The northern army I will drive away from you, banishing it to a barren and desolate land, its front ranks into the Eastern Sea, and its rear guard into the Western Sea. And its stench will rise; its foul odor will ascend. For He has done great things. Sermons
The transitions of sentiment with which we meet in the Hebrew prophets are remarkable, but not unaccountable. Threats and promises on God's part, rebellion and penitence on man's part, succeed one another with great rapidity. Yet there is order and method in these changes, which are always dependent upon moral and spiritual relations, and are never arbitrary and capricious. I. THE OCCASION OF DIVINE RELENTING. The deep-seated cause is to be found in the character, the moral nature, of God himself. He is merciful, and delights in mercy. Yet this attribute can be exercised only upon certain conditions, only towards those in a certain attitude of heart. Penitence: humiliation, contrition, entreaty, on the part of Judah, account for the exercise of compassion on the part of God. II. DIVINE RELENTING LEADS TO THE REMOVAL OF GRIEVOUS EVILS. The northern army of locusts, and perhaps also a hostile force figured by it, should be driven away, and famine and pestilence averted. The penalties of sin, being intended mainly for the correction of offenders, are not retained when their purpose is accomplished. In the midst of wrath God remembers mercy. III. DIVINE RELENTING PROVES ITSELF BY AN ABUNDANT BENEFICENCE. The Jews were assured that, as a sign that the storm-cloud of wrath was overpast, they should again enjoy the fruits of the earth - "corn, wine, and oil." Those whom God pardons he blesses too; he takes away the wrath to bestow the loving-kindness; the load of trouble is cast into the sea, and "he loadeth with benefits." - T. Then will the Lord be Jealous for His land, and pity His people. I. TOWARD REPENTANT SOULS GOD IS STRICT IN THE MANIFESTATION OF A JEALOUS REGARD. "Then will the Lord be jealous for His land, and pity His people." Thus we see the change which repentance makes in the circumstances and conditions of men. And God is jealous of the welfare and honour of the truly penitent soul. He will save it wisely from former enemies who have endangered it, and He will shield it kindly from all reproach which may threaten. The soul is His. He has redeemed it. He has given it the grace of repentance. He will be jealous for its good. II. TOWARD REPENTANT SOULS GOD IS BENEFICENT IN THE RESTORATION OF WITHDRAWN MERCIES. "Yea, the Lord will answer." etc. And happily true it is that while sin despoils life of many of its richest mercies, repentance with kind hand gives them back again. There is a glorious tendency in repentance to ameliorate and remove the loss and woe wrought by moral evil. Repentance does not always heal the pain of sin. It does not erase sad memories. It does not always restore a wasted bodily constitution. It does not always bring back the substance wasted in the far country. But its tendency is to do this The moral touches the material. III. FROM THE REPENTANT SOUL GOD WILL TURN ASIDE THE PLAGUES WHICH HAVE PREVIOUSLY AFFLICTED IT. "But I will remove far off from you the northern army," etc. The repentant soul is beset by old enemies. They are in the hand of God. He can cover their plans with defeat. Lessons — 1. That God will protect the interests of repentant souls. 2. Let us see in the glad effect of repentance in this life a prophecy of the joy of the sinless life. 3. That the enemies of repentant souls will be brought to shame. () These words are a Comfortable promise to Judah, upon a sincere humiliation and repentance, of the Divine kindness and favour; the earnest of all blessings, the fountain of all prosperity, success, and happiness that can attend a people, or they can reasonably wish or hope for. I. IN HOW EXACT A POSTURE OUR AFFAIRS STAND WITH THOSE OF JUDAH. Joel is supposed to point to the troubles of the reign of good King Hezekiah. We (1701) shall find that the coast from which we are alarmed and threatened, and the enemy from whom we apprehend our danger, has all the characteristics and marks of those enemies of the Hebrews described here by the prophet. They were powerful, cruel, and numerous. Neither is a foreign power the only evil we have reason to be apprehensive of and to provide against. We are a divided and dissatisfied people, maligning our governors, and murmuring at providence. II. THE NECESSITY FOR SEEKING A SUITABLE AND SEASONABLE REMEDY IN THESE TIMES OF DANGER. It is the safest course for nations, when they are apprehensive of danger, to implore the Divine aid and assistance to their consultations and enterprises; to deprecate God's wrath, and to engage His blessing. Self-preservation should engage us to cure a distemper in its beginnings and first approaches; lest, by indulging too long to it, it prove incurable and mortal. For when diseases are once deeply rooted, and become so mixed