Once more all the enemies of God are summoned together. "Assemble yourselves," (Others in the same sense render, "Haste ye,) and come, all ye pagan, round about," literally "from round about," i. e., from every side, so as to compass and hem in the people of God, and then, when the net had been, as it were, drawn closer and closer round them, and no way of escape is left, the prophet prays God to send His aid; "thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord." Against "the mighty ones" of the earth, or "the weak" who "say" they are "mighty," (the same word is used throughout,) there "come down the mighty ones of God." The "mighty ones of God," whom He is prayed to "cause to come down," i. e., from heaven, can be no other than the mighty angels, of whom it is said, they "are mighty in strength" Psalm 103:20 (still the same word,) to whom God gives "charge over" Psalm 91:11. His own, "to keep" them "in all" their "ways," and one of whom, in this place, killed "one hundred and fourscore and five thousand" 2 Kings 19:35 of the Assyrians. So our Lord saith, "The Son of man shall send forth His Angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them that do iniquity" Matthew 13:41.

Assemble yourselves,.... From divers parts into one place: "be ye gathered"; or "gather yourselves together", as the Targum and Kimchi; get together in a body, muster up all the forces you can collect together, Jarchi, from Menachem, by the change of a letter, renders it, "make ye haste"; lose time in preparing for this battle; get men, and arms for them, as fast as you can; be as expeditious as possible:

and come, all ye Heathen; antichristian nations, Mahometan or Papal; which latter, especially, are sometimes called Heathen and Gentiles, because of the Heathenish rites introduced into their worship, Psalm 10:16;

and gather yourselves round about: from all parts, to the valley of Jehoshaphat or Armageddon, Revelation 16:14; this is spoken ironically to them, to use their utmost endeavours to get most powerful armies against the people of God, which would be of no avail, but issue in their own destruction; or it may signify what should be done by the providence of God, bringing such large numbers of them together to their own ruin:

thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord; which is a prayer of the prophet, or of the church, to God, that he would send down his mighty ones, the angels that excel in strength, and destroy this great army thus gathered together, as an angel in one night destroyed the army of Sennacherib. So Kimchi and Aben Ezra interpret if of angels, and many other interpreters; but perhaps it may be better to understand it of Christian princes and their forces, those armies clothed in white, and riding on white horses, in token of victory; with Christ at the head of them, Revelation 19:14; who may be said to be caused to "come down"; because, being assembled shall go down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, where their enemies are gathered together, and discomfit them, The Targum is,

"there the Lord shall, break the strength of their strong ones.''

Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.

3:11 Round about - All round about Judah. Thither - Toward Jerusalem; the church and heritage of God. Thy mighty ones - All those mighty warriors whom thou wilt make use of successively to punish the oppressors of thy church.

cause...: or, the LORD shall bring down

11. Assemble-"Hasten" [Maurer].

thither-to the valley of Jehoshaphat.

thy mighty ones-the warriors who fancy themselves "mighty ones," but who are on that very spot to be overthrown by Jehovah [Maurer]. Compare "the mighty men" (Joe 3:9). Rather, Joel speaks of God's really "mighty ones" in contrast to the self-styled "mighty men" (Joe 3:9; Ps 103:20; Isa 13:3; compare Da 10:13). Auberlen remarks: One prophet supplements the other, for they all prophesied only "in part." What was obscure to one was revealed to the other; what is briefly described by one is more fully so by another. Daniel calls Antichrist a king, and dwells on his worldly conquests; John looks more to his spiritual tyranny, for which reason he adds a second beast, wearing the semblance of spirituality. Antichrist himself is described by Daniel. Isaiah (Isa 29:1-24), Joel (Joe 3:1-21) and Zechariah (Zec 12:1-14:21), describe his army of heathen followers coming up against Jerusalem, but not Antichrist himself.

3:9-17 Here is a challenge to all the enemies of God's people. There is no escaping God's judgments; hardened sinners, in that day of wrath, shall be cut off from all comfort and joy. Most of the prophets foretell the same final victory of the church of God over all that oppose it. To the wicked it will be a terrible day, but to the righteous it will be a joyful day. What cause have those who possess an interest in Christ, to glory in their Strength and their Redeemer! The acceptable year of the Lord, a day of such great favour to some, will be a day of remarkable vengeance to others: let every one that is out of Christ awake, and flee from the wrath to come.