PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Amos
William J. Deane [1853-1943] · 172,065 words · 195 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 121
what is sure to come, and when it comes be in expectation of it. "Be ye also ready;" "Watch therefore." Dy the confluence of these streams of action is made the river of a life " tbroughly furnished." Ver. 6.-The dry eye of the d,estroyer. "But they are not grieved for the hurt of Joseph." Of the many aspects of Is…
808 wordsSECTION 122The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 122
For God to swear is an act of special condescension. H is making a great concession to our unbelief, and the limitation of our faculties, that God conforms to our human modes of making solemn affirmation, in order if possible to win our implicit credence for his words (Heb. vi. 17). His oath, added to his word in any m…
864 wordsSECTION 123The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 123
IV. Gon THE AUTHOB OF TRE PUNIBII'MENT HE PROCURES, " The Lord oommandeth ,. etc. 1. The sin qf man is often a/actor in the accomplishment of God's purpose, it WAR BO with the transportation of Joseph (Gen. xlv. 6, 8; 1. 20), with the death of Christ (Acts ii. 23; iv. 28), and with the affliction of Israel by Assyria (…
859 wordsSECTION 124The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 124
heart deparUng from the Lord. And it ie not only that the two trusts are one too many; they are incompatible and mutually destructive. To deify self, and defy Jehovah, are acts of the same moral qua!Hy. The blindness, and only the blindness, that ie capable of the one is capable of the other. 2. It is a blunder. It is …
810 wordsSECTION 125The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 125
act on their theory of things, and rejoice in a figment, the creation of their own fancy, whilst repudiating or disregarding real and reliable objects of trust. I. THE THINGS THAT ARE "THINGS OF NOUGHT." The arm of flesh, or human help, as against God's strength, is the" non-thing" or nonentity referred to primarily…
1,073 wordsSECTION 126The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 126
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 1.-ReligiO'U,S indifference and false secu,rity. Amos was a native of the· southern kingdom, but his ministry was mainly to Israel. His impartiality appears in the censures and reproaches which he addresses, as in this passage, to both Judah and Samaria. But the description applies to…
812 wordsSECTION 127The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 127
Vere. 4--7.-The sin of dissolute life. A herdsman and gatherer of wild figs like Amos, brought into contact with the nobility and the courtiers of a. wealthy and luxurious city like Samaria, was likely enough to be shocked and scandalized. The judgments he formed were naturally severe, but they were not unjust or pa…
499 wordsSECTION 128The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 128
-their own enjoyments, comforts, and luxuries, the great fail to sympathize with those whom we call "the masses." A self-denying and benevolent and public-spirited course -0f, conduct would have precisely an opposite effect. There is no reason in the nature of things why nobles should not feel with and for the poor an…
778 wordsSECTION 129The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 129
OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS POISONED. The great men of Israel had come to confide in their own strength, in their military power, and, like so many in high estate, thought that physical force was sufficient to secure a nation's greatness. The prophet justly charac- terizes such a doctrine as " a thing of nought," a nonentity, …
810 wordsSECTION 130The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 130
Hebrow nation. The inhabitants of the two capitals are directly addressed in the language of denuncieUon, and charged to take warning from the fate of other nations (vers. 1, 2). Their carnal security, injustice, self-indulg~nce, sensuality, and total «lisregard of the Divine threatenings are next described (vers. 3---…
842 wordsSECTION 131The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 131
,vhoge path through life has been most calm and prosperous, have to expect certain calnmities that befall all. There are trials common to all mon, whatever their con- dition or character-afflictions, bereavements, infirmities; these await most men. There is one evil day, however, for us all. Death is in many respects a…
845 wordsSECTION 132The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 132
what do our prosperous tradesmen and the upper ten thousand live? For the most pa.rt, we fear, for the senses. Grand furniture-" beds of ivory;" choicest viands-- "lambs out of the fbck, and calves out of the midst of the stall;" ravishing music- "chants to the sound of the viol;" delectable beverages-the choicest win…
