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Expositor's Bible Commentary Amos 2:1 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime: ATROCITIES AND ATROCITIES Amos 1:3 - Amos 2:1-16 LIKE all the prophets of Israel, Amos receives oracles for foreign nations. Unlike them, however, he arranges these oracles not after, but before, his indictment of his own people, and so as to lead up to this. His reason is obvious and characteristic. If his aim be to enforce a religion independent of his people’s interests and privileges, how can he better do so than by exhibiting its principles at work outside his people, and then, with the impetus drained from many areas, sweep in upon the vested iniquities of Israel herself? This is the course of the first section of his book-chapters 1 and 2. One by one the neighbors of Israel are cited and condemned in the name of Jehovah; one by one they are told they must fall before the still unnamed engine of the Divine Justice. But when Amos has stirred his people’s conscience and imagination by his judgment of their neighbors’ sins, he turns with the same formula on themselves. Are they morally better? Are they more likely to resist Assyria? With greater detail he shows them worse and their doom the heavier for all their privileges. Thus is achieved an oratorical triumph, by tactics in harmony with the principles of prophecy and remarkably suited to the tempers of that time. But Amos achieves another feat, which extends far beyond his own day. The sins he condemns in the heathen are at first sight very different from those which he exposes within Israel. Not only are they sins of foreign relations, of treaty and war, while Israel’s are all civic and domestic; but they are what we call the atrocities of Barbarism-wanton war, massacre, and sacrilege-while Israel’s are rather the sins of Civilization-the pressure of the rich upon the poor, the bribery of justice, the seduction of the innocent, personal impurity, and other evils of luxury. So great is this difference that a critic more gifted with ingenuity than with insight might plausibly distinguish in the section before us two prophets with two very different views of national sin-a ruder prophet, and of course an earlier, who judged nations only by the flagrant drunkenness of their war, and a more subtle prophet, and of course a later, who exposed the masked corruptions of their religion and their peace. Such a theory would be as false as it would be plausible. For not only is the diversity of the objects of the prophet’s judgment explained by this, that Amos had no familiarity with the interior life of other nations, and could only arraign their conduct at those points where it broke into light in their foreign relations, while Israel’s civic life he knew to the very core. But Amos had besides a strong and a deliberate aim in placing the sins of civilization as the climax of a list of the atrocities of barbarism. He would recall what men are always forgetting, that the former are really more cruel and criminal than the latter; that luxury, bribery, and intolerance, the oppression of the poor, the corruption of the innocent and the silencing of the prophet-what Christ calls offences against His little ones-are even more awful atrocities than the wanton horrors of barbarian warfare. If we keep in mind this moral purpose, we shall study with more interest than we could otherwise do the somewhat foreign details of this section. Horrible as the outrages are which Amos describes, they were repeated only yesterday by Turkey: Many of the crimes with which he charges Israel blacken the life of Turkey’s chief accuser, Great Britain. In his survey Amos includes all the six states of Palestine that bordered upon Israel, and lay in the way of the advance of Assyria-Aram of Damascus, Philistia, Tyre (or Phoenicia), Edom, Ammon, and Moab. They are not arranged in geographical order. The prophet begins with Aram in the northeast, then leaps to Philistia in the southwest, comes north again to Tyre, crosses to the southeast and Edom, leaps Moab to Ammon, and then comes back to Moab. Nor is any other explanation of his order visible. Damascus heads the list, no doubt, because her cruelties had been most felt by Israel, and perhaps too because she lay most open to Assyria. It was also natural to take next to Aram Philistia, as Israel’s other greatest foe; and nearest to Philistia lay Tyre. The three southeastern principalities come together. But there may have been a chronological reason now unknown to us. The authenticity of the oracles on Tyre; Edom, and Judah has been questioned: it will be best to discuss each case as we come to it. Each of the oracles is introduced by the formula: "Thus saith," or "hath said, Jehovah: Because of three crimes of yea, because of four, I will not turn It back." In harmony with the rest of the book, Jehovah is represented as moving to punishment, not for a single sin, but for repeated and cumulative guilt. The unnamed "It" which God will not recall is not the word of judgment, but the anger and the hand stretched forth to smite. After the formula, an instance of the nation’s guilt is given, and then in almost identical terms he decrees the destruction of all by war and captivity. Assyria is not mentioned, but it is the Assyrian fashion of dealing with conquered states which is described. Except in the case of Tyre and Edom, the oracles conclude as they have begun, by asserting themselves to be the "word of Jehovah," or of "Jehovah the Lord." It is no abstract righteousness which condemns these foreign peoples, but the God of Israel, and their evil deeds are described by the characteristic Hebrew word for sin-"crimes," "revolts," or "treasons" against Him. 1. ARAM OF DAMASCUS.-"Thus hath Jehovah said: Because of three crimes of Damascus, yea, because of four, I will not turn It back; for that they threshed Gilead with iron"-or "basalt threshing-sledges." The word is "iron," but the Arabs of today call basalt iron; and the threshing-sledges, curved slabs drawn rapidly by horses over the heaped corn, are studded with sharp basalt teeth that not only thresh out the grain, but chop the straw into little pieces. So cruelly had Gilead been chopped by Hazael and his son Ben-Hadad some fifty or forty years before Amos prophesied. Strongholds were burned, soldiers slain without quarter, children dashed to pieces, and women with child put to a most atrocious end. But "I shall send fire on the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad"-these names are chosen, not because they were typical of the Damascus dynasty, but because they were the very names of the two heaviest oppressors of Israel. "And I will break the bolt of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from Bik’ath-Aven"-the Valley of Idolatry, so called, perhaps, by a play upon Bik’ath On, presumably the valley between the Lebanons, still called the Beka, in which lay Heliopolis-"and him that holdeth the scepter from Beth-Eden"-some royal Paradise in that region of Damascus which is still the Paradise of the Arab world-"and the people of Aram shall go captive to Kir"-Kir in the unknown north, from which they had come: ( Amos 9:7 ) "Jehovah hath said" it. 2. PHILISTIA.