Those books of scripture are all prophetical of which here, in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling, we have endeavoured a methodical explication and a practical improvement. I call them prophetical because so they are for the main, though we have some histories (here and there brought in for the illustration of the prophecies) and a book of Lamentations. Our Saviour often puts the Law and the Prophets for all the Old Testament. The prophets, by waiving the ceremonial precepts, and not insisting on them, but only on the weightier matters of the law, plainly intimated the abolishing of that part of the law of Moses by the gospel; and by their many predictions of Christ, and the kingdom of his grace, they intimated the accomplishing the perfecting of that part of the law of Moses in the gospel. Thus the prophets were the nexus—the connecting bond between the law and the gospel, and are therefore fitly placed between them.
These books, being prophetical, are, as
such, divine, and of heavenly origin and extraction. We have human
laws, human histories, and human poems, as well as divine ones, but
we can have no human prophecies. Wise and good men may make prudent
conjectures concerning future events (moral prognostications
we call them); but it is essential to true prophecy that it be of
God. The learned Huetius
Prophecy, taken strictly, is the foretelling of things to come; and there were those to whom God gave this power, not only that it might be a sign for the confirming of the faith of the church concerning the doctrine preached when the things foretold should be fulfilled, but for warning, instruction, and comfort, in prospect of what they themselves might not live to see accomplished, but which should be fulfilled in its season: so predictions of things to come long after might be of present use.
The learned Dr. Grew
Now I think it is worthy to be observed that all nations, having had some sense of God and religion, have likewise had a notion of prophets and prophecy, have had a veneration for them, and a desire and expectation of acquaintance and communion with the gods they worshipped in that way. Witness their oracles, their augurs, and the many arts of divination they had in use among them in all the ages and all the countries of the world.
It is commonly urged as an argument against the atheists, to prove that there is a God, That all nations of the world acknowledged some god or other, some Being above them, to be worshipped and prayed to, to be trusted in and praised; the most ignorant and barbarous nations could not avoid the knowledge of it; the most learned and polite nations could not avoid the belief of it. And this is a sufficient proof of the general and unanimous consent of mankind to this truth, though far the greatest part of men made to themselves gods which yet were no gods. Now I think it may be urged with equal force against the Deists, for the proof of a divine revelation, that all nations of the world had, and had veneration for, that which they at least took to be a divine revelation, and could not live without it, though in this also they became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. But, if there were not a true deity and a true prophecy, there would never have been pretended deities and counterfeit prophecies.
Lycurgus and Numa, those two great lawgivers of the Spartan and Roman commonwealths, brought their people to an observance of their laws by possessing them with a notion that they had them by divine revelation, and so making it a point of religion to observe them. And those that have been ever so little conversant with the Greek and Roman histories, as well as with the more ancient ones of Chaldea and Egypt cannot but remember what a profound deference their princes and great commanders, and not their unthinking commonalty only, paid to the oracles and prophets, and the prognostications of their soothsayers, which, in all cases of importance, were consulted with abundance of gravity and solemnity, and how often the resolutions of councils and the motions of mighty armies turned upon them, though they appeared ever so groundless and farfetched.
There is a full account given by that
learned philosopher and physician Caspar Peucer
The oracles of the Sibyls were appealed to
by many of the fathers for the confirmation of the Christian
religion. Justin Martyr
Prophecy, we are sure, was of equal date
with the church; for faith comes, not by thinking and
seeing, as philosophy does, but by hearing, by hearing the word
of God,
Hitherto was the infancy of the church, and
with it of prophecy; it was the dawning of that day; and that
morning-light owed its rise to the Sun of righteousness, though he
rose not till long after, but it shone more and more. During the
bondage of Israel in Egypt, this, as other glories of the church,
was eclipsed; but, as the church made a considerable and memorable
advance in the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt and the forming
of them into a people, so did the Spirit of prophecy in Moses, the
illustrious instrument employed in that great service; and it was
by that Spirit that he performed that service; so it is said,
When Moses, that great prophet, was laying
down his office, he promised Israel that the Lord God would
raise them up a prophet of their brethren like unto him,
During the government of the Judges there
was a pouring out of the Spirit, but more as a Spirit of skill and
courage for war than as a Spirit of prophecy. Deborah is indeed
called prophetess, because of her extraordinary
qualifications for judging Israel; but that is the only mention of
prophecy, that I remember, in all the book of Judges.
Extraordinary messages were sent by angels, as to Gideon and
Manoah; and it is expressly said that before the word of the Lord
came to Samuel (
It is worth noting that when the glory of
the priesthood was eclipsed by the iniquity of the house of Eli,
the desolations of Shiloh, and the obscurity of the ark, there was
then a more plentiful effusion of the Spirit of prophecy than had
been before; a standing ministry of another kind was thereby
erected, and a succession of it kept up. And thus afterwards, in
the kingdom of the ten tribes, where there was no legal priesthood
at all, yet there were prophets and prophets; sons; in Ahab's time
we meet with a hundred of them, whom Obadiah his by fifty in a
cave,
David was himself a prophet; so St. Peter
calls him (
In the succeeding reigns, both of Judah and
Israel, we frequently meet with prophets sent on particular errands
to Rehoboam, Jeroboam, Asa, and other kings, who, it is probable,
instructed the people in the things of God at other times, though
it is not recorded. But, prophecy growing into contempt with many,
God revived the honour of it, and put a new lustre upon it, in the
power given to Elijah and Elisha to work miracles, and the great
things that God did by them for the confirming of the people's
faith in it, and the awakening of their regard to it,
Hitherto, the prophets of the Lord
delivered their messages by word of mouth, only we read of one
writing which came from Elijah the prophet to Jehoram king of
Israel,
In John the Baptist prophecy revived, and
therefore in him the gospel is said to begin, when the church had
had no prophets for above 300 years. We have not only the vox
populi—the voice of the people to prove John a prophet, for
all the people counted him so, but vox Dei—the voice of God
too; for Christ calls him a prophet,
Now concerning the prophets of the Old Testament, whose writings are before us, observe,
I. That they were all holy men. We are
assured by the apostle that the prophecy came in old time by
holy men of God (and men of God they were commonly
called, because they were devoted to him), who spoke as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost. They were men, subject to like
passions as we are (so Elijah, one of the greatest of them, is
said to have been,
II. That they had all a full assurance in
themselves of their divine mission; and (though they could not
always prevail to satisfy others) they were abundantly satisfied
themselves that what they delivered as from God, and in his name,
was indeed from him; and with the same assurance did the apostles
speak of the word of life, as that which they had heard, and seen,
and looked on, and which their hands had handled,
III. That in their prophesying, both in
receiving their message from God and in delivering it to the
people, they always kept possession of their own souls.
IV. That they all aimed at one and the same
thing, which was to bring people to repent of their sins and to
return to God and to do their duty to him. This was the errand on
which all God messengers were sent, to beat down sin, and to revive
and advance serious piety. The burden of every son was, Turn you
now every one from his evil way; amend your ways and your doings,
and execute judgment between a man and his neighbour,
V. That they all bore witness to Jesus
Christ and had an eye to him. God raising up the horn of
salvation for us, in the house of his servant David, was
consonant to, and in pursuance of, what he spoke by the mouth of
his holy prophets who have been since the world began,
VI. That these prophets were generally
hated and abused in their several generations by those that lived
with them. Stephen challenges his judges to produce an instance to
the contrary: Which of the prophets have not your fathers
persecuted? Yea, and, as it should seem, for this reason,
because they showed before of the coming of the Just One,
VII. That though men slighted these
prophets, God owned them and put honour upon them. As they were men
of God, his immediate servants and his messengers, so he always
showed himself the Lord God of the holy prophets (
In the opening these prophecies I have
endeavoured to give the genuine sense of them, as far as I could
reach it, by consulting the best expositors, considering the scope
and coherence, and comparing spiritual things with spiritual, the
spiritual things of the Old Testament with those of the New, and
especially by prayer to God for the guidance and direction of the
Spirit of truth. But, after all, thee are many things here dark
and hard to be understood, concerning the certain meaning of
which though I could not gain myself, much less expect to give my
reader, full satisfaction, Yet I have not, with the
unlearned and unstable, wrested them to the
destruction of any,
The pleasure I have had in studying and meditating upon those parts of these prophecies which are plain and practical, and especially those which are evangelical, has been an abundant balance to, and recompence for, the harder tasks we have met with in other parts that are more obscure. In many parts of this field the treasure must be dug for, as that in the mines; but in other parts the surface is covered with rich and precious products, with corn, and flocks, of which we may say, as was said of Noah, These same have comforted us greatly concerning our work and the toil of our hands, and have made it very pleasant and delightful; God grant it may be no less so to the readers!
And now let me desire the assistance of my friends, in setting up my Eben-Ezer here, in a thankful acknowledgment that hitherto the Lord has helped me. I desire to praise God that he has spared my life to finish the Old Testament, and has graciously given me some tokens of his presence with me in carrying this work, though the more I reflect upon myself the more unworthy I see myself of the honour of being thus employed, and the more need I see of Christ and his merit and grace. Remember me, O my God! for good, and spare me according to the multitude of thy mercies. The Lord forgive what is mine, and accept what is his own!
I purpose, if God continue my life and
health, according to the measure of the grace given to me, and in a
constant and entire dependence upon divine strength, to go through
the New Testament in two volumes more. I intimated in my preface to
the first volume that I had drawn up some expositions upon some
parts of the New Testament; namely, The gospels of St. Matthew and
St. John; but they are so large that, to make them bear some
proportion to the rest, it is necessary that they be much
contracted, so that I shall be obliged to write them all over
again, and to make considerable alterations, and therefore I cannot
expect they should be published but as these hitherto have been, if
God permit, a volume every other year. I shall begin it now
shortly, if the Lord will, and apply myself to it as closely as I
can; and I earnestly desire the prayers of all that wish well to
that undertaking that, if the Lord spare me to go on with it, I may
be enabled to do it well, and so as that by it some may be led into
the riches of the full assurance of understanding in the mystery
of God, even of the Father and of Christ,
| July 18, 1712. | M. H. |
AN
Prophet is a
title that sounds very great to those that understand it, though,
in the eye of the world, many of those that were dignified with it
appeared very mean. A prophet is one that has a great intimacy with
Heaven and a great interest there, and consequently a commanding
authority upon earth. Prophecy is put for all divine revelation
(
I. Concerning the prophet himself. He was (if we may believe the tradition of the Jews) of the royal family, his father being (they say) brother to king Uzziah. He was certainly much at court, especially in Hezekiah's time, as we find in his story, to which many think it is owing that his style is more curious and polite than that of some other of the prophets, and, in some places, exceedingly lofty and soaring. The Spirit of God sometimes served his own purpose by the particular genius of the prophet; for prophets were not speaking trumpets, through which the Spirit spoke, but speaking men, by whom the Spirit spoke, making use of their natural powers, in respect both of light and flame, and advancing them above themselves.
II. Concerning the prophecy. It is
transcendently excellent and useful; it was so to the church of God
then, serving for conviction of sin, direction in duty, and
consolation in trouble. Two great distresses of the church are here
referred to, and comfort prescribed in reference to them, that by
Sennacherib's invasion, which happened in his own time, and that of
the captivity in Babylon, which happened long after; and in the
supports and encouragements laid up for each of these times of need
we find abundance of the grace of the gospel. There are not so many
quotations in the gospels out of any, perhaps not out of all, the
prophecies of the Old Testament, as out of this; nor such express
testimonies concerning Christ, witness that of his being born of a
virgin (
The first verse of this chapter is intended for a
title to the whole book, and it is probable that this was the first
sermon that this prophet was appointed to publish and to affix in
writing (as Calvin thinks the custom of the prophets was) to the
door of the temple, as with us proclamations are fixed to public
places, that all might read them (
1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Here is, I. The name of the prophet, Isaiah, or Jesahiahu (for so it is in the Hebrew), which, in the New Testament is read Esaias. His name signifies the salvation of the Lord—a proper name for a prophet by whom God gives knowledge of salvation to his people, especially for this prophet, who prophesies so much of Jesus the Saviour and of the great salvation wrought out by him. He is said to be the son of Amoz, not Amos the prophet (the two names in the Hebrew differ more than in the English), but, as the Jews think, of Amoz the brother, or son, of Amaziah king of Judah, a tradition as uncertain as that rule which they give, that, where a prophet's father is named, he also was himself a prophet. The prophets' pupils and successors are indeed often called their sons, but we have few instances, if any, of their own sons being their successors.
II. The nature of the prophecy. It is a
vision, being revealed to him in a vision, when he was awake,
and heard the words of God, and saw the visions of the Almighty
(as Balaam speaks,
III. The subject of the prophecy. It was what he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, the country of the two tribes, and that city which was their metropolis; and there is little in it relating to Ephraim, or the ten tribes, of whom there is so much said in the prophecy of Hosea. Some chapters there are in this book which relate to Babylon, Egypt, Tyre, and some other neighbouring nations; but it takes its title from that which is the main substance of it, and is therefore said to be concerning Judah and Jerusalem, the other nations spoken of being such as the people of the Jews had concern with. Isaiah brings to them in a special manner, 1. Instruction; for it is the privilege of Judah and Jerusalem that to them pertain the oracles of God. 2. Reproof and threatening; for if in Judah, where God is known, if in Salem, where his name is great, iniquity be found, they, sooner than any other, shall be reckoned with for it. 3. Comfort and encouragement in evil times; for the children of Zion shall be joyful in their king.
IV. The date of the prophecy. Isaiah
prophesied in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and
Hezekiah. By this it appears, 1. That he prophesied long,
especially if (as the Jews say) he was at last put to death by
Manasseh, to a cruel death, being sawn asunder, to which some
suppose the apostle refers,
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. 3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. 4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. 7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. 9 Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
We will hope to meet with a brighter and more pleasant scene before we come to the end of this book; but truly here, in the beginning of it, every thing looks very bad, very black, with Judah and Jerusalem. What is the wilderness of the world, if the church, the vineyard, has such a dismal aspect as this?
I. The prophet, though he speaks in God's
name, yet, despairing to gain audience with the children of his
people, addresses himself to the heavens and the earth, and
bespeaks their attention (
II. He charges them with base ingratitude,
a crime of the highest nature. Call a man ungrateful, and you can
call him no worse. Let heaven and earth hear and wonder at, 1.
God's gracious dealings with such a peevish provoking people as
they were: "I have nourished and brought them up as children; they
have been well fed and well taught" (
III. He attributes this to their ignorance
and inconsideration (
IV. He laments the universal pravity and
corruption of their church and kingdom. The disease of sin was
epidemic, and all orders and degrees of men were infected with it;
Ah sinful nation!
1. How he aggravates their sin, and shows
the malignity that there was in it,
2. How he illustrates it by a comparison
taken from a sick and diseased body, all overspread with leprosy,
or, like Job's, with sore boils,
V. He sadly bewails the judgments of God
which they had brought upon themselves by their sins, and their
incorrigibleness under those judgments. 1. Their kingdom was almost
ruined,
VI. He comforts himself with the
consideration of a remnant that should be the monuments of divine
grace and mercy, notwithstanding this general corruption and
desolation,
10 Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. 11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. 12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? 13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. 14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. 15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
Here, I. God calls to them (but calls in
vain) to hear his word,
II. He justly refuses to hear their prayers
and accept their services, their sacrifices and burnt-offerings,
the fat and blood of them (
1. There are many who are strangers, nay,
enemies, to the power of religion, and yet seem very zealous for
the show and shadow and form of it. This sinful nation, this seed
of evil-doers, these rulers of Sodom and people of Gomorrah,
brought, not to the altars of false gods (they are not here charged
with that), but to the altar of the God of Israel, sacrifices, a
multitude of them, as many as the law required and rather more—not
only peace-offerings, which they themselves had their share of, but
burnt-offerings, which were wholly consumed to the honour of God;
nor did they bring the torn, and lame, and sick, but fed beasts,
and the fat of them, the best of the kind. They did not send others
to offer their sacrifices for them, but came themselves to appear
before God. They observed the instituted places (not in high
places or groves, but in God's own courts), and the instituted
time, the new moons, and sabbaths, and appointed feasts,
none of which they omitted. Nay, it should seem, they called
extraordinary assemblies, and held solemn meetings for religious
worship, besides those that God had appointed. Yet this was not
all: they applied to God, not only with their ceremonial
observances, but with the exercises of devotion. They prayed,
prayed often, made many prayers, thinking they should be heard for
their much speaking; nay, they were fervent and importunate in
prayer, they spread forth their hands as men in earnest. Now we
should have thought these, and, no doubt, they thought themselves,
a pious religious people; and yet they were far from being so, for
(1.) Their hearts were empty of true devotion. They came to
appear before God (
2. When sinners are under the judgments of
God they will more easily be brought to fly to their devotions than
to forsake their sins and reform their lives. Their country was now
desolate, and their cities were burnt (
3. The most pompous and costly devotions of wicked people, without a thorough reformation of the heart and life, are so far from being acceptable to God that really they are an abomination to him. It is here shown in a great variety of expressions that to obey is better than sacrifice; nay, that sacrifice, without obedience, is a jest, an affront and provocation to God. The comparative neglect which God here expresses of ceremonial observance was a tacit intimation of what they would come to at last, when they would all be done away by the death of Christ. What was now made little of would in due time be made nothing of. "Sacrifice and offering, and prayer made in the virtue of them, thou wouldest not; then said I, Lo, I come." Their sacrifices are here represented,
(1.) As fruitless and insignificant; To
what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices?
(2.) As odious and offensive. God did not
only not accept them, but he did detest and abhor them. "They are
your sacrifices, they are none of mine; I am full of them,
even surfeited with them." He needed them not (
16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Though God had rejected their services as insufficient to atone for their sins while they persisted in them, yet he does not reject them as in a hopeless condition, but here calls upon them to forsake their sins, which hindered the acceptance of their services, and then all would be well. Let them not say that God picked quarrels with them; no, he proposes a method of reconciliation. Observe here,
I. A call to repentance and reformation: "If you would have your sacrifices accepted, and your prayers answered, you must begin your work at the right end: Be converted to my law" (so the Chaldee begins this exhortation), "make conscience of second-table duties, else expect not to be accepted in the acts of your devotion." As justice and charity will never atone for atheism and profaneness, so prayers and sacrifices will never atone for fraud and oppression; for righteousness towards men is as much a branch of pure religion as religion towards God is a branch of universal righteousness.
1. They must cease to do evil, must
do no more wrong, shed no more innocent blood. This is the meaning
of washing themselves and making themselves clean,
2. They must learn to do well. This
was necessary to the completing of their repentance. Note, It is
not enough that we cease to do evil, but we must learn to do well.
(1.) We must be doing, not cease to do evil and then stand idle.
(2.) We must be doing good, the good which the Lord our God
requires and which will turn to a good account. (3.) We must do it
well, in a right manner and for a right end; and, (4.) We must
learn to do well; we must take pains to get the knowledge of our
duty, be inquisitive concerning it, in care about it, and accustom
ourselves to it, that we may readily turn our hands to our work and
become masters of this holy art of doing well. He urges them
particularly to those instances of well-doing wherein they had been
defective, to second-table duties: "Seek judgment; enquire
what is right, that you may do it; be solicitous to be found in the
way of your duty, and do not walk carelessly. Seek opportunities of
doing good: Relieve the oppressed, those whom you yourselves
have oppressed; ease them of their burdens,
II. A demonstration, at the bar of right
reason, of the equity of God's proceedings with them: "Come now,
and let us reason together (
1. They could not in reason expect any more
then, if they repented and reformed, they should be restored to
God's favour, notwithstanding their former provocations. "This you
may expect," says God, and it is very kind; who could have the face
to desire it upon any other terms? (1.) It is very little that is
required, "only that you be willing and obedient, that you
consent to obey" (so some read it), "that you subject your
wills to the will of God, acquiesce in that, and give up yourselves
in all things to be ruled by him who is infinitely wise and good"
Here is no penance imposed for their former stubbornness, nor
the yoke made heavier or bound harder on their necks; only,
"Whereas hitherto you have been perverse and refractory, and would
not comply with that which was for your own good, now be tractable,
be governable" He does not say, "If you be perfectly
obedient," but, "If you be willingly so;" for, if there be a
willing mind, it is accepted. (2.) That is very great which is
promised hereupon. [1.] That all their sins should be pardoned to
them, and should not be mentioned against them. "Though they be as
red as scarlet and crimson, though you lie under the guilt of
blood, yet, upon your repentance, even that shall be forgiven you,
and you shall appear in the sight of God as white as snow." Note,
The greatest sinners, if they truly repent, shall have their sins
forgiven them, and so have their consciences pacified and purified.
Though our sins have been as scarlet and crimson, as deep dye, a
double dye, first in the wool of original corruption and afterwards
in the many threads of actual transgression—though we have been
often dipped, by our many backslidings, into sin, and though we
have lain long soaking in it, as the cloth does in the scarlet dye,
yet pardoning mercy will thoroughly discharge the stain, and, being
by it purged as with hyssop, we shall be clean,
2. They could not in reason expect any
other than that, if they continued obstinate in their disobedience,
they should be abandoned to ruin, and the sentence of the law
should be executed upon them; what can be more just? (
"And now life and death, good and evil, are thus set before you. Come, and let us reason together. What have you to object against the equity of this, or against complying with God's terms?"
21 How is the faithful city become a harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. 22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: 23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them. 24 Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies: 25 And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: 26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. 27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness. 28 And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed. 29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. 30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. 31 And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.
Here, I. The woeful degeneracy of Judah and
Jerusalem is sadly lamented. See, 1. What the royal city had been,
a faithful city, faithful to God and the interests of his kingdom
among men, faithful to the nation and its public interests. It
was full of judgment; justice was duly administered upon the
thrones of judgment which were set there, the thrones of the
house of David,
II. A resolution is taken up to redress
these grievances (
1. Wicked people, especially wicked rulers that are cruel and oppressive, are God's enemies, his adversaries, and shall so be accounted and so dealt with. If the holy seed corrupt themselves, they are the foes of his own house.
2. They are a burden to the God of heaven,
which is implied in his easing himself of them. The Mighty One
of Israel, that can bear any thing, nay, that upholds all
things, complains of his being wearied with men's
iniquities,
3. God will find out a time and a way to
ease himself of this burden, by avenging himself on those that thus
bear hard upon his patience. He here speaks as one triumphing in
the foresight of it: Ah. I will ease me. He will ease the
earth of the burden under which it groans (
(1.) By reforming his church, and restoring
good judges in the room of those corrupt ones. Though the church
has a great deal of dross in it, yet it shall not be thrown away,
but refined (
(2.) By cutting off those that hate to be
reformed, that they may not remain either as snares or as scandals
to the faithful city. [1.] it is an utter ruin that is here
threatened. They shall be destroyed and consumed, and not chastened
and corrected only. The extirpation of them will be necessary to
the redemption of Zion. [2.] It is a universal ruin, which will
involve the transgressors and the sinners together, that is, the
openly profane that have quite cast of all religion, and the
hypocrites that live wicked lives under the cloak of a religious
profession—they shall both be destroyed together, for they are
both alike an abomination to God, both those that contradict
religion and those that contradict themselves in their pretensions
to it. And those that forsake the Lord, to whom they had
formerly joined themselves, shall be consumed, as the water
in the conduit-pipe is soon consumed when it is cut off from the
fountain. [3.] It is an inevitable ruin; there is no escaping it.
First, Their idols shall not be able to help them, the
oaks which they have desired, and the gardens which they have
chosen; that is, the images, the dunghill-gods, which they had
worshipped in their groves and under the green trees, which they
were fond of and wedded to, for which they forsook the true God,
and which they worshipped privately in their own garden even when
idolatry was publicly discountenanced. "This was the practice of
the transgressors and the sinners; but they shall be ashamed of it,
not with a show of repentance, but of despair,
Now all this is applicable, 1. To the blessed work of reformation which was wrought in Hezekiah's time after the abominable corruptions of the reign of Ahaz. Then good men came to be preferred, and the faces of the wicked were filled with shame. 2. To their return out of their captivity in Babylon, which had thoroughly cured them of idolatry. 3. To the gospel-kingdom and the pouring out of the Spirit, by which the New-Testament church should be made a new Jerusalem, a city of righteousness. 4. To the second coming of Christ, when he shall thoroughly purge his floor, his field, shall gather the wheat into his barn, into his garner, and burn the chaff, the tares, with unquenchable fire.
With this chapter begins a new sermon, which is
continued in the two following chapters. The subject of this
discourse is Judah and Jerusalem,
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
The particular title of this sermon
(
This sermon begins with the prophecy
relating to the last days, the days of the Messiah, when his
kingdom should be set up in the world, at the latter end of the
Mosaic economy. In the last days of the earthly Jerusalem, just
before the destruction of it, this heavenly Jerusalem should be
erected,
Now the prophet here foretels,
I. The setting up of the Christian church,
and the planting of the Christian religion, in the world.
Christianity shall then be the mountain of the Lord's house; where
that is professed God will grant his presence, receive his people's
homage, and grant instruction and blessing, as he did of old in the
temple of Mount Zion. The gospel church, incorporated by Christ's
charter, shall then be the rendezvous of all the spiritual seed of
Abraham. Now it is here promised, I. That Christianity shall be
openly preached and professed; it shall be prepared (so the
margin reads it) in the top of the mountains, in the view and
hearing of all. Hence Christ's disciples are compared to a city on
a hill, which cannot be hid,
II. The bringing of the Gentiles into it.
1. The nations shall be admitted into it, even the uncircumcised,
who were forbidden to come into the courts of the temple at
Jerusalem. The partition wall, which kept them out, kept them off,
shall be taken down. 2. All nations shall flow into it;
having liberty of access, they shall improve their liberty, and
multitudes shall embrace the Christian faith. They shall flow into
it, as streams of water, which denotes the abundance of converts
that the gospel should make and their speed and cheerfulness in
coming into the church. They shall not be forced into it, but shall
naturally flow into it. Thy people shall be willing, all
volunteers,
III. The mutual assistance and
encouragement which this confluence of converts shall give to one
another. Their pious affections and resolutions shall be so
intermixed that they shall come in in one full stream. As, when the
Jews from all parts of the country went up thrice a year to worship
at Jerusalem, they called on their friends in the road and excited
them to go along with them, so shall many of the Gentiles court
their relations, friends, and neighbours, to join with them in
embracing the Christian religion (
IV. The means by which this shall be
brought about: Out of Zion shall go forth the law, the
New-Testament law, the law of Christ, as of old the law of Moses
from Mount Sinai, even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
The gospel is a law, a law of faith; it is the word of the
Lord; it went forth from Zion, where the temple was
built, and from Jerusalem. Christ himself began in Galilee,
V. The erecting of the kingdom of the
Redeemer in the world: He shall judge among the nations. He
whose word goes forth out of Zion shall by that word not only
subdue souls to himself, but rule in them,
VI. The great peace which should be the
effect of the success of the gospel in the world (
Lastly, Here is a practical
inference drawn from all this (
6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers. 7 Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: 8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: 9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.
The calling in of the Gentiles was
accompanied with the rejection of the Jews; it was their fall, and
the diminishing of them, that was the riches of the
Gentiles; and the casting off of them was the
reconciling of the world (
I. Israel's doom. This is set forth in two
words, the first and the last of this paragraph; but they are two
dreadful words, and which speak, 1. Their case sad, very sad
(
II. Israel's desert of this doom, and the reasons upon which it is grounded. In general, it is sin that brings destruction upon them; it is this, and nothing but this, that provokes God to forsake his people. The particular sins which the prophet specifies are such as abounded among them at that time, which he makes mention of for the conviction of those to whom he then preached, rather than that which afterwards proved the measure-filling sin, their crucifying Christ and persecuting his followers; for the sins of every age contributed towards the making up of the dreadful account at last. And there was a partial and temporary rejection of them by the captivity in Babylon hastening on, which was a type of their final destruction by the Romans, and which the sins here mentioned brought upon them. Their sins were such as directly contradicted all God's kind and gracious designs concerning them.
1. God set them apart for himself, as a
peculiar people, distinguished from, and dignified above, all other
people (
2. God gave them his oracles, which they
might ask counsel of, not only the scriptures and the seers, but
the breast-plate of judgment; but they slighted these, and became
soothsayers like the Philistines, introduced their arts of
divination, and hearkened to those who by the stars, or the clouds,
or the flight of birds, or the entrails of beasts, or other magic
superstitions, pretended to discover things secret or foretel
things to come. The Philistines were noted for diviners,
3. God encouraged them to put their
confidence in him, and assured them that he would be their wealth
and strength; but, distrusting his power and promise, they made
gold their hope, and furnished themselves with horses and chariots,
and relied upon them for their safety,
4. God himself was their God, the sole
object of their worship, and he himself instituted ordinances of
worship for them; but they slighted both him and his institutions,
5. God had advanced them, and put honour
upon them; but they basely diminished and disparaged themselves
(
10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty. 11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. 12 For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: 13 And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, 14 And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, 15 And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, 16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. 17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. 18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish. 19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. 20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; 21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. 22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?
The prophet here goes on to show what a desolation would be brought upon their land when God should have forsaken them. This may refer particularly to their destruction by the Chaldeans first, and afterwards by the Romans, or it may have a general respect to the method God takes to awaken and humble proud sinners, and to put them out of conceit with that which they delighted in and depended on more than God. We are here told that sooner or later God will find out a way,
I. To startle and awaken secure sinners,
who cry peace to themselves, and bid defiance to God and his
judgments (
II. To humble and abase proud sinners, that
look big, and think highly of themselves, and scornfully of all
about them (
1. Why this shall be done: because the
Lord alone will be exalted. Note, Proud men shall be
vilified because the Lord alone will be magnified. It is for the
honour of God's power to humble the proud; by this he proves
himself to be God, and disproves Job's pretensions to rival with
him,
2. How this shall be done: by humbling
judgments, that shall mortify men, and bring them down (
III. To make idolaters ashamed of their
idols, and of all the affection they have had for them and the
respect they have paid to them (
IV. To make those that have trusted in an
arm of flesh ashamed of their confidence (
The prophet, in this chapter, goes on to foretel
the desolations that were coming upon Judah and Jerusalem for their
sins, both that by the Babylonians and that which completed their
ruin by the Romans, with some of the grounds of God's controversy
with them. God threatens, I. To deprive them of all the supports
both of their life and of their government,
1 For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, 2 The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, 3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. 4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. 5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. 6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand: 7 In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be a healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people. 8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory.
The prophet, in the close of the foregoing
chapter, had given a necessary caution to all not to put confidence
in man, or any creature; he had also given a general reason for
that caution, taken from the frailty of human life and the vanity
and weakness of human powers. Here he gives a particular reason for
it—God was now about to ruin all their creature-confidences, so
that they should meet with nothing but disappointments in all their
expectations from them (
I. Was their plenty a support to them? It
is so to any people; bread is the staff of life: but God can
take away the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of
water; and it is just with him to do so when fulness of bread
becomes an iniquity (
II. Was their army a support to them—their
generals, and commanders, and military men? These shall be taken
away, either cut off by the sword or so discouraged with the
defeats they meet with that they shall throw up their commissions
and resolve to act no more; or they shall be disabled by sickness,
or dispirited, so as to be unfit for business; The mighty men,
and the man of war, and even the inferior officer, the
captain of fifty, shall be removed. It bodes ill with a people
when their valiant men are lost. Let not the strong man therefore
glory in his strength, nor any people trust too much to their
mighty men; but let the strong people glorify God and the
city of the terrible nations fear him, who can make them weak
and despicable,
III. Were their ministers of state a
support to them—their learned men, their politicians, their
clergy, their wits and virtuoso? These also should be taken
away—the judges, who were skilled in the laws, and expert
in administering justice,—the prophets, whom they used to
consult in difficult cases,—the prudent, who were
celebrated as men of sense and sagacity above all others and were
assistants to the judges, the diviners (so the word is),
those who used unlawful arts, who, though rotten stays, yet were
stayed on, (but it may be taken, as we read it, in a good
sense),—the ancients, elders in age, in office,—the
honourable man, the gravity of whose aspect commands reverence
and whose age and experience make him fit to be a counsellor. Trade
is one great support to a nation, even manufactures and handicraft
trades; and therefore, when the whole stay is broken, the
cunning artificer too shall be taken away; and the last is
the eloquent orator, the man skilful of speech, who in some
cases may do good service, though he be none of the prudent or the
ancient, by putting the sense of others in good language. Moses
cannot speak well, but Aaron can. God threatens to take these away,
that is, 1. To disable them for the service of their country,
making judges fools, taking away the speech of the trusty and
the understanding of the aged,
IV. Was their government a support to them?
It ought to have been so; it is the business of the sovereign to
bear up the pillars of the land,
V. Was the union of the subjects among
themselves, their good order and the good understanding and
correspondence that they kept with one another, a stay to them?
Where this is the case a people may do better for it, though their
princes be not such as they should be; but it is here threatened
that God would send an evil spirit among them too (as
VI. It is some stay, some support, to hope that, though matters may be now ill-managed, yet other may be raised up, who may manage better? Yet this expectation also shall be frustrated, for the case shall be so desperate that no man of sense or substance will meddle with it.
1. The government shall go a begging,
2. Those who are thus pressed to come into
office will swear themselves off, because, though they are taken to
be men of some substance, yet they know themselves unable to bear
the charges of the office and to answer the expectations of those
that choose them (
3. The reason why God brought things to
this sad pass, even among his own people (which is given either by
the prophet or by him that refused to be a ruler); it was not for
want of good will to his country, but because he saw the case
desperate and past relief, and it would be to no purpose to attempt
it (
9 The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. 10 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. 12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. 13 The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. 14 The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. 15 What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts.
Here God proceeds in his controversy with his people. Observe,
I. The ground of his controversy. It was
for sin that God contended with them; if they vex themselves, let
them look a little further and they will see that they must
thank themselves: Woe unto their souls! For they have
rewarded evil unto themselves. Alas for their souls! (so it may
be read, in a way of lamentation), for they have procured evil
to themselves,
II. The management of this controversy. 1.
God himself is the prosecutor (
III. The distinction that shall be made
between particular persons, in the prosecution of this controversy
(
16 Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: 17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts. 18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, 19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, 20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, 21 The rings, and nose jewels, 22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, 23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils. 24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty. 25 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. 26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.
The prophet's business was to show all
sorts of people what they had contributed to the national guilt and
what share they must expect in the national judgments that were
coming. Here he reproves and warns the daughters of Zion, tells the
ladies of their faults; and Moses, in the law, having denounced
God's wrath against the tender and delicate woman (the
prophets being a comment upon the law,
I. The sin charged upon the daughters of
Zion,
II. The punishments threatened for this
sin; and they answer the sin as face answers to face in a glass,
III. They were very nice and curious about
their clothes; but God would make those bodies of theirs, which
were at such expense to beautify and make easy, a reproach and
burden to them (
IV. They designed by these ornaments to
charm the gentlemen, and win their affections (
In this chapter we have, I. A threatening of the
paucity and scarceness of man (
1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.
It was threatened (
2 In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. 3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: 4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. 5 And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. 6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.
By the foregoing threatenings Jerusalem is brought into a very deplorable condition: every thing looks melancholy. But here the sun breaks out from behind the cloud. Many exceedingly great and precious promises we have in these verses, giving assurance of comfort which may be discerned through the troubles, and of happy days which shall come after them, and these certainly point at the kingdom of the Messiah, and the great redemption to be wrought out by him, under the figure and type of the restoration of Judah and Jerusalem by the reforming reign of Hezekiah after Ahaz and the return out of their captivity in Babylon; to both these events the passage may have some reference, but chiefly to Christ. It is here promised, as the issue of all these troubles,
I. That God will raise up a righteous
branch, which shall produce fruits of righteousness (
1. Christ himself shall be exalted. He is
the branch of the Lord, the man the branch; it is one of
prophetical names, my servant the branch (
2. His gospel shall be embraced. The
success of the gospel is the fruit of the branch of the Lord; all
the graces and comforts of the gospel spring from Christ. But it is
called the fruit of the earth because it sprang up in this
world and was calculated for the present state. And Christ compares
himself to a grain of wheat, that falls into the ground
and dies, and so brings forth much fruit,
II. That God will reserve to himself a holy
seed,
III. That God will reform his church and
will rectify and amend whatever is amiss in it,
IV. That God will protect his church, and
all that belong to it (
1. Their tabernacles shall be defended,
(1.) This writ of protection refers to,
[1.] Their dwelling places, the tabernacles of their rest, their
own houses, where they worship God alone, and with their families.
That blessing which is upon the habitation of the just shall
be a protection to it,
(2.) This writ of protection is drawn up,
[1.] In a similitude taken from the safety of the camp of Israel
when they marched through the wilderness. God will give to the
Christian church as real proofs, though not so sensible, of his
care of them, as he then gave to Israel. The Lord will again
create a cloud and smoke by day, to screen them from the
scorching heat of the sun, and the shining of a flaming fire by
night, to enlighten and warm the air, which in the night is
cold and dark. See
2. Their tabernacle shall be a defence to
them,
In this chapter the prophet, in God's name, shows
the people of God their transgressions, even the house of Jacob
their sins, and the judgments which were likely to be brought upon
them for their sins, I. By a parable, under the similitude of an
unfruitful vineyard, representing the great favours God had
bestowed upon them, their disappointing his expectations from them,
and the ruin they had thereby deserved,
1 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: 2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. 3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? 5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 6 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
See what variety of methods the great God
takes to awaken sinners to repentance by convincing them of sin,
and showing them their misery and danger by reason of it. To this
purport he speaks sometimes in plain terms and sometimes in
parables, sometimes in prose and sometimes in verse, as here. "We
have tried to reason with you (
I. The great things which God had done for
the Jewish church and nation. When all the rest of the world lay in
common, not cultivated by divine revelation, that was his vineyard,
they were his peculiar people. He acknowledged them as his own, set
them apart for himself. The soil they were planted in was
extraordinary; it was a very fruitful hill, the horn of the son
of oil; so it is in the margin. There was plenty, a cornucopia;
and there was dainty: they did there eat the fat and drink the
sweet, and so were furnished with abundance of good things to
honour God with in sacrifices and free-will offerings. The
advantages of our situation will be brought into the account
another day. Observe further what God did for this vineyard. 1. He
fenced it, took it under his special protection, kept it night and
day under his own eye, lest any should hurt it,
II. The disappointment of his just
expectations from them: He looked that it should bring forth
grapes, and a great deal of reason he had for that expectation.
Note, God expects vineyard-fruit from those that enjoy
vineyard-privileges, not leaves only, as
III. An appeal to themselves whether upon
the whole matter God must not be justified and they condemned,
IV. Their doom read, and a righteous
sentence passed upon them for their bad conduct towards God
(
V. The explanation of this parable, or a
key to it (
8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! 9 In mine ears said the Lord of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. 10 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah. 11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! 12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands. 13 Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. 14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. 15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: 16 But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. 17 Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.
The world and the flesh are the two great
enemies that we are in danger of being overpowered by; yet we are
in no danger if we do not ourselves yield to them. Eagerness of the
world, and indulgence of the flesh, are the two sins against which
the prophet, in God's name, here denounces woes. These were sins
which then abounded among the men of Judah, some of the wild grapes
they brought forth (
I. Here is a woe to those who set their
hearts upon the wealth of the world, and place their happiness in
that, and increase it to themselves by indirect and unlawful means
(
1. Their fault is, (1.) That they are
inordinate in their desires to enrich themselves, and make it their
whole care and business to raise an estate, as if they had nothing
to mind, nothing to seek, nothing to do, in this world, but that.
They never know when they have enough, but the more they have the
more they would have; and, like the daughters of the
horseleech, they cry, Give, give. They cannot enjoy what
they have, nor do good with it, but are constantly contriving and
studying to make it more. They must have variety of houses, a
winter-house, and a summer-house, and if another man's house or
field lie convenient to theirs, as Naboth's vineyard to Ahab's,
they must have that too, or they cannot be easy. (2.) That they are
herein careless of others, nay, and injurious to them. They would
live so as to let nobody live but themselves. So that their
insatiable covetings may be gratified, they care not what becomes
of all about them, what encroachments they make upon their
neighbours' rights, what hardships they put upon those that they
have power over or advantage against, nor what base and wicked arts
they use to heap up treasure to themselves. They would swell so big
as to fill all space, and yet are still unsatisfied (
2. That which is threatened as the
punishment of this sin is that neither the houses nor the fields
they were thus greedy of should turn to any account,
II. Here is a woe to those that dote upon
the pleasures and delights of sense,
1. Who the sinners are against whom this
woe is denounced. (1.) They are such as are given to drink; they
make their drinking their business, have their hearts upon it, and
overcharge themselves with it. They rise early to follow strong
drink, as husbandmen and tradesmen do to follow their employments;
as if they were afraid of losing time from that which is the
greatest misspending of time. Whereas commonly those that are
drunken are drunken in the night, when they have despatched the
business of the day, these neglect business, abandon it, and give
up themselves to the service of the flesh; for they sit at their
cups all day, and continue till night, till wine inflame
them—inflame their lusts (chambering and wantonness follow
upon rioting and drunkenness)—inflame their passions; for who but
such have contentions and wounds without cause?
2. What the judgments are which are
denounced against them, and in part executed. It is here foretold,
(1.) that they should be dislodged; the land should spue out these
drunkards (
3. What the fruit of these judgments shall be.
(1.) God shall be glorified,
(2.) Good people shall be relieved and
succoured (
(3.) The country shall be laid waste, and
become a prey to the neighbours: The waste places of the fats
ones, the possessions of those rich men that lived at their
ease, shall be eaten by strangers that were nothing akin to them.
In the captivity the poor of the land were left for
vine-dressers and husbandmen (
18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: 19 That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it! 20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! 22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: 23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! 24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25 Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: 27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: 28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: 29 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it. 30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.
Here are, I. Sins described which will bring judgments upon a people: and this perhaps is not only a charge drawn up against the men of Judah who lived at that time, and the particular articles of that charge, though it may relate primarily to them, but is rather intended for warning to all people, in all ages, to take heed of these sins, as destructive both to particular persons and to communities, and exposing men to God's wrath and his righteous judgments. Those are here said to be in a woeful condition,
1. Who are eagerly set upon sin, and
violent in their sinful pursuits (
2. Who set the justice of God at defiance,
and challenge the Almighty to do his worst (
3. Who confound and overthrow the
distinctions between moral good and evil, who call evil good and
moral evil (
4. Who though they are guilty of such gross
mistakes as these have a great opinion of their own judgments, and
value themselves mightily upon their understanding (
5. Who glory in it as a great
accomplishment that they are able to bear a great deal of strong
liquor without being overcome by it (
6. Who, as judges, pervert justice, and go
counter to all rules of equity,
II. The judgments described, which these
sins would bring upon them. Let not those expect to live easily who
live thus wickedly; for the righteous God will take vengeance,
1. How complete this ruin will be, and how
necessarily and unavoidably it will follow upon their sins. He had
compared this people to a vine (
2. How just the ruin will be: Because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and would not have him to reign over them; and, as the law of Moses was rejected and thrown off, so the word of the Holy One of Israel by his servants the prophets, putting them in mind of his law and calling them to obedience, was despised and disregarded. God does not reject men for every transgression of his law and word; but, when his word is despised and his law cast away, what can they expect but that God should utterly abandon them?
3. Whence this ruin should come (
4. The consequences and continuance of this ruin. When God comes forth in wrath against a people the hills tremble, fear seizes even their great men, who are strong and high, the earth shakes under men and is ready to sink; and as this feels dreadful (what does more so than an earthquake?) so what sight can be more frightful than the carcases of men torn with dogs, or thrown as dung (so the margin reads it) in the midst of the streets? This intimates that great multitudes should be slain, not only soldiers in the field of battle, but the inhabitants of their cities put to the sword in cold blood, and that the survivors should neither have hands nor hearts to bury them. This is very dreadful, and yet such is the merit of sin that, for all this, God's anger is not turned away; that fire will burn as long as there remains any of the stubble and chaff to be fuel for it; and his hand, which he stretched forth against his people to smite them, because they do not by prayer take hold of it, nor by reformation submit themselves to it, is stretched out still.
5. The instruments that should be employed in bringing this ruin upon them: it should be done by the incursions of a foreign enemy, that should lay all waste. No particular enemy is named, and therefore we are to take it as a prediction of all the several judgments of this kind which God brought upon the Jews, Sennacherib's invasion soon after, and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans first and at last by the Romans; and I think it is to be looked upon also as a threatening of the like desolation of those countries which harbour and countenance those sins mentioned in the foregoing verses; it is an exposition of those woes. When God designs the ruin of a provoking people,
(1.) He can send a great way off for
instruments to be employed in effecting it; he can raise forces
from afar, and summon them from the end of the earth to attend his
service,
(2.) He can make them come into the service
with incredible expedition: Behold, they shall come with speed
swiftly. Note, [1.] Those who will do God's work must not
loiter, must not linger, nor shall they when his time has come.
[2.] Those who defy God's judgments will be ashamed of their
insolence when it is too late; they said scornfully (
(3.) He can carry them on in the service
with amazing forwardness and fury. This is described here in very
elegant and lofty expressions,
Hitherto, it should seem, Isaiah had prophesied as
a candidate, having only a virtual and tacit commission; but here
we have him (if I may so speak) solemnly ordained and set apart to
the prophetic office by a more express or explicit commission, as
his work grew more upon his hands: or perhaps, having seen little
success of his ministry, he began to think of giving it up; and
therefore God saw fit to renew his commission here in this chapter,
in such a manner as might excite and encourage his zeal and
industry in the execution of it, though he seemed to labour in
vain. In this chapter we have, I. A very awful vision which Isaiah
saw of the glory of God (
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
The vision which Isaiah saw when he was, as
is said of Samuel, established to be a prophet of the Lord
(
The vision is dated, for the greater
certainty of it. It was in the year that king Uzziah died,
who had reigned, for the most part, as prosperously and well as any
of the kings of Judah, and reigned very long, above fifty years.
About the time that he died, Isaiah saw this vision of God upon a
throne; for when the breath of princes goes forth, and they return
to their earth, this is our comfort, that the Lord shall reign
for ever,
What the prophet here saw is revealed to us, that we, mixing faith with that revelation, may in it, as in a glass, behold the glory of the Lord; let us turn aside therefore, and see this great sight with humble reverence.
I. See God upon his throne, and that throne
high and lifted up, not only above other thrones, as it
transcends them, but over other thrones, as it rules and commands
them. Isaiah saw not Jehovah—the essence of God (no man has
seen that, or can see it), but Adonai—his dominion. He saw
the Lord Jesus; so this vision is explained
II. See his temple, his church on earth, filled with the manifestations of his glory. His throne being erected at the door of the temple (as princes sat in judgment at the gates), his train, the skirts of his robes, filled the temple, the whole world (for it is all God's temple, and, as the heaven is his throne, so the earth is his footstool), or rather the church, which is filled enriched, and beautified with the tokens of God's special presence.
III. See the bright and blessed attendants
on his throne, in and by whom his glory is celebrated and his
government served (
IV. Hear the anthem, or song of praise,
which the angels sing to the honour of him that sits on the throne,
1. How this song was sung. With zeal and fervency—they cried aloud; and with unanimity—they cried to another, or one with another; they sang alternately, but in concert, and without the least jarring voice to interrupt the harmony.
2. What the song was; it is the same with
that which is sung by the four living creatures,
(1.) His infinite perfections in himself.
Here is one of his most glorious titles praised: he is the Lord
of hosts, of their hosts, of all hosts; and one of his most
glorious attributes, his holiness, without which his being the Lord
of hosts (or, as it is in the parallel place,
(2.) The manifestation of these to the
children of men: The earth is full of his glory, the glory
of his power and purity; for he is holy in all his works,
V. Observe the marks and tokens of terror
with which the temple was filled, upon this vision of the divine
glory,
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
Our curiosity would lead us to enquire further concerning the seraphim, their songs and their services; but here we leave them, and must attend to what passed between God and his prophet. Secret things belong not to us, the secret things of the world of angels, but things revealed to and by the prophets, which concern the administration of God's kingdom among men. Now here we have,
I. The consternation that the prophet was
put into by the vision which he saw of the glory of God (
1. What the prophet reflected upon in
himself which terrified him: "I am undone if God deal with
me in strict justice, for I have made myself obnoxious to his
displeasure, because I am a man of unclean lips." Some think
he refers particularly to some rash word he had spoken, or to his
sinful silence in not reproving sin with the boldness and freedom
that were necessary—a sin which God's ministers have too much
cause to charge themselves with, and to blush at the remembrance
of. But it may be taken more generally; I am a sinner;
particularly, I have offended in word; and who is there that
hath not?
2. What gave occasion for these sad
reflections at this time: My eyes have seen the King, the Lord
of hosts. He saw God's sovereignty to be incontestable—he is
the King; and his power irresistible—he is the Lord of hosts.
These are comfortable truths to God's people, and yet they ought to
strike an awe upon us. Note, A believing sight of God's glorious
majesty should affect us all with reverence and godly fear. We have
reason to be abased in the sense of that infinite distance that
there is between us and God, and our own sinfulness and vileness
before him, and to be afraid of his displeasure. We are undone if
there be not a Mediator between us and this holy God,
II. The silencing of the prophet's fears by
the good words, and comfortable words, with which the angel
answered him,
III. The renewing of the prophet's mission,
1. The counsel of God concerning Isaiah's
mission. God is here brought in, after the manner of men,
deliberating and advising with himself: Whom shall I send? And
who will go for us? God needs not either to be counselled by
others or to consult with himself; he knows what he will do, but
thus he would show us that there is a counsel in his whole will,
and teach us to consider our ways, and particularly that the
sending forth of ministers is a work not to be done but upon mature
deliberation. Observe, (1.) Who it is that is consulting. It is the
Lord God in his glory, whom he saw upon the throne high and lifted
up. It puts an honour upon the ministry that, when God would send a
prophet to speak in his name, he appeared in all the glories of the
upper world. Ministers are the ambassadors of the King of kings;
how mean soever they are, he who sends them is great; it is God in
three persons (Who will go for us? as
2. The consent of Isaiah to it: Then
said I, Here am I; send me. He was to go on a melancholy
errand; the office seemed to go a begging, and every body declined
it, and yet Isaiah offered himself to the service. It is an honour
to be singular in appearing for God,
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. 11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, 12 And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. 13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil-tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
God takes Isaiah at his word, and here sends him on a strange errand—to foretel the ruin of his people and even to ripen them for that ruin—to preach that which, by their abuse of it, would be to them a savour of death unto death. And this was to be a type and figure of the state of the Jewish church in the days of the Messiah, when they should obstinately reject the gospel, and should thereupon be rejected of God. These verses are quoted in part, or referred to, six times, in the New Testament, which intimates that in gospel time these spiritual judgments would be most frequently inflicted; and though they make the least noise, and come not with observation, yet they are of all judgments the most dreadful. Isaiah is here given to understand these four things:—
1. That the generality of the people to
whom he was sent would turn a deaf ear to his preaching, and
wilfully shut their eyes against all the discoveries of the mind
and will of God which he had to make to them (
2. That, forasmuch as they would not be
made better by his ministry, they should be made worse by it; those
that were wilfully blind should be judicially blinded (
3. That the consequence of this would be
their utter ruin,
4. That yet a remnant should be reserved to
be the monuments of mercy,
This chapter is an occasional sermon, in which the
prophet sings both of mercy and judgment to those that did not
perceive or understand either; he piped unto them, but they danced
not, mourned unto them, but they wept not. Here is, I. The
consternation that Ahaz was in upon an attempt of the confederate
forces of Syria and Israel against Jerusalem,
1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. 2 And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind. 3 Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field; 4 And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, 6 Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: 7 Thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. 8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. 9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.
The prophet Isaiah had his commission
renewed in the year that king Uzziah died,
I. A very formidable design laid against
Jerusalem by Rezin king of Syria and Pekah king of Israel, two
neighbouring potentates, who had of late made descents upon Judah
severally. At the end of the reign of Jotham, the Lord began to
send against Judah Rezin and Pekah,
II. The great distress that Ahaz and his
court were in when they received advice of this design: It was
told the house of David that Syria and Ephraim had signed a
league against Judah,
III. The orders and directions given to Isaiah to go and encourage Ahaz in his distress; not for his own sake (he deserved to hear nothing from God but words of terror, which might add affliction to his grief), but because he was a son of David and king of Judah. God had kindness for him for his father's sake, who must not be forgotten, and for his people's sake, who must not be abandoned, but would be encouraged if Ahaz were. Observe,
1. God appointed the prophet to meet Ahaz,
though he did not send to the prophet to speak with him, nor desire
him to enquire of the Lord for him (
2. He ordered him to take his little son
with him, because he carried a sermon in his name,
Shear-jashub—A remnant shall return. The prophets sometimes
recorded what they preached in the significant names of their
children (as
3. He directed him where he should find
Ahaz. He was to meet with him not in the temple, or the synagogue,
or royal chapel, but at the end of the conduit of the upper
pool, where he was, probably with many of his servants about
him, contriving how to order the water-works, so as to secure them
to the city, or deprive the enemy of the benefits of them
(
4. He put words in his mouth, else the prophet would not have known how to bring a message of good to such a bad man, a sinner in Zion, that ought to be afraid; but God intended it for the support of faithful Israelites.
(1.) The prophet must rebuke their fears,
and advise them by no means to yield to them, but keep their
temper, and preserve the possession of their own souls (
(2.) He must teach them to despise their
enemies, not in pride, or security, or incogitancy (nothing more
dangerous than so to despise an enemy), but in faith and dependence
upon God. Ahaz's fear called them two powerful politic princes, for
either of whom he was an unequal match, but, if united, he durst
not look them in the face, nor make head against them. "No," says
the prophet, "they are two tails of smoking firebrands; they
are angry, they are fierce, they are furious, as firebrands, as
fireballs; and they make one another worse by being in a
confederacy, as sticks of fire put together burn the more
violently. But they are only smoking firebrands: and where there is
smoke there is some fire, but it may be not so much as was feared.
Their threatenings will vanish into smoke. Pharaoh king of Egypt
is but a noise (
(3.) He must assure them that the present
design of these high allies (so they thought themselves) against
Jerusalem should certainly be defeated and come to nothing,
(4.) He must give them a prospect of the
destruction of these enemies, at last, that were now such a terror
to them. [1.] They should neither of them enlarge their dominions,
nor push their conquests any further; The head city of Syria is
Damascus, and the head man of Damascus is Rezin; this he
glories in, and this let him be content with,
(5.) He must urge them to mix faith with
those assurances which he had given them (
10 Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. 13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. 16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
Here, I. God, by the prophet, makes a
gracious offer to Ahaz, to confirm the foregoing predictions, and
his faith in them, by such sign or miracle as he should choose
(
II. Ahaz rudely refuses this gracious
offer, and (which is not mannerly towards any superior) kicks at
the courtesy, and puts a slight upon it (
III. The prophet reproves him and his
court, him and the house of David, the whole royal family, for
their contempt of prophecy, and the little value they had for
divine revelation (
IV. The prophet, in God's name, gives them
a sign: "You will not ask a sign, but the unbelief of man shall not
make the promise of God of no effect: The Lord himself shall
give you a sign (
1. "A sign in general of his good-will to
Israel and to the house of David. You may conclude it that he has
mercy in store for you, and that you are not forsaken of your God,
how great soever your present distress and danger are; for of your
nation, of your family, the Messiah is to be born, and you cannot
be destroyed while that blessing is in you, which shall be
introduced," (1.) "In a glorious manner; for, whereas you have been
often told that he should be born among you, I am now further to
tell you that he shall be born of a virgin, which will signify both
the divine power and the divine purity with which he shall be
brought into the world,—that he shall be a extraordinary person,
for he shall not be born by ordinary generation,—and that he shall
be a holy thing, not stained with the common pollutions of the
human nature, therefore incontestably fit to have the throne of his
father David given him." Now this, though it was to be accomplished
above 500 years after, was a most encouraging sign to the house of
David (and to them, under that title, this prophecy is directed,
2. Here is another sign in particular of
the speedy destruction of these potent princes that were now a
terror to Judah,
17 The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria. 18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes. 20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard. 21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep; 22 And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land. 23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns. 24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns. 25 And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.
After the comfortable promises made to Ahaz as a branch of the house of David, here follow terrible threatenings against him, as a degenerate branch of that house; for though the loving-kindness of God shall not be utterly taken away, for the sake of David and the covenant made with him, yet his iniquity shall be chastened with the rod, and his sin with stripes. Let those that will not mix faith with the promises of God expect to hear the alarms of his threatenings.
I. The judgment threatened is very great,
II. The enemy that should be employed as
the instrument of this judgment is the king of Assyria. Ahaz
reposed great confidence in that prince for help against the
confederate powers of Israel and Syria, and minded the less what
God said to him by his prophet for his encouragement because he
built much upon his interest in the king of Assyria, and had meanly
promised to be his servant if he would send him some succours; he
had also, made him a present of gold and silver, for which he
drained the treasures both of church and state,
This chapter, and the four next that follow it (to
chap. xiii.) are all one continued discourse or sermon, the scope
of which is to show the great destruction that should now shortly
be brought upon the kingdom of Israel, and the great disturbance
that should be given to the kingdom of Judah by the king of
Assyria, and that both were for their sins; but rich provision is
made of comfort for those that feared God in those dark times,
referring especially to the days of the Messiah. In this chapter we
have, I. A prophecy of the destruction of the confederate kingdoms
of Syria and Israel by the king of Assyria,
1 Moreover the Lord said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. 3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 4 For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria. 5 The Lord spake also unto me again, saying, 6 Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son; 7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: 8 And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
In these verses we have a prophecy of the successes of the king of Assyria against Damascus, Samaria, and Judah, that the two former should be laid waste by him, and the last greatly frightened. Here we have,
I. Orders given to the prophet to write
this prophecy, and publish it to be seen and read of all men, and
to leave it upon record, that when the thing came to pass they
might know that God had sent him; for that was one end of prophecy,
II. The care of the prophet to get this
record well attested (
III. The making of the title of his book
the name of his child, that it might be the more taken notice of
and the more effectually perpetuated,
IV. The prophecy itself, which explains this mystical name.
1. That Syria and Israel, who were now in
confederacy against Judah, should in a very little time become an
easy prey to the king of Assyria and his victorious army (
2. That forasmuch as there were many in
Judah that were secretly in the interests of Syria and Israel, and
were disaffected to the house of David, God would chastise them
also by the king of Assyria, who should create a great deal of
vexation to Judah, as was foretold,
9 Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. 10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us. 11 For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, 12 Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. 13 Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
The prophet here returns to speak of the present distress that Ahaz and his court and kingdom were in upon account of the threatening confederacy of the ten tribes and the Syrians against them. And in these verses,
I. He triumphs over the invading enemies,
and, in effect, sets them at defiance, and bids them do their worst
(
II. He comforts and encourages the people
of God with the same comforts and encouragements which he himself
had received. The attempt made upon them was very formidable; the
house of David, the court and royal family, were at their wits' end
(
1. The prophet tells us how he was himself
taught of God not to give way to such amazing fears as the people
were disturbed with, nor to run into the same measures with them
(
2. Now what is it that he says to God's people?
(1.) He cautions them against a sinful
fear,
(2.) He advises them to a gracious
religious fear: But sanctify the Lord of hosts himself,
(3.) He assures them of a holy security and
serenity of mind in so doing (
III. He threatens the ruin of the ungodly
and unbelieving, both in Judah and Israel. They have no part nor
lot in the foregoing comforts; that God who will be a sanctuary to
those who trust in him will be a stone of stumbling, and a rock of
offence, to those who leave these waters of Shiloah, and rejoice
in Rezin and Remaliah's son, (
16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. 17 And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. 19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? 20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. 22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
In these verses we have,
I. The unspeakable privilege which the
people of God enjoy in having the oracles of God consigned over to
them, and being entrusted with the sacred writings. That they may
sanctify the Lord of hosts, may make him their fear and find him
their sanctuary, bind up the testimony,
II. The good use which we ought to make of this privilege. This we are taught,
1. By the prophet's own practice and
resolutions,
(1.) The discouragements which the prophet
laboured under. He specifies two:—[1.] The frowns of God, not so
much upon himself, but upon his people, whose interests lay very
near his heart: "He hides his face from the house of Jacob,
and seems at present to neglect them, and lay them under the tokens
of his displeasure." The prophet was himself employed in revealing
God's wrath against them, and yet grieved thus for it, as one that
did not desire the woeful day. If the house of Jacob forsake the
God of Jacob, let it not be thought strange that he hides his face
from them. [2.] The contempt and reproaches of men, not only upon
himself, but upon his disciples, among whom the law and the
testimony were sealed: I and the children whom the Lord has
given me are for signs and wonders; we are gazed at as monsters
or outlandish people, pointed at as we go along the streets.
Probably the prophetical names that were given to his children were
ridiculed and bantered by the profane scoffers of the town. I am
as a wonder unto many,
(2.) The encouragement he took in reference
to these discouragements. [1.] He saw the hand of God in all that
which was discouraging to him, and kept his eye upon that. Whatever
trouble the house of Jacob is in, it comes from God's hiding his
face; nay, whatever contempt was put upon him or his friends, it is
from the Lord of hosts; he has bidden Shimei curse David,
2. By the counsel and advice which he gives to his disciples, among whom the law and the testimony were sealed, to whom were committed the lively oracles.
(1.) He supposes they would be tempted, in
the day of their distress, to consult those that had familiar
spirits, that dealt with the devil, asked his advice, and
desired to be informed by him concerning things to come, that they
might take their measures accordingly. Thus Saul, when he was in
straits, made his application to the witch of Endor (
(2.) He furnishes them with an answer to
this temptation, puts words into their mouths. "If any go about
thus to ensnare you, give them this reply: Should not a people
seek to their God? What! for the living to the dead!"
[1.] "Tell them it is a principle of religion that a people ought
to seek unto their God; now Jehovah is our God, and therefore to
him we ought to seek, and to consult with him, and not with those
that have familiar spirits. All people will thus walk in the
name of their God,
(3.) He directs them to consult the oracles
of God. If the prophets that were among them did not speak directly
to every case, yet they had the written word, and to that they must
have recourse. Note, Those will never be drawn to consult wizards
that know how to make a good use of their Bibles. Would we know how
we may seek to our God, and come to the knowledge of his mind?
To the law and to the testimony. There you will see what is
good, and what the Lord requires of you. Make God's statutes your
counsellors, and you will be counselled aright. Observe, [1.] What
use we must make of the law and the testimony: we must speak
according to that word, that is, we must make this our
standard, conform to it, take advice from it, make our appeals to
it, and in every thing be overruled and determined by it, consent
to those wholesome healing words (
(4.) He reads the doom of those that seek
to familiar spirits and regard not God's law and testimony; there
shall not only be no light to them, no comfort or prosperity, but
they may expect all horror and misery,
The prophet in this chapter (according to the
directions given him,
1 Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. 2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. 5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. 6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
The first words of this chapter plainly
refer to the close of the foregoing chapter, where every thing
looked black and melancholy: Behold, trouble, and darkness, and
dimness—very bad, yet not so bad but that to the upright
there shall arise light in the darkness (
I. Three things are here promised, and they all point ultimately at the grace of the gospel, which the saints then were to comfort themselves with the hopes of in every cloudy and dark day, as we now are to comfort ourselves in time of trouble with the hopes of Christ's second coming, though that be now, as his first coming then was, a thing at a great distance. The mercy likewise which God has in store for his church in the latter days may be a support to those that are mourning with her for her present calamities. We have here the promise,
1. Of a glorious light, which shall so
qualify, and by degrees dispel, the dimness, that it shall not be
as it sometimes has been: Not such as was in her vexation;
there shall not be such dark times as were formerly, when at
first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and Naphtali
(which lay remote and most exposed to the inroads of the
neighbouring enemies), and afterwards he more grievously
afflicted the land by the way of the sea and beyond Jordan
(
2. Of a glorious increase, and a universal
joy arising from it, (
3. Of a glorious liberty and enlargement
(
II. But who, where, is he that shall
undertake and accomplish these great things for the church? The
prophet tells us (
1. See him in his humiliation. The same
that is the mighty God is a child born; the ancient
of days becomes an infant of a span long; the everlasting
Father is a Son given. Such was his condescension in
taking our nature upon him; thus did he humble and empty himself,
to exalt and fill us. He is born into our world. The Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us. He is given, freely given, to
be all that to us which our case, in our fallen state, calls for.
God so loved the world that he gave him. He is born to us,
he is given to us, us men, and not to the angels that sinned. It is
spoken with an air of triumph, and the angel seems to refer to
these words in the notice he gives to the shepherds of the
Messiah's having come (
2. See him in his exaltation. This child, this son, this Son of God, this Son of man, that is given to us, is in a capacity to do us a great deal of kindness; for he is invested with the highest honour and power, so that we cannot but be happy if he be our friend.
(1.) See the dignity he is advanced to, and
the name he has above every name. He shall be called (and therefore
we are sure he is and shall be) Wonderful, Counsellor,
&c. His people shall know him and worship him by these
names; and, as one that fully answers them, they shall submit to
him and depend upon him. [1.] He is wonderful, counsellor.
Justly is he called wonderful, for he is both God and man.
His love is the wonder of angels and glorified saints; in his
birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension, he was wonderful.
A constant series of wonders attended him, and, without
controversy, great was the mystery of godliness concerning him. He
is the counsellor, for he was intimately acquainted with the
counsels of God from eternity, and he gives counsel to the children
of men, in which he consults our welfare. It is by him that God has
given us counsel,
(2.) See the dominion he is advanced to,
and the throne he has above every throne (
8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. 9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, 10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. 11 Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; 12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 13 For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of hosts. 14 Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. 15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. 16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. 17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is a hypocrite and an evil doer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 18 For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke. 19 Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. 20 And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: 21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Here are terrible threatenings, which are directed primarily against Israel, the kingdom of the ten tribes, Ephraim and Samaria, the ruin of which is here foretold, with all the woeful confusions that were the prefaces to that ruin, all which came to pass within a few years after; but they look further, to all the enemies of the throne and kingdom of Christ the Son of David, and read the doom of all the nations that forget God, and will not have Christ to reign over them. Observe,
I. The preface to this prediction
(
II. The sins charged upon the people of
Israel, which provoked God to bring these judgments upon them. 1.
Their insolent defiance of the justice of God, thinking themselves
a match for him: "They say, in the pride and stoutness of their
heart, Let God himself do his worst; we will hold our own, and
make our part good with him. If he ruin our houses, we will repair
them, and make them stronger and finer than they were before. Our
landlord shall not turn us out of doors, though we pay him no rent,
but we will keep in possession. If the houses that were built of
bricks be demolished in the war, we will rebuild them with hewn
stones, that shall not so easily be thrown down. If the enemy cut
down the sycamores, we will plant cedars in the room of them. We
will make a hand of God's judgments, gain by them, and so outbrave
them." Note, Those are ripening apace for ruin whose hearts are
unhumbled under humbling providences; for God will walk contrary to
those who thus walk contrary to him and provoke him to jealousy, as
if they were stronger than he. 2. Their incorrigibleness under all
the rebukes of Providence hitherto (
III. The judgments threatened against them for this wickedness of theirs; let them not think to go unpunished.
1. In general, hereby they exposed
themselves to the wrath of God, which should both devour as fire
and darken as smoke. (1.) It should devour as fire (
2. God would arm the neighbouring powers
against them,
3. God would take from the midst of them
those they confided in and promised themselves help from,
4. That the desolation should be as general
as the corruption had been, and none should escape it,
5. That they should pull one another to
pieces, that every one should help forward the common ruin, and
they should be cannibals to themselves and one to another: No
man shall spare his brother, if he come in the way of his
ambition of covetousness, or if he have any colour to be revenged
on him; and how can they expect God should spare them when they
show no compassion one to another? Men's passion and cruelty one
against another provoke God to be angry with them all and are an
evidence that he is so. Civil wars soon bring a kingdom to
desolation. Such there were in Israel, when, for the
transgression of the land, many were the princes thereof,
(1.) In these intestine broils, men
snatched on the right hand, and yet were hungry still, and
did eat the flesh of their own arms, preyed upon themselves
for hunger or upon their nearest relations that were as their own
flesh,
(2.) These intestine broils should be not
only among particular persons and private families, but among the
tribes (
6. That, though they should be followed
with all these judgments, yet God would not let fall his
controversy with them. It is the heavy burden of this song
(
The prophet, in this chapter, is dealing, I. With
the proud oppressors of his people at home, that abused their
power, to pervert justice, whom he would reckon with for their
tyranny,
1 Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; 2 To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless! 3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? 4 Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Whether they were the princes and judges of
Israel of Judah, or both, that the prophet denounced this woe
against, is not certain: if those of Israel, these verses are to be
joined with the close of the foregoing chapter, which is probable
enough, because the burden of that prophecy (for all this his
anger is not turned away) is repeated here (
I. The indictment drawn up against these
oppressors,
II. A challenge given them with all their
pride and power to outface the judgments of God (
III. Sentence passed upon them, by which
they are doomed, some to imprisonment and captivity (they shall
bow down among the prisoners, or under them—those that
were most highly elevated in sin shall be most heavily loaded and
most deeply sunk in trouble), others to death: they shall fall
first, and so shall fall under the rest of the slain. Those that
had trampled upon the widows and fatherless shall themselves be
trodden down,
And yet, for all this, his anger is not turned away, which intimates not only that God will proceed in his controversy with them, but that they shall be in a continual dread of it; they shall, to their unspeakable terror, see his hand still stretched out against them, and there shall remain nothing but a fearful looking for of judgment.
5 O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. 6 I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few. 8 For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings? 9 Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? 10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; 11 Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? 12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. 13 For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man: 14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. 15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. 16 Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. 17 And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day; 18 And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth. 19 And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.
The destruction of the kingdom of Israel by
Shalmaneser king of Assyria was foretold in the foregoing chapter,
and it had its accomplishment in the sixth year of Hezekiah,
I. How God, in his sovereignty, deputed the
king of Assyria to be his servant, and made use of him as a mere
tool to serve his own purposes with (
II. See how the king of Assyria, in his
pride, magnified himself as his own master, and pretended to be
absolute and above all control, to act purely according to his own
will and for his own honour. God ordained him for judgment,
even the mighty God established him for correction
(
1. He does not think that he is either
God's servant or Israel's friend, either that he can do no
more than God will let him or that he shall do no more than
God will make to work for the good of his people. God designs to
correct his people for, and so to cure them of, their hypocrisy,
and bring them nearer to himself; but was that Sennacherib's
design? No, it was the furthest thing from his thoughts—he
means not so. Note, (1.) The wise God often makes even the
sinful passions and projects of men subservient to his own great
and holy purposes. (2.) When God makes use of men as instruments in
his hand to do his work it is very common for him to mean
one thing and them to mean another, nay, for them to mean
quite the contrary to what he intends. What Joseph's brethren
designed for hurt God overruled for good,
2. He designs nothing but to destroy and
to cut off nations not a few, and to make himself master of
them. [1.] He designs to gratify his own cruelty; nothing will
serve but to destroy and cut off. He hopes to regale himself with
blood and slaughter; that of particular persons will not suffice,
he must cut off nations. It is below him to deal by retail; he
traffics in murders by wholesale. Nations, and those not a few,
must have but one neck, which he will have the pleasure of cutting
off. [2.] He designs to gratify his own covetousness and ambition,
to set up for a universal monarch, and to gather unto him all
nations,
3. The prophet here brings him in vaunting, and hectoring; and by his general's letter to Hezekiah, written in his name, vainglory and arrogance seem to have entered very far into the spirit and genius of the man. His haughtiness and presumption are here described very largely, and his very language copied out, partly to represent him as ridiculous and partly to assure the people of God that he would be brought down; for that maxim generally holds true, that pride goes before destruction. It also intimates that God takes notice, and keeps an account, of all men's proud and haughty words, with which they set heaven and earth at defiance. Those that speak great swelling words of vanity shall hear of them again.
(1.) He boasts of the great things he had
done to other nations. [1.] He had made their kings his courtiers
(
(2.) He boasts of the manner in which he
had done them. [1.] That he had done all this by his own policy and
power (
(3.) He threatens what he will do to
Jerusalem, which he was now about to lay siege to,
III. See how God, in his justice, rebukes his pride and reads his doom. We have heard what the great king, the king of Assyria, says, and how big he talks. Let us now hear what the great God has to say by his servant the prophet, and we shall find that, wherein he deals proudly, God is above him.
1. He shows the vanity of his insolent and
audacious boasts (
2. He foretels his fall and ruin.
(1.) That when God had done his work by him
he would then do his work upon him,
(2.) That, how threatening soever this
attempt was upon Zion and Jerusalem, it should certainly be
baffled, and broken, and come to nothing, and he should not be able
to bring to pass his enterprise,
[1.] Who it is that undertakes his
destruction, and will be the author of it; not Hezekiah, or his
princes, or the militia of Judah and Jerusalem (what can they do
against such a potent force?), but God himself will do it, as
the Lord of hosts, and as the light of Israel. First,
We are sure he can do it, for he is the Lord of hosts, of
all the hosts of heaven and earth. All the creatures are at his
command; he makes what use he pleases on them. He is the Lord of
the hosts both of Judah and of Assyria, and can give the victory to
which he pleases. Let us not fear the hosts of any enemy if we have
the Lord of hosts for us. Secondly, We have reason to hope
he will do it, for he is the light of Israel, and his Holy
One. God is light; in him are perfect brightness, purity, and
happiness. He is light, for he is the Holy One; his holiness is his
glory. He is Israel's light, to direct and counsel his people, to
favour and countenance them, and so to gladden and comfort them in
the worst of times. He is their Holy One, for he is in covenant
with them; his holiness is engaged and employed for them. God's
holiness is the saints' comfort; they give thanks at the
remembrance of it, and with a great deal of pleasure call him
their Holy One,
[2.] How this destruction is represented.
It shall be, First, As a consumption of the body by a
disease: The Lord shall send leanness among his fatnesses,
or his fat ones. His numerous army, that was like a body
covered with fatness, shall be diminished, and waste away, and
become like a skeleton. Secondly, As a consumption of
buildings, or trees and bushes, by fire: Under his glory,
that very thing which he glories in, he will kindle a burning,
as the burning of a fire, which shall lay his army in ruins as
suddenly as a raging fire lays a stately house in ashes. Some make
it an allusion to the fire kindled under the sacrifices; for proud
sinners fall as sacrifices to divine justice. Observe, 1. How this
fire shall be kindled,
[3.] What would be the effect of this great slaughter. The prophet tells us, First, That the army would hereby be reduced to a very small number: The rest of the trees of his forest shall be few; very few shall escape the sword of the destroying angel, so few that there needs no artist, no muster-master or secretary of war, to take an account of them, for even a child may soon reckon the numbers of them, and write the names of them. Secondly, That those few who remained should be quite dispirited: They shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth. When he either falls or flees, and his colours are taken by the enemy, this discourages the whole army, and puts them all into confusion. Upon the whole matter we must say, Who is able to stand before this great and holy Lord God?
20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. 22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. 23 For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.
The prophet had said (
I. The conversion of some, to whom this
providence should be sanctified and yield the peaceable fruit of
righteousness, though for the present it was not joyous, but
grievous; these are but a remnant (
II. The consumption of others: The Lord
God of hosts shall make a consumption,
24 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. 25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction. 26 And the Lord of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt. 27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. 28 He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages: 29 They are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled. 30 Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth. 31 Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee. 32 As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. 33 Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. 34 And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.
The prophet, in his preaching,
distinguishes between the precious and the vile; for God in his
providence, even in the same providence, does so. He speaks terror,
in Sennacherib's invasion, to the hypocrites, who were the
people of God's wrath,
I. An exhortation to God's people not to be
frightened at this threatening calamity, nor to be put into any
confusion or consternation by it. Let the sinners in Zion be
afraid (
II. Considerations offered for the silencing of their fear.
1. The Assyrian shall do nothing against
them but what God has appointed and determined. They are here told
before hand what he shall do, that it may be no surprise to them:
"He shall smite thee by the divine permission, but it shall
be only with a rod to correct thee, not with a sword to
wound and kill; nay, he shall but lift up his staff against
thee, threaten thee, and frighten thee, and shake the rod at
thee, after the manner of Egypt, as the Egyptians shook
their staff against your fathers at the Red Sea, when they said,
We will pursue, we will overtake (
2. The storm shall soon blow over
(
3. The enemy that threatens them shall
himself be reckoned with. God's anger against his people shall
cease in the destruction of their enemies; when he turns away
his wrath from Israel he shall turn it against the Assyrian; and
the rod with which he corrected his people shall not only be laid
aside, but thrown into the fire. He lifted up his staff
against Zion, but God shall stir up a scourge for him
(
4. They shall be wholly delivered from the
power of the Assyrian, and from the fear of it,
III. A description both of the terror of
the enemy and the terror with which many were struck by it, and the
folly of both exposed,
1. How formidable the Assyrians were and how daring and threatening they affected to appear. Here is a particular description of the march of Sennacherib, what course he steered, what swift advances he made: He has come to Aiath, &c. "This and the other place he has made himself master of, and has met with no opposition." At Michmash he has laid up his carriages, as if he had no further occasion for his heavy artillery, so easily was every place he came to reduced; or the store-cities of Judah, which were fortified for that purpose, had now become his magazines. Some remarkable pass, and an important one, he had taken: They have gone over the passage.
2. How cowardly the men of Judah were, the
degenerate seed of that lion's whelp. They were afraid; they
fled upon the first alarm, and did not offer to make any
head against the enemy. Their apostasy from God had dispirited
them, so that one chased a thousand of them. Instead of a valiant
shout, to animate one another, nothing was heard by lamentation, to
discourage and weaken one another. And poor Anathoth, a
priests' city, that should have been a pattern of courage, shrieks
louder than any,
3. How impotent his attempt upon Jerusalem
shall be: he shall remain at Nob, whence he may see Mount
Zion, and there he shall shake his hand against it,
4. How fatal it would prove, in the issue,
to himself. When he shakes his hand at Jerusalem, and is
about to lay hands on it, then is God's time to appear against him;
for Zion is the place of which God has said, This is my rest for
ever; therefore those who threaten it affront God himself. Then
the Lord shall lop the bough with terror and cut down the
thickets of the forest,
It is a very good transition in prophecy (whether
it be so in rhetoric or no), and a very common one, to pass from
the prediction of the temporal deliverances of the church to that
of the great salvation, which in the fulness of time should be
wrought out by Jesus Christ, of which the other were types and
figures, to which all the prophets bore witness; and so the ancient
Jews understood them. For what else was it that raised so great an
expectation of the Messiah at the time he came. Upon occasion of
the prophecy of the deliverance of Jerusalem from Sennacherib, here
comes in a prophecy concerning Messiah the Prince. I. His rise out
of the house of David,
1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; 3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
The prophet had before, in this sermon,
spoken of a child that should be born, a son that should be given,
on whose shoulders the government should be, intending this for the
comfort of the people of God in times of trouble, as dying Jacob,
many ages before, had intended the prospect of Shiloh for the
comfort of his seed in their affliction in Egypt. He had said
(
I. That the Messiah should, in due time,
arise out of the house of David, as that branch of the Lord
which he had said (
II. That he should be every way qualified
for that great work to which he was designed, that this tender
branch should be so watered with the dews of heaven as to become a
strong rod for a sceptre to rule,
III. That he should be accurate, and
critical, and very exact in the administration of his government
and the exercise of the power committed to him (
IV. That he should be just and righteous in
all the acts of his government, and there should appear in it as
much equity as wisdom. He shall judge as he expresses it himself,
and as he himself would be judged of,
V. That there should be great peace and
tranquillity under his government; this is an explication of what
was said in
1. Unity or concord, which is intimated in
these figurative promises, that even the wolf shall dwell
peaceably with the lamb; men of the most fierce and furious
dispositions, who used to bite and devour all about them, shall
have their temper so strangely altered by the efficacy of the
gospel and grace of Christ that they shall live in love even with
the weakest and such as formerly they would have made an easy prey
of. So far shall the sheep be from hurting one another, as
sometimes they have done (
2. Safety or security. Christ, the great
Shepherd, shall take such care of the flock that those who would
hurt them shall not; they shall not only not destroy one another,
but no enemy from without shall be permitted to give them any
molestation. The property of troubles, and of death itself, shall
be so altered that they shall not do any real hurt to, much less
shall they be the destruction of, any that have their
conversation in the holy mountain,
Lastly, Observe what shall be the effect,
and what the cause, of this wonderful softening and sweetening of
men's tempers by the grace of God. 1. The effect of it shall be
tractableness, and a willingness to receive instruction: A
little child shall lead those who formerly scorned to be
controlled by the strongest man. Calvin understands it of their
willing submission to the ministers of Christ, who are to instruct
with meekness and not to use any coercive power, but to be as
little children,
10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. 14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. 15 And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dry-shod. 16 And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
We have here a further prophecy of the enlargement and advancement of the kingdom of the Messiah, under the type and figure of the flourishing condition of the kingdom of Judah in the latter end of Hezekiah's reign, after the defeat of Sennacherib.
I. This prediction was in part accomplished
when the great things God did for Hezekiah and his people proved as
an ensign, inviting the neighbouring nations to them to enquire
of the wonders done in the land, on which errand the king of
Babylon's ambassadors came. To them the Gentiles sought; and
Jerusalem, the rest or habitation of the Jews, was then glorious,
II. It had a further reference to the days
of the Messiah and the accession of the Gentiles to his kingdom;
for to these the apostle applies
1. He shall stand, or be set up,
for an ensign of the people. When he was crucified he was
lifted up from the earth, that, as an ensign of beacon, he
might draw the eyes and the hearts of all men unto
him,
2. To him shall the Gentiles seek.
We read of Greeks that did so (
3. His rest shall be glorious. Some
understand this of the death of Christ (the triumphs of the cross
made even that glorious), others of his ascension, when he sat down
to rest at the right hand of God. Or rather it is meant of the
gospel church, that Mount Zion of which Christ has said, This is
my rest, and in which he resides. This, though despised by the
world, having upon it the beauty of holiness, is truly glorious, a
glorious high throne,
4. Both Jews and Gentiles shall be gathered
to him,
5. There shall be a happy accommodation
between Judah and Ephraim, and both shall be safe from their
adversaries and have dominion over them,
6. Every thing that might hinder the
progress and success of the gospel shall be taken out of the way.
As when God brought Israel out of Egypt he dried up the Red Sea and
Jordan before them (
The salvation promised in the foregoing chapter
was compared to that of Israel "in the day that he came up out of
the land of Egypt;" so that chapter ends. Now as Moses and the
children of Israel then sang a song of praise to the glory of God
(
1 And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. 2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. 3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
This is the former part of the hymn of praise which is prepared for the use of the church, of the Jewish church when God would work great deliverances for them, and of the Christian church when the kingdom of the Messiah should be set up in the world in despite of the opposition of the powers of darkness: In that day thou shalt say, O Lord! I will praise thee. The scattered church, being united into one body, shall, as one man, with one mind and one mouth, thus praise God, who is one and his name one. In that day, when the Lord shall do these great things for thee, thou shalt say, O Lord! I will praise thee. That is,
I. "Thou shalt have cause to say so." The promise is sure, and the blessings contained in it are very rich, and, when they are bestowed, will furnish the church with abundant matter for rejoicing and therefore with abundant matter for thanksgiving. The Old-Testament prophecies of gospel times are often expressed by the joy and praise that shall then be excited; for the inestimable benefits we enjoy by Jesus Christ require the most elevated and enlarged thanksgivings.
II. "Thou shalt have a heart to say so." All God's other gifts to his people shall be crowned with this. He will give them grace to ascribe all the glory of them to him, and to speak of them upon all occasions with thankfulness to his praise. Thou shalt say, that is, thou oughtest to say so. In that day, when many are brought home to Jesus Christ and flock to him as doves to their windows, instead of envying the kind reception they find with Christ, as the Jews grudged the favour shown to the Gentiles, thou shalt say, O Lord! I will praise thee. Note, we ought to rejoice in, and give thanks for, the grace of God to others as well as to ourselves.
1. Believers are here taught to give thanks
to God for the turning away of his displeasure from them and the
return of his favour to them (
2. They are taught to triumph in God and
their interest in him (
3. They are aught to derive comfort to
themselves from the love of God and all the tokens of that love
(
4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. 5 Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. 6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
This is the second part of this evangelical song, and to the same purport with the former; there believers stir up themselves to praise God, here they invite and encourage one another to do it, and are contriving to spread his praise and draw in others to join with them in it. Observe,
I. Who are here called upon to praise
God—the inhabitants of Zion and Jerusalem, whom God had in
a particular manner protected from Sennacherib's violence,
II. How they must praise the Lord. 1. By
prayer: Call upon his name. As giving thanks for former
mercy is a decent way of begging further mercy, so begging further
mercy is graciously accepted as a thankful acknowledgment of the
mercies we have received. In calling upon God's name we give unto
him some of the glory that is due to his name as our powerful and
bountiful benefactor. 2. By preaching and writing. We must not only
speak to God, but speak to others concerning him, not only call
upon his name, but (as the margin reads it) proclaim his
name; let others know something more from us than they did
before concerning God, and those things whereby he has made himself
known. Declare his doings, his counsels (so some read
it); the work of redemption is according to the counsel of his
will, and in that and other wonderful works that he has done we
must take notice of his thoughts which are to us-ward,
III. For what they must praise the Lord. 1.
Because he has glorified himself. Remember it yourselves, and
make mention of it to others, that his name is
exalted, has become more illustrious and more conspicuous; in
this every good man rejoices. 2. Because he has magnified his
people: He has done excellent things for them, which make
them look great and considerable. 3. Because he is, and will be,
great among them: Great is the Holy One, for he is glorious
in holiness; therefore great, because holy. True goodness is
true greatness. He is great as the Holy One of Israel, and
in the midst of them, praised by them (
Hitherto the prophecies of this book related only
to Judah and Israel, and Jerusalem especially; but now the prophet
begins to look abroad, and to read the doom of divers of the
neighbouring states and kingdoms: for he that is King of saints is
also King of nations, and rules in the affairs of the children of
men as well as in those of his own children. But the nations to
whom these prophecies do relate were all such as the people of God
were in some way or other conversant and concerned with, such as
had been kind or unkind to Israel, and accordingly God would deal
with them, either in favour or in wrath; for the Lord's portion is
his people, and to them he has an eye in all the dispensations of
his providence concerning those about them,
1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. 2 Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. 3 I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness. 4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. 5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
The general title of this book was, The
vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz,
I. The place doomed to destruction is
Babylon; it is here called the gates of the nobles
(
II. The persons brought together to lay
Babylon waste are here called, 1. God's sanctified ones
(
III. The summons given them is effectual,
their obedience ready, and they make a very formidable appearance:
A banner is lifted up upon the high mountain,
6 Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: 8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. 9 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. 10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. 11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. 12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. 14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land. 15 Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. 16 Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished. 17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. 18 Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.
We have here a very elegant and lively description of the terrible confusion and desolation which should be made in Babylon by the descent which the Medes and Persians should make upon it. Those that were now secure and easy were bidden to howl and make sad lamentation; for,
I. God was about to appear in wrath against
them, and it is a fearful thing to fall into his hands: The day
of the Lord is at hand (
II. Their hearts shall fail them, and they
shall have neither courage nor comfort left; they shall not be able
either to resist the judgment coming or to bear up under it, either
to oppose the enemy or to support themselves,
III. All comfort and hope shall fail them
(
IV. God will visit them for their
iniquity; and all this is intended for the punishment of sin,
and particularly the sin of pride,
V. There shall be so great a slaughter as
will produce a scarcity of men (
VI. There shall be a universal confusion
and consternation, such a confusion of their affairs that it shall
be like the shaking of the heavens with dreadful thunders
and the removing of the earth by no less dreadful
earthquakes. All shall go to rack and ruin in the day of the
wrath of the Lord of hosts,
VII. There shall be a general scene of
blood and horror, as is usual where the sword devours. No wonder
that every one makes the best of his way, since the conqueror gives
no quarter, but puts all to the sword, and not those only that are
found in arms, as is usual with us even in the most cruel
slaughters (
VIII. The enemy that God will send against
them shall be inexorable, probably being by some provocation or
other more than ordinarily exasperated against them; or, in
whatever way it may be brought about, God himself will stir up
the Medes to use this severity with the Babylonians. He will
not only serve his own purposes by their dispositions and designs,
but will put it into their hearts to make this attempt upon
Babylon, and suffer them to prosecute it with all this fury. God is
not the author of sin, but he would not permit it if he did not
know how to bring glory to himself out of it. These Medes, in
conjunction with the Persians, shall make thorough work of it; for,
1. They shall take no bribes,
19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. 21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. 22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
The great havoc and destruction which it
was foretold should be made by the Medes and Persians in Babylon
here end in the final destruction of it. 1. It is allowed that
Babylon was a noble city. It was the glory of kingdoms and the
beauty of the Chaldees' excellency; it was that head of
gold (
In this chapter, I. More weight is added to the
burden of Babylon, enough to sink it like a mill-stone; I. It is
Israel's cause that is to be pleaded in this quarrel with Babylon,
1 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. 2 And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors. 3 And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
This comes in here as the reason why Babylon must be overthrown and ruined, because God has mercy in store for his people, and therefore, 1. The injuries done to them must be reckoned for and revenged upon their persecutors. Mercy to Jacob will be wrath and ruin to Jacob's impenitent implacable adversaries, such as Babylon was. 2. The yoke of oppression which Babylon had long laid on their necks must be broken off, and they must be set at liberty; and, in order to this, the destruction of Babylon is as necessary as the destruction of Egypt and Pharaoh was to their deliverance out of that house of bondage. The same prediction is a promise to God's people and a threatening to their enemies, as the same providence has a bright side towards Israel and a black or dark side towards the Egyptians. Observe,
I. The ground of these favours to Jacob and
Israel—the kindness God had for them and the choice he had made of
them (
II. The particular favours he designed
them. 1. He would bring them back to their native soil and air
again: The Lord will set them in their own land, out of
which they were driven. A settlement in the holy land, the land of
promise, is a fruit of God's mercy, distinguishing mercy. 2. Many
should be proselyted to their holy religion, and should return with
them, induced to do so by the manifest tokens of God's favourable
presence with them, the operations of God's grace in them, the
operations of God's grace in them, and his providence for them:
Strangers shall be joined with them, saying, We will go
with you, for we have heard that God is with you,
4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! 5 The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. 6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. 7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. 8 Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us. 9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. 10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? 11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. 12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. 16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; 17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? 18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. 19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet. 20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. 21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities. 22 For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord. 23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.
The kings of Babylon, successively, were
the great enemies and oppressors of God's people, and therefore the
destruction of Babylon, the fall of the king, and the ruin of his
family, are here particularly taken notice of and triumphed in. In
the day that God has given Israel rest they shall take up this
proverb against the king of Babylon. We must not rejoice when
our enemy falls, as ours; but when Babylon, the common enemy of God
and his Israel, sinks, then rejoice over her, thou heaven, and
you holy apostles and prophets,
I. The fall of the king of Babylon is
rejoiced in; and a most curious and elegant composition is here
prepared, not to adorn his hearse or monument, but to expose his
memory and fix a lasting brand of infamy upon it. It gives us an
account of the life and death of this mighty monarch, how he
went down slain to the pit, though he had been the terror
of the mighty in the land of the living,
1. The prodigious height of wealth and
power at which this monarch and monarchy arrived. Babylon was a
golden city,
2. The wretched abuse of all this wealth and power, which the king of Babylon was guilty of, in two instances:—
(1.) Great oppression and cruelty. He is
known by the name of the oppressor (
(2.) Great pride and haughtiness. Notice is
here taken of his pomp, the extravagancy of his retinue,
3. The utter ruin that should be brought
upon him. It is foretold, (1.) That his wealth and power should be
broken, and a final period put to his pomp and pleasure. He has
been long an oppressor, but he shall cease to be so,
4. The many triumphs that should be in his fall.
(1.) Those whom he had been a great tyrant
and terror to will be glad that they are rid of him,
(2.) The congregation of the dead will bid
him welcome to them, especially those whom he had barbarously
hastened thither (
(3.) Spectators will stand amazed at his
fall. When he shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the
pit, and be lodged there, those that see him shall narrowly
look upon him, and consider him (
5. Here is an inference drawn from all this
(
II. The utter ruin of the royal family is here foretold, together with the desolation of The royal city.
1. The royal family is to be wholly
extirpated. The Medes and Persians, that are to be employed in this
destroying work, are ordered, when they have slain Belshazzar, to
prepare slaughter for his children (
2. The royal city is to be demolished and
deserted,
24 The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: 25 That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. 26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. 27 For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? 28 In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden. 29 Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. 30 And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant. 31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times. 32 What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.
The destruction of Babylon and the Chaldean empire was a thing at a great distance; the empire had not risen to any considerable height when its fall was here foretold: it was almost 200 years from this prediction of Babylon's fall to the accomplishment of it. Now the people to whom Isaiah prophesied might ask, "What is this to us, or what shall we be the better for it, and what assurance shall we have of it?" To both questions he answers in these verses, by a prediction of the ruin both of the Assyrians and of the Philistines, the present enemies that infested them, which they should shortly be eye-witnesses of and have benefit by. These would be a present comfort to them, and a pledge of future deliverance, for the confirming of the faith of their posterity. God is to his people the same to day that he was yesterday and will be hereafter; and he will for ever be the same that he has been and is. Here is,
I. Assurance given of the destruction of
the Assyrians (
II. Assurance is likewise given of the
destruction of the Philistines and their power. This burden, this
prophecy, that lay as a load upon them, to sink their state, came
in the year that king Ahaz died, which was the first year of
Hezekiah's reign,
III. The good use that should be made of
all these events for the encouragement of the people of God
(
1. This implies, (1.) That the great things
God does for his people are, and cannot but be, taken notice of by
their neighbours; those among the heathen make remarks upon them,
2. The answer which is to be given to the
messengers of the nations is, (1.) That God is and will be a
faithful friend to his church and people, and will secure and
advance their interests. Tell them that the Lord has founded
Zion. This gives an account both of the work itself that is
done and of the reason of it. What is God doing in the world, and
what is he designing in all the revolutions of states and kingdoms,
in the ruin of some nations and the rise of others? He is, in all
this, founding Zion; he is aiming at the advancement of his
church's interests; and what he aims at he will accomplish. The
messengers of the nations, when they sent to enquire concerning
Hezekiah's successes against the Philistines, expected to learn by
what politics, counsels, and arts of war he carried his point; but
they are told that these successes were not owing to any thing of
that nature, but to the care God took of his church and the
interest he had in it. The Lord has founded Zion, and therefore the
Philistines must fall. (2.) That his church has and will have a
dependence upon him: The poor of his people shall trust in
it, his poor people who have lately been brought very low, even
the poorest of them; they more than others, for they have nothing
else to trust to,
This chapter, and that which follows it, are the
burden of Moab—a prophecy of some great desolation that was coming
upon that country, which bordered upon this land of Israel, and had
often been injurious and vexatious to it, though the Moabites were
descended from Lot, Abraham's kinsman and companion, and though the
Israelites, by the appointment of God, had spared them when they
might both easily and justly have cut them off with their
neighbours. In this chapter we have, I. Great lamentation made by
the Moabites, and by the prophet himself for them,
1 The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; 2 He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off. 3 In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly. 4 And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him. 5 My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, a heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
The country of Moab was of small extent,
but very fruitful. It bordered upon the lot of Reuben on the other
side Jordan and upon the Dead Sea. Naomi went to sojourn there when
there was a famine in Canaan. This is the country which (it is here
foretold) should be wasted and grievously harassed, not quite
ruined, for we find another prophecy of its ruin (
Now concerning Moab it is here foretold,
I. That their chief cities should be
surprised and taken in a night by the enemy, probably because the
inhabitants, as the men of Laish, indulged themselves in ease and
luxury, and dwelt securely (
II. That the Moabites, being hereby put
into the utmost consternation imaginable, should have recourse to
their idols for relief, and pour out their tears before them
(
III. That there should be the voice of
universal grief all the country over. It is described here
elegantly and very affectingly. Moab shall be a vale of tears—a
little map of this world,
IV. That the courage of their militia
should fail them. Though they were bred soldiers, and were well
armed, yet they shall cry out and shriek for fear, and every
one of them shall have his life become grievous to him,
though it is characteristic of a military life to delight in
danger,
V. That the outcry for these calamities
should propagate grief to all the adjacent parts,
6 For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing. 7 Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows. 8 For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beer-elim. 9 For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.
Here the prophet further describes the
woeful and piteous lamentations that should be heard throughout all
the country of Moab when it should become a prey to the Assyrian
army. "By this time the cry has gone round about all the
borders of Moab,"
I. The waters of Nimrim are desolate
(
II. The waters of Dimon are turned into
blood (
This chapter continues and concludes the burden of
Moab. In it, I. The prophet gives good counsel to the Moabites, to
reform what was amiss among them, and particularly to be kind to
God's people, as the likeliest way to prevent the judgments before
threatened,
1 Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion. 2 For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon. 3 Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth. 4 Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land. 5 And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.
God has made it to appear that he delights not in the ruin of sinners by telling them what they may do to prevent the ruin; so he does here to Moab.
I. He advises them to be just to the house
of David, and to pay the tribute they had formerly covenanted to
pay to the kings of his line (
II. He advises them to be kind to the
seed of Israel (
1. The prophet foresaw some storm coming upon the people of God, perhaps the good people of the ten tribes, or of the two and a half on the other side Jordan, whose country joined to that of Moab, and who, by the merciful providence of God, escaped the fury of the Assyrian army, had their lives given them for a prey, and were reserved for better times, but were put to the utmost extremity to shift for their own safety. The danger and trouble they were in were like the scorching heat at noon; the face of the spoiler was very fierce upon them and the oppressor and extortioner were ready to swallow them up after stripping them of what they had.
2. He bespeaks a shelter for them in the
land of Moab, when their own land was made too hot for them. This
judgment they must execute; thus wisely must they do for
themselves, and thus kindly must they deal with the people of God.
If they would themselves continue in their habitations, let them
now open their doors to the distressed dispersed members of God's
church, and be to them like a cool shade to those that bear the
burden and heat of the day. Let them not discover those that
absconded among them, nor deliver them up to the pursuers that made
search for them: "Betray not him that wandereth, nor deliver
him up" (as the Edomites did,
3. He assures them of the mercy God had in
store for his people. (1.) That they should not long need their
kindness, or be troublesome to them: For the extortioner is
almost at an end already, and the spoiler ceases. God's
people shall not be long outcasts; they shall have tribulation
ten days (
6 We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so. 7 Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kir-hareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea. 9 Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen. 10 And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease. 11 Wherefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-haresh. 12 And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail. 13 This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning Moab since that time. 14 But now the Lord hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.
Here we have, I. The sins with which Moab
is charged,
II. The sorrows with which Moab is
threatened (
1. The causes of this sorrow. (1.) The
destruction of their cities: For the foundations of Kir-haraseth
shall you mourn. That great and strong city, which had held out
against a mighty force (
2. The concurrence of the prophet with them
in this sorrow: "I will with weeping bewail Jazer, and the vine
of Sibmah, and look with a compassionate concern upon the
desolations of such a pleasant country. I will water thee with
my tears, O Heshbon! and mingle them with thy tears;" nay
(
III. In the close of the chapter we have,
1. The insufficiency of the gods of Moab, the false gods, to help
them,
Syria and Ephraim were confederate against Judah
(
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. 2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. 3 The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts. 4 And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. 5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
We have here the burden of Damascus; the
Chaldee paraphrase reads it, The burden of the cup of the curse
to drink to Damascus in; and, the ten tribes being in alliance,
they must expect to pledge Damascus in this cup of trembling that
is to go round. 1. Damascus itself, the head city of Syria, must be
destroyed; the houses, it is likely, will be burnt, as least the
walls, and gates, and fortifications demolished, and the
inhabitants carried away captive, so that for the present it is
taken away from being a city, and is reduced not only to a
village, but to a ruinous heap,
6 Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel. 7 At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. 8 And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
Mercy is here reserved, in a parenthesis,
in the midst of judgment, for a remnant that should escape the
common ruin of the kingdom of the ten tribes. Though the Assyrians
took all the care they could that none should slip out of their
net, yet the meek of the earth were hidden in the day of the Lord's
anger, and had their lives given them for a prey and made
comfortable to them by their retirement to the land of Judah, where
they had the liberty of God's courts. 1. They shall be but a small
remnant, a very few, who shall be marked for preservation
(
9 In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation. 10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips: 11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
Here the prophet returns to foretel the
woeful desolations that should be made in the land of Israel by the
army of the Assyrians. 1. That the cities should be deserted. Even
the strong cities, which should have protected the country, shall
not be able to protect themselves: They shall be as a forsaken
bough and an uppermost branch of an old tree, which has gone to
decay, is forsaken of its leaves, and appears on the top of the
tree, bare, and dry, and dead; so shall their strong cities look
when the inhabitants have deserted them and the victorious army of
the enemy pillaged and defaced them,
12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! 13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. 14 And behold at evening tide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.
These verses read the doom of those that
spoil and rob the people of God. If the Assyrians and Israelites
invade and plunder Judah, if the Assyrian army take God's people
captive and lay their country waste, let them know that ruin will
be their lot and portion. They are here brought in, 1. Triumphing
over the people of God. They relied upon their numbers. The
Assyrian army was made up out of divers nations: it was the
multitude of many people (
Whatever country it is that is meant here by "the
land shadowing with wings," here is a woe denounced against it, for
God has, upon his people's account, a quarrel with it. I. They
threaten God's people,
1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: 2 That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled! 3 All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. 4 For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. 5 For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches. 6 They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them. 7 In that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Zion.
Interpreters are very much at a loss where
to find this land that lies beyond the rivers of Cush. Some take it
to be Egypt, a maritime country, and full of rivers, and which
courted Israel to depend upon them, but proved broken reeds; but
against this it is strongly objected that the next chapter is
distinguished from this by the title of the burden of Egypt.
Others take it to be Ethiopia, and read it, which lies near,
or about, the rivers of Ethiopia, not that in Africa, which
lay south of Egypt, but that which we call Arabia, which lay
east of Canaan, which Tirhakah was now king of. He thought to
protect the Jews, as it were, under the shadow of his wings,
by giving a powerful diversion to the king of Assyria, when he made
a descent upon his country, at the time that he was attacking
Jerusalem,
I. The attempt made by this land (whatever
it is) upon a nation scattered and peeled,
II. The alarm sounded to the nations about,
by which they are summoned to take notice of what God is about to
do,
III. The assurance God gives to his
prophet, by him to be given to his people, that, though he might
seem for a time to sit by as an unconcerned spectator, yet he would
certainly and seasonably appear for the comfort of his people and
the confusion of his and their enemies (
1. He will take care of his people, and be
a shelter to them. He will regard his dwelling-place; his
eye and his heart are, and shall be, upon it for good continually.
Zion is his rest for ever, where he will dwell; and he will look
after it (so some read it); he will lift up the light of his
countenance upon it, will consider over it what is to be done, and
will be sure to do all for the best. He will adapt the comforts and
refreshments he provides for his people to the exigencies of their
case; and they will therefore be acceptable, because
seasonable. (1.) Like a clear heat after rain (so the margin),
which is very reviving and pleasant, and makes the herbs to
flourish. (2.) Like a dew and a cloud in the heat of
harvest, which are very welcome, the dew to the ground and the
cloud to the labourers. Note, There is that in God which is a
shelter and refreshment to his people in all weathers and arms them
against the inconveniences of every change. Is the weather cool?
There is that in his favour which will warm them. Is it hot? There
is that in his favour which will cool them. Great men have their
winter-house and their summer-house (
2. He will reckon with his and their
enemies,
IV. The tribute of praise which should be
brought to God from all this (
As Assyria was a breaking rod to Judah, with which
it was smitten, so Egypt was a broken reed, with which it was
cheated; and therefore God had a quarrel with them both. We have
before read the doom of the Assyrians; now here we have the burden
of Egypt, a prophecy concerning that nation, I. That it should be
greatly weakened and brought low, and should be as contemptible
among the nations as now it was considerable, rendered so by a
complication of judgments which God would bring upon them,
1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. 2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. 3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. 4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts. 5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up. 6 And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither. 7 The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more. 8 The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish. 9 Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded. 10 And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish. 11 Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? 12 Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt. 13 The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof. 14 The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit. 15 Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do. 16 In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it. 17 And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he hath determined against it.
Though the land of Egypt had of old been a
house of bondage to the people of God, where they had been ruled
with rigour, yet among the unbelieving Jews there still remained
much of the humour of their fathers, who said, Let us make us a
captain and return into Egypt. Upon all occasions they trusted
to Egypt for help (
I. The gods of Egypt shall appear to them
to be what they always really were, utterly unable to help them,
II. The militia of Egypt, that had been
famed for their valour, shall be quite dispirited and disheartened.
No kingdom in the world was ever in a better method of keeping up a
standing army than the Egyptians were; but now their heroes, that
used to be celebrated for courage, shall be posted for cowards:
The heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it, like wax
before the fire (
III. The Egyptians shall be embroiled in
endless dissensions and quarrels among themselves. There shall be
no occasion to bring a foreign force upon them to destroy them;
they shall destroy one another (
IV. Their politics shall be all blasted,
and turned into foolishness. When God will destroy the nation he
will destroy the counsel thereof (
V. The rod of government shall be turned
into the serpent of tyranny and oppression (
VI. Egypt was famous for its river Nile,
which was its wealth, and strength, and beauty, and was idolized by
them. Now it is here threatened that the waters shall fail from
the sea and the river shall be wasted and dried up,
VII. Egypt was famous for the linen
manufacture; but that trade shall be ruined. Solomon's merchants
traded with Egypt for linen-yarn,
VIII. A general consternation shall seize
the Egyptians; they shall be afraid and fear (
18 In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction. 19 In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord. 20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. 21 And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it. 22 And the Lord shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them. 23 In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. 24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: 25 Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.
Out of the thick and threatening clouds of the foregoing prophecy the sun of comfort here breaks forth, and it is the sun of righteousness. Still God has mercy in store for Egypt, and he will show it, not so much by reviving their trade and replenishing their river again as by bringing the true religion among them, calling them to, and accepting them in, the worship of the one only living and true God; and these blessings of grace were much more valuable than all the blessings of nature wherewith Egypt was enriched. We know not of any event in which this prophecy can be thought to have its full accomplishment short of the conversion of Egypt to the faith of Christ, by the preaching (as is supposed) of Mark the Evangelist, and the founding of many Christian churches there, which flourished for many ages. Many prophecies of this book point to the days of the Messiah; and why not this? It is no unusual thing to speak of gospel graces and ordinances in the language of the Old-Testament institutions. And, in these prophecies, those words, in that day, perhaps have not always a reference to what goes immediately before, but have a peculiar significancy pointing at that day which had been so long fixed, and so often spoken of, when the day-spring from on high should visit this dark world. Yet it is not improbable (which some conjecture) that this prophecy was in part fulfilled when those Jews who fled from their own country to take shelter in Egypt, when Sennacherib invaded their land, brought their religion along with them, and, being awakened to great seriousness by the troubles they were in, made an open and zealous profession of it there, and were instrumental to bring many of the Egyptians to embrace it, which was an earnest and specimen of the more plentiful harvest of souls that should be gathered in to God by the preaching of the gospel of Christ. Josephus indeed tells us that Onias the son of Onias the high priest, living an outlaw at Alexandria in Egypt, obtained leave of Ptolemy Philometer, then king, and Cleopatra his queen, to build a temple to the God of Israel, like that at Jerusalem, at Bubastis in Egypt, and pretended a warrant for doing it from this prophecy in Isaiah, that there shall be an altar to the Lord in the land of Egypt; and the service of God, Josephus affirms, continued in it about 333 years, when it was shut up by Paulinus soon after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans; see Antiq. 13.62-79, and Jewish War 7.426-436. But that temple was all along looked upon by the pious Jews as so great an irregularity, and an affront to the temple at Jerusalem, that we cannot suppose this prophecy to be fulfilled in it.
Observe how the conversion of Egypt is here described.
I. They shall speak the language of
Canaan, the holy language, the scripture-language; they shall
not only understand it, but use it (
II. They shall swear to the Lord of hosts, not only swear by him, giving him the honour of appealing to him, as all nations did to the gods they worshipped; but they shall by a solemn oath and vow devote themselves to his honour and bind themselves to his service. They shall swear to cleave to him with purpose of heart, and shall worship him, not occasionally, but constantly. They shall swear allegiance to him as their King, to Christ, to whom all judgment is committed.
III. They shall set up the public worship
of God in their land (
IV. There shall be a face of religion upon the nation, and an open profession made of it, discernible to all who come among them. Not only in the heart of the country, but even in the borders of it, there shall be a pillar, or pillars, inscribed, To Jehovah, to his honour, as before there had been such pillars set up in honour of false gods. As soon as a stranger entered upon the borders of Egypt he might perceive what god they worshipped. Those that serve God must not be ashamed to own him, but be forward to do any thing that may be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts. Even in the land of Egypt he had some faithful worshippers, who boasted of their relation to him and made his name their strong tower, or bulwark, on their borders, with which their coasts were fortified against all assailants.
V. Being in distress, they shall seek to
God, and he shall be found of them; and this shall be a sign and
a witness for the Lord of hosts that he is a God hearing
prayer to all flesh that come to him,
VI. They shall have an interest in the
great Redeemer. When they were under the oppression of cruel lords
perhaps God sometimes raised them up mighty deliverers, as he did
for Israel in the days of the judges; and by them, though he had
smitten the land, he healed it again; and, upon their return to God
in a way of duty, he returned to them in a way of mercy, and
repaired the breaches of their tottering state. For repenting
Egyptians shall find the same favour with God that repenting
Ninevites did. But all these deliverances wrought for them, as
those for Israel, were but figures of gospel salvation. Doubtless
Jesus Christ is the Saviour and the great one here spoken
of, whom God will send the glad tidings of to the Egyptians, and by
whom he will deliver them out of the hands of their enemies,
that they may serve him without fear,
VII. The knowledge of God shall prevail
among them,
VIII. They shall come into the communion of
saints. Being joined to the Lord, they shall be added to the
church, and be incorporated with all the saints. 1. All enmities
shall be slain. Mortal feuds there had been between Egypt and
Assyria; they often made war upon one another; but now there
shall be a highway between Egypt and Assyria (
This chapter is a prediction of the carrying away
of multitudes both of the Egyptians and the Ethiopians into
captivity by the king of Assyria. Here is, I. The sign by which
this was foretold, which was the prophet's going for some time
barefoot and almost naked, like a poor captive,
1 In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it; 2 At the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. 3 And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia; 4 So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. 6 And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?
God here, as King of nations, brings a sore calamity upon Egypt and Ethiopia, but, as King of saints, brings good to his people out of it. Observe,
I. The date of this prophecy. It was in the
year that Ashdod, a strong city of the Philistines (but which some
think was lately recovered from them by Hezekiah, when he smote the
Philistines even unto Gaza,
II. The making of Isaiah a sign, by his
unusual dress when he walked abroad. He had been a sign to his own
people of the melancholy times that had come and were coming upon
them, by the sackcloth which for some time he had worn, of which he
had a gown made, which he girt about him. Some think he put himself
into that habit of a mourner upon occasion of the captivity of the
ten tribes. Others think sackcloth was what he commonly wore as a
prophet, to show himself mortified to the world, and that he might
learn to endure hardness; soft clothing better becomes those that
attend in king's palaces (
III. The exposition of this sign,
IV. The use and application of this,
In this chapter we have a prophecy of sad times
coming, and heavy burdens, I. Upon Babylon, here called "the desert
of the sea," that it should be destroyed by the Medes and Persians
with a terrible destruction, which yet God's people should have
advantage by,
1 The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land. 2 A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. 3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. 4 My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me. 5 Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield. 6 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. 7 And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed: 8 And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights: 9 And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground. 10 O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.
We had one burden of Babylon before
(
I. The powerful irruption and descent which
the Medes and Persians should make upon Babylon (
II. The different impressions made hereby
upon those concerned in Babylon. 1. To the poor oppressed captives
it would be welcome news; for they had been told long ago that
Babylon's destroyer would be their deliverer, and therefore, "when
they hear that Elam and Media are coming up to besiege Babylon,
all their sighing will be made to cease; they shall no
longer mingle their tears with Euphrates' streams, but resume their
harps, and smile when they remember Zion, which, before, they wept
at the thought of." For the sighing of the needy the God of pity
will arise in due time (
III. A representation of the posture in
which Babylon should be found when the enemy should surprise
it—all in festival gaiety (
IV. A description of the alarm which should
be given to Babylon upon its being forced by Cyrus and Darius. The
Lord, in vision, showed the prophet the watchman set in his
watch-tower, near the watch-tower, near the palace, as is usual in
times of danger; the king ordered those about him to post a
sentinel in the most advantageous place for discovery, and,
according to the duty of a watchman, let him declare what he
sees,
V. A certain account is at length given of
the overthrow of Babylon. He in the chariot answered and
said (when he heard the watchman speak), Babylon has fallen,
has fallen; or God answered thus to the prophet enquiring
concerning the issue of these affairs: "It has now come to this,
Babylon has surely and irrecoverably fallen. Babylon's business is
done now. All the graven images of her gods he has broken unto
the ground." Babylon was the mother of harlots (that is, of
idolatry), which was one of the grounds of God's quarrel with her;
but her idols should now be so far from protecting her that some of
them should be broken down to the ground, and others of them, that
were worth carrying way, should go into captivity, and be a burden
to the beasts that carried them,
VI. Notice is given to the people of God,
who were then captives in Babylon, that this prophecy of the
downfall of Babylon was particularly intended for their comfort and
encouragement, and they might depend upon it that it should be
accomplished in due season,
1. The title the prophet gives them in
God's name: O my threshing, and the corn of my floor! The
prophet calls them his, because they were his countrymen,
and such as he had a particular interest in and concern for; but he
speaks it as from God, and directs his speech to those that were
Israelites indeed, the faithful in the land. Note, (1.) The church
is God's floor, in which the most valuable fruits and products of
this earth are, as it were, gathered together and laid up. (2.)
True believers are the corn of God's floor. Hypocrites are but as
the chaff and straw, which take up a great deal of room, but are of
small value, with which the wheat is now mixed, but from which it
shall be shortly and for ever separated. (3.) The corn of God's
floor must expect to be threshed by afflictions and persecutions.
God's Israel of old was afflicted from her youth, often under the
plougher's plough (
2. The assurance he gives them of the truth
of what he had delivered to them, which therefore they might build
their hopes upon: That which I have heard of the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel—that, and nothing else, that, and no fiction
or fancy of my own—have I declared unto you. Note, In all
events concerning the church, past, present, and to come, we must
have an eye to God both as the Lord of hosts and as the God of
Israel, who has power enough to do any thing for his church and
grace enough to do every thing that is for her good, and to the
words of his prophets, as words received from the Lord. As they
dare not smother any thing which he has entrusted them to declare,
so they dare not declare any thing as from him which he has not
made known to them,
11 The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? 12 The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.
This prophecy concerning Dumah is very
short, and withal dark and hard to be understood. Some think that
Dumah is a part of Arabia, and that the inhabitants descended from
Dumah the sixth son of Ishmael, as those of Kedar (
1. A question put by an Edomite to the
watchman. Some one or other called out of Seir, somebody
that was more concerned for the public safety and welfare than the
rest, who were generally careless and secure. As the man of
Macedonia, in a vision, desired Paul to come over and help them
(
2. The watchman's answer to this question.
The watchman was neither asleep nor dumb; though it was a man of
Mount Seir that called to him, he was ready to give him an answer:
The morning comes. He answers, (1.) By way of prediction:
"There comes first a morning of light, and peace, and opportunity;
you will enjoy one day of comfort more; but afterwards comes a
night of trouble and calamity." Note, In the course of God's
providence it is usual that morning and night are counterchanged
and succeed each other. Is it night? Yet the morning comes, and the
day-spring knows his place,
13 The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim. 14 The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled. 15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. 16 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of a hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail: 17 And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it.
Arabia was a large country, that lay
eastward and southward of the land of Canaan. Much of it was
possessed by the posterity of Abraham. The Dedanim, here
mentioned (
I. A destroying army shall be brought upon
them, with a sword, with a drawn sword, with a bow
ready bent, and with all the grievousness of war,
II. The poor country people will hereby be
forced to flee for shelter wherever they can find a place; so that
the travelling companies of Dedanium, which used to keep the
high roads with their caravans, shall be obliged to quit them and
lodge in the forest in Arabia (
III. They shall stand in need of
refreshment, being ready to perish for want of it, in their flight
from the invading army: "O you inhabitants of the land of
Tema!" (who probably were next neighbours to the companies of
Dedanim) "bring you water" (so the margin reads it) "to
him that is thirsty, and prevent with your bread those that
flee, for they are objects of your compassion; they do not
wander for wandering sake, nor are they reduced to straits by any
extravagance of their own, but they flee from the sword."
Tema was a country where water was sometimes a scarce commodity (as
we find,
IV. All that which is the glory of Kedar
shall vanish away and fail. Did they glory in their numerous herds
and flocks? They shall all be driven away by the enemy. It seems
they were famous about other nations for the use of the bow in
battle; but their archers, instead of foiling the enemy, shall fall
themselves; and the residue of their number, when they are
reduced to a small number, shall be diminished (
V. All this shall be done in a little time: "Within one year according to the years of a hireling (within one year precisely reckoned) this judgment shall come upon Kedar." If this fixing of the time be of no great use to us now (because we find not either when the prophecy was delivered or when it was accomplished), yet it might be of great use to the Arabians then, to awaken them to repentance, that, like the men of Nineveh, they might prevent the judgment when they were thus told it was just at the door. Or, when it begins to be fulfilled, the business shall be done, be begun and ended in one year's time. God, when he please, can do a great work in a little time.
VI. It is all ratified by the truth of God
(
We have now come nearer home, for this chapter is
"the burden of the valley of vision," Jerusalem; other places had
their burden for the sake of their being concerned in some way or
other with Jerusalem, and were reckoned with either as spiteful
enemies or deceitful friends to the people of God; but now let
Jerusalem hear her own doom. This chapter concerns, I. The city of
Jerusalem itself and the neighbourhood depending upon it. Here is,
1. A prophecy of the grievous distress they should shortly be
brought into by Sennacherib's invasion of the country and laying
siege to the city,
1 The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops? 2 Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. 3 All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far. 4 Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people. 5 For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord God of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains. 6 And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. 7 And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
The title of this prophecy is very
observable. It is the burden of the valley of vision, of
Judah and Jerusalem; so all agree. Fitly enough is Jerusalem called
a valley, for the mountains were round about it, and the land of
Judah abounded with fruitful valleys; and by the judgments of God,
though they had been as a towering mountain, they should be brought
low, sunk and depressed, and become dark and dirty, as a valley.
But most emphatically is it called a valley of vision
because there God was known and his name was great, there the
prophets were made acquainted with his mind by visions, and there
the people saw the goings of their God and King in his sanctuary.
Babylon, being a stranger to God, though rich and great, was called
the desert of the sea; but Jerusalem, being entrusted with
his oracles, is a valley of vision. Blessed are their eyes, for
they see, and they have seers by office among them. Where
Bibles and ministers are there is a valley of vision, from which is
expected fruit accordingly; but here is a burden of the valley
of vision, and a heavy burden it is. Note, Church privileges,
if they be not improved, will not secure men from the judgments of
God. You only have I known of all the families of the earth;
therefore will I punish you. The valley of vision has a
particular burden. Thou Capernaum,
Now the burden of the valley of
vision here is that which will not quite ruin it, but only
frighten it; for it refers not to the destruction of Jerusalem by
Nebuchadnezzar, but to the attempt made upon it by Sennacherib,
which we had the prophecy of,
I. The consternation that the city should
be in upon the approach of Sennacherib's army. It used to be full
of stirs, a city of great trade, people hurrying to and fro about
their business, a tumultuous city, populous and noisy. Where there
is great trade there is great tumult. It used to be a joyous
revelling city. What with the busy part and what with the merry
part of mankind, places of concourse are places of noise. "But what
ails thee now, that the shops are quitted, and there is no more
walking in the streets and exchange, but thou hast wholly gone
up to the house-tops (
II. The inglorious flight of the rulers of
Judah, who fled from far, from all parts of the country, to
Jerusalem (
III. The great grief which this should
occasion to all serious sensible people among them, which is
represented by the prophet's laying the thing to heart himself; he
lived to see it, and was resolved to share with the children of his
people in their sorrows,
IV. The great numbers and strength of the
enemy, that should invade their country and besiege their city,
8 And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest. 9 Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool. 10 And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall. 11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago. 12 And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: 13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die. 14 And it was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord God of hosts.
What is meant by the covering of
Judah, which in the beginning of this paragraph is said to be
discovered, is not agreed. The fenced cities of Judah were a
covering to the country; but these, being taken by the army of the
Assyrians, ceased to be a shelter, so that the whole country lay
exposed to be plundered. The weakness of Judah, its nakedness, and
inability to keep itself, now appeared more than ever; and thus the
covering of Judah was discovered. Its magazines and stores, which
had been locked up, were now laid open for the public use. Dr.
Lightfoot gives another sense of it, that by this distress into
which Judah should be brought God would discover their covering
(that is, uncloak their hypocrisy), would show all that was in
their heart, as is said of Hezekiah upon another occasion,
They were now in a great fright, and in this fright they manifested two things much amiss:—
I. A great contempt of God's goodness, and his power to help them. They made use of all the means they could think of for their own preservation; and it is not for doing this that they are blamed, but, in doing this, they did not acknowledge God. Observe,
1. How careful they were to improve all
advantages that might contribute to their safety. When Sennacherib
had made himself master of all the defenced cities of Judah, and
Jerusalem was left as a cottage in a vineyard, they thought it was
time to look about them. A council was immediately called, a
council of war; and it was resolved to stand upon their defence,
and not tamely to surrender. Pursuant to this resolve, they took
all the prudent measures they could for their own security. We
tempt God if, in times of danger, we do not the best we can for
ourselves. (1.) They inspected the magazines and stores, to see if
they were well stocked with arms and ammunition: They looked to
the armour of the house of the forest, which Solomon built in
Jerusalem for an armoury (
2. How regardless they were of God in all
these preparations: But you have not looked unto the Maker
thereof (that is, of Jerusalem, the city you are so solicitous
for the defence of) and of all the advantages which nature has
furnished it with for its defence—the mountains round about
it (
II. A great contempt of God's wrath and
justice in contending with them,
1. What was God's design in bringing this calamity upon them: it was to humble them, bring them to repentance, and make them serious. In that day of trouble, and treading down, and perplexity, the Lord did thereby call to weeping and mourning, and all the expressions of sorrow, even to baldness and girding with sackcloth; and all this to lament their sins (by which they had brought those judgments upon their land), to enforce their prayers (by which they might hope to avert the judgments that were breaking in), and to dispose themselves to a reformation of their lives by a holy seriousness and a tenderness of heart under the word of God. To this God called them by his prophet's explaining his providences, and by his providences awakening them to regard what his prophets said. Note, When God threatens us with his judgments he expects and requires that we humble ourselves under his mighty hand, that we tremble when the lion roars, and in a day of adversity consider.
2. How contrary they walked to this design
of God (
3. How much God was displeased at it. He
signified his resentment of it to the prophet, revealed it in
his ears, to be by him proclaimed upon the house-top: Surely
this iniquity shall not be purged from you till you die,
15 Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say, 16 What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth a habitation for himself in a rock? 17 Behold, the Lord will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee. 18 He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house. 19 And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down. 20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: 21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. 22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house. 24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. 25 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the Lord hath spoken it.
We have here a prophecy concerning the
displacing of Shebna, a great officer at court, and the preferring
of Eliakim to the post of honour and trust that he was in. Such
changes are common in the courts of princes; it is therefore
strange that so much notice should be taken of it by the prophet
here; but by the accomplishment of what was foretold concerning
these particular persons God designed to confirm his word in the
mouth of Isaiah concerning other and greater events; and it is
likewise to show that, as God has burdens in store for those
nations and kingdoms abroad that are open enemies to his church and
people, so he has for those particular persons at home that are
false friends to them and betray them. It is likewise a
confirmation in general of the hand of divine Providence in all
events of this kind, which to us seem contingent and to depend upon
the wills and fancies of princes. Promotion comes not from the
east, nor from the west, nor from the south; but God is the
Judge,
I. The prophecy of Shebna's disgrace. He is
called this treasurer, being entrusted with the management
of the revenue; and he is likewise said to be over the
house, for such was his boundless ambition and covetousness
that less than two places, and those two of the greatest importance
at court, would not satisfy him. It is common for self-seeking men
thus to grasp at more than they can manage, and so the business of
their places is neglected, while the pomp and profit of them wholly
engage the mind. It does not appear what were the particular
instances of Shebna's mal-administration, for which Isaiah is here
sent to prophesy against him; but the Jews say, "He kept up a
traitorous correspondence with the king of Assyria, and was in
treaty with him to deliver the city into his hands." However this
was, it should seem that he was a foreigner (for we never read of
the name of his father) and that he was an enemy to the true
interests of Judah and Jerusalem: it is probable that he was first
preferred by Ahaz. Hezekiah was himself an excellent prince; but
the best masters cannot always be sure of good servants. We have
need to pray for princes, that they may be wise and happy in the
choice of those they trust. These were times of reformation, yet
Shebna, a bad man, complied so far as to keep his places at court;
and it is probable that many others did like him, for which reason
Sennacherib is said to have been sent against a hypocritical
nation,
1. A reproof of his pride, vanity, and
security (
2. A prophecy of his fall and the sullying
of his glory. (1.) That he should not quickly be displaced and
degraded (
II. The prophecy of Eliakim's advancement,
This chapter is concerning Tyre, an ancient
wealthy city, situated upon the sea, and for many ages one of the
most celebrated cities for trade and merchandise in those parts of
the world. The lot of the tribe of Asher bordered upon it. See
1 The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them. 2 Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished. 3 And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations. 4 Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins. 5 As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre. 6 Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle. 7 Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn. 8 Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth? 9 The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth. 10 Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength. 11 He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the Lord hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof. 12 And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest. 13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin. 14 Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.
Tyre being a sea-port town, this prophecy of its overthrow fitly begins and ends with, Howl, you ships of Tarshish; for all its business, wealth, and honour, depended upon its shipping; if that be ruined, they will be all undone. Observe,
I. Tyre flourishing. This is taken notice
of that her fall may appear the more dismal. 1. The merchants of
Zidon, who traded at sea, had at first replenished her,
II. Here is Tyre falling. It does not appear that she brought trouble upon herself by provoking her neighbours with her quarrels, but rather by tempting them with her wealth; but, if it was this that induced Nebuchadnezzar to fall upon Tyre, he was disappointed; for after it had stood out a siege of thirteen years, and could hold out no longer, the inhabitants got away by sea, with their families and goods, to other places where they had an interest, and left Nebuchadnezzar nothing but the bare city. See a history of Tyre in Sir Walter Raleigh's History of the World, lib. 2. cap. 7. sect. 3, 43. page. 283, which will give much light to this prophecy and that in Ezekiel concerning Tyre.
1. See how the destruction of Tyre is here
foretold. (1.) The haven shall be no convenient harbour for the
reception of the ships of Tarshish, but all laid waste (1.),
so that there shall be no house, no dock for the ships to ride in,
no inns, or public houses for the seamen, no entering into the
port. Perhaps it was choked with sand or blocked up by the enemy.
