Let us turn to God's Word in
the portion of Scripture that we read in the Book of the Prophet
Amos in Amos chapter 3 and I'll read the verses 6, 7 and 8 Amos chapter 3, verses 6, 7 and
8. Shall a trumpet be blown in the
city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city,
and the Lord hath not done it? Surely the Lord God will do nothing,
but He revealeth His secret unto His servants, the prophets, the
lion hath roared, who will not fear. The Lord God hath spoken,
who can but prophesy. Here we are very much reminded
of God's Word and the sureness and the certainty of that Word. He is the Lion that roars, the Lion spoken of
in verse 8. The Lord God hath spoken, who
can but prophesy. particularly those words in verse
7, Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His
secret unto His servants, the prophets. The prophetic office
was one of that threefold office that God granted to His ancient
covenant people, the children of Israel. It was the office
of the priest, There was also to be the office of the prince,
there were to be those who would be raised up as kings in Israel
and in Judah. And there was also the office
of the prophets, those men who spoke as they were moved by the
Holy Ghost. who could utter such words as
we have at the beginning of this chapter, hear this word, that
the Lord hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, the
prophets speaking of their own words, but speaking the word
of the Lord God. And ultimately we see how that
those three offices are all fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ and
certainly He is that one who is the greatest of all the prophets
that one that was promised like unto Moses the law was given
by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ and so Peter
says we have a more sure word of prophecy whereby ye do well
that ye take heed. God hath in these last days spoken
unto us by His Son. But thinking tonight as we come
to consider this portion of that sure words of God. God's sure words. Surely the Lord God will do nothing
but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets. The lion hath roared, who will
not fear? The Lord God hath spoken. Who
can but prophesy? And in the days of Amos there
were two other prophets. We're told something of when
the Word of God was being ministered here in the opening chapter of
the book. the words of Amos, who was among
the herdmen of Decauah, which he saw concerning Israel in the
days of Uzziah king of Judah. And in the days of Jeroboam,
the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake,
a very specific period of time is being spoken of. Two years
before there must have been some terrible calamity, some great
earthquake. But it was in the days of king
Uzziah who reigned over Judah at Jerusalem. Now we know that
Isaiah was also prophesying at that time as too was Hosea. If you turn to the opening words
of both of those prophets we see quite clearly that it was
the same king Uzziah who was upon the throne during the days
of their ministry. The vision of Isaiah the son
of Amoz which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days
of Uzziah. Jotham and Ahaz and Hezekiah
kings of Judah. And so also when we turn to the
opening words of the book of the prophet Hosea we discover
that he was contemporary with both Amos and Isaiah. The word of the Lord that came
unto Hosea the son of Biri in the days of Uzziah. Jotham, Ahaz,
and Ezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam,
the son of Joash, king of Israel." Oh, there was a threefold ministry,
three seers, three servants of God, these great men who were
raised up to declare the word of the Lord. Surely the Lord
God will do nothing but revealeth His secret unto His servants,
the prophets. well let us consider something
of God's sure words as we see it in the mouths of these men
and particularly now in the mouth of this man Amos and first of
all to say something with regards to the determination of God in
this ministry notice the opening word here in verse 7 surely The
Lord God will do nothing but He revealeth His secret unto
His servants, the prophets. Surely, the word as the force
of Yah, certainly. It reminds us of that word that
often fell from the lips of the Lord Jesus in the course of His
earthly ministry as we have it particularly in John's Gospel.
He would prefix His teaching by saying, verily, And on many
occasions the double, verily, verily, and the particular word
that's rendered verily in our authorised version is in fact
the word Amen, which means so be it, truly, truly. It has the same force, you will
observe, as this particular word. Here we see something of God's
determination in making His word known. And in making His word
known, the Lord God is revealing to us His will. He is declaring
Himself. He is making known His own particular
truth. In fact, this word that we have
at the beginning of verse 7, the word surely, reminds us of
God's oath, it's the language of an oath in Hebrews chapter 6 we're told
when God made promise to Abraham because he could swear by non
greater, he swore by himself, he swore an oath in order to
confirm the certainty, the sureness of the word that he had given,
his promise was thus confirmed And here we see how God is determined
that men should not be able to plead any ignorance with regards
to his words. He raises up his servants, these
prophets, and by the Spirit God's word is communicated to them.