-"Thus saith Jehovah: For three crimes of Gaza and for four I will not turn It back, because they led captive a whole captivity, in order to deliver them up to Edom." It is difficult to see what this means if not the wholesale depopulation of a district in contrast to the enslavement of a few captives of war. By all tribes of the ancient world, the captives of their bow and spear were regarded as legitimate property: it was no offence to the public conscience that they should be sold into slavery. But the Philistines seem, without excuse of war, to have descended upon certain districts and swept the whole of the population before them, for purely commercial purposes. It was professional slave-catching. The Philistines were exactly like the Arabs of today in Africa-not warriors who win their captives in honorable fight, but slave-traders, pure and simple. In warfare in Arabia itself it is still a matter of conscience with the wildest nomads not to extinguish a hostile tribe, however bitter one be against them. Gaza is chiefly blamed by Amos, for she was the emporium of the trade on the border of the desert, with roads and regular caravans to Petra and Elah on the Gulf of Akaba, both of them places in Edom and depots for the traffic with Arabia. "But I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and the holder of the sceptre from Askalon, and I will turn My hand upon Ekron"-four of the five great Philistine towns, Gath being already destroyed, and never again to be mentioned with the others-"and the last of the Philistines shall perish: Jehovah hath said it." 3. TYRE.-"Thus saith Jehovah: Because of three crimes of Tyre and because of four I will not turn It back; for that they gave up a whole captivity to Edom"-the same market as in the previous charge-"and did not remember the covenant of brethren." We do not know to what this refers. The alternatives are three: that the captives were Hebrews and the alliance one between Israel and Edom; that the captives were Hebrews and the alliance one between Israel and Tyre; that the captives were Phoenicians and the alliance the natural brotherhood of Tyre and the other Phoenician towns. But of these three alternatives the first is scarcely possible, for in such a case the blame would have been rather Edom’s in buying than Tyre’s in selling. The second is possible, for Israel and Tyre had lived in close alliance for more than two centuries; but the phrase "covenant of brethren" is not so well suited to a league between two tribes who felt themselves to belong to fundamentally different races, { Genesis 10:1-32 } as to the close kinship of the Phoenician communities. And although, in the scrappy records of Phoenician history before this time, we find no instance of so gross an outrage by Tyre on other Phoenicians, it is quite possible that such may have occurred. During next century Tyre twice over basely took sides with Assyria in suppressing the revolts of her sister cities. Besides, the other Phoenician towns are not included in the charge. We have every reason, therefore, to believe that Amos expresses here not resentment against a betrayal of Israel, but indignation at an outrage upon natural rights and feelings with which Israel’s own interests were not in any way concerned. And this also suits the lofty spirit of the whole prophecy. "But I will send fire upon the wall of Tyre, and it shall devour her palaces" This oracle against Tyre has been suspected by Wellhausen, for the following reasons: that it is of Tyre alone, and silence is kept regarding the other Phoenician cities, while in the case of Philistia other towns than Gaza are condemned; that the charge is the same as against Gaza; and that the usual close to the formula is wanting. But it would have been strange if from a list of states threatened by the Assyrian doom we had missed Tyre, Tyre which lay in the avenger’s very path. Again, that so acute a critic as Wellhausen should cite the absence of other Phoenician towns from the charge against Tyre is really amazing, when he has just allowed that it was probably against some or all of these cities that Tyre’s crime was committed. How could they be included in the blame of an outrage done upon themselves? The absence of the usual formula at the close may perhaps be explained by omission, as indicated above. 4. EDOM.-"Thus saith Jehovah: Because of three crimes of Edom and because of four I will not turn It back; for that he pursued with the sword his brother," who cannot be any other than Israel, "corrupted his natural feelings"-literally "his bowels of mercies"-"and kept aye fretting his anger, and his passion he watched"-like a fire, or "paid heed" to it-"forever." "But I will send fire upon Teman"-the "South" Region belonging to Edom-"and it shall devour the palaces of Bosrah"-the Edomite Bosrah, southeast of Petra. The Assyrians had already compelled Edom to pay tribute. The objections to the authenticity of this oracle are more serious than those in the case of the oracle on Tyre. It has been remarked that before the Jewish Exile so severe a tone could not have been adopted by a Jew against Edom, who had been mostly under the yoke of Judah, and not leniently treated. What were the facts? Joab subdued Edom for David with great cruelty. { 2 Samuel 8:13 with 1 Kings 11:16 } Jewish governors were set over the conquered people, and this state of affairs seems to have lasted, in spite of an Edomite attempt against Solomon, { 1 Kings 11:14-25 } till 850. In Jehoshaphat’s reign, 873-850, "there was no king of Edom, a deputy was king," who towards 850 joined the kings of Judah and Israel in an invasion of Moab through his territory. { 2 Kings 3:1-27 } But, soon after this invasion and perhaps in consequence of its failure, Edom revolted from Joram of Judah (849-842), who unsuccessfully attempted to put down the revolt. { 2 Kings 8:20-22 } The Edomites appear to have remained independent for fifty years at least. Amaziah of Judah (797-779) smote Edom, { 2 Kings 14:10 } but not, it would seem, into subjection; for, according to the Chronicler, Uzziah had to win back Elath for the Jews after Amaziah’s death. { 2 Chronicles 26:2 } The history, therefore, of the relations of Judah and Edom before the time of Amos was of such a kind as to make credible the existence in Judah at that time of the feeling about Edom which inspires this oracle. Edom had shown just the vigilant, implacable hatred here described. But was the right to blame them for it Judah’s, who herself had so persistently waged war, with confessed cruelty, against Edom? Could a Judaean prophet be just in blaming Edom and saying nothing of Judah? It is true that in the fifty years of Edom’s independence-the period, we must remember, from which Amos seems to draw the materials of all his other charges-there may have been events to justify this oracle as spoken by him; and our ignorance of that period is ample reason why we should pause before rejecting the oracle so dogmatically as Wellhausen does. But we have at least serious grounds for suspecting it. To charge Edom, whom Judah has conquered and treated cruelly, with restless hate towards Judah seems to fall below that high impartial tone which prevails in the other oracles of this section. The charge was much more justifiable at the time of the Exile, when Edom did behave shamefully towards Israel. Wellhausen points out that Teman and Bosrah are names which do not occur in the Old Testament before the Exile, but this is uncertain and inconclusive. The oracle wants the concluding formula of the rest. 5. AMMON.-"Thus saith Jehovah: Because of three crimes of Ammon and because of four I will not turn It back; for that they ripped up Gilead’s women with child-in order to enlarge their borders!" For such an end they committed such an atrocity! The crime is one that has been more or less frequent in Semitic warfare. Wellhausen cites several instances in the feuds of Arab tribes about their frontiers. The Turks have been guilty of it in our own day. It is the same charge which the historian of Israel puts into the mouth of Elisha against Hazael of Aram, { 2 Kings 8:12 } and probably the war was the same; when Gilead was simultaneously attacked by Arameans from the north and Ammonites from the south. "But I will set fire to the wall of Rabbah"-Rabbath-Ammon, literally "chief" or "capital" of Ammon-"and it shall devour her palaces, with clamor in the day of battle, with tempest in the day of storm." As we speak of "storming a city," Amos and Isaiah use the tempest to describe the overwhelming invasion of Assyria. There follows the characteristic Assyrian conclusion: "And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith Jehovah." 