Or, Tyre being destroyed and laid waste, the ships that used to
come from Tarshish and Chittim into that port shall now no more
enter in; for it is revealed or made known to them,
they have received the dismal news, that Tyre is destroyed and laid
waste; so that there is now no more business for them there. See
how it is in this world; those that are spoiled by their enemies
are commonly slighted by their old friends. (2.) The inhabitants
are struck with astonishment. Tyre was an island. The inhabitants
of it, who had made a mighty noise and bustle in the world, and
revelled with loud huzzas, shall now be still and silent (
2. But whence shall all this trouble come?
(1.) God will be the author of it; it is a
destruction from the Almighty. It will be asked (
(2.) The Chaldeans shall be the instruments
of it (
15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as a harlot. 16 Take a harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. 17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. 18 And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.
Here is, I. The time fixed for the
continuance of the desolations of Tyre, which were not to be
perpetual desolations: Tyre shall be forgotten seventy
years,
II. A prophecy of the restoration of Tyre
to its glory again: After the end of seventy years, according to
the years of one king, or one dynasty or family of kings, that
of Nebuchadnezzar; when that expired, the desolations of Tyre came
to an end. And we may presume that Cyrus at the same time when he
released the Jews, and encouraged them to rebuild Jerusalem,
released the Tyrians also, and encouraged them to rebuild Tyre.
Thus the prosperity and adversity of places, as well as persons,
are set the one over against the other, that the most
glorious cities may not be secure nor the most ruinous despair. It
is foretold, 1. That God's providence shall gain smile upon this
ruined city (
It is agreed that here begins a new sermon, which
is continued to the end of
1 Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. 2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. 3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word. 4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. 5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. 7 The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merry-hearted do sigh. 8 The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. 9 They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. 10 The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in. 11 There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. 12 In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.
It is a very dark and melancholy scene that this prophecy presents to our view; turn our eyes which way we will, every thing looks dismal. The threatened desolations are here described in a great variety of expressions to the same purport, and all aggravating.
I. The earth is stripped of all its
ornaments and looks as if it were taken off its basis; it is made
empty and waste (
II. It is God that brings all these
calamities upon the earth. The Lord that made the earth, and
made it fruitful and beautiful, for the service and comfort of man,
now makes it empty and waste (
III. Persons of all ranks and conditions
shall share in these calamities (
IV. It is sin that brings these calamities
upon the earth. The earth is made empty, and fades away, because it
is defiled under the inhabitants thereof (
V. These judgments shall humble men's pride
and mar their mirth. When the earth is made empty, 1. It is a great
mortification to men's pride (
VI. The cities will in a particular manner
feel from these desolations of the country (
13 When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done. 14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord, they shall cry aloud from the sea. 15 Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires, even the name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles of the sea.
Here is mercy remembered in the midst of
wrath. In Judah and Jerusalem, and the neighbouring countries, when
they are overrun by the enemy, Sennacherib or Nebuchadnezzar, there
shall be a remnant preserved from the general ruin, and it shall be
a devout and pious remnant. And this method God usually observes
when his judgments are abroad; he does not make a full end,
I. The small number of this remnant,
II. The great devotion of this remnant,
which is the greater for their having so narrowly escaped this
great destruction (
III. Their holy zeal to excite others to
the same devotion (
16 From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously. 17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. 18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. 19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. 20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again. 21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. 22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. 23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
These verses, as those before, plainly speak,
I. Comfort to saints. They may be driven,
by the common calamities of the places where they live, into the
uttermost parts of the earth, or perhaps they are forced
thither for their religion; but there they are singing, not
sighing. Thence have we heard songs, and it is a comfort to us to
hear them, to hear that good people carry their religion along with
them even to the most distant regions, to hear that God visits them
there and gives encouragement to hope that he will gather them
thence,
II. Terror to sinners. The prophet, having
comforted himself and others with the prospect of a saved remnant,
returns to lament the miseries he saw breaking in like a mighty
torrent upon the earth: "But I said, My leanness! my leanness!
woe unto me! The very thought of it frets me, and makes me
lean,"
1. The prevalency of sin, that iniquity
should abound (
2. The prevalency of wrath and judgment for
that sin. (2.) The inhabitants of the earth will be pursued from
time to time, from place to place, by one mischief or other
(
3. Glory to God in all this,
After the threatenings of wrath in the foregoing
chapter we have here, I. Thankful praises for what God had done,
which the prophet, in the name of the church, offers up to God, and
teaches us to offer the like,
1 O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. 2 For thou hast made of a city a heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built. 3 Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee. 4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. 5 Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.
It is said in the close of the foregoing
chapter that the Lord of hosts shall reign gloriously; now,
in compliance with this, the prophet here speaks of the glorious
majesty of his kingdom (
I. The prophet determines to praise God
himself; for those that would stir up others should in the first
place stir up themselves to praise God (
II. He pleases himself with the thought
that others also shall be brought to praise God,
III. He observes what is, and ought to be,
the matter of this praise. We and others must exalt God and praise
him; for, 1. He has done wonders, according to the counsel of his
own will,
6 And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. 7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.
If we suppose (as many do) that this refers
to the great joy which there should be in Zion and Jerusalem when
the army of the Assyrians was routed by an angel, or when the Jews
were released out of their captivity in Babylon, or upon occasion
of some other equally surprising deliverance, yet we cannot avoid
making it to look further, to the grace of the gospel and the glory
which is the crown and consummation of that grace; for it is at our
resurrection through Christ that the saying here written shall
be brought to pass; then, and not till then (if we may believe
St. Paul), it shall have its full accomplishment: Death is
swallowed up in victory,
I. That the grace of the gospel should be a
royal feast for all people; not like that of Ahasuerus, which was
intended only to show the grandeur of the master of the feast
(
II. That the world should be freed from
that darkness of ignorance and mistake in the mists of which it had
been so long lost and buried (
III. That death should be conquered, the
power of it broken, and the property of it altered: He will
swallow up death in victory,
IV. That grief shall be banished, and there
shall be perfect and endless joy: The Lord God will wipe away
tears from off all faces. Those that mourn for sin shall be
comforted and have their consciences pacified. In the covenant of
grace there shall be that provided which is sufficient to
counterbalance all the sorrows of this present time, to wipe away
our tears, and to refresh us. Those particularly that suffer for
Christ shall have consolations abounding as their afflictions do
abound. But in the joys of heaven, and nowhere short of them, will
fully be brought to pass this saying, as that before, for
there it is that God shall wipe away all tears,
V. That all the reproach cast upon religion and the serious professors of it shall be for ever rolled away: The rebuke of his people, which they have long lain under, the calumnies and misrepresentations by which they have been blackened, the insolence and cruelty with which their persecutors have trampled on them and trodden them down, shall be taken away. Their righteousness shall be brought forth as the light, in the view of all the world, who shall be convinced that they are not such as they have been invidiously characterized; and so their salvation from the injuries done them as such shall be wrought out. Sometimes in this world God does that for his people which takes away their reproach from among men. However, it will be done effectually at the great day; for the Lord has spoken it, who can, and will, make it good. Let us patiently bear sorrow and shame now, and improve both; for shortly both will be done away.
9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. 10 For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. 11 And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. 12 And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.
Here is, I. The welcome which the church
shall give to these blessings promised in the foregoing verses
(
II. A prospect of further blessings for the
securing and perpetuating of these. 1. The power of God shall be
engaged for them and shall continue to take their part: In this
mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest,
This chapter is a song of holy joy and praise, in
which the great things God had engaged, in the foregoing chapter,
to do for his people against his enemies and their enemies are
celebrated: it is prepared to be sung when that prophecy should be
accomplished; for we must be forward to meet God with our
thanksgivings when he is coming towards us with his mercies. Now
the people of God are here taught, I. To triumph in the safety and
holy security both of the church in general and of every particular
member of it, under the divine protection,
1 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. 2 Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. 3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. 4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
To the prophecies of gospel grace very
fitly is a song annexed, in which we may give God the glory and
take to ourselves the comfort of that grace: In that day,
the gospel day, which the day of the victories and enlargements of
the Old-Testament church was typical of (to some of which perhaps
this has a primary reference), in that day this song shall be
sung; there shall be persons to sing it, and cause and hearts
to sing it; it shall be sung in the land of Judah, which was
a figure of the gospel church; for the gospel covenant is said to
be made with the house of Judah,
I. That it is strongly fortified against
those that are bad (
II. That it is richly replenished with
those that are good, and they are instead of fortifications to it;
for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, if they are such as they should
be, are its strength,
III. That all who belong to it are safe and
easy, and have a holy security and serenity of mind in the
assurance of God's favour. 1. This is here the matter of a promise
(
5 For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust. 6 The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy. 7 The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just. 8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. 9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 10 Let favour be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord. 11 Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.
Here the prophet further encourages us to trust in the Lord for ever, and to continue waiting on him; for,
I. He will make humble souls that trust in
him to triumph over their proud enemies,
II. He takes cognizance of the way of his
people and has delight in it (
III. It is our duty, and will be our
comfort, to wait for God, and to keep up holy desires towards him
in the darkest and most discouraging times,
IV. It is God's gracious design, in sending
abroad his judgments, thereby to bring men to seek him and serve
him: When thy judgments are upon the earth, laying all
waste, then we have reason to expect that not only God's professing
people, but even the inhabitants of the world, will learn
righteousness, will have their mistakes rectified and their
lives reformed, will be brought to acknowledge God's righteousness
in punishing them, will repent of their own unrighteousness in
offending God, and so be brought to walk in right paths. They will
do this; that is, judgments are designed to bring them to this,
they have a natural tendency to produce this effect, and, though
many continue obstinate, yet some even of the inhabitants of the
world will profit by this discipline, and will learn righteousness;
surely they will; they are strangely stupid if they do not. Note,
The intention of afflictions is to teach us righteousness; and
blessed is the man whom God chastens, and thus teaches,
V. Those are wicked indeed that will not be wrought upon by the favourable methods God takes to subdue and reform them; and it is necessary that God should deal with them in a severe way by his judgments, which shall prevail to humble those that would not otherwise be humbled. Observe,
1. How sinners walk contrary to God, and
refuse to comply with the means used for their reformation and to
answer the intentions of them,
2. How God will at length be too hard for them; for, when he judges, he will overcome: They will not see, but they shall see, shall be made to see, whether they will or no, that God is angry with them. Atheists, scorners, and the secure, will shortly feel what now they will not believe, that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. They will not see the evil of sin, and particularly the sin of hating and persecuting the people of God; but they shall see, by the tokens of God's displeasure against them for it and the deliverances in which God will plead his people's cause, that what is done against them he takes as done against himself and will reckon for it accordingly. They shall see that they have done God's people a great deal of wrong, and therefore shall be ashamed of their enmity and envy towards them, and their ill usage of such as deserved better treatment. Note, Those that bear ill-will to God's people have reason to be ashamed of it, so absurd and unreasonable is it; and, sooner or later, they shall be ashamed of it, and the remembrance of it shall fill them with confusion. Some read it, They shall see and be confounded for the zeal of the people, by the zeal God will show for his people; when they shall be made to know how jealous God is for the honour and welfare of his people they shall be confounded to think that they might have been of that people and would not. Their doom therefore is that, since they slighted the happiness of God's friends, the fire of his enemies shall devour them, that is, the fire which is prepared for his enemies and with which they shall be devoured, the fire designed for the devil and his angels. Note, Those that are enemies to God's people, and envy them, God looks upon as his enemies, and will deal with them accordingly.
12 Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. 13 O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. 14 They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish. 15 Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth. 16 Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. 17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord. 18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. 19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
The prophet in these verses looks back upon what God had done with them, both in mercy and judgment, and sings unto God of both, and then looks forward upon what he hoped God would do for them. Observe,
I. His reviews and reflections are mixed. When he looks back upon the state of the church he finds,
1. That God had in many instances been very
gracious to them and had done great things for them. (1.) In
general (
2. That yet he had laid them under his rebukes.
(1.) The neighbouring nations had sometimes
oppressed them and tyrannised over them (
(2.) They had sometimes been carried into
captivity before their enemies (
(3.) The prophet remembers that when they
were thus oppressed and carried captive they cried unto God, which
was a good evidence that they neither had quite forsaken him nor
were quite forsaken of him, and that there were merciful intentions
in the judgments they were under (
(4.) He complains that their struggles for
their own liberty had been very painful and perilous, but that they
had not been successful,
II. His prospects and hopes are very
pleasant. In general, "Thou wilt ordain peace for us
(
20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
These two verses are supposed not to belong to the song which takes up the rest of the chapter, but to begin a new matter, and to be rather an introduction to the following chapter than the conclusion of this. Of whereas, in the foregoing song, the people of God had spoken to him, complaining of their grievances, here he returns an answer to their complaints, in which,
I. He invites them into their chambers
(
II. He assures them that the trouble would
be over in a very short time, that they should not long be in any
fright or peril: "Hide thyself for a moment, the smallest
part of time we can conceive, like an atom of matter; may, if you
can imagine one moment shorter than another, it is but for a
little moment, and that with a quasi too, as it
were for a little moment, less than you think of. When it is
over it will seem as nothing to you; you will wonder how soon it is
gone. You shall not need to lie long in confinement, long in
concealment. The indignation will presently be over-past; that is,
the indignation of the enemies against you, their persecuting power
and rage, which force you to abscond. When the wicked rise, a
man is hid. This will soon be over; God will cut them off, will
break their power, defeat their purposes, and find a way for your
enlargement." When Athanasius was banished from Alexandria by an
edict of Julian, and his friends greatly lamented it, he bade them
be of good cheer. Nubecula est quæ cito pertransibit—It is a
little cloud, that will soon blow over. You shall have tribulation
ten days; that is all,
III. He assures them that their enemies
should be reckoned with for all the mischief they had done them by
the sword, either of war or persecution,
In this chapter the prophet goes on to show, I.
What great things God would do for his church and people, which
should now shortly be accomplished in the deliverance of Jerusalem
from Sennacherib and the destruction of the Assyrian army; but it
is expressed generally, for the encouragement of the church in
after ages, with reference to the power and prevalency of her
enemies. 1. That proud oppressors should be reckoned with,
1 In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2 In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine. 3 I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. 4 Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together. 5 Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me. 6 He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.
The prophet is here singing of judgment and mercy,
I. Of judgment upon the enemies of God's
church (
II. Of mercy to the church. In that same day, when God is punishing the leviathan, let the church and all her friends be easy and cheerful; let those that attend her sing to her for her comfort, sing her asleep with these assurances; let it be sung in her assemblies,
1. That she is God's vineyard, and is under
his particular care,
2. That, though sometimes he contends with
his people, yet, upon their submission, he will be reconciled to
them,
3. That the church of God in the world
shall be a growing body, and come at length to be a great body
(
7 Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him? 8 In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind. 9 By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up. 10 Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof. 11 When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will show them no favour. 12 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. 13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
Here is the prophet again singing of mercy and judgment, not, as before, judgment to the enemies and mercy to the church, but judgment to the church and mercy mixed with that judgment.
I. Here is judgment threatened even to
Jacob and Israel. They shall blossom and bud (
II. Here is a great deal of mercy mixed with this judgment; for there are good people mixed with those that are corrupt and degenerate, a remnant according to the election of grace, on whom God will have mercy and to whom he will show favour: and these promises seem to point at all the calamities of the church, for which God would graciously provide these allays.
1. Though they shall be smitten and slain,
yet not to that degree, and in that manner, in which their enemies
shall be smitten and slain,
2. Though God will debate with them, yet it
shall be in measure, and the affliction shall be mitigated,
moderated, and proportioned to their strength, not to their
deserts,
3. Though God will afflict them, yet he
will make their afflictions to work for the good of their souls,
and correct them as the father does the child, to drive out the
foolishness that is bound up in their hearts (
4. Though Jerusalem shall be desolate and
forsaken for a time, yet there will come a day when its scattered
friends shall resort to it again out of all the countries whither
they were dispersed (
In this chapter, I. The Ephraimites are reproved
and threatened for their pride and drunkenness, their security and
sensuality,
1 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! 2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. 3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet: 4 And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up. 5 In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, 6 And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate. 7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. 8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.
Here, I. The prophet warns the kingdom of
the ten tribes of the judgments that were coming upon them for
their sins, which were soon after executed by the king of Assyria,
who laid their country waste, and carried the people into
captivity. Ephraim had his name from fruitfulness, their
soil being very fertile and the products of it abundant and the
best of the kind; they had a great many fat valleys
(
1. What an ill use they made of their
plenty. What God gave them to serve him with they perverted, and
abused, by making it the food and fuel of their lusts. (1.) They
were puffed up with pride by it. The goodness with which God
crowned their years, which should have been to him a crown of
praise, was to them a crown of pride. Those that are rich in
the world are apt to be high-minded,
2. The justice of God in taking away their
plenty from them, which they thus abused. Their glorious
beauty, the plenty they were proud of, is but a fading
flower; it is meat that perishes. The most substantial fruits,
if God blast them and blow upon them, are but fading flowers,
II. He next turns to the kingdom of Judah,
whom he calls the residue of his people (
1. He promises them God's favours, and that
they shall be taken under his guidance and protection when the
beauty of Ephraim shall be left exposed to be trodden down and
eaten up,
2. He complains of the corruptions that
were found among them, and the many corrupt ones (
9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. 10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: 11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. 12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. 13 But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
The prophet here complains of the wretched stupidity of this people, that they were unteachable and made no improvement of the means of grace which they possessed; they still continued as they were, their mistakes not rectified, their hearts not renewed, nor their lives reformed. Observe,
I. What it was that their prophets and
ministers designed and aimed at. It was to teach them
knowledge, the knowledge of God and his will, and to make
them understand doctrine,
II. What method they took, in pursuance of
this design. They left no means untried to do them good, but taught
them as children are taught, little children that are beginning to
learn, that are taken from the breast to the book (
III. What little effect all this had upon
the people. They were as unapt to learn as young children newly
weaned from the milk, and it was as impossible to fasten any thing
upon them (
IV. How severely God would reckon with them
for this. 1. He would deprive them of the privilege of plain
preaching, and speak to them with stammering lips and another
tongue,
14 Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. 15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. 17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. 19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. 20 For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. 21 For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. 22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
The prophet, having reproved those that
made a jest of the word of God, here goes on to reprove those that
made a jest of the judgments of God, and set them at defiance; for
he is a jealous God, and will not suffer either his ordinances or
his providences to be brought into contempt. He addressed himself
to the scornful men who ruled in Jerusalem, who were the
magistrates of the city,
I. How these scornful men lulled themselves
asleep in carnal security, and even challenged God Almighty to do
his worst (
II. How God, by the prophet, awakens them out of this sleep, and shows them the folly of their security.
1. He tells them upon what grounds they
might be secure. He does not disturb their false confidences, till
he has first shown them a firm bottom on which they may repose
themselves (
2. He tells them that upon the grounds
which they now built on they could not be safe, but their
confidences would certainly fail them (
(1.) The building up of his church; having
laid the foundation (
(2.) The punishing of the church's enemies, against whom he will proceed in strict justice, according to the threatenings of the law. He will give them their deserts, and bring upon them the judgments they have challenged, but in wisdom too, and by an exact rule, that the tares may not be plucked up with the wheat. And when God comes thus to execute judgment,
[1.] These scornful men will be made
ashamed of the vain hopes with which they had deluded themselves.
First, They designed to make lies their refuge; but it will
indeed prove a refuge of lies, which the hail shall sweep
away, that tempest of hail spoken of
[2.] God will be glorified in the
accomplishment of his counsels,
Lastly, We have the use and
application of all this (
23 Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. 24 Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? 25 When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place? 26 For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. 27 For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod. 28 Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen. 29 This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.
This parable, which (like many of our
Saviour's parables) is borrowed from the husbandman's calling, is
ushered in with a solemn preface demanding attention, He that
has ears to hear, let him hear, hear and understand,
I. The parable here is plain enough, that
the husbandman applies himself to the business of his calling with
a great deal of pains and prudence, secundum artem—according to
rule, and, as his judgment directs him, observes a method and
order in his work. 1. In his ploughing and sowing: Does the
ploughman plough all day to sow? Yes, he does, and he
ploughs in hope and sows in hope,
II. The interpretation of the parable is
not so plain. Most interpreters make it a further answer to those
who set the judgments of God at defiance: "Let them know that as
the husbandman will not be always ploughing, but will at length sow
his seed, so God will not be always threatening, but will at length
execute his threatenings and bring upon sinners the judgments they
have deserved; but in wisdom, and in proportion to their strength,
not that they may be ruined, but that they may be reformed and
brought to repentance by them." But I think we may give this
parable a greater latitude in the exposition of it. 1. In general,
that God who gives the husbandman this wisdom is, doubtless,
himself infinitely wise. It is God that instructs the husbandman
to discretion, as his God,
This woe to Ariel, which we have in this chapter,
is the same with the "burden of the valley of vision" (
1 Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices. 2 Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel. 3 And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee. 4 And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust. 5 Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly. 6 Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. 7 And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision. 8 It shall even be as when a hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.
That it is Jerusalem which is here called
Ariel is agreed, for that was the city where David dwelt;
that part of it which was called Zion was in a particular
manner the city of David, in which both the temple and the palace
were. But why it is so called is very uncertain: probably the name
and the reason were then well known. Cities, as well as persons,
get surnames and nicknames. Ariel signifies the lion of
God, or the strong lion: as the lion is king among
beasts, so was Jerusalem among the cities, giving law to all about
her; it was the city of the great King (
I. The distress of Jerusalem foretold.
Though Jerusalem be a strong city, as a lion, though a holy city,
as a lion of God, yet, if iniquity be found there, woe be to it. It
was the city where David dwelt; it was he that brought that
to it which was its glory, and which made it a type of the gospel
church, and his dwelling in it was typical of Christ's residence in
his church. This mentioned as an aggravation of Jerusalem's sin,
that in it were set both the testimony of Israel and the thrones
of the house of David. 1. Let Jerusalem know that her external
performance of religious services will not serve as an exemption
from the judgments of God (
II. The destruction of Jerusalem's enemies
is foretold, for the comfort of all that were her friends and
well-wishers in this distress (
9 Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. 10 For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. 11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: 12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. 13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: 14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. 15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? 16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?
Here, I. The prophet stands amazed at the
stupidity of the greatest part of the Jewish nation. They had
Levites, who taught the good knowledge of the Lord and had
encouragement from Hezekiah in doing so,
II. The prophet, in God's name, threatens
those that were formal and hypocritical in their exercises of
devotion,
1. The sin that is here charged upon
them—dissembling with God in their religious performances,
2. It is a spiritual judgment with which
God threatens to punish them for their spiritual wickedness
(
III. He shows the folly of those that
though to act separately and secretly from God, and were carrying
on designs independent upon God and which they projected to conceal
from his all-seeing eye. Here we have, 1. Their politics described
(
17 Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest? 18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. 19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. 20 For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: 21 That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought. 22 Therefore thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. 23 But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. 24 They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.
Those that thought to hide their counsels
from the Lord were said to turn things upside down (
I. In general, it is a great and surprising
change that is here foretold,
II. In particular,
1. Those that were ignorant shall become
intelligent,
2. Those that were erroneous shall become
orthodox (
3. Those that were melancholy shall become
cheerful and pleasant (
4. The enemies, that were formidable, shall
become despicable. Sennacherib, that terrible one, and his
great army, that put the country into such a consternation, shall
be brought to nought (
5. The persecutors, that were vexatious,
shall be quieted, and so those they were troublesome to shall be
quiet from the fear of them. To complete the repose of God's
people, not only the terrible one from abroad shall be brought to
nought, but the scorners at home too shall be consumed and cut off
by Hezekiah's reformation. Those are a happy people, and likely to
be so, who, when God gives them victory and success against their
terrible enemies abroad, take care to suppress vice, and
profaneness, and the spirit of persecution, those more dangerous
enemies at home. Or, They shall be consumed and cut off by the
judgments of God, shall be singled out to be made examples of. Or,
They shall insensibly waste away, being put to confusion by the
fulfilling of those predictions which they had made a jest of.
Observe what had been the wickedness of these scorners, for which
they should be cut off. They had been persecutors of God's people
and prophets, probably of the prophet Isaiah particularly, and
therefore he complains thus feelingly of them and of their subtle
malice. Some as informers and persecutors, others as judges, did
all they could to take away his life, or at least his liberty. And
this is very applicable to the chief priests and Pharisees, who
persecuted Christ and his apostles, and for that sin they and their
nation of scorners were cut off and consumed. (1.) They ridiculed
the prophets and the serious professors of religion; they despised
them, and did their utmost to bring them into contempt; they were
scorners, and sat in the seat of the scornful. (2.) They lay in
wait for an occasion against them. By their spies they watch for
iniquity, to see if they can lay hold of any thing that is said
or done that may be called an iniquity. Or they themselves watch
for an opportunity to do mischief, as Judas did to betray our Lord
Jesus. (3.) They took advantage against them for the least slip of
the tongue; and, if a thing were ever so little said amiss, it
served them to ground an indictment upon. They made a man,
though he were ever so wise and good a man, though he were a man of
God, an offender for a word, a word mischosen or misplaced,
when they could not but know that it was well meant,
6. Jacob, who was made to blush by the
reproaches, and made to tremble by the threatenings, of his
enemies, shall now be relieved both against his shame and against
his fear, by the rolling away of those reproaches and the defeating
of those threatenings (
7. Jacob, who thought his family would be
extinct and the entail of religion quite cut off, shall have the
satisfaction of seeing a numerous progeny devoted to God for a
generation,
The prophecy of this chapter seems to relate (as
that in the foregoing chapter) to the approaching danger of
Jerusalem and desolations of Judah by Sennacherib's invasion. Here
is, I. A just reproof to those who, in that distress, trusted to
the Egyptians for help, and were all in a hurry to fetch succours
from Egypt,
1 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: 2 That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! 3 Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. 4 For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes. 5 They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be a help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach. 6 The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them. 7 For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.
It was often the fault and folly of the
people of the Jews that, when they were insulted by their
neighbours on one side, they sought for succour from their
neighbours on the other side, instead of looking up to God and
putting their confidence in him. Against the Israelites they sought
to the Syrians,
I. How this sin of theirs is described, and what there was in it that was provoking to God. When they saw themselves in danger and distress, 1. They would not consult God. They would do things of their own heads, and not advise with God, though they had a ready and certain way of doing it by Urim or prophets. They were so confident of the prudence of their own measures that they thought it needless to consult the oracle; nay, they were not willing to put it to that issue: "They take counsel among themselves, and one from another; but they do not ask counsel, much less will they take counsel, of me. They cover with a covering" (they think to secure themselves with one shelter or other, which may serve to cover them from the violence of the storm), "but not of my Spirit" (not such as God by his Spirit, in the mouth of his prophets, directed them to), "and therefore it will prove too short a covering, and a refuge of lies." 2. They could not confide in God. They did not think it enough to have God on their side, nor were they at all solicitous to make him their friend, but they strengthened themselves in the strength of Pharaoh; they thought him a powerful ally, and doubted not but to be able to cope with the Assyrian while they had him for them. The shadow of Egypt (and it was but a shadow) was the covering in which they wrapped themselves.
II. What was the evil of this sin. 1. It
bespoke them rebellious children; and a woe is here
denounced against them under that character,
III. What would be the consequence of it.
1. The Egyptians would receive their ambassadors, would address
them very respectfully, and be willing to treat with them
(
IV. The use and application of all this
(
8 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: 9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: 10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: 11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. 12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: 13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. 14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. 15 For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. 16 But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. 17 One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on a hill.
Here, I. The preface is very awful. The
prophet must not only preach this, but he must write it (
II. The character given of the profane and
wicked Jews is very sad. He must, if he will draw them in their own
colours, write this concerning them (and we are sure he does not
bear false witness against them, nor make them worse than they
were, for the judgment of God is according to truth), That this
is a rebellious people,
III. The charge drawn up against them is very high and the sentence passed upon them very dreadful. Two things they here stand charged with, and their doom is read for both, a fearful doom:—
1. They forbade the prophets to speak to them in God's name, and to deal faithfully with them.
(1.) This their sin is described,
(2.) Now what is the doom passed upon them
for this? We have it,
2. They slighted the gracious directions
God gave them, not only how to secure themselves and make
themselves safe, but how to compose themselves and make themselves
easy; they would take their own way,
(1.) The method God put them into for salvation and strength. The God that knew them, and knew what was proper for them, and desired their welfare, gave them this prescription; and it is recommended to us all. [1.] Would we be saved from the evil of every calamity, guarded against the temptation of it and secured from the curse of it, which are the only evil things in it? It must be in returning and rest, in returning to God and reposing in him as our rest. Let us return from our evil ways, into which we have gone aside, and rest and settle in the way of God and duty, and that is the way to be saved. "Return from this project of going down to Egypt, and rest satisfied in the will of God, and then you may trust him with your safety. In returning (in the thorough reformation of your hearts and lives) and in rest (in an entire submission of your souls to God and a complacency in him) you shall be saved." [2.] Would we be strengthened to do what is required of us and to bear what is laid upon us? It must be in quietness and in confidence; we must keep our spirits calm and sedate by a continual dependence upon God, and his power and goodness; we must retire into ourselves with a holy quietness, suppressing all turbulent and tumultuous passions, and keeping the peace in our own minds. And we must rely upon God with a holy confidence that he can do what he will and will do what is best for his people. And this will be our strength; it will inspire us with such a holy fortitude as will carry us with ease and courage through all the difficulties we may meet with.
(2.) The contempt they put upon this
prescription; they would not take God's counsel, though it was so
much for their own good. And justly will those die of their disease
that will not take God for their physician. We are certainly
enemies to ourselves if we will not be subjects to him. They would
not so much as try the method prescribed: "But you said, No
(
(3.) The sentence passed upon them for
this. Their sin shall be their punishment: "You will flee, and
therefore you shall flee; you will be upon the full speed,
and therefore so shall those be that pursue you." The dogs are most
apt to run barking after him that rides fast. The conquerors
protected those that sat still, but pursued those that made their
escape; and so that very project by which they hoped to save
themselves was justly their ruin and the most guilty suffered most.
It is foretold,
18 And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. 19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. 20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: 21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. 22 Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence. 23 Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures. 24 The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan. 25 And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. 26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
The closing words of the foregoing paragraph (You shall be left as a beacon upon a mountain) some understand as a promise that a remnant of them should be reserved as monuments of mercy; and here the prophet tells them what good times should succeed these calamities. Or the first words in this paragraph may be read by way of antithesis, Notwithstanding this, yet will the Lord wait that he may be gracious. The prophet, having shown that those who made Egypt their confidence would be ashamed of it, here shows that those who sat still and made God alone their confidence would have the comfort of it. It is matter of comfort to the people of God, when the times are very bad, that all will be well yet, well with those that fear God, when we say to the wicked, It shall be ill with you.
I. God will be gracious to them and will have mercy on them. This is the foundation of all good. If we find favour with God, and he have mercy upon us, we shall have comfort according to the time that we have been afflicted.
1. The mercy in store for them is very
affectingly expressed. (1.) "He will wait to be gracious
(
2. This is grounded upon two great truths:
(1.) That the Lord is a God of judgment; he is both wise and
just in all the disposals of his providence, true to his word and
tender of his people. If he correct his children, it is with
judgment (
II. They shall not again know the want of
the means of grace,
III. They shall be cured of their idolatry,
shall fall out with their idols, and never be reconciled to them
again,
IV. God will then give them plenty of all
good things. When he gives them their teachers, and they give him
their hearts, so that they begin to seek the kingdom of God and the
righteousness thereof, then all other things shall be added to
them
V. The effect of all this should be
extraordinary comfort and joy to the people of God,
27 Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: 28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. 29 Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of Israel. 30 And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones. 31 For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod. 32 And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it. 33 For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.
This terrible prediction of the ruin of the Assyrian army, though it is a threatening to them, is part of the promise to the Israel of God, that God would not only punish the Assyrians for the mischief they had done to the Israel of God, but would disable and deter them from doing the like again; and this prediction, which would now shortly be accomplished, would ratify and confirm the foregoing promises, which should be accomplished in the latter days. Here is,
I. God Almighty angry, and coming forth in
anger against the Assyrians. He is here introduced in all the power
and all the terror of his wrath,
II. The execution done by this anger of the
Lord. Men are often angry when they can only threaten and talk big;
but when God causes his glorious voice to be heard that shall not
be all: he will show the lighting down of his arm too,
III. The great joy which this should
occasion to the people of God. The Assyrian's fall is Jerusalem's
triumph (
This chapter is an abridgment of the foregoing
chapter; the heads of it are much the same. Here is, I. A woe to
those who, when the Assyrian army invaded them, trusted to the
Egyptians, and not to God, for succour,
1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord! 2 Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity. 3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together. 4 For thus hath the Lord spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof. 5 As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.
This is the last of four chapters together
that begin with woe; and they are all woes to the sinners that were
found among the professing people of God, to the drunkards of
Ephraim (
I. What the sin was that is here reproved,
II. The gross absurdity and folly of this
sin. 1. They neglected one whom, if they would not hope in him,
they had reason to fear. They do not seek the Lord, nor make their
application to him, yet he also is wise,
6 Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. 7 For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin. 8 Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited. 9 And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
This explains the foregoing promise of the deliverance of Jerusalem; she shall be fitted for deliverance, and then it shall be wrought for her; for in that method God delivers.
I. Jerusalem shall be reformed, and so she
shall be delivered from her enemies within her walls,
II. Jerusalem's besiegers shall be routed,
and so she shall be delivered from the enemies about her walls. The
former makes way for this. If a people return to God, they may
leave it to him to plead their cause against their enemies. When
they have cast away their idols, then shall the Assyrian
fall,
This chapter seems to be such a prophecy of the
reign of Hezekiah as amounts to an abridgment of the history of it,
and this with an eye to the kingdom of the Messiah, whose
government was typified by the thrones of the house of David, for
which reason he is so often called "the Son of David." Here is, I.
A prophecy of that good work of reformation with which he should
begin his reign, and the happy influence it should have upon the
people, who had been wretchedly corrupted and debauched in the
reign of his predecessor,
1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. 2 And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. 3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. 4 The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. 5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. 6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. 7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. 8 But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.
We have here the description of a flourishing kingdom. "Blessed art thou, O land! when it is thus with thee, when kings, princes, and people, are in their places such as they should be." It may be taken as a directory both to magistrates and subjects, what both ought to do, or as a panegyric to Hezekiah, who ruled well and saw something of the happy effects of his good government, and it was designed to make the people sensible how happy they were under his administration and how careful they should be to improve the advantages of it, and withal to direct them to look for the kingdom of Christ, and the times of reformation which that kingdom should introduce. It is here promised and prescribed, for the comfort of the church,
I. That magistrates should do their duty in
their places, and the powers answer the great ends for which they
were ordained of God,
II. That subjects should do their duty in their places.
1. They shall be willing to be taught, and
to understand things aright. They shall lay aside their prejudices
against their rulers and teachers, and submit to the light and
power of truth,
2. There shall be a wonderful change
wrought in them by that which is taught them,
3. The differences between good and evil,
virtue and vice, shall be kept up, and no more confounded by those
who put darkness for light and light for darkness (
(1.) Bad men shall no more be preferred by
the prince. When a king reigns in justice he will not put those in
places of honour and power that are ill-natured, and of base and
sordid spirits, and care not what injury or mischief they do so
they may but compass their own ends. Such as vile persons
(as Antiochus is called,
(2.) Bad men shall be no more had in reputation among the people, nor vice disguised with the colours of virtue. It shall no more be said to Nabal, Thou art Nadib (so the words are); such a covetous muck-worm as Nabal was, a fool but for his money, shall not be complimented with the title of a gentleman or a prince; nor shall they call a churl, that minds none but himself, does no good with what he has, but is an unprofitable burden of the earth, My lord; or, rather, they shall not say of him, He is rich; for so the word signifies. Those only are to be reckoned rich that are rich in good works; not those that have abundance, but those that use it well. In short, it is well with a people when men are generally valued by their virtue, and usefulness, and beneficence to mankind, and not by their wealth or titles of honour. Whether this was fulfilled in the reign of Hezekiah, and how far it refers to the kingdom of Christ (in which we are sure men are judged of by what they are, not by what they have, nor is any man's character mistaken), we will not say; but it prescribes an excellent rule both to prince and people, to respect men according to their personal merit. To enforce this rule, here is a description both of the vile person and of the liberal; and by it we shall see such a vast difference between them that we must quite forget ourselves if we pay that respect to the vile person and the churl which is due only to the liberal.
[1.] A vile person and a churl will do
mischief, and the more if he be preferred and have power in his
hand; his honours will make him worse and not better,
[2.] One that is truly liberal, and
deserves the honour of being called so, makes it his business to do
good to every body according as his sphere is,
9 Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech. 10 Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come. 11 Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins. 12 They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. 13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: 14 Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; 15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. 16 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. 17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. 18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; 19 When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place. 20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.
In these verses we have God rising up to judgment against the vile persons, to punish them for their villainy; but at length returning in mercy to the liberal, to reward them for their liberality.
I. When there was so great a corruption of
manners, and so much provocation given to the holy God, bad times
might well be expected, and here is a warning given of such times
coming. The alarm is sounded to the women that were at ease
(
1. Let them know that God was about to
bring wasting desolating judgments upon the land in which they
lived in pleasure and were wanton. This seems to refer
primarily to the desolations made by Sennacherib's army when he
seized all the fenced cities of Judah: but then those words,
many days and years, must be rendered (as the margin reads
them) days above a year, that is, something above a year
shall this havock be in the making: so long it was from the first
entrance of that army into the land of Judah to the overthrow of
it. But it is applicable to the wretched disappointment which those
will certainly meet with, first or last, that set their hearts upon
the world and place their happiness in it: You shall be
troubled, you careless women. It will not secure us from
trouble to cast away care when we are at ease; nay, to those who
affect to live carelessly even little troubles will be great
vexations and press hard upon them. They were careless and at ease
because they had money enough and mirth enough; but the prophet
here tells them, (1.) That the country whence they had their tents
and dainties should shortly be laid waste: "The vintage shall
fail; and then what will you do for wine to make merry with?
The gathering of fruit shall not come, for there
shall be none to be gathered, and you will find the want of them,
2. In the foresight of this let them
tremble and be troubled, strip themselves, and gird
sackcloth upon their loins,
II. While there was still a remnant that kept their integrity they had reason to hope for good times at length and such times the prophet here gives them a pleasant prospect of. Such times they saw in the latter end of the reign of Hezekiah; but the prophecy may well be supposed to look further, to the days of the Messiah, who is King of righteousness and King of peace, and to whom all the prophets bear witness. Now observe,
1. How those blessed times shall be
introduced-by the pouring out of the Spirit from on high
(
2. What a wonderfully happy change shall
then be made. That which was a wilderness, dry and barren,
shall become a fruitful field, and that which we now reckon
a fruitful field, in comparison with what it shall be then,
shall be counted for a forest. Then shall the earth yield her
increase. It is promised that in the days of the Messiah the
fruit of the earth shall shake like Lebanon,
(1.) Judgment and righteousness,
(2.) Peace and quietness,
[1.] Inward peace,
[2.] Outward peace,
(3.) Plenty and abundance. There shall be
such good crops gathered in every where, and every year, that the
husbandmen shall be commended, and though happy, who sow beside
all water (
This chapter relates to the same events as the
foregoing chapter, the distress of Judah and Jerusalem by
Sennacherib's invasion and their deliverance out of that distress
by the destruction of the Assyrian army. These are intermixed in
the prophecy, in the way of a Pindaric. Observe, I. The great
distress that Judah and Jerusalem should then be brought into,
1 Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee. 2 O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble. 3 At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered. 4 And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpillar: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them. 5 The Lord is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. 6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure. 7 Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly. 8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man. 9 The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. 10 Now will I rise, saith the Lord; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself. 11 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you. 12 And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.
Here we have,
I. The proud and false Assyrian justly
reckoned with for all his fraud and violence, and laid under a woe,
II. The praying people of God earnest at
the throne of grace for mercy for the land now in its distress
(
III. The Assyrian army ruined and their
camp made a rich but cheap and easy prey to Judah and Jerusalem. No
sooner is the prayer made (
IV. God and his Israel glorified and
exalted hereby. When the spoil of the enemy is thus gathered, 1.
God will have the praise of it (
V. The great distress that Jerusalem was
brought into described, that those who believed the prophet might
know beforehand what troubles were coming and might provide
accordingly, and that when the foregoing promise of their
deliverance should have its accomplishment the remembrance of the
extremity of their case might help to magnify God in it and make
them the more thankful,
VI. God appearing, at length, in his glory
against his proud invader,
13 Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might. 14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? 15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; 16 He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. 17 Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off. 18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers? 19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand. 20 Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. 21 But there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby. 22 For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us. 23 Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey. 24 And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.
Here is a preface that commands attention;
and it is fit that all should attend, both near and afar off, to
what God says and does (
I. He has struck a terror upon the sinners
in Zion (
II. He has graciously provided for the
security of his people that trust in him: Hear this, and
acknowledge his power in making those that walk
righteously, and speak uprightly, to dwell on
high,
1. The good man's character, which he
preserves even in times of common iniquity, in divers instances.
(1.) He walks righteously. In the whole course of his conversation
he acts by rules of equity, and makes conscience of rendering to
all their due, to God his due, as well as to men theirs. His walk
is righteousness itself; he would not for a world wilfully do an
unjust thing. (2.) He speaks uprightly, uprightnesses (so
the word is); he speaks what is true and right, and with an honest
intention. He cannot think one thing and speak another, nor look
one way and row another. His word is to him as sacred as his oath,
and is not yea and nay. (3.) He is so far from coveting ill-gotten
gain that he despises it. He thinks it a mean and sordid thing, and
unbecoming a man of honour, to enrich himself by any hardship put
upon his neighbour. He scorns to do a wrong thing, nay, to do a
severe thing, though he might get by it. He does not over-value
gain itself, and therefore easily abhors the gain that is not
honestly come by. (4.) If he have a bribe at any time thrust into
his hand, to pervert justice, he shakes his hands from
holding it, with the utmost detestation, taking it as an
affront to have it offered him. (5.) He stops his ears from
hearing any thing that tends to cruelty or bloodshed, or any
suggestions stirring him up to revenge,
2. The good man's comfort, which he may
preserve even in times of common calamity,
III. He will protect Jerusalem, and deliver it out of the hands of the invaders. This storm that threatened them should blow over, and they should enjoy a prosperous state again. Many instances are here given of this prosperity.
1. Hezekiah shall put off his sackcloth and
all the sadness of his countenance, and shall appear publicly in
his beauty, in his royal robes and with a pleasing aspect
(
2. The siege being raised, by which they were kept close within the walls of Jerusalem, they shall now be at liberty to go abroad upon business or pleasure without danger of falling into the enemies' hand: They shall behold the land that is very far off; they shall visit the utmost corners of the nation, and take a prospect of the adjacent countries, which will be the more pleasant after so long a confinement. Thus believers behold the heavenly Canaan, that land that is very far off, and comfort themselves with the prospect of it in evil times.
3. The remembrance of the fright they were
in shall add to the pleasure of their deliverance (
4. They shall no more be terrified with the
sight of the Assyrians, who were a fierce people naturally, and
were particularly fierce against the people of the Jews, and were
of a strange language, that could understand neither their
petitions nor their complaints, and therefore had a pretence for
being deaf to them, nor could themselves be understood: "They are
of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive, which will make
them the more formidable,
5. They shall no more be under
apprehensions of the danger of Jerusalem-Zion, and the temple there
(
6. God himself will be their protector and
Saviour,
7. The enemies shall be quite infatuated,
and all their powers and projects broken, like a ship at sea in
stress of weather, that cannot ride out the storm, but having her
tackle torn, her masts split, and nothing wherewith to repair them,
is given up for a wreck,
8. The wealth of their camp shall be a rich booty for the Jews: Then is the prey of a great spoil divided. When the greater part were slain the rest fled in confusion, and with such precipitation that (like the Syrians) they left their tents as they were, so that all the treasure in them fell into the hands of the besieged; and even the lame take the prey. Those that tarried at home did divide the spoil. It was so easy to come at that not only the strong man might make himself master of it, but even the lame man, whose hands were lame, that he could not fight, and his feet, that he could not pursue. As the victory shall cost them no peril, so the prey shall cost them no toil. And there was such abundance of it that when those who were forward, and came first, had carried off as much as they would, even the lame, who came late, found sufficient. Thus God brought good out of evil, and not only delivered Jerusalem, but enriched it, and abundantly recompensed the losses they had sustained. Thus comfortably and well do the frights and distresses of the people of God often end.
9. Both sickness and sin shall be taken
away; and then sickness is taken away in mercy when this is all the
fruit of it, and the recovery from it, even the taking away of sin.
(1.) The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick. As the lame shall
take the prey, so shall the sick, notwithstanding their
weakness, make a shift to get to the abandoned camp and seize
something for themselves; or there shall be such a universal
transport of joy upon this occasion that even the sick shall, for
the present, forget their sickness and the sorrows of it, and join
with the public in its rejoicings; the deliverance of their city
shall be their cure. Or it intimates that, whereas infectious
diseases are commonly the effect of long sieges, it shall not be so
with Jerusalem, but the inhabitants of it with their victory and
peace shall have health also, and there shall be no complaining
upon the account of sickness within their gates. Or those that are
sick shall bear their sickness without complaining as long as they
see it goes well with Jerusalem. Our sense of private grievances
should be drowned in our thanksgivings for public mercies. (2.)
The people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their
iniquity, not only the body of the nation forgiven their
national guilt in the removing of the national judgment, but
particular persons, that dwell therein, shall repent, and reform,
and have their sins pardoned. And this is promised as that which is
at the bottom of all other favours; he will do so and so for them,
for he will be merciful to their unrighteousness,
In this chapter we have the fatal doom of all the
nations that are enemies to God's church and people, though Edom
only is mentioned, because of the old enmity of Esau to Jacob,
which was typical, as much as that more ancient enmity of Cain to
Abel, and flowed from the original enmity of the serpent to the
seed of the woman. It is probable that this prophecy had its
accomplishment in the great desolations made by the Assyrian army
first, or rather by Nebuchadnezzar's army some time after, among
those nations that were neighbours to Israel and had been in some
way or other injurious to them. That mighty conqueror took a pride
in shedding blood, and laying countries waste, and therein, quite
beyond his design, he was fulfilling what God here threatened
against his and his people's enemies. But we have reason to think
it is intended as a denunciation of the wrath of God against all
those who fight against the interests of his kingdom among men,
that it has its frequent accomplishment in the havoc made by the
wars of the nations and other desolating judgments, and will have
its full accomplishment in the final dissolution of all things at
the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Here is, I. A
demand of universal attention,
1 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. 2 For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. 3 Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. 4 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. 5 For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. 6 The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. 7 And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness. 8 For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
Here we have a prophecy, as elsewhere we have a history, of the wars of the Lord, which we are sure are all both righteous and successful. This world, as it is his creature, he does good to; but as it is in the interest of Satan, who is called the god of this world, he fights against it.
I. Here is the trumpet sounded and the war
proclaimed,
II. Here is the manifesto published, setting forth,
1. Whom he makes war against (
2. Whom he makes war for, and what are the
grounds and reasons of the war (
III. Here are the operations of the war,
and the methods of it, settled, with an infallible assurance of
success. 1. The sword of the Lord is bathed in heaven; this
is all the preparation here made for the war,
9 And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. 10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. 11 But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. 12 They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. 13 And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be a habitation of dragons, and a court for owls. 14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. 15 There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate. 16 Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them. 17 And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.
This prophecy looks very black, but surely
it looks so further than upon Edom and Bozrah. 1. It describes the
melancholy changes that are often made by the divine Providence, in
countries, cities, palaces, and families. Places that have
flourished and been much frequented strangely go to decay. We know
not where to find the places where many great towns, celebrated in
history, once stood. Fruitful countries, in process of time, are
turned into barrenness, and pompous populous cities into ruinous
heaps. Old decayed castles look frightful, and their ruins are
almost as much dreaded as ever their garrisons were. 2. It
describes the destroying judgments which are the effects of God's
wrath and the just punishment of those that are enemies to his
people, which God will inflict when the year of the redeemed has
come, and the year of recompences for the controversy of
Zion. Those that aim to ruin the church can never do that, but
will infallibly ruin themselves. 3. It describes the final
desolation of this wicked world, which is reserved unto fire at
the day of judgment,
I. The country shall become like the lake
of Sodom,
II. The cities shall become like old
decayed houses, which, being deserted by the owners, look very
frightful, being commonly possessed by beasts of prey or birds of
ill omen. See how dismally the palaces of the enemy look; the
description is peculiarly elegant and fine. 1. God shall mark them
for ruin and destruction. He shall stretch out upon Bozrah the
line of confusion with the stones or plummets of
emptiness,
III. Even the houses of state, and those of
strength, shall become as wildernesses (
IV. They shall become the residence and
rendezvous of fearful frightful beasts and birds, which usually
frequent such melancholy places, because there they may be
undisturbed, and, when they are frightened thither, they help to
frighten men thence. This circumstance of the desolation, being apt
to strike a horror upon the mind, is much enlarged upon here,
That which was a court for princes shall
now be a court for owls or ostriches,
The satyr shall cry to his fellow to
go with him to this desert place, or, being there, they shall
please themselves that they have found such an agreeable
habitation. There shall the screech-owl rest, a night-bird
and an ominous one. The great owl shall there make her nest
(
V. Here is an assurance given of the full
accomplishment of this prediction, even to the most minute
circumstance of it (
As after a prediction of God's judgments upon the
world (
1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. 2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. 3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. 4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
In these verses we have,
I. The desert land blooming. In the
foregoing chapter we had a populous and fruitful country turned
into a horrid wilderness; here we have in lieu of that, a
wilderness turned into a good land. When the land of Judah was
freed from the Assyrian army, those parts of the country that had
been made as a wilderness by the ravages and outrages they
committed began to recover themselves, and to look pleasantly
again, and to blossom as the rose. When the Gentile nations, that
had been long as a wilderness, bringing forth no fruit to God,
received the gospel, joy came with it to them,
II. The glory of God shining forth: They shall see the glory of the Lord. God will manifest himself more than ever in his grace and love to mankind (for that is his glory and excellency), and he shall give them eyes to see it, and hearts to be duly affected with it. This is that which will make the desert blossom. The more we see by faith of the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God the more joyful and the more fruitful shall we be.
III. The feeble and faint-hearted
encouraged,
IV. Assurance given of the approach of a
Saviour: "Your God will come with vengeance. God will appear
for you against your enemies, will recompense both their injuries
and your losses." The Messiah will come, in the fulness of time, to
take vengeance on the powers of darkness, to spoil them, and make a
show of them openly, to recompense those that mourn in Zion with
abundant comforts. He will come and save us. With the hopes
of this the Old-Testament saints strengthened their weak hands. He
will come again at the end of time, will come in flaming fire, to
recompense tribulation to those who have troubled his people, and,
to those who were troubled, rest, such a rest as will be not only a
final period to, but a full reward of, all their troubles,
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. 7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 8 And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. 9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: 10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
"Then, when your God shall come, even Christ, to set up his kingdom in the world, to which all the prophets bore witness, especially towards the conclusion of their prophecies of the temporal deliverances of the church, and this evangelical prophet especially—then look for great things."
I. Wonders shall be wrought in the kingdoms
both of nature and grace, wonders of mercy wrought upon the
children of men, sufficient to evince that it is no less than a God
that comes to us. 1. Wonders shall be wrought on men's bodies
(
II. The Spirit shall be poured out from on
high. There shall be waters and streams, rivers of living
water; when our Saviour spoke of these as the fulfilling of the
scripture, and most probably of this scripture, the evangelist
tells us, He spoke of the Spirit (
III. The way of religion and godliness
shall be laid open: it is here called the way of holiness
(
IV. The end of this way shall be
everlasting joy,
The prophet Isaiah is, in this and the three
following chapters, an historian; for the scripture history, as
well as the scripture prophecy, is given by inspiration of God, and
was dictated to holy men. Many of the prophecies of the foregoing
chapters had their accomplishment in Sennacherib's invading Judah
and besieging Jerusalem, and the miraculous defeat he met with
there; and therefore the story of this is here inserted, both for
the explication and for the confirmation of the prophecy. The key
of prophecy is to be found in history; and here, that we might have
the readier entrance, it is, as it were, hung at the door. The
exact fulfilling of this prophecy might serve to confirm the faith
of God's people in the other prophecies, the accomplishment of
which was at a greater distance. Whether this story was taken from
the book of the Kings and added here, or whether it was first
written by Isaiah here and hence taken into the book of Kings, is
not material. But the story is the same almost verbatim; and it was
so memorable an event that it was well worthy to be twice recorded,
1 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them. 2 And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field. 3 Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder. 4 And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? 5 I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? 6 Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him. 7 But if thou say to me, We trust in the Lord our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar? 8 Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. 9 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 10 And am I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? the Lord said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.
We shall here only observe some practical
lessons. 1. A people may be in the way of their duty and yet meet
with trouble and distress. Hezekiah was reforming, and his people
were in some measure reformed; and yet their country is at that
time invaded and a great part of it laid waste. Perhaps they began
to grow remiss and cool in the work of reformation, were doing it
by halves, and ready to sit down short of a thorough reformation;
and then God visited them with this judgment, to put life into them
and that good cause. We must not wonder if, when we are doing well,
God sends afflictions to quicken us to do better, to do our best,
and to press forward towards perfection. 2. That we must never be
secure of the continuance of our peace in this world, nor think our
mountain stands so strong that it cannot be moved. Hezekiah was not
only a pious king, but prudent, both in his administration at home
and in his treaties abroad. His affairs were in a good posture, and
he seemed particularly to be upon good terms with the king of
Assyria, for he had lately made his peace with him by a rich
present (
11 Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews' language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall. 12 But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you? 13 Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. 14 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you. 15 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 16 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern; 17 Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 20 Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? 21 But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not. 22 Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
We may hence learn these lessons:—1.
That, while princes and counsellors have public matters under
debate, it is not fair to appeal to the people. It was a reasonable
motion which Hezekiah's plenipotentiaries made, that this parley
should be held in a language which the people did not understand
(
In this chapter we have a further repetition of
the story which we had before in the book of Kings concerning
Sennacherib. In the foregoing chapter we had him conquering and
threatening to conquer. In this chapter we have him falling, and at
last fallen, in answer to prayer, and in fulfillment of many of the
prophecies which we have met with in the foregoing chapters. Here
we have, I. Hezekiah's pious reception of Rabshakeh's impious
discourse,
1 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard
it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with
sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who
was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the
elders of the priests covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the
prophet the son of Amoz. 3 And they said unto him, Thus
saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke,
and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and
there is not strength to bring forth. 4 It may be the
Lord thy God will hear the words of
Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to
reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up
thy prayer for the remnant that is left. 5 So the
servants of king Hezekiah came to
We may observe here, 1. That the best way
to baffle the malicious designs of our enemies against us is to be
driven by them to God and to our duty and so to fetch meat out of
the eater. Rabshakeh intended to frighten Hezekiah from the Lord,
but it proves that he frightens him to the Lord. The wind, instead
of forcing the traveller's coat from him, makes him wrap it the
closer about him. The more Rabshakeh reproaches God the more
Hezekiah studies to honour him, by rending his clothes for the
dishonour done to him and attending in his sanctuary to know his
mind. 2. That it well becomes great men to desire the prayers of
good men and good ministers. Hezekiah sent messengers, and
honourable ones, those of the first rank, to Isaiah, to desire his
prayers, remembering how much his prophecies of late had plainly
looked towards the events of the present day, in dependence upon
which, it is probable, he doubted not but that the issue would be
comfortable, yet he would have it to be so in answer to prayer:
This is a day of trouble, therefore let it be a day of
prayer. 3. When we are most at a plunge we should be most earnest
in prayer: Now that the children are brought to the birth,
but there is not strength to bring forth, now let prayer
come, and help at a dead lift. When pains are most strong let
prayers be most lively; and, when we meet with the greatest
difficulties, then is a time to stir up not ourselves only, but
others also, to take hold on God. Prayer is the midwife of mercy,
that helps to bring it forth. 4. It is an encouragement to pray
though we have but some hopes of mercy (
8 So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. 9 And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? 14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, saying, 16 O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. 17 Incline thine ear, O Lord, and hear; open thine eyes, O Lord, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God. 18 Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries, 19 And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. 20 Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord, even thou only.
We may observe here, 1. That, if God give
us inward satisfaction in his promise, this may confirm us in our
silently bearing reproaches. God answered Hezekiah, but it does not
appear that he, after deliberation, sent any answer to Rabshakeh;
but, God having taken the work into his own hands, he quietly left
the matter with him. So Rabshakeh returned to the king his
master for fresh instructions. 2. Those that delight in war shall
have enough of it. Sennacherib, without provocation given to him or
warning given by him, went forth to war against Judah; and now with
as little ceremony the king of Ethiopia goes forth to war against
him,
21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria: 22 This is the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. 23 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. 24 By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel. 25 I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places. 26 Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps. 27 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up. 28 But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. 29 Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. 30 And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof. 31 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this. 33 Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. 34 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord. 35 For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. 36 Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. 38 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.
We may here observe, 1. That those who
receive messages of terror from men with patience, and send
messages of faith to God by prayer, may expect messages of grace
and peace from God for their comfort, even when they are most cast
down. Isaiah sent a long answer to Hezekiah's prayer in God's name,
sent it in writing (for it was too long to be sent by word of
mouth), and sent it by way of return to his prayer, relation being
thereunto had: "Whereas thou hast prayed to me, know, for
thy comfort, that thy prayer is heard." Isaiah might have referred
him to the prophecies he had delivered (particularly that
This chapter proceeds in the history of Hezekiah.
Here is, I. His sickness, and the sentence of death he received
within himself,
1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, 3 And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. 4 Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying, 5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. 6 And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city. 7 And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken; 8 Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.
We may hence observe, among others, these
good lessons:—1. That neither men's greatness nor their goodness
will exempt them from the arrests of sickness and death. Hezekiah,
a mighty potentate on earth and a mighty favourite of Heaven, is
struck with a disease, which, without a miracle, will certainly be
mortal; and this in the midst of his days, his comforts, and
usefulness. Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. It
should seem, this sickness seized him when he was in the midst of
his triumphs over the ruined army of the Assyrians, to teach us
always to rejoice with trembling. 2. It concerns us to prepare when
we see death approaching: "Set thy house in order, and thy
heart especially; put both thy affections and thy affairs into the
best posture thou canst, that, when thy Lord comes, thou mayest be
found of him in peace with God, with thy own conscience, and with
all men, and mayest have nothing else to do but to die." Our being
ready for death will make it come never the sooner, but much the
easier: and those that are fit to die are most fit to live. 3. Is
any afflicted with sickness? Let him pray,
9 The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness: 10 I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years. 11 I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. 12 Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. 13 I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. 14 Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me. 15 What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. 16 O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. 17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. 18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. 19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth. 20 The Lord was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the Lord. 21 For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover. 22 Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?
We have here Hezekiah's thanksgiving-song,
which he penned, by divine direction, after his recovery. He might
have taken some of the psalms of his father David, and made use of
them for his purpose; he might have found many very pertinent ones.
He appointed the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of
David,
I. The deplorable condition he was in when
his disease prevailed, and his despair of recovery,
1. He tells us what his thoughts were of
himself when he was at the worst; and these he keeps in
remembrance, (1.) As blaming himself for his despondency, and that
he gave up himself for gone; whereas while there is life there is
hope, and room for our prayer and God's mercy. Though it is good to
consider sickness as a summons to the grave, so as thereby to be
quickened in our preparations for another world, yet we ought not
to make the worse of our case, nor to think that every sick man
must needs be a dead man presently. He that brings low can raise
up. Or, (2.) As reminding himself of the apprehensions he had of
death approaching, that he might always know and consider his own
frailty and mortality, and that, though he had a reprieve for
fifteen years, it was but a reprieve, and the fatal stroke he had
now such a dread of would certainly come at last. Or, (3.) As
magnifying the power of God in restoring him when his case was
desperate, and his goodness in being so much better to him than his
own fears. Thus David sometimes, when he was delivered out of
trouble, reflected upon the black and melancholy conclusions he had
made upon his own case when he was in trouble, and what he had then
said in his haste, as
2. Let us see what Hezekiah's thoughts of himself were.
(1.) He reckoned that the number of his
months was cut off in the midst. He was now about thirty-nine or
forty years of age, and when he had a fair prospect of many years
and happy ones, very happy, very many, before him. This distemper
that suddenly seized him he concluded would be the cutting off
of his days, that he should now be deprived of the residue
of his years, which in a course of nature he might have lived
(not which he could command as a debt due to him, but which he had
reason to expect, considering the strength of his constitution),
and with them he should be deprived not only of the comforts of
life, but of all the opportunities he had of serving God and his
generation. To the same purport (
(2.) He reckoned that he should go to the
gates of the grave—to the grave, the gates of which are always
open; for it is still crying, Give, give. The grave is here
put not only for the sepulchre of his fathers, in which his body
would be deposited with a great deal of pomp and magnificence (for
he was buried in the chief of the sepulchres of the kings, and all
Judah did him honour at his death,
(3.) He reckoned that he was deprived of
all the opportunities he might have had of worshipping God and
doing good in the world (
(4.) He reckoned that the agonies of death
would be very sharp and severe: "He will cut me off with pining
sickness, which will waste me, and wear me off, quickly." The
distemper increased so fast, without intermission or remission,
either day or night, morning or evening, that he concluded it would
soon come to a crisis and make an end of him—that God, whose
servants all diseases are, would by them, as a lion, break all
his bones with grinding pain,
II. The complaints he made in this
condition (
III. The grateful acknowledgment he makes
of God's goodness to him in his recovery. He begins this part of
the writing as one at a stand how to express himself (
1. He promises himself always to retain the
impressions of his affliction (
2. He will encourage himself and others
with the experiences he had had of the goodness of God (
3. He magnifies the mercy of his recovery, on several accounts.
(1.) That he was raised up from great
extremity (
(2.) That it came from the love of God,
from love to his soul. Some are spared and reprieved in wrath, that
they may be reserved for some greater judgment when they have
filled up the measure of their iniquities; but temporal mercies are
sweet indeed to us when we can taste the love of God in them. He
delivered me because he delighted in me (
(3.) That it was the effect of the pardon of sin: "For thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back, and thereby hast delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, in love to it." Note, [1.] When God pardons sin he casts it behind his back, as not designing to look upon it with an eye of justice and jealousy. He remembers it no more, to visit for it. The pardon does not make the sin not to have been, or not to have been sin, but not to be punished as it deserves. When we cast our sins behind our back, and take no care to repent of them, God sets them before his face, and is ready to reckon for them; but when we set them before our face in true repentance, as David did when his sin was ever before him, God casts them behind his back. [2.] When God pardons sins he pardons all, casts them all behind his back, though they have been as scarlet and crimson. [3.] The pardoning of the sin is the delivering of the soul from the pit of corruption. [4.] It is pleasant indeed to think of our recoveries from sickness when we see them flowing from the remission of sin; then the cause is removed, and then it is in love to the soul.
(4.) That it was the lengthening out of his
opportunity to glorify God in this world, which he made the
business, and pleasure, and end of life. [1.] If this sickness had
been his death, it would have put a period to that course of
service for the glory of God and the good of the church which he
was now pursuing,
IV. In the
The story of this chapter likewise we had before,
1 At that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. 2 And Hezekiah was glad of them, and showed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not. 3 Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon. 4 Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them.
Hence we may learn these lessons:—1. That
humanity and common civility teach us to rejoice with our friends
and neighbours when they rejoice, and to congratulate them on their
deliverances, and particularly their recoveries from sickness. The
king of Babylon, having heard that Hezekiah had been sick, and had
recovered, sent to compliment him upon the occasion. If Christians
be unneighbourly, heathens will shame them. 2. It becomes us to
give honour to those whom our God puts honour upon. The sun was the
Babylonians' god; and when they understood that it was with a
respect to Hezekiah that the sun, to their great surprise, went
back ten degrees, on such a day, they thought themselves obliged to
do Hezekiah all the honour they could. Will all people thus walk in
the name of their God, and shall not we? 3. Those that do not value
good men for their goodness may yet be brought to pay them great
respect by other inducements, and for the sake of their secular
interests. The king of Babylon made his court to Hezekiah, not
because he was pious, but because he was prosperous, as the
Philistines coveted an alliance with Isaac because they saw the
Lord was with him,
5 Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. 7 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. 8 Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days.
Hence let us observe, 1. That, if God love us, he will humble us, and will find some way or other to pull down our spirits when they are lifted up above measure. A mortifying message is sent to Hezekiah, that he might be humbled for the pride of his heart, and be convinced of the folly of it; for though God may suffer his people to fall into sin, as he did Hezekiah here, to prove him, that he might know all that was in his heart, yet he will not suffer them to lie still in it. 2. It is just with God to take that from us which we make the matter of our pride, and on which we build a carnal confidence. When David was proud of the numbers of his people God took a course to make them fewer; and when Hezekiah boasts of his treasures, and looks upon them with too great a complacency, he is told that he acts like the foolish traveller who shows his money and gold to one that proves a thief and is thereby tempted to rob him. 3. If we could but see things that will be, we should be ashamed of our thoughts of things that are. If Hezekiah had known that the seed and successors of this king of Babylon would hereafter be the ruin of his family and kingdom, he would not have complimented his ambassadors as he did; and, when the prophet told him that it would be so, we may well imagine how he was vexed at himself for what he had done. We cannot certainly foresee what will be, but are told, in general, All is vanity, and therefore it is vanity for us to take complacency and put confidence in any thing that goes under that character. 4. Those that are fond of an acquaintance or alliance with irreligious men will first or last have enough of it, and will have cause to repent it. Hezekiah thought himself very happy in the friendship of Babylon, though it was the mother of harlots and idolatries; but Babylon, who now courted Jerusalem, in process of time conquered her and carried her captive. Leagues with sinners, and leagues with sin too, will end thus; it is therefore our wisdom to keep at a distance from them. 5. Those that truly repent of their sins will take it well to be reproved for them and will be willing to be told of their faults. Hezekiah reckoned that word of the Lord good which discovered sin to him, and made him sensible that he had done amiss, which before he was not aware of. The language of true penitents is, Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness; and the law is therefore good, because, being spiritual, in it sin appears sin, and exceedingly sinful. 6. True penitents will quietly submit, not only to the reproofs of the word, but to the rebukes of Providence for their sins. When Hezekiah was told of the punishment of his iniquity he said, Good is the word of the Lord, not only the mitigation of the sentence, but the sentence itself; he has nothing to object against the equity of it, but says Amen to the threatening. Those that see the evil of sin, and what it deserves, will justify God in all that is brought upon them for it, and own that he punishes them less than their iniquities deserve. 7. Though we must not be regardless of those that come after us, yet we must reckon ourselves well done by if there be peace and truth in our days, and better than we had reason to expect. If a storm be coming, we must reckon it a favour to get into the harbour before it comes, and be gathered to the grave in peace; yet we can never be secure of this, but must prepare for changes in our own time, that we may stand complete in all the will of God, and bid it welcome whatever it is.
At this chapter begins the latter part of the
prophecy of this book, which is not only divided from the former by
the historical chapters that come between, but seems to be
distinguished from it in the scope and style of it. In the former
part the name of the prophet was frequently prefixed to the
particular sermons, besides the general title (as
In this chapter we have, I. Orders given to preach
and publish the glad tidings of redemption,
1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
We have here the commission and instructions given, not to this prophet only, but, with him, to all the Lord's prophets, nay, and to all Christ's ministers, to proclaim comfort to God's people. 1. This did not only warrant, but enjoin, this prophet himself to encourage the good people who lived in his own time, who could not but have very melancholy apprehensions of things when they saw Judah and Jerusalem by their daring impieties ripening apace for ruin, and God in his providence hastening ruin upon them. Let them be sure that, notwithstanding all this, God had mercy in store for them. 2. It was especially a direction to the prophets that should live in the time of captivity, when Jerusalem was in ruins; they must encourage the captives to hope for enlargement in due time. 3. Gospel ministers, being employed by the blessed Spirit as comforters, and as helpers of the joy of Christians, are here put in mind of their business. Here we have,
I. Comfortable words directed to God's
people in general,
II. Comfortable words directed to Jerusalem
in particular: "Speak to the heart of Jerusalem (
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. 6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
The time to favour Zion, yea, the set time,
having come, the people of God must be prepared, by repentance and
faith, for the favours designed them; and, in order to call them to
both these, we have here the voice of one crying in the
wilderness, which may be applied to those prophets who
were with the captives in their wilderness-state, and who, when
they saw the day of their deliverance dawn, called earnestly upon
them to prepare for it, and assured them that all the difficulties
which stood in the way of their deliverance should be got over. It
is a good sign that mercy is preparing for us if we find God's
grace preparing us for it,
I. By repentance for sin; that was it which
John Baptist preached to all Judah and Jerusalem (
1. The alarm is given; let all take notice
of it at their peril; God is coming in a way of mercy, and we must
prepare for him,
2. When this is done the glory of the
Lord shall be revealed,
II. By confidence in the word of the Lord,
and not in any creature. The mouth of the Lord having spoken
it, the voice has this further to cry (he that has ears to hear
let him hear it), The word of our God shall stand for ever,
1. By this accomplishment of the prophecies and promises of salvation, and the performance of them to the utmost in due time, it appears that the word of the Lord is sure and what may be safely relied on. Then we are prepared for deliverance when we depend entirely upon the word of God, build our hopes on that, with an assurance that it will not make us ashamed: in a dependence upon this word we must be brought to own that all flesh is grass, withering and fading. (1.) The power of man, when it does appear against the deliverance, is not to be feared; for it shall be as grass before the word of the Lord: it shall wither and be trodden down. The insulting Babylonians, who promise themselves that the desolations of Jerusalem shall be perpetual, are but as grass which the spirit of the Lord blows upon, makes nothing of, but blasts all its glory; for the word of the Lord, which promises their deliverance, shall stand for ever, and it is not in the power of their enemies to hinder the execution of it. (2.) The power of man, when it would appear for the deliverance, is not to be trusted to; for it is but as grass in comparison with the word of the Lord, which is the only firm foundation for us to build our hope upon. When God is about to work salvation for his people he will take them off from depending upon creatures, and looking for it from hills and mountains. They shall fail them, and their expectations from them shall be frustrated: The Spirit of the Lord shall blow upon them; for God will have no creature to be a rival with him for the hope and confidence of his people; and, as it is his word only that shall stand for ever, so in that word only our faith must stand. When we are brought to this, then, and not till then, we are fit for mercy.
2. The word of our God, that glory of the
Lord which is now to be revealed, the gospel, and that grace which
is brought with it to us and wrought by it in us, shall stand for
ever; and this is the satisfaction of all believers, when they find
all their creature-comforts withering and fading like grass. Thus
the apostle applies it to the word which by the gospel is
preached unto us, and which lives and abides for ever as the
incorruptible seed by which we are born again,
9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! 10 Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. 11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
It was promised (
I. How it shall be revealed,
II. What that glory is which shall be revealed. "Your God will come, will show himself,"
1. "With the power and greatness of a
prince (
2. "With the pity and tenderness of a
shepherd,"
12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? 13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? 14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. 16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. 17 All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
The scope of these verses is to show what a
great and glorious being the Lord Jehovah is, who is Israel's God
and Saviour. It comes in here, 1. To encourage his people that were
captives in Babylon to hope in him, and to depend upon him for
deliverance, though they were ever so weak and their oppressors
ever so strong. 2. To engage them to cleave to him, and not to turn
aside after other gods; for there are none to be compared with him.
3. To possess all those who receive the glad tidings of redemption
by Christ with a holy awe and reverence of God. Though it was said
(
I. His power is unlimited, and what no
creature can compare with, much less contend with,
II. His wisdom is unsearchable, and what no
creature can give either information or direction to,
III. The nations of the world are nothing
in comparison of him,
IV. The services of the church can make no
addition to him nor do they bear any proportion to his infinite
perfections (
18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? 19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. 20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved. 21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: 23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. 24 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. 25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
The prophet here reproves those, 1. Who
represented God by creatures, and so changed his truth into a lie
and his glory into shame, who made images and then said that they
resembled God, and paid their homage to them accordingly. 2. Who
put creatures in the place of God, who feared them more than God,
as if they were a match for him, or loved them more than God, as if
they were fit to be rivals with him. Twice the challenge is here
made, To whom will you liken God?
I. The prophet describes idols as
despicable things and worthy of the greatest contempt (
II. He describes God as infinitely great, and worthy of the highest veneration; so that between him and idols, whatever competition there may be, there is no comparison. To prove the greatness of God he appeals,
1. To what they had heard of him by the
hearing of the ear, and the consent of all ages and nations
concerning him (
2. He appeals to what their eyes saw of
him (
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? 28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Here, I. The prophet reproves the people of
God, who are now supposed to be captives in Babylon for their
unbelief and distrust of God, and the dejections and despondencies
of their spirit under their affliction (
II. He reminds them of that which, if duly
considered, was sufficient to silence all those fears and distrust.
For their conviction, as before for the conviction of idolaters
(
1. He is himself an almighty God. He must needs be so, for he is the everlasting God, even Jehovah. He was from eternity; he will be to eternity; and therefore with him there is no deficiency, no decay. He has his being of himself, and therefore all his perfections must needs be boundless. He is without beginning of days or end of life, and therefore with him there is no change. He is also the Creator of the ends of the earth, that is, of the whole earth and all that is in it from end to end. He therefore is the rightful owner and ruler of all, and must be concluded to have an absolute power over all and an all-sufficiency to help his people in their greatest straits. Doubtless he is still as able to save his church as he was at first to make the world. (1.) He has wisdom to contrive the salvation, and that wisdom is never at a loss: There is no searching of his understanding, so as to countermine the counsels of it and defeat its intentions; no, nor so as to determine what he will do, for he has ways by himself, ways in the sea. None can say, "Thus far God's wisdom can go, and no further;" for, when we know not what to do, he knows. (2.) He has power to bring about the salvation, and that power is never exhausted: He faints not, nor is weary; he upholds the whole creation, and governs all the creatures, and is neither tired nor toiled; and therefore, no doubt, he has power to relieve his church, when it is brought ever so low, without weakness or weariness.
2. He gives strength and power to his
people, and helps them by enabling them to help themselves. He that
is the strong God is the strength of Israel. (1.) He can help the
weak,
This chapter, as the former, in intended both for
the conviction of idolaters and for the consolation of all God's
faithful worshippers; for the Spirit is sent, and ministers are
employed by him, both to convince and to comfort. And however this
might be primarily intended for the conviction of Babylonians, and
the comfort of Israelites, or for the conviction of those in Israel
that were addicted to idolatry, as multitudes were, and the comfort
of those that kept their integrity, doubtless it was intended both
for admonition and encouragement to us, admonition to keep
ourselves from idols and encouragement to trust in God. Here, I.
God by the prophet shows the folly of those that worshipped idols,
especially that thought their idols able to contest with him and
control him,
1 Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment. 2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. 3 He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet. 4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he. 5 The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came. 6 They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. 7 So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved. 8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. 9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
That particular instance of God's care for his people Israel in raising up Cyrus to be their deliverer is here insisted upon as a great proof both of his sovereignty above all idols and of his power to protect his people. Here is,
I. A general challenge to the worshippers
and admirers of idols to make good their pretensions, in
competition with God and opposition to him,
II. He particularly challenges the idols to
do that for their worshippers, and against his, which he had done
and would do for his worshippers, and against theirs. Different
senses are given of
1. That which is to be proved is, (1.) That
the Lord is God alone, the first and with the last
(
2. To prove this he shows,
(1.) That it was he who called Abraham, the
father of this despised nation, out of an idolatrous country, and
by many instances of his favour made his name great,
(2.) That it is he who will, ere long,
raise up Cyrus from the east. It is spoken of according to the
language of prophecy as a thing past, because as sure to be done in
its season as if it were already done. God will raise him up in
righteousness (so it may be read,
III. He exposes the folly of idolaters,
who, notwithstanding the convincing proofs which the God of Israel
had given of his being God alone, obstinately persisted in their
idolatry, nay, were so much the more hardened in it (
IV. He encourages his own people to trust
in him (
10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. 12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. 13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. 14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. 16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel. 17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. 18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. 19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together: 20 That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
The scope of these verses is to silence the
fears, and encourage the faith, of the servants of God in their
distresses. Perhaps it is intended, in the first place, for the
support of God's Israel, in captivity; but all that faithfully
serve God through patience and comfort of this scripture may
have hope. And it is addressed to Israel as a single person,
that it might the more easily and readily be accommodated and
applied by every Israelite indeed to himself. That is a word of
caution, counsel, and comfort, which is so often repeated, Fear
thou not; and again (
I. That they may depend upon his presence
with them as their God, and a God all-sufficient for them in the
worst of times. Observe with what tenderness God speaks, and how
willing he is to let the heirs of promise know the immutability of
his counsel, and how desirous to make them easy: "Fear thou not,
for I am with thee, not only within call, but present with
thee; be not dismayed at the power of those that are against
thee, for I am thy God, and engaged for thee. Art thou weak?
I will strengthen thee. Art thou destitute of friends? I
will help thee in the time of need. Art thou ready to sink,
ready to fall? I will uphold thee with the right hand of my
righteousness, that right hand which is full of righteousness,
in dispensing rewards and punishments,"
II. That though their enemies be now very
formidable, insolent, and severe, yet the day is coming when God
will reckon with them and they shall triumph over them. There are
those that are incensed against God's people, that strive with
them (
III. That they themselves should become a
terror to those who were now a terror to them, and victory should
turn on their side,
IV. That, hereupon, they shall have
abundance of comfort in God, and God shall have abundance of honour
from them: Thou shalt rejoice in the Lord,
V. That they shall have seasonable and
suitable supplies of every thing that is proper for them in the
time of need; and, if there be occasion, God will again do for them
as he did for Israel in their march from Egypt to Canaan,
21 Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. 22 Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen: let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. 23 Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. 24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you. 25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay. 26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that showeth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. 27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. 28 For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word. 29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.
The Lord, by the prophet, here repeats the
challenge to idolaters to make out the pretentions of their idols:
"Produce your cause (
I. The idols are here challenged to bring proofs of their knowledge and power. Let us see what they can inform us of, and what they can do. Understanding and active power are the accomplishments of a man. Whoever pretends to be a god must have these in perfection; and have the idols made it to appear that they have? No;
1. "They can tell us nothing that we did
not know before, so ignorant are they. We challenge them to inform
us," (1.) "What has been formerly: Let them show the former
things, and raise them out of the oblivion in which they were
buried" (God inspired Moses to write such a history of the creation
as the gods of the heathen could never have dictated to any of
their enthusiasts); or "let the defenders of idols tell us what
mighty achievements they can boast of as performed by their gods in
former times. What did they ever do that was worth taking notice
of? Let them specify any thing, and it shall be considered, its due
weight shall be given it, and it shall be compared with the latter
end of it; and if, in the issue, it prove to be as great as it
pretended to be, they shall have the credit of it." (2.) "We
challenge them to tell us what shall happen, to declare to us
things to come (
2. "They can do nothing that we cannot do
ourselves, so impotent are they." He challenges them to do either
good or evil, good to their friends or evil to their
enemies: "Let them do, if they can, any thing extraordinary, that
people will admire and be affected with. Let them either bless or
curse, with power. Let us see them either inflict such plagues such
as God brought on Egypt or bestow such blessings as God bestowed on
Israel. Let them do some great thing, and we shall be amazed when
we see it, and frightened into a veneration of them, as many have
been into a veneration of the true God." That which is charged upon
these idols, and let them disprove it if they can, is that they
are of nothing,
II. God here produces proofs that he is the true God, and that there is none besides him. Let him produce his strong reasons.
1. He has an irresistible power. This he
will shortly make to appear in the raising up of Cyrus and making
him a type of Christ (
2. He has an infallible foresight. He would
not only do this, but he did now, by his prophet, foretel it. Now
the false gods not only could not do it, but they could not foresee
it. (1.) He challenges them to produce any of their pretended
deities, or their diviners, that had given notice of this, or could
(
III. Judgment is here given upon this
trial. 1. None of all the idols had foretold, or could foresee,
this work of wonder. Other nations besides the Jews were released
out of captivity in Babylon by Cyrus, or at least were greatly
concerned in the revolution of the monarchy and there transferring
of it to the Persians; and yet none of them had any intelligence
given them of it beforehand, by any of their gods or prophets:
"There is none that shows (
The prophet seems here to launch out yet further
into the prophecy of the Messiah and his kingdom under the type of
Cyrus; and, having the great work of man's salvation by him yet
more in view, he almost forgets the occasion that led him into it
and drops the return out of Babylon; for indeed the prospect of
this would be a greater comfort and support to the believing pious
Jews, in their captivity, than the hope of that. And (as Mr.
Gataker well observes) in this and similar prophecies of Christ,
that are couched in types, as of David and Solomon, some passages
agree to the type and not to the truth, other to the truth and not
to the type, and many to the type in one sense and the truth in
another. Here is, I. A prophecy of the Messiah's coming with
meekness, and yet with power, to do the Redeemer's work,
1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
We are sure that these verses are to be
understood of Christ, for the evangelist tells us expressly that in
him this prophecy was fulfilled,
I. The Father's concern for him and
relation to him, the confidence he put and the complacency he took
in him. This put an honour upon him, and made him remarkable, above
any other circumstance,
II. The qualification of him for his
office: I have put my Spirit upon him, to enable him to go
through his undertaking,
III. The work to which he is appointed; it
is to bring forth judgment to the Gentiles, that is, in
infinite wisdom, holiness, and equity, to set up a religion in the
world under the bonds of which the Gentiles should come and the
blessings of which they should enjoy. The judgments of the Lord,
which had been hidden from the Gentiles (
IV. The mildness and tenderness with which
he should pursue this undertaking,
V. The courage and constancy with which he
should persevere in this undertaking, so as to carry his point at
last (
5 Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: 6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. 8 I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. 9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. 10 Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. 11 Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. 12 Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.
Here is I. The covenant God made with and
the commission he gave to the Messiah,
1. The royal titles by which the great God
here makes himself known, and distinguishes himself from all
pretenders, speak very much his glory (
2. The assurances which he gives to the
Messiah of his presence with him in all he did pursuant to his
undertaking speak much encouragement to him,
3. The great intentions of this commission
speak abundance of comfort to the children of men. He was given
for a covenant of the people, for a mediator, or guarantee,
of the covenant of grace, which is all summed up in him. God, in
giving us Christ, has with him freely given us all the blessings of
the new covenant. Two glorious blessings Christ, in his gospel,
brings with him to the Gentile world—light and liberty. (1.) He is
given for a light to the Gentiles, not only to reveal to
them what they were concerned to know, and which otherwise they
could not have known, but to open the blind eyes, that they might
know it. By his Spirit in the word he presents the object; by his
Spirit in the heart he prepared the organ. When the gospel came
light came, a great light, to those that sat in darkness,
II. The ratification and confirmation of
this grant. That we may be assured of the validity of it consider,
1. The authority of him that makes the promise (
III. The song of joy and praise which
should be sung hereupon to the glory of God (
13 The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies. 14 I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once. 15 I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools. 16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. 17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.
It comes all to one whether we make these verses (as some do) the song itself that is to be sung by the Gentile world or a prophecy of what God will do to make way for the singing of that song, that evangelical new song.
I. He will appear in his power and glory
more than ever. So he did in the preaching of his gospel, in the
divine power and energy which went along with it, and in the
wonderful success it had in the pulling down of Satan's
stronghold,
II. He will manifest his favour and grace
towards those whose spirits he had stirred up to follow him, as
III. He will particularly put those to
confusion who adhere to idols notwithstanding the attempts made by
the preaching of the gospel to turn them from idols (
18 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. 19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord's servant? 20 Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not. 21 The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable. 22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore. 23 Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come? 24 Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law. 25 Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.
The prophet, having spoken by way of
comfort and encouragement to the believing Jews who waited for the
consolation of Israel, here turns to those among them who were
unbelieving, for their conviction and humiliation. Among those who
were in captivity in Babylon there were some who were as the evil
figs in Jeremiah's vision, who were sent thither for their hurt,
to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth, for a reproach
and a proverb,
I. The call that is given to this people
(
II. The character that is given of them
(
1. He complains of their sottishness—they
are blind; and of their stubbornness—they are deaf. They were even
worse than the Gentiles themselves. Corruptio optimi est
pessima—What is best becomes, when corrupted, the worst. "Who
is so wilfully, so scandalously, blind and deaf as my servant and
my messenger, as Jacob who is my servant (
2. The prophet goes on (
III. The care God will take of the honour
of his own name, notwithstanding their blindness and deafness,
especially of his word, which he has magnified above all his name.
Shall the unbelief and obstinacy of men make the promise of God
of no effect? God forbid,
IV. The calamities God will bring upon the
Jewish nation for their wilful blindness and deafness,
V. The counsel given them in order to their relief; for, though their case be sad, it is not desperate.
1. The generality of them are deaf; they
will not hearken to the voice of God's word. He will therefore try
his rod, and see who among them will give ear to that,
2. The counsel is, (1.) To acknowledge the
hand of God in their afflictions, and, whoever were the
instruments, to have an eye to him as the principal agent
(
The contents of this chapter are much the same
with those of the foregoing chapter, looking at the release of the
Jews out of their captivity, but looking through that, and beyond
that, to the great work of man's redemption by Jesus Christ, and
the grace of the gospel, which through him believers partake of.
Here are, I. Precious promises made to God's people in their
affliction, of his presence with them, for their support under it,
and their deliverance out of it,
1 But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 3 For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. 4 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. 5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; 7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
This chapter has a plain connexion with the
close of the foregoing chapter, but a very surprising one. It was
there said that Jacob and Israel would not walk in God's ways, and
that when he corrected them for their disobedience they were
stubborn and laid it not to heart; and now one would think it
should have followed that God would utterly abandon and destroy
them; but no, the next words are, But now, fear not, O Jacob! O
Israel! I have redeemed thee, and thou art mine. Though many
among them were untractable and incorrigible, yet God would
continue his love and care for his people, and the body of that
nation should still be reserved for mercy. God's goodness takes
occasion from man's badness to appear so much the more illustrious.
Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (
I. The grounds of God's care and concern
for his people and the interests of his church and kingdom among
men. Jacob and Israel, though in a sinful miserable condition,
shall be looked after; for, 1. They are God's workmanship,
created by him unto good works,
II. The former instances of this care. 1.
God has purchased them dearly: I gave Egypt for thy ransom;
for Egypt was quite laid waste by one plague after another, all
their first-born were slain and all their men of war drowned; and
all this to force a way for Israel's deliverance from them. Egypt
shall be sacrificed rather than Israel shall continue in slavery,
when the time has come for their release. The Ethiopians had
invaded them in Asa's time; but they shall be destroyed rather than
Israel shall be disturbed. And if this was reckoned so great a
thing, to give Egypt for their ransom, what reason have we to
admire God's love to us in giving his own Son to be a ransom for
us!
III. The further instances God would yet
give them of his care and kindness. 1. He would be present with
them in their greatest difficulties and dangers (
8 Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. 9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth. 10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 11 I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour. 12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. 13 Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
God here challenges the worshippers of idols to produce such proofs of the divinity of their false gods as even this very instance (to go no further) of the redemption of the Jews out of Babylon furnished the people of Israel with, to prove that their God is the true and living God, and he only.
I. The patrons of idolatry are here called
to appear, and say what they have to say in defence of their idols,
II. God's witnesses are subpoenaed, or
summoned to appear, and give in evidence for him (
1. All the prophets that testified to Christ, and Christ himself, the great prophet, are here appealed to as God's witnesses. (1.) God's people are witnesses for him, and can attest, upon their own knowledge and experience, concerning the power of his grace, the sweetness of his comforts, the tenderness of his providence, and the truth of his promise. They will be forward to witness for him that he is gracious and that no word of his has fallen to the ground. (2.) His prophets are in a particular manner witnesses for him, with whom his secret is, and who know more of him than others do. But the Messiah especially is given to be a witness for him to the people; having lain in his bosom from eternity, he has declared him. Now,
2. Let us see what the point is which these
witnesses are called to prove (
3. Let us see what the proofs are which are produced for the confirmation of this point. It appears,
(1.) That the Lord is God, by two proofs:
[1.] He has an infinite and infallible knowledge, as is evident
from the predictions of his word (
(2.) That the gods of the heathen, who are
rivals with him, are not only inferior to him, but no gods at all,
which is proved (
14 Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. 15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. 16 Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; 17 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow. 18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. 20 The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. 21 This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise.
To so low an ebb were the faith and hope of God's people in Babylon brought that there needed line upon line to assure them that they should be released out of their captivity; and therefore, that they might have strong consolation, the assurances of it are often repeated, and here very expressly and encouragingly.
I. God here takes to himself such titles of
his honour as were very encouraging to them. He is the Lord
their Redeemer, not only he will redeem them, but will take it
upon him as his office and make it his business to do so. If he be
their God, he will be all that to them which they need, and
therefore, when they are in bondage, he will be their Redeemer. He
is the Holy One of Israel (
II. He assures them he will find out a way
to break the power of their oppressors that held them captives and
filled up the measure of their own iniquity by their resolution
never to let them go,
III. He reminds them of the great things he
did for their fathers when he brought them out of the land of
Egypt; for so it may be read (
IV. He promises to do yet greater things
for them than he had done in the days of old; so that they should
not have reason to ask, in a way of complaint, as Gideon did,
Where are all the wonders that our fathers told us of? for
they should see them repeated, nay, they should see them outdone
(
V. He promises not only to deliver them out
of Babylon, but to conduct them safely and comfortably to their own
land (
VI. He traces up all these promised
blessings to their great original, the purposes and designs of his
own glory (
22 But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. 23 Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense. 24 Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. 25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. 26 Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified. 27 Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me. 28 Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.
This charge (and a high charge it is which
is here exhibited against Jacob and Israel, God's professing
people) comes in here, 1. To clear God's justice in bringing them
into captivity, and to vindicate that. Were they not in covenant
with him? Had they not his sanctuary among them? Why then did
the Lord deal thus with his land?
I. What the sins are which they are here charged with.
1. Omissions of the good which God had
commanded; and this part of the charge is here much insisted upon.
Observe how it comes in with a but; compare
2. Commissions of the evil which God had
forbidden; and omissions commonly make way for commissions: Thou
hast made me to serve with thy sins. When we make God's gifts
the food and fuel for our lusts, and his providence the patron of
our wicked projects, especially when we encourage ourselves to
continue in sin because grace has abounded, then we make God to
serve with our sins. Or it may denote what a grief and burden sin
is to God; it not only wearies men and makes the creation groan,
but it wearies my God also (
II. What were the aggravations of their
sin,
III. What were the tokens of God's
displeasure against them for their sins,
IV. What were the riches of God's mercy
towards them notwithstanding (
1. This gracious declaration of God's
readiness to pardon sin comes in very strangely. The charge ran
very high: Thou hast wearied me with thy iniquities,
2. Those words (
God, by the prophet, goes on in this chapter, as
before, I. To encourage his people with the assurance of great
blessings he had in store for them at their return out of
captivity, and those typical of much greater which the gospel
church, his spiritual Israel, should partake of in the days of the
Messiah; and hereby he proves himself to be God alone against all
pretenders,
1 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: 2 Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. 3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: 4 And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. 5 One shall say, I am the Lord's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel. 6 Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. 7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them. 8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
Two great truths are abundantly made out in these verses:—
I. That the people of God are a happy people, especially upon account of the covenant that is between them and God. The people of Israel were so as a figure of the gospel Israel. Three things complete their happiness:—
1. The covenant-relations wherein they
stand to God,
2. The covenant-blessings which he has
secured to them and theirs,
3. The consent they cheerfully give to
their part of the covenant,
II. That, as the Israel of God are a happy
people, so the God of Israel is a great God, and he is God alone.
This also, as the former, speaks abundant satisfaction to all that
trust in him,
9 They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. 10 Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together. 12 The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. 14 He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. 15 Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. 16 He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: 17 And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god. 18 They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. 19 And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? 20 He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
Often before, God, by the prophet, had mentioned the folly and strange sottishness of idolaters; but here he enlarges upon that head, and very fully and particularly exposes them to contempt and ridicule. This discourse is intended, 1. To arm the people of Israel against the strong temptation they would be in to worship idols when they were captives in Babylon, in compliance with the custom of the country (they being far from the city of their own solemnities) and to humour those who were now their lords and masters. 2. To cure them of their inclination to idolatry, which was the sin that did most easily beset them and to reform them from which they were sent into Babylon. As the rod of God is of use to enforce the word, so the word of God is of use to explain the rod, that the voice of both together may be heard and answered. 3. To furnish them with something to say to their Chaldean task-masters. When they insulted over them, when they asked, Where is your God? they might hence ask them, What are your gods? 4. To take off their fear of the gods of their enemies, and to encourage their hope in their own God that he would certainly appear against those who set up such scandalous competitors as these with him for the throne.
Now here, for the conviction of idolaters, we have,
I. A challenge given to them to clear
themselves, if they can, from the imputation of the most shameful
folly and senselessness imaginable,
II. A particular narrative of the whole proceeding in making a god; and there needs no more to expose it than to describe it and tell the story of it.
1. The persons employed about it are
handicraft tradesmen, the meanest of them, the very same that you
would employ in making the common utensils of your husbandry, a
cart or a plough. You must have a smith, a blacksmith, who
with the tongs works in the coals; and it is hard work, for
he works with the strength of his arms, till he is
hungry and his strength fails, so eager is he, and so hasty are
those who set him at the work to get it despatched. He cannot allow
himself time to eat or drink, for he drinks no water, and
therefore is faint,
2. The form in which it is made is that of a man, a poor, weak, dying creature; but it is the noblest form and figure that he is acquainted with, and, being his own, he has a peculiar fondness for it and is willing to put all the reputation he can upon it. He makes it according to the beauty of a man, in comely proportion, with those limbs and lineaments that are the beauty of a man, but are altogether unfit to represent the beauty of the Lord. God put a great honour upon man when, in respect of the powers and faculties of his souls, he made him after the image of God; but man does a great dishonour to God when he makes him, in respect of bodily parts and members, after the image of man. Nor will it at all atone for the affront so far to compliment his god as to take the fairest of the children of men for his original whence to take his copy, and to give him all the beauty of a man that he can think of; for all the beauty of the body of a man, when pretended to be put upon him who is an infinite Spirit, is a deformity and diminution to him. And, when the goodly piece is finished, it must remain in the house, in the temple or shrine prepared for it, or perhaps in the dwelling house if it be one of the lares or penates—the household gods.
3. The matter of which it is mostly made is sorry stuff to make a god of; it is the stock of a tree.
(1.) The tree itself was fetched out of
the forest, where it grew among other trees, of no more virtue
or value than its neighbours. It was a cedar, it may be, or
a cypress, or an oak,
(2.) The boughs of this tree were good for
nothing but for fuel; to that use were they put, and so were the
chips that were cut off from it in the working of it; they are
for a man to burn,
(3.) Yet, after all, the stock or body of the tree shall serve to make a god of, when it might as well have served to make a bench, as one of themselves, even a poet of their own, upbraids them, Horat. Sat. 1.8:
And another of them threatens the idol to whom he had committed the custody of his woods that, if he did not preserve them to be fuel for his fire, he should himself be made use of for that purpose:
When the besotted idolater has thus served
the meanest purposes with part of his tree, and the rest has had
time to season (he makes that a god in his imagination while that
is in the doing, and worships it): He makes it a graven
image, and falls down thereto (
III. Here is judgment given upon this whole
matter,
21 Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. 22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. 23 Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel. 24 Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; 25 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish; 26 That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: 27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers: 28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
In these verses we have,
I. The duty which Jacob and Israel, now in
captivity, were called to, that they might be qualified and
prepared for the deliverance designed them. Our first care must be
to get good by our afflictions, and then we may hope to get out of
them. The duty is expressed in two words: Remember and
return, as in the counsel to Ephesus,
II. The favours which Jacob and Israel, now
in captivity, were assured of; and what is here promised to them
upon their remembering and returning to God is in a spiritual sense
promised to all that in like manner return to God. It is a very
comfortable word, for more is implied in it than is expressed
(
1. The grounds upon which God's favourable
intentions to his people were built and on which they might build
their expectations from him. He will deliver them out of captivity;
for, (1.) They are his servants, and therefore he has a just
quarrel with those that detain them. Let my people go, that they
may serve me. The servants of the King of kings are under
special protection. (2.) He formed them into a people, formed them
from the womb,
2. The universal joy which the deliverance
of God's people should bring along with it (
3. The encouragement we have to hope that
though great difficulties, and such as have been thought
insuperable, lie in the way of the church's deliverance, yet, when
the time for it shall come, they shall all be got over with ease;
for thus saith Israel's Redeemer, I am the Lord that maketh all
things, did make them at first and am still making them; for
providence is a continued creation. All being, power, life,
emotion, and perfection, are from God. He stretches forth the
heavens alone, has no help nor needs any; and the earth too he
spreads abroad by himself, and by his own power. Man was not
by him when he did it (
4. The confusion which this would put upon
the oracles of Babylon, by the confutation it would give them,
5. The confirmation which this would give
to the oracles of God, which the Jews had distrusted and their
enemies despised: God confirms the word of his servant
(
6. The particular favours God designed for
his people, that were now in captivity,
Cyrus was nominated, in the foregoing chapter, to
be God's shepherd; more is said to him and more of him in this
chapter, not only because he was to be instrumental in the release
of the Jews out of their captivity, but because he was to be
therein a type of the great Redeemer, and that release was to be
typical of the great redemption from sin and death; for that was
the salvation of which all the prophets witnessed. We have here, I.
The great things which God would do for Cyrus, that he might be put
into a capacity to release God's people,
1 Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; 2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: 3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. 4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
Cyrus was a Mede, descended (as some say)
from Astyages king of Media. The pagan writers are not agreed in
their accounts of his origin. Some tell us that in his infancy he
was an outcast, left exposed, and was saved from perishing by a
herdsman's wife. However, it is agreed that, being a man of an
active genius, he soon made himself very considerable, especially
when Crœsus king of Lydia made a descent upon his country,
which he not only repulsed, but revenged, prosecuting the
advantages he had gained against Crœsus with such vigour that
in a little time he took Sardis and made himself master of the rich
kingdom of Lydia and the many provinces that then belonged to it.
This made him very great (for Crœsus was rich to a proverb)
and enabled him to pursue his victories in many countries; but it
was nearly ten years afterwards that, in conjunction with his uncle
Darius and with the forces of Persia, he made this famous attack
upon Babylon, which is here foretold, and which we have the history
of
I. What great things God would do for him,
that he might put it into his power to release his people. In order
to this he shall be a mighty conqueror and a wealthy monarch and
nations shall become tributaries to him and help him both with men
and money. Now that which God here promised to do for Cyrus he
could have done for Zerubbabel, or some of the Jews themselves; but
the wealth and power of this world God has seldom seen fit to
entrust his own people with much of, so many are the snares and
temptations that attend them; but if here has been occasion, for
the god of the church, to make use of them, God has been pleased
rather to put them into the hands of others, to be employed for
them, than to venture them in their own hands. Cyrus is here called
God's anointed, because he was both designed and qualified
for this great service by the counsel of God, and was to be herein
a type of the Messiah. God engages to hold his right hand, not only
to strengthen and sustain him, but to direct his motions and
intentions, as Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands when he
was to shoot his arrow against Syria,
1. He shall extend his conquests very far
and shall make nothing of the opposition that will be given him.
Babylon is too strong a place for a young hero to begin with; and
therefore, that he may be able to deal with that, great additions
shall be made to his strength by other conquests. (1.) Populous
kingdoms shall yield to him. God will subdue nations before
him; when he is in the full career of his successes he shall
make nothing of a nation's being born to him at once: yet it is not
he that subdues them; it is God that subdues them for him; the
battle is his, and therefore his is the victory. (2.) Potent kings
shall fall before him: I will loose the loins of kings,
either the girdle of their loins (divesting them of their power and
dignity) or the strength of their loins, and then it was literally
fulfilled in Belshazzar, for, when he was terrified by the
handwriting on the wall, the joints of his loins were
loosed,
2. He shall replenish his coffers very much
(
II. We are here told what God designed in doing all this for Cyrus. What Cyrus aimed at in undertaking his wars we may easily guess; but what God aimed at in giving him such wonderful success in his wars we are here told.
1. It was that the God of Israel might be glorified: "That thou mayest know by all this that I the Lord am the God of Israel; for I have called thee by thy name long before thou wast born." When Cyrus should have this prophecy of Isaiah shown to him, and should there find his own name and his own achievements particularly described so long before, he should thereby be brought to acknowledge that the God of Israel was the Lord, Jehovah, the only living and true God, and that he continued to own his Israel though now in captivity. It is well when thus men's prosperity brings them to the knowledge of God, for too often it makes them forget him.
2. It was that the Israel of God might be
released,
5 I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. 7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things. 8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it. 9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? 10 Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
God here asserts his sole and sovereign dominion, as that which he designed to prove and manifest to the world in all the great things he did for Cyrus and by him. Observe,
I. How this doctrine is here laid down
concerning the sovereignty of the great Jehovah, in two things:—
1. That he is God alone, and there is no God besides him. This is
here inculcated as a fundamental truth, which, if it were firmly
believed, would abolish idolatry out of the world. With what an
awful, commanding, air of majesty and authority, bidding defiance,
as it were, to all pretenders, does the great God here proclaim it
to the world: I am the Lord, I the Lord, Jehovah, and
there is none else, there is no God besides me, no other
self-existent, self-sufficient, being, none infinite and eternal.
And again (
II. How this doctrine is here proved and
published. 1. It is proved by that which God did for Cyrus:
"There is no God besides me, for (
III. How this doctrine is here improved and applied.
1. For the comfort of those that earnestly
longed, and yet quietly waited, for the redemption of Israel
(
2. For reproof to those of the church's
enemies that opposed this salvation, or those of her friends that
despaired of it (
11 Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me. 12 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. 13 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts. 14 Thus saith the Lord, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God. 15 Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. 16 They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. 17 But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. 18 For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. 19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
The people of God in captivity, who reconciled themselves to the will of God in their affliction and were content to wait his time for their deliverance, are here assured that they should not wait in vain.
I. They are invited to enquire concerning
the issue of their troubles,
II. They are encouraged to depend upon the
power of God when they are brought very low and are utterly
incapable of helping themselves,
III. They are particularly told what God would do for them, that they might know what to depend upon; and this shall lead them to expect a more glorious Redeemer and redemption, of whom, and of which, Cyrus and their deliverance by him were types and figures.
1. Liberty shall be proclaimed to them,
2. Provision shall be made for them. They
went out poor, and unable to bear the expenses of their return and
re-establishment; and therefore it is promised that the labour of
Egypt and other nations should come over to them and be
theirs,
3. Proselytes shall be brought over to
them: Men of stature shall come after thee in chains; they shall
fall down to thee, saying, Surely God is in thee. This was in
part fulfilled when many of the people of the land became Jews
(
IV. They are taught to trust God further
than they can see him. The prophet puts this word into their
mouths, and goes before them in saying it (
V. They are instructed to triumph over
idolaters and all the worshippers of other gods (
VI. They are assured that those who trust
in God shall never be made ashamed of their confidence in him,
VII. They are engaged for ever to cleave to God, and never to desert him, never to distrust him. What had been often inculcated before is here again repeated, for the encouragement of his people to continue faithful to him, and to hope that he would be so to them: I am the Lord, and there is none else. That the Lord we serve and trust in is God alone appears by the two great lights, that of nature and that of revelation.
1. It appears by the light of nature; for
he made the world, and therefore may justly demand its homage
(
2. It appears by the light of revelation.
As the works of God abundantly prove that he is God alone, so does
his word, and the discovery he has made of himself and of his mind
and will by it. His oracles far exceed those of the Pagan deities,
as well as his operations,
20 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. 21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. 22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. 23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. 24 Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. 25 In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
What here is said is intended, as before,
I. For the conviction of idolators, to show them their folly in worshipping gods that cannot help them, and neglecting a God that can. Let all that have escaped of the nations, not only the people of the Jews, but those of other nations that were by Cyrus released out of captivity in Babylon, let them come, and hear what is to be said against the worshipping of idols, that they may be cured of it as well as the Jews, that Babylon, which had of old been the womb of idolatry, might now become the grave of it. Let the refugees assemble themselves and come together; God has something to say to them for their own good, and it is this, that idolatry is a foolish sottish thing, upon two accounts:—
1. It is setting up a refuge of lies for themselves: They set up the wood of their graven image; for that is the substratum. Though they overlay it with gold, deck it with ornaments, and make a god of it, yet still it is but wood. They pray to a god that cannot save; for he cannot hear, he cannot help, he can do nothing. How do those disparage themselves who give honour to that as a god which cannot, as a god, give good to them! How do those deceive themselves who pray for relief to that which is in no capacity at all to relieve them! Certainly those have no knowledge, or are brutish in their knowledge, who take so much pains, and do so much penance, in seeking the favour of a god that has no power.
2. It is setting up a rival with God, the
only living and true God (
II. For the comfort and encouragement of
all God's faithful worshippers, whoever they are,
1. That the glory of the God they serve
shall be greatly advanced; and this will be good news to all the
Lord's people, that, how much soever they and their names are
depressed, God will be exalted,
2. That the welfare of the souls they are
concerned for shall be effectually secured: Surely shall one
say, and another shall learn by his example to say the same, so
that all the seed of Israel, according to the Spirit, shall say,
and stand to it, (1.) That God has a sufficiency for them and that
in Christ there is enough to supply all their needs: In the Lord
is all righteousness and strength (so the margin reads it); he
is himself righteous and strong. He can do every thing, and yet
will do nothing but what is unquestionably just and equitable. He
has also wherewithal to supply the needs of those that seek to him
and depend upon him, upon the equity of his providence and the
treasures of his grace; nay, we may say, not only "He has
it," but, "In him we have it," because he has said that he
will be to us a God. In the Lord the captive Jews had righteousness
(that is, grace both to sanctify their afflictions to them and to
qualify them for deliverance) and strength for their support and
escape. In the Lord Jesus we have righteousness to recommend us to
the good-will of God towards us, and strength to begin and carry on
the good work of God in us. He is the fountain of both, and on him
we must depend for both, must go forth in his strength, and make
mention of his righteousness,
God, by the prophet here, designing shortly to
deliver them out of their captivity, prepared them for that
deliverance by possessing them with a detestation of idols and with
a believing confidence in God, even their own God. I. Let them not
be afraid of the idols of Babylon, as if they could in any way
obstruct their deliverance, for they should be defaced (
1 Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast. 2 They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity. 3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: 4 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
We are here told,
I. That the false gods will certainly fail
their worshippers when they have most need of them,
II. That the true God will never fail his
worshippers: "You hear what has become of Bel and Nebo, now
hearken to me, O house of Jacob!
1. Let God's Israel do him the justice to
own that he has hitherto been kind to them, careful of them, tender
over them, and has all along done well for them. Let them own, (1.)
That he bore them at first: I have made. Out of what womb
came they, but that of his mercy, and grace, and promise? He formed
them into a people and gave them their constitution. Every good man
is what God makes him. (2.) That he bore them up all along: You
have been borne by me from the belly, and carried from
the womb. God began betimes to do them good, as soon as ever
they were formed into a nation, nay, when as yet they were very
few, and strangers. God took them under a special protection, and
suffered no man to do them wrong,
2. He will then do them the kindness to
promise that he will never leave them. He that was their first will
be their last; he that was the author will be the finisher of their
well-being (
5 To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? 6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship. 7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble. 8 Remember this, and show yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. 9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. 12 Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness: 13 I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
The deliverance of Israel by the destruction of Babylon (the general subject of all these chapters) is here insisted upon, and again promised, for the conviction both of idolaters who set up as rivals with God, and of oppressors who were enemies to the people of God.
I. For the conviction of those who made and worshipped idols, especially those of Israel who did so, who would have images of their God, as the Babylonians had of theirs,
1. He challenges them either to frame an
image that should be thought a resemblance of him or to set up any
being that should stand in competition with him (
2. He exposes the folly of those who made
idols and then prayed to them,
3. He puts it to themselves, and their own
reason, let that judge in the case (
4. He again produces incontestable proofs
that he is God, that he and none besides is so (
II. For the conviction of those that
daringly opposed the counsels of God assurance is here given not
only that they shall be accomplished, but that they shall be
accomplished very shortly,
1. This is addressed to the
stout-hearted, that is, either, (1.) The proud and obstinate
Babylonians, that are far from righteousness, far from doing
justice or showing mercy to those they have power over, that say
they will never let the oppressed go free, but will still detain
them in spite of their petitions or God's predictions, that are far
from any thing of clemency or compassion to the miserable. Or, (2.)
The unhumbled Jews, that have been long under the hammer, long in
the furnace, but are not broken are not melted, that, like the
unbelieving murmuring Israelites in the wilderness, think
themselves far from God's righteousness (that is, from the
performance of his promise, and his appearing to judge for them),
and by their distrusts set themselves at a yet further distance
from it, and keep good things from themselves, as their fathers,
who could not enter into the land of promise because of unbelief.
This is applicable to the Jewish nation when they rejected the
gospel of Christ; though they followed after the law of
righteousness, they attained not to righteousness, because
they sought it not by faith,
2. Now to them God says that, whatever they
think, the one in presumption, the other in despair, (1.) Salvation
shall be certainly wrought for God's people. If men will not do
them justice, God will, and his righteousness shall effect that for
them which men's righteousness would not reach to. He will place
salvation in Zion, that is, he will make Jerusalem a place of
safety and defence to all those who will plant themselves there;
thence shall salvation go forth for Israel his glory. God
glories in his Israel; and he will be glorified in the salvation he
designs to work out for them; it shall redound greatly to his
honour. This salvation shall be in Zion; for thence the gospel
shall take rise (
Infinite Wisdom could have ordered things so that
Israel might have been released and yet Babylon unhurt; but if they
will harden their hearts, and will not let the people go, they must
thank themselves that their ruin is made to pave the way to
Israel's release. That ruin is here, in this chapter, largely
foretold, not to gratify a spirit of revenge in the people of God,
who had been used barbarously by them, but to encourage their faith
and hope concerning their own deliverance, and to be a type of the
downfall of that great enemy of the New-Testament church which, in
the Revelation, goes under the name of "Babylon." In this chapter
we have, I. The greatness of the ruin threatened, that Babylon
should be brought down to the dust, and made completely miserable,
should fall from the height of prosperity into the depth of
adversity,
1 Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. 2 Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. 3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man. 4 As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. 5 Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms. 6 I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst show them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
In these verses God by the prophet sends a messenger even to Babylon, like that of Jonah to Nineveh: "The time is at hand when Babylon shall be destroyed." Fair warning is thus given her, that she may by repentance prevent the ruin and there may be a lengthening of her tranquility. We may observe here,
I. God's controversy with Babylon. We will
begin with that, for there all the calamity begins; she has made
God her enemy, and then who can befriend her: Let her know that the
righteous Judge, to whom vengeance belongs, has said (
II. The particular ground of this
controversy. We are sure that there is cause for it, and it is a
just cause; it is the vengeance of his temple (
III. The terror of this controversy. She
has reason to tremble when she is told who it is that has this
quarrel with her (
IV. The consequences of it to Babylon. She
is called a virgin, because so she thought herself, though
she was the mother of harlots. She was beautiful as a virgin, and
courted by all about her; she had been called tender and
delicate (
7 And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it. 8 Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: 9 But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments. 10 For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me. 11 Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. 12 Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. 13 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. 14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. 15 Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.
Babylon, now doomed to ruin, is here justly upbraided with her pride, luxury, and security, in the day of her prosperity, and the confidence she had in her own wisdom and forecast, and particularly in the prognostications and counsels of the astrologers. These things are mentioned both to justify God in bringing these judgments upon her and to mortify her, and put her to so much the greater shame, under these judgments; for, when God comes forth to take vengeance, glory belongs to him, but confusion to the sinner.
I. The Babylonians are here upbraided with
their pride and haughtiness, and the great conceit they had of
themselves, because of their wealth and power, and the vast extent
of their dominion; it was the language both of the government and
of the body of the people: Thou sayest in thy heart (and
God, who searches all hearts, can tell men what they say there,
though they never speak it out) I am, and none else besides
me,
II. They are upbraided with their luxury
and love of ease (
III. They are upbraided with their carnal security and their vain confidence of the perpetuity of their pomps and pleasures. This is much insisted on here. Observe,
1. The cause of their security. They
thought themselves safe and out of danger, not because they were
ignorant of the uncertainty of all earthly enjoyments and the
inevitable fate that attends states and kingdoms as well as
particular persons, but because they did not lay this to
heart, did not apply it to themselves, nor give it a due
consideration. They lulled themselves asleep in ease and pleasure,
and dreamt of nothing else but that to-morrow should be as this
day, and much more abundant. They did not remember the
latter end of it—the latter end of their prosperity, that it
is a fading flower, and will wither—the latter end of their
iniquity, that it will be bitterness, that the day will come when
their injustice and oppression must be reckoned for and punished.
She did not remember her latter end (so some read it); she
forgot that her day would come to fall and what would be in the end
hereof. It was the ruin of Jerusalem (
2. The ground of their security. They
trusted in their wickedness and in their wisdom,
3. The expressions of their security. Three
things this proud and haughty monarchy said, in her security:—
(1.) "I shall be a lady for ever,"
4. The punishment of their security. It
shall be their ruin; and it will be, (1.) A complete ruin, the ruin
of all their comforts and confidences: "These two things shall
come upon thee (the very two things that thou didst set at
defiance), loss of children and widowhood,
IV. They are upbraided with their divinations, their magical and astrological arts and sciences, which the Chaldeans, above any other nation, were notorious for, and from them other nations borrowed all their learning of that kind.
1. This is here spoken of as one of their
provoking sins, which would bring the judgments of God upon them,
2. It is here spoken of as one of their
vain confidences, which they relied much upon, but should be
deceived in, for it would not serve so much as to give them notice
of the judgments coming, much less to guard against them. (1.) They
are here upbraided with the mighty pains they had taken about their
sorceries and enchantments: Thou hast laboured in them from thy
youth,
God, having in the foregoing chapter reckoned with
the Babylonians, and shown them their sins and the desolation that
was coming upon them for their sins, to show that he hates sin
wherever he finds it and will not connive at it in his own people,
comes, in this chapter, to show the house of Jacob their sins, but,
withal, the mercy God had in store for them notwithstanding; and he
therefore sets their sins in order before them, that by their
repentance and reformation they might be prepared for that mercy.
I. He charges them with hypocrisy in that which is good and
obstinacy in that which is evil, especially in their idolatry,
notwithstanding the many convincing proofs God had given them that
he is God alone,
1 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness. 2 For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The Lord of hosts is his name. 3 I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass. 4 Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; 5 I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I showed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. 6 Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. 7 They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them. 8 Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.
We may observe here,
I. The hypocritical profession which many of the Jews made of religion and relation to God. To those who made such a profession the prophet is here ordered to address himself, for their conviction and humiliation, that they might own God's justice in what he had brought upon them. Now observe here,
1. How high their profession of religion
soared, what a fair show they made in the flesh and how far they
went towards heaven, what a good livery they wore and what a good
face they put upon a very bad heart. (1.) They were the house of
Jacob; they had a place and a name in the visible church.
Jacob have I loved. Jacob is God's chosen; and they are not
only retainers to his family, but descendants from him. (2.) They
were called by the name of Israel, an honourable name; they
were of that people to whom pertained both the giving of the law
and the promises. Israel signifies a prince with God;
and they prided themselves in being of that princely race. (3.)
They came forth out of the waters of Judah, and thence were
called Jews; they were of the royal tribe, the tribe of
which Shiloh was to come, the tribe that adhered to God when the
rest revolted. (4.) They swore by the name of the Lord, and
thereby owned him to be the true God, and their God, and gave glory
to him as the righteous Judge of all. They swore to the name of
the Lord (so it may be read); they took an oath of allegiance
to him as their King and joined themselves to him in covenant. (5.)
They made mention of the God of Israel in their prayers and
praises; they often spoke of him, observed his memorials, and
pretended to be very mindful of him. (6.) They called themselves
of the holy city, and, when they were captives in Babylon,
purely from a principle of honour, and jealousy for their native
country, they valued themselves upon their interest in it. Many,
who are themselves unholy, are proud of their relation to the
church, the holy city. (7.) They stayed themselves upon the God
of Israel, and boasted of his promises and his covenant with
them; they leaned on the Lord,
2. How low their profession of religion sunk, notwithstanding all this. It was all in vain; for it was all a jest; it was not in truth and righteousness. Their hearts were not true nor right in these professions. Note, All our religious professions avail nothing further than they are made in truth and righteousness. If we be not sincere in them, we do but take the name of the Lord our God in vain.
II. The means God used, and the method he
took, to keep them close to himself, and to prevent their turning
aside to idolatry. The many excellent laws he gave them, with their
sanctions, and the hedges about them, it seems, would not serve to
restrain them from that sin which did most easily beset them, and
therefore to those God added remarkable prophecies, and remarkable
providences in pursuance of those prophecies, which were all
designed to convince them that their God was the only true God and
that it was therefore both their duty and interest to adhere to
him. 1. He both dignified and favoured them with remarkable
prophecies (
III. The reasons why God would take this method with them.
1. Because he would anticipate their
boastings of themselves and their idols. (1.) God by his prophets
told them beforehand of their deliverance, lest they should
attribute the accomplishment of it to their idols. Thus he saw it
necessary to secure the glory of it to himself, which otherwise
would have been given by some of them to their graven images: "I
spoke of it," says God, "lest thou shouldst say, My idol has
done it or has commanded it to be done,"
2. Because he would leave them inexcusable
in their obstinacy. Therefore he took this pains with them,
because he knew they were obstinate,
9 For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. 10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. 11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another. 12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. 13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. 14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The Lord hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. 15 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
The deliverance of God's people out of their captivity in Babylon was a thing upon many accounts so improbable that there was need of line upon line for the encouragement of the faith and hope of God's people concerning it. Two things were discouraging to them—their own unworthiness that God should do it for them and the many difficulties in the thing itself; now, in these verses, both these discouragements are removed, for here is,
I. A reason why God would do it for them,
though they were unworthy; not for their sake, be it known to them,
but for his name's sake, for his own sake,
II. Here is a proof that God could do it
for them, though they were unable to help themselves and the thing
seemed altogether impracticable. Let Jacob and Israel hearken to
this, and believe it, and take the comfort of it. They are God's
called, called according to his purpose, called by him out
of Egypt (
16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me. 17 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. 18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: 19 Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me. 20 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob. 21 And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out. 22 There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.
Here, as before, Jacob and Israel are summoned to hearken to the prophet speaking in God's name, or rather to God speaking in and by the prophet, and that as a type of the great prophet by whom God has in these last days spoken unto us, and that is sufficient: Come near therefore, and hear this. Note, Those that would hear and understand what God says must come near, and approach to him; let them come as near as they can. Let those that have hearkened to the tempter now come near, and hear this, that they may be confirmed in their resolutions to serve God. Those that draw nigh to God may depend upon this, that his secret shall be with them. Here,
I. God refers them to what he hath both
said to them and done for them formerly, which if they would
reflect upon, they might thence fetch great encouragement to trust
in God at this time. 1. He had always spoken plainly to them
from the beginning, by Moses and all the prophets: I have
not spoken in secret, but publicly, from the top of Mount
Sinai, and in the chief places of concourse, the solemn assemblies
of their tribes; he did not deliver his oracles obscurely and
ambiguously, but so that they might be understood,
II. The prophet himself, as a type of the
great prophet, asserts his own commission to deliver this message:
Now the Lord God (the same that spoke from the beginning and
did not speak in secret) has by his Spirit sent me,
III. God by the prophet sends them a
gracious message for their support and comfort under their
affliction. The preface to this message is both awful and
encouraging (
1. Here is the good work which God
undertakes to fulfil in them. He that is their Redeemer, in order
to that, will be, (1.) Their instructor: "I am thy God that
teaches thee to profit, that is, teaches thee such things as
are profitable for thee, things that belong to thy peace." By
this God shows himself to be a God in covenant with us, by
his teaching us (
2. Here is the good-will which God declares
he had for them by his good wishes concerning them,
3. Here is assurance given of the great work which God designed to work for them, even their salvation out of their captivity, when he had accomplished his work in them.
(1.) Here is a commission granted them to
leave Babylon. God proclaimed, long before Cyrus did, that whoever
would might return to his own land (
(2.) Here is the news of this sent to all
parts: "Let it be declared; let it be told; let it be uttered; make
it to be heard by the most remote, by the most remiss; send the
tidings of it by word of mouth; send it by writing, from city to
city, from kingdom to kingdom, even to the utmost regions, to
the ends of the earth." This was a figure of the publishing of
the gospel to all the world; but that brings glad tidings which all
the world is concerned in, this only that which it is fit all
should take notice of, that they may be invited by it to forsake
their idols and come into the service of the God of Israel. Let
them all know then, [1.] That those whom God owns for his are such
as he has dearly bought and paid for: The Lord has redeemed his
servant Jacob; he has done it formerly, when he brought them
out of Egypt, and now he is about to do it again. Jacob was God's
servant, and therefore he redeemed him; for what had other masters
to do with God's servants? Israel is God's son, therefore Pharaoh
must let him go. God redeemed Jacob, and therefore it was fit that
he should be his servant (
(3.) Here is a caveat put in against the
wicked who go on still in their trespasses. Let not them think to
have any benefit among God's people. Though in show and profession
they herd themselves among them, let them not expect to come in
sharers; no (
Glorious things had been spoken in the previous
chapters concerning the deliverance of the Jews out of Babylon; but
lest any should think, when it was accomplished, that it looked
much greater and brighter in the prophecy than in the performance,
and that the return of about 40,000 Jews in a poor condition out of
Babylon to Jerusalem was not an event sufficiently answering to the
height and grandeur of the expressions used in the prophecy, he
here comes to show that the prophecy had a further intention, and
was to have its full accomplishment in a redemption that should as
far outdo these expressions as the other seemed to come short of
them, even the redemption of the world by Jesus Christ, of whom not
only Cyrus, who was God's servant in foretelling it, was a type. In
this chapter we have, I. The designation of Christ, under the type
of Isaiah, to his office as Mediator,
1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. 2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; 3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. 4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God. 5 And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. 6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Here, I. An auditory is summoned together
and attention demanded. The sermon in the foregoing chapter was
directed to the house of Jacob and the people of Israel,
II. The great author and publisher of the
redemption produces his authority from heaven for the work he had
undertaken. 1. God had appointed him and set him apart for it:
The Lord has called me from the womb to this office and
made mention of my name, nominated me to be the Saviour. By
an angel he called him Jesus—a Saviour, who should save
his people from their sins,
III. He is assured of the good success of his undertaking; for whom God calls he will prosper. And as to this,
1. He objects the discouragement he had met
with at his first setting out (
2. He comforts himself under this
discouragement with this consideration, that it was the cause of
God in which he was engaged and the call of God that engaged him in
it: Yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, who is the
Judge of all, and my work with my God, whose servant I am.
His comfort is, and it may be the comfort of all faithful
ministers, when they see little success of their labours, (1.)
That, however it be, it is a righteous cause that they are
pleading. They are with God, and for God; they are on his side, and
workers together with him. They like not their judgment, the rule
they go by, nor their work, the business they are employed in, ever
the worse for this. The unbelief of men gives them no cause to
suspect the truth of their doctrine,
3. He receives from God a further answer to
this objection,
7 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee. 8 Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; 9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. 10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. 11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. 12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
In these verses we have,
I. The humiliation and exaltation of the
Messiah (
II. The blessings he has in store for all those to whom he is made salvation.
1. God will own and stand by him in his
undertaking (
2. God will authorize him to apply to his
church the benefits of the redemption he is to work out. God's
preserving and helping him was to make the day of his gospel a day
of salvation. And so the apostle understands it: Behold, now is
the day of salvation, now the word of reconciliation by Christ
is preached,
(1.) He shall be guarantee of the treaty of
peace between God and man: I will give thee for a covenant of
the people. This we had before (
(2.) He shall repair the decays of the church and build it upon a rock. He shall establish the earth, or rather the land, the land of Judea, a type of the church. He shall cause the desolate heritages to be inherited; so the cities of Judah were after the return out of captivity, and so the church, which in the last and degenerate ages of the Jewish nation had been as a country laid waste, but was again replenished by the fruits of the preaching of the gospel.
(3.) He shall free the souls of men from
the bondage of guilt and corruption and bring them into the
glorious liberty of God's children. He shall say to the
prisoners that were bound over to the justice of God, and bound
under the power of Satan, Go forth,
(4.) He shall provide for the comfortable
passage of those whom he sets at liberty to the place of their rest
and happy settlement,
(5.) He shall bring them all together from
all parts, that they may return in a body, that they may encourage
one another and be the more taken notice of. They were dispersed
into several parts of the country of Babylon, as their enemies
pleased, to prevent any combination among themselves. But, when
God's time shall come to bring them home together, one spirit shall
animate them all, all that lie at the greatest distance from each
other, and those also that had taken shelter in other countries
shall meet them in the land of Judah,
13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. 14 But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. 15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. 16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. 17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.
The scope of these verses is to show that the return of the people of God out of their captivity, and the eternal redemption to be wrought out by Christ (of which that was a type), would be great occasions of joy to the church and great proofs of the tender care God has of the church.
I. Nothing can furnish us with better
matter for songs of praise and thanksgiving,
II. Nothing can furnish us with more convincing arguments to prove the most tender and affectionate concern God has for his church, and her interests and comforts.
1. The troubles of the church have given
some occasion to question God's care and concern for it,
2. The triumphs of the church, after her troubles, will in due time put the matter out of question.
(1.) What God will do for Zion we are told,
(2.) Now by this it will appear that Zion's
suggestions were altogether groundless, that God has not forsaken
her, nor forgotten her, nor ever will. Be assured, [1.] That God
has a tender affection for his church and people,
18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth. 19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. 20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell. 21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been? 22 Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. 23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
Two things are here promised, which were to be in part accomplished in the reviving of the Jewish church after its return out of captivity, but more fully in the planting of the Christian church by the preaching of the gospel of Christ; and we may take the comfort of these promises.
I. That the church shall be replenished
with great numbers added to it. It was promised (
1. That multitudes shall flock to the
church from all parts. Look round, and see how they gather
themselves to thee (
2. That such as are added to the church
shall not be a burden and blemish to her, but her strength and
ornament. This part of the promise is confirmed with an oath: As
I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thyself with them
all. The addition of such numbers to the church shall complete
her clothing; and, when all that were chosen are effectually
called, then the bride, the Lamb's wife, shall have made herself
ready, shall be quite dressed,
3. That thus the country which was waste
and desolate, and without inhabitant (
4. That the new converts shall strangely
increase and multiply. Jerusalem, after she has lost abundance of
her children by the sword, famine, and captivity, shall have a new
family growing up instead of them, children which she shall have
after she has lost the other (
5. That this shall be done with the help of
the Gentiles,
II. That the church shall have a great and
prevailing interest in the nations,
24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? 25 But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. 26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
Here is, I. An objection started against
the promise of the Jews' release out of their captivity in Babylon,
suggesting that it was a thing not to be expected; for (
II. This objection answered by an express
promise, and a further promise; for God's promises being all yea,
and amen, they may well serve to corroborate one another. 1. Here
is an express promise with a non-obstante—notwithstanding
to the strength of the enemy (
III. See what will be the effect of Babylon's ruin: All flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour. God will make it to appear, to the conviction of all the world, that, though Israel seem lost and cast off, they have a Redeemer, and, though they are made a prey to the mighty, Jacob has a mighty One, who is able to deal with all his enemies. God intends, by the deliverances of his church, both to notify and to magnify his own name.
