Amos 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD has not done it? By "evil" here we understand "calamities." Men may have been concerned in bringing them on; but God overrules all things for the accomplishment of His own purposes. The truth is clearly established, that the sorrows of a nation may be traced to the sins of a nation. The improvement to be made from this subject is — I. THE DUTY OF INTERCESSION WITH GOD FOR THE REMOVAL OF NATIONAL CALAMITY. We need go no further than this prophet for a proof of the efficacy of prayer (Amos 7:1-6). II. LABOUR AMONG MEN FOR THE PROMOTION OF NATIONAL HOLINESS. Enumerate some national sins. The advances of popery. Sabbath breaking. Infidelity, especially in literature. III. CONFIDE IN THE PROTECTION OF GOD IN THE MIDST OF NATIONAL DANGER. If you are in Christ, you have no cause for fear. The consciousness of sinfulness will lead you to submit to personal trial as Job did. The Lord frequently makes a distinction in times of calamity between those who are His people and those who are not. Observe how Ezekiel (Ezekiel 9:4-6) describes the Lord's people. They "sigh and.cry for the sins of others." If you can see iniquity unmoved, if you see men going to destruction and the laws of God and man set at defiance, without grief, and without doing all that is in your power to stem the torrent, you see that you have not the mark of God's people, and you must perish with a careless and ungodly world.Application. 1. Acknowledge God's hand in every judgment. 2. Do all in your power to spread the knowledge of God's will. (J. G. Breay, B. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it? |
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