6. MOAB.-"Thus saith Jehovah: Because of three crimes of Moab and because of four I will not turn It back; for that he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime." In the great invasion of Moab, about 850, by Israel, Judah, and Edom conjointly, the rage of Moab seems to have been directed chiefly against Edom. Whether opportunity to appease that rage occurred on the withdrawal of Israel we cannot say. But either then or afterwards, balked of their attempt to secure the king of Edom alive, Moab wreaked their vengeance on his corpse, and burnt his bones to lime. It was, in the religious belief of all antiquity, a sacrilege: yet it does not seem to have been the desecration of the tomb-or he would have mentioned it-but the wanton meanness of the deed, which Amos felt. "And I will send fire on Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of The Cities"-Kerioth, perhaps the present Kureiyat, on the Moab plateau where Chemosh had his shrine-"and in tumult shall Moab die"-to Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 48:45 ) the Moabites were the sons of tumult-"with clamor and with the noise of the war-trumpet. And I will cut off the ruler"-literally "judge," probably the vassal king placed by Jeroboam II "from her midst, and all his princes will I slay with him: Jehovah hath said" it. These, then, are the charges which Amos brings against the heathen neighbors of Israel. If we look as a whole across the details through which we have been working, what we see is a picture of the Semitic world so summary and so vivid that we get the like of it nowhere else-the Semitic world in its characteristic brokenness and turbulence; its factions and ferocities, its causeless raids and quarrels, tribal disputes about boundaries flaring up into the most terrible massacres, vengeance that wreaks itself alike on the embryo and the corpse-"cutting up women with child in Gilead," and "burning to lime the bones of the king of Edom." And the one commerce which binds these ferocious tribes together is the slave-trade in its wholesale and most odious form. Amos treats none of the atrocities subjectively. It is not because they have been inflicted upon Israel that he feels or condemns them. The appeals of Israel against the tyrant become many as the centuries go on; the later parts of the Old Testament are full of the complaints of God’s chosen people, conscious of their mission to the world against the heathen, who prevented them from it. Here we find none of these complaints, but a strictly objective and judicial indictment of the characteristic crimes of heathen men against each other; and though this is made in the name of Jehovah, it is not in the interests of His people or of any of His purposes through them, but solely by the standard of an impartial righteousness which, as we are soon to hear, must descend in equal judgment on Israel. Again, for the moral principles which Amos enforces no originality can be claimed. He condemns neither war as a whole nor slavery as a whole, but limits his curse to wanton and deliberate aggravations of them: to the slave-trade in cold blood, in violation of treaties, and for purely commercial ends; to war for trifling causes, and that wreaks itself on pregnant women and dead men: to national hatreds, that never will be still. Now against such things there has always been in mankind a strong conscience, of which the word "humanity" is in itself a sufficient proof. We need not here inquire into the origin of such a common sense-whether it be some native impulse of tenderness which asserts itself as soon as the duties of self-defense are exhausted, or some rational notion of the needlessness of excesses, or whether, in committing these, men are visited by fear of retaliation from the wrath they have unnecessarily exasperated. Certain it is that warriors of all races have hesitated to be wanton in their war, and have foreboded the special judgment of heaven upon every blind extravagance of hate or cruelty. It is well known how the Greeks felt the insolence of power and immoderate anger; they are the fatal element in many a Greek tragedy. But the Semites themselves, whose racial ferocity is so notorious, are not without the same feeling. "Even the Beduins" old cruel rancor’s are often less than the golden piety of the wilderness. The danger past, they can think of the defeated foemen with kindness putting only their trust in Ullah to obtain the like need for themselves. It is contrary to the Arabian conscience to extinguish a Kabila." Similarly in Israel some of the earliest ethical movements were revolts of the public conscience against horrible outrages, like that, for instance, done by the Benjamites of Gibeah. { Jdg 19:20 } Therefore in these oracles on his old Semitic neighbors Amos discloses no new ideal for either tribe or individual. Our view is confirmed that he was intent only upon arousing the natural conscience of his Hebrew hearers in order to engage this upon other vices to which it was less impressionable-that he was describing those deeds of war and slavery, whose atrocity all men admitted, only that he might proceed to bring under the same condemnation the civic and domestic sins of Israel. We turn with him, then, to Israel. But in his book as it now stands in our Bibles, Israel is not immediately reached. Between her and the foreign nations two verses are bestowed upon Judah: "Thus saith Jehovah: Because of three crimes of Judah and because of four I will not turn it back; for that they despised the Torah of Jehovah, and His statutes they did not observe, and their false hoods"-false gods-"led them astray, after which their fathers walked. But I will send fire on Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem." These verses have been suspected as a later insertion, on the ground that every reference to Judah in the Book of Amos must be late, that the language is very formal, and that the phrases in which the sin of Judah is described sound like echoes of Deuteronomy. The first of these reasons may be dismissed as absurd; it would have been far more strange if Amos had never at all referred to Judah. The charges, however, are not like those which Amos elsewhere makes, and though the phrases may be quite as early as his time, the reader of the original, and even the reader of the English version, is aware of a certain tameness and vagueness of statement, which contrasts remarkably with the usual pungency of the prophet’s style. We are forced to suspect the authenticity of these verses. We ought to pass, then, straight from the third to the sixth verse of this chapter, from the oracles on foreign nations to that on Northern Israel. It is introduced with the same formula as they are: "Thus saith Jehovah: Because of three crimes of Israel and because of four I will not turn it back." But there follow a great number of details, for Amos has come among his own people whom he knows to the heart, and he applies to them a standard more exact and an obligation more heavy than any he could lay to the life of the heathen. Let us run quickly through the items of his charge. "For that they sell an honest man for silver, and a needy man for a pair of shoes"-proverbial, as we should say "for an old song"-"who trample to the dust of the earth the head of the poor"-the least improbable rendering of a corrupt passage-"and pervert the way of