The Pulpit Commentary — Joel — Section 67

inflicts grievons injury. There Is ROCll\l CAlumny, eeom, degradation, and varlou11 diAahilities. The goo<l must ever suffer In I\ world llktl this for conscience' sake. m. Ta Km PKRRY,CUTION WILT, BE AVRNGED nv RRA VRN. "I will al Bo p;ather all nstions, ,md will bring them down into tho valley of Jehoahaphat, And wlll plo&d with them there for my people and for my horitAge Isre.cl." It is not necesAAry to suppoao that the nllcy of Jobosh11.phat here mel\ns the v11.\o through which the Kcdron flows, lying between the city of Jcrus11.lem and the Mount of Olives; or tho valley of ble88inga mentioned in 2 Chron. xx., or 11.ny other pl\rticu\ar place. Its literal mo&nlng ia, "the ,·11.ller where God judgeth." It means here the IICCDA wbero God would deal out retribu- tion upon the na1 ions that pcreecuted his people. It was in the valley of Jehoshaphat that in 11.1! prohRbility the anny of Sennacherib waa sll\in by Heaven's avenging angel. Ah ! the time hMtcns when persecuton of all types and Rges will have full retribution dealt out to them in some great valley of Jehoshaphat.-D. T. Vera. 9-17.-Retribution. "ProclRim ye this among the Gentiles," etc. Hero is the fir,;t Rtartlinp; boom of the righteous retribution. Some think the reference is to the nppro11.eh of Sennacherib, or Nebuchadnezzar, or Antioch us; but the language Mems strong and grand enough to represent the approach of the last day. In this retributive Rcene there are several things observable. I. TnE GREATEST RESISTilTCE ABSOLUTELY FUTILE. "Procbim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, w&ke up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near'; let them come up : beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning-books into spears: let the weak say, I &m strong. Asaemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather younelves together round about: thither cause thy mighty oues to come down, 0 Lord.'' The idea is-Let &ll the enemies of God do their utmost to ward off this juclgmcnt. It means-Do your utmost, muster all your strength," wake up the m4?;hty men," let them turn their agricultural implements into weapons of war, swords llnd spears; all will be futile. Heaven bide defiance to all such opposition. "The heat hen may rage, and the people imagine & vain thing; but he that sitteth in the h~avenR laughs them to scorn." "We must all appear before the judgment-se~t of Chrut." Wicked spirits will fight to the utmost, but will fail. IL THE GJI.EATEST Jl'.ULTITUDEB ASSEllllLED TOGETHER. "Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about. . . . Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision." Oh, this valley of decision, this valley of Jehoshaphat, this scene of judgment I what untold multitudes are summoned to appear 1 therein! All the men of ell generations will be there, and the Judge will appear also,· and all the holy angels too, eu:. III. THE GREATEST PROPRIETY DISPLAYED IN THE WHOLE. "Put ye in the Bickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down ; for the press is full, the fat~ overfl.o"!; for their wickedness is gre&t." The judgment is only the harvest; hell 1s only sin ripened into fruit. "In that valley those that have sowed to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption ; those that have sowed to the Spirit shall ~f the Spirit reap ev_er- lasting life." No one, then, will have any just reason to complain. It IB mere re~p1ng of what they have sown; it is the mere result of their own labours. IV. THE GREATEST AWF'OLNEBB DIBPLAYED. "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem· and the heavens and the earth shall shake." He shall "roar." Now he speaks in the still BID&ll voice of ~ercr, then he shall roar like a lion, striking terror into all ungodly hearts. "At hts voice t_he heavens and the earth shall shake." The idea is (1) he will appear on t~at _day in e~ch a way as to 11trike tcrrr,r into the hearts of hie enemies ; afd (2) to msp1re hope m t~e he~rts of hi.6 peopic. "The Lord will be the Hope of hie people." Sh?uld the ma_ter1a~ umveree be fri~btened into noLhingnese at his approach, even then hie people will still _ha~e a strong Hope in him. " God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present Help m t1mo of trouble." Let us learn calmly to await the judgmcnt. "God'1 way1 aeem dark, bot l100il or late They touch the 1hining hilJ1 of day ; The evil cannot brook delay, The good can well afford to wait." D.T. Ull. Ill. 1-21.] THE TIOOK OF .T()F,f,.