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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Joel III].</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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<h3><a href="http://www.biblesnet.com" target="_blank">Back to Biblesnet.com Home Page</a>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC29002.HTM">Previous</A>]
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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</TD></TR></TABLE>
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<HR>
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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. III.</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 the close of the foregoing chapter we had a gracious promise of
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deliverance in Mount Zion and Jerusalem; now this whole chapter is a
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comment upon that promise, showing what that deliverance shall be, how
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it shall be wrought by the destruction of the church's enemies, and how
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it shall be perfected in the everlasting rest and joy of the church.
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This was in part accomplished in the deliverance of Jerusalem from the
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attempt that Sennacherib made upon it in Hezekiah's time, and
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afterwards in the return of the Jews out of their captivity in Babylon,
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and other deliverances wrought for the Jewish church between that and
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Christ's coming. But it has a further reference, to the great
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redemption wrought out for us by Jesus Christ, and the destruction of
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our spiritual enemies and all their agents, and will have its full
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accomplishment in the judgment of the great day. Here is a prediction,
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I. Of God's reckoning with the enemies of his people for all the
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injuries and indignities that they had done them, and returning them
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upon their own head,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:1-8">ver. 1-8</A>.
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II. Of God's judging all nations when the measure of their iniquity is
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full, and appearing publicly, to the everlasting confusion of all
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impenitent sinners and the everlasting comfort of all his faithful
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servants,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:9-17">ver. 9-17</A>.
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III. Of the provision God has made for the refreshment of his people,
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for their safety and purity, when their enemies shall be made desolate,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:18-21">ver. 18-21</A>.
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These promises were not of private interpretation only, but were
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written for our learning, "that we, through patience and comfort of
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this scripture, might have hope."</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Joe3_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe3_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe3_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe3_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe3_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe3_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe3_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe3_8"> </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 against Israel's Enemies.</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 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall
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bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
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2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into
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the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my
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people and <I>for</I> my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered
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among the nations, and parted my land.
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3 And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy
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for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
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4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and
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all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and
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if ye recompense me, swiftly <I>and</I> speedily will I return your
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recompence upon your own head;
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5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried
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into your temples my goodly pleasant things:
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6 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have
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ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from
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their border.
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7 Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have
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sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:
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8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of
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the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans,
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to a people far off: for the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath spoken <I>it.</I>
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have often heard of the <I>year of the redeemed,</I> and the <I>year
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of recompences for the controversy of Zion;</I> now here we have a
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description of the transactions of that year, and a prophecy of what
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shall be done when it comes, whenever it comes, for it comes often, and
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at the end of time it will come once for all.</P>
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<P>
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I. It shall be the <I>year of the redeemed,</I> for God will <I>bring
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again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Though the bondage of God's people may be grievous and very long, yet
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it shall not be everlasting. That in Egypt ended at length in their
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deliverance into the glorious liberty of the children of God. <I>Let my
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son go, the he may serve me.</I> That in Babylon shall likewise end
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well. And the Lord Jesus will provide for the effectual redemption of
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poor enslaved souls from under the dominion of sin and Satan, and will
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proclaim that <I>acceptable year,</I> the year of jubilee, the release
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of debts and servants, and the <I>opening of the prison to those that
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were bound.</I> There is a day, there is a time, fixed for the
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<I>bringing again of the captivity</I> of God's children, for the
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redeeming of them <I>from the power of the grave;</I> and it shall be
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the <I>last day</I> and the end of all time.</P>
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<P>
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II. It shall be the <I>year of recompences for the controversy of
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Zion.</I> Though God may suffer the enemies of his people to prevail
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against them very far and for a long time, yet he will call them to an
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account for it, and will lead captivity captive
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+68:18">Ps. lxviii. 18</A>),
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will lead those captive that led his people captive,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+13:10">Rev. xiii. 10</A>.
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Observe,</P>
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<P>
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1. Who those are that shall be reckoned with--<I>all nations,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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This intimates,
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(1.) That all the nations had made themselves liable to the judgment of
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God for wrong done to his people. Persecution is the reigning crying
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sin of the world; that <I>lying in wickedness</I> itself is set against
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godliness. The enmity that is in the old serpent, <I>the god of this
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world,</I> against the seed of the woman, appears more or less in the
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<I>children of this world. Marvel not if the world hate you.</I>
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(2.) That, whatsoever nation injured God's nation, they should not go
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unpunished; for he that touches the Israel of God shall be made to know
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that he touches the apple of his eye. Jerusalem will be a <I>burdensome
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stone to all people,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:3">Zech. xii. 3</A>.