Peter tells us how they speak. as they were moved, as they were
carried along, borne along by the Spirit of God. They speak
inspired words, not their own words. Hear this word that the
Lord hath spoken. As I said here at the beginning
of this third chapter, the same there in chapter 4, in chapter
5. Thus and thus saith the Lord. All God is determined. that men
should have no opportunity to plead ignorance. When God gives
His Word, surely the Lord God will do nothing. But He revealeth
His secret unto His servants, the prophets, the lion of the
Lord, who will not fear. The Lord God hath spoken, who
can but prophesy. and we know how that God has
left all men without any excuse because he has given a revelation
of himself in a general sense he has revealed himself in his
works of creation and of providence and the psalmist brings that
out most pointedly in the opening verses of the 19th Psalm. David says, The heavens declare
the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork day unto
day uttereth speech and night unto night showeth knowledge
there is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard
their line is gone out through all the earth and their words
to the end of the world There is a general revelation that
has gone to the peoples of all the nations of the earth. God's
creation is that that speaks, it's a revelation of himself
in it he declares something of his eternal power. As Paul says
in the opening chapter of his epistle to the Romans, the invisible
things of him from the creation of the earth are clearly seen
being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal
power and his Godhead. All our men close their eyes,
they deny the Creator God, they dream up their foolish theorists,
whereby they can discount any idea of an accountability to
one who has made the great lie of evolution. Our men want to say in their
hearts there is no God. And yet God leaves men without
any excuse. Surely, surely the Lord God will
do nothing. He is a God who is pleased to
reveal himself to shut the mouths of the sinful sons of men. And here, in this book of the
prophets Amos, we have mention of those judgments that God brought
upon the various nations round about Israel and Judah. As I
said, before we read in chapters 2 and 3, in the opening chapter,
we see God's words spoken to the other nations, to Syria,
and to Gaza, to Tyre, and Ammon. And then when we come into that
second chapter, He speaks to Moab. There in the opening three verses,
the three transgressions of Moab, and for four he says, I will
not turn away the punishment thereof. But then at verse four
following, it is more particularly his message, his words to Judah
and then also to Israel. But God speaks to the Gentile
nations. those nations that did not have
the word of God. And God still speaks to the nations. God still judges the nations
of the earth. I was very much struck recently. This is a word that was so much
on my mind. The words that we have at the
end of verse 6. This question that the Prophet
puts, as God's mouth puts, shall there be evil in a city and the
Lord hath not done it. Now God in no way is the author
of evil if we think in terms of sin. God is not the author
of sin. That is blasphemy even to think
such a thought. God is holy. He is the one before
whom the holy, sinless angels veil their faces and cry, Holy,
Holy, Holy, Holy Father, Holy Son, Holy Spirit, of eyes too
pure to behold iniquity, He cannot look upon sin. But, what we have
here in verse 6 where we read of this evil is to be understood
more especially in terms of calamities. Job, Job says in the second chapter
of his book shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall
we not receive evil? In other words there will be
good things good providences but there will be bad providences.
Again look at the language of AMRC's contemporary, the language
of Isaiah. Again, he speaks as the mouthpiece
of God in 45 and verse 7, I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things. What is this evil that God creates
if He is not the author of sin? We have to think of evil there
in terms of dreadful events, solemn providences, the mysterious
dealings of God with the world that's lying in wickedness. A
fallen world. And when we think of our own
nation, God still has dealings with the nations. He has dealings
with our nation. Not because we're any different
to the other nations. We're not British Israelites.
