"I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered. (2) Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: (3) And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them: (4) And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good. (5) And the Lord GOD of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. (6) It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name. (7) Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?"
Amos Is here describing what he saw in a vision. So the Lord spake to the Prophets. The whole of Isaiah's prophecy is called the vision of Isaiah. Isaiah 1:1. Observe the opening of this memorable scripture: the Lord standing upon the altar, to shew his authority. And observe further, it is the altar, not between the cherubim on the mercy-seat, for now the Lord is come to judge, not to pardon. Smite the lintel of the door, said the Lord; as if he meant to say, let it be thrown down. And while those that run away seem to escape, it is but seemingly so, for the Lord will pursue and overtake, whether they take shelter in heaven or hell; whether on mount Carmel or the bottom of the sea. Reader! who can protect from the power of such an Almighty avenger of wrong! Who shall stand when he appeareth. See Nahum 1:6. The expostulation of the Lord is striking. Are ye not, 0 Israel, as the children of the Ethiopians? that is, what pretensions have you to my favour more than they. Reader! if we know not the Lord in a way of grace, we are no better than others in the claims of nature!