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 to go great distances for water, and yet "were not satisfied." Thie ie a terrible chastisement. The third is blight. "I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardene, and your vineyards, and your fig trees, and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them." A malignant atmosphere combined with devouring reptiles to destroy the produce of the land. The fourth is pestilence and the aw<Yl"d. "I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils." The allusion, perhaps, is to the pestilence with which God visited Egypt (Exod. ix.). The pestilence is God's destroying angel. Thus by blind nature God bas often chastised mankind. He makes the stars in their courses fight against Sisera.. Nature is a rod in bis chastening band; and what a rod it is! At his pleasure, by a touch, he can wake tempests that shall shake the globe, earth- quakes that shall engulf cities, etc. Yes, whatever materialistic scientists may say, nature is nothing more than a rod in the band of its Maker. The fifth is fire. "I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a :firebrand plucked out of the burning.n 2. He sometimes employs human wickedness. The sword is mentioned here. "Your young men have I slain with the sword." War, unlike famine, drought, pestilence, and fire, is human, devilish. It is the work of free agents, under the influence of infernal evil. But God employs it; he does not originate it, he does not sanction it, he does not inspire it; but he permits it and controls it for purposes of chastisement. Thus all things are at the use of his chastising govemment--matter and mind, angels and fiends, heaven and hell. II. The chastisements employed are ever DESIGNED FOB MORAL RESTORATION. After each judgment described we have the words," Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord." "Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord." "Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord." This is the burden and design of the whole. Note: 1. Men are alienated from the Lord. They are estranged in thought, sympathy, and purpose. Like the prodigal, they are in a far country, away from their Father. 2. Their alienation is the cause of all their misery. Estrangement from God means distance, not only from virtue, but from freedom, light, progress, dignity, blessedness. Hence the benevolence of all these chastisements. They are to restore souls. "Lo I all these things worketh God oftentimes with man, to bring him back from the pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of the living" (Job. uxiii. 29, 30). To every unconverted man God can say," I have chastised you in this way and in that way, on this occasion and on that, but 'yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord."' lll. The chastisements employed often FAIL IN THEm GRAND DESIGN'. "Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord." This shows (1) the force of human depravity, and (2) the force of human freedom. Almighty goodness does not force us into goodness. Almighty love does not dragoon us into goodness. He treats us as free agents and responsible beings.-D. T. Vere.12, 13.-Preparationf<YI" meeting God. "Therefore thus will I do unto thee, 0 Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, 0 Israel," etc. "All the means that had been employed to reform the Israelites having proved inelfectual, they are here summoned to prepare for the final judgment, which was to put an end to their national existence. To this judgment reference is emphatically made in the terms ~, •thus;' and n1u, • this.' There is a brief resumption of the sentence delivered in vers. 2 and 3." We raise three observations from these words. L MAN ltUST HAVE A CONSCIOUS MEETING WITH Goo. "Prepare to meet thy God." •• I shall see God," says Job:" whom I shall see for myself, end not 11nother." Yes we shall all see God. All men ought ever and everywhere to see him, for he is the' great Object in the horizon, nearer to them infinitely than augM besides. But they do not. Their spiritual eye is so closed that they see him not; they are utterly unconscious of his presence. But see him they mwt one day. All must be brought into conscious contact with him, and in his presence they will feel the greatest things • AMOS. Q lt2 THE BOOK OF AMOS. [cu. v. 1-27.
in the universe melt into nothing. The a.theist who denies his existence shall see God i the worldling who ignores his existence shall see God; the theologian who misrepre- eents hie exi~tence 8hall see God. We must all see God. II, Tul8 CONSCIOUS MEETING WITH GoD REQUIRES ON O'ITR PART PREPARATION, 1, To meet him, reconciliatiQ'fl, is needed. Practically we are at enmity with him, How ■he.U an enemy stand in his presence? Who does not feel uneasy and even distressed when he confronts a man he hates, although the man may have no disposition and no power whatever to injure him? How will the soul with enmity in its heart then ronfront him? "I beseech you then in Chrbt's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2. To meet him, moral purity is necessary. How will a consciously corrupt soul feel in the presence of absolute holiness? How are the flames of hell kindled? By the rays of Divine holiness falling on corrupt spirits. ,. Eterne.l Light, eternal Light, How pure the eoul must be, When, ple.ced within thy searching sight, It shrinks not, but with co.Im delight Can live and look on thee I" III. Tm: PROCEDURE OF Gon m AN ARGUMENT FOB THIB PREPARATION, 1. Hia procedure is terribly judicuil. "Therefore thus will I do unto thee, 0 Israel: ·and 1'ecause I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, 0 Israel." He was approaching the sinner in judgment, moving towards him judicie.lly, He was coming towards the Israelites as an Avenger, And so he is ever coming towards wicked men. Prepare, therefore, to meet him. He is coming as a Judge-slowly it may be, but surely a-nd terribly. 2. His procedure is overwhel,mingly grand. flLo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that ruaketh the morning darknesg, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, The God of hosts, is his Name." This magnificent description of Jehovah is given in order to urge the call to preparation. CoNCLUSION, The one mighty, loud, unceasing voice of God to man through all 11ature, history, and special revelation is, "Prepare to meet thy God."-D. T.
EXPOSITION.