In this chapter, I. Those to whom God sends are
justly charged with bringing all the troubles they were in upon
themselves, by their own wilfulness and obstinacy, it being made to
appear that God was able and ready to help them if they had been
fit for deliverance,
1 Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away. 2 Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst. 3 I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.
Those who have professed to be the people of God, and yet seem to be dealt severely with, are apt to complain of God, and to lay the fault upon him, as if he had been hard with them. But, in answer to their murmurings, we have here,
I. A challenge given them to prove, or
produce any evidence, that the quarrel began on God's side,
II. A charge exhibited against them,
showing them that they were themselves the authors of their own
ruin: "Behold, for your iniquities, for the pleasure of them
and the gratification of your own base lusts, you have sold
yourselves, for your iniquities you are sold; not as children
are sold by their parents, to pay their debts, but as malefactors
are sold by the judges, to punish them for their crimes. You sold
yourselves to work wickedness, and therefore God justly sold you
into the hands of your enemies,
III. The confirmation of this challenge and
this charge. 1. It is plain that it was owing to themselves that
they were cast off; for God came and offered them his favour,
offered them his helping hand, either to prevent their trouble or
to deliver them out of it, but they slighted him and all the
tenders of his grace. "Do you lay it upon me?" (says God); "tell
me, then, wherefore, when I came, was there no man to meet
me, when I called, was there none to answer me?"
4 The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. 5 The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. 6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 7 For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. 8 He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. 9 Behold, the Lord God will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.
Our Lord Jesus, having proved himself able to save, here shows himself as willing as he is able. We suppose the prophet Isaiah to say something of himself in these verses, engaging and encouraging himself to go on in his work as a prophet, notwithstanding the many hardships he met with, not doubting but that God would stand by him and strengthen him; but, like David, he speaks of himself as a type of Christ, who is here prophesied of and promised to be the Saviour.
I. As an acceptable preacher. Isaiah, a a
prophet, was qualified for the work to which he was called, so were
the rest of God's prophets, and others whom he employed as his
messengers; but Christ was anointed with the Spirit above his
fellows. To make the man of God perfect, he has, 1. The tongue
of the learned, to know how to give instruction, how to
speak a word in season to him that is weary,
II. As a patient sufferer,
III. As a courageous champion,
10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. 11 Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.
The prophet, having the tongue of the learned given him, that he might give to every one his portion, here makes use of it, rightly dividing the word of truth. It is the summary of the gospel. He that believes shall be saved (he that trusts in the name of the Lord shall be comforted, though for a while he walk in darkness and have no light), but he that believes not shall be damned; though for a while he walk in the light of his own fire, yet he shall lie down in sorrow.
I. Comfort is here spoken to disconsolate
saints, and they are encouraged to trust in God's grace,
II. Conviction is here spoken to presuming
sinners, and they are warned not to trust in themselves,
This chapter is designed for the comfort and
encouragement of those that fear God and keep his commandments,
even when they walk in darkness and have no light. Whether it was
intended primarily for the support of the captives in Babylon is
not certain, probably it was; but comforts thus generally expressed
ought not to be so confined. Whenever the church of God is in
distress her friends and well-wishers may comfort themselves and
one another with these words, I. That God, who raised his church at
first out of nothing, will take care that it shall not perish,
1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. 2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. 3 For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
Observe, 1. How the people of God are here
described, to whom the word of this consolation is sent and who are
called upon to hearken to it,
4 Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people. 5 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust. 6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. 7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. 8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.
Both these proclamations, as I may call them, end alike with an assurance of the perpetuity of God's righteousness and his salvation; and therefore we put them together, both being designed for the comfort of God's people. Observe,
I. Who they are to whom this comfort belongs: "My people, and my nation, that I have set apart for myself, that own me and are owned by me." Those are God's people and his nation who are subject to him as their King and their God, pay allegiance to him, and put themselves under his protection accordingly. They are a people who know righteousness, who not only have the means of knowledge, and to whom righteousness is made known, but who improve those means, and are able to form a right judgment of truth and falsehood, good and evil. And, as they have good heads, so they have good hearts, for they have the law of God in them, written and ruling there. Those God owns for his people in whose hearts his law is. Even those who know righteousness, and have the law of God in their hearts, may yet be in great distress and sorrow, and loaded with reproach and contempt; but their God will comfort them with the righteousness they know and the law they have in their hearts.
II. What the comfort is that belongs to
God's people. 1. That the gospel of Christ shall be preached and
published to the world: A law shall proceed from me, an
evangelical law, the law of Christ, the law of faith,
III. What use they are to make of this
comfort. If God's righteousness and salvation are near to them,
then let them not fear the reproach of men, of mortal
miserable men, nor be afraid of their revilings or spiteful
taunts, theirs who bid you sing them the songs of Zion, or who ask
you, in scorn, Where is now your God? Let not those who
embrace the gospel righteousness be afraid of those who will call
them Beelzebub, and will say all manner of evil against them
falsely. Let them not be afraid of them; let them not be disturbed
by these opprobrious speeches, nor made uneasy by them, as if they
would be the ruin of their reputation and honour and they must for
ever lie under the load of them. Let them not be afraid of their
executing their menaces, nor be deterred thereby from their duty,
nor frightened into any sinful compliances, nor driven to take any
indirect courses for their own safety. Those can bear but little
for Christ that cannot bear a hard word for him. Let us not fear
the reproach of men; for, 1. They will be quickly silenced
(
9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? 10 Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? 11 Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. 12 I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; 13 And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor? 14 The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail. 15 But I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The Lord of hosts is his name. 16 And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
In these verses we have,
I. A prayer that God would, in his
providence, appear and act for the deliverance of his people and
the mortification of his and their enemies. Awake, awake! put on
strength, O arm of the Lord!
II. The pleas to enforce this prayer. 1.
They plead precedents, the experiences of their ancestors, and the
great things God had done for them. "Let the arm of the Lord be
made bare on our behalf; for it has done great things formerly in
defence of the same cause, and we are sure it is neither shortened
nor weakened. It did wonders against the Egyptians, who enslaved
and oppressed God's son, his first-born; it cut Rahab to
pieces with one direful plague after another, and wounded
Pharaoh, the dragon, the Leviathan (as he is called,
III. The answer immediately given to this
prayer (
1. He comforts those that were in fear; and
fear has torment, which calls for comfort. The fear of man has a
snare in it which we have need of comfort to preserve us from. He
comforts the timorous by chiding them, and that is no improper way
of comforting either others or ourselves: Why art thou cast
down, and why disquieted?
(1.) The absurdity of those fears. It is a
disparagement to us to give way to them: Who art thou, that thou
shouldst be afraid? In the original, the pronoun is feminine,
Who art thou, O woman! unworthy the name of a man? Such a
weak and womanish thing it is to give way to perplexing fears. [1.]
It is absurd to be in such dread of a dying man. What! afraid of
a man that shall die, shall certainly and shortly die, of
the son of man who shall be made as grass, shall wither and be
trodden down or eaten up? The greatest men, and the most
formidable, that are the terror of the mighty in the land of the
living, are but men (
(2.) The impiety of those fears: "Thou art
afraid of a man that shall die, and forgettest the Lord thy
Maker, who is also the Maker of all the world, who has
stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundations of the
earth, and therefore has all the hosts and all the powers of
both at his command and disposal." Note, Our inordinate fear of man
is a tacit forgetfulness of God. When we disquiet ourselves with
the fear of man we forget that there is a God above him, and that
the greatest of men have no power but what is given them from
above; we forget the providence of God, by which he orders and
overrules all events according to the counsel of his own will; we
forget the promises he has made to protect his people, and the
experiences we have had of his care concerning us, and his
seasonable interposition for our relief many a time, when we
thought the oppressor ready to destroy; we forget our
Jehovah-jirehs, monuments of mercy in the mount of the Lord. Did we
remember to make God our fear and our dread, we should not be so
much afraid as we are of the frowns of men,
2. He comforts those that were in bonds,
3. He comforts all his people who depended
upon what the prophets said to them in the name of the Lord, and
built their hopes upon it. When the deliverances which the prophets
spoke of either did not come so soon as they looked for them or did
not come up to the height of their expectation they began to be
cast down in their own eyes; but, as to this, they are encouraged
(
17 Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out. 18 There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up. 19 These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee? 20 Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of thy God. 21 Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: 22 Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again: 23 But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.
God, having awoke for the comfort of his
people, here calls upon them to awake, as afterwards,
I. It is owned that Jerusalem had long been in a very deplorable condition, and sunk into the depths of misery.
1. She had lain under the tokens of God's
displeasure. He had put into her hand the cup of his fury,
that is, her share of his displeasure. The dispensations of his
providence concerning her had been such that she had reason to
think he was angry with her. She had provoked him to anger most
bitterly, and was made to taste the bitter fruits of it. The cup of
God's fury is, and will be, a cup of trembling to all those
that have it put into their hands: damned sinners will find it so
to eternity. It is said (
2. Those that should have helped her in her
distress failed her, and were either unable or unwilling to help
her, as might have been expected,
II. It is promised that Jerusalem's
troubles shall at length come to an end, and be transferred to her
persecutors (
The greater part of this chapter is on the same
subject with the chapter before, concerning the deliverance of the
Jews out of Babylon, which yet is applicable to the great salvation
Christ has wrought out for us; but the
1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. 2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. 3 For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money. 4 For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the Lord, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the Lord; and my name continually every day is blasphemed. 6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.
Here, I. God's people are stirred up to
appear vigorous for their own deliverance,
II. God stirs up himself to appear jealous for the deliverance of his people. He here pleads their cause with himself, and even stirs up himself to come and save them, for his reasons of mercy are fetched from himself. Several things he here considers.
1. That the Chaldeans who oppressed them
never acknowledged God in the power they gained over his people,
any more than Sennacherib did, who, when God made use of him as an
instrument for the correction and reformation of his people, meant
not so,
2. That they had been often before in
similar distress, had often smarted for a time under the tyranny of
their task-masters, and therefore it was a pity that they should
now be left always in the hand of these oppressors (
3. That God's glory suffered by the
injuries that were done to his people (
4. That his glory would be greatly
manifested by their deliverance (
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! 8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion. 9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. 11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. 12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.
The removal of the Jews from Babylon to
their own land again is here spoken of both as a mercy and as a
duty; and the application of
I. It is here spoken of as a great
blessing, which ought to be welcomed with abundance of joy and
thankfulness. 1. Those that bring the tidings of their release
shall be very acceptable (
II. It is here spoken of as a great
business, which ought to be managed with abundance of care and
circumcision. When the liberty is proclaimed, 1. Let the people of
God hasten out of Babylon with all convenient speed; though they
are ever so well settled there, let them not think of taking root
in Babylon, but Depart, depart (
13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. 14 As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: 15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
Here, as in other places, for the
confirming of the faith of God's people and the encouraging of
their hope in the promises of temporal deliverances, the prophet
passes from them to speak of the great salvation which should in
the fulness of time be wrought out by the Messiah. As the prophecy
of Christ's incarnation was intended for the ratification of the
promise of their deliverance from the Assyrian army, so this of
Christ's death and resurrection is to confirm the promise of their
return out of Babylon; for both these salvations were typical of
the great redemption and the prophecies of them had a reference to
that. This prophecy, which begins here and is continued to the end
of the next chapter, points as plainly as can be at Jesus Christ;
the ancient Jews understood it of the Messiah, though the modern
Jews take a great deal of pains to pervert it, and some of ours (no
friends therein to the Christian religion) will have it understood
of Jeremiah; but Philip, who hence preached Christ to the eunuch,
has put it past dispute that of him speaks the prophet this,
of him and of no other man,
I. God owns Christ to be both commissioned
and qualified for his undertaking. 1. He is appointed to it. "He is
my servant, whom I employ and therefore will uphold." In his
undertaking he does his Father's will, seeks his Father's honour,
and serves the interests of his Father's kingdom. 2. He is
qualified for it. He shall deal prudently, for the spirit
of wisdom and understanding shall rest upon him,
II. He gives a short prospect both of his
humiliation and his exaltation. See here, 1. How he humbled
himself: Many were astonished at him, as they were at David
when by reason of his sorrows and troubles he became a wonder
unto many,
The two great things which the Spirit of Christ in
the Old-Testament prophets testified beforehand were the sufferings
of Christ and the glory that should follow,
1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
The prophet, in the close of the former chapter, had foreseen and foretold the kind reception which the gospel of Christ should find among the Gentiles, that nations and their kings should bid it welcome, that those who had not seen him should believe in him; and though they had not any prophecies among them of gospel grace, which might raise their expectations, and dispose them to entertain it, yet upon the first notice of it they should give it its due weight and consideration. Now here he foretels, with wonder, the unbelief of the Jews, notwithstanding the previous notices they had of the coming of the Messiah in the Old Testament and the opportunity they had of being personally acquainted with him. Observe here,
I. The contempt they put upon the gospel of
Christ,
II. The contempt they put upon the person
of Christ because of the meanness of his appearance,
1. The low condition he submitted to, and
how he abased and emptied himself. The entry he made into the
world, and the character he wore in it, were no way agreeable to
the ideas which the Jews had formed of the Messiah and their
expectations concerning him, but quite the reverse. (1.) It was
expected that his extraction would be very great and noble. He was
to be the Son of David, of a family that had a name like to the
names of the great men that were in the earth,
Thus, being made sin for us, he
underwent the sentence sin had subjected us to, that we should
eat in sorrow all the days of our life (
2. The low opinion that men had of him, upon this account. Being generally apt to judge of persons and things by the sight of the eye, and according to outward appearance, they saw no beauty in him that they should desire him. There was a great deal of true beauty in him, the beauty of holiness and the beauty of goodness, enough to render him the desire of all nations; but the far greater part of those among whom he lived, and conversed, saw none of this beauty, for it was spiritually discerned. Carnal hearts see no excellency in the Lord Jesus, nothing that should induce them to desire an acquaintance with him or interest in him. Nay, he is not only not desired, but he is despised and rejected, abandoned and abhorred, a reproach of men, an abject, one that men were shy of keeping company with and had not any esteem for, a worm and no man. He was despised as a mean man, rejected as a bad man. He was the stone which the builders refused; they would not have him to reign over them. Men, who should have had so much reason as to understand things better, so much tenderness as not to trample upon a man in misery—men whom he came to seek and save rejected him: "We hid as it were our faces from him, looked another way, and his sufferings were as nothing to us; though never sorrow was like unto his sorrow. Nay, we not only behaved as having no concern for him, but as loathing him, and having him in detestation." It may be read, He hid as it were his face from us, concealed the glory of his majesty, and drew a veil over it, and therefore he was despised and we esteemed him not, because we could not see through that veil. Christ having undertaken to make satisfaction to the justice of God for the injury man had done him in his honour by sin (and God cannot be injured except in his honour), he did it not only by divesting himself of the glories due to an incarnate deity, but by submitting himself to the disgraces due to the worst of men and malefactors; and thus by vilifying himself he glorified his Father: but this is a good reason why we should esteem him highly, and study to do him honour; let him be received by us whom men rejected.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
In these verses we have,
I. A further account of the sufferings of
Christ. Much was said before, but more is said here, of the very
low condition to which he abased and humbled himself, to which he
became obedient even to the death of the cross. 1. He had griefs
and sorrows; being acquainted with them, he kept up the
acquaintance, and did not grow shy, no, not of such melancholy
acquaintance. Were griefs and sorrows allotted him? He bore them,
and blamed not his lot; he carried them, and did neither shrink
from them, nor sink under them. The load was heavy and the way
long, and yet he did not tire, but persevered to the end, till he
said, It is finished. 2. He had blows and bruises; he was
stricken, smitten, and afflicted. His sorrows bruised him;
he felt pain and smart from them; they touched him in the most
tender part, especially when God was dishonoured, and when he
forsook him upon the cross. All along he was smitten with the
tongue, when he was cavilled at and contradicted, put under the
worst of characters, and had all manner of evil said against him.
At last he was smitten with the hand, with blow after blow. 3. He
had wounds and stripes. He was scourged, not under the merciful
restriction of the Jewish law, which allowed not above forty
stripes to be given to the worst of malefactors, but according to
the usage of the Romans. And his scourging, doubtless, was the more
severe because Pilate intended it as an equivalent for his
crucifixion, and yet it proved a preface to it. He was wounded in
his hands, and feet, and side. Though it was so ordered that not a
bone of him should be broken, yet he had scarcely in any part a
whole skin (how fond soever we are to sleep in one, even when we
are called out to suffer for him), but from the crown of his head,
which was crowned with thorns, to the soles of his feet, which were
nailed to the cross, nothing appeared but wounds and bruises. 4. He
was wronged and abused (
II. A full account of the meaning of his
sufferings. It was a very great mystery that so excellent a person
should suffer such hard things; and it is natural to ask with
amazement, "How came it about? What evil had he done?" His enemies
indeed looked upon him as suffering justly for his crimes; and,
though they could lay nothing to his charge, they esteemed him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted,
1. He never did any thing in the least to
deserve this hard usage. Whereas he was charged with perverting the
nation, and sowing sedition, it was utterly false; he had done
no violence, but went about doing good. And, whereas he was
called that deceiver, he never deserved that character; for
there was no deceit in his mouth (
2. He conducted himself under his
sufferings so as to make it appear that he did not suffer as an
evil-doer; for, though he was oppressed and afflicted, yet
he opened not his mouth (
3. It was for our good, and in our stead, that Jesus Christ suffered. This is asserted here plainly and fully, and in a very great variety of emphatical expressions.
(1.) It is certain that we are all guilty
before God. We have all sinned, and have come short of the glory of
God (
(2.) Our sins are our sorrows and our
griefs (
(3.) Our Lord Jesus was appointed and did
undertake to make satisfaction for our sins and so to save us from
the penal consequences of them. [1.] He was appointed to do it, by
the will of his Father; for the Lord has laid on him the
iniquity of us all. God chose him to be the Saviour of poor
sinners and would have him to save them in this way, by bearing
their sins and the punishment of them; not the idem—the
same that we should have suffered, but the
tantundem—that which was more than equivalent for the
maintaining of the honour of the holiness and justice of God in the
government of the world. Observe here, First, In what way we
are saved from the ruin to which by sin we had become liable—by
laying our sins on Christ, as the sins of the offerer were laid
upon the sacrifice and those of all Israel upon the head of the
scape-goat. Our sins were made to meet upon him (so the
margin reads it); the sins of all that he was to save, from every
place and every age, met upon him, and he was met with for them.
They were made to fall upon him (so some read it) as those rushed
upon him that came with swords and staves to take him. The laying
of our sins upon Christ implies the taking of them off from us; we
shall not fall under the curse of the law if we submit to the grace
of the gospel. They were laid upon Christ when he was made
sin (that is, a sin-offering) for us, and redeemed us
from the curse of the law by being made a curse for us; thus
he put himself into a capacity to make those easy that come to him
heavily laden under the burden of sin. See
(4.) Having undertaken our debt, he
underwent the penalty. Solomon says: He that is surety for a
stranger shall smart for it. Christ, being surety for us, did
smart for it. [1.] He bore our griefs and carried our
sorrows,
(5.) The consequence of this to us is our
peace and healing,
(6.) The consequence of this to Christ was
his resurrection and advancement to perpetual honour. This makes
the offence of the cross perfectly to cease; he yielded himself to
die as a sacrifice, as a lamb, and, to make it evident that the
sacrifice he offered of himself was accepted, we are told here,
Of this generation of his let us pray, as
Moses did for Israel, The Lord God of our fathers make them a
thousand times so many more as they are, and bless them as he has
promised them,
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
In the
I. The services and sufferings of Christ's state of humiliation. Come, and see how he loved us, see what he did for us.
1. He submitted to the frowns of Heaven
(
2. He substituted himself in the room of
sinners, as a sacrifice. He made his soul an offering for
sin; he himself explains this (
3. He subjected himself to that which to us
is the wages of sin (
4. He suffered himself to be ranked with
sinners, and yet offered himself to be an intercessor for sinners,
II. The grace and glories of his state of
exaltation; and the graces he confers on us are not the least of
the glories conferred on him. These are secured to him by the
covenant of redemption, which
1. He shall have the glory of an
everlasting Father. Under this title he was brought into the
world (
(1.) That the Redeemer shall have a seed to
serve him and to bear up his name,
(2.) That he shall live to see his seed. Christ's children have a living Father, and because he lives they shall live also, for he is their life. Though he died, he rose again, and left not his children orphans, but took effectual care to secure to them the spirit, the blessing, and the inheritance of sons. He shall see a great increase of them; the word is plural, He shall see his seeds, multitudes of them, so many that they cannot be numbered.
(3.) That he shall himself continue to take
care of the affairs of this numerous family: He shall prolong
his days. Many, when they see their seed, their seed's seed,
wish to depart in peace; but Christ will not commit the care of his
family to any other, no, he shall himself live long, and of the
increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, for
he ever lives. Some refer it to believers: He shall see a seed
that shall prolong its days, agreeing with
(4.) That his great undertaking shall be
successful and shall answer expectation: The pleasure of the
Lord shall prosper in his hand. God's purposes shall take
effect, and not one iota or tittle of them shall fail. Note, [1.]
The work of man's redemption is in the hands of the Lord Jesus, and
it is in good hands. It is well for us that it is in his, for our
own hands are not sufficient for us, but he is able to save to the
uttermost. It is in his hands who upholds all things. [2.] It is
the good pleasure of the Lord, which denotes not only his counsel
concerning it, but his complacency in it; and therefore God
loved him, and was well pleased in him, because he undertook to lay
down his life for the sheep. [3.] It has prospered hitherto, and
shall prosper, whatever obstructions or difficulties have been, or
may be, in the way of it. Whatever is undertaken according to God's
pleasure shall prosper,
(5.) That he shall himself have abundant
satisfaction in it (
2. He shall have the glory of bringing in
an everlasting righteousness; for so it was foretold concerning
him,
3. He shall have the glory of obtaining an
incontestable victory and universal dominion,
The death of Christ is the life of the church and
of all that truly belong to it; and therefore very fitly, after the
prophet had foretold the sufferings of Christ, he foretels the
flourishing of the church, which is a part of his glory, and that
exaltation of him which was the reward of his humiliation: it was
promised him that he should see his seed, and this chapter is an
explication of that promise. It may easily be granted that it has a
primary reference to the welfare and prosperity of the Jewish
church after their return out of Babylon, which (as other things
that happened to them) was typical of the glorious liberty of the
children of God, which through Christ we are brought into; yet it
cannot be denied but that it has a further and principal reference
to the gospel church, into which the Gentiles were to be admitted.
And the first words being understood by the apostle Paul of the
New-Testament Jerusalem (
1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. 2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; 3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. 4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. 5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
If we apply this to the state of the Jews
after their return out of captivity, it is a prophecy of the
increase of their nation after they were settled in their own land.
Jerusalem had been in the condition of a wife written childless, or
a desolate solitary widow; but now it is promised that the city
should be replenished and the country peopled again, that not only
the ruins of Jerusalem should be repaired, but the suburbs of it
extended on all sides and a great many buildings erected upon new
foundations,—that those estates which had for many years been
wrongfully held by the Babylonian Gentiles should now return to the
right owners. God will again be a husband to them, and the reproach
of their captivity, and the small number to which they were then
reduced, shall be forgotten. And it is to be observed that, by
virtue of the ancient promise made to Abraham of the increase of
his seed, when they were restored to God's favour they multiplied
greatly. Those that first came out of Babylon were but 42,000
(
I. The low and languishing state of
religion in the world for a long time before Christianity was
brought in. It was like one barren, that did not bear, or
travail with child, was like one desolate, that had lost husband
and children; the church lay in a little compass, and brought forth
little fruit. The Jews were indeed by profession married to God,
but few proselytes were added to them, the rising generations were
unpromising, and serious godliness manifestly lost ground among
them. The Gentiles had less religion among them than the Jews;
their proselytes were in a dispersion; and the children of God,
like the children of a broken, reduced family, were scattered
abroad (
II. Its recovery from this low condition by the preaching of the gospel and the planting of the Christian church.
1. Multitudes were converted from idols to
the living God. Those were the church's children that were born
again, were partakers of a new and divine nature, by the word.
More were the children of the desolate than of the married
wife; there were more good people found in the Gentile church
(when that was set up) that had long been afar off, and without God
in the world, than ever were found in the Jewish church. God's
sealed ones out of the tribes of Israel are numbered (
2. The bounds of the church were extended
much further than ever before,
3. This was the comfort and honour of the
church (
4. This was owing to the relation in which
God stood to his church, as her husband (
6 For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. 7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. 8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. 9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. 10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.
The seasonable succour and relief which God sent to his captives in Babylon, when they had a discharge from their bondage there, are here foretold, as a type and figure of all those consolations of God which are treasured up for the church in general and all believers in particular, in the covenant of grace.
I. Look back to former troubles, and in
comparison with them God's favours to his people appear very
comfortable,
II. Look forward to future dangers, and in defiance of them God's favours to his people appear very constant, and his kindness everlasting; for it is formed into a covenant, here called a covenant of peace, because it is founded in reconciliation and is inclusive of all good. Now,
1. This is as firm as the covenant of
providence. It is as the waters of Noah, that is, as that
promise which was made concerning the deluge that there should
never be the like again to disturb the course of summer and winter,
seed-time and harvest,
2. It is more firm than the strongest parts
of the visible creation (
11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. 12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. 13 And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. 14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. 15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. 16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. 17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.
Very precious promises are here made to the church in her low condition, that God would not only continue his love to his people under their troubles as before, but that he would restore them to their former prosperity, nay, that he would raise them to greater prosperity than any they had yet enjoyed. In the foregoing chapter we had the humiliation and exaltation of Christ; here we have the humiliation and exaltation of the church; for, if we suffer with him, we shall reign with him. Observe,
I. The distressed state the church is here
reduced to by the providence of God (
II. The glorious state the church is here advanced to by the promise of God. God takes notice of the afflicted distressed state of his church, and comforts her, when she is most disconsolate and has no other comforter. Let the people of God, when they are afflicted and tossed, think they hear God speaking comfortably to them by these words, taking notice of their griefs and fears, what afflictions they are under, what distresses they are in, and what comforts their case calls for. When they bemoan themselves, God bemoans them, and speaks to them with pity: O thou afflicted, tossed with tempests, and not comforted; for in all their afflictions he is afflicted. But this is not all; he engages to raise her up out of her affliction, and encourages her with the assurance of the great things he would do for her, both for her prosperity and for the securing of that prosperity to her.
1. Whereas now she lay in disgrace, God promises that which would be her beauty and honour, which would make her easy to herself and amiable in the eyes of others.
(1.) This is here promised by a similitude
taken from a city, and it is an apt similitude, for the church is
the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. Whereas now
Jerusalem lay in ruins, a heap of rubbish, it shall be not only
rebuilt, but beautified, and appear more splendid than ever; the
stones shall be laid not only firm, but fine, laid with fair
colours; they shall be glistering stones,
(2.) It is here promised in the particular
instances of those things that shall be the beauty and honour of
the church, which are knowledge, holiness, and love, the very image
of God, in which man was created, renewed, and restored. And these
are the sapphires and carbuncles, the precious and pleasant stones,
with which the gospel temple shall be enriched and beautified, and
these wrought by the power and efficacy of those doctrines which
the apostle compares to gold or silver, and precious stones, that
are to be built upon the foundation,
2. Whereas now she lay in danger, God promises that which would be her protection and security.
(1.) God engages here that though, in the
day of her distress, without were fightings and within were fears,
now she shall be safe from both. [1.] There shall be no fears
within (
(2.) That we may with the greatest
assurance depend upon God for the safety of his church, we have
here, [1.] The power of God over the church's enemies asserted,
The last words refer not only to this
promise, but to all that go before: This is the heritage of the
servants of the Lord. God's servants are his sons, for he has
provided an inheritance for them, rich, sure, and indefeasible.
God's promises are their heritage for ever (
As we had much of Christ in the
1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. 3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. 4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. 5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
Here, I. We are all invited to come and
take the benefit of that provision which the grace of God has made
for poor souls in the new covenant, of that which is the
heritage of the servants of the Lord (
1. Who are invited: Ho, every one. Not the Jews only, to whom first the word of salvation was sent, but the Gentiles, the poor and the maimed, the halt and the blind, are called to this marriage supper, whoever can be picked up out of the highways and the hedges. It intimates that in Christ there is enough for all and enough for each, that ministers are to make a general offer of life and salvation to all, that in gospel times the invitation should be more largely made than it had been and should be sent to the Gentiles, and that the gospel covenant excludes none that do not exclude themselves. The invitation is published with an Oyez-Ho, take notice of it. He that has ears to hear let him hear.
2. What is the qualification required in
those that shall be welcome—they must thirst. All shall be welcome
to gospel grace upon those terms only that gospel grace be welcome
to them. Those that are satisfied with the world and its enjoyments
for a portion, and seek not for a happiness in the favour of
God,—those that depend upon the merit of their own works for a
righteousness, and see no need they have of Christ and his
righteousness,—these do not thirst; they have no sense of their
need, are in no pain or uneasiness about their souls, and therefore
will not condescend so far as to be beholden to Christ. But those
that thirst are invited to the waters, as those that labour, and
are heavy-laden, are invited to Christ for rest. Note, Where God
gives grace he first gives a thirsting after it; and, where he has
given a thirsting after it, he will give it,
3. Whither they are invited: Come you to
the waters. Come to the water-side, to the ports, and quays,
and wharfs, on the navigable rivers, into which goods are imported;
thither come and buy, for that is the market-place of foreign
commodities; and to us they would have been for ever foreign if
Christ had not brought in an everlasting righteousness. Come to
Christ; for he is the fountain opened; he is the rock smitten. Come
to holy ordinances, to those streams that make glad the city of our
God; come to them, and though they may seem to you plain and common
things, like waters, yet to those who believe in Christ the things
signified will be as wine and mile, abundantly refreshing. Come to
the healing waters; come to the living waters. Whoever will, let
him come, and partake of the waters of life,
4. What they are invited to do. (1.) Come, and buy. Never did any tradesman court customers that he hoped to get by as Christ courts us to that which we only are to be gainers by. "Come and buy, and we can assure you you shall have a good bargain, which you will never repent of nor lose by. Come and buy; make it your own by an application of the grace of the gospel to yourselves; make it your own upon Christ's terms, nay, your own upon any terms, nor deliberating whether you shall agree to them." (2.) "Come, and eat; make it still more your own, as that which we eat is more our own than that which we only buy." We must buy the truth, not that we may lay it by to be looked at, but that we may feed and feast upon it, and that the spiritual life may be nourished and strengthened by it. We must buy necessary provisions for our souls, be willing to part with any thing, though ever so dear to us, so that we may but have Christ and his graces and comforts. We must part with sin, because it is an opposition to Christ, part with all opinion of our own righteousness, as standing in competition with Christ, and part with life itself, and its most necessary supports, rather than quit our interest in Christ. And, when we have bought what we need, let us not deny ourselves the comfortable use of it, but enjoy it, and eat the labour of our hands: Buy, and eat.
5. What is the provision they are invited
to: "Come, and buy wine and milk, which will not only quench
the thirst" (fair water would do that), "but nourish the body, and
revive the spirits." The world comes short of our expectations. We
promise ourselves, at least, water in it, but we are disappointed
of that, as the troops of Tema,
6. The free communication of this
provision: Buy it without money, and without price. A
strange way of buying, not only without ready money (that is common
enough), but without any money, or the promise of any; yet it seems
not so strange to those who have observed Christ's counsel to
Laodicea, that was wretchedly poor, to come and buy,
II. We are earnestly pressed and persuaded (and O that we would be prevailed with!) to accept this invitation, and make this good bargain for ourselves.
1. That which we are persuaded to is to
hearken to God and to his proposals: "Hearken diligently unto
me,
2. The arguments used to persuade us to this are taken,
(1.) From the unspeakable wrong we do to
ourselves if we neglect and refuse this invitation: "Wherefore
do you spend money for that which is not bread, which will not
yield you, no, not beggar's food, dry bread, when with me you may
have wine and milk without money? Wherefore do you spend your
labour and toil for that which will not be so much as
dry bread to you, for it satisfies not?" See here, [1.] The
vanity of the things of this world. They are not bread, not proper
food for a soul; they afford no suitable nourishment or
refreshment. Bread is the staff of the natural life, but it affords
no support at all to the spiritual life. All the wealth and
pleasure in the world will not make one meal's meat for a soul.
Eternal truth and eternal good are the only food for a rational and
immortal soul, the life of which consists in reconciliation and
conformity to God, and in union and communion with him, which the
things of the world will not at all befriend. They satisfy
not; they yield not any solid comfort and content to the soul,
nor enable it to say, "Now I have what I would have." Nay, they do
not satisfy even the appetites of the body. The more men have the
more they would have,
(2.) From the unspeakable kindness we do to
ourselves if we accept this invitation and comply with it. [1.]
hereby we secure to ourselves present pleasure and satisfaction:
"If you hearken to Christ, you eat that which is good, which
is both wholesome and pleasant, good in itself and good for you."
God's good word and promise, a good conscience, and the comforts of
God's good Spirit, are a continual feast to those that hearken
diligently and obediently to Christ. Their souls shall delight
themselves in fatness, that is, in the riches and most grateful
delights. Here the invitation is not, "Come, and buy," lest
that should discourage, but, "Come, and eat; come and
entertain yourselves with that which will be abundantly pleasing;
eat, O friends!" It is sad to think that men should need to be
courted thus to their own bliss. [2.] Hereby we secure to ourselves
lasting happiness: "Hear, and your soul shall live; you
shall not only be saved from perishing eternally, but you shall be
eternally blessed:" for less than that cannot be the life of an
immortal soul. The words of Christ are spirit and life, life to
spirits (
III. Jesus Christ is promised for the
making good of all the other promises which we are here invited to
accept of,
IV. The Master of the feast being fixed, it
is next to be furnished with guests, for the provision shall not be
lost, nor made in vain,
6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
We have here a further account of that
covenant of grace which is made with us in Jesus Christ, both what
is required and what is promised in the covenant, and of those
considerations that are sufficient abundantly to confirm our
believing compliance with and reliance on that covenant. This
gracious discovery of God's good-will to the children of men is not
to be confined either to the Jew or to the Gentile, to the Old
Testament or to the New, much less to the captives in Babylon. No,
both the precepts and the promises are here given to all, to
every one that thirsts after happiness,
I. Here is a gracious offer made of pardon,
and peace, and all happiness, to poor sinners, upon gospel terms,
1. Let them pray, and their prayers shall
be heard and answered (
(1.) The duties required. [1.] "Seek the Lord. Seek to him, and enquire of him, as your oracle. Ask the law at his mouth. What wilt thou have me to do? Seek for him, and enquire after him, as your portion and happiness; seek to be reconciled to him and acquainted with him, and to be happy in his favour. Be sorry that you have lost him; be solicitous to find him; take the appointed method of finding him, making use of Christ as your way, the Spirit as your guide, and the word as your rule." [2.] "Call upon him. Pray to him, to be reconciled, and, being reconciled, pray to him for every thing else you have need of."
(2.) The motives made use of to press these
duties upon us: While he may be found—while he is near.
[1.] It is implied that now God is near and will be found, so that
it shall not be in vain to seek him and to call upon him. Now his
patience is waiting on us, his word is calling to us, and his
Spirit striving with us. Let us now improve our advantages and
opportunities; for now is the accepted time. But, [2.] There is a
day coming when he will be afar off, and will not be found, when
the day of his patience is over, and his Spirit will strive no
more. There may come such a time in this life, when the heart is
incurably hardened; it is certain that at death and judgment the
door will be shut,
2. Let them repent and reform, and their
sins shall be pardoned,
(1.) What it is to repent. There are two things involved in repentance:—[1.] It is to turn from sin; it is to forsake it. It is to leave it, and to leave it with loathing and abhorrence, never to return to it again. The wicked must forsake his way, his evil way, as we would forsake a false way that will never bring us to the happiness we aim at, and a dangerous way, that leads to destruction. Let him not take one step more in that way. Nay, there must be not only a change of the way, but a change of the mind; the unrighteous must forsake his thoughts. Repentance, if it be true, strikes at the root, and washes the heart from wickedness. We must alter our judgments concerning persons and things, dislodge the corrupt imaginations and quit the vain pretences under which an unsanctified heart shelters itself. Note, It is not enough to break off from evil practices, but we must enter a caveat against evil thoughts. Yet this is not all: [2.] To repent is to return to the Lord; to return to him as our God, our sovereign Lord, against whom we have rebelled, and to whom we are concerned to reconcile ourselves; it is to return to the Lord as the fountain of life and living waters, which we had forsaken for broken cisterns.
(2.) What encouragement we have thus to
repent. If we do so, [1.] God will have mercy. He will not
deal with us as our sins have deserved, but will have compassion on
us. Misery is the object of mercy. Now both the consequences of
sin, by which we have become truly miserable (
II. Here are encouragements given us to accept this offer and to venture our souls upon it. For, look which way we will, we find enough to confirm us in our belief of its validity and value.
1. If we look up to heaven, we find God's
counsels there high and transcendent, his thoughts and ways
infinitely above ours,
2. If we look down to this earth, we find
God's word there powerful and effectual, and answering all its
great intentions,
3. If we take a special view of the church,
we shall find what great things God has done, and will do, for it
(
After the exceedingly great and precious promises
of gospel grace, typified by temporal deliverances, which we had in
the foregoing chapter, we have here, I. A solemn charge given to us
all to make conscience of our duty, as we hope to have the benefit
of those promises,
1 Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. 2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
The scope of these verses is to show that when God is coming towards us in a way of mercy we must go forth to meet him in a way of duty.
I. God here tells us what are his
intentions of mercy to us (
II. He tells us what are his expectations
of duty from us, in consideration thereof. Say not, "We see the
salvation near, and therefore we may live as we list, for there is
no danger now of missing it or coming short of it;" that is turning
the grace of God into wantonness. But, on the contrary, when the
salvation is near double your guard against sin. Note, The fuller
assurances God gives us of the performance of his promises the
stronger obligations he lays us under to obedience. The salvation
here spoken of has now come; yet, there being still a further
salvation in view, the apostle presses duty upon us Christians with
the same argument.
1. That we be honest and just in all our dealings: Keep you judgment and do justice. Walk by rule, and make conscience of what you say and do, that you do no wrong to any. Render to all their dues exactly, and, in exacting what is due to you, keep up a court of equity in your own bosom, to moderate the rigours of the law. Be ruled by that golden rule, "Do as you would be done by." Magistrates must administer justice wisely and faithfully. This is required to evidence the sincerity of our faith and repentance, and to open the way of mercy. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. God is true to us; let us be so to one another.
2. That we religiously observe the sabbath
day,
3. That we have nothing to do with sin: Blessed is the man that keeps his hand from doing evil, any wrong to his neighbour, in body, goods, or good name—or, more generally, any thing that is displeasing to God and hurtful to his own soul. Note, The best evidence of our having kept the sabbath well will be a care to keep a good conscience all the week. By this it will appear that we have been in the mount with God if our faces shine in a holy conversation before men.
3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. 4 For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; 5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. 6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; 7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. 8 The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.
The prophet is here, in God's name,
encouraging those that were hearty in joining themselves to God and
yet laboured under great discouragements. 1. Some were discouraged
because they were not of the seed of Abraham. They had joined
themselves to the Lord, and bound their souls with a bond to be
his for ever (this is the root and life of religion, to break off
from the world and the flesh, and devote ourselves entirely to the
service and honour of God); but they questioned whether God would
accept them, because they were of the sons of the stranger,
Now suitable encouragements are given to each of these.
I. To those who have no children of their own, who, though they had the honour to be the children of the church and the covenant themselves, yet had none to whom they might transmit that honour, none to receive the sign of circumcision and the privileges secured by that sign. Now observe,
1. What a good character they have, though they lie under this ignominy and affliction; and those only are entitled to the following comforts who in some measure answer to these characters. (1.) They keep God's sabbaths as he has appointed them to be kept. In the primitive times, if a Christian were asked, "Hast thou kept holy the Lord's day?" He would readily answer, "I am a Christian, and dare not do otherwise." (2.) In their whole conversation they choose those things that please God. They do that which is good; they do it with a sincere design to please God in it; they do it of choice, and with delight. If sometimes, through infirmity, they come short in doing that which pleases God, yet they choose it, they endeavour after it, and aim at it. Note, Whatever is God's pleasure should without dispute be our choice. (3.) They take hold of his covenant, and that is a thing that pleases God as much as any thing. The covenant of grace is proposed and proffered to us in the gospel; to take hold of it is to consent to it, to accept the offer and come up to the terms, deliberately and sincerely to take God to be to us a God and to give up ourselves to him to be to him a people. Taking hold of the covenant denotes an entire and resolute consent to it, taking hold as those that are afraid of coming short, catching at it as a good bargain, and as those that are resolved never to let it go, for it is our life: and we take hold of it as a criminal took hold of the horns of the altar to which he fled for refuge.
2. What a great deal of comfort they may
have if they answer to this character, though they are not built up
into families (
II. To those that are themselves the children of strangers.
1. It is here promised that they shall now
be welcome to the church,
(1.) Upon what terms they shall be welcome.
Let them know that God's Israel, when they come out of Babylon,
will not be plagued, as they were when they came out of Egypt, with
a mixed multitude, that went with them, but were not cordially for
them; no, the sons of the strangers shall have a place and a name
in God's house provided, [1.] That they forsake other gods, all
rivals and pretenders whatsoever, and join themselves to the
Lord, so as to become one spirit,
(2.) To what privileges they shall be
welcome,
2. It is here promised that multitudes of
the Gentiles shall come to the church, not only that the few who
come dropping in shall be made welcome, but that great numbers
shall come in, and the door be thrown open to them: My house
shall be called a house of prayer for all people. The temple
was then God's house, and to that Christ applies these words
(
9 All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. 10 His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. 11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. 12 Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.
From words of comfort the prophet here, by a very sudden change of his style, passes to words of reproof and conviction, and goes on in that strain, for the most part, in the three following chapters; and therefore some here begin a new sermon. He had assured the people that in due time God would deliver them out of captivity, which was designed for the comfort of those that should live when God would do this. Now here he shows what their sins and provocations were, for which God would send them into captivity, and this was designed for the conviction of those that lived in his own time, nearly a hundred years before the captivity, who were now filling up the measure of the nation's sin, and to justify God in what he brought upon them. God will lay them waste by the fierceness of their enemies, for the falseness of their friends.
I. Desolating judgments are here summoned,
II. The reason of these judgments is here
given. The shepherds, who should have been the watchmen of the
flock, to discover the approaches of the beasts of prey, to keep
them off, and protect the sheep, were treacherous and careless,
minded not their business, nor made any conscience of the trust
reposed in them, and so the sheep became an easy prey to the wild
beasts. Now this may refer to the false prophets that lived in
Isaiah's, Jeremiah's, and Ezekiel's time (who flattered the people
in their wicked ways, and told them they should have peace though
they went on) and to the priests that bore rule by their means. Or
it may refer to the wicked princes, the sons of Josiah, that did
evil in the sight of the Lord, and other wicked magistrates
under them, who betrayed their trust, were vicious and profane,
and, instead of making up the breach at which the judgments of God
were breaking in upon them, made it wider, and augmented the fierce
anger of the Lord instead of doing any thing to turn it away. They
should have kept judgment and justice (
The prophet, in this chapter, makes his
observations, I. Upon the deaths of good men, comforting those that
were taken away in their integrity and reproving those that did not
make a due improvement of such providences,
1 The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. 2 He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.
The prophet, in the close of the foregoing chapter, had condemned the watchmen for their ignorance and sottishness; here he shows the general stupidity and senselessness of the people likewise. No wonder they were inconsiderate when their watchmen were so, who should have awakened them to consideration. We may observe here,
I. The providence of God removing good men
apace out of this world. The righteous, as to this world,
perish; they are gone and their place knows them no more.
Piety exempts none from the arrests of death, nay, in persecuting
times, the most righteous are most exposed to the violences of
bloody men. The first that died died a martyr. Righteousness
delivers from the sting of death, but not from the stroke of it.
They are said to perish because they are utterly removed
from us, and to express the great loss which this world sustains by
the removal of them, not that their death is their undoing, but it
often proves an undoing to the places where they lived and were
useful. Nay, even merciful men are taken away, those good
men that are distinguished from the righteous, for whom some
would even dare to die,
II. The careless world slighting these
providences, and disregarding them: No man lays it to heart,
none considers it. There are very few that lament it as a
public loss, very few that take notice of it as a public warning.
The death of good men is a thing to be laid to heart and considered
more than common deaths. Serious enquiries ought to be made,
wherefore God contends with us, what good lessons are to be learned
by such providences, what we may do to help to make up the breach
and to fill up the room of those that are removed. God is justly
displeased when such events are not laid to heart, when the voice
of the rod is not heard nor the intentions of it answered, much
more when it is rejoiced in, as the slaying of the witnesses is,
III. The happiness of the righteous in their removal.
1. They are taken away from the evil to
come, then when it is just coming, (1.) In compassion to them,
that they may not see the evil (
2. They go to be easy out of the reach of
that evil. The righteous man, who while he lived walked in his
uprightness, when he dies enters into peace and rests in
his bed. Note, (1.) Death is gain, and rest, and bliss, to
those only who walked in their uprightness, and who, when they die,
can appeal to God concerning it, as Hezekiah (
3 But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. 4 Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood, 5 Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks? 6 Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these? 7 Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice. 8 Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it. 9 And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell. 10 Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved. 11 And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not? 12 I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.
We have here a high charge, but a just one no doubt, drawn up against that wicked generation out of which God's righteous ones were removed, because the world was not worthy of them. Observe,
I. The general character here given of
them, or the name and title by which they stand indicted,
II. The particular crimes laid to their charge.
1. Scoffing at God and his word. They were
a generation of scorners (
2. Idolatry. This was that sin which the
people of the Jews were most notoriously guilty of before the
captivity; but that affliction cured them of it. In Isaiah's time
it abounded, witness the abominable idolatries of Ahaz (which some
think are particularly referred to here) and of Manasseh. (1.) They
were dotingly fond of their idols, were inflamed with them, as
those that burn in unlawful unnatural lusts,
3. Another sin charged upon them is their
trusting in and seeking to foreign aids and succours, and
contracting a communion with the Gentile powers (
III. The aggravations of their sin. 1. They
had been tired with disappointments in their wicked courses, and
yet they would not be convinced of the folly of them (
IV. Here is God's resolution to call them
to an account, though he had long borne with them (
13 When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain; 14 And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling block out of the way of my people. 15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. 16 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.
Here, I. God shows how insufficient idols
and creatures were to relieve and succour those that worshipped
them and confided in them (
II. He shows that there was a sufficiency, an all-sufficiency, in him for the comfort and deliverance of all those that put their confidence in him and made their application to him. Their safety and satisfaction appear the more comfortable because their hopes are crowned with fruition, when those that seek to other helpers have their hopes frustrated: "He that puts his trust in me, and in me only, he shall be happy, both for soul and body, for this world and the other."
1. Observe, in general, (1.) Those that
trust in God's providence take the best course to secure their
secular interests. They shall possess the land, as much of
it as is good for them, and what they have they shall have it from
a good hand and hold it by a good title.
2. More particularly,
(1.) The captives, that trust in God, shall
be released (
(2.) The contrite, that trust in God, shall
be revived,
(3.) Those with whom he contends, if they
trust in him, shall be relieved, and received into favour,
17 For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. 18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. 19 I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him. 20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
The body of the people of Israel, in this
account of God's dealings with them, is spoken of as a particular
person (
I. The just rebukes which that people were
brought under for their sin: For the iniquity of his
covetousness I was wroth, and smote him. Covetousness was a sin
that abounded very much among that people.
II. Their obstinacy and incorrigibleness
under these rebukes: He went on frowardly in the way of his
heart, in his evil way. He was not sensible of the displeasure
of God that he was under. He felt the smart of the rod, but had no
regard at all to the hand; the more he was crossed in his worldly
pursuits the more eager he was in them. He either would not see his
error or if he saw it would not amend it. Covetousness was the way
of his heart; it was what he was inclined to and intent upon, and
he would not be reclaimed, but in his distress he trespassed yet
more,
III. God's wonderful return in mercy to them, notwithstanding the obstinacy of the generality of them.
1. The greater part of them went on
frowardly, but there were some among them that were mourners for
the obstinacy of the rest; and with an eye to them, or rather for
his own name's sake, God determines not to contend for ever with
them. With the froward God may justly show himself
froward (
2. Now, as when that people went into
captivity some of them were good figs, very good, others of them
bad figs, very bad, and accordingly their captivity was to them for
their good or for their hurt (
(1.) To those among them that were good
their return out of captivity was peace, such peace as was a type
and earnest of the peace which should be preached by Jesus Christ
(
(2.) To those among them that were wicked,
though they might return with the rest, their return was no peace,
The prophet, in this chapter, has his commission
and charge renewed to reprove the sinners in Zion, particularly the
hypocrites, to show them their transgressions,
1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
When our Lord Jesus promised to send the
Comforter he added, When he shall come he shall convince
(
I. He must tell them how very bad they
really were,
II. He must acknowledge how very good they
seemed to be, notwithstanding (
1. He owns the matter of fact to be true.
As far as hypocrites do that which is good, they shall not be
denied the praise of it; let them make their best of it. It is
owned that they have a form of godliness. (1.) They go to church,
and observe their hours of prayer: They seek me daily; they
are very constant in their devotions and never omit them nor suffer
any thing to put them by. (2.) They love to hear good preaching;
They delight to know my ways, as Herod, who heard John
gladly, and the stony ground, that received the seed of the word
with joy; it is to them as a lovely song,
2. He intimates that this was so far from being a cover or excuse for their sin that really it was an aggravation of it: "Show them their sins which they go on in notwithstanding their knowledge of good and evil, sin and duty, and the convictions of their consciences concerning them."
3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. 4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Here we have, I. The displeasure which
these hypocrites conceived against God for not accepting the
services which they themselves had a mighty opinion of (
II. The true reason assigned why God did
not accept their fastings, nor answer the prayers they made on
their fast-days; it was because they did not fast aright—to
God, even to him,
III. Plain instructions given concerning the true nature of a religious fast.
1. In general, a fast is intended, (1.) For
the honouring and pleasing of God. It must be such a performance as
he has chosen (
2. It concerns us therefore to enquire, on a fast-day, what it is that will be acceptable to God, and afflictive to our corrupt nature, and tending to its mortification.
(1.) We are here told negatively what is
not the fast that God has chosen, and which does not amount to the
afflicting of the soul. [1.] It is not enough to look demure, to
put on a grave and melancholy aspect, to bow down the head like a
bulrush that is withered and broken: as the hypocrites, that were
of a sad countenance, and disfigured their faces, that they
might appear unto men to fast,
(2.) We are here told positively what is
the fast that God has chosen, what that is which will recommend a
fast-day to the divine acceptance, and what is indeed afflicting
the soul, that is, crushing and subduing the corrupt nature. It
is not afflicting the soul for a day (as some read it,
8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. 9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; 10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: 11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. 12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
Here are precious promises for those to feast freely and cheerfully upon by faith who keep the fast that God has chosen; let them know that God will make it up to them. Here is,
I. A further account of the duty to be done
in order to our interest in these promises (
II. Here is a full account of the blessings
and benefits which attend the performance of this duty. If a
person, a family, a people, be thus disposed to every thing that is
good, let them know for their comfort that they shall find God
their bountiful rewarder and what they lay out in works of charity
shall be abundantly made up to them. 1. God will surprise them with
the return of mercy after great affliction, which shall be as
welcome as the light of the morning after a long and dark night
(
13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Great stress was always laid upon the due
observance of the sabbath day, and it was particularly required
from the Jews when they were captives in Babylon, because by
keeping that day, in honour of the Creator, they distinguished
themselves from the worshippers of the gods that have not made the
heavens and the earth. See
I. How the sabbath is to be sanctified
(
1. Nothing must be done that puts contempt upon the sabbath day, or looks like having mean thoughts of it, when God has so highly dignified it. We must turn away our foot from the sabbath, from trampling upon it, as profane atheistical people do, from travelling on that day (so some); we must turn away our foot from doing our pleasure on that holy day, that is, from living at large, and taking a liberty to do what we please on sabbath days, without the control and restraint of conscience, or from indulging ourselves in the pleasures of sense, in which the modern Jews wickedly place the sanctification of the sabbath, though it is as great a profanation of it as any thing. On sabbath days we must not walk in our own ways (that is, not follow our callings), not find our own pleasure (that is, not follow our sports and recreations); nay, we must not speak our own words, words that concern either our callings or our pleasures; we must not allow ourselves a liberty of speech on that day as on other days, for we must then mind God's ways, make religion the business of the day; we must choose the things that please him; and speak his words, speak of divine things as we sit in the house and walk by the way. In all we say and do we must put a difference between this day and other days.
2. Every thing must be done that puts an
honour on the day and is expressive of our high thoughts of it. We
must call it a delight, not a task and a burden; we
must delight ourselves in it, in the restraints it lays upon us and
the services it obliges us to. We must be in our element when we
are worshipping God, and in communion with him. How amiable are
thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! We must not only count it a
delight, but call it so, must openly profess the complacency we
take in the day and the duties of it. We must call it so to God, in
thanksgiving for it and earnest desire of his grace to enable us to
do the work of the day in its day, because we delight in it. We
must call it so to others, to invite them to come and share in the
pleasure of it; and we must call it so to ourselves, that we may
not entertain the least thought of wishing the sabbath gone that we
may sell corn. We must call it the Lord's holy day, and
honourable. We must call it holy, separated from common
use and devoted to God and to his service, must call it the holy
of the Lord, the day which he has sanctified to himself. Even
in Old-Testament times the sabbath was called the Lord's
day, and therefore it is fitly called so still, and for a
further reason, because it is the Lord Christ's day,
II. What the reward is of the
sabbath—sanctification,
1. We shall have the comfort of it; the work will be its own wages. If we call the sabbath a delight, then shall we delight ourselves in the Lord; he will more and more manifest himself to us as the delightful subject of our thoughts and meditations and the delightful object of our best affections. Note, The more pleasure we take in serving God the more pleasure we shall find in it. If we go about duty with cheerfulness, we shall go from it with satisfaction and shall have reason to say, "It is good to be here, good to draw near to God."
2. We shall have the honour of it: I
will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth,
which denotes not only a great security (as that,
3. We shall have the profit of it: I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father, that is, with all the blessings of the covenant and all the precious products of Canaan (which was a type of heaven), for these were the heritage of Jacob. Observe, The heritage of believers is what they shall not only be portioned with hereafter, but fed with now, fed with the hopes of it, and not flattered, fed with the earnests and foretastes of it; and those that are so fed have reason to say that they are well fed. In order that we may depend upon it, it is added, "The mouth of the Lord has spoken it; you may take God's word for it, for he cannot lie nor deceive; what his mouth has spoken his hand will give, his hand will do, and not one iota or tittle of his good promise shall fall to the ground." Blessed, therefore, thrice blessed, is he that doeth this, and lays hold on it, that keeps the sabbath from polluting it.
In this chapter we have sin appearing exceedingly
sinful, and grace appearing exceedingly gracious; and, as what is
here said of the sinner's sin (
1 Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. 4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. 5 They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. 6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. 7 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. 8 The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.
The prophet here rectifies the mistake of
those who had been quarrelling with God because they had not the
deliverances wrought for them which they had been often fasting and
praying for,
I. That it was not owing to God. They had
no reason to lay the fault upon him that they were not saved out of
the hands of their enemies; for, 1. He was still as able to help as
ever: His hand is not shortened, his power is not at all
lessened, straitened, or abridged. Whether we consider the extent
of his power or the efficacy of it, God can reach as far as ever
and with as strong a hand as ever. Note, The church's salvation
comes from the hand of God, and that has not waxed weak nor is it
at all shortened. Has the Lord's hand waxed short? (says God
to Moses,
II. That it was owing to themselves; they
stood in their own light and put a bar in their own door. God was
coming towards them in ways of mercy and they hindered him. Your
iniquities have kept good things from you,
1. See what mischief sin does. (1.) It
hinders God's mercies from coming down upon us; it is a partition
wall that separates between us and God. Notwithstanding the
infinite distance that is between God and man by nature, there was
a correspondence settled between them, till sin set them at
variance, justly provoked God against man and unjustly alienated
man from God; thus it separates between them and God. "He is
your God, yours in profession, and therefore there is so much the
more malignity and mischievousness in sin, which separates between
you and him." Sin hides his face from us (which denotes
great displeasure,
2. Now, to justify God in hiding his face
from them, and proceeding in his controversy with them, the prophet
shows very largely, in the
(1.) We must begin with their thoughts, for
there all sin begins, and thence it takes its rise: Their
thoughts are thoughts of iniquity,
(2.) Out of this abundance of wickedness in
the heart their mouth speaks, and yet it does not always speak out
the wickedness that is within, but, for the more effectually
compassing the mischievous design, it is dissembled and covered
with much fair speech (
(3.) Their actions were all of a piece with
their thoughts and words. They were guilty of shedding innocent
blood, a crime of the most heinous nature: Your hands are
defiled with blood (
(4.) No methods are taken to redress these
grievances, and reform these abuses (
(5.) In all this they act foolishly, very
foolishly, and as much against their interest as against reason and
equity. Those that practise iniquity trust in vanity, which
will certainly deceive them,
9 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. 10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. 11 We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; 13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. 14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. 15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
The scope of this paragraph is the same with that of the last, to show that sin is the great mischief-maker; as it is that which keeps good things from us, so it is that which brings evil things upon us. But as there it is spoken by the prophet, in God's name, to the people, for their conviction and humiliation, and that God might be justified when he speaks and clear when he judges, so here it seems to be spoken by the people to God, as an acknowledgment of that which was there told them and an expression of their humble submission and subscription to the justice and equity of God's proceedings against them. Their uncircumcised hearts here seem to be humbled in some measure, and they are brought to confess (the confession is at least extorted from them), that God had justly walked contrary to them, because they had walked contrary to him.
I. They acknowledge that God had contended
with them and had walked contrary to them. Their case was very
deplorable,
II. They acknowledge that they had provoked
God thus to contend with them, that he had done right, for they had
done wickedly,
16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. 17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. 18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence. 19 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. 20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. 21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.
How sin abounded we have read, to our great amazement, in the former part of the chapter; how grace does much more abound we read in these verses. And, as sin took occasion from the commandment to become more exceedingly sinful, so grace took occasion from the transgression of the commandment to appear more exceedingly gracious. Observe,
I. Why God wrought salvation for this provoking people, notwithstanding their provocations. It was purely for his own name's sake; because there was nothing in them either to bring it about, or to induce him to bring it about for them, no merit to deserve it, no might to effect it, he would do it himself, would be exalted in his own strength, for his own glory.
1. He took notice of their weakness and
wickedness: He saw that there was no man that would do any
thing for the support of the bleeding cause of religion and virtue
among them, not a man that would execute judgment (
2. He engaged his own strength and
righteousness for them. They shall be saved, notwithstanding all
this; and, (1.) Because they have no strength of their own, nor any
active men that will set to it in good earnest to redress the
grievances either of their iniquities or of their calamities,
therefore his own arm shall bring salvation to him, to his
people, or to him whom he would raise up to be the deliverer,
Christ, the power of God and arm of the Lord, that man of his right
hand whom he made strong for himself. The work of reformation (that
is the first and principal article of the salvation) shall be
wrought by the immediate influences of the divine grace on men's
consciences. Since magistrates and societies for reformation fail
of doing their part, one will not do justice nor the other call for
it, God will let them know that he can do it without them when his
time shall come thus to prepare his people for mercy, and then the
work of deliverance shall be wrought by the immediate operations of
the divine Providence on men's affections and affairs. When God
stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, and brought his people out of
Babylon, not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the
Lord of hosts, then his own arm, which is never shortened,
brought salvation. (2.) Because they have no righteousness of their
own to merit these favours, and to which God might have an eye in
working for them, therefore his own righteousness
sustained him and bore him out in it. Divine justice, which by
their sins they had armed against them, through grace appears for
them. Though they can expect no favour as due to them, yet he will
be just to himself, to his own purpose and promise, and covenant
with his people: he will, in righteousness, punish the enemies of
his people; see
II. What the salvation is that shall be wrought out by the righteousness and strength of God himself.
1. There shall be a present temporal
salvation wrought out for the Jews in Babylon, or elsewhere in
distress and captivity. This is promised (
2. There shall be a more glorious salvation wrought out by the Messiah in the fulness of time, which salvation all the prophets, upon all occasions, had in view. We have here the two great promises relating to that salvation:—
(1.) That the Son of God shall come to us
to be our Redeemer (
(2.) That the Spirit of God shall come to
us to be our sanctifier,
This whole chapter is all to the same purport, all
in the same strain; it is a part of God's covenant with his church,
which is spoken of in the
1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. 2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. 3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. 4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. 5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. 6 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord. 7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. 8 Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?
It is here promised that the gospel temple shall be very lightsome and very large.
I. It shall be very lightsome: Thy light
has come. When the Jews returned out of captivity they had
light and gladness, and joy and honour; they then were made
to know the Lord and to rejoice in his great
goodness; and upon both accounts their light came. When the
Redeemer came to Zion he brought light with him, he himself came to
be a light. Now observe, 1. What this light is, and whence it
springs: The Lord shall arise upon thee (
II. It shall be very large. When the Jews
were settled again in their own land, after their captivity, many
of the people of the land joined themselves to them; but it does
not appear that there ever was any such numerous accession to them
as would answer the fulness of this prophecy; and therefore we must
conclude that this looks further, to the bringing of the Gentiles
into the gospel church, not their flocking to one particular place,
though under that type it is here described. There is no place now
that is the centre of the church's unity; but the promise respects
their flocking to Christ, and coming by faith, and hope, and holy
love, into that society which is incorporated by the charter of his
gospel, and of the unity of which he only is the centre—that
family which is named from him,
1. What shall invite such multitudes to the
church: "They shall come to thy light and to the brightness of
thy rising,
2. What multitudes shall come to the
church. Great numbers shall come, Gentiles (or
nations) of those that are saved, as it is expressed
with allusion to this,
3. What they shall bring with them and what
advantage shall accrue to the church by their accession to it.
Those that are brought into the church by the grace of God will be
sure to bring all they are worth in with them, which with
themselves they will devote to the honour and service of God and do
good with in their places. (1.) The merchants shall write
holiness to the Lord upon their merchandise and their hire,
as
4. How God shall be honoured by the
increase of the church and the accession of such numbers to it.
(1.) They shall intend the honour of God's name in it. When they
bring their gold and incense it shall not be to show the riches of
their country, nor to gain applause to themselves for piety and
devotion, but to show forth the praises of the Lord,
5. How the church shall herself be affected
with this increase of her numbers,
9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. 10 And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. 11 Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. 12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. 13 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. 14 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
The promises made to the church in the
I. God will be very gracious and propitious
to them. We must begin with that promise, because thence all the
rest take rise. The sanctuary that was desolate begins to be
repaired when God causes his face to shine upon it,
II. Many shall be brought into the church,
even from far countries (
III. Those that come into the church shall
be welcome; for so spacious is the holy city that though, Lord,
it is done as thou hast commanded, yet still there is room.
"Therefore thy gates shall be open continually (
IV. All that are about the church shall be
made in some way or other serviceable to it. Though dominion is far
from being founded in men's grace, it is founded in God's; and he
that made the inferior creatures useful to man will make the
nations of men useful to the church. The earth helped the woman.
All things are for your sakes. So here (
V. There shall be abundance of beauty added
to the ordinances of divine worship (
VI. The church shall appear truly great and
honourable,
15 Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. 16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. 17 For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness. 18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. 19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. 20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. 21 Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. 22 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time.
The happy and glorious state of the church is here further foretold, referring principally and ultimately to the Christian church and the spiritual peace of that, but under the type of that little gleam of outward peace which the Jews sometimes enjoyed after their return out of captivity. This is here spoken of,
I. As compared with what it had been. This made her peace and honour the more pleasant, that her condition had been much otherwise.
1. She had been despised, but now she
should be honoured,
2. She had been impoverished, but now she
shall be enriched, and every thing shall be changed for the better
with her,
3. She had been oppressed by her own
princes, which was sadly complained of, not only as her sin, but as
her misery (
4. She had been insulted by her neighbours,
invaded, spoiled, and plundered; but now it shall be so no more
(
II. As completed in what it shall be. It
should seem that in the close of this chapter we are directed to
look further yet, as far forward as to the glory and happiness of
heaven, under the type and figure of the flourishing state of the
church on earth, which yet was never such as to come any thing near
to what is here foretold; and several of the images and expressions
here made use of we find in the description of the new
Jerusalem,
In this chapter, I. We are sure to find the grace
of Christ, published by himself to a lost world in the everlasting
gospel, under the type and figure of Isaiah's province, which was
to foretel the deliverance of the Jews out of Babylon,
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
He that is the best expositor of scripture
has no doubt given us the best exposition of these verses, even our
Lord Jesus himself, who read this in the synagogue at Nazareth
(perhaps it was the lesson for the day) and applied it entirely to
himself, saying, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your
ears (
I. How he was fitted and qualified for this
work: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
II. How he was appointed and ordained to it: The Spirit of God is upon me, because the Lord God has anointed me. What service God called him to he furnished him for; therefore he gave him his Spirit, because he had by a sacred and solemn unction set him apart to this great office, as kings and priests were of old destined to their offices by anointing. Hence the Redeemer was called the Messiah, the Christ, because he was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. He has sent me; our Lord Jesus did not go unsent; he had a commission from him that is the fountain of power; the Father sent him and gave him commandment. This is a great satisfaction to us, that, whatever Christ said, he had a warrant from heaven for; his doctrine was not his, but his that sent him.
III. What the work was to which he was appointed and ordained.
1. He was to be a preacher, was to execute
the office of a prophet. So well pleased was he with the good-will
God showed towards men through him that he would himself be the
preacher of it, that an honour might thereby be put upon the
ministry of the gospel and the faith of the saints might be
confirmed and encouraged. He must preach good tidings (so
gospel signified) to the meek, to the penitent, and
humble, and poor in spirit; to them the tidings of a Redeemer will
be indeed good tidings, pure gospel, faithful sayings, and
worthy of all acceptation. The poor are commonly best disposed
to receive the gospel (
2. He was to be a healer. He was sent to bind up the broken-hearted, as pained limbs are rolled to give them ease, as broken bones and bleeding wounds are bound up, that they may knit and close again. Those whose hearts are broken for sin, who are truly humbled under the sense of guilt and dread of wrath, are furnished in the gospel of Christ with that which will make them easy and silence their fears. Those only who have experienced the pains of a penitential contrition may expect the pleasure of divine cordials and consolations.
3. He was to be a deliverer. He was sent as
a prophet to preach, as a priest to heal, and as a king to issue
out proclamations and those of two kinds:—(1.) Proclamations of
peace to his friends: He shall proclaim liberty to the
captives (as Cyrus did to the Jews in captivity) and the
opening of the prison to those that were bound. Whereas, by
the guilt of sin, we are bound over to the justice of God, are his
lawful captives, sold for sin till payment be made of that great
debt, Christ lets us know that he has made satisfaction to divine
justice for that debt, that his satisfaction is accepted, and if we
will plead that, and depend upon it, and make over ourselves and
all we have to him, in a grateful sense of the kindness he has done
us, we may by faith sue out our pardon and take the comfort of it;
there is, and shall be, no condemnation to us. And whereas,
by the dominion of sin in us, we are bound under the power of
Satan, sold under sin, Christ lets us know that he has conquered
Satan, has destroyed him that had the power of death and his
works, and provided for us grace sufficient to enable us to
shake off the yoke of sin and to loose ourselves from those
bands of our neck. The Son is ready by his Spirit to make us
free; and then we shall be free indeed, not only
discharged from the miseries of captivity, but advanced to all the
immunities and dignities of citizens. This is the gospel
proclamation, and it is like the blowing of the jubilee-trumpet,
which proclaimed the great year of release (
4. He was to be a comforter, and so he is
as preacher, healer, and deliverer; he is sent to comfort all
who mourn, and who, mourning, seek to him, and not to the
world, for comfort. Christ not only provides comfort for them, and
proclaims it, but he applies it to them; he does by his Spirit
comfort them. There is enough in him to comfort all who
mourn, whatever their sore or sorrow is; but this comfort is
sure to those who mourn in Zion, who sorrow after a godly
sort, according to God, for his residence is in Zion,—who
mourn because of Zion's calamities and desolations, and
mingle their tears by a holy sympathy with those of all God's
suffering people, though they themselves are not in trouble; such
tears God has a bottle for (
5. He was to be a planter; for the church
is God's husbandry. Therefore he will do all this for his
people, will cure their wounds, release them out of bondage, and
comfort them in their sorrows, that they may be called trees of
righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that they may be such
and be acknowledged to be such, that they may be ornaments to God's
vineyard and may be fruitful in the fruits of righteousness,
as the branches of God's planting,
4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. 5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your ploughmen and your vinedressers. 6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. 7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. 8 For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.
Promises are here made to the Jews now returned out of captivity, and settled again in their own land, which are to be extended to the gospel church, and all believers, who through grace are delivered out of spiritual thraldom; for they are capable of being spiritually applied.
I. It is promised that their houses shall
be rebuilt (
II. Those that were so lately servants
themselves, working for their oppressors and lying at their mercy,
shall now have servants to do their work for them and be at their
command, not of their brethren (they are all the Lord's freemen),
but of the strangers, and the sons of the alien, who shall
keep their sheep, till their ground, and dress their
gardens, the ancient employments of Abel, Cain, and Adam:
Strangers shall feed your flocks,
III. They shall not only be released out of
their captivity, but highly preferred and honourably employed
(
IV. The wealth and honour of the Gentile
converts shall redound to the benefit and credit of the church,
V. They shall have abundance of comfort and
satisfaction in their own bosoms,
VI. God will be their faithful guide and a
God in covenant with them (
VII. God will entail a blessing upon their
posterity after them (
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Some make this the song of joy and praise
to be sung by the prophet in the name of Jerusalem, congratulating
her on the happy change of her circumstances in the accomplishment
of the foregoing promises; others make it to be spoken by Christ in
the name of the New-Testament church triumphing in gospel grace. We
may take in both, the former as a type of the latter. We are here
taught to rejoice with holy joy, to God's honour, 1. In the
beginning of this good work, the clothing of the church with
righteousness and salvation,
The business of prophets was both to preach and
pray. In this chapter, I. The prophet determines to apply closely
and constantly to this business,
1 For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. 2 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. 3 Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. 4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. 5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
The prophet here tells us,
I. What he will do for the church. A
prophet, as he is a seer, so he is a spokesman. This prophet
resolves to perform that office faithfully,
II. What God will do for the church. The
prophet can but pray and preach, but God will confirm the word and
answer the prayers. 1. The church shall be greatly admired. When
that righteousness which is her salvation, her praise, and her
glory, shall be brought forth, the Gentiles shall see
it. The tidings of it shall be carried to the Gentiles, and a
tender of it made to them; they may so see this righteousness as to
share in it if it be not their own fault. "Even kings shall see and
be in love with the glory of thy righteousness" (
6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, 7 And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. 8 The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured: 9 But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the Lord; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.
Two things are here promised to Jerusalem:—
I. Plenty of the means of grace—abundance
of good preaching and good praying (
1. That ministers may do their duty as
watchmen. It is here spoken of as a token for good, as a step
towards further mercy and an earnest of it, that, in order to what
he designed for them, he would set watchmen on their walls who
should never hold their peace. Note, (1.) Ministers are
watchmen on the church's walls, for it is as a city besieged, whose
concern it is to have sentinels on the walls, to take notice and
give notice of the motions of the enemy. It is necessary that, as
watchmen, they be wakeful, and faithful, and willing to endure
hardness. (2.) They are concerned to stand upon their guard day and
night; they must never be off their watch as long as those for
whose souls they watch are not out of danger. (3.) They must never
hold their peace; they must take all opportunities to give warning
to sinners, in season, out of season, and must never betray the
cause of Christ by a treacherous or cowardly silence. They must
never hold their peace at the throne of grace; they must pray,
and not faint, as Moses lifted up his hands and kept them
steady, till Israel had obtained the victory over Amalek,
2. That people may do their duty. As those
that make mention of the Lord, let not them keep silence neither,
let not them think it enough that their watchmen pray for them, but
let them pray for themselves; all will be little enough to meet the
approaching mercy with due solemnity. Note, (1.) It is the
character of God's professing people that they make mention of the
Lord, and continue to do so even in bad times, when the land is
termed forsaken and desolate. They are the Lord's
remembrancers (so the margin reads it); they remember the Lord
themselves and put one another in mind of him. (2.) God's
professing people must be a praying people, must be public-spirited
in prayer, must wrestle with God in prayer, and continue to do so:
"Keep not silence; never grow remiss in the duty nor weary
of it." Give him no rest—alluding to an importunate beggar,
to the widow that with her continual coming wearied the judge into
a compliance. God said to Moses, Let me alone (
II. Plenty of all other good things,
1. The great distress they had been in, and
the losses they had sustained. Their corn had been meat for their
enemies, which they hoped would be meat for themselves and their
families. Here was a double grievance, that they themselves wanted
that which was necessary to the support of life and were in danger
of perishing for want of it, and that their enemies were
strengthened by it, had their camp victualled with it, and so were
the better able to do them a mischief. God is said to give their
corn to their enemies, because he not only permitted it, but
ordered it, to be the just punishment both of their abuse of plenty
and of their symbolizing with strangers,
2. The great fulness and satisfaction they
should now be restored to (
3. The solemn ratification of this promise:
The Lord has sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his
strength, that he will do this for his people. God confirms it
by an oath, that his people, who trust in him and his word, may
have strong consolation,
10 Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. 11 Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. 12 And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.
This, as many like passages before, refers
to the deliverance of the Jews out of Babylon, and, under the type
and figure of that, to the great redemption wrought out by Jesus
Christ, and the proclaiming of gospel grace and liberty through
him. 1. Way shall be made for this salvation; all difficulties
shall be removed, and whatever might obstruct it shall be taken out
of the way,
In this chapter we have, I. God coming towards his
people in ways of mercy and deliverance, and this is to be joined
to the close of the foregoing chapter, where it was said to Zion,
"Behold, thy salvation comes;" for here it is shown how it comes,
1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat? 3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. 4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. 5 And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. 6 And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.
It is a glorious victory that is here
enquired into first and then accounted for. 1. It is a victory
obtained by the providence of God over the enemies of Israel; over
the Babylonians (say some), whom Cyrus conquered and God by him,
and they will have the prophet to make the first discovery of him
in his triumphant return when he is in the country of Edom: but
this can by no means be admitted, because the country of Babylon is
always spoken of as the land of the north, whereas Edom lay south
from Jerusalem, so that the conqueror would not return through that
country; the victory therefore is obtained over the Edomites
themselves, who had triumphed in the destruction of Jerusalem by
the Chaldeans (
In this representation of the victory we have,
I. An admiring question put to the
conqueror,
The question, Who is this? perhaps
means the same with that which Joshua put to the same person when
he appeared to him with his sword drawn (
II. An admirable answer returned by him.
1. He tells who he is: I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. He is the Saviour. God was Israel's Saviour out of the hand of their oppressors; the Lord Jesus is ours; his name, Jesus, signifies a Saviour, for he saves his people from their sins. In the salvation wrought he will have us to take notice, (1.) Of the truth of his promise, which is therein performed: He speaks in righteousness, and will therefore make good every word that he has spoken with which he will have us to compare what he does, that, setting the word and the work the one over against the other, what he does may ratify what he has said and what he has said may justify what he does. (2.) Of the efficacy of his power, which is therein exerted: He is mighty to save, able to bring about the promised redemption, whatever difficulties and oppositions may lie in the way of it.
2. He tells how he came to appear in this
hue (
(1.) He gains the victory purely by his own
strength: I have trodden the wine-press alone,
(2.) He undertakes the war purely out of
his own zeal. It is in his anger, it is in his fury,
that he treads down his enemies (
(3.) He will obtain a complete victory over
them all. [1.] Much is already done; for he now appears red in
his apparel; such abundance of blood is shed that the
conqueror's garments are all stained with it. This was predicted,
long before, by dying Jacob, concerning Shiloh (that is,
Christ), that he should wash his garments in wine and his
clothes in the blood of grapes, which perhaps this alludes to,
In the destruction of the antichristian
powers we meet with abundance of blood shed (
7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. 8 For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour. 9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. 10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them. 11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him? 12 That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name? 13 That led them through the deep, as a horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble? 14 As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.
The prophet is here, in the name of the church, taking a review, and making a thankful recognition, of God's dealings with his church all along, ever since he founded it, before he comes, in the latter end of this chapter and in the next, as a watchman upon the walls, earnestly to pray to God for his compassion towards her in her present deplorable state; and it was usual for God's people, in their prayers, thus to look back.
I. Here is a general acknowledgment of
God's goodness to them all along,
II. Here is particular notice taken of the steps of God's mercy to Israel ever since it was formed into a nation.
1. The expectations God had concerning them
that they would conduct themselves well,
2. The favour he showed them with an eye to
these expectations: So he was their Saviour out of the
bondage of Egypt and all the calamities of their wilderness-state,
and many a time since he had been their Saviour. See particularly
(
3. Their disingenuous conduct towards him,
and the trouble they thereby brought upon themselves (
4. A particular reflection made, on this
occasion, upon what God did for them when he first formed them into
a people: Then he remembered the days of old,
(1.) This may be understood either of the
people or of God. [1.] We may understand it of the people. Israel
then (spoken of as a single person) remembered the days of
old, looked into their Bibles, read the story of God's bringing
their fathers out of Egypt, considered it more closely than ever
they did before, and reasoned upon it, as Gideon did (
(2.) Which way soever we take it, whether
the people plead it with God or God with himself, let us view the
particulars, and they agree very much with the confession and
prayer which the children of the captivity made upon a solemn
fast-day (
15 Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained? 16 Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O Lord, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting. 17 O Lord, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. 18 The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary. 19 We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name.
The foregoing praises were intended as an
introduction to this prayer, which is continued to the end of the
next chapter, and it is an affectionate, importunate, pleading
prayer. It is calculated for the time of the captivity. As they had
promises, so they had prayers, prepared for them against that time
of need, that they might take with them words in turning to the
Lord, and say unto him what he himself taught them to say, in which
they might the better hope to prevail, the words being of God's own
inditing. Some good interpreters think this prayer looks further,
and that it expresses the complaints of the Jews under their last
and final rejection from God and destruction by the Romans; for
there is one passage in it (
I. The petitions they put up to God. 1.
That he would take cognizance of their case and of the desires of
their souls towards him: Look down from heaven, and behold,
II. The complaints they made to God. Two
things they complained of:—1. That they were given up to
themselves, and God's grace did not recover them,
III. The pleas they urged with God for
mercy and deliverance. 1. They pleaded the tender compassion God
used to show to his people and his ability and readiness to appear
for them,
This chapter goes on with that pathetic pleading
prayer which the church offered up to God in the latter part of the
foregoing chapter. They had argued from their covenant-relation to
God and his interest and concern in them; now here, I. They pray
that God would appear in some remarkable and surprising manner for
them against his and their enemies,
1 Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, 2 As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! 3 When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence. 4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. 5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
Here, I. The petition is that God would
appear wonderfully for them now,
II. The plea is that God had appeared
wonderfully for his people formerly; and thou hast,
therefore thou wilt, is good arguing at the throne of grace,
1. They plead what he had done for his
people Israel in particular when he brought them out of Egypt,
2. They plead what God had been used to do, and had declared his gracious purpose to do, for his people in general. The provision he has made for the safety and happiness of his people, even of all those that seek him, and serve him, and trust in him, is very rich and very ready, so that they need not fear being either disappointed of it, for it is sure, or disappointed in it, for it is sufficient.
(1.) It is very rich,
(2.) It is very ready (
3. They plead the unchangeableness of God's
favour and the stability of his promise, notwithstanding the sins
of his people and his displeasure against them for their sins:
"Behold, thou hast many a time been wroth with us because
we have sinned, and we have been under the tokens of thy wrath;
but in those, those ways of thine, the ways of mercy in
which we have remembered thee, in those is continuance," or
"in those thou art ever" (his mercy endures for ever),
"and therefore we shall at last be saved,
though thou art wroth, and we have sinned." This agrees with the
tenour of God's covenant, that, if we forsake the law, he
will visit our transgression with a rod, but his loving
kindness he will not utterly take away, his covenant he will
not break (
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. 7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. 8 But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. 9 Be not wroth very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. 10 Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. 11 Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste. 12 Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O Lord? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?
As we have the Lamentations of Jeremiah, so here we have the Lamentations of Isaiah; the subject of both is the same—the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans and the sin of Israel that brought that destruction—only with this difference, Isaiah sees it at a distance and laments it by the Spirit of prophecy, Jeremiah saw it accomplished. In these verses,
I. The people of God in their affliction confess and bewail their sins, thereby justifying God in their afflictions, owning themselves unworthy of his mercy, and thereby both improving their troubles and preparing for deliverance. Now that they were under divine rebukes for sin they had nothing to trust to but the mere mercy of God and the continuance of that; for among themselves there is none to help, none to uphold, none to stand in the gap and make intercession, for they are all polluted with sin and therefore unworthy to intercede, all careless and remiss in duty and therefore unable and unfit to intercede.
1. There was a general corruption of
manners among them (
2. There was a general coldness of devotion
among them,
II. They acknowledge their afflictions to
be the fruit and product of their own sins and God's wrath. 1. They
brought their troubles upon themselves by their own folly: "We
are all as an unclean thing, and therefore we do all fade
away as a leaf (
III. They claim relation to God as their
God, and humbly plead it with him, and in consideration of it
cheerfully refer themselves to him (
IV. They are importunate with God for the
turning away of his anger and the pardoning of their sins
(
V. They lodge in the court of heaven a very
melancholy representation, or memorial, of the lamentable condition
they were in and the ruins they were groaning under. 1. Their own
houses were in ruins,
VI. They conclude with an affectionate
expostulation, humbly arguing with God concerning their present
desolations (
We are now drawing towards the conclusion of this
evangelical prophecy, the last two chapters of which direct us to
look as far forward as the new heavens and the new earth, the new
world which the gospel dispensation should bring in, and the
separation that should by it be made between the precious and the
vile. "For judgment" (says Christ) "have I come into this world."
And why should it seem absurd that the prophet here should speak of
that to which all the prophets bore witness?
1 I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. 2 I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; 3 A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; 4 Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; 5 Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day. 6 Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom, 7 Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.
The apostle Paul (an expositor we may
depend upon) has given us the true sense of these verses, and told
us what was the event they pointed at and were fulfilled in,
namely, the calling in of the Gentiles and the rejection of the
Jews, by the preaching of the gospel,
I. It is here foretold that the Gentiles,
who had been afar off, should be made nigh,
II. It is here foretold that the Jews, who
had long been a people near to God, should be cast off and set at a
distance
1. How the Jews were courted to the divine
grace. God himself, by his prophets, by his Son, by his apostles,
stretched forth his hands to them, as Wisdom did,
2. How they contemned the invitation; it was given to a rebellious and gainsaying people; they were invited to the wedding-supper, and would not come, but rejected the counsel of God against themselves. Now here we have,
(1.) The bad character of this people. The world shall see that it was not for nothing that they were rejected of God; no, it was for their whoredoms that they were put away.
[1.] Their character in general was such as one would not expect of those who had been so much the favourites of Heaven. First, They were very wilful. Right or wrong they would do as they had a mind. "They generally walk on in a way that is not good, not the right way, not a safe way, for they walk after their own thought, their own devices and desires." If our guide be our own thoughts, our way is not likely to be good; for every imagination of the thought of our hearts is only evil. God had told them his thoughts, what his mind and will were, but they would walk after their own thoughts, would do what they thought best. Secondly, They were very provoking. This was God's complaint of them all along—they grieved him, they vexed his Holy Spirit, as if they would contrive how to make him their enemy: They provoke me to anger continually to my face. They cared not what affront they gave to God, though it were in his sight and presence, in a downright contempt of his authority and defiance of his justice; and this continually; it had been their way and manner ever since they were a people, witness the day of temptation in the wilderness.
[2.] The prophet speaks more particularly
of their iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers, as
the ground of God's casting them off,
First, The most provoking iniquity
of their fathers was idolatry; this, the prophet tells them, was
provoking God to his face; and it is an iniquity which, as appears
by the second commandment, God often visits upon the
children. This was the sin that brought them into captivity,
and, though the captivity pretty well cured them of it, yet, when
the final ruin of that nation came, that was again brought into the
account against them; for in the day when God visits he will visit
that,
Secondly, The most provoking
iniquity of the Jews in our Saviour's time was their pride and
hypocrisy, that sin of the scribes and Pharisees against which
Christ denounced so many woes,
(2.) The controversy God had with them for
this. The proof against them is plain: Behold, it is written
before me,
8 Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all. 9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. 10 And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.
This is expounded by St. Paul,
I. This is illustrated here by a
comparison,
II. Here is a description of those that
shall make up this saved saving remnant. 1. They are such as serve
God. It is for my servants' sake (
III. Here is an account of the mercy God
has in store for them. The remnant that shall return out of
captivity shall have a happy settlement again in their own land,
and that by an hereditary right, as a seed out of Jacob, in
whom the family is kept up and the entail preserved, and from whom,
as from the seed sown, shall spring a numerous increase; and these
typify the remnant of Jacob that shall be incorporated into the
gospel church by faith. 1. They shall have a good portion for
themselves. They shall inherit my mountains, the holy
mountains on which Jerusalem and the temple were built, or the
mountains of Canaan, the land of promise, typifying the
covenant of grace, which all God's servants, his elect, both
inhabit and inherit; they make it their refuge, their rest and
residence, so they dwell in it, are at home in it; and they have
taken it to be their heritage for ever, and it shall be to them an
inheritance incorruptible. God's chosen, the spiritual seed of
praying Jacob, shall be the inheritors of his mountains of bliss
and joy, and shall be carried safely to them through the vale of
tears. 2. They shall have a green pasture for their flocks,
11 But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number. 12 Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not. 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: 14 Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit. 15 And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name: 16 That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.
Here the different states of the godly and wicked, of the Jews that believed and of those that still persisted in unbelief, are set the one over—against the other, as life and death, good and evil, the blessing and the curse.
I. Here is the fearful doom of those that persisted in their idolatry after the deliverance out of Babylon, and in infidelity after the preaching of the gospel of Christ. Observe,
1. What the doom is that is here
threatened: "I will number you to the sword as sheep for the
slaughter, and there shall be no escaping, no standing out; you
shall all bow down to it,"
2. What the sins are that number them to
the sword. (1.) Idolatry was the ancient sin (
II. The aggravation of this doom, from the consideration of the happy state of those that were brought to repentance and faith.
1. The blessedness of those that serve God,
and the woeful condition of those that rebel against him, are here
set the one over—against the other, that they may serve as
a foil to each other,
2. The difference of their states lies in two things:—
(1.) In point of comfort and satisfaction. [1.] God's servants shall eat and drink; they shall have the bread of life to feed, to feast upon, continually, shall be abundantly replenished with the goodness of his house, and shall want nothing that is good for them. Heaven's happiness will be to them an everlasting feast; they shall be filled with that which now they hunger and thirst after. But those who set their hearts upon the world, and place their happiness in that, shall be hungry and thirsty, always empty, always craving; for it is not bread; it surfeits, but it satisfies not. In communion with God, and dependence upon him, there is full satisfaction; but in sinful pursuits there is nothing but disappointment. [2.] God's servants shall rejoice and sing for joy of heart. They have constant cause for joy, and there is nothing that may be an occasion of grief to them but they have an allay sufficient for it; and, as far as faith is in act and exercise, they have a heart to rejoice, and their joy is their strength. They shall rejoice in their hope, because it shall not make them ashamed. Heaven will be a world of everlasting joy to all that are now sowing in tears. But, on the other hand, those that forsake the Lord shut themselves out from all true joy, for they shall be ashamed of their vain confidence in themselves, and their own righteousness, and the hopes they had built thereon. When the expectations of bliss wherewith they had flattered themselves are frustrated, O what confusion will fill their faces! Then shall they cry for sorrow of heart, and howl for vexation of spirit, perhaps in this world, when their laughter shall be turned into mourning and their joy into heaviness, and certainly in that world where the torment will be endless, easeless, and remediless—nothing but weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, to eternity. Let these two be compared, Now he is comforted and thou art tormented, and which of the two will we choose to take our lot with?
(2.) In point of honour and reputation,
17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. 18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. 20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. 24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.
If these promises were in part fulfilled
when the Jews, after their return out of captivity, were settled in
peace in their own land and brought as it were into a new world,
yet they were to have their full accomplishment in the gospel
church, militant first and at length triumphant. The Jerusalem
that is from above is free and is the mother of us all. In the
graces and comforts which believers have in and from Christ we are
to look for this new heaven and new earth. It is in the gospel that
old things have passed away and all things have become new,
and by it that those who are in Christ are new creatures,
I. There shall be new joys. For, 1. All the
church's friends, and all that belong to her, shall rejoice
(
II. There shall be new life,
III. There shall be a new enjoyment of the
comforts of life. Whereas before it was very uncertain and
precarious, their enemies inhabited the houses which they
built and ate the fruit of the trees which they
planted, now it shall be otherwise; they shall build houses
and inhabit them, shall plant vineyards and eat the
fruit of them,
IV. There shall be a new generation rising
up in their stead to inherit and enjoy these blessings (
V. There shall be a good correspondence
between them and their God (
VI. There shall be a good correspondence
between them and their neighbours (
The scope of this chapter is much the same as that
of the foregoing chapter and many expressions of it are the same;
it therefore looks the same way, to the different state of the good
and bad among the Jews at their return out of captivity, but that
typifying the rejection of the Jews in the days of the Messiah, the
conversion of the Gentiles, and the setting up of the
gospel-kingdom in the world. The
1 Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? 2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. 3 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. 4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.
Here, I. The temple is slighted in
comparison with a gracious soul,
II. Sacrifices are slighted when they come
from ungracious hands. The sacrifice of the wicked is not
only unacceptable, but it is an abomination to the Lord
(
5 Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. 6 A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence to his enemies. 7 Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. 8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. 9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. 10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: 11 That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. 12 For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 14 And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like a herb: and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.
The prophet, having denounced God's
judgments against a hypocritical nation, that made a jest of God's
word and would not answer him when he called to them, here turns
his speech to those that trembled at his word, to comfort
and encourage them; they shall not be involved in the judgments
that are coming upon their unbelieving nation. Ministers must
distinguish thus, that, when they speak terror to the wicked, they
may not make the hearts of the righteous sad. Bone Christiane,
hoc nihil ad te—Good Christian, this is nothing to thee. The
prophet, having assured those that tremble at God's word of a
gracious look from him (
I. Let them know that God will plead their
just but injured cause against their persecutors (
II. Let them know that God's appearances
for them will be such as will make a great noise in the world
(
III. Let them know that God will set up a
church for himself in the world, which shall be abundantly
replenished in a little time (
IV. Let them know that their present
sorrows shall shortly be turned into abundant joys,
V. Let them know that he who gives them
this call to rejoice will give them cause to do so and hearts to do
so,
1. He will give them cause to do so. For,
(1.) They shall enjoy a long uninterrupted course of prosperity:
I will extend, or am extending, peace to her (that
is, all good to her) like a river that runs in a constant
stream, still increasing till it be swallowed up in the ocean. The
gospel brings with it, wherever it is received in its power, such
peace as this, which shall go on like a river, supplying
souls with all good and making them fruitful, as a river does the
lands it passes through, such a river of peace as the
springs of the world's comforts cannot send forth and the dams of
the world's troubles cannot stop nor drive back nor its sand rack
up, such a river of peace as will carry us to the ocean of
boundless and endless bliss. (2.) There shall be large and
advantageous additions made to them: The glory of the
Gentiles shall come to them like a flowing stream.
Gentiles converts shall come pouring into the church, and swell the
river of her peace and prosperity; for they shall bring their
glory with them; their wealth and honour, their power and
interest, shall all be devoted to the service of God and employed
for the good of the church: "Then shall you suck from the
breasts of her consolations. When you see such crowding for a share
in those comforts you shall be the more solicitous and the more
vigorous to secure your share, not for fear of having the less for
others coming in to partake of Christ" (there is no danger of that;
he has enough for all and enough for each), "but their zeal
shall provoke you to a holy jealousy." It is well when it
does so,
2. God will not only give them cause to
rejoice, but will speak comfort to them, will speak it to their
hearts; and it is he only that can do that, and make it fasten
there. See what he will do for the comfort of all the sons of Zion.
(1.) Their country shall be their tender nurse: You shall be
carried on her sides, under her arms, as little children
are, and shall be dangled upon her knees, as darlings are,
especially when they are weary and out of humour, and must be got
to sleep. Those that are joined to the church must be treated thus
affectionately. The great Shepherd gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them in his bosom, and so must the under-shepherds,
that they may not be discouraged. Proselytes should be favourites.
(2.) God will himself be their powerful comforter: As one whom
his mother comforts, when he is sick or sore, or upon any
account in sorrow, so will I comfort you; not only with the
rational arguments which a prudent father uses, but with the tender
affections and compassions of a loving mother, that bemoans her
afflicted child when it has fallen and hurt itself, that she may
quiet it and make it easy, or endeavours to pacify it after she has
chidden it and fallen out with it (
15 For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many. 17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord. 18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. 19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. 20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. 21 And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the Lord. 22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. 24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
These verses, like the pillar of cloud and
fire, have a dark side towards the enemies of God's kingdom and all
that are rebels against his crown, and a bright side towards his
faithful loyal subjects. Probably they refer to the Jews in
captivity in Babylon, of whom some are said to have been sent
thither for their hurt, and with them God here threatens to proceed
in his controversy; they hated to be reformed, and therefore should
be ruined by the calamity (
I. Christ will appear to the confusion and
terror of all those that stand it out against him. Sometimes he
will appear in temporal judgments. The Jews that persisted in
infidelity were cut off by fire and by his sword. The
ruin was very extensive; the Lord then pleaded with all
flesh; and, it being his sword with which they are cut off,
they are called his slain, sacrificed to his justice, and
they shall be many. In the great day the wrath of God will
be his fire and sword, with which he will cut off and consume all
the impenitent; and his word, when it takes hold of sinners'
consciences, burns like fire, and is sharper than any two-edged
sword. Idolaters will especially be contended with in the day
of wrath,
II. He will appear to the comfort and joy
of all that are faithful to him in the setting up of his kingdom in
this world, the kingdom of grace, the earnest and first-fruits of
the kingdom of glory. The time shall come that he will gather
all nations and tongues to himself, that they may come and
see his glory as it shines in the face of Jesus Christ,
1. That some of the Jewish nation should,
by the grace of God, be distinguished form the rest, and marked for
salvation: I will not only set up a gathering ensign among
them, to which the Gentiles shall seek (as is promised,
2. That those who are themselves
distinguished thus by the grace of God shall be commissioned to
invite others to come and take the benefit of that grace. Those
that escape the power of those prejudices by which the generality
of that nation is kept in unbelief shall be sent to the
nations to carry the gospel among them, and preach it to every
creature. Note, Those who themselves have escaped the wrath to come
should do all they can to snatch others also as brands out of the
burning. God chooses to send those on his errands that can deliver
their message feelingly and experimentally, and warn people of
their danger by sin as those who have themselves narrowly escaped
the danger. (1.) They shall be sent to the nations, several
of which are here named, Tarshish, and Pul, and Lud, &c. It is
uncertain, nor are interpreters agreed, what countries are here
intended. Tarshish signifies in general the sea, yet
some take it for Tarsus in Cilicia. Pul is mentioned
sometimes as the name of one of the kings of Assyria; perhaps some
part of that country might likewise bear that name. Lud is
supposed to be Lydia, a warlike nation, famed for archers: the
Lydians are said to handle and bend the bow,
3. That many converts shall hereby be made,
(1.) They shall bring all your
brethren (for proselytes ought to be owned and embraced as
brethren) for an offering unto the Lord. God's glory shall
not be in vain declared to them, but they shall be both invited and
directed to join themselves to the Lord. Those that are sent to
them shall succeed so well in their negotiation that thereupon
there shall be as great flocking to Jerusalem as used to be at the
time of a solemn feast, when all the males from all parts of the
country were to attend there, and not to appear empty. Observe,
[1.] The conveniences that they shall be furnished with for their
coming. Some shall come upon horses, because they came from
far and the journey was too long to travel on foot, as the Jews
usually did to their feasts. Persons of quality shall come in
chariots, and the aged, and sickly, and little children, shall
be brought in litters or covered wagons, and the young men
on mules and swift beasts. This intimates their zeal and
forwardness to come. They shall spare no trouble nor charge to get
to Jerusalem. Those that cannot ride on horseback shall come in
litters; and in such haste shall they be, and so impatient of
delay, that those that can shall ride upon mules and swift beasts.
These expressions are figurative, and these various means of
conveyance are heaped up to intimate (says the learned Mr. Gataker)
the abundant provision of all those gracious helps requisite for
the bringing of God's elect home to Christ. All shall be welcome,
and nothing shall be wanting for their assistance and
encouragement. [2.] The character under which they shall be
brought. They shall come, not as formerly they used to come to
Jerusalem, to be offerers, but to be themselves an offering unto
the Lord, which must be understood spiritually, of their being
presented to God as living sacrifices,
(2.) This may refer, [1.] To the Jews,
devout men, and proselytes out of every nation under heaven, that
flocked together to Jerusalem, expecting the kingdom of the Messiah
to appear,
4. That a gospel ministry shall be set up
in the church, it being thus enlarged by the addition of such a
multitude of members to it (
5. That the church and ministry, being thus
settled, shall continue and be kept up in a succession from one
generation to another,
6. That the public worship of God in
religious assemblies shall be carefully and constantly attended
upon by all that are thus brought as an offering to the
Lord,
7. That their thankful sense of God's
distinguishing favour to them should be very much increased by the
consideration of the fearful doom and destruction of those that
persist and perish in their infidelity and impiety,
AN
The
Prophecies of the Old Testament, as the Epistles of the New, are
placed rather according to their bulk than their seniority—the
longest first, not the oldest. There were several prophets, and
writing ones, that were contemporaries with Isaiah, as Micah, or a
little before him, as Hosea, and Joel, and Amos, or soon after him,
as Habakkuk and Nahum are supposed to have been; and yet the
prophecy of Jeremiah, who began many years after Isaiah finished,
is placed next to his, because there is so much in it. Where we
meet with most of God's word, there let the preference be given;
and yet those of less gifts are not to be despised nor excluded.
Nothing now occurs to be observed further concerning prophecy in
general; but concerning this prophet Jeremiah we may observe, I.
That he was betimes a prophet; he began young, and therefore could
say, from his own experience, that it is good for a man to bear
the yoke in his youth, the yoke both of service and of
affliction,
In this chapter we have, I. The general
inscription or title of this book, with the time of the continuance
of Jeremiah's public ministry,
1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: 2 To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
We have here as much as it was thought fit
we should know of the genealogy of this prophet and the chronology
of this prophecy. 1. We are told what family the prophet was of. He
was the son of Hilkiah, not that Hilkiah, it is supposed,
who was high priest in Josiah's time (for then he would have been
called so, and not, as here, one of the priests that were in
Anathoth), but another of the same name. Jeremiah signifies one
raised up by the Lord. It is said of Christ that he is a
prophet whom the Lord our God raised up unto us,
4 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. 6 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. 7 But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. 8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. 9 Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. 10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
Here is, I. Jeremiah's early designation to
the work and office of a prophet, which God gives him notice of as
a reason for his early application to that business (
II. His modestly declining this honourable
employment,
III. The assurance God graciously gave him that he would stand by him and carry him on in his work.
1. Let him not object that he is a child;
he shall be a prophet for all that (
2. Let him not object that he shall meet
with many enemies and much opposition; God will be his protector
(
3. Let him not object that he cannot speak as becomes him—God will enable him to speak.
(1.) To speak intelligently, and as one
that had acquaintance with God,
(2.) To speak powerfully, and as one that
had authority from God,
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. 12 Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it. 13 And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north. 14 Then the Lord said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands. 17 Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. 18 For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. 19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.
Here, I. God gives Jeremiah, in vision, a view of the principal errand he was to go upon, which was to foretel the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, for their sins, especially their idolatry. This was at first represented to him in away proper to make an impression upon him, that he might have it upon his heart in all his dealings with this people.
1. He intimates to him that the people were
ripening apace for ruin and that ruin was hastening apace towards
them. God, having answered his objection, that he was a
child, goes on to initiate him in the prophetical learning and
language; and, having promised to enable him to speak intelligibly
to the people, he here teaches him to understand what God says to
him; for prophets must have eyes in their heads as well as tongues,
must be seers as well as speakers. He therefore asks him,
"Jeremiah, what seest thou? Look about thee, and observe
now." And he was soon aware of what was presented to him: "I see
a rod, denoting affliction and chastisement, a correcting rod
hanging over us; and it is a rod of an almond-tree, which is
one of the forwardest trees in the spring, is in the bud and
blossom quickly, when other trees are scarcely broken out;" it
flourishes, says Pliny, in the month of January, and by March has
ripe fruits; hence it is called in the Hebrew, Shakedh, the
hasty tree. Whether this rod that Jeremiah saw had already
budded, as some think, or whether it was stripped and dry, as
others think, and yet Jeremiah knew it to be of an almond-tree, as
Aaron's rod was, is uncertain; but God explained it in the next
words (
2. He intimates to him whence the intended
ruin should arise. Jeremiah is a second time asked: What seest
thou? and he sees a seething-pot upon the fire
(
3. He tells him plainly what was the
procuring cause of all these judgments; it was the sin of
Jerusalem and of the cities of Judah (
II. God excites and encourages Jeremiah to
apply himself with all diligence and seriousness to his business. A
great trust is committed to him. He is sent in God's name as a
herald at arms, to proclaim war against his rebellious subjects;
for God is pleased to give warning of his judgments beforehand,
that sinners may be awakened to meet him by repentance, and so
turn away his wrath, and that, if they do not, they may be
left inexcusable. With this trust Jeremiah has a charge given him
(
1. In two things he must be faithful:— (1.) He must speak all that he is charged with: Speak all that I command thee. He must forget nothing as minute, or foreign, or not worth mentioning; every word of God is weighty. He must conceal nothing for fear of offending; he must alter nothing under pretence of making it more fashionable or more palatable, but, without addition or diminution, declare the whole counsel of God. (2.) He must speak to all that he is charged against; he must not whisper it in a corner to a few particular friends that will take it well, but he must appear against the kings of Judah, if they be wicked kings, and bear his testimony against the sins even of the princes thereof; for the greatest of men are not exempt from the judgments either of God's hand or of his mouth. Nay, he must not spare the priests thereof; though he himself was a priest, and was concerned to maintain the dignity of his order, yet he must not therefore flatter them in their sins. He must appear against the people of the land, though they were his own people, as far as they were against the Lord.
2. Two reasons are here given why he should
do thus:—(1.) Because he had reason to fear the wrath of God if
he should be false: "Be not dismayed at their faces, so as
to desert thy office, or shrink from the duty of it, lest I
confound and dismay thee before them, lest I give thee up to
thy faintheartedness." Those that consult their own credit, ease,
and safety, more than their work and duty, are justly left of God
to themselves, and to bring upon themselves the shame of their own
cowardliness. Nay, lest I reckon with thee for thy
faintheartedness, and break thee to pieces; so some read it.
Therefore this prophet says (
It is probable that this chapter was Jeremiah's
first sermon after his ordination; and a most lively pathetic
sermon it is as any we have is all the books of the prophets. Let
him not say, "I cannot speak, for I am a child;" for, God having
touched his mouth and put his words into it, none can speak better.
The scope of the chapter is to show God's people their
transgressions, even the house of Jacob their sins; it is all by
way of reproof and conviction, that they might be brought to repent
of their sins and so prevent the ruin that was coming upon them.
The charge drawn up against them is very high, the aggravations are
black, the arguments used for their conviction very close and
pressing, and the expostulations very pungent and affecting. The
sin which they are most particularly charged with here is idolatry,
forsaking the true God, their own God, for other false gods. Now
they are told, I. That this was ungrateful to God, who had been so
kind to them,
1 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. 3 Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the first-fruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord. 4 Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: 5 Thus saith the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? 6 Neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? 7 And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. 8 The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
Here is, I. A command given to Jeremiah to
go and carry a message from God to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He
was charged in general (
II. The message he was commanded to deliver. He must upbraid them with their horrid ingratitude in forsaking a God who had been of old so kind to them, that this might either make them ashamed and bring them to repentance, or might justify God in turning his hand against them.
1. God here puts them in mind of the
favours he had of old bestowed upon them, when they were first
formed into a people (
(1.) This may be understood of the kindness
they had for God; it was not such indeed as they had any reason to
boast of, or to plead with God for favour to be shown them (for
many of them were very unkind and provoking, and, when they did
return and enquire early after God, they did but flatter him), yet
God is pleased to mention it, and plead it with them; for, though
it was but little love that they showed him, he took it kindly.
When they believed the Lord and his servant Moses, when they
sang God's praise at the Red Sea, when at the foot of Mount
Sinai they promised, All that the Lord shall say unto us we will
do and will be obedient, then was the kindness of their
youth and the love of their espousals. When they seemed so
forward for God he said, Surely they are my people, and will
be faithful to me, children that will not lie. Note, Those
that begin well and promise fair, but do not perform and persevere,
will justly be upbraided with their hopeful and promising
beginnings. God remembers the kindness of our youth and the love
of our espousals, the zeal we then seemed to have for him and
the affection wherewith we made our covenants with him, the buds
and blossoms that never came to perfection; and it is good for us
to remember them, that we may remember whence we have fallen, and
return to our first love,
(2.) Or it may be understood of God's
kindness to them; of that he afterwards speaks largely. When
Israel was a child, then I loved him,
2. He upbraids them with their horrid
ingratitude, and the ill returns they had made him for these
favours; let them all come and answer to this charge (
9 Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the Lord, and with your children's children will I plead. 10 For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing. 11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. 12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. 13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
The prophet, having shown their base
ingratitude in forsaking God, here shows their unparalleled
fickleness and folly (
I. He shows that they acted contrary to the
usage of all nations. Their neighbours were more firm and faithful
to their false gods than they were to the true God. They were
ambitious of being like the nations, and yet in this they
were unlike them. He challenges them to produce an instance of any
nation that had changed their gods (
II. He shows that they acted contrary to
the dictates of common sense, in that they not only changed (it may
sometimes be our duty and wisdom to do so), but that they changed
for the worse, and made a bad bargain for themselves. 1. They
parted from a God who was their glory, who made them truly glorious
and every way put honour upon them, one whom they might with a
humble confidence glory in as theirs, who is himself a glorious God
and the glory of those whose God he is; he was particularly the
glory of his people Israel, for his glory had often appeared on
their tabernacle. 2. They closed with gods that could do them no
good, gods that do not profit their worshippers. Idolaters
change God's glory into shame (
14 Is Israel a servant? is he a home-born slave? why is he spoiled? 15 The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant. 16 Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head. 17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way? 18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river? 19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.
The prophet, further to evince the folly of their forsaking God, shows them what mischiefs they had already brought upon themselves by so doing; it had already cost them dear, for to this were owing all the calamities their country was now groaning under, which were but an earnest of more and greater if they repented not. See how they smarted for their folly.
I. Their neighbours, who were their
professed enemies, prevailed against them, and this was owing to
their sin. 1. They were enslaved and lost their liberty (
II. Their neighbours, that were their
pretended friends, deceived them, distressed them, and helped them
not, and this also was owing to their sin. 1. They did in vain seek
to Egypt and Assyria for help (
20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot. 21 Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? 22 For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God. 23 How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways; 24 A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her. 25 Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go. 26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, 27 Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us. 28 But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.
In these verses the prophet goes on with his charge against this backsliding people. Observe here,
I. The sin itself that he charges them
with—idolatry, that great provocation which they were so
notoriously guilty of. 1. They frequented the places of
idol-worship (
II. The proof of this. No witnesses need be
called; it is proved by the notorious evidence of the facts. 1.
They went about to deny it, and were ready to plead, Not
guilty. They pretended that they would acquit themselves from
this guilt, they washed themselves with nitre, and took
much soap, offered many things in excuse and extenuation of it,
III. The aggravations of this sin with which they are charged, which made it exceedingly sinful.
1. God had done great things for them, and
yet they revolted from him and rebelled against him (
2. They had promised fair, but had not made
good their promise: "Thou saidst, I will not transgress;
then, when the mercy of thy deliverance was fresh, thou wast so
sensible of it that thou wast willing to lay thyself under the most
sacred ties to continue faithful to thy God and never to forsake
him." Then they said, Nay, but we will serve the Lord,
3. They had wretchedly degenerated from
what they were when God first formed them into a people (
4. They were violent and eager in the
pursuit of their idolatries, doted on their idols, and were fond of
new ones, and they would not be restrained from them either by the
word of God or by his providence, so strong was the impetus
with which they were carried out after this sin. They are here
compared to a swift dromedary traversing her ways, a female
of that species of creatures hunting about for a male (
5. They were obstinate in their sin, and,
as they could not be restrained, so they would not be reformed,
6. They had shamed themselves by their sin,
in putting confidence in that which would certainly deceive them in
the day of their distress, and putting him away that would have
helped them,
29 Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord. 30 In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion. 31 O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee? 32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number. 33 Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways. 34 Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these. 35 Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned. 36 Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. 37 Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the Lord hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.
The prophet here goes on in the same strain, aiming to bring a sinful people to repentance, that their destruction might be prevented.
I. He avers the truth of the charge. It was
evident beyond contradiction; it was the greatest absurdity
imaginable in them to think of denying it (
II. He heightens it from the consideration
both of their incorrigibleness and of their ingratitude. 1. They
had not been wrought upon by the judgments of God which they had
been under (
III. He lays the blame of all their
wickedness upon their forgetting God (
IV. He shows them what a bad influence
their sins had had upon others. The sins of God's professing people
harden and encourage those about them in their evil ways,
especially when they appear forward and ringleaders in sin
(
V. He charges them with the guilt of murder
added to the guilt of their idolatry (
VI. He overrules their plea of, Not
guilty. Though this matter be so plain, yet thou sayest,
Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me;
and again, Thou sayest, I have not sinned (
VII. He upbraids them with the shameful
disappointments they met with, in making creatures their
confidence, while they made God their enemy,
The foregoing chapter was wholly taken up with
reproofs and threatenings against the people of God, for their
apostasies from him; but in this chapter gracious invitations and
encouragements are given them to return and repent, notwithstanding
the multitude and greatness of their provocations, which are here
specified, to magnify the mercy of God, and to show that as sin
abounded grace did much more abound. Here, I. It is further shown
how bad they had been and how well they deserved to be quite
abandoned, and yet how ready God was to receive them into his
favour upon their repentance,
1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the Lord. 2 Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness. 3 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed. 4 Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth? 5 Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.
These verses some make to belong to the sermon in the foregoing chapter, and they open a door of hope to those who receive the conviction of the reproofs we had there; God wounds that he may heal. Now observe here,
I. How basely this people had forsaken God
and gone a whoring from him. The charge runs very high here. 1.
They had multiplied their idols and their idolatries. To have
admitted one strange God among them would have been bad enough, but
they were insatiable in their lustings after false worships:
Thou hast played the harlot with many lovers,
II. How gently God had corrected them for their sins. Instead of raining fire and brimstone upon them, because, like Sodom, they had avowed their sin and had gone after strange gods as Sodom after strange flesh, he only withheld the showers from them, and that only one part of the year: There has been no latter rain, which might serve as an intimation to them of their continual dependence upon God; when they had the former rain, that was no security to them for the latter, but they must still look up to God. But it had not this effect.
III. How justly God might have abandoned
them utterly, and refused ever to receive them again, though they
should return; this would have been but according to the known rule
of divorces,
IV. How graciously he not only invites them, but directs them, to return to him.
1. He encourages them to hope that they
shall find favour with him, upon their repentance: "Thou thou hast
been bad, yet return again to me,"
2. He therefore kindly expects that they
will repent and return to him, and he directs them what to say to
him (
(1.) He expects that they will claim
relation to God, as theirs: Wilt thou not cry unto me, My
Father, thou art the guide of my youth? [1.] They will surely
come towards him as a father, to beg his pardon for their undutiful
behaviour to him (Father, I have sinned) and will hope to
find in him the tender compassions of a father towards a returning
prodigal. They will come to him as a father, to whom they will make
their complaints, and in whom they will put their confidence for
relief and succour. They will now own him as their father, and
themselves fatherless without him; and therefore, hoping to find
mercy with him (as those penitents,
(2.) He expects that they will appeal to
the mercy of God and crave the benefit of that mercy (
6 The Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. 7 And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. 9 And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. 10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the Lord. 11 And the Lord said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.
The date of this sermon must be observed, in order to the right understanding of it; it was in the days of Josiah, who set on foot a blessed work of reformation, in which he was hearty, but the people were not sincere in their compliance with it; to reprove them for that, and warn them of the consequences of their hypocrisy, is the scope of that which God here said to the prophet, and which he delivered to them. The case of the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah is here compared, the ten tribes that revolted from the throne of David and the temple of Jerusalem and the two tribes that adhered to both. The distinct history of those two kingdoms we have in the two books of the Kings, and here we have an abstract of both, as far as relates to this matter.
I. Here is a short account of Israel, the
ten tribes. Perhaps the prophet had been just reading the history
of that kingdom when God came to him, and said, Hast thou seen
what backsliding Israel has done?
II. Let us now see what was the case of
Judah, the kingdom of the two tribes. She is called treacherous
sister Judah, a sister because descended from the same common
stock, Abraham and Jacob; but, as Israel had the character of a
backslider, So Judah is called treacherous, because,
though she professed to keep close to God when Israel had
backslidden (she adhered to the kings and priests that were of
God's own appointing, and did not withdraw from her allegiance, so
that it was expected she should deal faithfully), yet she proved
treacherous, and false, and unfaithful to her professions and
promises. Note, The treachery of those who pretend to cleave to God
will be reckoned for, as well as the apostasy of those who openly
revolt from him. Judah saw what Israel did, and what came of it,
and should have taken warning. Israel's captivity was intended for
Judah's admonition; but it had not the designed effect. Judah
feared not, but thought herself safe because she had Levites to be
her priests and sons of David to be her kings. Note, It is an
evidence of great stupidity and security when we are not awakened
to a holy fear by the judgments of God upon others. It is here
charged on Judah, 1. That when they had a wicked king that
debauched them they heartily concurred with him in his
debaucheries. Judah was forward enough to play the harlot,
to worship any idol that was introduced among them and to join in
any idolatrous usage; so that through the lightness (or, as
some read it, the vileness and baseness) of her
whoredom, or (as the margin reads it) by the fame and
report of her whoredom, her notorious whoredom, for
which she had become infamous, she defiled the land, and
made it an abomination to God; for she committed adultery with
stones and stocks, with the basest idols, those made of wood
and stone. In the reigns of Manasseh and Amon, when they were
disposed to idolatry, the people were so too, and all the country
was corrupted with it, and none feared the ruin which Israel by
this means had brought upon themselves. 2. That when they had a
good king, that reformed them, they did not heartily concur with
him in the reformation. This was the present case. God tried
whether they would be good in a good reign, but the evil
disposition was still the same: They returned not to me with
their whole heart, but feignedly,
III. The case of these sister kingdoms is
compared, and judgment given upon the comparison, that of the two
Judah was the worse (
12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever. 13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord. 14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: 15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. 17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. 19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.
Here is a great deal of gospel in these
verses, both that which was always gospel, God's readiness to
pardon sin and to receive and entertain returning repenting
sinners, and those blessings which were in a special manner
reserved for gospel times, the forming and founding of the gospel
church by bringing into it the children of God that were
scattered abroad, the superseding of the ceremonial law, and
the uniting of Jews and Gentiles, typified by the uniting of Israel
and Judah in their return out of captivity. The prophet is directed
to proclaim these words towards the north, for they are a
call to backsliding Israel, the ten tribes that were carried
captive into Assyria, which lay north from Jerusalem. That way he
must look, to show that God had not forgotten them, though their
brethren had, and to upbraid the men of Judah with their obstinacy
in refusing to answer the calls given them. One might as well call
to those who lay many hundred miles off in the land of the north;
they would as soon hear as these unbelieving and disobedient
people; backsliding Israel will sooner accept of mercy, and
have the benefit of it, than treacherous Judah. And perhaps
the proclaiming of these words towards the north looks as far
forward as the preaching of repentance and remission of sins
unto all nations, beginning at Jerusalem,
I. Here is an invitation given to
backsliding Israel, and in them to the backsliding Gentiles,
to return unto God, the God from whom they had revolted
(
II. Here are precious promises made to
these backsliding children, if they do return, which were in part
fulfilled in the return of the Jews out of their captivity, many
that belonged to the ten tribes having perhaps joined themselves to
those of the two tribes, in the prospect of their deliverance, and
returning with them; but the prophecy is to have its full
accomplishment in the gospel church, and the gathering together of
the children of God that were scattered abroad to that:
"Return, for, though you are backsliders, yet you are children;
nay, though a treacherous wife, yet a wife, for I am married to
you (
1. He promises to gather them together from
all places whither they are dispersed and scattered abroad,
2. He promises to set those over them that
shall be every way blessings to them (
3. He promises that there shall be no more
occasion for the ark of the covenant, which had been so much
the glory of the tabernacle first and afterwards of the temple, and
was the token of God's presence with them; that shall be set aside,
and there shall be no more enquiry after, nor enquiring of, it
(
4. He promises that the gospel church, here
called Jerusalem, shall become eminent and conspicuous,
5. He promises that there shall be a wonderful reformation wrought in those that are gathered to the church: They shall not walk any more after the imagination of their evil hearts. They shall not live as they list, but live by rules, not do according to their own corrupt appetites, but according to the will of God. See what leads in sin—the imagination of our own evil hearts; and what sin is—it is walking after that imagination, being governed by fancy and humour; and what converting grace does—it takes us off from walking after our own inventions and brings us to be governed by religion and right reason.
6. That Judah and Israel shall be happily
united in one body,
III. Here is some difficulty started, that lies in the way of all this mercy; but an expedient is found to get over it.
1. God asks, How shall I do this for
thee? Not as if God showed favour with reluctancy, as he punishes
with a How shall I give thee up?
2. He does himself return answer to this
question: But I said, Thou shalt call me, My Father. God
does himself answer all the objections that are taken from our
unworthiness, or they would never be got over. (1.) That he may put
returning penitents among the children, he will give them
the Spirit of adoption, teaching them to cry, Abba,
Father,
20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord. 21 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the Lord their God. 22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God. 23 Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel. 24 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.
Here is, I. The charge God exhibits against
Israel for their treacherous departures from him,
II. Their conviction and confession of the
truth of this charge,
III. The invitation God gives them to
return to him (
IV. The ready consent they give to this
invitation, and their cheerful compliance with it: Behold, we
come unto thee. This is an echo to God's call; as a voice
returned from broken walls, so this from broken hearts. God says,
Return; they answer, Behold, we come. It is an
immediate speedy answer, without delay, not, "We will come
hereafter," but, "We do come now; we need not take time to consider
of it;" not, "We come towards thee," but, "We come to thee, we will
make a thorough turn of it." Observe how unanimous they are: We
come, one and all. 1. They come devoting themselves to God as
theirs: "Thou art the Lord our God; we take thee to be ours,
we give up ourselves to thee to be thine; whither shall we go but
to thee? It is our sin and folly that we have gone from thee." It
is very comfortable, in our returns to God after our backslidings,
to look up to him as ours in covenant. 2. They come disclaiming all
expectations of relief and succour but from God only: "In vain
is salvation hoped for from the hills and from the multitude of the
mountains; we now see our folly in relying upon
creature-confidences, and will never so deceive ourselves any
more." They worshipped their idols upon hills and mountains
(
It should seem that the
1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove. 2 And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
When God called to backsliding Israel to
return (
I. He directs them how to pursue their good
resolutions: "Dost thou say, I will return?" 1. "Then thou
must return unto me; make a thorough work of it. Do not only
turn from thy idolatries, but return to the instituted worship of
the God of Israel." Or, "Thou must return speedily and not delay
(as
II. He encourages them to keep in this good
mind and adhere to their resolutions. If the scattered Israelites
will thus return to God, 1. They shall be blessed themselves; for
to that sense the first words may be read: "If thou wilt return
to me, then thou shalt return, that is, thou shalt be
brought back out of thy captivity into thy own land again, as was
of old promised,"
3 For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. 4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
The prophet here turns his speech, in God's
name, to the men of the place where he lived. We have heard what
words he proclaimed towards the north (
I. The duties required of them, which they are concerned to do.
1. They must do by their hearts as they do
by their ground that they expect any good of; they must plough it
up (
2. They must do that to their souls which
was done to their bodies when they were taken into covenant with
God (
II. The danger they are threatened with, which they are concerned to avoid. Repent and reform, lest my fury come forth like fire, which it is now ready to do, as that fire which came forth from the Lord and consumed the sacrifices, and which was always kept burning upon the altar and none might quench it; such is God's wrath against impenitent sinners, because of the evil of their doings. Note, 1. That which is to be dreaded by us more than any thing else is the wrath of God; for that is the spring and bitterness of all present miseries and will be the quintessence and perfection of everlasting misery. 2. It is the evil of our doings that kindles the fire of God's wrath against us. 3. The consideration of the imminent danger we are in of falling and perishing under this wrath should awaken us with all possible care to sanctify ourselves to God's glory and to see to it that we be sanctified by his grace.
5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities. 6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. 7 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant. 8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us. 9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder. 10 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul. 11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, 12 Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them. 13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled. 14 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? 15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim. 16 Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah. 17 As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the Lord. 18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.
God's usual method is to warn before he wounds. In these verses, accordingly, God gives notice to the Jews of the general desolation that would shortly be brought upon them by a foreign invasion. This must be declared and published in all the cities of Judah and streets of Jerusalem, that all might hear and fear, and by this loud alarm be either brought to repentance or left inexcusable. The prediction of this calamity is here given very largely, and in lively expressions, which one would think should have awakened and affected the most stupid. Observe,
I. The war proclaimed, and general notice
given of the advance of the enemy. It is published now, some years
before, by the prophet; but, since this will be slighted, it shall
be published after another manner when the judgment is actually
breaking in,
II. An express arrived with intelligence of
the approach of the king of Babylon and his army. It is an evil
that God will bring from the north (as he had said,
III. The lamentable cause of this judgment.
How is it that Judah and Jerusalem come to be thus abandoned to
ruin? See how it came to this. 1. They sinned against God; it was
all owing to themselves: She has been rebellious against me,
saith the Lord,
IV. The lamentable effects of this
judgment, upon the first alarm given of it. 1. The people that
should fight shall quite despair and shall not have a heart to make
the least stand against the enemy (
V. The prophet's complaint of the people's
being deceived,
VI. The prophet's endeavour to undeceive
them. When the prophets they loved and caressed dealt falsely with
them, he whom they hated and persecuted dealt faithfully. 1. He
shows them their wound. They were loth to see it, very loth to have
it searched into; but, if they will allow themselves the liberty of
a free thought, they might discover their punishment in their sin
(
19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. 20 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. 21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? 22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. 23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. 24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. 25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. 26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger. 27 For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. 28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. 29 The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein. 30 And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life. 31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.
The prophet is here in an agony, and cries out like one upon the rack of pain with some acute distemper, or as a woman in travail. The expressions are very pathetic and moving, enough to melt a heart of stone into compassion: My bowels! my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; and yet well, and in health himself, and nothing ails him. Note, A good man, in such a bad world as this is, cannot but be a man of sorrows. My heart makes a noise in me, through the tumult of my spirits, and I cannot hold my peace. Note, The grievance and the grief sometimes may be such that the most prudent patient man cannot forbear complaining.
Now, what is the matter? What is it that puts the good man into such agitation? It is not for himself, or any affliction in his family that he grieves thus; but it is purely upon the public account, it is his people's case that he lays to heart thus.
I. They are very sinful and will not be
reformed,
II. They are miserable, and cannot be relieved.
1. He cries out, Because thou hast
heard, O my soul! the sound of the trumpet, and seen the
standard, both giving the alarm of war,
2. Let us see what there is in the destruction here foreseen and foretold that is so very affecting.
(1.) It is a swift and sudden
destruction; it comes upon Judah and Jerusalem ere they are aware,
and pours in so fast upon them that they have not the east
breathing time. They have no time to recollect their thoughts, much
less to recruit or recover their strength: Destruction upon
destruction is cried (
(2.) This dreadful war continued a great
while, not in the borders, but in the bowels of the country; for
the people were very obstinate, and would not submit to the king of
Babylon, but took all opportunities to rebel against him, which did
but lengthen out the calamity; they might as well have yielded at
first as at last. This is complained of (
(3.) The desolations made by it in the land
were general and universal: The whole land is spoiled, or
plundered (
(4.) Their case was helpless and without
remedy. [1.] God would not help them; so he tells them plainly,
Reproof for sin and threatenings of judgment are
intermixed in this chapter, and are set the one over against the
other: judgments are threatened, that the reproofs of sin might be
the more effectual to bring them to repentance; sin is discovered,
that God might be justified in the judgments threatened. I. The
sins they are charged with are very great:—Injustice (
1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it. 2 And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely. 3 O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. 4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God. 5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds. 6 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased. 7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. 8 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife. 9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Here is, I. A challenge to produce any one
right honest man, or at least any considerable number of such, in
Jerusalem,
II. A complaint which the prophet makes to
God of the obstinacy and wilfulness of these people. God had
appealed to their eyes (
III. The trial made both of rich and poor, and the bad character given of both.
1. The poor were ignorant, and therefore
they were wicked. He found many that refused to return, for
whom he was willing to make the best excuse their case would bear,
and it was this (
2. The rich were insolent and haughty, and
therefore they were wicked (
IV. Some particular sins specified, which
they were notoriously guilty of, and which cried most loudly to
heaven for vengeance. Their transgressions indeed were
many, of many kinds and often repeated, and their
backslidings were increased; they added to the number of them
and grew more and more impudent in them,
V. A threatening of God's wrath against them for their wickedness and the universal debauchery of their land.
1. The particular judgment that is
threatened,
2. An appeal to themselves concerning the
equity of it (
10 Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's. 11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord. 12 They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: 13 And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. 14 Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. 15 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. 16 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. 17 And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword. 18 Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end with you. 19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
We may observe in these verses, as before,
I. The sin of this people, upon which the
commission signed against them is grounded. God disowns them and
dooms them to destruction,
II. The punishment of this people for their
sin. 1. The threatenings they laughed at shall be executed
(
III. An intimation of the tender compassion
God has yet for them. The enemy is commissioned to destroy and lay
waste, but must not make a full end,
IV. The justification of God in these
proceedings against them. As he will appear to be gracious in not
making a full end with them, so he will appear to be righteous in
coming so near it, and will have it acknowledged that he has done
them no wrong,
20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, 21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: 22 Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it? 23 But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. 24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
The prophet, having reproved them for sin and threatened the judgments of God against them, is here sent to them again upon another errand, which he must publish in Judah; the purport of it is to persuade them to fear God, which would be an effectual principle of their reformation, as the want of that fear had been at the bottom of their apostasy.
