Pray Psalm 147.1-3.
Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.
The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.

Sing Psalm 147.1-3.
(St. Anne: O God, Our Help in Ages Past)
Praise God, for it is good to sing loud praises to the LORD!
With joy our songs of praise we bring to God and to His Word.

The LORD builds up His Church and He His people gathers in.
The broken hearts He tenderly repairs and heals their sin.

Read Amos 3.1-8; meditate on verses 7, 8.

Preparation
1. To whom does God reveal His secrets?

2. What must they do to whom God has revealed His secrets?

Meditation
Perhaps Amos was beginning to get some pushback (cf. 7.10ff.). Here he says, “Hey, don’t blame me, I’m just the messenger!” And his message here deserves a closer look. Amos asserts that “the Lord GOD does nothing” which He does not reveal to His prophets (v. 7). God does not keep people in the dark about His will or plan. He reveals these plainly to His prophets, and it is their responsibility, as His spokespersons, to proclaim His will and plan to the people to whom they are sent.

The Hebrew noun, סוֹד‎ (sohd) means “confidential speech” or “counsel”, even “revealed counsel.” To translate this word as “secrets” seems unnecessary and even a little petty (“I know a secret, and you don’t.”). God does not reveal secrets to be kept but counsel, revealed to His people, which they are to proclaim.

Perhaps that is why Paul explained that the native language of the saints of God is prophecy. In 1 Corinthians 14 he explained that to prophesy is to speak words of edification, exhortation, and encouragement, for the building-up of the church (vv. 3, 4). Paul said all believers should prophesy (v. 5), especially when they are assembled together in the Lord (v. 31). Unbelievers may not understand what you’re talking about—or, as in the case of Israel in Amos’ day, they just may not want to hear it—but those who know the Lord and love His Word can benefit from it (vv. 22, 31). And prophecy can soften the hard hearts of the lost, as the Lord pleases (vv. 24, 25).

Amos prophesied as God gave Him counsel and confidential speech. His words, written in God’s Word, are divine revelation. Our words of prophecy, as the revelation of God transforms and commissions us, can be bring edification and encouragement to others. The better we learn the language of the saints, the more God will use us as agents of His grace to our world.

Let God speak His Word to you daily. Then whatever He roars your way, take it to heart; then go and spread it around (Amos 3.8; cf, 2 Cor. 4.15).

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
God generously and lovingly revealed His plans to His prophets, so that the people whom He loved so dearly would be warned of His displeasure and the wrath to come. Seems fair.

All believers who know and love God’s Word are now called to reveal His plans to our Personal Mission Field. And to do so is fair. Those in our sphere may only hear God’s truth through us. And as believers, we are warned to do so.

“Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.
If you say, ‘Surely we did not know this,’ Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it?
He who keeps your soul, does He not know it?
And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?” (Prov. 24.11, 12).

We are now the joyous, albeit responsible, recipients of God’s “confidential speech, counsel, and revealed counsel”. What will we do with it?

Paul spoke of his calling and work as the recipient of God’s words:
“…to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily” (Col. 1.25-29). And we, beloved, have all been called to convey this same mystery and hope.

Jesus imparted this same counsel to His followers, when He said:
“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing;
but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (Jn. 15.15). With the added addendum: “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (Jn. 15.14).

We are prophets, saints, and friends called to the same work that Amos and Paul were called to: imparting the truth of God’s Word in all its facets, nuances, forms, warnings, and promises. All of it—from beginning to end—the Good News and the bad.

And truly, “The better we learn the language of the saints, the more God will use us as agents of His grace to our world.”

But the only way this will happen is if we are daily immersed in His Word and in prayer. Learning moment by moment, and day by day, how to hear His “roar” (Amos 1.2), ably spread His Word and grace around, so that thanksgiving will “abound to the glory of God” (2 Cor. 4.15). Seems fair.

Reflection
1. How much does “the language of the saints” describe your language?

2. How do you proclaim the counsel of God to the people in your Personal Mission Field?

3. Whom will you encourage in the language of the saints today?

Much more kindly and mercifully has God acted, says Amos, with that people; for God was unwilling suddenly to overwhelm or to surprise them, but has warned them by his Prophets. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Amos 3.3-8

Pray Psalm 147.12-20.
Praise God for the power of His Word, which upholds and sustains the entire cosmos. Thank Him for entrusting you with His Word, to wield its power for blessing throughout the day. Pray for many opportunities to do so today.

Sing Psalm 147.12-20.
(St. Anne: O God, Our Help in Ages Past)
O praise your God, Jerusalem, O Zion, praise the LORD!
He strengthens those who trust in Him with blessings from His Word.

Around us He has spread His peace; our borders are secure.
His bounty daily shall increase; His grace to us is sure!

His Word to earth runs to and fro to carry out His will;
He brings the rain, He sends the snow, and none can keep Him still.

His Word He to His Church bestows—His promises and Law.
No other nation God thus knows: Praise Him with songs of awe!

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.