Israel's backsliding. ride upon horses: neither will A. M. cir. 3279. B. C. cir. 725. A. U. C. cir. 29. Romuli, R. Roman., cir, annum 29. 4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely for mine anger is turned away from him. 5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall xxxi. 1.- -8 Ch. ii. 17. Ver. 8.- h Ps. x. 14. lxviii. 5. 1 Jer. v. 6. xiv. 7. Ch. xi. 7.-k Eph. i. 6.- Job xxix. 19. Prov. xix. 12. 4. Remember your iniquity, deeply deplore it, and beg of God to take it all away. 5. Let faith be in exercise to receive what God "Receive us graciously;" i waits to impart. vekach tob, receive, or let us receive good; when thou hast emptied us of evil, fill us with goodness. 7. Having thus determined, specify your resolutions to depend on God alone for all that can make you wise, useful, holy, and happy. The resolutions are, Verse 1. O Israel, return unto the Lord] These words may be considered as addressed to the people now in captivity; suffering much, but having still much more to suffer if they did not repent. But it seems all these evils might yet be prevented, though so positively predicted, if the people would repent and 6. Be then determined, through grace, to live to return; and the very exhortation to this repentance his glory, "so shall we render thee the calves" (9. shows that they still had power to repent, and that parim, for which the Versions in general read peri, God was ready to save them and avert all these evils. fruits, omitting the mem) "of our lips;" the All this is easily accounted for on the doctrine of the sacrifices of praise, thanksgiving, gratitude, and the contingency of events, i. e., the poising a multitude of hearty obedience which our lips have often promised. events on the possibility of being and not being, and leaving the will of man to turn the scale; and that God will not foreknow a thing as absolutely certain, which his will has determined to make contingent. A doctrine against which some solemn men have blasphemed, and philosophic infidels declaimed; but without which fate and dire necessity must be the universal governors, prayer be a useless meddling, and Providence nothing but the ineluctable adamantine chain of unchangeable events; all virtue is vice, and vice virtue; or there is no distinction between them, each being eternally determined and unalterably fixed by a sovereign and unconrollable will and unvarying necessity, from the operation of which no soul of man and no occurrence in the universe be otherwise han it is. From such blasphemy, and from the monthly publications which avouch it, good Lord, deliver us! can escape, Verse 2. Take with you words] And you may be ssured that you pray aright, when you use the words vhich God himself has put in your mouths. On this ery ground there is a potency in the LORD'S PRAYER, then offered up believingly, beyond what can be ound in any human composition. And it may be resumed that it was this consideration that induced ur reformers to introduce it so frequently in the ublic liturgy. 1. Asshur shall not save us-We will neither trust in, nor fear, this rich and powerful king. We will not look either to riches or power for true rest and peace of mind. 2. We will not ride upon horses-We shall no more fix our hopes on the proud Egyptian cavalry, to deliver us out of the hands of enemies to whom thy We will expect no divine justice has delivered us. rest nor happiness in the elegancies of life, and gratification of our senses. 3. Neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods—We will not trust in any thing without us; nor even in any good thing we are able to do through thy grace; knowing we have nothing but what we have received. We will trust in thy infinite mercy for our final salvation. 4. And we will do all this from the conviction, that in thee the fatherless findeth mercy; for we are all alike helpless, desolate, perishing orphans, till translated into thy family. Verse 4. I will heal their backsliding] Here is the answer of God to these prayers and resolutions. See its parts : 1. Ye have backslidden and fallen, and are grievously and mortally wounded by that fall; but I who am the Author of life, and who redeem from 1. Hearing these merciful invitations, believe them death, will heal all these wounds and spiritual diseases. See the order of God's directions here : o be true. 2. Cast aside your idols; and return to God as ́our Maker, King, and Saviour. 2. I will love them freely- nedabah, after a liberal princely manner. I will love them so as to do them incessant good. It shall not be a love of affec 3. Take with you the words by which you have tion merely, but shall be a beneficial love. A love een encouraged, and plead them before God. that not only feels delight in itself, but fills them a What have I to do Or, blossom. b Heb. strike.- c Heb. shall go.--Ps. lii. 8. cxxviii. 3. Ecclus. 1. 10.- e Gen. xxvii. 27. Cant. iv. 11.- - Ps. xci. 1.— Or, blossom. -h Or, memorial. 1 Ver. 3.- k Jer. xxxi. 18. James i. 17.