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But the neighboring nations shall be particularly reckoned
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with--<I>Tyre, and Sidon, and all the coasts of Palestine,</I> or the
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Philistines, who have been troublesome neighbours to the Israel of God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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When the more remote and potent nations that laid Israel wastes are
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reckoned with the impotent malice of those that lay near them, and
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<I>helped forward the affliction,</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+1:15">Zech. i. 15</A>),
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and made a hand of it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:2">Ezek. xxvi. 2</A>),
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shall not be passed by. Note, Little persecutors shall be called to an
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account as well as great ones; and, though they could not do much
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mischief, shall be reckoned with according to the <I>wickedness of
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their endeavors</I> and the mischief they would have done.</P>
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<P>
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2. The sitting of this court for judgment. They shall all be
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<I>gathered</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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that those who have combined together against God's people, <I>with one
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consent</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+83:5">Ps. lxxxiii. 5</A>),
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may together receive their doom. They shall be <I>brought down into the
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valley of Jehoshaphat,</I> which lay near Jerusalem, and there <I>God
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will plead with them,</I>
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(1.) Because it is fit that criminals should be tried in the same
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country where they did the fact.
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(2.) For their greater confusion, when they shall see that Jerusalem
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which they have so long endeavored and hoped for the ruin of, in spite
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of all their rage, made a <I>praise in the earth.</I>
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(3.) For the greater comfort and honor of God's Jerusalem, which shall
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see God pleading their cause.
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(4.) Then shall be re-acted what God did for Jehoshaphat when he gave
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him victory over those that invaded him, and furnished him and his
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people with matter of joy and praise, in the <I>valley of Berachah.</I>
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See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+20:26">2 Chron. xx. 26</A>.
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(5.) It was in this valley of Jehoshaphat (as Dr. Lightfoot suggests)
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that Sennacherib's army, or part of it, lay, when it was destroyed by
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an angel. They came together to ruin Jerusalem, but God brought them
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together for their own ruin, <I>as sheaves into the floor,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+4:12">Mic. iv. 12</A>.</P>
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<P>
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3. The plaintiff called, on whose behalf this prosecution is set on
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foot; it is for <I>my people,</I> and <I>for my heritage Israel.</I> It
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is their cause that God will now plead with jealousy. Note, God's
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people are <I>his heritage,</I> his <I>peculiar,</I> his
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<I>portion,</I> his <I>treasure,</I> above all people,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+19:5,De+32:9">Exod. xix. 5; Deut. xxxii. 9</A>.
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They are his demesne, and therefore he has a good action against those
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that trespass upon them.</P>
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<P>
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4. The charge exhibited against them, which is very particular. Many
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affronts they had put upon God by their idolatries, but that for which
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God has a quarrel with them is the affront they have put upon his
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people and upon the vessels of his sanctuary.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) They had been very abusive to the people of Israel, had
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<I>scattered them among the nations</I> and forced them to seek for
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shelter where they could find a place, or carried them captive into
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their respective countries and there industriously dispersed them, for
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fear of their incorporating for their common safety. They <I>parted
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their land,</I> and took every one his share of it as their own; nay,
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they have <I>cast lots for my people,</I> and <I>sold them.</I> When
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they had taken them prisoners,
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[1.] They made a jest of them, made a scorn of them as of no value.
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They would not release them and yet thought them not worth the keeping;
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they made nothing of playing them away at dice. Or they made a dividend
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of the prisoners <I>by lot,</I> as the soldiers did of Christ's
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garments.
