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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>A M O S.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. VI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter we have,
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I. A sinful people studying to put a slight upon God's threatenings and
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to make them appear trivial, confiding in their privileges and
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pre-eminences above other nations
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:2,3">ver. 2, 3</A>),
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and their power
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:13">ver. 13</A>),
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and wholly addicted to their pleasures,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:4-6">ver. 4-6</A>.
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II. A serious prophet studying to put a weight upon God's threatenings
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and to make them appear terrible, by setting forth the severity of
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those judgments that were coming upon these sensualists
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:7">ver. 7</A>),
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God's abhorring them, and abandoning them and theirs to death
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:8-11">ver. 8-11</A>),
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and bringing utter desolation upon them, since they would not be
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wrought upon by the methods he had taken for their conviction,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:12-14">ver. 12-14</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Am6_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am6_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am6_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am6_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am6_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am6_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am6_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Danger of False Security.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 790.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Woe to them <I>that are</I> at ease in Zion, and trust in the
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mountain of Samaria, <I>which are</I> named chief of the nations, to
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whom the house of Israel came!
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2 Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath
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the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: <I>be they</I>
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better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your
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border?
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3 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of
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violence to come near;
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4 That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon
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their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves
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out of the midst of the stall;
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5 That chant to the sound of the viol, <I>and</I> invent to
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themselves instruments of music, like David;
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6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the
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chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of
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Joseph.
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7 Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go
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captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall
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be removed.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The first words of the chapter are the contents of these verses; but
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they sound very strangely, and contrary to the sentiments of a vain
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world: <I>Woe to those that are at ease!</I> We are ready to say,
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<I>Happy are those that are at ease,</I> that neither feel any trouble
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nor fear any, that lie soft and warm, and lay nothing to heart; and
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wise we think are those that do so, that bathe themselves in the
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delights of sense and care not how the world goes. Those are looked
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upon as doing well for themselves that do well for their bodies and
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make much of them; but against them this woe is denounced, and we are
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here told what their ease is, and what the woe is.</P>
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<P>
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I. Here is a description of their pride, security, and sensuality, for
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which God would reckon with them.</P>
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<P>
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1. They were vainly conceited of their own dignities, and thought those
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would secure them from the judgments threatened and be their defence
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against the wrath both of God and man.
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(1.) Those that dwelt in Zion thought that was honour and protection
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enough for them, and they might there be quiet from all fear of evil,
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because it was a strong city, well fortified both by nature and art (we
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read of Zion's <I>strong-holds</I> and her <I>bulwarks</I>), and
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because it was a royal city, where were set the thrones of the house of
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David (it was the head-city of Judah, and therefore truly great), and
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especially because it was the holy city, where the temple was, and the
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testimony of Israel; those that dwelt there doubted not but that God's
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sanctuary would be a sanctuary to them and would shelter them from his
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judgments. The <I>temple of the Lord are these,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+7:4">Jer. vii. 4</A>.
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They are <I>haughty because of the holy mountain,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+3:11">Zeph. iii. 11</A>.
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Note, Many are puffed up with pride, and rocked asleep in carnal
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security, by their church-privileges, and the place they have in Zion.
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(2.) Those that dwelt <I>in the mountain of Samaria,</I> though it was
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not a holy hill, like that of Zion, yet they trusted in it, because it
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was the metropolis of a potent kingdom, and perhaps, in imitation of
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Jerusalem, was the head-quarters of its religion; and by lapse of time
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the hill of Shemer became with them in as good repute as the hill of
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Zion ever was. They hoped for salvation from these hills and
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mountains.
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(3.) Both these two kingdoms valued themselves upon their relation to
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Israel, that prince with God, which they looked upon as masking them
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the <I>chief of the nations,</I> more ancient and honourable than any
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of them; the <I>first-fruits of the nations</I> (so the word is),
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dedicated to God and sanctifying the whole harvest. The <I>house of
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Israel</I> came to them, that is, was divided into those kingdoms, of
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which Zion and Samaria were the mother cities. Those that were at ease
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were the princes and rulers, the great men, that were <I>chief of the
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nations,</I> chief of those two kingdoms, and to whom, having their
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residence in Zion and Samaria, the whole house of Israel applied for
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judgment. Note, It is hard to be great and not to be proud. Great
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nations and great men are apt to overvalue themselves, and to overlook
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their neighbours, because they think they a little overtop them. But,
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for a check to their pride and security, the prophet bids them take
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notice of those cities that were within the compass of their knowledge,
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that had been as illustrious in their time as ever Zion or Samaria was,
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and yet were destroyed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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"Go <I>to Calneh</I> (which was an ancient city built by Nimrod,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+10:10">Gen. x. 10</A>),
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and see what has become of that, it is now in ruins; so is <I>Hamath
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the great,</I> one of the chief cities of Syria. Sennacherib boasts of
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<I>destroying the gods of Hamath.</I> Gath was likewise made desolate
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by Hazael, and not long ago,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+12:17">2 Kings xii. 17</A>.