- Ps. cvii. with delight who are its objects, by making them unutterably and supremely happy. 3. For mine anger is turned away from him— Because he has turned back to me. Thus God and man become friends. Verse 5. I will be as the dew unto Israel] On these metaphors I gladly avail myself of the elegant and just observations of Bp. Lowth. "These verses (5, 6, 7) contain gracious promises of God's favour and blessings upon Israel's conversion. In the fifth verse, it is described by that refreshment which copious dews give to the grass in summer. If we consider the nature of the climate, and the necessity of dews in so hot a country, not only to refresh, but likewise to preserve life; if we consider also the beauty of the oriental lilies, the fragrance of the cedars which grow upon Lebanon, the beauteous appearance which the spreading olive trees afforded, the exhilarating coolness caused by the shade of such trees, and the aromatic smell exhaled by the cedars; we shall then partly understand the force of the metaphors here employed by the prophet; but their full energy no one can conceive, till he feels both the want, and enjoys the advantage, of the particulars referred to in that climate where the prophet wrote." —Lowth's twelfth and nineteenth prelection; and Dodd on the place. What a glorious prophecy! What a wonderful prophet! How sublime, how energetic, how just! The great master prophet, Isaiah, alone could have done this better. And these promises are not for Israel merely after the flesh; they are for all the people of God. We have a lot and portion in the matter; God also places his love upon us. Here the reader must feel some such sentiment as the shepherd in Virgil, when enraptured with the elegy which his associate had composed on their departed friend. The phraseology and metaphors are strikingly similar; and therefore I shall produce it. Tale tuum carmen nobis, divine Poeta, Quale sopor fessis in gramine, quale per æstum Dulcis aquæ saliente sitim restinguere rivo. Nec calamis solum æquiparas, sed voce magistrum. Fortunate puer! tu nunc eris alter ab illo. Nos tamen hæc quocunque modo tibi nostra vicissim Dicemus, Daphninque tuum tollemus ad astra: Daphnin ad astra feremus: amavit nos quoque Daphnis. VIRGIL. Ecl. v., ver. 45. any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir-tree. From me is thy fruit found. to Ephraim. A.M. cir. 3279. B. C. cir. 725. 9 m Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for "the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them but the transgressors shall fall therein. 43. Jer. ix. 12. viii. 47. xviii. 37.x. 29. Luke ii. 34. "O heavenly poet, such thy verse appears, So sweet, so charming to my ravished ears, As to the weary swain with cares opprest, Beneath the sylvan shade, refreshing rest ; As to the feverish traveller, when first He finds a crystal stream to quench his thirst. In singing, as in piping, you excel; And scarce your master could perform so well. O fortunate young man! at least your lays Are next to his, and claim the second praise. Such as they are, my rural songs I join To raise your Daphnis to the powers divine; For Daphnis was my friend, as well as thine." Verse 7. They that dwell under his shadow shali return] The Targum is curious: "They shall be gathered together from the midst of their captivity they shall dwell under the shadow of his CHRIST, and the dead shall revive." Dan. xii. 10. Ecclus. xxxix. 24, 27. John Ps. cxix. 14. 27, 33. cxlv. 17. Prov. 2 Cor. ii. 16. 1 Pet. ii. 7, 8. They shall revive as the corn] The justness and beauty of this metaphor is not generally perceived. After the corn has been a short time above the earth, in a single spike, the blades begin to separate, and the stalk to spring out of the centre. The side leaves turn back to make way for the protruding stalk; and fall bending down to the earth, assuming a withered appearance, though still attached to the plant. To look at the corn in this state, no one, unacquainted with the circumstance, could entertain any s guine hope of a copious harvest. In a short time other leaves spring out; the former freshen, a begin to stand erect; and the whole seems to reci from a vegetative death. This is the circumstance #> which the prophet refers; "they shall revive as the corn." Of this a prudent and profitable use may be made. 1. When a soul is first "drawn by the cords d love," chap. xi. 4, every thing seems to it promis comfortable, and delightful, like the corn in its fir Verse 8. What have I to do any more with idols?] The conversion of Ephraim is now as complete as it was sincere. God hears and observes this. I am like a green fir-tree.] Perhaps these words should be joined to the preceding, as Newcome has done, and be a part of God's speech to Ephraim. "I have heard him; and I have seen him as a flourishing fir-tree." He is become strong and vigorous; and from his present appearance of healthiness, his future increase and prosperity may be safely anticipated. From me is thy fruit found.] All thy