10Before them the earth quakes,
         The heavens tremble,
         The sun and the moon grow dark
         And the stars lose their brightness.

11The LORD utters His voice before His army;
         Surely His camp is very great,
         For strong is he who carries out His word.
         The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome,
         And who can endure it?

12“Yet even now,” declares the LORD,
         “Return to Me with all your heart,
         And with fasting, weeping and mourning;

13And rend your heart and not your garments.”
         Now return to the LORD your God,
         For He is gracious and compassionate,
         Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
         And relenting of evil.

14Who knows whether He will not turn and relent
         And leave a blessing behind Him,
         Even a grain offering and a drink offering
         For the LORD your God?

15Blow a trumpet in Zion,
         Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,

16Gather the people, sanctify the congregation,
         Assemble the elders,
         Gather the children and the nursing infants.
         Let the bridegroom come out of his room
         And the bride out of her bridal chamber.

17Let the priests, the LORD’S ministers,
         Weep between the porch and the altar,
         And let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD,
         And do not make Your inheritance a reproach,
         A byword among the nations.
         Why should they among the peoples say,
         ‘Where is their God?’”

Deliverance Promised

18Then the LORD will be zealous for His land
         And will have pity on His people.

19The LORD will answer and say to His people,
         “Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine and oil,
         And you will be satisfied in full with them;
         And I will never again make you a reproach among the nations.

20“But I will remove the northern army far from you,
         And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land,
         And its vanguard into the eastern sea,
         And its rear guard into the western sea.
         And its stench will arise and its foul smell will come up,
         For it has done great things.”

21Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad,
         For the LORD has done great things.

22Do not fear, beasts of the field,
         For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green,
         For the tree has borne its fruit,
         The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full.

23So rejoice, O sons of Zion,
         And be glad in the LORD your God;
         For He has given you the early rain for your vindication.
         And He has poured down for you the rain,
         The early and latter rain as before.

24The threshing floors will be full of grain,
         And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil.

25“Then I will make up to you for the years
         That the swarming locust has eaten,
         The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust,
         My great army which I sent among you.

26“You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied
         And praise the name of the LORD your God,
         Who has dealt wondrously with you;
         Then My people will never be put to shame.

27“Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel,
         And that I am the LORD your God,
         And there is no other;
         And My people will never be put to shame.

The Promise of the Spirit

28“It will come about after this
         That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
         And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
         Your old men will dream dreams,
         Your young men will see visions.

29“Even on the male and female servants
         I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

The Day of the LORD

30“I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth,
         Blood, fire and columns of smoke.

31“The sun will be turned into darkness
         And the moon into blood
         Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

32“And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD
         Will be delivered;
         For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
         There will be those who escape,
         As the LORD has said,
         Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

NASB ©1995

American Standard Version
The earth quaketh before them; the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.

Douay-Rheims Bible
At their presence the earth hath trembled, the heavens are moved: the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining.

Darby Bible Translation
The earth quaketh before them; the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.

English Revised Version
The earth quaketh before them; the heavens tremble: the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining:

Webster's Bible Translation
The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

World English Bible
The earth quakes before them. The heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.

Young's Literal Translation
At their face trembled hath the earth, Shaken have the heavens, Sun and moon have been black, And stars have gathered up their shining.December 16. "I Will Restore to You the Years that the Locust Hath Eaten, the Canker Worm and the Caterpillar and the Palmer Worm, My Great Army, which I Sent among You" (Joel ii. 25).
"I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker worm and the caterpillar and the palmer worm, my great army, which I sent among you" (Joel ii. 25). A friend said to me once: "I have got to reap what I sowed, for God has said: 'Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.' Then why don't you apply this in the spiritual world, and compel the sinner to pay the penalty of his sins?" Christ has borne this penalty, and the same Christ has borne the natural penalties, too, and …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

A Free Grace Promise
"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered."--Joel 2:32. VENGEANCE was in full career. The armies of divine justice had been called forth for war: "They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war." They had invaded and devastated the land, and turned the land from being like the garden of Eden into a desolate wilderness. All faces gathered blackness: the people were "much pained" The sun itself was dim, the moon was dark, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 35: 1889

