whole
   nation, and that the kingdom stood through their counsels and
   vigilance: "I see how it is," he says; "Ye are not on mount Bashan, but
   on the mount of Samaria; what is the difference between Samaria and
   Bashan? For ye are there inebriated with your pleasures: as cows, when
   fattened, are burdened with their own weight, and can hardly draw along
   their own bodies; so it is with you, such is your slowness through your
   gluttony. Samaria then, though it may seem to be a watch-tower, is yet
   nothing different from mount Bashan: for ye are not there so very
   solicitous (as ye pretend) for the public safety; but, on the contrary,
   ye devour great riches; and as your cupidity is insatiable, the whole
   government is nothing else to you than fatness or a rich pasturage."

   But the Prophet chiefly reproves them, because they oppressed the poor
   and consumed the needy. Though the rich, no doubt, did other wrongs,
   yet as they especially exercised cruelty towards the miserable, and
   those who were destitute of every help, this is the reason why the
   Prophet here elates expressly that the poor and the needy were
   oppressed by the rich: and we also know, that God promises special aid
   to the miserable, when they find no help on earth; for it more excites
   the mercy of God, when all cruelly rage against the distressed, when no
   one extends to them a helping hand or deigns to aid them.

   He adds, in the last place, what they say to their masters. I wonder
   why interpreters render this in the second person, who say to your
   masters; for the Prophet speaks here in the third person: they seem
   therefore designedly to misrepresent the real meaning of the Prophet;
   and by masters they understand the king and his counselors, as though
   the Prophet here addressed his words to these chief men of the kingdom.
   Their rendering then is unsuitable. But the Prophet calls those masters
   who were exactors, to whom the poor were debtors. The meaning is, that
   the king's counselors and judges played into the hands of the rich, who
   plundered the poor; for when they brought a bribe, they immediately
   obtained from the judges what they required. They are indeed to be
   bought by a price who hunt for nothing else but a prey.

   They said then to their masters, Bring and we shall drink; that is,
   "Only satiate my cupidity, and I will adjudge to thee what thou
   wouldest demand: provided then thou bringest me a bribe, care not, I
   will sell all the poor to thee." We now comprehend the design of the
   Prophet: for he sets forth here what kind those oppressions were of
   which he had been complaining. "Ye then oppress the poor, -- and how?
   Even by selling them to their creditors, and by selling them for a
   price. Hence, when a reward is offered to you, this satisfies you: Ye
   inquire nothing about the goodness of the cause, but instantly condemn
   the miserable and the innocent, because they have not the means of
   redeeming themselves: and the masters to whom they are debtor; who
   through your injustice hold them bound to themselves, pay the price:
   there is thus a mutual collusion between you." It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 4:2

   2. The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall
   come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your
   posterity with fishhooks.

   2. Juravit Dominus Jehova per sanctuarium suum, quia ecce dies veniunt
   super vos, et tollet vos in clypeo (vertunt quidam; alii, in hamo,) et
   residuum vestrum in spina piscationis.


   Here Amos declares what sort of punishment awaited those fat cattle,
   who being well fed despised God, and were torpid in their fatness. He
   therefore says, that the days were nigh, when they should be taken away
   together with all that they had, and all their posterity, as by a hook
   of a fisher.

   But to give more effect to his combination, he says that God had sworn
   by his sanctuary. [24] The simple word of God ought indeed to have been
   sufficient: but as we do not easily embrace the promises of God, so
   also hypocrites and the reprobate are not easily terrified by his
   threatening; but they laugh to scorn, or at least regard as empty, what
   God's servants declare. It was then necessary that God should interpose
   this oath, that secure men might be more effectually aroused.

   "The Lord then has sworn by his sanctuary". It is singular that God
   should swear by his temple rather than by himself: and this seems
   strange; for the Lord is wont to swear by himself for this reason, --
   because there is none greater by whom he can swear, as the Apostle
   says, (Hebrews 6:13.) God then seems to transfer the honor due to
   himself to stones and wood; which appears by no means consistent. But
   the name of the temple amounts to the same thing as the name of God.
   God then says that he had sworn by the sanctuary, because he himself is
   invisible, and the temple was his ostensible image, by which he
   exhibited himself as visible: it was also a sign and symbol of
   religion, where the face of God shone forth. God did not then divest
   himself of his own glory, that he might adorn with it the temple; but
   he rather accommodated himself here to the rude state of men; for he
   could not in himself be known, but in a certain way appeared to them in
   the temple. Hence he swore by the temple.