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[2.] They made a gain of them. When they had them they <I>sold</I>
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them, yet with so much contempt that they did <I>not increase their
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wealth by their price,</I> but sold them for their pleasure rather than
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their profit; they <I>gave a boy</I> taken in war for the <I>hire of a
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harlot,</I> and <I>a girl</I> for so many bottles of wine as would
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serve them for one sitting, a <I>goodly price</I> at which they valued
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them, and goodly preferment for a son and daughter of Israel to be a
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slave and a drudge in a tavern or a brothel. Observe, here, how that
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which is got by sin is commonly spent upon another. The spoil which
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these enemies of the Jews gathered by injustice and violence they
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scattered and threw away in drinking and whoring; such is frequently
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the character, and such the conversation, of the enemies and
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persecutors of the people of God. The Tyrians and Philistines, when
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they seized any of the children of Judah and Jerusalem, either took
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them prisoners in war or kidnapped them, they sold them to the Grecians
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(with whom the men of Tyre traded in the <I>persons of men,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+27:13">Ezek. xxvii. 13</A>),
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that they <I>might remove them far from their</I> own <I>border,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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It was a great reproach to Israel, God's first-born, his free-born, to
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be thus bought and sold among the heathen.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) They had unjustly seized <I>God's silver and gold</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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by which some understand the wealth of Israel. The silver and gold
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which God's people had he calls his, because they had received it from
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him and devoted it to him; and whosoever robbed them God took it as if
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they had robbed him and would make reprisals accordingly. Those who
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take away the estates of good men for well-doing will be found guilty
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of sacrilege; they take God's <I>silver and gold.</I> But it seems
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rather to be meant of the <I>vessels</I> and <I>treasures of the
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temple,</I> which God here calls his <I>goodly pleasant things,</I>
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precious and desirable to him and all that are his. These they
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<I>carried into their temples</I> as trophies of their victory over
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God's Israel, thinking that therein they triumphed over Israel's God,
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nay, and that their idols triumphed over him. Thus the ark was put in
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Dagon's temple. Thus they did unjustly. "<I>What have you to do with
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me</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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with my people; what wrong have they done you? What provocation have
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they given you? You had nothing to do with them, and yet you do all
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this against them. Devices are devised against the <I>quiet in the
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land,</I> and those offended and harmed that are harmless and
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inoffensive: <I>Will you render me a recompence?</I>" Can they pretend
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that either God or his people have done them any injury, for which they
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may justify themselves by the law of retaliation in doing them these
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mischiefs? No; they have no colour for it. Note, It is no new thing for
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those who have been very civil and obliging to their neighbours to find
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them very unkind and unneighbourly and for those who do no injuries to
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suffer many.</P>
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<P>
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5. The sentence passed upon them. In general
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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"If <I>you recompense me,</I> if you pretend a quarrel with me, if you
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provoke me thus to jealousy, if you touch the apple of my eye, <I>I
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will swiftly and speedily return your recompence upon your own
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head.</I>" Those that contend with God will find themselves unable to
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make their part good with him. He will recompense them <I>suddenly,</I>
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when they little think of it, and have not time to prevent it; if he
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take them to task, he will soon effect their ruin. Particularly, it is
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threatened,
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(1.) That they should not gain their end in the mischief they designed
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against God's people. They thought to <I>remove them so far from their
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border</I> that they should never return to it again,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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But (says God) "<I>I will raise them out of the place whither you have
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sold them,</I> and they shall not, as you intended, be buried alive
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there." Men's selling the people of God will not deprive him of his
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property in them.
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(2.) That they shall be paid in their own coin, as Adonibezek was
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
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"<I>I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the
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children of Judah;</I> you shall lie as much at their mercy as they
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have been at yours,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+60:14">Isa. lx. 14</A>.
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Thus the Jews <I>had rule over those that hated them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+9:1">Esther ix. 1</A>.
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And then they shall justly be <I>sold to the Sabeans,</I> to a
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<I>people far off.</I> This (some think) had its accomplishment in the
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victories obtained by the Maccabees over the enemies of the Jews;
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others think it looks as far forward as the last day, when the
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<I>upright shall have dominion</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:14">Ps. xlix. 14</A>)
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and <I>the saints shall judge the world.</I> It is certain that none
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ever hardened his heart against God, or his church, and prospered long;
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no, not Pharaoh himself, for <I>the Lord has spoken it,</I> for the
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comfort of all his suffering servants, that <I>vengeance is his and he
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will repay.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Joe3_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe3_10"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Joe3_11"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Joe3_12"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Joe3_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Joe3_14"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Joe3_15"> </A>
|
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<A NAME="Joe3_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe3_17"> </A>
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|
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Threatenings against Israel's Enemies.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 720.</TD></TR>
|
|
<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>9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the
|
|
mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
|
|
10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into
|
|
spears: let the weak say, I <I>am</I> strong.
|
|
11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather
|
|
yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to
|
|
come down, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of
|
|
Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round
|
|
about.
|
|
13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you
|
|
down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their
|
|
wickedness <I>is</I> great.
|
|
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the
|
|
day of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> near in the valley of decision.
|
|
15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall
|
|
withdraw their shining.
|
|
16 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice
|
|
from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but
|
|
the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>will be</I> the hope of his people, and the strength of
|
|
the children of Israel.
