An exposition by way of supplement, on the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth chapters of the prophecy of Amos where you have the text fully explained ... : together with a confutation of Dr. Holmes, and Sir Henry Vane, in the end of the commentary / by Tho. Hall ...

VERSE 9.

I have smitten you with Blasting and Mildew, when your Gardens, and your Vineyards, and your Fig-trees, and your Olive-trees increased; the Palmer-worm devoured them, yet have yee not returned unto mee, saith the Lord.

WE are now come to the third Scourge which God used for the amendment of this People, and that is the smiting of their fruit which grew in their Fields, Gardens, and Vine-yards. They had abused them to Luxury and Ido∣latry, and now they lose them. God had given them Corne to supply their necessity, and Vines, and Figgs, and Olives for delight; but their sins deprived them both of the one and the other. In the words we have,

• 1 The Person smiting, and that is the Lord, it is I, your Creator, Preserver, Deliverer, that hath blest you so long, that now doth blast you, It is I that have smitten you.
• 2 Here is the Rod with which hee smites them, consisting of three Lashes.
  • 1 Blasting.
  • 2 Mildew.
  • 3 The Palmer-worm.

Blasting and Mildew, that may have relation to the Corn, and be one cause of the Famine before mentioned, Vers. 6. (and the Palmer-worm may have relation to the fruit. God used variety of Judgements that they might the better see his hand in all, and not attribute things to Fate, or Fortune, to Stars, or second causes.

Blasting is a Curse threatned against a disobedient People; (Deut. 28.22.) it usually comes from an East-wind, which is a scorching drying Wind, withering the Corn, and making it look yellow, Gen. 41.6.

Mildew is the spoyling of the Corn by excessive moysture,

making it look pase; so that it never comes to maturity, for the natural greenness is gone before it bee ripe, and the colour is faded.

The Palmer-worm is a noysome, devouring Worm, it is one of Gods great Armies which he sends against a rebellious People, to destroy their Vine-yards and Fig-trees, that is, the fruites of their Vines, Fig-trees, and Olives, by a Metonimy of the sub∣ject. These are worse than Locusts, for that feeds only on the tops of the ears of Corn, as he flies; but the Palmer-worm sticks close to the Fruites and Flowers they light on, and will not off till they have consumed them. It makes clean work, leaving nothing behind it. These Israelites that neglected their Souls, yet used great care and pains about their Vines, O∣lives, Gardens▪ and Orchards, but all your cost and care saith the Lord shall be lost, and become a prey to the Palmer-worm.

3 Here is the time when the Lord smote them, and that was in the very flower and prime, when Gardens, and Vineyards, &c. were increased, and loaden with fruit, when they were multiplying, then he blasted them; or the multitude of your Gardens and Vineyards did the Palmer-worm devour; so the Margin of our Bible.

4 Here are the Persons whose fruites were smitten, viz. the rebellious Israelites, included in the Pronoun Possessive, yours, yours, yours; your Gardens, your Vine-yards, your Fig-trees, your Olive-trees,; it is for your sins, and your sakes that these are smitten.

5 Here is the unsuccessfulness of these rods upon them, yet have yee not returned unto me, saith the Lord. One Judge∣ment should have wrought upon them, or a second at least, but when a third and fourth shall come, and yet a people shall not be wrought upon, it argues the height of obstinacy and malice, and that such Persons are exceedingly blinded, and besotted by the Devil to their own destruction; it is a God-provoking Sin, thus still to sin against the remedy of their recovery; and therefore the Lord still layes his finger on this sore, and oft complaines of it, as here, so elsewhere. Isa. 9.13.

Ier. 3.10. & 5.3. & 8.5. Hos. 7.10. Hag. 2.17. How oft doth he require the amendment of this fault, making ma∣ny promises to incourage them, Ier. 3.1.7.14.22. and threatens them if they will not, Ier. 15.7. and yet still they continue impenitent.

OBSERVATIONS.

1 God wants not Hosts and Armies of Creatures to subdue a stubborn and rebellious people. He hath the Host of Heaven, and the Hosts of the Earth at his beck, and if he but hiss, or stamp, or give the least intimation to them, they are presently up in armes against us, Isa. 5.26. & 7.18. Frost and Snow, Hayl and Tempests, are all his servants, ready prest to doe his will (Exod. 9.23. Psal. 147.16, 17, 18. Hag. 2.17) with these hee can destroy our Fruites in the bud, or in the blade, or when they are come to maturity, yea when they are in the Barn he can send Lightning and consume them. If hee be angry with us, he can call for an Army of Insects, and con∣temptible Animals, and by these he can destroy us. When Pharaoh rebelled against him, the Lord sent an Army of Froggs, Flies, and Lice against him, and by these hee vext him (Exod. 8.2.16.21.) the Lord hath Hosts of Men and Angels at command, but hee chuseth rather to confound his enemies by these contemptible Creatures, that he may exalt his own power, and abase proud man; hee hath the Cankerworm, the Palmer-worm, the Locust, and the Caterpiller, these are called his great army, which he sends against a dis∣obedient people, Ioel 2.11.25.

Obj. We are not troubled with an Army of Locusts, Palmer-worms, &c. these were proper to those Eastern Countries?

