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In this chapter we have, I. Judgment threatened, which the sinners shall not escape (Am 9:1-4), which an almighty power shall inflict (Am 9:5,6), which the people of Israel have deserved as a sinful people (Am 9:7,8); and yet it shall not be the utter ruin of their nation (Am 9:8), for a remnant of good people shall escape, Am 9:9. But the wicked ones shall perish, Am 9:10. II. Mercy promised, which was to be bestowed in the latter days (Am 9:11-15), as appears by the application of it to the days of the Messiah, Ac 15:16. And with those comfortable promises, after all the foregoing rebukes and threatenings, the book concludes.
1-10
The Certainty of the Sinner's Doom (784 BC)
繁體中文
罪人厄運的確定（主前784年）
¹ 我看見主站在祭壇旁，祂說：你要擊打門檻，使門柱震動；把他們眾人從頭砍碎。我要用刀殺戮他們最後剩下的人；他們中間逃走的不能逃脫，逃脫的不能逃出。
² 他們雖然挖透陰間，我的手必從那裏取出他們來；雖然爬上天去，我必從那裏拿下他們來。
³ 雖然藏在迦密山頂，我必搜尋並從那裏捉出他們來；雖然在我眼前藏於海底，我必從那裏吩咐蛇去咬他們。
⁴ 雖然被仇敵擄去為奴，我必從那裏吩咐刀劍殺戮他們；我必定睛在他們身上，為禍不為福。
⁵ 萬軍之主耶和華就是那摸地使地熔化、其中所有的居民都悲哀的；地必全然如尼羅河湧起，如同埃及的河被淹沒。
⁶ 那在天上建造樓閣、在地上創造群眾的，就是那召海水澆在地面上的——耶和華是祂的名。
⁷ 耶和華說：以色列人啊，你們豈不是對我如同古實人一般嗎？我豈不是領以色列人出埃及地，領非利士人出迦斐託，領亞蘭人出吉珥嗎？
⁸ 看哪，主耶和華的眼目注視這犯罪的國，我必從地上將它除滅；只是我不將雅各家全然滅絕。這是耶和華說的。
⁹ 看哪，我必下令，必在列國中篩以色列家，如同穀在篩子裏被篩一般；然而最小的一粒也不落在地上。
¹⁰ 我民中的一切罪人，就是說災禍必不追上也不迎面臨到我們的，必死在刀劍之下。
此處我們看見神的公義向一個惹祂發怒的百姓宣判；請留意，
I. 這判決是何等莊嚴地宣告的。先知在異象中看見主站在祭壇旁（Am 9:1）——就是燔祭壇；因為耶和華有獻祭之事，必有大批群眾如祭牲一般倒在祂的公義之下。祂從二基路伯之間的施恩座上離開，站在祭壇——就是那經常有神的火降下吞滅祭物的審判座——之上。祂站在祭壇上，為要表明祂與這百姓爭訟的根據，是他們褻瀆了祂的聖物；祂在此為祂祭壇的冤屈報仇，也為要表明以色列家的罪，正如以利家的罪一般，永遠不能因祭物和供物得贖，1Sa 3:14。祂站在祭壇上，為要禁止獻祭。如今所下的命令是：擊打門檻——就是聖殿的門檻，門的頂部——擊打它，使門柱震動；並把他們眾人從頭砍碎——就是把他們擊傷；打碎神殿的門，或祂殿院的門，作為記號——表明祂要離開它、撇棄它，於是一切審判都要闖進來。或者這表示那些本該如門柱一般保衛國家的人首先被毀；他們既被拆毀，國就成為無門無閂的城。「擊打那如門檻的王，使那些如門柱的首領震動；把他們從頭砍碎——如劈柴一般把他們全部劈開；我要殺戮他們最後剩下的人——他們的後裔、他們和他們的家屬，或他們中最小的——他們和一切在他們手下辦事的；或者，我要殺戮他們全部——他們和他們一切剩下的，直到最後一人；殺戮必是普遍的。」那些神已說了我要殺戮他們的人，毫無活路；在祂的刀劍前無人能站立。
II. 為使無人逃脫這判決的執行，有何等有效的措施。這一點在此被大大展開，是為要警告一切惹耶和華忌邪的。讓罪人讀了就戰兢；正如不能與神硬拚到底，照樣也不能從祂面前逃脫。祂的審判帶著使命而來之時，既能壓倒那些想要正面抵擋的最強者，也能追上那些想要拔腿逃跑的最快者，Am 9:2。他們中間那些逃跑、撒腿就跑的，很快就會氣喘吁吁，逃不出危險的範圍；因為有時惡人雖無人追趕也逃跑，但神追趕之時他卻不能逃脫，雖然他巴不得從祂手中逃脫。不，他們中間那逃脫的、自以為已經得計的，也逃不出禍患。災禍追趕罪人，必抓住他們。這一點在此藉著表明罪人無論逃到何處躲避神的公義，公義都必追上他們、那避難所不過是謊言之避所而加以展開。大衛論到神同在的無所不在所說的話（Ps 139:7-10），此處被用來論述神權能和公義的範圍。（1.）