But we recognize that God is sovereign over all the affairs
of the nations of the Earth. And events therefore are under
God's hand when we think of recent events, terrorism. And then this
last week, this dreadful calamity, this awful fire in London. Even the Queen has recognized
something of it when she says there's a somber national mood. Alas, there's no recognition
of God in these things. Or that our leaders would see
that, that this is the hand of God. That these things have a
voice. Shall there be evil in a city
and the Lord has not done it? God deals with all the peoples
of the earth, all the nations of the earth. But we recognize
this when we come to scripture that ultimately God's dealings
are with his children. God will judge his own people. And what do we have in this portion
that we find in the book of Amos? Well, look back there in the
second chapter. We see how God is speaking particularly,
as I said, to Judah and to Israel. Thus saith the Lord, for three
transgressions of Judah and for four I will not turn away the
punishment thereof, because they have despised the Lord of the
lords, and have not kept his commandments. And their lies
cause them to err after the which their fathers have walked. I
will send a fire upon Judah, He shall devour the palaces of
Jerusalem. And then the Lord God addresses
Himself to Israel. Thus saith the Lord for three
transgressions of Israel and for four I will not turn away
the punishment thereof because they sold the righteous for silver
and the poor for a pair of shoes and so forth. God will deal with
His people in particular above all other peoples. They are His
own. He owns them, He acknowledges
them. And we have it here in the second verse of chapter 3,
you own them. Always speaking to Israel, He
is speaking to Judah in particular. You own them, have I known of
all the families of the earth. Therefore, I will punish you
for all your iniquities. And we have to mark that solemn
word, therefore. how God deals with his people.
God comes, he chastises his people. He takes a special interest in
them. You know the various scriptures
that make it so evident that these people are God's special
people. The language of the psalmist.
He referred to it so many times there in the closing verses of
the 147th Psalm. Oh what a privileged people. He showeth His word unto Jacob,
His statutes and His judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt
so with any nation, and as for His judgments they have not known
them." Praise you the Lord. All praise God that He favours
us in a very special manner. He favours us with His words. He will do nothing but He revealeth
His secret unto His servants, the prophets." Surely above all
people we are to recognize when the Lord God is speaking and
we are to reverence that word that God speaks to us. Doesn't
the Lord Jesus tell us, unto whomsoever much is given of the
same shall much be required. And we are those who have received
so much when we receive His Word, when He comes to us time after
time after time after time, He comes to us in His Word, He speaks
to us. Think of the ministry of the
Lord Jesus, and how in the course of His preaching we see Him upriding
those cities where He had done so many of His mighty works. In Matthew, and there in that
11th chapter of the Gospel, We see him speaking to those cities. Verse 20 of Matthew 11, Then
began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works
were done, because they repented not. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For
if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in
Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in Sackloth
and Ashen. But I say unto you, it shall
be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment
than for you. And thou, Capernaum, O Capernaum, where the Lord Jesus
in the synagogue would perform mighty miracles, where the Lord
ministered his works, O thou, Capernaum, which art exalted
unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell. For if the mighty
work which had been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would
have remained until this day. But I say unto you that it shall
be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment
than for the Sodom. Gomorrah, the cities of the plague.
Those wicked cities whereon God drained down fire from heaven,
destroyed them. And that whole land became the
dead sea. All life destroyed. And where
do we get the word Sodomite from? It's from that city is it not?
Or the great wickedness of the Sodomites. And yet what does
the Lord say? It shall be more tolerable for
the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for Capernaum.
Why those spiritual sins? of those who shut their ears
and their eyes to that revelation that is before them in the life
and the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the greatest
of all sins, how culpable men are in their sin. The Lord uprights
those cities wherein His mighty works were performed. Oh God
has a resolve He will judge his people, and that is so clearly
seen. The Lord God has spoken. Who can but prophesy? How the prophets must deliver
this burden, this word of the Lord that He had laid upon them. Hear this word that the Lord
has spoken against you. of children of Israel against
the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt. Here we see how the Lord in a
sense comes to them and He begins to interrogate them. He begins to ask questions of
them. In fact if you count them you'll see from verse 3 through
to verse 8 there are some nine questions God keeps asking questions,
it's interrogation as he addresses himself to his own people. What
does he say? Well, God will not, God cannot walk with
this people because they are sinful people. Can two walk together?
