Verse
Context
A Call to Repentance
13Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God, because the grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. 14Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
Sermons
David Wilkerson
Al Whittinghill
Don McClure
James A. Stewart
Shane IdlemanShane IdlemanShane IdlemanSummary
Commentary
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Matthew Henry
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Sanctify . . . a fast--Appoint a solemn fast. solemn assembly--literally, a "day of restraint" or cessation from work, so that all might give themselves to supplication (Joe 2:15-16; Sa1 7:5-6; Ch2 20:3-13). elders--The contrast to "children" (Joe 2:16) requires age to be intended, though probably elders in office are included. Being the people's leaders in guilt, they ought to be their leaders also in repentance.
John Gill Bible Commentary
Sanctify yea a fast,.... This is spoken to the priests, whose business it was to appoint a fast, as the Targum renders it; or to set apart a time for such religious service, as the word signifies; and to keep it holy themselves, and see that it was so kept by others: Kimchi interprets it, prepare the people for a fast; give them notice of it, that they may be prepared for it: call a solemn assembly; of all the people of the land later mentioned: or, "proclaim a restraint" (w); a time of ceasing, as a fast day should be from all servile work, that attendance may be given to the duties of it, prayer and humiliation: gather the elders: meaning not those in age, but in office: and all the inhabitants of the land; not the magistrates only, though first and principally, as examples, who had been deeply concerned in guilt; but the common people also, even all of them: into the house of the Lord your God; the temple, the court of the Israelites, where they were to go and supplicate the Lord, when such a calamity as this of locusts and caterpillars were upon them; and where they might hope the Lord would hear them, and remove his judgments from them, Kg1 8:37; and cry unto the Lord; in prayer, with vehemence and earnestness of soul. (w) "vocate retentionem", Montanus; "proclamate diem interdicti", Junius & Tremellius, Heb. "interdictum", Piscator; "edicite coetum cum cessatione", Cocceius.
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary
We have observed abundance of tears shed for the destruction of the fruits of the earth by the locusts; now here we have those tears turned into the right channel, that of repentance and humiliation before God. The judgment was very heavy, and here they are directed to own the hand of God in it, his mighty hand, and to humble themselves under it. Here is, I. A proclamation issued out for a general fast. The priests are ordered to appoint one; they must not only mourn themselves, but they must call upon others to mourn too: "Sanctify a fast; let some time be set apart from all worldly business to be spent in the exercises of religion, in the expressions of repentance and other extraordinary instances of devotion." Note, Under public judgments there ought to be public humiliations; for by them the Lord God calls to weeping and mourning. With all the marks of sorrow and shame sin must be confessed and bewailed, the righteous of God must be acknowledged, and his favour implored. Observe what is to be done by a nation at such a time. 1. A day is to be appointed for this purpose, a day of restraint (so the margin reads it), a day in which people must be restrained from their other ordinary business (that they may more closely attend God's service), and from all bodily refreshments; for, 2. It must be a fast, a religious abstaining from meat and drink, further than is of absolute necessity. The king of Nineveh appointed a fast, in which they were to taste nothing, Jon 3:7. Hereby we own ourselves unworthy of our necessary food, and that we have forfeited it and deserve to be wholly deprived of it, we punish ourselves and mortify the body, which has been the occasion of sin, we keep it in a frame fit to serve the soul in serving God, and, by the appetite's craving food, the desires of the soul towards that which is better than life, and all the supports of it, are excited. This was in a special manner seasonable now that God was depriving them of their meat and drink; for hereby they accommodated themselves to the affliction they were under. When God says, You shall fast, it is time to say, We will fast. 3. There must be a solemn assembly. The elders and the people, magistrates and subjects, must be gathered together, even all the inhabitants of the land, that God might be honoured by their public humiliations, that they might thereby take the more shame to themselves, and that they might excite and stir up one another to the religious duties of the day. All had contributed to the national guilt, all shared in the national calamity, and therefore they must all join in the professions of repentance. 4. They must come together in the temple, the house of the Lord their God, because that was the house of prayer, and there they might be hope to meet with God because it was the place which he had chosen to put his name there, there they might hope to speed because it was a type of Christ and his mediation. Thus they interested themselves in Solomon's prayer for the acceptance of all the requests that should be put up in or towards this house, in which their present case was particularly mentioned. Kg1 7:37, If there be locust, if there be caterpillar. 5. They must sanctify this fast, must observe it in a religious manner, with sincere devotion. What is a fast worth if it be not sanctified? 6. They must cry unto the Lord. To him they must make their complaint and offer up their supplication. When we cry in our affliction we must cry to the Lord; this is fasting to him, Zac 7:5. II. Some considerations suggested to induce them to proclaim this fast and to observe it strictly. 