_Blow ye the trumpet in Zion_ The prophet, having in the preceding
chapter described the locusts and caterpillars as a mighty army sent
by God, in pursuance of this metaphor now exhorts the people to
prepare to meet them, in the same terms as if they were alarmed to
oppose an enemy, which was always... [ Continue Reading ]
_A day of darkness and of gloominess_ A day of great calamity and
trouble, which is often expressed in the Scripture by darkness. Or,
perhaps, the prophet's words are to be taken here in the literal
sense; for it is certain that, in the eastern countries, locusts will
sometimes, on a sudden, cover t... [ Continue Reading ]
_A fire devoureth before them_, &c. They consume like a general
conflagration. “They destroy the ground,” says Sir Hans Sloane,
(_Natural History of Jamaica, 1:_ 29,) “not only for the time, but
burn trees for two years after.” “Wheresoever they feed, says
Ludolphus, (_History of Ethiopia_, lib. 1.... [ Continue Reading ]
_The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses _
Bochart and many other writers mention the resemblance which the head
of a locust bears to that of a horse; whence the Italians call them
_cavalette. Like the noise of chariots on the mountains shall they
leap_ Or, as the clause may be better... [ Continue Reading ]
_They shall run like mighty men_ They shall proceed everywhere like
stout and mighty men, who are afraid of nothing. The description here
given agrees perfectly to locusts, as Bochart has shown. “First,
_They shall run._ Now their manner of fighting is thus described: They
strike, or wound, not as t... [ Continue Reading ]
_They shall run to and fro in the city_ No place shall be inaccessible
to them, nor free from them. “Every place,” says St. Jerome,
“lies open to them; for they infest not only the fields, and the
fruits of the earth, but creep into cities, houses, and the most
secret recesses.” _The earth shall qua... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army_ God, who can make
the meanest parts of the creation the instruments of his vengeance, is
here sublimely introduced, like a leader or general, commanding and
animating this his army by his voice. _For his camp is very great_
That is, his army is ve... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore, also now_, &c. Or, _Nevertheless, also now, saith the
Lord_, &c. Here a method is pointed out, whereby they might still have
hopes of avoiding the calamity denounced against them, namely, by
turning to God sincerely, and publicly testifying their inward
repentance and grief for their sin... [ Continue Reading ]
_Blow the trumpet in Zion_ This was a signal for assembling the people
at the solemn times of public worship. _Sanctify a fast, call a solemn
assembly_ Or, _appoint ye a fast, proclaim a solemn day:_ so
Archbishop Newcome. _Sanctify the congregation_ Let the people prepare
themselves for this solemn... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch
and the altar_ The priests, being in a peculiar sense the Lord's
servants, are here required to take the lead in this sacred work of
penitence, and to stand weeping and praying between the porch and the
altar; that is, in the open c... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then will the Lord be jealous for his land_ If you do what I propose
to you, if you sincerely humble yourselves before God, confess your
sins, and truly repent of them, turning to God in newness of life,
then will the Lord be concerned for the honour and welfare of that
land which he has chosen to... [ Continue Reading ]
_Fear not, O land_, &c. “In the former part of this prophecy the
land is elegantly represented as mourning, the beasts groaning, and
the herds of cattle as greatly distressed; the rivers of water dried
up, and the pastures of the wilderness as all consumed. In the same
elegant strain he calls upon t... [ Continue Reading ]
_He hath given you the former rain moderately_ The season of the
former rain was about the middle of October. The Hebrew word
לצדקה, rendered _moderately_, literally signifies, _according to
righteousness:_ and is equivalent with _according to judgment._
Archbishop Newcome renders it, _in just propo... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten _ I
will compensate you, or make you amends, for what the locusts have
eaten in the foregoing years, by an extraordinary plenty of the fruits
of the earth. This verse proves, beyond a doubt, that they mistake who
interpret this prophecy... [ Continue Reading ]
_And it shall come to pass afterward_ Some versions begin the third
chapter with this verse; and indeed the subject which is begun here is
of so different a nature from what goes before, that it seems evident
a new chapter ought to be begun here. The Jewish Rabbi Kimchi says
here, that the expressio... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth_, &c. Whoever
will be at the pains to compare this prediction with the prophecy of
Christ, Matthew 24., and Luke 21., will have no doubt concerning the
application of it. It principally and evidently refers to the
destruction of the city and t... [ Continue Reading ]
_The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,_ &c.
Particular judgments upon kings and nations are often described in
such terms as properly belong to the general judgment and
conflagration of the heavens and the earth, as has been observed on
Joe 2:10 th of this chapter. The expr... [ Continue Reading ]
_And whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord_ Whosoever, having
heard the gospel, shall repent and believe in Christ, and call on him,
or shall make application to God in prayer through him, _shall be
delivered_ Namely, from temporal and eternal destruction: thus St.
Paul interprets this passag... [ Continue Reading ]