He asks, except they be agreed, or rather than walk with them
in peace and tranquility, God will sooner prey upon them. Verse 4, he asks, will a lion
roar in the forest when he hath no prey? Will a young lion cry
out of his den if he hath taken nothing? God's preying upon them
because of their sin. God will lay his snares. Can
a bird fall in a snare upon the earth where no gin is for him?
He asked in verse 5. Shall one take up a snare from
the earth and have taken nothing at all? God will lay his snares. He will come, you see, in the
way of judgments. There will be wars and droughts and pestilences
and famines. Oh friends, how we do well to
take heed, you see, God speaks to his people. Shall a trumpet
be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? He asked
at verse 6. Shall there be evil in a city? And the Lord hath not done it. That terrible calamity that comes. All the time is come, the judgment
must begin at the house of God, says Peter. and if it begin at
us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel
of God? And if the righteous darest to
be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? God speaks,
and God speaks in the day in which we are living. He speaks
in His Word, yes, but He also speaks in the events of providence. The Lord's voice cryeth unto
the citizen, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name, hear you
the right, and do hath appointed it. Says another of the prophets,
the prophet Michael. Oh the Lord's voice cries, he
speaks in providences, and ought to be wise, who so is wise, and
will observe these things we read at the end of that 107th
Psalm. or to be wise and to observe these things, they shall understand,
he says, the loving kindness of the Lord. There is a determination in God.
Men will be left without any excuse. Men will have to acknowledge
that they are indeed culpable in all their sins, in all their
refusal. they close their ears, they close
their eyes but let us not be such foolish creatures as that
rather those who are sensitive to the word of God who tremble
at the word of God or shall a trumpet be blown in the city and the
people not be afraid or to know something of that fear of God
in our hearts the determination of God then surely The Lord God
will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants,
the prophets. The lion hath roared, who will
not fear? The Lord God hath spoken, who
can but prophesy? But besides His determination
to leave the peoples without any excuse, In the second place,
I want to say something with regards to His gracious condescension. This is the God, you see, that
we have to do, how good He is. Or the psalmist says in the 119th
Psalm, addressing His God, Thou art good, and Thou doest good. Oh, our God is a good God. Or
do we not see that He does not withhold His Son, His only begotten
Son? For this good God has a purpose
of grace to fulfill in this sinful world, this wicked world. And
we see something of his condescension here. Before the judgment comes,
there is the words of warning. And that is grace. That is grace
when God issues a solemn words of warning. When the Lord God
was about to visit his terrible judgment on those cities of the
plain Sodom and Gomorrah we read in Genesis chapter 18 how he
comes to his servant Abraham. Why, there'd been that dispute
between the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot and there'd been a separation
and Lot had had the choice and he'd looked and he'd seen that
choice country round about Sodom and Gomorrah and that's where
he had gone. And there he was ensnared now in Sodom. What does
the Lord say in Genesis 18? Shall I hide from Abraham that
thing which I do? Here is the gracious condescension
of God. He will not act but first he
will come to his servant Abraham, the friend of God. and he will
tell him the thing that he is about to do to those wicked cities
of the plain. We see something very similar
in the book of Jeremiah the prophet. In Jeremiah chapter 7 verse 25,
Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of
Egypt unto this day, I have even sent unto you all my servants
the prophets daily rising up early and sending them, yet they
hearken not unto me, nor incline their ear, but harden their neck. They did worse than their fathers.