745 wordsSECTION 133The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 133
It is true they do not appear in their naked defonnity, as in barbaric lande. Our civilization not only spreads R veil over them, but paints and decorates them and thus conceals their native hideousnees. Still, though the devil robes himself in the garb of an angel, he is yet the devil. Poison is poison, however much y…
820 wordsSECTION 134The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 134
things. True ho.ppiness springs from within, not from without; arises from holy loves, hopes, o.spiro.tions 1 o.nd o.ims. In one word, love is the well of water that springs up unto everlo.stlng hre. IV, WHEN THEY ATTEMPT TO SAVE SOULS BY MINISTERING TO THEIB SELFISHNESS, There o.re men in all Churches who give themse…
835 wordsSECTION 135The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 135
moditiee in mutual ol1ligation and fellowship, man has awfully perverted, He hns made it the instrument of cupidity, monopoly, and nameless frauds. Tbus, in every part of social life you see this perverting power in action-man turning "judgment into gall, and the fruits of righteousness into hemlock." Ill IN TRI!: REL…
784 wordsSECTION 136The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 136
are like the productions of the fields and the meadows. In the summer the variety is st1iking, some herbs nnd flowers appear in more stately form and attractive hues than others; but when old winter comes round, who sees the distinctions? Where are the plants of beauty? They are faded and gone. "All flesh is grass, and…
628 wordsSECTION 137The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 137
dying echoes. They are clouds without water; to the eye they may for a minute or two appear in gorgeous forms, but before a breeze they melt into thin air and are lost. Rejoice in the ,·eal, the spiritual, the et~rna.l, the Divine.-D. T. Ver. 14.-God chastising nations by nations. "But, behold, I will raise up against…
1,015 wordsSECTION 138The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 138
EXPOSITION. OHAPTER VII. its material aspect altogether. It is quite possible that the custom above mentioned Ver. 1-ch. ix. 10.-Port ill. F1VE did exist, thongh it was probably limited VISIONS, WITH EXPLANATIONS, CONTINUING to certain lands, and did not apply t.o the AND CONFIBlllNG THE PREVIOUS PBOPBEOY• whole pas…
694 wordsSECTION 139The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 139
intercession we.s rejected; but the words do pendicular (see a very different exple.nntion not necessarily bee.r that sense (see St. Cyril in Knabonbauer, p. 8H, etc.). 'l'he Alex. and Theodore!., in loo.). It 1hall not "wall " is tho kingdom of Israel, once cnro- be. This respite refers to the retreat of the fully bui…
956 wordsSECTION 140The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 140
king, and warn him t.o lea'lle the cotmtru spire.tion under whioh the prophet speaks. tei!11out more toord,, or t.o fear the worat. He judges otbers by himself, attributina to Amos the sordid motives by which h; Ver. 10.-Amaziah the priest of Bethel himself was influenced. Ame.zie.h (" the Lord is strong ''), the chi…
1,022 wordsSECTION 141The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 141
Ver. 16.-Rear thou the word of the the city is tl\ken (comp. Isa. xiii. 16: Ll\m. Lord. The punishment of him who tried to v. 11). And thy daughter& This would impede God's meoel\ge. Drop not thy be Abnorrue.l cruelly, as the Assyl"inns word. Be not continue.lly pouring forth usually ep!Lrcd the women of conquered pr?p…
761 wordsSECTION 142The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 142
II. Goo'e AGENTS BTBIKB IN TFIE NIOK OJ' TIME, "He formed locust8 in the be~in,ning of th~ springing up of the seco~d crop." In consequence of the timing of this Judgment, 1t 1s: 1. More thorough-go,m,g. IC the locusts had been sent earlier there might have been time aner they had gone for the second crop to grow. I…
874 wordsSECTION 143The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 143
Yer. 2.-The problem c!I stability. The prayer of faith is free. The believing soul he.s the privilege of reasoning with God, and embraces it. It asks whe.t it wills, e.nd e.s it wills, e.nd for whom it wills. There is room for originality in it, e.nd scope for inventive resource; yet little risk of impropriety. The …
914 wordsSECTION 144The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 144
purpose o.nd promise, and as the ho.ndiwork of God, he is not to fall. He is: 1. To stand a,gainst destruction. Israel was not to perish. Low she might fall, small she might become, contemptible she might long remain; but in all, and through all, and after all, she wo.s to Jive. 'l'he spiritual Israel has a perpetuity …