with the blood and humours as thoroughly to taint them, it costs the patient much more pain and time to bear the several courses and operations he is enjoined in order to a cure. To how near a crisis the malady of our sins has brought us; then how necessary it is to use the most effectual means for our recovery! There is great danger, if we dissolve our public peace, and do not timely cure our fatal divisions. It is not enough for us to think we have justice on our side, if we ourselves break God's most holy laws. When people abuse mercies, and receive the grace of God in vain, it is the highest aggravation of guilt, and most apt to incense the goodness of God, thus abused and slighted. Hence He has often raised up wicked men, and wicked nations, as instruments to punish others, who were less such, but transgressed God's laws against clearer light and plainer evidence. God, like a tender father, is jealous of, and resents deeply the transgressions of His children, whom gratitude and a stricter sense of duty ought to restrain and keep within due bounds. III. UPON A DUE APPLICATION OF REPENTANCE WE SHALL BE SAFE. True repentance is a healing balm, like that of Gilead, that cures the wounds of our sins, and has a sovereign charm to render a nation invulnerable; having power enough to ward off the force of any stroke of Divine vengeance, though just ready to be given. Illustrate by pious Hezekiah and good Jehoshaphat. Repentance has such influence upon heaven as to reprieve from ruin some of the vilest people and most wicked princes, as in the cases of Nineveh and Ahab. Upon these considerations what should hinder us from speedily closing with God in a duty upon which our safety and happiness so much depend; and which, if we perform seriously and in earnest, we shall not fail of His powerful protection and succour? Every individual person ought to begin at home. Let us therefore acknowledge before God with the deepest sense of humility and contrition how unworthy we have rendered ourselves of the least of His mercies. Let us turn from our evil ways, and walk in those of true virtue, religion, and holiness, that so we may engage Him to be jealous for His land, and pity His people." () () Homilist. I. That the MATERIAL CONDITION OF A PEOPLE DEPENDS UPON THE DIVINE OPERATIONS.1. The withdrawal of calamities. "I will remove far off from you the northern army," etc. Men may and ought to employ means; but futile for ever will be all human efforts without the co-operation of Almighty power. This fact should teach us ever to look to Him and Him only for deliverance from evil at all times, both material and moral. 2. The bestowment of blessings. "The Lord will answer and say unto His people, Behold, I will send you corn," etc. The productions of the earth are dependent every moment upon Almighty power. 2. That the Divine operations ARE INFLUENCED BY THE MORAL CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE. The priests and the ministers of the Lord wept between the altar, and said, "Spare Thy people, O Lord," etc. "The porch before the temple was a hundred and twenty cubits high, twenty broad from north to south, and ten from east to west. The altar was that of burnt-offering in the court of the priests. Here, with their backs toward the altar, on which they had nothing to offer, and their faces directed towards the residence of the Shekina, they were to weep and make supplication on behalf of the people." That the Divine conduct towards us depends upon our conduct towards heaven, is inexplicable to us although clearly taught in the Word of God. Indeed consciousness assures us that He is to us what we are to Him. It is absurd to suppose that God will alter the laws of nature because of human prayers and human conduct, says the sceptic scientist. But what laws of nature are more manifest, more universal, settled, and unalterable than the tendency of human souls to personal and intercessory prayer? Every aspiration is a prayer. Scripture abounds with examples of God apparently altering His conduct on account of man's supplication. III. THAT THE RIGHT MORAL CONDUCT OF A PEOPLE WILL ENSURE THEM DIVINE BENEDICTION. In these verses there is a beautiful gradation. First the destroyed land is addressed; then the irrational animals; then the inhabitants. All are called to cast off their fears and rejoice in the happy change which God would effect. It is too clear for either argument or illustration, that if you change the moral character of any country from ignorance to intelligence, from indolence to industry, from intemperance to self-discipline, the whole material region in which you live may abound with plentifulness and beauty. ()
People JoelPlaces Jerusalem, Mount Zion, Tigris-Euphrates Region, ZionTopics Army, Barren, Columns, Desolate, Drive, Eastern, Front, Northern, Parched, Pushing, Rear, Remove, Rise, Smell, Stench, Surely, WesternOutline 1. He shows unto Zion the terribleness of God's judgment.