陰間本身——在英文中因被覆蓋、被隱藏而得名——也不能隱藏他們（Am 9:2）：「雖然他們挖透陰間——挖到地的中心或其中最黑暗的隱密之處——然而我的手必從那裏取出他們來，把他們帶出來作為神聖公義的公開紀念。」墳墓對義人是躲避世上惡意的藏身之處（Job 3:17），卻不能作為罪人躲避神公義的藏身之處；在末日他們復活受永遠的羞辱和被憎惡之時，神的手必從其中把他們取出來。（2.）天——因其被舉起而得名——也不能把他們置於神審判之外；陰間不能隱藏他們，天也不能。雖然他們在幻想中爬上天去，我必從那裏拿下他們來。那些蒙神恩典帶到天上去的人，永不被拿下來；但那些憑自己的狂妄和自信爬上去的，必被拿下來，滿了羞愧。（3.）迦密山頂——那國中世上塵土最高處之一——也不能保護他們：「雖然他們藏在那裏——以為沒有人會去找他們——我必搜尋，並從那裏捉出他們來；迦密山頂最密的灌木叢或最暗的山洞，也不能隱藏他們。」（4.）海底也不能掩護他們；他們以為藏在那裏，神的審判卻要在那裏找到他們、抓住他們：我必從那裏吩咐蛇去咬他們——就是曲行的蛇，海中的大魚，Isa 27:1。他們要在自己盼望找到庇護保護之處，遇見瘟疫和死亡；潛水對他們的幫助不會比攀爬更多。（5.）遠方的國家不會幫助他們，較輕的審判也不能免除他們更大的審判（Am 9:4）：雖然他們被仇敵擄去為奴——被帶到極遠的地方、與仇敵的百姓混在一起、在其中似乎迷失了——那也沒有用：我必從那裏吩咐刀劍殺戮他們——仇敵的刀或彼此的刀。神審判之時必獲勝。使逃脫不可能、使毀滅不可避免的，是神要定睛在他們身上為禍不為福。祂的眼目無所不在，在所有人身上、在人一切的道路上——在有些人身上為福，為他們顯大能；在另一些人身上為禍，為要留意他們的罪（Job 13:27），並抓住一切機會因他們的罪懲罰他們。那些有神的護理——以及其一切安排——與他們作對、為他們的損害而效力的人，其處境實在悲慘。
III. 那向他們宣判並要親自執行的神，是何等偉大、何等有權能。威嚇的可怕程度，取決於發威嚇者的權能。我們嘲笑無能的憤怒；但神的憤怒並非如此，那是全能的憤怒。誰曉得祂忿怒的權能？祂從前說過要作的（Am 8:8），此處又重複：祂要使地熔化震動、其中所有的居民都悲哀，審判要全然如尼羅河湧起，那地要被淹沒、置於水下，如同埃及的河，Am 9:5。但祂有能力兌現祂的話嗎？是的，祂當然能；祂只要摸地，地就熔化；摸山，山就冒煙；祂能輕而易舉地作成，因為：（1.）承擔這事的是萬軍之主耶和華——那手中掌握一切權能、一切受造之物都聽祂號令的神；祂既造了萬物、又賜給它們各樣的能力，就隨己意使用它們和它們的一切力量。有萬軍之耶和華與自己為敵的人，其處境極其悲慘，因為他等於有萬軍、有全受造界與他爭戰。（2.）祂是上層世界的創造者和統治者：那在天上建造樓閣的——就是天上的諸天體或諸層，一層疊一層，如同一座高大宏偉宮殿中的層層樓閣。它們是祂的，因為祂起初建造了它們——當祂說要有穹蒼之時，祂就造了穹蒼；祂如今仍在建造它們——不是因它們需要修補，而是祂以護理繼續托住它們；祂的權能就是托住諸天的柱子。那統管這些樓閣的，實在可畏，因為祂能從那裏如同從堡壘一般向仇敵開火，或向他們投下大冰雹，如同對迦南人所作的；或使那些樓閣中的裝飾——眾星——在自己的軌道中與他們爭戰，如同與西西拉爭戰一般。（3.）祂也管理和統轄我們所居住的這下層世界——這陸海地球，包括陸地和海洋，因此無論祂的仇敵打算從哪個方向逃脫，祂都必迎頭趕上；無論從哪個方向對抗，祂都必匹敵。他們想在陸上作戰嗎？祂在地上創造了祂的群眾——祂的護衛軍，聽祂調遣，用以保護祂的子民、懲罰祂的仇敵。地上一切的受造物合成一捆（旁註如此讀）——一捆箭，祂從中隨意抽取來向逼迫者發射，Ps 7:13。它們全是同一軍隊、同一身體——彼此聯繫如此緊密，如此和諧一致地行動以成就造物主的目的。他們想在海上作戰嗎？祂在那裏也必勝過他們，因為海中的水也在祂命令之下；就是海的波浪——最洶湧叛逆的水——也服從祂。祂在尋常護理的過程中召海水，使水氣上升，又以細雨和大雨——祂能力之雨——澆在地面上；這從前被提及作為我們當尋求耶和華（Am 5:8）並以祂為友的理由，此處被當作我們當敬畏祂、懼怕以祂為敵的理由。
IV. 神向以色列百姓宣告這判決是何等公義。祂不是以主權的作為毀滅他們，而是以公義的作為如此行；因為（Am 9:8），這是一個犯罪的國，耶和華的眼目注視著它，發現它確實如此；祂看見其中極大的罪惡，所以要把祂從地上除滅。請注意，當那些在名義和信仰上是聖潔的國度、是祭司的國度的國——如以色列所是的那樣——變成犯罪的國，就不能指望別的，只能被剪除和廢棄。讓犯罪的國、犯罪的家、犯罪的人也看見耶和華的眼目在他們身上——觀察他們的一切惡行，並為算賬報應之日保留其記錄。以色列既成為犯罪的國，請看神如何輕看它，Am 9:7。