I. He complains of the shameful stupidity of this people, and their bent to backslide from God, speaking as if he knew not what course to take with them. For,
1. Their understandings were darkened and
unapt to admit the rays of the divine light: They are a foolish
people and without understanding; they apprehend not the mind
of God, though ever so plainly declared to them by the written
word, by his prophets, and by his providence (
II. He ascribed this to the want of the
fear of God. When he observes them to be without understanding he
asks, "Fear you not me, saith the Lord, and will you not tremble
at my presence?
III. He suggests some of those things which are proper to possess us with a holy fear of God.
1. We must fear the Lord and his greatness,
2. We must fear the Lord and his goodness,
25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. 26 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. 27 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. 28 They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. 29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? 30 A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; 31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
Here, I. The prophet shows them what
mischief their sins had done them: They have turned away these
things (
II. He shows them how great their sins
were, how heinous and provoking. When they had forsaken the worship
of the true God, even moral honesty was lost among them: Among
my people are found wicked men (
III. He shows them how fatal the consequences of this would certainly be. Let them consider,
1. What the reckoning would be for their
wickedness (
2. What the direct tendency of their wickedness was: What will you do in the end thereof? That is, (1.) "What a pitch of wickedness will you come to at last! What will you do? What will you not do that is base and wicked. What will this grow to? You will certainly grow worse and worse, till you have filled up the measure of your iniquity." (2.) "What a pit of destruction will you come to at last! When things are brought to such a pass as this, nothing can be expected from you but a deluge of sin, so nothing can be expected from God but a deluge of wrath; and what will you do when that shall come?" Note, Those that walk in bad ways would do well to consider the tendency of them both to greater sin and utter ruin. An end will come; the end of a wicked life will come, when it will be all called over again, and without doubt will be bitterness in the latter end.
In this chapter, as before, we have, I. A prophecy
of the invading of the land of Judah and the besieging of Jerusalem
by the Chaldean army (
1 O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction. 2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman. 3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place. 4 Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out. 5 Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces. 6 For thus hath the Lord of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her. 7 As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds. 8 Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.
Here is I. Judgment threatened against Judah and Jerusalem. The city and the country were at this time secure and under no apprehension of danger; they saw no cloud gathering, but every thing looked safe and serene: but the prophet tells them that they shall shortly be invaded by a foreign power, an army shall be brought against them from the north, which shall lay all waste, and shall cause not only a general consternation, but a general desolation. It is here foretold,
1. That the alarm of this should be loud
and terrible. This is represented,
2. That the attempt upon them should be
bold and formidable and such as they should be a very unequal match
for. (1.) See what the daughter of Zion is, on whom the
assault is made. She is compared to a comely and delicate
woman (
II. The cause of this judgment assigned. It
is all for their wickedness; they have brought it upon themselves;
they must bear it, for they must bear the blame of it. They are
thus oppressed because they have been oppressors; they have dealt
hardly with one another, each in his turn, as they have had power
and advantage, and now the enemy shall come and deal hardly with
them all. This sin of oppression, and violence, and wrong-doing, is
here charged upon them, 1. As a national sin (
III. The counsel given them how to prevent
this judgment. Fair warning is given now upon the whole matter:
"Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem!
9 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grape-gatherer into the baskets. 10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. 11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days. 12 And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord. 13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. 14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. 15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord. 16 Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. 17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
The heads of this paragraph are the very same with those of the last; for precept must be upon precept and line upon line.
I. The ruin of Judah and Jerusalem is here
threatened. We had before the haste which the Chaldea army made to
the war (
II. The sin of Judah and Jerusalem, which
provoked God to bring this ruin upon them and justified him in it,
is here declared. 1. They would by no means bear to be told of
their faults, nor of the danger they were in. God bids the prophet
give them warning of the judgment coming (
III. They are put in mind of the good counsel which had been often given them, but in vain. They had a great deal said to them to little purpose,
1. By way of advice concerning their duty,
2. By way of admonition concerning their
danger. Because they would not be ruled by fair reasoning, God
takes another method with them; by less judgments he threatens
greater, and sends his prophets to give them this explication of
them, and to frighten them with an apprehension of the danger they
were in (
18 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. 19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it. 20 To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me. 21 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish. 22 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. 23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion. 24 We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail. 25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side. 26 O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. 27 I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way. 28 They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters. 29 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away. 30 Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them.
Here, I. God appeals to all the neighbours,
nay, to the whole world, concerning the equity of his proceedings
against Judah and Jerusalem (
II. God rejects their plea, by which they
insisted upon their external services as sufficient to atone for
all their sins. Alas! it is a frivolous plea (
III. He foretels the desolation that was
now coming upon them. 1. God designs their ruin because they hate
to be reformed (
IV. He describes the very great
consternation which Judah and Jerusalem should be in upon the
approach of this formidable enemy,
V. He constitutes the prophet a judge over
this people that now stand upon their trial: as
The prophet having in God's name reproved the
people for their sins, and given them warning of the judgments of
God that were coming upon them, in this chapter prosecutes the same
intention for their humiliation and awakening. I. He shows them the
invalidity of the plea they so much relied on, that they had the
temple of God among them and constantly attended the service of it,
and endeavours to take them off from their confidence in their
external privileges and performances,
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. 3 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these. 5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; 6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: 7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. 8 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. 9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; 10 And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? 11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord. 12 But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; 14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
These verses begin another sermon, which is continued in this and the two following chapters, much to the same effect with those before, to reason them to repentance. Observe,
I. The orders given to the prophet to
preach this sermon; for he had not only a general commission, but
particular directions and instructions for every message he
delivered. This was a word that came to him from the
Lord,
II. The contents and scope of the sermon
itself. It is delivered in the name of the Lord of hosts, the
God of Israel, who commands the world, but covenants with his
people. As creatures we are bound to regard the Lord of
hosts, as Christians the God of Israel; what he said to
them he says to us, and it is much the same with that which John
Baptist said to those whom he baptized (
1. What were the true words of God, which
they might trust to. In short, they might depend upon it that if
they would repent and reform their lives, and return to God in a
way of duty, he would restore and confirm their peace, would
redress their grievances, and return to them in a way of mercy
(
(1.) What the amendment was which he expected from them. They must thoroughly amend; in making good, they must make good their ways and doings; they must reform with resolution, and it must be a universal, constant, preserving reformation—not partial, but entire—not hypocritical, but sincere—not wavering, but constant. They must make the tree good, and so make the fruit good, must amend their hearts and thoughts, and so amend their ways and doings. In particular, [1.] They must be honest and just in all their dealings. Those that had power in their hands must thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour, without partiality, and according as the merits of the cause appeared. They must not either in judgment or in contract oppress the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor countenance or protect those that did oppress, nor refuse to do them justice when they sought for it. They must not shed innocent blood, and with it defile this place and the land wherein they dwelt. [2.] They must keep closely to the worship of the true God only: "Neither walk after other gods; do not hanker after them, nor hearken to those that would draw you into communion with idolaters; for it is, and will be, to your own hurt. Be not only so just to your God, but so wise for yourselves, as not to throw away your adorations upon those who are not able to help you, and thereby provoke him who is able to destroy you." Well, this is all that God insists upon.
(2.) He tells them what the establishment
is which, upon this amendment, they may expect from him (
2. What were the lying words of their own
hearts, which they must not trust to. He cautions them against this
self-deceit (
(1.) He shows them the gross absurdity of
it in itself. If they knew any thing either of the temple of the
Lord or of the Lord of the temple, they must think that
to plead that, either in excuse of their sin against God or in
arrest of God's judgment against them, was the most ridiculous
unreasonable thing that could be. [1.] God is a holy God; but this
plea made him the patron of sin, of the worst of sins, which even
the light of nature condemns,
(2.) He shows them the insufficiency of
this plea adjudged long since in the case of Shiloh. [1.] It is
certain that Shiloh was ruined, though it had God's sanctuary in
it, when by its wickedness it profaned that sanctuary (
16 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee. 17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. 19 Do they provoke me to anger? saith the Lord: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces? 20 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
God had shown them, in the foregoing verses, that the temple and the service of it, of which they boasted and in which they trusted, should not avail to prevent the judgment threatened. But there was another thing which might stand them in some stead, and which yet they had no value for, and that was the prophet's intercession for them; his prayers would do them more good than their own pleas: now here that support is taken from them; and their case is said indeed who have lost their interest in the prayers of God's ministers and people.
I. God here forbids the prophet to pray for
them (
II. He gives him a reason for this prohibition. Praying breath is too precious a thing to be lost and thrown away upon a people hardened in sin and marked for ruin.
1. They are resolved to persist in their
rebellion against God, and will not be turned back by the prophet's
preaching. For this he appeals to the prophet himself, and his own
inspection and observation (
(1.) What the sin is with which they are
here charged—it is idolatry,
(2.) What is the direct tendency of this
sin: "It is that they may provoke me to anger; they cannot
design any thing else in it. But (
2. God is resolved to proceed in his
judgments against them, and will not be turned back by the
prophet's prayers (
21 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. 22 For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: 23 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. 24 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. 25 Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: 26 Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. 27 Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. 28 But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.
God, having shown the people that the
temple would not protect them while they polluted it with their
wickedness, here shows them that their sacrifices would not atone
for them, nor be accepted, while they went on in disobedience. See
with what contempt he here speaks of their ceremonial service
(
I. He shows them that obedience was the
only thing he required of them,
II. He shows them that disobedience was the
only thing for which he had a quarrel with them. He would not
reprove them for their sacrifices, for the omission of them;
they had been continually before him (
29 Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the Lord hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath. 30 For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the Lord: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it. 31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart. 32 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place. 33 And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away. 34 Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.
Here is, I. A loud call to weeping and
mourning. Jerusalem, that had been a joyous city, the joy of the
whole earth, must now take up a lamentation on high places
(
II. Just cause given for this great lamentation.
1. The sin of Jerusalem appears here very
heinous, nowhere worse, or more exceedingly sinful (
2. The destruction of Jerusalem appears
here very terrible. That speaks misery enough in general (
The prophet proceeds, in this chapter, both to
magnify and to justify the destruction that God was bringing upon
this people, to show how grievous it would be and yet how
righteous. I. He represents the judgments coming as so very
terrible that death should appear so as most to be dreaded and yet
should be desired,
1 At that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves: 2 And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth. 3 And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the Lord of hosts.
These verses might fitly have been joined to the close of the foregoing chapter, as giving a further description of the dreadful desolation which the army of the Chaldeans should make in the land. It shall strangely alter the property of death itself, and for the worse too.
I. Death shall not now be, as it always
used to be—the repose of the dead. When Job makes his court to the
grave it is in hope of this, that there he shall rest with kings
and counsellors of the earth; but now the ashes of the dead,
even of kings and princes, shall be disturbed, and
their bones scattered at the grave's mouth,
II. Death shall now be what it never used
to be—the choice of the living, not because there appears in it
any thing delightsome; on the contrary, death never appeared in
more horrid frightful shapes than now, when they cannot promise
themselves either a comfortable death or a human burial; and yet
every thing in this world shall become so irksome, and all the
prospects so black and dismal, that death shall be chosen rather
than life (
4 Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return? 5 Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. 6 I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle. 7 Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord. 8 How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain. 9 The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them? 10 Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. 11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. 12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.
The prophet here is instructed to set before this people the folly of their impenitence, which was it that brought this ruin upon them. They are here represented as the most stupid senseless people in the world, that would not be made wise by all the methods that Infinite Wisdom took to bring them to themselves and their right mind, and so to prevent the ruin that was coming upon them.
I. They would not attend to the dictates of
reason. They would not act in the affairs of their souls with the
same common prudence with which they acted in other things. Sinners
would become saints if they would but show themselves men, and
religion would soon rule them if right reason might. Observe it
here. Come, and let us reason together, saith the Lord
(
II. They would not attend to the dictates
of conscience, which is our reason reflecting upon ourselves and
our own actions,
III. They would not attend to the dictates
of providence, nor understand the voice of God in them,
IV. They would not attend to the dictates
of the written word. They say, We are wise; but how
can they say so?
13 I will surely consume them, saith the Lord: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them. 14 Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the Lord our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord. 15 We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble! 16 The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein. 17 For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord. 18 When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me. 19 Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities? 20 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. 21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. 22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
In these verses we have,
I. God threatening the destruction of a
sinful people. He has borne long with them, but they are still more
and more provoking, and therefore now their ruin is resolved on:
I will surely consume them (
II. The people sinking into despair under
the pressure of those calamities. Those that were void of fear
(when the trouble was at a distance) and set it at defiance, are
void of hope now that it breaks in upon them, and have no heart
either to make head against it or to bear up under it,
1. They are sensible that God is angry with
them: "The Lord our God has put us to silence, has struck us
with astonishment, and given us water of gall to drink,
which is both bitter and stupifying, or intoxicating.
2. They are sensible that the enemy is
likely to be too hard for them,
3. They are disappointed in their
expectations of deliverance out of their troubles, as they had been
surprised when their troubles came upon them; and this double
disappointment very much aggravated their calamity. (1.) The
trouble came when they little expected it (
4. They are deceived in those things which
were their confidence and which they thought would have secured
their peace to them (
III. We have here the prophet himself
bewailing the calamity and ruin of his people; for there were more
of the lamentations of Jeremiah than those we find in the book that
bears that title. Observe here, 1. How great his griefs were. He
was an eyewitness of the desolations of his country, and saw those
things which by the spirit of prophecy he had foreseen. In the
foresight, much more in the sight, of them, he cries out, "My
heart is faint in me, I sink, I die away at the consideration
of it,
In this chapter the prophet goes on faithfully to
reprove sin and to threaten God's judgments for it, and yet
bitterly to lament both, as one that neither rejoiced at iniquity
nor was glad at calamities. I. He here expresses his great grief
for the miseries of Judah and Jerusalem, and his detestation of
their sins, which brought those miseries upon them,
1 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! 2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. 3 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord. 4 Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders. 5 And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity. 6 Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord. 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people? 8 Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait. 9 Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? 10 For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone. 11 And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
The prophet, being commissioned both to foretel the destruction coming upon Judah and Jerusalem and to point out the sin for which that destruction was brought upon them, here, as elsewhere, speaks of both very feelingly: what he said of both came from the heart, and therefore one would have thought it would reach to the heart.
I. He abandons himself to sorrow in consideration of the calamitous condition of his people, which he sadly laments, a one that preferred Jerusalem before his chief joy and her grievances before his chief sorrows.
1. He laments the slaughter of the persons,
the blood shed and the lives lost (
2. He laments the desolations of the
country. This he brings in (
II. He abandons himself to solitude, in
consideration of the scandalous character and conduct of his
people. Though he dwells in Judah where God is known, in Salem
where his tabernacle is, yet he is ready to cry out, Woe is me
that I sojourn in Mesech!
1. What he himself had observed among them.
(1.) He would not think of leaving them
because they were poor and in distress, but because they were
wicked. [1.] They were filthy: They are all adulterers, that
is, the generality of them are,
(2.) That which aggravates the sin on this
false and lying generation is, [1.] That they are ingenious to sin:
They have taught their tongue to speak lies, implying that
through the reluctances of natural conscience they found it
difficult to bring themselves to it. Their tongue would have spoken
truth, but they taught it to speak lies, and by degrees have
made themselves masters of the art of lying, and have got such a
habit of it that use has made it a second nature to them. They
learnt it when they were young (for the wicked are estranged
from the womb, speaking lies,
2. The prophet shows what God had informed him of their wickedness, and what he had determined against them.
(1.) God had marked their sin. He could
tell the prophet (and he speaks of it with compassion) what sort of
people they were that he had to deal with. I know thy works, and
where thou dwellest,
(2.) He had marked them for ruin,
12 Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through? 13 And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; 14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them: 15 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. 16 I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them. 17 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come: 18 And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters. 19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out. 20 Yet hear the word of the Lord, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation. 21 For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets. 22 Speak, Thus saith the Lord, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.
Two things the prophet designs, in these verses, with reference to the approaching destruction of Judah and Jerusalem:—1. To convince people of the justice of God in it, that they had by sin brought it upon themselves and that therefore they had no reason to quarrel with God, who did them no wrong at all, but a great deal of reason to fall out with their sins, which did them all this mischief. 2. To affect people with the greatness of the desolation that was coming, and the miserable effects of it, that by a terrible prospect of it they might be awakened to repentance and reformation, which was the only way to prevent it, or, at least, mitigate their own share in it. This being designed,
I. He calls for the thinking men, by them
to show people the equity of God's proceedings, though they seemed
harsh and severe (
1. The indictment preferred and proved
against them, upon which they had been found guilty,
2. The judgment given upon this indictment,
the sentence upon the convicted rebels, which must now be executed,
for it was righteous and nothing could be moved in arrest of it:
The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, hath said it
(
II. He calls for the mourning women, and
engages them, with the arts they practise to affect people and move
their passions, to lament these sad calamities that had come or
were coming upon them, that the nation might be alarmed to prepare
for them: The Lord of hosts himself says, Call for the
mourning women, that they may come,
23 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: 24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. 25 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised; 26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.
The prophet had been endeavouring to possess this people with a holy fear of God and his judgments, to convince them both of sin and wrath; but still they had recourse to some sorry subterfuge or other, under which to shelter themselves from the conviction and with which to excuse themselves in the obstinacy and carelessness. He therefore sets himself here to drive them from these refuges of lies and to show them the insufficiency of them.
I. When they were told how inevitable the
judgment would be they pleaded the defence of their politics and
powers, which, with the help of their wealth and treasure, they
thought made their city impregnable. In answer to this he shows
them the folly of trusting to and boasting of all these stays,
while they have not a God in covenant to stay themselves upon,
II. When they were told how provoking their
sins were to God they vainly pleaded the covenant of their
circumcision. They were undoubtedly the people of God; as they had
the temple of the Lord in their city, so they had the mark of his
children in their flesh. "It is true that Chaldean army has laid
such and such nations waste, because they were uncircumcised, and
therefore not under the protection of the divine providence, as we
are." To this the prophet answers, That the days of visitation were
now at hand, in which God would punish all wicked people, without
making any distinction between the circumcised and uncircumcised,
We may conjecture that the prophecy of this
chapter was delivered after the first captivity, in the time of
Jeconiah or Jehoiachin, when many were carried away to Babylon; for
it has a double reference:—I. To those that were carried away
into the land of the Chaldeans, a country notorious above any other
for idolatry and superstition; and they are here cautioned against
the infection of the place, not to learn the way of the heathen
(
1 Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: 2 Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. 3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. 4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. 5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. 6 Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. 7 Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee. 8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities. 9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men. 10 But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. 11 Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. 12 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. 13 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. 14 Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 15 They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. 16 The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The Lord of hosts is his name.
The prophet Isaiah, when he prophesied of the captivity in Babylon, added warnings against idolatry and largely exposed the sottishness of idolaters, not only because the temptations in Babylon would be in danger of drawing the Jews there to idolatry, but because the afflictions in Babylon were designed to cure them of their idolatry. Thus the prophet Jeremiah here arms people against the idolatrous usages and customs of the heathen, not only for the use of those that had gone to Babylon, but of those also that staid behind, that being convinced and reclaimed, by the word of God, the rod might be prevented; and it is written for our learning. Observe here,
I. A solemn charge given to the people of
God not to conform themselves to the ways and customs of the
heathen. Let the house of Israel hear and receive this word from
the God of Israel: "Learn not the way of the heathen, do not
approve of it, no, nor think indifferently concerning it, much less
imitate it or accustom yourselves to it. Let not any of their
customs steal in among you (as they are apt to do insensibly) nor
mingle themselves with your religion." Note, It ill becomes those
that are taught of God to learn the way of the heathen, and
to think of worshipping the true God with such rites and ceremonies
as they used in the worship of their false gods. See
II. Divers good reasons given to enforce this charge.
1. The way of the heathen is very
ridiculous and absurd, and is condemned even by the dictates of
right reason,
2. The God of Israel is the one only living and true God, and those that have him for their God need not make their application to any other; nay, to set up any other in competition with him is the greatest affront and injury that can be done him. Let the house of Israel cleave to the God of Israel and serve and worship him only, for,
(1.) He is a non-such. Whatever men may set
in competition with him, there is none to be compared with him. The
prophet turns from speaking with the utmost disdain of the idols of
the heathen (as well he might) to speak with the most profound and
awful reverence of the God of Israel (
(2.) His verity is as evident as the idol's
vanity,
(3.) None knows the power of his anger. Let
us stand in awe, and not dare to provoke him by giving that glory
to another which is due to him alone; for at his wrath the earth
shall tremble, even the strongest and stoutest of the kings of
the earth; nay, the earth, firmly as it is fixed, when he pleases
is made to quake and the rocks to tremble,
(4.) He is the God of nature, the fountain
of all being; and all the powers of nature are at his command and
disposal,
(5.) This God is Israel's God in covenant,
and the felicity of every Israelite indeed. Therefore let the house
of Israel cleave to him, and not forsake him to embrace idols; for,
if they do, they certainly change for the worse, for (
3. The prophet, having thus compared the
gods of the heathen with the God of Israel (between whom there is
no comparison), reads the doom, the certain doom, of all those
pretenders, and directs the Jews, in God's name, to read it to the
worshippers of idols, though they were their lords and masters
(
17 Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress. 18 For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it so. 19 Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it. 20 My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains. 21 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the Lord: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered. 22 Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons. 23 O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. 24 O Lord, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing. 25 Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.
In these verses,
I. The prophet threatens, in God's name,
the approaching ruin of Judah and Jerusalem,
II. He brings in the people sadly lamenting
their calamities (
III. He turns to God, and addresses himself to him, finding it to little purpose to speak to the people. It is some comfort to poor ministers that, if men will not hear them, God will; and to him they have liberty of access at all times. Let them close their preaching with prayer, as the prophet, and then they shall have no reason to say that they have laboured in vain.
1. The prophet here acknowledges the
sovereignty and dominion of the divine Providence, that by it, and
not by their own will and wisdom, the affairs both of nations and
particular persons are directed and determined,
2. He deprecates the divine wrath, that it
might not fall upon God's Israel,
3. He imprecates the divine wrath against
the oppressors and persecutors of Israel (
In this chapter, I. God by the prophet puts the
people in mind of the covenant he had made with their fathers, and
how much he had insisted upon it, as the condition of the covenant,
that they should be obedient to him,
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3 And say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, 4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God: 5 That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O Lord. 6 Then the Lord said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them. 7 For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not. 9 And the Lord said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
The prophet here, as prosecutor in God's name, draws up an indictment against the Jews for wilful disobedience to the commands of their rightful Sovereign. For the more solemn management of this charge,
I. He produces the commission he had to
draw up the charge against them. He did not take pleasure in
accusing the children of his people, but God commanded him to
speak it to the men of Judah,
II. He opens the charter upon which their
state was founded and by which they held their privileges. They had
forgotten the tenour of it, and lived as if they thought that the
grant was absolute and that they might do what they pleased and yet
have what God had promised, or as if they thought that the keeping
up of the ceremonial observances was all that God required of them.
He therefore shows them, with all possible plainness, that the
thing God insisted upon was obedience, which was better
than sacrifice. He said, Obey my voice,
III. He charges them with breach of
covenant, such a breach as amounted to a forfeiture of their
charter,
11 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them. 12 Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble. 13 For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal. 14 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble. 15 What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest. 16 The Lord called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken. 17 For the Lord of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.
This paragraph, which contains so much of
God's wrath, might very well be expected to follow upon that which
goes next before, which contained so much of his people's sin. When
God found so much evil among them we cannot think it strange if it
follows, Therefore I will bring evil upon them (
I. They cannot help themselves, but will be found too weak to contest with God's judgments: it is evil which they shall not be able to escape, or to go forth out of, by any evasion whatsoever. Note, Those that will not submit to God's government shall not be able to escape his wrath. There is no fleeing from his justice, no avoiding his cognizance. Evil pursues sinners and entangles them in snares out of which they cannot extricate themselves.
II. Their God will not help them; his
providence shall no way favour them: Though they shall cry unto
me, I will not hearken to them. In their affliction they will
seek the God whom before they slighted, and cry to him whom before
they would not vouchsafe to speak to. But how can they expect to
speed? For he has plainly told us that he that turns away his
ears from hearing the law, as they did, for they inclined
not their ear (
III. Their idols shall not help them,
IV. Jeremiah's prayers shall not help them,
V. The profession they make of religion
shall stand them in no stead,
VI. God's former favours to them shall
stand them in no stead,
18 And the Lord hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then thou showedst me their doings. 19 But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered. 20 But, O Lord of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause. 21 Therefore thus saith the Lord of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the Lord, that thou die not by our hand: 22 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine: 23 And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.
The prophet Jeremiah has much in his writings concerning himself, much more than Isaiah had, the times he lived in being very troublesome. Here we have (as it should seem) the beginning of his sorrows, which arose from the people of his own city, Anathoth, a priest's city, and yet a malignant one. Observe here,
I. Their plot against him,
II. The information which God gave him of
this conspiracy against him. He knew nothing of it himself, so
artfully had they concealed it; he came to Anathoth, meaning no
harm to them and therefore fearing no harm from them, like a
lamb or an ox, that thinks he is driven as usual to the field,
when he is brought to the slaughter; so little did poor
Jeremiah dream of the design his citizens that hated him had upon
him. None of his friends could, and none of his enemies would, give
him any notice of his danger, that he might shift for his own
safety, as Paul's sister's son gave him intelligence of the Jews
that were lying in wait for him. There is but a step between
Jeremiah and death; but then the Lord gave him knowledge of
it, by dream or vision, or impression upon his spirit, that he
might save himself, as the king of Israel did upon the notice
Elisha gave him,
III. His appeal to God hereupon,
IV. Judgment given against his persecutors,
the men of Anathoth. It was to no purpose for him to appeal
to the courts at Jerusalem, he could not have justice done him
there: the priests there would stand by the priests at Anathoth,
and rather second them than discountenance them; but God will
therefore take cognizance of the cause himself, and we are
sure that his judgment is according to truth. Here is, 1.
Their crime recited, on which the sentence is grounded,
In this chapter we have, I. The prophet's humble
complaint to God of the success that wicked people had in their
wicked practices (
1 Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously? 2 Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins. 3 But thou, O Lord, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter. 4 How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end. 5 If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? 6 For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.
The prophet doubts not but it would be of use to others to know what had passed between God and his soul, what temptations he had been assaulted with and how he had got over them; and therefore he here tells us,
I. What liberty he humbly took, and was
graciously allowed him, to reason with God concerning his
judgments,
II. What it was in the dispensations of
divine Providence that he stumbled at and that he thought would
bear a debate. It was that which has been a temptation to many wise
and good men, and such a one as they have with difficulty got over.
They see the designs and projects of wicked people successful:
The way of the wicked prospers; they compass their malicious
designs and gain their point. They see their affairs and concerns
in a good posture: They are happy, happy as the world can
make them, though they deal treacherously, very
treacherously, both with God and man. Hypocrites are chiefly
meant (as appears,
III. What comfort he had in appealing to
God concerning his own integrity (
IV. He prays that God would turn his hand
against these wicked people, and not suffer them to prosper always,
though they had prospered long: "Let some judgment come to pull
them out of this fat pasture as sheep for the slaughter,
that it may appear their long prosperity was but like the feeding
of lambs in a large place, to prepare them for the day of
slaughter,"
V. He acquaints us with the answer God gave
to those complaints of his,
7 I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. 8 Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it. 9 Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour. 10 Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. 11 They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart. 12 The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the Lord shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace. 13 They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
The people of the Jews are here marked for ruin.
I. God is here brought in falling out with
them and leaving them desolate; and they could never have been
undone if they had not provoked God to desert them. It is a
terrible word that God here says (
II. The enemies are here brought in falling
upon them and laying them desolate. And some think it is upon this
account that they are compared to a speckled bird, because fowls
usually make a noise about a bird of an odd unusual colour. God's
people are, among the children of this world, as men wondered
at, as a speckled bird; but this people had by their own
folly made themselves so; and the beasts and birds are called and
commissioned to prey upon them. Let all the birds round be
against her, for God has forsaken her, and with them let
all the beasts of the field come to devour. Those that have
made a prey of others shall themselves be preyed upon. It did not
lessen the sin of the nations, but very much increased the misery
of Judah and Jerusalem, that the desolation brought upon them was
by order from heaven. The birds and beasts are perhaps called to
feast upon the bodies of the slain, as in St. John's vision,
1. See with what a tender affection he
speaks of this land, notwithstanding the sinfulness of it, in
remembrance of his covenant, and the tribute of honour and glory he
had formerly had from it: It is my vineyard, my portion, my
pleasant portion,
2. See with what a tender compassion he
speaks of the desolations of this land: Many pastors (the
Chaldean generals that made themselves masters of the country and
ate it up with their armies as easily as the Arabian shepherds with
their flocks eat up the fruits of a piece of ground that lies
common) have destroyed my vineyard, without any
consideration had either of the value of it or of my interest in
it; they have with the greatest insolence and indignation
trodden it under foot, and that which was a pleasant land
they have made a desolate wilderness. The destruction was
universal: The whole land is made desolate,
3. See whence all this misery comes. (1.)
It comes from the displeasure of God. It is the sword of the
Lord that devours,
4. See how unable they should be to guard
against it (
14 Thus saith the Lord against all mine evil neighbours, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. 15 And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people. 17 But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the Lord.
The prophets sometimes, in God's name, delivered messages both of judgment and mercy to the nations that bordered on the land of Israel: but here is a message to all those in general who had in their turns been one way or other injurious to God's people, had either oppressed them or triumphed in their being oppressed. Observe,
I. What the quarrel was that God had with
them. They were his evil neighbours (
II. What course he would take with them. 1. He would break the power they had got over his people, and force them to make restitution: I will pluck out the house of Judah from among them. This would be a great favour to God's people, who had either been taken captive by them, or, when they fled to them for shelter, had been detained and made prisoners; but it would be a great mortification to their enemies, who would be like a lion disappointed of his prey. The house of Judah either cannot or will not make any bold struggles towards their own liberty; but God will with a gracious violence pluck them out, will by his Spirit compel them to come out and by his power compel their task-masters to let them go, as he plucked Israel out of Egypt. 2. He would bring upon them the same calamities that they had been instrumental to bring upon his people: I will pluck them out of their land. Judgment began at the house of God, but it did not end there. Nebuchadnezzar, when he had wasted the land of Israel, turned his hand against their evil neighbours and was a scourge to them.
III. What mercy God had in store for such
of them as would join themselves to him and become his people,
1. What were the terms on which God would
show favour to them. It is always provided that they will
diligently learn the ways of my people, that is, in general,
the ways that they walk in when they conduct themselves as my
people (not the crooked ways into which they have turned
aside), the ways which my people are directed to take. Note, (1.)
There are good ways that are peculiarly the ways of God's
people, which however they may differ in the choice of their
paths, they are all agreed to walk in. The ways of holiness and
heavenly-mindedness, of love and peaceableness, the ways of prayer
and sabbath-sanctification, and diligent attendance on instituted
ordinances—these, and the like, are the ways of God's
people. (2.) Those that would have their lot with God's people,
and their last end like theirs, must learn their ways and walk in
them, must observe the rule they walk by and conform to that rule
they walk by and conform to that rule and go forth by those
footsteps. By an intimate conversation with God's people they must
learn to do as they do. (3.) It is impossible to learn the ways of
God's people as they should be learnt, without a great deal of care
and pains. We must diligently observe these ways and diligently
obliges ourselves to walk in them, must look diligently (
2. What should be the tokens and fruits of
this favour when they return to God and God to them. (1.) They
shall be restored to and re-established in their own land
(
IV. What should become of those that were
still wedded to their own evil ways, yea, though many of those
about them turned to the Lord (
Still the prophet is attempting to awaken this
secure and stubborn people to repentance, by the consideration of
the judgments of God that were coming upon them. He is to tell
them, I. By the sign of a girdle spoiled that their pride should be
stained,
1 Thus saith the Lord unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water. 2 So I got a girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it on my loins. 3 And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, 4 Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. 5 So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. 6 And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there. 7 Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing. 8 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 9 Thus saith the Lord, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. 11 For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the Lord; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.
Here is, I. A sign, the marring of a
girdle, which the prophet had worn for some time, by hiding it in a
hole of a rock near the river Euphrates. It was usual with the
prophets to teach by signs, that a stupid unthinking people might
be brought to consider, and believe, and be affected with what was
thus set before them. 1. He was to wear a linen girdle for some
time,
II. The thing signified by this sign. The
prophet was willing to be at any cost and pains to affect this
people with the word of the Lord. Ministers must spend, and be
spent, for the good of souls. We have the explanation of this sign,
1. The people of Israel had been to God as
this girdle in two respects:—(1.) He had taken them into covenant
and communion with himself: As the girdle cleaves very
closely to the loins of a man and surrounds him, so have
I caused to cleave to me the houses of Israel and Judah. They
were a people near to God (
2. They had by their idolatries and other iniquities loosed themselves from him, thrown themselves at a distance, robbed him of the honour they owed him, buried themselves in the earth, and foreign earth too, mingled among the nations, and were so spoiled and corrupted that they were good for nothing: they could no more be to God, as they were designed, for a name and a praise, for they would not hear either their duty to do it or their privilege to value it: They refused to hear the words of God, by which they might have been kept still cleaving closely to him. They walked in the imagination of their heart, wherever their fancy led them; and denied themselves no gratification they had a mind to, particularly in their worship. They would not cleave to God, but walked after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them; they doted upon the gods of the heathen nations that lay towards Euphrates, so that they were quite spoiled for the service of their own God, and were as this girdle, this rotten girdle, a disgrace to their profession and not an ornament. A thousand pities it was that such a girdle should be so spoiled, that such a people should so wretchedly degenerate.
3. God would by his judgments separate them from him, send them into captivity, deface all their beauty and ruin their excellency, so that they should be like a fine girdle gone to rags, a worthless, useless, despicable people. God will after this manner mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. He would strip them of all that which was the matter of their pride, of which they boasted and in which they trusted; it should not only be sullied and stained, but quite destroyed, like this linen girdle. Observe, He speaks of the pride of Judah (the country people were proud of their holy land, their good land), but of the great pride of Jerusalem; there the temple was, and the royal palace, and therefore those citizens were more proud than the inhabitants of other cities. God takes notice of the degrees of men's pride, the pride of some and the great pride of others; and he will mar it, he will stain it. Pride will have a fall, for God resists the proud. He will either mar the pride that is in us (that is, mortify it by his grace, make us ashamed of it, and, like Hezekiah, humble us for the pride of our hearts, the great pride, and cure us of it, great as it is; and this marring of the pride will be making of the soul; happy for us if the humbling providences our hearts be humbled) or else he will mar the thing we are proud of. Parts, gifts, learning, power, external privileges, if we are proud of these, it is just with God to blast them; even the temple, when it became Jerusalem's pride, was marred and laid in ashes. It is the honour of God to took upon every one that is proud and abase him.
12 Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine? 13 Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. 14 And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them. 15 Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken. 16 Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. 17 But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord's flock is carried away captive. 18 Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory. 19 The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive. 20 Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock? 21 What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?
Here is, I. A judgment threatened against
this people that would quite intoxicate them. This doom is
pronounced against them in a figure, to make it the more taken
notice of and the more affecting (
1. That they should be a giddy as men in
drink. A drunken man is fitly compared to a bottle or cask full of
wine; for, when the wine is in, the wit, and wisdom, and virtue,
and all that is good for any thing, are out. Now God threatens
(
2. That, being giddy, they should run upon
one another. The cup of the wine of the Lord's fury shall throw
them not only into a lethargy, so that they shall not be able to
help themselves or one another, but into a perfect frenzy, so that
they shall do mischief to themselves and one another (
II. Here is good counsel given, which, if
taken, would prevent this desolation. It is, in short, to humble
themselves under the mighty hand of God. If they will
hearken and give ear, this is that which God has to say to
them, Be not proud,
1. They must advance God, and study how to
do him honour: "Give glory to the Lord your God, and not to
your idols, not to other gods. Give him glory by confessing your
sins, owning yourselves guilty before him, and accepting the
punishment of your iniquity,
2. They must abase themselves, and take
shame to themselves; the prerogative of the king and queen will not
exempt them from this (
III. This counsel is enforced by some arguments if they continue proud and unhumbled.
1. It will be the prophet's unspeakable
grief (
2. It will be their own inevitable ruin,
22 And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare. 23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. 24 Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness. 25 This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood. 26 Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear. 27 I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?
Here is, I. Ruin threatened as before, that
the Jews shall go into captivity, and fall under all the miseries
of beggary and bondage, shall be stripped of their clothes,
their skirts discovered for want of upper garments to cover
them, and their heels made bare for want of shoes,
II. An enquiry made by the people into the
cause of this ruin,
III. An answer to this enquiry. God will be justified when he speaks and will oblige us to justify him, and therefore will set the sin of sinners in order before them. Do they ask, Wherefore come these things upon us? Let them know it is all owing to themselves.
1. It is for the greatness of their
iniquities,
2. It is for their obstinacy in sin, their
being so long accustomed to it that there was little hope left of
their being reclaimed from it (
3. It is for their treacherous departures
from the God of truth and dependence on lying vanities (
4. It is for their idolatry, their
spiritual whoredom, that sin which is of all sins most provoking to
the jealous God. They are exposed to a shameful calamity
(
IV. Here is an affectionate expostulation
with them, in the close, upon the whole matter. Though it was
adjudged next to impossible for them to be brought to do good
(
This chapter was penned upon occasion of a great
drought, for want of rain. This judgment began in the latter end of
Josiah's reign, but, as it should seem, continued in the beginning
of Jehoiakim's: for less judgments are sent to give warning of
greater coming, if not prevented by repentance. This calamity was
mentioned several times before, but here, in this chapter, more
fully. Here is, I. A melancholy description of it,
1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. 2 Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. 3 And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads. 4 Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. 5 Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass. 6 And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass. 7 O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee. 8 O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night? 9 Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.
The first verse is the title of the whole chapter: it does indeed all concern the dearth, but much of it consists of the prophet's prayers concerning it; yet these are not unfitly said to be, The word of the Lord which came to him concerning it, for every acceptable prayer is that which God puts into our hearts; nothing is our word that comes to him but what is first his word that comes from him. In these verses we have,
I. The language of nature lamenting the
calamity. When the heavens were as brass, and distilled no dews,
the earth was as iron, and produced no fruits; and then the grief
and confusion were universal. 1. The people of the land were all in
tears. Destroy their vines and their fig-trees and you cause all
their mirth to cease,
II. Here is the language of grace,
lamenting the iniquity, and complaining to God of the calamity. The
people are not forward to pray, but the prophet here prays for
them, and so excites them to pray for themselves, and puts words
into their mouths, which they may make use of, in hopes to speed,
10 Thus saith the Lord unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the Lord doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. 11 Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. 12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. 13 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. 14 Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. 15 Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.
The dispute between God and his prophet, in
this chapter, seems to be like that between the owner and the
dresser of the vineyard concerning the barren fig-tree,
I. God overrules the plea which he had
offered in their favour, and shows him that it would not hold. In
answer to it thus he says concerning this people,
II. The prophet offers another plea in
excuse for the people's obstinacy, and it is but an excuse, but he
was willing to say whatever their case would bear; it is this, That
the prophets, who pretended a commission from heaven, imposed upon
them, and flattered them with assurances of peace though they went
on in their sinful way,
III. God not only overrules this plea, but
condemns both the blind leaders and the blind followers to fall
together into the ditch. 1. God disowns the flatteries (
17 Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow. 18 If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not. 19 Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul loathed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble! 20 We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee. 21 Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us. 22 Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.
The present deplorable state of Judah and
Jerusalem is here made the matter of the prophet's lamentation
(
I. The prophet stands weeping over the
ruins of his country; God directs him to do so, that, showing
himself affected, he might, if possible, affect them with the
foresight of the calamities that were coming upon them. Jeremiah
must say it not only to himself, but to them too: Let my eyes
run down with tears,
II. He stands up to make intercession for them; for who knows but God will yet return and repent? While there is life there is hope, and room for prayer. And, though there were many among them who neither prayed themselves nor valued the prophet's prayers, yet there were some who were better affected, would join with him in his devotions, and set the seal of their Amen to them.
1. He humbly expostulates with God
concerning the present deplorableness of their case,
2. He makes a penitent confession of sin,
speaking that language which they all should have spoken, though
but few did (
3. He deprecates God's displeasure, and by
faith appeals to his honour and promise,
4. He professes a dependence upon God for
the mercy of rain, which they were now in want of,
When we left the prophet, in the close of the
foregoing chapter, so pathetically poring out his prayers before
God, we had reason to hope that in this chapter we should find God
reconciled to the land and the prophet brought into a quiet
composed frame; but, to our great surprise, we find it much
otherwise as to both. I. Notwithstanding the prophet's prayers, God
here ratifies the sentence given against the people, and abandons
them to ruin turning a deaf ear to all the intercessions made for
them,
1 Then said the Lord unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. 2 And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity. 3 And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the Lord: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy. 4 And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. 5 For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest? 6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting. 7 And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways. 8 Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city. 9 She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the Lord.
We scarcely find any where more pathetic expressions of divine wrath against a provoking people than we have here in these verses. The prophet had prayed earnestly for them, and found some among them to join with him; and yet not so much as a reprieve was gained, nor the least mitigation of the judgment; but this answer is given to the prophet's prayers, that the decree had gone forth, was irreversible, and would shortly be executed. Observe here,
I. What the sin was upon which this severe
sentence was grounded. 1. It is in remembrance of a former
iniquity; it is because of Manasseh, for that which he did in
Jerusalem,
II. What the sentence is. It is such as denotes no less than an utter ruin.
1. God himself abandons and abhors them: My mind cannot be towards them. How can it be thought that the holy God should have any remaining complacency in those that have such a rooted antipathy to him? It is not in a passion, but with a just and holy indignation, that he says, "Cast them out of my sight, as that which is in the highest degree odious and offensive, and let them go forth, for I will be troubled with them no more."
2. He will not admit any intercession to be
made for them (
3. He condemns them all to one destroying
judgment or other. When God casts them out of his presence,
whither shall they go forth?
4. They shall fall without being relieved.
Who can do any thing to help them? for (1.) God, even their own God
(so he had been) appears against them: I will stretch out my
hand against thee, which denotes a deliberate determined
stroke, which will reach far and wound deeply. I am weary with
repenting (
5. They shall fall without being pitied
(
10 Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me. 11 The Lord said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction. 12 Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel? 13 Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders. 14 And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.
Jeremiah has now returned from his public work and retired into his closet; what passed between him and his God there we have an account of in these and the following verses, which he published afterwards, to affect the people with the weight and importance of his messages to them. Here is,
I. The complaint which the prophet makes to
God of the many discouragements he met with in his work,
1. He met with a great deal of
contradiction and opposition. He was a man of strife and
contention to the whole land (so it might be read, rather than
to the whole earth, for his business lay only in that land);
both city and country quarrelled with him, and set themselves
against him, and said and did all they could to thwart him. He was
a peaceable man, gave no provocation to any, nor was apt to resent
the provocations given him, and yet a man of strife, not a
man striving, but a man striven with; he was for peace, but, when
he spoke, they were for war. And, whatever they pretended, that
which was the real cause of their quarrels with him was his
faithfulness to God and to their souls. He showed them their sins
that were working their ruin, and put them into a way to prevent
that ruin, which was the greatest kindness he could do them; and
yet this was it for which they were incensed against him and looked
upon him as their enemy. Even the prince of peace himself was thus
a man of strife, a sign spoken against, continually enduring the
contradiction of sinners against himself. And the gospel of
peace brings division, even to fire and sword,
2. He met with a great deal of contempt,
contumely, and reproach. They every one of them cursed him; they
branded him as a turbulent factious man, as an incendiary and a
sower of discord and sedition. They ought to have blessed him, and
to have blessed God for him; but they had arrived at such a pitch
of enmity against God and his word that for his sake they cursed
his messenger, spoke ill of him, wished ill to him, did all they
could to make him odious. They all did so; he had scarcely one
friend in Judah or Jerusalem that would give him a good word. Note,
It is often the lot of the best of men to have the worst of
characters ascribed to them. So persecuted they the
prophets. But one would be apt to suspect that surely Jeremiah
had given them some provocation, else he could not have lost
himself thus: no, not the least: I have neither lent money
nor borrowed money, have been neither creditor nor debtor;
for so general is the signification of the words here. (1.) It is
implied here that those who deal much in the business of this world
are often involved thereby in strife and contention; meum et
tuum—mine and thine are the great make-bates; lenders and
borrowers sue and are sued, and great dealers often get a great
deal of ill-will. (2.) it was an instance of Jeremiah's great
prudence, and it is written for our learning, that, being called to
be a prophet, he entangled not himself in the affairs of this
life, but kept clear from them, that he might apply the more
closely to the business of his profession and might not give the
least shadow of suspicion that he aimed at secular advantages in it
nor any occasion to his neighbours to contend with him. He put
out no money, for he was no usurer, nor indeed had he any money
to lend: he took up no money, for he was no purchaser, no
merchant, no spendthrift. He was perfectly dead to this world and
the things of it: a very little served to keep him, and we find
(
II. The answer which God gave to this
complaint. Though there was in it a mixture of passion and
infirmity, yet God graciously took cognizance of it, because it was
for his sake that the prophet suffered reproach. In this
answer, 1. God assures him that he should weather the storm and be
made easy at last,
15 O Lord, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke. 16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. 17 I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. 20 And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord. 21 And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.
Here, as before, we have,
I. The prophet's humble address to God, containing a representation both of his integrity and of the hardships he underwent notwithstanding. It is a matter of comfort to us that, whatever ails us, we have a God to go to, before whom we may spread our case and to whose omniscience we may appeal, as the prophet here, "O Lord! thou knowest; thou knowest my sincerity, which men are resolved they will not acknowledge; thou knowest my distress, which men disdain to take notice of." Observe here,
1. What it is that the prophet prays for,
2. What it is that he pleads with God for mercy and relief against his enemies, persecutors, and slanderers.
(1.) That God's honour was interested in
this case: Know, and make it known, that for thy sake I
have suffered rebuke. Those that lay themselves open to
reproach by their own fault and folly have great reason to bear it
patiently, but no reason to expect that God should appear for them.
But if it is for doing well that we suffer ill, and for
righteousness' sake that we have all manner of evil said against
us, we may hope that God will vindicate our honour with his own. To
the same purport (
(2.) That the word of God, which he was
employed to preach to others, he had experienced the power and
pleasure of in his own soul, and therefore had the graces of the
Spirit to qualify him for the divine favour, as well as his gifts.
We find some rejected of God who yet could say, Lord, we have
prophesied in thy name. But Jeremiah could say more (
(3.) That he had applied himself to the
duty of his office with all possible gravity, seriousness, and
self-denial, though he had had of late but little satisfaction in
it,
(4.) He throws himself upon God's pity and
promise in a very passionate expostulation (
II. God's gracious answer to this address,
1. What God here requires of him as the
condition of the further favours he designed him. Jeremiah had done
and suffered much for God, yet God is no debtor to him, but he is
still upon his good behaviour. God will own him. But, (1.) He must
recover his temper, and be reconciled to his work, and friends with
it again, and not quarrel with it any more as he had done. He must
return, must shake off these distrustful discontented
thoughts and passions, and not give way to them, must regain the
peaceable possession and enjoyment of himself, and resolve to be
easy. Note, When we have stepped aside into any disagreeable frame
or way our care must be to return and compose ourselves into a
right temper of mind again; and then we may expect God will
help us, if thus we endeavour to help ourselves. (2.) He must
resolve to be faithful in his work, for he could not expect the
divine protection any longer than he did approve himself so. Though
there was no cause at all to charge Jeremiah with unfaithfulness,
and God knew his heart to be sincere, yet God saw fit to give him
this caution. Those that do their duty must not take it ill to be
told their duty. In two things he must be faithful:—[1.] He must
distinguish between some and others of those he preached to: Thou
must take forth the precious from the vile. The righteous
are the precious be they ever so mean and poor; the wicked are the
vile be they ever so rich and great. In our congregations these are
mixed, wheat and chaff in the same floor; we cannot distinguish
them by name, but we must by character, and must give to each a
portion, speaking comfort to precious saints and terror to vile
sinners, neither making the heart of the righteous sad nor
strengthening the hands of the wicked (
2. What God here promises to him upon the
performance of these conditions. If he approve himself well, (1.)
God will tranquilize his mind and pacify the present tumult of his
spirits: If thou return, I will bring thee again, will
restore thy soul, as
In this chapter, I. The greatness of the calamity
that was coming upon the Jewish nation is illustrated by
prohibitions given to the prophet neither to set up a house of his
own (
1 The word of the Lord came also unto me, saying, 2 Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. 3 For thus saith the Lord concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land; 4 They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. 5 For thus saith the Lord, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the Lord, even lovingkindness and mercies. 6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them: 7 Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother. 8 Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink. 9 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.
The prophet is here for a sign to the people. They would not regard what he said; let it be tried whether they will regard what he does. In general, he must conduct himself so, in every thing, as became one that expected to see his country in ruins very shortly. This he foretold, but few regarded the prediction; therefore he is to show that he is himself fully satisfied in the truth of it. Others go on in their usual course, but he, in the prospect of these sad times, is forbidden and therefore forbears marriage, mourning for the dead, and mirth. Note, Those that would convince others of and affect them with the word of God must make it appear, even in the most self-denying instances, that they do believe it themselves and are affected with it. If we would rouse others out of their security, and persuade them to sit loose to the world, we must ourselves be mortified to present things and show that we expect the dissolution of them.
I. Jeremiah must not marry, nor think of
having a family and being a housekeeper (
II. Jeremiah must not go to the house of
mourning upon occasion of the death of any of his neighbours or
relations (
III. Jeremiah must not go to the house of
mirth, any more than to the house of mourning,
10 And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God? 11 Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the Lord, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; 12 And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me: 13 Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.
Here is, 1. An enquiry made into the
reasons why God would bring those judgments upon them (
14 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 15 But, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. 16 Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. 17 For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes. 18 And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things. 19 O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. 20 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? 21 Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The Lord.
There is a mixture of mercy and judgment in these verses, and it is hard to know to which to apply some of the passages here—they are so interwoven, and some seem to look as far forward as the times of the gospel.
I. God will certainly execute judgment upon
them for their idolatries. Let them expect it, for the decree has
gone forth. 1. God sees all their sins, though they commit them
ever so secretly and palliate them ever so artfully (
II. Yet he has mercy in store for them,
intimations of which come in here for the encouragement of the
prophet himself and of those few among them that tremble at God's
word. It was said, with an air of severity (
1. The days will come, the joyful
days, when the same hand that dispersed them shall gather them
again,
2. Their deliverance out of Babylon should,
upon some accounts, be more illustrious and memorable than their
deliverance out of Egypt was. Both were the Lord's doing and
marvellous in their eyes; both were proofs that the Lord liveth and
were to be kept in everlasting remembrance, to his honour, as the
living God; but the fresh mercy shall be so surprising, so welcome,
that it shall even abolish the memory of the former. Not but that
new mercies should put us in mind of old ones, and give us occasion
to renew our thanksgivings for them; yet because we are tempted to
think that the former days were better than these, and to ask,
Where are all the wonders that our fathers told us of? as if
God's arm had waxed short, and to cry up the age of
miracles above the later ages, when mercies are wrought in a way of
common providence, therefore we are allowed here comparatively to
forget the bringing of Israel out of Egypt as a deliverance outdone
by that out of Babylon. That was done by might and power,
this by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts,
3. Their deliverance out of captivity shall
be accompanied with a blessed reformation, and they shall return
effectually cured of their inclination to idolatry, which will
complete their deliverance and make it a mercy indeed. They had
defiled their own land with their detestable things,
4. Their deliverance out of captivity shall be a type and figure of this great salvation to be wrought out by the Messiah, who shall gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. And this is that which so far outshines the deliverance out of Egypt as even to eclipse the lustre of it, and make it even to be forgotten. To this some apply that of the many fishers and hunters, the preachers of the gospel, who were fishers of men, to enclose souls with the gospel net, to find them out in every mountain and hill, and secure them for Christ. Then the Gentiles came to God, some from the ends of the earth, and turned to the worship of him from the service of dumb idols.
In this chapter, I. God convicts the Jews of the
sin of idolatry by the notorious evidence of the fact, and condemns
them to captivity for it,
1 The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars; 2 Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills. 3 O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders. 4 And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.
The people had asked (
I. The indictment is fully proved upon the
prisoners, both the fact and the fault; their sin is too plain to
be denied and too bad to be excused, and they have nothing to plead
either in extenuation of the crime or in arrest and mitigation of
the judgment. 1. They cannot plead, Not guilty, for their
sins are upon record in the book of God's omniscience and their own
conscience; nay, and they are obvious to the eye and observation of
the world,
II. The indictment being thus fully proved,
the judgment is affirmed and the sentence ratified,
5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. 11 As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.
It is excellent doctrine that is preached in these verses, and of general concern and use to us all, and it does not appear to have any particular reference to the present state of Judah and Jerusalem. The prophet's sermons were not all prophetical, but some of them practical; yet this discourse, which probably we have here only the heads of, would be of singular use to them by way of caution not to misplace their confidence in the day of their distress. Let us all learn what we are taught here,
I. Concerning the disappointment and
vexation those will certainly meet with who depend upon creatures
for success and relief when they are in trouble (
II. Concerning the abundant satisfaction
which those have, and will have, who make God their confidence, who
live by faith in his providence and promise, who refer themselves
to him and his guidance at all times and repose themselves in him
and his love in the most unquiet times,
III. Concerning the sinfulness of man's
heart, and the divine inspection it is always under,
1. It is true in general. (1.) There is that wickedness in our hearts which we ourselves are not aware of and do not suspect to be there; nay, it is a common mistake among the children of men to think themselves, their own hearts at least, a great deal better than they really are. The heart, the conscience of man, in his corrupt and fallen state, is deceitful above all things. It is subtle and false; it is apt to supplant (so the word properly signifies); it is that from which Jacob had his name, a supplanter. It calls evil good and good evil, puts false colours upon things, and cries peace to those to whom peace does not belong. When men say in their hearts (that is, suffer their hearts to whisper to them) that there is no God, or he does not see, or he will not require, or they shall have peace though they go on; in these, and a thousand similar suggestions the heart is deceitful. It cheats men into their own ruin; and this will be the aggravation of it, that they are self-deceivers, self-destroyers. Herein the heart is desperately wicked; it is deadly, it is desperate. The case is bad indeed, and in a manner deplorable and past relief, if the conscience which should rectify the errors of the other faculties is itself a mother of falsehood and a ring-leader in the delusion. What will become of a man if that in him which should be the candle of the Lord give a false light, if God's deputy in the soul, that is entrusted to support his interests, betrays them? Such is the deceitfulness of the heart that we may truly say, Who can know it? Who can describe how bad the heart is? We cannot know our own hearts, not what they will do in an hour of temptation (Hezekiah did not, Peter did not), not what corrupt dispositions there are in them, nor in how many things they have turned aside; who can understand his errors? Much less can we know the hearts of others, or have any dependence upon them. But, (2.) Whatever wickedness there is in the heart God sees it, and knows it, is perfectly acquainted with it and apprised of it: I the Lord search the heart. This is true of all that is in the heart, all the thoughts of it, the quickest, and those that are most carelessly overlooked by ourselves—all the intents of it, the closest, and those that are most artfully disguised, and industriously concealed from others. Men may be imposed upon, but God cannot. He not only searches the heart with a piercing eye, but he tries the reins, to pass a judgment upon what he discovers, to give every thing its true character and due weight. He tries it, as the gold is tried whether it be standard or no, as the prisoner is tried whether he be guilty or no. And this judgment which he makes of the heart is in order to his passing judgment upon the man; it is to give to every man according to his ways (according to the desert and the tendency of them, life to those that walked in the ways of life, and death to those that persisted in the paths of the destroyer) and according to the fruit of his doings, the effect and influence his doings have had upon others, or according to what is settled by the word of God to be the fruit of men's doings, blessings to the obedient and curses to the disobedient. Note, Therefore God is Judge himself, and he alone, because he, and none besides, knows the hearts of the children of men.
2. It is true especially of all the deceitfulness and wickedness of the heart, all its corrupt devices, desires, and designs. God observes and discerns them; and (which is more than any man can do) he judges of the overt act by the heart. Note, God knows more evil of us than we do of ourselves, which is a good reason why we should not flatter ourselves, but always stand in awe of the judgment of God.
IV. Concerning the curse that attends
wealth unjustly gotten. Fraud and violence had been reigning crying
sins in Judah and Jerusalem; now the prophet would have those who
had been guilty of these sins, and were now stripped of all they
had, to read their sin in their punishment (
12 A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. 13 O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters. 14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise. 15 Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now. 16 As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee. 17 Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil. 18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
Here, as often before, we have the prophet retired for private meditation, and alone with God. Those ministers that would have comfort in their work must be much so. In his converse here with God and his own heart he takes the liberty which devout souls sometimes use in their soliloquies, to pass from one thing to another, without tying themselves too strictly to the laws of method and coherence.
I. He acknowledges the great favour of God
to his people in setting up a revealed religion among them, and
dignifying them with divine institutions (
II. He acknowledges the righteousness of
God in abandoning those to ruin that forsook him and revolted from
their allegiance to him,
III. He prays to God for healing saving
mercy for himself. "If the case of those that depart from God be so
miserable, let me always draw nigh to him (
IV. He complains of the infidelity and
daring impiety of the people to whom he preached. It greatly
troubled him, and he shows before God this trouble, as the servant
that had slights put upon him by the guests he was sent to invite
came and showed his Lord these things. He had faithfully
delivered God's message to them; and what answer has he to return
to him that sent him? Behold, they say unto me, Where is the
word of the Lord? Let it come now,
V. He appeals to God concerning his
faithful discharge of the duty to which he was called,
VI. He humbly begs of God that he would own
him, and protect him, and carry him on cheerfully in that work to
which God had so plainly called him and to which he had so
sincerely devoted himself. Two things he here desires:—1. That he
might have comfort in serving the God that sent him (
19 Thus said the Lord unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; 20 And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates: 21 Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; 22 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. 23 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction. 24 And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein; 25 Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever. 26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the Lord. 27 But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
These verses are a sermon concerning
sabbath-sanctification. It is a word which the prophet received
from the Lord, and was ordered to deliver in the most solemn
and public manner to the people; for they were sent not only to
reprove sin, and to press obedience, in general, but they must
descend to particulars. This message concerning the sabbath was
probably sent in the days of Josiah, for the furtherance of that
work of reformation which he set on foot; for the promises here
(
I. How the sabbath is to be sanctified, and
what is the law concerning it,
II. How the sabbath had been profaned
(
III. What blessings God had in store for
them if they would make conscience of sabbath-sanctification.
Though their fathers had been guilty of the profanation of the
sabbath they should not only not smart for it, but their city and
nation should recover its ancient glory, if they would keep
sabbaths better,
IV. What judgments they must expect would
come upon them if they persisted in the profanation of the sabbath
(
In this chapter we have, I. A general declaration
of God's ways in dealing with nations and kingdoms, that he can
easily do what he will with them, as easily as the potter can with
the clay (
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. 7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; 8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. 9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; 10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
The prophet is here sent to the potter's
house (he knew where to find it), not to preach a sermon as
before to the gates of Jerusalem, but to prepare a sermon, or
rather to receive it ready prepared. Those needed not to study
their sermons that had them, as he had this, by immediate
inspiration. "Go to the potter's house, and observe how he
manages his work, and there I will cause thee, by silent
whispers, to hear my words. There thou shalt receive a
message, to be delivered to the people." Note, Those that would
know God's mind must observe his appointments, and attend where
they may hear his words. The prophet was never disobedient to
the heavenly vision, and therefore went to the potter's house
(
Now let us see what the message is which Jeremiah receives, and is entrusted with the delivery of, at the potter's house. While he looks carefully upon the potter's work, God darts into his mind these two great truths, which he must preach to the house of Israel:—
I. That God has both an incontestable
authority and an irresistible ability to form and fashion kingdoms
and nations as he pleases, so as to serve his own purposes:
"Cannot I do with you as this potter, saith the Lord?
II. That, in the exercise of this authority
and ability, he always goes by fixed rules of equity and goodness.
He dispenses favours indeed in a way of sovereignty, but never
punishes by arbitrary power. High is his right hand, yet he
rules not with a high hand, but, as it follows there,
Justice and judgment are the habitation of his throne,
11 Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good. 12 And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart. 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing. 14 Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken? 15 Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up; 16 To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. 17 I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
These verses seem to be the application of the general truths laid down in the foregoing part of the chapter to the nation of the Jews and their present state.
I. God was now speaking concerning them
to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy;
for it is that part of the rule of judgment that their case agrees
with (
II. He invites them by repentance and reformation to meet him in the way of his judgments and so to prevent his further proceedings against them: "Return you now every one from his evil ways, that so (according to the rule before laid down) God may turn from the evil he had purported to do unto you, and that providence which seemed to be framed like a vessel on the wheel against you shall immediately be thrown into a new shape, and the issue shall be in favour of you." Note, The warnings of God's word, and the threatenings of his providence, should be improved by us as strong inducements to us to reform our lives, in which it is not enough to turn from our evil ways, but we must make our ways and our doings good, conformable to the rule, to the law.
III. He foresees their obstinacy, and their
perverse refusal to comply with this invitation, though it tended
so much to their own benefit (
IV. He upbraids them with the monstrous
folly of their obstinacy, and their hating to be reformed. Surely
never were people guilty of such an absurdity, never any that
pretended to reason acted so unreasonably (
V. He shows their folly in two things:—
1. In the nature of the sin itself that
they were guilty of. They forsook God for idols, which was the most
horrible thing that could be, for they put a most dangerous cheat
upon themselves (
2. In the mischievous consequences of it.
Though the thing itself were bad, they might have had some excuse
for it if they could have promised themselves any good out of it.
But the direct tendency of it was to make their land desolate,
and, consequently, themselves miserable (for so the inhabitants
must needs be if their country be laid waste), and both themselves
and their land a perpetual hissing. Those deserve to be
hissed that have fair warning given them and will not take it.
Every one that passes by their land shall make his remarks
upon it, and shall be astonished, and way his head, some
wondering, others commiserating, others triumphing in the
desolations of a country that had been the glory of all
lands. They shall wag their heads in derision, upbraiding them
with their folly in forsaking God and their duty, and so pulling
this misery upon their own heads. Note, Those that revolt from God
will justly be made the scorn of all about them, and, having
reproached the Lord, will themselves be a reproach. Their
land being made desolate, in pursuance of their
destruction, it is threatened (
18 Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words. 19 Give heed to me, O Lord, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. 20 Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them. 21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle. 22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet. 23 Yet, Lord, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.
The prophet here, as sometimes before, brings in his own affairs, but very much for instruction to us.
I. See here what are the common methods of
the persecutors. We may see this in Jeremiah's enemies,
1. They laid their heads together to
consult what they should do against him, both to be revenged on him
for what he had said and to stop his mouth for the future: They
said, Come and let us devise devices against Jeremiah. The
enemies of God's people and ministers have been often very crafty
themselves, and confederate with one another, to do them mischief.
What they cannot act to the prejudice of religion separately they
will try to do in concert. The wicked plots against the
just. Caiaphas, and the chief priests and elders, did so
against our blessed Saviour himself. The opposition which the gates
of hell give to the kingdom of heaven is carried on with a great
deal of cursed policy. God had said (
2. Herein they pretended a mighty zeal for
the church, which, they suggested, was in danger if Jeremiah was
tolerated to preach as he did: "Come," say they, "let us
silence and crush him, for the law shall not perish from the
priest; the law of truth is in their mouths (
3. They agreed to do all they could to
blast his reputation: "Come, let us smite him with the
tongue, put him into an ill name, fasten a bad character upon
him, represent him to some as despicable and fit to be prosecuted,
to all as odious and not fit to be tolerated." This was their
device, fortiter calumniari, aliquid adhærebit—to throw the
vilest calumnies at him, in hopes that some would adhere to
him. to dress him up in bearskins, otherwise they could not
bait him. Those who projected this, it is likely, were men of
figure, whose tongue was no small slander, whose representations,
though ever so false, would be credited both by princes and people,
to make him obnoxious to the justice of the one and the fury of the
other. The scourge of such tongues will give not only smart lashes,
but deep wounds; it is a great mercy therefore to be hidden from
it,
4. To set others an example, they resolved that they would not themselves regard any thing he said, though it appeared ever so weighty and ever so well confirmed as a message from God: Let us not give heed to any of his words; for, right or wrong, they will look upon them to be his words, and not the words of God. What good can be done with those who hear the word of God with a resolution not to heed it or believe it? Nay,
5. That they may effectually silence him,
they resolve to be the death of him (
II. See here what is the common relief of the persecuted. This we may see in the course that Jeremiah took when he met with this hard usage. He immediately applied to his God by prayer, and so gave himself ease.
1. He referred himself and his cause to
God's cognizance,
2. He complains of their base ingratitude
to him (
3. He imprecates the judgments of God upon
them, not from a revengeful disposition, but in a prophetical
indignation against their horrid wickedness,
The same melancholy theme is the subject of this
chapter that was of those foregoing—the approaching ruin of Judah
and Jerusalem for their sins. This Jeremiah had often foretold;
here he has particularly full orders to foretel it again. I. He
must set their sins in order before them, as he had often done,
especially their idolatry,
1 Thus saith the Lord, Go and get a potter's earthen bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests; 2 And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee, 3 And say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle. 4 Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; 5 They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: 6 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter. 7 And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. 8 And I will make this city desolate, and a hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof. 9 And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them.
The corruption of man having made it necessary that precept should be upon precept, and line upon line (so unapt are we to receive, and so very apt to let slip, the things of God), the grace of God has provided that there shall be, accordingly, precept upon precept, and line upon line, that those who are irreclaimable may be inexcusable. For this reason the prophet is here sent with a message to the same purport with what he had often delivered, but with some circumstances that might make it the more taken notice of, a thing which ministers should study, for a little circumstance may sometimes be a great advantage, and those that would win souls must be wise.
I. He must take of the elders and chief
men, both in church and state, to be his auditors and witnesses to
what he said—the ancients of the people and the ancients of the
priests, the most eminent men both in the magistracy and in the
ministry, that they might be faithful witnesses to record,
as those
II. He must go to the valley of the son
of Hinnom, and deliver this message there; for the word of
the Lord is not bound to any one place; as good a sermon may be
preached in the valley of Tophet as in the gate of the temple.
Christ preached on a mountain and out of a ship. This valley lay
partly on the south side of Jerusalem, but the prophet's way to it
was by the entry on the east gate—the sun gate (
III. He must give general notice of a
general ruin now shortly coming upon Judah and Jerusalem,
IV. He must plainly tell them what their
sins were for which God had this controversy with them,
V. He must endeavour to affect them with
the greatness of the desolation that was coming upon them. He must
tell them (as he had done before,
VI. He must assure them that all their
attempts to prevent and avoid this ruin, so long as they continued
impenitent and unreformed, would be fruitless and vain (
10 Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee, 11 And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury. 12 Thus will I do unto this place, saith the Lord, and to the inhabitants thereof, and even make this city as Tophet: 13 And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet, because of all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods. 14 Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the Lord's house; and said to all the people, 15 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.
The message of wrath delivered in the
I. By a visible sign. The prophet was to
take along with him an earthen bottle (
II. By a solemn recognition and
ratification of what he had said in the court of the Lord's
house,
Such plain dealing as Jeremiah used in the
foregoing chapter, one might easily foresee, if it did not convince
and humble men, would provoke and exasperate them; and so it did;
for here we find, I. Jeremiah persecuted by Pashur for preaching
that sermon,
1 Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. 2 Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord. 3 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The Lord hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magor-missabib. 4 For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword. 5 Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon. 6 And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.
Here is, I. Pashur's unjust displeasure
against Jeremiah, and the fruits of that displeasure,
II. God's just displeasure against Pashur,
and the tokens of it. On the morrow Pashur gave Jeremiah his
discharge, brought him out of the stocks (
1. Did he aim to establish himself, and
make himself easy, by silencing one that told him of his faults and
would be likely to lessen his reputation with the people? He shall
not gain this point; for, (1.) Though the prophet should be silent,
his own conscience shall fly in his face and make him always
uneasy. To confirm this he shall have a name given him,
Magor-missabib—Terror round about, or Fear on every
side. God himself shall give him this name, whose calling him
so will make him so. It seems to be a proverbial expression,
bespeaking a man not only in distress but in despair, not only in
danger on every side (that a man may be and yet by faith may be in
no terror, as David,
2. Did he aim to keep the people easy, to
prevent the destruction that Jeremiah prophesied of, and by sinking
his reputation to make his words fall to the ground? It is probable
that he did; for it appears by
7 O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me. 8 For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. 9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. 10 For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him. 11 But the Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten. 12 But, O Lord of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause. 13 Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.
Pashur's doom was to be a terror to himself; Jeremiah, even now, in this hour of temptation, is far from being so; and yet it cannot be denied but that he is here, through the infirmity of the flesh, strangely agitated within himself. Good men are but men at the best. God is not extreme to mark what they say and do amiss, and therefore we must not be so, but make the best of it. In these verses it appears that, upon occasion of the great indignation and injury that Pashur did to Jeremiah, there was a struggle in his breast between his graces and his corruptions. His discourse with himself and with his God, upon this occasion, was somewhat perplexed; let us try to methodize it.
I. Here is a sad representation of the wrong that was done him and the affronts that were put upon him; and this representation, no doubt, was according to truth, and deserves no blame, but was very justly and very fitly made to him that sent him, and no doubt would bear him out. He complains,
1. That he was ridiculed and laughed at;
they made a jest of every thing he said and did; and this cannot
but be a great grievance to an ingenuous mind (
2. That he was plotted against and his ruin
contrived; he was not only ridiculed as a weak man, but reproached
and misrepresented as a bad man and dangerous to the government.
This he laments as his grievance,
II. Here is an account of the temptation he
was in under this affliction; his feet were almost gone, as
the psalmist's,
III. Here is an account of his faithful adherence to his work and cheerful dependence on his God notwithstanding.
1. He found the grace of God mighty in him
to keep him to this business, notwithstanding the temptation he was
in to throw it up: "I said, in my haste, I will speak no
more in his name; what I have in my heart to deliver I will
stifle and suppress. But I soon found it was in my heart as a
burning fire shut up in my bones, which glowed inwardly, and
must have vent; it was impossible to smother it; I was like a man
in a burning fever, uneasy and in a continual agitation; while I
kept silence from good my heart was hot within me, it was
pain and grief to me, and I must speak, that I might be
refreshed;"
2. He was assured of God's presence with
him, which would be sufficient to baffle all the attempts of his
enemies against him (
3. He appeals to God against them as a
righteous Judge, and prays judgment upon his cause,
4. He greatly rejoices and praises God, in
a full confidence that God would appear for his deliverance,
14 Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed. 15 Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad. 16 And let that man be as the cities which the Lord overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide; 17 Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me. 18 Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?
What is the meaning of this? Does there
proceed out of the same mouth blessing and cursing? Could he
that said so cheerfully (
I. What the prophet's language was in this
temptation. 1. He fastened a brand of infamy upon his birth-day, as
Job did in a heat (
II. What use we may make of this. It is not
recorded for our imitation, and yet we may learn good lessons from
it. 1. See the vanity of human life and the vexation of spirit that
attends it. If there were not another life after this, we should be
tempted many a time to wish that we have never known this; for our
few days here are full of trouble. 2. See the folly and absurdity
of sinful passion, how unreasonably it talks when it is suffered to
ramble. What nonsense is it to curse a day—to curse a messenger
for the sake of his message! What a brutish barbarous thing for a
child to wish his own mother had never been delivered of him! See
It is plain that the prophecies of this book are
not placed here in the same order in which they were preached; for
there are chapters after this which concern Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim,
and Jeconiah, who all reigned before Zedekiah, in whose reign the
prophecy of this chapter bears date. Here is, I. The message which
Zedekiah sent to the prophet, to desire him to enquire of the Lord
for them,
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying, 2 Enquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us. 3 Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah: 4 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city. 5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. 6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. 7 And afterward, saith the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.
Here is, I. A very humble decent message
which king Zedekiah, when he was in distress, sent to Jeremiah the
prophet. It is indeed charged upon this Zedekiah that he humbled
not himself before Jeremiah the prophet, speaking from the mouth of
the Lord (
1. The distress which king Zedekiah was now in: Nebuchadrezzar made war upon him, not only invaded the land, but besieged the city, and had now actually invested it. Note, Those that put the evil day far from them will be the more terrified when it comes upon them; and those who before slighted God's ministers may then perhaps be glad to court an acquaintance with them.
2. The messengers he sent—Pashur and
Zephaniah, one belonging to the fifth course of the priests,
the other to the twenty-fourth,
3. The message itself: Enquire, I pray
thee, of the Lord for us,
II. A very startling cutting reply which
God, by the prophet, sent to that message. If Jeremiah had been to
have answered the message of himself we have reason to think that
he would have returned a comfortable answer, in hope that their
sending such a message was an indication of some good purposes in
them, which he would be glad to make the best of, for he did not
desire the woeful day. But God knows their hearts better than
Jeremiah does, and sends them an answer which has scarcely one word
of comfort in it. He sends it to them in the name of the Lord
God of Israel (
1. That God will render all their
endeavours for their own security fruitless and ineffectual
(
2. That the besiegers shall in a little time make themselves masters of Jerusalem, and of all its wealth and strength: I will assemble those in the midst of this city who are now surrounding it. Note, If that place which should have been a centre of devotion be made a centre of wickedness, it is not strange if God make it a rendezvous of destroyers.
3. That God himself will be their enemy;
and then I know not who can befriend them, no, not Jeremiah himself
(
4. That those who, for their own safety,
decline sallying out upon the besiegers, and so avoid their sword,
shall yet not escape the sword of God's justice (
5. That the king himself, and people that
escape the sword, famine, and pestilence, shall fall
into the hands of the Chaldeans, who shall cut them off in
cold blood (
8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. 9 He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. 10 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 11 And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the Lord; 12 O house of David, thus saith the Lord; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. 13 Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the Lord; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations? 14 But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the Lord: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.
By the civil message which the king sent to
Jeremiah it appeared that both he and the people began to have a
respect for him, which it would have been Jeremiah's policy to make
some advantage of for himself; but the reply which God obliges him
to make is enough to crush the little respect they begin to have
for him, and to exasperate them against him more than ever. Not
only the predictions in the
I. He advises the people to surrender and
desert to the Chaldeans, as the only means left them to save their
lives,
II. He advises the king and princes to
reform, and make conscience of the duty of their place. Because it
was the king that sent the message to him, in the reply there shall
be a particular word for the house of the king, not to
compliment or court them (that was no part of the prophet's
business, no, not when they did him the honour to send to him), but
to give them wholesome counsel (
III. He shows them the vanity of all their
hopes so long as they continued unreformed,
Upon occasion of the message sent in the foregoing
chapter to the house of the king, we have here recorded some
sermons which Jeremiah preached at court, in some preceding reigns,
that it might appear they had had fair warning long before that
fatal sentence was pronounced upon them, and were put in a way to
prevent it. Here is, I. A message sent to the royal family, as it
should seem in the reign of Jehoiakim, relating partly to Jehoahaz,
who was carried away captive into Egypt, and partly to Jehoiakim,
who succeeded him and was now upon the throne. The king and princes
are exhorted to execute judgment, and are assured that, if they did
so, the royal family should flourish, but otherwise it should be
ruined,
1 Thus saith the Lord; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, 2 And say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates: 3 Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. 5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation. 6 For thus saith the Lord unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited. 7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. 8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this great city? 9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
Here we have,
I. Orders given to Jeremiah to go and
preach before the king. In the foregoing chapter we are told that
Zedekiah sent messengers to the prophet, but here the prophet is
bidden to go, in his own proper person, to the house of the
king, and demand his attention to the word of the King of kings
(
II. Instructions given him what to preach.
1. He must tell them what was their duty,
what was the good which the Lord their God required of them,
2. He must assure them that the faithful
discharge of their duty would advance and secure their prosperity,
3. He must likewise assure them that the
iniquity of their family, if they persisted in it, would be the
ruin of their family, though it was a royal family (
4. He must show how fatal their wickedness
would be to their kingdom as well as to themselves, to Jerusalem
especially, the royal city,
10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country. 11 For thus saith the Lord touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more: 12 But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more. 13 Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; 14 That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. 15 Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? 16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the Lord. 17 But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. 18 Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory! 19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
Kings, though they are gods to us, are men to God, and shall die like men; so it appears in these verses, where we have a sentence of death passed upon two kings who reigned successively in Jerusalem, two brothers, and both the ungracious sons of a very pious father.
I. Here is the doom of Shallum, who
doubtless is the same with Jehoahaz, for he is that son of Josiah
king of Judah who reigned in the stead of Josiah his father
(
II. Here is the doom of Jehoiakim, who
succeeded him. Whether he had any better right to the crown than
Shallum we know not; for, though he was older than his predecessor,
there seems to be another son of Josiah, older than he, called
Johanan,
1. His sins faithfully reproved. It is not
fit for a private person to say to a king, Thou art wicked;
but a prophet, who has a message from God, betrays his trust if he
does not deliver it, be it ever so unpleasing, even to kings
themselves. Jehoiakim is not here charged with idolatry, and
probably he had not yet put Urijah the prophet to death (as we find
afterwards he did,
2. Here we have Jehoiakim's doom faithfully
read,
20 Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed. 21 I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice. 22 The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. 23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail! 24 As I live, saith the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; 25 And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. 27 But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return. 28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? 29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord. 30 Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.
This prophecy seems to have been calculated
for the ungracious inglorious reign of Jeconiah, or Jehoiachin, the
son of Jehoiakim, who succeeded him in the government, reigned but
three months, and was then carried captive to Babylon, where he
lived many years,
I. Of the desolations of the kingdom, which
were now hastening on apace,
II. Here is a prophecy of the disgrace of the king; his name was Jeconiah, but he is here once and again called Coniah, in contempt. The prophet shortens or nicks his name, and gives him, as we say, a nickname, perhaps to denote that he should be despoiled of his dignity, that his reign should be shortened, and the number of his months cut off in the midst. Two instances of dishonour are here put upon him:—
1. He shall be carried away into
captivity and shall spend and end his days in bondage. He was
born to a crown, but it should quickly fall from his head, and he
should exchange it for fetters. Observe the steps of this judgment.
(1.) God will abandon him,
2. He shall leave no posterity to inherit
his honour. The prediction of this is ushered in with a solemn
preface (
In this chapter the prophet, in God's name, is
dealing his reproofs and threatenings, I. Among the careless
princes, or pastors of the people (
1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord. 2 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord. 3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord. 5 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE Lord OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8 But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
I. Here is a word of terror to the negligent shepherds. The day is at hand when God will reckon with them concerning the trust and charge committed to them: Woe be to the pastors (to the rulers, both in church and state) who should be to those they are set over as pastors to lead them, feed them, protect them, and take care of them. They are not owners of the sheep. God here calls them the sheep of my pasture, whom I am interested in, and have provided good pasture for. Woe be to those therefore who are commanded to feed God's people, and pretend to do it, but who, instead of that, scatter the flock, and drive them away by their violence and oppression, and have not visited them, nor taken any care for their welfare, nor concerned themselves at all to do them good. In not visiting them, and doing their duty to them, they did in effect scatter them and drive them away. The beasts of prey scattered them, and the shepherds are in the fault, who should have kept them together. Woe be to them when God will visit upon them the evil of their doings and deal with them as they deserve. They would not visit the flock in a way of duty, and therefore God will visit them in a way of vengeance.
II. Here is a word of comfort to the neglected sheep. Though the under-shepherds take no care of them, no pains with them, but betray them, the chief Shepherd will look after them. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord taketh me up. Though the interests of God's church in the world are neglected by those who should take care of them, and postponed to their own private secular interests, yet they shall not therefore sink. God will perform his promise, though those he employs do not perform their duty.
1. The dispersed Jews shall at length
return to their own land, and be happily settled there under a good
government,
2. Messiah the Prince, that great and good
Shepherd of the sheep, shall in the latter days be raised up to
bless his church, and to be the glory of his people Israel,
3. This great salvation, which will come to
the Jews in the latter days of their state, after their return out
of Babylon, shall be so illustrious as far to outshine the
deliverance of Israel out of Egypt (
9 Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the Lord, and because of the words of his holiness. 10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. 11 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord. 12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord. 13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. 14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem a horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. 15 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. 16 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. 17 They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. 18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? 19 Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. 20 The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. 21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. 23 Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? 24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord. 25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. 26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; 27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. 28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. 29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. 32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.
Here is a long lesson for the false
prophets. As none were more bitter and spiteful against God's true
prophets than they, so there were none on whom the true prophets
were more severe, and justly. The prophet had complained to God of
those false prophets (
I. He expresses the deep concern that he
was under upon this account, and what a trouble it was to him to
see men who pretended to a divine commission and inspiration
ruining themselves, and the people among whom they dwelt, by their
falsehood and treachery (
II. He laments the abounding abominable
wickedness of the land and the present tokens of God's displeasure
they were under for it (
III. He charges it all upon the prophets
and priests, especially the prophets. They are both profane
(
IV. God disowns all that these false
prophets said to sooth people up in their sins (
V. God threatens to punish these prophets
for their wickedness. They promised the people peace; and to
show them the folly of that God tells them that they should have no
peace themselves. They were very unfit to warrant the people, and
pass their word to them that no evil shall come upon them, when all
evil is coming upon themselves and they are not aware of it,
VI. The people are here warned not to give
any credit to these false prophets; for, though they flattered them
with hopes of impunity, the judgments of God would certainly break
out against them, unless they repented (
VII. Several things are here offered to the consideration of these false prophets for their conviction, that, if possible, they might be brought to recant their error and acknowledge the cheat they had put upon God's people.
1. Let them consider that though they may impose upon men God is too wise to be imposed upon. Men cannot see through their fallacies, but God can and does. Here,
(1.) God asserts his own omnipresence and
omniscience in general,
(2.) He applies this to these prophets, who
had a notable art of disguising themselves (
2. Let them consider that their palming upon people counterfeit revelations, and fathering their own fancies upon divine inspiration, was the ready way to bring all religion into contempt and make men turn atheists and infidels; and this was the thing they really intended, though they frequently made mention of the name of God, and prefaced all they said with, Thus saith the Lord. Yet, says God, They think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams. They designed to draw people off from the worship of God, from all regard to God's laws and ordinances and the true prophets, as their fathers forgot God's name for Baal. Note, The great thing Satan aims at is to make people forget God, and all that whereby he has made himself known; and he has many subtle methods to bring them to this. Sometimes he does it by setting up false gods (bring men in love with Baal, and they soon forget the name of God), sometimes by misrepresenting the true God, as if he were altogether such a one as ourselves. Pretenses to new revelation may prove as dangerous to religion as the denying of all revelation; and false prophets in God's name may perhaps do more mischief to the power of godliness than false prophets in Baal's name, as being less guarded against.
3. Let them consider what a vast difference
there was between their prophecies and those that were delivered by
the true prophets of the Lord (
4. Let them consider that while they went
on in this course God was against them. Three times they are told
this,
33 And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the Lord? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the Lord. 34 And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the Lord, I will even punish that man and his house. 35 Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the Lord answered? and, What hath the Lord spoken? 36 And the burden of the Lord shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God. 37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the Lord answered thee? and, What hath the Lord spoken? 38 But since ye say, The burden of the Lord; therefore thus saith the Lord; Because ye say this word, The burden of the Lord, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the Lord; 39 Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence: 40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.
The profaneness of the people, with that of the priests and prophets, is here reproved in a particular instance, which may seem of small moment in comparison of their greater crimes; but profaneness in common discourse, and the debauching of the language of a nation, being a notorious evidence of the prevalency of wickedness in it, we are not to think it strange that this matter was so largely and warmly insisted upon here. Observe,
I. The sin here charged upon them is
bantering God's prophets and dialect they used, and jesting with
sacred things. They asked, What is the burden of the Lord?
II. When they are reproved for this profane
way of speaking they are directed how to express themselves more
decently. We do not find that the prophets are directed to make no
more use of this word; we find it used long after this (
III. Because they would not leave off this
bad way of speaking, though they were admonished of it, God
threatens them here with utter ruin. They would still say, The
burden of the Lord, though God had sent to them to forbid them,
In the close of the foregoing chapter we had a
general prediction of the utter ruin of Jerusalem, that it should
be forsaken and forgotten, which, whatever effect it had upon
others, we have reason to think made the prophet himself very
melancholy. Now, in this chapter, God encourages him, by showing
him that, though the desolation seemed to be universal, yet all
were not equally involved in it, but God knew how to distinguish,
how to separate, between the precious and the vile. Some had gone
into captivity already with Jeconiah; over them Jeremiah lamented,
but God tells him that it should turn to their good. Others yet
remained hardened in their sins, against whom Jeremiah had a just
indignation; but those, God tells him, should go into captivity,
and it should prove to their hurt. To inform the prophet of this,
and affect him with it, here is, I. A vision of two baskets of
figs, one very good and the other very bad,
1 The Lord shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the Lord, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. 2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. 3 Then said the Lord unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 4 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 5 Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good. 6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. 8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the Lord, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt: 9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. 10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.
This short chapter helps us to put a very comfortable construction upon a great many long ones, by showing us that the same providence which to some is a savour of death unto death may by the grace and blessing of God be made to others a savour of life unto life; and that, though God's people share with others in the same calamity, yet it is not the same to them that it is to others, but is designed for their good and shall issue in their good; to them it is a correcting rod in the hand of a tender Father, while to others it is an avenging sword in the hand of a righteous Judge. Observe,
I. The date of this sermon. It was after, a
little after, Jeconiah's captivity,
II. The vision by which this distinction of
the captives was represented to the prophet's mind. He saw two
baskets of figs, set before the temple, there ready to be
offered as first-fruits to the honour of God. Perhaps the priests,
being remiss in their duty, were not ready to receive them and
dispose of them according to the law, and therefore Jeremiah sees
them standing before the temple. But that which was the
significancy of the vision was that the figs in one basket were
extraordinarily good, those in the other basket extremely bad. The
children of men are all as the fruits of the fig-tree, capable of
being made serviceable to God and man (
III. The exposition and application of this vision. God intended by it to raise the dejected spirit of those that had gone into captivity, by assuring them of a happy return, and to humble and awaken the proud and secure spirits of those who continued yet in Jerusalem, by assuring them of a miserable captivity.
1. Here is the moral of the good figs, that were very good, the first ripe. These represented the pious captives, that seemed first ripe for ruin, for they went first into captivity, but should prove first ripe for mercy, and their captivity should help to ripen them; these are pleasing to God, as good figs are to us, and shall be carefully preserved for use. Now observe here,
(1.) Those that were already carried into
captivity were the good figs that God would own. This shows, [1.]
That we cannot determine of God's love or hatred by all that is
before us. When God's judgments are abroad those are not always
the worst that are first seized by them. [2.] That early suffering
sometimes proves for the best to us. The sooner the child is
corrected the better effect the correction is likely to have. Those
that went first into captivity were as the son whom the father
loves, and chastens betimes, chastens while there is hope; and
it did well. But those that staid behind were like a child long
left to himself, who, when afterwards corrected, is
stubborn, and made worse by it,
(2.) God owns their captivity to be his
doing. Whoever were the instruments of it, he ordered and directed
it (
(3.) Even this disgraceful uncomfortable
captivity God intended for their benefit; and we are sure that his
intentions are never frustrated: I have sent them into the land
of the Chaldeans for their good. It seemed to be every way for
their hurt, not only as it was the ruin of their estates, honours,
and liberties, separated them from their relations and friends, and
put them under the power of their enemies and oppressors, but as it
sunk their spirits, discouraged their faith, deprived them of the
benefit of God's oracles and ordinances, and exposed them to
temptations; and yet it was designed for their good, and proved so,
in the issue, as to many of them. Out of the eater came forth
meat. By their afflictions they were convinced of sin, humbled
under the hand of God, weaned from the world, made serious, taught
to pray, and turned from their iniquity; particularly they were
cured of their inclination to idolatry; and thus it was good for
them that they were afflicted,
(4.) God promises them that he will own them in their captivity. Though they seem abandoned, they shall be acknowledged; the scornful relations they left behind will scarcely own them, or their kindred to them, but God says, I will acknowledge them. Note, The Lord knows those that are his, and will own them in all conditions; nakedness and sword shall not separate them from his love.
(5.) God assures them of his protection in
their trouble, and a glorious deliverance out of it in due time,
(6.) He engages to prepare them for these
temporal mercies which he designed for them by bestowing spiritual
mercies upon them,
2. Here is the moral of the bad figs.
Zedekiah and his princes and partizans yet remain in the
land, proud and secure enough,
Doubtless this prophecy had its accomplishment in the men of that generation yet, because we read not of any such remarkable difference between those of Jeconiah's captivity and those of Zedekiah's, it is probable that this has a typical reference to the last destruction of the Jews by the Romans, in which those of them that believed were taken care of, but those that continued obstinate in unbelief were driven into all countries for a taunt and a curse, and so they remain to this day.
The prophecy of this chapter bears date some time
before those prophecies in the chapters next foregoing, for they
are not placed in the exact order of time in which they were
delivered. This is dated in the first year of Nebuchadrezzar, that
remarkable year when the sword of the Lord began to be drawn and
furbished. Here is, I. A review of the prophecies that had been
delivered to Judah and Jerusalem for many years past, by Jeremiah
himself and other prophets, with the little regard given to them
and the little success of them,
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; 2 The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, 3 From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the Lord hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened. 4 And the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. 5 They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever: 6 And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. 7 Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the Lord; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.
We have here a message from God concerning
all the people of Judah (
This prophecy is dated in the fourth year
of Jehoiakim and the first of Nebuchadrezzar. It was in the latter
end of Jehoiakim's third year that Nebuchadrezzar began to reign by
himself alone (having reigned some time before in conjunction with
his father), as appears,
Now in this message we may observe the great pains that had been taken with the people to bring them to repentance, which they are here put in mind of, as an aggravation of their sin and a justification of God in his proceedings against them.
I. Jeremiah, for his part, had been a
constant preacher among them twenty-three years; he began in the
thirteenth year of Josiah, who reigned thirty-one years, so that he
prophesied about eighteen or nineteen years in his reign, then in
the reign of Jehoahaz, and now four years of Jehoiakim's reign.
Note, God keeps an account, whether we do or no, how long we have
enjoyed the means of grace; and the longer we have enjoyed them the
heavier will our account be if we have not improved them. These
three years (these three and twenty years) have I come
seeking fruit on this fig-tree. All this while, 1. God had been
constant in sending messages to them, as there was occasion for
them: "From that time to this very day the word of the Lord has
come into me, for your use." Though they had the substance of
the warning sent them already in the books of Moses, yet, because
those were not duly regarded and applied, God sent to enforce them
and make them more particular, that they might be without excuse.
Thus God's Spirit was striving with them, as with the old world,
II. Besides him, God had sent them other
prophets, on the same errand,
III. All the messages sent them were to the
purpose, and much to the same purport,
IV. Yet all was to no purpose. They were
not wrought upon to take the right and only method to turn away the
wrath of God. Jeremiah was a very lively affectionate preacher, yet
they hearkened not to him,
8 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, 9 Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. 13 And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations. 14 For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.
Here is the sentence grounded upon the
foregoing charge: "Because you have not heard my words, I
must take another course with you,"
I. The ruin of the land of Judah by the
king of Babylon's armies is here decreed,
II. The ruin of Babylon, at last, is here
likewise foretold, as it had been, long before, by Isaiah,
15 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. 16 And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. 17 Then took I the cup at the Lord's hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me: 18 To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse; as it is this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; 20 And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, 21 Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, 22 And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, 23 Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners, 24 And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert, 25 And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, 26 And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. 27 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. 28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. 29 For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts.
Under the similitude of a cup going round,
which all the company must drink of, is here represented the
universal desolation that was now coming upon that part of the
world which Nebuchadrezzar, who just now began to reign and act,
was to be the instrument of, and which should at length recoil upon
his own country. The cup in the vision is to be a sword in the
accomplishment of it: so it is explained,
I. As to the circumstances of this judgment, observe,
1. Whence this destroying sword should
come—from the hand of God. It is the sword of the
Lord (
2. By whose hand it should be sent to
them—by the hand of Jeremiah as the judge set over the
nations (
3. On whom it should be sent—on all the
nations within the verge of Israel's acquaintance and the lines of
their communication. Jeremiah took the cup, and made all the
nations to drink of it, that is, he prophesied concerning each
of the nations here mentioned that they should share in this great
desolation that was coming. Jerusalem and the cities of
Judah are put first (
4. What should be the effect of it. The
desolations which the sword should make in all these kingdoms are
represented by the consequences of excessive drinking (
5. The undoubted certainty of it, with the
reason given for it,
II. Upon this whole matter we may observe,
1. That there is a God that judges in the earth, to whom all the
nations of the earth are accountable, and by whose judgment they
must abide. 2. That God can easily bring to ruin the greatest
nations, the most numerous and powerful, and such as have been most
secure. 3. That those who have been vexatious and mischievous to
the people of God will be reckoned with for it at last. Many of
these nations had in their turns given disturbance to Israel, but
now comes destruction on them. The year of the redeemer will come,
even the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. 4.
That the burden of the word of the Lord will at last become
the burden of his judgments. Isaiah had prophesied long since
against most of these nations (
30 Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. 31 A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. 32 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. 33 And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground. 34 Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. 35 And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. 36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the Lord hath spoiled their pasture. 37 And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the Lord. 38 He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.
We have, in these verses, a further description of those terrible desolations which the king of Babylon with his armies should make in all the countries and nations round about Jerusalem. In Jerusalem God had erected his temple; there were his oracles and ordinances, which the neighbouring nations should have attended to and might have received benefit by; thither they should have applied for the knowledge of God and their duty, and then they might have had reason to bless God for their neighbourhood to Jerusalem; but they, instead of that, taking all opportunities either to debauch or to disturb that holy city, when God came to reckon with Jerusalem because it learned so much of the way of the nations, he reckoned with the nations because they learned so little of the way of Jerusalem.
They will soon be aware of Nebuchadrezzar's
making war upon them; but the prophet is here directed to tell them
that it is God himself that makes war upon them, a God with whom
there is no contending. 1. The war is here proclaimed (
As in the history of the Acts of the Apostles that
of their preaching and that of their suffering are interwoven, so
it is in the account we have of the prophet Jeremiah; witness this
chapter, where we are told, I. How faithfully he preached,
1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the Lord, saying, 2 Thus saith the Lord; Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord's house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word: 3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings. 4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, 5 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened; 6 Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.
We have here the sermon that Jeremiah preached, which gave such offence that he was in danger of losing his life for it. It is here left upon record, as it were, by way of appeal to the judgment of impartial men in all ages, whether Jeremiah was worthy to die for delivering such a message as this from God, and whether his persecutors were not very wicked and unreasonable men.
I. God directed him where to preach this
sermon, and when, and to what auditory,
II. God directed him what to preach, and it
is that which could not give offence to any but such as were
resolved to go on still in their trespasses. 1. He must assure them
that if they would repent of their sins, and turn from them,
though they were in imminent danger of ruin and desolating
judgments were just at the door, yet a stop should be put to them,
and God would proceed no further in his controversy with them,
7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die. 9 Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. 10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house unto the house of the Lord, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house. 11 Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears. 12 Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard. 13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. 14 As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you. 15 But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.
One would have hoped that such a sermon as
that in the
I. Jeremiah is charged with it as a crime
that he had preached such a sermon, and is apprehended for it as a
criminal. The priests, and false prophets, and
people, heard him speak these words,
II. He is arraigned and indicted for it
before the highest court of judicature they had. Here, 1. The
princes of Judah were his judges,
III. Jeremiah makes his defence before the
princes and the people. He does not go about to deny the words, nor
to diminish aught from them; what he has said he will stand to,
though it cost him his life; he owns that he had prophesied against
this house and this city, but, 1. He asserts that he
did this by good authority, not maliciously nor seditiously, not
out of any ill-will to his country nor any disaffection to the
government in church or state, but, The Lord sent me to
prophesy thus: so he begins his apology (
16 Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God. 17 Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying, 18 Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. 19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the Lord, and besought the Lord, and the Lord repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls. 20 And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the Lord, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah: 21 And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt; 22 And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt. 23 And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. 24 Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.
Here is, I. The acquitting of Jeremiah from
the charge exhibited against him. He had indeed spoken the words as
they were laid in the indictment, but they are not looked upon to
be seditious or treasonable, ill-intended or of any bad tendency,
and therefore the court and country agree to find him not guilty.
The priests and prophets, notwithstanding his rational plea for
himself, continued to demand judgment against him; but the princes,
and all the people, are clear in it that this man is not worthy
to die (
II. A precedent quoted to justify them in
acquitting Jeremiah. Some of the elders of the land, either
the princes before mentioned or the more intelligent men of the
people, stood up, and put the assembly in mind of a former case, as
is usual with us in giving judgment; for the wisdom of our
predecessors is a direction to us. The case referred to is that of
Micah. We have extant the book of his prophecy among the minor
prophets. 1. Was it thought strange that Jeremiah prophesied
against this city and the temple? Micah did so before him, even in
the reign of Hezekiah, that reign of reformation,
III. Here is an instance of another prophet
that was put to death by Jehoiakim for prophesying as Jeremiah had
done,
IV. Here is Jeremiah's deliverance. Though
Urijah was lately put to death, and persecutors, when they have
tasted the blood of saints, are apt to thirst after more (as Herod,
Jeremiah the prophet, since he cannot persuade
people to submit to God's precept, and so to prevent the
destruction of their country by the king of Babylon, is here
persuading them to submit to God's providence, by yielding tamely
to the king of Babylon, and becoming tributaries to him, which was
the wisest course they could now take, and would be a mitigation of
the calamity, and prevent the laying of their country waste by fire
and sword; the sacrificing of their liberties would be the saving
of their lives. I. He gives this counsel, in God's name, to the
kings of the neighbouring nations, that they might make the best of
bad, assuring them that there was no remedy, but they must serve
the king of Babylon; and yet in time there should be relief, for
his dominion should last but 70 years,
1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 Thus saith the Lord to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck, 3 And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah; 4 And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters; 5 I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. 6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. 7 And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. 8 And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: 10 For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. 11 But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
Some difficulty occurs in the date of this
prophecy. This word is said to come to Jeremiah in the beginning
of the reign of Jehoiakim (
I. Jeremiah is to prepare a sign of the
general reduction of all these countries into subjection to the
king of Babylon (
II. He is to send this, with a sermon
annexed to it, to all the neighbouring princes; those are mentioned
(
Many might have prevented destroying providences by humbling themselves under humbling providences. It is better to take up a lighter cross in our way than to pull a heavier on our own head.
12 I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. 13 Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. 15 For I have not sent them, saith the Lord, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you. 16 Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the Lord's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. 17 Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste? 18 But if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon. 19 For thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city, 20 Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; 21 Yea, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem; 22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the Lord; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.
What was said to all the nations is here with a particular tenderness applied to the nation of the Jews, for whom Jeremiah was sensibly concerned. The case at present stood thus: Judah and Jerusalem had often contested with the king of Babylon, and still were worsted; many both of their valuable persons and their valuable goods were carried to Babylon already, and some of the vessels of the Lord's house particularly. Now how this struggle would issue was the question. They had those among them at Jerusalem who pretended to be prophets, who bade them hold out and they should, in a little time, be too hard for the king of Babylon and recover all that they had lost. Now Jeremiah is sent to bid them yield and knock under, for that, instead of recovering what they had lost, they should otherwise lose all that remained; and to press them to this is the scope of these verses.
I. Jeremiah humbly addresses the king of
Judah, to persuade him to surrender to the king of Babylon. His act
would be the people's and would determine them, and therefore he
speaks to him as to them all (
II. He addresses himself likewise to the
priests and the people (
III. In both these addresses he warns them
against giving credit to the false prophets that rocked them asleep
in their security, because they saw that they loved to slumber:
"Hearken not to the words of the prophets (
In the foregoing chapter Jeremiah had charged
those prophets with lies who foretold the speedy breaking of the
yoke of the king of Babylon and the speedy return of the vessels of
the sanctuary; how here we have his contest with a particular
prophet upon those heads. I. Hananiah, a pretender to prophecy, in
contradiction to Jeremiah, foretold the sinking of Nebuchadnezzar's
power and the return both of the persons and of the vessels that
were carried away (
1 And it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, which was of Gibeon, spake unto me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, 2 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the Lord's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon: 4 And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the Lord: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 5 Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the Lord, 6 Even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the Lord do so: the Lord perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the Lord's house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place. 7 Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people; 8 The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. 9 The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him.
This struggle between a true prophet and a
false one is said here to have happened in the beginning of the
reign of Zedekiah, and yet in the fourth year, for the
first four years of his reign might well be called the
beginning, or former part, of it, because during those years he
reigned under the dominion of the king of Babylon and as a
tributary to him; whereas the rest of his reign, which might well
be called the latter part of it, in distinction from that
former part, he reigned in rebellion against the king of
Babylon. In this fourth year of his reign he went in person to
Babylon (as we find,
I. The prediction which Hananiah delivered
publicly, solemnly, in the house of the Lord, and in the
name of the Lord, in an august assembly, in the presence of the
priests and of all the people, who probably were expecting to
have some message from heaven. In delivering this prophecy, he
faced Jeremiah, he spoke it to him (
II. Jeremiah's reply to this pretended
prophecy. 1. He heartily wishes it might prove true. Such an
affection has he for his country, and so truly desirous is he of
the welfare of it, that he would be content to lie under the
imputation of a false prophet, so that their ruin might be
prevented. He said, Amen; the Lord do so; the Lord perform thy
words,
10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it. 11 And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way. 12 Then the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the prophet, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 13 Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron. 14 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also. 15 Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The Lord hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the Lord. 17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
We have here an instance,
I. Of the insolence of the false prophet. To complete the affront he designed Jeremiah, he took the yoke from off his neck which he carried as a memorial of what he had prophesied concerning the enslaving of the nations to Nebuchadnezzar, and he broke it, that he might give a sign of the accomplishment of this prophecy, as Jeremiah had given of his, and might seem to have conquered him, and to have defeated the intention of his prophecy. See how the lying spirit, in the mouth of this false prophet, mimics the language of the Spirit of truth: Thus saith the Lord, So will I break the yoke of the king of Babylon, not only from the neck of this nation, but from the neck of all nations, within two full years. Whether by the force of a heated imagination Hananiah had persuaded himself to believe this, or whether he knew it to be false, and only persuaded them to believe it, does not appear; but it is plain that he speaks with abundance of assurance. It is no new thing for lies to be fathered upon the God of truth.
II. Of the patience of the true prophet. Jeremiah quietly went his way, and when he was reviled he reviled not again, and would not contend with one that was in the height of his fury and in the midst of the priests and people that were violently set against him. The reason why he went his way was not because he had nothing to answer, but because he was willing to stay till God was pleased to furnish him with a direct and immediate answer, which as yet he had not received. He expected that God would send a special message to Hananiah, and he would say nothing till he had received that. I, as a deaf man, heard not, for thou wilt hear, and thou shalt answer, Lord, for me. It may sometimes be our wisdom rather to retreat than to contend. Currenti cede furori—Give place unto wrath.
III. Of the justice of God in giving
judgment between Jeremiah and his adversary. Jeremiah went his way,
as a man in whose mouth there was no rebuke, but God soon
put a word into his mouth; for he will appear for those who
silently commit their cause to him. 1. The word of God, in the
mouth of Jeremiah, is ratified and confirmed. Let not Jeremiah
himself distrust the truth of what he had delivered in God's name
because it met with such a daring opposition and contradiction. If
what we have spoken be the truth of God, we must not unsay it
because men gainsay it; for great is the truth and will
prevail. It will stand, therefore let us stand to it, and not
fear that men's unbelief or blasphemy will make it of no effect.
Hananiah has broken the yokes of wood, but Jeremiah must
make for them yokes of iron, which cannot be broken
(
The contest between Jeremiah and the false
prophets was carried on before by preaching, here by writing; there
we had sermon against sermon, here we have letter against letter,
for some of the false prophets are now carried away into captivity
in Babylon, while Jeremiah remains in his own country. Now here is,
I. A letter which Jeremiah wrote to the captives in Babylon,
against their prophets that they had there (
1 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; 2 (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;) 3 By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying, 4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; 5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; 6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. 7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
We are here told,
I. That Jeremiah wrote to the captives in
Babylon, in the name of the Lord. Jeconiah had surrendered himself
a prisoner, with the queen his mother, the chamberlains of his
household, called here the eunuchs, and many of the
princes of Judah and Jerusalem, who were at that time the most
active men; the carpenters and smiths likewise, being
demanded, were yielded up, that those who remained might not have
any proper hands to fortify their city or furnish themselves with
weapons of war. By this tame submission it was hoped that
Nebuchadnezzar would be pacified. Satis est prostrasse leoni—It
suffices the lion to have laid his antagonist prostrate; but
the imperious conqueror grows upon their concessions, like Benhadad
upon Ahab's,
II. We are here told what he wrote. A copy
of the letter at large follows here to
1. He assures them that he wrote in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, who indited the letter; Jeremiah was but the scribe or amanuensis. It would be comfortable to them, in their captivity, to hear that God is the Lord of hosts, of all hosts, and is therefore able to help and deliver them; and that he is the God of Israel still, a God in covenant with his people, though he contend with them, and their enemies for the present are too hard for them. This would likewise be an admonition to them to stand upon their guard against all temptations to the idolatry of Babylon, because the God of Israel, the God whom they served, is Lord of hosts. God's sending to them in this letter might be an encouragement to them in their captivity, as it was an evidence that he had not cast them off, had not abandoned them and disinherited them, though he was displeased with them and corrected them; for, if the Lord had been pleased to kill them, he would not have written to them.
2. God by him owns the hand he had in their
captivity: I have caused you to be carried away,
3. He bids them think of nothing but
settling there; and therefore let them resolve to make the best of
it (
4. He directs them to seek the good of the
country where they were captives (
8 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. 9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord. 10 For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14 And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
To make the people quiet and easy in their captivity,
I. God takes them off from building upon
the false foundation which their pretended prophets laid,
II. He gives them a good foundation to
build their hopes upon. We would not persuade people to pull down
the house they have built upon the sand, but that there is a rock
ready for them to rebuild upon. God here promises them that, though
they should not return quickly, they should return at length,
after seventy years be accomplished. By this it appears that
the seventy years of the captivity are not to be reckoned from the
last captivity, but the first. Note, Though the deliverance of the
church do not come in our time, it is sufficient that it will come
in God's time, and we are sure that that is the best time. The
promise is that God will visit them in mercy; though he had long
seemed to be strange to them, he will come among them, and appear
for them, and put honour upon them, as great men do upon their
inferiors by coming to visit them. He will put an end to their
captivity, and turn away all the calamities of it.
Though they are dispersed, some in one country and some in another,
he will gather them from all the places whither they are
driven, will set up a standard for them all to resort to, and
incorporate them again in one body. And though they are at a great
distance they shall be brought again to their own land, to the
place whence they were carried captive,
15 Because ye have said, The Lord hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; 16 Know that thus saith the Lord of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; 17 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 18 And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them: 19 Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the Lord. 20 Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; 22 And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; 23 Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the Lord.
Jeremiah, having given great encouragement
to those among the captives whom he knew to be serious and
well-affected, assuring them that God had very kind and favourable
intentions concerning them, here turns to those among them who
slighted the counsels and comforts that Jeremiah ministered to them
and depended upon what the false prophets flattered them with. When
this letter came from Jeremiah they would be ready to say, "Why
should he make himself so busy, and take upon him to advise us?
The Lord has raised us up prophets in Babylon,
24 Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, 25 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 The Lord hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the Lord, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks. 27 Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you? 28 For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 29 And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying, 31 Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie: 32 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the Lord; because he hath taught rebellion against the Lord.
We have perused the contents of Jeremiah's letter to the captives in Babylon, who had reason, with a great deal of thanks to God and him, to acknowledge the receipt of it, and lay it up among their treasures. But we cannot wonder if the false prophets they had among them were enraged at it; for it gave them their true character. Now here we are told concerning one of them,
I. How he manifested his malice against
Jeremiah. This busy fellow is called Shemaiah the
Nehelamite, the dreamer (so the margin reads it),
because all his prophecies he pretended to have received from God
in a dream. He had got a copy of Jeremiah's letter to the captives,
or had heard it read, or information was given to him concerning
it, and it nettled him exceedingly; and he will take pen in hand,
and answer it, yea, that he will. But how? He does not write to
Jeremiah in justification of his own mission, nor offer any
rational arguments for the support of his prophecies concerning the
speedy return of the captives; but he writes to the priests, those
faithful patrons of the false prophets, and instigates them to
persecute Jeremiah. He writes in his own name, not so much as
pretending to have the people's consent to it; but, as if he must
be dictator to all mankind, he sends a circular letter (as it
should seem) among the priests at Jerusalem and the rest of the
people, probably by the same messengers that brought the letter
from Jeremiah. But it is chiefly directed to Zephaniah, who was
either the immediate son of Maaseiah, or of the 24th course of the
priests, of which Maaseiah was the father and head. He was not the
high priest, but sagan or suffragan to the high priest, or in some
other considerable post of command in the temple, as Pashur,
II. How Jeremiah came to the knowledge of
this (
III. What was the sentence passed upon
Shemaiah for writing this letter. God sent him an answer, for to
him Jeremiah committed his cause: it was ordered to be sent not to
him, but to those of the captivity, who encouraged and
countenanced him as if he had been a prophet of God's raising up,
The sermon which we have in this and the following
chapter is of a very different complexion from all those before.
The prophet does indeed, by direction from God, change his voice.
Most of what he had said hitherto was by way of reproof and
threatening; but these two chapters are wholly taken up with
precious promises of a return out of captivity, and that typical of
the glorious things reserved for the church in the days of the
Messiah. The prophet is told not only to preach this, but to write
it, because it is intended for the comfort of the generation to
come,
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. 3 For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. 4 And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. 5 For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. 6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? 7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. 8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: 9 But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
Here, I. Jeremiah is directed to
write what God had spoken to him, which perhaps refers to
all the foregoing prophecies. He must write them and publish them,
in hopes that those who had not profited by what he said upon once
hearing it might take more notice of it when in reading it they had
leisure for a more considerate review. Or, rather, it refers to the
promises of their enlargement, which had been often mixed with his
other discourses. He must collect them and put them together, and
God will now add unto them many like words. He must write them for
the generations to come, who should see them accomplished, and
thereby have their faith in the prophecy confirmed. He must write
them not in a letter, as that in the chapter before to the
captives, but in a book, to be carefully preserved in the
archives, or among the public rolls or registers of the state.
Daniel understood by these books when the captivity was about
coming to an end,
II. He is directed what to write. The very
words are such as the Holy Ghost teaches,
10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. 11 For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished. 12 For thus saith the Lord, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous. 13 There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines. 14 All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased. 15 Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee. 16 Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. 17 For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.
In these verses, as in those foregoing, the deplorable case of the Jews in captivity is set forth, but many precious promises are given them that in due time they should be relieved and a glorious salvation wrought for them.
I. God himself appeared against them: he
scattered them (
II. Their friends forsook them, and were
shy of them. None of those who had courted them in their prosperity
would take notice of them now in their distress,
III. For all this God will work deliverance
and salvation for them in due time. Though no other hand, nay,
because no other hand, can cure their wound, his will, and
shall. 1. Though he seemed to stand at a distance from them, yet he
assures them of his presence with them, his powerful and gracious
presence: I will save thee,
IV. Upon the whole matter, they are
cautioned against inordinate fear and grief, for in these precious
promises there is enough to silence both. 1. They must not tremble
as those that have no hope in the apprehension of future further
trouble that might threaten them (
18 Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwelling-places; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. 19 And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. 20 Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them. 21 And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord. 22 And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. 23 Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. 24 The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.
We have here further intimations of the favour God had in reserve for them after the days of their calamity were over. It is promised,
I. That the city and temple should be
rebuilt,
II. That the sacred feasts should again be
solemnized (
III. That the people should be multiplied,
and increased, and made considerable: They shall not be few,
they shall not be small, but shall become numerous and
illustrious, and make a figure among the nations; for I will
multiply them and I will glorify them. It is for the
honour of the church to have many added to it that shall be saved.
This would make them be of some weight among their neighbours. Let
a people be ever so much diminished and despised, God can multiply
and glorify them. They shall be restored to their former honour:
Their children shall be as aforetime, playing in the streets
(
IV. That they shall be blessed with a good
government (
V. That they shall be taken again into
covenant with God, according to the covenant made with their
fathers (
VI. That their enemies shall be reckoned
with and brought down (
This chapter goes on with the good words and
comfortable words which we had in the chapter before, for the
encouragement of the captives, assuring them that God would in due
time restore them or their children to their own land, and make
them a great and happy nation again, especially by sending them the
Messiah, in whose kingdom and grace many of these promises were to
have their full accomplishment. I. They shall be restored to peace
and honour, and joy and great plenty,
1 At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. 2 Thus saith the Lord, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. 3 The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. 4 Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. 5 Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things. 6 For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God. 7 For thus saith the Lord; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. 8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. 9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
God here assures his people,
I. That he will again take them into a
covenant relation to himself, from which they seemed to be cut off.
At the same time, when God's anger breaks out against the
wicked (
II. That he will do for them, in bringing
them out of Babylon, as he had done for their fathers when he
delivered them out of Egypt, and as he had purposed to do when he
first took them to be his people. 1. He puts them in mind of what
he did for their fathers when he brought them out of Egypt,
III. That he will again form them into a
people, and give them a very joyful settlement in their own land,
IV. That they shall have liberty and
opportunity to worship God in the ordinances of his own
appointment, and shall have both invitations and inclinations to do
so (
V. That God shall have the glory and the
church both the honour and comfort of this blessed change
(
VI. That, in order to a happy settlement in
their own land, they shall have a joyful return out of the land of
their captivity and a very comfortable passage homeward (
10 Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. 11 For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. 12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. 13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. 14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord. 15 Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. 16 Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. 17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.
This paragraph is much to the same purport with the last, publishing to the world, as well as to the church, the purposes of God's love concerning his people. This is a word of the Lord which the nations must hear, for it is a prophecy of a work of the Lord which the nations cannot but take notice of. Let them hear the prophecy, that they may the better understand and improve the performance; and let those that hear it themselves declare it to others, declare it in the isles afar off. It will be a piece of news that will spread all the world over. It will look very great in history; let us see how it looks in prophecy.
It is foretold, 1. That those who are
dispersed shall be brought together again from their dispersions:
He that scattereth Israel will gather him; for he knows
whither he scattered them and therefore where to find them,
18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God. 19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. 20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord. 21 Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities. 22 How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man. 23 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness. 24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks. 25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. 26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.
We have here,
I. Ephraim's repentance, and return to God.
Not only Judah, but Ephraim the ten tribes, shall be restored, and
therefore shall thus be prepared and qualified for it,
II. God's compassion on Ephraim and the
kind reception he finds with God,
III. Gracious excitements and
encouragements given to the people of God in Babylon to prepare for
their return to their own land. Let them not tremble and lose their
spirits; let them not trifle and lose their time; but with a firm
resolution and a close application address themselves to their
journey,
IV. A comfortable prospect given them of a
happy settlement in their own land again. 1. They shall have an
interest in the esteem and good-will of all their neighbours, who
will give them a good word and put up a good prayer for them
(
V. The prophet tells us what pleasure the
discovery of this brought to his mind,
27 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the Lord. 29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge. 30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. 31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
The prophet, having found his sleep sweet, made so by the revelations of divine grace, sets himself to sleep again, in hopes of further discoveries, and is not disappointed; for it is here further promised,
I. That the people of God shall become both
numerous and prosperous. Israel and Judah shall be replenished both
with men and cattle, as if they were sown with the seed of both,
II. That they shall be reckoned with no
further for the sins of their fathers (
III. That God will renew his covenant with
them, so that all these blessings they shall have, not by
providence only, but by promise, and thereby they shall be both
sweetened and secured. But this covenant refers to gospel times,
the latter days that shall come; for of gospel grace the
apostle understands it (
35 Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name: 36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. 37 Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord. 38 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. 39 And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath. 40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the Lord; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.
Glorious things have been spoken in the
I. The building of the world, and the
firmness and lastingness of that building, are evidences of the
power and faithfulness of that God who has undertaken the
establishment of his church. He that built all things at
first is God (
1. The glories of the kingdom of nature,
and infer thence how happy those are that have this God, the God of
nature, to be their God for ever and ever. Take notice, (1.) Of the
steady and regular motion of the heavenly bodies, which God is the
first mover and supreme director of: He gives the sun for a
light by day (
2. The securities of the kingdom of grace
inferred hence: we may be confident of this very thing that the
seed of Israel shall not cease from being a nation, for the
spiritual Israel, the gospel church, shall be a holy nation, a
peculiar people,
II. The rebuilding of Jerusalem which was
now in ruins, and the enlargement and establishment of that, shall
be an earnest of these great things that God will do for the gospel
church, the heavenly Jerusalem,
In this chapter we have, I. Jeremiah imprisoned
for foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of
king Zedekiah,
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. 2 For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house. 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; 4 And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; 5 And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the Lord: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper. 6 And Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 7 Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it. 8 So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord. 9 And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. 10 And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances. 11 So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open: 12 And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison. 13 And I charged Baruch before them, saying, 14 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days. 15 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.
It appears by the date of this chapter that we are now coming very nigh to that fatal year which completed the desolations of Judah and Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. God's judgments came gradually upon them, but, they not meeting him by repentance in the way of his judgments, he proceeded in his controversy till all was laid waste, which was in the eleventh year of Zedekiah; now what is here recorded happened in the tenth. The king of Babylon's army had now invested Jerusalem and was carrying on the siege with vigour, not doubting but in a little time to make themselves masters of it, while the besieged had taken up a desperate resolution not to surrender, but to hold out to the last extremity. Now,
I. Jeremiah prophesies that both the city
and the court shall fall into the hands of the king of Babylon. He
tells them expressly that the besiegers shall take the city as a
prize, for God, whose city it was in a peculiar manner, will give
it into their hands and put it out of his protection (
II. For prophesying thus he is imprisoned,
not in the common gaol, but in the more creditable prison that was
within the verge of the palace, in the king of Judah's
house, and there not closely confined, but in custodia
libera—in the court of the prison, where he might have good
company, good air, and good intelligence brought him, and would be
sheltered from the abuses of the mob; but, however, it was a
prison, and Zedekiah shut him up in it for prophesying as he did,
III. Being in prison, he purchases from a
near relation of his a piece of ground that lay in Anathoth,
1. One would not have expected, (1.) That a
prophet should concern himself so far in the business of this
world; but why not? Though ministers must not entangle themselves,
yet they may concern themselves in the affairs of this life. (2.)
That one who had neither wife nor children should buy land. We find
(
2. Two things may be observed concerning this purchase:—
(1.) How fairly the bargain was made. When Jeremiah knew by Hanameel's coming to him, as God had foretold he would, that it was the word of the Lord, that it was his mind that he should make this purchase, he made no more difficulty of it, but bought the field. And, [1.] He was very honest and exact in paying the money. He weighted him the money, did not press him to take it upon his report, though he was his near kinsman, but weighed it to him, current money. It was seventeen shekels of silver, amounting to about forty shillings of our money. The land was probably but a little field and of small yearly value, when the purchase was so low; besides, the right of inheritance was in Jeremiah, so that he had only to buy out his kinsman's life, the reversion being his already. Some think this was only the earnest of a greater sum; but we shall not wonder at the smallness of the price if we consider what scarcity there was of money at this time and how little lands were counted upon. [2.] He was very prudent and discreet in preserving the writings. They were subscribed before witnesses. One copy was sealed up, the other was open. One was the original, the other the counterpart; or perhaps that which was sealed up was for his own private use, the other that was open was to be laid up in the public register of conveyances, for any person concerned to consult. Due care and caution in things of this nature might prevent a great deal of injustice and contention. The deeds of purchase were lodged in the hands of Baruch, before witnesses, and he was ordered to lay them up in an earthen vessel (an emblem of the nature of all the securities this world can pretend to give us, brittle things and soon broken), that they might continue many days, for the use of Jeremiah's heirs, after the return out of captivity; for they might then have the benefit of this purchase. Purchasing reversions may be a kindness to those that come after us, and a good man thus lays up an inheritance for his children's children.
(2.) What was the design of having this
bargain made. It was to signify that though Jerusalem was now
besieged, and the whole country was likely to be laid waste, yet
the time should come when houses, and fields, and vineyards
should be again possessed in this land,
16 Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the Lord, saying, 17 Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: 18 Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is his name, 19 Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings: 20 Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day; 21 And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror; 22 And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey; 23 And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them: 24 Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it. 25 And thou hast said unto me, O Lord God, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
We have here Jeremiah's prayer to God upon occasion of the discoveries God had made to him of his purposes concerning this nation, to pull it down, and in process of time to build it up again, which puzzled the prophet himself, who, though he delivered his messages faithfully, yet, in reflecting upon them, was greatly at a loss within himself how to reconcile them; in that perplexity he poured out his soul before God in prayer, and so gave himself ease. That which disturbed him was not the bad bargain he seemed to have made for himself in purchasing a field that he was likely to have no good of, but the case of his people, for whom he was still a kind and faithful intercessor, and he was willing to hope that, if God had so much mercy in store for them hereafter as he had promised, he would not proceed with so much severity against them now as he had threatened. Before Jeremiah went to prayer he delivered the deeds that concerned his new purchase to Baruch, which may intimate to us that when we are going to worship God we should get our minds as clear as may be from the cares and incumbrances of this world. Jeremiah was in prison, in distress, in the dark about the meaning of God's providences, and then he prays. Note, Prayer is a salve for every sore. Whatever is a burden to us, we may by prayer cast it upon the Lord and then be easy.
In this prayer, or meditation,
I. Jeremiah adores God and his infinite
perfections, and gives him the glory due to his name as the
Creator, upholder, and benefactor, of the whole creation, thereby
owning his irresistible power, that he can do what he will, and his
incontestable sovereignty, that he may do what he will,
II. He acknowledges the universal
cognizance God takes of all the actions of the children of men and
the unerring judgment he passes upon them (
III. He recounts the great things God had
done for his people Israel formerly. 1. He brought them out of
Egypt, that house of bondage, with signs and wonders, which
remain, if not in the marks of them, yet in the memorials of them,
even unto this day; for it would never be forgotten, not
only in Israel, who were reminded of it every year by the
ordinance of the passover, but among other men: all the
neighbouring nations spoke of it, as that which redounded
exceedingly to the glory of the God of Israel, and made him a
name as at this day. This is repeated (
IV. He bewails the rebellions they had been
guilty of against God, and the judgments God had brought upon them
for these rebellions. It is a sad account he here gives of the
ungrateful conduct of that people towards God. He had done every
thing that he had promised to do (they had acknowledged it,
V. He seems desirous to be let further into
the meaning of the order God had now given him to purchase his
kinsman's field (
26 Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying, 27 Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? 28 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it: 29 And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger. 30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the Lord. 31 For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face, 32 Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction. 34 But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it. 35 And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. 36 And now therefore thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; 37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: 38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: 39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. 41 Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. 42 For thus saith the Lord; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them. 43 And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. 44 Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the Lord.
We have here God's answer to Jeremiah's prayer, designed to quiet his mind and make him easy; and it is a full discovery of the purposes of God's wrath against the present generation and the purposes of his grace concerning the future generations. Jeremiah knew not how to sing both of mercy and judgment, but God here teaches to sing unto him of both. When we know not how to reconcile one word of God with another we may yet be sure that both are true, both are pure, both shall be made good, and not one iota or tittle of either shall fall to the ground. When Jeremiah was ordered to buy the field in Anathoth he was willing to hope that God was about to revoke the sentence of his wrath and to order the Chaldeans to raise the siege. "No," says God, "the execution of the sentence shall go on; Jerusalem shall be laid in ruins." Note, Assurances of future mercy must not be interpreted as securities from present troubles. But, lest Jeremiah should think that his being ordered to buy this field intimated that all the mercy God had in store for his people, after their return, was only that they should have the possession of their own land again, he further informs him that that was but a type and figure of those spiritual blessings which should then be abundantly bestowed upon them, unspeakably more valuable than fields and vineyards; so that in this word of the Lord, which came to Jeremiah, we have first as dreadful threatenings and then as precious promises as perhaps any we have in the Old Testament; life and death, good and evil, are here set before us; let us consider and choose wisely.
I. The ruin of Judah and Jerusalem is here
pronounced. The decree has gone forth, and shall not be recalled.
1. God here asserts his own sovereignty and power (
II. The restoration of Judah and Jerusalem
is here promised,
The scope of this chapter is much the same with
that of the foregoing chapter—to confirm the promise of the
restoration of the Jews, notwithstanding the present desolations of
their country and dispersions of their people. And these promises
have, both in type and tendency, a reference as far forward as to
the gospel church, to which this second edition of the Jewish
church was at length to resign its dignities and privileges. It is
here promised, I. That the city shall be rebuilt and re-established
"in statu quo—in its former state,"
1 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying, 2 Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name; 3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. 4 For thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the mounts, and by the sword; 5 They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but it is to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city. 6 Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. 7 And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first. 8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. 9 And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.
Observe here, I. The date of this comfortable prophecy which God entrusted Jeremiah with. It is not exact in the time, only that it was after that in the foregoing chapter, when things were still growing worse and worse; it was the second time. God speaketh once, yea, twice, for the encouragement of his people. We are not only so disobedient that we have need of precept upon precept to bring us to our duty, but so distrustful that we have need of promise upon promise to bring us to our comfort. This word, as the former, came to Jeremiah when he was in prison. Note, No confinement can deprive God's people of his presence; no locks nor bars can shut out his gracious visits; nay, oftentimes as their afflictions abound their consolations much more abound, and they have the most reviving communications of his favour when the world frowns upon them. Paul's sweetest epistles were those that bore date out of a prison.
II. The prophecy itself. A great deal of comfort is wrapped up in it for the relief of the captives, to keep them from sinking into despair. Observe,
1. Who it is that secures this comfort to
them (
2. How this comfort must be obtained and
fetched in—by prayer (
3. How deplorable the condition of
Jerusalem was which made it necessary that such comforts as these
should be provided for it, and notwithstanding which its
restoration should be brought about in due time (
4. What the blessings are which God has in store for Judah and Jerusalem, such as will redress all their grievances.
(1.) Is their state diseased? Is it
wounded? God will provide effectually for the healing of it, though
the disease was thought mortal and incurable,
(2.) Are they scattered and enslaved, and
is their nation laid in ruins? "I will cause their captivity to
return (
(3.) Is sin the procuring cause of all
their troubles? That shall be pardoned and subdued, and so the root
of the judgments shall be killed,
(4.) Have both their sins and their
sufferings turned to the dishonour of God? Their reformation and
restoration shall redound as much to his praise,
10 Thus saith the Lord; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast, 11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord. 12 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. 13 In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth them, saith the Lord. 14 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. 15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness.