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Now <I>were they better than these kingdoms</I> of Judah and Israel?
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Yes, they were, and <I>their border greater than your border,</I> so
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that they had more reason than you to be confident of their own safety;
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yet you see what has become of them, and dare you be secure? <I>Art
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thou better than populous No?</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+3:8">Nah. iii. 8</A>.
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Note, The examples of others' ruin forbid us to be secure.</P>
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<P>
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2. They persisted in their wicked courses upon a presumption that they
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should never be called to an account for them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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"<I>You put far away the evil day,</I> the day of reckoning, as a thing
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that shall never come, or you look upon it as at such a distance that
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it makes no impression at all upon you; you <I>put it far away,</I> and
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think you can still put it yet further, and adjourn it <I>de die in
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diem--from day to day,</I> and therefore you <I>cause the seat of
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violence to draw near;</I> you venture upon all acts of injustice and
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oppression, and have <I>fellowship with the throne of iniquity, which
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frames mischief by a law,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+94:20">Ps. xciv. 20</A>.
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You cause that to come near, as if that would be your protection from
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these judgments which really ripens you for them." Note,
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<I>Therefore</I> men take sin to be near them, because they take
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judgment to be far off from them; but those deceive themselves who thus
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mock God.</P>
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<P>
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3. They indulged themselves in all manner of sensual pleasures and
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delights,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:4-6"><I>v.</I> 4-6</A>.
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These Israelites were perfect epicures and slaves to their appetites.
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Their dignities (in consideration of which they ought to have been
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examples of self-denial and mortification), they thought, would justify
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them in their sensuality; the gains of their oppression and violence,
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they thought, would bear the charge of it; and they put the evil day at
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a distance, that they might give them no disturbance in it. That which
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they are here charged with is not in itself sinful (these things might
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be soberly and moderately used), but they placed their happiness in the
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gratification of their carnal appetites; and though they were men in
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office, that had business to mind, they gave themselves up to their
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pleasures, spent their time in them, and threw away their thoughts, and
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cares, and estates upon them. They were in these enjoyments as in their
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element. Their hearts were upon them; they exceeded all bounds in them,
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and this at a time when God in his providence was calling them to
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<I>weeping and mourning,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:12,13">Isa. xxii. 12, 13</A>.
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When they were under guilt and wrath, and the judgments of God were
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ready to break in upon them, they called for <I>wine and strong
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drink,</I> presuming that <I>to-morrow shall be as this day, and much
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more abundant</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+56:12">Isa. lvi. 12</A>),
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thus walking contrary to God and setting his justice at defiance.
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(1.) They were extravagant in their furniture. Nothing would serve them
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but <I>beds of ivory</I> to sleep upon, or to sit on at their meat,
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when sackcloth and ashes would have become them better.
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(2.) They were lazy, and humoured themselves in the love of ease. They
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did not only lie down, but <I>stretched themselves</I> upon their
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couches, when they should have stirred up themselves to their business;
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they were willingly slothful, and took a pride in doing nothing; they
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<I>abound in superfluities</I> (so the margin reads it), when many of
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their poor brethren wanted necessaries.
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(3.) They were nice and curious in their diet, must have every thing of
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the best and abundance of it: They ate <I>the lambs out of the
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flock</I> (lambs by wholesale) and the <I>calves out of the midst of
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the stall,</I> the fattest they could lay their hand on; and these
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perhaps not out of their own flock and their own stall, but taken by
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oppression from the poor.
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(4.) They were merry and jovial, and diverted themselves at their
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feasts with music and singing: They <I>chant to the sound of the
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viol,</I> sing and play in concert, and they invent new-fashioned
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<I>instruments of music,</I> striving herein, more than in any thing
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else, to excel their ancestors; they set their wits on work to contrive
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how to please their fancy. Some men never show their ingenuity but in
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their luxury; on that they bestow all their faculty of invention and
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contrivance. They invent <I>instruments of music, like David,</I>
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entertain themselves with that which formerly used to be the
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entertainment of kings only. Or it intimates their profaneness in their
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mirth; they mimicked the temple-music, and made a jest of that,
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because, it may be, it was old-fashioned, and they took a pride in
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bantering it as the Babylonians did when they urged the captives to
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sing to them the <I>songs of Zion;</I> such was Belshazzar's
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profaneness when he drank wine in temple-bowls, and such is theirs that
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sing vain and loose songs in psalm-tunes, on purpose to ridicule a
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divine institution.