（1.）祂輕看自己與它所立的關係：以色列人啊，你們豈不是對我如同古實人一般嗎？一個可悲的轉變！以色列的兒女竟變得如同古實的兒女一般！[1.] 他們自己如此；那就是他們的罪。以色列的兒女屢屲變得如同古實的兒女，實在令人大大哀歎；敬虔父母的孩子退化，變得與從前的人截然相反。那些受过良好教養、在認識神和敬畏神的知識中長大、起初走得好、前景看好的人，竟丟棄信仰，變得與最壞的人一樣。黃金何其失光！[2.] 他們在神的評價中也如此；那就是他們的刑罰。他們雖然是以色列的兒女，神卻不再看重他們——如同他們是古實的兒女一般。我們在Ps 7:1-17的標題中讀到一個名叫古實（有人理解為古實人）卻是便雅憫人的人。那些按出身和信仰是以色列兒女的人，若退化變得邪惡卑劣，在神眼中就與古實的兒女無異。這暗示不信的猶太人在彌賽亞的日子要被棄絕；因他們不接受基督的教訓，神的國就從他們奪去，他們被逐出教會、趕出約外，變得如同古實的兒女，直到今日仍是如此。這對那些稱為基督徒卻不照其名稱和信仰而活、停留在敬虔的外貌中卻活在支配性的罪惡權勢之下的人也是如此：在神眼中他們如同古實的兒女；祂拒絕他們和他們的事奉。
（2.）請看祂如何輕看自己所賜給他們的恩惠；他們以為祂不會、也不能丟棄他們、把他們與列國同等看待，因為祂為他們所作的是祂沒有為別國所作的，他們以為如此就把神綁住了，使祂永不能離開他們。「不，」祂說，「我所賜給你們的恩惠，不如你們所想的那樣獨特：我豈不是領以色列人出埃及地嗎？」是的，我確曾如此行；但我也領非利士人出迦斐託——就是迦斐託（或加帕多家），他們在那裏或是土生、或是被擄、或兩者皆是；他們被稱為迦斐託海島餘剩的人（Jer 47:4），而非利士人與迦斐託人在Ge 10:14中並列。照樣，亞蘭人從前被擄到吉珥之後，也被領出來，2Ki 16:9。請注意，神的以色列若失去其聖潔的獨特性，就必失去其特權的獨特性；那被設計為特殊恩典之恩惠的，要被放在另一種光線之下，其性質被改變，成為尋常護理的作為；信仰告白者若使自己與世界相同，神也必把他們與世界拉平。我們若不活出神的憐憫所加諸的本分，就必喪失其尊榮和安慰。
V. 在報應之日，神要何等恩慈地把寶貴的和卑賤的分別出來。惡人以色列人雖要如同惡人古實人，他們被稱為以色列人對他們毫無幫助，然而敬虔的以色列人卻不會與惡人一樣——不，審判全地的主豈不行公義嗎——祂必行比將義人與惡人同殺更公義的事，Ge 18:25。祂的眼目注視著犯罪的國，為要找出其中那些持守正直、逆流而上的人——那些為本地的可憎之事嘆息哀哭的人；他們要被標記為當存留的，因此毀滅不是全面的：我卻不將雅各家全然滅絕——不是不分好壞一概批發地毀滅，而是要如公義的審判官那樣加以分別。以色列家必被篩，如同穀被篩一般；他們要被大大催趕、搖撼、拋擲，卻仍在神手中——在祂雙手中，如同篩子在篩穀者手中一般（Am 9:9）：我必在列國中篩以色列家。無論他們被搖散到何處，神的眼目都在他們身上，並要留意把穀和糠分別出來——這正是祂篩他們的目的。（1.）他們中間那些如同堅實麥粒的義人，沒有一個會滅亡；他們要被救脫國度的共同災難，或從其中經過而被救；最小的一粒也不落在地上——不致失落和被忘記——原文也可讀作最小的石頭，因為好穀與我們所稱的輕穀相比，沉重如石。請注意，無論世上有何等的搖撼，神確實要、也必有效地保全一切真正屬祂的人不致真正悲慘。（2.）他們中間那些在罪中硬著頸項的惡人，全都必滅亡，Am 9:10。請看他們已到了何等不虔誠的地步：他們說，災禍必不追上也不迎面臨到我們。他們以為自己無辜、不該受罰，或以為他們所宣認的與神的關係會成為他們免受刑罰的豁免和保障，或以為他們能抵擋得住神的審判——他們逃得如此之快，以至審判追不上他們；他們防備得如此周密，以至審判不能迎面臨到或突襲他們。請注意，指望免罰是不悔改之人自欺的避難所。但請看此事至終如何：一切如此奉承自己、冒犯神的罪人必死在刀劍之下——戰爭的刀劍，對他們而言就是神報復的刀劍；是的，雖然他們是我民的罪人，因為他們的信仰告白不能保護他們。請注意，災禍往往最臨近那些把它推得離自己最遠的人。
영문 원문
The Certainty of the Sinner's Doom (784 BC)
¹ I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.
² Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
³ And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:
⁴ And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.
⁵ And the Lord GOD of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
⁶ It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.
⁷ Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?
⁸ Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.
⁹ For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
¹⁰ All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.