humble men. And a man and his father will go into, the maid," the same maid, "to desecrate My Holy Name"-without doubt some public form of unchastity introduced from the Canaanite worship into the very sanctuary of Jehovah, the holy place where He reveals His Name-"and on garments given in pledge they stretch themselves by every altar, and the wine of those who, have been fined they drink in the house of their God." A riot of sin: the material of their revels is the miseries of the poor, its stage the house of God! Such is religion to the Israel of Amos day-indoors, feverish, sensual. By one of the sudden contrasts he loves, Amos sweeps out of it into God’s idea of religion-a great historical movement, told in the language of the open air: national deliverance, guidance on the highways of the world, the inspiration of prophecy, and the pure, ascetic life. "But I, I destroyed the Amorite before you, whose height was as. the cedars, and he was strong as oaks, and I destroyed his fruit from above and his roots from below." What a contrast to the previous picture of the temple filled with fumes of wine and hot with lust! We are out on open history; God’s, gales blow and the forests crash before them. "And I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you through the wilderness forty years, to inherit the land of the Amorite." Religion is not chambering and wantonness; it is not selfish comfort or profiting by the miseries of the poor and the sins of the fallen. But religion is history-the freedom of the people and their education, the winning of the land and the defeat of the heathen foe; and then, when the land is firm and the home secure, it is the raising, upon that stage and shelter, of spiritual guides and examples. "And I raised up of your sons to be prophets, and of your young men to be Nazarites"-consecrated and ascetic lives. "Is it not so, O children of Israel? (oracle of Jehovah). But ye made the Nazarites drink wine, and the prophets ye charged, saying, Prophesy not!" Luxury, then, and a very sensual conception of religion, with all their vicious offspring in the abuse of justice, the oppression of the poor, the corrupting of the innocent, and the intolerance of spiritual forces-these are the sins of an enlightened and civilized people, which Amos describes as worse than all the atrocities of barbarism, and as certain of Divine vengeance. How far beyond his own day are his words stilt warm! Here in the nineteenth century is Great Britain, destroyer of the slave-traffic, and champion of oppressed nationalities-yet this great and Christian people, at the very time they are abolishing slavery, suffer their own children to work in factories and clay-pits for sixteen hours a day, and in mines set women to a labor for which horses are deemed too valuable. Things improve after 1848, but how slowly, and against what callousness of Christians, Lord Shaftesbury’s long and often disappointed labors painfully testify. Even yet our religious public, that curses the Turk, and in an indignation, which can never be too warm, cries out against the Armenian atrocities, is callous, nay, by the avarice of some, the haste and passion for enjoyment of many more, and the thoughtlessness of all, itself contributes, to conditions of life and fashions of society, which bear with cruelty upon our poor, taint our literature, needlessly increase the temptations of our large towns, and render pure child life impossible among masses of our population. Along some of the highways of our Christian civilization we are just as cruel and just as lustful as Kurd or Turk. Amos closes this prophecy with a vision of immediate judgment. "Behold, I am about to crush or squeeze down upon you, as a wagon crushes that is full of sheaves." An alternative reading supplies the same general impression of a crushing judgment: "I will make the ground quake under you, as a wagon makes it quake," or "as a wagon" itself "quakes under its load of sheaves." This shock is to be War. "Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not prove his power, nor the mighty man escape with his life. And he that graspeth the bow shall not stand, nor shall the swift of foot escape, nor the horseman escape with his life. And he that thinketh himself strong among the heroes shall flee away naked in that day-‘tis the oracle of Jehovah." The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime. Amos 2:1 Burning the bones of the dead Amos says that the Moabites were wholly perverse, that no repentance would be hoped for, as they had added crimes to crimes, and reached the highest pitch of wickedness. He mentions one thing in particular — that they had burnt the bones of the king of Edom. Some take "bones" here for courage, as though the prophet had said, that the whole strength of Edom had been reduced to ashes: but this is a strained exposition; and its authors themselves confess that they are forced into it by necessity, when yet there is none. The comment given by the rabbins does not please them, — that the body of a certain king had been burnt, and then that the Moabites had strangely applied the ashes for making a cement instead of lime. Thus the rabbins trifle in their usual way, for when an obscure place occurs, immediately they invent some fable; though there be no history, yet they exercise their wit in fabulous glosses. What need is there of running to allegory, when we may simply take what the prophet says — that "the body of the king of Edom had been burnt": for the prophet simply charges the Moabites with barbarous cruelty. To dig up the bodies of enemies, and to burn their hones, — this is an inhuman deed, and wholly barbarous. But it was more detestable in the Moabites, who had some connection with the people of Edom. If any humanity existed in them, they ought to have restrained their passions, so as not to treat so cruelly their brethren. When they exceeded all moderation in war, and raged against dead bodies, and burnt the bones of the dead, it was extremely barbarous conduct. The meaning of the sentence is this: The Moabites could no longer be borne with, for, in this one instance, they gave an example of savage cruelty. Their treatment of their brethren, the Idumaeans, proved that they had forgotten all humanity and justice. ( John Calvin . ) Thus saith the Lord: For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof. Amos 2:4, 5 National sins and national punishment James Mackay, B. D. The British nation, like the kingdom of Judah, has received innumerable favours at the hand of God. In the purity of our creed, the outward prosperity of our churches, the influence of our literature, the excellence of our laws, the freedom of our institutions, the success of our commerce, and the glory of our arms, — we are not surpassed by any nation in the world. Yet our very prosperity has been in many respects a snare to us. The advancement of true religion in the inner life and outward practice of the people has been very far from keeping pace with the outward movement of society in matters that evidently interest, us more, though they really concern us less. Under three heads the transgressions of Judah are comprehended. I. DESPISING THE LAW OF THE LORD. The law of the Lord includes the whole revelation of His will. No truth is more plainly enforced in the Bible than this, — that national chastisenients are the consequence of national sins. But is this generally believed? Has it any practical influence upon the character and conduct of a tithe of those who profess to believe it? It is too true that, as a nation, we despise the law of the Lord. II. NOT KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS. This follows naturally the contempt of His law. Contempt of the law and disobedience are not the same