Exposition of Amos 4-9, Part 3 · Section 10
VER 10.
And a mans Uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No; then shall he say, Hold thy tongue, for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord.
WHat the Prophet had exprest somewhat obscurely in the precedent Verse, he sets down more fully and clearly in this, viz. That the Pestilence should be so dreadful, that it should destroy whole Families, insomuch that there should not be living men enough to bury the dead. There should neither be Father nor Mother, Brother nor Sister, Son nor Daughter left alive to doe the last office of Burial for them; but a mans Uncle, or Kinsman must doe it for him, Dod, amator, amicus, pro pinquus, Patruus, significat generatim quemvis amicum dilectum, & per Synec. Spe. Patruum.else hee may lye and rot above ground.
This shews what great desolation the Pestilence had made amongst them, that the Uncle, or nearest Kinsman (to whom the right of succession to the Inheritance belongs) must bee constrained to burn the Body, that so he might carry the bones out of the house with more ease. This was servile work, and belonged to mercenary men appointed for that purpose, Ezek. 39.14. but for want of such ordinary Officers to doe it, the Kinsman must doe it.
So that in this Verse we have, 1. An Amplification of that great desolation which the Pestilence should make amongst them, it should be so terrible that it should destroy whole Families, and cut off those ordinary Officers which were appointed to bury the dead, insomuch that the next Kinsman. must be forced to doe it; neither shall he doe it in an ordinary way,Vmesarepho, & comburous eum, i. e. & comburet eum ad tollendum ossa e domo, Calvin. but he must burne his bones. Calvin and others make the Uncle alone to be both the burner of the dead, and the burier of his bones; they read the words thus, His Uncle shall take him up and burne him, that he may carry the bones out of the house. This reading seems to be most genuine and agreeable to the Text and context, setting forth the dreadful hand of God upon them, in that the Pestilence should be so fierce, that they should want ordinary Officers to bury the dead.
Q. But how are they said to burne their dead, when it appears both by the Old and New Testament that the Jewes did bury their dead? Gen. 23.4 & 49.31 & 50.5, 25, 26. Mat. 8.21, 22. Joh. 19.41, 42.
A. It is true, usually they did bury their dead in times of Peace, but in times of Warre they sometimes did burn their dead, as they did Saul, and his Sons, to prevent further abuse which might be offered to their bodies by the Philistims, 1 Sam. 31.12, 13. so in times of great contagion to prevent stench, and further infection, they burnt their dead, as in the text; They might also burne them to cleanse the house (which was fallen to the Kinsman) from legal uncleanness by the dead, Numb. 19.14. Hence we read of their Vespillones, and Pol…inctores, their buriers and their burners of the dead,Vespillo curabat cadavera, & more geniis comburebat. and so had the Gentiles, and the Romans, they burnt their dead to ashes, and put their ashes into Urns (as appears by *Ossa que lecta cado texit Corinaeus aheno, Vir. Aeneid. 6. V. Godwins Roman Antiq. l. 2. cap. 21. S. 3. p. 76. and Jewish Antiq. l. 6. c. 5.Virgil, Ovid, and others) and Pitchers of Gold, Silver, Brass, or Marble, with great care and ceremoniousness. These Iewes being themselves Idolaters, did symbolize too much with Heathens and Idolaters in this thing.
2 Here is the reason why they burne the dead, and that is, that they might the easier carry the bones out of the house, when the flesh was burnt off before.
3 Here is a Conference between the Kinsman and him that lies in the house, and he shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house; that is, to him that is within the house, as Ionah was said to descend into the sides of the Ship, Ionah 1.5. so these for fear did run into some corner of the house, to hide themselves from the infection.
The Question which he asks is this, Is there any yet with thee? viz. left alive in the family, or dead, that I may burne them, and bury their bones.
2 Here is the Parties answer in the Negative, No, there is an end of all, there is not *Ephes, non nihil, nemo, finis, consumptio; ab Apas, destit, de…ceit.one left, they are all dead and gone, according to that, verse nine, If ten men be in one house, they shall all dye.