We have here the justice of God passing sentence upon a provoking people; and observe,
I. With what solemnity the sentence is passed. The prophet saw in vision the Lord standing upon the altar (Am 9:1), the altar of burnt-offerings; for the Lord has a sacrifice, and multitudes must fall as victims to his justice. He is removed from the mercy-seat between the cherubim, and stands upon the altar, the judgment-seat, on which the fire of God used to fall, to devour the sacrifices. He stands upon the altar, to show that the ground of his controversy with this people was their profanation of his holy things; here he stands to avenge the quarrel of his altar, as also to signify that the sin of the house of Israel, like that of the house of Eli, shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever, 1Sa 3:14. He stands on the altar, to prohibit sacrifice. Now the order given is, Smite the lintel of the door of the temple, the chapiter, smite it with such a blow that the posts may shake, and cut them, wound them in the head, all of them; break down the doors of God's house, or of the courts of his house, in token of this, that he is going out from it, and forsaking it, and then all judgments are breaking in upon it. Or it signifies the destruction of those in the first place that should be as the door-posts to the nation for its defence, so that, they being broken down, it becomes as a city without gates and bars. "Smite the king, who is as the lintel of the door, that the princes, who are as the posts, may shake; cut them in the head, cleave them down, all of them, as wood for the fire; and I will slay the last of them, the posterity of them, them and their families, or the least of them, them and all that are employed under them; or, I will slay them all, them and all that remain of them, till it comes to the last man; the slaughter shall be general." There is no living for those on whom God has said, I will slay them, no standing before his sword.
II. What effectual care is taken that none shall escape the execution of this sentence. This is enlarged upon here, and is intended for warning to all that provoke the Lord to jealousy. Let sinners read it, and tremble; as there is no fighting it out with God, so there is no fleeing from him. His judgments, when they come with commission, as they will overpower the strongest that think to outface them, so they will overtake the swiftest that think to out-run them, Am 9:2. Those of them that flee, and take to their heels, shall soon be out of breath, and shall not flee away out of the reach of danger; for, as sometimes the wicked flee when none pursues, so he cannot flee away when God pursues, though he would fain flee out of his hand. Nay, he that escapes of them, that thinks he has gained his point, shall not be delivered. Evil pursues sinners, and will arrest them. This is here enlarged upon by showing that wherever sinners flee for shelter from God's justice, it will overtake them, and the shelter will prove but a refuge of lies. What David says of the ubiquity of God's presence (Ps 139:7-10) is here said of the extent of God's power and justice. (1.) Hell itself, though it has its name in English from its being hilled, or covered over, or hidden, cannot hide them (Am 9:2): "Though they dig into hell, into the centre of the earth, or the darkest recesses of it, yet thence shall my hand take them, and bring them forth to be made public monuments of divine justice." The grave is a hiding-place to the righteous from the malice of the world (Job 3:17), but it shall be no hiding-place to the righteous from the justice of God; thence God's hands shall take them, when they shall rise in the great day to everlasting shame and contempt. (2.) Heaven, though it has its name from being heaved, or lifted up, shall not put them out of reach of God's judgments; as hell cannot hide them, so heaven will not. Though they climb up to heaven in their conceit, yet thence will I bring them down. Those whom God brings to heaven by his grace shall never be brought down; but those who climb thither themselves, by their own presumption, and confidence in themselves, will be brought down and filled with shame. (3.) The top of Carmel, one of the highest parts of the dust of the world in that country, shall not protect them: "Though they hide themselves there, where they imagine nobody will look for them, I will search, and take them out thence; neither the thickest bushes, nor the darkest caves, in the top of Carmel, will serve to hide them." (4.) The bottom of the sea shall not serve to conceal them; though they think to hide themselves there, even there the judgments of God shall find them out, and lay hold on them: Thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them, the crooked serpent, even the dragon that is in the sea, Isa 27:1. They shall find their plague and death where they hope to find shelter and protection; diving will stand them in no more stead than climbing. (5.) Remote countries will not befriend them, nor shall less judgments excuse them from greater (Am 9:4): Thought they go into captivity before their enemies, who carry them to places at a great distance, and mingle them with their own people, among whom they seem to be lost, yet that shall not serve their turn: Thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them, the sword of the enemy, or one another's sword. When God judges he will overcome. That which binds on all this, makes their escape impossible and their ruin inevitable, is that God will set his eyes upon them for evil, and not for good. His eyes are in every place, are upon all men and upon all the ways of men, upon some for good, to show himself strong on their behalf, but upon others for evil, to take notice of their sins (Job 13:27) and take all opportunities of punishing them for their sins. Their case is truly miserable who have the providence of God: and all the dispensations of it, against them, working for their hurt.
