A brief exposition on the XII. smal prophets: the first volume containing an exposition on the prophecies of Hosea, Joel, & Amos. By George Hutcheson, minister at Edenburgh.

Verse 3. Thus saith the Lord, For three transgres∣sions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of Iron.

Albeit the Lord sends Amos chiefly to preach against Israel, (as appears from v. 1.) yet he ordains him to begin with accusations and threatnings against forraign Nations round about, before he come to deal with them. And accordingly in this and the beginning of the next Chapter, there are six of these Nations spoken to. We may conceive these reasons why the Lord followeth this method. 1. That however this Prophet was a mean man, yet Israel might be convinced of his Authority and Commission to be a Prophet, in that God had revealed his mind to him con∣cerning

so many Nations beside themselves. 2. That when Israel should look on other Nations, and see them plagued as well as themselves, they might not (as men are natural∣ly unwilling to see God in calamities) ascribe their owne afflictions to fortune or chance among the rest, since others of whom God took no such strict notice, were afflicted as well as they. By these predictions God would let them see that he had a hand in all of them. 3. This doctrine a∣gainst the Nations tendeth to the aggravation of Israels guilt, for whose sake God had plagued so many (as will appear in the rest of the Chapter) and yet they proved as bad as any. 4. It tendeth also to shew unto them, that the present prosperity of the wicked Nations should not embolden them to despise Gods threatnings against them∣selves, seeing that prosperity was to come to such an end. 5. From these threatnings Israel might gather that God who punished the Nations who were without the written Law, would not spare them who were his people, and knew his will, and who were guilty of sins, and these as grosse and many as any of the Nations: For they were Ido∣laters as well as they, and were cruel oppressours of their brethren, as well as the heathen whom God was to punish for the same fault.

The first Nation here spoken to, is Syria, whose head. City is Damascus, Isa. 7.8. These the Lord challengeth, and threatneth not to withhold any longer their deserved pu∣nishment; And that because of their many and multiplied sins: and especially because of their cruelty against his peo∣ple in Gilead, which the History declareth was done by Ha∣zael, 2. Kings 8.12. and 10.32, 33. And by Benhadad his son, 2. Kings 13.3, 7. As for this kinde of cruelty of threshing people with instruments of Iron, it seemeth to be the same with that 2. Sam. 12.31. or somewhat like it. It was a kinde of torture inflicted upon vanquished people, which the Syrians put in practise, or at least did use them as cruelly as if they had done so. Doct. 1. God is soveraigne Judge of all the world, to give out sentence according to mens ways, and to ride circuit in it, to see his sentence executed; for so much is held forth in this processe led against the Nations on every hand, to every one of which, Thus saith the Lord; is prefixed. 2. Emi∣nent persons, and such as live in eminent places of a Land,

do ordinarily prove the fountains an promoters of all that evil which draweth down wrath upon the whole Land; for this cause it is that here onely Damascus the chief City is at first named; as being (together with the Royall Fa∣mily, comprehended under it, v. 4.) the rise and cause of all this provocation and woe. 3. Albeit the Lord be long-suffering towards all, yea even towards heathens; yet when men abuse his patience, by continiance in sin till there be no end nor remedy, he will surely reckon with them, for now it cometh to this, I will not turn away the punish∣ment thereof, as in his long-suffering he had done formerly, or he will not let them be quiet, or at peace, or not take pains to convert them any more, but will give them up to reap as they deserve. 4. The Lord will then begin to reckon with a people for sin, When 1. Their provocations are grosse for kinde, being transgressions, or rebellions. 2. When these sins are not few, out multiplied and many, three and four. 3. When their sins are still growing, and sin added to sin, as when it goeth from three to four. 4. When the longer they grow in sin, their sins are still the grosser and more horrid (as it will still be) such as the particular sin here laid to their charge is. 5. When iniquity continued in, filleth up the compleat measure prescribed by God in his long-suffering; for three and four make up seven which is a number of perfection. All this is imported in this general chalenge and threatning, which is made use of here and afterward, for three transgressions and for four, I will not turn a∣way the punishment, because they have &c. Doct. 5. Albeit a people may have many sins and these very grosse, provok∣ing God against themselves; Yet when God is about to punish, there is ordinarily some particular ill that puts the capstone on all the rest, and fills up the measure, and which draws out the stroak; Therefore after these three trans∣gressions and four, there is here one particular sin conde∣scended on, as a notable one above the rest, for which especially God will strike. 6. Cruelty against Gods people, as it is a fruit of mens ripenesse and comming to an hight in sin; so it is a particular sin which God will not passe over, though he wink at many other faults; for this is the particular sin here, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of Iron, the sub-joining whereof to the generall chalenge, sheweth that none but they who had

three transgressions and four, would have followed such a cruel course against the Church; And that however he had turned away their punishment, notwithstanding many former provocations, yet now because of this he would not spare. 7. Before the Lords people shall want a scourge when they provoke him, he will raise up even subdued Nations to do that worke; for these Syrians were subdued by David, 2. Sam. 10.15.19. but they began to lift up their head again, upon Solomons defection from God, 1. Kings 11.23, 24, 25: and are now a strong and sharp scourge to Israel.