The Prophet inlargeth himself in this discourse, about Gods Judgements, the better to awaken these sottish, sensual, secure sinners.
3 Here is the inference upon this answer, then shall he say, Hold thy tongue, be silent, be patient, doe not fret, nor fume, doe not mutter nor murmure against God, as if he had wronged you, because he kills you; but acquiesce in his just Judgements, and silently submit unto his will, for it is his work, Amos 5.13. As for us, our sins are so great, and grievous, that we dare not once call on the Name of the Lord, for a release, or mitigation of his Judgements.
4 Here is the reason why they must keep silence, viz. Because the Lord was just in all that hee did unto them, and therefore they might not once make mention of the Name of the Lord by way of complaint, thus some. Interpreters sweat, and are much perplext with the various Versions of this Text, insomuch that there are almost as many Interpretations of it as there be Interpreters.
1 Say some,See more to this Point, in Hutchinson on the place. It seems to point at these two, who agree to be silent in what they had done, lest they should bee sequestred as uncleane by the Law, being legally polluted by touching the dead, Numb. 19.14.
2 Others give this gloss, Hold thy tongue, for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord, Tace, quia non erant commemoraturi nomen Iehovae. Piscat.q. d. Be silent, lament not for them: for they are not worthy lamentation, they are so wicked, that they will not once remember God: nor cry to him, though he bind them with the cords of affliction.
3 Others make it the voyce of desperate persons (according to the Margin of our Bibles) VVe have not, Desperatam illorum malitiam notat, qui nec intermedias calamitates Dei manum agnituri, & illius opem imploraturi sint. Gualter in locum.or we will not make mention of the name of the Lord, q. d. it is bootless to pray, for God is set to plague us, and will not be pacified; let us therefore eat and drink, since to morrow we must dye. Never tell us of Gods name, for he is our enemy, and we cannot endure to hear of him, for neither he nor his Ministers doe ever Prophesie good unto us. If we should call upon him we may mind him of us, and so bring new plagues upon our selves. This agrees best with verse eleven, which follows immediately.
4 Others thus; These Hypocritical ones, that formerly gloried that they were Gods people, his peculiar, his inheritance, his holy ones, &c. Gods wrath shall lye so heavy upon them, that they shall boast no more of this, for they shall bee dumbe when they hear Gods name, and abhor it as desperate reprobates use to doe. He will not suffer them any longer to take his name in vaine, his wrath shall burne so fiercely against them, that they shall not dare once to make mention of his name, or to come neer him who is a consuming fire.
OBSERVATIONS.
1 Decent burial is a mercy.
It is reckoned as a Judgement here, that these wicked men should want the honour and solemnity of ordinary burial. It is a mercy to have a Grave, and therefore when the Kings of Iudah are recorded, their burials are also mentioned; and those of highest merit were buried in the upper part of the Sepulchers of the Sons of David, 2 Chron. 32.33. Asa a good King was honourably buried, with great solemnity, 2 Chron. 16.14. and so was King Zedekiah, Jer. 24.5. But so was not wicked Iehoram, 2 Chron. 21.19. and it was a curse upon Iehojakim, that he should be buried with the burial of an Asse, and be contemptibly cast into a ditch, Ier. 22.18, 19. It is reckoned as a Judgement, when men have no burial, Psal. 79.3. Deut. 28.26. 1 King. 21.23, 24. Ier. 14.16. & 16.4. and therefore David commends the burial of Saul, he blesseth and rewardeth the men of Iabesh for it, 2 Sam. 2.5.
The Body is a peice of Gods Workmanship, curiously wrought, Iob 10.8. & 33.4. Psal. 139.5. and therefore must not be carelesly thrown away, it was redeemed with the precious bloud of Christ, and is the Temple of the Holy Ghost, 1 Cor. 3.16, 17. & 6.15, 29. and shall be raised up at the last day, and bee made like to Christs glorious Body, Iob 19.25. Phil. 3.21.