3. What a great and mighty God he is that passes this sentence upon them, and will take the executing of it into his own hands. Threatenings are more or less formidable according to the power of him that threatens. We laugh at impotent wrath; but the wrath of God is not so; it is omnipotent wrath. Who knows the power of it? What he had before said he would do (Am 8:8) is here repeated, that he would make the land melt and tremble, and all that dwell therein mourn, that the judgment should rise up wholly like a flood, and the country should be drowned, and laid under water, as by the flood of Egypt, Am 9:5. But is he able to make his words good? Yes, certainly he is; he does but touch the land and it melts, touch the mountains and they smoke; he can do it with the greatest ease, for, (1.) He is the Lord God of hosts, who undertakes to do it, the God who has all the power in his hand, and all creatures at his beck and call, who having made them all, and given them their several capacities, makes what use he pleases of them and all their powers. Very miserable is the case of those who have the Lord of hosts against them, for they have hosts against them, the whole creation at war with them. (2.) He is the Creator and governor of the upper world: It is he that builds his stories in the heavens, the celestial orbs, or spheres, one over another, as so many stories in a high and stately palace. They are his, for he built them at first, when he said, Let there be a firmament, and he made the firmament; and he builds them still, is continually building them, not that they need repair, but by his providence he still upholds them; his power is the pillars of heaven, by which it is borne up. Now he that has the command of those stories is certainly to be feared, for thence, as from a castle, he can fire upon his enemies, or cast upon them great hailstones, as on the Canaanites, or make the stars in their courses, the furniture of those stories, to fight against them, as against Sisera. (3.) He has the management and command of this lower world too, in which we dwell, the terraqueous globe, both earth and sea, so that, which way soever his enemies think to make their escape, he will meet them, or to make opposition, he will match them. Do they think to make a land-fight of it? He has founded his troop in the earth, his troop of guards, which he has at command, and makes use of for the protection of his subjects and the punishment of his enemies. All the creatures on earth make one bundle (as the margin reads it), one bundle of arrows, out of which he takes what he pleases to discharge against the persecutors, Ps 7:13. They are all one army, one body, so closely are they connected, and so harmoniously and so much in concert do they act for the accomplishing of their Creator's purposes. Do they think to make a sea-fight of it? He will be too hard for them there, for he has the waters of the sea at command; even its waves, the most tumultuous rebellious waters, do obey him. He calls for the waters of the sea in the course of his common providence, causes vapours to ascend out of it, and pours them out in showers, the small rain and the great rain of his strength, upon the face of the earth; this was mentioned before as a reason why we should seek the Lord (Am 5:8) and make him our friend, as it is here made a reason why we should fear him and dread having him for our enemy.
4. How justly God passes this sentence upon the people of Israel. He does not destroy them by an act of sovereignty, but by an act of righteousness; for (Am 9:8), it is a sinful kingdom, and the eyes of the Lord are upon it, discovering it to be so; he sees the great sinfulness of it, and therefore he will destroy it from off the face of the earth. Note, When those kingdoms that in name and profession were holy kingdoms, and kingdoms of priests, as Israel was, become sinful kingdoms, no other can be expected than that they should be cut off and abandoned. Let sinful kingdoms, and sinful families, and sinful persons too, see the eyes of the Lord upon them, observing all their wickedness, and reserving the notice of it for the day of reckoning and recompence. This being a sinful kingdom, see how light God makes of it, Am 9:7.
(1.) Of the relation wherein he stood to it: Are you not as children of Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? A sad change! Children of Israel become as children of the Ethiopians! [1.] They were so in themselves; that was their sin. It is a thing to be greatly lamented that the children of Israel often become as children of the Ethiopians; this children of godly parents degenerate, and become the reverse of those that went before them. Those that were well-educated, and trained up in the knowledge and fear of God, and set out well, and promised fair, throw off their profession and become as bad as the worst. How has the gold become dim! [2.] They were so in God's account, and that was their punishment. He valued them no more, though they were children of Israel, than if they had been children of the Ethiopians. We read of one in the title of Ps 7:1-17 that was Cush (an Ethiopian, as some understand it) and yet a Benjamite. Those that by birth and profession are children of Israel, if they degenerate, and become wicked and vile, are to God no more than children of the Ethiopians. This is an intimation of the rejection of the unbelieving Jews in the days of the Messiah; because they embraced not the doctrine of Christ, the kingdom of God was taken from them, they were unchurched, and cast out of covenant, became as children of the Ethiopians, and are so to this day. And it is true of those that are called Christians, but do not live up to their name and profession, that rest in the form of piety, but live under the power of reigning iniquity, that they are to God as children of the Ethiopians; he rejects them, and their services.
(2.) See how light he makes of the favours he had conferred upon them; they thought he would not, he could not, cast them off, and put them upon a level with other nations, because he had done that for them which he had not done for other nations, whereby they thought he was bound to them, so as never to leave them. "No," says he, "The favours shown to you are not so distinguishing as you think they are: Have I not brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt?" It is true I have; but I have also brought the Philistines from Caphtor, or Cappadocia, where they were natives, or captives, or both; they are called the remnant of the country of Caphtor (Jer 47:4), and the Philistim are joined with the Caphtorim, Ge 10:14. In like manner the Syrians were brought up from Kir when they had been carried away thither, 2Ki 16:9. Note, If God's Israel lose the peculiarity of their holiness, they lose the peculiarity of their privileges; and what was designed as a favour of special grace shall be set in another light, shall have its property altered, and shall become an act of common providence; if professors liken themselves to the world, God will level them with the world. And, if we live not up to the obligation of God's mercies, we forfeit the honour and comfort of them.