1. God was beginning a controversy with them. It is time to cry unto the Lord, for the day of the Lord is at hand, Joe 1:15. Either they mean the continuance and consequences of this present judgment which they now saw but breaking in upon them, or some greater judgments which this was but a preface to. However it be, this they are taught to make the matter of their lamentation: Alas, for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand. Therefore cry to God. For, (1.) "The day of his judgment is very near, it is at hand; it will not slumber, and therefore you should not. It is time to fast and pray, for you have but a little time to turn yourselves in." (2.) It will be very terrible; there is no escaping it, no resisting it: As a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. See Isa 13:6. It is not a correction, but a destruction; and it comes from the hand, not of a weak creature, but of the Almighty; and who knows (nay, who does not know) the power of his anger? Whither should we go with our cries but to him from whom the judgment we dread comes? There is no fleeing from him but by fleeing to him, no escaping destruction from the Almighty but by making our submission and supplication to the Almighty; this is taking hold on his strength, that we may make peace, Isa 27:5. 2. They saw themselves already under the tokens of his displeasure. It is time to fast and pray, for their distress is very great, Joe 1:16. (1.) Let them look into their own houses, and was no plenty there, as used to be. Those who kept a good table were now obliged to retrench: Is not the meat cut off before our eyes? If, when God's hand is lifted up, men will not see, when his hand is laid on they shall see. Is not the meat many a time cut off before our eyes? Let us then labour for that spiritual meat which is not before our eyes, and which cannot be cut off. (2.) Let them look into God's house, and see the effects of the judgment there; joy and gladness were cut off from the house of God. Note, The house of our God is the proper place of joy and gladness; when David goes to the altar of God, it is to God my exceeding joy; but when joy and gladness are cut off from God's house, either by corruption of holy things or the persecution of holy persons, when serious godly decays and love waxes cold, then it time to cry to the Lord, time to cry, Alas! 3. The prophet returns to describe the grievousness of the calamity, in some particulars of it. Corn and cattle are the husbandman's staple commodities; now here he is deprived of both. (1.) The caterpillars have devoured the corn, Joe 1:17. The garners, which they used to fill with corn, are laid desolate, and the barns broken down, because the corn has withered, and the owners think it not worth while to be at the charge of repairing them when they have nothing to put in them, nor are likely to have any thing; for the seed it rotten under the clods, either through too much rain or (which was the more common case in Canaan) for want of rain, or perhaps some insects under ground ate it up. When one crop fails the husbandman hopes the next may make it up; but here they despair of that, the seedness being as bad as the harvest. (2.) The cattle perish too for want of grass (Joe 1:18): How do the beasts groan! This the prophet takes notice of, that the people might be affected with it and lay to heart the judgment. The groans of the cattle should soften their hard and impenitent hearts. The herds of cattle, the large cattle (black cattle we call them), are perplexed; nay, even the flocks of sheep, which will live upon a common and be content with very short grass, are made desolate. See here the inferior creatures suffering for our transgression, and groaning under the double burden of being serviceable to the sin of man and subject to the curse of God for it. Cursed is the ground for thy sake. III. The prophet stirs them up to cry to God, with the consideration of the examples given them for it. 1. His own example (Joe 1:19): O Lord! to thee will I cry. He would not put them upon doing that which he would not resolve to do himself; nay, whether they would do it or no, he would. Note, If God's ministers cannot prevail to affect others with the discoveries of divine wrath, yet they ought to be themselves affected with them; if they cannot bring others to cry to God, yet they themselves be much in prayer. In time of trouble we must not only pray, but cry, must be fervent and importunate in prayer; and to God, from whom both the destruction is and the salvation must be, ought our cry to be always directed. That which engaged him to cry to God was, not so much any personal affliction, as the national calamity: The fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, which seems to be meant of some parching scorching heat of the sun, which was as fire to the fruits of the earth; it consumed them all. Note, When God calls to contend by fire it concerns those that have any interest in heaven to cry mightily to him for relief. See Num 11:2; Amo 7:4, Amo 7:5. 2. The example of the inferior creatures: "The beasts of the field do not only groan, but cry unto thee, Joe 1:20. They appeal to thy pity, according to their capacity, and as if, though they are not capable of a rational and revealed religion, yet they had something of dependence upon God by natural instinct." At least, when they groan by reason of their calamity, he is pleased to interpret it as if they cried to him; much more will he put a favourable construction upon the groanings of his own children, though sometimes so feeble that they cannot be uttered, Rom 8:26. The beasts are here said to cry unto God, as from him the lions seek their meat (Psa 104:21) and the young ravens, Job 38:41. The complaints of the brute-creatures here are for want of water (The rivers are dried up, through the excessive heat), and for want of grass, for the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness. And what better are those than beasts who never cry to God but for corn and wine, and complain of nothing but the want of delight of sense? Yet their crying to God in those cases shames the stupidity of those who cry not to God in any case.
