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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Joel II].</TITLE>
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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>J O E L.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. II.</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 further description of that terrible desolation which should be
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made in the land of Judah by the locusts and caterpillars,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:1-11">ver. 1-11</A>.
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II. A serious call to the people, when they are under this sore
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judgment, to return and repent, to fast and pray, and to seek unto God
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for mercy, with directions how to do this aright,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:12-17">ver. 12-17</A>.
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III. A promise that, upon their repentance, God would remove the
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judgment, would repair the breaches made upon them by it, and restore
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unto them plenty of all good things,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:18-27">ver. 18-27</A>.
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IV. A prediction of the setting up of the kingdom of the Messiah in the
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world, by the pouring out of the Spirit in the latter days,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:28-32">ver. 28-32</A>.
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Thus the beginning of this chapter is made terrible with the tokens of
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God's wrath, but the latter end of it made comfortable with the
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assurances of his favour, and it is in the way of repentance that this
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blessed change is made; so that, though it is only the last paragraph
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of the chapter that points directly at gospel-times, yet the whole may
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be improved as a type and figure, representing the curses of the law
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invading men for their sins, and the comforts of the gospel flowing in
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to them upon their repentance.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Joe2_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_11"> </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>Threatenings of Judgment.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 720.</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 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy
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mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the
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day of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> cometh, for <I>it is</I> nigh at hand;
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2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of
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thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great
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people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither
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shall be any more after it, <I>even</I> to the years of many
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generations.
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3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame
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burneth: the land <I>is</I> as the garden of Eden before them, and
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behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape
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them.
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4 The appearance of them <I>is</I> as the appearance of horses; and
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as horsemen, so shall they run.
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5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall
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they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the
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stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
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6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces
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shall gather blackness.
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7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall
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like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and
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they shall not break their ranks:
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8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one
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in his path: and <I>when</I> they fall upon the sword, they shall not
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be wounded.
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9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon
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the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter
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in at the windows like a thief.
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10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall
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tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall
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withdraw their shining:
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11 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall utter his voice before his army: for his
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camp <I>is</I> very great: for <I>he is</I> strong that executeth his word:
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for the day of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> great and very terrible; and who can
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abide it?
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here we have God contending with his own professing people for their
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sins and executing upon them the judgment written in the law
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+28:42">Deut. xxviii. 42</A>),
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<I>The fruit of thy land shall the locust consume,</I> which was one of
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those diseases of Egypt that God would bring upon them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+28:60"><I>v.</I> 60</A>.</P>
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<P>
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I. Here is the war proclaimed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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<I>Blow the trumpet in Zion,</I> either to call the invading army
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together, and then the trumpet sounds a charge, or rather to give
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notice to Judah and Jerusalem of the approach of the judgment, that
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they might <I>prepare to meet their God</I> in the way of his judgments
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and might endeavor by prayers and tears, the church's best artillery,
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to put by the stroke. It was the priests' business to sound the trumpet
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+10:8">Num. x. 8</A>),
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both as an appeal to God in the day of their distress and a summons to
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the people to come together to seek his face. Note, It is the work of
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ministers to give warning from the word of God of the fatal
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consequences of sin, and to reveal his wrath from heaven against the
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ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. And though it is not the
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privilege of Zion and Jerusalem to be exempted from the judgments of
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God, if they provoke him, yet it is their privilege to be warned of
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them, that they might make their peace with him. Even in <I>the holy
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mountain</I> the <I>alarm</I> must be <I>sounded,</I> and then it
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sounds most dreadful,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+3:2">Amos iii. 2</A>.
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Now, <I>shall a trumpet be blown in the city,</I> in the holy city,
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<I>and the people not be afraid?</I> Surely they will.
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+3:6">Amos iii. 6</A>.
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<I>Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;</I> they shall be made
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to tremble by the judgment itself; let them therefore tremble at the
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alarm of it.</P>
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<P>
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II. Here is a general idea given of the day of battle, which
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<I>cometh,</I> which is <I>nigh at hand,</I> and there is no avoiding
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it. It is the <I>day of the Lord,</I> the day of his judgment, in which
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he will both manifest and magnify himself. It is <I>a day of darkness
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and gloominess</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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literally so, the swarms of locusts and caterpillars being so large and
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so thick as to darken the sky
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+10:15">Exod. x. 15</A>),
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or rather figuratively; it will be a melancholy time, a time of
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grievous affliction. And it will come <I>as the morning spread upon the
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mountains;</I> the darkness of this day will come as suddenly as the
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morning light, as irresistibly, will spread as far, and grow upon them
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as the morning light.</P>
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<P>
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III. Here is the army drawn up in array
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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They are a <I>great people, and a strong.</I> Any one sees the vast
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numbers that there shall be of locusts and caterpillars, destroying the
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land, will say (as we are all apt to be most affected with what is
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present), "Surely, never was the like before, nor ever will be the like
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again." Note, Extraordinary judgments are rare things, and seldom
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happen, which is an instance of God's patience. When God had drowned
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the world once he promised never to do it again. The army is here
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describe to be,
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1. Very bold and daring: <I>They are as horses,</I> as war-horses, that
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rush into the battle and <I>are not affrighted</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:22">Job xxxix. 22</A>);
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and <I>as horsemen,</I> carried on with martial fire and fury, <I>so
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they shall run,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Some of the ancients have observed that the head of a locust is very
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like, in shape, to the head of a horse.
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2. Very loud and noisy--<I>like the noise of chariots,</I> of many
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chariots, when driven furiously over rough ground, <I>on the tops of
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the mountains,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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Hence is borrowed part of the description of the locusts which St. John
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saw rise out of the bottomless pit.
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+9:7,9">Rev. ix. 7, 9</A>,
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<I>The shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared to the
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battle; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots, of
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many horses running to the battle.</I> Historians tell us that the
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noise made by swarms of locusts in those countries that are infested
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with them has sometimes been heard six miles off. The noise is likewise
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compared to that of a <I>roaring fire;</I> it is like the <I>noise of a
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flame</I> that <I>devours the stubble,</I> which noise is the more
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terrible because that which it is the indication of is devouring. Note,
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When God's judgments are abroad they make a great noise; and it is
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necessary for the awakening of a secure and stupid world that they
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should do so.
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(3.) They are very regular, and keep ranks in their march; though
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numerous and greedy of spoil, yet they are <I>as a strong people set in
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battle array</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>They shall march every one on his ways,</I> straight forward, as if
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they had been trained up by the discipline of war to keep their post
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and observe their right-hand man. <I>They shall not break their ranks,
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nor one thrust another,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.
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Their number and swiftness shall breed no confusion. See how God can
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make creatures to act by rule that have no reason to act by, when he
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designs to serve his own purposes by them. And see how necessary it is
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that those who are employed in any service for God should observe
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order, and keep ranks, should diligently go on in their own work and
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stand in one another's way.