Therefore they shall speak all these words unto them, but they
will not hearken to them. They shall also call unto them,
but they will not answer them. But they shall say unto them,
This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their
God, nor receiveth correction, Truth is perished and is cut
off from their mouth. Oh God warns them, you see, through
His servants, through the ministry of the Prophet Jeremiah. Again, later there in chapter
11, we read of him rising up early and protesting, saying,
Obey my voice! Obey my voice! God coming, rising
early, time after time, speaking to them. All this is surely a
great favour when God comes to any people with His words. What
do we read concerning Israel of all? When the Apostle is speaking
of the great favours that were bestowed upon them as a people,
they were of course a typical people, Israel, They are a type
of God's spiritual children. They are a type of the true Church
of God. We know that they are not all
Israel, they are not of Israel, but Israel in the Old Testament
is a type. And what favours? Paul says,
unto them were committed the oracles of God. They had the
Word of God. What a favour! Surely the Lord God will do nothing
but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets the
lion hath wrought who will not fear the Lord God hath spoken
who can but prophesy. What a contrast we see later
here in the book of the prophet where he speaks of a famine coming
upon the people. God had favoured them, he had
sent his word to them so many times warning them and they shut
their ears to his word, they refused to bow to the authority
of the message of the prophets. And so what does God do? He sends
upon them the famine. The end of chapter 8. Behold
the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine
in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord. And they shall wander from
sea to sea, and from the north even to the east. They shall
run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find
it." Oh God forbid that such a famine should come upon this
nation, yet it may well do so. God has favoured this nation.
with many faithful servants. Why, since the days of the Protestant
Reformation, through the great period of the Puritan movement,
into the 18th century, and the gracious visitation, the great
awakening that came, how God has favoured this land. And yet,
now as a nation, how we have turned away from it. and our
rulers don't seem to recognize the folly of their doing or the
Lord have mercy upon us, the Queen might speak of a certain
sobriety upon the nation and how few are very somber about
these things really or what's to be our response when God in
his mercy comes and gives us his word where God has such a
determination as we see in this portion of scripture. First of
all, should we not be those who fear his great name? Shall a
trumpet be blown in the city and the people not be afraid? The lion hath roared, who is
the lion? This is the Lord God. The lion hath roared, who will
not fear? We should fear, lest we are those
who scorn the Word of God. When God speaks to us, when God
comes with His Word and sets before us His gracious invitation,
His promise, we are not to scorn it. We are not to refuse that
great Gospel Word when the Lord God says, come, and we refuse
to come. The Lord Jesus says to the people
of his day, ye will not come unto me. that she might have
life. How men are so willful in their
unbelief. It is such a great word, that
word come. Almost one of the last words
that we find in the Bible. It's there in the very last chapter
of the book of the Revelation. The Spirit and the Bride say
come. And let him that heareth say come. And let him that is
a thirst come. And whosoever will let him take
of the water of life or let us not scorn God's gracious words
of invitation, the gracious promises. Let us not be those who are disobedient
to all those exhortations that we find in the Word of God, all
those gospel precepts, what the Lord requires of His children,
that we should seek to walk in obedience to what He has revealed
to us concerning His will for us. Or say Christian wouldst
thou thrive in knowledge of thy Lord against no scripture ever
strive but tremble at His word were to tremble were to fear
His great name. What did these people do in the
day of Amos they were rejecting the word of God. In chapter 7 verse 12 Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou
seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there
eat bread, and prophesy there. But prophesy not again any more
at battle, for it is the king's chapel, it is the king's court."
Israel in the north, you see, refusing the message of the prophet
Amos, the seer, sending him away sending him to Judah. They don't
want the word of God. Now they reject the word of God.
And yet God's commanded the prophets and they spoke all his word.
They spoke all his word in spite of this reaction that we see. Look at what we read earlier
in chapter 2 at verse 12. Well, verse 11 also, I raised
up of your sons for prophets, he says, and of your young men
for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children
of Israel, saith the Lord? But ye gave the Nazarites wine
to drink. They'd taken a vow that they
would never drink strong drink. And the people were given the
Nazarites wine. But then this, they commanded the prophets,
saying, Prophets I am not. that's what they said to the
prophets, prophesy not contradicting the word of God, the Lord will
do nothing but to revealeth his secret unto his servants the
prophets, the Lord hath spoken who can but prophesy, but they
say prophesy not they have no fear of God all our solemnity
is friends, God speaks to us And he speaks to us today, of
course, in the Gospel of his son. What a blessed privilege
is ours. He spoke by Moses in the Old
Testament. We have that contrast in Hebrews
chapter 12 between Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. And we've not
come to the former, we've not come to Mount Sinai. We're those
who come to Zion. Verse 22, YAH come unto Mount
Zion and to the City of the Living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem,
to an innumerable company of angels, to the General Assembly
and Church of the Firstborn which are written in heaven, and to
God the Judge of all, and to the Spirit of just men made perfect,
and to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant, into the blood
of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel and
then this at verse 25 see that ye refuse not him that speaketh
see that ye refuse not him that speaketh for if they escape not
you refuse him that spake on earth much more shall not we
escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven oh
let us be those who reverence the sacred page, the Word of
God. John speaks of those who hearing
the Word go their way and forget what manner of men they are.