A Call to Repentance
13Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God, because the grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. 14Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
The Reproach of the Solemn Assembly
By David Wilkerson4.9K55:00JOL 1:14JOL 2:1MIC 6:8HAB 2:20ZEP 3:17HAG 1:7MAT 6:33In this sermon, the speaker expresses concern about the negative effects of the prosperity gospel and false prophets on believers. He describes witnessing people engaging in strange behaviors during church services, such as falling on the floor, laughing hysterically, and writhing like snakes. The speaker criticizes evangelists who claim to have the power to knock people down or impart the Holy Spirit through physical actions. He also highlights the spread of this distorted gospel message, including in South America and Cuba, and warns against the dangers of Ponzi and pyramid schemes within the church.
An Urgent Call to Prayer
By Al Whittinghill2.3K55:27Prayer LifeUrgency of PrayerCorporate Prayer2CH 7:14JOL 1:14MAT 18:20LUK 11:9JHN 14:13ACT 1:14EPH 6:18PHP 1:191TH 5:16JAS 5:16Al Whittinghill emphasizes the urgent need for prayer within the church, highlighting the significance of a Solemn Assembly as a time for believers to come together, set aside personal agendas, and seek God's heart for revival. He reflects on the early church's commitment to prayer and how it was the foundation for their growth and impact, urging the congregation to prioritize prayer as the essential work of the church. Whittinghill calls for a collective response to God's call, encouraging everyone to participate in prayer meetings and to recognize the power of corporate prayer in overcoming challenges and fulfilling God's purposes.
Forgiveness
By Don McClure1.8K49:24LEV 23:29JOL 1:14MAT 6:33In this sermon, the speaker discusses the concept of forgiveness and how it relates to our relationship with God. He emphasizes that forgiveness is not a suggestion, but a commandment from God. He uses the parable of the servant who owed a large debt to his king to illustrate the importance of forgiveness. The speaker also touches on the topics of prayer, fasting, and giving, highlighting their significance in deepening our relationship with God. Overall, the sermon encourages listeners to embrace forgiveness and seek a closer connection with God through these spiritual practices.
Ireland Etc. & Revival
By James A. Stewart1.6K59:28Ireland RevivalJOL 1:14JOL 2:15AMO 9:13MAT 6:33In this sermon, the speaker shares his experience of witnessing powerful prayer warriors who were deeply devoted to God. He emphasizes the importance of prayer and recounts a dangerous situation he faced while preaching the gospel in South Ireland. The speaker requests prayers for the missionaries working in Ireland and highlights the challenges they face. In the second part of the sermon, the speaker acknowledges the busy and complex life in America but encourages the audience to take advantage of the peaceful environment in the church building to pray. He contrasts this with the underground church in Russia, where believers pray in difficult conditions but experience a powerful move of God.
Call a Sacred Assembly
By Shane Idleman90646:58JOL 1:14JOL 2:28This sermon emphasizes the need to call a sacred assembly, to gather together in prayer, fasting, and mourning for the direction of the church and the nation. It highlights the importance of genuine repentance, breaking our hearts before God, and returning to Him with fasting, weeping, and mourning. The message warns against confusing God's patience with approval and calls for a revival through heartfelt repentance and seeking God's presence.