thing. One may sincerely acknowledge the justice, and respect the value, of a law which his bad passions often tempt him to break. On the other hand, one may have an inward contempt for a law which he may still consider it expedient or proper to obey. But he who despises the law of God, or wilfully continues to disobey it, has no part or lot in "the righteousness which is of God by faith." In every case in which the law is despised, the obedience of the heart is impossible, and any other obedience than that which proceeds from love and reverence is utterly worthless in the sight of God. III. WANDERING AFTER LIES, IN IMITATION OF THEIR FATHERS. Instead of "lies," some read "idols"; for the same Hebrew term stands for both. An idol is a lie. Wealth, pomp, luxury, literature, fame, power, — these are our idols, and they were the idols of our forefathers, taken collectively. In each succeeding age, the great majority have been heart idolaters — giving to various objects the place in their affections which of right belonged only to God. If there be admonition without effect, we may look for punishment without mercy. ( James Mackay, B. D. ) National evils R. W. Forrest, M. A. I. INTEMPERANCE. This weighs like a millstone round the neck of the Church in this country. We are not, as a rule, sensible of the awful magnitude of this evil — of the gigantic proportions to which it has attained. II. INFIDELITY. That this evil exists and is active amongst us, requires no proof. It exists in our midst in every shape, form, and degree, from the avowed Atheism, which openly blasphemes the name of God, to the refined Rationalism, which, while professing belief in Divine revelation, explains away, and empties of all their real significance, its most vital and momentous truths. III. SUPERSTITION. While many nations of Europe — such as Austria and Italy — are casting off the yoke of superstition, this country, which was wont to be regarded as the very centre of Gospel light, and the home of spiritual freedom, would seem as if about to relinquish the position she took up after a struggle which cost tears, agonies, and the blood of some of her best and noblest sons. IV. INDIFFERENTISM. Beyond question the most prevalent evil of our time. For one who is tainted with Infidelity, or enslaved by Superstition, there are tens of thousands utterly indifferent to their highest interests. They may give a formal and periodical attention to religious duties, but practically they are " living without God in the world." To moot these special evils, special agencies must be used. ( R. W. Forrest, M. A. ) They have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept His commandments Despising God's law Here the prophet charges the people of Judah with apostasy; for they had cast aside the worship of God, and the pure doctrine of religion. This was a crime the most grievous. But it may be asked, why the prophet charges the Jews with a crime so atrocious, since religion still existed among them? To this there is a ready answer: the worship of God was become corrupt among them, though they had not so openly departed from it as the Israelites. There remained, indeed, circumcision among the Israelites; but their sacrifices were pollutions, their temples were as immoral houses; they thought that they worshipped God; but as a temple had been built at Bethel contrary to God's command, the whole worship was a profanation. The Jews were somewhat purer; but they had also degenerated from the genuine worship of God. Hence the prophet does not unjustly say here that they had despised the law of God. But notice the explanation which immediately follows, — that "they kept not His statutes." The way by which Amos proves that the Jews were covenant-breakers, and that having repudiated God's law, they had fallen into wicked superstitions, is by saying that they kept not the precepts of God. In these words no mere negligence is blamed; they are condemned for designedly, knowingly, and wilfully departing from the commandments of God, and devising for themselves various modes of worship. It is not then to keep the precepts of God, when men continue not under His law, but audaciously contrive for themselves new forms of worship: they regard not what God commands, but lay hold on anything pleasing that comes to their minds. This crime the prophet now condemns in the Jews. Men should confine themselves within God's commands. ( John Calvin . ) Their lies caused them to err The pretence of good intention The Jews had ever a defence ready at hand, that they did with good intent what the prophet condemned in them. They sedulously worshipped God, though they mixed their own leaven, by which their sacrifice was corrupted. It was not their purpose to spend their substance in vain, to undergo great expenses in sacrifices, and to undertake much labour, had they not thought it was service acceptable to God! As then the pretence of good intention ever deceives the unbelieving, the prophet condemns this pretence, and shows it to be wholly fallacious, and of no avail. "It is nothing," he says. "that they pretend before God some good intention; their own lies deceive them." And Amos. no doubt, mentions here these lies, in opposition to the commands of God. As soon, then, as men swerve from God's Word, they involve themselves in many delusions, and "cannot but go astray; and this is deserving of special notice. We indeed see how much wisdom the world claims for itself: for as soon as we invent anything, we are greatly delighted with it; and the ape, according to the old proverb, is ever pleased with its own offspring. But this vice especially prevails, when by our devices we corrupt and adulterate the worship of God. Hence the prophet here declares that what ever is added to God's Word, and whatever men invent in their own brains, is a lie. "All this," he says, "is nothing but imposture." We now see of what avail is good intention: by this, indeed, men harden themselves; but they cannot make the Lord to retract what He has once declared by the mouth of His prophet. Let us then take heed to continue within the boundaries of God's Word, and never to leap over on this or on that side; for when we turn aside ever so little from the pure Word of God, we become immediately involved in many deceptions. ( John Calvin . ) Lies in the State James Mackay, B. D. National sins have ever the same general features; there are always the same general features. Our lies cause us to err; there are certain false principles which we, as a people, assume to be true. These we cherish, and on these we act. They are to be found in the State, in the Church, and in society. It is, of course, far easier to point out existing evils than to effect their remedy — far easier to prove the need of reformation than to bring it about. The first step to reformation is conviction of our errors. It is the most daring impiety, and most inexcusable folly, to imagine that, in political science, it is more judicious to act upon unrighteous precedents, after the example to others, than, by adhering to the Divine precepts of a heavenly jurisprudence, to trust in God and stand alone. The great question for our nation is, How shall we best promote the glory of God by extending the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and thereby the knowledge of the truth, to every Corner of the world? Missionary societies are invaluable, but they are not doing properly national work. Many a time the progress of truth and justice has been arrested by our political expediency. It is the polestar by which our statesmen too long have steered; and to God alone we owe it that our vessel is not a wreck. "Their lies cause them to err." ( James Mackay, B. D. ) Lies in society James Mackay, B. D. In all