PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Amos
William J. Deane [1853-1943] · 172,065 words · 195 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 61
crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaotb. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and be doth not resist you" (Jas. v. 1-6). "Punishment is the recoil …
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,elves under God'1ohasti1ements (vem. 6-11); the passage. The former (acoord.ing to the therefore they must expect further punishment, Ve.tican manuscript) has, Kal Tol,r µ.,II ~µ.iov if 10 be that they will leaTn to fear the Lurd .11 J1.l{J11Ta.r fnro1ra,oµ.lvov1 Jµ.{Ja>.ova-.v lµ...-vpo, Jl.01µ0[. " And fiery de~tro…
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x. 8; xi. 14, etc.; xiii. 8, eto.) ; and later offorings was that they should be voluntnry, wa.s appropriated to falee worship, though uot of command or compulsion (Lov. we have no information RB to the date of xxii. 18, etc.; Deut. xii. 6). Septungint, tbie deolension. GilgRI 11nd Bethel a.re ,ca.l ln,ca.>..lt1avro…
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la ueed in Pe. lix. 15; cix. 10. The supply bµJi,, Iv ..ji 3m µov, " In my wrath against time used was soon exhausted, and brought you I set fire to your camps." no permo.nent relief. Ver. ll.-1'he fifth visitation is tbe earth- Ver. 9.-1'he third chastisement is oc- quake (Dent. xxix. 23). I have over- oaeioned by bl…
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man to himself, shows that he knows me.n's "making morning and gloom." This would thought before me.n puts it into words. This be simply a further instance of God'a he does sometimes by the stings of ooneoience, orea.tive power. The Vulgate gives, facien, sometimes by inspiring his prophets to matutinam nebulam; and it…
759 wordsSECTION 66The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 66
from the dependent poor. Let it be in overcharged dues or in underpaid work, in every oase the luxury that forces on the demand is responsible for the evils of the enforced supply. "Those at ease often know not that their luxuries are continually watered by the tears of the poor . . . but God counts wilful ignore.nee n…
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Vers. 4, 5.-0orruption and religiosity in unholy alliance. Here the prophet turns from the women of Israel, and addresses the people at large. His language is that of strong irony. What he bids the people do is the thing he knows they have been doing and wi!J go on doing, notwithstanding the imminence of the punishment…
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and the tithes at their appointed times. In addition to the annual tithe they also gave .a second tithe every three years (Deut. xiv. 28; xx:vi. 12). This was keeping up to the very letter of the Law. A Pharillee in later times could not have given more cir- ,cumstantial obedience to it than they did. When the opus …
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inconsistent with the thing be bad appointed. The observance of them was not eervioe, but disobedience and rebellion. For the Nadabs and Abihus who offer strange fire before the Lord there is reserved the fire of his wrath and not the light of hie favour, 3. II wa., reeking with the wickedness with which it was deliber…
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associates the drought with the sin, and the withering with the drought, and thus puts his signature and endorsement on bis disciplinary work. 4. In minure correspondence to l!'ophetic warnings. They were plagued with pestilence "after the manner of Egypt" {ver. 10). 'l'his Moses had circumstantially announced would b…
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says vaguely "Thus," and stops short, that imagination may fill up the blank. His- 11i!ence is charged with deeper meaning than any words could carry, IV. ONE FINAL APPEAL BEFORE THB STROKE FALLS. "Prepare," eto. -1. Look for a meeling with God. It is inevitable. It is at hand, The fact must be faced, No good, but har…
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of profession, and destroys the fruit of well-doing. In a. little no function of life i8 possible, and all its uses are lost. To cut it down is all the husbandman ca.n do, aTHl to burn it follows in the natural course. 2. Brought eo the flames. There a.re no prairie fires in God's domain. What is burned is first prepar…
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,vbcn a man sine invariably, under whatever pressure of temptation, and when there is no temptation at all-sins in spite of all conceivable deterrent circumstances-the case i~ different. He rays to evil, "Be thou my good." His moral nature is inverted. He will not mould into a vessel of mercy now. He is "a vessel of…
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we must : 1. Prepare a character.· To meet God satisfactorily men must be like him. '.l.'o see him on the one hand, or relish him on the other, or be capable in any ser.ss of holding communion with him, a man must be pure (Matt. v. 8; 2 Cor. vi. 14). He must bring to the meeting a character in sympathy with God's, i…
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Ver. 13.-The God wi,th whom 1ne have to do. God always acts in oharacter. From the thing he is may be inferred the quality of the thing he will do. We see him· here- I. As REVEALED BY ers NAMES. Each -Divine name and title is a Divine revelation ;. sets forth some one of God's incomparable perfections. 1. Jehovah. "T…