|
|
17 So shall ye know that I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God dwelling in
|
|
Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there
|
|
shall no strangers pass through her any more.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
What the psalmist had long before ordered to be <I>said among the
|
|
heathen</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+96:10">Ps. xcvi. 10</A>)
|
|
|
|
the prophet here will have in like manner to be published to all
|
|
nations, That <I>the Lord reigns,</I> and that <I>he comes, he comes to
|
|
judge the earth,</I> as he had long been judging in the earth. The
|
|
notice here given of God's judging the nations may have reference to
|
|
the destruction of Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus, and to the
|
|
Antichrist especially, and all the proud enemies of the Christian
|
|
church; but some of the best interpreters, ancient and modern
|
|
(particularly the learned Dr. Polock), think the scope of these verses
|
|
is to set forth the day of the last judgment under the similitude of
|
|
God's making war upon the enemies of his kingdom, and his gathering in
|
|
the harvest of the earth, both which similitudes we find used in the
|
|
Revelation,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+19:11,Re+14:18"><I>ch.</I> xix. 11; xiv. 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
Here we have,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. A challenge given to all the enemies of God's kingdom to do their
|
|
worst. To signify to them that God is preparing war against them, they
|
|
are called upon to prepare war against him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:9-11"><I>v.</I> 9-11</A>.
|
|
|
|
When the hour of God's judgment shall come effectual methods shall be
|
|
taken to gather all nations <I>to the battle of that great day of God
|
|
Almighty,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+16:14,20:8">Rev. xvi. 14; xx. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
It seems to be here spoken ironically: "<I>Proclaim you this among the
|
|
Gentiles;</I> let all the forces of the nations be summoned to join in
|
|
confederacy against God and his people." It is like that,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+7:9">Isa. vii. 9</A>,
|
|
|
|
"<I>Associate yourselves, O you people!</I> and <I>gird yourselves,</I>
|
|
but you shall be <I>broken to pieces.</I> <I>Prepare war;</I> muster up
|
|
all your strength; <I>wake up the mighty men;</I> call them into your
|
|
service; excite them to vigilance and resolution; <I>let all the men of
|
|
war draw near. Let them come</I> and enter the lists with Omnipotence
|
|
if they dare; let them not complain for want of weapons, but let them
|
|
<I>beat their ploughshares into swords</I> and their <I>pruning-hooks
|
|
into spears.</I> Let them resolve, if they will, never to return to
|
|
their husbandry again, but either to conquer or die; let none plead
|
|
unfitness to bear arms, but <I>let the weak say, I am strong</I> and
|
|
will venture into the field of battle." Thus does a God of almighty
|
|
power bid defiance to all the opposition of the powers of darkness; let
|
|
the <I>heathen rage,</I> and the <I>kings of the earth take counsel
|
|
together, against the Lord and his Christ;</I> let them <I>assemble,
|
|
and come,</I> and <I>gather themselves together;</I> but he that sits
|
|
in heaven shall laugh at them, and, while he thus calls them, he has
|
|
them in derision,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:1,4">Ps. ii. 1, 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
The heathen must be wakened, must be raised from the dead, that they
|
|
may <I>come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat,</I> to receive their doom
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
may come up out of their graves, come up <I>into the air,</I> to meet
|
|
the Lord there. Jehoshaphat signifies <I>the judgment of the Lord.</I>
|
|
Let them come to the place of God's judgment, which perhaps is the
|
|
chief reason for the using of this name here, but it is put together as
|
|
a proper name for the sake of allusions to the place so called, which
|
|
we observed before; let them come thither where God will <I>sit to
|
|
judge the heathen,</I> to that <I>throne of glory</I> before which
|
|
shall be <I>gathered all nations</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+25:32">Matt. xxv. 32</A>),
|
|
|
|
for before the judgment-seat of Christ <I>we must all appear.</I> The
|
|
challenge
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>)
|
|
|
|
is turned into a summons,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is not only, <I>Come if you dare,</I> but <I>You shall come</I>
|
|
whether you will or no, for there is no escaping the judgments of
|
|
God.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. A charge given to the ministers of God's justice to appear and act
|
|
against these daring enemies of his kingdom among men: And therefore
|
|
<I>cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord!</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
When they bring their forces into the field, let God bring his, let the
|
|
archangel's trumpet sound a charge, to call together his <I>mighty
|
|
ones,</I> that is, his angels. Perhaps it is with reference to this
|
|
that Christ's coming from heaven at the last day is said to be <I>with
|
|
his mighty angels,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Th+1:7">2 Thess. i. 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
These are the <I>hosts of the Lord,</I> that shall fight his battles
|
|
when he shall put down all opposing rule, principality, and power when
|
|
he shall <I>judge among the heathen,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+110:6">Ps. cx. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
Some think these words
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Prepare war, wake up the mighty men,</I> are not a challenge to the
|
|
enemies' hosts, but a charge to God's hosts; let them <I>draw near, and
|
|
come up.</I> When God's cause is to be pleaded, either by the law or by
|
|
the sword, he has those ready that shall please it effectually,
|
|
witnesses ready to appear for him in the court of judgment, soldiers
|
|
ready to appear for him in the field of battle. They shall <I>beat
|
|
ploughshares into swords,</I> if need be. However, it is plain that to
|
|
them the charge in given
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Put you in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe;</I> that is,
|
|
<I>their wickedness is great,</I> the measure of it is full, and they
|
|
are ripe for ruin. Our Saviour has expounded this,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+13:39">Matt. xiii. 39</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the
|
|
angels.</I> And they are commanded to <I>thrust</I> in their <I>sickle.