5. How graciously God will separate between the precious and the vile in the day of retribution. Though the wicked Israelites shall be as the wicked Ethiopians, and their being called Israelites shall stand them in no stead, yet the pious Israelites shall not be as the wicked ones; no, the Judge of all the earth will do right, more right than to slay the righteous with the wicked, Ge 18:25. His eyes are upon the sinful kingdom, to spy out those in it who preserve their integrity and swim against the stream, who sigh and cry for the abominations of their land, and they shall be marked for preservation, so that the destruction shall not be total: I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, not ruin them by wholesale and in the gross, good and bad together, but I will distinguish, as becomes a righteous judge. The house of Israel shall be sifted as corn is sifted; they shall be greatly hurried, and shaken, and tossed, but still in the hands of God, in both his hands, as the sieve in the hands of him that sifts (Am 9:9): I will sift the house of Israel among all nations. Wherever they are shaken and scattered, God will have his eye upon them, and will take care to separate between the corn and chaff, which was the thing he designed in sifting them. (1.) The righteous ones among them, that are as the solid wheat, shall none of them perish; they shall be delivered either from or through the common calamities of the kingdom; not the least grain shall fall on the earth, so as to be lost and forgotten—not the least stone (so the word is), for the good corn is weighty as a stone in comparison with that which we call light corn. Note, Whatever shakings there may be in the world, God does and will effectually provide that none who are truly his shall be truly miserable. (2.) The wicked ones among them who are hardened in their sins shall all of them perish, Am 9:10. See what a height of impiety they have come to: They say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us. They think they are innocent, and do not deserve punishment, or that the profession they make of relation to God will be their exemption and security from punishment, or that they shall be able to make their part good against the judgments of God, that they shall flee so swiftly from them that they shall not overtake them, or guard so carefully against them that they shall not prevent or surprise them. Note, Hope of impunity is the deceitful refuge of the impenitent. But see what it will come to at last: All the sinners that thus flatter themselves, and affront God, shall die by the sword, the sword of war, which to them shall be the sword of divine vengeance; yea, though they be the sinners of my people, for their profession shall not be their protection. Note, Evil is often nearest those that put it at the greatest distance from them.
11-15
Promises of Mercy (784 BC)
繁體中文
憐憫的應許（主前784年）
¹¹ 到那日，我必建立大衛倒塌的帳幕，堵住其中的破口；把那破壞的建立起來，重新修造，像古時一樣。
¹² 使以色列人得以東所餘剩的和所有稱為我名下的國。這是行這事的耶和華說的。
¹³ 耶和華說：看哪，日子將到，耕種的必追上收割的；踹葡萄的必追上撒種的；大山要滴下甜酒，所有的小山都必熔化。
¹⁴ 我必使我民以色列被擄的歸回；他們必重修荒廢的城邑居住，必栽種葡萄園，喝其中的酒；他們又必建立園子，吃其中的果子。
¹⁵ 我必將他們栽於本地，他們也不再從我所賜給他們的地上被拔出來。這是耶和華你的神說的。
眾先知都為那位作見證，這位先知在此結尾之處也為祂作見證，論到那日——那些將到的日子，在其中神要藉著設立彌賽亞的國度，為祂的教會行大事；正因猶太人棄絕了這位彌賽亞，他們的被棄才在Am 9:1-10中被預告。此處的應許被說成符合基督教會的建立，並在其中得著應驗，Ac 15:15-17。所應許的是：
I. 在彌賽亞裏，大衛的國度將被恢復（Am 9:11）；這裏稱為大衛的帳幕——就是他的家和家族，雖然偉大而固定，但與天國相比，卻如同帳幕一般卑微而可移動。教會在現今狀態中爭戰——或如牧人的帳棚為要牧養，或如士兵的帳棚為要爭戰——就是大衛的帳幕。神的帳幕被稱為大衛的帳幕，因為大衛曾渴慕並揀選永遠住在神的帳幕中，Ps 61:4。如今：1. 這帳幕已經倒塌衰殘——王室如此貧困，其權力被削弱，其尊榮被玷污、被踐踏於塵土中；因為那一脈中有許多人退化，在被擄中失去了帝王的尊嚴。其上遭受了嚴重的破壞，終至化為廢墟。猶太教會也是如此；在其末後的日子，其榮耀離去；它在純潔和興旺兩方面都如同被拆毀成廢墟的帳幕。2. 藉著耶穌基督，這些帳幕被建立、被重建。在祂裏面，神與大衛所立的約得以成就；那不僅被玷污、更是完全沉沒的家族榮耀重新復甦；其破口被堵住，其廢墟被建立起來，像古時一樣；不，基督家族屬靈的榮耀遠遠超過大衛家族在其最盛之時屬世的榮耀。在祂裏面，神與以色列所立的約也得以成就；在福音教會中，神的帳幕再次在人間被設立，並從猶太國度的廢墟中被建立起來。這話在耶路撒冷第一次大公會議上被引用，指召聚外邦人以及神從他們中間選取百姓歸於自己的名下。請注意，只要世界存在，神就必在其中有一個教會；若它在一處、在一民中倒塌，就必在別處被建立起來。
II. 那國度將被擴展，其疆域將因許多國家的加入而大大延伸（Am 9:12），使大衛家得以承受以東所餘剩的和所有稱為我名下的國——就是基督要得著他們為產業，甚至地極為祂的產業，Ps 2:8。那些從前為陌生人、為仇敵的，要成為大衛之子樂意而忠心的子民，被加添給教會，或作那些稱為我名下的——就是屬於恩典的揀選、被定意得永生的人（Ac 13:48），因為對外邦人也是如此：蒙召選上的人得著了，其餘的就頑梗了，Ro 11:7。基督捨命，為要將神四散的子民聚集歸一——此處說他們是稱為祂名下的人。這應許是賜給一切遠方的人的，就是主我們神所召的所有人，Ac 2:39。雅各把這解釋為一個應許——其餘的人要尋求主，就是凡稱為我名下的外邦人。但這應許可靠嗎？是的，行這事的耶和華如此說——祂能作，也定意要作，其恩典的權能為成就此事而投入；在祂，說與行不像在我們那樣是兩回事。