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pleasures of the world, are guiHy of this sin. It is hypocrisy, which is worse than an open defiance of the Divine authority. II, HYPOOnIBY SEEMS TO MEET A NEED 011' DEPRAVED AND SINFUL NATURES. "Thi& liketh you;" "So ye love to have it; "-such is the reflection of Amos upon this evi1 conduct. Men do not " like" to br…
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language of Jehovah addressed to Israel. The repetition of the reproe.ch adds to it1 effectiveness and solemnity. As one calamity arter another is described, and as all are represented as chastisements inflicted by Divine righteousness, the touching words are added, "Yet have ye not returned unto me, saitb the Lord.…
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III. A BTRIKING PICTURE OF DIVINE DELIVERANCE. Ae the brand ie plucked, snatched from the burning, eo that, although bearing the traces of fire upon it, it ie not consumed, even so did it happen to Israel that Divine mercy saved, if not the com- munity, yet many individuals, from destruction. Where, indeed, is the soul…
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the rugged ranges that closed in the Dead Sea, had scanned the desert of the south and had delighted himself in the blue waters of the Mediterranean. He had out: watched the stars and greeted the glorious dawn; he had bowed hie head before the t<'mrest, and heard the voice of the Almighty in the thunder's craBh. lie…
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.f.i'rom the time of, man's fall the all-merciful Father bas been calling men to return from their evil ways. Adam was encouraged to hope in his mercy. The antediluvians were faithCully warned through Noah, the preacher of righteousness. Israel was con- stantly being exhorted by the inspired prophets. John the Baptist …
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which had been appointed by Moses." The subject that the text teaches is-abounding, worship ,uith abounding sin. The sins of Israel, the frauds, violences, and namelees- iniquities, are referred to in the preceding chapters. Crimes ran riot amongst them at this period; and yet how religious they seemed to be I "Amoe ha…
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the life of the world-comes not by accident or blind necessity, but by the Divine will. "He watereth the hills from his chambers." To show that the rain is entirely at the disposal of the Almighty, it came upon one field and one city, and not upon another. Hence the inhabitants of the places where it rained not bad …
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CHAPTER V, Ver. 1.-Hear ye this word. To show the certainty of the judgment e.nd his own feel- Ver.I-eh. vi. 14.-§ 3. Third addreBB~ the ing about it, the prophet utters his prophecy prophet utters a lamentaiion cn;er the fall of in the form of a dirge (kinah, 2 Sam. i. 17; IBTael. (Vers.1-3.) He calls her to repent-…
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majore vicJerot po.rte contritos." :roraaken is best to take the last mem her of the IMID- upon her land; better, she shall be dashed tenoe thas: "and it (the fire) devour." upon her own land; lier own soil sho.11 wit- The house of Joseph. Ephraim, I.e. the ness her ruin-tho.t soil which wns "virgin," kingdom of Isr…
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eo1wil, <'qUiva.lent to Sirius, or C1mopus. ministration of justice (2 Sam. xv. 2), or foi The Septuagint here h11s. ,cal µ,.-a<r,c,ud(.,v, gossip. So "be 1hat robuketb in the gate" "and ch11nging," which looks as if the trans- may bo a jndge, or " ohier, or a prophet letor was not familiar with the Hebrew word, (Jcr. …
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Micah ii. 8 the " evil time" is one of tuagint); in cu.ncti'.s quaifori.uunt (Vulgate). calamity. Everywhere in town and country shall the Ver. H:.-He repeats his loving summonswail be heard. Alas ! alas ! ho I ho I This is the death-wail (comp. Jer. xxii. 18), which to repentance, as in vers. 4, 6, showing that the…
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to the moral condition offixP.d to therealizl\• psalms nnd hymns or praise wel"e mere noiae tion of these expectl\tions (see Joel ii. 32), in God's el\r, nnd "·earied .him (lsl\. i. H; the people "d0l'ired" the nppeBrance of this xxiv. 8; Ezek. xxvi. 13). . Viola (ob. vi. 5); dl\y, thus foolishly ronfirming themselv…
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the people to put awo.y the strange gods shrine, like those spoken of in Acts xix. 24 from among them (xxiv. 23). Moses, too, in connection with the worship of Dian,.. doubtless with a view to existing pro.ctices, The Syriac and Arabic versions call it wamsthem o.gainst worshipping the heavenly "tent," an<l thus the re…
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HOIDLETICS. Vers. 1-3.-lsrael's elegy. It is poor work singing the things that might have been. It means sweet dreams dispelled, fair hopes blighted, and human lives in ruins. Yet such is the prophet's task in this passage-writing Israel's elegy among the graves of her de!Ld millions. He had been denouncing nameles…
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are the righteous. Not the heathen who had seduced them, not the remnant of apostate Israel that might escape, but tbe prophet of God, who bad kept himself unspotted in the midst of national corruption, was the tearful mourner by the ruine<l nation's grave. The wicked are too selfish to care for any sorrows but their o…