|
|
their sharp sickle,</I> and gather in both the <I>harvest</I> and the
|
|
<I>vintage,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+14:15,18">Rev. xiv. 15, 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, The greatness of men's wickedness makes them ripe for God's
|
|
judgment.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The vast appearance that shall be in that great and solemn day
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision,</I> the same
|
|
which before was called the <I>valley of Jehoshaphat,</I> or <I>of the
|
|
judgment of the Lord,</I> for the <I>day of the Lord is near</I> in
|
|
that valley. Note,
|
|
|
|
1. The judgment-day, that day of the Lord, has all along been looked
|
|
upon, and spoken of, as <I>nigh at hand.</I> Enoch said, <I>Behold, the
|
|
Lord comes,</I> as if the Judge were then standing before the do or,
|
|
because it is certain that that day will come and will come according
|
|
to the appointment, and a <I>thousand years with God are but as one
|
|
day;</I> things are ripening apace for it; we ought always to be ready
|
|
for it, because our judgment is at hand.
|
|
|
|
2. The day of judgment will be the <I>day of decision,</I> when every
|
|
man's eternal state will be determined, and the controversy that has
|
|
been long depending between the kingdom of Christ and that of Satan
|
|
shall be finally decided, and an end put to the struggle. <I>The valley
|
|
of the distribution of judgment</I> (so the Chaldee), when <I>every man
|
|
shall receive according to the things done in the body. The valley of
|
|
threshing</I> (so the margin), carrying on the metaphor of the
|
|
<I>harvest,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
The proud enemies of God's people will then be crushed and broken to
|
|
pieces, and made as the <I>dust of the summer threshing-floors.</I>
|
|
|
|
3. Innumerable multitudes will be gathered together to receive their
|
|
final doom in that day, as in the destruction of Gog we read of the
|
|
valley of <I>Hamon-Gog,</I> and the city of <I>Hamonah</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:15,16">Ezek. xxxix. 15, 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
both signifying the <I>multitude</I> of the vanquished enemies; it is
|
|
the word here used, <I>Hamonim, Hamonim,</I> expressed by the way of
|
|
admiration--O what vast multitudes of sinners will divine justice be
|
|
glorified in the ruin of at that day! <I>A multitude of living</I>
|
|
(says one of the rabbin) <I>and a multitude of dead,</I> for Christ
|
|
shall come <I>to judge both the quick and the dead.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. The amazing change that shall then be made in the kingdom of nature
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The sun and moon shall be darkened,</I> as before,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:31"><I>ch.</I> ii. 31</A>.
|
|
|
|
Their glory and lustre shall be eclipsed by the far greater brightness
|
|
of that glory in which the Judge shall then appear. Nay, they shall
|
|
themselves be set aside in the dissolution of all things; for the
|
|
damned sinners in hell shall not be allowed their light, for God
|
|
himself will be <I>their everlasting light,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+60:19">Isa. lx. 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that fall under the wrath of God in that day of wrath shall be
|
|
cut off from all comfort and joy, signified by the darkening not only
|
|
of sun and moon, but of the stars also.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. The different impressions which that day will make upon the children
|
|
of this world and the children of God, according as it will be to them.
