24:13 When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, [there shall be] {h} as the shaking of an olive tree, [and] as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done.
(h) He comforts the faithful, declaring that in this great desolation the Lord will assemble his Church which will praise his Name, as in Isa 10:22.
24:13 When - When this judgment shall be executed, there shall be left a remnant; as there are some few olives or grapes left after the vintage is over.
24:13-15 There shall be a remnant preserved from the general ruin, and it shall be a devout and pious remnant. These few are dispersed; like the gleanings of the olive tree, hid under the leaves. The Lord knows those that are his; the world does not. When the mirth of carnal worldlings ceases, the joy of the saints is as lively as ever, because the covenant of grace, the fountain of their comforts, and the foundation of their hopes, never fails. Those who rejoice in the Lord can rejoice in tribulation, and by faith may triumph when all about them are in tears. They encourage their fellow-sufferers to do likewise, even those who are in the furnace of affliction. Or, in the valleys, low, dark, miry places. In every fire, even the hottest, in every place, even the remotest, let us keep up our good thoughts of God. If none of these trials move us, then we glorify the Lord in the fires.