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4. They are very <I>swift;</I> they <I>run like horsemen</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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run <I>like mighty men</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>);
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they <I>run to and fro in the city,</I> and <I>run upon the wall,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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When God <I>sends forth his command on earth</I> his word <I>runs very
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swiftly,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:15">Ps. cxlvii. 15</A>.
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Angels have wings, and so have locusts, when God makes use of them.</P>
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<P>
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IV. Here is the terrible execution done by this formidable army,
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1. In the country,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:2"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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View the army in the front, and you will see a <I>fire devouring before
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them;</I> they consume all as if they breathed fire. View it in the
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rear, and you will see those that come behind as furious as the
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foremost: <I>Behind them a flame burns.</I> When they are gone, then it
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will appear what destruction they have made. Look upon the fields that
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they have not yet invaded, and they are <I>as the garden of Eden,</I>
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pleasant to the eye, and full of good fruits; they are the pride and
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glory of the country. But look upon the fields that they have eaten up
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and they are <I>as a desolate wilderness;</I> one would not think that
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these had ever been like the former, and yet so they were perhaps but
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the day before, or that those should ever be made like these, and yet
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so they shall be perhaps by to-morrow night; yea, and <I>nothing shall
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escape them</I> than can possibly be made food for them. Let none be
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proud of the beauty of their grounds any more than of their bodies, for
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God can soon change the face of both.
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2. In the city. They shall <I>climb the wall</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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they shall <I>run upon the houses,</I> and <I>enter in at the windows
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like a thief</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>);
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when Egypt was plagued with <I>locusts,</I> they filled <I>Pharaoh's
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houses</I> and the <I>houses of his servants,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+10:5,6">Exod. x. 5, 6</A>.
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The locusts out of the bottomless pit, Satan's emissaries, and
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missionaries of the man of sin, do as these locusts. God's judgments
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too, when they come with commission, cannot be kept out with bars and
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bolts; they will find or force their way.</P>
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<P>
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V. The impressions that should hereby be made upon the people. They
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shall find it to no purpose to make opposition. These enemies are
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invulnerable and therefore irresistible: <I>When they fall upon the
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sword they shall not be wounded,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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And those that cannot be hurt cannot be stopped; and therefore
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<I>before their faces the people shall be much pained</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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as the merchants are in pain for their trading ships when they hear
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they are just in the mouth of a squadron of the enemies. "One is in
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pain for his field, another for his vineyard, <I>and all faces gather
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blackness,</I>" which denotes the utmost consternation imaginable. Men
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in fear look pale, but men in despair look black; the whiteness of a
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sudden fright, when it is settled, turns into blackness. What is the
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matter of our pride and pleasure God can soon make the matter of our
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pain. The terror that the country should be in is described
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>)
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by figurative expressions: <I>The earth shall quake and the heavens
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tremble;</I> even the hearts that seemed undaunted, so firm that
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nothing would frighten them, as immovable as heaven or earth, shall be
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seized with astonishment. Or when the inhabitants of the land are made
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to quake it seems to them as if all about them trembled too. Through
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the prevalency of their fear, or for want of the supports of life which
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they used to have, their eye shall wax dim and their sight fail them,
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so that to them <I>the sun and moon shall seem</I> to be <I>dark,</I>
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and the stars to <I>withdraw their shining.</I> Note, When God frowns
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upon men the lights of heaven will be small joy to them; for man, by
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rebelling against his Creator, has forfeited the benefit of all the
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creatures. But, though this is to be understood figuratively, there is
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a day coming when it will be accomplished in the letter, when the
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<I>heavens</I> shall be <I>rolled together like a scroll,</I> and
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<I>the earth, and all the works that are therein,</I> shall be <I>burnt
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up.</I> Particular judgments should awaken us to think of the general
|
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judgment.</P>
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<P>
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VI. We are here directed to look up both him who is the
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commander-in-chief of this formidable army, and that is God himself,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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It is <I>his army;</I> it is <I>his camp.</I> He raised it; he gives it
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commission; he <I>utters his voice before it,</I> as the general gives
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orders to his army what to do and makes a speech to animate the
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soldiers; it is the Lord that gives the word of command to all these
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animals, which they exactly observe. Some think that with this cloud of
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locusts God sent terrible thunder, for that is called, <I>The voice of
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the Lord,</I> and was another of the plagues of Egypt, and this made
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the heavens and the earth tremble. It is the <I>day of the Lord</I> (as
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it was called,
|
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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for in this war we are sure he carries the day; it must needs be his,
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for <I>his camp is great</I> and numerous. Those whom he makes war upon
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he can, as here, overpower with numbers; and whoever he employs to
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<I>execute his word,</I> as the minister of his justice, is sure to be
|
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made <I>strong</I> and <I>par negotio--equal to what he undertakes;</I>
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whom God gives commission to he girds with strength for the executing
|
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of that commission. And this makes the <I>great day</I> of the Lord
|
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<I>very terrible</I> to all those who in that day are to be made the
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monuments of his justice; for <I>who can abide it?</I> None can escape
|
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the arrests of God's wrath, can make head against the force of it, or
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bear up under the weight of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+6:20,Ps+76:7">1 Sam. vi. 20; Ps. lxxvi. 7</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Joe2_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_17"> </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>Exhortation to Repentance.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 720.</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>12 Therefore also now, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, turn ye <I>even</I> to me
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with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with
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mourning:
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13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God: for he <I>is</I> gracious and merciful, slow to
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anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
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14 Who knoweth <I>if</I> he will return and repent, and leave a
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blessing behind him; <I>even</I> a meat offering and a drink offering
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unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God?
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15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn
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assembly:
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16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the
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elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let
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the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her
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closet.
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17 Let the priests, the ministers of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, weep between the
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porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>,
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and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should
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rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where
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<I>is</I> their God?
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here an earnest exhortation to repentance, inferred from that
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desolating judgment described and threatened in the
|
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:1-11">foregoing verses</A>:
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<I>Therefore now turn you to the Lord.</I>
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1. "Thus you must answer the end and intention of the judgment; for it
|
|
was sent for this end, to convince you of your sins, to humble you for
|
|
them, to reduce you to your right minds and to your allegiance." God
|
|
brings us into straits, that he may bring us to repentance and so bring
|
|
us to himself.
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|
|
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2. "Thus you may stay the progress of the judgment. Things are bad
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|
with you, but thus you may prevent their growing worse; nay, if you
|
|
take this course, they will soon grow better." Here is a gracious
|
|
invitation,</P>
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|
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<P>
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|
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I. To a personal repentance, exercised in the soul, <I>every family
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|
apart, and their wives apart,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:12">Zech. xii. 12</A>.