The Locust-Swarms
JOEL ii. 12, 13. Therefore also now, saith the Lord, Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. This is one of the grandest chapters in the whole Old Testament, and one which may teach us a great deal; and, above all, teach us to be thankful to God for the blessings which …
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

Distinction Between Exterior and Interior Actions --Those of the Soul in this Condition are Interior, but Habitual, Continued, Direct, Profound, Simple, and Imperceptible --Being a Continual
The actions of men are either exterior or interior. The exterior are those which appear outwardly, and have a sensible object, possessing neither good nor evil qualities, excepting as they receive them from the interior principle in which they originate. It is not of these that I intend to speak, but only of interior actions, which are those actions of the soul by which it applies itself inwardly to some object, or turns away from some other. When, being applied to God, I desire to commit an …
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

It is Strange that These Delightful Promises Affect us Coldly...
It is strange that these delightful promises affect us coldly, or scarcely at all, so that the generality of men prefer to wander up and down, forsaking the fountain of living waters, and hewing out to themselves broken cisterns, rather than embrace the divine liberality voluntarily offered to them (Jer. 2:13). "The name of the Lord," says Solomon, "is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." (Pr. 18:10) Joel, after predicting the fearful disaster which was at hand, subjoins the …
John Calvin—Of Prayer--A Perpetual Exercise of Faith

The Holy Spirit of Promise
The Holy Spirit was promised through the prophets. "Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places."--Isa. …
J. W. Byers—Sanctification

Period I: the Imperial State Church of the Undivided Empire, or Until the Death of Theodosius the Great, 395
The history of the Church in the first period of the second division of the history of ancient Christianity has to deal primarily with three lines of development, viz.: first, the relation of the Church to the imperial authority and the religious forces of the times, whereby the Church became established as the sole authorized religion of the Empire, and heathenism and heresy were prohibited by law; secondly, the development of the doctrinal system of the Church until the end of the Arian controversy, …
Joseph Cullen Ayer Jr., Ph.D.—A Source Book for Ancient Church History

Ash Wednesday. Gather the People . . And Let the Priests, the Ministers of the Lord, Weep Between the Porch and the Alter, and Let them Say, Spare Thy People, O Lord.
Gather the people . . and let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the alter, and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Lord. Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn [69]Albinus. 1652. trans. by Catherine Winkworth, 1855 Not in anger smite us, Lord, Spare Thy people, spare! If Thou mete us due reward We must all despair. Let the flood Of Jesus' blood Quench the flaming of Thy wrath, That our sin enkindled hath. Father! Thou hast patience long With the sick and weak; Heal us, make …
Catherine Winkworth—Lyra Germanica: The Christian Year

Whether Fasting is an Act of virtue?
Objection 1: It would seem that fasting is not an act of virtue. For every act of virtue is acceptable to God. But fasting is not always acceptable to God, according to Is. 58:3, "Why have we fasted and Thou hast not regarded?" Therefore fasting is not an act of virtue. Objection 2: Further, no act of virtue forsakes the mean of virtue. Now fasting forsakes the mean of virtue, which in the virtue of abstinence takes account of the necessity of supplying the needs of nature, whereas by fasting something …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether this Sacrament was Suitably Instituted in the New Law?
Objection 1: It would seem that this sacrament was unsuitably instituted in the New Law. Because those things which belong to the natural law need not to be instituted. Now it belongs to the natural law that one should repent of the evil one has done: for it is impossible to love good without grieving for its contrary. Therefore Penance was unsuitably instituted in the New Law. Objection 2: Further, that which existed in the Old Law had not to be instituted in the New. Now there was Penance in the …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether all Sins are Taken Away by Penance?
Objection 1: It would seem that not all sins are taken away by Penance. For the Apostle says (Heb. 12:17) that Esau "found no place of repentance, although with tears he had sought it," which a gloss explains as meaning that "he found no place of pardon and blessing through Penance": and it is related (2 Macc. 9:13) of Antiochus, that "this wicked man prayed to the Lord, of Whom he was not to obtain mercy." Therefore it does not seem that all sins are taken away by Penance. Objection 2: Further, …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

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