12. He exhorts to repentance;
15. prescribes a fast;
18. promises a blessing thereon.
21. He comforts Zion with present,
28. and future blessings.
Dictionary of Bible Themes Joel 2:20 5183 smell
5225 barrenness Joel 2:18-24 4544 wine Library December 16. "I Will Restore to You the Years that the Locust Hath Eaten, the Canker Worm and the Caterpillar and the Palmer Worm, My Great Army, which I Sent among You" (Joel ii. 25).
"I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker worm and the caterpillar and the palmer worm, my great army, which I sent among you" (Joel ii. 25). A friend said to me once: "I have got to reap what I sowed, for God has said: 'Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.' Then why don't you apply this in the spiritual world, and compel the sinner to pay the penalty of his sins?" Christ has borne this penalty, and the same Christ has borne the natural penalties, too, and …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth A Free Grace Promise
"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered."--Joel 2:32. VENGEANCE was in full career. The armies of divine justice had been called forth for war: "They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war." They had invaded and devastated the land, and turned the land from being like the garden of Eden into a desolate wilderness. All faces gathered blackness: the people were "much pained" The sun itself was dim, the moon was dark, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 35: 1889 The Locust-Swarms
JOEL ii. 12, 13. Therefore also now, saith the Lord, Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. This is one of the grandest chapters in the whole Old Testament, and one which may teach us a great deal; and, above all, teach us to be thankful to God for the blessings which …
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God Distinction Between Exterior and Interior Actions --Those of the Soul in this Condition are Interior, but Habitual, Continued, Direct, Profound, Simple, and Imperceptible --Being a Continual
The actions of men are either exterior or interior. The exterior are those which appear outwardly, and have a sensible object, possessing neither good nor evil qualities, excepting as they receive them from the interior principle in which they originate. It is not of these that I intend to speak, but only of interior actions, which are those actions of the soul by which it applies itself inwardly to some object, or turns away from some other. When, being applied to God, I desire to commit an …
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents It is Strange that These Delightful Promises Affect us Coldly...
It is strange that these delightful promises affect us coldly, or scarcely at all, so that the generality of men prefer to wander up and down, forsaking the fountain of living waters, and hewing out to themselves broken cisterns, rather than embrace the divine liberality voluntarily offered to them (Jer. 2:13). "The name of the Lord," says Solomon, "is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." (Pr. 18:10) Joel, after predicting the fearful disaster which was at hand, subjoins the …
John Calvin—Of Prayer--A Perpetual Exercise of Faith The Holy Spirit of Promise
The Holy Spirit was promised through the prophets. "Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places."--Isa. …
J. W. Byers—Sanctification Period I: the Imperial State Church of the Undivided Empire, or Until the Death of Theodosius the Great, 395
The history of the Church in the first period of the second division of the history of ancient Christianity has to deal primarily with three lines of development, viz.: first, the relation of the Church to the imperial authority and the religious forces of the times, whereby the Church became established as the sole authorized religion of the Empire, and heathenism and heresy were prohibited by law; secondly, the development of the doctrinal system of the Church until the end of the Arian controversy, …
Joseph Cullen Ayer Jr., Ph.D.—A Source Book for Ancient Church History Ash Wednesday. Gather the People . . And Let the Priests, the Ministers of the Lord, Weep Between the Porch and the Alter, and Let them Say, Spare Thy People, O Lord.
