1 Blow yee the trumpet in Zion, & sound an alarme in my holy mountaine: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cōmeth, for it is nie at hand;
2 A day of darkenesse and of gloominesse, a day of clouds and of thicke darkenesse, as the morning spread vpon the mountaines: a great people and a strong, there hath not beene euer the like, neither shall be any more after it, euen to the yeres of many generations.
3 A fire deuoureth before them, and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wildernes, yea and nothing shall escape them.
4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horse men, so shall they runne.
5 Like the noise of charets on the tops of mountaines shall they leape, like the noise of a flame of fire that deuoureth the stubble, as a strong people, set in battell aray.
6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blacknesse.
7 They shall runne like mighty men, they shall clime the wall like men of warre, and they shall march euery one on his wayes, and they shall not breake their rankes.
8 Neither shall one thrust another, they shall walke euery one in his path: and when they fall vpon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
9 They shall runne to and fro in the citie: they shall runne vpon the wall: they shall clime vp vpon the houses: they shall enter in at the windowes, like a theefe.
10 The earth shall quake before them, the heauens shall tremble, the Sun & the Moone shall be darke, & the starres shall withdrawe their shining.
11 And the Lord shall vtter his voyce before his armie, for his campe is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can abide it?
12 ¶ Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turne yee euen to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.
13 And rent your heart and not your garments; and turne vnto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and mercifull, slow to anger, and of great kindnesse, and repenteth him of the euill.
14 Who knoweth if he will returne and repent, and leaue a blessing behind him, euen a meate offring and a drinke offring vnto the Lord your God?
15 ¶ Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctifie a fast, call a solemne assembly.
16 Gather the people: sanctifie the congregation: assemble the elders: gather the children, and those that sucke the breasts: let the bridegroome goe forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
17 Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weepe betweene the porch and the altar, & let them say; Spare thy people O Lord, and giue not thine heritage to reproch; that the heathen should rule ouer them: Wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
18 ¶ Then will the Lord be iealous for his land, and pitie his people.
19 Yea the Lord will answere and say vnto his people; Behold, I will send you corne and wine, and oyle, and yee shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproch among the heathen.
20 But I will remoue farre off from you the northren armie, & will driue him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the East sea, and his hinder part towards the vtmost Sea, and his stinke shall come vp, and his ill sauour shall come vp, because he hath done great things.
21 ¶ Feare not, O land, be glad and reioyce: for the Lord will doe great things.
22 Be not afraid, yee beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wildernesse doe spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine doe yeeld their strength.
23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and reioyce in the Lord your God: for he hath giuen you the former raine moderately, and he will cause to come downe for you the raine, the former raine, & the latter raine in the first month.
24 And the floores shall bee full of wheate, and the fats shall ouerflowe with wine and oyle.
25 And I will restore to you the yeeres that the locust hath eaten, the canker worme, and the caterpiller, and the palmer worme, my great armie which I sent among you.
26 And ye shall eate in plentie, and be satisfied, and praise the Name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wonderously with you: and my people shall neuer be ashamed.
27 And ye shal know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall neuer be ashamed.
28 ¶ And it shall come to passe afterward, that I will powre out my Spirit vpon all flesh, and your sonnes and your daughters shall prophecie, your old men shall dreame dreames, your yong men shall see visions.
29 And also vpon the seruants, and vpon the handmaids in those dayes will I powre out my Spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heauens, and in the earth, blood and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The Sunne shall be turned into darkenesse, and the Moone into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.
32 And it shall come to passe that whosoeuer shall call on the Name of the Lord, shall bee deliuered: for in mount Zion and in Ierusalem shalbe deliuerance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant, whom the Lord shall call.
God's judgments. (1-14) Exhortations to fasting and prayer; blessings promised. (15-27) A promise of the Holy Spirit, and of future mercies. (28-32)1-14 The priests were to alarm the people with the near approach of the Divine judgments. It is the work of ministers to warn of the fatal consequences of sin, and to reveal the wrath from heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. The striking description which follows, shows what would attend the devastations of locusts, but may also describe the effects from the ravaging of the land by the Chaldeans. If the alarm of temporal judgments is given to offending nations, how much more should sinners be warned to seek deliverance from the wrath to come! Our business therefore on earth must especially be, to secure an interest in our Lord Jesus Christ; and we should seek to be weaned from objects which will soon be torn from all who now make idols of them. There must be outward expressions of sorrow and shame, fasting, weeping, and mourning; tears for trouble must be turned into tears for the sin that caused it. But rending the garments would be vain, except their hearts were rent by abasement and self-abhorrence; by sorrow for their sins, and separation from them. There is no question but that if we truly repent of our sins, God will forgive them; but whether he will remove affliction is not promised, yet the probability of it should encourage us to repent.
15-27 The priests and rulers are to appoint a solemn fast. The sinner's supplication is, Spare us, good Lord. God is ready to succour his people; and he waits to be gracious. They prayed that God would spare them, and he answered them. His promises are real answers to the prayers of faith; with him saying and doing are not two things. Some understand these promises figuratively, as pointing to gospel grace, and as fulfilled in the abundant comforts treasured up for believers in the covenant of grace.
28-32 The promise began to be fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out, and it was continued in the converting grace and miraculous gifts conferred on both Jews and Gentiles. The judgments of God upon a sinful world, only go before the judgment of the world in the last day. Calling on God supposes knowledge of him, faith in him, desire toward him, dependence on him, and, as evidence of the sincerity of all this, conscientious obedience to him. Those only shall be delivered in the great day, who are now effectually called from sin to God, from self to Christ, from things below to things above.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.