922 wordsSECTION 145The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 145
exemplifies in her many-sidedness the grRces of Christ's faultless character. 'fhe Divine forceful action propels things in the direction of the DivinA gracious appoint- ment.. 3. God has already committed himself to it. To lst"Rel his word of promise was pledged, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee," To us it …
846 wordsSECTION 146The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 146
2. It is tho element used and to be used by God in bringing ab01Jt the greatest catas- trophes. It w11s in the fire-shower from heaven that Sodom was overwhelmed (Gen. xix. 24). Fire "very grievous'' wae mingled with the plague of hail which smote the land of Egypt (Exod. ix. 24). It was the fire of the Lord that burnt…
898 wordsSECTION 147The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 147
evil may not be averted until it has actually fallen? Besieged cities ho.ve been so.ved even after the garrison had thrown open the gates, and battles won o.fter the ranks of the victors had begnn to break. With God all things are possible, and by prayer he is always moved. 'l'ill the moment of death we may pmy for lif…
862 wordsSECTION 148The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 148
wall was a main coodHioo of its strength. In the perfection of the one wa.a the per- fection of the other. The loss oC one would be the loss of both. The wall that lean11 is about to fall. II. THE PLUMB-LINE. Thie is the regulating appliance, and the testing instrument with which the building must tally. 1. le is r…
869 wordsSECTION 149The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 149
have averted it; their one way of escape, and pressed its adoption strenuously, Had they not been as blind as besotted, they would have revered him as a national benefactor, But the reformation he preached meant the abandonment of rooted habits and the harassing of vested interests in sin, neither of which would be …
869 wordsSECTION 150The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 150
concorn and hie life-effort. He could think, speak, be active about nothing else. " The land could not bear hie words," so vehement were they and eo persistent. The advocacy that will take no refusal, that must be either yielded to or silenced, is thBt which alone beseems the stupendous importance of the cause of God. …
813 wordsSECTION 151The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 151
God's just displeasure with them. He knew and had foretold that retribution should berall them. Yet be entreated mercy-a withholding of judgment, 11, little respite nt the least. He identified himself with the sinful, and sought forbearance. II. THE GROUND OF CONFIDEl!ICE IN INTERCESSORY PRAYER. Amos could not ask for…
798 wordsSECTION 152The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 152
Vere. 7-9.-The plwmb-line of judgment. The pictorial style of Amos here set~ before us in an impressive and memorable wa.y a. great truth. Whether in a dream ,,r in a prophetic ecstasy, the prophet beheld one with a. plumb-line standing by a. wall, He recognized in the wa.ll the palaces, the temples, the city rampart…
831 wordsSECTION 153The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 153
the works and ways of God. His sublime descriptions of natural scenery, of the. hea'l'ens and the earth, his minute acquaintance with the processes of growth and of husbandry, his knowledge or the human heart and all its conflicts,-thcse are evidences that his mind was not uninformed or untrained. • III. AN UNLETTERED…
1,207 wordsSECTION 154The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 154
Vers.1-6.-R,nrelation and prayer. "Thus bath the Lord God showed unto me," etc. This portion of the Book of Amos (eh. vii. and viii.) contains four symbolical visions respecting successive judgments that were to be inflicted on the kingdom of Israel. They were delivered at Bethel, and in all probability at the commence…
1,213 wordsSECTION 155The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 155
Vera, 7-9.-Man's moral character. "Thus he showed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumb-line, with a. plumb-line in his hand," etc. "Behold, the Lord stood upon e. wall ma.de by e. plumb-line," viz. perpendicular. "Amos." "The Lord knoweth them that are his" (2 Tim. iL 19), as he saith to Moses, "…
978 wordsSECTION 156The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 156
Vers. 10-17.-'l'he eontJentional and the genuim prie,Sts of ti people. "Then Ameziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam King of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in tbe midst of the house of lsra.el : the land is not able to boar all his wor<ls," etc. In these words we have types of two cle.sses of…
