Excerpts

from Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
on Joel chapter two.

(Written 1708-1710)

"It is the day of the Lord (as it was called, v. 1), for in this war we are sure he carries the day; it must needs be his, for his camp is great and numerous. Those whom he makes war upon he can, as here, overpower with numbers; and whoever he employs to execute his word, as the minister of his justice, is sure to be made strong and par negotio—equal to what he undertakes; whom God gives commission to he girds with strength for the executing of that commission.

"There's army's of you

There's army's of you

There's army's of you."

"Thus you must answer the end and intention of the judgment; for it was sent for this end, to convince you of your sins, to humble you for them, to reduce you to your right minds and to your allegiance.’’ God brings us into straits, that he may bring us to repentance and so bring us to himself. 2. "Thus you may stay the progress of the judgment. Things are bad with you, but thus you may prevent their growing worse; nay, if you take this course, they will soon grow better.’’

"The Lord will do great things for his people, as the enemy has done great things against them, to convince them that wherein they deal proudly he is, and will be, above them, that, what great things soever they did, they did no more than God commissioned them to do;"

"Note, It is a good sign that God has mercy in store for a people when he sends them teachers of righteousness, pastors after his own heart."

"When God restores to us plenty after we have known scarcity, as it is doubly pleasant to us, so it should make us the more thankful to God."

"Note, We should labour to grow in our acquaintance with God by all providences, both merciful and afflictive"

"We often read in the Old Testament of the Spirit of the Lord coming by drops, as it were, upon the judges and prophets whom God raised up for extraordinary services; but now the Spirit shall be poured out plentifully in a full stream, as was promised with an eye to gospel-times,..."

"Hitherto divine revelation was confined to the seed of Abraham, none but those of the land of Israel had the Spirit of prophecy; but, in the last days, all flesh shall see the glory of God (Isa. 40:5 ) and shall come to worship before him, Isa. 66:23 .

(1.) The Spirit shall be poured out upon some of each sex. Not your sons only, but your daughters, shall prophesy; we read of four sisters in one family that were prophetesses, Acts. 21:9 . Not the parents only, but the children, shall be filled with the Spirit, which intimates the continuance of this gift for some ages successively in the church. (2.) Upon some of each age: "Your old men, who are past their vigour and whose spirits begin to decay, your young men, who have yet but little acquaintance with and experience of divine things, shall yet dream dreams and see visions;’’ God will reveal himself by dreams and visions both to the young and old.

"Prophecy does not reside on any but such as are wise, valiant, and rich, not upon the soul of a poor man, or a man in sorrow"