_The burden of Damascus. .. The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim_ THE ORACLE CONCERNING DAMASCUS AND ISRAEL The curse pronounced upon it [Damascene-Syria] falls also upon the kingdom of Israel, because it has allied itself with the heathen Damascus against their brethren in the south and the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it_ AUTUMN: THE DIMINUTIONS OF LIFE The prophet is here predicting a season of national calamity. He represents the condition of the people under the figure of an autumnal scene. Armed hosts from the north have invaded the country like a sharp wind. The substa... [ Continue Reading ]
_At that day shall a man look to his Maker_ SANCTIFIED AFFLICTION We are led to consider the designs of God in the afflictions of His people. I. TO RECALL THEIR WANDERING HEARTS TO HIMSELF. “A man will look to his Maker-- 1. With a suppliant eye, to find in Him sources of consolation and a rock... [ Continue Reading ]
_Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation._ FORGETFULNESS OF GOD PUNISHED I. THE MAGNITUDE OF THE SIN HERE SPOKEN OF. Forgetfulness of God. 1. What is this forgetfulness of God? It has been defined as “such a habitual inattention to His existence and character, as leads the individual... [ Continue Reading ]
_Woe to the multitude of many people_ A SHORT TRIUMPH These verses read the doom of those that spoil and rob the people of God. If the Syrians and Israelites invade and plunder Judah--if the Assyrian army take God’s people captive, and lay their countrywaste,--let them know that ruin will be thei... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold at evening tide trouble_ THE NIGHT God fights some battles between evening and morning. The black night is the field of war. The darkness fights for God. The night is needed for more than rest. How busy the angels are on the fields of darkness! Men are fetched at night by the invisible con... [ Continue Reading ]