Gather the people . . and let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the alter, and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Lord. Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn [69]Albinus. 1652. trans. by Catherine Winkworth, 1855 Not in anger smite us, Lord, Spare Thy people, spare! If Thou mete us due reward We must all despair. Let the flood Of Jesus' blood Quench the flaming of Thy wrath, That our sin enkindled hath. Father! Thou hast patience long With the sick and weak; Heal us, make …
Catherine Winkworth—Lyra Germanica: The Christian Year Whether Fasting is an Act of virtue?
Objection 1: It would seem that fasting is not an act of virtue. For every act of virtue is acceptable to God. But fasting is not always acceptable to God, according to Is. 58:3, "Why have we fasted and Thou hast not regarded?" Therefore fasting is not an act of virtue. Objection 2: Further, no act of virtue forsakes the mean of virtue. Now fasting forsakes the mean of virtue, which in the virtue of abstinence takes account of the necessity of supplying the needs of nature, whereas by fasting something …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether this Sacrament was Suitably Instituted in the New Law?
Objection 1: It would seem that this sacrament was unsuitably instituted in the New Law. Because those things which belong to the natural law need not to be instituted. Now it belongs to the natural law that one should repent of the evil one has done: for it is impossible to love good without grieving for its contrary. Therefore Penance was unsuitably instituted in the New Law. Objection 2: Further, that which existed in the Old Law had not to be instituted in the New. Now there was Penance in the …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether all Sins are Taken Away by Penance?
Objection 1: It would seem that not all sins are taken away by Penance. For the Apostle says (Heb. 12:17) that Esau "found no place of repentance, although with tears he had sought it," which a gloss explains as meaning that "he found no place of pardon and blessing through Penance": and it is related (2 Macc. 9:13) of Antiochus, that "this wicked man prayed to the Lord, of Whom he was not to obtain mercy." Therefore it does not seem that all sins are taken away by Penance. Objection 2: Further, …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether all are Bound to Keep the Fasts of the Church?
Objection 1: It would seem that all are bound to keep the fasts of the Church. For the commandments of the Church are binding even as the commandments of God, according to Lk. 10:16, "He that heareth you heareth Me." Now all are bound to keep the commandments of God. Therefore in like manner all are bound to keep the fasts appointed by the Church. Objection 2: Further, children especially are seemingly not exempt from fasting, on account of their age: for it is written (Joel 2:15): "Sanctify a fast," …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether Christ had any Acquired Knowledge?
Objection 1: It would seem that in Christ there was no empiric and acquired knowledge. For whatever befitted Christ, He had most perfectly. Now Christ did not possess acquired knowledge most perfectly, since He did not devote Himself to the study of letters, by which knowledge is acquired in its perfection; for it is said (Jn. 7:15): "The Jews wondered, saying: How doth this Man know letters, having never learned?" Therefore it seems that in Christ there was no acquired knowledge. Objection 2: Further, …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether this Name "Holy Ghost" is the Proper Name of one Divine Person?
Objection 1: It would seem that this name, "Holy Ghost," is not the proper name of one divine person. For no name which is common to the three persons is the proper name of any one person. But this name of 'Holy Ghost' [*It should be borne in mind that the word "ghost" is the old English equivalent for the Latin "spiritus," whether in the sense of "breath" or "blast," or in the sense of "spirit," as an immaterial substance. Thus, we read in the former sense (Hampole, Psalter x, 7), "The Gost of Storms" …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether There Can be Anything Pernicious in the Worship of the True God?
Objection 1: It would seem that there cannot be anything pernicious in the worship of the true God. It is written (Joel 2:32): "Everyone that shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Now whoever worships God calls upon His name. Therefore all worship of God is conducive to salvation, and consequently none is pernicious. Objection 2: Further, it is the same God that is worshiped by the just in any age of the world. Now before the giving of the Law the just worshiped God in whatever manner …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether Deeds Deadened by Sin, are Revived by Penance?
Objection 1: It would seem that deeds deadened by sin are not revived by Penance. Because just as past sins are remitted by subsequent Penance, so are deeds previously done in charity, deadened by subsequent sin. But sins remitted by Penance do not return, as stated above ([4804]Q[88], AA[1],2). Therefore it seems that neither are dead deeds revived by charity. Objection 2: Further, deeds are said to be deadened by comparison with animals who die, as stated above [4805](A[4]). But a dead animal cannot …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica The Benefits of Christ Made Available to us by the Secret Operation of the Spirit.
