Exposition of Amos 4-9, Part 6 · Section 14
VERSE 13.
Behold, the dayes come, saith the Lord, that the Flow-man shall overtake the Reaper, and the treader of Grapes him that soweth seed, and the Mountains shall drop sweet Wine, and all the Hills shall melt.
MAn by nature is a very froward, pettish, perverse Peece, especially when under the crosse, God hath much adoe to fasten any comfort on us. When Israel lay in deep distress in Aegyptian bondage, they hearkned not to Moses because of the anguish of their spirits, Exod. 6.9. they were so opprest with sorrow that they could not mind what Moses said, nor beleeve any thing that was spoken concerning their deliverance, as deeming their deliverance desperate and past hope. So this People having laine long in Babylonish Captivity: and after that tired out with many troubles, the Lord here heaps up Promise upon Promise, to assure them of better times at hand. In this Verse we have a third Promise, where the Holy Ghost by the abundance of external and corporal blessings, doth shadow forth unto us the great plenty of Spiritual gifts, which should be poured out in Gospel-times; yet since Piety hath the promise of the blessings of this life as well as of that to come, and temporal blessings doe oft attend the Gospel, and God hath promised, that if we first seek his Kingdom, all other things shall be cast upon us, Matth. 6.33. we may take the words in the largest sense, as a promise both of Temporal and Spiritual blessings, which should be poured out upon the Church in Gospel-times.
1 Spiritual blessings are promised absolutely and primarily, they being necessary per se; but Temporal blessings are promised as accessories only conditionally, with exception of the Crosse, and so farre as they shall be good for us. Things necessary we are sure of, and if more may doe us good wee shall not want it.
Though both are promised here, yet Spiritual blessings are specially intended, as will appear by these reasons.
1 If we look into those Primitive times, when these Spiritual gifts here promised were poured out abundantly, the Church was low in Temporals, though rich in Spirituals, they were Persecuted and Plundered of all, Heb. 10.34. besides, the Gospel calls for Self-denial, and a contempt of all these low injoyments.
2 In Old Testament times the Church was in its Childhood, and therefore Moses and the Prophets by such expressions did condescend to the capacity of the rude, and infirme Jewish people, which were as Children under the rudiments of the Law, and spake to them as we use to doe to our little children in their owne Language, when we make promises to them. Hence we read so frequently in the Old Testament of heavenly things shadowed forth unto us by Feasts, and other Temporal blessings, Isa. 25.6. and Earthly peace typifying Spiritual peace, and plenty of Corn and Wine, plenty of Grace, as here in the text. By all those Temporal things the Lord would raise up our hearts to the contemplation of heavenly and eternal things.
In the words we have, 1. A Blessing promised, and that is, a glorious affluence and abundance of all things, set forth in Hyperbolical terms, and very lofty expressions. As,
1 The Plow-man shall overtake the Reaper.
2 The Treader of Grapes him that soweth the feed.
3 The Mountains should drop Wine.
4 If this be not enough, all the Hills shall melt, and dissolve into Milk, Honey, Oyl.
All figurative promises of Spiritual Graces and Blessings in Gospel-times.
2 Here is the Time when all this shall be effected, and that is in Gospel-times, set forth in those general terms, The dayes shall come, viz. when the Tabernacle of David shall be built, and the Kingdom of Christ be raised up.
3 Here is the confirmation of all this, Dixit Dominus, The Lord hath said it.
4 Here is an Ecee, to quicken our attention to these glorious Promises, Behold the dayes come saith the Lord.
So much for the Analysis, now for the explication of the terms.
The Plow-man shall overtake the Reaper, q. d. The Harvest shall be so great and plentiful, that before you can house it,Non erit vulgaris & usitata copia, sed quae fidem superat, imò etiam or dinem naturae, quasi montes diffluerent. Calvin. the Plow-man will be at your heels to prepare the ground for another crop. Such plenty there should be, that they should scarce have time enough to gather it in, for before the Harvest was in, it should be time to Plow, and the Vintage should reach unto the seed time.
And the treader of Grapes him that soweth the seed: Or draweth forth the seed, viz. out of his Sack to sow, q. d. The Vintage shall be so plentiful that it shall last even till seed time; so that when you should be sowing, you shall be gathering of grapes; yea such plenty shall there be of all things, that when one kind of fruit is ripe, another shall follow, every one in his due course and order.
