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CHAP. VII.

The judgments of the grasshoppers, and of the fire, are diverted by the intercession of Amos.

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HUS hath the Lord GoD shewed unto me in vision; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, [it was] the latter growth after the king's mowings. The king as usual mowed the earlier grass for himself, (an instance of grievous oppression) after which grasshoppers suddenly appeared in great quantities; referring to desolation brought on the country by civil wars, during the interregnum of eleven years after Jeroboam the second, when Israel was cut short after its pros2 perity. And it came to pass, [that] when they had made an end, or rather, would have made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he [is] small; how shall any 3 strength remain to save them from destruction. The LORD répented for this: It shall not be, the entire ruin of the country shall not yet take place, saith the LORD.

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Thus hath the Lord GoD showed unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part; like a burning mountain thrown into the sea, the vast heat of which dried up a great part of its waters; referring to Tilgathpilnezer, king of Assyria, 5 who took many cities and carried away many captives. Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall 6 Jacob arise? for he [is] small. The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD; the nation shall not be entirely consumed by this judgment.

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Thus he showed me and, behold, the LORD stood upon a wall [made] by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand; referring to the final judgment brought on Israel by Salmanazer, and intimating that it should be brought with exact 8 justice, and that all should be destroyed. And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumb line. Then said the LORD, Behold, I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more; I will not pass over their transgressions again : 9 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanc tuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.*

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Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the

Accordingly, Zachariah his son was destroyed by Shallum. Or it may refer to the destruction of the whole kingdom. What fellow's is a piece of private history relating te abe prophet.

midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words; he laid an information against him before the king, alleging that he preached in such a sedition and treasonable 11 manner, that it was not to be endured. For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be 12 led away captive out of their own land. Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there; as if he had said, Thou prophesiest only to get bread, and thou will meet 13 with a better reception in Judah: But prophesy not again any more at Bethel for it [is] the king's chapel, or sanctuary, and it [is] the king's court; or, the house of the kingdom; it is audacious and dangerous to insult him and his court here.

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Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I[was] no prophet, neither [was] I a prophet's son; but I[was] an herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit, or, wild figs; I was not by profession a prophet, nor educated at, their college: 15 And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel; I came at his command, and will wait till he dismisses me.

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Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not [thy_word] 17 even in the gentlest manner against the house of Isaac, Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword; your children shall be slain by the enemy, and your wife shall be abused by the soldiers, as a punishment for your spiritual whoredom, and thy land shall be divided by line among the Assyrians: and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and, notwithstanding all your boasts, Israel shall go into captivity forth of his land.

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REFLECTIONS.

HEN a nation is in the lowest state, there is still reason and encouragement to pray. The prophet kindly interceded for the house of Jacob, as God's people, and because it was small, that is, had little strength left, and no friend to help. God graciously heard his prayer, averted the threatened judg ments, and suspended their utter ruin. Let this be an encouragement to us to pray earnestly for our country, that judgments may be averted, or, when begun among us, may cease; and especially that the sins which occasioned them may be forgiven.

• He had said that Jeroboam's house should die by the sword; which did not imply that he himself should; but it is added, that he had also prophesied that Israel should be carried captive. The king wisely took no notice of this heavy charge, and therefore the priest attacked Amos himself, and in banter, though under a show of kindness, advised aim to retire.

The low and helpless state to which God's church and people are reduced, is a proper plea when asking for mercy and favour on

their account.

2. See how the best friends of a country may be accused, and treated even as its worst enemies so were Jeremiah, Amos, and Paul treated, and even Jesus, by Herod and Pilate. Though Amos was a faithful prophet, and an earnest intercessor for Israel, yet he was ill used, especially by the priests of Bethel. The greatest pretenders to religion are often the bitterest persecutors of the truly religious. They misrepresented him as preaching for bread, and advancing doctrines seditious and treasonable. This is the common language and plea of persecutors. The best of men have been thus treated, and so they probably may still be treated by those who hate eminent religion, and faithful admonitions. But while they are thus enemies to God's faithful ministers, they are enemies to their country, and to their own peace.

3. The consciousness of a call of Providence, united with upright intentions, will give a man courage in a good work. Amos tells the priests what made him so bold; he did not run before he was sent; did not preach for bread; and he would hardly have had so much courage as to preach in the king's chapel, without a special commission. A consciousness that he was obeying the commands of God, bore him through all. Thus may God's faithful ministers and people stand firm against opposition and contempt, having a good cause to defend, and a good God on their side. Thus may we stand; only let us be careful, like the prophet, to give a reason for our conduct, and for the hope that is in us, with meekness and fear.