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When the judgments of God are abroad, each person is concerned to
|
|
contribute his <I>quota</I> to the common supplications, having
|
|
contributed to the common guilt. Every one must mend one and mourn for
|
|
one, and then we should all be mended and all found among God's
|
|
mourners. Observe,</P>
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|
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<P>
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|
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|
1. What we are here called to, which will teach us what it is to
|
|
repent, for it is the same that the Lord our God still requires of us,
|
|
we having all made work for repentance.
|
|
|
|
(1.) We must be truly humbled for our sins, must be sorry we have by
|
|
sin offended God, and ashamed we have by sin wronged ourselves, both
|
|
wronged our judgments and wronged our interests. There must be outward
|
|
expressions of sorrow and shame, <I>fasting,</I> and <I>weeping,</I>
|
|
and <I>mourning;</I> tears for the sin that procured it. But what will
|
|
the outward expressions of sorrow avail if the inward impressions be
|
|
not agreeable, and not only accompany them, but be the root and spring
|
|
of them, and give rise to them? And therefore it follows, <I>Rend your
|
|
heart, and not your garments;</I> not but that, according to the custom
|
|
of that age, it was proper for them to rend their garments, in token of
|
|
great grief for their sins and a holy indignation against themselves
|
|
for their folly; but, "Rest not in the doing of that, as if that were
|
|
sufficient, but be more in care to accommodate your spirits than to
|
|
accommodate your dress to a day of fasting and humiliation; nay, rend
|
|
not your garments at all, unless withal you rend your hearts, for the
|
|
sign without the thing signified is but a jest and a mockery, and an
|
|
affront to God." Rending the heart is that which God looks for and
|
|
requires; that is the <I>broken and contrite heart</I> which he <I>will
|
|
not despise,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+51:17">Ps. li. 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
When we are greatly grieved in soul for sin, so that it even <I>cuts us
|
|
to the heart</I> to think how we have dishonoured God and disparaged
|
|
ourselves by it, when we conceive an aversion to sin, and earnestly
|
|
desire and endeavor to get clear of the principles of it and never to
|
|
return to the practice of it, then we rend our hearts for it, and then
|
|
will God <I>rend the heavens</I> and come down to us with mercy.
|
|
|
|
(2.) We must be thoroughly converted to our God, and come home to him
|
|
when we fall out with sin. <I>Turn you even to me, said the Lord</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
and again
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Turn unto the Lord your God.</I> Our fasting and weeping are worth
|
|
nothing if we do not with them turn to God as our God. When we are
|
|
fully convinced that it is our duty and interest to keep in with him,
|
|
and are heartily sorry we have ever turned the back upon him, and
|
|
thereupon, by a firm and fixed resolution, make his glory our end, his
|
|
will our rule, and his favour our felicity, then we <I>return to the
|
|
Lord our God,</I> and this we are all commanded and invited to do, and
|
|
to do it quickly.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. What arguments are here used to persuade this people thus to turn to
|
|
the Lord, and to turn to him <I>with all their hearts.</I> When the
|
|
heart is rent for sin, and rent from it, then it is prepared to turn
|
|
entirely to God, and to be devoted entirely to him, and he will have it
|
|
all or none. Now, to bring ourselves to this, let us consider,
|
|
|
|
(1.) We are sure that he is, in general, a good God. We must <I>turn to
|
|
the Lord our God,</I> not only because he has been just and righteous
|
|
in punishing us for our sins, the fear of which should drive us to him,
|
|
but because he is <I>gracious and merciful,</I> in receiving upon us
|
|
our repentance, the hope of which should draw us to him. He is gracious
|
|
and merciful, delights not in the death of sinners, but desires that
|
|
they may turn and live. <I>He is slow to anger</I> against those that
|
|
offend him, but of <I>great kindness</I> towards those that desire to
|
|
please him. These very expressions are used in God's proclamation of
|
|
his name when he caused <I>his goodness,</I> and with it all his glory,
|
|
to <I>pass before Moses,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:6,7">Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>He repents him of the evil,</I> not that he changes his mind, but,
|
|
when the sinner's mind is changed, God's way towards him is changed;
|
|
the sentence is reversed, and the curse of the law is taken off. Note,
|
|
That is genuine, ingenuous, and evangelical repentance, which arises
|
|
from a firm belief of the mercy of God, which we have sinned against,
|
|
and yet are not in despair. <I>Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at
|
|
hand.</I> The goodness of God, if it be rightly understood, instead of
|
|
emboldening us to go on in sin, will be the most powerful inducement to
|
|
repentance,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+130:4">Ps. cxxx. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
The act of indemnity brings those to God whom the act of attainder
|
|
frightened from him.
|
|
|
|
(2.) We have reason to hope that he will, upon our repentance, give us
|
|
that good which by sin we have forfeited and deprived ourselves of
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
|
|
|
|
that he will <I>return and repent,</I> that he will not proceed against
|
|
us as he has done, but will act in favour of us. <I>Therefore</I> let
|
|
us repent of our sins against him, and return to him in a way of duty,
|
|
because then we may hope that he will repent of his judgments against
|
|
us and return to us in a way of mercy. Now observe,
|
|
|
|
[1.] The manner of expectation is very humble and modest: <I>Who knows
|
|
if he will?</I> Some think it is expressed thus doubtfully to check the
|
|
presumption and security of the people, and to quicken them to a holy
|
|
carefulness and liveliness in their repentance, as
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:19">Josh. xxiv. 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
Or, rather, it is expressed doubtfully because it is the removal of a
|
|
temporal judgment that they here promise themselves, of which we cannot
|
|
be so confident as we can that, in general, God is gracious and
|
|
merciful. There is no question at all to be made but that if we truly
|
|
repent of our sins God will forgive them, and be reconciled to us; but
|
|
whether he will remove this or the other affliction which we are under
|
|
may well be questioned, and yet the probability of it should encourage
|
|
us to repent. Promises of temporal good things are often made with a
|
|
peradventure. <I>It may be, you shall be hid,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:3">Zeph. ii. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
David's sin is pardoned, and yet the child shall die, and, when David
|
|
prayed for its life, he said, as here, <I>Who can tell whether God will
|
|
be gracious to me</I> in this matter likewise?