3 Characteristics of a Sacred Assembly
By Shane Idleman3024:13RepentanceSacred Assembly2CH 7:14PSA 51:17ISA 58:6JOL 1:14JOL 2:12ZEC 7:5MAT 5:4ROM 12:2JAS 4:81PE 5:6Shane Idleman emphasizes the significance of a Sacred Assembly, highlighting three key characteristics: the necessity of fasting to prepare the heart, the importance of gathering in a holy place to seek God, and the need for genuine repentance and brokenness before the Lord. He draws from the book of Joel, urging believers to turn to God with all their hearts, recognizing the urgency of the spiritual condition of society and the need for heartfelt prayer and worship. Idleman calls for a collective response to the moral decline around us, encouraging a deep, sincere connection with God that transcends mere ritualistic practices.
The Destabilization of America
By Shane Idleman2149:35The Role of the Church in SocietyRepentance2CH 7:14PRO 3:5ISA 43:2JER 29:11JOL 1:14MAT 5:14ROM 12:22TI 3:16HEB 10:241PE 5:8Shane Idleman addresses the destabilization of America, emphasizing the urgent need for the church to speak out on pressing issues rather than relying on secular media for guidance. He highlights the importance of repentance and returning to the foundational truths of the Gospel, warning against the dangers of the social gospel that prioritizes good works over individual salvation. Idleman calls for a revival of the fear of God in the nation, urging Christians to stabilize their lives and communities through accuracy, accountability, and the authority of God's Word. He stresses that true change in America can only come through the blood of Jesus and a collective return to faith and repentance.
Mis Direction - Failure Is Not Final
By Shane Idleman1949:45FastingGod's PromisesGEN 15:6PRO 16:9ISA 64:1JOL 1:14MAT 6:16ROM 8:28ROM 8:38Shane Idleman emphasizes that failure is not final and encourages believers to seek God's direction through fasting and prayer, especially in light of the moral decline in society. He calls for a corporate fast for the nation, urging individuals to starve their flesh and seek a deeper relationship with God. Idleman highlights the importance of believing in God's promises, even when circumstances seem dire, and reminds the congregation that misdirection can lead to growth and learning. He reassures that God hears the cries of His people and that nothing can separate them from His love, encouraging them to strengthen themselves in the Lord amidst challenges.
An Unforgettable Illustration - the Power of Prayer and Fasting
By Shane Idleman1807:49FastingPrayerNEH 1:4EST 4:16ISA 58:6JER 29:12JOL 1:14MAT 17:21Shane Idleman emphasizes the transformative power of prayer and fasting, illustrating that true desperation for God can be gauged by our willingness to sacrifice meals for spiritual growth. He likens prayer to a tool that can accomplish tasks, while fasting serves as a powerful sledgehammer against strongholds and spiritual battles. Idleman references biblical figures like Joel, Esther, and Nehemiah, who called for fasting in times of crisis, highlighting that intercession can change the course of events. He encourages believers to approach God with urgency and sincerity, reminding them that access to the Father has been granted through Jesus. The sermon concludes with a call to corporate prayer, urging the congregation to seek God earnestly.
A Prophets Heart Cry: Call a Sacred Assembly
By Shane Idleman1830:23Unity in PrayerDesperation for GodJOL 1:14ZEP 2:1Shane Idleman emphasizes the urgent need for a Sacred Assembly, drawing from the book of Joel, where God calls His people to gather, fast, and cry out in desperation for His mercy. He highlights the importance of unity, purity, and a heartfelt pursuit of God, especially in times of national crisis and personal turmoil. Idleman warns against complacency and encourages believers to seek God with all their hearts, reminding them that true revival comes from sincere prayer and repentance. He stresses that God is gracious and merciful, willing to relent from judgment if His people turn back to Him. The sermon serves as a call to action for the church to engage in fervent prayer and seek God's intervention in their lives and nation.
The Cure for Chaos - Call a Sacred Assembly
By Shane Idleman1742:26Fasting and PrayerRepentance2CH 7:142CH 20:3ISA 58:6JOL 1:14MAT 6:16LUK 9:23ROM 12:12TI 1:7JAS 4:81PE 5:6Shane Idleman emphasizes the urgent need for the church to reclaim its voice and boldly proclaim God's truth in a chaotic world. He calls for a Sacred Assembly, urging believers to prepare their hearts through fasting and prayer, as a means to invite God's presence and power into their lives and communities. Idleman highlights the importance of repentance and unity among believers, stressing that true revival begins with individuals turning back to God. He warns against complacency and the dangers of allowing the flesh to dominate, advocating for a return to holiness and a passionate pursuit of God's Spirit. Ultimately, he reminds the congregation that hope and redemption are found in Jesus Christ alone.