|
|
|
|
1. To the wicked it will be a terrible day. <I>The Lord</I> shall then
|
|
speak <I>from Zion and Jerusalem,</I> from the throne of his glory,
|
|
from heaven, where he manifests himself in a peculiar manner, as
|
|
sometimes he has done in the <I>glorious high throne of his
|
|
sanctuary,</I> which yet was but a faint resemblance of the glory of
|
|
that day. He shall speak <I>from heaven,</I> from <I>the midst</I> of
|
|
his saints and angels (so some understand it), the holy society of
|
|
which may be called <I>Zion</I> and <I>Jerusalem;</I> for, when we come
|
|
to the <I>heavenly Jerusalem,</I> we come to the <I>innumerable company
|
|
of angels;</I> see
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:22">Heb. xii. 22, 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
Now is speaking in that day will be to the wicked as <I>roaring,</I>
|
|
terrible as the roaring of a lion (for so the word signifies); he long
|
|
kept silence, but now <I>our God shall come, and shall not keep
|
|
silence,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+50:3,21">Ps. l. 3, 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, The judgment of the great day will make the ears of those to
|
|
tingle that continue the implacable enemies of God's kingdom. God's
|
|
voice will then <I>shake terribly</I> both <I>heaven and earth</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+2:21">Isa. ii. 21</A>),
|
|
|
|
yet <I>once more,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hag+2:6,Heb+12:26">Hag. ii. 6; Heb. xii. 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
This denotes that the voice of God will in the great day speak such
|
|
terror to the wicked as were enough to put even heaven and earth into a
|
|
consternation. When God comes to pull down and destroy his enemies, and
|
|
make them all his footstool, though heaven and earth should stand up in
|
|
defence of them and undertake their protection, it shall be all in
|
|
vain. Even they shall shake before him and be an insufficient shelter
|
|
to those whom he comforts forth to contend with. Note, As blessings out
|
|
of Zion are the sweetest blessings, and enough to make heaven and earth
|
|
sing, so terrors out of Zion are the sorest terrors, and enough to make
|
|
heaven and earth shake.
|
|
|
|
2. To the righteous it will be a joyful day. When the heaven and earth
|
|
shall tremble, and be dissolved and burnt up, then will the Lord be the
|
|
<I>hope of his people</I> and the <I>strength of the children of
|
|
Israel</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
and <I>then shall Jerusalem be holy,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
The saints are the Israel of God; they are <I>his people;</I> the
|
|
church is his Jerusalem. They are in covenant and communion with him;
|
|
now in the great day,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Their longings shall be satisfied: <I>The Lord will be the hope of
|
|
his people.</I> As he always was the founder and foundation of their
|
|
hopes, so he then will be the crown of their hopes. He will be the
|
|
<I>harbour</I> of his people (so the word is), their receptacle,
|
|
refuge, and home. The saints in the great day shall arrive at the
|
|
desired haven, shall put to shore after a stormy voyage; they shall go
|
|
to be for ever at home with God, to their Father's house, the house
|
|
<I>not made with hands.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) Their happiness shall be confirmed. God will be in that day the
|
|
<I>strength of the children of Israel,</I> enabling them to bid that
|
|
day welcome and to bear up under the weight of its glories and joys. In
|
|
this world, when the judgments of God are abroad, and sinners are
|
|
falling under them, God is and will be the hope and strength of his
|
|
people, the strength of their heart, and their portion, when other
|
|
men's hearts fail them for fear.
|
|
|
|
(3.) Their holiness shall be completed
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Then shall Jerusalem be holy,</I> the <I>holy city</I> indeed; such
|
|
shall the heavenly Jerusalem be, such the glorious church, <I>without
|
|
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. Jerusalem shall be holiness</I>
|
|
(so the word is); it shall be perfectly holy; there shall be no
|
|
remainder of sin in it. The gospel-church is a holy society, even in
|
|
its militant state, but will never be holiness itself till it comes to
|
|
be triumphant. Then <I>no stranger shall pass through her any more;</I>
|
|
there shall not enter into the New Jerusalem any thing that defiles or
|
|
works iniquity; none shall be there but those who have a right to be
|
|
there, none but its own citizens; for it shall be an unmixed society.