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:22">2 Sam. xii. 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
The Ninevites repented and reformed upon such a consideration as this,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jon+3:9">Jonah iii. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
[2.] The matter of expectation is very pious. They hope God will return
|
|
and repent, and <I>leave a blessing behind him,</I> not as if he were
|
|
about to go from them, and they could be content with any blessing in
|
|
lieu of his presence, but <I>behind him,</I> that is, "After he has
|
|
ceased his controversy with us, he will bestow a blessing upon us;" and
|
|
what is it? It is a <I>meat-offering and a drink-offering to the Lord
|
|
our God.</I> The fruits of the earth are called <I>a blessing</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+45:8">Isa. xlv. 8</A>)
|
|
|
|
because they depend upon God's blessing and are necessary blessings to
|
|
us. They had been deprived of these, and that which grieved them most
|
|
while they were so was that God's altar was deprived of its offerings
|
|
and God's priests of their maintenance; that therefore which they
|
|
comfort themselves with the prospect of in their return of plenty is
|
|
that then there shall be meat-offerings and drink-offerings in
|
|
abundance brought to God's altar, which they more desired than to see
|
|
the wonted abundance of meat and drink brought to their own tables.
|
|
Thus when Hezekiah was in hopes that he should recover of his sickness
|
|
he asked, <I>What is the sign that I shall go up,</I> not to the
|
|
thrones of judgment, or to the councilboard, but <I>to the house of the
|
|
Lord?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+38:22">Isa. xxxviii. 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, The plentiful enjoyment of God's ordinances in their power and
|
|
purity is the most valuable instance of a nation's prosperity and the
|
|
greatest blessing that can be desired. If God give the blessing of
|
|
meat-offering and the drink-offering, that will bring along with it
|
|
other blessings, will sanctify them, sweeten them, and secure them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. They are here called to a public national repentance, to be
|
|
exercised in the solemn assembly, as a national act, for the glory of
|
|
God and the excitement of one another, and that the neighbouring
|
|
nations might know and observe what it was that qualified them for
|
|
God's gracious returns in mercy to them, which they would be the
|
|
admiring witnesses of. Let us see here,
|
|
|
|
1. How the congregation must be called together,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:15,16"><I>v.</I> 15, 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
The trumpet was blown
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
|
|
|
|
to sound an <I>alarm of war;</I> but now it must be blown in order to a
|
|
treaty of peace. God is willing to show mercy to his people if he do
|
|
but find them in a frame fit for it; and therefore, Call them together;
|
|
<I>sanctify a fast.</I> By the law many annual feasts were appointed,
|
|
but only one day in the year was to be observed as a fast, the <I>day
|
|
of atonement,</I> a day to <I>afflict the soul;</I> and, if they had
|
|
kept close to God and their duty, there would have been no occasion to
|
|
observe any more; but now that they had by sin brought the judgments of
|
|
God upon them they are often called to fasting. What was said
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+1:14"><I>ch.</I> i. 14</A>
|
|
|
|
is here repeated: "<I>Call a solemn assembly; gather the people</I>
|
|
(press them to come together upon this errand); <I>sanctify the
|
|
congregation;</I> appoint a time for solemn preparation beforehand and
|
|
put them in mind to prepare themselves. Let not the greatest be
|
|
excused, but <I>assemble the elders,</I> the judges and magistrates.
|
|
Let not the meanest be passed by, but <I>gather the children, and those
|
|
that suck the breasts.</I>" It is good to bring little children, as
|
|
soon as they are capable of understanding any thing, to religious
|
|
assemblies, that they may be trained up betimes in the way wherein they
|
|
should go; but these were brought even when they were at the breast and
|
|
were kept fasting, that by their cries for the breast the hearts of the
|
|
parents might be moved to repent of sin, which God might justly so
|
|
visit upon their children that the <I>tongue of the sucking child</I>
|
|
might <I>cleave to the roof of his mouth</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+4:4">Lam. iv. 4</A>),
|
|
|
|
and that on them God might have compassion, as he had on the infants of
|
|
Nineveh,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jon+4:11">Jonah iv. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
New-married people must not be exempted: <I>Let the bridegroom go forth
|
|
of his chamber and the bride out of her closet;</I> let them not take
|
|
state upon them as usual, not put on their ornaments, nor indulge
|
|
themselves in mirth, but address themselves to the duties of the public
|
|
fast with as much gravity and sadness as any of their neighbours. Note,
|
|
Private joys must always give way to public sorrows, both those for
|
|
affliction and those for sin.
|
|
|
|
2. How the work of the day must be carried on,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) The priests, <I>the Lord's ministers,</I> must preside in the
|
|
congregation, and be God's mouth to the people, and theirs to God; who
|
|
should stand in the gap to turn away the wrath of God but those whose
|
|
business it was to make intercession upon ordinary occasions?
|
|
|
|
(2.) They must officiate <I>between the porch and the altar.</I> There
|
|
they used to attend about the sacrifices, and therefore now that they
|
|
have no sacrifices to offer, or next to none, there they must offer up
|
|
spiritual sacrifices. There the people must see them weeping and
|
|
wrestling, like their father Jacob, and be helped into the same devout
|
|
frame. Ministers must themselves be affected with those things
|
|
wherewith they desire to affect others. It was <I>between the porch and
|
|
the altar</I> that Zechariah the son of Jehoiada was put to death for
|
|
his faithfulness; that precious blood God would require at their hands,
|
|
and therefore, to turn away the judgment threatened for it, there they
|
|
must <I>weep.</I>
|
|
|
|
(3.) They must pray. Words here are put into their mouths, which they
|
|
might in their prayers enlarge upon. Their petition must be, <I>Spare
|
|
thy people, O Lord!</I> God's people, when they are in distress, can
|
|
expect no relief against God's justice but what comes from his mercy.
|
|
They cannot say, Lord, <I>right us,</I> but, Lord, <I>spare us.</I> We
|
|
deserve the correction; we need it; but, Lord, mitigate it. The
|
|
sinner's supplication is, <I>Spare us, good Lord.</I> Their plea must
|
|
be taken from the relation wherein they stand to God ("They are <I>thy
|
|
people,</I> and <I>thy heritage,</I> therefore have compassion on
|
|
them"), but especially from the concern of God's glory in their
|
|
trouble--"Lord, <I>give not thy heritage to reproach,</I> to the
|
|
reproach of famine; let not the land of Canaan, that has so long been
|
|
celebrated as the glory of all lands, now be made the scorn of all
|
|
lands; let not <I>the heathen rule over them,</I> as they will easily
|
|
do when thy heritage is thus impoverished and disabled to subsist. Let
|
|
not the heathen make them <I>a proverb,</I> or a <I>by-word</I>" (so
|
|
some read it); "let it never be said, <I>As poor and beggarly as an
|
|
Israelite.</I>" Note, The maintaining of the credit of the nation among
|
|
its neighbours is a blessing to be desired and prayed for by all that
|
|
wish well to it. But that reproach of the church is especially to be
|
|
dreaded and deprecated which reflects upon God: "Let them not <I>say
|
|
among the people, Where is their God</I>--that God who has promised to
|
|
help them, whom they have boasted so much of and put such a confidence
|
|
in?" If God's heritage be destroyed, the neighbours will say, "God was
|
|
either weak and could not relieve them or unkind and would not."