It is one of the last offices that we can doe for our Relations, we should therefore decently commit their bodies to the grave, as to a bed of rest, Isa. 57.2. there to remaine till the general Resurrection of us all. So they did by Steven, Act. 8.2. and the Patriarchs, Acts 7.15, 16.
Caution. Yet we must beware, 1 Of the fopperies of the Papists, who keep the bones of Saints (supposed Saints most of them) unburied, that they may worship them, kiss them, and offer to them. 1 Bones are a part of mens bodies, and ought to be buried decently as well as the body, Exod. 13.19. Iosh. 24.32. it is reckoned as a punishment to have the bones lye unburied, Isa. 14.19. Ier. 8.1, 2.
2 There is no Precept nor President in all the Word of God, that commands such Worship; yea the Lord himself hid the body of Moses, that it might not be Idolized, Iud. 9.
3 Those Relicks have proved to be the bones of Asses,Asinorum & canum ossa pro Martyrum ossibus amplexi sunt. Calvin Opusc. de Reliquiis. V. Perkins Problem, p. 523. Vol. 2. & Mulins Buckler of faith, Art. 28. p. 333. & Sharpii Loc. com. de Eccles. triumph. Contra. 3. P. 2. P. 34. Stags, Theeves, and Murderers.
4 It is injurious to Christ, and derogates from his Merits; yea it is injurious to the Saints, who are kept from their graves, where they rest in peace till the Day of the Lord. Besides you may see the folly of Superstition, when they should be imitating the Graces of the Saints, they are gathering their bones and breeches, their caps and girdles, their hairs and habits. At Rome, who lists may see St. Martins Boots, St. George his Sword, S. Crispins Cutting-knife, Iosephs Breeches, Maries Smock, Thomas his Shooe, the Milk of Mary, the Swadling-clouts of Christ, and the Asses Head that he rode on. So that Rome is a Church where Relicks and Images are worshipped, God Almighty pictured, Vowes violated, Prophaneness countenanced, half Communions administred, Humane Traditions equalized with Scripture, and Ceremonies multiplied.
2 Caut. Yet our greatest care should be for our Souls, See my Com. on 2 Tim. 4.6. p. 373.what will it avayl us to have the body perfumed, spiced, and embalmed, when the Soul which is the noblest part shall rot, and perish? Look to your Souls, and then God will provide for your bodies; when the Mid-wives feared the Lord, he made them houses.
3 Caut. Yet we should not be dismayed,Vel ipsi Philosophi contempsere sepulturam. V. Aug. De Civit. Dei, l. 1. cap. 12. when the bodies of Gods Saints be given to the Beasts of the Field, and the Fowls of Heaven, Psal. 79.2, 3. faith fears not such things. He that numbers the hairs of our heads, will not lose our bones; he that is so careful of our excrementitious parts, will not suffer our essential and integral parts to perish. Solemn burial addes to the comfort of the living, but not of the dead. Lazarus had no Funeral solemnities, nor Marble Monument, yet was he carried into Abrahams bosome:
— Facilis jactura Sepulchri,
Coele tegitur qui non babet Urnam.
Lucan. l. 16.