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(5.) They drank to excess, and never thought they could pour down
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enough: They <I>drank wink in bowls,</I> not in glasses, or cups (as
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+35:5">Jer. xxxv. 5</A>);
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they hate to be stinted, and must have large draughts, and therefore
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make use of vessels that they can steal a draught out of.
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(6.) They affected the strongest perfumes: They <I>anoint themselves
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with the chief ointments,</I> to please the smell, and to make them
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more in love with their own bodies, and to guard against those presages
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of putrefaction which they carry about with them while they live. No
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ordinary ointments would serve their turn; they must have the chief,
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such as were far-fetched and dear-bought, when cheaper would have
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served as well.</P>
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<P>
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4. They had no concern at all for the interests of the church of God,
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and of the nation, that were sinking and going to decay: <I>They are
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not grieved for the affliction of Joseph;</I> the church of God,
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including both the kingdoms of Judah and Israel (which are called
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<I>Joseph,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+80:1">Ps. lxxx. 1</A>),
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was in distress, invaded, insulted, and broken in upon. As to their own
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kingdom which they were entrusted with the government of, the affairs
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of which they were directors of, the peace of which they were the
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conservators of, great breaches were made upon it, upon its peace and
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welfare; and they were so besotted that they were not aware of them, so
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indulgent of their pleasures that they never laid them to heart, and
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had such an aversion to the thing called business that they were in no
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care or concern to get them repaired. It is all one to them whether the
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nation sink or swim, so that they can but lie at ease and live in
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pleasure. Particular persons that belonged to Joseph were in
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affliction, and they took no cognizance of their case of the wrongs and
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hardships they sustained and the troubles they were in, nor took any
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care to relieve them, and right them, contrary to the temper of holy
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Job, who, when he was in prosperity, <I>wept with him</I> that <I>was
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in misery</I> and his <I>soul was grieved for the poor,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+30:25">Job xxx. 25</A>.
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Some think that, in calling the afflicted church <I>Joseph,</I> there
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is an allusion to the story of Pharaoh's butler, who, when he preferred
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to give the cup again into his master's hand, <I>remembered not Joseph,
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but forgot him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+40:21,23">Gen. xl. 21, 23</A>.
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Thus they <I>drank wine in bowls,</I> but <I>were not grieved for the
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affliction of Joseph.</I> Note, Those are commonly careless of the
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troubles of others who are set upon their own pleasures; and it is a
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great offence to God when his church is in affliction and we are not
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grieved for it, nor lay it to heart.</P>
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<P>
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II. Here is the doom passed upon them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go
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captive,</I> and shall fall into all the miseries that attend captives;
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and the <I>banquet of those</I> that <I>stretched themselves</I> upon
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their couches <I>shall be removed.</I> Their plenty shall be taken from
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them, and they from it, because they made it the food and fuel of their
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lusts.
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1. Those who lived in luxury shall lose even their liberty; and by
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being brought into servitude shall be justly punished for the abuse of
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their dignity and dominion.
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2. Those who trusted in the delights and pleasures of their own land
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shall be carried away into a strange land, and so made ashamed of their
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pride and confidence; they shall <I>go captive.</I>
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3. Those who placed their happiness in the pleasures of sense, and set
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their hearts upon them, shall be deprived of those pleasures; their
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banquet shall be removed, and they shall know what it is to fare hard.
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4. Those who <I>stretched themselves</I> shall be made to contract
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themselves, and to come into a less compass.
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5. Those who <I>put the evil day far from them</I> shall find it nearer
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to them than it is to others; <I>those shall go captive with the
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first</I> who flattered themselves with hopes that if trouble did come
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they should be the last who should be seized by it. Those are ripening
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apace for trouble themselves who lay not to heart the trouble of others
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and of the church of God. Those who give themselves to mirth, when God
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calls them to mourning, will find it a sin that shall not go
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unpunished,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:14">Isa. xxii. 14</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Am6_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am6_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am6_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am6_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am6_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am6_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am6_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Threatenings of Judgment.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 790.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>8 The Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT> hath sworn by himself, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> the God of
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hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces:
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therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.