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+32:37">
|
|
Deut. xxxii. 37</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>Where are now their gods in whom they trusted?</I> And Sennacherib
|
|
thus triumphs over them. <I>Where are they gods of Hamath and
|
|
Arpad?</I> But it must by no means be suffered that they should say of
|
|
Israel, <I>Where is their God?</I> For we are sure that our God is in
|
|
the heavens
|
|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:2,3">Ps. cxv. 2, 3</A>),
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is in his temple,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+11:4">Ps. xi. 4</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Joe2_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_24"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_25"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_26"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_27"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Promise of Mercy.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 720.</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>18 Then will the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> be jealous for his land, and pity his
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people.
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19 Yea, the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I
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will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied
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therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the
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heathen:
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20 But I will remove far off from you the northern <I>army,</I> and
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will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face
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toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea,
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and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up,
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because he hath done great things.
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21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> will do
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great things.
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22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of
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the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig
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tree and the vine do yield their strength.
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23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
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your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and
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he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and
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the latter rain in the first <I>month.</I>
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24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall
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overflow with wine and oil.
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25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath
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eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm,
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my great army which I sent among you.
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26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the
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name of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you:
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and my people shall never be ashamed.
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27 And ye shall know that I <I>am</I> in the midst of Israel, and
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<I>that</I> I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God, and none else: and my people
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shall never be ashamed.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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See how ready God is to succour and relieve his people, how he <I>waits
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to be gracious;</I> as soon as ever they humble themselves under this
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hand, and pray, and seek his face, he immediately meets them with his
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favours. They prayed that God would <I>spare them,</I> and see here
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with what <I>good words and comfortable words</I> he answered them; for
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God's promises are real answers to the prayers of faith, because with
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him saying and doing are not two things. Now observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. Whence this mercy promised shall take rise
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
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God will be <I>jealous for his land</I> and <I>pity his people.</I> He
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will have an eye,
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1. To his own honour, and the reputation of his covenant with Israel,
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by which he had conveyed to them that good land and had given in the
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value of it very high; now he will not suffer it to be despised nor
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disparaged, but will be jealous for the credit of his land, and the
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inhabitants of it, who had been praised as a happy people and therefore
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must not lie open to reproach as a miserable people.
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2. To their distress: He will <I>pity his people,</I> and, in pity to
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|
them, he will restore them their forfeited comforts. God's compassion
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|
is a great encouragement to those that come humbly to him as penitents
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and as petitioners.</P>
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<P>
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II. What his mercy shall be, in several instances:--
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1. The destroying army shall be dispersed and defeated
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
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"<I>I will remove far off from you the northern army,</I> that army of
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locusts and caterpillars that invaded you from the north, brought in
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|
upon the wings of a north wind, an army which you could put no stop to
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|
the progress of; but, when you have made your peace with God, he will
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|
ease you of these soldiers that are quartered upon you and will
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<I>drive them into a land barren and desolate,</I> into that vast
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|
howling wilderness that Israel wandered in, where, after having
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surfeited upon the plenty of Canaan, they shall perish for want of
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sustenance. Those that have their <I>face to the east sea</I> (the Dead
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|
Sea, which lay east of Judea) shall perish in that, and the rear of the
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army shall be lost in the Great Sea," called here the <I>utmost
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|
sea.</I> They had made the land barren and desolate, and now God will
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|
cast them into a land barren and desolate. Thus those whom God employs
|
|
for the correction of his people come afterwards to be themselves
|
|
reckoned with; and the rod is thrown into the fire. Nothing shall
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|
remain of these swarms of insects but the ill savour of them. When
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|
Egypt was eased of the plague of locusts they were carried away to the
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|
Red Sea,
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+10:19">Exod. x. 19</A>.
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Note, When an affliction has done its work it shall be removed in
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|
mercy, as the locusts of Canaan were from a penitent people, not as the
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|
locusts of Egypt were removed, in wrath, from an impenitent prince,
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|
only to make room for another plague. Many interpreters, by this
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|
northern army, understand that of Sennacherib, which was dispersed when
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|
God by it had <I>accomplished his whole work upon Mount Zion and upon
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|
Jerusalem,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:12">Isa. x. 12</A>.
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This enemy shall be driven away, because <I>he has done great
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|
things,</I> has done a great deal of mischief, and has <I>magnified</I>
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|
to do it, has done it in the pride of his heart; therefore it follows
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>),
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<I>The Lord will do great things for</I> his people, as the enemy has
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|
done great things against them, to convince them that wherein they deal
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|
proudly he is, and will be, above them, that, what great things soever
|
|
they did, they did no more than God commissioned them to do; and as,
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|
when he said to them, Go, they went, so, when he said to them, Come,
|
|
they came, to show that they were <I>soldiers under him.</I>
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2. The destroyed land shall be watered and made fruitful. When the army
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|
is scattered, yet what shall we do if the desolation they have made
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|
continue? It is therefore promised
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>)
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that <I>the pastures of the wilderness,</I> the pastures which the
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|
locusts had left as bare as the wilderness, shall again <I>spring</I>
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|
and the <I>trees shall again bear their fruit,</I> particularly the
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|
<I>fig-tree and the vine.</I> But, when we see how the country is
|
|
wasted, we are tempted to say, <I>Can these dry bones live? If the
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|
Lord should make windows in heaven,</I> it cannot be; but it shall be,
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|
for
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>)
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|
<I>the Lord has given</I> and will give you <I>the former rain and the
|
|
latter rain,</I> and, if he give them in mercy, he will give them
|
|
moderately, so that the rain shall not turn into a judgment, and he
|
|
will give them in due season, the <I>latter rain in the first
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|
month,</I> when it was wanted and expected. It would make it
|
|
comfortable to them to see it coming from the hand of God, and ordered
|
|
by his wisdom, for then we are sure it is well ordered. <I>He has given
|
|
you a teacher of righteousness,</I> (so the margin reads it, for the
|
|
same word that signifies the <I>rain</I> signifies a <I>teacher.</I>
|
|
and that which we translate <I>moderately</I> is <I>according to
|
|
righteousness</I>), and this <I>teacher of righteousness,</I> says one
|
|
of the rabbin, is the King Messias, and of him many others understand
|
|
this; for he is a <I>teacher come from God,</I> and he shows us the way
|
|
of <I>righteousness.</I> But others understand it of any prophet that
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|
<I>instructs unto righteousness,</I> and some of Hezekiah particularly,
|
|
others of Isaiah. Note, It is a good sign that God has mercy in store
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|
for a people when he sends them teachers of righteousness, pastors
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|
after his own heart.