2 Obs. Gods people must be patiently silent in calamitous times.
They must not be stupidly silent, for Grace doth not raze, but raise, and rectifie the affections. We may spread our distress before God, and in an humble manner expostulate with him; as Iob, Ieremy, and other Saints have done. It is an holy silence, and not a sinful silence, which is here enjoyned us. When Gods hand lyes heavie upon us, not only our Tongues must be silent, Levit. 10.2, 3. 1 Sam. 3.18. Isa. 36.6, 7, 8. Amos 5.13. Zeph. 1.7. but our Souls must keep silence to Jehovah,Anima mea dumijah, silens, tacita, quieta est. Psal. 62.1. My soul waiteth upon God, so we read it, but others according to the Original, thus, My soul is silent, quiet, submiss, and subject to God, my affections are subdued to him. Many mens Tongues are silent, but their hearts are full of rage and fury; yea many mens words are smooth as oyl, when their hearts are like drawn swords. But a gracious soul in all humility adores the just Judgements of God upon himself, and others, without any murmuring or contradiction. He doth not impatiently fly in Gods face, nor charge God follishly, Iob 1. ult. but he peaceably resigns himself, and all he hath unto Gods dispose; God is the Potter, and he is the Clay, ready to be formed and framed, raised or ruined, made or marred, as he shall please. Hee gives the Lord a blank as it were, and bids him write what please himself, and it shall please him. Murmuring doth but double our strokes, it is a slandering of God, and a charging of him with folly, which he will not bear at our hands; and therefore when ever Israel fell to murmuring, a Judgement presently followed; other sins he can bear withall, but not with this. Untamed Heifers may gall their necks, but they cannot break the yoke. Wild Bulls in a Net, by tosfing and tumbling do but intangle themselves the more, Isa. 51.20. it is Prayer and Patience that will mend all; fret not then at Gods dispensations, neither quarrel with his Providences;See Mr. Burgess on Self-judging, on 1 Cor. 11.31. but judge your selves, and justifie him, so shall you have peace, Levit. 26.40. 41, 42. Iudg. 10.15. 2 Chron. 12.6. Ezra 9.13. Neh. 9.33. Psal. 51.4. & 119.137. Dan. 9.7. 1 Cor. 11.31. Let us not like Sons of Adam justifie our selves, and lay the fault upon God, but let us kiss the hand that smites us, and say, Righteous art thou Lord, and just are thy judgements.
3 Obs. Hypocritical shews and shadows of Religion will stand a man in no stead in a day of wrath.
These sensual Idolaters cried, The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord; they boasted that God was their Father, and they his people, that they knew him, and were known of him above all the people of the earth, Hos. 8.2. But now the day of wrath is come, they dare not once make mention of the name of God, they are so opprest with the guilt of their sins. It is not crying Lord, Lord, but doing Gods will sincerely, that will yeeld us comfort in calamitous times, Matth. 7.21, 22. 2 Cor. 1.12. A dead Beast can doe us no service, and dead Graces will stand us in no stead. Let us not then cheat our selves with shewes instead of substance, and with counters instead of gold; let us not be almost, but altogether Christians, not having a name only to live, but let us live indeed; that we may be Nathaniels, Israelites indeed, in whom there is no reigning guile, Ioh. 1.47.
4 Wicked men in calamitous times are f…ll of despondency and despair.
Though in times of Peace they may boast how God loves them, yet when God awakens their Consciences by his Judgements, the very name of God is terrible to them, and they could wish he were not: Then either they hide themselves with Adam, or run from him as Cain, Gen. 4.13. or hang themselves with Iudas, or cry with those wicked ones, Iob 21. 14. Depart from us. Or, they blaspheme because of their pain, and like Serpents fly in the face of him that toucheth them, Rev. 16. ult. and like Heathens, who in their calamities curse their gods, and beat them, as the Authors of all their misery; and at last they shall cry to the Rocks and Mountains to fall upon them and hide them, Luke 23.30. Rev. 6.16.
These cry,See Mr. Burgess his Spi. Refining, 1 Part, p. 469. Lect. 78 There is no hope, Jer. 18.12. and therefore they banish the thoughts of God out of their hearts, Psal. 10.4. and will not once make mention of him in their troubles. These are beaten, but not bettered; corrected, but not amended; and in some respect worse than Heathens,Diligentius Dii irati coluntur. Sen. of whom Seneca observes, That they were most busie in worshipping their gods, when they were most displeased. But we have those that fly from God when he draws nigh to them, thoughts of God are never more pleasing to a gracious soul, nor never more displeasing to wicked men than when they are in trouble.