goodness springs from the principle of grace which I have planted in thy soul; for as the earth cannot bring forth fruit without the blessing of God, sending the dews and rains, with the genial rays of the sun; so neither can the soul of man, even of the most pious, bear fruit, without a continual influence from the Most High. Without the former, neither grass could grow for cattle, nor corn for the service of man; without the latter, no seeds of righteousness could take root, no stalk of promise could grow, no fruit of grace could be produced. And the unclean spirit, which was cast out, would soon return; and, finding his former house empty, swept, and garnished, would re-enter with seven demons of greater power and worse influence; and the latter end of that man would be worse than the first. Reader, ever consider that all thy good must be derived from God; and all that good must be preserved in thee by his continued influence of light, love, and power upon thy soul. Verse 9. Who is wise, and he shall understand these things?] What things? Those which relate to the backslidings, iniquity, and punishment of Israel; and to the mercy and kindness of God in their promised restoration. The things which belong to the work of sin in the heart; the things which belong to the work of grace in the soul; and particularly the things mentioned in this wonderful chapter. preceding chapter. Prudent, and he shall know them?] He who endeavours to understand them, who lays his heart to them, such a person shall understand them. For the ways of the Lord are right] This is the conclusion which the prophet makes from the whole. All God's conduct, both in the dispensation of justice and mercy, is right: all as it should be, all as it must be; because he is too wise to err, too good to be unkind. The just shall walk in them] This is a truth which he will always acknowledge; and illustrate it by a righteous and godly life. But the transgressors shall fall therein.] Howsoever good they might have been before, if they do not consider the necessity of depending upon God; of receiving all their light, life, power, and love from him; ever evidencing that faith which worketh by love; maintaining an obedient conduct, and having respect to all God's precepts; they shall fall, even in the " way of righteousness." When still using the divine ordinances, and associating with God's people, they shall perish from the way; and be like Ephraim, who once "spoke trembling," and "was exalted in Israel," who was "God's beloved son," and "called out of Egypt;" yet, by "offending in Baal," giving way to " the idols of his heart," fell from God, fell into the hands of his enemies, and became a wretched thrall in a heathen land. "Whoso is wise, let him understand these things! Whoso is prudent, let him know them!". He who is well instructed will make a proper application of what he has here read; will tremble at the threatenings, and embrace the promises, of his God. The Targum is worthy the most serious attention. "The ways of the Lord are right, and the just who walk in them shall live for ever; but the ungodly, because they have not walked in them, shall be delivered into hell." How instructive, how convincing, how awakening, and yet how consolatory, are the words of this prophecy! Reader, lay them to heart. A godly mind cannot consider them in vain; such shall know them, and know that the ways of the Lord are right. 3293 10 A INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JOE L. JOEL, the son of Pethuel, the second of the twelve minor prophets, was, as is said, of the tribe of Reuben, and city of Bethoran; or rather Betharan, for Bethoran was on this side Jordan, in the tribe of Ephraim, and Betharan was on the other side of the river, in the tribe of Reuben. Joel prophesied in the kingdom of Judah; and it is the opinion of some critics that he did not appear there till after the removal of the ten tribes and the destruction of the kingdom of Israel. We do not know distinctly the year wherein he began to prophesy, nor that in which he died. He speaks of a great famine, and an inundation of locusts, which ravaged Judea; but as these are evils not uncommon in that country, and all sorts of events have not been registered in history, we can infer nothing from thence towards fixing the particular period of Joel's prophecy. St. Jerome, followed by many others, both ancients and moderns, believed Joel to have been contemporary with Hosea, according to this rule laid down by him, that when there is no certain proof of the time wherein any prophet lived, we are to be directed in our conjectures by the time of the preceding prophet, whose epoch is better known. But this rule is not always certain, and should not hinder us from following another system, if we have good reason for doing so. The Hebrews maintain that Joel prophesied under Manasseh; and as collateral circumstances seem to preponderate in favour of this hypothesis, it has been accordingly followed in the margin. Under