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|
3. All their losses shall be repaired
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>):
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|
"<I>I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten;</I> you
|
|
shall be comforted according to the time that you have been afflicted,
|
|
and shall have years of plenty to balance the years of famine." Thus
|
|
does it <I>repent the Lord concerning his servants,</I> when they
|
|
repent, and, to show how perfectly he is reconciled to them, he makes
|
|
good the damage they have sustained by his judgments, and, like the
|
|
jailer, <I>washes their stripes.</I> Though, in justice, he distrained
|
|
upon them, and did them no wrong, yet, in compassion, he makes
|
|
restitution; as the father of the prodigal, upon his return, made up
|
|
all he had lost by his sin and folly, and took him into his family, as
|
|
in his former estate. The locusts and caterpillars are here called
|
|
<I>God's great army which he sent among them,</I> and he will repair
|
|
what they had devoured because they were his army.
|
|
|
|
4. They shall have great abundance of all good things. The earth shall
|
|
yield her increase, and they shall enjoy it. Look into the stores
|
|
where they lay up, and you shall find <I>the floors full of wheat, and
|
|
the fats overflowing with wine and oil</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>),
|
|
|
|
whereas, in the day of their distress, the <I>wine and oil
|
|
languished</I> and <I>the barns were broken down,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+1:10,17"><I>ch.</I> i. 10, 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
Look upon their tables, where they lay out what they have laid up, and
|
|
you shall find that they <I>eat in plenty and are satisfied,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
They do not eat to excess, nor are surfeited; we hope the
|
|
<I>drunkards</I> are cured by the late affliction of their inordinate
|
|
love of wine and strong drink, for, though they were brought in howling
|
|
for their scarcity
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+1:5"><I>ch.</I> i. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
they are now brought in again here singing for the plenty of it; but
|
|
now all shall have enough, and shall known when they have enough, for
|
|
God will make their food nourishing and give them to be content with
|
|
it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
These are the mercies promised, and in these <I>God does great
|
|
things</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>He deals wondrously with his people,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
Herein he glorifies his power, and shows that he can relieve his people
|
|
though their distress be ever so great, and glorifies his goodness,
|
|
that he will do it upon their repentance though their provocations were
|
|
ever so great. Note, When God deals graciously with poor sinners that
|
|
return to him it must be acknowledged that he deals wondrously and does
|
|
great things. Some expositors understand these promises figuratively,
|
|
as pointing at gospel-grace, and having their accomplishment in the
|
|
abundant comforts that are treasured up for believers in the covenant
|
|
of grace and the satisfaction of soul they have therein. When God sends
|
|
us his promises to be the matter of our comfort, his graces to be the
|
|
grounds of it, and his Spirit to be the author of it, we may well own
|
|
that he has sent us (according to his promise here,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>)
|
|
|
|
<I>corn, and wine, and oil,</I> or that which is unspeakably better,
|
|
and we have reason to be satisfied therewith.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. What use shall be made of these returns of God's mercy to them and
|
|
the good account they shall turn to.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. God shall have the glory thereof, for they shall <I>rejoice in the
|
|
Lord their God</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>),
|
|
|
|
and what is the matter of their rejoicing shall be the matter of their
|
|
thanksgiving; they shall <I>praise the name of the Lord their God</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>)
|
|
|
|
and not praise their idols, nor call their corn and wine the <I>rewards
|
|
that their lovers had given them.</I> Note, The plenty of our
|
|
creature-comforts is a mercy indeed to us when by them our hearts are
|
|
enlarged in love and thankfulness to God, who gives us all things
|
|
richly to enjoy, though we serve him but poorly. When God restores to
|
|
us plenty after we have known scarcity, as it is doubly pleasant to us,
|
|
so it should make us the more thankful to God. When Israel comes out of
|
|
a wilderness into a Canaan, and there eats and is full, surely he will
|
|
then <I>bless the Lord,</I> with a very sensible pleasure, for <I>that
|
|
good land</I> which <I>he has given him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+8:10">Deut. viii. 10</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. They shall have the credit, and comfort, and spiritual benefit,
|
|
thereof. When God gives them plenty again, and gives them to be
|
|
satisfied with it,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Their reputation shall be retrieved; they and their God shall be
|
|
no more reflected upon as unfaithful to one another when they have
|
|
returned to him in a way of duty and he to them in a way of mercy
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen,</I> that
|
|
triumphed in your calamities and insulted over you;" and
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:26,27"><I>v.</I> 26, 27</A>,
|
|
|
|
"<I>My people shall never be ashamed,</I> as they have been, of their
|
|
good land which they used to boast of, but shall again and ever have
|
|
the same occasion to boast of it." Note, It redounds much to the honour
|
|
of God when he does that which saves the honour of his people; and
|
|
those that are his people indeed, though they may be for a time, shall
|
|
not be always, a <I>reproach among the heathens;</I> if we be rightly
|
|
ashamed of our sins against God, we shall never be ashamed of our
|
|
glorying in God.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Their joys shall be revived
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Be glad and rejoice, O land!</I> and all the inhabitants of it.
|
|
Times of plenty are commonly times of joy; yet the favour of God
|
|
<I>puts gladness into the heart</I> more than those who have <I>corn,
|
|
and wine, and oil increase.</I> But especially <I>be glad them, you
|
|
children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
They <I>mourned in Zion</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
and therefore there in a particular manner they shall rejoice; for
|
|
those that sow in penitential tears shall certainly reap in thankful
|
|
joys. The children of Zion, who led the rest in fasting, must lead the
|
|
rest in rejoicing. But observe, They shall <I>rejoice in the Lord their
|
|
God,</I> not so much in the good themselves that are given them as in
|
|
the good hand that gives them and in the return of his favour to them,
|
|
as theirs in covenant, which these good things are the tokens and
|
|
pledges of. The <I>joy of harvest</I> and the joy of a feast must both
|
|
terminate in God, whose love we should taste in all the gifts of his
|
|
bounty, that we may make him our chief joy, as he is our chief good,
|
|
and the fountain of all good to us.