|
|
|
|
(4.) God shall in all this be manifested and magnified: <I>So shall you
|
|
know that I am the Lord your God.</I> By the sanctifying and glorifying
|
|
of the church God will be known in his holiness and glory, as the God
|
|
that dwells in his holy mountain and makes it holy by dwelling in it;
|
|
and those that are sanctified and glorified are so <I>through the
|
|
knowledge of him</I> that called them. The knowledge which true
|
|
believers have of God is,
|
|
|
|
[1.] An appropriating knowledge. They know that he is <I>the Lord their
|
|
God,</I> yet not theirs only, but theirs in common with the whole
|
|
church, that he is their God, but <I>dwelling in Zion his holy
|
|
mountain;</I> for, though faith appropriates, it does not engross or
|
|
monopolize the privileges of the covenant.
|
|
|
|
[2.] It is an experimental knowledge. They shall find him their <I>hope
|
|
and strength</I> in the worst of times, and so they shall <I>know that
|
|
he is the Lord their God.</I> Those know best the goodness of God who
|
|
have tasted and seen it, and have found him good to them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Joe3_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Joe3_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Joe3_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Joe3_21"> </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>Judgments and Mercies; Promises to the Church.</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 And it shall come to pass in that day, <I>that</I> the mountains
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shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and
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all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain
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shall come forth of the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and shall water the
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valley of Shittim.
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19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate
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wilderness, for the violence <I>against</I> the children of Judah,
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because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
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20 But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from
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generation to generation.
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21 For I will cleanse their blood <I>that</I> I have not cleansed:
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for the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> dwelleth in Zion.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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These promises with which this prophecy concludes have their
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accomplishments in part in the kingdom of grace, and the comforts and
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graces of all the faithful subjects of that kingdom, but will have
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their full accomplishment in the kingdom of glory; for, as to the
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Jewish church, we know not of any event concerning that which answers
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to the extent of these promises, and what instances of peace and
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prosperity they were blessed with, which they may be supposed to be a
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hyperbolical description of, they were but figures of <I>better
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things</I> reserved <I>for us, that they</I> in their best estate
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<I>without us might not be made perfect.</I></P>
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<P>
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I. It is promised that the enemies of the church shall be vanquished
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and brought down,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
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Egypt, that old enemy of Israel, and Edom, which had an inveterate
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enmity to Israel, derived from Esau, these <I>shall be a
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desolation,</I> a <I>desolate wilderness,</I> no more to be inhabited;
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they have become the <I>people of God's curse;</I> so the Idumeans
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were,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+34:5">Isa. xxxiv. 5</A>.
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No strength nor wealth of a nation is a defence against the judgment of
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God. But what is the quarrel God has with these potent kingdoms? It is
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for their <I>violence against the children of Judah,</I> and the
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injuries they had done them; see
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:3,8,12,15,26:2">Ezek. xxv. 3, 8, 12, 15; xxvi. 2</A>.
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They had <I>shed</I> the <I>innocent blood</I> of the Jews that fled to
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them for shelter or were making their escape through their country.
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Note, The innocent blood of God's people is very precious to him, and
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not a drop of it shall be shed but it shall be reckoned for. In the
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last day this earth, which has been filled with violence against the
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people of God, shall be made a desolation, when it and all the works
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that are therein shall be burnt up. And, sooner or later, the
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oppressors and persecutors of God's Israel shall be brought down and
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laid in the dust, nay, they will at length be brought down and laid in
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the flames.</P>
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<P>
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II. It is promised that the church shall be very happy; and truly happy
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it is in spiritual privileges, even during its militant state, but much
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more when it comes to be triumphant. Three things are here promised
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it:--</P>
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<P>
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1. Purity. This is put last here, as a reason for the rest
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>);
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but we may consider it first, as the ground and foundation of the rest:
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<I>I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed,</I> that is,
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their bloody heinous sins, especially shedding innocent blood; that
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filth and guilt they had contracted by sin, which rendered them unfit
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for communion with God, and made them odious to his holiness and
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obnoxious to his justice; this they shall be washed from in the
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<I>fountain opened,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+13:1">Zech. xiii. 1</A>.
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That shall be cleansed by the blood of Christ which could not be
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cleansed by the sacrifices and purifications of the ceremonial law. Or,
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if we apply it to the happiness of a future state, it intimates the
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cleansing of the saints from all these corruptions from which they were
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not cleansed either by ordinances or providences in the world; there
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shall not be the least remains of sin in them there. Here, though they
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are washing daily, there is still something that is not cleansed; but
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in heaven, even that also shall be done away. And the reason is
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because <I>the Lord dwells in Zion,</I> dwells with his church, and
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much more gloriously with that in heaven, and <I>holiness becomes his
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house for ever,</I> for which reason, where he dwells there must be,
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there shall be, a perfection of holiness. Note, Though the refining and
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reforming of the church is work that goes on slowly, and still there is
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something we complain of that is <I>not cleansed,</I> yet there is a
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day coming when every thing that is amiss shall be amended, and the
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church shall be all fair, and no spot, no stain in her; and we must
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wait for that day.</P>
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<P>
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2. Plenty,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
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This is put first, because it is the reverse of the judgment threatened
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in the foregoing chapters.