1,075 wordsSECTION 157The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 157
EXPOSITION. OHAPTER vm. "Many the corpses: in every plaoe he ha.th cast them forth. Hush I" The Lord Vem. 1-14.-§ 5. In the fourth 11iaion, is represented as casting dead bodies to the the basT,et of aummer fruit, the L<wd ahowa ground, so that death is everywhere; and that the people ia ripe fo-r judgment. Ex- the …
597 wordsSECTION 158The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 158
einnel"I! kept the fest:ival11, indeed, bnt they dormiat et vigi!Bntibus vl~llet: hlsque qul grnrlged the timo given to them, and oon- sibi thesaurizaverunt imm rn die irm, dioatur eider<>rl it ae WRsted. The aabb&th. Com• irasci" (St. Jerome). pore the difficulties with which Nehemiah Ver. 8.-Shall not the land tremb…
1,035 wordsSECTION 159The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 159
On she.ving the hea.d ne a. sign or momning, by one fnlfilment, we mBy aee here the rate ace note on Mice.h i. 16; a.ll!l comp. Job of the Jews to the present time hopelessly i. 20; la11. iii. 24; Jer. xvi. 6; xlvii. 5; seeking Meesie.h and the Word of Goo, never Ezek. vii. 18). I will make it; Ponam finding that which…
977 wordsSECTION 160The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 160
11in. "My lord dele.yeth his ooming." Let eeoe.pe be out of the question, :, et even the cha.nee of respite will turn the see.le in favour of doing the forbidden thing. lsre.el, 118ntenced e.nd to be destroyed some time, sinned with e. high hand. Isre.el, sentenced to be destroyed soon, yet sinned still. Porhe.ps Israe…
878 wordsSECTION 161The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 161
ing to character end capacity they must be treated, What is bad for the table may be good for tbe dunghill. The life of many had become a curse, and it only remained to stop !hat, and make their death a warning. That is one crop which even the sluggard's garden cannot refuse to bear (Prov. xxiv. 30-32). IV. THE OCCASI…
810 wordsSECTION 162The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 162
0'1e device is Oie use of a false balance. "Make the ephab smatl, and the shekel great," i.e. give thirt.ecn p0unds to the stone, and charg<' twenty-one shillings to the pound, 'l.'hoy r,erpetrate thus a d0uble swindle, robbing" with both bands earnestly." Buch fraud is too unscientific and direct for any but the coars…
887 wordsSECTION 163The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 163
.JusH(ving, and justice demands eat.isfaction. From the provided satiRfaction tho unbelioving sinner has turned away, and so from the grace of hie own salvation. Neither can sin unforsalcen. The sinner is in actual conflict with God, and the rebel may not J,e forgiven with arms in hie hands, Neither WIT/, sin unrepe…
852 wordsSECTION 164The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 164
hundred and twenty years' warniniz. They absorbed themselves in their work and pleasure, and knew not till the Flood came (Matt. xxiv. 38). So with the Sodomites, warned by Lot (Gen. xix. 14); and the inhabitants of Jerusalem at its capture, warned by Christ (Matt.. xxiv. 33). Warning is thrown away on unbelief, and…
848 wordsSECTION 165The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 165
used, nnd the work that can be done in it is not much. Take from it the two childhoods, infancy and infirm age, and it becomes greatly shorter still. Not more than finy active years enter into the longest life. On the most sanguine assumption these are the working hours of our day of life. What we do for God and men is…
900 wordsSECTION 166The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 166
house of Jeroboam," was carried peacefully to his rest before the falling of tho provoked disaster (1 Kings xiv. 10-14). The good King Josiah also, because lie repudiated and mourned the sin of J 11dab, " was gathered to his grave in pe11.cc, that his eyes did not sec all the evil which God brought upon Jerusalem" (2 K…
915 wordsSECTION 167The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 167
Scripture alone reveals Christ (John v. 39), and the way or life through him. (2) n is the vehicle of spiritual power. "The poweT of God unto sa.lvatirm" is Paul'~ synonym for the gospel. Spiritual energy, no doubt, inheres in the Holy Spirit, but he opero.tes only through or with the truth. It carries the power by …
1,560 wordsSECTION 168The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 168
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 1.-llipenu• in iniquity. The figure here employed by Amos comes very naturally from him who had been a gatherer of the fruit of the sycamore tree. But at the same time, it is somewhat of a shock to the reader of this prophecy to find such a similitude employed for such a purpose. Our …