|
|
|
|
(3.) Their faith in God shall be confirmed and increased. When
|
|
temporal mercies are made by the grace of God to be of spiritual
|
|
advantage to us, and plenty for the body is so far from being an enemy
|
|
(as with many it proves) that it becomes a friend to the prosperity of
|
|
the soul, then they are mercies indeed to us. This is promised here
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,</I> the <I>Holy One
|
|
in the midst of thee</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+11:9">Hos. xi. 9</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>and that I am the Lord your God, and none else.</I> As it proves
|
|
that the Lord is God, and there is none other, because he <I>wounds</I>
|
|
and he <I>heals,</I> he <I>forms light and darkness,</I> he does
|
|
<I>good and evil</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+45:7,De+32:39">Isa. xlv. 7; Deut. xxxii. 39</A>),
|
|
|
|
so it proves him to be <I>God of Israel,</I> a God in covenant with his
|
|
people and a father to them, that as a father he both corrects them
|
|
when they offend and comforts them when they repent. It was the burden
|
|
of the threatenings in Ezekiel's prophecy, Such and such evils I will
|
|
bring upon you, <I>and you shall know that I am the Lord;</I> and the
|
|
same is here made the crown of the promises: You shall <I>eat, and be
|
|
satisfied,</I> and rejoice, and thus <I>you shall know that I am the
|
|
Lord.</I> Note, We should labour to grow in our acquaintance with God
|
|
by all providences, both merciful and afflictive. When God gives to
|
|
his people plenty, and peace, and joy, upon their return to him, he
|
|
thereby gives them to understand that he is pleased with their
|
|
repentance, that he has pardoned their sins, and that he is theirs as
|
|
much as ever--that they are taken into the same covenant with him, for
|
|
he is the Lord their God, and into the same communion, for he is in the
|
|
midst of them, <I>nigh unto them in all that they call upon him
|
|
for,</I> and, as the sun in the centre of the worlds, so in the midst
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|
of them as to diffuse his benign influences to all the parts of his
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|
land.</P>
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<P>
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3. Even the inferior creatures shall share therein and be made easy
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thereby: <I>Fear not, O land!</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
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<I>Be not afraid, you beasts of the field,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
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|
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They had suffered for the sin of man, and for God's quarrel with him;
|
|
and now they shall fare the better for man's repentance and God's
|
|
reconciliation to him. Nay, the beasts were said to <I>cry unto
|
|
God</I>
|
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+1:20"><I>ch.</I> i. 20</A>);
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|
|
|
and now that cry is answered, and they are directed not to <I>be
|
|
afraid,</I> for they shall have plenty of all that which their nature
|
|
craves. God, in sparing Nineveh, had an eye to the cattle
|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jon+4:11">Jonah iv. 11</A>),
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for the cattle had fasted,
|
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:8"><I>ch.</I> iii. 8</A>.
|
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This may lead us to think of the restitution of all things, when the
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|
<I>creature,</I> that is now <I>made subject to vanity</I> and
|
|
<I>groans</I> under it, <I>shall be brought,</I> though not into the
|
|
glorious joy, yet <I>into the glorious liberty, of the children of
|
|
God,</I>
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+8:21">Rom. viii. 21</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Joe2_28"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_29"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_30"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_31"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe2_32"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Promise of Mercy.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 720.</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>28 And it shall come to pass afterward, <I>that</I> 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:
|
|
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those
|
|
days will I pour out my spirit.
|
|
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth,
|
|
blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
|
|
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into
|
|
blood, before the great and the terrible day of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> come.
|
|
32 And it shall come to pass, <I>that</I> whosoever shall call on
|
|
the name of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in
|
|
Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath said, and in the
|
|
remnant whom the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall call.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
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<P>
|
|
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|
The promises of corn, and wine, and oil, in the
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:12-27">foregoing verses</A>,
|
|
|
|
would be very acceptable to a wasted country; but here we are taught
|
|
that we must not rest in those things. God has reserved some better
|
|
things for us, and these verses have reference to those better things,
|
|
both the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory, with the happiness
|
|
of true believers in both. We are here told,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. How the kingdom of grace shall be introduced by a plentiful
|
|
<I>effusion of the Spirit,</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:28,29"><I>v.</I> 28, 29</A>).
|
|
|
|
We are not at a loss about the meaning of this promise, nor in doubt
|
|
what it refers to and wherein it had its accomplishment, for the
|
|
apostle Peter has given us an infallible explication and application of
|
|
it, assuring us that when the Spirit was poured out upon the apostles,
|
|
on the day of Pentecost
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:1">Acts ii. 1</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c.), that was the very thing <I>which was spoken of here by the
|
|
prophet Joel,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:16,17"><I>v.</I> 16, 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
That was the gift of the Spirit, which, according to this prediction,
|
|
was <I>to come,</I> and we are not to <I>look for any other,</I> any
|
|
more than for another accomplishment of the promise of the Messiah.
|
|
Now,
|
|
|
|
1. The blessing itself here promised is the <I>pouring out of the
|
|
Spirit of God,</I> his gifts, graces, and comforts, which the blessed
|
|
Spirit is the author of. We often read in the Old Testament of the
|
|
Spirit of the Lord coming by drops, as it were, upon the judges and
|
|
prophets whom God raised up for extraordinary services; but now the
|
|
Spirit shall be poured out plentifully in a full stream, as was
|
|
promised with an eye to gospel-times,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+44:3">Isa. xliv. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. The time fixed for this is <I>afterwards;</I> after the fulfilling
|
|
of the foregoing promises this shall be fulfilled. St. Peter expounds
|
|
this of <I>the last days,</I> the days of the Messiah, by whom the
|
|
world was to have its last revelation of the divine will and grace in
|
|
the last days of the Jewish church, a little before its dissolution.
|
|
|
|
3. The extent of this blessing, in respect of the persons on whom it
|
|
shall be bestowed. The Spirit shall be <I>poured out upon all
|
|
flesh,</I> not as hitherto upon Jews only, but upon Gentiles also; for
|
|
in Christ there is no distinction between Jew and Greek,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+10:11,12">Rom. x. 11, 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Hitherto divine revelation was confined to the seed of Abraham, none
|
|
but those of the land of Israel had the Spirit of prophecy; but, in the
|
|
last days, <I>all flesh shall see the glory of God</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+40:5">Isa. xl. 5</A>)
|
|
|
|
and shall come to <I>worship before him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+66:23">Isa. lxvi. 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
The Jews understand it of all flesh in the land of Israel, and Peter
|
|
himself did not fully understand it as speaking of the Gentiles till he
|
|
saw it accomplished in the descent of the Holy Ghost upon Cornelius and
|
|
his friends, who were Gentiles
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+10:44,45">Acts x. 44, 45</A>),
|
|
|
|
which was but a continuation of the same gift which was bestowed on the
|
|
day of Pentecost. The Spirit shall be poured out <I>upon all flesh,</I>
|
|
that is, upon all those whose hearts are made hearts of flesh, soft and
|
|
tender, and so prepared to receive the impressions and influences of
|
|
the Holy Ghost. <I>Upon all flesh,</I> that is, upon some of all sorts
|
|
of men; the gifts of the Spirit shall not be so sparing, or so much
|
|
confined, as they have been, but shall be more general and diffusive of
|
|
themselves.
|
|
|
|
(1.) The Spirit shall be poured out upon some of each sex. Not <I>your
|
|
sons</I> only, but <I>your daughters,</I> shall prophesy; we read of
|
|
four sisters in one family that were prophetesses,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+21:9">Acts xxi. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
Not the parents only, but the children, shall be filled with the
|
|
Spirit, which intimates the continuance of this gift for some ages
|
|
successively in the church.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Upon some of each age: "<I>Your old men,</I> who are past their
|
|
vigour and whose spirits begin to decay, <I>your young men,</I> who
|
|
have yet but little acquaintance with and experience of divine things,
|
|
shall yet <I>dream dreams</I> and <I>see visions;</I>" God will reveal
|
|
himself by dreams and visions both to the young and old.