Ans. It is true, literally, our cold Southern Climate is not subject to the annoyance of these; yet if the Lord bee angry with us, he can send even these upon us, for South and East are alike to him. Mystically, and Metaphorically, hee hath troubled us with an Army of Locusts, Caterpillars, Canker-worms, &c. yea in kind, he sent a strange Grub which devou∣red only the Barley (which is most abused by Drunkenness) in many parts of the Land, in the year one thousand six hun∣dred forty nine, yea and he can and will (if England goe on

to fin after the rate that it hath done of late years) bring in an Army of Forreigners, fierce and savage men, whose Lan∣guage we understand not, who shall shew no mercy to the Old, nor pitty to the Young; what is said of the Natural, is most true of these Metaphorical Palmer-worms, they are the last and the worst of evils; they sweep all away before them, and make clean work where they goe, Ioel 2.3. and this is that Judgement which the Lord seems at this day to bee pre∣paring for England, and yet we are not affected with it. The Churches enemies are strongly united, and have made a kind of Universal peace amongst themselves, Gebal and Ammon, and Amaleck, the Moabites, the Ismalites, the Hagarens, &c. France, Spain, Italy, Curland, Holland, Denmark, &c. are all confederate and united; and the Churches of Christ who should joyn to their Dove-like simplicity, Serpentine wisdome, when in this juncture of time they should be most strongly united, they are most sadly divided, both within and without, the King of Denmark, with the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg, joyn with Papists against the Protestant in∣terest, and so doth the Hollander. What sad Massacres have been in Savoy and Poland is well known to the world; and Plots are preparing for the destruction of the Protestants both in France and Switzerland; and England that was alwaies wont to preserve the Protestant interest, and assist it in all Nations, yet is so sadly divided, and crumbled into so many Factions, and Fractions, into so many Divisions, and Sub∣divisions, that without a Miracle of Mercy, we are like to bee made a prey to the Common adversary, who labours with all his might to divide us, that so he may destroy us. Let us then serve the Lord with one shoulder, and with one consent; let us not provoke this great God, who hath so many Armies in store ready to execute his Judgements on us, Ier. 15.3. Hee is the best friend, and the saddest foe; if he be for us, all is for us, but if he be against us, all creatures are against us. We should therefore make peace with this great Lord-General of all Armies, and then they will all be at peace with us; when our wayes please the Lord, he will make even our enemies to be at peace with us, Prov. 16.7. the men of Tire and Si∣don desired to be at peace with Herod, because their Land was nourisht by the Kings Land, Acts 12.20. all we have, we

have it from God, we are Tenants at will to him, and there∣fore should be careful to preserve his favour. Many when Blasting and Mildews are abroad, goe not to God, but to a Bush for ayd; They will May their Corn, and stick up a Bush, thinking by this means to keep it from Blasting; a Heathenish custom, to be abhorred of all such as acknowledge the Providence of God. Such Atheistical practices may justly provoke the Lord to blast thy Corn indeed. Little better is that of the Popish Processions about the Fields, with Flaggs, and Banners, and Bables. The best and only remedy in this case, is humble penitential Prayer, 1 King. 8.37, 38, 39. to such the Pro∣mise runs, If Blasting, Mildew, Locust, or Caterpillars be in the Land, if Gods people shall pray, and know every man the plague of his own heart, that is, his Sin, which is the cause of all o∣ther Plagues, then will the Lord hear in heaven, and for∣give and heal the Land, 2 Chron. 6.28, 29, 30. & 2.7. 13, 14.

2 Obs. Loss of fruit is a punishment for sin, and a sign of Gods displeasure against a people. Fruit, Corn, Cattel, Trees, all fare the worse for sinful man. God turns a fruitful Land into a Wilderness for the wickedness of them that dwell therein, Psal. 107.34. and therefore when the Lord is angry with a People, we read how he brake their trees with hayl, and destroyed their Vines and Fig-trees, Exod. 9.25. & 10.5. Deut. 28.16, 17, 18.39, 40. Psal. 78.48. & 105.33. we should therefore over-look second causes, and see Gods hand afflicting us in these losses. Many impute that to Winds, Frosts, Blasts, &c. which are indeed the finger of God, point∣ing to our abuse of the Creatures, which provokes him to take them from us. It will be our wisdome therefore when ever the Lord gives us plenty, to take notice of Gods hand, and praise him; and when we want them, to be humbled before him, and to beg the restoring of them at his hand, who gives to all that ask in faith, liberally, and upbraideth no man.

Notes

• Haec duo & o∣pinor, morbi & vitia segetum sunt, nam proximè horti & plantae ma∣jores ab eruca dicuntur esse consumpti. Sanctius.
• See my Comment on Hos. 13.15. Siddaphon, est uredo, ariditas & percussio segetum, quando ventus orientatis ingredi∣tur spicas, ut n••n maturescant.
• Ierakiou, ru∣bigo, significat pallorem, Jer. 30.6.
• Ultimum & p••ssimum malorum est e••uea. Hierom. Gazam, eruca, à Gazem, q. tonsor, rasor, rosor, excisor, quia detondet & carpit herbas quibus insedit, est vermicu∣lus villosus & hirsutus, oleribus infensus & arboribus. Sanctius.
• Harbot, in multiplicando, i. e. augentibus hortis vestris, vel cum multum ferrent horti vestri••
• See more be∣fore on verse 6. Obs. 5.
• See more in M. Austine his Treatise of Fruit-trees, p. 16.17. the best on that subject for Natural and Theolog. observations that I have seen.