Transformed by Fasting: One Pastor's 40 Day Fasting Journey
By Shane Idleman1717:15Spiritual AwakeningFasting2CH 7:14JOL 1:14MAT 6:16Shane Idleman shares his transformative 40-day fasting journey, emphasizing the urgent need for spiritual awakening in America, which he describes as suffering from 'stage four spiritual cancer.' He argues that fasting and prayer are essential remedies for the spiritual decline affecting all areas of life, and that desperate times call for desperate measures. Idleman encourages believers to prepare their hearts for God's intervention, highlighting the physical and spiritual benefits of fasting. He reflects on the importance of humility and seeking God, asserting that true healing requires a return to prayer and fasting. Ultimately, he calls for a corporate fast to ignite revival and restore hope in a broken nation.
The Gathering - Call a Sacred Assembly
By Shane Idleman1346:58RepentanceSacred AssemblyJOL 1:14JOL 2:12Shane Idleman emphasizes the urgent need for a sacred assembly among God's people to pray, fast, and mourn for the state of the church and the nation. He reflects on the historical practice of calling the community together to seek God's face during times of moral decay and spiritual apathy. Idleman shares his personal journey and the burden he feels as a preacher, distinguishing between the roles of pastor and preacher, and calling for genuine repentance and humility. He warns against the dangers of complacency and the necessity of afflicting the soul to experience true revival. Ultimately, he urges the congregation to return to God, promising that He will pour out His Spirit upon those who seek Him earnestly.
The Cure for Judgment - Call a Sacred Assembly
By Shane Idleman1251:34RepentancePrayer and FastingHumility2CH 7:14JOL 1:14JOL 2:12Shane Idleman emphasizes the urgent need for repentance and humility in the face of God's judgment, urging believers to call a sacred assembly to seek God's mercy. He explains that judgment is God's response to sin, and that both individuals and nations must acknowledge their wrongdoings and turn back to God to avert impending judgment. Idleman highlights the importance of lamenting over sin and the necessity of fasting and prayer as means to reconnect with God. He calls on the church to awaken from spiritual slumber and actively engage in seeking God's presence and restoration. Ultimately, he reassures that God is willing to restore what has been lost if His people genuinely return to Him.
"God Ignites the Embers of Cleansing"
By Mark D. Partin0LEV 23:34NUM 29:35DEU 16:8PRO 28:13JOL 1:14JOL 2:12Mark D. Partin emphasizes the importance of spiritual preparedness for revival, highlighting the necessity of a pure heart and a cleansed spirit in order for God to hear our prayers and for us to hear from God. Through the concept of Solemn Assemblies, the Body of Christ is urged to come together to seek God's face, deal with corporate sins, and repent wholeheartedly. The passages from Joel vividly illustrate the urgency and significance of such gatherings, calling for fasting, weeping, and mourning as a means to return to God's grace and compassion.
Warning: This Article Will Offend Many Christians
By Shane Idleman02CH 7:14PSA 51:17JOL 1:14JOL 2:122TI 3:1Shane Idleman delivers a powerful sermon on the urgent need for revival in the church and the nation, emphasizing the importance of repentance, truth, and a genuine relationship with God. He highlights the current state of moral decay, self-centeredness, brutality, and perversion that plagues society, calling for a return to God's truth and righteousness. Idleman draws parallels between the state of America today and the book of Joel in the Old Testament, urging for fasting, weeping, and mourning as a means to seek God's mercy, grace, and revival.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Matthew Henry
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Sanctify . . . a fast--Appoint a solemn fast. solemn assembly--literally, a "day of restraint" or cessation from work, so that all might give themselves to supplication (Joe 2:15-16; Sa1 7:5-6; Ch2 20:3-13). elders--The contrast to "children" (Joe 2:16) requires age to be intended, though probably elders in office are included. Being the people's leaders in guilt, they ought to be their leaders also in repentance.