   But the special reason, which interpreters have not pointed out, ought
   to be noticed, and that is, that God, by swearing by his sanctuary,
   repudiated all the fictitious forms of worship in which the Israelites
   gloried, as we have already seen. The meaning is this, -- "God, who is
   rightly worshipped on mount Zion, and who seeks to be invoked there
   only, swears by himself; and though holiness dwells in himself alone,
   he yet sets before you the symbol of his holiness, the sanctuary at
   Jerusalem: he therefore repudiates all your forms of worship, and
   regards your temples as stews or brothels." We hence see that there is
   included in this expression a contrast between the sanctuary, where the
   Jews rightly and legitimately worshipped God, and the spurious temples
   which Jeroboam built, and also the high places where the Israelites
   imagined that they worshipped him. We now then understand what is meant
   by the words, that God sware by his sanctuary

   And he sware by his sanctuary, that the days would come, yea, were
   nigh, in which they should be taken away with hooks, or with shields.
   tsnh, tsane, means in Hebrew to be cold: [25] but tsnvt, tsanut denotes
   shields in that language, and sometimes fishing-hooks. Some yet think
   that the instrument by which the flesh is pulled off is intended, as
   though the Prophet still alluded to his former comparison. But another
   thing, which is wholly different, seems to be meant here, and that is,
   that these fat cows would be drawn out as a little fish by a hook; for
   afterwards he mentions a thorn or a hook again. It is the same as
   though he had said, "Ye are indeed of great weight, and ye are very
   heavy through your fatness; but this your grossness will not prevent
   God from quickly taking you away, as when one draws out a fish by a
   hook." We see how well these two different similitudes harmonize: "Ye
   are now trusting in your own fatness, but God will draw you forth as if
   ye were of no weight at all: ye shall therefore be dragged away by your
   enemies, not as fat cows but as small fishes, and a hook will be
   sufficient, which will draw you away into remote lands." This change
   ought to have seriously affected the Israelites, when they understood
   that they would be stripped of their fatness and wealth, and then taken
   away as though they were small fishes, that a hook was enough, and that
   there would be no need of large wagons. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [24] This word is commonly rendered holiness,' though it is also used
   to denote the sanctuary.' Calvin has been blamed for taking it here in
   the latter sense. What induced him to do so is evident from his
   comment: and when we consider all the circumstances of the passage, we
   may perhaps be disposed to think him right. -- Ed.

   [25] It is once applied in Proverbs 25:13, to denote the piercing cold
   of snow; but its ideal meaning seems to be, pointed, piercing,
   penetrating: hence it means a thorn, a goad, and also a fishing-hook.
   -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 4:3

   3. And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is
   before her; and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the LORD.

   3. Et per rupturas exibitis unaquaeque coram se (coram facie sua,) et
   projicietis vos ab excelso (vel, ex palatio,) dicit Jehova.


   The Prophet expresses now, in different words, what would be the future
   calamity of that kingdom; but he still speaks of the rich and the chief
   men. For though he threatened also the common people and the multitude,
   it was not yet needful expressly to name them, inasmuch as when God
   fulminates against the chief men, terror ought surely to seize also the
   humbler classes. The Prophet then designedly directs his discourse
   still to the judges and the king's counselors, Ye shall go forth at the
   breaches, every one of you. We see that he continues as yet the same
   mode of speaking, for he counts not those pompous and haughty masters
   as men, but still represents them as cows, "Every one", that is, every
   cow, he says, shall go forth through the breaches over against it. We
   know how strictly the rich observe their own ranks and also how
   difficult it is to approach them. But the Prophet says here, that the
   case with them would be far different: "There will not be," he says, "a
   triple wall or a triple gate to keep away all annoyances, as when ye
   live in peace and quietness; but there will be breaches on every side,
   and every cow shall go forth through these breaches; yea, shall throw
   herself down from the very palace: neither the pleasures nor the
   indulgence, in which ye now live, shall exist among you any more; no,
   by no means, but ye will deem it enough to seek safety by flight. Each
   of you will therefore rush headlong, as when a cow, stung by the gadfly
   or pricked by goads runs madly away." And we know how impetuous is the
   flight of cows. So also it will happen to your says the Prophet. We now
   then perceive the import of the words.