Here is a further prediction of the happy state of Judah and Jerusalem after their glorious return out of captivity, issuing gloriously at length in the kingdom of the Messiah.
I. It is promised that the people who were
long in sorrow shall again be filled with joy. Every one concluded
now that the country would lie for ever desolate, that no
beasts would be found in the land of Judah, no inhabitant in
the streets of Jerusalem, and consequently there would be
nothing but universal and perpetual melancholy (
II. It is promised that the country, which
had lain long depopulated, shall be replenished and stocked again.
It was now desolate, without man and without beast; but,
after their return, the pastures shall again be clothed with
flocks,
III. To crown all these blessings which God
has in store for them, here is a promise of the Messiah, and of
that everlasting righteousness which he should bring in (
17 For thus saith the Lord; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; 18 Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. 19 And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying, 20 Thus saith the Lord; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; 21 Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. 22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me. 23 Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the Lord hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them. 25 Thus saith the Lord; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; 26 Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.
Three of God's covenants, that of royalty with David and his seed, that of the priesthood with Aaron and his seed, and that of Peculiarity with Abraham and his seed, seemed to be all broken and lost while the captivity lasted; but it is here promised that, notwithstanding that interruption and discontinuance for a time, they shall all three take place again, and the true intents and meaning of them all shall be abundantly answered in the New Testament blessings, typified by those conferred on the Jews after their return out of captivity.
I. The covenant of royalty shall be secured
and the promises of it shall have their full accomplishment in the
kingdom of Christ, the Son of David,
II. The covenant of priesthood shall be
secured, and the promises of that also shall have their full
accomplishment. This seemed likewise to be forgotten during the
captivity, when there was no altar, no temple service, for the
priests to attend upon; but this also shall revive. It did so;
immediately upon their coming back to Jerusalem there were priests
and Levites ready to offer burnt-offerings and to do
sacrifice continually (
III. The covenant of peculiarity likewise
shall be secured and the promises of that covenant shall have their
full accomplishment in the gospel Israel. Observe, 1. How this
covenant was looked upon as broken during the captivity,
In this chapter we have two messages which God
sent by Jeremiah. I. One to foretel the fate of Zedekiah king of
Judah, that he should fall into the hands of the king of Babylon,
that he should live a captive, but should at last die in peace in
his captivity,
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying, 2 Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire: 3 And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon. 4 Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the Lord of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword: 5 But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the Lord. 6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, 7 When the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah.
This prophecy concerning Zedekiah was
delivered to Jeremiah, and by him to the parties concerned, before
he was shut up in the prison, for we find this prediction here made
the ground of his commitment, as appears by the recital of some
passages out of it,
I. The time when this message was sent to
Zedekiah; it was when the king of Babylon, with all his
forces, some out of all the kingdoms of the earth that were
within his jurisdiction, fought against Jerusalem and the cities
thereof (
II. The message itself that was sent to
him. 1. Here is a threatening of wrath. He is told that again which
he had been often told before, that the city shall be taken by the
Chaldeans and burnt with fire (
III. Jeremiah's faithfulness in delivering
this message. Though he knew it would be ungrateful to the king,
and might prove, as indeed it did, dangerous to himself (for he was
imprisoned for it), yet he spoke all these words to
Zedekiah,
8 This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them; 9 That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother. 10 Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go. 11 But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids. 12 Therefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 13 Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying, 14 At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear. 15 And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name: 16 But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids. 17 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the Lord, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof, 19 The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf; 20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth. 21 And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which are gone up from you. 22 Behold, I will command, saith the Lord, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.
We have here another prophecy upon a particular occasion, the history of which we must take notice of, as necessary to give light to the prophecy.
I. When Jerusalem was closely besieged by the Chaldean army the princes and people agreed upon a reformation in one instance, and that was concerning their servants.
1. The law of God was very express, that
those of their own nation should not be held in servitude above
seven years, but, after they had served one apprenticeship, they
should be discharged and have their liberty; yea, though they had
sold themselves into servitude for the payment of their debts, or
though they were sold by the judges for the punishment of
their crimes. This difference was put between their brethren and
strangers, that those of other nations taken in war, or bought with
money, might be held in perpetual slavery, they and theirs; but
their brethren must serve but for seven years at the longest. This
God calls the covenant that he had made with them when he
brought them out of the land of Egypt,
2. This law they and their fathers had
broken. Their worldly profit swayed more with them than God's
command or covenant. When their servants had lived seven years with
them they understood their business, and how to apply themselves to
it, better than they did when they first came to them, and
therefore they would then by no means part with them, though God
himself by his law had made them free: Your fathers hearkened
not to me in this matter (
3. When they were besieged, and closely
shut in, by the army of the Chaldeans, they, being told of their
fault in this matter, immediately reformed, and let go all their
servants that were entitled to their freedom by the law of God, as
Pharaoh, who, when the plague was upon him, consented to let the
people go, and bound themselves in a covenant to do so. (1.)
The prophets faithfully admonished them concerning their sin. From
them they heard that they should let their Hebrew servants go
free,
II. When there was some hope that the siege
was raised and the danger over they repented of their repentance,
undid the good they had done, and forced the servants they had
released into their respective services again. 1. The king of
Babylon's army had now gone up from them,
III. For this treacherous dealing with God
they are here severely threatened. Be not deceived; God is not
mocked. Those that think to put a cheat upon God by a
dissembled repentance, a fallacious covenant, and a partial
temporary reformation, will prove in the end to have put the
greatest cheat upon their own souls; for the Lord, whose name is
Jealous, is a jealous God. It is here threatened, with an
observable air of displeasure against them, 1. That, since they had
not given liberty to their servants to go where they pleased, God
would give all his judgments liberty to take their course against
them without control (
A variety of methods is tried, and every stone
turned, to awaken the Jews to a sense of their sin and to bring
them to repentance and reformation. The scope and tendency of many
of the prophet's sermons was to frighten them out of their
disobedience, by setting before them what would be the end thereof
if they persisted in it. The scope of this sermon, in this chapter,
is to shame them out of their disobedience if they had any sense of
honour left in them for a discourse of this nature to fasten upon.
I. He sets before them the obedience of the family of the
Rechabites to the commands which were left them by Jonadab their
ancestor, and how they persevered in that obedience and would not
be tempted from it,
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, 2 Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink. 3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites; 4 And I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door: 5 And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine. 6 But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: 7 Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers. 8 Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters; 9 Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed: 10 But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 11 But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.
This chapter is of an earlier date than
many of those before; for what is contained in it was said and done
in the days of Jehoiakim (
I. What the rules of living were which Jonadab, probably by his last will and testament, in writing, and duly executed, charged his children, and his posterity after him throughout all generations, religiously to observe; and we have reason to think that they were such as he himself had all his days observed.
1. They were comprised in two remarkable
precepts:—(1.) He forbade them to drink wine, according to
the law of the Nazarites. Wine is indeed given to make glad the
heart of man and we are allowed the sober and moderate use of
it; but we are so apt to abuse it and get hurt by it, and a good
man, who has his heart made continually glad with the light of
God's countenance, has so little need of it for that purpose
(
2. Why did Jonadab prescribe these rules of
living to his posterity? It was not merely to show his authority,
and to exercise a dominion over them, by imposing upon them what he
thought fit; but it was to show his wisdom, and the real concern he
had for their welfare, by recommending to them what he knew would
be beneficial to them, yet not tying them by any oath or vow, or
under any penalty, to observe these rules, but only advising them
to conform to this discipline as far as they found it for
edification, yet to be dispensed with in any case of necessity, as
here,
II. How strictly his posterity observed
these rules,
12 Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying, 13 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the Lord. 14 The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father's commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me. 15 I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me. 16 Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me: 17 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered. 18 And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you: 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.
The trial of the Rechabites' constancy was intended but for a sign; now here we have the application of it.
I. The Rechabites' observance of their
father's charge to them is made use of as an aggravation of the
disobedience of the Jews to God. Let them see it and be ashamed.
The prophet asks them, in God's name, "Will you not at
length receive instruction?
II. Judgments are threatened, as often
before, against Judah and Jerusalem, for their disobedience thus
aggravated. The Rechabites shall rise up in judgment against them,
and shall condemn them; for they very punctually performed the
commandment of their father, and continued and persevered in
their obedience to it (
III. Mercy is here promised to the family
of the Rechabites for their steady and unanimous adherence to the
laws of their house. Though it was only for the shaming of Israel
that their constancy was tried, yet, being unshaken, it was
found unto praise, and honour, and glory; and God takes
occasion from it to tell them that he had favours in reserve for
them (
Here is another expedient tried to work upon this
heedless and untoward people, but it is tried in vain. A roll of a
book is provided, containing an abstract or abridgment of all the
sermons that Jeremiah had preached to them, that they might be put
in mind of what they had heard and might the better understand it,
when they had it all before them at one view. Now here we have, I.
The writing of this roll by Baruch, as Jeremiah dictated it,
1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. 3 It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin. 4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book. 5 And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of the Lord: 6 Therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the Lord in the ears of the people in the Lord's house upon the fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities. 7 It may be they will present their supplication before the Lord, and will return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the Lord hath pronounced against this people. 8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the Lord in the Lord's house.
In the beginning of Ezekiel's prophecy we
meet with a roll written in vision, for discovery of
the things therein contained to the prophet himself, who was to
receive and digest them,
I. The command which God gave to Jeremiah
to write a summary of his sermons, of all the reproofs and all the
warnings he had given in God's name to his people, ever since he
first began to be a preacher, in the thirteenth year of Josiah,
to this day, which was in the fourth year of Jehoiakim,
II. The instructions which Jeremiah gave to
Baruch his scribe, pursuant to the command he had received from
God, and the writing of the roll accordingly,
III. The orders which Jeremiah gave to
Baruch to read what he had written to the people. Jeremiah, it
seems was shut up, and could not go to the house of the
Lord himself,
9 And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the Lord to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem. 10 Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house, in the ears of all the people. 11 When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the words of the Lord, 12 Then he went down into the king's house, into the scribe's chamber: and, lo, all the princes sat there, even Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes. 13 Then Michaiah declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people. 14 Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, unto Baruch, saying, Take in thine hand the roll wherein thou hast read in the ears of the people, and come. So Baruch the son of Neriah took the roll in his hand, and came unto them. 15 And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. So Baruch read it in their ears. 16 Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and other, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words. 17 And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his mouth? 18 Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book. 19 Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye be.
It should seem that Baruch had been
frequently reading out of the book, to all companies that would
give him the hearing, before the most solemn reading of it
altogether which is here spoken of; for the directions were given
about it in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, whereas this was
done in the fifth year,
20 And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king. 21 So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of Elishama the scribe's chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king. 22 Now the king sat in the winter house in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. 23 And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. 24 Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words. 25 Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them. 26 But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the Lord hid them. 27 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, 28 Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned. 29 And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast? 30 Therefore thus saith the Lord of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. 31 And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not. 32 Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words.
We have traced the roll to the people, and to the princes, and here we are to follow it to the king; and we find,
I. That, upon notice given him concerning
it, he sent for it, and ordered it to be read to him,
II. That he had not patience to hear it
read through as the princes had, but, when he had heard three or
four leaves read, in a rage he cut it with his penknife,
and threw it piece by piece into the fire, that he might be
sure to see it all consumed,
III. That neither the king himself nor any
of his princes were at all affected with the word: They were not
afraid (
IV. That there were three of the princes
who had so much sense and grace left as to interpose for the
preventing of the burning of the roll, but in vain,
V. That Jehoiakim, when he had thus in
effect burnt God's warrant by which he was arrested, as it were in
a way of revenge, now that he thought he had got the better, signed
a warrant for the apprehending of Jeremiah and Baruch, God's
ministers (
VI. That Jeremiah had orders and
instructions to write in another roll the same words that were
written in the roll which Jehoiakim had burnt,
VII. That the king of Judah, though a king,
was severely reckoned with by the King of kings for this indignity
done to the written word. God noticed what it was in the roll that
Jehoiakim took so much offense at. Jehoiakim was angry because it
was written therein, saying, Surely the king of Babylon
shall come and destroy this land,
VIII. That, when the roll was written anew,
there were added to the former many like words
(
This chapter brings us very near the destruction
of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, for the story of it lies in the
latter end of Zedekiah's reign; we have in it, I. A general idea of
the bad character of that reign,
1 And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned
instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of
Babylon made king in the land of Judah. 2 But neither he,
nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the
words of the Lord, which he spake by
the prophet
Here is, 1. Jeremiah's preaching slighted,
11 And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army, 12 Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people. 13 And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans. 14 Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes. 15 Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison. 16 When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days; 17 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. 18 Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison? 19 Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land? 20 Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there. 21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
We have here a further account concerning Jeremiah, who relates more passages concerning himself than any other of the prophets; for the histories of the lives and sufferings of God's ministers have been very serviceable to the church, as well as their preaching and writing.
I. We are here told that Jeremiah, when he
had an opportunity for it, attempted to retire out of Jerusalem
into the country (
II. That in this attempt he was seized as a
deserter and committed to prison (
III. That Zedekiah at length sent for him,
and showed him some favour; but probably not till the Chaldean army
had returned and had laid fresh siege to the city. When their vain
hopes, with which they fed themselves (an in confidence of which
they had re-enslaved their servants,
In this chapter, just as in the former, we have
Jeremiah greatly debased under the frowns of the princes, and yet
greatly honoured by the favour of the king. They used him as a
criminal; he used him as a privy-counsellor. Here, I. Jeremiah for
his faithfulness is put into the dungeon by the princes,
1 Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and
Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and
Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had
spoken unto all the people, saying, 2 Thus saith the Lord, He that remaineth in this city shall
die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that
goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life
for a prey, and shall live. 3 Thus saith the Lord, This city shall surely be given into the
hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it. 4
Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this
man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of
war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in
speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare
of this people, but the hurt. 5 Then Zedekiah the king said,
Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he
that can do any thing against you. 6 Then took
they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of
Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let
down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no
water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire. 7 Now when
Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the
king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the
king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; 8 Ebed-melech
went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying,
9 My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that
they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into
the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he
is: for there is no more bread in the city. 10 Then
the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from
hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of
the dungeon, before he die. 11 So Ebed-melech took the men
with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury,
and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them
down by cords into the dungeon to
Here, 1. Jeremiah persists in his plain
preaching; what he had many a time said, he still says (
14 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the Lord: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me. 15 Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? 16 So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the Lord liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life. 17 Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: 18 But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. 19 And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me. 20 But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live. 21 But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the Lord hath shewed me: 22 And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back. 23 So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire. 24 Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die. 25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee: 26 Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there. 27 Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived. 28 So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken.
In the foregoing chapter we had the king in
close conference with Jeremiah, and here again, though (
I. The honour that Zedekiah did to the
prophet. When he was newly fetched out of the dungeon he sent for
him to advise with him privately. He met him in the third
entry, or (as the margin reads it) the principal entry,
that is in, or leads towards, or adjoins to, the house of
the Lord,
II. The bargain that Jeremiah made with him
before he would give him his advice,
III. The good advice that Jeremiah gave
him, with good reasons why he should take it, not from any prudence
or politics of his own, but in the name of the Lord, the God of
hosts and God of Israel. Not as a statesman, but as a
prophet, he advises him by all means to surrender himself and his
city to the king of Babylon's princes: "Go forth to them,
and make the best terms thou canst with them,"
IV. The objection which Zedekiah made
against the prophet's advice,
V. The pressing importunity with which
Jeremiah followed the advice he had given the king. He assures him
that, if he would comply with the will of God herein, the thing he
feared should not come upon him (
VI. The care which Zedekiah took to keep
this conference private (
As the prophet Isaiah, after he had largely
foretold the deliverance of Jerusalem out of the hands of the king
of Assyria, gave a particular narrative of the story, that it might
appear how exactly the event answered to the prediction, so the
prophet Jeremiah, after he had largely foretold the delivering of
Jerusalem into the hands of the king of Babylon, gives a particular
account of that sad event for the same reason. That melancholy
story we have in this chapter, which serves to disprove the false
flattering prophets and to confirm the word of God's messengers. We
are here told, I. That Jerusalem, after eighteen months' siege, was
taken by the Chaldean army,
1 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it. 2 And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up. 3 And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon. 4 And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain. 5 But the Chaldeans' army pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him. 6 Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. 7 Moreover he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon. 8 And the Chaldeans burned the king's house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 Then Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him, with the rest of the people that remained. 10 But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
We were told, in the close of the foregoing chapter, that Jeremiah abode patiently in the court of the prison, until the day that Jerusalem was taken. He gave the princes no further disturbance by his prophesying, nor they him by their persecutions; for he had no more to say than what he had said, and, the siege being carried on briskly, God found them other work to do. See here what it came to.
I. The city is at length taken by storm;
for how could it hold out when God himself fought against it?
Nebuchadnezzar's army sat down before it in the ninth year
of Zedekiah, in the tenth month (
II. The princes of the king of Babylon take
possession of the middle gate,
III. Zedekiah, having in disguise perhaps
seen the princes of the king of Babylon take possession of one of
the gates of the city, thought it high time to shift for his own
safety, and, loaded with guilt and fear, he went out of the
city, under no other protection but that of the night
(
IV. Some time afterwards the city was
burnt, temple and palace and all, and the wall of it broken down,
V. The people that were left were all
carried away captives to Babylon,
11 Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard, saying, 12 Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee. 13 So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rab-saris, and Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, and all the king of Babylon's princes; 14 Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people. 15 Now the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying, 16 Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee. 17 But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the Lord: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. 18 For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord.
Here we must sing of mercy, as in the former part of the chapter we sang of judgment, and must sing unto God of both. We may observe here,
I. A gracious providence concerning
Jeremiah. When Jerusalem was laid in ruins, and all men's hearts
failed them for fear, then might he lift up his head
with comfort, knowing that his redemption drew nigh, as
Christ's followers when the second destruction of Jerusalem was
hastening on,
II. A gracious message to Ebed-melech, to
assure him of a recompence for his kindness to Jeremiah. This
message was sent to him by Jeremiah himself, who, when he returned
him thanks for his kindness to him, thus turned him over to God to
be his paymaster. He relieved a prophet in the name of a
prophet, and thus he had a prophet's reward. This
message was delivered to him immediately after he had done that
kindness to Jeremiah, but it is mentioned here after the taking of
the city, to show that, as God was kind to Jeremiah at that time,
so he was to Ebed-melech for his sake; and it was a token of
special favour to both, and they ought so to account it, that they
were not involved in any of the common calamities. Jeremiah is
directed to tell him, 1. That God would certainly bring upon
Jerusalem the ruin that had been long and often threatened; and,
for his further satisfaction in having been kind to Jeremiah, he
should see him abundantly proved a true prophet,
We have attended Jerusalem's funeral pile, and
have taken our leave of the captives that were carried to Babylon,
not expecting to hear any more of them in this book: perhaps we may
in Ezekiel; and we must in this and the four following chapters
observe the story of those few Jews that were left to remain in the
land after their brethren were carried away, and it is a very
melancholy story; for, though at first there were some hopeful
prospects of their well-doing, they soon appeared as obstinate in
sin as ever, unhumbled and unreformed, till, all the rest of the
judgments threatened in
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him being bound in chains among all that were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, which were carried away captive unto Babylon. 2 And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The Lord thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place. 3 Now the Lord hath brought it, and done according as he hath said: because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you. 4 And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which were upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come; and I will look well unto thee: but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land is before thee: whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go. 5 Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people: or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward, and let him go. 6 Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.
The title of this part of the book, which
begins the chapter, seems misapplied (The word which came to
Jeremiah), for here is nothing of prophecy in this chapter, but
it is to be referred to
In these verses we have Jeremiah's
adhering, by the advice of Nebuzar-adan, to Gedaliah. It should
seem that Jeremiah was very honourably fetched out of the court of
the prison by the king of Babylon's princes (
7 Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poor of the land, of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon; 8 Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. 9 And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan sware unto them and to their men, saying, Fear not to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. 10 As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah to serve the Chaldeans, which will come unto us: but ye, gather ye wine, and summer fruits, and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that ye have taken. 11 Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan; 12 Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much. 13 Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, 14 And said unto him, Dost thou certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to slay thee? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not. 15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish? 16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.
We have in these verses,
I. A bright sky opening upon the remnant of the Jews that were left in their own land, and a comfortable prospect given them of some peace and quietness after the many years of trouble and terror with which they had been afflicted. Jeremiah indeed had never in his prophecies spoken of any such good days reserved for the Jews immediately after the captivity; but Providence seemed to raise and encourage such an expectation, and it would be to that miserable people as life from the dead. Observe the particulars.
1. Gedaliah, one of themselves, is made
governor in the land, by the king of Babylon,
2. There is great resort to him from all
parts, and all those that were now the Jews of the dispersion came
and put themselves under his government and protection. (1.) The
great men that had escaped the Chaldeans by force came and quietly
submitted to Gedaliah, for their own safety and common
preservation. Several are here named,
3. The model of this new government is
drawn up and settled by an original contract, which Gedaliah
confirmed with an oath, a solemn oath (
II. Here is a dark cloud gathering over
this infant state, and threatening a dreadful storm. How soon is
this hopeful prospect blasted! For when God begins in judgment he
will make an end. It is here intimated to us, 1. That Baalis the
king of the Ammonites had a particular spite at Gedaliah, and
was contriving to take him off, either out of malice to the nation
of the Jews, whose welfare he hated the thought of, or a personal
pique against Gedaliah,
It is a very tragical story that is related in
this chapter, and shows that evil pursues sinners. The black cloud
that was gathering in the foregoing chapter here bursts in a
dreadful storm. Those few Jews that escaped the captivity were
proud to think that they were still in their own land, when their
brethren had gone they knew not whither, were fond of the wine and
summer-fruits they had gathered, and were very secure under
Gedaliah's protectorship, when, on a sudden, even these remains
prove ruins too. I. Gedaliah is barbarously slain by Ishmael,
1 Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah. 2 Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. 3 Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, and the men of war. 4 And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it, 5 That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord. 6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. 7 And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him. 8 But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren. 9 Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain. 10 Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king's daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.
It is hard to say which is more astonishing, God's permitting or men's perpetrating such villanies as here we find committed. Such base, barbarous, bloody work is here done by men who by their birth should have been men of honour, by their religion just men, and this done upon those of their own nature, their own nation, their own religion, and now their brethren in affliction, when they were all brought under the power of the victorious Chaldeans, and smarting under the judgments of God, upon no provocation, nor with any prospect of advantage—all done, not only in cold blood, but with art and management. We have scarcely such an instance of perfidious cruelty in all the scripture; so that with John, when he saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, we may well wonder with great admiration. But God permitted it for the completing of the ruin of an unhumbled people, and the filling up of the measure of their judgments, who had filled up the measure of their iniquities. Let it inspire us with an indignation at the wickedness of men and an awe of God's righteousness.
I. Ishmael and his party treacherously
killed Gedaliah himself in the first place. Though the king of
Babylon had made him a great man, had given him a commission to be
governor of the land which he had conquered, though God had
made him a good man and a great blessing to his country, and his
agency for its welfare was as life from the dead, yet neither could
secure him. Ishmael was of the seed royal (
II. They likewise put all to the sword that
they found in arms there, both Jews and Chaldeans, all that were
employed under Gedaliah or were in any capacity to revenge his
death,
III. Some good honest men, that were going
all in tears to lament the desolations of Jerusalem, were drawn in
by Ishmael, and murdered with the rest. Observe, 1. Whence they
came (
IV. He carried off the people prisoners.
The king's daughters (whom the Chaldeans cared not for
troubling themselves with when they had the king's sons) and the
poor of the land, the vine-dressers and husband-men, that were
committed to Gedaliah's charge, were all led away prisoners towards
the country of the Ammonites (
11 But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, 12 Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon. 13 Now it came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad. 14 So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites. 16 Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon: 17 And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Beth-lehem, to go to enter into Egypt, 18 Because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.
It would have been well if Johanan, when he
gave information to Gedaliah of Ishmael's treasonable design,
though he could not obtain leave to kill Ishmael and to prevent it
that way, yet had staid with Gedaliah; for he, and his captains,
and their forces, might have been a life-guard to Gedaliah and a
terror to Ishmael, and so have prevented the mischief without the
effusion of blood: but, it seems they were out upon some
expedition, perhaps no good one, and so were out of the way when
they should have been upon the best service. Those that affect to
ramble are many times out of their place when they are most needed.
However, at length they hear of all the evil that Ishmael had
done (
Johanan and the captains being strongly bent upon
going into Egypt, either their affections or politics advising them
to take that course, they had a great desire that God should direct
them to do so too like Balaam, who, when he was determined to go
and curse Israel, asked God leave. Here is, I. The fair bargain
that was made between Jeremiah and them about consulting God in
this matter,
1 Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near, 2 And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the Lord thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:) 3 That the Lord thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do. 4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the Lord your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the Lord shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you. 5 Then they said to Jeremiah, The Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us. 6 Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.
We have reason to wonder how Jeremiah the
prophet escaped the sword of Ishmael; it seems he did escape, and
it was not the first time that the Lord hid him. It is strange also
that in these violent turns he was not consulted before now, and
his advice asked and taken. But it should seem as if they knew not
that a prophet was among them. Though this people were as brands
plucked out of the fire, yet have they not returned to the
Lord. This people has a revolting and a rebellious
heart; and contempt of God and his providence, God and his
prophets, is still the sin that most easily besets them. But
now at length, to serve a turn, Jeremiah is sought out, and all
the captains, Johanan himself not excepted, with all the
people from the least to the greatest, make him a visit; they
came near (
I. They desire him by prayer to ask
direction from God what they should do in the present critical
juncture,
II. Jeremiah faithfully promises them to
pray for direction for them, and, whatever message God should send
to them by him, he would deliver it to them just as he received it
without adding, altering, or diminishing,
III. They fairly promise that they will be
governed by the will of God, as soon as they know what it is
(
7 And it came to pass after ten days, that the
word of the Lord came unto
We have here the answer which Jeremiah was sent to deliver to those who employed him to ask counsel of God.
I. It did not come immediately, not till
ten days after,
II. When it did come he delivered it publicly, both to the captains and to all the people, from the meanest to those in the highest station; he delivered it fully and faithfully as he received it, as he had promised that he would keep nothing back from them. If Jeremiah had been to direct them by his own prudence, perhaps he could not have told what to advise them to, the case was so difficult; but what he has to advise is what the Lord the God of Israel saith, to whom they had sent him, and therefore they were bound in honour and duty to observe it. And this he tells them,
1. That it is the will of God that they
should stay where they are, and his promise that, if they do so, it
shall undoubtedly be well with them he would have them still
to abide in this land,
2. That as they tender the favour of God
and their own happiness they must by no means think of going into
Egypt, not thither of all places, not to that land out of which God
had delivered their fathers and which he had so often warned them
not to make alliance with nor to put confidence in. Observe here,
(1.) The sin they are supposed to be guilty of (and to him that
knew their hearts it was more than a supposition): "You begin to
say, We will not dwell in this land (
3. That God knew their hypocrisy in their
enquiries of him, and that when they asked what he would have them
to do they were resolved to take their own way; and therefore the
sentence which was before pronounced conditionally is made
absolute. Having set before them good and evil, the blessing and
the curse, in the close he makes application of what he had said.
And here, (1.) He solemnly protests that he had faithfully
delivered his message,
Jeremiah had faithfully delivered his message from
God in the foregoing chapter, and the case was made so very plain
by it that one would have thought there needed no more words about
it; but we find it quite otherwise. Here is, I. The people's
contempt of this message; they denied it to be the word of God
(
1 And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the Lord their God, for which the Lord their God had sent him to them, even all these words, 2 Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the Lord our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there: 3 But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon. 4 So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Judah. 5 But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah; 6 Even men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah. 7 So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord: thus came they even to Tahpanhes.
What God said to the builders of Babel may
be truly said of this people that Jeremiah is now dealing with:
Now nothing will be restrained from them which they have
imagined to do,
I. They deny it to be a message from God:
Johanan, and all the proud men, said to Jeremiah, Thou speakest
falsely,
II. They determine to go to Egypt
notwithstanding. They resolve not to dwell in the land of
Judah, as God had ordered them (
8 Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, 9 Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the clay in the brick-kiln, which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah; 10 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. 11 And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword. 12 And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace. 13 He shall break also the images of Beth-shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.
We have here, as also in the next chapter, Jeremiah prophesying in Egypt. Jeremiah was now in Tahpanhes, for there his lords and masters were; he was there among idolatrous Egyptians and treacherous Israelites; but there, 1. He received the word of the Lord; it came to him. God can find his people, with the visits of his grace, wherever they are; and, when his ministers are bound, yet the word of the Lord is not bound. The spirit of prophecy was not confined to the land of Israel. When Jeremiah went into Egypt, not out of choice, but by constraint, God withdrew not his wonted favour from him. 2. What he received of the Lord he delivered to the people. Wherever we are we must endeavour to do good, for that is our business in this world. Now we find two messages which Jeremiah was appointed and entrusted to deliver when he was in Egypt. We may suppose that he rendered what services he could to his countrymen in Egypt, at least as far as they would be acceptable, in performing the ordinary duties of a prophet, praying for them and instructing and comforting them; but only two messages of his, which he had received immediately from God, are recorded, one in this chapter, relating to Egypt itself and foretelling its destruction, the other in the next chapter, relating to the Jews in Egypt. God had told them before that if they went into Egypt the sword they feared should follow them; here he tells them further that the sword of Nebuchadnezzar, which they were in a particular manner afraid of, should follow them.
I. This is foretold by a sign. Jeremiah
must take great stones, such as are used for foundations,
and lay them in the clay of the furnace, or
brick-kiln, which is in the open way, or beside
the way that leads to Pharaoh's house (
II. It is foretold in express words, as
express as can be, 1. That the king, the present king of Babylon,
Nebuchadnezzar, the very same that had been employed in the
destruction of Jerusalem, should come in person against the land of
Egypt, should make himself master even of this royal city, by the
same token that he should set his throne in that very place
where these stones were laid,
In this chapter we have, I. An awakening sermon
which Jeremiah preaches to the Jews in Egypt, to reprove them for
their idolatry, notwithstanding the warnings given them both by the
word and the rod of God and to threaten the judgments of God
against them for it,
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt, which dwell at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying, 2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein, 3 Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers. 4 Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate. 5 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods. 6 Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day. 7 Therefore now thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to remain; 8 In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off, and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers. 11 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah. 12 And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed, and fall in the land of Egypt; they shall even be consumed by the sword and by the famine: they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine: and they shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach. 13 For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: 14 So that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall escape.
The Jews in Egypt were now dispersed into
various parts of the country, into Migdol, and Noph, and
other places, and Jeremiah was sent on an errand from God to them,
which he delivered either when he had the most of them together
in Pathros (
I. God puts them in mind of the desolations
of Judah and Jerusalem, which, though the captives by the rivers
of Babylon were daily mindful of (
II. He puts them in mind of the sins that
brought those desolations upon Judah and Jerusalem. It was for
their wickedness. It was this that provoked God to
anger, and especially their idolatry, their serving other
gods (
III. He puts them in mind of the frequent
and fair warnings he had given them by his word not to serve other
gods, the contempt of which warnings was a great aggravation of
their idolatry,
IV. He reproves them for, and upbraids them
with, their continued idolatries, now that they had come into Egypt
(
V. He threatens their utter ruin for their
persisting in their idolatry now that they were in Egypt. Judgment
is given against them, as before (
15 Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, 16 As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee. 17 But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. 18 But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. 19 And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?
We have here the people's obstinate refusal to submit to the power of the word of God in the mouth of Jeremiah. We have scarcely such an instance of downright daring contradiction to God himself as this, or such an avowed rebellion of the carnal mind. Observe,
I. The persons who thus set God and his
judgments at defiance; it was not some one that was thus obstinate,
but the generality of the Jews; and they were such as knew either
themselves or their wives to be guilty of the idolatry Jeremiah had
reproved,
II. The reply which these persons made to Jeremiah, and in him to God himself; it is in effect the same with theirs who had the impudence to say to the Almighty, Depart from us; we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
1. They declare their resolution not to do
as God commanded them, but what they themselves had a mind to do;
that is, they would go on to worship the moon, here called the
queen of heaven; yet some understand it of the sun, which was
much worshipped in Egypt (
2. They give some sort of reasons for their resolution; for the most absurd and unreasonably wicked men will have something to say for themselves, till the day comes when every mouth shall be stopped.
(1.) They plead many of those things which
the advocates for Rome make the marks of a true church, and not
only justify but magnify themselves with; and these Jews have as
much right to them as the Romanists have. [1.] They plead
antiquity: We are resolved to burn incense to the queen of
heaven, for our fathers did so; it is a practice that
pleads prescription; and why should we pretend to be wiser than our
fathers? [2.] They plead authority. Those that had power practised
it themselves and prescribed it to others: Our kings and our
princes did it, whom God set over us, and who were of the seed
of David. [3.] They plead unity. It was not here and there one that
did it, but we, we all with one consent, we that are a
great multitude (
(2.) They suggest that the judgments they
had of late been under were brought upon them for leaving off to
burn incense to the queen of heaven,
(3.) They plead that, though the women were
most forward and active in their idolatries, yet they did it with
the consent and approbation of their husbands; the women were busy
to make cakes for meat-offerings to the queen of
heaven and to prepare and pour out the drink-offerings,
20 Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying, 21 The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them, and came it not into his mind? 22 So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day. 23 Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day. 24 Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt: 25 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows. 26 Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord God liveth. 27 Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them. 28 Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs. 29 And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the Lord, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil: 30 Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will give Pharaoh-hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.
Daring sinners may speak many a bold word and many a big word, but, after all, God will have the last word; for he will be justified when he speaks, and all flesh, even the proudest, shall be silent before him. Prophets may be run down, but God cannot; nay, here the prophet would not.
I. Jeremiah has something to say to them
from himself, which he could say without a spirit of prophecy, and
that was to rectify their mistake (a wilful mistake it was)
concerning the calamities they had been under and the true intent
and meaning of them. They said that these miseries came upon them
because they had now left off burning incense to the queen of
heaven. "No," says he, "it was because you had formerly done
it, not because you had now left it off." When they gave him that
answer, he immediately replied (
II. Jeremiah has something to say to them,
to the women particularly, from the Lord of hosts, the
God of Israel, They have given their answer; now let them hear
God's reply,
1. That, since they were fully determined
to persist in their idolatry, he was fully determined to proceed in
his controversy with them; if they would go on to provoke him, he
would go on to punish them, and see which would get the better at
last. God repeats what they had said (
2. He tells them that a very few of them
should escape the sword, and in process of time return
into the land of Judah, a small number (
3. He gives them a sign that all these threatenings shall be accomplished in their season, that they shall be consumed here in Egypt and shall quite perish: Pharaoh-hophra, the present king of Egypt, shall be delivered into the hand of his enemies that seek his life—of his own rebellious subjects (so some) under Amasis, who usurped his throne—of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (so others), who invaded his kingdom; the former is related by Herodotus, the latter by Josephus. It is likely that this Pharaoh had tempted the Jews to idolatry by promises of his favour; however, they depended upon him for his protection, and it would be more than a presage of their ruin, it would be a step towards it, if he were gone. They expected more from him than from Zedekiah king of Judah; he was a more potent and politic prince. "But," says God, "I will give him into the hand of his enemies, as I gave Zedekiah." Note, Those creature-comforts and confidences that we promise ourselves most from may fail us as soon as those that we promise ourselves least from, for they are all what God makes them, not what we fancy them.
The sacred history records not the accomplishment of this prophecy, but its silence is sufficient; we hear no more of these Jews in Egypt, and therefore conclude them, according to this prediction, lost there; for no word of God shall fall to the ground.
The prophecy we have in this chapter concerns
Baruch only, yet is intended for the support and encouragement of
all the Lord's people that serve him faithfully and keep closely to
him in difficult trying times. It is placed here after the story of
the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews, but
was delivered long before, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, as was
the prophecy in the next chapter, and probably those that follow.
We here find, I. How Baruch was terrified when he was brought into
trouble for writing and reading Jeremiah's roll,
1 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, 2 Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch; 3 Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the Lord hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest. 4 Thus shalt thou say unto him, The Lord saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. 5 And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.
How Baruch was employed in writing
Jeremiah's prophecies, and reading them, we had an account
I. The consternation that poor Baruch was
in when he was sought for by the king's messengers and obliged to
hide his head, and the notice which God took of it. He cried out,
Woe is me now!
II. The reproof that God gave him for
talking at this rate. Jeremiah was troubled to see him in such an
agitation, and knew not well what to say to him. He was loth to
chide him, and yet thought he deserved it, was willing to comfort
him, and yet knew not which way to go about it; but God tells him
what he shall say to him,
III. The encouragement that God gave him to hope that though he should not be great, yet he should be safe: "I will bring evil upon all flesh, all nations of men, all orders and degrees of men, but thy life will I give to thee for a prey" (thy soul, so the word is) "in all places whither thou goest. Thou must expect to be hurried from place to place, and, wherever thou goest, to be in danger, but thou shalt escape, though often very narrowly, shalt have thy life, but it shall be as a prey, which is got with much difficulty and danger; thou shalt be saved as by fire." Note, The preservation and continuance of life are very great mercies, and we are bound to account them such, as they are the prolonging of our opportunity to glorify God in this world and to get ready for a better; and at some times, especially when the arrows of death fly thickly about us, life is a signal favour, and what we ought to be very thankful for, and while we have it must not complain though we be disappointed of the great things we expected. Is not the life more than meat?
How judgment began at the house of God we have
found in the foregoing prophecy and history; but now we shall find
that it did not end there. In this and the following chapters we
have predictions of the desolations of the neighbouring nations,
and those brought upon them too mostly by the king of Babylon, till
at length Babylon itself comes to be reckoned with. The prophecy
against Egypt is here put first and takes up this whole chapter, in
which we have, I. A prophecy of the defeat of Pharaoh-necho's army
by the Chaldean forces at Carchemish, which was accomplished soon
after, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim,
1 The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles; 2 Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh-necho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah. 3 Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle. 4 Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines. 5 Wherefore have I seen them dismayed and turned away back? and their mighty ones are beaten down, and are fled apace, and look not back: for fear was round about, saith the Lord. 6 Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates. 7 Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers? 8 Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof. 9 Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow. 10 For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord God of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. 11 Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.
The first verse is the title of that part of this book, which relates to the neighbouring nations, and follows here. It is the word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah against the Gentiles; for God is King and Judge of nations, knows and will call to an account those who know him not nor take any notice of him. Both Isaiah and Ezekiel prophesied against these nations that Jeremiah here has a separate saying to, and with reference to the same events. In the Old Testament we have the word of the Lord against the Gentiles; in the New Testament we have the word of the Lord for the Gentiles, that those who were afar off are made nigh.
He begins with Egypt, because they were of
old Israel's oppressors and of late their deceivers, when they put
confidence in them. In these verses he foretells the overthrow of
the army of Pharaoh-necho, by Nebuchadnezzar, in the
fourth year of Jehoiakim, which was so complete a victory to
the king of Babylon that thereby he recovered from the river of
Egypt to the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of
Egypt, and so weakened him that he came not again any more
out of his land (as we find,
I. The Egyptians are upbraided with the
mighty preparations they made for this expedition, in which the
prophet calls to them to do their utmost, for so they would: "Come
then, order the buckler, let the weapons of war be got
ready,"
II. They are upbraided with the great
expectations they had from this expedition, which were quite
contrary to what God intended in bringing them together. They knew
their own thoughts, and God knew them, and sat in heaven and
laughed at them; but they knew not the thoughts of the Lord,
for he gathers them as sheaves into the floor,
III. They are upbraided with their
cowardice and inglorious flight when they come to an engagement
(
IV. They are upbraided with their utter
inability ever to recover this blow, which should be fatal to their
nation,
12 The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the land: for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both together. 13 The word that the Lord spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt. 14 Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee. 15 Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the Lord did drive them. 16 He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword. 17 They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed. 18 As I live, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come. 19 O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant. 20 Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north. 21 Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their visitation. 22 The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood. 23 They shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable. 24 The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north. 25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him: 26 And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the Lord. 27 But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. 28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.
In these verses we have,
I. Confusion and terror spoken to Egypt.
The accomplishment of the prediction in the former part of the
chapter disabled the Egyptians from making any attempts upon other
nations; for what could they do when their army was routed? But
still they remained strong at home, and none of their neighbours
durst make any attempts upon them. Though the kings of Egypt came
no more out of their land (
1. Here is the alarm of war sounded in
Egypt, to their great amazement (
2. The retreat hereupon of the forces of
other nations which the Egyptians had in their pay is here
foretold. Some considerable number of those troops, it is probable,
were posted upon the frontiers to guard them, where they were
beaten off by the invaders and put to flights. Then were the
valiant men swept away (
3. The formidable power of the Chaldean
army is here described as bearing down all before it. The
King of kings, whose name is the Lord of hosts, and
before whom the mightiest kings on earth, though gods to us, are
but as grasshoppers, he hath said it, he hath sworn it, As I
live, saith this king, as Tabor overtops the
mountains and Carmel overlooks the sea, so shall the
king of Babylon overpower all the force of Egypt, such a command
shall he have, such a sway shall he bear,
4. The desolation of Egypt hereby is
foretold, and the waste that should be made of that rich country.
Egypt is now like a very fair heifer, or calf
(
5. An intimation is given that in process
of time Egypt shall recover itself again (
II. Comfort and peace are here spoken to
the Israel of God,
This chapter reads the Philistines their doom, as
the former read the Egyptians theirs and by the same hand, that of
Nebuchadnezzar. It is short, but terrible; and Tyre and Zidon,
though they lay at some distance from them, come in sharers with
them in the destruction here threatened. I. It is foretold that the
forces of the northern crowns should come upon them, to their great
terror,
1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza. 2 Thus saith the Lord; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl. 3 At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands; 4 Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the Lord will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor. 5 Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself? 6 O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. 7 How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it.
As the Egyptians had often proved false
friends, so the Philistines had always been sworn enemies, to the
Israel of God, and the more dangerous and vexatious for their being
such near neighbours to them. They were considerably humbled in
David's time, but, it seems they had got head again and were a
considerable people till Nebuchadnezzar cut them off with their
neighbours, which is the event here foretold. The date of this
prophecy is observable; it was before Pharaoh smote Gaza.
When this blow was given to Gaza by the king of Egypt is not
certain, whether in his expedition against Carchemish or in his
return thence, after he had slain Josiah, or when he afterwards
came with design to relieve Jerusalem; but this is mentioned here
to show that this word of the Lord came to Jeremiah against the
Philistines when they were in their full strength and lustre,
themselves and their cities in good condition, in no peril from any
adversary or evil occurrent. When no disturbance of their repose
was foreseen by any human probabilities, yet then Jeremiah foretold
their ruin, which Pharaoh's smiting Gaza soon after would be but an
earnest of, and, as it were, the beginning of sorrows to that
country. It is here foretold, 1. That a foreign enemy and a very
formidable one shall be brought upon them: Waters rise up out of
the north,
Moab is next set to the bar before Jeremiah the
prophet, whom God has constituted judge over nations and kingdoms,
from his mouth to receive its doom. Isaiah's predictions concerning
Moab had had their accomplishment (we had the predictions
1 Against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed. 2 There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee. 3 A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction. 4 Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard. 5 For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction. 6 Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness. 7 For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together. 8 And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the Lord hath spoken. 9 Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein. 10 Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood. 11 Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed. 12 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles. 13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Beth-el their confidence.
We may observe in these verses,
I. The author of Moab's destruction; it is
the Lord of hosts, that has armies, all armies, at his
command, and the God of Israel (
II. The instruments of it: Spoilers
shall come (
III. The woeful instances and effects of
this destruction. The cities shall be laid in ruins; they shall be
spoiled (
IV. The sins for which God will now reckon
with Moab, and which justify God in these severe proceedings
against them. 1. It is because they have been secure, and have
trusted in their wealth and strength, in their works and
in their treasures,
14 How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war? 15 Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts. 16 The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast. 17 All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod! 18 Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds. 19 O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done? 20 Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled, 21 And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath, 22 And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim, 23 And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon, 24 And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near. 25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the Lord. 26 Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the Lord: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision. 27 For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy. 28 O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth. 29 We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart. 30 I know his wrath, saith the Lord; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it. 31 Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kirheres. 32 O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage. 33 And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting. 34 From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as a heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate. 35 Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods. 36 Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres: because the riches that he hath gotten are perished. 37 For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth. 38 There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the Lord. 39 They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him. 40 For thus saith the Lord; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab. 41 Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men's hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. 42 And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the Lord. 43 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the Lord. 44 He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the Lord. 45 They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones. 46 Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives. 47 Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the Lord. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
The destruction is here further prophesied of very largely and with a great copiousness and variety of expression, and very pathetically and in moving language, designed not only to awaken them by a national repentance and reformation to prevent the trouble, or by a personal repentance and reformation to prepare for it, but to affect us with the calamitous state of human life, which is liable to such lamentable occurrences, and with the power of God's anger and the terror of his judgments, when he comes forth to contend with a provoking people. In reading this long roll of threatenings, and meditating on the terror of them, it will be of more use to us to keep this in our eye, and to get our hearts thereby possessed with a holy awe of God and of his wrath, than to enquire critically into all the lively figures and metaphors here used.
I. It is a surprising destruction, and very
sudden, that is here threatened. They were very secure, thought
themselves strong for war and able to deal with the most
powerful enemy (
II. It is an utter destruction, and such as
lays Moab all in ruins: Moab is spoiled (
III. It is a lamentable destruction; it
will be just matter of mourning and will turn joy into heaviness.
1. The prophet that foretels it does himself lament it, and mourns
at the very foresight of it, from a principle of compassion to his
fellow-creatures and concern for human nature. The prophet will
himself howl for Moab; his very heart shall mourn for
them (
IV. It is a shameful destruction and such
as shall expose them to contempt: Moab is made drunk
(
V. It is the destruction of that which is
dear to them, not only of their summer fruits and their vintage,
but of their wealth (
VI. It is a just and righteous destruction, and that which they have deserved and brought upon themselves by sin.
1. The sin which they had been most
notoriously guilty of, and for which God now reckoned with them,
was pride. It is mentioned six times,
2. Besides this they had been guilty of
malice against God's people, and treachery in their dealings with
them,
VII. It is a complicated destruction, and
by one instance after another will at length be completed; for
those that make their escape from one judgment shall perish by
another: Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon
them,
VIII. Yet it is not a perpetual
destruction. The chapter concludes with a short promise of their
return out of captivity in the latter days. God, who brings
them into captivity, will bring again their
captivity,
The cup of trembling still goes round, and the
nations must all drink of it, according to the instructions given
to Jeremiah,
1 Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the Lord; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities? 2 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the Lord. 3 Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together. 4 Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me? 5 Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord God of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth. 6 And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the Lord.
The Ammonites were next, both in kindred
and neighbourhood, to the Moabites, and therefore are next set to
the bar. Their country joined to that of the two tribes and a half,
on the other side Jordan, and was but a bad neighbour; however,
being a neighbour, they shall have a share in these circular
predictions. 1. An action is here brought, in God's name, against
the Ammonites, for an illegal encroachment upon the rightful
possessions of the tribe of Gad, that lay next them,
7 Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished? 8 Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him. 9 If grape-gatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough. 10 But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not. 11 Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me. 12 For thus saith the Lord; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it. 13 For I have sworn by myself, saith the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes. 14 I have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle. 15 For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men. 16 Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord. 17 Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof. 18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it. 19 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me? 20 Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them. 21 The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea. 22 Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
The Edomites come next to receive their
doom from God, by the mouth of Jeremiah: they also were old enemies
to the Israel of God; but their day will come to be reckoned with,
and it is now at hand, and is foretold, not only for warning to
them, but for comfort to the Israel of God, whose afflictions were
very much aggravated by their triumphs over them and joy in their
calamity,
I. That the country of Edom should be all
wasted and made desolate, that the calamity of Esau should
be brought upon him, the calamity he has deserved, and God
has long designed him, for his old sins,
II. That the instruments of this
destruction should be very resolute and formidable. They have their
commission from God; he summons them into this service (
III. That the Edomites' confidences should
all fail them in the day of their distress. 1. They trusted to
their wisdom, but that shall stand them in no stead. This is the
first thing fastened upon in this prophecy against Edom,
IV. That their destruction should be
inevitable and very remarkable. 1. God hath determined it
(
23 Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are faint hearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet. 24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail. 25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy! 26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord of hosts. 27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.
The kingdom of Syria lay north of Canaan,
as that of Edom lay south, and thither we must now remove and take
a view of the approaching fate of that kingdom, which had been
often vexatious to the Israel of God. Damascus was the metropolis
of that kingdom, and the ruin of the whole is supposed in the ruin
of that: yet Hamath and Arpad, two other considerable cities, are
names (
28 Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the Lord; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east. 29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side. 30 Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the Lord; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you. 31 Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the Lord, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone. 32 And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the Lord. 33 And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.
These verses foretell the desolation that Nebuchadnezzar and his forces should make among the people of Kedar (who descended from Kedar the son of Ishmael, and inhabited a part of Arabia the Stony), and of the kingdoms, the petty principalities, of Hazor, that joined to them, who perhaps were originally Canaanites, of the kingdom of Hazor, in the north of Canaan, which had Jabin for its king, but, being driven thence, settled in the deserts of Arabia and associated themselves with the Kedarenes. Concerning this people we may here observe,
I. What was their present state and
posture? They dwelt in tents and had no walls, but
curtains (
II. The design of the king of Babylon
against them and the descent he make upon them: He has taken
counsel against you and has conceived a purpose against you,
III. The great amazement that this put them
into, and the great desolation hereby made among them: They
shall cry unto them; those on the borders shall send the alarm
into all parts of the country, which shall be put into the utmost
confusion by it; they shall cry, "Fear is on every side—We
are surrounded by the enemy." the very terror of which shall drive
them all to their feet and they shall none of them have any heart
to make resistance. The enemy shall proclaim fear upon them,
or against them, on every side. They need not strike a
stroke; they shall shout them out of their tents,
34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, 35 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. 36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come. 37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the Lord; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them: 38 And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the Lord. 39 But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the Lord.
This prophecy is dated in the beginning of
Zedekiah's reign; it is probable that the other prophecies against
the Gentiles, going before, were at the same time. The Elamites
were the Persians, descended from Elam the son of Shem (
In this chapter, and that which follows, we have
the judgment of Babylon, which is put last of Jeremiah's prophecies
against the Gentiles because it was last accomplished; and when the
cup of God's fury went round (
1 The word that the Lord spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet. 2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces. 3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast. 4 In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the Lord their God. 5 They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. 6 My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace. 7 All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of justice, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers. 8 Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks.
I. Here is a word spoken against Babylon by
him whose works all agree with his word and none of whose words
fall to the ground. The king of Babylon had been very kind of
Jeremiah, and yet he must foretel the ruin of that kingdom; for
God's prophets must not be governed by favour or affection. Whoever
are our friends, if, notwithstanding, they are God's enemies, we
dare not speak peace to them. 1. The destruction of Babylon is here
spoken of as a thing done,
II. Here is a word spoken for the people of God, and for their comfort, both the children of Israel and of Judah; for many there were of the ten tribes that associated with those of the two tribes in their return out of Babylon. Now here,
1. It is promised that they shall return to
their God first and then to their own land; and the promise of
their conversion and reformation is that which makes way for all
the other promises,
2. Their present case is lamented as very
sad, and as having been long so: "My people" (for he owns
them as his now that they are returning to him) "have been lost
sheep (
3. They are called upon to hasten away, as
soon as ever the door of liberty was opened to them (
9 For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain. 10 And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the Lord. 11 Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls; 12 Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. 13 Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues. 14 Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the Lord. 15 Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of the Lord: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her. 16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land. 17 Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. 18 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. 19 And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead. 20 In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.
God is here by his prophet, as afterwards in his providence, proceeding in his controversy with Babylon. Observe,
I. The commission and charge given to the
instruments that were to be employed in destroying Babylon. The
army that is to do it is called an assembly of great nations
(
II. The desolation and destruction itself
that shall be brought upon Babylon. This is here set forth in a
great variety of expressions. 1. The wealth of Babylon shall be a
rich and easy prey to the conquerors (
III. The procuring provoking cause of this
destruction. It comes from God's displeasure; it is because of
the wrath of the Lord that Babylon shall be wholly
desolate (
IV. The mercy promised to the Israel of
God, which shall not only accompany, but accrue from, the
destruction of Babylon. 1. God will return their captivity; they
shall be released out of their bondage, and brought again to
their own habitation as sheep that were scattered to their own
fold
21 Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the Lord, and do according to all that I have commanded thee. 22 A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction. 23 How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations! 24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the Lord. 25 The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the work of the Lord God of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans. 26 Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left. 27 Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation. 28 The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of his temple. 29 Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel. 30 Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord. 31 Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord God of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee. 32 And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.
Here, 1. The forces are mustered and
commissioned to destroy Babylon, and every thing is got ready for a
descent upon that potent kingdom: Go up against that
land by Merathaim, the country of the Mardi, that lay
part in Assyria and part in Armenia; and go among the
inhabitants of Pekod, another country (mentioned
33 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go. 34 Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon. 35 A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the Lord, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men. 36 A sword is upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed. 37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed. 38 A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols. 39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. 40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein. 41 Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. 42 They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon. 43 The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail. 44 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me? 45 Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them. 46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.
We have in these verses,
I. Israel's sufferings, and their
deliverance out of those sufferings. God takes notice of the
bondage of his people in Babylon, as he did of their bondage in
Egypt; he has surely seen it, and has heard their cry.
Israel and Judah were oppressed together,
II. Babylon's sin, and their punishment for that sin.
1. The sins they are here charged with are
idolatry and persecution. (1.) They oppressed the people of God;
they held them fast, and would not let them go. They
opened not the house of his prisoners,
2. The judgments of God upon them for these sins are such as will quite lay them waste and ruin them.
(1.) All that should be their defence and
support shall be cut off by the sword. The Chaldeans had long been
God's sword, wherewith he had done execution upon the sinful
nations round about: but now, they being as bad as any of them, or
worse, a sword is brought upon them, even upon the
inhabitants of Babylon (
(2.) The country shall be made desolate
(
(3.) The king and kingdom shall be put into
the utmost confusion and consternation by the enemies' invading
them,
(4.) That they shall be as much hurt as
frightened, for the invader shall come up like a lion to
tear and destroy (
The prophet, in this chapter, goes on with the
prediction of Babylon's fall, to which other prophets also bore
witness. He is very copious and lively in describing the foresight
God had given him of it, for the encouragement of the pious
captives, whose deliverance depended upon it and was to be the
result of it. Here is, I. The record of Babylon's doom, with the
particulars of it, intermixed with the grounds of God's controversy
with her, many aggravations of her fall, and great encouragements
given thence to the Israel of God, that suffered such hard things
by her,
1 Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind; 2 And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about. 3 Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host. 4 Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets. 5 For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the Lord of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. 6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence. 7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. 8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. 9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies. 10 The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God. 11 Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple. 12 Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the Lord hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon. 13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness. 14 The Lord of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee. 15 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding. 16 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. 17 Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 18 They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. 19 The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name. 20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; 21 And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider; 22 With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid; 23 I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers. 24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the Lord. 25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain. 26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the Lord. 27 Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers. 28 Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion. 29 And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant. 30 The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwelling-places; her bars are broken. 31 One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end, 32 And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted. 33 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come. 34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out. 35 The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say. 36 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry. 37 And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for dragons, an astonishment, and a hissing, without an inhabitant. 38 They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions' whelps. 39 In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord. 40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats. 41 How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! 42 The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. 43 Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby. 44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall. 45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord. 46 And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler. 47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. 48 Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the Lord. 49 As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth. 50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind. 51 We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the Lord's house. 52 Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will do judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan. 53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the Lord. 54 A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans: 55 Because the Lord hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered: 56 Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the Lord God of recompences shall surely requite. 57 And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts. 58 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.
The particulars of this copious prophecy are dispersed and interwoven, and the same things left and returned to so often that it could not well be divided into parts, but we must endeavor to collect them under their proper heads. Let us then observe here,
I. An acknowledgment of the great pomp and
power that Babylon had been in and the use that God in his
providence had made of it (
II. A just complaint made of Babylon, and a
charge drawn up against her by the Israel of God. 1. She is
complained of for her incorrigible wickedness (
III. Judgment given upon this appeal by the
righteous Judge of heaven and earth, on behalf of Israel against
Babylon. He sits in the throne judging right, is ready to
receive complaints, and answers (
IV. A declaration of the greatness and
sovereignty of that God who espouses Zion's cause and undertakes to
reckon with this proud and potent enemy,
V. A description of the instruments that
are to be employed in this service. God has raised up the spirit
of the kings of the Medes (
VI. An ample commission given them to
destroy and lay all waste. Let them bend their bow against
the archers of the Chaldeans (
VII. The weakness of the Chaldeans, and
their inability to make head against this threatening destroying
force. When God employed them against other nations they had spirit
and strength to act offensively, and went on with admirable
resolution, conquering and to conquer; but now that it comes to
their turn to be reckoned with all their might and courage are
gone, their hearts fail them, and none of all their men of might
and mettle have found their hands to act so much as defensively.
They are called upon here to prepare for action, but it is
ironically and in an upbraiding way (
VIII. The destruction that shall be made of
Babylon by these invaders. 1. It is a certain destruction; the doom
has passed and it cannot be reversed; a divine power is engaged
against it, which cannot be resisted (
IX. Here is a call to God's people to go
out of Babylon. It is their wisdom, when the ruin is approaching,
to quit the city and retire into the country (
X. Here is the diversified feeling excited
by Babylon's fall, and it is the same that we have with respect to
the New-Testament Babylon,
59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince. 60 So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon. 61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words; 62 Then shalt thou say, O Lord, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever. 63 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: 64 And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
We have been long attending the judgment of
Babylon in this and the foregoing chapter; now here we have the
conclusion of that whole matter. 1. A copy is taken of this
prophecy, it should seem by Jeremiah himself, for Baruch his scribe
is not mentioned here (
History is the best expositor of prophecy; and
therefore, for the better understanding of the prophecies of this
book which relate to the destruction of Jerusalem and the kingdom
of Judah, we are here furnished with an account of that sad event.
It is much he same with the history we had
1 Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2 And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 3 For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about. 5 So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 6 And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land. 7 Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about:) and they went by the way of the plain. 8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. 9 Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him. 10 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah. 11 Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.
This narrative begins no higher than the
beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, though there were two
captivities before, one in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the other
in the first of Jeconiah; but probably it was drawn up by some of
those that were carried away with Zedekiah, as a reproach to
themselves for imagining that they should not go into captivity
after their brethren, with which hopes they had long flattered
themselves. We have here, 1. God's just displeasure against Judah
and Jerusalem for their sin,
12 Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem, 13 And burned the house of the Lord, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire: 14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about. 15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude. 16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen. 17 Also the pillars of brass that were in the house of the Lord, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon. 18 The caldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. 19 And the basons, and the firepans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups; that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, took the captain of the guard away. 20 The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the Lord: the brass of all these vessels was without weight. 21 And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow. 22 And a chapiter of brass was upon it; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all of brass. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these. 23 And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the pomegranates upon the network were a hundred round about.
We have here an account of the woeful havoc
that was made by the Chaldean army, a month after the city was
taken, under the command of Nebuzaradan, who was captain of the
guard, or general of the army, in this action. In the margin he
is called the chief of the slaughter-men, or
executioners; for soldiers are but slaughter-men, and God
employs them as executioners of his sentence against a sinful
people. Nebuzaradan was chief of those soldiers, but, in the
execution he did, we have reason to fear he had no eye to God, but
he served the king of Babylon and his own designs, now that he came
into Jerusalem, into the very bowels of it, as captain of the
slaughter-men there. And, 1. He laid the temple in ashes, having
first plundered it of every thing that was valuable: He burnt
the house of the Lord, that holy and beautiful house, where
their fathers praised him,
24 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door: 25 He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war; and seven men of them that were near the king's person, which were found in the city; and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city. 26 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. 27 And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land. 28 This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty: 29 In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons: 30 In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.
We have here a very melancholy account, 1.
Of the slaughter of some great men, in cold blood, at Riblah,
seventy-two in number (according to the number of the elders of
Israel,
31 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison, 32 And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon, 33 And changed his prison garments: and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life. 34 And for his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.
This passage of story concerning the
reviving which king Jehoiachin had in his bondage we had likewise
before (
AN
Since what
Solomon says, though contrary to the common opinion of the world,
is certainly true, that sorrow is better than laughter, and
it is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of
feasting, we should come to the reading and consideration of
the melancholy chapters of this book, not only willingly, but with
an expectation to edify ourselves by them; and, that we may do
this, we must compose ourselves to a holy sadness and resolve to
weep with the weeping prophet. Let us consider, I. The title of
this book; in the Hebrew it has one, but is called (as the books of
Moses are) from the first word Ecah—How; but the
Jewish commentators call it, as the Greeks do, and we from them,
Kinoth—Lamentations. As we have sacred odes or songs
of joy, so have we sacred elegies or songs of lamentation; such
variety of methods has Infinite Wisdom taken to work upon us and
move our affections, and so soften our hearts and make them
susceptible of the impressions of divine truths, as the wax of the
seal. We have not only piped unto you, but have
mourned likewise,
We have here the first alphabet of this
lamentation, twenty-two stanzas, in which the miseries of Jerusalem
are bitterly bewailed and her present deplorable condition is
aggravated by comparing it with her former prosperous state; all
along, sin is acknowledged and complained of as the procuring cause
of all these miseries; and God is appealed to for justice against
their enemies and applied to for compassion towards them. The
chapter is all of a piece, and the several remonstrances are
interwoven; but here is, I. A complaint made to God of their
calamities, and his compassionate consideration desired,
1 How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! 2 She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies. 3 Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits. 4 The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. 5 Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy. 6 And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer. 7 Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her: the adversaries saw her, and did mock at her sabbaths. 8 Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed: all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward. 9 Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O Lord, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself. 10 The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: for she hath seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation. 11 All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: see, O Lord, and consider; for I am become vile.
Those that have any disposition to weep with those that weep, one would think, should scarcely be able to refrain from tears at the reading of these verses, so very pathetic are the lamentations here.
I. The miseries of Jerusalem are here complained of as very pressing and by many circumstances very much aggravated. Let us take a view of these miseries.
1. As to their civil state. (1.) A city
that was populous is now depopulated,
2. We have here an account of their
miseries in their ecclesiastical state, the ruin of their sacred
interest, which was much more to be lamented than that of their
secular concerns. (1.) Their religious feasts were no more
observed, no more frequented (
whereas sabbaths, if they be sanctified as they ought to be,
will turn to a better account than all the days of the week
besides. And whereas the Jews professed that they did it in
obedience to their God, and to his honour, their adversaries asked
them, "What do you get by it now? What profit have you in keeping
the ordinances of your God, who now deserts you in your distress?"
Note, it is a very great trouble to all that love God to hear his
ordinances mocked at, and particularly his sabbaths. Zion calls
them her sabbaths, for the sabbath was made for men; they
are his institutions, but they are her privileges; and the contempt
put upon sabbaths all the sons of Zion take to themselves and lay
to heart accordingly; nor will they look upon sabbaths, or any
other divine ordinances, as less honourable, nor value them less,
for their being mocked at. (6.) That which greatly aggravated all
these grievances was that her state at present was just the reverse
of what it had been formerly,
II. The sins of Jerusalem are here
complained of as the procuring provoking cause of all these
calamities. Whoever are the instruments, God is the author of all
these troubles; it is the Lord that has afflicted her
(
III. Jerusalem's friends are here
complained of as false and faint-hearted, and very unkind: They
have all dealt treacherously with her (
IV. Jerusalem's God is here complained to
concerning all these things, and all is referred to his
compassionate consideration (
12 Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. 13 From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them: he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: he hath made me desolate and faint all the day. 14 The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are wreathed, and come up upon my neck: he hath made my strength to fall, the Lord hath delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up. 15 The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress. 16 For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed. 17 Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her: the Lord hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his adversaries should be round about him: Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them. 18 The Lord is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity. 19 I called for my lovers, but they deceived me: my priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls. 20 Behold, O Lord; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death. 21 They have heard that I sigh: there is none to comfort me: all mine enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that thou hast done it: thou wilt bring the day that thou hast called, and they shall be like unto me. 22 Let all their wickedness come before thee; and do unto them, as thou hast done unto me for all my transgressions: for my sighs are many, and my heart is faint.
The complaints here are, for substance, the same with those in the foregoing part of the chapter; but in these verses the prophet, in the name of the lamenting church, does more particularly acknowledge the hand of god in these calamities, and the righteousness of his hand.
I. The church in distress here magnifies
her affliction, and yet no more than there was cause for; her
groaning was not heavier than her strokes. She appeals to all
spectators: See if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow,
II. She here looks beyond the instruments
to the author of her troubles, and owns them all to be directed,
determined, and disposed of by him: "It is the Lord that
has afflicted me, and he has afflicted me because he
is angry with me; the greatness of his displeasure may be measured
by the greatness of my distress; it is in the day of his fierce
anger,"
III. She justly demands a share in the pity
and compassion of those that were the spectators of her misery
(
IV. She justifies her own grief, though it
was very extreme, for these calamities (
V. She justifies God in all that is brought
upon her, acknowledging that her sins had deserved these severe
chastenings. The yoke that lies so heavily, and binds so hard, is
the yoke of her transgressions,
VI. She appeals both to the mercy and to
the justice of God in her present case. 1. She appeals to the mercy
of God concerning her own sorrows, which had made her the proper
object of his compassion (
The second alphabetical elegy is set to the same
mournful tune with the former, and the substance of it is much the
same; it begins with Ecah, as that did, "How sad is our case! Alas
for us!" I. Here is the anger of Zion's God taken notice of as the
cause of her calamities,
1 How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger! 2 The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied: he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah; he hath brought them down to the ground: he hath polluted the kingdom and the princes thereof. 3 He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth round about. 4 He hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire. 5 The Lord was as an enemy: he hath swallowed up Israel, he hath swallowed up all her palaces: he hath destroyed his strong holds, and hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation. 6 And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hath destroyed his places of the assembly: the Lord hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest. 7 The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath abhorred his sanctuary, he hath given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces; they have made a noise in the house of the Lord, as in the day of a solemn feast. 8 The Lord hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying: therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament; they languished together. 9 Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the Lord.
It is a very sad representation which is here made of the state of God's church, of Jacob and Israel, of Zion and Jerusalem; but the emphasis in these verses seems to be laid all along upon the hand of God in the calamities which they were groaning under. The grief is not so much that such and such things are done as that God has done them, that he appears angry with them; it is he that chastens them, and chastens them in wrath and in his hot displeasure; he has become their enemy, and fights against them; and this, this is the wormwood and the gall in the affliction and the misery.
I. Time was when God's delight was in his
church, and he appeared to her, and appeared for her, as a friend.
But now his displeasure is against her; he is angry with her, and
appears and acts against her as an enemy. This is frequently
repeated here, and sadly lamented. What he has done he has done
in his anger; this makes the present day a melancholy day
indeed with us, that it is the day of his anger (
II. Time was when God's church appeared
very bright, and illustrious, and considerable among the nations;
but now the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion with a
cloud (
III. Time was when Jerusalem and the cities
of Judah were strong and well fortified, were trusted to by the
inhabitants and let alone by the enemy as impregnable. But now the
lord has in anger swallowed them up; they are quite gone;
the forts and barriers are taken away, and the invaders meet with
no opposition: the stately structures, which were their strength
and beauty, are pulled down and laid waste. 1. The Lord has in
anger swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob (
IV. Time was when their government
flourished, their princes made a figure, their kingdom was great
among the nations, and the balance of power was on their side; but
now it is quite otherwise: He has polluted the kingdom and the
princes thereof,
V. Time was when the ordinances of God were
administered among them in their power and purity, and they had
those tokens of God's presence with them; but now those were taken
from them, that part of the beauty of Israel was gone which
was indeed their greatest beauty. 1. The ark was God's footstool,
under the mercy-seat, between the cherubim; this was of all others
the most sacred symbol of God's presence (it is called his
footstool,
10 The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground. 11 Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city. 12 They say to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out into their mothers' bosom. 13 What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee? 14 Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment. 15 All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth? 16 All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee: they hiss and gnash the teeth: they say, We have swallowed her up: certainly this is the day that we looked for; we have found, we have seen it. 17 The Lord hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and he hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries. 18 Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease. 19 Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street. 20 Behold, O Lord, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord? 21 The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger; thou hast killed, and not pitied. 22 Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round about, so that in the day of the Lord's anger none escaped nor remained: those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.
Justly are these called
Lamentations, and they are very pathetic ones, the
expressions of grief in perfection, mourning and woe, and nothing
else, like the contents of Ezekiel's roll,
I. Copies of lamentations are here
presented and they are painted to the life. 1. The judges and
magistrates, who used to appear in robes of state, have laid them
aside, or rather are stripped of them, and put on the habit of
mourners (
II. Calls to lamentation are here given:
The heart of the people cried unto the Lord,
III. Causes for lamentation are here assigned, and the calamities that are to be bewailed are very particularly and pathetically described.
1. Multitudes perish by famine, a very sore
judgment, and piteous is the case of those that fall under it. God
had corrected them by scarcity of provisions through want of rain
some time before (
2. Multitudes fall by the sword, which
devours one as well as another, especially when it is in the hand
of such cruel enemies as the Chaldeans were. (1.) They spared no
character, no, not the most distinguished; even the priest and
the prophet, who of all men, one would think, might expect
protection from heaven and veneration on earth, are slain,
not abroad in the field of battle, where they are out of their
place, as Hophni and Phinehas, but in the sanctuary of the
Lord, the place of their business and which they hoped would be
a refuge to them. (2.) They spared no age, no, not those who, by
reason of their tender or their decrepit age, were exempted from
taking up the sword; for even they perished by the sword.
"The young, who have not yet come to bear arms, and the old, who
have had their discharge, lie on the ground, slain in the
streets, till some kind hand is found that will bury them."
(3.) They spared no sex: My virgins and my young men have fallen
by the sword. In the most barbarous military executions that
ever we read of the virgins were spared, and made part of the spoil
(
3. Their false prophets cheated them,
4. Their neighbours laughed at them
(
5. Their enemies triumphed over them,
6. Their God, in all this, appeared against
them (
IV. Comforts for the cure of these lamentations are here sought for and prescribed.
1. They are sought for and enquired after,
2. The method of cure prescribed is to
address themselves to God, and by a penitent prayer to commit their
case to him, and to be instant and constant in such prayers
(
The scope of this chapter is the same with that of
the two foregoing chapters, but the composition is somewhat
different; that was in long verse, this is in short, another kind
of metre; that was in single alphabets, this is in a treble one.
Here is, I. A sad complaint of God's displeasure and the fruits of
it,
1 I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. 2 He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. 3 Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. 4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. 5 He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. 6 He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. 7 He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. 8 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer. 9 He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked. 10 He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places. 11 He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate. 12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow. 13 He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins. 14 I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day. 15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood. 16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes. 17 And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity. 18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord: 19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. 20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
The title of the
21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. 27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. 28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. 29 He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope. 30 He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach. 31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever: 32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. 33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. 34 To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth, 35 To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most High, 36 To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.
Here the clouds begin to disperse and the
sky to clear up; the complaint was very melancholy in the former
part of the chapter, and yet here the tune is altered and the
mourners in Zion begin to look a little pleasant. But for hope, the
heart would break. To save the heart from being quite broken, here
is something called to mind, which gives ground for
hope (
I. That, bad as things are, it is owing to
the mercy of God that they are not worse. We are afflicted by
the rod of his wrath, but it is of the lord's mercies that
we are not consumed,
II. That even in the depth of their
affliction they still have experience of the tenderness of the
divine pity and the truth of the divine promise. They had several
times complained that God had not pitied (
III. That God is, and ever will be, the
all-sufficient happiness of his people, and they have chosen him
and depend upon him to be such (
IV. That those who deal with God will find
it is not in vain to trust in him; for, 1. He is good to those who
do so,
V. That afflictions are really good for us,
and, if we bear them aright, will work very much for our good. It
is not only good to hope and wait for the salvation, but it is good
to be under the trouble in the mean time (
VI. That God will graciously return to his
people with seasonable comforts according to the time that he
has afflicted them,
VII. That, when God does cause grief, it is
for wise and holy ends, and he takes not delight in our calamities,
VIII. That though he makes use of men as
his hand, or rather instruments in his hand, for the correcting of
his people, yet he is far from being pleased with the injustice of
their proceedings and the wrong they do them,
37 Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? 38 Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good? 39 Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? 40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord. 41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.
That we may be entitled to the comforts
administered to the afflicted in the
I. We must see and acknowledge the hand of
God in all the calamities that befal us at any time, whether
personal or public,
II. We must not quarrel with God for any
affliction that he lays upon us at any time (
III. We must set ourselves to answer God's
intention in afflicting us, which is to bring sin to our
remembrance, and to bring us home to himself,
IV. We must offer up ourselves to God, and
our best affections and services, in the flames of devotion,
42 We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned. 43 Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied. 44 Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through. 45 Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people. 46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us. 47 Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction. 48 Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people. 49 Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission, 50 Till the Lord look down, and behold from heaven. 51 Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city. 52 Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause. 53 They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me. 54 Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off.
It is easier to chide ourselves for complaining than to chide ourselves out of it. The prophet had owned that a living man should not complain, as if he checked himself for his complaints in the former part of the chapter; and yet here the clouds return after the rain and the wound bleeds afresh; for great pains must be taken with a troubled spirit to bring it into temper.
I. They confess the righteousness of God in
afflicting them (
II. They complain of the afflictions they are under, not without some reflections upon God, which we are not to imitate, but, under the sharpest trials, must always think and speak highly and kindly of him.
1. They complain of his frowns and the
tokens of his displeasure against them. Their sins were repented
of, and yet (
2. They complain of the contempt of their
neighbours and the reproach and ignominy they were under (
3. They complain of the lamentable
destruction that their enemies made of them (
4. They complain of their own excessive
grief and fear upon this account. (1.) The afflicted church is
drowned in tears, and the prophet for her (
5. In the midst of these sad complaints
here is one word of comfort, by which it appears that their case
was not altogether so bad as they made it,
55 I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon. 56 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. 57 Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not. 58 O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life. 59 O Lord, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause. 60 Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me. 61 Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord, and all their imaginations against me; 62 The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day. 63 Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their music. 64 Render unto them a recompence, O Lord, according to the work of their hands. 65 Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them. 66 Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the Lord.
We may observe throughout this chapter a
struggle in the prophet's breast between sense and faith, fear and
hope; he complains and then comforts himself, yet drops his
comforts and returns again to his complaints, as
I. His experience of God's goodness even in
his affliction. This may refer to the prophet's personal
experience, with which he encourages himself in reference to the
public troubles. He that has seasonably succoured particular saints
will not fail the church in general. Or it may include the remnant
of good people that were among the Jews, who had found that it was
not in vain to wait upon God. In three things the prophet and his
pious friends had found God good to them:—1. He had heard
their prayers; though they had been ready to fear that the
cloud of wrath was such as their prayers could not pass
through (
II. He comforts himself with an appeal to God's justice, and (in order to the sentence of that) to his omniscience.
1. He appeals to God's knowledge of the
matter of fact, how very spiteful and malicious his enemies were
(
2. He appeals to God's judgment upon this
fact: "Lord, thou hast seen my wrong; there is no need of
any evidence to prove it, nor any prosecutor to enforce and
aggravate it; thou seest it in its true colours; and now I leave it
with thee. Judge thou my cause,
This chapter is another single alphabet of
Lamentations for the destruction of Jerusalem, like those in the
first two chapters. I. The prophet here laments the injuries and
indignities done to those to whom respect used to be shown,
1 How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street. 2 The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter! 3 Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. 4 The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them. 5 They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills. 6 For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her. 7 Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire: 8 Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick. 9 They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field. 10 The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people. 11 The Lord hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof. 12 The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.
The elegy in this chapter begins with a lamentation of the very sad and doleful change which the judgments of God had made in Jerusalem. The city that was formerly as gold, as the most fine gold, so rich and splendid, the perfection of beauty and the joy of the whole earth, has become dim, and is changed, has lost its lustre, lost its value, is not what it was; it has become dross. Alas! what an alteration is here!
I. The temple was laid waste, which was the
glory of Jerusalem and its protection. It is given up into the
hands of the enemy. And some understand the gold spoken of
(
II. The princes and priests, who were in a
special manner the sons of Zion, were trampled upon and
abused,
III. Little children were starved for want
of bread and water,
IV. Persons of good rank were reduced to
extreme poverty,
V. Persons who were eminent for dignity,
nay, perhaps for sanctity, shared with others in the common
calamity,
VI. Jerusalem came down slowly, and died a
lingering death; for the famine contributed more to her destruction
than any other judgment whatsoever. Upon this account the
destruction of Jerusalem was greater than that of Sodom
(
VII. Jerusalem comes down utterly and
wonderfully. 1. The destruction of Jerusalem is a complete
destruction (
13 For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, 14 They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments. 15 They cried unto them, Depart ye; it is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn there. 16 The anger of the Lord hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders. 17 As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us. 18 They hunt our steps, that we cannot go in our streets: our end is near, our days are fulfilled; for our end is come. 19 Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness. 20 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen.
We have here,
I. The sins they were charged with, for
which God brought this destruction upon them, and which served to
justify God in it (
II. The testimony of their neighbours
produced in evidence against them, both to convict them of sin and
to show the equity of God's proceedings against them. Some that
have grown very impudent in sin boast that they care not what
people say of them; but God, by the prophet, would have the
Jews to take notice of what people said of them and what was the
opinion of the standers by concerning them (
III. The despair which they themselves were
almost brought to under their calamities. Having heard what they
said concerning them among the heathen, let us now hear what
they say concerning themselves (
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked. 22 The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins.
David's psalms of lamentation commonly
conclude with some word of comfort, which is as life from the dead
and light shining out of darkness; so does this lamentation here in
this chapter. The people of God are now in great distress, their
aspects all doleful, their prospects all frightful, and their
ill-natured neighbours the Edomites insult over them and do all
they can to exasperate their destroyers against them. Such was
their violence against their brother Jacob (
I. That an end shall be put to Zion's
troubles (
II. That an end shall be put to Edom's
triumphs. It is spoken ironically (
This chapter, though it has the same number of
verses with the 1st, 2nd, and 4th, is not alphabetical, as they
were, but the scope of it is the same with that of all the
foregoing elegies. We have in it, I. A representation of the
present calamitous state of God's people in their captivity,
1 Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach. 2 Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens. 3 We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows. 4 We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us. 5 Our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest. 6 We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread. 7 Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities. 8 Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand. 9 We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness. 10 Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine. 11 They ravished the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah. 12 Princes are hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured. 13 They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood. 14 The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their music. 15 The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning. 16 The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned!
Is any afflicted? let him pray; and
let him in prayer pour out his complaint to God, and make known
before him his trouble. The people of God do so here; being
overwhelmed with grief, they give vent to their sorrows at the
footstool of the throne of grace, and so give themselves ease. They
complain not of evils feared, but of evils felt: "Remember what
has come upon us,
I. They acknowledge the reproach of sin
which they bear, the reproach of their youth (which Ephraim
bemoans himself for,
II. They represent the reproach of trouble which they bear, in divers particulars, which tend much to their disgrace.
1. They are disseised of that good land
which God gave them, and their enemies have got possession of it,
2. Their state and nation are brought into
a condition like that of widows and orphans (
3. They are put hard to it to provide
necessaries for themselves and their families, whereas once they
lived in abundance and had plenty of every thing. Water used to be
free and easily come by, but now (
4. Those are brought into slavery who were
a free people, and not only their own masters, but masters of all
about them, and this is as much as any thing their reproach
(
5. Those who used to be feasted are now
famished (
6. All sorts of people, even those whose
persons and characters were most inviolable, were abused and
dishonoured. (1.) The women were ravished, even
the women in Zion, that holy mountain,
7. An end was put to all their gladness,
and their joy was quite extinguished (
8. An end was put to all their glory. (1.)
The public administration of justice was their glory, but that was
gone: The elders have ceased from the gate (
17 For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim. 18 Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it. 19 Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation. 20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time? 21 Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old. 22 But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us.
Here, I. The people of God express the deep
concern they had for the ruins of the temple, more than for any
other of their calamities; the interests of God's house lay nearer
their hearts than those of their own (
II. They comfort themselves with the
doctrine of God's eternity, and the perpetuity of his government
(
III. They humbly expostulate with God
concerning the low condition they were now in, and the frowns of
heaven they were now under (
IV. They earnestly pray to God for mercy
and grace: "Lord, do not reject us for ever, but turn
thou us unto thee; renew our days,"
AN
When we
entered upon the writings of the prophets, which speak of the
things that should be hereafter, we seemed to have the same
call that St. John had (
In this chapter we have, I. The common
circumstances of the prophecy now to be delivered, the time when it
was delivered (
1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity, 3 The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.
The circumstances of the vision which
Ezekiel saw, and in which he received his commission and
instructions, are here very particularly set down, that the
narrative may appear to be authentic and not romantic. It may be of
use to keep an account when and where God has been pleased to
manifest himself to our souls in a peculiar manner, that the
return of the day, and our return to the place of the
altar (
I. The time when Ezekiel had this vision is
here recorded. It was in the thirtieth year,
II. The melancholy circumstances he was in when God honoured him, and thereby favoured his people, with this vision. He was in the land of the Chaldeans, among the captives, by the river of Chebar, and it was in the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity. Observe,
1. The people of God were now, some of
them, captives in the land of the Chaldeans. The body of the
Jewish nation yet remained in their own land, but these were the
first-fruits of the captivity, and they were some of the best; for
in Jeremiah's vision these were the good figs, whom God had
sent into the land of the Chaldeans for their good
(
2. The prophet was himself among the
captives, those of them that were posted by the river
Chebar; for it was by the rivers of Babylon that they
sat down, and on the willow-trees by the river's side that
they hanged their harps,
III. The discovery which God was pleased to
make of himself to the prophet when he was in these circumstances,
to be by him communicated to his people. He here tells us what he
saw, what he heard, and what he felt. 1. He saw visions of
God,
4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. 5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. 6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. 7 And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. 8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. 9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. 10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. 11 Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. 12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
The visions of God which Ezekiel here saw
were very glorious, and had more particulars than those which other
prophets saw. It is the scope and intention of these vision, 1. To
possess the prophet's mind with very great, and high, and
honourable thoughts of that God by whom he was commissioned and for
whom he was employed. It is the likeness of the glory of the
Lord that he sees (
Now, to answer these ends, we have in
I. The introduction to this vision of the
angels is very magnificent and awakening,
II. The vision itself. A great cloud
was the vehicle of this vision, in which it was conveyed to the
prophet; for God's pavilion in which he rests, his chariot in which
he rides, is darkness and thick clouds,
1. The cloud is accompanied with a
fire, as upon Mount Sinai, where God resided in a thick
cloud; but the sight of his glory was like a devouring
fire (
2. The fire is surrounded with a glory: A brightness was about it, in which it enfolded itself, yet it made some discovery of itself. Though we cannot see into the fire, cannot by searching find out God to perfection, yet we see the brightness that is round about it, the reflection of this fire from the thick cloud. Moses might see God's back parts, but not his face. We have some light concerning the nature of God, from the brightness which encompasses it, though we have not an insight into it, by reason of the cloud spread upon it. Nothing is more easy than to determine that God is, nothing more difficult than to describe what he is. When God displays his wrath as fire, yet there is a brightness about it; for his holiness and justice appear very illustrious in the punishment of sin and sinners: even about the devouring fire there is a brightness, which glorified saints will for ever admire.
3. Out of this fire there shines the colour of amber. We are not told who or what it was that had this colour of amber, and therefore I take it to be the whole frame of the following vision, which came into Ezekiel's view out of the midst of the fire and brightness; and the first thing he took notice of before he viewed the particulars was that it was of the colour of amber, or the eye of amber; that is, it looked as amber does to the eye, of a bright flaming fiery colour, the colour of a burning coal; so some think it should be read. The living creatures which he saw coming out of the midst of the fire were seraphim—burners; for he maketh his angels spirits, his ministers a flaming fire.
4. That which comes out of the fire, of a
fiery amber colour, when it comes to be distinctly viewed, is
the likeness of four living creatures; not the living
creatures themselves (angels are spirits, and cannot be seen),
but the likeness of them, such a hieroglyphic, or
representation, as God saw fit to make use of for the leading of
the prophet, and us with him, into some acquaintance with the world
of angels (a matter purely of divine revelation), so far as is
requisite to possess us with an awful sense of the greatness of
that God who has angels for his attendants, and the goodness of
that God who has appointed them to be attendants on his people.
The likeness of these living creatures came out of the midst of
the fire; for angels derive their being and power from God;
they are in themselves, and to us, what he is pleased to make them;
their glory is a ray of his. The prophet himself explains this
vision (
(1.) Their nature. They are living
creatures; they are the creatures of God, the work of his hands;
their being is derived; they have not life in and of themselves,
but receive it from him who is the fountain of life. As much
as the living creatures of this lower world excel the vegetables
that are the ornaments of earth, so much do the angels, the living
creatures of the upper world, excel the sun, moon, and stars, the
ornaments of the heavens. The sun (say some) is a flame of fire
enfolding itself, but it is not a living creature, as angels,
those flames of fire, are. Angels are living creatures, living
beings, emphatically so. Men on earth are dying creatures, dying
daily (in the midst of life we are in death), but angels in
heaven are living creatures; they live indeed, live to good
purpose; and, when saints come to be equal unto the angels,
they shall not die any more,
(2.) Their number. They are four; so they
appear here, though they are innumerable; not as if these were four
particular angels set up above the rest, as some have fondly
imagined, Michael and Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel, but for the sake
of the four faces they put on, and to intimate their being sent
forth towards the four winds of heaven,
(3.) Their qualifications, by which they
are fitted for the service of their Maker and Master. These are set
forth figuratively and by similitude, as is proper in visions,
which are parables to the eye. Their description here is such, and
so expressed, that I think it is not possible by it to form an
exact idea of them in our fancies, or with the pencil, for that
would be a temptation to worship them; but the several instances of
their fitness for the work they are employed in are intended in the
several parts of this description. Note, It is the greatest honour
of God's creatures to be in a capacity of answering the end of
their creation; and the more ready we are to every good work the
nearer we approach to the dignity of angels. These living creatures
are described here, [1.] By their general appearance: They had
the likeness of a man; they appeared, for the main, in a human
shape, First, To signify that these living creatures are
reasonable creatures, intelligent beings, who have the spirit of
a man which is the candle of the Lord. Secondly, To put
an honour upon the nature of man, who is made lower, yet but a
little lower, than the angels, in the very next rank of beings
below them. When the invisible intelligences of the upper world
would make themselves visible, it is in the likeness of man.
Thirdly, To intimate that their delights are with the sons
of men, as their Master's are (
(4.) Their motions. The living creatures
are moving. Angels are active beings; it is not their happiness to
sit still and do nothing, but to be always well employed; and we
must reckon ourselves then best when we are doing good, doing it as
the angels do it, or whom it is here observed, [1.] That whatever
service they went about they went every one straight forward
(
5. We have an account of the light by which
the prophet saw these living creatures, or the looking-glass in
which he saw them,
15 Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 17 When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. 18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four. 19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 20 Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above. 23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies. 24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of a host: when they stood, they let down their wings. 25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.
The prophet is very exact in making and recording his observations concerning this vision. And here we have,
I. The notice he took of the wheels,
II. The notice he took of the
firmament above over the heads of the living creatures.
When he saw the living creatures moving, and the wheels
by them, he looked up, as it is proper for us to do when we
observe the various motions of providence in this lower world;
looking up, he saw the firmament stretched forth over the heads
of the living creatures,
26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. 27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. 28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
All the other parts of this vision were but
a preface and introduction to this. God in them had made himself
known as Lord of angels and supreme director of all the affairs of
this lower world, whence it is easy to infer that whatever God by
his prophets either promises or threatens to do he is able to
effect it. Angels are his servants; men are his tools. But now that
a divine revelation is to be given to a prophet, and by him to the
church, we must look higher than the living creatures or the
wheels, and must expect that from the eternal Word, of whom we have
an account in these verses. Ezekiel, hearing a voice from the
firmament, looked up, as John did, to see the voice that spoke
with him, and he saw one like unto the Son of man,
Lastly, We have the conclusion of
this vision. Observe, 1. What notion the prophet himself had of it:
This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the
Lord. Here, as all along, he is careful to guard against all
gross corporeal thoughts of God, which might derogate from the
transcendent purity of his nature. He does not say, This was the
Lord (for he is invisible), but, This was the glory of the
Lord, in which he was pleased to manifest himself a glorious
being; yet it is not the glory of the Lord, but the
likeness of that glory, some faint resemblance of it; nor is it
any adequate likeness of that glory, but only the appearance of
that likeness, a shadow of it, and not the very image of the
thing,
What our Lord Jesus said to St. Paul (
1 And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. 2 And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. 4 For they are impudent children and stiff-hearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God. 5 And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
The title here given to Ezekiel, as often
afterwards, is very observable. God, when he speaks to him, calls
him, Son of man (
I. Ezekiel is here set up, and made to
stand, that he might receive his commission,
1. By a divine command: Son of man, stand upon thy feet. His lying prostrate was a posture of greater reverence, but his standing up would be a posture of greater readiness and fitness for business. Our adorings of God must not hinder, but rather quicken and excite, our actings for God. He fell on his face in a holy fear and awe of God, but he was quickly raised up again; for those that humble themselves shall be exalted. God delights not in the dejections of his servants, but the same that brings them low will raise them up; the same that is a Spirit of bondage will be a Spirit of adoption. Stand, and I will speak to thee. Note, We may expect that God will speak to us when we stand ready to do what he commands us.
2. By a divine power going along with that
command,
II. Ezekiel is here sent, and made to go,
with a message to the children of Israel (
1. The rebellion of the people to whom this
ambassador is sent; he is sent to reduce them to their allegiance,
to bring back the children of Israel to the Lord their God. Let the
prophet know that there is occasion for his going on this errand,
for they are a rebellious nation (
2. The dominion of the prince by whom this
ambassador is sent. (1.) He has authority to command him whom he
sends: "I do send thee unto them, and therefore thou
shalt say thus and thus unto them,"
6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. 7 And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. 8 But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. 9 And when I looked, behold, a hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; 10 And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
The prophet, having received his commission, here receives a charge with it. It is a post of honour to which he is advanced, but withal it is a post of service and work, and it is here required of him,
I. That he be bold. He must act in the
discharge of this trust with an undaunted courage and resolution,
and not be either driven off from his work or made to drive on
heavily, by the difficulties and oppositions that he would be
likely to meet with in it: Son of man, be not afraid of
them,
II. It is required that he be faithful,
III. It is required that he be observant of his instructions.
1. Here is a general intimation what the
instructions were that were given him, in the contents of the book
which was spread before him,
2. Here is an express charge given to the
prophet to observe his instructions, both in receiving his message
and delivering it. He is now to receive it and is here commanded,
(1.) To attend diligently to it: son of man, hear what I say
unto thee,
In this chapter we have the further preparation of
the prophet for the work to which God called him. I. His eating the
roll that was presented to him in the close of the foregoing
chapter,
1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. 2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. 4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. 5 For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel; 6 Not to many people of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee. 7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted. 8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. 9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. 10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears. 11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. 12 Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place. 13 I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing. 14 So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. 15 Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
These verses are fitly joined by some translators to the foregoing chapter, as being of a piece with it and a continuation of the same vision. The prophets received the word from God that they might deliver it to the people of God, furnished themselves that they might furnish them with the knowledge of the mind and will of God. Now here the prophet is taught,
I. How he must receive divine revelation
himself,
II. How he must deliver that divine
revelation to others which he himself had received (
1. The instructions given him in speaking to them are much the same with those in the foregoing chapter.
(1.) He must speak to them all that, and
that only, which God spoke to him. He had said before (
(2.) He must remember that they are the house of Israel whom he is sent to speak to, God's house and his own; and therefore such as he ought to have a particular concern for and to deal faithfully and tenderly with. They were such as he had an intimate acquaintance with, being not only their countryman, but their companion in tribulation; they and he were fellow-sufferers, and had lately been fellow-travellers, in very melancholy circumstances, from Judea to Babylon, and had often mingled their tears, which could not but knit their affections to each other. It was well for the people that they had a prophet who knew experimentally how to sympathize with them, and could not but be touched with the feeling of their infirmities. It was well for the prophet that he had to do with those of his own nation, not with a people of strange speech and a hard language, deep of lip, so that thou canst not fathom their meaning, and heavy of tongue, whom it is intolerable and impossible to converse with. Every strange language seems to us to be deep and heavy. "Thou art not sent to many such people, whom thou couldst neither speak to nor hear from, neither understand nor be understood among but by an interpreter." The apostles indeed were sent to many people of a strange speech, but they could not have done any good among them if they had not had the gift of tongues; but Ezekiel was sent only to one people, those but a few, and his own, whom having acquaintance with he might hope to find acceptance with.
(3.) He must remember what God had already
told him of the bad character of those to whom he was sent, that,
if he met with discouragement and disappointment in them, he might
not be offended. They are impudent and hard-hearted
(
(4.) He must resolve to put on courage, and
Christ promises to steel him with it,
(5.) He must continue instant with them in
his preaching, whatever the success was,
2. Full instructions being thus given to the prophet, pursuant to his commission, we are here told,
(1.) With what satisfaction this mission of
his was applauded by the holy angels, who were very well pleased to
see one of a nature inferior to their own thus honourable employed
and entrusted. He heard a voice of a great rushing
(
(2.) With what reluctance of his own
spirit, and yet with what a mighty efficacy of the Spirit of
God, the prophet was himself brought to the execution of his
office. The grace given to him was not in vain; for, [1.]
The Spirit led him with a strong hand. God bade him go, but he
stirred not till the Spirit took him up. The Spirit of the
living creatures that was in the wheels now was in the
prophet too, and took him up, first to hear more distinctly
the acclamations of the angels (
16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. 18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. 20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
These further instructions God gave to the
prophet at the end of seven days, that is, on the seventh
day after the vision he had; and it is very probably that both that
and this were on the sabbath day, which the house of Israel,
even in their captivity, observed as well as they could in those
circumstances. We do not find that their conquerors and oppressors
tied them to any constant service, as their Egyptian task-masters
had formerly done, but that they might observe the sabbath-rest for
a sign to distinguish between them and their neighbours; but for
the sabbath-work they had not the convenience of temple or
synagogue, only it should seem they had a place by the river
side where prayer was wont to be made (as
I. What the office is to which the prophet
is called: Son of man, I have made thee a watchman to the house
of Israel,
II. What is the duty of this office. The work of a watchman is to take notice and to give notice.
1. The prophet, as a watchman, must take
notice of what God said concerning this people, not only concerning
the body of the people, to which the prophecies of Jeremiah and
other prophets had most commonly reference, but concerning
particular persons, according as their character was. He must not,
as other watchmen, look round to spy danger and gain intelligence,
but he must look up to God, and further he need not look: Hear
the word at my mouth,
2. He must give notice of what he heard. As
a watchman must have eyes in his head, so he must have a tongue in
his head; if he be dumb, it is as bad as if he were blind,
(1.) Some of those he had to do with were
wicked, and he must warn them not to go on in their wickedness, but
to turn from it,
(2.) Some of those he had to deal with were
righteous, at least he had reason to think, in a judgment of
charity, that they were so; and he must warn them not to apostatize
and turn away from their righteousness,
22 And the hand of the Lord was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee. 23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face. 24 Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house. 25 But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them: 26 And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.
After all this large and magnificent discovery which God had made of himself to the prophet, and the full instructions he had given him how to deal with those to whom he sent him with an ample commission, we should have expected presently to see him preaching the word of God to a great congregation of Israel; but here we find it quite otherwise. his work here, at first, seems not at all proportionable to the pomp of his call.
I. We have him here retired for further
learning. By his unwillingness to go it should seem as if he were
not so thoroughly convinced as he might have been of the ability of
him that sent him to bear him out; and therefore, to encourage him
against the difficulties he foresaw, God will favour him with
another vision of his glory, which (if any thing) would put life
into him and animate him for his work. In order for this, God calls
him out to the plain (
II. We have him here restrained from further teaching for the present. When he saw the glory of the Lord he fell on his face, being struck with an awe of God's majesty and a dread of his displeasure; but the Spirit entered into him to raise him up, and then he recovered himself and got upon his feet and heard what the Spirit whispered to him, which is very surprising. One would have expected now that God would send him directly to the chief place of concourse, would give him favour in the eyes of his brethren, and make him and his message acceptable to them, that he would have a wider door of opportunity opened to him and that God would give him a door of utterance to open his mouth boldly; but what is here said to him is the reverse of all this.
1. Instead of sending him to a public
assembly, he orders him to confine himself to his own lodgings:
Go, shut thyself within thy house,
2. Instead of securing him an interest in
the esteem and affections of those to whom he sent him he tells him
that they shall put bands upon him and bind him (
3. Instead of opening his lips that his
mouth might show forth God's praise, God silence him, made his
tongue cleave to the roof of his mouth, so that he was dumb
for a considerable time,
4. Instead of giving him assurance of success when he should at any time speak to the people, he here leaves the matter very doubtful, and Ezekiel must not perplex and disquiet himself about it, but let it be as it will. He that hears, let him hear, and he is welcome to the comfort of it; let him hear, and his soul shall live; but he that forbears, let him forbear at his peril, and take what comes. If thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it; neither God nor his prophet shall be any losers by it; but the prophet shall be rewarded for his faithfulness in reproving the sinner, and God will have the glory of his justice in condemning him for not taking the reproof.
Ezekiel was now among the captives in Babylon, but
they there had Jerusalem still upon their hearts; the pious
captives looked towards it with an eye of faith (as
1 Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it the city, even Jerusalem: 2 And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about. 3 Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel. 4 Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. 5 For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year. 7 Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it. 8 And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.
The prophet is here ordered to represent to himself and others by signs which would be proper and powerful to strike the fancy and to affect the mind, the siege of Jerusalem; and this amounted to a prediction.
I. He was ordered to engrave a draught of
Jerusalem upon a tile,
II. He was ordered to build little forts
against this portraiture of the city, resembling the batteries
raised by the besiegers,
III. He was ordered to lie upon his side
before it, as it were to surround it, representing the Chaldean
army lying before it to block it up, to keep the meat from going in
and the mouths from going out. He was to lie on his left side 390
days (
IV. He was ordered to prosecute the siege
with vigour (
9 Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof. 10 And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it. 11 Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink. 12 And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight. 13 And the Lord said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them. 14 Then said I, Ah Lord God! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth. 15 Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith. 16 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: 17 That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.
The best exposition of this part of
Ezekiel's prediction of Jerusalem's desolation is Jeremiah's
lamentation of it,
I. The prophet here, to affect the people with the foresight of it, must confine himself for 390 days to coarse fare and short commons, and that ill-dressed, for they should want both food and fuel.
1. His meat, for the quality of it, was to
be of the worst bread, made of but little wheat and barley, and the
rest of beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, such as we
feed horses or fatted hogs with, and this mixed, as mill corn, or
as that in the beggar's bag, that has a dish full of one sort of
corn at one house and of another at another house; of such corn as
this must the prophet's bread be made while he underwent the
fatigue of lying on his side, and needed something better to
support him,
2. For the quantity of it, it was to be of
the least that a man could be kept alive with, to signify that the
besieged should be reduced to short allowance and should hold out
till all the bread in the city was spent,
3. For the dressing of it, he must bake
it with a man's dung (
II. Now this sign is particularly explained here; it signified,
1. That those who remained in Jerusalem
should be brought to extreme misery for want of necessary food. All
supplies being cut off by the besiegers, the city would soon find
the want of the country, for the king himself is served of the
field; and thus the staff of bread would be broken in
Jerusalem,
2. It signified that those who were carried
into captivity should be forced to eat their defiled bread among
the Gentiles (
In this chapter we have a further, and no less
terrible, denunciation of the judgments of God, which were coming
with all speed and force upon the Jewish nation, which would
utterly ruin it; for when God judges he will overcome. This
destruction of Judah and Jerusalem is here, I. Represented by a
sign, the cutting, and burning, and scattering of hair,
1 And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair. 2 Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them. 3 Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts. 4 Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.
We have here the sign by which the utter destruction of Jerusalem is set forth; and here, as before, the prophet is himself the sign, that the people might see how much he affected himself with, and interested himself in, the case of Jerusalem, and how it lay to his heart, even when he foretold the desolations of it. He was so much concerned about it as to take what was done to it as done to himself, so far was he from desiring the woeful day.
I. He must shave off the hair of his
head and beard (
II. He must weigh the hair and
divide it into three parts. This intimates the very exact
directing of God's judgments according to equity (by him men and
their actions are weighed in the unerring balance of truth
and righteousness) and the proportion which divine justice observes
in punishing some by one judgment and others by another; one way or
other, they shall all be met with. Some make the shaving of the
hair to denote the loss of their liberty and of their honour: it
was looked upon as a mark of ignominy, as in the disgrace Hanun put
on David's ambassadors. It denotes also the loss of their joy, for
they shaved their heads upon occasion of great mourning; I may add
the loss of their Nazariteship, for the shaving of the head was a
period to that vow (
III. He must dispose of the hair so that it
might all be destroyed or dispersed,
IV. He must preserve a small quantity of
the third sort that were to be scattered in the wind, and
bind them in his skirts, as one would bind that which he is
very mindful and careful of,
5 Thus saith the Lord God; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her. 6 And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them. 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you; 8 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. 9 And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations. 10 Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds. 11 Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord God; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity. 12 A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. 13 Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them. 14 Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by. 15 So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the Lord have spoken it. 16 When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread: 17 So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the Lord have spoken it.
We have here the explanation of the
foregoing similitude: This is Jerusalem. Thus it is usual in
scripture language to give the name of the thing signified to the
sign; as when Christ said, This is my body. The prophet's
head, which was to be shaved, signified Jerusalem, which by the
judgments of God was now to be stripped of all its ornaments, to be
emptied of all its inhabitants, and to be set naked and
bare, to be shaved with a razor that is hired,
I. The privileges Jerusalem was honoured
with (
II. The provocations Jerusalem was guilty
of. A very high charge is here drawn up against that city, and
proved beyond contradiction sufficient to justify God in seizing
its privileges and putting it under military execution. 1. She has
not walked in God's statutes, nor kept his judgments
(
III. The punishments that Jerusalem should fall under for these provocations: Shall not God visit for these things? No doubt he shall. The matter of the sentence here passed upon Jerusalem is very dreadful, and the manner of expression makes it yet more so; the judgments are various, and the threatenings of them varied, reiterated, inculcated, that one may well say, Who is able to stand in God's sight when once he is angry?
1. God will take this work of punishing
Jerusalem into his own hands; and who knows the power of his
anger and what a fearful thing it is to fall into his
hands? Observe what a strong emphasis is laid upon it
(
2. These punishments shall come from his
displeasure. As to the body of the people, it shall not be a
correction in love, but he will execute judgments in anger, and
in fury, and in furious rebukes (
3. Punishments shall be public and open:
I will execute these judgments in the sight of the
nations (
4. These punishments, in the kind of them,
shall be very severe and grievous. (1.) They shall be such as have
no precedent or parallel. Their sins being more provoking than
those of others, the judgments executed upon them should be
uncommon (
5. These punishments will prove their ruin
by degrees. They shall be diminished (
6. All this is ratified by the divine
authority and veracity: I the Lord have spoken it,
In this chapter we have, I. A threatening of the
destruction of Israel for their idolatry, and the destruction of
their idols with them,
1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, 3 And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. 4 And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. 5 And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars. 6 In all your dwelling-places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. 7 And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
Here, I. The prophecy is directed to the
mountains of Israel (
II. That which is threatened in this
prophecy is the utter destruction of the idols and the idolaters,
and both by the sword of war. God himself is commander-in-chief of
this expedition against the mountains of Israel. It is he
that says, Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you
(
1. The idols and all their appurtenances
should be destroyed. The high places, which were on the tops
of mountains (
2. The worshippers of idols and all their
adherents should be destroyed likewise. As all their high places
shall be laid waste, so shall all their dwelling-places
too, even all their cities,
8 Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries. 9 And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations. 10 And they shall know that I am the Lord, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
Judgment had hitherto triumphed, but in
these verses mercy rejoices against judgment. A sad end is made of
this provoking people, but not a full end. The ruin seems to be
universal, and yet will I leave a remnant, a little remnant,
distinguished from the body of the people, a few of many, such as
are left when the rest perish; and it is God that leaves them. This
intimates that they deserved to be cut off with the rest, and would
have been cut off if God had not left them. See
I. It is a preserved remnant, saved from
the ruin which the body of the nation is involved in (
II. It is a penitent remnant (
1. The occasion of their repentance, and that is a mixture of judgment and mercy-judgment, that they were carried captives, but mercy, that they escaped the sword in the land of their captivity. They were driven out of their own land, but not out of the land of the living, not chased out of the world, as other were and they deserved to be. Note, The consideration of the just rebukes of Providence we are under, and yet of the mercy mixed with them, should engage us to repent, that we may answer God's end in both. And true repentance shall be accepted of God, though we are brought to it by our troubles; nay, sanctified afflictions often prove means of conversion, as to Manasseh.
2. The root and principle of their
repentance: They shall remember me among the nations. Those
who forgot God in the land of their peace and prosperity,
who waxed fat and kicked, were brought to remember him in
the land of their captivity. The prodigal son never bethought
himself of his father's house till he was ready to perish for
hunger in the far country. Their remembering God was the first step
they took in returning to him. Note, Then there begins to be some
hopes of sinners when they have sinned against the Lord, and to enquire,
Where is God my Maker? Sin takes rise in forgetting God,
3. The product and evidence of their
repentance: They shall loathe themselves for the evils which
they have committed in all their abominations. Thus God will
give them grace to qualify them for pardon and deliverance. Though
he had been broken by their whorish heart, yet he would not
quite cast them off. See
4. The glory that will redound to God by
their repentance (
11 Thus saith the Lord God; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. 12 He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them. 13 Then shall ye know that I am the Lord, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols. 14 So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the Lord.
The same threatenings which we had before in the foregoing chapter, and in the former part of this, are here repeated, with a direction to the prophet to lament them, that those he prophesied to might be the more affected with the foresight of them.
I. He must by his gestures in preaching
express the deep sense he had both of the iniquities and of the
calamities of the house of Israel (
II. He must inculcate what he had said
before concerning the destruction that was coming upon them. 1.
They shall be run down and ruined by a variety of judgments which
shall find them out and follow them wherever they are (
In this chapter the approaching ruin of the land
of Israel is most particularly foretold in affecting expressions
often repeated, that if possible they might be awakened by
repentance to prevent it. The prophet must tell them, I. That it
will be a final ruin, a complete utter destruction, which would
make an end of them, a miserable end,
1 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. 3 Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations. 4 And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 5 Thus saith the Lord God; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. 6 An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come. 7 The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains. 8 Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations. 9 And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the Lord that smiteth. 10 Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded. 11 Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither shall there be wailing for them. 12 The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. 13 For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which shall not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life. 14 They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. 15 The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.
We have here fair warning given of the destruction of the land of Israel, which was now hastening on apace. God, by the prophet, not only sends notice of it, but will have it inculcated in the same expressions, to show that the thing is certain, that it is near, that the prophet is himself affected with it and desires they should be so too, but finds them deaf, and stupid, and unaffected. When the town is on fire men do no seek for fine words and quaint expressions in which to give an account of it, but cry about the streets, with a loud and lamentable voice, "Fire! fire!" So the prophet here proclaims, An end! an end! it has come, it has come; behold, it has come. He that hath ears to hear let him hear.
I. An end has come, the end has come
(
II. An evil, an only evil, behold, has
come,
III. The time has come, the set
time, for the inflicting of this only evil and the making of
this full end; for to all God's purposes there is a
time, a proper time, and that prefixed, in which the purpose
shall have its accomplishment; particularly the time of reckoning
with wicked people, and rendering to them according to their
desserts, is fixed, the day of the revelation of the righteous
judgment of god; and he sees, whether we see it or no,
that his day is coming. This they are here told of again and
again (
IV. All this comes from God's wrath, not
allayed, as sometimes it has been, with mixtures of mercy. This is
the fountain from which all these calamities flow; and this is
the wormwood and the gall in the affliction and the
misery, which make it bitter indeed (
V. All this is the just punishment of their
sins, and it is what they have by their own folly brought upon
themselves. This is much insisted on here, that they might be
brought to justify God in all he had brought upon them. God never
sends his anger but in wisdom and justice; and therefore it
follows, "I will judge thee according to thy ways,
VI. There is no escape from these judgments
nor fence against them, for they shall be universal and shall bear
down all before them, without remedy. 1. Death in its various
shapes shall ride triumphantly, both in town and in country, both
within the city and without it,
16 But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity. 17 All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water. 18 They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads. 19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumbling-block of their iniquity. 20 As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them. 21 And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it. 22 My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.
We have attended the fate of those that are
cut off, and are now to attend the flight of those that have an
opportunity of escaping the danger; some of them shall
escape (
I. They shall have no comfort or
satisfaction in their own minds, but be in continual anguish and
terror; for, wherever they go, they carry about with them guilty
consciences, which make them a burden to themselves. 1. They shall
be always solitary and under prevailing melancholy; they shall not
be in the cities, or places of concourse, but all alone upon the
mountains, not caring for society, but shy of it, as being
ashamed of the low circumstances to which they are reduced. 2. They
shall be always sorrowful. Those have reason to be so that are
under the tokens of God's displeasure; and God can make those so
that have been most jovial and have set sorrow at defiance. Those
that once thought themselves as the lions of the mountains, so
daring were they, now become as the doves of the valleys, so
timid are they, and so dispirited, ready to flee when none
pursues and to tremble at the shaking of a leaf. They are all
of them mourning (not with a godly sorrow, but with the
sorrow of the world, which works death), every one for
his iniquity, that is, for those calamities which they now see
their iniquity has brought upon them, not only the iniquity of the
land, but their own: they shall then be brought to acknowledge what
they have each of them contributed to the national guilt. Note,
Sooner or later sin will have sorrow of one kind or other; and
those that will not repent of their iniquity may justly be left to
pine away in it; those that will not mourn for it as it is an
offence to God shall be made to mourn for it as it is a shame and
ruin to themselves, to mourn at the last, when the flesh and the
body are consumed, and to say, How have I hated instruction!
II. They shall have no benefit from their
wealth and riches, but shall be perfectly sick of them,
III. God's temple shall stand them in no
stead,
23 Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. 24 Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled. 25 Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none. 26 Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients. 27 The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
Here is, I. The prisoner arraigned: Make a chain, in which to drag the criminal to the bar, and set him before the tribunal of divine justice; let him stand in fetters (as a notorious malefactor), stand pinioned to receive his doom. Note, Those that break the bands of God's law asunder, and cast away those cords from them, will find themselves bound and held by the chains of his judgments, which they cannot break nor cast from them. The chain signified the siege of Jerusalem, or the slavery of those that were carried into captivity, or that they were all bound over to the righteous judgment of God, reserved in chains.
II. The indictment drawn up against the
prisoner: The land is full of bloody crimes, full of the
judgments of blood (so the word is), that is, of the guilt of
blood which they had shed under colour of justice and by forms of
law, with the solemnity of a judgment. The innocent blood which
Manasseh shed, probably thus shed, by the judgment of the
blood, was the measure-filling sin of Jerusalem,
III. Judgment given upon this indictment.
God will reckon with them not only for the profaning of his
sanctuary, but for the perverting of justice between man and man;
for, as holiness becomes his house, so the righteous Lord
loves righteousness and is the avenger of unrighteousness. Now
the judgment given is, 1. That since they had walked in the way of
the heathen, and done worse than they, God would bring the worst
of the heathen upon them to destroy them and lay them waste,
the most barbarous and outrageous, that have the least compassion
to mankind and the greatest antipathy to the Jews. Note, Of the
heathen some are worse than others, and God sometimes picks out the
worst to be a scourge to his own people, because he intends them
for the fire when the work is done. 2. That since they had filled
their houses with goods unjustly gotten, and used their pomp and
power for the crushing and oppressing of the weak, God would give
their houses to be possessed and all the furniture of them to be
enjoyed by strangers, and make the pomp of the strong to
cease, so that their great men should not dazzle the eyes of
the weak-sighted with their pomp, nor with their might at any time
prevail against right, as they had done. 3. That, since they had
defiled the holy places with their idolatries, God would
defile them with his judgments, since they had set up the images of
other gods in the temple, God would remove thence the tokens of the
presence of their own God. When the holy places are deserted by
their God they will soon be defiled by their enemies. 4. Since they
had followed one sin with another, God would pursue them with one
judgment upon another: "Destruction comes, utter destruction
(
God, having given the prophet a clear foresight of
the people's miseries that were hastening on, here gives him a
clear insight into the people's wickedness, by which God was
provoked to bring these miseries upon them, that he might justify
God in all his judgments, might the more particularly reprove the
sins of the people, and with the more satisfaction foretel their
ruin. Here God, in vision, brings him to Jerusalem, to show him the
sins that were committed there, though God had begun to contend
with them (
1 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me. 2 Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber. 3 And he put forth the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy. 4 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain. 5 Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry. 6 He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.
Ezekiel was now in Babylon; but the messages of wrath he had delivered in the foregoing chapters related to Jerusalem, for in the peace or trouble thereof the captives looked upon themselves to have peace or trouble, and therefore here he has a vision of what was done at Jerusalem, and this vision is continued to the close of the 11th chapter.
I. Here is the date of this vision. The
first vision he had was in the fifth year of the captivity, in
the fourth month and the fifth day of the month,
II. The opportunity is taken notice of, as
well as the time. 1. The prophet was himself sitting in his
house, in a sedate composed frame, deep perhaps in
contemplation. Note, The more we retreat from the world, and retire
into our own hearts, the better frame we are in for communion with
God: those that sit down to consider what they have learned shall
be taught more. Or, he sat in his house, ready to preach to
the company that resorted to him, but waiting for instructions what
to say. God will communicate more knowledge to those who are
communicative of what they do know. 2. The elders of Judah,
that were now in captivity with him, sat before him. It is
probable that it was on the sabbath day, and that it was usual for
them to attend on the prophet every sabbath day, both to hear the
word from him and to join with him in prayer and praise: and how
could they spend the sabbath better, now that they had neither
temple nor synagogue, neither priest nor altar? It was a great
mercy that they had opportunity to spend it so well, as the good
people in Elisha's time,
III. The divine influence and impression that the prophet was now under: The hand of the Lord fell there upon me. God's hand took hold of him, and arrested him, as it were, to employ him in this vision, but at the same time supported him to bear it.
IV. The vision that the prophet saw,
V. The prophet's remove, in vision, to
Jerusalem. The apparition he saw put forth the form of a
hand, which took him by a lock of his head, and the
Spirit was that hand which was put forth, for the Spirit of God is
called the finger of God. Or, The spirit within him
lifted him up, so that he was borne up and carried on by an
internal principle, not an external violence. A faithful ready
servant of God will be drawn by a hair, by the least intimation of
the divine will, to his duty; for he has that within him which
inclines him to a compliance with it,
VI. The discoveries that were made to him there.
1. There he saw the glory of God (
2. There he saw the reproach of Israel—and
that was the image of jealousy, set northward, at the
gate of the altar,
(1.) The very setting up of this image
in the house of the Lord was enough to provoke him to
jealousy; for it is in the matters of his worship that we are
particularly told, I the Lord thy God am a jealous God.
Those that placed this image at the door of the inner gate,
where the people assembled, called the gate of the altar
(
(2.) We may well imagine what a surprise and what a grief it was to Ezekiel to see this image in the house of God, when he was in hopes that the judgments they were under had, by this time, wrought some reformation among them; but there is more wickedness in the world, in the church, than good men think there is. And now, [1.] God appeals to him whether this was not bad enough, and a sufficient ground for God to go upon in casting off this people and abandoning them to ruin. Could he, or any one else, expect any other than that God should go far from his sanctuary, when there were such abominations committed there, in that very place; nay, was he not perfectly driven thence? They did these things designedly, and on purpose that he should leave his sanctuary, and so shall their doom be; they have hereby, in effect, like the Gadarenes, desired him to depart out of their coasts, and therefore he will depart; he will no more dignify and protect his sanctuary, as he has done, but will give it up to reproach and ruin. But, [2.] Though this is bad enough, and serves abundantly to justify God in all that he brings upon them, yet the matter will appear to be much worse: But turn thyself yet again, and thou wilt be amazed to see greater abominations than these. Where there is one abomination it will be found that there are many more. Sins do not go alone.
7 And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. 8 Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. 9 And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. 10 So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. 11 And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. 12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth.
We have here a further discovery of the abominations that were committed at Jerusalem, and within the confines of the temple, too. Now observe,
I. How this discovery is made. God, in
vision, brought Ezekiel to the door of the court, the outer
court, along the sides of which the priests' lodgings were. God
could have introduced him at first into the chambers of
imagery, but he brings him to them by degrees, partly to employ
his own industry in searching out these mysteries of iniquity, and
partly to make him sensible with what care and caution those
idolaters concealed their idolatries. Before the priests'
apartments they had run up a wall, to make them the more private,
that they might not lie open to the observation of those who passed
by—a shrewd sign that they did something which they had reason to
be ashamed of. He that doth evil hates the light. They were
not willing that those who saw them in God's house should see them
in their own, lest they should see them contradict themselves and
undo in private what they did in public. But, behold, a hole in
the wall, (
II. What the discovery is. It is a very
melancholy one. 1. He sees a chamber set round with idolatrous
pictures (
III. What the remark is that made upon it
(
13 He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. 14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. 15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. 16 And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. 17 Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. 18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
Here we have,
I. More and greater abominations discovered
to the prophet. He thought that what he had seen was bad enough and
yet (
II. The inference drawn from these
discoveries (
The prophet had, in vision, seen the wickedness
that was committed at Jerusalem, in the foregoing chapter, and we
may be sure that it was not represented to him worse than really it
was; now here follows, of course, a representation of their ruin
approaching; for when sin goes before judgments come next. Here is,
I. Preparation made of instruments that were to be employed in the
destruction of the city,
1 He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. 2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar. 3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side; 4 And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
In these verses we have,
I. The summons given to Jerusalem's
destroyers to come forth and give their attendance. He that
appeared to the prophet (
II. Their appearance, upon this summons, is
recorded. Immediately six men came (
III. The notice taken of one among the
destroying angels distinguished in his habit from the rest, from
whom some favour might be expected; it should seem he was not one
of the six, but among them, to see that mercy was mixed with
judgment,
IV. The removal of the appearance of the
divine glory from over the cherubim. Some think this was that usual
display of the divine glory which was between the cherubim over the
mercy seat, in the most holy place, that took leave of them now,
and never returned; for it is supposed that it was not in the
second temple. Others think it was that display of the divine glory
which the prophet now saw over the cherubim in vision; and this is
more probable, because this is called the glory of the God of
Israel (
V. The charge given to the man clothed
in linen to secure the pious remnant from the general
desolation. We do not read that this Saviour was summoned and sent
for, as the destroyers were; for he is always ready, appearing
in the presence of God for us; and to him, as the most proper
person, the care of those that are marked for salvation is
committed,
5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: 6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. 7 And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city. 8 And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? 9 Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not. 10 And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head. 11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.
In these verses we have,
I. A command given to the destroyers to do
execution according to their commission. They stood by the
brazen altar, waiting for orders; and orders are here given
them to cut off and destroy all that were either guilty of, or
accessory to, the abominations of Jerusalem, and that did not
sigh and cry for them. Note, When God has gathered his
wheat into his garner nothing remains but to burn up the
chaff,
1. They are ordered to destroy all, (1.)
Without exception. They must go through the city, and smite;
they must slay utterly, slay to destruction, give them their
death's wound. They must make no distinction of age or sex, but cut
off old and young; neither the beauty of the virgins, nor
the innocency of the babes, shall secure them. This was fulfilled
in the death of multitudes by famine and pestilence, especially by
the sword of the Chaldeans, as far as the military execution went.
Sometimes even such bloody work as this has been God's work. But
what an evil thing is sin, then, which provokes the God of infinite
mercy to such severity! (2.) Without compassion: "Let not your
eye spare, neither have you pity (
2. They are warned not to do the least hurt
to those that were marked for salvation: "Come not near any man
upon whom is the mark; do not so much as threaten or frighten
any of them; it is promised them that there shall no evil come nigh
them, and therefore you must keep at a distance from them." The
king of Babylon gave particular orders that Jeremiah should be
protected. Baruch and Ebed-melech were secured, and, it is likely,
others of Jeremiah's friends, for his sake. God had promised that
it should go well with his remnant and they should be
well treated (
3. They are directed to begin at the
sanctuary (
II. Here is execution done accordingly.
They observed their orders, and, 1. They began at the
elders, the ancient men that were before the house, and slew
them first, either those seventy ancients who worshipped idols in
their chambers (
III. Here is the prophet's intercession for
a mitigation of the judgement, and a reprieve for some (
IV. Here is God's denial of the prophet's
request for a mitigation of the judgement and his justification of
himself in that denial,
V. Here is a return made of the writ of
protection which was issued out for the securing of those that
mourned in Zion (
The prophet had observed to us (
1 Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. 2 And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight. 3 Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory. 5 And the sound of the cherubims' wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh. 6 And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubims; then he went in, and stood beside the wheels. 7 And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubims unto the fire that was between the cherubims, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen: who took it, and went out.
To inspire us with a holy awe and dread of God, and to fill us with his fear, we may observe, in this part of the vision which the prophet had,
I. The glorious appearance of his majesty.
Something of the invisible world is here in the visible, some faint
representations of its brightness and beauty, some shadows, but
such as are no more to be compared with the truth and substance
than a picture with the life; yet here is enough to oblige us all
to the utmost reverence in our thoughts of God and approaches to
him, if we will but admit the impressions this discovery of him
will make. 1. He is here in the firmament above the head of the
cherubim,
II. The terrible directions of his wrath. This vision has a further tendency than merely to set forth the divine grandeur; further orders are to be given for the destruction of Jerusalem. The greatest devastations are made by fire and sword. For a general slaughter of the inhabitants of Jerusalem orders were given in the foregoing chapter; now here we have a command to lay the city in ashes, by scattering coals of fire upon it, which in the vision were fetched from between the cherubim.
1. For the issuing out of orders to do this
the glory of the Lord was lifted up from the cherub
(as in the chapter before for the giving of orders there,
2. The man clothed in linen who had
marked those that were to be preserved is to be employed in this
service; for the same Jesus that is the protector and
Saviour of those that believe, having all judgement committed to
him, that of condemnation as well as that of absolution, will
come in a flaming fire to take vengeance on those that obey not
his gospel. He that sits on the throne calls to the man
clothed in linen to go in between the wheels, and fill his
hand with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them
over the city. This intimates, (1.) That the burning of the
city and temple by the Chaldeans was a consumption determined, and
that therein they executed God's counsel, did what he designed
before should be done. (2.) That the fire of divine wrath, which
kindles judgement upon a people, is just and holy, for it is fire
fetched from between the cherubim. The fire on God's altar,
where atonement was made, had been slighted, to avenge which fire
is here fetched from heaven, like that by which Nadab and Abihu
were killed for offering strange fire. If a city, or town, or
house, be burnt, whether by design or accident, if we trace it in
its original, we shall find that the coals which kindled the
fire came from between the wheels; for there is not
any evil of that kind in the city, but the Lord has done it. (3.)
That Jesus Christ acts by commission from the Father, for from him
he receives authority to execute judgement, because he is the
Son of man. Christ came to send fire on the earth
(
3. This man clothed with linen
readily attended to this service; though, being clothed with
linen, he was very unfit to go among the burning coals,
yet, being called, he said, Lo, I come; this commandment he
had received of his Father, and he complied with it; the prophet
saw him go in,
4. One of the cherubim reached him a
handful of fire from the midst of the living creatures. The
prophet, when he first saw this vision, observed that there were
burning coals of fire, and lamps, that went up and
down among the living creatures (
5. When he had taken the fire he went out, no doubt to scatter it up and down upon the city, as he was directed. And who can abide the day of his coming? Who can stand before him when he goes out in his anger?
8 And there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man's hand under their wings. 9 And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubims, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl stone. 10 And as for their appearances, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel. 11 When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they went. 12 And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had. 13 As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my hearing, O wheel. 14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. 15 And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar. 16 And when the cherubims went, the wheels went by them: and when the cherubims lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also turned not from beside them. 17 When they stood, these stood; and when they were lifted up, these lifted up themselves also: for the spirit of the living creature was in them. 18 Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. 19 And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. 20 This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims. 21 Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. 22 And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward.
We have here a further account of the vision of God's glory which Ezekiel saw, here intended to introduce that direful omen of the departure of that glory from them, which would open the door for ruin to break in.
I. Ezekiel sees the glory of God shining in
the sanctuary, as he had seen it by the river of Chebar, and
gives an account of it, that those who had by their wickedness
provoked God to depart from them might know what they had lost and
might lament after the Lord, groaning out their Ichabod, Where
is the glory? Ezekiel here sees the operations of divine
Providence in the government of the lower world, and the affairs of
it, represented by the four wheels; and the perfections of
the holy angels, the inhabitants of the upper world, and their
ministrations, represented by the four living creatures,
every one of which had four faces. The agency of the angels
in directing the affairs of this world is represented by the close
communication that was between the living creatures and the
wheels, the wheels being guided by them in all their
motions, as the chariot is by him that drives it. But the same
Spirit being both in the living creatures and in the
wheels denoted the infinite wisdom which serves its own
purposes by the ministration of angels and all the occurrences of
this lower world. So that this vision gives out faith a view of
that throne which the Lord has prepared in the heavens, and
that kingdom of which rules over all,
II. Ezekiel sees the glory of God removing
out of the sanctuary, the place where God's honour had long dwelt,
and this sight is as sad as the other was grateful. It was pleasant
to see that God had not forsaken the earth (as the idolaters
suggested,
This chapter concludes the vision which Ezekiel
saw, and this part of it furnished him with two messages:—I. A
message of wrath against those who continued still at Jerusalem,
and were there in the height of presumption, thinking they should
never fall,
1 Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the Lord's house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. 2 Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city: 3 Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh. 4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man. 5 And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the Lord; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them. 6 Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain. 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it. 8 Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord God. 9 And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you. 10 Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 11 This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel: 12 And ye shall know that I am the Lord: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you. 13 And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord God! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?
We have here,
I. The great security of the prince's of
Jerusalem, notwithstanding the judgments of God that were upon
them, The prophet was brought, in vision, to the gate of the temple
where these princes sat in council upon the present arduous affairs
of the city: The Spirit lifted me up, and brought me to the east
gate of the Lord's house, and behold twenty-five men were
there. See how obsequious the prophet was to the Spirit's
orders and how observant of all the discoveries that were made to
him. It should seem, these twenty-five men were not the same with
those twenty-five whom we saw at the door of the temple,
worshipping towards the east (
II. The method taken to awaken them out of
their security. One would think that the providences of God which
related to them were enough to startle them; but, to help them to
understand and improve those, the word of God is sent to them to
give them warning (
III. This awakening word is here
immediately followed by an awakening providence,
14 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 15 Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the Lord: unto us is this land given in possession. 16 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. 17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. 18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. 19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh: 20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord God.
