The Pulpit Commentary — Joel — Section 11

panmthntloally or pused r,ver, Joy here 11 Ven. 14-20.-Arter arging the priest,, either {I) literal; while "wllhered" i1 to lead the way In the matter, he prOC0'l<l8 flguro.tlvo, and eignl/101 "ho.a eeaaed or been t11ken away;" or (2) "joy" is fl~nratife to summon all claesea of the people, and denoting the mollnA of joy, and " withered,: particularly the elders, to engage in peni- may then be understood literally. The tence, fa&ting, and aolemn anpplications, in min, from, !1 a pregnant con1trnction, that i11, order to avert the ca.lamities that were im- "is withered from" being equivalent to "ie pending, or to eecape from them if they had withered o.nd f,a,kl'JTI. away from" the l!tlmJ of men. 'fhus Kimchi: "BeOOAl,llejoyiswithered already begun. --i8 'IDithl'll'ed, ae if ho so.id, • it baa ce8ffed Ver. 14.-Be.nctffy ye a fut, ca.11 a. Hlemn becalll!6 tbe products and the fmite are the •a.11embly, gather the elder■ and all the in- joy of the eone of men,' and so Jonathan ex- habitant, of the le.nd into the hou1e of the plaine it, ' becauee joy hae ceo.Hed;' or the Lord your God, a.nd ,:ry unto the Lord. The mee.ning of •withered' may be by way of command ii, addressed to the priest.II aR the figure," rerresente.tives and rulere of the people in Ver. 18.-Gird yo111'11elve1, an.4 lament, ye a.I matters of religion ; they communicated priest■ : howl, ye miniaten of the altar : to the people the commands of Jehovah. come, lie all_night in aackoloth, ye miniater1 This verse directs attention to three thin"s of· my God. The invitation, or rather ex- -the duty commanded; the persons ca.11,;i hortation, here is to eomething more tlian upon to discharge it; and the place of it;, lamentation and mourning ; for, however performance. 1. The duty required wrui natural in the circumetances, affliction itself a fast and a solemn usembly; and the could not avert or remove the calamity. priests are strictly enjoined to see to it that They are u,ged, therefore, to 1·epentance ae both these shall be duly announced and well ae lamentation. 'I'hey were to aemme rightly obaerved. The wt was abstention the outward signs of the inward grace: they from food in t.oken of sorrow for sin ; it wore to gird themselves with sackcloth, the wae intended to be the external evidence outward symbol of their inward rorrow; of penitential sorrow f~ sin. The solemn next they were to enter the temple or house BSSembly, or" day of restraint," as it etan<l, of God; they were to epend the night there in the margin, was a public meeting of th~ in the attitude and garl, of mourners; night people for the purpose of solemn 1<11pplication and day they were to bewail their sins with that the Almighty might be entreated to humble, penitent, and contrite hearts. '.l'he deliver them from the sore calamity with priests are the persons first addressed, and which he had seen fit to visit them. It wa.. that not only because, in diecharge of their a. season during which they were restrained priestly functions ue ministere of Jehovah from all servile work, e.nd e.ttentiou given and minietering at the altar, they had been exclusively to hnmilio.tion o.nd prayer. specially touched by the present dfatress; 2. The persons smnmoued for this purpose but o.lso because of their official position were the elders, those who were eo both by they were to present o.n example to the age and office-the mo.gistrates ns ex..e.mple8 people whoee leo.ders they were and on whose to others, e.n<l e.s having been implicated in behalf they ministered (comp. 1 Cor. i:i:. 13, the sins from wliich they now suffered. "Do ye not know that they which minister With the word "elders" o.ro joined e.11 about holy things live of tho thiogs of the the inhe.bitlluts of tho land- tl.ie whole temple? and they which wait at the alto.r of the people, poor an!l rich uli.ke; all a.re po.rtakers with the o.Itar? "). Kimchi had had their eho.re in the national sin, gives e. correct exposition of this verse: a.ll were sharers in the nutionul suffering. "Gird, thRt is to eay, gird on so.ckcloth, e.nd and it therefore behoved ull to repent of he explo.ins o.fterwo.rds, pass the night in their sins and sock the Lord. 3. 'l'ho so.ckcloth, because even by night ye ehall place of assembly wns the houso of the not remove tlio sackcloth from off you ; Lord; that is, tlie temple, or that portion of perhnps Jehovah will have mercy upon you. it called "the court of the lsnielites." Nor Aud he saye, • ministers of the allo.r,' und were they to e.si;embli; there without un orlde, • minieters of my God,' bece.uee the errand; the purpose of their nssernLli11K in ministry wae ae the u.lte.r to God; and he tho.t so.creel place was to supplicato tlie Lord connects the ministry to Goel-to the altar, to o.lleviuto their distress, or rnthor re ll.lovo as wherein they mioister to Jehovah." J'or it 11Itogether. They were directed to cry the meat offering a.nd the drink oft'oring is mightily to tho Lord; to cry unto Liiw with withholden from the hon■e of your God. vehomcut eamestn~ss aud importunu.te per- 'l'h is is the rell.8on aesiKncd for the urgent severance till he would bo pleaeed to sen,l call to ropontu.nco; and it is much tho so.mo relief. The procla1D11.tion of 1L fost wus ,. with thu.t in tho beginning of the ninth common expedient, to which people, Jowish verse. , e.ncl Gentile, 11ccor<ling to thuir reapective 8 THE BOOK .OF JOBL. I [on. 1. 1;"20.