John Gill Bible Commentary
Sanctify yea a fast,.... This is spoken to the priests, whose business it was to appoint a fast, as the Targum renders it; or to set apart a time for such religious service, as the word signifies; and to keep it holy themselves, and see that it was so kept by others: Kimchi interprets it, prepare the people for a fast; give them notice of it, that they may be prepared for it: call a solemn assembly; of all the people of the land later mentioned: or, "proclaim a restraint" (w); a time of ceasing, as a fast day should be from all servile work, that attendance may be given to the duties of it, prayer and humiliation: gather the elders: meaning not those in age, but in office: and all the inhabitants of the land; not the magistrates only, though first and principally, as examples, who had been deeply concerned in guilt; but the common people also, even all of them: into the house of the Lord your God; the temple, the court of the Israelites, where they were to go and supplicate the Lord, when such a calamity as this of locusts and caterpillars were upon them; and where they might hope the Lord would hear them, and remove his judgments from them, Kg1 8:37; and cry unto the Lord; in prayer, with vehemence and earnestness of soul. (w) "vocate retentionem", Montanus; "proclamate diem interdicti", Junius & Tremellius, Heb. "interdictum", Piscator; "edicite coetum cum cessatione", Cocceius.
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary
We have observed abundance of tears shed for the destruction of the fruits of the earth by the locusts; now here we have those tears turned into the right channel, that of repentance and humiliation before God. The judgment was very heavy, and here they are directed to own the hand of God in it, his mighty hand, and to humble themselves under it. Here is, I. A proclamation issued out for a general fast. The priests are ordered to appoint one; they must not only mourn themselves, but they must call upon others to mourn too: "Sanctify a fast; let some time be set apart from all worldly business to be spent in the exercises of religion, in the expressions of repentance and other extraordinary instances of devotion." Note, Under public judgments there ought to be public humiliations; for by them the Lord God calls to weeping and mourning. With all the marks of sorrow and shame sin must be confessed and bewailed, the righteous of God must be acknowledged, and his favour implored. Observe what is to be done by a nation at such a time. 1. A day is to be appointed for this purpose, a day of restraint (so the margin reads it), a day in which people must be restrained from their other ordinary business (that they may more closely attend God's service), and from all bodily refreshments; for, 2. It must be a fast, a religious abstaining from meat and drink, further than is of absolute necessity. The king of Nineveh appointed a fast, in which they were to taste nothing, Jon 3:7. Hereby we own ourselves unworthy of our necessary food, and that we have forfeited it and deserve to be wholly deprived of it, we punish ourselves and mortify the body, which has been the occasion of sin, we keep it in a frame fit to serve the soul in serving God, and, by the appetite's craving food, the desires of the soul towards that which is better than life, and all the supports of it, are excited. This was in a special manner seasonable now that God was depriving them of their meat and drink; for hereby they accommodated themselves to the affliction they were under. When God says, You shall fast, it is time to say, We will fast. 3. There must be a solemn assembly. The elders and the people, magistrates and subjects, must be gathered together, even all the inhabitants of the land, that God might be honoured by their public humiliations, that they might thereby take the more shame to themselves, and that they might excite and stir up one another to the religious duties of the day. All had contributed to the national guilt, all shared in the national calamity, and therefore they must all join in the professions of repentance. 4. They must come together in the temple, the house of the Lord their God, because that was the house of prayer, and there they might be hope to meet with God because it was the place which he had chosen to put his name there, there they might hope to speed because it was a type of Christ and his mediation. Thus they interested themselves in Solomon's prayer for the acceptance of all the requests that should be put up in or towards this house, in which their present case was particularly mentioned. Kg1 7:37, If there be locust, if there be caterpillar. 5. They must sanctify this fast, must observe it in a religious manner, with sincere devotion. What is a fast worth if it be not sanctified? 6. They must cry unto the Lord. To him they must make their complaint and offer up their supplication. When we cry in our affliction we must cry to the Lord; this is fasting to him, Zac 7:5. II. Some considerations suggested to induce them to proclaim this fast and to observe it strictly. 