Parade of Prophets: Amos

Run Like Hell

Those who take captivity

captive,

Those who slice siblings with

swords

Those who rip raw

their ready rivals,

Those who burn the bones

of brothers,

Those who laugh at the law

of the Lord,

Those who pant after the pulp

of this planet,

I am weighed down by your sin

in My face.

I will not turn away from your

punishment.

I cannot.

The swift will not just be slowed,

they will be stopped.

The powerful will not just become

powerless,

They will become pitiable.

There will no escape,

Except to flee naked,

as if that would help.

Cast off your clothes and

run like hell.

Amos 1 and 2

Return to Me

You who push the backs of the weak

upon the ground,

Who kneel on the necks of the poor

to keep them down,

Who stand on the heads of the needy

to crush their crown,

Who to themselves toast glasses of wine

and cheers all around,

Open your eyes!

Don’t believe his lies.

Close your mouths!

Spread not untruths.

Open your ears!

He preys on fears.

Return to Me

before it’s too late.

The days to come

can no longer wait.

Amos 3 and 4

You Did Not Return to Me

Your teeth have been clean

because I made food scarce,

And you did not return to Me.

Your harvest was mildewed

because I messed with the rain,

And you did not return to Me.

Your gardens were chewed up

because I blasted a blight,

And you did not return to Me.

Your camps filled with stench

because I loosed a plague,

And you did not return to Me.

Your cities were blackened

because I set a fire free,

And you did not return to Me.

Prepare to meet your Maker!

He who raises the mountains,

He who stirs up the winds,

He who makes the darkness,

He who watches from on high,

He who knows your thoughts,

The Lord God of all is My name.

You did not return to Me,

So now, from you I must turn

and walk away.

Seek Me and Live

Innocence is lost

and walks no more

in this dying land.

Righteousness is laying

at rest in a hole

in the ground,

But with no dirt as yet

to fill it in and

cover it up.

Seek Me and live!

says the Lord.

Amos 5

His Way

It is an evil time.

Men from lions flee

into the arms of bears.

Wailing is in every street.

Men make stone homes

without doors to enter in.

The Day of the Lord is at hand.

Men worship high gods

made by their own hands.

But little does it matter,

For justice flows down

like water

And righteousness like

a mighty river,

No matter what men say

The Lord will have His way.

Amos 5:13, 16, 19, 21-24

Mercyfully

O God,

forgive us!

we pray.

We are small,

and know not

what to do.

Mercyfully,

please relent.

O Lord God,

please cease!

we pray.

We are small,

and know not

what we do.

Mercyfully,

please relent.

Go!

said He,

and sin

no more!

Amos 7:1-9