the idea of an enemy's army, the prophet represents a cloud of locusts, which in his time fell upon Judea, and caused great desolation. This, together with the caterpillars, and the drought, brought a terrible famine upon the land. God, being moved with the calamities and prayers of his people, scattered the locusts, and the wind blew them into the sea. These misfortunes were succeeded by plenty and fertility. After this, the prophet foretold the day of the Lord, and the vengeance he was to exercise in the valley of Jezreel. He speaks of the teacher of righteousness, whom God was to send; and of the Holy Spirit, which was to descend upon all flesh. He says that Jerusalem will be inhabited for ever; that salvation will come out from thence; and that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. All this relates to the new covenant, and the time of the Messiah. See Calmet. Bishop Lowth observes that "the style of Joel differs much from that of Hosea; but, though of a different kind, is equally poetical. It is elegant, perspicuous, clear, diffusive, and flowing; and, at the same time, very sublime, nervous, and animated. He displays the whole power of poetic description in the first and second chapters; and, at the same time, his fondness for metaphors, comparisons, and allegories; nor is the connexion of his sub jects less remarkable than the graces of his diction. It is not to be denied that in some places he is very obscure; which every attentive reader will perceive, especially in the end of this prophecy." Præl. xxi.; and see Dodd. The two first chapters are inimitably beautiful; and the language, in force, and often in sound, well adapted to the subject. See the note on ver. 1. THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JOEL. Chronological Notes relative to the commencement of Joel's prophesying, upon the supposition that this event took place about six hundred and ninety years before the commencement of the Christian era. Year from the Creation, according to Archbishop Usher, 3314.-Year of the Julian Period, 4024.-Year since the Flood, 1658.-Year from the foundation of Solomon's temple, 322.-Year since the division of Solomon's monarchy into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, 285.-Year since the extinction of the kingdom of Israel by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, 31.-Third year of the twenty-second Olympiad. Year from the building of Rome, according to the Varronian computation, 64.-Year before the vulgar era of Christ's nativity, 690.-Cycle of the Sun, 20.-Cycle of the Moon, 15.-Third year of Eryxias, the last decennial archon of the Athenians. First year of Anaxidamus, king of Lacedæmon, of the family of the Proclidæ.-Thirty-fifth year of Eurycrates I., king of Lacedæmon, of the family of the Eurysthenida.-Eleventh year of Deioces, the first king of the Medes.-Fortieth year of Perdiccas I., king of Macedon.-Twenty-ninth year of Gyges, king of Lydia.-Ninth year of Manasseh, king of Judah. CHAPTER I. This and the beginning of the next chapter contain a double prophecy, applicable in its primary sense to a plague of locusts which was to devour the land, and to be accompanied with a severe drought and famine; and in its secondary sense it denotes the Chaldean invasion. Both senses must be admitted: for some of the expressions will apply only to the dearth by insects; others, to the desolation by war. The contexture of both is beautiful and well conducted. In this chapter the distress of every order of people is strongly painted; and not only does the face of nature languish when the God of nature is displeased, 1-19; but the very beasts of the field, by a bold figure, are represented as supplicating God in their distress, and reproaching the stupidity of man, NOTES ON CHAP. I. Verse 1. The word of the Lord that came to Joel] See the introduction for some account of this prophet, whose history is very obscure. Bishop Newcome thinks that he prophesied while the kingdom of Judah subsisted, and refers to chap. ii. 1, 15 (see also chap. i. 14, and the note there), but not long before its subversion; as his words, chap. iii. 1, seem to imply that its captivity was approaching. See 2 Kings xxi. 10-15. He therefore favours the conjecture of Drusius, that this prophet lived under Manasseh, and before his conversion, 2 Chron. xxxiii. 13; that is, some time from before Christ 697 to (suppose) 660. 20. Verse 2. Ye old men] Instead of ɔpı hazzekenim, old men, a few MSS. have haccohanim, ye priests, but improperly. Hath this been in your days] He begins very abruptly; and before he proposes his subject, excites attention and alarm by intimating that he is about to announce disastrous events, such as the oldest man among them has never seen, nor any of them learnt from the histories of ancient times. Verse 3. Tell ye your children of it] To heighten the effect, he still conceals the subject, and informs them that it is such as should be handed down from father to son through all generations. |