Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets. That there must be assumed to be some limitation to this broad statement is manifest. It is not intended to declare that God made his prophets acquainted with all his counsels and intentions, but rather that revelation and inspiration are realities, and that prophecy is a Divine ordinance. I. THE ACTIONS OF GOD ARE THE RESULT OF DELIBERATE COUNSEL AND PURPOSE. This way of representing the conduct of Divine affairs is out of harmony with much current teaching of our time. We are often told that it is childish to conceive of God as personal, as thinking, feeling, and acting. But so far from such representations being derogatory to the Divine dignity, they do, in fact, enhance our conceptions of him. Reason and will are the lofty attributes of mind; and whilst the Eternal is not bound by the limitations which circumscribe our faculties, these faculties are the finite reflection of what is infinite in him. It is the glory of our Scriptures that they reveal to us a God who commands, not a blind awe, but an intelligent veneration, and elicits an appreciative and grateful love. II. THE COUNSELS AND PURPOSES OF GOD ARE REVEALED TO THE SYMPATHETIC MINDS OF HIS SERVANTS THE PROPHETS. The mode of this communication is concealed from us; it may have been but partially understood even by the prophets themselves. There is nothing unreasonable in the fellowship of mind between the Creator and created spirits. The human consciousness is above all vehicles surely the fittest medium for the intercourse between the Divine and the finite. God has his own servants employed in his household, his husbandry; and he chooses his own agents for the several works he has for them to do. Among his servants are the prophets - men selected and qualified to speak forth his mind and will to their fellow men. Perhaps we are too restricted in the view we commonly take of the prophetic office. We know that there were schools of prophets among the Hebrews, and that there was an order of prophets in the primitive Church. There were oases in which by the agency of prophets new truth was revealed, but there were also cases in which prophets were inspired to apprehend and republish truth already familiar. Prophets in this second sense there certainly are among us to this day. III. THE COUNSELS AND PURPOSES OF GOD COMMUNICATED BY THE PROPHETS DEMAND OUR REFERENTIAL ATTENTION AND CHEERFUL OBEDIENCE. When the Omniscient declares his mind, when the Omnipotent unfolds his purpose, by the agency he has chosen, the revelation is first made by the Spirit to the human minister, and then by the human minister to his fellow men. The holiness of the Divine character and the righteousness of the Divine government are thus brought effectively before the minds of the intelligent and responsible sons of men. The secret is revealed, not simply to excite wonder, but to guide conduct. The appropriate attitude of those privileged with a revelation so precious is that expressed in the resolution, "All the words which the Lord hath spoken will we do." - T. Parallel Verses KJV: Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.WEB: Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing, unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets. |
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