1. God was beginning a controversy with them. It is time to cry unto the Lord, for the day of the Lord is at hand, Joe 1:15. Either they mean the continuance and consequences of this present judgment which they now saw but breaking in upon them, or some greater judgments which this was but a preface to. However it be, this they are taught to make the matter of their lamentation: Alas, for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand. Therefore cry to God. For, (1.) "The day of his judgment is very near, it is at hand; it will not slumber, and therefore you should not. It is time to fast and pray, for you have but a little time to turn yourselves in." (2.) It will be very terrible; there is no escaping it, no resisting it: As a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. See Isa 13:6. It is not a correction, but a destruction; and it comes from the hand, not of a weak creature, but of the Almighty; and who knows (nay, who does not know) the power of his anger? Whither should we go with our cries but to him from whom the judgment we dread comes? There is no fleeing from him but by fleeing to him, no escaping destruction from the Almighty but by making our submission and supplication to the Almighty; this is taking hold on his strength, that we may make peace, Isa 27:5. 2. They saw themselves already under the tokens of his displeasure. It is time to fast and pray, for their distress is very great, Joe 1:16. (1.) Let them look into their own houses, and was no plenty there, as used to be. Those who kept a good table were now obliged to retrench: Is not the meat cut off before our eyes? If, when God's hand is lifted up, men will not see, when his hand is laid on they shall see. Is not the meat many a time cut off before our eyes? Let us then labour for that spiritual meat which is not before our eyes, and which cannot be cut off. (2.) Let them look into God's house, and see the effects of the judgment there; joy and gladness were cut off from the house of God. Note, The house of our God is the proper place of joy and gladness; when David goes to the altar of God, it is to God my exceeding joy; but when joy and gladness are cut off from God's house, either by corruption of holy things or the persecution of holy persons, when serious godly decays and love waxes cold, then it time to cry to the Lord, time to cry, Alas! 3. The prophet returns to describe the grievousness of the calamity, in some particulars of it. Corn and cattle are the husbandman's staple commodities; now here he is deprived of both. (1.) The caterpillars have devoured the corn, Joe 1:17. The garners, which they used to fill with corn, are laid desolate, and the barns broken down, because the corn has withered, and the owners think it not worth while to be at the charge of repairing them when they have nothing to put in them, nor are likely to have any thing; for the seed it rotten under the clods, either through too much rain or (which was the more common case in Canaan) for want of rain, or perhaps some insects under ground ate it up. When one crop fails the husbandman hopes the next may make it up; but here they despair of that, the seedness being as bad as the harvest. (2.) The cattle perish too for want of grass (Joe 1:18): How do the beasts groan! This the prophet takes notice of, that the people might be affected with it and lay to heart the judgment. The groans of the cattle should soften their hard and impenitent hearts. The herds of cattle, the large cattle (black cattle we call them), are perplexed; nay, even the flocks of sheep, which will live upon a common and be content with very short grass, are made desolate. See here the inferior creatures suffering for our transgression, and groaning under the double burden of being serviceable to the sin of man and subject to the curse of God for it. Cursed is the ground for thy sake. III. The prophet stirs them up to cry to God, with the consideration of the examples given them for it. 1. His own example (Joe 1:19): O Lord! to thee will I cry. He would not put them upon doing that which he would not resolve to do himself; nay, whether they would do it or no, he would. Note, If God's ministers cannot prevail to affect others with the discoveries of divine wrath, yet they ought to be themselves affected with them; if they cannot bring others to cry to God, yet they themselves be much in prayer. In time of trouble we must not only pray, but cry, must be fervent and importunate in prayer; and to God, from whom both the destruction is and the salvation must be, ought our cry to be always directed. That which engaged him to cry to God was, not so much any personal affliction, as the national calamity: The fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, which seems to be meant of some parching scorching heat of the sun, which was as fire to the fruits of the earth; it consumed them all. Note, When God calls to contend by fire it concerns those that have any interest in heaven to cry mightily to him for relief. See Num 11:2; Amo 7:4, Amo 7:5. 2. The example of the inferior creatures: "The beasts of the field do not only groan, but cry unto thee, Joe 1:20. They appeal to thy pity, according to their capacity, and as if, though they are not capable of a rational and revealed religion, yet they had something of dependence upon God by natural instinct." At least, when they groan by reason of their calamity, he is pleased to interpret it as if they cried to him; much more will he put a favourable construction upon the groanings of his own children, though sometimes so feeble that they cannot be uttered, Rom 8:26. The beasts are here said to cry unto God, as from him the lions seek their meat (Psa 104:21) and the young ravens, Job 38:41. The complaints of the brute-creatures here are for want of water (The rivers are dried up, through the excessive heat), and for want of grass, for the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness. And what better are those than beasts who never cry to God but for corn and wine, and complain of nothing but the want of delight of sense? Yet their crying to God in those cases shames the stupidity of those who cry not to God in any case.