1. The Holy Spirit the bond which unites us with Christ. This the result of faith produced by the secret operation of the Holy Spirit. This obvious from Scripture. 2. In Christ the Mediator the gifts of the Holy Spirit are to be seen in all their fulness. To what end. Why the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of the Father and the Son. 3. Titles of the Spirit,--1. The Spirit of adoption. 2. An earnest and seal. 3. Water. 4. Life. 5. Oil and unction. 6. Fire. 7. A fountain. 8. The word of God. Use …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion The Books of the Old Testament as a Whole. 1 the Province of Particular Introduction is to Consider the Books of the Bible Separately...
CHAPTER XVIII. THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT AS A WHOLE. 1. The province of Particular Introduction is to consider the books of the Bible separately, in respect to their authorship, date, contents, and the place which each of them holds in the system of divine truth. Here it is above all things important that we begin with the idea of the unity of divine revelation--that all the parts of the Bible constitute a gloriously perfect whole, of which God and not man is the author. No amount of study devoted …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible Severinus in Germany.
As the Lord ever sends his angels when there is most need of help, so in the midst of the desolation and destruction which ensued on that irruption of the barbarians by which the Roman empire was broken in pieces after the death of Attila, the great desolator and exterminator, (A. D. 453,) He sent to the aid of the oppressed people of Germany, on the banks of the Danube, in their sore need, a man endowed with an extraordinary energy of love. His whole appearance has in it something enigmatical. As …
Augustus Neander—Light in the Dark Places The Situation of the Jews During this Period.
As we have seen in earlier chapters, the declarations of Holy Writ make it very clear that Israel will yet be restored to God's favor and be rehabilitated in Palestine. But before that glad time arrives, the Jews have to pass through a season of sore trouble and affliction, during which God severely chastises them for their sins and punishes them for the rejection and crucifixion of their Messiah. Fearful indeed have been the past experiences of "the nation of the weary feet" but a darker path than …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return Third Withdrawal from Herod's Territory.
Subdivision A. Pharisaic Leaven. A Blind Man Healed. (Magadan and Bethsaida. Probably Summer, a.d. 29.) ^A Matt. XV. 39-XVI. 12; ^B Mark VIII. 10-26. ^b 10 And straightway he entered into the boat with his disciples, ^a and came into the borders of Magadan. ^b into the parts of Dalmanutha. [It appears from the context that he crossed the lake to the west shore. Commentators, therefore, pretty generally think that Magadan is another form of the name Magdala, and that Dalmanutha was either another …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Whether those who had Been Baptized with John's Baptism had to be Baptized with the Baptism of Christ?
Objection 1: It would seem that those who had been baptized with John's baptism had not to be baptized with the baptism of Christ. For John was not less than the apostles, since of him is it written (Mat. 11:11): "There hath not risen among them that are born of women a greater than John the Baptist." But those who were baptized by the apostles were not baptized again, but only received the imposition of hands; for it is written (Acts 8:16,17) that some were "only baptized" by Philip "in the name …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Three Things Briefly to be Regarded in Christ --viz. His Offices of Prophet, King, and Priest.
1. Among heretics and false Christians, Christ is found in name only; but by those who are truly and effectually called of God, he is acknowledged as a Prophet, King, and Priest. In regard to the Prophetical Office, the Redeemer of the Church is the same from whom believers under the Law hoped for the full light of understanding. 2. The unction of Christ, though it has respect chiefly to the Kingly Office, refers also to the Prophetical and Priestly Offices. The dignity, necessity, and use of this …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion Because of Its Bearing Upon the Gentiles.
This aspect of our subject has not received the attention which it deserves. It has been assumed by some that the present dispensation is the time when God is blessing the Gentiles and that in the Millennium the Jews will be the special objects of God's favor. It is true that in the Millennium Israel shall enter into the enjoyment of their inheritance and that at that time they shall occupy the chief position, governmentally, among the nations, but it is a mistake to suppose that the Gentiles will …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return Links Joel 2:20 NIV
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