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9 And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one
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house, that they shall die.
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10 And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth
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him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto
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him that <I>is</I> by the sides of the house, <I>Is there</I> yet <I>any</I>
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with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy
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tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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11 For, behold, the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> commandeth, and he will smite the
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great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.
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12 Shall horses run upon the rock? will <I>one</I> plow <I>there</I> with
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oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of
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righteousness into hemlock:
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13 Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we
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not taken to us horns by our own strength?
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14 But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house
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of Israel, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> the God of hosts; and they shall
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afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the
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wilderness.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In the former part of the chapter we had these secure Israelites
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loading themselves with pleasures, as if they could never be made merry
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enough; here we have God loading them with punishments, as if they
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could never be made miserable enough. And observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. How strongly this burden is bound on, not to be shaken off by their
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presumption and security; for it is bound by <I>the Lord the God of
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hosts,</I> by his mighty, his almighty, hand, which none can resist; it
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is bound with an oath, which puts the sentence past revocation: <I>The
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Lord God has sworn, and he will not repent,</I> and, since he could
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swear by no greater, he has sworn by himself. How dreadful, how
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miserable, is the case of those whose ruin, whose eternal ruin, God
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himself has sworn, who can execute his purpose and cannot alter it!</P>
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<P>
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II. How heavily this burden lies! Let us see the particulars.
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1. God will abhor and abandon them, and that implies misery enough, all
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misery: <I>I abhor the excellency of Jacob,</I> all that which they are
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proud of, and value themselves upon, and for which they call and count
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themselves the <I>chief of nations.</I> Their visible
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church-membership, and the privileges of that, their temple, altar, and
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priesthood, these were, more than any thing, the excellencies of Jacob;
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but, when these were profaned and polluted by sin, God abhorred them;
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he hated and despised them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+5:21"><I>ch.</I> v. 21</A>.
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Note, God abhors that form of godliness which hypocrites keep up, while
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they abhor the power of it. And if he abhors their temple, for the
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iniquity of that, no marvel that he hates their palaces, for the
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injustices and oppression he finds there. Note, that creature which we
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take such a complacency and put such a confidence in as to make it a
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rival with God is thereby made abominable to him. He <I>hates the
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palaces</I> of sinners, for the sake of wickedness of those that dwell
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therein.
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+3:33">Prov. iii. 33</A>,
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<I>The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked.</I> And, if God
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abhor them, immediately it follows, He will <I>deliver up the city with
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all that is therein,</I> deliver it up into the hands of the enemy,
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that will lay it waste, and make a prey of all its wealth. Note, Those
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that are abhorred and abandoned of God are undone to all intents and
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purposes.
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2. There shall be a great and general mortality among them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
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<I>If there remain ten men in one house,</I> that have escaped the
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sword of the enemy, yet they shall be met with another way; <I>they
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shall</I> all <I>die</I> by famine or pestilence. In the most sickly
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times, if there be ten in a house, one may hope that at least the
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one-half of them will escape, according to the proportion of two in a
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bed, <I>one taken and the other left;</I> but here not one of ten shall
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live to bury the rest. Another instance of the greatness of the
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mortality is
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>)
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that the nearest relations of the dead shall be forced with their own
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hands to wind up their bodies, and bury them, for want of other hands
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to be employed in it; that is all that the <I>next of kin,</I> to whom
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the right of redemption belongs, can do for them, and with great
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reluctance will they do that. It intimates that the young people shall
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be cut off soonest; for the uncle that survives is, ordinarily, the
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senior relation. "When the uncle comes with the sexton (or <I>him that
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burns</I>), <I>to bring out the bones out of the house,</I> he <I>shall
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say</I> to him that he sees next about the house, '<I>Is there any yet
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with thee?</I> Are there any left alive?' And he shall say, 'No, this
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is the last; now the whole family is cut off by death, and neither root
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nor branch remains.'" But that which makes the judgment the more
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grievous is that their hearts seem to be hardened under it. "When he
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that is found by the sides of the house begin to enter into discourse
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with those that are carrying off the dead, they shall say, '<I>Hold thy
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tongue;</I> do not stand preaching to us about the hand of Providence
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in this calamity, for <I>we may not make mention of the name of the
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Lord;</I> God is so angry with us that there is no speaking to him; he
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is so extreme to mark what we do amiss that we dare not so much as make
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mention of his name." ' Thus <I>the foolishness of men perverts their
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way,</I> and brings them into distress, and then <I>their heart frets
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against the Lord.</I> Even then they will not take notice of his hand,
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nor suffer those about them to do it. Perhaps it was forbidden by some
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of the idolatrous kings to make mention of the name of <I>Jehovah,</I>
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as by the law of Moses it was forbidden to make mention of the names of
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the heathen-gods: "We may not do it without incurring the penalty."
