And in some

they returned from the Babylonish captivity. measure they then enjoyed the plenty and the peace here promised. And if they did not enjoy more, this was altogether their own fault. Oh if we had but faith to rely on all God's promises, and to fulfil all that He commands, what a heaven on earth would even this life, with all its infirmities, become! what peace, what plenty, both temporal and spiritual, would flourish and abound throughout the world!

"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh." This is a prophecy expressly interpreted by St. Peter of the gift of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. See Acts 2. 16. This renders it probable, that the previous promises relate in the first instance to times before Christ's coming. And it leads us on from the church privileges of the old dispensation to those of the New Testament. Abundance of corn, and wine, and oil, no longer satisfy the cravings of the human heart. Grace and godliness, peace with God through Christ, peace, and joy in believing, to be justified, to be sanctified, to be glorified, to have the full assurance of hope, that however happy this life may be made by holiness, yet will our death be gain unspeakable, these are the blessings which we are taught to long for, and privileged to enjoy, these we may now enjoy in plenty, and be satisfied, and for these it ought now to be our delight to praise the name of the Lord our God, who has dealt wondrously with us.

At the beginning of the Gospel there were wrought many signs and miracles, giving evidence to the outward senses of the gifts of the Holy Spirit within. If prophecies and dreams and visions soon ceased in the church, there remained, and there still remain, the spirit of holiness, the power of faith, the life of God in the soul of man, and a likeness unto Christ in the conduct of man, which testify beyond question, both to those who partake of them, and to those who behold them, that the Holy Ghost is with us of a truth. Wonders in heaven are moreover no longer to be seen; such as were displayed at the close of the former dispensation, both when Christ died on the cross, and when Jerusalem was levelled to the ground. But we have reason to expect the like at the close of the present state of things. See Rev. 16. 14. We are taught to be always on the watch for Christ's coming in the clouds of heaven to call all mankind to judgment. And we have the authority of St. Paul for applying to the Christian period the promise here prophetically set forth, "whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered." See Rom. 10. 13. That day will not be terrible to those who trust in Him. The sun and moon may perish; but it will not be dark with them. Christ will be their light and glory. Christ will be their shield and their defence. His coming is that for which they have looked and longed. His countenance, so fearful to many, it is their heart's desire to behold. His glory, so full of terror to the wicked, it has been the great object of their life to promote.

and Edom shall be a desolate ever, and Jerusalem from genewilderness, for the violence ration to generation. against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in

20 But Judah shall dwell for Zion.

LECTURE 1406.

What we may learn from these unfulfilled prophecies. The short book of the prophet Joel extends in point of time from the period at which he wrote even to the events of the last days. And there can be little doubt that this whole chapter relates to things which are yet to happen, briefly hinted at in the concluding verses of the chapter previous. The captivity of Judah and Jerusalem is to be succeeded by their restoration; their present state of depression by a renewal of glory; this either literally of the Jews who shall generally become Christians, or figuratively of the seed of Abraham according to the spirit, and of the spiritual Jerusalem. A great resistance to this glorious consummation will take place, on the part of the unbelieving and ungodly, whose treatment of God's people is described in figurative language taken from the cruel usage to which Jewish captives were subjected of old, by their enemies of Tyre and Sidon. But in vain will such resistance be made. God summons the opposing parties, and bids them gather themselves together, defying them to meet Him "in the valley of decision." And He assures his people, that He will secure them peace from all their enemies round about, yes, and even from those enemies within, that would make them to be at enmity with God. "Then shall Jerusalem be holy." Then shall it be true once more, and that for ever, that "the Lord dwelleth in Zion."

All this is to be regarded as prophecy unfulfilled, and therefore admitting only of a very general and uncertain interpretation. But it makes some things clear concerning the future which it is profitable for us to know at present. It shews us that God is faithful to his promises, even unto the end; and that having chosen a people to Himself, He will defend them to the end from all their enemies. It reminds us that in this world there will ever be a contest between the principles of evil and of good; so that we need not be surprised at being withstood, thwarted, slandered, or persecuted, in that which we undertake for the Lord's sake. It encourages us to cleave to Him through evil report and good report, with the full assurance of faith that He will never leave us nor forsake us. And whilst it enables us to be resigned under the prevalence of iniquity, and to regard its transitory triumph as the prelude to its dreadful end, it teaches us to rejoice in the thought, that many sinners will be saved through grace, cleansed, however foul before, by the same healing waters as ourselves.

God's judgments on the nations around Israel.

1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

2 And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

3 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron :

4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad. 5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD. 6 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:

7 But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof:

8 And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from

Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD.

9 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:

10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.

11 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:

12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.

13 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:

14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:

15 And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the LORD.

LECTURE 1407.

Against selfishness, oppressiveness, and cruelty.

The principal subject of the prophecies of Amos is the ruin soon about to overtake the kingdom of the ten tribes.

He intro

duces it, however, with denouncing the judgments of the Lord upon the neighbouring nations of the heathen, as well as upon the kingdom of Judah. See ch. 2. 4. "Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof." This expression is repeated in each instance. And in each instance it obviously signifies a large and unlimited number of offences. The nature of the chief offences of each kingdom is also specified. Damascus had "threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron," had very sorely oppressed this part of the land of Israel, and had very cruelly used its inhabitants. Gaza had "carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom," had handed on their Israelitish prisoners to the Edomites for destruction. Tyrus had done the like, forgetful of the brotherly covenant once established between Israel's king and theirs. See Joel 3. 4—6. Edom, that was near akin to Israel, forgetful of this brotherly relationship, had acted as a merciless enemy. And Ammon had perpetrated the most abominable cruelties, in order to enlarge the border of its own territories, by encroaching on those of Israel.

In the various crimes, charged upon these heathen nations, we have a sad representation of their temper, character, and manners, of the ambition, cruelty, and treachery, with which the conduct of their national transactions was disgraced. But it is no worse than we meet with in the history of the heathen world in general, or in the history of such Christian states, as have professed Christianity, but not practised it. To enlarge their borders, to increase their possessions, to aggrandize themselves at the expense of their neighbours, this we may regard as the mainspring of national policy in general throughout the world, as the principle which has stirred up wars, and presided at negociations for peace, which has been the secret object of treaties, and the scarcely concealed motive for faithlessly breaking them. The wrongs, the losses, the sufferings, the griefs, which men have by these means heaped upon each other, in all ages of the world, are past counting. How awful is the thought, suggested by this prophecy, that for all such iniquity God will call the guilty to account! How deeply does it concern us to examine and see what manner of spirit we are of, whether we harbour in our hearts, or practise in our private conduct, any such selfish, grasping, faithless, cruel principles, as those which are here denounced in states! If we do, let us take warning, that these are things for which God is sure to punish; unless we repent. If we have been used to feel or act thus wrongfully and oppressively, but have found grace to repent and to amend, let us take comfort from the thought, that God is graciously willing to forgive, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

PART VIII. O. T.

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