954 wordsSECTION 169The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 169
Vers. 4-6.-001Jetousness. It was not for heterodoxy In theology, it wne not for remissness in ritual, that Amos chiefly reproached tho Israelites. It wae for injustice, \'iolenoe, e.nd _robbery; it was for seeking their own wealth and luxury at tho expense of the suffermgs of the poor. Avarice, or undue love of worl…
995 wordsSECTION 170The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 170
Ver. 10.-" .A bitter day." There is something incongruous in this language. Day is the bright and beauteous gift of God, and its sunlight and all the glory it reveals may justly be taken as the emblem of happiness and prosperity. The light is sweet; the day id joyous. Yet here there is depicted a bitter day I The conte…
844 wordsSECTION 171The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 171
Vars. 1-3.-Ripeness for judgment. "Thus hath the Lord God showed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I !'Bid, A basket of summer fruit," etc. The text suggests three general truths. I. WICKED NATIONS GROW RIPE FOB JUDGMENT. The .. basket of summer fruit," now presen…
631 wordsSECTION 172The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 172
to turn songs or glo.clness into howling& of clistress. 2. Universal death. "And there sho.11 be many deo.d bodies in every place; and they shall cast them forth with silence." 'l'ho reference ie to sworcl, pestilence, and famine multiplying the dee.d so rapidly as to render impossible the ordinary decencies and ceremo…
840 wordsSECTION 173The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 173
noon." 2. How God mnkee a multitude to suffer on account of the iniquities of the few. " And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamenta- tions; end I will bring up ssckcloth," etc. CoNCLUSION. Avoid covetousness. It is the chief of the principalities and powers of darknc,ss. lt may be co…
904 wordsSECTION 174The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 174
whore I might find him!" And he11r Saul's cry at Enrlor, "Bring me up Samuel." Oh for one word from his lips, one loving sentence from tho mouth of the great Father! "Bring mo np Bnmuel." 2. When the appetite is quickened and there is no supply ii is an inexpressible calamity. Such a period will come. "The days shall c…
793 wordsSECTION 175The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 175
Ver. 1.-I aaw the Lord. It ill now no ence. Ascending from the eouth, we followed longer e. mere emhlem the.t the prophet n wild, narrow wady overhung by trees, 11ee11. but ne.tunl d!'atruction. He beholds bushes, and tnngled creepers, through which the me.jcsty of Ood, 611 Ise.. vi. 1 ; Ezek. x. my guide thought we co…
1,076 wordsSECTION 176The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 176
of tho yoko In Iso. lviil. 6; for" the bunch" them by affliction e.nd persecution, thA.t of hyssop in Exod. xii. 22, Bo tue Vulgate the evil may fall to the ground Bnd hero ronders / asoicul1J1111 au"m, with the perish, and the good be preserved. The notion that the stories or chambers just word rendered "sift" impl…
1,016 wordsSECTION 177The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 177
llivid, the Messi11,h. J11d11,h'e t.ompor&ry the rich blessings whioh ehall follow the proaperity under Uzziah Bnd HezekiBh establishment of the kingdom. Under the would have boon 11, tot.ally inadequate fulfil- figure of a euperne.ture.l fertility are ropro• ment of the prophrey. Prophecies of the eented the viotorice…
932 wordsSECTION 178The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 178
HOMILETICS. Vors.1--4.-A quest which none may elude. We have here a. vivid picture of a dreadful subject, The prophet makes a new departure in bis mode of figuration. In other visions we so.w the judgments of Heaven painted in terror-moving forms; the mighty forceu of nature let loose a11d working destruction on sinne…
889 wordsSECTION 179The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 179
Ver. 4.-The lidless eye. God is not an absentee, He sits at the helm of things. He administers the affairs of the world which he has made. All creatures he takes cogni- zance of, determines their destiny, controls their actions. His kingdom ruleth over all, And this rule is moral. Under it condition takes the colour…
774 wordsSECTION 180The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 180
hostile action, He can neither sin ignorantly nor incur the penalty unawaree. Fore- W11rned, it is his fault if he is not forearmed. 2. Ie is mO'T'al. It tendH to deter from sin, and so to save from its penal consequences. The thought that it is under God's eye ought to make sin impossible, and does make it more dif…
841 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.