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Note, Those hearts are wretchedly hardened indeed that will not be
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brought to make mention of God's name, and to worship him, when the
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hand of God has gone out against them, and when, as here, sickness and
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death are in their families. Thus those <I>heap up wrath</I> who <I>cry
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not when God binds them.</I>
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3. Their houses shall be destroyed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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God <I>will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house
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with clefts;</I> they shall both be cracked so as to lose their beauty
|
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and strength, and to be hastening towards a fall. The princes' palaces
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are not above the rebuke of divine justice, nor the poor men's cottages
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beneath it; neither shall escape. When sin has marked them for ruin
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God will find ways to bring it about. It is by order from him that
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breaches are made.</P>
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<P>
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III. How justly they are thus burdened. If we understand the matter
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aright, we shall say, <I>The Lord is righteous.</I>
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1. The methods used for their reformation had been all fruitless and
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ineffectual
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
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<I>Shall horses run upon the rock,</I> to hurl or harrow the ground
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there? Or will <I>one plough there with oxen?</I> No, for there will be
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no profit to countervail the pains. God has sent them his prophets, to
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<I>break up their fallow-ground;</I> but they found them as hard and
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inflexible as the rock, rough and rugged, and they could do no good
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with them, nor work upon them, and therefore they shall not attempt it
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any more. They will not be reclaimed, and therefore shall not be
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reproved, but quite abandoned. Note, Those who will not be cultivated
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as fields and vineyards shall be rejected as barren rocks and deserts,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+6:7,8">Heb. vi. 7, 8</A>.
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2. They had abused their power to the wrong and oppression of many,
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whose injured cause the sovereign Judge would not only right, but
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revenge: <I>You have turned judgment into gall,</I> which is nauseous,
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and <I>the fruit of righteousness into hemlock,</I> which is noxious;
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it would make one sick to see how those that were entrusted with the
|
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administration of public justice bore down equity with that power which
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they out to have defended and supported it, and so turned its own
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artillery against itself. Note, When our services of God are soured
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with sin his providences will justly be embittered to us.
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3. They had set the judgments of God at defiance, and, confiding in
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their own strength, thought themselves a match for Omnipotence,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
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They <I>rejoiced in a thing of nought,</I> pleased themselves with a
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fancy that no evil should befal them, though they had no ground at all
|
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for that confidence, nothing to trust to that would bear any weight.
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They said, "<I>Have we not taken to us horns;</I> have we not arrived
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to great dignity and dominion, have we not pushed down our enemies and
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pushed on our victories, and this <I>by our own strength,</I> our own
|
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skill and courage, our own wealth and military force? Who then need we
|
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be afraid of? Who then need we make court to? Not God himself." Note,
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Prosperity and success commonly make men secure and haughty; and those
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that have done much think they can do any thing, any thing without God,
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nay, any thing against him. But those who trust in their own strength
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rejoice in <I>a thing of nought,</I> and so they will find. Probably
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they did not say this with their lips, <I>totidem verbis--in so many
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words,</I> but it was the language of their hearts and of their
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actions, both which God understands.</P>
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<P>
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IV. How easily and effectually this burden shall be brought upon them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
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He that brings it upon them is <I>the Lord the God of hosts,</I> who
|
|
both may do and can do what he pleases, who has all creatures at his
|
|
command, and who, when he has work to do, will not be at a loss for
|
|
instruments to do it with; though they are the house of Israel, yet he
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|
will <I>raise up against them a nation</I> which they feared not, but
|
|
had many a time hoped in, even the Assyrians, and this nation shall
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|
<I>afflict them,</I> bring them into straits, and put them to pain,
|
|
from the <I>entering in of Hamath,</I> in the north, to <I>the river of
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the wilderness,</I> the river of Egypt, Sihor or Nile, in the south.
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The whole nation has shared in the iniquity, and therefore must expect
|
|
to share in the calamity. Note, When men are in any way instruments of
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affliction to us we must see God raising them up against us, for they
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are in his hand--the rod, the sword, in his hand. The Lord has bidden
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Shimei curse David.</P>
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