civilised communities there are many usages of society with which it is convenient and proper to comply, so far as they involve no compromise of principle. The mainspring of all men's conduct is selfishness. Selfishness may develop itself in many forms which appear to be interesting and amiable: it is the foundation of some of our most beautiful natural instincts; and these instincts are not unfrequently mistaken for virtues. In society certain false principles are recognised — lies which cause men to err. I. WEALTH IS THE CHIEF GOOD. This is a main article in the creed of society as a whole, in every country in the world. The advantages of wealth are, in a temporal point of view, very great. Wealth is power. It secures for its possessor every gratification that can minister to the appetites, the senses, and the taste. II. IT IS POSSIBLE TO SERVE GOD AND MAMMON. Religion, instead of being the chief business of life, is used simply as a means of quieting the conscience and establishing a good name. The heart is set on the world exclusively; yet hopes are entertained of inheriting the kingdom of heaven. III. A MAN'S POSSESSIONS ARE HIS OWN; HE MAY DO WITH THEM WHAT HE LIKES. They are not his own. They are only lent him as a steward for God. But the idea of acting as a steward for God would be denounced by people in general as fanatical. IV. HUMAN NATURE IS NOT SO DEPRAVED AS THEOLOGIANS WOULD HAVE US BELIEVE. Instincts are taken for virtues, and are referred to as proofs that the language of Scripture has been overstrained. V. ZEAL IN THE CAUSE OF CHRIST IS FANATICISM. Few would use these words, but multitudes entertain the idea which they express. Lukewarmness is commended as prudence, and while zeal is not tolerated, indifference is overlooked or excused. VI. IF A MAN LIVES A GOOD LIFE, IT MATTERS NOT WHAT HIS OPINIONS MAY BE. But no human being lives a good life, unless the love of God is his governing motive. VII. FORGIVENESS OF INJURIES IS WEAK AND UNMANLY. This is directly opposed to the teaching and example of Christ. VII. THE FORBEARANCE OF GOD CAN NEVER BE EXHAUSTED. Men talk of God's mercy who forget that they are taught to believe in His holiness. By presuming upon God's mercy men may lose their souls. IX. RELIGION IS NOT A PROPER SUBJECT FOR ORDINARY CONVERSATION. Satan closes our lips on the greatest of all topics, and thus isolates us from one another, lest social intercourse should promote the success of the Gospel. X. WE OUGHT TO PRAY, BUT WE NEED NOT WAIT ON GOD FOR AN ANSWER. This betokens the absence of a real belief in the efficacy of prayer. He encourages us to expect an answer, as often as we offer our petitions. These are ten of the most prevalent errors about religion which are countenanced and cherished by society. Let us take care that it is not true of us — "Their lies cause them to err, after the which their fathers have walked." ( James Mackay, B. D. ) For three transgressions of Israel, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof. Amos 2:6 National unrighteousness John T. Ecob. I. GOD IS THE SOLE AND RIGHTEOUS GOVERNOR OF THE WORLD. Not simply of Israel, but of Israel's enemies, Syria, Gaza, Edom, etc. Here we get a glimpse of the great truth of God's common Fatherhood. Amos somewhat anticipated Peter, "God is no respecter of persons," and taught that God regarded the sin of Israel as He did that of Syria and Edom. That God would bring them to judgment in common with other nations, came as a thunderclap to the people of Jeroboam II. With Amos there came to Israel a new conception of God. Note his words ( Amos 3:2 ). Their privileges and blessings would not exempt them from sin's consequences. They regarded God as benevolent to them. The prophet proclaims Him as righteous ( Amos 5:21-24 ). II. JUDGMENT TURNS, NOT ON QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE, CEREMONY, OR PROFESSION, BUT ON CHARACTER — Upon the character manifested in our treatment of those in our power. Personal character is tested by our treatment of "the least of these My brethren." Priest and Levite proclaimed their unmercifulness in leaving the robber-smitten man to his fate. We see in the infinite regard and tender compassion of Christ to the poor, the suffering, the outcast, a revelation of God's character. National character similarly tested. Damascus, Edom, Tyre, Israel cursed for what they did to people "defenceless and in their power." Doing is the gauge of being. Their greed was expressed in their utter disregard of the rights of others. Damascus rioted in the blood of defenceless Gilead ( Amos 1:3 ). Gaza traded in men ( Amos 1:6 ). Tyre was rich, clever, strong, enterprising, artistic, resourceful, conquering. Lust of wealth and power led them, notwithstanding their close alliance with Solomon, to trade in Hebrew captives ( Amos 1:9, 10 ). Edom became the incarnation of the demon revenge ( Amos 1:11 ). Ammon, prompted by lust of gain, invaded with devilish ferocity the sanctity of motherhood ( Amos 1:13 ). Israel, ceremonious, self-righteous, prosperous, idolatrous, vain, privileged, denied justice to her poor, oppressed her children, sacrificed her young life to pleasure ( Amos 2:6-8 ). These nations were marked, as modern nations, alas! are too often, by selfishness, and wide wasting and insatiable pride." "For these things," etc. Samson could not destroy Gaza, but greed did. Tyre was strong to defy Assyria, to found Cathage, and set at nought Nebuchadnezzar, but was consumed by fire enkindled of her own lust. The stone houses and rocky palaces of Edom afforded no refuge from the consequences of her sins. Israel destroyed herself. He who obliterated Tyre, removed Israel, consumed Edom and Gaza. "He who obliterated Babylon, destroyed Egypt, buried Greece and Rome under the debris of their own greatness." He still judges the nations. In reading the judgments pronounced by Amos we are reminded that —(1) Whoever sins against man sins against God. All human interests are sacred.(2) The law of equilibrium obtains in matters moral as well as physical. As we give we receive. Justice is of God and meted out to all. Anything that dulls the heart's sensibilities, robs of manhood's sympathy, destroys the faculty for humanity, prepares for hell.(3) Character is destiny. "Salvation is character, character is the result of moral decisions made daily." III. SIN IS CUMULATIVE. What are the three transgressions? They are not stated. The fourth only is mentioned. Why? The last is the abridgment and consummation of all the foregoing. It does not stand alone. It is but the development in the way of evil. The first sin leads to the second, and the fourth were impossible but for the former three. The growth is shown in the case of Edom ( Amos 1:11 ). Ver. 11 indicates —(1) A time when Edom was so sensitive that the very thought of cruelty caused him to shudder.(2) But he nursed revengeful thoughts; kept the memory of wrongs ever fresh; until the shuddering ceased. "He corrupted his compassions."