Prophecy was designed to exalt every
valley as well as to bring low every mountain and hill
(
I. How the pious captives were trampled
upon and insulted over by those who continued in Jerusalem,
II. The gracious promises which God made to
them in consideration of the insolent conduct of their brethren
towards them. Those that hated them and cast them out said, Let
the Lord be glorified; but he shall appear to their joy,
1. That he will make up to them the want of
the temple and the privileges of it (
2. That God would in due time put an end to
their afflictions, bring them out of the land of their captivity,
and settle them again, them or their children, in their own land
(
3. That God by his grace would part between
them and their sins,
4. That God would powerfully dispose them to their duty; they shall not only cease to do evil, but they shall learn to do well, because there shall be not only an end of their troubles, but a return to their peace.
(1.) God will plant good principles in
them; he will make the tree good,
(2.) Their practices shall be consonant to
those principles: I will give them a new spirit, not that
they may be able to discourse well of religion and to dispute for
it, but that they may walk in my statues in their whole
conversation and keep my ordinances in all acts of religious
worship,
III. Here is a threatening of wrath against
those who hated to be reformed. As, when judgments are threatened,
the righteous are distinguished so as not to share in the evil of
those judgments, so, when favours are promised, the wicked are
distinguished so as not to share in the comfort of those favours;
they have no part nor lot in the matter,
22 Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. 23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city. 24 Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25 Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the Lord had shewed me.
Here is, 1. The departure of God's presence
from the city and temple. When the message was committed to the
prophet, and he was fully apprized of it, fully instructed how to
separate between the precious and the vile, then the cherubim
lifted up their wings and the wheels beside them (
Though the vision of God's glory had gone up from
the prophet, yet his word comes to him still, and is by him sent to
the people, and to the same purport with that which was discovered
to him in the vision, namely, to set forth the terrible judgments
that were coming upon Jerusalem, by which the city and temple
should be entirely laid waste. In this chapter, I. The prophet, by
removing his stuff, and quitting his lodgings, must be a sign to
set forth Zedekiah's flight out of Jerusalem in the utmost
confusion when the Chaldeans took the city,
1 The word of the Lord also came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house. 3 Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house. 4 Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth at even in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity. 5 Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby. 6 In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulders, and carry it forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel. 7 And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for captivity, and in the even I digged through the wall with mine hand; I brought it forth in the twilight, and I bare it upon my shoulder in their sight. 8 And in the morning came the word of the Lord unto me, saying, 9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou? 10 Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that are among them. 11 Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall remove and go into captivity. 12 And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes. 13 My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there. 14 And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them. 15 And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries. 16 But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the heathen whither they come; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
Perhaps Ezekiel reflected with so much
pleasure upon the vision he had had of the glory of God that often,
since it went up from him, he was wishing it might come down to him
again, and, having seen it once and a second time, he was willing
to hope he might be a third time so favoured; but we do not find
that he ever saw it any more, and yet the word of the Lord comes
to him; for God did in divers manners speak to the
fathers (
I. By what signs and actions to express the
approaching captivity of Zedekiah king of Judah; that was the thing
to be foretold, and it is foretold to those that are already in
captivity, because as long as Zedekiah was upon the throne they
flattered themselves with hopes that he would make his part good
with the king of Babylon, whose yoke he was now projecting to shake
off, from which, it is probable, these poor captives promised
themselves great things; and it may be, when he was forming that
design, he privately sent encouragement to them to hope that he
would rescue them shortly, or procure their liberty by exchange of
prisoners. While they were fed with these vain hopes they could not
set themselves either to submit to their affliction or to get good
by their affliction. It was therefore necessary, but very
difficult, to convince them that Zedekiah, instead of being their
deliverer, should very shortly be their fellow-suffered. Now, one
would think it might have been sufficient if the prophet had only
told them this in God's name, as he does afterwards (
II. He is directed by what words to explain those signs and actions, as Agabus, when he bound his own hands and feet, told whose binding was thereby signified. But observe, It was not till morning that God gave him an exposition of the sign, till the next morning, to keep up in him a continual dependence upon God for instruction. As what God does, so what he directs us to do, perhaps we know not now, but shall know hereafter.
1. It was supposed that the people would
ask the meaning of this sign, or at least they should (
2. The prophet is to tell them the meaning
of it. In general (
17 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 18 Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness; 19 And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord God of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein. 20 And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
Here again the prophet is made a sign to
them of the desolations that were coming on Judah and Jerusalem. 1.
He must himself eat and drink in care and fear, especially when he
was in company,
21 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 22 Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth? 23 Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord God; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. 24 For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. 25 For I am the Lord: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God. 26 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 27 Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off. 28 Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God.
Various methods had been used to awaken
this secure and careless people to an expectation of the judgments
coming, that they might be stirred up, by repentance and
reformation, to prevent them. The prophecies of their ruin were
confirmed by visions, and illustrated by signs, and all with such
evidence and power that one would think they must needs be wrought
upon; but here we are told how they evaded the conviction, and
guarded against it, namely, by telling themselves, and one another,
that though these judgments threatened should come at last yet they
would not come of a long time. This suggestion, with which they
bolstered themselves up in their security, is here answered, and
shown to be vain and groundless, in two separate messages which God
sent to them by the prophet at different times, both to the same
purport; such care, such pains, must the prophet take to undeceive
them,
I. How they flattered themselves with hopes
that the judgments should be delayed. One saying they had, which
had become proverbial in the land of Israel,
II. How they are assured that they do but
deceive themselves, for the judgments shall be hastened, these
profane proverbs shall be confronted: Tell them, therefore, The
days are at hand (
1. That God will certainly silence the
lying proverbs, and the lying prophecies, with which they buoyed up
their vain hopes, and will make them ashamed of both: (1.) I
will make this proverb to cease; for when they find the days of
vengeance have come, and not one iota or tittle of the prediction
falls to the ground, they will be ashamed to use it as a proverb
in Israel, The days are prolonged, and the vision fails. Note,
Those that will not have their eyes opened and their mistakes
rectified, by the word of God, shall be undeceived by his
judgments: for every mouth that speaks perverse things
shall be stopped. (2.) There shall be no more any vain
vision,
2. That God will certainly, and very
shortly, accomplish every word that he has spoken. With what
majesty does he say it (
Mention had been made, in the chapter before, of
the vain visions and flattering divinations with which the people
of Israel suffered themselves to be imposed upon (
1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord; 3 Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! 4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. 5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. 6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. 7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken? 8 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God. 9 And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord God.
The false prophets, who are here prophesied
against, were some of them at Jerusalem (
Ezekiel had express orders to prophesy against the prophets of Israel; so they called themselves, as if none but they had been worthy of the name of Israel's prophets, who were indeed Israel's deceivers. But it is observable that Israel was never imposed upon by pretenders to prophecy till after they had rejected and abused the true prophets; as, afterwards, they were never deluded by counterfeit messiahs till after they had refused the true Messiah and rejected him. These false prophets must be required to hear the word of the Lord. They took upon them to speak what concerned others as from God; let them now hear what concerned themselves as from him. And two things the prophet is directed to do:—
I. To discover their sin to them, and to
convince them of that if possible, or thereby to prevent their
proceeding any further, by making manifest their folly unto all
men,
II. He is directed to denounce the
judgments of God against them for these sins, from which their
pretending to the character of prophets would not exempt them. 1.
In general, here is a woe against them (
10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar: 11 Say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. 12 Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it. 14 So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 15 Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered mortar, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it; 16 To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord God.
We have here more plain dealing with the false prophets, and some further articles of their doom. We have seen the people made ashamed of the false prophets (though sometimes they had been fond of them) and casting them away, as they shall do their false gods, with indignation; now here we find them as much ashamed of their false prophecies, which they had sometimes depended upon with much assurance. Observe,
I. How the people are deceived by the false
prophets. Those flatterers seduce them, saying, Peace, and there
was no peace,
II. How they will be soon undeceived by the
judgment of God, which, we are sure, is according to truth. 1. God
will in anger bring a terrible storm that shall beat fiercely and
furiously upon the wall. The descent which the Chaldean army shall
make upon Judah, and the siege which they shall lay to Jerusalem,
will be as an overflowing shower, or inundation (such as
Solomon calls a sweeping rain that leaves no food,
17 Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them, 18 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you? 19 And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies? 20 Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly. 21 Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life: 23 Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
As God has promised that when he pours out
his Spirit upon his people both their sons and their daughters
shall prophesy, so the devil, when he acts as a spirit of lies
and falsehood, is so in the mouth not only of false prophets, but
of false prophetesses too, and those are the deceivers whom the
prophet is here directed to prophesy against; for they are not such
despicable enemies to God's truths as deserve not to be taken
notice of, nor yet will either the weakness of their sex excuse
their sin or the tenderness and respect that are owing to it exempt
them from the reproaches and threatenings of the word of God. No:
Son of man, set they face against the daughters of thy
people,
I. How the sin of these false prophetesses
is described, and what are the particulars of it. 1. They told
deliberate lies to those who consulted them, and came to them to be
advised, and to be told their fortune: "You do mischief by your
lying to my people that hear your lies (
II. How the wrath of God against them is
expressed. Here is a woe to them (
Hearing the word, and prayer, are two great
ordinances of God, in which we are to give honour to him and may
hope to find favour and acceptance with him; and yet in this
chapter, to our great surprise, we find some waiting upon God in
the one and some in the other and yet not meeting with success as
they expected. I. The elders of Israel come to hear the word, and
enquire of the prophet, but, because they are not duly qualified,
they meet with a rebuke instead of acceptance (
1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling-block of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? 4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; 5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols. 6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. 7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will answer him by myself: 8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. 10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him; 11 That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord God.
Here is, I. The address which some of the
elders of Israel made to the prophet, as an oracle, to enquire of
the Lord by him. They came, and sat before him,
II. The account which God gave the prophet
privately concerning them. They were strangers to him; he only knew
that they were elders of Israel; that was the character they
wore, and as such he received them with respect, and, it is likely,
was glad to see them so well disposed. But God gives him their real
character (
III. The answer which God, in just
displeasure, orders Ezekiel to give them,
IV. The extent of this answer which God had
given them—to all the house of Israel,
V. The doom of those pretenders to prophecy
who give countenance to these pretenders to piety,
VI. The good counsel that is given them for
the preventing of this fearful doom (
VII. The good issue of all this as to the
house of Israel; therefore the pretending prophets, and the
pretending saints, shall perish together by the judgments of God,
that, some being made examples, the body of the people may be
reformed, that the house of Israel may go no more astray from
me,
12 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 13 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: 14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God. 15 If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: 16 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate. 17 Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it: 18 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves. 19 Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast: 20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. 21 For thus saith the Lord God; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast? 22 Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it. 23 And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord God.
The scope of these verses is to show,
I. That national sins bring national
judgments. When virtue is ruined and laid waste every thing else
will soon be ruined and laid waste too (
II. That God has a variety of sore
judgments wherewith to punish sinful nations, and he has them all
at command and inflicts which he pleases. He did indeed give David
his choice what judgment he would be punished with for his sin in
numbering the people; for any of them would serve to answer the
end, which was to lessen the numbers he was proud of; but David, in
effect, referred it to God again: "Let us fall into the hands of
the Lord; let him choose with what rod we shall be beaten." But
he uses a variety of judgments that it may appear he has a
universal dominion, and that in all our concerns we may see our
dependence on him. Four sore judgments are here specified:—
1. Famine,
III. That when God's professing people
revolt from him, and rebel against him, they may justly expect a
complication of judgments to fall upon them. God has various ways
of contending with a sinful nation; but if Jerusalem, the holy
city, become a harlot, God will send upon her all his
four sore judgments (
IV. That there may be, and commonly are,
some few very good men, even in those places that by sin are
ripened for ruin. It is no foreign supposition that, even in a land
that has trespassed grievously, there may be three
such men as Noah, Daniel, and Job. Daniel was now
living, and at this time had scarcely arrived at the prime of his
eminency, but he was already famous (at least this word of God
concerning him would without fail make him so); yet he was carried
away into captivity with the first of all,
V. That God often spares very wicked places for the sake of a few godly people in them. This is implied here as the expectation of Jerusalem's friends in the day of its distress: "Surely God will stay his controversy with us; for are there not some among us that are emptying the measure of national guilt by their prayers, as others are filling it by their sins? And, rather than God will destroy the righteous with the wicked, he will preserve the wicked with the righteous. If Sodom might have been spared for the sake of ten good men, surely Jerusalem may."
VI. That such men as Noah, Daniel, and Job, will prevail, if any can, to turn away the wrath of God from a sinful people. Noah was a perfect man, and kept his integrity when all flesh had corrupted their way; and, for his sake, his family, though one of them was wicked (Ham), was saved in the ark. Job was a great example of piety, and mighty in prayer for his children, for his friends; and God turned his captivity when he prayed. Those were very ancient examples, before Moses, that great intercessor; and therefore God mentions them, to intimate that he had some very peculiar favourites long before the Jewish nation was formed or founded, and would have such when it was ruined, for which reason, it should seem, those names were made use of, rather than Moses, Aaron, or Samuel; and yet, lest any should think that God was partial in his respects to the ancient days, here is a modern instance, a living one, placed between those two that were the glories of antiquity, and he now a captive, and that is Daniel, to teach us not to lessen the useful good men of our own day by over-magnifying the ancients. Let the children of the captivity know that Daniel, their neighbour, and companion in tribulation, being a man of great humility, piety, and zeal for God, and instant and constant in prayer, had as good an interest in heaven as Noah or Job had. Why may not God raise up as great and good men now as he did formerly, and do as much for them?
VII. That when the sin of a people has come
to its height, and the decree has gone forth for their ruin, the
piety and prayers of the best men shall not prevail to finish the
controversy. This is here asserted again and again, that, though
these three men were in Jerusalem at this time, yet they should
deliver neither son nor daughter; not so much as the little
ones should be spared for their sakes, as the little ones of Israel
were upon the prayer of Moses,
VIII. That, though pious praying men may not prevail to deliver others, yet they shall deliver their own souls by their righteousness, so that, though they may suffer in the common calamity, yet to them the property of it is altered; it is not to them what it is to the wicked; it is unstrung, and does them no hurt; it is sanctified, and does them good. Sometimes their souls (their lives) are remarkably delivered, and given them for a prey; at least their souls (their spiritual interests) are secured. If their bodies be not delivered, yet their souls are. Riches indeed profit not in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death, from so great a death, so many deaths as are here threatened. This should encourage us to keep our integrity in times of common apostasy, that, if we do so, we shall be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger.
IX. That, even when God makes the greatest
desolations by his judgments, he reserves some to be the monuments
of his mercy,
Ezekiel has again and again, in God's name,
foretold the utter ruin of Jerusalem; but, it should seem, he finds
it hard to reconcile himself to it, and to acquiesce in the will of
God in this severe dispensation; and therefore God takes various
methods to satisfy him not only that it shall be so, but that there
is no remedy: it must be so; it is fit that it should be so. Here,
in this short chapter, he shows him (probably with design that he
should tell the people) that it was as requisite Jerusalem should
be destroyed as that the dead and withered branches of a vine
should be cut off and thrown into the fire. I. The similitude is
very elegant (
1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest? 3 Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon? 4 Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any work? 5 Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned? 6 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 7 And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them. 8 And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord God.
The prophet, we may suppose, was thinking
what a glorious city Jerusalem was, above any city in the world; it
was the crown and joy of the whole earth; and therefore what
a pity it was that it should be destroyed; it was a noble
structure, the city of God, and the city of Israel's solemnities.
But, if these were the thoughts of his heart, God here returns an
answer to them by comparing Jerusalem to a vine. 1. It is true, if
a vine be fruitful, it is a most valuable tree, none more so; it
was one of those that were courted to have dominion over the trees,
and the fruit of it is such as cheers God and man (
I. How this similitude is expressed here.
The wild vine, that is among the trees of the forest, or the
empty vine (which Israel is compared to,
II. How this similitude is applied to
Jerusalem. 1. That holy city had become unprofitable and good for
nothing. It had been as the vine-tree among the trees of the
vineyard, abounding in the fruits of righteousness to the glory of
God. When religion flourished there, and the pure worship of God
was kept up, many a joyful vintage was then gathered in from it;
and, while it continued so, God made a hedge about it; it was his
pleasant plant (
Still God is justifying himself in the desolations
he is about to bring upon Jerusalem; and very largely, in this
chapter, he shows the prophet, and orders him to show the people,
that he did but punish them as their sins deserved. In the
foregoing chapter he had compared Jerusalem to an unfruitful vine,
that was fit for nothing but the fire; in this chapter he compares
it to an adulteress, that, in justice, ought to be abandoned and
exposed, and he must therefore show the people their abominations,
that they might see how little reason they had to complain of the
judgments they were under. In this long discourse are set forth, I.
The despicable and deplorable beginnings of that church and nation,
1 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite. 4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. 5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.
Ezekiel is now among the captives in
Babylon; but, as Jeremiah at Jerusalem wrote for the use of the
captives though they had Ezekiel upon the spot with them (
I. This is his commission (
II. That Jerusalem may be made to know
her abominations, and particularly the abominable ingratitude
she had been guilty of, it was requisite that she should be put in
mind of the great things God had done for her, as the aggravations
of her bad conduct towards him; and, to magnify those favours, she
is in
6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live. 7 I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. 8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine. 9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. 10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. 11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. 12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. 13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. 14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.
In there verses we have an account of the
great things which God did for the Jewish nation in raising them up
by degrees to be very considerable. 1. God saved them from the ruin
they were upon the brink of in Egypt (
15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was. 16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so. 17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, 18 And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them. 19 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord God. 20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, 21 That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them? 22 And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood. 23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord God;) 24 That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee a high place in every street. 25 Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms. 26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger. 27 Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way. 28 Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied. 29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith. 30 How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord God, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman; 31 In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as a harlot, in that thou scornest hire; 32 But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband! 33 They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom. 34 And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.
In these verses we have an account of the great wickedness of the people of Israel, especially in worshipping idols, notwithstanding the great favours that God had conferred upon them, by which, one would think, they should have been for ever engaged to him. This wickedness of theirs is here represented by the lewd and scandalous conversation of that beautiful maid which was rescued from ruin, brought up and well provided for by a kind friend and benefactor, that had been in all respects as a father and a husband to her. Their idolatry was the great provoking sin that they were guilty of; it began in the latter end of Solomon's time (for from Samuel's till then I do not remember that we read any thing of it), and thenceforward continued more or less the crying sin of that nation till the captivity; and, though it now and then met with some check from the reforming kings, yet it was never totally suppressed, and for the most part appeared to a high degree impudent and barefaced. They not only worshipped the true God by images, as the ten tribes by the calves at Dan and Bethel, but they worshipped false gods, Baal and Moloch, and all the senseless rabble of the pagan deities.
This is that which is here all along
represented (as often elsewhere) under the similitude of whoredom
and adultery, 1. Because it is the violation of a marriage-covenant
with God, forsaking him and embracing the bosom of a stranger; it
is giving that affection and that service to his rivals which are
due to him alone. 2. Because it is the corrupting and defiling of
the mind, and the enslaving of the spiritual part of the man, and
subjecting it to the power and dominion of sense, as whoredom is.
3. Because it debauches the conscience, sears and hardens it; and
those who by their idolatries dishonour the divine nature, and
change the truth of God into a lie and his glory into shame, God
justly punishes by giving them over to a reprobate mind, to
dishonour the human nature with vile affections,
I. What were the causes of this sin. How
came the people of God to be drawn away to the service of idols?
How came a virgin so well taught, so well educated, to be
debauched? Who would have thought it? But, 1. They grew proud
(
II. What were the particulars of it. 1.
They worshipped all the idols that came in their way, all that they
were ever courted to the worship of; they were at the beck of all
their neighbours (
III. What were the aggravations of this sin.
1. They were fond of the idols of those
nations which had been their oppressors and persecutors. As, (1.)
The Egyptians. They were a people notorious for idolatry, and for
the most sottish senseless idolatries; they had of old abused
Israel by their barbarous dealings, and of late by their
treacherous dealings-were always either cruel or false to them; and
yet so infatuated were they that they committed fornication with
the Egyptians their neighbours, not only by joining with them
in their idolatries, but by entering into leagues and alliances
with them, and depending upon them for help in their straits, which
was an adulterous departure from God. (2.) The Assyrians. They had
also been vexatious to Israel: "And yet thou hast played the
whore with them (
2. They had been under the rebukes of
Providence for their sins, and yet they persisted in them
(
3. They were insatiable in their spiritual
whoredom: Thou couldst not be satisfied,
4. They were at great expense with their
idolatry, and laid out a great deal of wealth in purchasing
patterns of images and altars, and hiring priests to attend upon
them from other countries. Harlots generally had their hire; but
this impudent adulteress, instead of being hired to serve idols,
hired idols to protect her and accept her homage. This is much
insisted on,
And now is not Jerusalem in all this made to know her abominations? For what greater abominations could she be guilty of than these? Here we may see with wonder and horror what the corrupt nature of men is when God leaves them to themselves, yea, though they have the greatest advantages to be better and do better. And the way of sin is down-hill. Nitimur in vetitum—We incline to what is forbidden.
35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord: 36 Thus saith the Lord God; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them; 37 Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness. 38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy. 39 And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare. 40 They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords. 41 And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more. 42 So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry. 43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord God: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.
Adultery was by the law of Moses made a
capital crime. This notorious adulteress, the criminal at the bar,
being in the foregoing verses found guilty, here has sentence
passed upon her. It is ushered in with solemnity,
I. The crime is stated and the articles of
the charge are summed up (
II. The sentence is passed in general: I
will judge thee as women that break wedlock and shed blood are
judged (
44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter. 45 Thou art thy mother's daughter, that loatheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which loathed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite. 46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. 47 Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways. 48 As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. 49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. 51 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done. 52 Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. 53 When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: 54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. 55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate. 56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride, 57 Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about. 58 Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the Lord. 59 For thus saith the Lord God; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
The prophet here further shows Jerusalem her abominations, by comparing her with those places that had gone before her, and showing that she was worse than any of them, and therefore should, like them, be utterly and irreparably ruined. We are all apt to judge of ourselves by comparison, and to imagine that we are sufficiently good if we are but as good as such and such, who are thought passable; or that we are not dangerously bad if we are no worse than such and such, who, though bad, are not of the worst. Now God by the prophet shows Jerusalem,
I. That she was as bad as her
mother, that is, as the accursed devoted Canaanites that were
the possessors of this land before her. Those that use proverbs, as
most people do, shall apply that proverb to Jerusalem, As is the
mother, so is her daughter,
II. That she was worse than her sisters Sodom and Samaria, that were adulteresses too, that loathed their husbands and their children, that were weary of the gods of their fathers, and were for introducing new gods, a-la-mode—quite in style, that came newly up, and new fashions in religion, and were given to change. On this comparison between Jerusalem and her sisters the prophet here enlarges, that he might either shame them into repentance or justify God in their ruin. Observe,
1. Who Jerusalem's sisters were,
2. Wherein Jerusalem's sins resembled her
sisters', particularly Sodom's (
3. How much the sins of Jerusalem exceeded
those of Sodom and Samaria; they were more heinous in the sight of
God, either in themselves or by reason of several aggravations:
"Thou hast not only walked after their ways, and trod in
their steps, but hast quite outdone them in wickedness,
4. What desolations God had brought and was
bringing upon Jerusalem for these wickednesses, wherein they had
exceeded Sodom and Samaria. (1.) She has already long ago been
disgraced, and has fallen into contempt, among her neighbours
(
60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. 61 Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. 62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: 63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.
Here, in the close of the chapter, after a
most shameful conviction of sin and a most dreadful denunciation of
judgments, mercy is remembered, mercy is reserved, for those who
shall come after. As was when God swore in his wrath concerning
those who came out of Egypt that they should not enter Canaan,
"Yet" (says God) "your little ones shall;" so here. And some think
that what is said of the return of Sodom and Samaria (
I. Whence this mercy should take rise-from
God himself, and his remembering his covenant with
them (
II. How they should be prepared and
qualified for this mercy (
III. What the mercy is that God has in
reserve for them. 1. He will take them into covenant with himself
(
IV. What the fruit and effect of this will
be. 1. God will hereby be glorified (
God was, in the foregoing chapter, reckoning with
the people of Judah, and bringing ruin upon them for their
treachery in breaking covenant with him; in this chapter he is
reckoning with the king of Judah for his treachery in breaking
covenant with the king of Babylon; for when God came to contend
with them he found many grounds of his controversy. The thing was
now in doing: Zedekiah was practising with the king of Egypt
underhand for assistance in a treacherous project he had formed to
shake off the yoke of the king of Babylon, and violate the homage
and fealty he had sworn to him. For this God by the prophet here,
I. Threatens the ruin of him and his kingdom, by a parable of two
eagles and a vine (
1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; 3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; A great eagle with great wings, long-winged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar: 4 He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants. 5 He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree. 6 And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs. 7 There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation. 8 It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. 9 Say thou, Thus saith the Lord God; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof. 10 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew. 11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon; 13 And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land: 14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand. 15 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered? 16 As I live, saith the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. 17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons: 18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head. 20 And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me. 21 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.
We must take all these verses together,
that we may have the parable and the explanation of it at one view
before us, because they will illustrate one another. 1. The prophet
is appointed to put forth a riddle to the house of
Israel (
Let us now see what the matter of this message is.
I. Nebuchadnezzar had some time ago carried
off Jehoiachin, the same that was called Jeconiah, when he
was but eighteen years of age and had reigned in Jerusalem but
three months, him and his princes and great men, and had
brought them captives to Babylon,
II. When he carried him to Babylon he made
his uncle Zedekiah king in his room,
III. Zedekiah, while he continued faithful
to the king of Babylon, did very well, and, if he would but have
reformed his kingdom, and returned to God and his duty, he would
have done better, and by that means might soon have recovered his
former dignity,
IV. Zedekiah knew not when he was well off,
but grew impatient of the disgrace of being a tributary to the king
of Babylon, and, to get clear of it, entered into a private league
with the king of Egypt. He had no reason to complain that the king
of Babylon put any new hardships upon him or improved his
advantages against him, that he oppressed or impoverished his
country, for, as the prophet had said before (
V. God here threatens Zedekiah with the
utter destruction of him and his kingdom, and, in displeasure
against him, passes that doom upon him for his treacherous revolt
from the king of Babylon. This is represented in the parable
(
1. It is ratified by the oath of God
(
2. It is justified by the heinousness of
the crime he had been guilty of. (1.) He had been very ungrateful
to his benefactor, who had made him king, and undertook to
protect him, had made him a prince when he might as easily have
made him a prisoner. Note, It is a sin against God to be unkind to
our friends and to lift up the heel against those that have helped
to raise us. (2.) He had been very false to him whom he had
covenanted with. This is mostly insisted on: He despised the
oath. When his conscience or friends reminded him of it he made
a jest of it, put on a daring resolution, and broke it,
3. It is particularized in divers
instances, wherein the punishment is made to answer the sin. (1.)
He had rebelled against the king of Babylon, and the king of
Babylon should be his effectual conqueror. In the place where that
king dwells whose covenant he broke, even with him
in the midst of Babylon he shall die,
22 Thus saith the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon a high mountain and eminent: 23 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have done it.
When the royal family of Judah was brought
to desolation by the captivity of Jehoiachin and Zedekiah it might
be asked, "What has now become of the covenant of royalty made with
David, that his children should sit upon his throne for
evermore? Do the sure mercies of David prove thus
unsure?" To this it is sufficient for the silencing of the
objectors to answer that the promise was conditional. If they
will keep my covenant, then they shall continue,
I. The house of David shall again be
magnified, and out of its ashes another phoenix shall arise. The
metaphor of a tree, which was made us of in the threatening, is
here presented in the promise,
II. God himself will herein be glorified,
Perhaps, in reading some of the foregoing
chapters, we may have been tempted to think ourselves not much
concerned in them (though they also were written for our learning);
but this chapter, at first view, appears highly and nearly to
concern us all, very highly, very nearly; for, without particular
reference to Judah and Jerusalem, it lays down the rule of judgment
according to which God will deal with the children of men in
determining them to their everlasting state, and it agrees with
that very ancient rule laid down,
1 The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying, 2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? 3 As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. 5 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, 6 And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman, 7 And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; 8 He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man, 9 Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God.
Evil manners, we say, beget good laws; and in like manner sometimes unjust reflections occasion just vindications; evil proverbs beget good prophecies. Here is,
I. An evil proverb commonly used by the
Jews in their captivity. We had one before (
II. A just reproof of, and reply to, this proverb: What mean you by using it? That is the reproof. "Do you intend hereby to try it out with God? Or can you think any other than that you will hereby provoke him to be angry with you till he has consumed you? Is this the way to reconcile yourselves to him and make your peace with him?" The reply follows, in which God tells them,
1. That the use of the proverb should be
taken away. This is said, it is sworn (
2. That really the saying itself was unjust and a causeless reflection upon God's government. For,
(1.) God does not punish the children for
the fathers' sins unless they tread in their fathers' steps and
fill up the measure of their iniquity (
(2.) It is only in temporal calamities that children (and sometimes innocent ones) fare the worse for their parents' wickedness, and God can alter the property of those calamities, and make them work for good to those that are visited with them; but as to spiritual and eternal misery (and that is the death here spoken of) the children shall by no means smart for the parents' sins. This is here shown at large; and it is a wonderful piece of condescension that the great God is pleased to reason the case with such wicked and unreasonable men, that he did not immediately strike them dumb or dead, but vouchsafed to state the matter before them, that he may be clear when he is judged. Now, in his reply,
[1.] He asserts and maintains his own
absolute and incontestable sovereignty: Behold, all souls are
mine,
[2.] Though God might justify himself by
insisting upon his sovereignty, yet he waives that, and lays down
the equitable and unexceptionable rule of judgment by which he will
proceed as to particular persons; and it is this:—First,
The sinner that persists in sin shall certainly die, his iniquity
shall be his ruin: The soul that sins shall die, shall die
as a soul can die, shall be excluded from the favour of God, which
is the life and bliss of the soul, and shall lie for ever under his
wrath, which is its death and misery. Sin is the act of the
soul, the body being only the instrument of
unrighteousness; it is called the sin of the soul,
10 If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things, 11 And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife, 12 Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination, 13 Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him. 14 Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like, 15 That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour's wife, 16 Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment, 17 That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live. 18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity. 19 Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. 20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
God, by the prophet, having laid down the
general rule of judgment, that he will render eternal life to those
that patiently continue in well-doing, but indignation and
wrath to those that do not obey the truth, but obey
unrighteousness (
I. He applied it largely and particularly both ways. As it was in the royal line of the kings of Judah, so it often happens in private families, that godly parents have wicked children and wicked parents have godly children. Now here he shows,
1. That a wicked man shall certainly perish
in his iniquity, though he be the son of a pious father. If that
righteous man before described beget a son whose character
is the reverse of his father's, his condition will certainly be so
too. (1.) It is supposed as no uncommon case, but a very melancholy
one, that the child of a very godly father, notwithstanding all the
instructions given him, the good education he has had and the
needful rebukes that have been given him, and the restraints he has
been laid under, after all the pains taken with him and prayers put
up for him, may yet prove notoriously wicked and vile, the grief of
his father, the shame of his family, and the curse and plague of
his generation. He is here supposed to allow himself in all those
enormities which his good father dreaded and carefully avoided, and
to shake off all those good duties which his father made conscience
of and took satisfaction in; he undoes all that his father did, and
goes counter to his example in every thing. He is here described to
be a highwayman—a robber and a shedder of blood. He is an
idolater: He has eaten upon the mountains (
2. That a righteous man shall be certainly
happy, though he be the son of a wicked father. Though the father
did eat the sour grapes, if the children do not meddle with them,
they shall fare never the worse for that. Here, (1.) It is supposed
(and, blessed be God, it is sometimes a case in fact) that the son
of an ungodly father may be godly, that, observing how fatal his
father's errors were, he may be so wise as to take warning,
and not tread in his father's tests,
II. He appeals to themselves then whether
they did not wrong God with their proverb. "Thus plain the case is,
and yet you say, Does not the son bear the iniquity of the
father? No, he does not; he shall not if he will himself do
that which is lawful and right,"
21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? 24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. 25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? 26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. 27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. 28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
We have here another rule of judgment which God will go by in dealing with us, by which is further demonstrated the equity of his government. The former showed that God will reward or punish according to the change made in the family or succession, for the better or for the worse; here he shows that he will reward or punish according to the change made in the person himself, whether for the better or the worse. While we are in this world we are in a state of probation; the time of trial lasts as long as the time of life, and according as we are found at last it will be with us to eternity. Now see here,
I. The case fairly stated, much as it had
been before (
1. A fair invitation given to wicked
people, to turn from their wickedness. Assurance is here given us
that, if the wicked will turn, he shall surely live,
(1.) What is required to denominate a man a
true convert, how he must be qualified that he may be entitled to
this act of indemnity. [1.] The first step towards conversion is
consideration (
(2.) What is promised to those that do thus
turn from sin to God. [1.] They shall save their souls
alive,
(3.) What encouragement a repenting
returning sinner has to hope for pardon and life according to this
promise. He is conscious to himself that his obedience for the
future can never be a valuable compensation for his former
disobedience; but he has this to support himself with, that God's
nature, property, and delight, is to have mercy and to forgive, for
he has said (
2. A fair warning given to righteous people
not to turn from their righteousness,
II. An appeal to the consciences even of
the house of Israel, though very corrupt, concerning God's equity
in all these proceedings; for he will be justified, as well as
sinners judged, out of their own mouths. 1. The charge they drew up
against God is blasphemous,
30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
We have here the conclusion and application of this whole matter. After a fair trial at the bar of right reason the verdict is brought in on God's side; it appears that his ways are equal. Judgment therefore is next to be given; and one would think it should be a judgment of condemnation, nothing short of Go, you cursed, into everlasting fire. But, behold, a miracle of mercy; the day of grace and divine patience is yet lengthened out; and therefore, though God will at last judge every one according to his ways, yet he waits to be gracious, and closes all with a call to repentance and a promise of pardon upon repentance.
I. Here are four necessary duties that we
are called to, all amounting to the same:—1. We must repent; we
must change our mind and change our ways; we must be sorry for what
we have done amiss and ashamed of it, and go as far as we can
towards the undoing of it again. 2. We must turn ourselves from
all our transgressions,
II. Here are four good arguments used to
enforce these calls to repentance:—1. It is the only way, and it
is a sure way, to prevent the ruin which our sins have a direct
tendency to: So iniquity shall not be your ruin, which
implies that, if we do not repent, iniquity will be our ruin, here
and for ever, but that, if we do, we are safe, we are snatched as
brands out of the burning. 2. If we repent not, we certainly
perish, and our blood will be upon our own heads. Why will you
die, O house of Israel? What an absurd thing it is for you to
choose death and damnation rather than life and salvation. Note,
The reason why sinners die is because they will die; they
will go down the way that leads to death, and not come up to the
terms on which life is offered. Herein sinners, especially sinners
of the house of Israel, are most unreasonable and act most
unaccountably. 3. The God of heaven has no delight in our ruin, but
desires our welfare (
The scope of this chapter is much the same with
that of the 17th, to foretel and lament the ruin of the house of
David, the royal family of Judah, in the calamitous exit of the
four sons and grandsons of Josiah—Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jeconiah,
and Zedekiah, in whom that illustrious line of kings was cut off,
which the prophet is here ordered to lament,
1 Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, 2 And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions. 3 And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men. 4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt. 5 Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion. 6 And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men. 7 And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring. 8 Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit. 9 And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.
Here are, I. Orders given to the prophet to
bewail the fall of the royal family, which had long made so great a
figure by virtue of a covenant of royalty made with David and his
seed, so that the eclipsing and extinguishing of it are justly
lamented by all who know what value to put upon the covenant of
our God, as we find, after a very large account of that
covenant with David (
II. Instructions given him what to say. 1.
He must compare the kingdom of Judah to a lioness, so
wretchedly degenerated was it from what it had been formerly, when
it sat as a queen among the nations,
10 Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. 11 And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches. 12 But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them. 13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground. 14 And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
Jerusalem, the mother-city, is here
represented by another similitude; she is a vine, and the princes
are her branches. This comparison we had before,
In this chapter, I. The prophet is consulted by
some of the elders of Israel,
1 And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the Lord, and sat before me. 2 Then came the word of the Lord unto me, saying, 3 Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you. 4 Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:
Here is, 1. The occasion of the message
which we have in this chapter. That sermon which we had
5 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the Lord your God; 6 In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands: 7 Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. 8 But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.
The history of the ingratitude and rebellion of the people of Israel here begins as early as their beginning; so does the history of man's apostasy from his Maker. No sooner have we read the story of our first parents' creation than we immediately meet with that of their rebellion; so we see here it was with Israel, a people designed to represent the body of mankind both in their dealings with God and in his with them. Here is,
I. The gracious purposes of God's law
concerning Israel in Egypt, where they were bond-slaves to Pharaoh.
Be it spoken, be it written, to the immortal honour of free grace,
that then and there, 1. He chose Israel to be a peculiar people to
himself, though their condition was bad and their character worse,
that he might have the honour of mending both. He therefore
chose them, because they were the seed of the house of
Jacob, the posterity of that prince with God, that he might
keep the oath which he had sworn unto their fathers,
II. The reasonable commands he gave them,
and the easy conditions of his covenant with them at that time.
Having told them what they might expect from him, he next tells
them what was all he expected from them; it was no more than this
(
III. Their unreasonable disobedience to
these commands, for which God might justly have cut them off as
soon as ever they were formed into a people (
IV. The wonderful deliverance which God
wrought for them, notwithstanding. Though they forfeited the favour
while it was in the bestowing, and when God would have healed
them when their iniquity was discovered (
10 Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. 11 And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. 12 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them. 13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. 14 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out. 15 Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands; 16 Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols. 17 Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness. 18 But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols: 19 I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; 20 And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God. 21 Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness. 22 Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth. 23 I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries; 24 Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols. 25 Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live; 26 And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the Lord.
The history of the struggle between the
sins of Israel, by which they endeavoured to ruin themselves, and
the mercies of God, by which he endeavoured to save them and make
them happy, is here continued: and the instances of that struggle
in these verses have reference to what passed between God and them
in the wilderness, in which God honoured himself and they shamed
themselves. The story of Israel in the wilderness is referred to in
the New Testament (
I. The great things God did for them, which
he puts them in mind of, not as grudging them his favours, but to
show how ungrateful they had been. And we say, If you call a man
ungrateful, you can call him no worse. It was a great favour, 1.
That God brought them forth out of Egypt (
II. Their disobedient undutiful conduct
towards God, for which he might justly have thrown them out of
covenant as soon as he had taken them into covenant (
III. God's determination to cut off that
generation of them in the wilderness. He who lifted up his
hand for them (
IV. The reservation of a seed that should
be admitted upon a new trial, and the instructions given to that
seed,
V. The revolt of the next generation from
God, by which they also made themselves obnoxious to the wrath of
God (
VI. The judgments of God upon them for
their rebellion. They would not regard the statutes and judgments
by which God prescribed them their duty, but despised them, and
therefore God gave them statutes and judgments which were
not good, and by which they should not live,
27 Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me. 28 For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink offerings. 29 Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go? And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day. 30 Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations? 31 For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you. 32 And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.
Here the prophet goes on with the story of their rebellions, for their further humiliation, and shows,
I. That they had persisted in them after
they were settled in the land of Canaan. Though God had so many
times testified his displeasure against their wicked courses, "yet
in this (that is, in the very same thing) your fathers
have blasphemed me, continued to affront me, that they also
have trespassed a trespass against me,"
II. That this generation, after they were
unsettled, continued under the dominion of the same corrupt
inclinations to idolatry,
33 As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: 34 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. 35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. 36 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God. 37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: 38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols. 40 For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the first-fruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. 41 I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. 42 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers. 43 And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. 44 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God.
The design which was now on foot among the
elders of Israel was that the people of Israel, being scattered
among the nations, should lay aside all their peculiarities and
conform to those among whom they lived; but God had told them that
the design should not take effect,
I. Babylon shall not protect them, nor any
of the countries of the heathen; for God will cast them out of his
protection and then what prince, what people, what place, can serve
to be a sanctuary to them? God was Israel's King of old, and had
they continued his loyal subjects he would have ruled over
them with care and tenderness for their good, but now with a
stretched-out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over
them,
II. Israel shall be no more able to protect
them than Babylon could; nor shall their relation to God's people
stand them in any more stead for the other world than their
compliance with idolaters shall for this world; nor shall they
stand in the congregation of the righteous any more than in
the congregation of evil-doers; for there will come a
distinguishing day, when God will separate between the precious and
the vile; he will cause them, as the shepherd causes his
sheep, to pass under the rod, when he tithes them (
1. He will separate the wicked from among
them (
2. He will separate them to himself again.
(1.) He will gather them in mercy out of the countries
whither they were scattered, to be monuments of mercy, as the
incorrigible were gathered to be vessels of wrath,
45 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 46 Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field; 47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein. 48 And all flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it: it shall not be quenched. 49 Then said I, Ah Lord God! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?
We have here a prophecy of wrath against
Judah and Jerusalem, which would more fitly have begun the next
chapter than conclude this; for it has no dependence on what goes
before, but that which follows in the beginning of the next chapter
is the explication of it, when the people complained that this was
a parable which they understood not. In this parable, 1. It is a
forest that is prophesied against, the forest of the south
field, Judah and Jerusalem. These lay south from Babylon, where
Ezekiel now was, and therefore he is directed to set his face
towards the south (
Now observe, 1. The people's reflection upon the prophet on occasion of this discourse. They said, Does he not speak parables? This was the language either of their ignorance or infidelity (the plainest truths were as parables to them), or of their malice and ill-will to the prophet. Note. It is common for those who will not be wrought upon by the word to pick quarrels with it; it is either too plain or too obscure, too fine or too homely, too common or too singular; something or other is amiss in it. 2. The prophet's complaint to God: Ah, Lord God! they say so and so of me. Note, It is a comfort to us, when people speak ill of us unjustly, that we have a God to complain to.
In this chapter we have, I. An explication of the
prophecy in the close of the foregoing chapter concerning the fire
in the forest, which the people complained they could not
understand (
1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel, 3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. 4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: 5 That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more. 6 Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes. 7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord God.
The prophet had faithfully delivered the
message he was entrusted with, in the close of the foregoing
chapter, in the terms wherein he received it, not daring to add his
own comment upon it; but, when he complained that the people found
fault with him for speaking parables, the word of the Lord came to
him again, and gave him a key to that figurative discourse, that
with it he might let the people into the meaning of it and so
silence that objection. For all men shall be rendered inexcusable
at God's bar and every mouth shall be stopped. Note, He that
speaks with tongues should pray that he may
interpret,
8 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 9 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished: 10 It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree. 11 And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer. 12 Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh. 13 Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord God. 14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their privy chambers. 15 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter. 16 Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set. 17 I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the Lord have said it.
Here is another prophecy of the sword,
which is delivered in a very affecting manner; the expressions here
used are somewhat intricate, and perplex interpreters. The sword
was unsheathed in the
I. How the sword is here described. 1. It
is sharpened, that it may cut and wound, and make a sore
slaughter. The wrath of God will put an edge upon it; and,
whatever instruments God shall please to make use of in executing
his judgments, he will fill them with strength, courage, and fury,
according to the service they are employed in. Out of the mouth of
Christ goes a sharp sword,
II. How the sword is here put into the hand
of the executioners: "It is the rod of my Son, and he has
given it that it may be handled (
III. How the sword is directed, and against
whom it is sent (
IV. What is the nature of this sword, and
what are the intentions and limitations of it as to the people of
God,
V. Here the prophet and the people must
show themselves affected with these judgments threatened. 1. The
prophet must be very serious in denouncing these judgments. He must
say, A sword! a sword!
18 The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying, 19 Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city. 20 Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced. 21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver. 22 At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort. 23 And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken. 24 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. 25 And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, 26 Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. 27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.
The prophet, in the verses before, had shown them the sword coming; he here shows them that sword coming against them, that they might not flatter themselves that by some means or other it should be diverted a contrary way.
I. He must see and show the Chaldean army
coming against Jerusalem and determined by a supreme power so to
do. The prophet must appoint him two ways, that is, he must
upon a paper draw out two roads (
II. He must show both the people and the prince that they bring this destruction upon themselves by their own sin.
1. The people do so,
2. The prince likewise brings his ruin upon
himself. Zedekiah is the prince of Israel, to whom the
prophet here, in God's name, addresses himself; and, if he had not
spoken in God's name, he would not have spoken so boldly, so
bluntly; for is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked?
(1.) He gives him his character,
28 And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering: 29 Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end. 30 Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity. 31 And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and skilful to destroy. 32 Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the Lord have spoken it.
The prediction of the destruction of the Ammonites, which was effected by Nebuchadnezzar about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, seems to come in here upon occasion of the king of Babylon's diverting his design against Rabbath, when he turned it upon Jerusalem. Upon this the Ammonites grew very insolent, and triumphed over Jerusalem; but the prophet must let them know that forbearance is no acquittance; the reprieve is not a pardon; their day also is at hand; their turn comes next, and it will be but a poor satisfaction to them that they are to be devoured last, to be last executed.
I. The sin of the Ammonites is here
intimated; it is their reproach,
II. The utter destruction of the Ammonites
is threatened. For the reproach cast on the church by her
neighbours will be returned into their own bosom,
Here are three separate messages which God
entrusts the prophet to deliver concerning Judah and Jerusalem, and
all to the same purport, to show them their sins and the judgments
that were coming upon them for those sins. I. Here is a catalogue
of their sins, by which they had exposed themselves to shame and
for which God would bring them to ruin,
1 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations. 3 Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord God, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself. 4 Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries. 5 Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed. 6 Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood. 7 In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow. 8 Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths. 9 In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdness. 10 In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution. 11 And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter. 12 In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord God. 13 Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee. 14 Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the Lord have spoken it, and will do it. 15 And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee. 16 And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
In these verses the prophet by a commission
from Heaven sits as a judge upon the bench, and Jerusalem is made
to hold up her hand as a prisoner at the bar; and, if prophets were
set over other nations, much more over God's nation,
I. He is to find Jerusalem guilty of many
heinous crimes here enumerated in a long bill of indictment, and it
is billa vera—a true bill; so he writes upon it whose
judgment we are sure is according to truth. He must show her all
her abominations (
1. Murder: The city sheds blood, not
only in the suburbs, where the strangers dwell, but in the midst
of it, where, one would think, the magistrates would, if any
where, be vigilant. Even there people were murdered either in duels
or by secret assassinations and poisonings, or in the courts of
justice under colour of law, and there was no care taken to
discover and punish the murderers according to the law (
2. Idolatry: She makes idols against
herself to destroy herself,
3. Disobedience to parents (
4. Oppression and extortion. To enrich
themselves they wronged the poor (
5. Profanation of the sabbath and other
holy things. This commonly goes along with the other sins for which
they here stand indicted (
6. Uncleanness and all manner of
seventh-commandment sins, fruits of those vile affections to which
God in a way of righteous judgment gives men up, to punish them for
their idolatry and profanation of holy things. Jerusalem had been
famous for its purity, but now in the midst of thee they commit
lewdness (
7. Unmindfulness of God was at the bottom
of all this wickedness (
II. He is to pass sentence upon Jerusalem for these crimes.
1. Let her know that she has filled up the
measure of her iniquity, and that her sins are such as forbid
delays and call for speedy vengeance. She has made her time to
come (
2. Let her know that she has exposed
herself, and therefore God has justly exposed her, to the contempt
and scorn of all her neighbours (
3. Let her know that God is displeased,
highly displeased, at her wickedness, and does and will witness
against it (
4. Let her know that, proud and secure as
she is, she is no match for God's judgments,
5. Let her know that, since she has walked
in the way of the heathen, and learned their works, she shall have
enough of them (
6. Let her know that God has disowned her
and cast her off. He had been her heritage and portion; but now
(
17 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver. 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. 21 Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. 22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my fury upon you.
The same melancholy string is still harped
upon, and various turns are given it, to make it affecting, that it
may be influencing. The prophet must here show, or at least it is
here shown him, that the whole house of Israel has become as dross
and that as dross they shall be consumed. What David has said
concerning the wicked ones of the world is here said concerning the
wicked ones of the church, now that it is corrupt and degenerate
(
I. See here how the wretched degeneracy of
the house of Israel is described. That state, in David's and
Solomon's time, had been a head of gold; when the kingdoms
were divided it was as the arms of silver. But now, 1. It
has degenerated into baser metal, of no value in comparison with
what it formerly was: They are all brass, and tin, and iron, and
lead, which some make to signify divers sorts of sinners among
them. Their being brass denotes the impudence of some in their
wickedness; they are brazen-faced, and cannot blush; their
shoes had been iron and brass (
II. How the woeful destruction of this
degenerate house of Israel is foretold. They are all gathered
together in Jerusalem; thither people fled from all parts of the
country as to a city of refuge, not only because it was a strong
city, but because it was the holy city. Now God tells them that
their flocking into Jerusalem, which they intended for their
security, should be as the gathering of various sorts of metal into
the furnace or crucible, to be melted down, and to have the dross
separated from them. They are in the midst of Jerusalem,
surrounded by the forces of the enemy; and, being thus enclosed, 1.
The fire of God's wrath shall be kindled upon this furnace,
and it shall be blown, to make it burn fiercely and
strongly,
23 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 24 Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation. 25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof. 26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. 27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. 28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken. 29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. 30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. 31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.
Here is, I. A general idea given of the
land of Israel, how well it deserved the judgments coming to
destroy it and how much it needed these judgments to refine it. Let
the prophet tell her plainly, "Thou art the land that is not
cleansed, not refined as metal is, and therefore needest to be
again put into the furnace. Means and methods of reformation have
been ineffectual; thou art not rained upon in the day of
indignation." This was one of the judgments which God brought
upon them in the day of his wrath, he withheld the rain from
them,
II. A particular charge drawn up against the several orders and degrees of men among them, which shows that they had all helped to fill the measure of the nation's guilt, but none had done any thing towards the emptying of it; they are therefore all alike.
1. They have every one corrupted his way, and those who should have been the brightest examples of virtue were ringleaders in iniquity and patterns of vice.
(1.) The prophets, who pretended to
make known the mind of God to them, were not only deceivers,
but devourers (
(2.) The priests, who were teachers by
office, and had the custody of the sacred things, and should have
called the false prophets to account, were as bad as they,
(3.) The princes, who should have
interposed with their authority to redress these grievances, were
as daring transgressors of the law as any (
(4.) The people that had any power in their
hands learned of their princes to abuse it,
2. There is none that appears as an
intercessor for them (
This long chapter (as before
1 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother: 3 And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. 4 And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah. 5 And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours, 6 Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. 7 Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself. 8 Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her. 9 Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted. 10 These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.
God had often spoken to Ezekiel, and by him
to the people, to this effect, but now his word comes again;
for God speaks the same thing once, yea, twice, yea,
many a time, and all little enough, and too little, for man
perceives it not. Note, To convince sinners of the evil of sin,
and of their misery and danger by reason of it, there is need of
line upon line, so loth we are to know the worst of
ourselves. The sinners that are here to be exposed are two
women, two kingdoms, sister-kingdoms, Israel and Judah,
daughters of one mother, having been for a long time but
one people. Solomon's kingdom was so large, so populous,
that immediately after his death it divided into two. Observe, 1.
Their character when they were one (
11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms. 12 She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men. 13 Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way, 14 And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, 15 Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity: 16 And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea. 17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them. 18 So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister. 19 Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. 20 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses. 21 Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.
The prophet Hosea, in his time, observed
that the two tribes retained their integrity, in a great measure,
when the ten tribes had apostatized (
I. Jerusalem, that had been a faithful
city, became a harlot,
II. The faithful God justly gives a bill of
divorce to this now faithless city, that has become a
harlot. His jealousy soon discovered her lewdness (
22 Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side; 23 The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses. 24 And they shall come against thee with chariots, waggons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments. 25 And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire. 26 They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels. 27 Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more. 28 For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated: 29 And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. 30 I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols. 31 Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand. 32 Thus saith the Lord God; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much. 33 Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria. 34 Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. 35 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
Jerusalem stands indicted by the name of Aholibah, for that she, as a false traitor to her sovereign Lord the God of heaven, not having his fear before her eyes, but moved by the instigation of the devil, had revolted from her allegiance to him, had compassed and imagined to shake off his government, had kept up a correspondence had joined in confederacy with his enemies, and the pretenders to a deity, in contempt of his crown and dignity. To this indictment she has pleaded, Not guilty: I am not polluted; I have not gone after Baalim. But it is found against her by the notorious evidence of the fact, and she stands convicted of it, nor has any thing material to offer why judgment should not be given and execution awarded according to law. In these verses, therefore, we have the sentence.
I. Her old confederates must be her
executioners; and those whom she had courted to be her leaders in
sin are now to be employed as instruments of her punishment
(
II. The execution to be done upon her is very terrible.
1. Her enemies shall come against her on
every side (
2. The particulars of the sentence here
passed upon this notorious adulteress are, (1.) That all she has
shall be seized on. The clothes and the fair jewels,
with which she had endeavoured to recommend herself to her lovers,
these she shall be stripped of,
III. Because she has trod in the steps of
Samaria's sins, she must expect no other than Samaria's fate. It is
common, in giving judgment, to have an eye to precedents; so has
God in passing this sentence on Jerusalem (
IV. In all this God will be justified, and
by all this they will be reformed; and so the issue even of this
will be God's glory and their good. 1. They have been bad, very
bad, and that justifies God in all that is brought upon them
(
36 The Lord said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations; 37 That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them. 38 Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths. 39 For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house. 40 And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments, 41 And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil. 42 And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads. 43 Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them? 44 Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women. 45 And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands. 46 For thus saith the Lord God; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled. 47 And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire. 48 Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. 49 And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord God.
After the ten tribes were carried into
captivity, and that kingdom was made quite desolate, the remains of
it by degrees incorporated with the kingdom of Judah, and gained a
settlement (many of them) in Jerusalem; so that the two
sisters had in effect become one again; and therefore,
in these verses, the prophet takes those to task jointly who were
thus conjoined: "Wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah
together?
I. Let them be made to see the sins they
are guilty of: Declare unto them openly and boldly their
abominations. 1. They have been guilty of gross idolatry, here
called adultery. With their idols they have committed
adultery (
II. Let them be made to foresee the
judgments that are coming upon them for these sins (
Here are two sermons in this chapter, preached on
a particular occasion, and they are both from Mount Sinai, the
mount of terror, both from Mount Ebal, the mount of curses; both
speak the approaching fate of Jerusalem. The occasion of them was
the king of Babylon's laying siege to Jerusalem, and the design of
them is to show that in the issue of that siege he should be not
only master of the place, but destroyer of it. I. By the sign of
flesh boiling in a pot over the fire are shown the miseries that
Jerusalem should suffer during the siege, and justly, for her
filthiness,
1 Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day. 3 And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it: 4 Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. 5 Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein. 6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it. 7 For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust; 8 That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered. 9 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great. 10 Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned. 11 Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed. 12 She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire. 13 In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee. 14 I the Lord have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord God.
We have here,
I. The notice God gives to Ezekiel in
Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar's laying siege to Jerusalem, just at the
time when he was doing it (
II. The notice which he orders him to take
of it. He must enter it in his book, memorandum, that in
the ninth year of Jehoiachin's captivity (for thence Ezekiel
dated,
III. The notice which he orders him to give to the people thereupon, the purport of which is that this siege of Jerusalem, now begun, will infallibly end in the ruin of it. This he must say to the rebellious house, to those of them that were in Babylon, to be by them communicated to those that were yet in their own land. A rebellious house will soon be a ruinous house.
1. He must show them this by a sign; for
that stupid people needed to be taught as children are. The
comparison made use of is that of a boiling pot. This agrees
with Jeremiah's vision many years before, when he first began to be
a prophet, and probably was designed to put them in mind of that
(
2. He must give them a comment upon this
sign. It is to be construed as a woe to the bloody city,
(1.) What is the course God takes with it.
Jerusalem, during the siege, is like a pot boiling over the fire,
all in a heat, all in a hurry. [1.] Care is taken to keep a good
fire under the pot, which signifies the closeness of the siege, and
the many vigorous attacks made upon the city by the besiegers, and
especially the continued wrath of God burning against them
(
(2.) What is the quarrel God has with it.
He would not take these severe methods with Jerusalem but that he
is provoked to it; she deserves to be thus dealt with, for, [1.] It
is a bloody city (
15 Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. 17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. 18 So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded. 19 And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? 20 Then I answered them, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword. 22 And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. 23 And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another. 24 Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord God. 25 Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters, 26 That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? 27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
These verses conclude what we have been
upon all along from the beginning of this book, to wit, Ezekiel's
prophecies of the destruction of Jerusalem; for after this, though
he prophesied much concerning other nations, he said no more
concerning Jerusalem, till he heard of the destruction of it,
almost three years after,
I. The sign by which this was represented to them, and it was a sign that cost the prophet very dear; the more shame for them that when he, by a divine appointment, was at such an expense to affect them with what he had to deliver, yet they were not affected by it.
1. He must lose a good wife, that should
suddenly be taken from him by death. God gave him notice of it
before, that it might be the less surprise to him (
2. He must deny himself the satisfaction of
mourning for his wife, which would have been both an honour to her
and an ease to the oppression of his own spirit. He must not use
the natural expressions of sorrow,
II. The explication and application of this
sign. The people enquired the meaning of it (
1. Let them know that as Ezekiel's wife was
taken from him by a stroke so would God take from them all that
which was dearest to them,
2. Let them know that as Ezekiel wept not
for his affliction so neither should they weep for theirs. He must
say, You shall do as I have done,
III. An appeal to the event, for the
confirmation of all this (
1. The great desolation which the siege of
Jerusalem should end in (
2. The notice that should be brought to the
prophet, not be revelation, as the notice of the siege was brought
to him (
3. The divine impression which he should be
under upon receiving that notice,
Judgment began at the house of God, and therefore
with them the prophets began, who were the judges; but it must not
end there, and therefore they must not. Ezekiel had finished his
testimony which related to the destruction of Jerusalem. As to that
he was ordered to say no more, but stand upon his watch-tower and
wait the issue; and yet he must not be silent; there are divers
nations bordering upon the land of Israel, which he must prophesy
against, as Isaiah and Jeremiah had done before; and must proclaim
God's controversy with them, chiefly for the injuries and
indignities which they had done to the people of God in the day of
their calamity. In this chapter we have his prophecy, I. Against
the Ammonites,
1 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them; 3 And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity; 4 Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk. 5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching-place for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 6 For thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel; 7 Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
Here, I. The prophet is ordered to address
himself to the Ammonites, in the name of the Lord Jehovah
the God of Israel, who is also the God of the whole earth.
But what can Chemosh, the god of the children of Ammon, say, in
answer to it? He is bidden to set his face against the
Ammonites, for he is God's representative as a prophet, and
thus he must signify that God set his face against them, for
the face of the Lord is against those that do evil,
II. He is directed what to say to them. Ezekiel is now a captive in Babylon, and has been so many years, and knows little of the state of his own nation, much less of the nations that were about it; but God tells him both what they were doing and what he was about to do with them. And thus by the spirit of prophecy he is enabled to speak as pertinently to their case as if he had been among them.
1. He must upbraid the Ammonites with their
insolent and barbarous triumphs over the people of Israel in their
calamities,
2. He must threaten the Ammonites with
utter ruin for this insolence which they were guilty of. God turns
away his wrath from Israel against them, as is said,
8 Thus saith the Lord God; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen; 9 Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim, 10 Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations. 11 And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the Lord. 12 Thus saith the Lord God; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them; 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword. 14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God. 15 Thus saith the Lord God; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred; 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. 17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.
Three more of Israel's ill-natured neighbours are here arraigned, convicted, and condemned to destruction, for contributing to and triumphing in Jerusalem's fall.
I. The Moabites. Seir, which was the seat
of the Edomites, is joined with them (
1. What was the sin of the Moabites; they said, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen. They triumphed, (1.) In the apostasies of Israel, were please to see them forsake their God and worship idols, and hoped that in a while their religion would be quite lost and forgotten and the house of Judah would be like all the heathen, perfect idolaters. When those that profess religion walk unworthy of their profession they encourage the enemies of religion to hope that it will in time sink, and be run down, and quite abandoned; but let the Moabites know that, though there are those of the house of Judah who have made themselves like the heathen, yet there is a remnant that retain their integrity, the religion of the house of Judah shall recover itself, its peculiarities shall be preserved, it shall not lose itself among the heathen, but distinguish itself from them, till it deliver itself honourably into a better institution. (2.) In the calamities of Israel. They said, "The house of Judah is like all the heathen, in as bad a state as they; their God is no more able to deliver them from this overflowing scourge of these parts of the world than the gods of the heathen are to deliver them. Where are the promises they gloried in and all the wonders which they and their fathers told us of? What the better are they for the covenant of peculiarity, upon which they so much valued themselves? Those that looked with so much scorn upon all the heathen are now set upon a level with them, or rather sunk below them." Note, Those who judge only by outward appearance are ready to conclude that the people of God have lost all their privileges when they have lost their worldly prosperity, which does not follow, for good men, even in affliction, in captivity among the heathen, have graces and comforts within sufficient to distinguish them from all the heathen. Though the event seem one to the righteous and wicked, yet indeed it is vastly different.
2. What should be the punishment of Moab
for this sin; because they triumphed in the overthrow of Judah,
their country shall be in like manner overthrown with that of the
Ammonites, who were guilty of the same sin (
II. The Edomites, the posterity of Esau, between whom and Jacob there had been an old enmity. And here is,
1. The sin of the Edomites,
2. The judgments threatened against them
for this sin. God will take them to task for it (
III. The Philistines. And, 1. Their sin is
much the same with that of the Edomites: They have dealt by
revenge with the people of Israel, and have taken vengeance
with a despiteful heart, not to disturb them only, but to
destroy them, for the old hatred (
The prophet had soon done with those four nations
that he set his face against in the foregoing chapters; for they
were not at that time very considerable in the world, nor would
their fall make any great noise among the nations nor any figure in
history. But the city of Tyre is next set to the bar; this, being a
place of vast trade, was known all the world over; and therefore
here are three whole chapters, this and the two that follow, spent
in the prediction of the destruction of Tyre. We have "the burden
of Tyre,"
1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste: 3 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. 4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. 5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God: and it shall become a spoil to the nations. 6 And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the Lord. 7 For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people. 8 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee. 9 And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. 10 By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach. 11 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. 12 And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water. 13 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. 14 And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
This prophecy is dated in the eleventh year, which was the year that Jerusalem was taken, and in the first day of the month, but it is not said what month, some think the month in which Jerusalem was taken, which was the fourth month, others the month after; or perhaps it was the first month, and so it was the first day of the year. Observe here,
I. The pleasure with which the Tyrians
looked upon the ruins of Jerusalem. Ezekiel was a great way off, in
Babylon, but God told him what Tyrus said against Jerusalem
(
II. The displeasure of God against them for
it. The providence of God had done well for Tyrus. Tyrus was a
pleasant and wealthy city, and might have continued so if she had,
as she ought to have done, sympathized with Jerusalem in her
calamities and sent her an address of condolence; but when, instead
of that, she showed herself pleased with her neighbour's fall, and
perhaps sent an address of congratulation to the conquerors, then
God says, Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus!
1. God will bring formidable enemies upon
her: Many nations shall come against thee, an army made up
of many nations, or one nation that shall be as strong as many.
Those that have God against them may expect all the creatures
against them; for what peace can those have with whom God is at
war? They shall come pouring in as the waves of the sea, one
upon the neck of another, with an irresistible force. The person is
named that shall bring this army upon them—Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon, a king of kings, that had many kings tributaries to
him and dependents on him, besides those that were his captives,
2. They shall do terrible execution. (1.)
The enemy shall make themselves masters of all their
fortifications, shall destroy the walls and break down
the towers,
15 Thus saith the Lord God to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee? 16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee. 17 And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it! 18 Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure. 19 For thus saith the Lord God; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee; 20 When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living; 21 I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord God.
The utter ruin of Tyre is here represented in very strong and lively figures, which are exceedingly affecting.
1. See how high, how great, Tyre had been,
how little likely ever to come to this. The remembrance of men's
former grandeur and plenty is a great aggravation of their present
disgrace and poverty. Tyre was a renowned city (
2. See how low, how little, Tyre is made,
3. See what a distress the inhabitants of
Tyre are in (
4. See what a consternation all the
neighbours are in upon the fall of Tyre. This is elegantly
expressed here, to show how astonishing it should be. (1.) the
islands shall shake at the sound of thy fall
(
5. See how the irreparable ruin of Tyre is
aggravated by the prospect of the restoration of Israel. Thus shall
Tyre sink when I shall set glory in the land of the living,
Still we are attending the funeral of Tyre and the
lamentations made for the fall of that renowned city. In this
chapter we have, I. A large account of the dignity, wealth, and
splendour of Tyre, while it was in its strength, the vast trade it
drove, and the interest it had among the nations (
1 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, 2 Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus; 3 And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord God; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty. 4 Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty. 5 They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee. 6 Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim. 7 Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee. 8 The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots. 9 The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise. 10 They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness. 11 The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect. 12 Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs. 13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market. 14 They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules. 15 The men of Dedan were thy merchants; many isles were the merchandise of thine hand: they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony. 16 Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate. 17 Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm. 18 Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool. 19 Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market. 20 Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots. 21 Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants. 22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold. 23 Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants. 24 These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise. 25 The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas.
Here, I. The prophet is ordered to take up
a lamentation for Tyrus,
II. He is directed what to say, and to say
it in the name of the Lord Jehovah, a name not unknown in
Tyre, and which shall be better known,
1. He must upbraid Tyre with her pride:
O Tyrus! thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty (
2. He must upbraid Tyre with her
prosperity, which was the matter of her pride. In elegies it is
usual to insert encomiums of those whose fall we lament; the
prophet, accordingly, praises Tyre for all that she had that was
praiseworthy. He has nothing to say of her religion, her piety, her
charity, her being a refuge to the distressed or using her interest
to do good offices among her neighbours; but she lived great, and
had a great trade, and all the trading part of mankind made court
to her. The prophet must describe her height and magnificence, that
God may be the more glorified in her fall, as the God who looks
upon every one that is proud and abases him, hides the proud in the
dust together, and binds their faces in secret,
(1.) The city of Tyre was advantageously
situated, at the entry of the sea (
(2.) It was curiously built, according as
the fashion then was; and, being a city on a hill, it made a
glorious show and tempted the ships that sailed by into her ports
(
(3.) It had its haven replenished with
abundance of gallant ships,
(4.) These gallant ships were well-manned,
by men of great ingenuity and industry. The pilots and masters of
the ships, that had command in their fleets, were of their own
city, such as they could put a confidence in (
(5.) Their city was guarded by a military
force that was very considerable,
(6.) They had a vast trade and a
correspondence with all parts of the known world. Some nations they
dealt with in one commodity and some in another, according as
either its products or its manufactures were, and the fruits of
nature or art were, with which it was blessed. This is very much
enlarged upon here, as that which was the principal glory of Tyre,
and which supported all the rest. We do not find any where in
scripture so many nations named together as are here; so that this
chapter, some think, gives much light to the first account we have
of the settlement of the nations after the flood,
26 Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas. 27 Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin. 28 The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots. 29 And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land; 30 And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes: 31 And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing. 32 And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea? 33 When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise. 34 In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall. 35 All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance. 36 The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more.
We have seen Tyre flourishing; here we have
Tyre falling, and great is the fall of it, so much the greater for
its having made such a figure in the world. Note, The most mighty
and magnificent kingdoms and states, sooner or later, have their
day to come down. They have their period; and, when they are in
their zenith, they will begin to decline. But the destruction of
Tyre was sudden. Her sun went down at noon. And all her
wealth and grandeur, pomp and power, did but aggravate her ruin,
and make it the more grievous to herself and astonishing to all
about her. Now observe here, 1. How the ruin of Tyrus will be
brought about,
In this chapter we have, I. A prediction of the
fall and ruin of the king of Tyre, who, in the destruction of that
city, is particularly set up as a mark for God's arrows,
1 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: 3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: 4 With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: 5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches: 6 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; 7 Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. 8 They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas. 9 Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. 10 Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
We had done with Tyrus in the foregoing chapter, but now the prince of Tyrus is to be singled out from the rest. Here is something to be said to him by himself, a message to him from God, which the prophet must send him, whether he will hear or whether he will forbear.
I. He must tell him of his pride. His
people are proud (
2. We are here told what it was that he was
proud of. (1.) His wisdom. It is probable that this prince of Tyre
was a man of very good natural parts, a philosopher, and well read
in all the parts of learning that were then in vogue, at least a
politician, and one that had great dexterity in managing the
affairs of state. And then he thought himself wiser than
Daniel,
II. Since pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall, he must bell him of that
destruction, of that fall, which was now hastening on as the just
punishment of his presumption in setting up himself a rival with
God. "Because thou hast pretended to be a god (
1. The instruments of his destruction: I
will bring strangers upon thee—the Chaldeans, whom we do not
find mentioned among the many nations and countries that traded
with Tyre,
2. The extremity of the destruction:
They shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy
wisdom (
3. The effectual disproof that this will be
of all his pretensions to deity (
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. 16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. 18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. 19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
As after the prediction of the ruin of Tyre
(
I. This is commonly understood of the
prince who then reigned over Tyre, spoken to,
II. Some think that by the king of
Tyre is meant the whole royal family, this including also the
foregoing kings, and looking as far back as Hiram, king of Tyre.
The then governor is called prince (
1. What was the renown of the king of Tyre.
He is here spoken of as having lived in great splendour,
2. Let us now see what was the ruin of the
king of Tyre, what it was that stained his glory and laid all this
honour in the dust (
(1.) What the iniquity was that was the
ruin of the king of Tyre. [1.] The iniquity of his traffic
(so it is called,
(2.) What the ruin was that this iniquity
brought him to. [1.] He was thrown out of his dignity and dislodged
from his palace, which he took to be his paradise and temple
(
20 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 21 Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against it, 22 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her. 23 For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the Lord. 24 And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord God. 25 Thus saith the Lord God; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. 26 And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God.
God's glory is his great end, both in all
the good and in all the evil which proceed out of the mouth of
the Most High; so we find in these verses. 1. God will be
glorified in the destruction of Zidon, a city that lay near to
Tyre, was more ancient, but not so considerable, had a dependence
upon it and stood and fell with it. God says here, I am against
thee, O Zidon! and I will be glorified in the midst of thee,
Three chapters we had concerning Tyre and its
king; next follow four chapters concerning Egypt and its king. This
is the first of them. Egypt had formerly been a house of bondage to
God's people; of late they had had but too friendly a
correspondence with it, and had depended too much upon it; and
therefore, whether the prediction reached Egypt or no, it would be
of use to Israel, to take them off from their confidence in their
alliance with it. The prophecies against Egypt, which are all laid
together in these four chapters, were of five several dates; the
first in the 10th year of the captivity (
1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt: 3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. 4 But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales. 5 And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven. 6 And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. 7 When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.
Here is, I. The date of this prophecy
against Egypt. It was in the tenth year of the captivity,
and yet it is placed after the prophecy against Tyre, which was
delivered in the eleventh year, because, in the accomplishment of
the prophecies, the destruction of Tyre happened before the
destruction of Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar's gaining Egypt was the
reward of his service against Tyre; and therefore the
prophecy against Tyre is put first, that we may the better observe
that. But particular notice must be taken of this, that the first
prophecy against Egypt was just at the time when the king of Egypt
was coming to relieve Jerusalem and raise the siege (
II. The scope of this prophecy. It is
directed against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and against all
Egypt,
III. The prophecy itself. Pharaoh Hophrah
(for so was the reigning Pharaoh surnamed) is here represented by a
great dragon, or crocodile, that lies in the midst of his
rivers, as Leviathan in the waters, to play therein,
1. The pride and security of Pharaoh. He
lies in the midst of his rivers, rolls himself with a great
deal of satisfaction in his wealth and pleasures; and he says,
My river is my own. He boasts that he is an absolute prince
(his subjects are his vassals; Joseph bought them long ago,
2. The course God will take with this proud
man, to humble him. He is a great dragon in the waters, and God
will accordingly deal with him,
3. The ground of the controversy God has
with the Egyptians; it is because they have cheated his people.
They encouraged them to expect relief and assistance from them when
they were in distress, but failed them (
8 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of thee. 9 And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the Lord: because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it. 10 Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia. 11 No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years. 12 And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. 13 Yet thus saith the Lord God; At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered: 14 And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there a base kingdom. 15 It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations. 16 And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after them: but they shall know that I am the Lord God.
This explains the foregoing prediction, which was figurative, and looks something further. Here is a prophecy,
I. Of the ruin of Egypt. The threatening of
this is very full and particular; and the sin for which this ruin
shall be brought upon them is their pride,
II. Of the restoration of Egypt after
awhile,
17 And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 18 Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it: 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord God. 21 In that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
The date of this prophecy is observable; it
was in the twenty-seventh year of Ezekiel's captivity, sixteen
years after the prophecy in the former part of the chapter, and
almost as long after those which follow in the next chapters; but
it comes in here for the explication of all that was said against
Egypt. After the destruction of Jerusalem Nebuchadnezzar spent two
or three campaigns in the conquest of the Ammonites and Moabites
and making himself master of their countries. Then he spent
thirteen years in the siege of Tyre. During all that time the
Egyptians were embroiled in war with the Cyrenians and one with
another, by which they were very much weakened and impoverished;
and just at the end of the siege of Tyre God delivers this prophecy
to Ezekiel, to signify to him that that utter destruction of Egypt
which he had foretold fifteen or sixteen years before, which had
been but in part accomplished hitherto, should now be completed by
Nebuchadnezzar. The prophecy which begins here, it should seem, is
continued to the
I. What success God would give to
Nebuchadnezzar and his forces against Egypt. God gave him that
land, that he might take the spoil and prey of
it,
II. Upon what considerations God would give
Nebuchadnezzar this success against Egypt; it was to be a
recompence to him for the hard service with which he had caused his
army to serve against Tyre,
III. The mercy God had in store for the
house of Israel soon after. When the tide is at the highest it will
turn, and so it will when it is at the lowest. Nebuchadnezzar was
in the zenith of his glory when he had conquered Egypt, but within
a year after he ran mad (
In this chapter we have, I. A continuation of the
prophecy against Egypt, which we had in the latter part of the
foregoing chapter, just before the desolation of that once
flourishing kingdom was completed by Nebuchadnezzar, in which is
foretold the destruction of all her allies and confederates, all
her interests and concerns, and the several steps which the king of
Babylon should take in pushing on this destruction,
1 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Howl ye, Woe worth the day! 3 For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen. 4 And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down. 5 Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword. 6 Thus saith the Lord; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord God. 7 And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted. 8 And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed. 9 In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh. 10 Thus saith the Lord God; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon. 11 He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain. 12 And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the Lord have spoken it. 13 Thus saith the Lord God; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. 14 And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No. 15 And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No. 16 And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily. 17 The young men of Aven and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity. 18 At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity. 19 Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the Lord.
The prophecy of the destruction of Egypt is here very full and particular, as well as, in the general, very frightful. What can protect a provoking people when the righteous God comes forth to contend with them?
I. It shall be a very lamentable
destruction, and such as shall occasion great sorrow (
II. It shall be the destruction of Egypt,
and of all the states and countries in confederacy with her and in
her neighbourhood. 1. Egypt herself shall fall (
III. All that pretend to support the
sinking interests of Egypt shall come down under her, shall come
down with her (
IV. God shall inflict these desolating
judgments on Egypt (
V. The king of Babylon and his army shall
be employed as instruments of this destruction: The multitude of
Egypt shall be made to cease and be quite cut off by the
hand of the king of Babylon,
VI. No place in the land of Egypt shall be
exempted from the fury of the Chaldean army, not the strongest, not
the remotest: The sword shall go through the land. Various
places are here named: Pathros, Zoan, and No (
The close of this prediction leaves, 1. The
land of Egypt mortified: Thus will I execute judgments on
Egypt,
20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword. 22 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. 23 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. 24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man. 25 But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt. 26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
This short prophecy of the weakening of the power of Egypt was delivered about the time that the army of the Egyptians, which attempted to raise the siege of Jerusalem, was frustrated in its enterprises, and returned re infectâ—without accomplishing their purpose; whereupon the king of Babylon renewed the siege and carried his point. The kingdom of Egypt was very ancient, and had been for many ages considerable. That of Babylon had but lately arrived at its great pomp and power, being built upon the ruins of the kingdom of Assyria. Now it is with them as it is with families and states, some are growing up, others are declining and going back; one must increase and the others must of course decrease.
I. It is here foretold that the king of
Egypt shall grow weaker and weaker. The extent of his territories
shall be abridged, his wealth and power shall be diminished, and he
shall become less able than ever to help either himself or his
friend. 1. This was in part done already (
II. It is here foretold that the king of
Babylon shall grow stronger and stronger,
The prophecy of this chapter, as the two chapters
before, is against Egypt, and designed for the humbling and
mortifying of Pharaoh. In passing sentence upon great criminals it
is usual to consult precedents, and to see what has been done to
others in the like case, which serves both to direct and to justify
the proceedings. Pharaoh stands indicted at the bar of divine
justice for his pride and haughtiness, and the injuries he had done
to God's people; but he thinks himself so high, so great, as not to
be accountable to any authority, so strong, and so well guarded, as
not to be conquerable by any force. The prophet is therefore
directed to make a report to him of the case of the king of
Assyria, whose head city was Nineveh. I. He must show him how great
a monarch the king of Assyria had been, what a vast empire he had,
what a mighty sway he bore; the king of Egypt, great as he was
could not go beyond him,
1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness? 3 Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of a high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. 4 The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. 5 Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. 6 All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations. 7 Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters. 8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut-trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty. 9 I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.
This prophecy bears date the month before
Jerusalem was taken, as that in the close of the foregoing chapter
about four months before. When God's people were in the depth of
their distress, it would be some comfort to them, as it would serve
likewise for a check to the pride and malice of their neighbours,
that insulted over them, to be told from heaven that the cup was
going round, even the cup of trembling, that it would shortly be
taken out of the hands of God's people and put into the hands of
those that hated them,
I. The prophet is directed to put Pharaoh
upon searching the records for a case parallel to his own
(
II. He is directed to show him an instance
of one whom he resembles in greatness, and that was the Assyrian
(
10 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; 11 I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness. 12 And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him. 13 Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches: 14 To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit. 15 Thus saith the Lord God; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him. 16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth. 17 They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen. 18 To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God.
We have seen the king of Egypt resembling the king of Assyria in pomp, and power, and prosperity, how like he was to him in his greatness; now here we see,
I. How he does likewise resemble him in his
pride,
II. How he shall therefore resemble him in his fall; and for the opening of this part of the comparison,
1. Here is a history of the fall of the
king of Assyria. For his part, says God (
(1.) Respecting the fall of the Assyrian
three things are affirmed:—[1.] It is God himself that orders his
ruin: I have delivered him into the hand of the executioner;
I have driven him out. Note, God is the Judge, who puts down
one and sets up another (
(2.) In this history of the fall of the
Assyrian observe, [1.] A continuation of the similitude of the
cedar. He grew very high, and extended his boughs very far; but his
day comes to fall. First, This stately cedar was cropped:
The terrible of the nations cut him off. Soldiers, who being
both armed and commissioned to kill, and slay, and destroy, may
well be reckoned among the terrible of the nations. They
have lopped off his branches first, have seized upon some parts of
his dominion and forced them out of his hands; so that in all
mountains and valleys of the nations about, in the
high-lands and low-lands, and by all the rivers, there were
cities or countries that were broken off from the Assyrian
monarchy, that had been subject to it, but had either revolted or
were recovered from it. Its feathers were borrowed; and, when every
bird had fetched back its own, it was naked like the stump of a
tree. Secondly, It was deserted: All the people of the
earth, that had fled to him for shelter, have gone down from
his shadow and have left him. When he was disabled to give them
protection they thought they no longer owed him allegiance. Let not
great men be proud of the number of those that attend them and have
a dependence upon them; it is only for what they can get. When
Providence frowns upon them their retinue is soon dispersed and
scattered from them. Thirdly, It was insulted over, and its
fall triumphed in (
2. Here is a prophecy of the fall of the
king of Egypt in like manner,
Still we are upon the destruction of Pharaoh and
Egypt, which is wonderfully enlarged upon, and with a great deal of
emphasis. When we read so very much of Egypt's ruin, no less than
six several prophecies at divers times delivered concerning it, we
are ready to think, Surely there is some special reason for it.
And, I. Perhaps it may look as far back as the book of Genesis,
where we find (
1 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers. 3 Thus saith the Lord God; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net. 4 Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee. 5 And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height. 6 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee. 7 And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. 8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God. 9 I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known. 10 Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall. 11 For thus saith the Lord God; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee. 12 By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed. 13 I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside the great waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them. 14 Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord God. 15 When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the Lord. 16 This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament her: the daughters of the nations shall lament her: they shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her multitude, saith the Lord God.
Here, I. The prophet is ordered to take
up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt,
II. He is ordered to show cause for that lamentation.
1. Pharaoh has been a troubler of the
nations, even of his own nation, which he should have procured the
repose of: He is like a young lion of the nations (
2. He that has troubled others must expect
to be himself troubled; for the Lord is righteous,
(1.) This is set forth here by a
comparison. Is Pharaoh like a great whale, which, when it
comes up the river, gives great disturbance, a leviathan which Job
cannot draw out with a hook? (
(2.) It is set forth by a prophecy of the
deep impression which the destruction of Egypt should make upon the
neighbouring nations; it would put them all into a consternation,
as the fall of the Assyrian monarchy did,
(3.) It is set forth by a plain and express
prediction of the desolation itself that should come upon Egypt.
[1.] The instruments of the desolation appear here very formidable.
It is the sword of the king of Babylon, that warlike, that
victorious prince, that shall come upon thee (
17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 18 Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit. 19 Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised. 20 They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes. 21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword. 22 Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword: 23 Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living. 24 There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit. 25 They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain. 26 There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living. 27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. 28 Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword. 29 There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit. 30 There be the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit. 31 Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord God. 32 For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God.
This prophecy concludes and completes the burden of Egypt, and leaves it and all its multitude in the pit of destruction.
I. We are here invited to attend the funeral of that once flourishing kingdom, to lament its fall, and to take a view of those who attend it to the grave and accompany it in the grave.
1. This dead corpse of a kingdom is here
brought to the grave. The prophet is ordered to cast them
down to the pit (
2. This corpse of a kingdom is bid welcome
to the grave, and Pharaoh is made free of the congregation of the
dead, and admitted into their regions, not without some pomp and
ceremony. As the surprising fall of the king of Babylon is thus
illustrated, Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at
thy coming, and to introduce thee into those mansions of
darkness (
II. The view which this prophecy gives us of ruined states may show us something, 1. Of this present world, and the empire of death in it. Come, and see the calamitous state of human life; see what a dying world this is. The strong die, the mighty die, Pharaoh and all his multitude. See what a killing world this is. They are all slain with the sword. As if men did not die fast enough of themselves, men are ingenious at finding out ways to destroy one another. It is not only a great pit, but a great cock-pit. 2. Of the other world. Though it is the destruction of nations as such that perhaps is principally intended here, yet here is a plain allusion to the final and everlasting ruin of impenitent sinners, of those that are uncircumcised in heart; they are slain by the sword of divine justice; their iniquity is upon them, and with it they bear their shame. Those, Christ's enemies, that would not have him to reign over them, shall be brought forth and slain before him, though they be as pompous, though they be as numerous, as Pharaoh and all his multitude.
The prophet has now come off his circuit, which he
went as judge, in God's name, to try and pass sentence upon the
neighbouring nations, and, having finished with them, and read them
all their doom, in the eight chapters foregoing, he now returns to
the children of his people, and receives further instructions what
to say to them. I. He must let them know what office he was in
among them as a prophet, that he was a watchman, and had received a
charge concerning them, for which he was accountable,
1 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: 3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; 4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. 6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. 7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. 8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
The prophet had been, by express order from
God, taken off from prophesying to the Jews, just then when the
news came that Jerusalem was invested, and close siege laid to it,
I. The office of a watchman laid down, the
trust reposed in him, the charge given him, and the conditions
adjusted between him and those that employ him,
II. The application of this to the prophet,
1. He is a watchman to the house of
Israel. He had occasionally given warning to the nations about,
but to the house of Israel he was a watchman by office, for they
were the children of the prophets and the covenant They did
not set him for a watchman, as the people of the land,
2. His business as a watchman is to give
warning to sinners of their misery and danger by reason of sin.
This is the word he must hear from God's mouth and speak
to them. (1.) God has said, The wicked man shall surely
die; he shall be miserable. Unless he repent, he shall be cut
off from God and all comfort and hope in him, shall be cut off from
all good. He shall fall and lie for ever under the wrath of God,
which is the death of the soul, as his favour is its life. The
righteous God has said it, and will never unsay it, nor can all the
world gainsay it, that the wages of sin is death. Sin, when it
is finished, brings forth death. The wrath of God is revealed
from heaven, not only against wicked nations, speaking ruin to them
as nations, but against wicked persons, speaking ruin to them in
their personal capacity, their personal interests, which pass into
the other world and last to eternity, as national interests do not.
(2.) It is the will of God that the wicked man should be warned of
this: Warn them from me. This intimates that there is a
possibility of preventing it, else it were a jest to give warning
of it; nay, and that God is desirous it should be prevented.
Sinners are therefore warned of the wrath to come, that they
may flee from it,
3. If souls perish through his neglect of his duty, he brings guilt upon himself. "If the prophet do not warn the wicked of the ruin that is at the end of his wicked way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; for, though the watchman did not do his part, yet the sinner might have taken warning from the written word, from his own conscience, and from God's judgments upon others, by which his mouth shall be stopped, and God will be justified in his destruction." Note, It will not serve impenitent sinners to plead in the great day that their watchmen did not give them warning, that they were careless and unfaithful; for, though they were so, it will be made to appear that God left not himself without witness. "But he shall not perish alone in his iniquity; the watchman also shall be called to an account: His blood will I require at thy hand. The blind leader shall fall with the blind follower into the ditch." See what a desire God has of the salvation of sinners, in that he resents it so ill if those concerned do not what they can to prevent their destruction. And see what a great deal those ministers have to answer for another day who palliate sin, and flatter sinners in their evil way, and by their wicked lives countenance and harden them in their wickedness, and encourage them to believe that they shall have peace though they go on.
4. If he do his duty, he may take the
comfort of it, though he do not see the success of it (
10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? 11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? 12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. 13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. 14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; 15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. 16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live. 17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal. 18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. 19 But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. 20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
These verses are the substance of what we
had before (
I. The cavils of the people against God's
proceedings with them. God was now in his providence contending
with them, but their uncircumcised hearts were not as yet humbled,
for they were industrious to justify themselves, though thereby
they reflected on God. Two things they insisted upon, in their
reproaches of God, and in both they added iniquity to their sin and
misery to their punishment:—1. They quarrelled with his promises
and favours, as having no kindness nor sincerity in them,
II. Here is a satisfactory answer given to both these cavils.
1. Those that despaired of finding mercy
with God are here answered with a solemn declaration of God's
readiness to show mercy,
2. Those that despaired of finding justice
with God are here answered with a solemn declaration of the rule of
judgment which God would go by in dealing with the children of men,
which carries along with it the evidence of its own equity; he that
runs may read the justice of it. The Jewish nation, as a nation,
was now dead; it was ruined to all intents and purposes. The
prophet must therefore deal with particular persons, and the rule
of judgment concerning them is much like that concerning a nation,
(1.) If those that have made a great
profession of religion throw off their profession, quit the good
ways of God and grow loose and carnal, sensual and worldly, the
profession they made and all the religious performances with which
they had for a great while kept up the credit of their profession
shall stand them in no stead, but they shall certainly perish in
their iniquity,
(2.) If those that have lived a wicked life
repent and reform, forsake their wicked ways and become religious,
their sins shall be pardoned, and they shall be justified and
saved, if they persevere in their reformation. [1.] God says to
the wicked, "Thou shalt surely die. The way that thou art in
leads to destruction. The wages of thy sin is death, and thy
iniquity will shortly be thy ruin." It was said to the righteous
man, Thou shalt surely live, for his encouragement to
proceed and persevere in the way of righteousness; but he made an
ill use of it, and was emboldened by it to commit iniquity. It was
said to the wicked man, Thou shalt surely die, for warning
to him not to persist in his wicked ways; and he makes a good use
of it, and is quickened thereby to return to God and duty. Thus
even the threatenings of the word are to some, by the grace of God,
a savour of life unto life, while even the promises of the word
become to others, by their own corruption, a savour of death unto
death. When God says to the wicked man, Thou shalt surely
die, die eternally, it is to frighten him, not out of his wits,
but out of his sins. [2.] There is many a wicked man who was
hastening apace to his own destruction who yet is wrought upon by
the grace of God to return and repent, and live a holy life. He
turns from his sin (
Now lay all this together, and then judge
whether the way of the Lord be not equal, whether this will
not justify God in the destruction of sinners and glorify him in
the salvation of penitents. The conclusion of the whole matter is
(
21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten. 22 Now the hand of the Lord was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb. 23 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 24 Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance. 25 Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land? 26 Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess the land? 27 Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence. 28 For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through. 29 Then shall they know that I am the Lord, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.
Here we have,
I. The tidings brought to Ezekiel of the
burning of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. The city was burnt in the
eleventh year of the captivity and the fifth month,
II. The divine impressions and influences
he was under, to prepare him for those heavy tidings (
III. The particular message he was
entrusted with, relating to these Jews that yet remained in the
land of Israel, and inhabited the wastes of that
land,
1. An account of the pride of these
remaining Jews, who dwelt in the wastes of the land of
Israel. Though the providence of God concerning them had been very
humbling, and still was very threatening, yet they were intolerably
haughty and secure, and promised themselves peace. He that brought
the news to the prophet that Jerusalem was smitten could not tell
him (it is likely) what these people said, but God tells him,
They say, "The land is given us for inheritance,
2. A check to this pride. Since God's providences did neither humble them nor terrify them, he sends them a message sufficient to do both.
(1.) To humble them, he tells them of the
wickedness they still persisted in, which rendered them utterly
unworthy to possess this land, so that they could not expect God
should give it to them. They had been followed with one judgment
after another, but they had not profited by those means of grace as
might be expected; they were still unreformed, and how could they
expect that they should possess the land? "Shall you possess the
land? What! such wicked people as you are? How shall I put
thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land?
(2.) To terrify them, he tells them of the
further judgments God had in store for them, which should make them
utterly unable to possess this land, so that they could not stand
it out against the enemy. Do they say that they shall possess the
land? God has said they shall not, he has sworn it, As I live,
saith the Lord. Though he has sworn that he delights not in
the death of sinners, yet he has sworn also that those who
persist in impenitency and unbelief shall not enter into his
rest. [1.] Those that are in the cities, here called the
wastes, shall fall by the sword, either by the sword
of the Chaldeans, who come to avenge the murder of Gedaliah, or by
one another's swords, in their intestine broils. [2.] Those that
are in the open field shall be devoured by wild
beasts, which swarmed, of course, in the country when it was
dispeopled, and there were none to master them and keep them under,
30 Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord. 31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. 32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. 33 And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.
The
I. By invidious ill natured reflections
upon him, privately among themselves, endeavouring by all means
possible to render him despicable. The prophet did not know it, but
charitably thought that those who spoke so well to him to his face,
with so much seeming respect and deference, would surely not speak
ill of him behind his back. But God comes and tells him, The
children of thy people are still talking against thee
(
II. By dissembling with him in their attendance upon his ministry. Hypocrites mock God and mock his prophets. But their hypocrisy is open before God, and the day is coming when, as here, it will be laid open. Observe here,
1. The plausible profession which these
people made and the speciousness of their pretensions. They are
like those (
2. The hypocrisy of these professions and
pretensions; it is all a sham, it is all a jest. (1.) They have no
cordial affection for the word of God. While they show much
love it is only with the mouth, from the teeth outward,
but their heart goes after their covetousness; they are as
much set upon the world as ever, as much in love and league with it
as ever. Hearing the word is only their diversion and recreation, a
pretty amusement now and then for an hour or two. But still their
main business is with their farm and merchandise; the bent and bias
of their souls are towards them, and their inward thoughts
are employed in projects about them. Note, Covetousness is the
ruining sin of multitudes that make a great profession of religion;
it is the love of the world that secretly eats the love of God out
of their hearts. The cares of this world and the
deceitfulness of riches are the thorns that choke the
seed, and choke the soul too. And those neither please God nor
profit themselves who, when they are hearing the word of God, are
musing upon their worldly affairs. God has his eye on the hearts
that do so. (2.) They yield no subjection to it. They hear thy
words, but it is only a hearing that they give thee, for
they will not do them,
3. Let us see what will be in the end
hereof: Shall their unbelief and carelessness make the
word of God of no effect? By no means. (1.) God will confirm
the prophet's word, though they contemn it, and make light of it,
The iniquities and calamities of God's Israel had
been largely and pathetically lamented before, in this book. Now in
this chapter the shepherds of Israel, their rulers both in church
and state, are called to an account, as having been very much
accessory to the sin and ruin of Israel, by their neglecting to do
the duty of their place. Here is, I. A high charge exhibited
against them for their negligence, their unskillfulness, and
unfaithfulness in the management of public affairs,
1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. 4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. 5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
The prophecy of this chapter is not dated,
nor any of those that follow it, till
I. The prophet is ordered to prophesy
against the shepherds of Israel—the princes and magistrates,
the priests and Levites, the great Sanhedrim or council of state,
or whoever they were that had the direction of public affairs in a
higher or lower sphere, the kings especially, for there were two of
them now captives in Babylon, who, as well as the people, must have
their transgressions shown them, that they might repent, as
Manasseh in his captivity. God has something to say to the
shepherds, for they are but under-shepherds, accountable to him
who is the great Shepherd of Israel,
II. He is here directed what to charge the
shepherds with, in God's name, as the ground of God's controversy
with them; for it is not a causeless quarrel. Two things they are
charged with:—1. That all their care was to advance and enrich
themselves and to make themselves great. Their business was to take
care of those that were committed to their charge: Should not
the shepherds feed the flocks? No doubt they should; they
betray their trust if they do not. Not that they are to put the
meat into their mouths, but to provide it for them and bring them
to it. But these shepherds made this the least of their
care; they fed themselves, contrived every thing to gratify
and indulge their own appetite, and to make themselves rich and
great, fat and easy. They made sure of the profits of their places;
they did eat the fat, the cream (so some), for he
that feeds a flock eats of the milk of it (
7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; 8 As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; 9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; 10 Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. 11 For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. 16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
Upon reading the foregoing articles of
impeachment drawn up, in God's name, against the shepherds of
Israel, we cannot but look upon the shepherds with a just
indignation, and upon the flock with a tender compassion. God, by
the prophet, here expresses both in a high degree; and the
shepherds are called upon (
I. How much displeased God is at the
shepherds. Their crimes are repeated,
II. How much concerned God is for the flock; he speaks as if he were the more concerned for them because he saw them thus neglected, for with him the fatherless finds mercy. Precious promises are made here upon the occasion, which were to have their accomplishment in the return of the Jews out of their captivity and their re-establishment in their own land. Let the shepherds hear this word of the Lord, and know that they have no part nor lot in the matter. But let the poor sheep hear it and take the comfort of it. Note, Though magistrates and ministers fail in doing their part, for the good of the church, yet God will not fail in doing his; he will take the flock into his own hand rather than the church shall come short of any kindness he has designed for it. The under-shepherds may prove careless, but the chief Shepherd neither slumbers nor sleeps. They may be false, but God abides faithful.
1. God will gather his sheep together that
were scattered, and bring those back to the fold that had wandered
from it: "I, even I, who alone can do it, will do it, and
will have all the glory of it. I will both search my sheep and
find them out (
2. God will feed his people as the sheep
of his pasture, that had been famished. God will bring the
returning captives safely to their own land (
3. He will succour those that are hurt,
will bind up that which was broken and strengthen that which was
sick, will comfort those that mourn in Zion and with
Zion. If ministers, who should speak peace to those who are of a
sorrowful spirit, neglect their duty, yet the Holy Ghost the
Comforter will be faithful to his office. But, as it follows, the
fat and the strong shall be destroyed. He that has rest for
disquieted saints has terror to speak to presumptuous sinners. As
every valley shall be filled, so every mountain
and hill shall be brought low,
17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. 18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? 19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. 20 Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. 21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; 22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. 23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 24 And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. 25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27 And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. 28 And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. 30 Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God. 31 And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.
The prophet has no more to say to the
shepherds, but he has now a message to deliver to the flock. God
had ordered him to speak tenderly to them, and to assure them of
the mercy he had in store for them. But here he is ordered to make
a difference between some and others of them, to separate between
the precious and the vile and then to give them a promise of the
Messiah, by whom this distinction should be effectually made,
partly at his first coming (for for judgment he came into this
world,
I. Conviction spoken to those of the flock
that were fat and strong, the rams and the he-goats
(
II. Comfort spoken to those of the flock
that are poor and feeble, and that wait for the consolation of
Israel (
1. Concerning the Messiah himself. (1.) He
shall have his commission from God himself: I will set him
up (
2. Concerning the great charter by which
the kingdom of the Messiah should be incorporated, and upon which
it should be founded (
3. Concerning the privileges of those that
are the faithful subjects of this kingdom of the Messiah and
interested in the covenant of peace. These are here set forth
figuratively, as the blessings of the flock. But we have a key to
it,
(1.) That they shall enjoy a holy security
under the divine protection. Christ, our good Shepherd, has
caused the evil beasts to cease out of the land (
(2.) That they shall enjoy a spiritual
plenty of all good things, the best things, for their comfort and
happiness: They shall no more be consumed with hunger in the
land,
Now this promise of the Messiah and his
kingdom spoke much comfort to those to whom it was then made, for
they might be sure that God would not utterly destroy their
nation, how low soever it might be brought, as long as that
blessing was in the womb of it,
It was promised, in the foregoing chapter, that
when the time to favour Zion, yea, the set time, should come,
especially the time for sending the Messiah and setting up his
kingdom in the world, God would cause the enemies of his church to
cease and the blessings and comforts of the church to abound. This
chapter enlarges upon the former promise, concerning the
destruction of the enemies of the church; the next chapter upon the
latter promise, the replenishing of the church with blessings.
Mount Seir (that is, Edom) is the enemy prophesied against in this
chapter, but fitly put here, as in the prophecy of Obadiah, for all
the enemies of the church; for, as those all walked in the way of
Cain that hated Abel, so those all walked in the way of Esau who
hated Jacob, but over whom Jacob, by virtue of a particular
blessing, was to have dominion. Now here we have, I. The sin
charged upon the Edomites, and that was their spite and malice to
Israel,
1 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it, 3 And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate. 4 I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. 5 Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end: 6 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee. 7 Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth. 8 And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword. 9 I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
Mount Seir was mentioned as partner with
Moab in one of the threatenings we had before (
I. What is the cause and ground of that
controversy,
II. What should be the effect and issue of
that controversy. If God stretch out his hand against the country
of Edom, he will make it most desolate,
10 Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the Lord was there: 11 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee. 12 And thou shalt know that I am the Lord, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume. 13 Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them. 14 Thus saith the Lord God; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate. 15 As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the Lord.
Here is, I. A further account of the sin of
the Edomites, and their bad conduct towards the people of God. We
find the church complaining of them for setting on the Babylonians,
and irritating them against Jerusalem, saying, Rase it, rase
it, down with it, down with it (
II. The notice God took of the barbarous
insolence of the Edomites, and the doom passed upon them for it:
I have heard all thy blasphemies,
We have done with Mount Seir, and left it
desolate, and likely to continue so, and must now turn ourselves,
with the prophet, to the mountains of Israel, which we find
desolate too, but hope before we have done with the chapter to
leave in better plight. Here are two distinct prophecies in this
chapter:—I. Here is one that seems chiefly to relate to the
temporal estate of the Jews, wherein their present deplorable
condition is described and the triumphs of their neighbours in it;
but it is promised that their grievances shall be all redressed and
that in due time they shall be settled again in their own land, in
the midst of peace and plenty,
1 Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord: 2 Thus saith the Lord God; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession: 3 Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people: 4 Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about; 5 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey. 6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen: 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame. 8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. 9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: 10 And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: 11 And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 12 Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men. 13 Thus saith the Lord God; Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations; 14 Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord God. 15 Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord God.
The prophet had been ordered to set his
face towards the mountains of Israel and prophesy against
them,
I. The compassionate notice God takes of
the present deplorable condition of the land of Israel. It has
become both a prey and a derision to the heathen that are
round about,
II. The expressions of God's just
displeasure against those who triumphed in the desolations of the
land of Israel, as many of its neighbours did, even the residue of
the brethren, and Idumea particularly. Let us see, 1. How they
dealt with the Israel of God. They carved out large possessions to
themselves out of their land, out of God's land; for so indeed it
was: "They have appointed my land into their possession
(
III. The promises of God's favour to his
Israel and assurances given of great mercy God had in store for
them. God takes occasion from the outrage and insolence of their
enemies to show himself so much the more concerned for them and
ready to do them good, as David hoped that God would recompense him
good for Shimei's cursing him. Let them curse, but bless
thou. In this way, as well as others, the enemies of God's
people do them real service, even by the injuries they do them,
against their will and beyond their intention. We shall have no
reason to complain if, the more unkind men are, the more kind God
is—if, the more kindly he speaks to us by his word and Spirit, the
more kindly he acts for us in his providence. The prophet must say
so to the mountains of Israel, which were now desolate
and despised, that God is for them and will burn to
them,
16 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 17 Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. 18 Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it: 19 And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. 20 And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land. 21 But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. 22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. 23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
When God promised the poor captives a
glorious return, in due time, to their own land, it was a great
discouragement to their hopes that they were unworthy, utterly
unworthy, of such a favour; therefore, to remove that
discouragement, God here shows them that he would do it for them
purely for his own name's sake, that he might be glorified
in them and by them, that he might manifest and magnify his mercy
and goodness, that attribute which of all others is most his glory.
And, the restoration of that people being typical of our redemption
by Christ, this is intended further to show that the ultimate end
aimed at in our salvation, to which all the steps of it were made
subservient, was the glory of God. To this end Christ directed all
he did in that short prayer, Father, glorify thy name; and
God declared it was his end in all he did in the immediate answer
given to that prayer, by a voice from heaven: I have glorified
it, and I will glorify it yet again,
I. How God's name had suffered both by the
sins and by the miseries of Israel; and this was more to be
regretted than all their sorrow, which they had brought upon
themselves; for the honour of God lies nearer the hearts of good
men than any interests of their own. 1. God's glory had been
injured by the sin of Israel when they were in their own land,
II. Let us now see how God would retrieve
his honour, secure it, and advance it, by working a great
reformation upon them and then working a great salvation for them.
He would have scattered them among the heathen, were it not that
he feared the wrath of the enemy,
25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. 28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. 30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. 31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. 32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. 33 Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. 34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. 35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. 36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it. 37 Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. 38 As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the Lord.
The people of God might be discouraged in
their hopes of a restoration by the sense not only of their
unworthiness of such a favour (which was answered, in the
I. God here promises that he will work a
good work in them, to qualify them for the good work he intended to
bring about for them,
II. God here promises that he will take
them into covenant with himself. The sum of the covenant of grace
we have,
III. He promises that he will bring about
all that good for them which the exigence of their case calls for.
When they are thus prepared for mercy, 1. Then they shall return to
their possessions and be settled again in them (
IV. He shows what shall be the happy
effects of this blessed change. 1. It shall have a happy effect
upon the people of God themselves, for it shall bring them to an
ingenuous repentance for their sins (
V. He proposes these things to them, not as the recompence of their merits, but as the return of their prayers.
1. Let them not think that they have
deserved it: Not for your sakes do I this, be it known to
you (
2. Yet let them know that they must desire
and expect it (
The threatenings of the destruction of Judah and
Jerusalem for their sins, which we had in the former part of this
book, were not so terrible, but the promises of their restoration
and deliverance for the glory of God, which we have here in the
latter part of the book, are as comfortable; and as those were
illustrated with many visions and similitudes, for the awakening of
a holy fear, so are these, for the encouraging of a humble faith.
God had assured them, in the foregoing chapter, that he would
gather the house of Israel, even all of it, and would bring them
out of their captivity, and return them to their own land; but
there were two things that rendered this very unlikely:—I. That
they were so dispersed among their enemies, so destitute of all
helps and advantages which might favour or further their return,
and so dispirited likewise in their own minds; upon all these
accounts they are here, in vision, compared to a valley full of the
dry bones of dead men, which should be brought together and raised
to life. The vision of this we have (
1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. 4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. 11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. 12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, 14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.
Here is, I. The vision of a resurrection
from death to life, and it is a glorious resurrection. This is a
thing so utterly unknown to nature, and so contrary to its
principles (a privatione ad habitum non datur regressus—from
privation to possession there is no return), that we could have
no thought of it but by the word of the Lord; and that it is
certain by that word that there shall be a general resurrection of
the dead some have urged from this vision, "For" (say they)
"otherwise it would not properly be made a sign for the confirming
of their faith in the promise of their deliverance out of Babylon,
as the coming of the Messiah is mentioned for the confirming of
their faith touching a former deliverance,"
1. Whether it be a confirmation or no, it
is without doubt a most lively representation of a threefold
resurrection, besides that which it is primarily intended to be the
sign of. (1.) The resurrection of souls from the death of sin to
the life or righteousness, to a holy, heavenly, spiritual, and
divine life, by the power of divine grace going along with the word
of Christ,
2. Let us observe the particulars of this vision.
(1.) The deplorable condition of these dead
bones. The prophet was made, [1.] to take an exact view of them. By
a prophetic impulse and a divine power he was, in vision, carried
out and set in the midst of a valley, probably that plain
spoken of
(2.) The means used for the bringing of
these dispersed bones together and these dead and dry bones to
life. It must be done by prophecy. Ezekiel is ordered to
prophesy upon these bones (
(3.) The wonderful effect of these means.
Those that do as they are commanded, as they are commissioned, in
the face of the greatest discouragements, need not doubt of
success, for God will own and enrich his own appointments. [1.]
Ezekiel looked down and prophesied upon the bones in the valley,
and they became human bodies. First, That which he had to
say to them was that God would infallibly raise them to
life: Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones, You shall
live,
II. The application of this vision to the present calamitous condition of the Jews in captivity: These bones are the whole house of Israel, both the ten tribes and the two. See in this what they are and what they shall be.
1. The depth of despair to which they are
now reduced,
15 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, 16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: 17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. 18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? 19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. 20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. 21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling-places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
Here are more exceedingly great and precious promises made of the happy state of the Jews after their return to their own land; but they have a further reference to the kingdom of the Messiah and the glories of gospel-times.
I. It is here promised that Ephraim and
Judah shall be happily united in brotherly love and mutual
serviceableness; so that whereas, ever since the desertion of the
ten tribes from the house of David under Jeroboam, there had been
continual feuds and animosities between the two kingdoms of Israel
and Judah, and it is to be feared there had been some clashings
between them even in the land of their captivity (Ephraim upon all
occasions envying Judah and Judah vexing Ephraim), now it should be
no longer, but there should be a coalition between them, and,
notwithstanding the old differences that had been between them,
they should agree to love one another and to do one another all
good offices. This is here illustrated by a sign. The prophet was
to take two sticks, and write upon one, For Judah
(including Benjamin, those of the children of Israel that
were his companions), upon the other, For Joseph,
including the rest of the tribes,
II. It is here promised that the Jews shall
by their captivity be cured of their inclination to idolatry; this
shall be the happy fruit of that affliction, even the taking away
of their sin (
III. It is here promised that they shall be
the people of God, as their God, and the subjects and sheep
of Christ their King and Shepherd. These promises we had before,
and they are here repeated (
IV. It is here promised that they shall
dwell comfortably,
V. It is here promised that God will dwell
among them; and this will make them dwell comfortably indeed: I
will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore; my
tabernacle also shall be with them,
VI. Both God and Israel shall have the
honour of this among the heathen,
This chapter, and that which follows it, are
concerning Gog and Magog, a powerful enemy to the people of Israel,
that should make a formidable descent upon them, and put them into
a consternation, but their army should be routed and their design
defeated; and this prophecy, it is most probable, had its
accomplishment some time after the return of the people of Israel
out of their captivity, whether in the struggles they had with the
kings of Syria, especially Antiochus Epiphanes, or perhaps in some
other way not recorded, we cannot tell. If the sacred history of
the Old Testament had reached as far as the prophecy, we should
have been better able to understand these chapters, but, for want
of that key, we are locked out of the meaning of them. God had by
the prophet assured his people of happy times after their return to
their own land; but lest they should mistake the promises which
related to the kingdom of the Messiah and the spiritual privileges of
that kingdom, as if from them they might promise themselves an
uninterrupted temporal prosperity, he here tells them, as Christ
told his disciples to prevent the like mistake, that in the world
they shall have tribulation, but they may be of good cheer, for
they shall be victorious at last. This prophecy here of Gog and
Magog is without doubt alluded to in that prophecy which relates to
the latter days, and which seems to be yet unfulfilled (
1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: 6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. 7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. 8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. 9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. 10 Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: 11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, 12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. 13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
The critical expositors have enough to do
here to enquire out Gog and Magog. We cannot pretend either to add
to their observations or to determine their controversies. Gog
seems to be the king and Magog the kingdom; so that Gog and Magog
are like Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Some think they find them afar
off, in Scythia, Tartary, and Russia. Others think they find them
nearer the land of Israel, in Syria, and Asia the Less. Ezekiel is
appointed to prophesy against Gog, and to tell him that God is
against him,
I. The confusion which God designed to put
this enemy to. It is remarkable that this is put first in the
prophecy; before it is foretold that God will bring him
forth against Israel, it is foretold that God will put hooks
into his jaws and turn him back (
II. The undertaking which he designed to
engage him in, in order to this defeat and disappointment. 1. The
nations that shall be confederate in this enterprise against Israel
are many, and great, and mighty (
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? 15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: 16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. 17 Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them? 18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. 19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. 21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man's sword shall be against his brother. 22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.
This latter part of the chapter is a repetition of the former; the dream is doubled, for the thing is certain and to be very carefully regarded.
I. It is here again foretold that this
spiteful enemy should make a formidable descent upon the land of
Israel (
II. Reference is herein had to the
predictions of the former prophets (
III. It is here foretold that this furious
formidable enemy should be utterly cut off in this attempt upon
Israel, and that it should issue in his own ruin. This is supposed
by many to have its accomplishment in the many defeats given by the
Maccabees to the forces of Antiochus and the remarkable judgments
of God executed upon his own person, for he died of sore diseases.
But these things are here foretold, as usual, in figurative
expressions, which we are not to look for the literal
accomplishment of, and yet they might be fulfilled nearer the
letter than we know of. 1. God will be highly displeased with this
bold invader: When he comes up in pride and anger against
the land of Israel, and thinks to carry all before him with a
high hand, then God's fury shall come up in his face, which
is an allusion to the manner of men, whose colour rises in their
faces when some high affront is offered them and they are resolved
to show their resentment of it,
This chapter continues and concludes the prophecy
against Gog and Magog, in whose destruction God crowns his favour
to his people Israel, which shines very brightly after the
scattering of that black cloud in the close of this chapter. Here
is, I. An express prediction of the utter destruction of Gog and
Magog, agreeing with what we had before,
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: 3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. 4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. 6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the Lord. 7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.
This prophecy begins as that before
(
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken. 9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: 10 So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God. 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog. 12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. 13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God. 14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. 15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog. 16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land. 17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. 18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God. 21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. 22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward.
Though this prophecy was to have its
accomplishment in the latter days, yet it is here spoken of as if
it were already accomplished, because it is certain (
I. They shall burn their weapons,
their bows and arrows, which fell out of their hands
(
II. They shall bury their dead. Usually,
after a battle, when many are slain, the enemy desire time to bury
their own dead. But here the slaughter shall be so general that
there shall not be a sufficient number of the enemies left alive to
bury the dead. And, besides, the slain lie so dispersed on the
mountains of Israel that it would be a work of time to find them
out; and therefore it is left to the house of Israel to bury them
as a piece of triumph in their overthrow. 1. A place shall be
appointed on purpose for the burying of them, the valley of the
passengers, on the east of the sea, either the salt sea or the
sea of Tiberias, a valley through which there was great passing and
repassing of travellers between Egypt and Chaldea. There shall be
such a multitude of dead bodies, putrefying above ground, with such
a loathsome stench, that the travellers who go that way shall be
forced to stop their noses. See what vile bodies ours are;
when the soul has been a little while from them the smell of them
becomes offensive, no smell more nauseous or more noxious. There
therefore where the greatest number lay slain shall the
burying-place be appointed. In the place where the tree falls there
let it lie. And it shall be called, The valley of Hamon-gog,
that is, of the multitude of Gog; for that was the thing
which was in a particular manner to be had in remembrance. How
numerous the forces of the enemy were which God defeated and
destroyed for the defence of his people Israel! 2. A considerable
time shall be spent in burying them, no less than seven
months (
III. The birds and beasts of prey shall
rest upon the carcases of the slain while they remain unburied and
it shall be impossible to prevent them,
1. There is a general invitation given,
2. There is great preparation made: They
shall eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of
the princes of the earth,
3. They shall all be fed, they shall all be
feasted to the full (
IV. This shall redound very much both to
the glory of God and to the comfort and satisfaction of his people.
1. It shall be much for the honour of God, for the heathen shall
hereby be made to know that he is the Lord (
23 And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. 24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them. 25 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; 26 After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. 27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; 28 Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. 29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.
This is the conclusion of the whole matter going before, and has reference not only to the predictions concerning Gog and Magog, but to all the prophecies of this book concerning the captivity of the house of Israel, and then concerning their restoration and return out of their captivity.
I. God will let the heathen know the
meaning of his people's troubles, and rectify the mistake of those
concerning them who took occasion from the troubles of Israel to
reproach the God of Israel, as unable to protect them and untrue to
his covenant with them. When God, upon their reformation and return
to him, turned again their captivity, and brought them back to
their own land, and, upon their perseverance in their reformation,
wrought such great salvations for them as that from the attempts of
Gog upon them, then it would be made to appear, even to the heathen
that would but consider and compare things, that there was no
ground at all for their reflection, that Israel went into
captivity, not because God could not protect them, but because they
had by sin forfeited his favour and thrown themselves out of his
protection (
II. God will give his own people to know
what great favour he has in store for them notwithstanding the
troubles he had brought them into (
1. Why now? Now God will have mercy upon
the whole house of Israel, (1.) Because it is time for him to
stand up for his own glory, which suffers in their sufferings:
Now will I be jealous for my holy name, that that may no
longer be reproached. (2.) Because now they repent of their sins:
They have borne their shame, and all their trespasses. When
sinners repent, and take shame to themselves, God will be
reconciled and put honour upon them. It is particularly pleasing to
God that these penitents look a great way back in their penitential
reflections, and are ashamed of all their trespasses which they
were guilty of when they dwelt safely in their land and none
made them afraid. The remembrance of the mercies they enjoyed
in their own land, and the divine protection they were under there,
shall be improved as an aggravation of the sins they committed in
that land; they dwelt safely, and might have continued to dwell so,
and none should have given them any disquiet or disturbance if they
had continued in the way of their duty. Nay, therefore they
trespassed because they dwelt safely. Outward safety is
often a cause of inward security, and that is an inlet to all sin,
2. What then? When God has gathered them
out of their enemies' hands, and brought them home again, (1.) Then
God will have the praise of it: I will be sanctified in them in
the sight of many nations,
The waters of the sanctuary which this prophet saw
in vision (
In this chapter we have, I. A general account of
this vision of the temple and city,
1 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the Lord was upon me, and brought me thither. 2 In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south. 3 And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. 4 And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel.
Here is, 1. The date of this vision. It was
in the twenty-fifth year of Ezekiel's captivity (
5 And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and a hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed. 6 Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the stairs thereof, and measured the threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad; and the other threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad. 7 And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad; and between the little chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within was one reed. 8 He measured also the porch of the gate within, one reed. 9 Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward. 10 And the little chambers of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side. 11 And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. 12 The space also before the little chambers was one cubit on this side, and the space was one cubit on that side: and the little chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side. 13 He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another: the breadth was five and twenty cubits, door against door. 14 He made also posts of threescore cubits, even unto the post of the court round about the gate. 15 And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits. 16 And there were narrow windows to the little chambers, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches: and windows were round about inward: and upon each post were palm trees. 17 Then brought he me into the outward court, and, lo, there were chambers, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement. 18 And the pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates was the lower pavement. 19 Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, a hundred cubits eastward and northward. 20 And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof. 21 And the little chambers thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. 22 And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them. 23 And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate a hundred cubits. 24 After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures. 25 And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. 26 And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof.
The measuring-reed which was in the hand of
the surveyor-general was mentioned before,
I. Of the outer wall of the house, which encompassed it round, which was three yards thick and three yards high, which denotes the separation between the church and the world on every side and the divine protection which the church is under. If a wall of this vast thickness will not secure it, God himself will be a wall of fire round about it; whoever attack it will do so at their peril.
II. Of the several gates with the chambers
adjoining to them. Here is no mention of the outer court of all,
which was called the court of the Gentiles, some think
because in gospel-times there should be such a vast confluence of
Gentiles to the church that their court should be left unmeasured,
to signify that the worshippers in that court should be unnumbered,
1. He begins with the east gate,
because that was the usual way of entering into the lower end of
the temple, the holy of holies being at the west end, in opposition
to the idolatrous heathen that worshipped towards the east. Now, in
the account of this gate, observe, (1.) That he went up to it by
stairs (
2. The gates that looked towards the north
(
27 And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south a hundred cubits. 28 And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures; 29 And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. 30 And the arches round about were five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad. 31 And the arches thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the going up to it had eight steps. 32 And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures. 33 And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, were according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. 34 And the arches thereof were toward the outward court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps. 35 And he brought me to the north gate, and measured it according to these measures; 36 The little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and the windows to it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. 37 And the posts thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps. 38 And the chambers and the entries thereof were by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt offering.
In these verses we have a delineation of
the inner court. The survey of the outer court ended with the south
side of it. This of the inner court begins with the south side
(
39 And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering. 40 And at the side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables. 41 Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew their sacrifices. 42 And the four tables were of hewn stone for the burnt offering, of a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high: whereupon also they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt offering and the sacrifice. 43 And within were hooks, a hand broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering. 44 And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north. 45 And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house. 46 And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the Lord to minister unto him. 47 So he measured the court, a hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, four-square; and the altar that was before the house. 48 And he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side. 49 The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; and he brought me by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.
In these verses we have an account,
I. Of the tables that were in the porch of
the gates of the inner court. We find no description of the altars
of burnt-offerings in the midst of that court till
II. The use that some of the chambers
mentioned before were put to. 1. Some were for the singers,
III. Of the inner court, the court of the
priests, which was fifty yards square,
IV. Of the porch of the house. The temple
is called the house, emphatically, as if no other house were worthy
to be called so. Before this house there was a porch, to teach us
not to rush hastily and inconsiderately into the presence of God,
but gradually, that is, gravely, and with solemnity, passing first
through the outer court, then the inner, then the porch, ere we
enter into the house. Between this porch and the altar was a place
where the priests used to pray,
An account was given of the porch of the house in
the close of the foregoing chapter; this brings us to the temple
itself, the description of which here given creates much difficulty
to the critical expositors and occasions differences among them.
Those must consult them who are nice in their enquiries into the
meaning of the particulars of this delineation; it shall suffice us
to observe, I. The dimensions of the house, the posts of it
(
1 Afterward he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle. 2 And the breadth of the door was ten cubits; and the sides of the door were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits: and the breadth, twenty cubits. 3 Then went he inward, and measured the post of the door, two cubits; and the door, six cubits; and the breadth of the door, seven cubits. 4 So he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place. 5 After he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side. 6 And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house. 7 And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers: for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst. 8 I saw also the height of the house round about: the foundations of the side chambers were a full reed of six great cubits. 9 The thickness of the wall, which was for the side chamber without, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side chambers that were within. 10 And between the chambers was the wideness of twenty cubits round about the house on every side. 11 And the doors of the side chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits round about.
We are still attending a prophet that is
under the guidance of an angel, and therefore attend with
reverence, though we are often at a loss to know both what this is
and what it is to us. Observe here, 1. After the prophet had
observed the courts he was at length brought to the temple,
12 Now the building that was before the separate place at the end toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits. 13 So he measured the house, a hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, an hundred cubits long; 14 Also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, a hundred cubits. 15 And he measured the length of the building over against the separate place which was behind it, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, a hundred cubits, with the inner temple, and the porches of the court; 16 The door posts, and the narrow windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the door, cieled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows, and the windows were covered; 17 To that above the door, even unto the inner house, and without, and by all the wall round about within and without, by measure. 18 And it was made with cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces; 19 So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: it was made through all the house round about. 20 From the ground unto above the door were cherubims and palm trees made, and on the wall of the temple. 21 The posts of the temple were squared, and the face of the sanctuary; the appearance of the one as the appearance of the other. 22 The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the Lord. 23 And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors. 24 And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves; two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other door. 25 And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick planks upon the face of the porch without. 26 And there were narrow windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch, and upon the side chambers of the house, and thick planks.
Here is, 1. An account of a building that
was before the separate place (that is, before the temple),
at the end towards the west (
This chapter continues and concludes the
describing and measuring of this mystical temple, which it is very
hard to understand the particular architecture of, and yet more
hard to comprehend the mystical meaning of. Here is, I. A
description of the chambers that were about the courts, their
situation and structure (
1 Then he brought me forth into the utter court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place, and which was before the building toward the north. 2 Before the length of a hundred cubits was the north door, and the breadth was fifty cubits. 3 Over against the twenty cubits which were for the inner court, and over against the pavement which was for the utter court, was gallery against gallery in three stories. 4 And before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors toward the north. 5 Now the upper chambers were shorter: for the galleries were higher than these, than the lower, and than the middlemost of the building. 6 For they were in three stories, but had not pillars as the pillars of the courts: therefore the building was straitened more than the lowest and the middlemost from the ground. 7 And the wall that was without over against the chambers, toward the utter court on the forepart of the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits. 8 For the length of the chambers that were in the utter court was fifty cubits: and, lo, before the temple were a hundred cubits. 9 And from under these chambers was the entry on the east side, as one goeth into them from the utter court. 10 The chambers were in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, over against the separate place, and over against the building. 11 And the way before them was like the appearance of the chambers which were toward the north, as long as they, and as broad as they: and all their goings out were both according to their fashions, and according to their doors. 12 And according to the doors of the chambers that were toward the south was a door in the head of the way, even the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one entereth into them. 13 Then said he unto me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they be holy chambers, where the priests that approach unto the Lord shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; for the place is holy. 14 When the priests enter therein, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the utter court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister; for they are holy; and shall put on other garments, and shall approach to those things which are for the people.
The prophet has taken a very exact view of the temple and the buildings belonging to it, and is now brought again into the outer court, to observe the chambers that were in that square.
I. Here is a description of these chambers,
which (as that which went before) seems to us very perplexed and
intricate, through our unacquaintedness with the Hebrew language
and the rules of architecture at that time. We shall only observe,
in general, 1. That about the temple, which was the place of public
worship, there were private chambers, to teach us that our
attendance upon God in solemn ordinances will not excuse us from
the duties of the closet. We must not only worship in the courts of
God's house, but must, both before and after our attendance there,
enter into our chambers, enter into our closets, and read and
meditate, and pray to our Father in secret; and a great deal
of comfort the people of God have found in their communion with God
in solitude. 2. That these chambers were many; there were three
stories of them, and, though the higher stories were not so
large as the lower, yet they served as well for retirement,
II. Here is the use of these chambers
appointed,
15 Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth toward the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it round about. 16 He measured the east side with the measuring reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about. 17 He measured the north side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about. 18 He measured the south side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed. 19 He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed. 20 He measured it by the four sides: it had a wall round about, five hundred reeds long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place.
We have attended the measuring of this
mystical temple and are now to see how far the holy ground on which
we tread extends; and that also is here measured, and found to take
in a great compass. Observe, 1. What the dimensions of it were. It
extended each way 500 reeds (
The prophet, having given us a view of the
mystical temple, the gospel-church, as he received it from the
Lord, that it might appear not to be erected in vain, comes to
describe, in this and the next chapter, the worship that should be
performed in it, but under the type of the Old-Testament services.
In this chapter we have, I. Possession taken of this temple, by the
glory of God filling it,
1 Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: 2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. 3 And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. 4 And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. 5 So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house. 6 And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me.
After Ezekiel has patiently surveyed the
temple of God, the greatest glory of this earth, he is admitted to
a higher form, and honoured with a sight of the glories of the
upper world; it is said to him, Come up hither. He has seen
the temple, and sees it to be very spacious and splendid; but, till
the glory of God comes into it, it is but like the dead bodies he
had seen in vision (
I. He has a vision of the glory of
God (
II. He has a vision of the entrance of this
glory into the temple. When he saw this glory he fell upon his
face (
III. He receives instructions more
immediately from the glory of the Lord, as Moses did when God had
taken possession of the tabernacle (
7 And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. 8 In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. 9 Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever. 10 Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. 11 And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. 12 This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
God does here, in effect, renew his covenant with his people Israel, upon his retaking possession of the house, and Ezekiel negotiates the matter, as Moses formerly. This would be of great use to the captives at their return both for direction and encouragement; but it looks further, to those that are blessed with the privileges of the gospel-temple, that they may understand how they are before him on their good behaviour.
I. God, by the prophet, puts them in mind
of their former provocations, for which they had long lain under
the tokens of his displeasure. This conviction is spoken to them to
make way for the comforts designed them. Though God gives and
upbraids not, it becomes us, when he forgives, to upbraid
ourselves with our unworthy conduct towards him. Let them now
remember therefore, 1. That they had formerly defiled God's holy
name, had profaned and abused all those sacred things by which
he had made himself known among them,
II. He calls upon them to repent and
reform, and, in order to that, to be ashamed of their iniquities
(
III. He promises that they shall be such as
they should be, and then he will be to them such as they would have
him to be,
IV. The general law of God's house is laid
down (
13 And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and a hand breadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar. 14 And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit. 15 So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns. 16 And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof. 17 And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east. 18 And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord God; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon. 19 And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord God, a young bullock for a sin offering. 20 And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it. 21 Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary. 22 And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock. 23 When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish. 24 And thou shalt offer them before the Lord, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the Lord. 25 Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish. 26 Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves. 27 And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord God.
This relates to the altar in this mystical
temple, and that is mystical too; for Christ is our altar. The
Jews, after their return out of captivity, had an altar long before
they had a temple,
I. The measures of the altar,
II. The ordinances of the altar. Directions
are here given, 1. Concerning the dedication of the altar at first.
Seven days were to be spent in the dedication of it, and
every day sacrifices were to be offered upon it, and particularly a
goat for a sin-offering (
In this chapter we have, I. The appropriating of
the east gate of the temple to the prince,
1 Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. 2 Then said the Lord unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. 3 It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.