III. 在彌賽亞的國度裏必有極大的豐盛——那國所出產的一切美物的豐足供應（Am 9:13）：耕種的必追上收割的——就是每年收割如此豐盛、要收的穀物如此之多，以至於要持續整個夏天，直到秋天又該開始耕種之時；照樣，收葡萄也持續到撒種之時，葡萄如此豐盛，以至大山要滴下新酒到收葡萄者的器皿中，那些從前乾旱荒涼的小山也要被滋潤，因土壤的肥沃豐潤而熔化。將此與Joe 2:24、3:18比較。這必定被理解為屬天之事中屬靈福氣的豐盛；一切真誠被加添歸於基督和祂教會的人，都已是、也必是蒙這些福氣所祝福的；他們必因神殿中的美善——就是祂聖靈的恩典和安慰——而豐豐足足地得以飽足；他們必有餅——生命之糧——來堅固他們的心，並有神聖安慰的酒來使他們歡樂——真正的食、真正的飲——就是從神的話和神的靈臨到人靈魂的一切益處。這些福氣長久以來被局限在猶太教會的葡萄園內；神的啟示和隨之而來的權能只能在那一個範圍之內被尋見；但在福音時代，外邦世界的大山小山也要因著基督福音的傳講、信仰和以能力接受，而得著這些特權的豐富。當群眾大批歸信基督、列國一時誕生之時，當傳福音者在其講道的成功中常被帥領誇勝之時，那時耕種的追上了收割的；當外邦教會在一切口才和一切知識上以及各樣屬靈恩賜上富足之時（1Co 1:5），大山就滴下了甜酒。
IV. 彌賽亞的國度將充滿百姓；如同鄉間得著豐足，城邑也必如此；這些食物必有口來享用，Am 9:14。那些被擄的人要從被擄中歸回；他們的仇敵不能把他們扣留在被擄之地，他們自己也不願在那裏定居；餘民要歸回，並重修荒廢的城邑居住；他們要組成基督教會，照著基督之城得以設立的福音特許狀，在他們中間設立純正的教義、敬拜和紀律；他們要享受其中的益處和安慰；他們要栽種葡萄園，並建立園子。雖然大山小山滴下酒、福音教會的特權是共同設立的，他們卻要為自己圈出一份——不是要壟斷這些特權、排斥別人，而是要與別人在相交中將這些特權據為己有並加以善用；他們要喝自己葡萄園和園子的酒、吃其果子；因為那些在信仰中勞苦的人——正如人必須為自己的葡萄園和園子勞苦一般——必得著其中的樂趣和益處。此處所應許的神之以色列被擄的歸回，可指禮儀律的廢除——那律法長久以來對神的以色列而言如同奴僕的軛——以及他們被安置在基督來使之自由的自由之中，Ga 5:1。
V. 彌賽亞的國度要在世上扎根如此之深，以致永不被拔出（Am 9:15）：我必將他們栽於本地。神屬靈的以色列要被神自己的右手栽種在所分派給他們的地土上，他們也不再從其中被拔出來——如同舊猶太教會被拔出一般。神要保守他們不因全然的背道而自己從其中走出，也要保守他們不因仇敵的惡意而被從其中趕出；教會或許會被腐化，卻不會完全離棄神；或許會受逼迫，卻不會被神完全撇棄；因此陰間的門戶——無論以其誘惑或以其恐怖——都不能勝過她。有兩件事確保教會的持久：1. 神賜予它的恩賜：這是我所賜給他們的地；神必確認和維護自己的恩賜。祂賜給祂百姓的分，是那永不奪去的上好之分；祂不撤回祂的恩賜，天地一切權勢也不能使之無效。2. 教會在祂裏面的權益：祂是耶和華你的神——祂說了就必成就，以色列啊，祂是你的神！祂必作你的神治理直到萬代。因為祂活著，教會也必活著。
영문 원문
Promises of Mercy (784 BC)
¹¹ In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
¹² That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.
¹³ Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman 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.
¹⁴ And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
¹⁵ And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.
To him to whom all the prophets bear witness this prophet, here in the close, bears his testimony, and speaks of that day, those days that shall come, in which God will do great things for his church, by the setting up of the kingdom of the Messiah, for the rejecting of which the rejection of the Jews was foretold in the Am 9:1-10. The promise here is said to agree to the planting of the Christian church, and in that to be fulfilled, Ac 15:15-17. It is promised,
I. That in the Messiah the kingdom of David shall be restored (Am 9:11); the tabernacle of David it is called, that is, his house and family, which, though great and fixed, yet, in comparison with the kingdom of heaven, was mean and movable as a tabernacle. The church militant, in its present state, dwelling as in shepherds' tents to feed, as in soldiers' tents to fight, is the tabernacle of David. God's tabernacle is called the tabernacle of David because David desired and chose to dwell in God's tabernacle for ever, Ps 61:4. Now, 1. These tabernacles had fallen and gone to decay, the royal family was so impoverished, its power abridged, its honour stained, and laid in the dust; for many of that race degenerated, and in the captivity it lost the imperial dignity. Sore breaches were made upon it, and at length it was laid in ruins. So it was with the church of the Jews; in the latter days of it its glory departed; it was like a tabernacle broken down and brought to ruin, in respect both of purity and of prosperity. 2. By Jesus Christ these tabernacles were raised and rebuilt. In him God's covenant with David had its accomplishment; and the glory of that house, which was not only sullied, but quite sunk, revived again; the breaches of it were closed and its ruins raised up, as in the days of old; nay, the spiritual glory of the family of Christ far exceeded the temporal glory of the family of David when it was at its height. In him also God's covenant with Israel had its accomplishment, and in the gospel-church the tabernacle of God was set up among men again, and raised up out of the ruins of the Jewish state. This is quoted in the first council at Jerusalem as referring to the calling in of the Gentiles and God's taking out of them a people for his name. Note, While the world stands God will have a church in it, and, if it be fallen down in one place and among one people, it shall be raised up elsewhere.