CHAP. VIII.

By a basket of summer fruit, is showed the approach of Israel's end. Their oppression of the poor is reproved; and a famine of God's word threatened.

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HUS hath the Lord God showed unto me and behold

seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more; they are ripe for judgment, and shall very quickly be plucked off and de3 stroyed, as summer fruits are. And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD; their songs at their solemn festivals in their idolatrous temples shall be turnVOL. VI.

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ed into howling : [there shall be] many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast [them] forth with silence; without the usual forms of lamentation, because of their number, or of their enemies being so near.

Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, who devour their substance, and 5 make slaves of them all, Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat? who, though you keep up some forms of relig. ion, are impatient during the time of rest and worship, and intent only on gain; making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit ? using a double fraud in your trade, selling your corn by the ephah (about a bushel) and making this small, but taking money for it by weight, and making the shekel, by which you reckon that money, larger 5 than it should be: That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; [yea,] and sell the refuse of the wheat? selling the worst commodities so dear, that the poor cannot furnish themselves with necessaries of the meanest kind, and are forced to sell themselves for slaves to pay their debts; and who have so little compassion, that if they do but owe the value of a pair of sandals, will rather seize and sell them for slaves, than forgive so small a debt. The LORD hath sworn by the exellency of Jacob, by himself, who is the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works, but will call them to an account for them. Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it, that is, destruction, shall rise up wholly as a flood; or as the river; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as [by] the flood of Egypt; that is, as the Nile when it overflows its banks, and 9 sweeps every thing away. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day; I will bring judgments upon them in a sudden unexpected manner :* 10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only [son,] and the end thereof as a bitter day.

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Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GoD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD; they shall not 12 have the advantage of consulting the prophets: And they shall wander from sea to sea, from the western to the eastern sea, and from the north even to the east, or rather, to the south, they

Astronomers have shown, by calculating eclipses, that about eleven years after this prophecy there were two remarkable eclipses of the sun, both visible in that country; one at the feast of the passover, the other at the feast of tabernacles; this may refer to them, as they were then no doubt looked upon as very alarming and ominous.

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shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find [it ;] under the pressure of judgments they shall wish to 13 consult it, but shall not be able. In that day shall the fair vir

gins and young men faint for thirst; the most beautiful and strong shall be dispirited by the want of the common necessaries 14 of life, as well as of the word of God. They that swear by the sin of Samaria, by the calves of Samaria, (Deut. ix. 21.) and say, Thy God, O Dan, liveth; that is, they shall worship and solemnly swear by them; and the manner of Beersheba liveth; that is, the way of worship used at Beersheba; even they shall fall, and never rise up again; they shall be utterly destroyed by the Assyrians,

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REFLECTIONS.

"HEN a nation is ripe for ruin, it will come. An awful idea is suggested (v. 2.) I will not pass by them any more. Destruction is gradually advancing as sin increases, till at length it comes upon a country like a deluge. Every sin, every neglect of duty, hastens on the dreadful crisis. As, therefore, we love our country and families, let us put away iniquity far from us.

2. See the connexion there is between ungodliness and injustice. It is a melancholy description of the state of this people, that they kept the sabbaths, new moons, and solemn feasts, only out of form and custom; while they were weary of them, and really disliked them and this is the case of many still; they had rather be in their shops, or at markets, pursuing their business, and getting money, than at the house and in the worship of God: their hearts are not in the rest and work of the sabbath. And what is the consequence of this impiety? they are unjust in their dealings, fraudulent in their commerce, oppressive to the poor; draw their riches out of the very bowels of their workmen and families; and care not what others suffer, so that they can get wealth. Many rich merchants, tradesmen, and farmers are, it is to be feared, of this character; but let them not be deceived, for v. 7. the Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. He will avenge upon them the contempt of his day and worship, and the contempt and cruelty with which they treat their brethren.

3. We know that a famine of bread is bad; and are here taught that a famine of hearing the word is much worse. That is also the judgment of God, though, it is to be lamented, few people regard it as such. It is dreadful to want bread and water; but to want the bread of life and the waters of the sanctuary, is really as much more dreadful, as the soul is more valuable than the body. And this threatening shows what a value God puts upon his ordinances, and how highly those who are favoured with them should value

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