|
|
|
|
(3.) Upon those of the meanest rank and condition, even <I>upon the
|
|
servants and the handmaids.</I> The Jewish doctors say, <I>Prophecy
|
|
does not reside on any</I> but such as are <I>wise, valiant, and
|
|
rich,</I> not upon the soul of a <I>poor man,</I> or a man <I>in
|
|
sorrow.</I> But in Christ Jesus there is <I>neither bond nor free,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:28">Gal. iii. 28</A>.
|
|
|
|
There were many that <I>were called being servants</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+7:21">1 Cor. vii. 21</A>),
|
|
|
|
but that was no obstruction to their receiving the Holy Ghost.
|
|
|
|
(4.) The effect of this blessing: <I>They shall prophesy;</I> they
|
|
shall receive new discoveries of divine things, and that not for their
|
|
own use only, but for the benefit of the church. They shall interpret
|
|
scripture, and speak of things secret, distant, and future, which by
|
|
the utmost sagacities of reason, and their natural powers, they could
|
|
not have any insight into nor foresight of. By these extraordinary
|
|
gifts the Christian church was first founded and set up, and the
|
|
scriptures were written, and the ministry settled, by which, with the
|
|
ordinary operations and influences of the Spirit, it was to be
|
|
afterwards maintained and kept up.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. How the kingdom of glory shall be introduced by the universal
|
|
change of nature,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:30,31"><I>v.</I> 30, 31</A>.
|
|
|
|
The pouring out of the Spirit will be very comfortable to the
|
|
righteous; but let the unrighteous hear this, and tremble. There is a
|
|
<I>great and terrible day of the Lord</I> coming, which shall be
|
|
ushered in with <I>wonders</I> in <I>heaven and earth, blood, and fire,
|
|
and pillars of smoke,</I> the turning of <I>the sun into darkness and
|
|
the moon into blood.</I> This is to have its full accomplishment (as
|
|
the learned Dr. Pocock thinks) in the day of judgment, at the end of
|
|
time, before which these signs will be performed in the letter of them,
|
|
yet so that it was accomplished in part in the death of Christ (which
|
|
is called the <I>judgment of this world,</I> when the earth quaked and
|
|
the sun was darkened, and a <I>great and terrible day</I> it was), and
|
|
more fully in the destruction of Jerusalem, which was a type and figure
|
|
of the general judgment, and before which there were many amazing
|
|
prodigies, besides the convulsions of states and kingdoms prophesied of
|
|
under the figurative expressions of turning the <I>sun into darkness
|
|
and the moon into blood,</I> and the <I>wars and rumours of wars,</I>
|
|
and <I>distress of nations,</I> which our Saviour spoke of as the
|
|
<I>beginning of</I> these <I>sorrows,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+24:6,7">Matt. xxiv. 6, 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
But before the last judgment there will be <I>wonders</I> indeed <I>in
|
|
heaven and earth,</I> the dissolution of both, without a metaphor. The
|
|
judgments of God upon a sinful world, and the frequent destruction of
|
|
wicked kingdoms by fire and sword, are prefaces to and presages of the
|
|
judgment of the world in the last day. Those on whom the Spirit is
|
|
poured out shall foresee and foretel that <I>great and terrible day of
|
|
the Lord,</I> and expound the <I>wonders in heaven and earth</I> that
|
|
go before it; for, as to his first coming, so to his second, all the
|
|
prophets did and do bear witness,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+10:7">Rev. x. 7</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The safety and happiness of all true believers both in the first
|
|
and second coming of Jesus Christ,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:32"><I>v.</I> 32</A>.
|
|
|
|
This speaks of particular persons, for to them the New Testament has
|
|
more respect, and less to kingdoms and nations, than the Old. Now
|
|
observe here,
|
|
|
|
1. That there is a salvation wrought out. Though the day of the Lord
|
|
will be great and terrible, yet <I>in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there
|
|
shall be deliverance</I> from the terror of it. It is the day of the
|
|
Lord, the day of his judgment, who knows how to separate between the
|
|
precious and the vile. In the everlasting gospel, which <I>went from
|
|
Zion,</I> in the church of the first-born typified by Mount Zion, and
|
|
which is the Jerusalem that is from above, there is <I>deliverance;</I>
|
|
a way of escaping the <I>wrath to come</I> is found out and laid open.
|
|
Christ is himself not only the <I>Saviour,</I> but <I>the
|
|
salvation;</I> he is so <I>to the ends of the earth.</I> This
|
|
deliverance, laid up for us in the covenant of grace, is in performance
|
|
of the promises made to the fathers. <I>There shall be deliverance, as
|
|
the Lord has said.</I> See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+1:72">Luke i. 72</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, This is ground of comfort and hope to sinners, that, whatever
|
|
danger there is in their case, there is also deliverance, deliverance
|
|
for them, if it be not their own fault. And, if we would share in this
|
|
deliverance, we must ourselves apply to the gospel--Zion, to God's
|
|
Jerusalem.
|
|
|
|
2. That there is a remnant interested in this salvation, and for whom
|
|
the deliverance is wrought. It is <I>in that remnant</I> (that is,
|
|
among them) that the deliverance is, or in their souls and spirits;
|
|
there are the earnests and evidences of it. <I>Christ in you, the hope
|
|
of glory.</I> They are called a <I>remnant,</I> because they are but a
|
|
few in comparison with the multitudes that are left to perish; a little
|
|
remnant but a chosen one, a <I>remnant according to the election of
|
|
grace.</I> And here we are told who they are that shall be delivered in
|
|
the great day.
|
|
|
|
(1.) Those that sincerely call upon God: <I>Whosoever shall call upon
|
|
the name of the Lord,</I> whether Jew or Gentile (for the apostle so
|
|
expounds it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+10:13">Rom. x. 13</A>,
|
|
|
|
where he lays this down as the great rule of the gospel by which we
|
|
must all be judged), <I>shall be delivered.</I> This calling on God
|
|
supposes knowledge of him, faith in him, desire towards him, dependence
|
|
on him, and, as an evidence of the sincerity of all this, a
|
|
conscientious obedience to him; for, without that, crying <I>Lord,
|
|
Lord,</I> will not stand us in any stead. Note, It is the praying
|
|
remnant that shall be the saved remnant. And it will aggravate the ruin
|
|
of those who perish that they might have been saved on such easy terms.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Those that are effectually called to God. The deliverance is sure
|
|
to the <I>remnant whom the Lord shall call,</I> not only with the
|
|
common call of the gospel, with which many are called that are not
|
|
chosen, but with a special call into the fellowship of Jesus Christ,
|
|
whom <I>the Lord predestinates,</I> or <I>prepares,</I> so the Chaldee.
|
|
St. Peter borrows this phrase,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:39">Acts ii. 39</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, Those only shall be delivered in the great day that are now
|
|
effectually called from sin to God, from self to Christ, from things
|
|
below to things above.</P>
|
|
|
|
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