(3) His anger grew upon him until it thoroughly conquered him. He became gradually the incarnation of brutal revenge. Gradually men ripen for judgment. To-day's deeds are the fruit of former days. Present life is the resultant of the past. No deed, no day, no sin stands alone! IV. THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN ARE INEVITABLE. Every act of sin is self-destructive. It avenges itself. The forces of judgment are loosed by the act which violates the law. ( John T. Ecob. ) They sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes No remedy for injuries The prophet means that there was no justice nor equity among the Israelites, for they made a sale of the children of God: and it was a most shameful thing that there was no remedy for injuries. The prophet levels his reproof against the judges, who then exercised authority. The just, he says, is sold for silver: this could not apply to private individuals, but to judges, to whom it belonged to extend a helping hand to the miserable and the poor, to avenge wrongs, and to give to every one his right. It is then the same as though the prophet had said that unbridled licentiousness reigned triumphant among the Israelites, so that just men were exposed as a prey, and were set, as it were, on sale. He says, first, that they were "sold for silver," and then he adds, "for shoes": and this ought to be carefully observed; for when once men begin to turn aside from the right course, they abandon them selves to evil without any shame. When an attempt is first made to draw aside a man that is just and upright and free from what is corrupt, he is not immediately overcome; though a great price may be offered to him, he will yet stand firm: but when he has sold his integrity for ten pieces of gold, he may afterwards be easily bought, as is the ease with women. Judges, then, who first covet silver, that is, who cannot be corrupted except by a rich and fat bribe, will afterwards barter their integrity for the meanest reward; for there is no shame any more remaining in them. This is what the prophet points out in these words, — that they sold the just for silver; that is, they sold him for a high price, and then they could be corrupted by the meanest gift, that if one offered them a pair of shoes, they would be ready without any blush of shame to receive such a bribe. ( John Calvin . ) The penalty of oppression A. J. Gordon, D. D. Two centuries ago quaint Thomas Fuller said, "If any suppose that society can be peaceful while one half is prospered and the other half pinched, let him try whether he can laugh with one side of his face while he weeps with the other." I am not concerning myself now, however, with those outside the Church, but those within. As surely as darkness follows sunset will the alienation of the masses follow sanctimonious selfishness in the Church. If a Christian's motto is "Look out for number one," then let them look out for estrangement and coldness on the part of number two. The Church millionaire stands at exact antipodes to the Church millennial, and in proportion aa the former flourishes, the latter will be hopelessly deferred. It is not an orthodox creed which repels the masses, but an orthodox greed. Let a Christian man stand forth conspicuously in any community, as honest as the law of Moses, and, yet let it be seen that he is building up an immense fortune by grinding the faces of the poor and compelling them to turn the grindstone for him while he does it, and he will wean a whole generation from the Gospel. The reckless "I don't care for the Church," which is coming up in ever-loudening chorus from the poorer classes, is but the echo of the stolid and selfish " I do care for myself and my own that we may live luxuriously and fare sumptuously," which is the undeniable expression of so many Christian lives. ( A. J. Gordon, D. D. ) Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks. Amos 2:9-11 Sin as ingratitude J. Telford, B. A. These verses form a graphic resume of the great benefits which God had bestowed on His people. Amos was master of all arts by which a nation might be roused to penitence. Hence the two pictures of man's sin (vers. 6-8) and God's goodness are set side by side as a means of awakening the slumbering conscience of the nation, and winning them back again to the service of their almighty and changeless Friend. Only the most hardened hearts can resist the appeal which Divine mercy makes! How great the sin of Israel. It blinded them to the mercies of heaven, made them cling to vices which God had raised them up to subdue, and forget the truth and holiness which were to be exemplified in their lives. The mercies are summed up under three heads. I. THE VICTORIES WHICH MADE THEM MASTERS OF THEIR INHERITANCE. "Yet destroyed I the Amorite" (ver. 9). The Amorites, strongest of all Canaanite nations, are taken as the representatives of all. The greatness of the victories is measured here —(1) By the might of the enemies. The two noblest trees of Palestine represent the prowess of the foe: "Whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks." The Anakim were of this race, combining what are not always united, vast stature and gigantic strength. The terror of the spies ( Numbers 13 .) is the best witness to the power of these mighty foemen. These enemies are a type of all foes whom God subdues before His people. Passion and pride are the Anakim whom He subdues before us. Alone we were powerless, dismayed by thoughts of the encounter; yet God girded Himself as a mighty man of war, and won for us the victory.(2) The victory is measured by the completeness of the deliverance. " Yet destroyed I his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath." The fruit might have been borne by the breeze to some spot where it would grow again, the root, left in the earth, might have put forth new branches. Both were destroyed. Our own experience has its parallel here. God not only subdues our foes, but lays them low at our feet, where they need never rise again to harass and annoy us: rooting out the seeds of bitterness. What a claim on our devotion! II. DELIVERANCES WHICH OPENED THE WAY FOR THIS CAREER OF CONQUEST. "I brought you up from the land of Egypt" (ver. 10). Nothing seemed more improbable than that they should escape from their captivity. All religious life begins with such proofs of God's power and mercy. III. GOD'S MERCY ALSO PROVIDED SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS (ver. 11). The Nazarites and prophets were men who withered for truth and purity. The prophet taught by his words, the Nazarite by his life. Representatives of God, they walked among His people to bind all hearts to Himself. They were to preserve the nation from the sins which had brought ruin on the old inhabitants of Canaan, to keep alive that truth and purity which secured to them the possession of their land. How rich the mercy of God! The Amorite subdued, that the people might inherit their land; the yoke of Egypt broken, that they might go up and possess their inheritance; spiritual guides raised up to keep the people from the sin, which would spoil them of their new-found treasure. Such is God's dealing with all His people. Their path is strewn with tokens of His guardian grace. He is preparing them for a great future. Application — God's appeal, "Is it not even thus?" (ver. 11) sets the sin of Israel before us in all its baseness. The mercies were so evident that none could doubt or deny them. All sin in God's people is base ingratitude. Remember the gifts of heaven when tempted to wander. ( J. Telford, B. A. ) And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Amos 2:11, 12 Divine appointments and their frustration J. Telford, B. A. The sin and folly of their conduct is manifest when we consider — I. THE AUTHOR OF THE APPOINTMENTS. "I raised up." The Founder of their nation. He whose mercies have been commemorated in the ninth to the eleventh verses, had originated these appointments. What more signal proof of the folly in attempting this reversal! Everything that God willed should have been accepted gratefully as their rule of life; yet they tampered with His appointments thus.(1) An abiding sense of the relations which God bears to His people is a constant safe. guard against the spirit which would east off all restraint. He is the Author of all our blessings.