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(1.) The streams of this plenty overflow the land and enrich it: <I>The
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mountains shall drop new wine</I> and <I>the hills shall flow with
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milk,</I> such great abundance shall they have of suitable provision,
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both for <I>babes</I> and for <I>strong men.</I> It intimates the
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abundance of vineyards, and all fruitful; and the abundance of cattle
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in the pastures that fill them with milk. And, to make the corn-land
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fruitful, the <I>rivers of Judah shall flow with water,</I> so that the
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country shall be like the garden of Eden, well-watered every where and
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greatly enriched,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+65:9">Ps. lxv. 9</A>.
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But this seems to be meant spiritually; the graces and comforts of the
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new covenant are compared to <I>wine and milk</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:1">Isa. lv. 1</A>),
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and the Spirit to <I>rivers of living water,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+7:38">John vii. 38</A>.
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And these gifts abound much more under the New Testament than they did
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under the Old; when believers receive <I>grace for grace</I> from
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Christ's fulness, when they are enriched with <I>everlasting
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consolations,</I> and <I>filled with joy and peace in believing,</I>
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then <I>the mountains drop new wine,</I> and <I>the hills flow with
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milk. Drink you,</I> drink abundantly, <I>O beloved!</I> When there is
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plentiful effusion of the Spirit of grace, then the <I>rivers of Judah
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flow with water,</I> and make glad, not only <I>the city of our God</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+46:4">Ps. xlvi. 4</A>),
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but the whole land.
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(2.) The fountain of this plenty is in the <I>house of God,</I> whence
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the streams take their rise, as those <I>waters of the sanctuary</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:1">Ezek. xlvii. 1</A>)
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from <I>under the threshold of the house,</I> and the river of life
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<I>out of the throne of God and the Lamb,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+22:1">Rev. xxii. 1</A>.
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The psalmist, speaking of Zion, says, <I>All my springs are in
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thee,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+87:7">Ps. lxxxvii. 7</A>.
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Those that take temporal blessings to be meant in the former part of
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the verse, yet by this <I>fountain</I> out of <I>the house of the
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Lord</I> understand the grace of God, which, if we abound in temporal
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blessings, we have so much more need of, that we may not abuse them.
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Christ himself is the fountain; his merit and grace cleanse us, refresh
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us, and make us fruitful. This is said to water <I>the valley of
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Shittim,</I> which lay a great way off from the temple at Jerusalem, on
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the other side of Jordan, and was a dry and barren valley, which
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intimates that gospel-grace, flowing from Christ, shall reach far, even
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to the Gentile world, to the most remote regions of it, and shall make
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those to abound in the fruits of righteousness who had long lain as the
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barren wilderness. This grace is a fountain overflowing, ever-flowing,
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from which we may be continually drawing, and yet need not fear its
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being drawn dry. This fountain comes <I>out of the house of the
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Lord</I> above, from his temple in heaven, flows all that good which
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here we are daily tasting the streams of, but hope to be shortly, hope
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to be eternally, drinking at the fountain-head of.</P>
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<P>
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3. Perpetuity. This crowns all the rest
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
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<I>Judah shall dwell for ever</I> (when Egypt and Edom are made <I>a
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desolation</I>), and Jerusalem shall continue <I>from generation to
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generation.</I> This is a promise, and a precious promise it is,
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(1.) That the church of Christ shall continue in the world to the end
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of time. As one generation of professing Christians passes away,
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another shall come, in whom the <I>throne</I> of Christ <I>shall endure
|
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for ever,</I> and <I>the gates of hell shall not prevail</I> against
|
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it.
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(2.) That all the living members of that church (Judah and Jerusalem
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are put for the <I>inhabitants</I> of that city and country,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+3:5">Matt. iii. 5</A>)
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shall be established in their happiness to the utmost ages of eternity.
|
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This new Jerusalem shall be <I>from generation to generation,</I> for
|
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it is a city that has foundations, not made with hands, but eternal in
|
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the heavens.</P>
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