II. That that kingdom shall be enlarged, and the territories of it shall extend far, by the accession of many countries to it (Am 9:12), that the house of David may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, that is, that Christ may have them given him for his inheritance, even the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession, Ps 2:8. Those that had been strangers and enemies shall become willing faithful subjects to the Son of David, shall be added to the church, or those of them that are called by my name, saith the Lord, that is, that belong to the election of grace and are ordained to eternal life (Ac 13:48), for it is true of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews that the election hath obtained and the rest were blinded, Ro 11:7. Christ died to gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad, here said to be those that were called by his name. The promise is to all that are afar off, even as many of them as the Lord our God shall call, Ac 2:39. St. James expounds this as a promise that the residue of men should seek after the Lord, even all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called. But may the promise be depended upon? Yes, the Lord says this, who does this, who can do it, who has determined to do it, the power of whose grace is engaged for the doing of it, and with whom saying and doing are not two things, as they are with us.
III. That in the kingdom of the Messiah there shall be great plenty, an abundance of all good things that the country produces (Am 9:13): The ploughman shall overtake the reaper, that is, there shall be such a plentiful harvest every year, and so much corn to be gathered in, that it shall last all summer, even till autumn, when it is time to begin to plough again; and in like manner the vintage shall continue till seed-time, and there shall be such abundance of grapes that even the mountains shall drop new wine into the vessels of the grape-gatherers, and the hills that were dry and barren shall be moistened and shall melt with the fatness or mellowness (as we call it) of the soil. Compare this with Joe 2:24,3:18. This must certainly be understood of the abundance of spiritual blessings in heavenly things, which all those are, and shall be, blessed with, who are in sincerity added to Christ and his church; they shall be abundantly replenished with the goodness of God's house, with the graces and comforts of his Spirit; they shall have bread, the bread of life, to strengthen their hearts, and the wine of divine consolations to make them glad-meat indeed and drink indeed—all the benefit that comes to the souls of men from the word and Spirit of God. These had been long confined to the vineyard of the Jewish church; divine revelation, and the power that attended it, were to be found only within that enclosure; but in gospel-times the mountains and hills of the Gentile world shall be enriched with these privileges by the gospel of Christ preached, and professed, and received in the power of it. When great multitudes were converted to the faith of Christ, and nations were born at once, when the preachers of the gospel were always caused to triumph in the success of their preaching, then the ploughman overtook the reaper; and when, the Gentile churches were enriched in all utterance, and in all knowledge, and all manner of spiritual gifts (1Co 1:5), then the mountains dropped sweet wine.
IV. That the kingdom of the Messiah shall be well peopled; as the country shall be replenished, so shall the cities be; there shall be mouths for this meat, Am 9:14. Those that were carried captives shall be brought back out of their captivity; their enemies shall not be able to detain them in the land of their captivity, nor shall they themselves incline to settle in it, but the remnant shall return, and shall build the waste cities and inhabit them, shall form themselves into Christian churches and set up pure doctrine, worship, and discipline among them, according to the gospel charter, by which Christ's cities are incorporated; and they shall enjoy the benefit and comfort thereof; they shall plant vineyards, and make gardens. Though the mountains and hills drop wine, and the privileges of the gospel-church are laid in common, yet they shall enclose for themselves, not to monopolize these privileges, to the exclusion of others, but to appropriate and improve these privileges, in communion with others, and they shall drink the wine, and eat the fruit, of their own vineyards and gardens; for those that take pains in religion, as men must do about their vineyards and gardens, shall have both the pleasure and profit of it. The bringing again of the captivity of God's Israel, which is here promised, may refer to the cancelling of the ceremonial law, which had been long to God's Israel as a yoke of bondage, and the investing of them in the liberty wherewith Christ came to make his church free, Ga 5:1.
V. That the kingdom of the Messiah shall take such deep rooting in the world as never to be rooted out of it (Am 9:15): I will plant them upon their land. God's spiritual Israel shall be planted by the right hand of God himself upon the land assigned them, and they shall no more be pulled up out of it, as the old Jewish church was. God will preserve them from throwing themselves out of it by a total apostasy, and will preserve them from being thrown out of it by malice of their enemies; the church may be corrupted, but shall not quite forsake God, may be persecuted, but shall not quite be forsaken of God, so that the gates of hell, neither with their temptations nor with their terrors, shall prevail against it. Two things secure the perpetuity of the church:—1. God's grants to it: It is the land which I have given them; and God will confirm and maintain his own grants. The part he has given to his people is that good part which shall never be taken from them; he will not revoke his grant, and all the powers of earth and hell shall not invalidate it. 2. Its interest in him: He is the Lord thy God, who has said it, and will make it good, thine, O Israel! who shall reign for ever as thine unto all generations. And because he lives the church shall live also.
本章我們看到：I. 所威脅的審判——罪人不能逃脫的審判（Am 9:1-4），這審判將由全能的權能來施行（Am 9:5-6），這百姓以色列作為犯罪的百姓實在配受（Am 9:7-8）；然而這不是他們國家徹底的滅亡（Am 9:8），因為餘剩的敬虔人要逃脫，Am 9:9。但惡人必滅亡，Am 9:10。II. 所應許的憐憫——將在末後的日子賜下的（Am 9:11-15），這從其被應用於彌賽亞的日子可以看出，Ac 15:16。在前述一切責備和威嚇之後，全書以這些安慰的應許作結。