The prophet is here brought to review what
he had before once surveyed; for, though we have often looked into
the things of God, they will yet bear to be looked over again, such
a copiousness there is in them. The lessons we have learned we
should still repeat to ourselves. Every time we review the sacred
fabric of holy things, which we have in the scriptures, we shall
still find something new which we did not before take notice of.
The prophet is brought a third time to the east gate, and finds it
shut, which intimates that the rest of the gates were open at all
times to the worshippers. But such an account is given of this
gate's being shut as puts honour, 1. Upon the God of Israel. It is
for the honour of him that the gate of the inner court, at which
his glory entered when he took possession of the house, was ever
after kept shut, and no man was allowed to enter in by it,
4 Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord: and I fell upon my face. 5 And the Lord said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary. 6 And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations, 7 In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations. 8 And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves. 9 Thus saith the Lord God; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.
This is much to the same purport with what
we had in the beginning of
I. God charges the prophet to take a very
particular notice of all he saw, and all that was said to him
(
II. He sends him upon an errand to the
people, to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel,
1. He must tell them of their faults, must
show them their rebellions, must show the house of Jacob their
sins. Note, Those that are sent to comfort God's people must first
convince them, and so prepare them for comfort. Let it suffice
you of all your abominations,
2. He must tell them their duty (
10 And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. 11 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. 12 Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity. 13 And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. 14 But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein. 15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God: 16 They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.
The Master of the house, being about to set up house again, takes account of his servants the priests, and sees who are fit to be turned out of their places and who to be kept in, and takes a course with them accordingly.
I. Those who have been treacherous are
degraded and put lower than those Levites—or priests who were carried
down the stream of the apostasy of Israel formerly, who went
astray from God after their idols (
II. Those who have been faithful are
honoured and established,
17 And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. 18 They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat. 19 And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments. 20 Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads. 21 Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court. 22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before. 23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 24 And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths. 25 And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves. 26 And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days. 27 And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord God. 28 And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. 29 They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house. 31 The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
God's priests must be regulars, not seculars; and therefore here are rules laid down for them to govern themselves by and due encouragement given them to live up to those rules. Directions are here given,
I. Concerning their clothes; they must wear
linen garments when they went in to minister or do
any service in the inner court, or in the sanctuary, and nothing
that was woollen, because it would cause sweat,
II. Concerning their hair; in that they
must avoid extremes on both hands (
III. Concerning their diet; they must be
sure to drink no wine when they went in to minister, lest
they should drink to excess, should drink and forget the law,
IV. Concerning their marriages,
V. Concerning their preaching and
church-government. 1. It was part of their business to teach the
people; and herein they must approve themselves both skilful and
faithful (
VI. Concerning their mourning for dead
relations; the rule here agrees with the law of Moses,
VII. Concerning their maintenance; they
must live upon the altar at which they served, and live comfortably
(
1. What the priests were to have from the
people, for their maintenance and encouragement. (1.) They must
have the flesh of many of the offerings, the sin-offering and
trespass-offering, which would supply them and their families
with flesh-meat, and the meat-offerings, which would supply
them with bread. What we offer to God will redound to our own
advantage. (2.) They must have every dedicated devoted thing in
Israel, which was in many cases to be turned into money and given
to the priest. This is explained,
2. What the people might expect from the
priest for their recompence. Those that are kind to a prophet, to a
priest, shall have a prophet's, a priest's reward: That he may
cause the blessing to rest in thy house (
In this chapter is further represented to the
prophet, in vision, I. The division of the holy land, so much for
the temple, and the priests that attended the service of it
(
1 Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the Lord, a holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about. 2 Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred in length, with five hundred in breadth, square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof. 3 And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary and the most holy place. 4 The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary, which shall come near to minister unto the Lord: and it shall be a place for their houses, and an holy place for the sanctuary. 5 And the five and twenty thousand of length, and the ten thousand of breadth, shall also the Levites, the ministers of the house, have for themselves, for a possession for twenty chambers. 6 And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, over against the oblation of the holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel. 7 And a portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the oblation of the holy portion, and of the possession of the city, before the oblation of the holy portion, and before the possession of the city, from the west side westward, and from the east side eastward: and the length shall be over against one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border. 8 In the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; and the rest of the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes.
Directions are here given for the dividing
of the land after their return to it; and, God having warranted
them to do it, would be an act of faith, and not of folly, thus to
divide it before they had it. And it would be welcome news to the
captives to hear that they should not only return to their own
land, but that, whereas they were now but few in number, they
should increase and multiply, so as to replenish it.
But this never had its accomplishment in the Jewish state after the
return out of captivity, but was to be fulfilled in the model of
the Christian church, which was perfectly new (as this division of
the land was quite different from that in Joshua's time) and much
enlarged by the accession of the Gentiles to it; and it will be
perfected in the heavenly kingdom, of which the land of Canaan had
always been a type. Now, 1. Here is the portion of land assigned to
the sanctuary, in the midst of which the temple was to be
built, with all its courts and purlieus; the rest round about it
was for the priests. This is called (
9 Thus saith the Lord God; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord God. 10 Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. 11 The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of a homer, and the ephah the tenth part of a homer: the measure thereof shall be after the homer. 12 And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh.
We have here some general rules of justice
laid down both for prince and people, the rules of distributive and
commutative justice; for godliness without honesty is but a form of
godliness, will neither please God nor avail to the benefit of any
people. Be it therefore enacted, by the authority of the church's
King and God, 1. That princes do not oppress their subjects,
but duly and faithfully administer justice among them (
13 This is the oblation that ye shall offer; the sixth part of an ephah of a homer of wheat, and ye shall give the sixth part of an ephah of a homer of barley: 14 Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, ye shall offer the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is an homer of ten baths; for ten baths are a homer: 15 And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the fat pastures of Israel; for a meat offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make reconciliation for them, saith the Lord God. 16 All the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in Israel. 17 And it shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel. 18 Thus saith the Lord God; In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary: 19 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court. 20 And so thou shalt do the seventh day of the month for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple: so shall ye reconcile the house. 21 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22 And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering. 23 And seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering. 24 And he shall prepare a meat offering of an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and a hin of oil for an ephah. 25 In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do the like in the feast of the seven days, according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meat offering, and according to the oil.
Having laid down the rules of the righteousness toward men, which is really a branch off true religion, he comes next to give some directions for their religion towards God, which is a branch of universal righteousness.
I. It is required that they offer an
oblation to the Lord out of what they have (
II. The proportion of this oblation is here
determined, which was not done by the law of Moses. No mention is
made of the title, but only of this oblation. And the
quantum of this is thus settled:—1. Out of their corn they
were to offer a sixtieth part; out of every homer of wheat and
barley, which contained ten ephahs, they were to offer the
sixth part of one ephah, which was a sixtieth part of the whole,
III. This oblation must be given for the
prince in Israel,
IV. Some particular solemnities are here appointed.
1. Here is one in the beginning of the
year, which seems to be altogether new, and not instituted by the
law of Moses; it is the annual solemnity of cleansing the
sanctuary. (1.) On the first day of the first month (upon
new-year's day) they were to offer a sacrifice for the cleansing
of the sanctuary (
2. The passover was to be religiously
observed at the time appointed,
3. The feast of tabernacles; that is spoken
of next (
In this chapter we have, I. Some further rules
given both to the priests and to the people, relating to their
worship,
1 Thus saith the Lord God; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. 2 And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. 3 Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the Lord in the sabbaths and in the new moons. 4 And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer unto the Lord in the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish. 5 And the meat offering shall be an ephah for a ram, and the meat offering for the lambs as he shall be able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah. 6 And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be without blemish. 7 And he shall prepare a meat offering, an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs according as his hand shall attain unto, and a hin of oil to an ephah. 8 And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of that gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof. 9 But when the people of the land shall come before the Lord in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it. 10 And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in; and when they go forth, shall go forth. 11 And in the feasts and in the solemnities the meat offering shall be an ephah to a bullock, and an ephah to a ram, and to the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah. 12 Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily unto the Lord, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate. 13 Thou shalt daily prepare a burnt offering unto the Lord of a lamb of the first year without blemish: thou shalt prepare it every morning. 14 And thou shalt prepare a meat offering for it every morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of a hin of oil, to temper with the fine flour; a meat offering continually by a perpetual ordinance unto the Lord. 15 Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meat offering, and the oil, every morning for a continual burnt offering.
Whether the rules for public worship here laid down were designed to be observed, even in those things wherein they differed from the law of Moses, and were so observed under the second temple, is not certain; we find not in the history of that latter part of the Jewish church that they governed themselves in their worship by these ordinances, as one would think they should have done, but only by law of Moses, looking upon this then in the next age after as mystical, and not literal. We may observe, in these verses,
I. That the place of worship was fixed, and rules were given concerning that, both to prince and people.
1. The east gate, which was kept shut at
other times, was to be opened on the sabbath days, on the moons
(
2. As to the north gate and south gate, by
which they entered into the court of the people (not into
the inner court), there was this rule given, that whoever came in
at the north gate should go out at the south gate,
and whoever came in at the south gate should go out at the
north gate,
3. It is appointed that the people shall
worship at the door of the east gate, where the prince does, he
at the head and they attending him, both on the sabbath and on
the new moons (
II. That the ordinances of worship were
fixed. Though the prince is supposed himself to be a very hearty
zealous friend to the sanctuary, yet it is not left to him, no, not
in concert with the priests, to appoint what sacrifices shall be
offered, but God himself appoints them; for it is his prerogative
to institute the rites and ceremonies of religious worship. 1.
Every morning, as duly as the morning came, they must offer a
lamb for a burnt-offering,
16 Thus saith the Lord God; If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons'; it shall be their possession by inheritance. 17 But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his to the year of liberty; after it shall return to the prince: but his inheritance shall be his sons' for them. 18 Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.
We have here a law for the limiting of the
power of the prince in the disposing of the crown-lands. 1. If he
have a son that is a favourite, or has merited well, he may,
if he please, as a token of his favour and in recompence for his
services, settle some parts of his lands upon him and his heirs for
ever (
19 After he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers of the priests, which looked toward the north: and, behold, there was a place on the two sides westward. 20 Then said he unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meat offering; that they bear them not out into the utter court, to sanctify the people. 21 Then he brought me forth into the utter court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and, behold, in every corner of the court there was a court. 22 In the four corners of the court there were courts joined of forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four corners were of one measure. 23 And there was a row of building round about in them, round about them four, and it was made with boiling places under the rows round about. 24 Then said he unto me, These are the places of them that boil, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people.
We have here a further discovery of
buildings about the temple, which we did not observe before, and
those were places to boil the flesh of the offerings in,
In this chapter we have, I. The vision of the holy
waters, their rise, extent, depth, and healing virtue, the plenty
of fish in them, and an account of the trees growing on the banks
of them,
1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. 2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. 3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. 4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. 5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. 6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. 7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. 9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. 10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. 11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. 12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
This part of Ezekiel's vision must so
necessarily have a mystical and spiritual meaning that thence we
conclude the other parts of his vision have a mystical and
spiritual meaning also; for it cannot be applied to the waters
brought by pipes into the temple for the washing of the sacrifices,
the keeping of the temple clean, and the carrying off of those
waters, for that would be to turn this pleasant river into a sink
or common sewer. That prophecy,
I. The rise of these waters. He is not put
to trace the streams to the fountain, but has the fountain-head
first discovered to him (
II. The progress and increase of these
waters: They went forth eastward (
III. The extent of this river: It issues
towards the east country, but thence it either divide itself
into several streams or fetches a compass, so that it goes down
into the desert, and so goes into the sea, either into
the dead sea, which lay south-east, or the sea of
Tiberias, which lay north-east, or the great sea, which lay
west,
IV. The healing virtue of this river. The
waters of the sanctuary, wherever they come and have a free course,
will be found a wonderful restorative. Being brought forth into
the sea, the sulphureous lake of Sodom, that standing monument
of divine vengeance, even those waters shall be healed
(
V. The great plenty of fish that should be
in this river. Every living moving thing shall be found here,
shall live here (
VI. The trees that were on the banks of
this river—many trees on the one side and on the other
(
13 Thus saith the Lord God; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions. 14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance. 15 And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad; 16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazar-hatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran. 17 And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side. 18 And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side. 19 And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward. 20 The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side. 21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel. 22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 23 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord God.
We are now to pass from the affairs of the
sanctuary to those of the state, from the city to the country. 1.
The Land of Canaan is here secured to them for an inheritance
(
In this chapter we have particular directions
given for the distribution of the land, of which we had the metes
and bounds assigned in the foregoing chapter. I. The portions of
the twelve tribes, seven to the north of the sanctuary (
1 Now these are the names of the tribes.
From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth
to Hamath, Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus northward, to the
coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a
portion for
We have here a very short and ready way
taken for the dividing of the land among the twelve tribes, not so
tedious and so far about as the way that was taken in Joshua's
time; for in the distribution of spiritual and heavenly blessings
there is not that danger of murmuring and quarrelling that there is
in the participation of the temporal blessings. When God gave to
the labourers every one his penny those that were uneasy at it were
soon put to silence with, May I not do what I will with my
own? And such is the equal distribution here among the tribes.
In this distribution of the land we may observe, 1. That it differs
very much from the division of it in Joshua's time, and agrees not
with the order of their birth, nor with that of their blessing by
Jacob or Moses. Simeon here is not divided in Jacob, nor is
Zebulun a haven of ships, a plain intimation that it is not
so much to be understood literally as spiritually, though the
mystery of it is very much hidden from us. In gospel times old
things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
The Israel of God is cast into a new method. 2. That the tribe of
Dan, which was last provided for in the first division of Canaan
(
31 And the gates of the city shall be
after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one
gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi. 32 And
at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates;
and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of
We have here a further account of the city
that should be built for the metropolis of this glorious land, and
to be the receptacle of those who would come from all parts to
worship in the sanctuary adjoining. It is nowhere called Jerusalem,
nor is the land which we have had such a particular account of the
dividing of any where called the land of Canaan; for the old names
are forgotten, to intimate that the old things are done away,
behold all things have become new. Now, concerning this city,
observe here, 1. The measures of its out-lets, and the grounds
belonging to it, for its several conveniences; each way its
appurtenances extended 4500 measures 18,000 in all,
AN
The book of
Ezekiel left the affairs of Jerusalem under a doleful aspect, all
in ruins, but with a joyful prospect of all in glory again. This of
Daniel fitly follows. Ezekiel told us what was seen, and what was
foreseen, by him in the former years of the captivity: Daniel tells
us what was seen, and foreseen, in the latter years of the
captivity. When God employs different hands, yet it is about the
same work. And it was a comfort to the poor captives that they had
first one prophet among them and then another, to show them how
long, and a sign that God had not quite cast them off. Let us
enquire, I. Concerning this prophet His Hebrew name was
Daniel, which signifies the judgment of God; his
Chaldean name was Belteshazzar. He was of the tribe of
Judah, and, as it should seem, of the royal family. He was betimes
eminent for wisdom and piety. Ezekiel, his contemporary, but much
his senior, speaks of him as an oracle when thus he upbraids the
king of Tyre with his conceitedness of himself: Thou art wiser
then Daniel,
This chapter gives us a more particular account of
the beginning of Daniel's life, his original and education, than we
have of any other of the prophets. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel,
began immediately with divine visions; but Daniel began with the
study of human learning, and was afterwards honoured with divine
visions; such variety of methods has God taken in training up men
for the service of his church. We have here, I. Jehoiakim's first
captivity (
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. 3 And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; 4 Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. 5 And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. 6 Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 7 Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.
We have in these verses an account,
I. Of the first descent which
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign,
made upon Judah and Jerusalem, in the third year of the reign of
Jehoiakim, and his success in that expedition (
II. The improvement he made of this
success. He did not destroy the city or kingdom, but did that which
just accomplished the first threatening of mischief by Babylon. It
was denounced against Hezekiah, for showing his treasures to the
king of Babylon's ambassadors (
III. A particular account of Daniel and his fellows. They were of the children of Judah, the royal tribe, and probably of the house of David, which had grown a numerous family; and God told Hezekiah that of the children that should issue from him some should be taken and made eunuchs, or chamberlains, in the palace of the king of Babylon. The prince of the eunuchs changed the names of Daniel and his fellows, partly to show his authority over them and their subjection to him, and partly in token of their being naturalized and made Chaldeans. Their Hebrew names, which they received at their circumcision, had something of God, or Jah, in them: Daniel—God is my Judge; Hananiah—The grace of the Lord; Mishael—He that is the strong God; Azariah—The Lord is a help. To make them forget the God of their fathers, the guide of their youth, they give them names that savour of the Chaldean idolatry. Belteshazzar signifies the keeper of the hidden treasures of Bel; Shadrach—The inspiration of the sun, which the Chaldeans worshipped; Meshach—Of the goddess Shach, under which name Venus was worshipped; Abed-nego, The servant of the shining fire, which they worshipped also. Thus, though they would not force them from the religion of their fathers to that of their conquerors, yet they did what they could by fair means insensibly to wean them from the former and instil the latter into them. Yet see how comfortably they were provided for; though they suffered for their fathers' sins they were preferred for their own merits, and the land of their captivity was made more comfortable to them than the land of their nativity at this time would have been.
8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. 9 Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. 10 And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king. 11 Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. 13 Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. 14 So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. 15 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. 16 Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.
We observe here, very much to our satisfaction,
I. That Daniel was a favourite with the
prince of the eunuchs (
II. That Daniel was still firm to his
religion. They had changed his name, but they could not change his
nature. Whatever they pleased to call him, he still retained the
spirit of an Israelite indeed. He would apply his mind as closely
as any of them to his books, and took pains to make himself master
of the learning and tongue of the Chaldeans, but he was
resolved that he would not defile himself with the portion of
the king's meat, he would not meddle with it, nor with the
wine which he drank,
III. That God wonderfully owned him herein.
When Daniel requested that he might have none of the king's meat or
wine set before him the prince of the eunuchs objected that, if he
and his fellows were not found in as good case as any of their
companions, he should be in danger of having anger and of losing
his head,
IV. That his master countenanced him. The
steward did not force them to eat against their consciences, but,
as they desired, gave them pulse and water (
17 As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18 Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. 20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. 21 And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.
Concerning Daniel and his fellows we have here,
I. Their great attainments in learning,
II. Their great acceptance with the king.
After three years spent in their education (they being of
some maturity, it is likely, when they came, perhaps about twenty
years old) they were presented to the king with the rest that were
of their standing,
It was said (
1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. 2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. 4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriac, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation. 5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. 6 But if ye show the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore show me the dream, and the interpretation thereof. 7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it. 8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. 9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation thereof. 10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. 12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
We meet with a great difficulty in the date
of this story; it is said to be in the second year of the reign of
Nebuchadnezzar,
I. The perplexity that Nebuchadnezzar was
in by reason of a dream which he had dreamed but had forgotten
(
II. The trial that he made of his magicians
and astrologers whether they could tell him what his dream was,
which he had forgotten. They were immediately sent for, to show
the king his dreams,
III. The doom passed upon all the magicians
of Babylon. There is but one decree for them all (
14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom
to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to
slay the wise men of Babylon: 15 He answered and said
to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so
hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to
When the king sent for his wise men to tell
them his dream, and the interpretation of it (
We have found already, in Ezekiel, that Daniel was famous both for prudence and prayer; as a prince he had power with God and by man; by prayer he had power with God, by prudence he had power with man, and in both he prevailed. Thus did he find favour and good understanding in the sight of both, and in these verses we have a remarkable instance of both.
I. Daniel by prudence knew how to deal with
men, and he prevailed with them. When Arioch, the captain of the
guard, that was appointed to slay all the wise men of Babylon,
the whole college of them, seized Daniel (for the sword of tyranny,
like the sword of war, devours one as well as another), he
answered with counsel and wisdom (
II. Daniel knew how by prayer to converse with God, and he found favour with him, both in petition and in thanksgiving, which are the two principal parts of prayer. Observe,
1. His humble petition for this mercy, that
God would discover to him what was the king's dream, and the
interpretation of it. When he had gained time he did not go to
consult with the rest of the wise men whether there was anything in
their art, in their books, that might be of use in this matter, but
went to his house, there to be alone with God, for from him
alone, who is the Father of lights, he expected this great gift.
Observe, (1.) He did not only pray for this discovery himself, but
he engaged his companions to pray for it too. He made the thing
known to those who had been all along his bosom-friends and
associates, requesting that they would desire mercy of God
concerning this secret,
2. His grateful thanksgiving for this mercy
when he had received it: Then Daniel blessed the God of
heaven,
(1.) The honour he gives to God in this
thanksgiving, which he studies to do in a great variety and
copiousness of expression: Blessed be the name of God for ever
and ever. There is that for ever in God which is to be
blessed and praised; it is unchangeably and eternally in him. And
it is to be blessed for ever and ever; as the matter of
praise is God's eternal perfection, so the work of praise shall be
everlastingly in the doing. [1.] He gives to God the glory of what
he is in himself: Wisdom and might are his, wisdom and
courage (so some); whatever is fit to be done he will do;
whatever he will do he can do, he dares do, and he will be sure to
do it in the best manner, for he has infinite wisdom to design and
contrive and infinite power to execute and accomplish. With him
are strength and wisdom, which in men are often parted. [2.] He
gives him the glory of what he is to the world of mankind. He has a
universal influence and agency upon all the children of men, and
all their actions and affairs. Are the times changed? Is the
posture of affairs altered? Does every thing lie open to
mutability? It is God that changes the times and the
seasons, and the face of them. No change comes to pass by
chance, but according to the will and counsel of God. Are those
that were kings removed and deposed? Do they abdicate? Are they
laid aside? It is God that removes kings. Are the poor
raised out of the dust, to be set among princes? It is
God that sets up kings; and the making and unmaking of kings
is a flower of his crown who is the fountain of all power, King
of kings and Lord of lords. Are there men that excel others in
wisdom, philosophers and statesmen, that think above the common
rate, contemplative penetrating men? It is God that gives wisdom
to the wise, whether they be so wise as to acknowledge it or
no; they have it not of themselves, but it is he that gives
knowledge to those that know understanding, which is a good
reason why we should not be proud of our knowledge, and why we
should serve and honour God with it and make it our business to
know him. [3.] He gives him the glory of this particular discovery.
He praises him, First, For that he could make such a
discovery (
(2.) The respect he puts upon his companions in this thanksgiving. Though it was by his prayers principally that this discovery was obtained, and to him that it was made, yet he owns their partnership with him, both in praying for it (it is what we desired of thee) and in enjoying it—Thou hast made known unto us the king's matter. Either they were present with Daniel when the discovery was made to him, or as soon as he knew it he told it them (heureka, heureka—I have found it, I have found it), that those who had assisted him with their prayers might assist him in their praises; his joining them with him is an instance of his humility and modesty, which well become those that are taken into communion with God. Thus St. Paul sometimes joins Sylvanus, Timotheus, or some other minister, with himself in the inscriptions to many of his epistles. Note, What honour God puts upon us we should be willing that our brethren may share with us in.
24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation. 25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation. 26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? 27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king; 28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; 29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. 30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
We have here the introduction to Daniel's declaring the dream, and the interpretation of it.
I. He immediately bespoke the reversing of
the sentence against the wise men of Babylon,
II. He offered his service, with great
assurance, to go to the king, and tell him his dream and the
interpretation of it, and was admitted accordingly,
III. He contrived as much as might be to
reflect shame upon the magicians, and to give honour to God, upon
this occasion. The king owned that it was a bold undertaking, and
questioned whether he could make it good (
IV. He confirmed the king in his opinion
that the dream he was thus solicitous to recover the idea of was
really well worth enquiring after, that it was of great value and
of vast consequence, not a common dream, the idle disport of a
ludicrous and luxuriant fancy, which was not worth remembering or
telling again, but that it was a divine discovery, a ray of light
darted into his mind from the upper world, relating to the great
affairs and revolutions of this lower world. God in it made
known to the king what should be in the latter days (
"But they were predictions of what should come to pass hereafter, which he that reveals secrets makes known unto thee; and therefore thou art in the right in taking the hint and pursuing it thus." Note, Things that are to come to pass hereafter are secret things, which God only can reveal; and what he has revealed of those things, especially with reference to the last days of all, to the end of time, ought to be very seriously and diligently enquired into and considered by every one of us. Some think that the thoughts which are said to have come into the king's mind upon his bed, what should come to pass hereafter, were his own thoughts when he was awake. Just before he fell asleep, and dreamed this dream, he was musing in his own mind what would be the issue of his growing greatness, what his kingdom would hereafter come to; and so the dream was an answer to those thoughts. What discoveries God intends to make he thus prepares men for.
V. He solemnly professes that he could not
pretend to have merited from God the favour of this discovery, or
to have obtained it by any sagacity of his own (
31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. 36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
Daniel here gives full satisfaction to Nebuchadnezzar concerning his dream and the interpretation of it. That great prince had been kind to this poor prophet in his maintenance and education; he had been brought up at the king's cost, preferred at court, and the land of his captivity had hereby been made much easier to him than to others of his brethren. And now the king is abundantly repaid for all the expense he had been at upon him; and for receiving this prophet, though not in the name of a prophet, he had a prophet's reward, such a reward as a prophet only could give, and for which that wealthy mighty prince was now glad to be beholden to him. Here is,
I. The dream itself,
II. The interpretation of this dream. Let
us now see what is the meaning of this. It was from God, and
therefore from him it is fit that we take the explication of it. It
should seem, Daniel had his fellows with him, and speaks for them
as well as for himself, when he says, We will tell the
interpretation,
1. This image represented the kingdoms of
the earth that should successively bear rule among the nations and
have influence on the affairs of the Jewish church. The four
monarchies were not represented by four distinct statues, but by
one image, because they were all of one and the same spirit and
genius, and all more or less against the church. It was the same
power, only lodged in four different nations, the two former lying
eastward of Judea, the two latter westward. (1.) The head of
gold signified the Chaldean monarchy, which was now in being
(
2. The stone cut out without hands
represented the kingdom of Jesus Christ, which should be set up in
the world in the time of the Roman empire, and upon the ruins of
Satan's kingdom in the kingdoms of the world. This is the
stone cut out of the mountain without hands, for it should be
neither raised nor supported by human power or policy; no visible
hand should act in the setting of it up, but it should be done
invisibly by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts. This was the
stone which the builders refused, because it was not cut out by
their hands, but it has now become the head-stone of the
corner. (1.) The gospel-church is a kingdom, which Christ is
the sole and sovereign monarch of, in which he rules by his word
and Spirit, to which he gives protection and law, and from which he
receives homage and tribute. It is a kingdom not of this
world, and yet set up in it; it is the kingdom of God among
men. (2.) The God of heaven was to set up this kingdom, to
give authority to Christ to execute judgment, to set him as King
upon his holy hill of Zion, and to bring into obedience to him
a willing people. Being set up by the God of heaven, it is often in
the New Testament called the kingdom of heaven, for
its original is from above and its tendency is upwards. (3.) It was
to be set up in the days of these kings, the kings of the
fourth monarchy, of which particular notice is taken (
III. Daniel having thus interpreted the
dream, to the satisfaction of Nebuchadnezzar, who gave him no
interruption, so full was the interpretation that he had no
question to ask, and so plain that he had no objection to make, he
closes all with a solemn assertion, 1. Of the divine original of
this dream: The great God (so he calls him, to express his
own high thoughts of him, and to beget the like in the mind of this
great king) has made known to the king what shall come to pass
hereafter, which the gods of the magicians could not do. And
thus a full confirmation was given to that great argument which
Isaiah had long before urged against idolaters, and particularly
the idolaters of Babylon, when he challenged the gods they
worshipped to show things that are to come hereafter, that we
may know that you are gods (
46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. 47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. 48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
One might have expected that when
Nebuchadnezzar was contriving to make his own kingdom everlasting
he would be enraged at Daniel, who foretold the fall of it and that
another kingdom of another nature should be the everlasting
kingdom; but, instead of resenting it as an affront, he received it
as an oracle, and here we are told what the expressions were of the
impressions it made upon him. 1. He was ready to look upon Daniel
as a little god. Though he saw him to be a man, yet from this
wonderful discovery which he had made both of his secret thoughts,
in telling him the dream, and of things to come, in telling him the
interpretation of it, he concluded that he had certainly a divinity
lodged in him, worthy his adoration; and therefore he fell upon
his face and worshipped Daniel,
In the close of the foregoing chapter we left
Daniel's companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in honour and
power, princes of the provinces, and preferred for their relation
to the God of Israel and the interest they had in him. I know not
whether I should say. It were well if this honour had all the
saints. No, there are many whom it would not be good for; the
saints' honour is reserved for another world. But here we have
those same three men as much under the king's displeasure as when
they were in his favour, and yet more truly, more highly, honoured
by their God than there they were honoured by their prince, both by
the grace wherewith he enabled them rather to suffer than to sin
and by the miraculous and glorious deliverance which he wrought for
them out of their sufferings. It is a very memorable story, a
glorious instance of the power and goodness of God, and a great
encouragement to the constancy of his people in trying times. The
apostle refers to it when he mentions, among the believing heroes,
those who by faith "quenched the violence of fire,"
1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, 5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: 6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
We have no certainty concerning the date of this story, only that if this image, which Nebuchadnezzar dedicated, had any relation to that which he dreamed of, it is probable that it happened not long after that; some reckon it to be about the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar, a year before Jehoiachin's captivity, in which Ezekiel was carried away. Observe,
I. A golden image set up to be
worshipped. Babylon was full of idols already, yet nothing will
serve this imperious prince but they must have one more; for those
who have forsaken the one only living God, and begin to set up many
gods, will find the gods they set up so unsatisfying, and their
desire after them so insatiable, that they will multiply them
without measure, wander after them endlessly, and never know when
they have sufficient. Idolaters are fond of novelty and variety.
They choose new gods. Those that have many will wish to have
more. Nebuchadnezzar the king, that he might exert the prerogative
of his crown, to make what god he thought fit, set up this
image,
II. A general convention of the states
summoned to attend the solemnity of the dedication of this image,
III. A proclamation made, commanding all manner of persons present before the image, upon the signal given, to fall down prostrate, and worship the image, under the style and title of The golden image which Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. A herald proclaims this aloud throughout this vast assembly of grandees, with their numerous train of servants and attendants, and a great crowd of people, no doubt, that were not sent for; let them all take notice, 1. That the king does strictly charge and command all manner of persons to fall down and worship the golden image; whatever other gods they worship at other times, now they must worship this. 2. That they must all do this just at the same time, in token of their communion with each other in this idolatrous service, and that, in order hereunto, notice shall be given by a concert of music, which would likewise serve to adorn the solemnity and to sweeten and soften the minds of those that were loth to yield and bring them to comply with the king's command. This mirth and gaiety in the worship would be very agreeable to carnal sensual minds, that are strangers to that spiritual worship which is due to God who is a spirit.
IV. The general compliance of the assembly
with this command,
8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. 9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. 10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image: 11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
It was strange that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, would be present at this assembly, when, it is likely, they knew for what intent it was called together. Daniel, we may suppose, was absent, either his business calling him away or having leave from the king to withdraw, unless we suppose that he stood so high in the king's favour that none durst complain of him for his noncompliance. But why did not his companions keep out of the way? Surely because they would obey the king's orders as far as they could, and would be ready to bear a public testimony against this gross idolatry. They did not think it enough not to bow down to the image, but, being in office, thought themselves obliged to stand up against it, though it was the image which the king their master set up, and would be a golden image to those that worshipped it. Now,
I. Information is brought to the king by
certain Chaldeans against these three gentlemen that they
did not obey the king's edict,
II. These three pious Jews are immediately
brought before the king, and arraigned and examined upon this
information. Nebuchadnezzar fell into a great passion, and in
his rage and fury commanded them to be seized,
III. The case is laid before them in short,
and it is put to them whether they will comply or no. 1. The king
asked them whether it was true that they had not worshipped the
golden image when others did,
IV. They give in their answer, which they
all agree in, that they still adhere to their resolution not to
worship the golden image,
1. Their gracious and generous contempt of
death, and the noble negligence with which they look upon the
dilemma that they are put to: O Nebuchadnezzar! we are not
careful to answer thee in this matter. They do not in
sullenness deny him an answer, nor stand mute; but they tell him
that they are in no care about it. There needs not an answer
(so some read it); they are resolved not to comply, and the king is
resolved they shall die if they do not; the matter therefore is
determined, and why should it be disputed? But it is better read,
"We want not an answer for thee, nor have it to seek, but
come prepared." (1.) They needed no time to deliberate concerning
the matter of their answer; for they did not in the least hesitate
whether they should comply or no. It was a matter of life and
death, and one would think they might have considered awhile before
they had resolved; life is desirable, and death is dreadful. But
when the sin and duty that were in the case were immediately
determined by the letter of the second commandment, and no room was
left to question what was right, the life and death that were in
the case were not to be considered. Note, Those that would avoid
sin must not parley with temptation. When that which we are allured
or affrighted to is manifestly evil the motion is rather to be
rejected with indignation and abhorrence than reasoned with; stand
not to pause about it, but say, as Christ has taught us, Get
thee behind me, Satan. (2.) They needed no time to contrive how
they should word it. While they were advocates for God, and
were called out to witness in his cause, they doubted not but it
should be given them in that same hour what they should
speak,
2. Their believing confidence in God and
their dependence upon him,
3. Their firm resolution to adhere to their
principles, whatever might be the consequence (
19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. 20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. 27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
In these verses we have,
I. The casting of these three faithful
servants of God into the fiery furnace. Nebuchadnezzar had himself
known and owned so much of the true God that, one would have
thought, though his pride and vanity induced him to make this
golden image, and set it up to be worshipped, yet what these young
men now said (whom he had formerly found to be wiser than all his
wise men) would revive his convictions, and at least engage him to
excuse them; but it proved quite otherwise. 1. Instead of being
convinced by what they said, he was exasperated, and made more
outrageous,
II. The deliverance of these three faithful servants of God out of the furnace. When they were cast bound into the midst of that devouring fire we might well conclude that we should hear no more of them, that their very bones would be calcined; but, to our amazement, we here find that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, are yet alive.
1. Nebuchadnezzar finds them walking in the
fire. He was astonished, and rose up in haste,
2. Nebuchadnezzar calls them out of the
furnace (
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.
The strict observations that were made,
super visum corporis—on inspecting their bodies, by the
princes and governors, and all the great men who were present upon
this public occasion, and who could not be supposed partial in
favour of the confessors, contributed much to the clearing of this
miracle and the magnifying of the power and grace of God in it.
That indeed a notable miracle has been done is manifest, and we
cannot deny it,
I. He gives glory to the God of Israel as a
God able and ready to protect his worshippers (
II. He applauds the constancy of these
three men in their religion, and describes it to their honour,
III. He issues a royal edict, strictly
forbidding any to speak evil of the God of Israel,
IV. He not only reverses the attainder of these three men, but restores them to their places in the government (makes them to prosper, so the word is), and prefers them to greater and more advantageous trusts than they had been in before: He promoted them in the province of Babylon, which was much to their honour and the comfort of their brethren in captivity there. Note, It is the wisdom of princes to prefer and employ men of stedfastness in religion; for those are most likely to be faithful to them who are faithful to God, and it is likely to be well with them when God's favourites are made theirs.
The penman of this chapter is Nebuchadnezzar
himself: the story here recorded concerning him is given us in his
own words, as he himself drew it up and published it; but Daniel, a
prophet, by inspiration, inserts it in his history, and so it has
become a part of sacred writ and a very memorable part.
Nebuchadnezzar was as daring a rival with God Almighty for the
sovereignty as perhaps any mortal man ever was; but here he fairly
owns himself conquered, and gives it under his hand that the God of
Israel is above him. Here is, I. The preface to his narrative,
wherein he acknowledges God's dominion over him,
1 Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. 2 I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me. 3 How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.
Here is, I. Something of form, which was
usual in writs, proclamations, or circular letters, issued by the
king,
II. Something of substance and matter. He
writes this, 1. To acquaint others with the providences of God that
had related to him (
4 I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace: 5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. 6 Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof. 8 But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying, 9 O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. 10 Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. 11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth: 12 The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. 13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven; 14 He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: 15 Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: 16 Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. 17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. 18 This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.
Nebuchadnezzar, before he relates the judgments of God that had been wrought upon him for his pride, gives an account of the fair warning he had of them before they came, a due regard to which might have prevented them. But he was told of them, and of the issue of them, before they came to pass, that, when they did come to pass, by comparing them with the prediction of them, he might see, and say, that they were the Lord's doing, and might be brought to believe that there is a divine revelation in the world, as well as a divine Providence, and that the works of God agree with his word.
Now, in the account he here gives of his dream, by which he had notice of what was coming, we may observe,
I. The time when this alarm was given to
him (
II. The impression it made upon him
(
III. His consulting, in vain, with the
magicians and astrologers concerning the meaning of it. He had not
now forgotten the dream, as before,
IV. The court he made to Daniel, to engage
him to expound his dream to him: At the last Daniel came in.
V. The particular account he gives him of his dream.
1. He saw a stately flourishing tree,
remarkable above all the trees of the wood. This tree was
planted in the midst of the earth (
2. He heard the doom of this tree read, which he perfectly remembered, and related here, perhaps word for word as he heard it. The sentence was passed upon it by an angel, whom he saw come down from heaven, and heard proclaim this sentence aloud. This angel is here called a watcher, or watchman, not only because angels by their nature are spirits, and therefore neither slumber nor sleep, but because by their office they are ministering spirits, and attend continually to their ministrations, watching all opportunities of serving their great Master. They, as watchers, encamp round those that fear God, to deliver them, and bear them up in their hands. This angel was a messenger, or ambassador (so some read it), and a holy one. Holiness becomes God's house; therefore angels that attend and are employed by him are holy ones; they preserve the purity and rectitude of their nature, and are in every thing conformable to the divine will. Let us review the doom passed upon the tree.
(1.) Orders are given that it be cut down
(
(2.) Care is taken that the root be
preserved (
(3.) The meaning of this is explained by
the angel himself to Nebuchadnezzar,
(4.) The truth of it is confirmed
(
(5.) The design of it is declared. Orders
are given for the cutting down of this tree, to the intent that
the living may know that the Most High rules. This judgment
must be executed, to convince the unthinking, unbelieving, world,
that verily there is a God that judges in the earth, a God
that governs the world, that not only has a kingdom of his own in
it, and administers the affairs of that kingdom, but rules also
in the kingdom of men, in the dominion that one man has over
another, and gives that to whomsoever he will; from
him promotion comes,
Thus has Nebuchadnezzar fully and
faithfully related his dream, what he saw and what he heard, and
then demands of Daniel the interpretation of it (
19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. 20 The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; 21 Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: 22 It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. 23 And whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him; 24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: 25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. 27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
We have here the interpretation of
Nebuchadnezzar's dream; and when once it is applied to himself, and
it is declared that he is the tree in the dream (Mutato nomine
de te fabula narratur—Change but the name, the fable speaks of
thee), when once it is said, Thou art the man, there
needs little more to be said for the explication of the dream.
Out of his own mouth he is judged; so shall his doom be, he
himself has decided it. The thing was so plain that Daniel,
upon hearing the dream, was astonished for one hour,
I. The preface to the interpretation is a civil compliment which, as a courtier, he passes upon the king. The king observed him to stand as one astonished, and, thinking he was loth to speak out for fear of offending him, he encouraged him to deal plainly and faithfully with him; Let not the dream, nor the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. This he speaks either, 1. As one that sincerely desired to know this truth. Note, Those that consult the oracles of God must be ready to receive them as they are, whether they be for them or against them, and must accordingly give their ministers leave to be free with them. Or, 2. As one that despised the truth, and set it at defiance. When we see how regardless he was of this warning afterwards we are tempted to think that this was his meaning; "Let it not trouble thee, for I am resolved it shall not trouble me; nor will I lay it to heart." But, whether he have any concern for himself or no, Daniel is concerned for him, and therefore wishes, "The dream be to those that hate thee. Let the ill it bodes light on the head of thy enemies, not on thy head." Though Nebuchadnezzar was an idolater, a persecutor, and an oppressor of the people of God, yet he was, at present, Daniel's prince; and therefore, though Daniel foresees, and is now going to foretell, ill concerning him, he dares not wish ill to him.
II. The interpretation itself is only a
repetition of the dream, with application to the king. "As for
the tree which thou sawest flourishing (
III. The close of the interpretation is the
pious counsel which Daniel, as a prophet, gave the king,
28 All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. 30 The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? 31 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. 32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.
We have here Nebuchadnezzar's dream accomplished, and Daniel's application of it to him justified and confirmed. How he took it we are not told, whether he was pleased with Daniel or displeased; but here we have,
I. God's patience with him: All this
came upon him, but not till twelve months after
(
II. His pride, and haughtiness, and abuse
of that patience. He walked in the palace of the kingdom of
Babylon, in pomp and pride, pleasing himself with the view of
that vast city, which, with all the territories thereunto
belonging, was under his command, and he said, either to
himself or to those about him, perhaps some foreigners to whom he
was showing his kingdom and the glory of it, Is not this great
Babylon? Yes, it is great, of vast extent, no less that
forty-five miles compass within the walls. It is full of
inhabitants, and they are full of wealth. It is a golden
city, and that is enough to proclaim it great,
III. His punishment for his pride. When he
was thus strutting, and vaunting himself, and adoring his own
shadow, while the proud word was in the king's mouth
the powerful word came from heaven, by which he was immediately
deprived, 1. Of his honour as a king: The kingdom has departed
from thee. When he thought he had erected impregnable bulwarks
for the preserving of his kingdom, now, in an instant, it has
departed from him; when he thought it so well guarded that none
could take it from him, behold, it departs of itself. As soon as he
becomes utterly incapable to manage it, it is of course taken out
of his hands. 2. He is deprived of his honour as a man. He loses
his reason, and by that means loses his dominion: They shall
drive thee from men,
34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: 35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? 36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. 37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
We have here Nebuchadnezzar's recovery from
his distraction, and his return to his right mind, at the end of
the days prefixed, that is, of the seven years. So long he
continued a monument of God's justice and a trophy of his victory
over the children of pride, and he was made more so by being struck
mad than if he had been in an instant struck dead with a
thunderbolt; yet it was a mercy to him that he was kept alive, for
while there is life there is hope that we may yet praise God, as he
did here: At the end of the days (says he), I lifted up
my eyes unto heaven (
I. He has the use of his reason so far
restored to him that with it he glorifies God, and humbles himself
under his mighty hand. He was told that he should continue in that
forlorn case till he should know that the Most High rules, and here
we have him brought to the knowledge of this: My understanding
returned to me, and I blessed the Most High. Note, Those may
justly be reckoned void of understanding that do not bless and
praise God; nor do men ever rightly use their reason till they
begin to be religious, nor live as men till they live to the glory
of God. As reason is the substratum or subject of religion (so that
creatures which have no reason are not capable of religion), so
religion is the crown and glory of reason, and we have our reason
in vain, and shall one day wish we had never had it, if we do not
glorify God with it. This was the first act of Nebuchadnezzar's
returning reason; and, when this became the employment of it, he
was then, and not till then, qualified for all the other enjoyments
of it. And till he was for a great while disabled to exercise it in
other things he never was brought to apply it to this, which is the
great end for which our reason is given us. His folly was the means
whereby he became wise; he was not recovered by his dream of this
judgment (that was soon forgotten like a dream), but he is made to
feel it, and then his ear is opened to discipline. To bring
him to himself, he must first be beside himself. And by this
it appears that what good thoughts there were in his mind, and what
good work was wrought there, were not of himself (for he was not
his own man), but it was the gift of God. Let us see what
Nebuchadnezzar is now at length effectually brought to the
acknowledgment of; and we may learn from it what to believe
concerning God. 1. That the most high God lives for
ever, and his being knows neither change nor period, for he has
it of himself. His flatterers often complimented him with, O
king! live for ever. But he is now convinced that no king lives
for ever, but the God of Israel only, who is still the same. 2.
That his kingdom is like himself, everlasting, and his
dominion from generation to generation; there is no
succession, no revolution, in his kingdom. As he lives, so he
reigns, for ever, and of his government there is no end. 3. That
all nations before him are as nothing. He has no need
of them; he makes no account of them. The greatest of men, in
comparison with him, are less than nothing. Those that think highly
of God think meanly of themselves. 4. That his kingdom is
universal, and both the armies of heaven and the
inhabitants of the earth are his subjects, and under his check
and control. Both angels and men are employed by him, and are
accountable to him; the highest angel is not above his command, nor
the meanest of the children of men beneath his cognizance. The
angels of heaven are his armies, the inhabitants of the earth his
tenants. 5. That his power is irresistible, and his sovereignty
uncontrollable, for he does according to his will, according
to his design and purpose, according to his decree and counsel;
whatever he pleases that he does; whatever he appoints that he
performs; and none can resist his will, change his counsel, nor
stay his hand, nor say unto him, What doest thou? None can
arraign his proceedings, enquire into the meaning of them, nor
demand a reason for them. Woe to him that strives with his Maker,
that says to him, What doest thou? Or, Why doest thou
so? 6. That every thing which God does is well done: His
works are truth, for they all agree with his word. His
ways are judgment, both wise and righteous, exactly consonant
to the rules both of prudence and equity, and no fault is to be
found with them. 7. That he has power to humble the haughtiest of
his enemies that act in contradiction to him or competition with
him: Those that walk in pride he is able to abuse (
II. He has the use of his reason so far
restored to him as with it to re-enjoy himself, and the pleasures
of his re-established prosperity (
It was not long after this that Nebuchadnezzar ended his life and reign. Abydenus, quoted by Eusebius (Præp. Evang. 1. 9), reports, from the tradition of the Chaldeans, that upon his death-bed he foretold the taking of Babylon by Cyrus. Whether he continued in the same good mind that here he seems to have been in we are not told, nor does any thing appear to the contrary but that he did: and, if so great a blasphemer and persecutor did find mercy, he was not the last. And, if our charity may reach so far as to hope he did, we must admire free grace, by which he lost his wits for a while that he might save his soul for ever.
The destruction of the kingdom of Babylon had been
long and often foretold when it was at a distance; in this chapter
we have it accomplished, and a prediction of it the very same night
that it was accomplished. Belshazzar now reigned in Babylon; some
compute he had reigned seventeen years, others but three; we have
here the story of his exit and the period of his kingdom. We must
know that about two years before this Cyrus king of Persia, a
growing monarch, came against Babylon with a great army; Belshazzar
met him, fought him, and was routed by him in a pitched battle. He
and his scattered forces retired into the city, where Cyrus
besieged them. They were very secure, because the river Euphrates
was their bulwark, and they had twenty years; provision in the
city; but in the second year of the siege he took it, as is here
related. We have in this chapter, I. The riotous, idolatrous,
sacrilegious feast which Belshazzar made, in which he filled up the
measure of his iniquity,
1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. 2 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. 3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. 5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6 Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. 7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. 8 Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof. 9 Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.
We have here Belshazzar the king very gay, but all of a sudden very gloomy, and in straits in the fulness of his sufficiency. See how he affronts God, and God affrights him; and wait what will be the issue of this contest; and whether he that hardened his heart against God prospered.
I. See how the king affronted God, and put
contempt upon him. He made a great feast, or banquet of
wine; probably it was some anniversary solemnity, in honour of
his birth-day or coronation-day, or in honour of some of their
idols. Historians say that Cyrus, who was now with his army
besieging Babylon, knew of this feast, and presuming that they then
would be off their guard, somno vinoque sepulti—buried in sleep
and wine, took that opportunity to attack the city, and so with
the more ease made himself master of it. Belshazzar upon this
occasion invited a thousand of his lords to come and drink
with him. Perhaps they were such as had signalized themselves in
defense of the city against the besiegers; or these were his great
council of war, with whom, when they had well drunk, he would
advise what was further to be done. And they were to look upon it
as a great favour that he drank wine before them, for it was
the pride of those eastern kings to be seldom seen. He drank wine
before them, for he made this feast, as Ahasuerus did, to show the
honour of his majesty. Now in this sumptuous feast, 1. He
put an affront upon the providence of God and bade defiance to his
judgments. His city was now besieged; a powerful enemy was at his
gates; his life and kingdom lay at stake. In all this the hand of
the Lord had gone out against him, and by it he called him to
weeping, and mourning, and girding with sackcloth. God's
voice cried in the city, as Jonah to Nineveh, Yet forty
days, or fewer, and Babylon shall be destroyed. He
should therefore, like the king of Nineveh, have proclaimed a fast;
but, as one resolved to walk contrary to God, he proclaims a feast,
and behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, killing sheep, eating
flesh, and drinking wine, as if he dared the Almighty to do his
worst,
II. See how God affrighted the king, and
struck a terror upon him. Belshazzar and his lords are in the midst
of their revels, the cups going round apace, and all upon the merry
pin, drinking confusion, it may be, to Cyrus and his army, and
roaring out huzzas, in confidence of the speedy raising of the
siege; but the hour had come when that must be fulfilled which had
been long ago said of the king of Babylon, when his city should be
besieged by the Persians and Medes,
10 Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: 11 There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; 12 Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. 13 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry? 14 I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. 15 And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not show the interpretation of the thing: 16 And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom. 17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: 19 And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. 20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: 21 And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will. 22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; 23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: 24 Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. 25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. 27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. 28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. 29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Here is, I. The information given to the
king, by the queen-mother, concerning Daniel, how fit he was to be
consulted in this difficult case. It is supposed that this queen
was the widow of Evil-Merodach, and was that famous Nitocris whom
Herodotus mentions as a woman of extraordinary prudence. She was
not present at the feast, as the king's wives and concubines
were (
II. The introducing of Daniel to the king,
and his request to him to read and expound the writing. Daniel was
brought in before the king,
III. The interpretation which Daniel gave of these mystic characters, which was so far from easing the king of his fears that we may suppose it increased them rather. Daniel was now in years, and Belshazzar was young; and therefore he seems to take a greater liberty of dealing plainly and roundly with him than he had done upon the like occasions with Nebuchadnezzar. In reproving any man, especially great men, there is need of wisdom to consider all circumstances; for they are the reproofs of instruction that are the way of life. In Daniel's discourse here,
1. He undertakes to read the writing which
gave them this alarm, and to show them the interpretation of it,
2. He largely recounts to the king God's
dealings with his father Nebuchadnezzar, which were intended for
instruction and warning to him,
(1.) He describes the great dignity and
power to which the divine Providence had advanced Nebuchadnezzar,
(2.) He sets before him the sins which Nebuchadnezzar had been guilty of, whereby he had provoked God against him. [1.] He behaved insultingly towards those that were under him, and grew tyrannical and oppressive. The description given of his power intimates his abuse of his power, and that he was directed in what he did by humour and passion, not by reason and equity; so that he often condemned the innocent and acquitted the guilty, both which are an abomination to the Lord. He deposed men of merit and preferred unworthy men, to the great detriment of the public, and for this he was accountable to the most high God, that gave him his power. Note, It is a very hard and rare thing for men to have an absolute arbitrary power, and not to make an ill use of it. Camden has a distich of Giraldus, wherein he speaks of it as a rare instance, concerning our king Henry II of England, that never any man had so much power and did so little hurt with it.
But that was not all. [2.] He behaved
insolently towards the God above him, and grew proud and haughty
(
(3.) He reminds him of the judgments of God
that were brought upon him for his pride and obstinacy, how he was
deprived of his reason, and so deposed from his kingly
throne (
3. In God's name, he exhibits articles of
impeachment against Belshazzar. Before he reads him his doom, from
the hand-writing on the wall, he shows him his crime, that God may
be justified when he speaks, and clear when he judges. Now
that which he lays to his charge is, (1.) That he had not taken
warning by the judgments of God upon his father (
4. He now proceeds to read the sentence, as
he found it written upon the wall: "Then" (says Daniel)
"when thou hast come to such a height of impiety as thus to trample
upon the most sacred things, then when thou wast in the
midst of thy sacrilegious idolatrous feast, then was the part of
the hand, the writing fingers, sent from him, from that
God whom thou didst so daringly affront, and who had borne so long
with thee, but would bear no longer; he sent them, and
this writing, thou now seest, was written,
One would have thought that Belshazzar
would be exasperated against Daniel, and, seeing his own case
desperate, would be in a rage against him. But he was so far
convicted by his own conscience of the reasonableness of all he
said that he objected nothing against it; but, on the contrary,
gave Daniel the reward he promised him, put on him the scarlet
gown and the gold chain, and proclaimed him the third
ruler in the kingdom (
30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. 31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.
Here is, 1. The death of the king. Reason
enough he had to tremble, for he was just falling into the hands of
the king of terrors,
Daniel does not give a continued history of the
reigns in which he lived, nor of the state-affairs of the kingdoms
of Chaldea and Persia, though he was himself a great man in those
affairs; for what are those to us? But he selects such particular
passages of story as serve for the confirming of our faith in God
and the encouraging of our obedience to him, for the things written
aforetime were written for our learning. It is a very observable
improvable story that we have in this chapter, how Daniel by faith
"stopped the mouths of lions," and so "obtained a good report,"
1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; 2 And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. 3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. 4 Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. 5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.
We are told concerning Daniel,
I. What a great man he was. When
Darius, upon his accession to the crown of Babylon by conquest,
new-modelled the government, he made Daniel prime-minister of
state, set him at the helm, and made him first commissioner both of
the treasury and of the great seal. Darius's dominion was very
large; all he got by his conquests and acquests was that he had so
many more countries to take care of; no more can be expected from
himself than what one man can do, and therefore others must be
employed under him. He set over the kingdom 120 princes
(
II. What a good man he was: An excellent
spirit was in him,
III. What ill-will was borne him, both for
his greatness and for his goodness. The presidents and princes
envied him because he was advanced above them, and probably hated
him because he had a watchful eye upon them and took care they
should not wrong the government to enrich themselves. See here, 1.
The cause of envy, and that is every thing that is good. Solomon
complains of it as a vexation that for every right work a man is
envied of his neighbour (
6 Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. 7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. 10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
Daniel's adversaries could have no advantage against him from any law now in being; they therefore contrive a new law, by which they hope to ensnare him, and in a matter in which they knew they should be sure of him; and such was his fidelity to his God that they gained their point. Here is,
I. Darius's impious law. I call it
Darius's, because he gave the royal assent to it, and
otherwise it would not have been of force; but it was not properly
his: he contrived it not, and was perfectly wheedled to consent to
it. The presidents and princes framed the edict, brought in the
bill, and by their management it was agreed to by the convention of
the states, who perhaps were met at this time upon some public
occasion. It is pretended that this bill which they would have to
pass into a law was the result of mature deliberation, that all
the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, princes, counsellors,
and captains, had consulted together about it, and that they
not only agreed to it, but advised it, for divers good
causes and considerations, that they had done what they could
to establish it for a firm decree; nay, they intimate to the
king that it was carried nemine contradicente—unanimously: "All
the presidents are of this mind;" and yet we are sure that
Daniel, the chief of the three presidents, did not agree to it, and
have reason to think that many more of the princes excepted against
it as absurd and unreasonable. Note, It is no new thing for that to
be represented, and with great assurance too, as the sense of the
nation, which is far from being so; and that which few approve of
is sometimes confidently said to be that which all agree to. But, O
the infelicity of kings, who, being under a necessity of seeing and
hearing with other people's eyes and ears, are often wretchedly
imposed upon! These designing men, under colour of doing honour to
the king, but really intending the ruin of his favourite, press him
to pass this into a law, and make it a royal statute, that
whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty
days, save of the king, shall be put to death after the most
barbarous manner, shall be cast into the den of lions,
II. Daniel's pious disobedience to this
law,
1. Daniel's constant practice, which we
were not informed of before this occasion, but which we have reason
to think was the general practice of the pious Jews. (1.) He
prayed in his house, sometimes alone and sometimes with his
family about him, and made a solemn business of it. Cornelius was a
man that prayed in his house,
2. Daniel's constant adherence to this
practice, even when it was made by the law a capital crime. When he
knew that the writing was signed he continued to do as he
did aforetime, and altered not one circumstance of the
performance. Many a man, yea, and many a good man, would have
thought it prudence to omit it for these thirty days, when he could
not do it without hazard of his life; he might have prayed so much
oftener when those days had expired and the danger was over, or he
might have performed the duty at another time, and in another
place, so secretly that it should not be possible for his enemies
to discover it; and so he might both satisfy his conscience and
keep up his communion with God, and yet avoid the law, and continue
in his usefulness. But, if he had done so, it would have been
thought, both by his friends and by his enemies, that he had thrown
up the duty for this time, through cowardice and base fear, which
would have tended very much to the dishonour of God and the
discouragement of his friends. Others who moved in a lower sphere
might well enough act with caution; but Daniel, who had so many
eyes upon him, must act with courage; and the rather because he
knew that the law, when it was made, was particularly levelled
against him. Note, We must not omit duty for fear of suffering, no,
nor so much as seems to come short of it. In trying times
great stress is laid upon our confessing Christ before men
(
11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. 12 Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. 14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him. 15 Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed. 16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. 17 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.
Here is 1. Proof made of Daniel's praying
to his God, notwithstanding the late edict to the contrary
(
18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him. 19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. 20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? 21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. 22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. 23 Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. 24 And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.
Here is, I. The melancholy night which the
king had, upon Daniel's account,
II. The solicitous enquiry he made
concerning Daniel the next morning,
III. The joyful news he meets with-that
Daniel is alive, is safe, and well, and unhurt in the lions' den,
IV. The discharge of Daniel from his
confinement. His prosecutors cannot but own that the law is
satisfied, though they are not, or, if it be altered, it is by a
power superior to that of the Medes and Persians; and therefore no
cause can be shown why Daniel should not be fetched out of the den
(
V. The committing of his prosecutors to the
same prison, or place of execution rather,
25 Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. 26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. 27 He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. 28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Darius here studies to make some amends for the dishonour he had done both to God and Daniel, in casting Daniel into the lions' den, by doing honour to both.
I. He gives honour to God by a decree
published to all nations, by which they are required to fear before
him. And this is a decree which is indeed fit to be made
unalterable, according to the laws of the Medes and Persians, for
it is the everlasting gospel, preached to those that
dwell on the earth,
II. He puts honour upon Daniel (
The six former chapters of this book were
historical; we now enter with fear and trembling upon the six
latter, which are prophetical, wherein are many things dark and
hard to be understood, which we dare not positively determine the
sense of, and yet many things plain and profitable, which I trust
God will enable us to make a good use of. In this chapter we have,
I. Daniel's vision of the four beasts,
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. 2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. 5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. 6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
The date of this chapter places it before
We have, in these verses, Daniel's vision of the four monarchies that were oppressive to the Jews. Observe,
I. The circumstances of this vision. Daniel
had interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and now he is himself
honoured with similar divine discoveries (
II. The vision itself, which foretels the
revolutions of government in those nations which the church of the
Jews, for the following ages, was to be under the influence of. 1.
He observed the four winds to strive upon the great sea,
9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. 10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. 11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. 12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. 13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
Whether we understand the fourth beast to signify the Syrian empire, or the Roman, or the former as the figure of the latter, it is plain that these verses are intended for the comfort and support of the people of God in reference to the persecutions they were likely to sustain both from the one and from the other, and from all their proud enemies in every age; for it is written for their learning on whom the ends of the world have come, that they also, through patience and comfort of this scripture, might have hope. Three things are here discovered that are very encouraging:—
I. That there is a judgment to come, and
God is the Judge. Now men have their day, and every pretender
thinks he should have his day, and struggles for it. But he that
sits in heaven laughs at them, for he sees that his day is
coming,
II. That the proud and cruel enemies of the
church of God will certainly be reckoned with and brought down in
due time,
III. That the kingdom of the Messiah shall
be set up, and kept up, in the world, in spite of all the
opposition of the powers of darkness. Let the heathen rage and fret
as long as they please, God will set his King upon his holy hill
of Zion. Daniel sees this in vision, and comforts himself and
his friends with the prospect of it. This is the same with
Nebuchadnezzar's foresight of the stone cut out of the mountain
without hands, which broke in pieces the image; but in this
vision there is much more of pure gospel than in that. 1. The
Messiah is here called the Son of man—one like unto the Son of
man; for he was made in the likeness of sinful flesh,
was found in fashion as a man. I saw one like unto the Son of
man, one exactly agreeing with the idea formed in the divine
counsels of him that in the fulness of time was to be the Mediator
between God and man. He is like unto the son of man, but is
indeed the Son of God. Our Savior seems plainly to refer to this
vision when he says (
15 I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. 17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. 18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. 19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; 20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. 21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; 22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. 26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. 27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. 28 Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.
Here we have, I. The deep impressions which
these visions made upon the prophet. God in them put honour upon
him, and gave him satisfaction, yet not without a great allay of
pain and perplexity (
II. His earnest desire to understand the
meaning of them (
III. The key that was given him, to let him into the understanding of this vision. The angel told him, and told him so plainly that he made him know the interpretation of the thing, and so made him somewhat more easy.
1. The great beasts are great
kings and their kingdoms, great monarchs and their
monarchies, which shall arise out of the earth, as those
beasts did out of the sea,
2. Daniel pretty well understands the first
three beasts, but concerning the fourth he desires to be better
informed, because it differed so much from the rest, and was
exceedingly dreadful, and not only so, but very mischievous,
or it devoured and broke in pieces,
3. He has a joyful prospect given him of
the prevalency of God's kingdom among men, and its victory over all
opposition at last. And it is very observable that in the midst of
the predictions of the force and fury of the enemies this is
brought in abruptly (
Daniel, in the close, when he ends that
matter, tells us what impressions this vision made upon him; it
overwhelmed his spirits to such a degree that his
countenance was changed, and it made him look pale;
but he kept the matter in his heart. Note, The heart must be
the treasury and store-house of divine things; there we must hide
God's word, as the Virgin Mary kept the sayings of Christ,
The visions and prophecies of this chapter look
only and entirely at the events that were then shortly to come to
pass in the monarchies of Persia and Greece, and seem not to have
any further reference at all. Nothing is here said of the Chaldean
monarchy, for that was now just at its period; and therefore this
chapter is written not in Chaldee, as the six foregoing chapters
were, for the benefit of the Chaldeans, but in Hebrew, and so are
the rest of the chapters to the end of the book, for the service of
the Jews, that they might know what troubles were before them and
what the issue of them would be, and might provide accordingly. In
this chapter we have, I. The vision itself of the ram, and the
he-goat, and the little horn that should fight and prevail against
the people of God, for a certain limited time,
1 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. 2 And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai. 3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. 4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. 5 And as I was considering, behold, a he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. 6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. 7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. 8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. 9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. 10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. 11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 12 And a host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered. 13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? 14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Here is, I. The date of this vision,
II. The scene of this vision. The place where that was laid was in Shushan the palace, one of the royal seats of the kings of Persia, situated on the banks of the river Ulai, which surrounded the city; it was in the province of Elam, that part of Persia which lay next to Babylon. Daniel was not there in person, for he was now in Babylon, a captive, in some employment under Belshazzar, and might not go to such a distant country, especially being now an enemy's country. But he was there in vision; as Ezekiel, when a captive in Babylon, was often brought, in the spirit, to the land of Israel. Note, The soul may be a liberty when the body is in captivity; for, when we are bound, the Spirit of the Lord is not bound. The vision related to that country, and therefore there he was made to fancy himself to be as strongly affected as if he had really been there.
III. The vision itself and the process of it.
1. He saw a ram with two
horns,
2. He saw this ram pushing all about
him with his horns (
3. He saw this ram overcome by a he-goat.
He was considering the ram (wondering that so weak an animal
should come to be so prevalent) and thinking what would be the
issue; and, behold, a he-goat came,
4. He saw the he-goat made hereby very
considerable; but the great horn, that had done all this
execution, was broken,
5. He saw this kingdom divided into four
parts, and that instead of that one great horn there came up
four notable ones, Alexander's four captains, to whom he
bequeathed his conquests; and he had so much that, when it was
divided among four, they had each of them enough for any one man.
These four notable horns were towards the four winds of
heaven, the same with the four heads of the leopard
(
6. He saw a little horn which became
a great persecutor of the church and people of God; and this was
the principal thing that was intended to be shown to him in this
vision, as afterwards,
7. He heard the time of this calamity
limited and determined, not the time when it should come
(that is not here fixed, because God would have his people always
prepared for it), but how long it should last, that, when
they had no more any prophets to tell them how long
(
(1.) The question asked concerning it,
(2.) The answer given to this question,
15 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. 17 So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. 18 Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright. 19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. 20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. 23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. 24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. 26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days. 27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
Here we have,
I. Daniel's earnest desire to have this
vision explained to him (
II. Orders given to the angel Gabriel to inform him concerning this vision. One in the appearance of a man (who, some think, was Christ himself, for who besides could command angels?) orders Gabriel to make Daniel understand this vision. Sometimes God is pleased to make use of the ministration of angels, not only to protect his children, but to instruct them, to serve the kind intentions, not only of his providence, but of his grace.
III. The consternation that Daniel was in
upon the approach of his instructor (
IV. The relief which the angel gave to
Daniel, with great encouragement to him to expect a satisfactory
discovery of the meaning of this vision. 1. He touched him,
and set him upon his feet,
V. The exposition which he gave him of the vision.
1. Concerning the two monarchies of Persia
and Greece,
2. Concerning Antiochus, and his oppression
of the Jews. This is said to be in the latter time of the
kingdom of the Greeks, when the transgressors are come to the
full (
3. As to the time fixed for the continuance
of the cessation of the daily sacrifice, it is not explained here,
but only confirmed (
VI. Here is the conclusion of this vision,
and here, 1. The charge given to Daniel to keep it private for the
present: Shut thou up the vision; let it not be publicly
know among the Chaldeans, lest the Persians, who were now shortly
to possess the kingdom, should be incensed against the Jews by it,
because the downfall of their kingdom was foretold by it, which
would be unseasonable now that the edict for their release was
expected from the king of Persia. Shut it up, for it shall be
for many days. It was about 300 years from the time of this
vision to the time of the accomplishment of it; therefore he must
shut it up for the present, even from the people of the
Jews, lest it should amaze and perplex them, but let it be kept
safely for the generations to come, that should live about the time
of the accomplishment of it, for to them it would be both most
intelligible and most serviceable. Note, What we know of the things
of God should be carefully laid up, that hereafter, when there is
occasion, it may be faithfully laid out; and what we have not now
any use for, yet we may have another time. Divine truths should be
sealed up among our treasures, that we may find them again after
many days. 2. The care he took to keep it private, having received
such a charge,
In this chapter we have, I. Daniel's prayer for
the restoration of the Jews who were in captivity, in which he
confesses sin, and acknowledges the justice of God in their
calamities, but pleads God's promises of mercy which he had yet in
store for them,
1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. 3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
We left Daniel, in the close of the
foregoing chapter, employed in the king's business; but here
we have him employed in better business than any king had for him,
speaking to God and hearing from him, not for himself only, but for
the church, whose mouth he was to God, and for whose use the
oracles of God were committed to him, relating to the
days of the Messiah. Observe, 1. When it was that Daniel had this
communion with God (
4 And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. 8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. 18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.
We have here Daniel's prayer to God as his God, and the confession which he joined with that prayer: I prayed, and made my confession. Note, In every prayer we must make confession, not only of the sins we have been guilty of (which we commonly call confession), but of our faith in God and dependence upon him, our sorrow for sin and our resolutions against it. It must be our confession, must be the language of our own convictions and that which we ourselves do heartily subscribe to.
Let us go over the several parts of this prayer, which we have reason to think that he offered up much more largely than is here recorded, these being only the heads of it.
I. Here is his humble, serious, reverent address to God, 1. As a God to be feared, and whom it is our duty always to stand in awe of: "O Lord! the great and dreadful God, that art able to deal with the greatest and most terrible of the church's enemies." 2. As a God to be trusted, and whom it is our duty to depend upon and put a confidence in: Keeping the covenant and mercy to those that love him, and, as a proof of their love to him, keep his commandments. If we fulfil our part of the bargain, he will not fail to fulfil his. He will be to his people as good as his word, for he keeps covenant with them, and not one iota of his promise shall fall to the ground; nay, he will be better than his word, for he keeps mercy to them, something more than was in the covenant. It was proper for Daniel to have his eye upon God's mercy now that he was to lay before him the miseries of his people, and upon God's covenant now that he was to sue for the performance of a promise. Note, We should, in prayer, look both at God's greatness and his goodness, his majesty and mercy in conjunction.
II. Here is a penitent confession of sin,
the procuring cause of all the calamities which his people had for
so many years been groaning under,
III. Here is a self-abasing acknowledgment
of the righteousness of God in all the judgments that were brought
upon them; and it is evermore the way of true penitents thus to
justify God, that he may be clear when he judges, and the sinner
may bear all the blame. 1. He acknowledges that it was sin that
plunged them in all these troubles. Israel is dispersed
through all the countries about, and so weakened,
impoverished, and exposed. God's hand has driven them hither
and thither, some near, where they are known and therefore
the more ashamed, others afar off, where they are not known
and therefore the more abandoned, and it is because of their
trespass that they have trespassed (
IV. Here is a believing appeal to the mercy
of God, and to the ancient tokens of his favour to Israel, and the
concern of his own glory in their interests. 1. It is some comfort
to them (and not a little) that God has been always ready to pardon
sin (
V. Here is a pathetic complaint of the
reproach that God's people lay under, and the ruins that God's
sanctuary lay in, both which redounded very much to the dishonour
of God and the diminution of that name and renown which God had
gained by bringing them out of Egypt. 1. God's holy people were
despised. By their sins and the iniquities of their fathers
they had profaned their crown and made themselves despicable, and
then though they are, in name and profession, God's people, and
upon that account truly great and honourable, yet they become a
reproach to all that are round about them. Their neighbours
laugh them to scorn, and triumph in their disgrace. Note, Sin is
a reproach to any people, but especially to God's people, that
have more eyes upon them and have more honour to lose than other
people. 2. God's holy place was desolate. Jerusalem, the holy city,
was a reproach (
VI. Here is an importunate request to God
for the restoring of the poor captive Jews to their former
enjoyments again. The petition is very pressing, for God gives us
leave in prayer to wrestle with him: "O Lord! I beseech
thee,
VII. Here are several pleas and arguments
to enforce the petitions. God gives us leave not only to pray, but
to plead with him, which is not to move him (he himself knows what
he will do), but to move ourselves, to excite our fervency and
encourage our faith. 1. They disdain a dependence upon any
righteousness of their own; they pretend not to merit any thing at
God's hand but wrath and the curse (
20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; 21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. 22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. 24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
We have here the answer that was immediately sent to Daniel's prayer, and it is a very memorable one, as it contains the most illustrious prediction of Christ and gospel-grace that is extant in all the Old Testament. If John Baptist was the morning-star, this was the day-break to the Sun of righteousness, the day-spring from on high. Here is,
I. The time when this answer was given.
1. It was while Daniel was at prayer. This
he observed and laid a strong emphasis upon: While I was
speaking (
(1.) He mentions the two heads he chiefly
insisted upon in prayer, and which perhaps he designed yet further
to enlarge upon. [1.] He was confessing sin and lamenting
that—"both my sin and the sin of my people Israel." Daniel
was a very great and good man, and yet he finds sin of his own to
confess before God and is ready to confess it; for there is not a
just man upon earth that does good and sins not, nor that
sins and repents not. St. John puts himself into the number of
those who deceive themselves if they say that they have no
sin, and who therefore confess their sins,
(2.) While Daniel was thus employed, [1.]
He had a grant made him of the mercy he prayed for. Note, God is
very ready to hear prayer and to give an answer of peace. Now was
fulfilled what God had spoken
2. It was about the time of the evening
oblation,
II. The messenger by whom this answer was sent. It was not given him in a dream, nor by a voice from heaven, but, for the greater certainty and solemnity of it, an angel was sent on purpose, appearing in a human shape, to give this answer to Daniel. Observe,
1. Who this angel, or messenger, was; it
was the man Gabriel. If Michael the archangel be, as many
suppose, no other than Jesus Christ, this Gabriel is the only
created angel that is named in scripture. Gabriel signifies the
mighty one of God; for the angels are great in power and
might,
2. The instructions which this messenger
received from the Father of lights to whom Daniel prayed (
3. The haste he made to deliver his
message: He was caused to fly swiftly,
4. The prefaces or introductions to his
message. (1.) He touched him (
III. The message itself. It was delivered
with great solemnity, received no doubt with great attention, and
recorded with great exactness; but in it, as is usual in
prophecies, there are things dark and hard to be understood.
Daniel, who understood by the book of the prophet Jeremiah the
expiration of the seventy years of the captivity, is now honourably
employed to make known to the church another more glorious release,
which that was but a shadow of, at the end of another seventy, not
years, but weeks of years. He prayed over that prophecy, and
received this in answer to that prayer. He had prayed for his
people and the holy city—that they might be
released, that it might be rebuilt; but God answers him
above what he was able to ask or think. God not only grants,
but outdoes, the desires of those that fear him,
1. The times here determined are somewhat hard to be understood. In general, it is seventy weeks, that is, seventy times seven years, which makes just 490 years. The great affairs that are yet to come concerning the people of Israel, and the city of Jerusalem, will lie within the compass of these years.
(1.) These years are thus described by
weeks, [1.] In conformity to the prophetic style, which is, for the
most part, abstruse, and out of the common road of speaking, that
the things foretold might not lie too obvious. [2.] To put an
honour upon the division of time into weeks, which is made purely
by the sabbath day, and to signify that that should be perpetual.
[3.] With reference to the seventy years of the captivity; as they
had been so long kept out of the possession of their own land, so,
being now restored to it they should seven times as long be kept in
the possession of it. So much more does God delight in showing
mercy than in punishing. The land had enjoyed its sabbaths,
in a melancholy sense, seventy years,
(2.) The difficulties that arise about
these seventy weeks are, [1.] Concerning the time when they
commence and whence they are to be reckoned. They are here dated
from the going forth of the commandments to restore and to build
Jerusalem,
(3.) But, whatever uncertainty we may
labour under concerning the exact fixing of these times, there is
enough clear and certain to answer the two great ends of
determining them. [1.] It did serve them to raise and support the
expectations of believers. There were general promises of the
coming of the Messiah made to the patriarchs; the preceding
prophets had often spoken of him as one that should come,
but never was the time fixed for his coming until now. And, though
there might be so much doubt concerning the date of this reckoning
that they could not ascertain the time just to a year, yet by the
light of this prophecy they were directed about what time to expect
him. And we find, accordingly, that when Christ came he was
generally looked for as the consolation of Israel,
and redemption in Jerusalem by him,
2. The events here foretold are more plain and easy to be understood, at least to us now. Observe what is here foretold,
(1.) Concerning the return of the Jews now
speedily to their own land, and their settlement again there, which
was the thing that Daniel now principally prayed for; and yet it is
but briefly touched upon here in the answer to his prayer. Let this
be a comfort to the pious Jews, that a commandment shall
go forth to restore and to build Jerusalem,
(2.) Concerning the Messiah and his
undertaking. The carnal Jews looked for a Messiah that could
deliver them from the Roman yoke and give them temporal power and
wealth, whereas they were here told that the Messiah should come
upon another errand, purely spiritual, and upon the account of
which he should be the more welcome. [1.] Christ came to take
away sin, and to abolish that. Sin had made a quarrel between
God and man, had alienated men from God and provoked God against
man; it was this that put dishonour upon God and brought misery
upon mankind; this was the great mischief-maker. He that would do
God a real service, and man a real kindness, must be the
destruction of this. Christ undertakes to be so, and for this
purpose he is manifested, to destroy the works of the
devil. He does not say to finish your transgressions and
your sins, but transgression and sin in general, for
he is the propitiation not only for our sins, that are Jews,
but for the sins of the whole world. He came, First,
To finish transgression, to restrain it (so some), to
break the power of it, to bruise the head of that serpent
that had done so much mischief, to take away the usurped dominion
of that tyrant, and to set up a kingdom of holiness and love in the
hearts of men, upon the ruins of Satan's kingdom there, that, where
sin and death had reigned, righteousness and
life through grace might reign. When he died he said,
It is finished; sin has now had its death-wound given it,
like Samson's, Let me die with the Philistines. Animamque in
vulnere ponit—He inflicts the wound and dies. Secondly, To
make an end of sin, to abolish it, that it may not rise up
in judgment against us, to obtain the pardon of it, that it may not
be our ruin, to seal up sins (so the margin reads it), that
they may not appear or break out against us, to accuse and condemn
us, as, when Christ cast the devil into the bottomless pit, he
set a seal upon him,
(3.) Concerning the final destruction of
Jerusalem, and of the Jewish church and nation; and this follows
immediately upon the cutting off of the Messiah, not only because
it was the just punishment of those that put him to death,
which was the sin that filled up the measure of their iniquity and
brought ruin upon them, but because, as things were, it was
necessary to the perfecting of one of the great intentions of his
death. He died to take away the ceremonial law, quite to abolish
that law of commandments, and to vacate the obligation of
it. But the Jews would not be persuaded to quit it; still they kept
it up with more zeal than ever; they would hear no talk of parting
with it; they stoned Stephen (the first Christian martyr) for
saying that Jesus should change the customs which Moses
delivered them (
This chapter and the two next (which conclude this
book) make up one entire vision and prophecy, which was
communicated to Daniel for the use of the church, not by signs and
figures, as before (
1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. 2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. 4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; 5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: 6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. 7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. 8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. 9 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.
This vision is dated in the third year of Cyrus, that is, of his reign after the conquest of Babylon, his third year since Daniel became acquainted with him and a subject to him. Here is,
I. A general idea of this prophecy
(
II. An account of Daniel's mortification of
himself before he had this vision, not in expectation of it, nor,
when he prayed that solemn prayer
III. A description of that glorious person
whom Daniel saw in vision, which, it is generally agreed, could be
no other that Christ himself, the eternal Word. He was by the side
of the river Hiddekel (
IV. The wonderful influence that this appearance had upon Daniel and his attendants, and the terror that it struck upon him and them.
1. His attendants saw not the
vision; it was not fit that they should be honoured with the
sight of it. There is a divine revelation vouchsafed to all, from
converse with which none are excluded who do not exclude
themselves; but such a vision must be peculiar to Daniel, who was a
favourite. Paul's companions were aware of the light, but
saw no man,
2. He himself saw it, and saw it alone, but
he was not able to bear the sight of it. It not only dazzled his
eyes, but overwhelmed his spirit, so that there remained no
strength in him,
10 And, behold, a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. 11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. 12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. 14 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days. 15 And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. 16 And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. 17 For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. 18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, 19 And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. 20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. 21 But I will show thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.
Much ado here is to bring Daniel to be able to bear what Christ has to say to him. Still we have him in a fright, hardly and very slowly recovering himself; but he is still answered and supported with good words and comfortable words. Let us see how Daniel is by degrees brought to himself, and gather up the several passages that are to the same purport.
I. Daniel is in a great consternation and
finds it very difficult to get clear of it. The hand that
touched him set him at first upon his knees and the palms
of his hands,
II. The blessed angel that was employed by
Christ to converse with him gave him all the encouragement and
comfort that could be. It should seem, it was not he whose glory he
saw in vision (
1. He lent him his hand to help him,
touched him, and set him upon his hands and knees (
2. He assured him of the great favour that
God had for him: Thou art a man greatly beloved (
3. He silenced his fears, and encouraged
his hopes, with good words and comfortable words. He said unto him,
Fear not, Daniel (
4. He assured him that his fastings and
prayers had come up for a memorial before God, as the angel told
Cornelius (
5. He informed him that he was sent to him
on purpose to bring him a prediction of the future state of the
church, as a token of God's accepting his prayers for the church:
"Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? If thou knewest on
what errand I come, thou wouldst not be put into such a
consternation by it." Note, If we rightly understood the meaning of
God's dealings with us, and the methods of his providence and grace
concerning us, we should be better reconciled to them. "I have
come for thy words (
6. He gave him a general account of the
adversaries of the church's cause, from whom it might be expected
that troubles would arise, and of its patrons, under whose
protection it might be assured of safety and victory at last. (1.)
The kings of the earth are and will be its adversaries; for
they set themselves against the Lord, and against his Anointed,
The angel Gabriel, in this chapter, performs his
promise made to Daniel in the foregoing chapter, that he would
"show him what should befal his people in the latter days,"
according to that which was "written in the scriptures of truth:"
very particularly does he here foretel the succession of the kings
of Persia and Grecia, and the affairs of their kingdoms, especially
the mischief which Antiochus Epiphanes did in his time to the
church, which was foretold before (
1 Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him. 2 And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. 3 And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. 4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.
Here, 1. The angel Gabriel lets Daniel know
the good service he has done to the Jewish nation (
5 And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion. 6 And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times. 7 But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: 8 And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. 9 So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. 10 But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress. 11 And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand. 12 And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it. 13 For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches. 14 And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall. 15 So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. 16 But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed. 17 He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him. 18 After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him. 19 Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found. 20 Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.
Here are foretold,
I. The rise and power of two great kingdoms
out of the remains of Alexander's conquests,
II. The fruitless attempt to unite these
two kingdoms as iron and clay in Nebuchadnezzar's image (
III. A war between the two kingdoms,
IV. The long and busy reign of Antiochus
the Great, king of Syria. Seleucus Callinicus, that king of the
north that was overcome (
V. From all this let us learn, 1. That God in his providence sets up one, and pulls down another, as he pleases, advances some from low beginnings and depresses others that were very high. Some have called great men the foot-balls of fortune; or, rather, they are the tools of Providence. 2. This world is full of wars and fightings, which come from men's lusts, and make it a theatre of sin and misery. 3. All the changes and revolutions of states and kingdoms, and every event, even the most minute and contingent, were plainly and perfectly foreseen by the God of heaven, and to him nothing is new. 4. No word of God shall fall to the ground; but what he has designed, what he has declared, shall infallibly come to pass; and even the sins of men shall be made to serve his purpose, and contribute to the b ringing of his counsels to birth in their season; and yet God is not the author of sin. 5. That, for the right understanding of some parts of scripture, it is necessary that heathen authors be consulted, which give light to the scripture, and show the accomplishment of what is there foretold; we have therefore reason to bless God for the human learning with which many have done great service to divine truths.
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. 24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time. 25 And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. 26 Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain. 27 And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. 28 Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land. 29 At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. 30 For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant. 31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. 32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. 33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. 34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 35 And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed. 36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. 38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. 40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. 41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. 44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. 45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
All this is a prophecy of the reign of
Antiochus Epiphanes, the little horn spoken of before
(
I. His character: He shall be a vile person. He called himself Epiphanes—the illustrious, but his character was the reverse of his surname. The heathen writers describe him to be an odd-humoured man, rude and boisterous, base and sordid. He would sometimes steal out of the court into the city, and herd with any infamous company incognito—in disguise he made himself a companion of the common sort, and of the basest strangers that came to town. He had the most unaccountable whims, so that some took him to be silly, others to be mad. Hence he was called Epimanes—the madman. He is called a vile person, for he had been a long time a hostage at Rome for the fidelity of his father when the Romans had subdued him; and it was agreed that, when the other hostages were exchanged, he should continue a prisoner at large.
II. His accession to the crown. By a trick
he got his elder brother's son, Demetrius, to be sent a hostage to
Rome, in exchange for him, contrary to the cartel; and, his elder
brother being made away with by Heliodorus (
III. His war with Egypt, which was his
second expedition thither. This is described,
IV. Another expedition against Egypt. From
the former he returned with great riches (
V. His rage and cruel practices against the
Jews. This is that part of his government, or mis-government
rather, which is most enlarged upon in this prediction. In his
return from his expedition into Egypt (which is prophesied of,
1. He had a rooted antipathy to the Jews'
religion: His heart was against the holy covenant,
2. He carried on his malicious designs
against the Jews by the assistance of some perfidious apostate
Jews. He kept up intelligence with those that forsook the holy
covenant (
3. He profaned the temple. Arms stand on
his part (
4. He persecuted those who retained their
integrity. Though there are many who forsake the covenant
and do wickedly against it, yet there is a people who do
know their God and retain the knowledge of him, and they
shall be strong and do exploits,
5. He grew very proud, insolent, and
profane, and, being puffed up with his conquests, bade defiance to
Heaven, and trampled upon every thing that was sacred,
Now here is very much that is applicable to
the man of sin; he exalts himself above all that is
called god or that is worshipped; magnifies himself above all;
his flatterers call him our lord god the pope. By forbidding
marriage, and magnifying the single life, he pretends not to regard
the desire of women; and honours the god of forces, the god
Mahuzzim, or strong holds, saints and angels, whom
his followers take for their protectors, as the heathen did of old
their demons; these they make presidents of several countries,
&c. These they honour with vast treasures dedicated to them,
and therein the learned Mr. Mede thinks that this prophecy was
fulfilled, and that it is referred to
VI. Here seems to be another expedition
into Egypt, or, at least, a struggle with Egypt. The Romans had
tied him up from invading Ptolemy, but now that king of the
south pushes at him (
VII. Here is a prediction of the fall and
ruin of Antiochus, as before (
Of the kings that came after Antiochus nothing is here prophesied, for that was the most malicious mischievous enemy to the church, that was a type of the son of perdition, whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming, and none shall help him.
After the prediction of the troubles of the Jews
under Antiochus, prefiguring the troubles of the Christian church
under the anti-christian power, we have here, I. Comforts, and very
precious ones, prescribed as cordials for the support of God's
people in those times of trouble; and they are such as may
indifferently serve both for those former times of trouble under
Antiochus and those latter which were prefigured by them,
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. 4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
It is usual with the prophets, when they foretel the grievances of the church, to furnish it at the same time with proper antidotes, a remedy for every malady. And no relief is so sovereign, of such general application, so easily accommodated to every case, and of such powerful efficacy, as those that are fetched from Christ and the future state; thence the comforts here are fetched.
I. Jesus Christ shall appear his church's
patron and protector: At that time, when the persecution is
at the hottest, Michael shall stand up,
II. When Christ appears he will recompense
tribulation to those that trouble his people. There shall be a
time of trouble, threatening to all, but ruining to all the
implacable enemies of God's kingdom among men, such trouble as
never was since there was a nation. This is applicable. 1. To
the destruction of Jerusalem, which Christ calls (perhaps with an
eye to this prediction) such a great tribulation as was not
since the beginning of the world to this time,
III. He will work salvation for his people:
"At that time thy people shall be delivered, delivered from
the mischief and ruin designed them by Antiochus, even all those
that were marked for preservation, that were written among the
living,"
IV. There shall be a distinguishing
resurrection of those that sleep in the dust,
V. There shall be a glorious reward
conferred on those who, in the day of trouble and distress, being
themselves wise, did instruct many. Such were taken
particular notice of in the prophecy of the persecution (
VI. That this prophecy of those times,
though sealed up now, would be of great use to those that should
live then,
5 Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. 6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? 7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. 8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? 9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. 11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. 13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
Daniel had been made to foresee the amazing
revolutions of states and kingdoms, as far as the Israel of God was
concerned in them; in them he foresaw troublous times to the
church, suffering trying times, the prospect of which much affected
him and filled him with concern. Now there were two questions
proper to be asked upon this head:—When shall the end
be? And, What shall the end be? These two
questions are asked and answered here, in the close of the book;
and though the comforts prescribed in the
I. The question, When shall the end
be? is asked by an angel,
1. Who it was that asked the question.
Daniel had had a vision of Christ in his glory, the man clothed
in linen,
2. To whom this question was put, to the
man clothed in linen, of whom we read before (
3. What the question was: How long shall
it be to the end of these wonders? Daniel would not ask the
question, because he would not pry into what was hidden, nor seem
inquisitive concerning the times and the seasons, which the Father
has put in his own power,
4. What answer was returned to it by him who is indeed the numberer of secrets, and knows things to come.
(1.) Here is a more general account given
of the continuance of these troubles to the angel that made the
enquiry (
(2.) Here is something added more
particularly concerning the time of the continuance of those
troubles, in what is said to Daniel,
II. The question, What shall the end be? is asked by Daniel, and an answer given to it. Observe,
1. Why Daniel asked this question; it was
because, though he heard what was said to the angel, yet he
did not understand it,
2. What the question was: O my Lord! What shall be the end of these things? He directs his enquiry not to the angel that talked with him, but immediately to Christ, for to whom else should we go with our enquiries? "What shall be the final issue of these events? What do they tend to? What will then end in?" Note, When we take a view of the affairs of this world, and of the church of God in it, we cannot but think, What will be the end of these things? We see things move as if they would end in the utter ruin of God's kingdom among men. When we observe the prevalence of vice and impiety, the decay of religion, the sufferings of the righteous, and the triumphs of the ungodly over them, we may well ask, O my Lord! what will be the end of these things? But this may satisfy us in general, that all will end well at last. Great is the truth, and will prevail at long-run. All opposing rule, principality, and power, will be put down, and holiness and love will triumph, and be in honour, to eternity. The end, this end, will come.
3. What answer is returned to this
question. Besides what refers to the time (
(1.) He must content himself with the
discoveries that had been made to him, and not enquire any further:
"Go thy way, Daniel; let it suffice thee that thou has been
admitted thus far to the foresight of things to come, but stop
here. Go thy way about the king's business again,
(2.) He must not expect that what had been
said to him would be fully understood till it was accomplished:
The words are closed up and sealed, are involved in
perplexities, and are likely to be so, till the time of the
end, till the end of these things; nay, till the end of all
things. Daniel was ordered to seal the book to the time of the
end,
(3.) He must count upon no other than that,
as long as the world stands, there will still be in it such a
mixture as now we see there is of good and bad,
(4.) He must comfort himself with the
pleasing prospect of his own happiness in death, in judgment, and
to eternity,
AN
I. We have
now before us the twelve minor prophets, which some of the
ancients, in reckoning up the books of the Old Testament, put all
together, and reckon but as one book. They are called the
minor prophets, not because their writings are of any less
authority or usefulness than those of the greater prophets, or as
if these prophets were less in God's account or might be so in ours
than the other, but only because they are shorter, and less in
bulk, than the other. We have reason to think that these prophets
preached as much as the others, but that they did not write so
much, nor is so much of their preaching kept upon record. Many
excellent prophets wrote nothing, and others but little, who yet
were very useful in their day. And so in the Christian church there
have been many burning and shining lights, who are not known to
posterity by their writings, and yet were no way inferior in gifts,
and graces, and serviceableness to their own generation, than those
who are; and some who have left but little behind them, and make no
great figure among authors, were yet as valuable men as the more
voluminous writers. These twelve small prophets, Josephus says,
were put into one volume by the men of the great synagogue
in Ezra's time, of which learned and pious body of men the last
three of these twelve prophets are supposed to have been themselves
members. These are what remained of the scattered pieces of
inspired writing. Antiquaries value the fragmenta veterum—the
fragments of antiquity; these are the fragments of prophecy,
which are carefully gathered up by the divine Providence and the
care of the church, that nothing might be lost, as St. Paul's short
epistles after his long ones. The son of Sirach speaks of these
twelve prophets with honour, as men that strengthened Jacob,
II. We have before us the prophecy of
Hosea, who was the first of all the writing prophets, being raised
up somewhat before the time of Isaiah. The ancients say, He was of
Bethshemesh, and of the tribe of Issachar. He continued very long a
prophet; the Jews reckoned that he prophesied nearly fourscore and
ten years; so that, as Jerome observes, he prophesied of the
destruction of the kingdom of the ten tribes when it was at a great
distance, and lived himself to see and lament it, and to improve it
when it was over, for warning to its sister kingdom. The scope of
his prophecy is to discover sin, and to denounce the judgments of
God against a people that would not be reformed. The style is very
concise and sententious, above any of the prophets; and in some
places it seems to be like the book of Proverbs, without connexion,
and rather to be called Hosea's sayings than Hosea's
sermons. And a weighty adage may sometimes do more service
than a laboured discourse. Huetius observes that many passages in
the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel seem to refer to, and to be
borrowed from, the prophet Hosea, who wrote a good while before
them. As
The mind of God is revealed to this prophet, and
by him to the people, in the first three chapters, by signs and
types, but afterwards only by discourse. In this chapter we have,
I. The general title of the whole book,
1 The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
1. Here is the prophet's name and surname;
which he himself, as other prophets, prefixes to his prophecy, for
the satisfaction of all that he is ready to attest what he writes
to be of God; he sets his hand to it, as that which he will stand
by. His name, Hosea, or Hosea (for it is the very
same with Joshua's original name), signifies a saviour; for
prophets were instruments of salvation to the people of God, so are
faithful ministers; they help to save many a soul from death, by
saving it from sin. his surname was Ben-Beeri, or the son
of Beeri. As with us now, so with them then, some had their
surname from their place, as Micah the Morashite, Nahum the
Elkoshite; others from their parents, as Joel the son of Bethuel,
and here Hosea the son of Beeri. And perhaps they made use of that
distinction when the eminence of their parents was such as would
bring honour upon them; but it is a groundless conceit of the Jews
that where a prophet's father is names he also was a prophet.
Beeri signifies a well, which may put us in mind of
the fountain of life and living waters from which prophets are
drawn and must be continually drawing. 2. Here are his authority
and commission: The word of the Lord came to him. It was to
him; it came with power and efficacy to him; it was revealed to
him as a real thing, and not a fancy or imagination of his own, in
some such way as God then discovered himself to his servants the
prophets. What he said and wrote was by divine inspiration; it was
by the word of the Lord, as St. Paul speaks concerning that
which he had purely by revelation,
2 The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord. 3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son. 4 And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel. 6 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. 7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
These words, The beginning of the word
of the Lord by Hosea, may refer either, 1. To that glorious set
of prophets which was raised up about this time. About this time
there lived and prophesied Joel, Amos, Micah, Jonah, Obadiah, and
Isaiah; but Hosea was the first of them that foretold the
destruction of Israel; the beginning of this word of the Lord
was by him. We read in the history of this Jeroboam here named
(
I. The prophet must, as it were in a
looking-glass, show them their sin, and show it to be
exceedingly sinful, exceedingly hateful. The prophet is ordered to
take unto him a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms,
II. The prophet must, as it were through a perspective glass, show them their ruin; and this he does in the names given to the children born of this adulteress; for as lust, when it has conceived, brings forth sin, so sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.
1. He foretels the fall of the royal family
in the name he is appointed to give to his first child, which was a
son: Call his name Jezreel,
2. He foretels God's abandoning the whole
nation in the name he gives to the second child. This was a
daughter, as the former was a son, to intimate that both sons and
daughters had corrupted their way. Some make to signify that Israel
grew effeminate, and was thereby enfeebled and made weak. Call the
name of this daughter Lo-ruhamah—not beloved (so it is
translated
III. He must show them what mercy God had
in store for the house of Judah, at the same time that he was thus
contending with the house of Israel (
1. This, without doubt, refers to the
temporal salvations which God wrought for Judah in a distinguishing
way, the favours shown to them and not to Israel. When the Assyrian
armies had destroyed Samaria, and carried the ten tribes away into
captivity, they proceeded to besiege Jerusalem; but God had mercy
on the house of Judah, and saved them by the vast slaughter which
an angel made, in one night, in the camp of the Assyrians; then
they were saved by the Lord their God immediately, and not
by sword or bow. When the ten tribes were continued in their
captivity, and their land was possessed by others, they being
utterly taken away, God had mercy on the house of
Judah and saved them, and, after seventy years, brought
them back, not by might or power, but by the Spirit of the Lord
of hosts,
2. This may refer also to the salvation of Judah from idolatry, which qualified and prepared them for their other salvations. And this is indeed a salvation by the Lord their God; it is wrought only by the power of his grace, and can never be wrought by sword or bow. Just at the time that the kingdom of Israel was utterly taken away, under Hoshea, the kingdom of Judah was gloriously reformed, under Hezekiah, and was therefore preserved; and in Babylon God saved them from their idolatry first, and then from their captivity.
3. Some make this promise to look forward to the great salvation which, in the fulness of time, was to be wrought out by the Lord our God, Jesus Christ, who came into the world to save his people from their sins.
8 Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. 9 Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. 10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. 11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
We have here a prediction,
I. Of the rejection of Israel for a time,
which is signified by the name of another child that Hosea had by
his adulterous spouse,
II. Of the reduction and restoration of
Israel in the fulness of time. Here, as before, mercy is remembered
in the midst of wrath; the rejection, as it shall not be total, so
it shall not be final (
1. Some think that these promises had their accomplishment in the return of the Jews out of their captivity in Babylon, when many of the ten tribes joined themselves to Judah, and took the benefit of the liberty which Cyrus proclaimed, came up in great numbers out of the several countries into which they were dispersed, to their own land, appointed Zerubbabel their head, and coalesced into one people, whereas before they had been two distinct nations. And in their own land, where God had by his prophets disowned and rejected them as none of his, he would by his prophets own them and appear for them as his children; and from all parts of the country they should come up to the temple to worship. And we have reason to think that, though this promise has a further reference, yet it was graciously intended and piously used for the support and comfort of the captives in Babylon, as giving them a general assurance of mercy which God had in store for them and their land; their nation could not be destroyed so long as this blessing was in it, was in reserve for it.
2. Some think that these promises will not have their accomplishment, at least not in full, till the general conversion of the Jews in the latter days, which is expected yet to come, when the vast incredible numbers of Jews, that are now dispersed as the sand of the sea, shall be brought to embrace the faith of Christ and be incorporated in the gospel-church. Then, and not till then, God will own them as his people, his children, even there where they had lain under the dismal tokens of their rejection. The Jewish doctors look upon this promise as not having had its accomplishment yet. But,
3. It is certain that this promise had its
accomplishment in the setting up of the kingdom of Christ, by the
preaching of the gospel, and the bringing in both of Jews and
Gentiles to it, for to this these words are applied by St. Paul
(
(1.) That it shall greatly multiply, and
the numbers of it be increased; it shall be as the sand of the
sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered. Though Israel
according to the flesh be diminished and made few, the spiritual
Israel shall be numerous, shall be innumerable. In the vast
multitudes that by the preaching of the gospel have been brought to
Christ, both in the first ages of Christianity and ever since, this
promise is fulfilled, thousands out of every tribe in Israel, and
out of other nations, a multitude which no man can number,
(2.) That God will renew his covenant with
the gospel-Israel, and will incorporate it a church to himself, by
as full and ample a charter as that whereby the Old-Testament
church was incorporated; nay, and its privileges shall be much
greater: "In the place where it was said unto them, You are not
my people, there shall you be again admitted into covenant, and
owned as my people." The abandoned Gentiles in their
respective places, and the rejected Jews in theirs, shall be
favoured and blessed. There, where the fathers were cast off for
their unbelief, the children, upon their believing, shall be taken
in. This is a blessed resurrection, the making of those the people
of God that were not a people. Nay, but the privilege is
enlarged; now it is not only, You are my people, as
formerly, but You are the sons of the living God, whether by
birth you were Jews or Gentiles. Israel under the law was God's
son, his first-born, but then they were as children under
age; now, under the gospel, they have grown up both to greater
understanding and greater liberty,
(3.) That those who had been at variance
should be happily brought together (
(4.) That Jesus Christ should be the centre of unity to all God's spiritual Israel. They shall all agree to appoint to themselves one head, which can be no other than he whom God has appointed, even Christ. Note, Jesus Christ is the head of the church, the one only head of it, not only a head of government, as of the body politic, but a head of vital influence, as of the natural body. To believe in Christ is to appoint him to ourselves for our head, that is, to consent to God's appointment, and willingly commit ourselves to his guidance and government; and this in concurrence and communion with all good Christians that make him their head; so that, though they are many, yet in him they are one, and so become one with each other. Qui conveniunt in aliquo tertio inter se conveniunt—Those who agree with a third agree with each other.
(5.) That, having appointed Christ for
their head, they shall come up out of the land; they shall
come, some of all sorts, from all parts, to join themselves to the
church, as, under the Jewish economy, they came up from all corners
of the land of Israel to Jerusalem, to worship (
(6.) That, when all this comes to pass,
great shall be the day of Jezreel. Though great is
the day of Jezreel's affliction (so some understand it), yet
great shall be the day of Jezreel's glory. This shall be
Israel's day; the day shall be their own, after their
enemies have long had their day. Israel is here called
Jezreel, the seed of God, the holy seed
(
The scope of this chapter seems to be much the
same with that of the foregoing chapter, and to point at the same
events, and the causes of them. As there, so here, I. God, by the
prophet, discovers sin to them, and charges it home upon them, the
sin of their idolatry, their spiritual whoredom, their serving
idols and forgetting God and their obligations to him,
1 Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah. 2 Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts; 3 Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst. 4 And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms. 5 For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.
The first words of this chapter some make
the close of the foregoing chapter, and add them to the promises
which we have here of the great things God would do for them. When
they shall have appointed Christ their head, and centered in him,
then let them say to one another, with triumph and exultation
(let the prophets say it to them, so the Chaldee—Comfort
you, comfort you, my people, is now their commission), "say to
them, Ammi, and Ruhamah; call them so again, for they
shall no longer lie under the reproach and doom of Lo-ammi
and Lo-ruhamah; they shall now be my people again,
and shall obtain mercy." God's spiritual Israel, made up of
Jews and Gentiles without distinction, shall call one another
brethren and sisters, shall own one another for the people of God
and beloved of him, and, for that reason, shall embrace one
another, and stir up one another both to give thanks for and to
walk worthy of this common salvation which they partake of.
Or rather, because the following words seem to have a coherence
with these, these also are designed for conviction and humiliation.
The mother (
I. They must put here in mind of the
relation wherein she had stood to God, the kindness he had had for
her, the many favours he had bestowed upon her, and the further
favours he had designed her. Let them tell their brethren
and sisters that they had been Ammi and
Ruhamah, that they had been God's people and vessels of his
mercy, and might have been so still if it had not been their own
fault,
II. They must, in God's name, charge her
with the violation of the marriage-covenant between her and God.
Let them tell her that God does not look upon her as his wife, nor
upon himself as her husband any longer. Tell her (
III. They must upbraid her with her horrid
ingratitude to God her benefactor, in ascribing to her idols the
glory of the gifts he had given her, and then giving that for a
reason why she paid them the homage due to him only,
IV. They must persuade her to repent and
reform. God will disown her if she persist in her whoredoms; let
her therefore put away her whoredoms,
V. They must show her the utter ruin that
will certainly be the fatal consequence of her sin if she do not
repent and reform (
6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths. 7 And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now. 8 For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal. 9 Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness. 10 And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand. 11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. 12 And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them. 13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the Lord.
God here goes on to threaten what he would
do with this treacherous idolatrous people; and he warns that he
may not wound, he threatens that he may not strike. If he turn
not, he will whet his sword (
I. They shall be perplexed and embarrassed
in all their counsels, and disappointed in all their expectations.
This is threatened
1. God will raise up difficulties and
troubles in their way, so that their public counsels and affairs
shall have no success, nor shall they be able to get forward in
them: I will hedge up thy way with thorns, with such crosses
as, like thorns and briers, are the product of sin and the curse,
and are scratching, and tearing, and vexing, and, when the way we
are in is hedged up with them, stop our progress, and force us to
turn back. She said, "I will go after my lovers; I will
pursue my leagues and alliances with foreign powers, and depend
upon them." But God says, "She shall be frustrated in these
projects, and not be able to proceed in them. I will hedge up
thy way with thorns, and, if that do not serve, I will make
a wall." If some smaller difficulties be got over, and prevail
not to break her measures, God will raise greater, for he will
overcome when he judges. It shall be such a hedge, and such a wall,
that she shall not find her paths. The change of the person
here, I will hedge up thy way, and then, She shall
not find it, is usual in scripture, especially in an earnest
way of speaking. "Sinner, do thou take notice, I will hedge up
thy way, and all you that are bystanders take notice what will
be the effect of this, you may observe that she cannot find
her paths." She shall be as a traveller that not only knows not
which way to go, of many that are before him, but that finds no way
at all to go forward. And then she shall follow after her
lovers, but she shall not overtake them; she shall endeavour to
make an interest in the Assyrians and Egyptians, and to have them
for her protectors, but she shall not gain her point; they shall
either not come into confederacy with her or not do her any
service, shall help in vain and be as the staff of a
broken reed. She shall seek them, but shall not find them,
shall seek to her idols, but shall not find that satisfaction in
them which she promised herself; the gods whom she trusted and
courted not only can do nothing for her, but have nothing to say to
her to encourage her. Now, (1.) This is such a just judgment as the
Sodomites met with, that were struck with blindness, and
wearied themselves to find the door (
2. These difficulties that God raises up in
their way shall raise up in their minds thoughts of turning back:
"Then shall she say, Since I cannot overtake my lovers, I
will even go and return to my first husband, that is, will
return to God, and humble myself to him, and desire him to take me
in again; for, when I kept close to him, it was every way better
with me than now." Two things are here extorted from this
degenerate apostate people:—(1.) A just acknowledgement of the
folly of their apostasy. They are now brought to own that it was
better with them while they kept close to their God than ever it
was since they forsook him. Note, Whoever have exchanged the
service of God for the services of the world and the flesh have,
sooner or later, been made to own that they changed for the
worse, and that while they continued in good company, and went
on in the way of good duties, and made conscience how they spent
their time and what they said or did, it was better with them; they
had more true comfort and enjoyment of themselves than ever they
had since they went astray. (2.) A good purpose, to come back again
to their duty: I will go, and return to my first husband;
and she knows so much of his goodness and readiness to forgive that
she speaks without any doubt of his receiving her again into favour
and making her condition as good as ever. Note, The disappointments
we meet with in our pursuits of satisfaction in the creature
should, if nothing else will do it, drive us at length to the
Creator, in whom alone it is to be had. When Moab is weary of
the high place he shall go to the sanctuary,
II. The necessary supports and comforts of
life shall be taken from them, because they had dishonoured God
with them,
2. How basely their plenty was abused by
them. (1.) They robbed God of the honour of his gifts: She did
not know that I gave her corn and wine; she did not remember
it. The law and the prophets had told them, again and again, that
all their comforts they received from God's bountiful providence;
but they were so often told by their false prophets and idolatrous
priests that they had their corn from such an idol, and their wine
from such an idol, &c., that they had quite forgotten their
relation to their great benefactor and their obligations to him.
She did not consider it; she would not acknowledge it. This they
were willingly ignorant of, and more brutish than the ox,
that knows his owner, and the ass, that knows his
master's crib. She did not know it, for she did not return
thanks to him for his gifts, nor study what she should render; nor
did she give him his dues out of them, but acted as if she were
ignorant who was the donor. (2.) They served and honoured his
enemies with them: They prepared them for Baal; they adorned
their images with gold and silver (
3. How justly their plenty should be taken
from them: "Therefore will I return; I will alter my
dealings with them, will take another course, and will take away
my corn and other good things that I gave her." I will
recover them, a law term, as a man by due course of law
recovers what is unjustly detained from him, or as, when the tenant
has committed waste, the landlord recovers locum
vastatum—dilapidations. Observe, God calls their abundance
my corn and my wine, my wool and my flax. They
called it theirs (my bread and my water,
III. They shall lose all their
honour, and be exposed to contempt (
IV. They shall lose all their pleasure, and
shall be left melancholy (
1. God will take away the occasions of
their sacred mirth—their feast-days, their new moons, their
sabbaths, and all their solemn feasts. These God instituted to
be observed in a religious manner, and they were to be observed
with rejoicing; and, it seems, though they had departed from the
pure worship of God, yet they kept up the observance of these, not
at God's temple at Jerusalem, for they had long since forsaken
that, but probably at Dan and Bethel, where the calves were, or in
some other places of meeting that they had. They observed them, not
for the honour of God, nor with any true devotion towards him, but
only because they were times of mirth and feasting, music and
dancing, and meeting of friends, received by tradition from their
fathers. Thus, when they had lost the power of godliness, and
denied that, yet, for the pleasing of a vain and carnal mind, they
kept up the form of it; and by this means their new-moons and their
sabbaths became an iniquity which God could not away with,
2. He will take away the supports of their
carnal mind. They loved the new-moons and the sabbaths only for the
sake of the good cheer that was stirring then, not for the sake of
any religious exercises then performed; these they had dropped long
ago; and now God will take away their provisions for these
solemnities (
14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. 15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. 16 And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali. 17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. 18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. 19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. 20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord. 21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; 22 And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. 23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.
The state of Israel ruined by their own sin
did not look so black and dismal in the former part of the chapter,
but that the state of Israel, restrained by the divine grace, looks
as bright and pleasant here in the latter part of the chapter, and
the more surprisingly so as the promises follow thus close upon the
threatenings; nay, which is very strange, they are by a note of
connexion joined to, and inferred from, that declaration of their
sinfulness upon which the threatenings of their ruin are grounded:
She went after her lovers, and forgot me, saith the Lord;
therefore I will allure her. Fitly therefore is that
therefore which is the note of connexion immediately
followed with a note of admiration: Behold I will allure
her! When it was said, She forgot me, one would think it
should have followed, "Therefore I will abandon her, I will forget
her, I will never look after her more." No, Therefore I will
allure her. Note, God's thoughts and ways of mercy are
infinitely above ours; his reasons are all fetched from within
himself, and not from any thing in us; nay, his goodness takes
occasion from man's badness to appear so much the more illustrious,
I. That though now they were disconsolate,
and ready to despair, they should again be revived with comforts
and hopes,
1. The gracious methods God will take with
them. (1.) He will bring them into the wilderness, as he did
at first when he brought them out of Egypt, where he instructed
them, and took them into covenant with himself. The land of their
captivity shall be to them now, as that wilderness was then, the
furnace of affliction, in which God will choose them.
See
2. The great rejoicing with which they
shall receive God's gracious returns towards them: She shall
sing there as in the days of her youth. This plainly refers to
that triumphant and prophetic song which Moses and the children of
Israel sang at the Red Sea,
II. That, though they had been much
addicted to the worship of Baal, they should now be perfectly
weaned from it, should relinquish and abandon all appearances of
idolatry and approaches towards it, and cleave to God only, and
worship him as he appoints,
III. That though they had been in continual
troubles, as if the whole creation had been at war with them, now
they shall enjoy perfect peace and tranquillity, as if they were in
a league of friendship with the whole creation (
IV. That, though God had given them a bill
of divorce for their whoredoms, yet, upon their repentance, he
would again take them into covenant with himself, into a
marriage-covenant,
1. The nature of this covenant; it is a
marriage-covenant, founded in choice and love, and founding
the nearest relation: I will betroth thee unto me; and
again, and a third time, I will betroth thee. Note, All that
are sincerely devoted to God are betrothed to him; God gives them
the most sacred and inviolable security imaginable that he will
love them, protect them, and provide for them, that he will do the
part of a husband to them, and that he will incline their hearts to
join themselves to him and will graciously accept of them in so
doing. Believing souls are espoused to Christ,
2. The duration of this covenant: "I will betroth thee for ever. The covenant itself shall be inviolable; God will not break it on his part, and you shall not on yours; and the blessings of it shall be everlasting." One of the Jewish rabbin says, This is a promise that she shall attain to the life of the world to come, which is absolute eternity or perpetuity.
3. The manner in which this covenant shall be made. (1.) In righteousness and judgment, that is, God will deal sincerely and uprightly in covenant with them; they have broken covenant, and God is righteous. "But," says God, "I will renew the covenant in righteousness." The matter shall be so ordered that God may receive even these backsliding children into his family again, without any reflection upon his justice, nay, his justice being satisfied by the Mediator of this covenant very much to the honour of it. But what reason can there be why God should take a people into covenant with him that had so often dealt treacherously? Will it not reflect upon his wisdom? "No," says God; "I will do it in judgment, not rashly, but upon due consideration; let me alone to give a reason for it and to justify my own conduct." (2.) In lovingkindness and in mercies. God will deal tenderly and graciously in covenanting with them; and will be not only as good as his word, but better; and, as he will be just in keeping covenant with them, so he will be merciful in keeping them in the covenant. They are subject to many infirmities, and, if he be extreme to mark what they do amiss, they will soon lose the benefit of the covenant. He therefore promises that it shall be a covenant of grace, made in a compassionate consideration of their infirmities, so that every transgression in the covenant shall not throw them out of covenant; he will gather with everlasting lovingkindness. (3.) In faithfulness. Every article of the covenant shall be punctually performed. Faithful is he that has called them, who also will do it; he cannot deny himself.
4. The means by which they shall be kept
tight and faithful to the covenant on their part: Thou shalt
know the Lord. This is not only a promise that God will reveal
himself to them more fully and clearly than ever, but that he will
give them a heart to know him; they shall know more of him,
and shall know him in another manner than ever yet. The ground of
their apostasy was their not knowing God to be their benefactor
(
V. That, though the heavens had been to
them as brass, and the earth as iron, now the heavens shall yield
their dews, and by that means the earth its fruits,
VI. That whereas they were now dispersed, not only, as Simeon and Levi, divided in Jacob and scattered in Israel, but divided and scattered all the world over, God will turn this curse, as he did that, into a blessing: "I will not only water the earth for her, but will sow her unto me in the earth; her dispersion shall be not like that of the chaff in the floor, which the wind drives away, but like that of the seed in the field, in order to its greater increase; wherever they are scattered they shall take root downward and bear fruit upward. The good seed are the children of the kingdom. I will sow her unto me." This alludes to the name of Jezreel, which signifies sown of God, or for God; as she was scattered of him (which is one signification of the words) so she shall be sown of him; and to what he sows he will give the increase. When in all parts of the world Christianity got footing, and every where there were professors of it, then this promise was fulfilled, I will sow her unto me in the earth. Note, The greatest blessing of this earth is that God has a church in it, and from that arises all the tribute of glory which he has out of it; it is what he has sown to himself, and what he will therefore secure to himself.
VII. That, whereas they had been
Lo-ammi—not a people, and Lo-ruhamah—not finding
mercy with God, now they shall be restored to his favour and
taken again into covenant with him (
God is still by the prophet inculcating the same
thing upon this careless people, and much in the same manner as
before, by a type or sign, that of the dealings of a husband with
an adulterous wife. In this chapter we have, I. The bad character
which the people of Israel now had; they were, as is said of the
Athenians (
1 Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. 2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for a homer of barley, and a half homer of barley: 3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee. 4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.
Some think that this chapter refers to
Judah, the two tribes, as the adulteress the prophet married
(
I. In this parable we may observe,
1. God's goodness and Israel's badness
strangely serving for a foil to each other,
2. The method found for the bringing of a
God so very good and a people so very bad together again; this is
the thing aimed at, and what God aims at he will accomplish. To our
great surprise, we find a breach thus wide as the sea effectually
healed; miracles cease not so long as divine mercy does not cease.
Observe here, (1.) The course God takes to humble them and make
them know themselves (
II. In the
1. They must long sit like a widow,
stripped of all their joys and honours,
2. They shall at length be received again
as a wife (
Prophets were sent to be reprovers, to tell people
of their faults, and to warn them of the judgments of God, to which
by sin they exposed themselves; so the prophet is employed in this
and the following chapters. He is here, as counsel for the King of
kings, opening an indictment against the people of Israel, and
labouring to convince them of sin, and of their misery and danger
because of sin, that he might prevail with them to repent and
reform. I. He shows them what were the grounds of God's controversy
with them, a general prevalency of vice and profaneness (
1 Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. 2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. 3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. 4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. 5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.
Here is, I. The court set, and both attendance and attention demanded: "Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for to you is the word of this conviction sent, whether you will hear or whether you will forbear." Whom may God expect to give him a fair hearing, and take from him a fair warning, but the children of Israel, his own professing people? Yea, they will be ready enough to hear when God speaks comfortably to them; but are they willing to hear when he has a controversy with them? Yes, they must hear him when he pleads against them, when he has something to lay to their charge: The Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, of this land, of this holy land. Note, Sin is the great mischief-maker; it sows discord between God and Israel. God sees sin in his own people, and a good action he has against them for it. Some more particular actions lie against his own people, which do not lie against other sinners. He has a controversy with them for breaking covenant with him, for bringing a reproach upon him, and for an ungrateful return to him for his favours. God's controversy will be pleaded, pleaded by the judgments of his mouth before they are pleaded by the judgments of his hand, that he may be justified in all he does and may make it appear that he desires not the death of sinners; and God's pleadings ought to be attended to, for, sooner or later, they shall have a hearing.
II. The indictment read, by which the whole
nation stands charged with crimes of a heinous nature, by which God
is highly provoked. 1. They are charged with national omissions of
the most important duties: There is no truth nor mercy,
neither justice nor charity, these most weighty matters of the
law, as our Saviour accounts them (
III. Sentence passed upon this guilty and
polluted land,
IV. An order of court that no pains should
be taken with the condemned criminal to bring him to repentance,
with the reason for that order. Observe, 1. The order itself
(
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. 7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. 8 They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. 9 And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. 10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the Lord. 11 Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.
God is here proceeding in his controversy
both with the priests and with the people. The people were
as those that strove with the priests (
I. The people strove with the
priests that should have taught them the knowledge of God;
justly therefore were they destroyed for lack of knowledge,
II. Both priests and people rejected
knowledge; and justly therefore will God reject them. The
reason why the people did not learn, and the priests did not teach,
was not because they had not the light, but because they hated
it—not because they had not ways of coming to the knowledge of God
and of communicating it, but because they had no heart to it; they
rejected it. They desired not the knowledge of God's
ways, but put it from them, and shut their eyes against the
light; and therefore "I will also reject thee; I will refuse
to take cognizance of thee and to own thee; you will not know me,
but bid me depart; I will therefore say, Depart from me,
I know you not. Thou shalt be no priest to me." 1. The
priests shall be no longer admitted to the privileges, or employed
in the services, of the priesthood, nor shall they ever be received
again, as we find,
III. They forgot the law of God,
neither desired nor endeavoured to retain it in mind, nor to
transmit the remembrance of it to their posterity, and therefore
justly will God forget them and their children, the
people's children; they did not educate them, as they ought to have
done, in the knowledge of God and their duty to him, and therefore
God will disown them, as not in covenant with him. Note, If parents
do not teach their children, when they are young, to remember
their Creator, they cannot expect that their Creator should
remember them. Or it may be meant of the priests' children; they
shall not succeed them in the priests' office, but shall be reduced
to poverty, as is threatened against Eli's house,
IV. They dishonoured God with that which
was their honour, and justly therefore will God strip them of it,
V. The priests ate up the sin of God's
people, and therefore they shall eat and not have enough. 1.
They abused the maintenance that was allowed to the priests, to the
priests of the house of Aaron, by the law of God, and to the
mock-priests of the calves by their constitution (
VI. The more they increased the more they
sinned (
VII. The people and the priests did harden
one another in sin; and therefore justly shall they be sharers in
the punishment (
VIII. They indulged themselves in the
delights of sense, to hold up their hearts; but they shall find
that they take away their hearts (
12 My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God. 13 They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery. 14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall. 15 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beth-aven, nor swear, The Lord liveth. 16 For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place. 17 Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone. 18 Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye. 19 The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
In these verses we have, as before,
I. The sins charged upon the people of Israel, for which God had a controversy with them, and they are,
1. Spiritual whoredom, or idolatry. They
have in them a spirit of whoredoms, a strong inclination to
that sin; the bent and bias of their hearts are that way; it is
their own iniquity; they are carried out towards it with an
unaccountable violence, and this causes them to err. Note,
The errors and mistakes of the judgment are commonly owing to the
corrupt affections; men therefore have a good opinion of
sin, because they have a disposition towards it. And having such
erroneous notions of idols, and such passionate motions towards
them, no marvel that with such a head and such a heart they have
gone a whoring from under their God,
2. Corporal whoredom is another crime here
charged upon them: They have committed whoredom continually,
3. The perverting of justice,
II. The tokens of God's wrath against them
for their sins. 1. Their wives and daughters should not be punished
for the injury and disgrace they did to their families (
III. The warning given to Judah not to sin
after the similitude of Israel's transgression. It is said in the
close of
The scope of this chapter is the same with that of
the foregoing chapter, to discover the sin both of Israel and
Judah, and to denounce the judgments of God against them. I. They
are called to hearken to the charge,
1 Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor. 2 And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all. 3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled. 4 They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord. 5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them. 6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them. 7 They have dealt treacherously against the Lord: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.
Here, I. All orders and degrees of men are
cited to appear and answer to such things as shall be laid to their
charge (
II. Witness is produced against them, one
instead of a thousand; it is God's omniscience (
III. Very bad things are laid to their
charge. 1. They had been very ingenious and very industrious to
draw people either into sin or into trouble: You have been a
snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor (
IV. Very sad things are made to be their
doom. In general (
1. They shall fall in their
iniquity. This follows upon their pride testifying to their
face (
2. They shall fall short of God's favour
when they profess to seek it (
3. They and their portions shall all be
swallowed up. They have dealt treacherously against the
Lord, and have thought to strengthen themselves in it by their
alliances with strange children; but now shall a month devour
them with their portions, that is, their estates and
inheritances, all those things which they have taken, and taken up
with, as their portion; or by their portions is meant their
idols, whom they chose for their portion instead of God. Note,
Those that make an idol of the world, by taking it for their
portion, will themselves perish with it. A month shall
devour them, or eat them up—a certain time prefixed, and a
short time. When God's judgments begin with them they shall soon
make an end; one month will do their business. How much may a body
be weakened by one month's sickness, or a kingdom wasted by one
month's war! Three shepherds (says God) I cut off in one
month,
8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Beth-aven, after thee, O Benjamin. 9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be. 10 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water. 11 Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment. 12 Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness. 13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound. 14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him. 15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
Here is, I. A loud alarm sounded, giving
notice of judgments coming (
II. The ground of God's controversy with
them. 1. He has a quarrel with the princes of Judah, because
they were daring leaders in sin,
III. The different methods that God would take both with Judah and Ephraim, sometimes one method and sometimes the other, and sometimes both together, or rather by which, first the one and then the other, he would advance towards their complete ruin.
1. He would begin with less judgments,
which should sometimes work silently and insensibly (
2. When it appeared that those had not done
their work he would come upon them with greater (
IV. The different effects of those
different methods. 1. When God contended with them by less
judgments they neglected him, and sought to creatures for relief,
but sought in vain,
The closing words of the foregoing chapter gave us
some hopes that God and his Israel, notwithstanding their sins and
his wrath, might yet be happily brought together again, that they
would seek him and he would be found of them; now this chapter
carries that matter further, and some join the beginning of this
chapter with the end of that, "They will seek me early," saying,
"Come and let us return." But God doth again complain of the
wickedness of this people; for, though some did repent and reform,
the greater part continued obstinate. Observe, I. Their resolution
to return to God, and the comforts wherewith they encourage
themselves in their return,
1 Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. 3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
These may be taken either as the words of the prophet to the people, calling them to repentance, or as the words of the people to one another, exciting and encouraging one another to seek the Lord, and to humble themselves before him, in hopes of finding mercy with him. God had said, In their affliction they will seek me; now the prophet, and the good people his friends, would strike while the iron was hot, and set in with the convictions their neighbours seemed to be under. Note, Those who are disposed to turn to God themselves should do all they can to excite, and engage, and encourage others to return to him. Observe,
I. What it is they engage to do: "Come,
and let us return to the Lord,
II. What inducements and encouragements to do this they fasten upon, to stir up one another with.
1. The experience they had had of his
displeasure: "Let us return to him, for he has torn, he has
smitten. We have been torn, and it was he that tore us; we have
been smitten, and it was he that smote us. Therefore let us
return to him, because it is for our revolts from him that he has
torn and smitten us in anger, and we cannot expect that he should
be reconciled to us till we return to him; and for this end he has
afflicted us thus, that we might be wrought upon to return to him.
His hand will be stretched out still against us if the people
turn not to him that smites them,"
2. The expectation they had of his favour: "He that has torn will heal us, he that has smitten will bind us up," as the skilful surgeon with a tender hand binds up the broken bone or bleeding wound. Note, The same providence of God that afflicts his people relieves them, and the same Spirit of God that convinces the saints comforts them; that which is first a Spirit of bondage is afterwards a Spirit of adoption. This is an acknowledgement of the power of God (he can heal though we be ever so ill torn), and of his mercy (he will do it); nay, therefore he has torn that he may heal. Some think this points particularly to the return of the Jews out of Babylon, when they sought the Lord, and joined themselves to him, in the prospect of his gracious return to them in a way of mercy. Note, It will be of great use to us, both for our support under our afflictions and for our encouragement in our repentance, to keep up good thoughts of God and of his purposes and designs concerning us. Now this favour of God which they are here in expectation of is described in several instances:—
(1.) They promise themselves that their
deliverance out of their troubles should be to them as life from
the dead (
(2.) That then they shall improve in the
knowledge of God (
(3.) That then they shall abound in divine
consolations: His going forth is prepared as the morning,
that is, the returns of his favour, which he had withdrawn from us
when he went and returned to his place. His out-goings again
are prepared and secured to us as firmly as the return of the
morning after a dark night, and we expect it, as those do that
wait for the morning after a long night, and are sure that
it will come at the time appointed and will not fail; and the light
of his countenance will be both welcome to us and growing upon us,
unto the perfect day, as the light of the morning is. He shall
come to us, and be welcome to us, as the rain, as the latter
and former rain unto the earth, which refreshes it and makes it
fruitful. Now this looks further than their deliverance out of
captivity, and, no doubt, was to have its full accomplishment in
Christ, and the grace of the gospel. The Old-Testament saints
followed on to know him, earnestly looked for redemption in
Jerusalem; and at length the out-goings of divine grace in him, in
his going forth to visit this world, were [1.] As the morning to
this earth when it is dark for he went forth as the sun of
righteousness, and in him the day-spring from on high
visited us. His going forth was prepared as the morning, for he
came in the fulness of time; John Baptist was his fore-runner, nay,
he was himself the bright and morning star. [2.] As the rain
to this earth when it is dry. He shall come down as the rain
upon the mown grass,
4 O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. 5 Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth. 6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. 7 But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. 8 Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood. 9 And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness. 10 I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled. 11 Also, O Judah, he hath set a harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.
Two things, two evil things, both Judah and Ephraim are here charged with, and justly accused of:—
I. That they were not firm to their own
convictions, but were unsteady, unstable as water,
II. That they were not faithful to God's
covenant with them,
1. What the covenant was that God made with
them, and upon what terms they should obtain his favour and be
accepted of him (
2. How little they had regarded this covenant, though it was so well ordered in all things, though they, and not God, would be the gainers by it. See here what came of it.
(1.) In general, they broke with God, and
proved unfaithful; there were good things committed to them
to keep, the jewels of mercy and piety, and the knowledge of God,
in the cabinet of sacrifice and burnt-offering, but they betrayed
their trust, kept the cabinet, but pawned the jewels for the
gratification of a base lust, and this is that for which God has
justly a quarrel with them (
(2.) Some particular instances of their
treachery are here given: There they dealt treacherously,
that is, in the places hereafter named [1.] Look on the other side
Jordan, to the country which lay most exposed to the insults of the
neighbouring nations, and where therefore the people were concerned
to keep themselves under the divine protection, and yet there you
will find the most daring provocations of the divine Majesty,
In this chapter we have, I. A general charge drawn
up against Israel for those high crimes and misdemeanors by which
they had obstructed the course of God's favours to them,
1 When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without. 2 And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face. 3 They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies. 4 They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened. 5 In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners. 6 For they have made ready their heart like an oven, whiles they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire. 7 They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that calleth unto me.