   Some take hrmvnh, ermune, for Armenian because the Israelites were led
   away into that far country; and others, take it for the mount Amanus;
   but for this there is no reason. I do not take its as some do, as
   meaning, "In the palace," but, on the contrary, "From the palace," or,
   from the high place. [21]Ye shall then throw yourselves down from the
   palace; that is, "Ye shall no more care for your pomps and your
   pleasures, but will think it enough to escape the danger of death, even
   with an impetuosity like that of beasts, as when cows run on headlong
   without any thought about their course."

   It was not without reason that he repeated the name of God so often;
   for he intended to shake off from the Israelites their
   self-complacencies; inasmuch as the king's counselors and the judges,
   as we have already stated, were extremely secure and careless; for they
   were in a manner stupefied by their own fatness. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Amos 4:4-6

   4. Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression;
   and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three
   years:

   4. Ita in Bethel et scelerate agite, in Gilgal adjicite scelerate
   agendum, et adducite mane sacrificia vestra, ad tres dies (hoc est,
   tertio anno) decimas vestras;

   5. And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and
   publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of
   Israel, saith the Lord God

   5. Et adolete e fermento laudem et adducite voluntarias oblationes,
   publicite; quia sic vobis libuit, filii Israel, dicit Adonai Jehova.

   6. And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and
   want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me,
   saith the LORD.

   6. Atque etiam ego dedi vobis mundiciem dentium (alii vertunt,
   obtusiones, sed male) in omnibus oppidis vestris, et penuriam panis in
   omnibus regionibus vestris; et non estis reversi usque ad me, dicit
   Jehova.


   The Prophet here again pours contempt on the perverse confidence, in
   which the Israelites were become hardened. They thought, indeed, that
   their worship was fully approved by God, when they offered Sacrifices
   in Bethel and Gilgal. But the Prophet here shows, that the more
   sedulously they labored in performing sacred things, the more
   grievously they offended God, and the heavier judgment they gained for
   themselves. "What do you obtain by wearying yourselves, when ye so
   strictly offer sacrifices, and omit nothing that is prescribed in the
   law of God? Only this -- that you provoke God's wrath more and more."
   But he condemns not the Israelites for thinking that they rendered a
   compensation, as hypocrites were wont to think, and were on this
   account often reproved by the Prophets; but he denounces their modes of
   worship as vicious and false, and abominable before God. The Prophets
   reprobated sacrifices for two reasons; -- first, because hypocrites
   brought them before God as a compensation, that they might escape the
   punishment they deserved, as though they paid God what they owed. Thus
   at Jerusalem, in the very temple, they profaned the name of God; they
   offered sacrifices according to what the law prescribed, but
   disregarded the true and legitimate end; for they thought that God was
   pacified by the blood of beasts, by incense, and other external rites:
   it was therefore a preposterous abuse. Hence the Prophets often
   reproved them, inasmuch as they obtruded their sacrifices on God as a
   compensation, as though they were real expiations for cleansing away
   sins: this, as the Prophets declared, was extremely puerile and
   foolish. But, secondly, Amos now goes much farther; for he blames not
   here the Israelites for thinking that they discharged their duty to God
   by external rites, but denounces all their worship as degenerate and
   perverted, for they called on God in places where he had not commanded:
   God designed one altar only for his people, and there he wished
   sacrifices to be offered to him; but the Israelites at their own will
   had built altars at Bethel and Gilgal. Hence the Prophet declares that
   all their profane modes of worship were nothing but abominations,
   however much the Israelites confided in them as their safety.

   This is the reason why he now says Go ye to Bethel. It is the language
   of indignation; God indeed speaks ironically, and at the same time
   manifests his high displeasure, as though he had said, that they were
   wholly intractable, and could not be restrained by any corrections, as
   we say in French, Fai du pis que to pouvras So also God speaks in
   Ezekiel 20:39, Go, sacrifice to your idols.' When he saw the people
   running headlong with so much pertinacity into idolatry and
   superstitions, he said, "Go;" as though he intended to inflame their
   minds. It is indeed certain, that God does not stimulate sinners; but
   he thus manifests his extreme indignation. After having tried to
   restrain men, and seeing their ungovernable madness, he then says,
   "Go;" as though he said, "Ye are wholly irreclaimable; I effect nothing
   by my good advice; hear, then, the devil, who will lead you where you