A Parallel place we have, Levit. 26.5. to which the Prophet seems to allude, where we have the same Blessings promised almost in expresse terms, Your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time, q. d. you shall have such plentiful Harvests, that before you can have threshed out your Corn, the Vintage shall come; and such rich Vintages, that before they be ended, it shall bee time to sow your seed; so that you shall have one blessing in the neck of another, you shall alwayes be getting and gathering of fruit, there shall be no time wherein the earth shall not be yeelding you somewhat, either for necessity or delight.
And the Mountains shall d…op sweet wine, or Must, which is newly trodden, and is called sweet, because new Wine is so. Mountains usually are hard, rockey, wild, barren places, but now they shall be so cultivated,G…is, suceus dulcis, i. e. mustum Cant. 8.2. Isa. 49.26 Joel 1.5. Bacchus amat colles. and made so fruitful, that they shall even run wine. The Prophet seems to allude to Iudea, which had Mountains beset with Vineyards, q. d. The Vines in the Mountains shall abound with Grapes. The like expression we have almost in terminis, Joel 3.18. and it shall come to passe in that day, that the Mountains shall drop down new Wine, and the Hills shall flow with milk q. d. In Gospel-times God shall give plenty of Spiritual nourishment unto his Church, so as every part thereof shall abound with the means of Salvation; for as in the text, so here, by figurative expressions is shadowed forth the blessed estate of the Church under the Kingdom of Christ; and it is usual in the Old Testament to set forth heavenly things by earthly Similitudes, as in the Book of the Canticles.
And all the Hills shall melt; that is, they shall seeme to doe so, by reason of the abundant increase of Milk, Oyl, Honey, &c. as if they flowed with them. The Hills shall flow with Milk (saith Ioel) that is, they shall so abound with Cattle, Bees, Vines, and Olives, that Milk, Honey, Wine, and Oyl, shall as it were flow from the Hills, and though they be high and hard, yet now they shall all dissolve into moysture, and be made fit for culture.
Some Allegorize thus; By Mountains they understand the Apostles and Apostolical men, whose Evangelical Doctrine was as Wine to comfort disconsolate souls. These plowed and sowed the world with the seed of heavenly Doctrin; and by Hills are meant the ordinary Preachers, who had Milk for Babes. Or, the Mountains are great men, and the Hills the inferiour sort; all these both high and low should in Gospel-times be inricht with gifts and graces. The multitudes of Converts should be so great, that they should keep the Lords Spiritual Husband-men in continual imployment, so that they should alwaies be Plowing, Sowing, Reaping, &c. alwayes Praying, Preaching, Planting, &c.
The summe of all is this, That in Gospel-times there should be such abundance of blessings, that one should overtake another in a perpetual succession; as it is in a rich and fruitful soyl, where the Harvest is no sooner in, but the Plough is put into the ground for another crop; and the Vintage is no sooner done, but the seed is sowen for a new Harvest. Thus it shall be with the Church, where one blessing endeth, another shall begin, and even the driest and barrenest hearts shall yeeld excellent fruits of grace in great abundance.
OBSERVATIONS.
1 Gospel-times are blessed times.
It is the truly Golden Age, when all runs Milk, and Wine, and Honey, and all this without price and without money,See Mr. Obad. Sedgwick on Isa. 55.1, 2. Isa. 55.1, 2. Of Christs fulness we all receive grace for grace, John 1.16. The weak are now made strong, the barren fruitful, the Hills are levelled, the Vallies enricht, the Evangelical Plough makes all mellow and fruitful, and fit for Christ.
We should therefore blesse the Lord, who hath-cast our Lots in this pleasant time of Spiritual riches, peace, joy, and abundant consolation.O Fortunatos nimium, &c. Happy we, if in this our day we know the things that concern our everlasting peace, before they be hid from our eyes. How great then is the folly of those that separate themselves, and forsake those fountains and mountains of Wine and living water, and goe to stinking Ponds and broken Cisterns of mens inventions, that can yeeld them no comfort or refreshing in troublous times.
2 Piety brings plenty.
When men first seek Gods Kingdom (as in Gospel-times, it is prophesied they should doe, Isa. 2.2, 3.) then Wine, and Milk, and Honey, and all other temporal blessings of peace and plenty shall be given in with the Gospel of Peace. The Gospel comes not empty handed, especially to an obedient people; as we see in Constantines dayes, and in Q. Elizabeths dayes, when the Gospel flourisht, the Nation flourisht with all temporal abundance. Piety hath the promise, and that vertually is every thing.See more in my Beauty of Holiness, ch. 7. obj. 1. and Mr. Secker his Non— such Professor, p. 269, &c. ☜ If we be obedient, we shall eate the good of the Land, Levit. 26.3, 5. Isa. 1.19. Hos. 2.20, 21, 22, 23.