We are not just to be hearers of the Word, we are to be doers
of the Word also. Or we are to come then before
God's Word with that spirit of fear. He is the lion roaring,
who will not fear? who will not fear His word but
then also our response to God's word must surely be one of hope
what a blessed thing it is if we have the word of God look
at these words in verse 7 surely the Lord God will do nothing
but He reveals His secret unto His servants the prophets Oh, the secret of the Lord is
with them that fear Him, we're told. Yes, the secret things
do belong unto the Lord our God. There are those things that are
secret. The things that are revealed belong unto us. But how much
God has revealed to us? How much God has revealed to
us? How God has unfolded to us His gracious purpose set before
our eyes. that great covenant of redemption,
that great purpose of salvation, the blessed work of the Trinity,
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, or all
the persons that God had involved in the salvation of the sinner. As God hath in these last days
spoken unto us by His Son, we have this more sure word of prophecy. And what is that covenant? Why?
It's a secret reveal. It's a secret reveal. We see it there in Psalm 25 and
verse 14, the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him. He
will show them His covenant. We have that peculiarity to Hebrew
poetry, that parallelism, we have parallel statements. The
secret of the Lord is equivalent to the Covenant. The secret of
the Lord is with them that fear Him. What is that secret? He
will show them His Covenant. He will reveal to them His Covenant.
Surely the Lord God will do nothing but He will reveal us His secret. He reveals His Covenant. He gives
us hope. Oh what blessed hope there is
in that Covenant. David knew it he said it was
all his salvation and all his desire all the sure mercies of
David there is hope you see when God has such a determination
to give us his word yes we should fear we should desire that fear
to be in our heart but also we have reason to be hopeful because God is making known his
gracious will All that great purpose of salvation that is
laid up in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's
in these last days that God has spoken unto us by His Son. For
the fullness of the time has come, God has sent forth His
Son, made of a woman made under the law to redeem. or to redeem
them that were under the law, that they might receive the adoption
of sons. There has to be that response
of fear, there has to be that response of blessed hope and
surely there must also be this in the third place, there must
be prayer. When God speaks to us should it not cause us to desire
to speak to him in turn? Is there not to be that blessed
intercourse between heaven and earth? God comes, God speaks.
And as God speaks, does He move us to speak to Him? Why, He bids
us to come. He says, take with you words
and turn to the Lord and say, take away all iniquity and receive
us graciously. Oh, He invites us to take with
us words. And what words are better than
the words of God. The words that God has given
to us. To hold God true to those gracious promises. To hold Him
fast by all the gracious words that
He has spoken in the Gospel. To remind Him that it is yet
the day of grace, He accepted His heart. Or to be emboldened. It's not presumption. God forbid
that we should ever be presumptions. which remember that God is in
heaven and we are upon earth, our words are to be few, what
can we say? we have nothing of ourselves that we can speak of,
nothing to commend us in any way to him but we can plead his
own words we can take the scriptures and we can use what God has declared
here through his servants the prophets and with those words
we can thicken our prayers surely The Lord God will do nothing,
but He revealeth His secret unto His servants, the prophets. The
lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken,
who can but prophesy? O God, grant that we might be
those this night who are receiving His words, believing His words,
obeying His words. O God, be pleased then to grant
such a gracious application of it to all our hearts for his
name's sake. Amen.