Exposition of Amos 4-9, Part 2 · Section 16 – Section 17
VERSE 16, 17.
Therefore the Lord the God of Hosts, the Lord saith thus, Wailing shall be in all streets, and they shall say in all High wayes, Alas, alas! and they shall call the Husbandmen to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation, to wailing.
And in all Vineyards shall be wailing, for I will pass thorow thee, saith the Lord.
THe Prophet had often fore-warned this obstinate people of Judgements approaching, and called upon them to fly from the wrath to come; but since they contemned the Word and warnings of the Lord, he tells them now that the Sword should come and cut them off; and as they had sinned generally both in City and Country, so now they should be punisht generally, for all places should be filled with weeping and wailing.
The Prophet having finisht his Exhortation to Repentance, now returns to his Threatnings again; where we have the sad Calamities which were coming upon Israel;
Set forth
1 By the wailing which should be in all streets.
2 By the weeping which should bee in all High-wayes.
2 By the Persons which should mourn.
1 Natural, real mourners, as the
Citizen.
Husbandman.
Vinitor.
2 Artificial, hired mourners, and such as had skil in Lamentation.
3 Here is the reason and ground of all this weeping and wailing, and that is Israels impenitency, and contempt of those warnings which God gave them by the Prophets. They would not hearken to their counsel, but hated reproof, Therefore wailing shall be in all streets.
4 Here is the certainty of all this, It is the Lord, the God of Hosts that sayes it. The better to awaken them, he tells them they had not to doe with a dead Idol, or with an impotent man, but with an Omnipotent God, who was able to inflict whatever he had threatned against them, as appears by the majestick Titles which are given to him, who is the Lord, the God of Hosts. This people were apt to sooth themselves, and cry peace when there was no peace, and therefore the Prophet deals plainly with them, and bids them not flatter themselves with thoughts of impunity, for their mirth should now be turned into mourning, and their singing into sorrow; yea such sad calamities should come upon them, that all should mourn, both Citizens and rusticks, both real and Artificial mourners.
1 The Citizen shall lament in the streets, the loss of his friends, and riches:
2 The Husband-man shall lament, to see all his labours swept away by the cruel Assyrian.
3 The Vinitor that was wont to sing for joy, shall now lament for the loss of his Vintage.
4 All others should lament in the very high wayes,Ho, ho, heu, heu! quae vox est gementis & plangentis stragem Samariae. Hierom. the several distresses which should come upon them, crying, Alas! Alas!
5 Their calamity should be so great, that those which were wont to be hired in an Histrionical, mimical manner to lament and howl at Funerals, should now mourn in sober sadness, and good earnest, and therefore the Prophet sayes, they shall call not only for the Husbandmen, but also for those that are skilful in lamentation, that they may weep together. As in a time of mirth men call their neighbours together to rejoyce with them, Luke 15.6. So in this time of great mourning, they shall call the Citizen, the Husbandman, the Vinitor, and the Artificial mourner to bear their parts in this doleful Ditty.
Call for such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.
It was the custome of those times in those Eastern Countries in times of great mourning to send for singing-men and singing-women that could sing Artificial lamentations to provoke men to weeping, 2 Chon. 35 25. Iob 3.8. Eccles. 12.…. Their miseries here should be so great that they could not sufficiently bewail them themselves, and therefore they should send for these to help them. The Jews of latter times borrowed such a corrupt custome of the Heathens to augment their grief at Funerals.
1 They had Minstrels, which with their mournful tones and sad tunes inclined the affections of the people to mourning for the dead. Of these there were two sorts, 1 Some played on Pipes.Cantabat maestis tibia funeribus. Ovid. Fastor. l. 6. 2 Others sounded Trumpets. At the Funerals of great men they sounded Trumpets, and at the Funerals of inferiour persons they sounded Pipes. Hence we read that when Jesus raised Iarius his daughter, he cast out the Minstrels, Mat. 9.23. Mark 5.38.
2 The women especially that had an art in mourning, and skill in making exquisite lamentation, were hired at Burials for the same purpose, where going along with the Corps by outward significations of their sorrow both by voice and gesture, they moved the company more strongly to mourning and to sympathize with them.See in Mr. Caryl on Iob 3.8. These the Romans called praeficas, quasi in hoc ipsum praefectas, chief or skilful mourners. These had venales lachrymas, Ut qui conducti plorant in funere, dicunt Et faciunt prope plura dolentibus ex animo. Horat. de art. Po…t.they made a trade of their tears, making a greater howling and noise than real mourners did, as Horace testifies. From the Heathen this custome came to Rome also, where for money, the vilest of men shall have out-side mourners more than a good many. All kinde of hypocrisie is odious to God, but this is gross hypocrisie to make a great howling when there is no reality. It is only vox, clamor, ululatus, & praeterea nihil. The Prophet therefore doth not approve of these hypocritical howlings, and artificial lamentations to get money, but onelyonly shews that their sorrow should bee so great that it should need helpe to express it.
OBSERVATIONS.
1 When the word cannot mend a people, then comes judgements and ends them.
First, God hews men down by the sword of the Spirit, Hos. 6.5. and then cuts them off by an enemies sword. This is Gods usual method, as hath been experienced in all ages. When men will not hearken to the voice of Gods messengers, it is a certain sign that God intends to destroy them, 1 Sam. 2.25. 2 Chron. 25.20. Prov. 29.1.
2 Obs. Where sin goes before, there sorrow follows.
We read before of this peoples Idolatry, bribery, cruelty; now comes weeping, wailing, lamentation, &c. Wicked mens mirth ends in mourning. See more on Amos 8.3.
VESSE 17.
And in all Vineyards shall be wailing, for I will pass thorow thee, saith the Lord.
THese Israelites boasted much that God was with them and he would never leave them who were his Covenant-people. The Prophet tells them that God would abide no longer with them, but would now pass thorow them in wrath; and not only the Citizens and Husbandmen, but even the Vinitors also should mourn for the spoyl that should be made among them. In the time of Vintage there was wont to be great mirth and jollity, Psal. 4.7. they sung merrily, and did shout for joy, Isa. 16.10. Ier. 25.30. yea but their sins had marred their mirth, so that now they shall have weeping instead of singing. In all Vineyards shall be mourning. All had sinned, and now all shall suffer.
2 Here is the reason of their mourning, viz. because the Lord will pass thorow them, Verbum transeo, cum de Deo dicitur, semper plagas & adversa denotat. Hieron.he will not dwell, nor abide amongst them in love and favour as they vainly fancied, but he would pass thorow them like an enemy, and execute justice on them, Isa. 27.4. The Prophet seems to allude to the Lords passing thorow Egypt when he sent an Angel to smite all the firstborn thereof, and thereby filled every house with wailing and lamentation, Exod. 11.4. and 12.12. so I will pass thorow you with plagues, and will cause the destroying enemy to pass thorow all your land, saith the Lord.
OBSERVATIONS.
1 Sin incenseth God against a people:
And makes him pass thorow them in wrath, like lightning, doing general execution upon them, terribly, suddenly, irresistibly. But of this before on vers. 6.
2 Obs. Generality of sin, brings generality of plagues.
Citizens, Husbandmen, Vinitors, all had sinned, and now weeping and wailing shall be amongst them all. But of this see Amos 6. ult.