(2) The claim on reverence for Divine appointments is not confined to His people. God's love is boundless as the universe. II. When we consider the CHARACTER of the appointments. God was striving to preserve the national purity, to train them up in all His ways. Such was His purpose in these remarkable institutions: — the prophetic office, and the order of the Nazarites. God had raised up these workers out of the "young men" of Israel — the class which could bring the greatest energy to this arduous work, devote the longest time to it, and furnish, amid the temptations to which youth was peculiarly exposed, the strongest proof of the restraining grace of God. God still uses means to preserve men in purity. The Spirit of God is His witness; conscience is His voice; truth is His messenger; His servants, by their words, and by the example of godly lives, are our prophets and the Nazarites. How great these agencies! Seek to know them to your own salvation. III. Were frustrated by those for WHOSE BENEFIT they had been made. No regard for God, no sense of their own interest, deterred them from presuming to interfere with the counsels of God. The motive which prompted such conduct marks their degradation. The Nazarites were a standing reproof of their excess and revelry; the prophets were obnoxious because they tore away the disguises by which sin sought to hide its deformity, and warned the people of danger. If the voice of the prophet was silenced, they fancied that heaven had no means of reproving sin. They forgot that God could speak in the thunder and the earthquake. Application — Man can frustrate the purposes of God. Heaven may appoint; earth may undo the appointment. The effort is proof of degradation. Success in such effort is the worst punishment of any man. Israel reaped disaster and ruin from this attempt to reverse God's appointments. False prophets multiplied, sin increased, the nation went into captivity. ( J. Telford, B. A. ) The vow of the Nazarite Dean Farrar. Though Amos was neither a prophet nor a prophet's son, but a rough herdsman, and unlettered gatherer of sycamore leaves, his was one of those masculine, indignant natures which burst like imprisoned flame through the white ashes of social hypocrisy. Like Samuel before Saul, like Elijah before Ahab, like John the Baptist before Herod, like Paul before Felix, like John Huss before Sigismund, like Luther before Charles V., like John Knox before Mary, so Amos testified undaunted before the idolatry of courts and priests. One crime of that bad period was luxury and intemperance. In this text the prophet confronts Israel with the high appeal of God, whether He had not put the fire of the Spirit into the hearts of some of their sons, and they had quenched that fire by their blandishments and conventionalities; and whether He had not inspired some of their youths to take the vow of abstinence, and they with the deliberate cynicism of worldlings had tempted them to scorn and break that vow? The very essence of the vow of the Nazarite was self-dedication. The young Nazarite consecrated himself to God, he offered himself, his soul and body, a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice. The Nazarite was a marked man, and because his vow was regarded as a tacit condemnation of the popular self-indulgence, he was exposed to the sneers of the worldly, and the temptations of the base. Nevertheless, "wisdom is justified of her children." The best men, and the bravest men, and the least conventional men, in this world have been ever the most loudly and the most scornfully abused. Little recked the true Nazarite of muttered sarcasm and bitter hate, — little as recks the sea of the foolish wild birds that scream above it. Health, strength, physical beauty, wholesomeness of life, tranquillity of soul, serene dominion over evil passions, followed in the path of early and life-long abstinence. There seems to be a special strength, a special blessing, above all, a special power of swaying the souls of others for their good, which is imparted to wise and voluntary abstinence. The hands of invisible consecration overshadow, the fire of a spiritual unction crowns the head of him who in early youth has learnt to say with his whole heart, "In strong warfare, in holy self-denial, I dedicate my youth to God." This age wants, this England wants, the Church of Christ wants those who, self-dedicated, like the ideal Nazarite, to noble ends, have not lost the natural grace and bloom of youthful modesty. We do want natures strong and sweet and simple, to whom life is no poor collection of fragments, its first volume an obscene and noisy jest book, its last a grim tragedy or a despicable farce; but to those of whom, however small the stage, the life is a regal drama, played out before God and man. We want the spirit of willing Nazarites. And total abstinence was the central conception of the vow of the Nazarite. (The rest of the sermon is an impassioned plea against indulgence in alcoholic drinks.) ( Dean Farrar. ) The vigorous young man in most danger Prof. Drummond. To supply the abundance of life in the large and rich nature of a young man is difficult; and it is that which makes his being for ten or twelve years of his youth so critical and so precarious. You will have noticed that it is not the dull men who go to pieces in a small town, but often the best men, the men who have the largest natures to fill, and who, therefore, find the town too monotonous for them. It is the same in the workshop. It is the best workmen who go furthest wrong when they begin to drink. A cabbage is perfectly happy in a back garden; and a dull young man is perfectly happy without any brilliant outlet for his energies and amusements. But the man that requires looking after is the man of strong and vigorous youth, the man of rich personality, the man of strong individuality, the all-round good fellow, who is so hard to interest and so hard to control. So much as his life is difficult to control, so much the better t

2:1-8 The evil passions of the heart break out in various forms; but the Lord looks to our motives, as well as our conduct. Those that deal cruelly, shall be cruelly dealt with. Other nations were reckoned with for injuries done to men; Judah is reckoned with for dishonour done to God. Judah despised the law of the Lord; and he justly gave them up to strong delusion; nor was it any excuse for their sin, that they were the lies, the idols, after which their fathers walked. The worst abominations and most grievous oppressions have been committed by some of the professed worshippers of the Lord. Such conduct leads many to unbelief and vile idolatry. 2:9-16 We need often to be reminded of the mercies we have received; which add much to the evil of the sins we have committed. They had helps for their souls, which taught them how to make good use of their earthly enjoyments, and were therefore more valuable. Faithful ministers are great blessings to any people; but it is God that raises them up to be so. Sinners' own consciences will witness that he has not been wanting to them in the means of grace. They did what they could to lead believers aside. Satan and his agents are busy to corrupt the minds of young people who look heavenward; they overcome many by drawing them to the love of mirth and pleasure, and into drinking company. Multitudes of young men who bade fair as professors of religion, have erred through strong drink, and have been undone for ever. The Lord complains of sin, especially the sins of his professing people, as a burden to him. And though his long-suffering be tired, his power is not, and so the sinner will find to his cost. When men reject God's word, adding obstinacy to sin, and this becomes the general character of a people, they will be given up to misery, notwithstanding all their boasted power and resources. May we then humble ourselves before the Lord, for all our ingratitude and unfaithfulness.