Hear ye this word which I take up against you, [even] a lamentation, O house of Israel. Ver. 1. _Hear ye this word_] A new sermon, as appeareth by this new O yes; not unlike that of St Paul, Acts 13:16, "Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience": or rather, that of Diogenes, who cried out... [ Continue Reading ]
The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; [there is] none to raise her up. Ver. 2. _The virgin of Israel is fallen_] _i.e._ Though of the spouse of God she be become the devil's adulteress, Jer 3:1 Hosea 1:2, yet she will needs be counted and called a vi... [ Continue Reading ]
For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out [by] a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth [by] an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel. Ver. 3. _The city that went out by a thousand_] _i.e._ That had a thousand inhabitants passing to and fro through the gates,... [ Continue Reading ]
For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: Ver. 4. _For thus saith the Lord_] Or, truly thus saith the Lord; notwithstanding the former terrible sentence, which the prophet could not denounce with dry eyes; but takes up a lamentation, though less concerned in i... [ Continue Reading ]
But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought. Ver. 5. _But seek not Bethel, &c._] Make not lies your refuge, idols your oracles; "they that observe lying vanities do" (by their own election) "forsak... [ Continue Reading ]
Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour [it], and [there be] none to quench [it] in Bethel. Ver. 6. _Seek ye the Lord, and ye shall live_] See Amos 5:4. _Sic eadem saepe surdis et obstinatis inculcantur_ (Mercer). The continual pressing of a... [ Continue Reading ]
Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, Ver. 7. _Ye who turn judgment to wormwood_] Ye grandees and governors of the people, that turn the sweetest thing into the sourest (as _corruptio optimi pessima_), right into wrong dealing; that follow the administration of... [ Continue Reading ]
Amos 5:8 [Seek him] that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD [is] his name: Ver. 8. _Seek him that maketh the seven s... [ Continue Reading ]
That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress. Ver. 9. _That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong_] _Victorem a victo superari saepe videmus._ God can quickly change the scene, turn the scales, Jeremiah 37:10, though ye had smitten th... [ Continue Reading ]
They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. Ver. 10. _They hate him that rebuketh in the gate_] _In dome iudicii,_ saith the Chaldee: for the gate was the place of judgment, Amos 5:12; Amos 5:15 Deuteronomy 17:5; Deuteronomy 17:12; Deuteronomy 17:15. Those,... [ Continue Reading ]
For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate [from their right]. Ver. 12. _For I know your manifold transgressions, and your mighty sins_] I know them, and can easily set them in an order before your... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it [is] an evil time. Ver. 13. _Therefore the prudent shall keep silence_] According to that old and good rule, Either keep silence, or speak that which is better than silence, η σιγαν, η κρεισσονα οιγης λεγειν. There is "a time to keep sil... [ Continue Reading ]
Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Ver. 14. _Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live_] See Amos 5:4; Amos 5:6. Oh seek, seek, seek, saith our prophet; as some of the martyrs cried out, Pray, pray, pray: Mr Sanders an... [ Continue Reading ]
Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. Ver. 15. _Hate the evil, and love the good_] God doth so; you must also, or else never look for his gracious presence with you: for _idem velle, at... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing [shall be] in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing. Ver. 16. _Therefore the Lord God of hosts, the Lord,... [ Continue Reading ]
And in all vineyards [shall be] wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD. Ver. 17. _And in all vineyards shall be wailing_] Where used to be great jollity and revelry riot in time of vintage, Psalms 4:7. The calamity shall be common, the scourge overflowing; and all sorts shall have th... [ Continue Reading ]
Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end [is] it for you? the day of the LORD [is] darkness, and not light. Ver. 18. _Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord_] The day of his visitation when he will go through us, as you prophets would make believe. Where is the promise of his... [ Continue Reading ]
As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Ver. 19. _As if a man did fly from a lion_] And so by running from his death should run to it; by seeking to shun the shelves should split against a rock, _Incidit i... [ Continue Reading ]
Amos 5:20 [Shall] not the day of the LORD [be] darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it? Ver. 20. _Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, &c._] _q.d._ How say ye now; when thus beset with mischief on all hands, such as ye can neither avoid nor abide, must ye not needs su... [ Continue Reading ]
I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Ver. 21. _I hate, I despise your feast days_] Wherewith ye think to stop my mouth and to make me your debtor; saying, as that Roman emperor, when his enemy came against him, _Non sic Deos coluimus ut ille nos vincere... [ Continue Reading ]
Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept [them]: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Ver. 22. _Though ye offer me burnt offerings, &c._] So long as ye stick in the bark, please yourselves in the external performance, rest in the work do... [ Continue Reading ]
Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. Ver. 23. _Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs_] No more pleasing to me than the grunting of a hog or the braying of an ass, because hateless, heartless; for as every sound is not music, so neither... [ Continue Reading ]
But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. Ver. 24. _But let judgment run down_] Heb. roll down freely, plentifully, and plainly, _ut devolutus monte praecipiti torrens,_ as the great billows of the sea, or as waves rolling over rocks, so let judgment and equity be c... [ Continue Reading ]
Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? Ver. 25. _Have ye offered unto me sacrifices, &c._] _i.e._ To me only, and not to other gods also? did ye not begin betime to play the idolaters? and do ye not "fill up the measure of your fathers?" M... [ Continue Reading ]
But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. Ver. 26. _But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch_] That idols were wont to be carried upon men's shoulders we may see, Isaiah 56:7; Bar 6:3; Bar 2:5. That Moloch or Mil... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name [is] The God of hosts. Ver. 27. _Therefore will cause you_] Idolatry is a land desolating sin. _ Beyond Damascus_] And not only so, but also beyond Babylon, Acts 7:43, by the way of Damascus, by Tiglathpile... [ Continue Reading ]