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4; bi\. i. 19). It is so lllso with judgments and the threl\t of them (Isl\. xx.vi. ,9; Luko xiii, 3, 5). God takes plel\Snre in the soul's turning (Ezek. xviii. 23, 32), and all hie- dealin~ with it llim at and tend to this result. Therefore, until judgment actually falls, the threat o[ it is kept as a deterrent befo…
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A man impresses himself on his work, virtually puts himself into it. It reflects his, geniUB and his moral character. '!'he idol a man makes is thus substantially a repeti- tion of himself, and therefore congenial to him all round. Made by his hand, it is after his heart, which the God of heaven is very far from bei…
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bottom selfishness, to take. It was a specially prevalent form, moreover, among the Hebrew people. From Jacob down the sordid race has cheated the strong and imposed <>n the weak. Action is in a sense the fruit of character, and answers to the tree. ·God's grace is to convert the thorn into the fir tree, and the briar…
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"Silence is the perfectest herald of joy: I were but little happy if I could say how much." And the sentiment is not uncommon. "Does the wind write what it sings in those sounding leaves above our heads? Does the sea write the moaning of ite eurge? Nothing is fine that is written; the divinest in man's heart never iss…
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be is ready t.o strike. Expostulation would be an anachronism when execution ie imminent. The point at which he will give up the persistent wrong-doer e.nd with- ~lraw all deterrent measures none can fix. But there is such e. point, and, to each of the ungodly, the danger of passing it (Prov. i. 26). Every hour we c…
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only when our sin is put 11way. The king will not consort with rehels as such. He will meet them only as subjects and friends. 'fhe condition of access to his presence ia the equitable recovery of hie forfeited favour. In the promise to dwell with l!ll'ael w11s the implied promise to restore them to hie favour. 2. lt i…
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tively to good. Indeed, the two things are so antagonistio that the love of the one and the hatred of the other are only different aspects of the same feeling. And in this choosing of God, again, there are three phases or degrees answering to those in the avoidance of sin. It is to be loved, as the fairest and most …
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1triving wUh them. This he does with all men during a longer or shorter period. In the case of the antediluvians the striving was for a hundred and twenty years (Gen. vi. 3). In the case of Jerusalem it was three years (Matt. xxiii. 39). In the case of. Saul, King of Israel, it was till within about seven years of his …
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1hought of them should be sobering, and the sure prospect of them overwhelming, Now, the scoffer is the worst type of sinner, and will, in the nature of the case, be tho greatest sufferer when judgment comes. He is at the same time the most uttel'iy blinded character, and therefore likely to be taken most violently …
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the eye for the sins of others is so much keener than the eye for their own, that coming good is unconsciously allocated to themselves and coming evil to others, and so Divine judgments desired which ca.n only destroy them when they come. 2. Bravado. The prophets who foretold the coming of God's day rebuked tbe people'…
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natural heRrt. Give a sinful man his way, and the last matter he will face will be hill' own sinfulness. Allow II formalist discretion in worship, and the ordinance that most articulately speaks of sin will be the one least observed. Singing will be preferred to praying, a form of prayer will be preferred to the direct…
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is the act _or 'Yh\ch righteo~en~ee is ~he princi_Ple. God's righteou~ness, w~ethcr iu himself or in his Judgments, 1s hke a.n inexhaustible stream. (1) It is perennial. The righteousness of God's juclgments is a. constant quantity. It never intermits. Each it1 riahteous and all a.re righteousness. (3) It ia pure. Ri…
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will not do for God. Be it idol lust, or habit, or opiuion, he loves it more, and is more- like it, and so finds its service more congenial. The God of the legalist is not the God 41f Scripture, but a God of his own devising, and so he serves him labmiously in works of self-righteousness, whilst stubbornly declining…
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diligent nnd persevering. Hence the restlessness, the energy, the effort, so distinctiv 13 of human life. Religion does not destroy or repress natural characteristics; it hallows and dignifies them. Religion gives to human search a just direction and noble aim. I. 'l'HE REASONS IN MAN'S NATURE AND CIRCUMSTANCES wmca S…
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itself to natures more morally cultivated and advanced. Great as God appears in nat.ure, our conceptions of his excellence are enhanced when we reflect upon his glorious attributes and his righteous reign. The eternal law ,of righteousuess administered by Omnipotence demands our lowly reverence, deserves our gratefu…
