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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O nation that hath no shame; |
O nation – The Royal Priesthood, the Holy Nation. R996:4
Not desired – Despised by the world because of your faithfulness to God and the truth. R996:4
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| 2 before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, before the day of Jehovah’s anger come upon you. |
Bring forth – Before the decree brings forth its results. R996:4
Before the day – The day of trouble. A334
Pass as the chaff – As fire consuming chaff; quickly in comparison with the slow operation of past ages. A334; R996:4
Come upon you – There is no hope held out that this trouble can be averted. D540
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| 3 Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah’s anger. |
Seek ye the LORD – Exhorting the better elements of the world, not the Church, which is accounted worthy to escape those things coming upon the world. D68; R4997:4[R4997]; R2021:1; R5041:6[R5041]
Let him present himself wholly to God that he may know and do God's will, and thus prepare himself for the ushering in of the Kingdom. HG516:4
All ye – A class of the world not spirit-begotten. Q719:1; R5041:6, R1607:5
Meek of the earth – The humble of the world in general. A334; D68; F555
As well as the Body of Christ. A334
This class should include all mature children of the consecrated ones who have been rightly taught in the precepts of the Lord. F555
Few are in the attitude of mind to hear this message. OV86:4
No doubt the trouble will be equally upon the poor; but to them it will seem less severe since they have been accustomed to less. SM191:2
"Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left." (Isa. 24:6) R5041:6
Wrought his judgment – His will. A334
Who love justice and pursue peace. A334; D540
Seek righteousness – Justice. PD92/107
The right, the truth. R996:4
Practice righteousness, truth, godliness, kindness, benevolence, justice; trust in the Lord; seek to walk in his ways. R2564:5
The wise policy, to say nothing of principle, is to deal justly, generously and kindly with our fellow-men in every rank and condition of life. D67
The Lord will be pleased to select from among such penitent seekers of righteousness some as substitutes to complete his elect Church. R2564:5
Such will be the ones most ready to welcome our King and his Kingdom. R2564:5
Instead of seeking a non-existent place of safety, let us bring our selves in to a condition of safety. R2021:1; F554
Seek meekness – For those who are not seeking after righteousness and meekness, it will be better for them to go through the trouble in order to prepare them for the great blessing to come later. R5864:2
Seek the right and seek it meekly--the time is short. R996:5
The more meek and righteous men may be, the better they will be prepared for the awful shock and terrible distress of that day of trouble. R4997:5
During the time of trouble, for the first time in the world's history there will be a premium on meekness, patience, love, gentleness, goodness. R1963:6
Rely on the Lord and not on carnal weapons. SM191:2
It may be – As a consequence of seeking righteousness and meekness. R1607:5
Ye shall be hid – Partly hid. A334
Protected from at least some measure of trouble. R2021:1, R5864:2, R1607:5
In the French Revolution, which was a type of the Day of Vengeance, favors were shown to the just, generous and kind, and extreme wrath was visited upon oppressors. D67, D68
Not the Great Company--for they shall suffer the destruction of the flesh in this time of trouble. R5041:6, R1963:6
As the three Hebrews were preserved in the fiery furnace. R5041:6
Their manner of life, habits of thought and action, sympathies for the right, and appreciation of the Bible account of the trouble and its outcome, will all conspire to make them suffer less than others. A334
Words of wisdom to the world in general. The Little Flock is promised that they shall escape all those things coming upon the world. (Luke 21:36) D68
Day of the LORD'S anger – The anarchy of the French Revolution and the anarchy which overthrew the Jewish nation in AD70 are Scriptural illustrations of what may be expected soon. PD92/107
Against that evil day, we warn men that they repent and develop meekness and righteousness. R4433:1
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| 4 For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation; they shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up. |
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| 5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines; I will destroy thee, that there should be no inhabitant. |
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| 6 And the sea-coast shall be pastures, with cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks. |
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| 7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed their flocks thereupon; in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening; for Jehovah their God will visit them, and bring back their captivity. |
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| 8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border. |
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| 9 Therefore as I live, saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and saltpits, and perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall make a prey of them, and the remnant of my nation shall inherit them. |
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| 10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Jehovah of hosts. |
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| 11 Jehovah will be terrible unto them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the nations. |
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| 12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword. |
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| 13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness. |
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| 14 And herds shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the capitals thereof; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he hath laid bare the cedar-work. |
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| 15 This is the joyous city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none besides me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand. |
The rejoicing city – Babylon, Christendom. D527
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