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RELI<l!ON, 1. Not because they are themselves an inappropriate tribute of religious emotion and religious consecration. 2. But because they are not expressive of sincen, worship, gratitude, confidence, and love, "This people," saith the Searcher of hearts, "dro.wetb nigh unto me with their Ii ps, but their heart is fa…
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here assumed. Amos addressed the same people that was brought by Moses out ot Egypt, that was led by Joshua into Canaan. The same temptations were followed by the same falls; in fact, until after the Captivity, the chosen nation was ever liable to relapse into partial and temporary idolatry. This was especially tho cas…
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own deity; every element obeyed some unseen baing. The polytheist would havo, joined heartily with the Jew in saying, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no, God." In our day, on the contrary, folly is supposed to lie in the other direction, namely, in the heart of him who believes in that which is beyond sensu…
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<mr Lord." 2. The natiire of this life. It is Di vine, and constitutes us IC partakers of the Divine nature." lts germ is faith, its inspiration is love, its breath is prayer, its manifestation the likeness of Christ. 3. The vigou1· of this life. It will live amid the influences of an evil atmosphere, as a hale man …
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cumstances-the one with every comfort and care, as if" born under a lucky star,.. and sharing "the sweet influences of Pleiades;" the other in the drunken home, with curses temporal and moral on every side. These children do not choose their lot, they do not appear to deserve treatment so different; yet their circumsta…
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l1eaven of God's presence, and they shall be poured down upon you in showers or spiritual blessings. CoNCLUSION. If you would know the comfort of the text, you will only find it i11 obedience to its first clause, "Seek him I " "Seek ye the Lord while he may bi, found," etc.; "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be a…
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The Israelites rested their hope of delivers.nee from every kind of foreign cianger upon their outward connection with the covenant made with their forefathers; hence many put their trust in the de.ye spoken of in the context, when Jehovah would judge all the heathen, expecting that he would then in all probability ra.…
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present state of things, and, revelling in (wnich does not agree with the present Hebrew text), implies that these chieftains luxury, fee.red no coming judgment. carried themselves haughtily in the congre- Ver. 1.-Them that are at ease in Zion; gation of Israel. living in fancied security and self-pleasing Ver. 2.-Pa…
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1). The lite is placed by Porter at Tell- ,,.,,.,.,,.ri>,.;;,,,.,.u, "wantoning." Out of the midat es-Safi, an isolated hill, standing above the of the stall. Calves put np to be fattened. broad valley of Elah, and "presenting on They do this presumably not on festivals, the north and west a white precipice of when …
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into captfrity. St. Jerome," Vos qui primi and burn it. Though the Jews generally CBtis divitiis, primi ooptivitatis eustinebitie buried dead bodies, creme.tiou we.a some- jugnm, secundum illud quod in Ezechiele times used, both in honour or emergency ecriptum est : • a eanctne.rio meo incipite'" (1 Se.m. xxxi. 12) …
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·nncl their treatment by the Assyrians may course of nature or the use of things or be Lhus symbolized, nature, than the course of God's providence Vera. 12-14.-The prophet shows the or Ver the laws of his just retributiou." .. 13.-~ a thing of nought; a 11othi111 folly of these evil-doers who think in their -a tln…
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IL THE SECURITY OF THE GREAT. 11 Woe to the secure I" Conscious strength makes men and nations feel secure. As to Israel : 1. They were secure in religious privilege. "In Zion." They presumed on their covenant relation. They ignored its sanctions, disregarded its responsibilities, and took it as a guarantee of immun…
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11houting of the revellers will depart" (ver. 7). This is about the first step in retribu- tive punishment, The criminal's enjoyment comes to be centred in his sin, and to interrupt it is a sharp blow. . The retributive °;leasure to which lust i_s most of all amenable is to put a stop to indulgence. Depnve the oppres…
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evil actually falls (Isa. xxviii. 15). 2. SorM are secure in moraUty. They trust in the arm of flesh. They persuade themselves that they Rre but little to blame. They view the coming ju<lgments RS provoked by, and meant for, others. They see nothing in their own life to provoke them; and they build on this as a grou…
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tive. All the lower animals exhibit it. So do men in different waye. It ill not joyous, but grievous. Human life and happiness are 11haped largely by this feeling. Men make their relations to it a chief concern. If it be past, they seek compeDMtiooa for it. If it be present, they seek relief. If it be coming, they try …
906 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.