Some take away the last words of the foregoing chapter, and make them the beginning of this: "When I returned, or would have returned, the captivity of my people, when I was about to come towards them in ways of mercy, even when I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim (the country and common people) was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria, the court and the chief city." Now, in these verses, we may observe,
I. A general idea given of the present
state of Israel,
1. God graciously designed to do well for
them: I would have healed Israel. Israel were sick and
wounded; their disease was dangerous and malignant, and likely to
be fatal,
2. They stood in their own light and put a
bar in their own door. When God would have healed them, when
they bade fair for reformation and peace, then their
iniquity was discovered and their wickedness,
which stopped that current of God's favours, and undid all again.
(1.) Then, when their case came to be examined and enquired
into, in order to their cure, that wickedness which had been
concealed and palliated was found out; not that it was ever
hid from God, but he speaks after the manner of men; as a surgeon,
when he probes a wound in order to the cure of it and finds that it
touches the vitals and is incurable, goes no further in his
endeavour to cure it, so, when God came down to see the case
of Israel (as the expression is,
3. A practical disbelief of God's
omniscience and government was at the bottom of all their
wickedness (
4. God had begun to contend with them by
his judgments, in earnest of what was further coming: The thief
comes in, and the troop of robbers spoils without. Some take
this as an instance of their wickedness, that they robbed and
spoiled one another. Nec hospes ab hospite tutus—The host and
the guest stand in fear of each other. It seems rather to be a
punishment of their sin; they were infested with secret thieves
among themselves, that robbed their houses and shops and picked
their pockets, and troops of robbers, foreign invaders, that
with open violence spoiled abroad; so far was Israel from
being healed that they had fresh wounds given them daily by robbers
and spoilers; and all this the effect of sin, all to punish them
for robbing God,
II. A particular account of the sins of the court, of the king and princes, and those about them, and the tokens of God's displeasure that they were under for them.
1. Their king and princes were pleased with
the wickedness and profaneness of their subjects, who were
emboldened thereby to be so much them ore wicked (
2. Drunkenness and revelling abound much at
the court,
3. Adultery and uncleanness prevailed much
among the courtiers. This is spoken of
4. They resist the proper methods of
reformation and redress: They have devoured their judges,
those few good judges that were among them, that would have put out
these fires with which they were heated; they fell foul upon them,
and would not suffer them to do justice, but were ready to stone
them, and perhaps did so; or, as some think, they provoked God to
deprive them of the blessing of magistracy and to leave all in
confusion: All their kings have fallen one after
another, and their families with them, which could not but put the
kingdom into confusion, crumble it into contending parties, and
occasion a great deal of bloodshed. There are heart-burnings among
them; they are hot as an oven with rage and malice at one
another, and this occasions the devouring of their judges,
the falling of their kings. For the transgressions of a
land many are the princes thereof,
8 Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned. 9 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not. 10 And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him for all this. 11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria. 12 When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard. 13 Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me. 14 And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me. 15 Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me. 16 They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.
Having seen how vicious and corrupt the court was, we now come to enquire how it is with the country, and we find that to be no better; and no marvel if the distemper that has so seized the head affect the whole body, so that there is no soundness in it; the iniquity of Ephraim is discovered, as well as the sin of Samaria, of the people as well as the princes, of which here are divers instances.
I. They were not peculiar and entire for
God, as they should have been,
II. They were strangely insensible of the
judgments of God, which they were under, and which threatened their
ruin,
III. They went on frowardly in their wicked
ways, and were not reclaimed by the rebukes they were under
(
IV. They were infatuated in their counsels,
and took very wrong methods when they were in distress (
1. The silliness of this dove is, (1.) That
she laments not the loss of her young that are taken from her, but
will make her nest again in the same place; so they have their
people carried away by the enemy, and are not affected with it, but
continue their dealings with those that deal barbarously with them.
(2.) That she is easily enticed by the bait into the net, and has
no heart, no understanding, to discern her danger, as many
other fowls do,
2. See what becomes of this silly
dove (
V. They revolted from God and rebelled
against him, notwithstanding the various methods he took to retain
them in their allegiance,
1. How kindly and tenderly God had dealt
with them, as a gracious sovereign towards a people dear unto him,
and whose prosperity he had much at heart. He had redeemed
them (
2. How impudent their conduct had been
towards him notwithstanding, which is described here for the
conviction and humiliation of all those who have gone on in any way
of wickedness, that they may see how exceedingly sinful their sin
is, how heinous, how the God of heaven interprets it, how he
resents it. (1.) He had courted them to him, and taken them into
covenant with himself; but they fled from him, as if he had
been their dangerous enemy who had always approved himself their
faithful friend. They wandered from him, as the silly dove from her
nest, for those who forsake God will find no rest nor settlement in
the creature, but wander endlessly. They fled from God when they
forsook the worship of him, and ran away from his service, and
withdrew themselves from their allegiance to him. (2.) He had given
them his laws, which were all holy, just, and good, by which he
designed to keep them in the right way; but they transgressed
against him; they sinned with a high hand and a stiff neck,
wilfully and presumptuously (so the words signifies); they broke
through the fence of the divine law, and therein thwarted the
design of the divine love. (3.) He had made known his truths to
them, and given them all possible proofs of the sincerity of his
good-will to them; and yet they spoke lies against him. They
set up false gods in competition with him; they denied his
providence and power; thus they belied the Lord,
3. How they shall be punished for this
(
VI. Their shows of devotion and reformation were but shows, and in them they did but mock God.
1. They pretended devotion, but it was not
sincere,
2. They pretended reformation, but neither
was that sincere,
This chapter, as that before, divides itself into
the sins and punishments of Israel; every verse almost declares
both, and all to bring them to repentance. When they saw the
malignant nature of their sin, in the descriptions of that, they
could not but be convinced now much it was their duty to repent of
what was so bad in itself; and when they saw the mischievous
consequences of their sin, in the predictions of them, they could
not but see how much it was their interest to repent for the
preventing of them. I. The sin of Israel is here set forth, 1. In
many general expressions,
1 Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law. 2 Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee. 3 Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him. 4 They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off. 5 Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency? 6 For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces. 7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.
The reproofs and threatenings here are
introduced with an order to the prophet to set the trumpet to
his mouth (
I. Here is a general charge drawn up
against them as sinners, as rebels and traitors against their
sovereign Lord. 1. They have transgressed my covenant,
II. Here are general threatenings of wrath
and ruin for their sin: The enemy shall come as an eagle against
the house of the Lord, and (
III. Here is the people's hypocritical
claim of relation to God, when they were in trouble and distress
(
IV. Here is the prophet's expostulation
with them, in God's name (
V. Here are some particular sins which they are charged with, are convicted of the folly of, and warned of the fatal consequences of, and for which God's anger is kindled against them.
1. In their civil affairs. They set up
kings without God, and in contempt of him,
2. In their religious matters they did much
worse; for they set up calves against God, in competition
with him and contradiction to him. "Of their silver and their
gold which God gave them, and multiplied to them,
that they might serve and honour him with them, they have made
them idols." They called them gods (
(1.) Whence their gods came. Trace them to
their original, and they will be found the creatures of their own
fancies and the work of their own hands,
(2.) What their gods would come to. If they
are not gods, they will not last; nay, if they pretend to be gods,
they will be reckoned with: The calf of Samaria shall be broken
to pieces, and those that would not yield to the force of the
former argument shall be convinced by this that it is not God, but
an unprofitable idol, as the Chaldee calls it. It shall be
broken to shivers, like a potter's vessel, though it be a
golden calf. It shall be chips or saw-dust; it shall
be a spider's web; so St. Jerome. It seems to allude to
Moses's grinding to powder the golden calf that was in his time.
This shall be served as that was. Sennacherib boasted what he had
done to Samaria and her idols,
(3.) What their gods would bring them to.
The breaking of them to pieces would be a disappointment to those
who trusted in them. But that was not all: They have made to
themselves idols, that they may be cut off (
8 Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure. 9 For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers. 10 Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes. 11 Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin. 12 I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing. 13 They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the Lord accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt. 14 For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
It was the honour and happiness of Israel that they had but one God to trust to and he all-sufficient in every strait, and but one God to serve, and he well worthy of all their devotions. But it was their sin, and folly, and shame, that they knew not when they were well off, that they forsook their own mercies for lying vanities; for,
I. They multiplied their alliances
(
II. They multiplied their altars and temples. Observe,
1. How they denied the power of
godliness, and wholly cast that off (
2. How they kept up the form of godliness notwithstanding, and to what little purpose they did so.
(1.) They multiplied their altars
(
(2.) They multiplied their sacrifices,
(3.) They multiplied their temples, and
these also in honour of the true God, as they pretended, but really
in contempt of the choice he had made of Jerusalem to put his
name there. Israel has forgotten his Maker,
In this chapter, I. God threatens to deprive this
degenerate seed of Israel of all their worldly enjoyments, because
by sin they had forfeited their title to them; so that they should
have no comfort either in receiving them themselves or in offering
them to God,
1 Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every corn-floor. 2 The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her. 3 They shall not dwell in the Lord's land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria. 4 They shall not offer wine offerings to the Lord, neither shall they be pleasing unto him: their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the Lord. 5 What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the Lord? 6 For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant places for their silver, nettles shall possess them: thorns shall be in their tabernacles.
Here, I. The people of Israel are charged
with spiritual adultery: O Israel! thou hast gone a whoring from
thy God,
II. They are forbidden to rejoice as other
people do: "Rejoice not, O Israel! for joy. Do not expect to
rejoice. What peace, what joy, what hast thou to do with
either, while thy whoredoms and witchcrafts are so many?"
III. They are threatened with destroying
judgments for their spiritual whoredoms, according to what was said
long before.
1. That their land shall not yield its
wonted increase. Canaan, that fruitful land, shall be
turned into barrenness for the wickedness of those that dwell
therein. They love the reward in the corn-floor, and are
so full of the joy of harvest that they have no disposition
at all to mourn for their sins; and therefore God will, for their
effectual humiliation, take away from them, not only their delights
and dainties, but even their necessary food (
2. That their land shall not only cease to
feed them, but cease to lodge them and to be a habitation for them;
it shall spue them out, as it had done the Canaanites before
them (
3. That, when they are turned out from the
Lord's land, they shall have no rest nor satisfaction in any other
land. When Cain was driven out from the presence of the Lord
he was a fugitive and a vagabond ever after, and dwelt in
the land of trembling. So Israel here. Some shall return
into Egypt, the old house of bondage; thither they shall flee
from the Assyrian (
4. That in the land of their enemies, to
which they shall be driven, they shall have no opportunity either
of giving honour to God or obtaining favour with God, by offering
any acceptable sacrifice to him; they should not be in a capacity
of keeping up any face or show of religion among them; "and so" (as
Dr. Pocock expresses it) "should be as it were quite cut off from
any expression of relation to him, from all signs of grace, and
means of reconciliation with him, which would be to them a token of
their being rejected of God, estranged from him, and no more owned
by him as his people." (1.) They shall have no sacrifices to offer,
nor any altar to offer them on, nor priests to offer them; they
shall not so much as offer drink-offerings to the Lord, much
less any other sacrifices. (2.) If they should offer them, neither
they nor their sacrifices shall be pleasing to him, for they cannot
have any legal offerings, nor are their hearts humbled. (3.)
Instead of their sacrifices of joy and praise, they shall eat
the bread of mourners; they shall live desolate, and
disconsolate, mourning for the death of their relations and their
own miseries, so that if they had opportunity of sacrificing they
should never be themselves in a frame fit for it; for they were
forbidden to eat of the holy things in their mourning,
5. That they should perish in the land of
their dispersion (
6. That their land, which they left behind
and to which they hoped to return, should become a desolation: As
for their tabernacles, where they formerly dwelt and where
they kept their stores, the pleasant places for their
silver, they shall be demolished and laid in ruins, to such a
degree that they shall be overgrown with nettles; so that if
they should survive the trouble, and return to their own land
again, they would find it neither fruitful nor habitable; it would
afford them neither food nor lodging. Note, Those that make their
money their god reckon the places of their silver their
pleasant places, as those that make the Lord their God
reckon his tabernacles amiable and his ordinances their pleasant
things,
7 The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred. 8 The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God. 9 They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah: therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins. 10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first ripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.
For their further awakening, it is here threatened,
I. That the destruction spoken of shall
come speedily. They shall have no reason to hope for a long
reprieve, for the judgment slumbers not; it is at the door
(
II. That hereby they shall be made ashamed
of their sentiments concerning their prophets. When the day of
visitation comes Israel shall know it, shall be made to know
that by sad experience which they would not know by instruction.
Israel shall know then what an evil and bitter thing
it is to depart from God, and what a fearful
thing it is to fall into his hands. When thy hand is lifted
up they will not see, but they shall see. Israel shall know the
difference between true prophets and false. 1. They shall know then
that the pretenders to prophecy, who flattered them in their sins,
and rocked them asleep in their security, and told them that they
should have peace though they went on, however they pretended to be
spiritual men (as Ahab's prophets did,
III. That hereby the wickedness of the
false prophets themselves shall be manifested to their shame
(
IV. That God will now reckon with them for
the sins of their fathers, which they have trod in the steps of,
11 As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception. 12 Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them! 13 Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer. 14 Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. 15 All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters. 16 Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb. 17 My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.
In the foregoing verses we saw the sin of Israel derived from their fathers; here we see the punishment of Israel derived to their children; for, as death entered by sin at first, so it is still entailed with it. We may observe, in these verses,
I. The sin of Ephraim. Some expressions are
here which describe that. 1. They did not hearken to God
(
II. The displeasure of God against Ephraim
for sin. This is variously expressed here, to show what a
provocation sin is to the pure eyes of his glory, and how odious it
makes the sinner to him. 1. He departs from them,
III. The fruit of this displeasure, in the cutting off and abandoning of their posterity, which is the judgment here threatened again and again. Observe here,
1. How numerous Ephraim seemed likely to
be. The name Ephraim is derived from fruitfulness,
2. How few Ephraim should be (
(1.) God's threatening this judgment of the
destroying of their children. [1.] They shall perish of themselves
by the immediate hand of God (
(2.) The prophet's prayer relating to it
(
In this chapter, I. The people of Israel are
charged with gross corruptions in the worship of God and are
threatened with the destruction of their images and altars,
1 Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images. 2 Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images. 3 For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the Lord; what then should a king do to us? 4 They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field. 5 The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Beth-aven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it. 6 It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel. 7 As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water. 8 The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.
Observe, I. What the sins are which are here laid to Israel's charge, the national sins which bring down national judgment. The prophet deals plainly with them; for what good would it do them to be flattered?
1. They were not fruitful in the fruits of
righteousness to the glory of God. Here all their other wickedness
began (
2. They multiplied their altars and images, and the more bountiful God's providence was to them the more prodigal they were in serving their idols: According to the multitude of his fruit which his land brought forth he has increased the altars, and according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images. Note, It is a great affront to God, and an abuse of his goodness, when the more mercies we receive from him the more sins we commit against him, and when the more wealth men have the more mischief they do. Should not we be thus abundant in the service of our God, as they were in the service of their idols? As we find our estates increasing, we should proportionably abound the more in works of piety and charity.
3. Their hearts were divided,
4. They made no conscience of what they
said and what they did in the most solemn manner,
II. What the judgments are with which
Israel should be punished for these sins; they sinned both in civil
and religious matters, and in both they shall be punished. 1. They
shall have no joy of their kings and of their government. Because
justice is turned into oppression, therefore those who are
entrusted with the administration of it, and should be blessings to
the state, shall be complained of as the burdens of it (
9 O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them. 10 It is in my desire that I should chastise them; and the people shall be gathered against them, when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows. 11 And Ephraim is as a heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods. 12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. 13 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men. 14 Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children. 15 So shall Bethel do unto you because of your great wickedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.
Here, I. They are put in mind of the sins
of their fathers and predecessors, for which God would now reckon
with them. It was told them (
II. They have warning given them, fair
warning, of the judgments of God that were coming upon them,
III. They are made to know that their
unacquaintedness with sufferings and hardships should not excuse
them from a very miserable captivity,
IV. They are invited and encouraged to
return to God by prayer, repentance, and reformation,
1. The duties they are called to. They are
God's husbandry (
2. The arguments used for the pressing of
these duties. Consider, (1.) It is time to do it; it is high
time. The husbandman sows in seed-time, and, if that time be
far spent, he applies to the work with the more diligence. Note,
Seeking the Lord is to be every day's work, but there are some
special occasions given by the providence and grace of God when it
is, in a particular manner, time to seek him. (2.) If we do our
part, God will do his. If we sow to ourselves in
righteousness—if we be careful and diligent to do our duty, in
a dependence upon his grace—he will shower down his grace upon us,
will rain righteousness, the very thing that those need most
who are to sow in righteousness; for by the grace of God
we are what we are. Some apply it to Christ, who should come in
the fulness of time, and for whose coming they must prepare
themselves; he shall come as the Lord our righteousness, and
shall rain righteousness upon us, that everlasting
righteousness which he has brought in; he will grant us of it
abundantly. It is foretold (
V. They are threatened with utter
destruction, both for their carnal practices and for their carnal
confidences,
In this chapter we have, I. The great goodness of
God towards his people Israel, and the great things he had done for
them,
1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. 2 As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images. 3 I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them. 4 I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them. 5 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return. 6 And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels. 7 And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.
Here we find,
I. God very gracious to Israel. They were a
people for whom he had done more than for any people under heaven,
and to whom he had given more, which they are here, I will not say
upbraided with (for God gives, and upbraids not), but put in mind
of, as an aggravation of their sin and an encouragement to
repentance. 1. He had a kindness for them when they were young
(
II. Here is Israel very ungrateful to God.
1. They were deaf and disobedient to his voice. He spoke to them by his messengers, Moses and his other prophets, called them from their sins, called them to himself, to their work and duty; but as they called them so they went from them; they rebelled in those particular instances wherein they were admonished; the more pressing and importunate the prophets were with them, to persuade them to that which was good, the more refractory they were, and the more resolute in their evil ways, disobeying for disobedience-sake. This foolishness is bound in the hearts of children, who, as soon as they are taught to go, will go from those that call them.
2. They were fond of idols, and worshipped them: They sacrificed to Baalim, first one Baal and then another, and burnt incense to graven images, though they were called to by the prophets of the Lord again and again not to do this abominable thing which he hated. Idolatry was the sin which from the beginning, and all along, had most easily beset them.
3. They were regardless of God, and of his
favours to them: They knew not that I healed them. They
looked only at Moses and Aaron, the instruments of their relief,
and, when any thing was amiss, quarrelled with them, but looked not
through them to God who employed them. Or, When God corrected them,
and kept them under a severe discipline, they understood not that
it was for their good, and that God thereby healed them, and
it was necessary for the perfecting of their cure, else they would
have been better reconciled to the methods God took. Note,
Ignorance is at the bottom of ingratitude,
4. They were strongly inclined to apostasy.
This is the blackest article in the charge (
5. They were strangely averse to repentance
and reformation. Here are two expressions of their obstinacy:—
(1.) They refused to return,
III. Here is God very angry, and justly so,
with Israel; see what are the tokens of God's displeasure with
which they are here threatened. 1. God, who brought them out of
Egypt, to take them for a people to himself, since they would not
be faithful to him, shall bring them into a worse condition than he
at first found them in (
8 How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together. 9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city. 10 They shall walk after the Lord: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west. 11 They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the Lord. 12 Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints.
In these verses we have,
I. God's wonderful backwardness to destroy
Israel (
1. God's gracious debate within himself
concerning Israel's case, a debate between justice and mercy, in
which victory plainly inclines to mercy's side. Be astonished, O
heavens! at this, and wonder, O earth! at the glory of God's
goodness. Not that there are any such struggles in God as there are
in us, or that he is ever fluctuating or unresolved; no, he is in
one mind, and knows it; but they are expressions after the manner
of men, designed to show what severity the sin of Israel had
deserved, and yet how divine grace would be glorified in sparing
them notwithstanding. The connexion of this with what goes before
is very surprising; it was said of Israel (
2. His gracious determination of this
debate. After a long contest mercy in the issue rejoices against
judgment, has the last word, and carries the day,
3. The ground and reason of this
determination: For I am God and not man, the Holy One of
Israel. To encourage them, to hope that they shall find mercy,
consider, (1.) What he is in himself: He is God, and not
man, as in other things, so in pardoning sin and sparing
sinners. If they had offended a man like themselves, he would not,
he could not have borne it; his passion would have overpowered his
compassion, and he would have executed the fierceness of his anger;
but I am God, and not man. He is Lord of his anger,
whereas men's anger commonly lords it over them. If an earthly
prince were in such a strait between justice and mercy, he would be
at a loss how to compromise the matter between them; but he who is
God, and not man, knows how to find out an expedient to secure the
honour of his justice and yet advance the honour of his mercy.
Man's compassions are nothing in comparison with the tender mercies
of our God, whose thoughts and ways, in receiving returning
sinners, are as much above ours as heaven is above the earth,
II. Here is his wonderful forwardness to do
good for Israel, which appears in this, that he will qualify them
to receive the good he designs for them (
III. Here is a sad complaint of the treachery of Ephraim and Israel, which may be an intimation that it is not Israel after the flesh, but the spiritual Israel, to whom the foregoing promises belong, for as for this Ephraim, this Israel, they compass God about with lies and deceit; all their services of him, when they pretended to compass his altar, were feigned and hypocritical; when they surrounded him with their prayers and praises, every one having a petition to present to him, they lied to him with their mouth and flattered him with their tongue; their pretensions were so fair, and yet their intentions so foul, that they would, if possible, have imposed upon God himself. Their professions and promises were all a cheat, and yet with these they thought to compass God about, to enclose him as it were, to keep him among them, and prevent his leaving them.
IV. Here is a pleasant commendation of the
integrity of the two tribes, which they held fast, and this comes
in as an aggravation of the perfidiousness of the ten tribes, and a
reason why God had that mercy in store for Judah which he had not
for Israel (
In this chapter we have, I. A high charge drawn up
against both Israel and Judah for their sins, which were the ground
of God's controversy with them,
1 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt. 2 The Lord hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him. 3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God: 4 Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us; 5 Even the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is his memorial. 6 Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.
In these verses,
I. Ephraim is convicted of folly, in
staying himself upon Egypt and Assyria, when he was in straits
(
II. Judah is contended with too, and Jacob,
which includes both Ephraim and Judah (
III. Both Ephraim and Judah are put in mind
of their father Jacob, whose seed they were and whose name they
bore (and it was their honour), of the extraordinary things which
he did and which God did for him, that they might be the more
ashamed of themselves for degenerating from so illustrious a
progenitor and staining the lustre of so great a name, and yet that
they might be engaged and encouraged to return to God, the God of
their father Jacob, in hopes for his sake to find favour with him.
He had called this people Jacob (
1. Three glorious things concerning Jacob
the person Jacob the people are here put in mind of; but by brief
hints only, for it is presumed that they knew the story:—(1.) His
struggling with Esau in the womb: There he took his brother by
the heel,
2. Two inferences are here drawn from these stories concerning Jacob, for instruction to his seed:—
(1.) Here is a use of information. From
what passed between God and Jacob we may learn that Jehovah, the
Lord God of hosts, is the God of Israel; he was the God
of Jacob, and this is his memorial throughout all the
generations of the seed of Jacob (
(2.) Here is a use of exhortation,
7 He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress. 8 And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin. 9 And I that am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast. 10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets. 11 Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields. 12 And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep. 13 And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved. 14 Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.
Here are intermixed, in these verses,
I. Reproofs for sin. When God is coming
forth to contend with a people, that he may demonstrate his own
righteousness, he will demonstrate their unrighteousness. Ephraim
was called to turn to his God and keep judgment (
1. He is here charged with injustice
against the precepts of the second table,
(1.) What the sin is wherewith he is
charged: He is a merchant. The margin reads it as a proper
name, He is Canaan, or a Canaanite, unworthy to be
denominated from Jacob and Israel, and worthy to be cast out with a
curse from this good land, as the Canaanites were. See
(2.) How he justifies himself in this sin,
2. He is here charged with idolatry,
against the precepts of the first table, with that iniquity which
is in a special manner vanity, the making and worshipping of
images, which are vanities (
II. Here are threatenings of wrath for sin.
Some make that to be so (
III. Here are memorials of former mercy, which come in to convict them of base ingratitude in revolting from God. Let them blush to remember,
1. That God had raised them from meanness.
When Ephraim had become rich, and was proud of that, he forgot that
which God (that he might not forget it) obliged them every year to
acknowledge (
2. That God had rescued them from misery,
had raised them to what they were, not only out of poverty, but out
of slavery (
3. That God had taken care of their
education as they grew up. This instance of God's goodness we have,
IV. Here are intimations of further mercy,
and this remembered too in the midst of sin and wrath (as some
understand
The same strings, though generally unpleasing
ones, are harped upon in this chapter that were in those before.
People care not to be told either of their sin or of their danger
by sin; and yet it is necessary, and for their good, that they
should be told of both, nor can they better hear of either than
from the word of God and from their faithful ministers, while the
sin may be repented of and the danger prevented. Here, I. The
people of Israel are reproved and threatened for their idolatry,
1 When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died. 2 And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves. 3 Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney. 4 Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.
Idolatry was the sin that did most easily beset the Jewish nation till after the captivity; the ten tribes from the first were guilty of it, but especially after the days of Ahab; and this is the sin which, in these verses, they are charged with. Observe,
I. The provision that God made to prevent
their falling into idolatry. This we have,
II. The honour that Ephraim had, while he
kept himself clear from idolatry (
III. The lamentable growth of idolatry
among them (
IV. Threatenings of wrath for their
idolatry. The Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God,
and will not give his glory to another; and therefore all those
that worship images shall be confounded, especially
if Ephraim do it,
5 I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. 6 According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me. 7 Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them: 8 I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.
We may observe here, 1. The plentiful
provision God had made for Israel and the seasonable supplies he
had blessed them with (
Now all this teaches us, 1. That abused
goodness turns into the greater severity. Those who despise God and
affront him, when he is to them as a careful tender shepherd, shall
find he will be even to his own flock as the beasts of prey are.
Those whom God has in vain endured with much long-suffering,
and invited with much affection, in them he will show his
wrath and make them vessels of it,
9 O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. 10 I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes? 11 I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath. 12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid. 13 The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children. 14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. 15 Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels. 16 Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.
The first of these verses is the summary,
or contents, of all the rest (
Now, in the rest of these verses, we may see,
I. How Israel destroyed themselves. It is
said (
1. They treasure up wrath against the day
of wrath, and so they destroy themselves. They are doing that,
every day, which will be remembered against them another day
(
2. They make no haste to repent and help
themselves when they are under divine rebukes; they are their own
ruin because they will not do what they should do towards their own
salvation,
3. Therefore they are destroyed
because they have done that which will be their certain ruin and
neglected that which would have been their only relief. Here is a
sad description of the desolation they are doomed to,
II. Let us now see how God was the help of
this self-destroying people, how he was their only help (
1. God will be their King when they have no
other king; he will protect and save them when those are cut off
and gone who should have been their protectors and saviours: I
will be he (so
2. God will do that for them which no other
king could do if they had one (
The strain of this chapter differs from that of
the foregoing chapters. Those were generally made up of reproofs
for sin and threatenings of wrath; but this is made up of
exhortations to repentance and promises of mercy, and with these
the prophet closes; for all the foregoing convictions and terrors
he had spoken were designed to prepare and make way for these. He
wounds that he may heal. The Spirit convinces that he may comfort.
This chapter is a lesson for penitents; and some such there were in
Israel at this day, bad as things were. We have here, I. Directions
in repenting, what to do and what to say,
1 O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. 2 Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. 3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
Here we have,
I. A kind invitation given to sinners to
repent,
II. Necessary instructions given them how
to repent. 1. They must bethink themselves what to say to God when
they come to him: Take with you words. They are required to
bring, not sacrifices and offerings, but penitential prayers and
supplications, the fruit of thy lips, yet not of the lips
only, but of the heart, else words are but wind. One of the rabbin
says, They must be such words as proceed from what is spoken
first in the inner man; the heart must dictate to the tongue.
We must take good words with us, by taking good thoughts and good
affections with us. Verbaque prævisam rem non invita
sequentur—Those who master a subject are seldom at a loss for
language. Note, When we come to God we should consider what we
have to say to him; for, if we come without an errand, we are
likely to go without an answer.
III. For their assistance herein, and encouragement, God is pleased to put words into their mouths, to teach them what they shall say. Surely we may hope to speed with God, when he himself has ordered our address to be drawn up ready to our hands, and his own Spirit has indited it for us; and no doubt we shall speed if the workings of our souls agree with the words here recommended to us. They are,
1. Petitioning words. Two things we are
here directed to petition for:—(1.) To be acquitted from guilt.
When we return to the Lord we must say to him, Lord, take away
all iniquity. They were now smarting for sin, under the load of
affliction, but are taught to pray, not as Pharaoh, Take away
this death, but, Take away this sin. Note, When we
are in affliction we should be more concerned for the forgiveness
of our sins than for the removal of our trouble. "Take away
iniquity, lift it off as a burden we are ready to sink
under or as the stumbling-block which we have often fallen over.
Lord, take it away, that it may not appear against us, to our
confusion and condemnation. Take it all away by a free and full
remission, for we cannot pretend to strike any of it off by a
satisfaction of our own." When God pardons sin he pardons
all, that great debt; and when we pray against sin we
must pray against it all and not except any. (2.) To be accepted as
righteous in God's sight: "Receive us graciously. Let us
have thy favour and love, and have thou respect to us and to our
performances. Receive our prayer graciously; be well pleased with
that good which by thy grace we are enabled to do." Take
good (so the word is); take it to bestow upon us, so the margin
reads it—Give good. This follows upon the petition for the
taking away of iniquity; for, till iniquity is taken away, we have
no reason to expect any good from God, but the taking away of
iniquity makes way for the conferring of good removendo
prohibens—by taking that out of the way which hindered. Give
good; they do not say what good, but refer themselves to God;
it is not good of the world's showing (
2. Promising words. These also are put into
their mouths, not to move God, or to oblige him to show them mercy,
but to move themselves, and oblige themselves to returns of duty.
Note, Our prayers for pardon and acceptance with God should be
always accompanied with sincere purposes and vows of new obedience.
Two things they are to promise and vow:—(1.) Thanksgiving.
"Pardon our sins, and accept of us, so will we render the calves
of our lips." The fruit of our lips (so the LXX.), a
word they used for burnt-offerings, and so it agrees with
the Hebrew. The apostle quotes this phrase (
3. Pleading words are here put into their
mouths: For in thee the fatherless find mercy. We must take
our encouragement in prayer, not from any merit God finds in us,
but purely from the mercy we hope to find in God. This contains in
itself a great truth, that God takes special care of fatherless
children,
4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. 5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. 6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. 7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
We have here an answer of peace to the
prayers of returning Israel. They seek God's face, and they shall
not seek in vain. God will be sure to meet those in a way of
mercy who return to him in a way of duty. If we speak to God in
good prayers, God will speak to us in good promises, as he
answered the angel with good words and comfortable words,
I. Do they dread and deprecate God's
displeasure, and therefore return to him? He assures them that,
upon their submission, his anger is turned away from them.
This is laid as the ground of all the other favours here promised.
I will do so and so, for my anger is turned away, and
thereby a door is opened for all good to flow to them,
II. Do they pray for the taking away of
iniquity? He assures them that he will heal their
backslidings; so he promised,
III. Do they pray that God will receive
them graciously? In answer to that, behold, it is promised, I
will love them freely. God had hated them while they went on
sin (
IV. Do they pray that God will give
good, will make them good? In answer to that, behold, it is
promised, I will be as the dew unto Israel,
1. What shall be the favour God will bestow
upon them. It is the blessing of their father Jacob, God give
thee the dew of heaven,
2. What shall be the fruit of that favour which shall be produced in them. The grace thus freely bestowed on them shall not be in vain. Those souls, those Israelites, to whom God is as the dew, on whom his grace distils,
(1.) Shall be growing. The bad being by the
grace of God made good, they shall by the same grace be made
better; for grace, wherever it is true, is growing. [1.] They shall
grow upwards, and be more flourishing, shall grow as the
lily, or (as some read it) shall blossom as the rose.
The growth of the lily, as that of all bulbous roots, is very quick
and speedy. The root of the lily seems lost in the ground all
winter, but, when it is refreshed with the dews of the spring, it
starts up in a little time; so the grace of God improves young
converts sometimes very fast. The lily, when it has come to its
height, is a lovely flower (
(2.) They shall be graceful and acceptable
both to God and man. Grace is the amiable thing, and makes those
that have it truly amiable. They are here compared to such trees as
are pleasant, [1.] To the sight: His beauty shall be as the
olive-tree, which is always green. The Lord called thy name
a green olive-tree,
(3.) They shall be fruitful and useful. The
church is compared here to the vine and the olive, which brings
forth useful fruits, to the honour of God and man. Nay, the very
shadow of the church shall be agreeable (
8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found. 9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
Let us now hear the conclusion of the whole matter.
I. Concerning Ephraim; he is spoken of and
spoken to,
1. His repentance and reformation:
Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? As
some read it, God here reasons and argues with him, why he should
renounce idolatry: "O Ephraim! what to me and idols? What
concord or agreement can there be between me and idols? What
communion between light and darkness, between Christ and
Belial?
2. The gracious notice God is pleased to
take of it: I have heard him, and observed him. I have heard,
and will look upon him; so some read it. Note, The God of
heaven takes cognizance of the penitent reflections and resolutions
of returning sinners. He expects and desires the repentance of
sinners, because he has no pleasure in their ruin. He looks upon
men (
3. The mercy of God designed for him, in
order to his comfort and perseverance in his resolutions; still God
will be all in all to him. Before, Israel was compared to a tree,
now God compares himself to one. He will be to his people, (1.) As
the branches of a tree: "I am like a green fir-tree, and
will be so to thee." The fir-trees, in those countries, were
exceedingly large and thick, and a shelter against sun and rain.
God will be to all true converts both a delight and a defence;
under his protection and influence they shall both dwell in safety
and dwell in ease. He with be either a sun and a shield or a
shade and a shield, according as their case requires. They
shall sit down under his shadow with delight,
II. Concerning every one that hears and
reads the words of the prophecy of this book (
AN
We are
altogether uncertain concerning the time when this prophet
prophesied; it is probable that it was about the same time Amos
prophesied, not for the reason that the rabbin give, "Because Amos
begins his prophecy with that wherewith Joel concludes his, The
Lord shall roar out of Zion," but for the reason Dr. Lightfoot
gives, "Because he speaks of the same judgments of locusts, and
drought, and fire, that Amos laments, which is an intimation that
they appeared about the same time, Amos in Israel and Joel in
Judah. Hosea and Obadiah prophesied about the same time; and it
appears that Amos prophesied in the days of Jeroboam, the second
king of Israel,
This chapter is the description of a lamentable
devastation made of the country of Judah by locusts and
caterpillars. Some think that the prophet speaks of it as a thing
to come and gives warning of it beforehand, as usually the prophets
did of judgments coming. Others think that it was now present, and
that his business was to affect the people with it and awaken them
by it to repentance. I. It is spoken of as a judgment which there
was no precedent of in former ages,
1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. 2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? 3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. 4 That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten. 5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. 6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. 7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.
It is a foolish fancy which some of the
Jews have, that this Joel the prophet was the same with that Joel
who was the son of Samuel (
I. The greatness of the judgment, expressed
here in two things:—1. It was such as could not be paralleled in
the ages that were past, in history, or in the memory of any
living,
II. The judgment itself; it is an invasion
of the country of Judea by a great army. Many interpreters both
ancient and modern understand it of armies of men, the forces of
the Assyrians, which, under Sennacherib, took all the defenced
cities of Judah, and then, no doubt, made havoc of the country
and destroyed the products of it: nay, some make the four sorts of
animals here names (
III. A call to the drunkards to lament this
judgment (
8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. 9 The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the Lord; the priests, the Lord's ministers, mourn. 10 The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. 11 Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. 12 The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. 13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.
The judgment is here described as very
lamentable, and such as all sorts of people should share in; it
shall not only rob the drunkards of their pleasure (if that were
the worst of it, it might be the better borne), but it shall
deprive others of their necessary subsistence, who are therefore
called to lament (
I. Let the husbandmen and vine-dressers
lament,
II. Let the priests, the Lord's ministers,
lament, for they share deeply in the calamity: Gird
yourselves with sackcloth (
14 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord, 15 Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. 16 Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? 17 The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. 18 How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. 19 O Lord, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. 20 The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
We have observed abundance of tears shed for the destruction of the fruits of the earth by the locusts; now here we have those tears turned into the right channel, that of repentance and humiliation before God. The judgment was very heavy, and here they are directed to own the hand of God in it, his mighty hand, and to humble themselves under it. Here is,
I. A proclamation issued out for a general
fast. The priests are ordered to appoint one; they must not only
mourn themselves, but they must call upon others to mourn too:
"Sanctify a fast; let some time be set apart from all
worldly business to be spent in the exercises of religion, in the
expressions of repentance and other extraordinary instances of
devotion." Note, Under public judgments there ought to be public
humiliations; for by them the Lord God calls to weeping and
mourning. With all the marks of sorrow and shame sin must be
confessed and bewailed, the righteous of God must be acknowledged,
and his favour implored. Observe what is to be done by a nation at
such a time. 1. A day is to be appointed for this purpose, a day
of restraint (so the margin reads it), a day in which people
must be restrained from their other ordinary business (that they
may more closely attend God's service), and from all bodily
refreshments; for, 2. It must be a fast, a religious
abstaining from meat and drink, further than is of absolute
necessity. The king of Nineveh appointed a fast, in which they were
to taste nothing,
II. Some considerations suggested to induce them to proclaim this fast and to observe it strictly.
1. God was beginning a controversy with
them. It is time to cry unto the Lord, for the day of the
Lord is at hand,
2. They saw themselves already under the
tokens of his displeasure. It is time to fast and pray, for their
distress is very great,
3. The prophet returns to describe the
grievousness of the calamity, in some particulars of it. Corn and
cattle are the husbandman's staple commodities; now here he is
deprived of both. (1.) The caterpillars have devoured the corn,
III. The prophet stirs them up to cry to God, with the consideration of the examples given them for it.
1. His own example (
2. The example of the inferior creatures:
"The beasts of the field do not only groan, but
cry unto thee,
In this chapter we have, I. A further description
of that terrible desolation which should be made in the land of
Judah by the locusts and caterpillars,
1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; 2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. 3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. 4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. 7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: 8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. 9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. 10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: 11 And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
Here we have God contending with his own
professing people for their sins and executing upon them the
judgment written in the law (
I. Here is the war proclaimed (
II. Here is a general idea given of the day
of battle, which cometh, which is nigh at hand, and
there is no avoiding it. It is the day of the Lord, the day
of his judgment, in which he will both manifest and magnify
himself. It is a day of darkness and gloominess (
III. Here is the army drawn up in array
(
IV. Here is the terrible execution done by
this formidable army, 1. In the country,
V. The impressions that should hereby be
made upon the people. They shall find it to no purpose to make
opposition. These enemies are invulnerable and therefore
irresistible: When they fall upon the sword they shall not be
wounded,
VI. We are here directed to look up both
him who is the commander-in-chief of this formidable army, and that
is God himself,
12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God? 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: 16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. 17 Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
We have here an earnest exhortation to
repentance, inferred from that desolating judgment described and
threatened in the
I. To a personal repentance, exercised in
the soul, every family apart, and their wives apart,
1. What we are here called to, which will
teach us what it is to repent, for it is the same that the Lord our
God still requires of us, we having all made work for repentance.
(1.) We must be truly humbled for our sins, must be sorry we have
by sin offended God, and ashamed we have by sin wronged ourselves,
both wronged our judgments and wronged our interests. There must be
outward expressions of sorrow and shame, fasting, and
weeping, and mourning; tears for the sin that
procured it. But what will the outward expressions of sorrow avail
if the inward impressions be not agreeable, and not only accompany
them, but be the root and spring of them, and give rise to them?
And therefore it follows, Rend your heart, and not your
garments; not but that, according to the custom of that age, it
was proper for them to rend their garments, in token of great grief
for their sins and a holy indignation against themselves for their
folly; but, "Rest not in the doing of that, as if that were
sufficient, but be more in care to accommodate your spirits than to
accommodate your dress to a day of fasting and humiliation; nay,
rend not your garments at all, unless withal you rend your hearts,
for the sign without the thing signified is but a jest and a
mockery, and an affront to God." Rending the heart is that which
God looks for and requires; that is the broken and contrite
heart which he will not despise,
2. What arguments are here used to persuade
this people thus to turn to the Lord, and to turn to him with
all their hearts. When the heart is rent for sin, and rent from
it, then it is prepared to turn entirely to God, and to be devoted
entirely to him, and he will have it all or none. Now, to bring
ourselves to this, let us consider, (1.) We are sure that he is, in
general, a good God. We must turn to the Lord our God, not
only because he has been just and righteous in punishing us for our
sins, the fear of which should drive us to him, but because he is
gracious and merciful, in receiving upon us our repentance,
the hope of which should draw us to him. He is gracious and
merciful, delights not in the death of sinners, but desires that
they may turn and live. He is slow to anger against those
that offend him, but of great kindness towards those that
desire to please him. These very expressions are used in God's
proclamation of his name when he caused his goodness, and
with it all his glory, to pass before Moses,
II. They are here called to a public
national repentance, to be exercised in the solemn assembly, as a
national act, for the glory of God and the excitement of one
another, and that the neighbouring nations might know and observe
what it was that qualified them for God's gracious returns in mercy
to them, which they would be the admiring witnesses of. Let us see
here, 1. How the congregation must be called together,
18 Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people. 19 Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen: 20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. 21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things. 22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. 23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. 24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, my great army which I sent among you. 26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. 27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
See how ready God is to succour and relieve his people, how he waits to be gracious; as soon as ever they humble themselves under this hand, and pray, and seek his face, he immediately meets them with his favours. They prayed that God would spare them, and see here with what good words and comfortable words he answered them; for God's promises are real answers to the prayers of faith, because with him saying and doing are not two things. Now observe,
I. Whence this mercy promised shall take
rise (
II. What his mercy shall be, in several
instances:—1. The destroying army shall be dispersed and defeated
(
These are the mercies promised, and in
these God does great things (
III. What use shall be made of these returns of God's mercy to them and the good account they shall turn to.
1. God shall have the glory thereof, for
they shall rejoice in the Lord their God (
2. They shall have the credit, and comfort,
and spiritual benefit, thereof. When God gives them plenty again,
and gives them to be satisfied with it, (1.) Their reputation shall
be retrieved; they and their God shall be no more reflected upon as
unfaithful to one another when they have returned to him in a way
of duty and he to them in a way of mercy (
3. Even the inferior creatures shall share
therein and be made easy thereby: Fear not, O land!
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. 30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
The promises of corn, and wine, and oil, in
the
I. How the kingdom of grace shall be
introduced by a plentiful effusion of the Spirit, (
II. How the kingdom of glory shall be
introduced by the universal change of nature,
III. The safety and happiness of all true
believers both in the first and second coming of Jesus Christ,
In the close of the foregoing chapter we had a
gracious promise of deliverance in Mount Zion and Jerusalem; now
this whole chapter is a comment upon that promise, showing what
that deliverance shall be, how it shall be wrought by the
destruction of the church's enemies, and how it shall be perfected
in the everlasting rest and joy of the church. This was in part
accomplished in the deliverance of Jerusalem from the attempt that
Sennacherib made upon it in Hezekiah's time, and afterwards in the
return of the Jews out of their captivity in Babylon, and other
deliverances wrought for the Jewish church between that and
Christ's coming. But it has a further reference, to the great
redemption wrought out for us by Jesus Christ, and the destruction
of our spiritual enemies and all their agents, and will have its
full accomplishment in the judgment of the great day. Here is a
prediction, I. Of God's reckoning with the enemies of his people
for all the injuries and indignities that they had done them, and
returning them upon their own head,
1 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. 3 And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. 4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head; 5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: 6 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. 7 Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head: 8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken it.
We have often heard of the year of the redeemed, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion; now here we have a description of the transactions of that year, and a prophecy of what shall be done when it comes, whenever it comes, for it comes often, and at the end of time it will come once for all.
I. It shall be the year of the
redeemed, for God will bring again the captivity of Judah
and Jerusalem,
II. It shall be the year of recompences
for the controversy of Zion. Though God may suffer the enemies
of his people to prevail against them very far and for a long time,
yet he will call them to an account for it, and will lead captivity
captive (
1. Who those are that shall be reckoned
with—all nations,
2. The sitting of this court for judgment.
They shall all be gathered (
3. The plaintiff called, on whose behalf
this prosecution is set on foot; it is for my people, and
for my heritage Israel. It is their cause that God will now
plead with jealousy. Note, God's people are his heritage,
his peculiar, his portion, his treasure, above
all people,
4. The charge exhibited against them, which is very particular. Many affronts they had put upon God by their idolatries, but that for which God has a quarrel with them is the affront they have put upon his people and upon the vessels of his sanctuary.
(1.) They had been very abusive to the
people of Israel, had scattered them among the nations and
forced them to seek for shelter where they could find a place, or
carried them captive into their respective countries and there
industriously dispersed them, for fear of their incorporating for
their common safety. They parted their land, and took every
one his share of it as their own; nay, they have cast lots for
my people, and sold them. When they had taken them
prisoners, [1.] They made a jest of them, made a scorn of them as
of no value. They would not release them and yet thought them not
worth the keeping; they made nothing of playing them away at dice.
Or they made a dividend of the prisoners by lot, as the
soldiers did of Christ's garments. [2.] They made a gain of them.
When they had them they sold them, yet with so much contempt
that they did not increase their wealth by their price, but
sold them for their pleasure rather than their profit; they gave
a boy taken in war for the hire of a harlot, and a
girl for so many bottles of wine as would serve them for one
sitting, a goodly price at which they valued them, and
goodly preferment for a son and daughter of Israel to be a slave
and a drudge in a tavern or a brothel. Observe, here, how that
which is got by sin is commonly spent upon another. The spoil which
these enemies of the Jews gathered by injustice and violence they
scattered and threw away in drinking and whoring; such is
frequently the character, and such the conversation, of the enemies
and persecutors of the people of God. The Tyrians and Philistines,
when they seized any of the children of Judah and Jerusalem, either
took them prisoners in war or kidnapped them, they sold them to the
Grecians (with whom the men of Tyre traded in the persons of
men,
(2.) They had unjustly seized God's
silver and gold (
5. The sentence passed upon them. In
general (
9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. 11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. 12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 16 The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. 17 So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
What the psalmist had long before ordered
to be said among the heathen (
I. A challenge given to all the enemies of
God's kingdom to do their worst. To signify to them that God is
preparing war against them, they are called upon to prepare war
against him,
II. A charge given to the ministers of
God's justice to appear and act against these daring enemies of his
kingdom among men: And therefore cause thy mighty ones to come
down, O Lord!
III. The vast appearance that shall be in
that great and solemn day (
IV. The amazing change that shall then be
made in the kingdom of nature (
V. The different impressions which that day
will make upon the children of this world and the children of God,
according as it will be to them. 1. To the wicked it will be a
terrible day. The Lord shall then speak from Zion and
Jerusalem, from the throne of his glory, from heaven, where he
manifests himself in a peculiar manner, as sometimes he has done in
the glorious high throne of his sanctuary, which yet was but
a faint resemblance of the glory of that day. He shall speak
from heaven, from the midst of his saints and angels
(so some understand it), the holy society of which may be called
Zion and Jerusalem; for, when we come to the
heavenly Jerusalem, we come to the innumerable company of
angels; see
18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim. 19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. 20 But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. 21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.
These promises with which this prophecy concludes have their accomplishments in part in the kingdom of grace, and the comforts and graces of all the faithful subjects of that kingdom, but will have their full accomplishment in the kingdom of glory; for, as to the Jewish church, we know not of any event concerning that which answers to the extent of these promises, and what instances of peace and prosperity they were blessed with, which they may be supposed to be a hyperbolical description of, they were but figures of better things reserved for us, that they in their best estate without us might not be made perfect.
I. It is promised that the enemies of the
church shall be vanquished and brought down,
II. It is promised that the church shall be very happy; and truly happy it is in spiritual privileges, even during its militant state, but much more when it comes to be triumphant. Three things are here promised it:—
1. Purity. This is put last here, as a
reason for the rest (
2. Plenty,
3. Perpetuity. This crowns all the rest
(
AN
Though this
prophet appeared a little before Isaiah, yet he was not, as some
have mistaken, that Amos who was the father of Isaiah (
In this chapter we have, I. The general title of
this prophecy (
1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 2 And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.
Here is, I. The general character of this
prophecy. It consists of the words which the prophet saw.
Are words to be seen? Yes, God's words are; the apostles speak of
the word of life, which they had not only heard, but
which they had seen with their eyes, which they had looked upon,
and which their hands had handled (
II. The person by whom this prophecy was
sent—Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, and was one
of them. Some think he was a rich dealer in cattle; the word is
used concerning the king of Moab (
III. The persons concerned in the prophecy
of this book; it is concerning Israel, the ten
tribes, who were now ripened in sin and ripening apace for
ruin. God has raised them up prophets among themselves (
IV. The time when these prophecies were
delivered. 1. The book is dated, as laws used to be, by the reigns
of the kings under whom the prophet prophesied. It was in the days
of Uzziah king of Judah, when the affairs of that kingdom
went very well, and of Jeroboam the second kind of Israel, when the
affairs of that kingdom went pretty well; yet then they must both
be told both of the sins they were guilty of and of the judgments
that were coming upon them for those sins, that they might not with
the present gleam of prosperity flatter themselves either into an
opinion of their innocence or a confidence of their perpetual
security. 2. It is dated by a particular event to which is prophecy
had a reference; it was two years before the earthquake,
that earthquake which is mentioned to have been in the days of
Uzziah (
V. The introduction to these prophecies,
containing the general scope of them (
3 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron: 4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad. 5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the Lord. 6 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom: 7 But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof: 8 And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord God. 9 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant: 10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof. 11 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever: 12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah. 13 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border: 14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind: 15 And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the Lord.
What the Lord says here may be explained by
what he says
I. Let us see what is repeated, both by way of charge and by way of sentence, concerning them all. The controversy God has with each of them is prefaced with, Thus said the Lord, Jehovah the God of Israel. Though those nations will not worship him as their God, yet they shall be made to know that they are accountable to him as their Judge. The God of Israel is the God of the whole earth, and has something to say to them that shall make them tremble. Against them the Lord roars out of Zion. And before God, by the prophet, threatens Israel and Judah, he denounces judgments against those nations whom he made use of as scourges to them for their being so, which might serve for a check to their pride and insolence and a relief to his people under their dejections; for hereby they might see that God had not quitted his interest in them, and therefore might hope they had not lost their interest in him. Now as to all these nations here arraigned,
1. The indictment drawn up against them all
is thus far the same, (1.) That they are charged in general with
three transgressions, and with four, that is, with many
transgressions (as by one or two we mean a few, so by three
or four we mean many, as in Latin a man that is very happy is said
to be terque quarterque beatus—three and four times happy);
or with three and four, that is, with seven transgressions,
a number of perfection, intimating that they have filled up the
measure of their iniquities, and are ripe for ruin; or with
three (that is, a variety of sins) and with a fourth
especially, which is specified concerning each of them, though the
other three are not, as
2. The judgment given against them all is
thus far the same, (1.) That, their sin having risen to such a
height, God will not turn away the punishment thereof.
Though he has granted them a long reprieve, and has often turned
away their punishment, yet now he will turn it away no longer,
but justice shall take its course. "I will not revoke it (so
some read it); I will not recall the voice which has gone
forth from Zion to Jerusalem (
II. Let us see what is mentioned, both by way of charge and by way of sentence, that is peculiar to each of them, that every one may take his portion.
1. Concerning Damascus, the head-city of
Syria, a kingdom that was often vexatious to Israel. (1.) The
peculiar sin of Damascus was using the Gileadites barbarously:
They threshed Gilead with threshing-instruments of iron
(
2. Concerning Gaza, a city of the
Philistines, and now the metropolis of that country. (1.) The
peculiar sin of the Philistines was carrying away captive the
whole captivity, either of Israel or Judah, which some think
refers to that inroad made upon Jehoram when they took away all
the king's sons and all his substance (
3. Concerning Tyre, that famous city of
wealth and strength, that was itself a kingdom,
4. Concerning Edom, the posterity of Esau.
(1.) Their peculiar sin was an unmerciful, unwearied, pursuit of
the people of God, and their taking all advantages against them to
do them a mischief,
5. Concerning the Ammonites,
In this chapter, I. God, by the prophet, proceeds
in a like controversy with Moab as before with other nations,
1 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime: 2 But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet: 3 And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the Lord. 4 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked: 5 But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem. 6 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; 7 That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: 8 And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.
Here is, I. The judgment of Moab, another
of the nations that bordered upon Israel. They are reckoned with
and shall be punished for three transgressions and for four,
as those before. Now, 1. Moab's fourth transgression, as theirs who
were before set to the bar, was cruelty. The instance given refers
not to the people of God, but to a heathen like themselves: The
king of Moab burnt the bones of the king of Edom into lime.
We find there was war between the Edomites and the Moabites, in
which the king of Moab, in distress and rage, offered his own son
for a burnt-offering, to appease his deity,
II. Judah also is a near neighbour to
Israel, and therefore, now that justice is riding the circuit, that
shall not be passed by; that nation has made itself like the
heathen and mingled with them, and therefore the indictment here
runs against them in the same form in which it had run against all
the rest: For these transgressions of Judah, and for four, I
will not turn away the punishment thereof; their sins are as
many as the sins of other nations, and we find them huddled up with
them in the same character,
III. We now at length come to the
words which Amos saw concerning Israel. The reproofs and
threatenings having walked the round, here they centre, here they
settle. He begins with them as with the rest: For three
transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the
punishment thereof; if all these nations must be punished for
their iniquities, shall Israel go unpunished? Observe here what
their sins were, for which God would reckon with them. 1.
Perverting justice. This was the sin of those who were entrusted
with the administration of justice, the judges and magistrates, and
all parties concerned. They made nothing of selling a righteous
man, and his righteous cause when it came to be tried before them,
for a piece of silver; sentence was passed, not according to the
merits of the cause, but the bribe always turned the scale, and
judgment was set to sale by auction to the highest bidder. They
would sell the life and livelihood of a poor man for a
pair of shoes, for the least advantage to themselves that could
be proposed to them; give them but a pair of shoes, and the
cause of a poor man, who could not give them as much as that,
should be betrayed, and left at the mercy of those that will have
no mercy. They will rather play at small game that sit out. For
a piece of bread such a man will transgress. Note, Those who
will wrong their consciences for any thing will come at length to
do it for next to nothing; those who begin to sell justice for
silver will in time be so sordid as to see it for a pair of
shoes, for a pair of old shoes. 2. Oppressing the poor, and
seeking to benefit themselves by doing them a mischief: They
pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor; they
swallow up the poor with the utmost greediness, and make a prey of
those that are in sorrow with dust on their heads, poor orphans
that are in mourning for their parents; they catch at them to get
their estates into their hands; they never rest till they have got
the heads of the poor in the dust, to be trodden on. Or, They
pant after the dust of the earth, that is, silver and gold,
white and yellow dust; they covet it earnestly, and levy it upon
the head of the poor by their unjust exactions. Note, Men's
seeking to enrich themselves by the impoverishing of others is a
transgression which God will not long turn away the punishment
of. This is turning aside the way of the meek,
contriving to do injury to those who, they know, are mild and
patient and will bear injury. They invade their rights, break their
measures, and obstruct the course of justice in favour of them, not
suffering them to go on with their righteous cause; this is
turning aside their way. Note, The more patiently men bear
injuries that are done them the greater is the sin of those that
injure them, and the more occasion they have to expect that God
will give them redress, and take vengeance for them. I, as a
deaf man, heard not, and then thou wilt hear. 3.
Abominable uncleanness, even incest itself, such as it not named
among the Gentiles, that a man should have his father's wife
(
9 Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. 10 Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. 11 And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the Lord. 12 But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. 13 Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves. 14 Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself: 15 Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself. 16 And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the Lord.
Here, I. God puts his people Israel in mind
of the great things he has done for them, in putting them into
possession of the land of Canaan, the greatest part of which these
ten tribes now enjoyed,
II. He likewise upbraids them with the
spiritual privileges and advantages they enjoyed as a holy nation,
III. He charges them with the abuse of the
means of grace they enjoyed, and the opposition they gave to God's
designs in affording them those means,
IV. He complains of the wrong they did him
by their sins (
V. He threatens them with unavoidable ruin.
And so some read,
A stupid, senseless, heedless people, are, in this
chapter, called upon to take notice, I. Of the judgments of God
denounced against them and the warnings he gave them of those
judgments, and to be hereby awakened out of their security,
1 Hear this word that the Lord hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, 2 You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. 3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed? 4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? 5 Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all? 6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it? 7 Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. 8 The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
The scope of these verses is to convince
the people of Israel that God had a controversy with them. That
which the prophet has to say to them is to let them know that the
Lord has something to say against them,
I. Let them know that the gracious
cognizance God has taken of them, and the favours he has bestowed
upon them, should not exempt them from the punishment due to them
for their sins. Israel is a family that God brought up
out of the land of Egypt, (
II. Let them know that they could not
expect any comfortable communion with God unless they first made
their peace with him (
III. Let them know that the warnings God
gave them of judgments approaching were not causeless and
groundless, merely to amuse them, but certain declarations of the
wrath of God against them, which (if they did not speedily repent)
they would infallibly feel the effects of (
IV. Let them know that, as their own
wickedness was the procuring cause of these judgments, so they
shall not be removed till they have done their work,
V. Let them know that all their troubles
came from the hand of God's providence and from the counsel of his
will (
VI. Let them know that their prophets, who
give them warning of judgments approaching, deliver nothing to them
but what they have received from the Lord to be delivered to
his people. 1. God makes it known beforehand to the prophets
(
VII. Let them know that they ought to
tremble before God upon the fair warning he had given them, as they
would, 1. Upon the sounding of a trumpet, to give notice of the
approach of the enemy, that all may stand upon their guard and
stand to their arms: Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and
the people be not afraid, or run together? so some read
it,
9 Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof. 10 For they know not to do right, saith the Lord, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces. 11 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled. 12 Thus saith the Lord; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch. 13 Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God, the God of hosts, 14 That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground. 15 And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the Lord.
The Israelites are here again convicted and condemned, and particular notice given of the crimes they are convicted of and the punishment they are condemned to.
1. Notice is given of it to their
neighbours. The prophet is ordered to publish it in the palaces
of Ashdod, one of the chief cities of the Philistines; nay, the
summons must go further, even to the palaces in the land of
Egypt. "The great men of both those nations, that dwell in the
palaces, that are inquisitive concerning the affairs of the
neighboring nations, and are conversant with the public
intelligence, let them assemble themselves upon the mountains of
Samaria,"
1. Let them see how black the charge is,
and how well proved. Let them observe the behaviour of the
inhabitants of Samaria; let them look off from the adjacent hills,
and they may see how rude and boisterous they are, and hear how
loud they cry of their sin is, as was that of Sodom. (1.) Look into
their streets and you will see nothing but riot and disorder,
great tumults in the midst thereof; reason and justice are
upon all occasions run down by the noise and fury of an outrageous
mob, the dominion of which is the sin and shame of any people, and
is likely to be their ruin. (2.) Look into their prisons, and you
will see them filled with injured innocents: The oppressed are
in the midst thereof, thrown down and crushed by their
oppressors, overpowered and overwhelmed, and they had no
comforter,
2. Let them see how heavy the doom is, and
how well executed,
(1.) Their country shall be invaded and
ruined; and observe how the punishment answers to the sin. [1.]
Great tumults are in the midst of the land, and
therefore an adversary shall be even round about the land;
the Assyrian forces shall surround it and break in upon it on every
side. Note, When sin is harboured and indulged in the midst of a
people they can expect no other than that adversaries should be
round about them, so that, go which way they will, they go into the
mouth of danger,
(2.) Their countrymen shall not escape,
II. Notice is given of it to themselves,
In this chapter, I. The oppressors in Israel are
threatened for their oppression of the poor,
1 Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink. 2 The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fish-hooks. 3 And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her; and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the Lord. 4 Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years: 5 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God.
It is here foretold, in the name of God, that oppressors shall be humbled and idolaters shall be hardened.
I. That proud oppressors shall be humbled for their oppressions: for he that does wrong shall receive according to the wrong that he has done. Now observe,
1. How their sin is described,
2. How their punishment is described,
3. How their sentence to this punishment is ratified: The Lord God has sworn it by his holiness. He had often said it, and they regarded it not; they thought God and his prophets did but jest with them; therefore he swears it in his wrath, and what he has sworn he will not revoke. He swears by his holiness, that attribute of his which is so much his glory, and which is so much glorified in the punishment of wicked people; for, as sure as God is a holy God, those that plough iniquity and sow wickedness shall reap the same.
II. That obstinate idolaters shall be
hardened in their idolatries (
6 And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. 7 And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered. 8 So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. 9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmer-worm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. 10 I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. 11 I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. 12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. 13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, The God of hosts, is his name.
Here, I. God complains of his people's incorrigibleness under the judgments which he had brought upon them in order to their humiliation and reformation. He had by several tokens intimated to them his displeasure, with this design, that they might by repentance make their peace with him; but it had not that effect.
1. It is five times repeated in these verses, as the burden of the charge, "Yet have you not returned unto me, saith the Lord; you have been several times corrected, but in vain; you are not reclaimed, there is no sign of amendment. You have been sent for by one messenger after another, but you have not come back, you have not come home." (1.) This intimates that that which God designed in all his providential rebukes was to reduce them to their allegiance, to influence them to return to him. (2.) That, if they had returned to their God, they would have been accepted, he would have bidden them welcome, and the troubles they were in would have been removed. (3.) That the reason why God sent further troubles was because former troubles had not done the work, otherwise it is no pleasure to the Almighty that he should afflict. (4.) That God was grieved at their obstinacy, and took it unkindly that they should force him to do that which he did so unwillingly: "You have not returned to me from whom you have revolted, to me with whom you are in covenant, to me who stands ready to receive you, to me who have so often called you." Now,
2. To aggravate their incorrigibleness, and to justify himself in inflicting greater judgments, he recounts the less judgments with which he had tried to bring them to repentance.
(1.) There had sometimes been a scarcity of
provisions, though there was no visible cause of it (
(2.) Sometimes they had wanted rain, and
then of course they wanted the fruits of the earth. This evil was
of the Lord: I have withholden the rain from you. God has
the key of the clouds, and, if he shut up, who can open?
(3.) Sometimes the fruits of their ground
were eaten up by caterpillars, or blasted with mildew,
(4.) Sometimes the plague had raged among
them, and the sword of war had cut off multitudes,
(5.) In these and other judgments some were
remarkably cut off, and made monuments of justice, others were
remarkably spared, and made monuments of mercy, the setting of
which the one over against the other one would have thought likely
to work upon them, but it had not its effect,
II. God, in the close, calls upon his
people, now at length, in this their day, to understand the things
that belong to their peace, before they were hidden from their
eyes,
1. How God threatens them with sorer
judgments than any they had yet been under: "Therefore, seeing you
have not been wrought upon by correction hitherto, thus will I
do unto thee, O Israel!" He does not say how he will do, but it
shall be something worse than had come yet,
2. How he awakens them therefore to think
of making their peace with God: "Seeing I will do this unto
thee, and there is no remedy, prepare to meet they God, O
Israel!" that is, (1.) "Consider how unable thou art to meet
him as a combatant." Some make it to be spoken by way of irony or
challenge: "Prepare to meet God, who is coming forth to contend
with thee. What armour of proof canst thou put on? What courage
canst thou steel thyself with? Alas! it is but putting briers
and thorns before a consuming fire,
3. How he sets forth the greatness and
power of God as a reason why we should prepare to meet him,
The scope of this chapter is to prosecute the
exhortation given to Israel in the close of the foregoing chapter
to prepare to meet their God; the prophet here tells them, I. What
preparation they must make; they must "seek the Lord," and not seek
any more to idols (
1 Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel. 2 The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up. 3 For thus saith the Lord God; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave a hundred, and that which went forth by a hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.
This chapter begins, as those two next
foregoing began, with, Hear this word. Where God has a mouth
to speak we must have an ear to hear; it is our duty, it is our
interest, yet so stupid are most men that they need to be again and
again called upon to hear the word of the Lord, to give
audience, to give attention. Hear this word. this convincing
awakening word must be heard and heeded, as well as words of
comfort and peace; the word that is taken up against us, as well as
that which makes for us; for, whether we hear or forbear, the word
of God shall take effect, and not a tittle of it shall fall to the
ground. It is the word which I take up—not the prophet
only, but the God that sent him. It is the word that the Lord
has spoken,
4 For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: 5 But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought. 6 Seek the Lord, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel. 7 Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, 8 Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name: 9 That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress. 10 They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. 11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. 12 For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. 13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time. 14 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. 15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
This is a message from God to the house of Israel, in which,
I. They are told of their faults, that they might see what occasion there was for them to repent and reform, and that, when they were called to return, they might not need to ask, Wherein shall we return?
1. God tells them, in general (
2. He specifies some of these mighty sins.
(1.) They corrupted the worship of God, and turned to idols; this
is implied
II. They are told of their danger and what
judgments they lay exposed to for their sins. 1. The places of
their idolatry are in danger of being ruined in the first place,
III. They are told their duty, and have great encouragement to set about it in good earnest, and good reason. The duties here prescribed to them are godliness and honesty, seriousness in their applications to God and justice in their dealings with men; and each of these is here pressed upon them with proper arguments to enforce the exhortation.
1. They are here exhorted to be sincere and
devout in their addresses to God,
2. They are here exhorted to be honest and
just in their dealings with men,
16 Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing. 17 And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the Lord. 18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light. 19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. 20 Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
Here is, I. A very terrible threatening of
destruction approaching,
II. A just and severe reproof to those who
made light of these threatenings, and impudently bade defiance to
the justice of God and his judgments,
21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. 22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. 23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. 24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. 25 Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? 26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. 27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose name is The God of hosts.
The scope of these verses is to show how little God valued their shows of devotion, nay, how much he detested them, while they went on in their sins. Observe,
I. How unpleasing, nay, how displeasing,
their hypocritical services were to God. They had their
feast-days at Bethel, in imitation of those at Jerusalem, in
which they pretended to rejoice before God. They had their
solemn assemblies for religious worship, in which they put
on the gravity of those who come before God as his people come,
and sit before him as his people sit. They offered to God
burnt-offerings, to the honour of God, together with the
meat-offerings which by the law were to be offered with
them; they offered the peace-offerings, to implore the
favour of God, and they offered them of the fat beasts that
they had,
II. What it was that he required in order
to the acceptableness of their sacrifices and without which no
sacrifice would be acceptable (
III. What little stress God had laid upon
the law of sacrifices, though it was his own law, in comparison
with the moral precepts (
IV. What little reason they had to expect
that their sacrifices should be acceptable to God, when they and
their fathers had been all along addicted to the worship of other
gods. So some take
V. What punishment God would inflict upon
them for their persisting in idolatry (
In this chapter we have, I. A sinful people
studying to put a slight upon God's threatenings and to make them
appear trivial, confiding in their privileges and pre-eminences
above other nations (
1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! 2 Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? 3 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; 4 That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; 5 That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David; 6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. 7 Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.
The first words of the chapter are the contents of these verses; but they sound very strangely, and contrary to the sentiments of a vain world: Woe to those that are at ease! We are ready to say, Happy are those that are at ease, that neither feel any trouble nor fear any, that lie soft and warm, and lay nothing to heart; and wise we think are those that do so, that bathe themselves in the delights of sense and care not how the world goes. Those are looked upon as doing well for themselves that do well for their bodies and make much of them; but against them this woe is denounced, and we are here told what their ease is, and what the woe is.
I. Here is a description of their pride, security, and sensuality, for which God would reckon with them.
1. They were vainly conceited of their own
dignities, and thought those would secure them from the judgments
threatened and be their defence against the wrath both of God and
man. (1.) Those that dwelt in Zion thought that was honour and
protection enough for them, and they might there be quiet from all
fear of evil, because it was a strong city, well fortified both by
nature and art (we read of Zion's strong-holds and her
bulwarks), and because it was a royal city, where were set
the thrones of the house of David (it was the head-city of Judah,
and therefore truly great), and especially because it was the holy
city, where the temple was, and the testimony of Israel; those that
dwelt there doubted not but that God's sanctuary would be a
sanctuary to them and would shelter them from his judgments. The
temple of the Lord are these,
2. They persisted in their wicked courses
upon a presumption that they should never be called to an account
for them (
3. They indulged themselves in all manner
of sensual pleasures and delights,
4. They had no concern at all for the
interests of the church of God, and of the nation, that were
sinking and going to decay: They are not grieved for the
affliction of Joseph; the church of God, including both the
kingdoms of Judah and Israel (which are called Joseph,
II. Here is the doom passed upon them
(
8 The Lord God hath sworn by himself, saith the Lord the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. 9 And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. 10 And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord. 11 For, behold, the Lord commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts. 12 Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock: 13 Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? 14 But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the Lord the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.
In the former part of the chapter we had these secure Israelites loading themselves with pleasures, as if they could never be made merry enough; here we have God loading them with punishments, as if they could never be made miserable enough. And observe,
I. How strongly this burden is bound on, not to be shaken off by their presumption and security; for it is bound by the Lord the God of hosts, by his mighty, his almighty, hand, which none can resist; it is bound with an oath, which puts the sentence past revocation: The Lord God has sworn, and he will not repent, and, since he could swear by no greater, he has sworn by himself. How dreadful, how miserable, is the case of those whose ruin, whose eternal ruin, God himself has sworn, who can execute his purpose and cannot alter it!
II. How heavily this burden lies! Let us
see the particulars. 1. God will abhor and abandon them, and that
implies misery enough, all misery: I abhor the excellency of
Jacob, all that which they are proud of, and value themselves
upon, and for which they call and count themselves the chief of
nations. Their visible church-membership, and the privileges of
that, their temple, altar, and priesthood, these were, more than
any thing, the excellencies of Jacob; but, when these were profaned
and polluted by sin, God abhorred them; he hated and despised them,
III. How justly they are thus burdened. If
we understand the matter aright, we shall say, The Lord is
righteous. 1. The methods used for their reformation had been
all fruitless and ineffectual (
IV. How easily and effectually this burden
shall be brought upon them,
In this chapter we have, I. God contending with
Israel, by the judgments, but are reprieved, and the judgments
turned away at the prayer of Amos,
1 Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings. 2 And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. 3 The Lord repented for this: It shall not be, saith the Lord. 4 Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord God called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part. 5 Then said I, O Lord God, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. 6 The Lord repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord God. 7 Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand. 8 And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumb-line. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more: 9 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
We here see that God bears long, but that
he will not bear always, with a provoking people, both these God
here showed the prophet: Thus hath the Lord God showed me,
I. We have here two instances of God's sparing mercy, remembered in the midst of judgment, the narratives of which are so much like one another that they will be best considered together, and very considerable they are.
1. God is here coming forth against this
sinful nation, first by one judgment and then by another. (1.) He
begins with the judgment of famine. The prophet saw this in vision.
He saw God forming grasshoppers, or locusts, and
bringing them up upon the land, to eat up the fruits of it, and so
to strip it of its beauty and starve its inhabitants,
2. The prophet goes forth to meet him in
the way of his judgments, and by prayer seeks to turn away his
wrath,
(1.) The prophet's prayer: O Lord
God! [1.] Forgive, I beseech thee, and take away the
sin,
(2.) The prophet's plea to enforce this
prayer: By whom shall Jacob arise, for he is small?
3. God graciously lets fall his
controversy, in answer to the prophet's prayer, once and again
(
II. We have here the rejection of those at
last who had been often reprieved and yet never reclaimed, reduced
to straits and yet never reduced to their God and their duty. This
is represented to the prophet by a vision (
1. The vision is of a plumb-line, a
line with a plummet at the end of it, such as masons and
bricklayers use to run up a wall by, that they may work it straight
and true, and by rule. (1.) Israel was a wall, a strong wall, which
God himself had reared, as a bulwark, or wall of defence, to his
sanctuary, which he set up among them. The Jewish church says of
herself (
2. The prediction is of utter ruin,
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. 12 Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: 13 But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court. 14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was a herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit: 15 And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel. 16 Now therefore hear thou the word of the Lord: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac. 17 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.
One would have expected, 1. That what we
met with in the former part of the chapter would awaken the people
to repentance, when they saw that they were reprieved in order that
they might have space to repent and that they could not
obtain a pardon unless they did repent. 2. That it would endear the
prophet Amos to them, who had not only shown his good-will to them
in praying against the judgments that invaded them, but had
prevailed to turn away those judgments, which, if they had had any
sense of gratitude, would have gained him an interest in their
affections. But it fell out quite contrary; they continue
impenitent, and the next news we hear of Amos is that he is
persecuted. Note, As it is the praise of great saints that they
pray for those that are enemies to them, so it is the shame of many
great sinners that they are enemies to those who pray for them,
I. The malicious information brought to the
king against the prophet Amos,
II. The method he used to persuade Amos to
withdraw and quit the country (
1. That Bethel was not a proper place for him to exercise his ministry in, for it was the king's chapel, or sanctuary, where he had his idols and their altars and priests; and it was the king's court, or the house of the kingdom, where the royal family resided and where were set the thrones of judgment; and therefore prophesy not any more here. And why not? (1.) Because Amos is too plain and blunt a preacher for the court and the king's chapel. Those that wear silk and fine clothing, and speak silken soft words, are fit for king's palaces. (2.) Because the worship that is in the king's chapel will be a continual vexation and trouble to Amos; let him therefore get far enough from it, and what the eye sees not the heart grieves not for. (3.) Because it was not fit that the king and his house should be affronted in their own court and chapel by the reproofs and threatenings which Amos was continually teazing them with in the name of the Lord; as if it were the prerogative of the prince, and the privilege of the peers, when they are running headlong upon a precipice, not to be told of their danger. (4.) Because he could not expect any countenance or encouragement there, but, on the contrary, to be bantered and ridiculed by some and to be threatened and brow-beaten by others; however, he could not think to make any converts there, or to persuade any from that idolatry which was supported by the authority and example of the king. To preach his doctrine there was but (as we say) to run his head against a post; and therefore prophesy no more there. But,
2. He persuades him that the land of Judah
was the fittest place for him to set up in: Flee thee away
thither with all speed, and there eat bread, and prophesy
there. There thou wilt be safe; there thou wilt be welcome; the
king's court and chapel there are on thy side; the prophets there
will second thee; the priests and princes there will take notice of
thee, and allow thee an honourable maintenance. See here, (1.) How
willing wicked men are to get clear of their faithful reprovers,
and how ready to say to the seers, See not, or See not for
us; the two witnesses were a torment to those that dwelt on the
earth (
III. The reply which Amos made to these suggestions of Amaziah's. He did not consult with flesh and blood, nor was it his care to enrich himself, but to make full proof of his ministry, and to be found faithful in the discharge of it, not to sleep in a whole skin, but to keep a good conscience; and therefore he resolved to abide by his post, and, in answer to Amaziah,
1. He justified himself in his constant
adherence to his work and to his place (
2. He condemns Amaziah for the opposition
he gave them, and denounces the judgments of God against him, not
from any private resentment or revenge, but in the name of the Lord
and by authority from him,
(1.) For the opposition he gave to Amos God
will bring ruin upon himself and his family. This was the sin that
filled the measure of his iniquity. [1.] He shall have no comfort
in any of his relations, but be afflicted in those that were
nearest to him: His wife shall be a harlot; either she shall
be forcibly abused by the soldiers, as the Levite's concubine by
the men of Gibeah (they ravish the women of Zion,
(2.) Notwithstanding the opposition he gave
to Amos, God will bring ruin upon the land and nation. He was
accused for saying, Israel shall be led away captive
(
Sinful times are here attended with sorrowful
times, so necessary is the connexion between them; it is threatened
here again and again that the laughter shall be turned into
mourning. I. By the vision of "basket of summer-fruit" is signified
the hastening on of the ruin threatened (
1 Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more. 3 And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.
The great reason why sinners defer their repentance de die in diem—from day to day, is because they think God thus defers his judgments, and there is no song wherewith they so effectually sing themselves asleep as that, My Lord delays his coming; and therefore God, by his prophets, frequently represents to Israel the day of his wrath not only as just and certain, but as very near and hastening on apace; so he does in these verses.
I. The approach of the threatened ruin is
represented by a basket of summer-fruit which Amos saw in
vision; for the Lord showed it to him (
II. The intent and meaning of this vision
is no more than this: It signifies that the end has come upon my
people Israel. The word that signifies the end is
ketz, which is of near affinity with kitz, the word
used for summer-fruit. God has long spared them, and borne
with them, but now his patience is tired out; they are indeed
his people Israel, but their end, that latter end
they have been so often reminded of, but have so long forgotten,
has now come. Note, If sinners do not make an end of sin, God will
make an end of them, yea though they be his people Israel.
What was said
III. The consequence of this shall be a
universal desolation (
4 Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, 5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? 6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat? 7 The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. 8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. 9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day: 10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
God is here contending with proud oppressors, and showing them,
I. The heinousness of the sin they were
guilty of; in short, they had the character of the unjust judge
(
1. Observe them in their devotions, and you
will say, "They had no reverence for God." Bad as they are, they do
indeed keep up a show and form of godliness; they observe the
sabbath and the new moon; they put some difference
between those days and other days, but they were soon weary of
them, and had no affection at all to them, for their hearts were
wholly set upon the world and the things of it. It is a sad
character which this gives of them, that they said, When will
the sabbath be gone, that we may sell corn? Yet is still the
character of many that are called Christians. (1.) They were weary
of sabbath days. "When will they be gone?" They were weary
of the restraints of the sabbaths and the new-moons, and wished
them over because they might do no servile work therein.
They were weary of the work or business of the sabbaths and
new-moons, snuffed at it (
2. Observe them in their conversations, and
you will see they have no regard to man; and this commonly follows
upon the former; those that have lost the savour of piety will not
long retain the sense of common honesty. They neither do
justly nor love mercy. (1.) They cheat those they deal
with. When they sell their corn they impose upon the buyer,
both in giving out the goods and in receiving the money for them.
They measure him the corn by their own measure, and pretend to give
him what he agreed for, but they make the ephah small. The
measure is scanty, and not statute-measure, and so they wrong him
that way. When they receive his money they must weigh fit in their
own scales, by their own weights, and the shekel they weigh
by is above standard: They make the shekel great, so that
the money, being found too light, must have more added to it; and
so they cheat that way too, and this under colour and pretence of
exactness in doing justice. By such wicked practices as these men
show such a greediness of the world, such a love of themselves,
such a contempt of mankind in general, of the particular persons
they deal with, and of the sacred laws of justice, as prove them to
have in their hearts neither the fear nor the love of that God who
has so plainly said that false weights and balances are an
abomination to him. Another instance of their fraudulent
dealing is that they sell the refuse of the wheat, and,
taking advantage of their neighbour's ignorance or necessity, make
them take it at the same price at which they sell the finest of
the wheat. (2.) They are barbarous and unmerciful to the poor:
They swallow up the needy, and make the poor of the land
to fail. [1.] They valued themselves so much on their wealth
that they looked upon all that were poor with the highest contempt
imaginable; they hated them, could not endure them, but abandoned
them, and therefore did what they could to make them cease, not by
relieving them to make them cease to be poor, but by banishing and
destroying them to make them cease to be, or at least to be in
their land. But he who thus reproaches the poor despises his
Maker, in whose hands rich and poor meet together. [2.]
They were so eager to increase their wealth, and make it more, that
they robbed the poor to enrich themselves; and they fastened upon
the poor, to make a prey of them, because they were not able
to obtain any redress nor to resist or revenge the violence of
their oppressors. Those riches that are got by the ruin of the poor
will bring ruin on those that get them. They swallowed up the poor
by making them hard bargains, and cheating them in those bargains;
for therefore they falsify the balances by deceit,
not only that they may enrich themselves, may have money at
command, and so may have every thing else (as they think) at
command too, but that they may impoverish those about them, and
bring them so low that they may force them to become slaves to
them, and so, having drained them of every thing else, they may
have their labour for nothing, or next to nothing. Thus they buy
the poor for silver; they bring them and their children into
bondage, because they have not wherewithal to pay for the corn
they have bought; see
II. The grievousness of the punishment that
shall be inflicted on them for this sin. When the poor are injured
they will cry unto God, and he will hear their cry, and
reckon with those that are injurious to them, for, they being his
receivers, he takes the wrongs done to them as done to himself,
1. God will remember their sin against
them: He has sworn by the excellency of Jacob (
2. He will bring utter ruin and confusion
upon them. It is here described largely, and in a great variety of
emphatic expressions, that, if possible, they might be frightened
into a sincere repentance and reformation. (1.) There shall be a
universal terror and consternation: Shall not the land tremble
for this (
3. It shall surprise them, and come upon
them when they little think of it (
4. It shall change their note, and mar all
their mirth (
11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: 12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. 13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst. 14 They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beer-sheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.
In these verses is threatened,
I. A general judgment of spiritual famine
coming upon the whole land, a famine of the word of God, the
failing of oracles and the scarcity of good preaching. This is
spoken of as a thing at some distance: The days come, they
will come hereafter, when another kind of darkness shall come upon
that land of light. When Amos prophesied, and for a considerable
time after, they had great plenty of prophets, abundant
opportunities of hearing the word of God, in season and out
of season; they had precept upon precept and line upon line;
prophecy was their daily bread; and it is probable that they
surfeited upon it, as Israel on the manna, and therefore God
threatens that hereafter he will deprive them of this privilege.
Probably in the land of Israel there were not so many prophets,
about the time that their destruction came upon them, as there were
in the land of Judah; and when the ten tribes went into captivity
they saw not their signs, there were no more any
prophets, none to show them how long,
1. What the judgment itself is that is
threatened. It is a famine, a scarcity, not of bread and water
(which are the necessary support of the body, and the want of which
is very grievous), but a much sorer judgment than that, even a
famine of hearing the words of the Lord. There shall be no
congregations for ministers to preach to, nor any ministers to
preach, nor any instructions and abilities given to those that do
set up for preachers, to fit them for their work. The word of
the Lord shall be precious and scarce; there shall be no
vision,
2. What will be the effect of this
(
II. The particular destruction of those
that were ringleaders in idolatry,
In this chapter we have, I. Judgment threatened,
which the sinners shall not escape (
1 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? 8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord. 9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. 10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.
We have here the justice of God passing sentence upon a provoking people; and observe,
I. With what solemnity the sentence is
passed. The prophet saw in vision the Lord standing upon the
altar (
II. What effectual care is taken that none
shall escape the execution of this sentence. This is enlarged upon
here, and is intended for warning to all that provoke the Lord
to jealousy. Let sinners read it, and tremble; as there is no
fighting it out with God, so there is no fleeing from him. His
judgments, when they come with commission, as they will overpower
the strongest that think to outface them, so they will overtake the
swiftest that think to out-run them,
3. What a great and mighty God he is that
passes this sentence upon them, and will take the executing of it
into his own hands. Threatenings are more or less formidable
according to the power of him that threatens. We laugh at impotent
wrath; but the wrath of God is not so; it is omnipotent wrath.
Who knows the power of it? What he had before said he would
do (
4. How justly God passes this sentence upon
the people of Israel. He does not destroy them by an act of
sovereignty, but by an act of righteousness; for (
(1.) Of the relation wherein he stood to
it: Are you not as children of Ethiopians unto me, O children of
Israel? A sad change! Children of Israel become as children of
the Ethiopians! [1.] They were so in themselves; that was their
sin. It is a thing to be greatly lamented that the children of
Israel often become as children of the Ethiopians; this children of
godly parents degenerate, and become the reverse of those that went
before them. Those that were well-educated, and trained up in the
knowledge and fear of God, and set out well, and promised fair,
throw off their profession and become as bad as the worst. How
has the gold become dim! [2.] They were so in God's account, and
that was their punishment. He valued them no more, though they were
children of Israel, than if they had been children of the
Ethiopians. We read of one in the title of
(2.) See how light he makes of the favours
he had conferred upon them; they thought he would not, he could
not, cast them off, and put them upon a level with other nations,
because he had done that for them which he had not done for other
nations, whereby they thought he was bound to them, so as never to
leave them. "No," says he, "The favours shown to you are not so
distinguishing as you think they are: Have I not brought up
Israel out of the land of Egypt?" It is true I have; but I have
also brought the Philistines from Caphtor, or
Cappadocia, where they were natives, or captives, or both;
they are called the remnant of the country of Caphtor
(
5. How graciously God will separate between
the precious and the vile in the day of retribution. Though the
wicked Israelites shall be as the wicked Ethiopians, and their
being called Israelites shall stand them in no stead, yet the pious
Israelites shall not be as the wicked ones; no, the Judge
of all the earth will do right, more right than to slay the
righteous with the wicked,
11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: 12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this. 13 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. 14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.
To him to whom all the prophets bear
witness this prophet, here in the close, bears his testimony, and
speaks of that day, those days that shall come, in which God
will do great things for his church, by the setting up of the
kingdom of the Messiah, for the rejecting of which the rejection of
the Jews was foretold in the
I. That in the Messiah the kingdom of David
shall be restored (
II. That that kingdom shall be enlarged,
and the territories of it shall extend far, by the accession of
many countries to it (
III. That in the kingdom of the Messiah
there shall be great plenty, an abundance of all good things that
the country produces (
IV. That the kingdom of the Messiah shall
be well peopled; as the country shall be replenished, so shall the
cities be; there shall be mouths for this meat,
V. That the kingdom of the Messiah shall
take such deep rooting in the world as never to be rooted out of it
(
AN
This is the
shortest of all the books of the Old Testament, the least of those
tribes, and yet is not to be passed by, or thought meanly of, for
this penny has Cæsar's image and superscription upon it; it is
stamped with a divine authority. There may appear much of God in a
short sermon, in a little book; and much good may be done by it,
multum in parvo—much in a little. Mr. Norris says, "If
angels were to write books, we should have few folios." That may be
very precious which is not voluminous. This book is entitled,
The Vision of Obadiah. Who this Obadiah was does not appear
from any other scripture. Some of the ancients imagined him to be
the same with that Obadiah that was steward to Ahab's household
(
This book is wholly concerning Edom, a nation
nearly allied and near adjoining to Israel, and yet an enemy to the
seed of Jacob, inheriting the enmity of their father Esau to Jacob.
Now here we have, after the preface,
1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. 2 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. 3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? 4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord. 5 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grape-gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes? 6 How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up! 7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him. 8 Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? 9 And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
Edom is the nation against which this
prophecy is levelled, and which, some think, is put for all the
enemies of Israel, that shall be brought down first or last. The
rabbin by Edom understand Rome. Rome Christians they understand it
of, and have an implacable enmity to it a such; but, if we
understand it of Rome antichristian, we shall find the passages of
it applicable enough. And though Edom was mortified in the times of
the Maccabees, as it had been before by Jehoshaphat, yet its
destruction seems to have been typical, as their father Esau's
rejection, and to have had further reference to the destruction of
the enemies of the gospel-church; for so shall all God's enemies
perish; and we find (
I. A declaration of war against Edom,
(
II. A prediction of the success of that war. Edom shall certainly be subdued, and spoiled, and brought down; for all her confidences shall fail her and stand her in no stead, and in like manner shall all the enemies of God's church be disappointed in those things which they stayed themselves upon.
1. Do they depend upon their grandeur, the
figure they make among the nations, their influence upon them, and
interest in them? That shall dwindle (
2. Do they depend upon the fortifications
of their country, both by nature and art, and glory in the
advantages they have thereby? Those also shall deceive them. They
dwelt in the clefts of the rock, as an eagle in her nest,
and their habitation was high, not only exalted above
their neighbours, which was the matter of their pride, but
fortified against their enemies, which was the matter of their
security, so high as to be out of the reach of danger. Now observe,
(1.) What Edom says in the pride of his heart: Who shall bring
me down to the ground? He speaks with a confidence of his own
strength, and a contempt of God's judgments, as if almighty power
itself could not overpower him. As for all his enemies, even
God himself, he puffs at them (
3. Do they depend upon their wealth and
treasure, the abundance of which is looked upon as the sinews of
war? Is their money their defence? Is that their strong city? It is
so only in their own conceit, for it shall rather expose them than
protect them; it shall be made a prey to the enemy, and they for
the sake of it,
4. Do they depend upon their alliances with
neighbouring states and potentates? Those also shall fail them
(
5. Do they depend upon the politics of
their counsellors? These shall fail them,
6. Do they depend upon the strength and
courage of their soldiers? They are not only able-bodied, but men
of spirit and courage, that can face an enemy and stand their
ground; but now (
10 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. 11 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. 12 But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. 13 Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity; 14 Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress. 15 For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. 16 For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
When we have read Edom's doom, no less than
utter ruin, it is natural to ask, Why, what evil has he
done? What is the ground of God's controversy with him? Many
things, no doubt, were amiss in Edom; they were a sinful people,
and a people laden with iniquity. But that one single crime
which is laid to their charge, as filling their measure and
bringing this ruin upon them, that for which they here stand
indicted, of which they are convicted, and for which they are
condemned, is the injury they had done to the people of God
(
In the
I. What the violence was which Edom did
against his brother Jacob, and what are the proofs of this charge.
It does not appear that the Edomites did themselves invade Israel,
but that was more for want of power than will; they had malice
enough to do it, but were not a match for them. But that which is
laid to their charge is their barbarous conduct towards Judah and
Jerusalem when they were in distress, and ready to be destroyed,
probably by the Chaldeans, or upon occasion of some other of the
calamities of the Jews; for this seems to have been always their
temper towards them. See this charged upon the Edomites (
1. What was the case of Judah and Jerusalem
when the Edomites behaved themselves thus basely and insulted over
them. (1.) It was a day of distress with them (
2. See what was the conduct of the Edomites
towards them when they were in this distress, for which they are
here condemned. (1.) They looked with pleasure upon the affliction
of God's people; they stood on the other side (
II. What the shame is that shall cover them
for this violence of theirs. 1. They shall soon find that the cup
is going round, even the cup of trembling; and, when they come to
be in the same calamitous condition that the Israel of God is now
in, they will be ashamed to remember how they triumphed over them
(
17 But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. 18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the Lord hath spoken it. 19 And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. 20 And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south. 21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.
After the destruction of the church's enemies is threatened, which will be completely accomplished in the great day of recompence, and that judgment for which Christ came once, and will come again, into this world, here follow precious promises of the salvation of the church, with which this prophecy concludes, and those of Joel and Amos did, which, however they might be in part fulfilled in the return of the Jews out of Babylon notwithstanding the triumphs of Edom in their captivity, as if it were perpetual, are yet, doubtless, to have their full accomplishment in that great salvation wrought out by Jesus Christ, to which all the prophets bore witness. It is promised here,
I. That there shall be salvation upon Mount
Zion, that holy hill where God sets his anointed King (
II. That, where there is salvation, there shall be sanctification in order to it: And there shall be holiness, to prepare and qualify the children of Zion for this deliverance; for wherever God designs glory he gives grace. Temporal deliverances are indeed wrought for us in mercy when with them there is holiness, when there is wrought in us a disposition to receive them with love and gratitude to God; when we are sanctified, they are sanctified to us. Holiness is itself a great deliverance, and an earnest of that eternal salvation which we look for. There, upon Mount Zion, in the gospel-church, shall be holiness; for that is it which becomes God's house for ever, and the great design of the gospel, and its grace, is to plant and promote holiness. There shall be the Holy Spirit, the holy ordinances, the holy Jesus, and a select remnant of holy souls, in whom, and among whom, the holy God will delight to dwell. Note, Where there is holiness there shall be deliverance.
III. That this salvation and sanctification
shall spread, and prevail, and get ground in the world: The
house of Jacob, even this Mount Zion, with the
deliverance and their holiness there wrought, shall possess
their possessions; that is, the gospel-church shall be set up
among the heathen, and shall replenish the earth; the apostles of
Christ by their preaching shall gain possession of the hearts of
men for him whose messengers and ministers they are, and when they
possess their hearts they shall possess their possessions,
for those who have given up themselves to the Lord give up all they
have to him. When Lydia's heart was opened to Christ her house was
opened to his ministers. When the Gentile nations became nations
of those that were saved, were disciplined, walked in the
light of the Lord, and brought their glory and honour into
the new Jerusalem (
1. How this possession shall be
gained, and the opposition given to it got over (
2. How far this possession shall extend,
IV. That the kingdom of the Redeemer shall
be erected and maintained, to the comfort of his loyal subjects and
the terror and shame of all his enemies (
AN
This book of
Jonah, though it be placed here in the midst of the prophetical
books of scripture, is yet rather a history than a prophecy; one
line of prediction there is in it, Yet forty days, and Nineveh
shall be overthrown; the rest of the book is a narrative of the
preface to and the consequences of that prediction. In the midst of
the obscure prophecies before and after this book, wherein are many
things dark and hard to be understood, which are puzzling to the
learned, and are strong meat for strong men, comes in this
plain and pleasant story, which is entertaining to the weakest, and
milk for babes. Probably Jonah was himself the penman of
this book, and he, as Moses and other inspired penmen, records his
own faults, which is an evidence that in these writings they
designed God's glory and not their own. We read of this same Jonah
In this chapter we have, I. A command given to
Jonah to preach at Nineveh,
1 Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
Observe, 1. The honour God put upon Jonah,
in giving him a commission to go and prophesy against Nineveh.
Jonah signifies a dove, a proper name for all God's
prophets, all his people, who ought to be harmless as doves,
and to mourn as doves for the sins and calamities of the
land. His father's name was Amittai—My truth; for God's
prophets should be sons of truth. To him the word of the Lord
came—to him it was (so the word signifies), for God's word is
a real thing; men's words are but wind, but God's words are
substance. He has been before acquainted with the word of the
Lord, and knew his voice from that of a stranger; the orders
now given him were, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city,
4 But the Lord
sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest
in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. 5 Then
the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and
cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to
lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides
of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. 6 So the
ship-master came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O
sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think
upon us, that we perish not. 7 And they said every one to
his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose
cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot
fell upon
When Jonah was set on ship-board, and under sail for Tarshish, he thought himself safe enough; but here we find him pursued and overtaken, discovered and convicted as a deserter from God, as one that had run his colours.
I. God sends a pursuer after him, a
mighty tempest in the sea,
II. The ship's crew were alarmed by this
mighty tempest, but Jonah only, the person concerned, was
unconcerned,
III. The master of the ship called Jonah up
to his prayers,
IV. Jonah is found out to be the cause of the storm.
1. The mariners observed so much peculiar
and uncommon either in the storm itself or in their own distress by
it that they concluded it was a messenger of divine justice sent to
arrest some one of those that were in that ship, as having been
guilty of some enormous crime, judging as the barbarous people
(
2. They determined to refer it to the lot which of them was the criminal that had occasioned this storm: Let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause the evil is upon us. None of them suspected himself, or said, Is it I, Lord; is it I? But they suspected one another, and would find out the man. Note, It is a desirable thing, when any evil is upon us, to know for what cause it is upon us, that what is amiss may be amended, and, the grievance being redressed, the grief may be removed. In order to this we must look up to heaven, and pray, Lord, show me wherefore thou contendest with me; that which I see not teach thou me. These mariners desired to know the person that was the dead weight in their ship, the accursed thing, that that one man might die for the people and that the whole ship might not be lost; this was not only expedient, but highly just. In order to this they cast lots, by which they appealed to the judgment of God, to whom all hearts are open, and from whom no secret is hid, agreeing to acquiesce in his discovery and determination, and to take that for true which the lot spoke; for they knew by the light of nature, what the scripture tells us, that the lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposal thereof is of the Lord. Even the heathen looked upon the casting of lots to be a sacred thing, to be done with seriousness and solemnity, and not to be made a sport of. It is a shame for Christians if they have not a like reverence for an appeal to Providence.
3. The lot fell upon Jonah, who could have saved them this trouble if he would but have told them what his own conscience told him, Thou are the man; but as is usual with criminals, he never confesses till he finds he cannot help it, till the lot falls upon him. We may suppose there were those in the ship who, upon other accounts, were greater sinners than Jonah, and yet he is the man that the tempest pursues and that the lot pitches upon; for it is his own child, his own servant, that the parent, that the master, corrects, if they do amiss; others that offend he leaves to the law. The storm is sent after Jonah, because God has work for him to do, and it is sent to fetch him back to it. Note, God has many ways of bringing to light concealed sins and sinners, and making manifest that folly which was thought to be hidden from the eyes of all living. God's right hand will find out all his servants that desert him, as well as all his enemies that have designs against him; yea, though they flee to the uttermost parts of the sea, or go down to the sides of the ship.
4. Jonah is hereupon brought under examination before the master and mariners. He was a stranger; none of them could say that they knew the prisoner, or had any thing to lay to his charge, and therefore they must extort a confession from him and judge him out of his own mouth; and for this there needed no rack, the shipwreck they were in danger of was sufficient to frighten him, so as to make him tell the truth. Though it was discovered by the lot that he was the person for whose sake they were thus damaged and exposed, yet they did not fly outrageously upon him, as one would fear they might have done, but calmly and mildly enquired into his case. There is a compassion due to offenders when they are discovered and convicted. They give him no hard words, but, "Tell us, we pray thee, what is the matter?" Two things they enquire of him:—(1.) Whether he would himself own that he was the person for whose sake the storm was sent, as the lot had intimated: "Tell us for whose cause this evil is upon us; is it indeed for thy cause, and, if so, for what cause? What is this offence for which thou art thus prosecuted?" Perhaps the gravity and decency of Jonah's aspect and behaviour made them suspect that the lot had missed its man, had missed its mark, and therefore they would not trust it, unless he would himself own his guilt; they therefore begged of him that he would satisfy them in this matter. Note, Those that would find out the cause of their troubles must not only begin, but pursue the enquiry, must descend to particulars and accomplish a diligent search. (2.) What his character was, both as to his calling and as to his country. [1.] They enquire concerning his calling: What is thy occupation? This was a proper question to be put to a vagrant. Perhaps they suspected his calling to be such as might bring this trouble upon them: "Art thou a diviner, a sorcerer, a student in the black art? Hast thou been conjuring for this wind? Or what business are thou now going on? It is like Balaam's, to curse any of God's people, and is this wind send to stop thee?" [2.] They enquire concerning his country. One asked, Whence comest thou? Another, not having patience to stay for an answer to that, asked, What is thy country? A third to the same purport, "Of what people art thou? Art thou of the Chaldeans," that were noted for divination, "or of the Arabians," that were noted for stealing? They wished to know of what country he was, that, knowing who was the god of his country, they might guess whether he was one that could do them any kindness in this storm.
5. In answer to these interrogatories Jonah
makes a full discovery. (1.) Did they enquire concerning his
country? He tells them he is a Hebrew (
6. We are told what impression this made
upon the mariners: The men were exceedingly afraid, and
justly, for they perceived, (1.) That God was angry, even that God
that made the sea and the dry land. This tempest comes from
the hand of an offended justice, and therefore they have reason to
fear it will go hard with them. Judgments inflicted for some
particular sin have a peculiar weight and terror in them. (2.) That
God was angry with one that feared and worshipped him, only for
once running from his work in particular instance; this made them
afraid for themselves. "If a prophet of the Lord be thus severely
punished for one offence, what will become of us that have been
guilty of so many, and great, and heinous offences?" If the
righteous be thus scarcely saved, and for a single act
of disobedience thus closely pursued, where shall the ungodly
and the sinner appear?
11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. 12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. 13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. 14 Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee. 15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows. 17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
It is plain that Jonah is the man for whose
sake this evil is upon them, but the discovery of him to be so was
not sufficient to answer the demands of this tempest; they had
found him out, but something more was to be done, for still the
sea wrought and was tempestuous (
I. They enquired of Jonah himself what he
thought they must do with him (
II. Jonah reads his own doom (
III. The poor mariners did what they could
to save themselves from the necessity of throwing Jonah into the
sea, but all in vain (
IV. When they found it necessary to cast
Jonah into the sea they first prayed to God that the guilt of his
blood might not lie upon them, nor be laid to their charge,
V. Having deprecated the guilt they
dreaded, they proceeded to execution (
VI. The throwing of Jonah into the sea immediately put an end to the storm. The sea has what she came for, and therefore rests contended; she ceases from her raging. It is an instance of the sovereign power of God that he can soon turn the storm into a calm, and of the equity of his government that when the end of an affliction is answered and attained the affliction shall immediately be removed. He will not contend for ever, will not contend any longer till we submit ourselves and give up the cause. If we turn from our sins, he will soon turn from his anger.
VII. The mariners were hereby more
confirmed in their belief that Jonah's God was the only true God
(
VIII. Jonah's life, after all, is saved by
a miracle, and we shall hear of him again for all this. In the
midst of judgment God remembers mercy. Jonah shall be worse
frightened than hurt, not so much punished for his sin as reduced
to his duty. Though he flees from the presence of the Lord, and
seems to fall into his avenging hands, yet God has more work for
him to do, and therefore has prepared a great fish to swallow up
Jonah (
We left Jonah in the belly of the fish, and had
reason to think we should hear no more of him, that if he were not
destroyed by the waters of the sea he would be consumed in the
bowels of that leviathan, "out of whose mouth go burning lamps, and
sparks of fire, and whose breath kindles coals,"
1 Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly, 2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. 3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. 4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. 5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. 6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God. 7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. 8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. 9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.
God and his servant Jonah had parted in anger, and the quarrel began on Jonah's side; he fled from his country that he might outrun his work; but we hope to see them both together again, and the reconciliation begins on God's side. In the close of the foregoing chapter we found God returning to Jonah in a way of mercy, delivering him from going down to the pit, having found a ransom; in this chapter we find Jonah returning to God in a way of duty; he was called up in the former chapter to pray to his God, but we are not told that he did so; however, now at length he is brought to it. Now observe here,
I. When he prayed (
II. Where he prayed—in the fish's belly. No place is amiss for prayer. I will that men pray every where. Wherever God casts us we may find a way open to heaven-ward, if it be not our own fault. Undique ad cœlos tantundem est viæ—The heavens are equally accessible from every part of the earth. He that has Christ dwelling in his heart by faith, wherever he goes carries the altar along with him, that sanctifies the gift, and is himself a living temple. Jonah was here in confinement; the belly of the fish was his prison, was a close and dark dungeon to him; yet there he had freedom of access to God, and walked at liberty in communion with him. Men may shut us out from communion with one another, but not from communion with God. Jonah was now in the bottom of the sea, yet out of the depths he cries to God; as Paul and Silas prayed in the prison, in the stocks.
III. To whom he prayed—to the Lord his
God. He had been fleeing from God, but now he sees the folly of
it, and returns to him; by prayer he draws near to that God whom he
had gone aside from, and engages his heart to approach him.
In prayer he has an eye to him, not only as the Lord, but as
his God, a God in covenant with him; for, thanks be to God,
every transgression in the covenant does not throw us out of
covenant. This encourages even backsliding children to return.
IV. What his prayer was. He afterwards recollected the substance of it, and left it upon record. He reflects upon the workings of his heart towards God when he was in his distress and danger, and the conflict that was then in his breast between faith and sense, between hope and fear.
1. He reflects upon the earnestness of his
prayer, and God's readiness to hear and answer (
2. He reflects upon the very deplorable
condition that he was in when he was in the belly of hell, which,
when he lay there, he was very sensible of and made particular
remarks upon. Note, If we would get good by our troubles, we must
take notice of our troubles, and of the hand of God in them. Jonah
observes here, (1.) How low he was thrown (
3. He reflects upon the very black and
melancholy conclusion he was then ready to make concerning himself,
and the relief he obtained against it,
4. He reflects upon the favour of God to
him when thus in his distress he sought to God and trusted him.
(1.) He graciously accepted his prayer, and gave admission and
audience to it (
5. He gives warning to others, and
instructs them to keep close to God (
6. He solemnly binds his soul with a bond
that, if God work deliverance for him, the God of his mercies shall
be the God of his praises,
7. He concludes with an acknowledgment of
God as the Saviour of his people: Salvation is of the Lord;
it belongs to the Lord,
10 And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
We have here Jonah's discharge from his
imprisonment, and his deliverance from that death which there he
was threatened with—his return, though not to life, for he lived
in the fish's belly, yet to the land of the living, for from
that he seemed to be quite cut off—his resurrection, though not
from death, yet from the grave, for surely never man was so buried
alive as Jonah was in the fish's belly. His enlargement may be
considered, 1. As an instance of God's power over all the
creatures. God spoke to the fish, gave him orders to return
him, as before he had given him orders to receive him. God speaks
to other creatures, and it is done; they are all his ready
obedient servants. But to man he speaks once, yea, twice, and he
perceives it not, regards it not, but turns a deaf ear to what
he says. Note, God has all creatures at his command, makes what use
he pleases of them, and serves his own purposes by them. 2. As an
instance of God's mercy to a poor penitent, that in his distress
prays to him. Jonah had sinned, and had done foolishly, very
foolishly; his own backslidings did not correct him, and it appears
by his after-conduct that his foolishness was not quite driven from
him, no, not by the rod of this correction; and yet, upon his
praying, and humbling himself before God, here is a miracle in
nature wrought for his deliverance, to intimate what a miracle of
grace, free grace, God's reception and entertainment of returning
sinners are. When God had him at his mercy he showed him mercy, and
did not contend for ever. 3. As a type and figure of
Christ's resurrection. He died and was buried, to lay in the grave,
as Jonah did, three days and three nights, a prisoner for our debt;
but the third day he came forth, as Jonah did, by his messengers to
preach repentance, and remission of sins, even to the Gentiles. And
thus was another scripture fulfilled, After two days he will
receive us, and the third day he will raise us up,
In this chapter we have, I. Jonah's mission
renewed, and the command a second time given him to go preach at
Nineveh,
1 And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, 2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. 3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. 4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
We have here a further evidence of the reconciliation between God and Jonah, and that it was a thorough reconciliation, though the controversy between them had run high.
I. Jonah's commission is renewed and readily obeyed.
1. By this it appears that God was
perfectly reconciled to Jonah, that he employed him again in his
service; and the commission anew given him was an evidence of the
remission of his former disobedience. Among men, it has been justly
pleaded that the giving of a commission to a criminal convicted is
equivalent to a pardon, so it was to Jonah. The word of the Lord
came unto Jonah the second time (
2. By this it appears that Jonah was well
reconciled to God, that he was not now, as he had been before,
disobedient to the heavenly vision, did not flee from the
presence of the Lord, as he had done. He neither endeavored to
avoid hearing the command, nor did he decline obeying it; he made
no objections, as he had done, that the journey was long,
the errand invidious, the delivery of it perilous, and, if the
threatened judgment did come, he should be reproached as a false
prophet, and the impenitence of his own nation would be upbraided,
which he had objected,
II. Let us now see what was the command or commission given him, and what he did in prosecution of it.
1. He was sent as a herald at arms, in the
name of the God of heaven, to proclaim war with Nineveh (
III. He faithfully and boldly delivered his
errand. When he came to Nineveh he found his diocese large; it was
an exceedingly great city of three days' journey (
5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. 6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? 10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
Here is I. A wonder of divine grace in the
repentance and reformation of Nineveh, upon the warning given them
of their destruction approaching. Verily I say unto you, we
have not found so great an instance of it, no, not in Israel; and
it will rise up in judgment against the men of the
gospel—generation, and condemn them; for the Ninevites repented
at the preaching of Jonas, but behold, a greater than Jonas is
here,
1. They believed God; they gave credit to the word which Jonah spoke to them in the name of God: they believed that though they had many that they called gods, yet there was but one living and true God, the sovereign Lord of all,—that to him they were accountable,—that they had sinned against him and had become obnoxious to his justice,—that this notice sent them of ruin approaching came from him, and consequently that the ruin itself would come from him at a time prefixed if it were not prevented by a timely repentance,—that he is a merciful God, and there might be some hopes of the turning away of the wrath threatened, if they did turn away from the sins for which it was threatened. Note, Those that come to God, that come back to him after they have revolted from him, must believe, must believe that he is, that he is reconcilable, that he will be theirs if they take the right course. And observe what great faith God can work by very small, weak, and unlikely means; he can bring even Ninevites by a few threatening words to be obedient to the faith. Some think the Ninevites heard, from the mariners or others, or from Jonah himself, of his being cast into the sea and delivered thence by miracle, and that this served for a confirmation of his mission, and brought them the more readily to believe God speaking by him. But of this we have no certainty. However, Christ's resurrection, typified by that of Jonah's, served for the confirmation of his gospel, and contributed abundantly to their great success who in his name preached repentance and remission of sins to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
2. They brought word to the king of Nineveh, who, some think, was at this time Sardanapalus, others Pul, king of Assyria. Jonah was not directed to go to him first, in respect to his royal dignity; crowned heads, when guilty heads, are before God upon a level with common heads, and therefore Jonah is not sent to the court, but to the streets of Nineveh, to make his proclamation. However, an account of his errand is brought to the king of Nineveh, not by way of information against Jonah, as a disturber of public peace, that he might be silenced and punished, which perhaps would have been done if he had cried thus in the streets of Jerusalem, who killed God's prophets and stoned those that were sent unto her. No; the account was brought him of it, not as of a crime, but as a message from heaven, by some that were concerned for the public welfare, and whose hearts trembled for it. Note, Those kings are happy who have such about them as will give them notice of the things that belong to the kingdom's peace, of the warnings both of the word and of the providence of God, and of the tokens of God's displeasure which they are under; and those people are happy who have such kings over them as will take notice of those things.
3. The king set them a good example of
humiliation,
4. The people conformed to the example of
the king, nay, it should seem, they led the way, for they first
began to put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the
least of them,
5. A general fast was proclaimed and
observed throughout that great city,
(1.) What it is that is required by it.
[1.] That the fast (properly so called) be very strictly observed.
On the day appointed for this solemnity, let neither man or
beast taste any thing; let them not take the least refreshment,
no, no so much as drink water; let them not plead that they
cannot fast so long without prejudice to their health, or that they
cannot bear it; let them try for once. What if they do feel it an
uneasiness, and feel from it for some time after? It is better to
submit to that than be wanting in any act or instance of that
repentance which is necessary to save a sinking city. Let them make
themselves uneasy in body by putting on sackcloth, as well
as by fasting, to show how uneasy they are in mind, through sorrow
for sin and the fear of divine wrath. Even the beasts must
do penance as well as man, because they have been made subject
to vanity as instruments of man's sin, and that, either by
their complaints or their silent pining for want of meat, they
might stir up their owners, and those that attended them, to the
expressions of sorrow and humiliation. Those cattle that were kept
within doors must not be fed and watered as usual, because no meat
must be stirring on that day. Things of that kind must be
forgotten, and not minded. As when the psalmist was intent upon the
praises of God he called upon the inferior creatures to join with
him therein, so when the Ninevites were full of sorrow for sin, and
dread of God's judgments, they would have the inferior creatures
concur with them in the expressions of penitence. The beasts that
used to be covered with rich and fine trappings, which were the
pride of their masters, and theirs too, must now be covered with
sackcloth; for the great men will (as becomes them) lay aside
their equipage. [2.] With their fasting and mourning they must join
prayer and supplication to God; for the fasting is designed to fit
the body for the service of the soul in the duty of prayer, which
is the main matter, and to which the other is but preparatory or
subservient. Let them cry mightily to God; let even the
brute creatures do it according to their capacity; let their cries
and moans for want of food be graciously construed as cries to God,
as the cries of the young ravens are (
(2.) Upon what inducement this fast is
proclaimed and religiously observed (
II. Here is a wonder of divine mercy in the
sparing of these Ninevites upon their repentance (
We read, with a great deal of pleasure, in the
close of the foregoing chapter, concerning the repentance of
Nineveh; but in this chapter we read, with a great deal of
uneasiness, concerning the sin of Jonah; and, as there is joy in
heaven and earth for the conversion of sinners, so there is grief
for the follies and infirmities of saints. In all the book of God
we scarcely find a "servant of the Lord" (and such a one we are
sure Jonah was, for the scripture calls him so) so very much out of
temper as he is here, so very peevish and provoking to God himself.
In the first chapter we had him fleeing from the face of God; but
here we have him, in effect, flying in the face of God; and, which
is more grieving to us, there we had an account of his repentance
and return to God; but here, though no doubt he did repent, yet, as
in Solomon's case, no account is left us of his recovering himself;
but, while we read with wonder of his perverseness, we read with no
less wonder of God's tenderness towards him, by which it appeared
that he had not cast him off. Here is, I. Jonah's repining at God's
mercy to Nineveh, and the fret he was in about it,
1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. 2 And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. 4 Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?
See here, I. How unjustly Jonah quarrelled with God for his mercy to Nineveh, upon their repentance. This gives us occasion to suspect that Jonah had only delivered the message of wrath against the Ninevites, and had not at all assisted or encouraged them in their repentance, as one would think he should have done; for when they did repent, and found mercy,
1. Jonah grudged them the mercy they found
(
2. He quarreled with God about it. When his
heart was hot within him, he spoke unadvisedly with his
lips; and here he tells us what he said (
II. See how justly God reproved Jonah for
this heat that he was in (
5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. 6 And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. 7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. 8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. 9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. 10 Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: 11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
Jonah persists here in his discontent; for the beginning of strife both with God and man is as the letting forth of waters, the breach grows wider and wider, and, when passion gets head, bad is made worse; it should therefore be silenced and suppressed at first. We have here,
I. Jonah's sullen expectation of the fate
of Nineveh. We may suppose that the Ninevites, giving credit to the
message he brought, were ready to give entertainment to the
messenger that brought it, and to show him respect, that they would
have made him welcome to the best of their houses and tables. But
Jonah was out of humour, would not accept their kindness, nor
behave towards them with common civility, which one might have
feared would have prejudiced them against him and his word; but
when there is not only the treasure put into earthen
vessels, but the trust lodged with men subject to like
passions as we are, and yet the point gained, it must be owned
that the excellency of the power appears so much the more to
be of God and not of man. Jonah retires, goes out of the
city, sits alone, and keeps silence, because he sees the
Ninevites repent and reform,
II. God's gracious provision for his
shelter and refreshment when he thus foolishly afflicted himself
and was still adding yet more and more to his own affliction,
III. The sudden loss of this provision
which God had made for his refreshment, and the return of his
trouble,
IV. The further fret that this put Jonah
into (
V. The rebuke God gave him for this; he
again reasoned with him: Dost thou well to be angry for the
gourd?
Let us therefore own that we do ill, that we do very ill, to be angry for the gourd; and let us under such events quiet ourselves as a child that is weaned from his mother.
VI. His justification of his passion and
discontent; and it is very strange,
VII. The improvement of it against him for his conviction that he did ill to murmur at the sparing of Nineveh. Out of his own mouth God will judge him; and we have reason to think it overcame him; for he made no reply, but, we hope, returned to his right mind and recovered his temper, though he could not keep it, and all was well. Now,
1. Let us see how God argued with him
(
2. From all this we may learn, (1.) That though God may suffer his people to fall into sin, yet he will not suffer them to lie still in it, but will take a course effectually to show them their error, and to bring them to themselves and to their right mind again. We have reason to hope that Jonah, after this, was well reconciled to the sparing of Nineveh, and was as well pleased with it as ever he had been displeased. (2.) That God will justify himself in the methods of his grace towards repenting returning sinners as well as in the course his justice takes with those that persist in their rebellion; though there be those that murmur at the mercy of God, because they do not understand it (for his thoughts and ways therein are as far above ours as heaven above the earth), yet he will make it evident that therein he acts like himself, and will be justified when he speaks. See what pains he takes with Jonah to convince him that it is very fit that Nineveh should be spared. Jonah had said, I do well to be angry, but he could not prove it. God says and proves it, I do well to be merciful; and it is a great encouragement to poor sinners to hope that they shall find mercy with him, that he is so ready to justify himself in showing mercy and to triumph in those whom he makes the monuments of it, against those whose eye is evil because his is good. Such murmurers shall be made to understand this doctrine, that, how narrow soever their souls, their principles, are, and how willing soever they are to engross divine grace to themselves and those of their own way, there is one Lord over all, that is rich in mercy to all that call upon him, and in every nation, in Nineveh as well as in Israel, he that fears God and works righteousness is accepted of him; he that repents, and turns from his evil way, shall find mercy with him.
AN
We shall
have some account of this prophet in the first verse of the book of
his prophecy; and therefore shall here only observe that, being
contemporary with the prophet Isaiah (only that he began to
prophesy a little after him), there is a near resemblance between
that prophet's prophecy and this; and there is a prediction of the
advancement and establishment of the gospel-church, which both of
them have, almost in the same words, that out of the mouth of two
such witnesses so great a word might be established. Compare
In this chapter we have, I. The title of the book
(
1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. 2 Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord God be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. 3 For, behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. 4 And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place. 5 For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem? 6 Therefore I will make Samaria as a heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof. 7 And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of a harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.
Here is, I. A general account of this
prophet and his prophecy,
II. A very solemn introduction to the
following prophecy (
III. A terrible prediction of destroying
judgments which should come upon Judah and Israel, which had its
accomplishment soon after in Israel, and at length in Judah; for it
is foretold, 1. That God himself will appear against them,
IV. A charge of sin upon them, as the
procuring cause of these desolating judgments (
V. The punishment made to answer the sin,
in the particular destruction of the idols,
8 Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls. 9 For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem. 10 Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust. 11 Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Beth-ezel; he shall receive of you his standing. 12 For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the Lord unto the gate of Jerusalem. 13 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee. 14 Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moresheth-gath: the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel. 15 Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel. 16 Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.
We have here a long train of mourners attending the funeral of a ruined kingdom.
I. The prophet is himself chief mourner
(
II. Several places are here brought in
mourning, and are called upon to mourn; but with this proviso, that
they should not let the Philistines hear them (
In this chapter we have, I. The sins with which
the people of Israel are charged—covetousness and oppression,
fraudulent and violent practices (
1 Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand. 2 And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage. 3 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil. 4 In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields. 5 Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the Lord.
Here is, I. The injustice of man contriving
the evil of sin,
II. The justice of God contriving the evil
of punishment for this sin (
6 Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame. 7 O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the Lord straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly? 8 Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war. 9 The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever. 10 Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. 11 If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.
Here are two sins charged upon the people of Israel, and judgments denounced against them for each, such judgments as exactly answer the sin—persecuting God's prophets and oppressing God's poor.
I. Persecuting God's prophets, suppressing and silencing them, is a sin that provokes God as much as anything, for it not only spits in the face of his authority over us, but spurns at the bowels of his mercy to us; for his sending prophets to us is a sure and valuable token of his goodwill. Now observe here,
1. What the obstruction and opposition were
which this people gave to God's prophets: They said to those
that prophesy, Prophesy ye not, as
2. How they are here expostulated with upon
this matter (
3. What they are threatened with for this
sin; God also will choose their delusions, and, (1.) They shall be
deprived of the benefit of a faithful ministry. Since they say,
Prophesy not, God will take them at their word, and they
shall not prophesy to them; their sin shall be their
punishment. If men will silence God's ministers, it is just with
God to silence them, as he did Ezekiel, and to say, They shall
no more be reprovers and monitors to them. Let the physician
no longer attend the patient that will not be healed, for he will
not be ruled. They shall not prophesy to them, and then they
will not take shame. As it is the work of magistrates, so it is
also of ministers, to put men to shame when they do amiss
(
II. Oppressing God's poor is another sin
they are charged with, as before (
1. How the sin is described,
2. What the sentence is that is passed upon
them for it (
12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men. 13 The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them.
After threatenings of wrath, the chapter
here concludes, as is usual in the prophets, with promises of
mercy, which were in part fulfilled when the Jews returned out of
Babylon, and had their full accomplishment in the kingdom of the
Messiah. Their grievances shall be all redressed. 1. Whereas they
were dispersed, they shall be brought together again, and shall
jointly receive the tokens of God's favour to them, and shall have
communion with each other and comfort in each other (
What the apostle says of another of the prophets
is true of this, who was also his contemporary—"Esaias is very
bold,"
1 And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment? 2 Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; 3 Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron. 4 Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings. 5 Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him. 6 Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. 7 Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.
Princes and prophets, when they faithfully discharge the duty of their office, are to be highly honoured above other men; but when they betray their trust, and act contrary to it, they should hear of their faults as well as others, and shall be made to know that there is a God above them, to whom they are accountable; at his bar the prophet here, in his name, arraigns them.
I. Let the princes hear their charge and
their doom. The heads of Jacob, and the princes of the
house of Israel, are called upon to hear what the
prophet has to say to them,
1. What was expected from them: Is it
not for you to know judgment? He means to do judgment,
for otherwise the knowledge of it is of no avail. "Is it not your
business to administer justice impartially, and not to know
faces" (as the Hebrew phrase for partiality and respect of
persons is), "but to know judgment, and the merits of every
cause?" Or it may be taken for granted that the heads and rulers
are well acquainted with the rules of justice, whatever others are;
for they have those means of knowledge, and have not those excuses
for ignorance, which some others have, that are poor and foolish
(
2. How wretchedly they had transgressed the
rules of judgment, though they knew what they were. Their principle
and disposition are bad: They hate the good and love the
evil; they hate good in others, and hate it should have any
influence on themselves; they hate to do good, hate to have any
good done, and hate those that are good and do good; and they
love the evil, delight in mischief. This being their
principle, their practice is according to it; they are very cruel
and severe towards those that are under their power, and whoever
lies at their mercy will find that they have none. They barbarously
devour those whom they should protect, and, as unfaithful
shepherds, fleece the flock they should feed; nay, instead of
feeding it, they feed upon it,
3. How they might expect that God should
deal with them, since they had been thus cruel to his subjects. The
rule is fixed, Those shall have judgment without mercy that have
shown no mercy (
II. Let the prophets hear their charge too, and their doom; they were such as prophesied falsely, and the princes bore rule by their means. Observe,
1. What was their sin. (1.) They made it
their business to flatter and deceive the people: They make my
people err, lead them into mistakes, both concerning what they
should do and concerning what God would do with them. It is ill
with a people when their leaders cause them to err, and those draw
them out of the way that should guide them and go before them in
it. "They make them to err by crying peace, by telling them that
they do well, and that all shall be well with them; whereas they
are in the paths of sin, and within a step of ruin. They cry
peace, but they bite with their teeth," which perhaps is
meant of their biting their own lips, as we are apt to do when we
would suppress something which we are ready to speak. When they
cried peace their own hearts gave them the lie, and they
were just ready to eat their own words and to contradict
themselves, but they bit with their teeth, and kept it in. They
were not blind leaders of the blind, for they saw the ditch before
them, and yet led their followers into it. (2.) They made it all
their aim to glut themselves, and serve their own belly, as the
seducers in St. Paul's time (
2. What is the sentence passed upon them
for this sin,
8 But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. 9 Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity. 10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. 11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us. 12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.
Here, I. The prophet experiences a divine
power going along with him in his work, and he makes a solemn
profession and protestation of it, as that which would justify him,
and bear him out, in his plain dealing with the princes and rulers.
He would not, he durst not, make thus bold with the great men, but
that he was carried out to do it by a prophetical impulse and
impression. It was not he that said it, but God by him, and he
could not but speak the word that God put into his mouth. It comes
in likewise by way of opposition to the false prophets, who were
full of shame when they lived to see themselves proved liars, and
who never had courage to deal faithfully with the people, but
flattered them in their sins; they were sensual, not having the
Spirit, but truly (says Micah) I am full of power by the
Spirit of the Lord,
II. The prophet exerts this power in
dealing with the heads of the house of Jacob, both the
princes and the prophets, whom he had drawn up a high charge
against in the former part of the chapter. He repeats the summons
of their attendance and attention (
1. The great wickedness that these heads of
the house of Jacob were guilty of, princes, priest, and
prophets; in short, they were covetous and prostituted their
offices to their love of money. (1.) The princes abhorred all
judgment; they would not be governed by any of its laws, either
in their own practice or in passing sentence upon appeals made to
them; they perverted all equity, and scorned to be under the
direction or correction of justice, when it could not be made
pliable to their secular interests. When, under pretence of doing
right, they did the most palpable wrongs, then they perverted
equity, and made it serve a purpose contrary to the intention of
the founder of magistracy and fountain of power. It is laid to
their charge (
2. Their vain presumption and carnal
confidence, notwithstanding: They lean upon the Lord, and
because they are, in profession, his people, they think there is
neither harm nor danger in these their wicked practices. Faith
builds upon the Lord, rests in him, and relies upon him, as the
soul's foundation; presumption only leans upon the Lord as a
prop, makes use of him to serve a turn, while still the world is
the foundation that is built upon. They speak with a great deal of
confidence, (1.) Of their honour: "Is not the Lord among us?
Have we not the tokens of his presence with us, his temple, his
ark, his lively oracles?" They are haughty because of the holy
mountain and its dignities (
3. The doom passed upon them for their real
wickedness, notwithstanding their imaginary protection (
Comparing this chapter with the close of the
foregoing chapter, the comfortable promises here with the terrible
threatenings there, we may, with the apostle, "behold the goodness
and severity of God," (
1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. 2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it. 5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. 6 In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; 7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.
It is a very comfortable but with
which this chapter begins, and very reviving to those who lay the
interests of God's church near their heart and are concerned for
the welfare of it. When we sometimes see the corruptions of the
church, especially of church-rulers, princes, priests, and
prophets, seeking their own things and not the things of God, and
when we soon after see the desolations of the church, Zion
for their sakes ploughed as a field, we are ready to fear
that it will one day perish between both, that the name of Israel
shall be no more in remembrance; we are ready to give up all for
gone, and to conclude the church will have neither root not branch
upon earth. But let not our faith fail in this matter; out of the
ashes of the church another phoenix shall arise. In the last words
of the foregoing chapter we left the mountain of the house
as desolate and waste as the high places of the forest; and
is it possible that such a wilderness should ever become a fruitful
field again? Yes, the first words of this chapter bring in the
mountain of the Lord's house as much dignified by being
frequented as ever it had been disgraced by being deserted. Though
Zion be ploughed as a field, yet God has not cast off his
people, but by the fall of the Jews salvation has come to the
Gentiles, so that it proves to be the riches of the world,
I. That there shall be a church for God set
up in the world, after the defection and destruction of the Jewish
church, and this in the last days; that is, as some of the rabbin
themselves acknowledge, in the days of the Messiah. The
people of God shall be incorporated by a new charter, a new
spiritual way of worship shall be enacted, and a new institution of
offices to attend it; better privileges shall be granted by this
new charter, and better provision made for enlarging and
establishing the kingdom of God among men than had been made by the
Old-Testament constitution: The mountain of the house of the
Lord shall again appear firm ground for God's faithful
worshippers to stand, and go, and build upon, in their attendance
on him,
II. That this church shall be firmly
founded and well-built: It shall be established in the top of
the mountains; Christ himself will build it upon a rock; it
shall be an impregnable fort upon an immovable foundation, so that
the gates of hell shall neither overthrow the one nor undermine the
other (
III. That it shall be highly advanced, and
become eminent and conspicuous: It shall be exalted above the
hills, observed with wonder for its growing greatness from
small beginnings. The kingdom of Christ shall shine with greater
lustre than ever any of the kingdoms of the earth did. It shall be
as a city on a hill, which cannot be hid,
IV. That there shall be a great accession
of converts to it and succession of converts in it. People shall
flow unto it as the waters of a river are continually flowing;
there shall be a constant stream of believers flowing in from all
parts into the church, as the people of the Jews flowed into the
temple, while it was standing, to worship there. Then many tribes
came to the mountain of the house, to enquire of God's temple; but
in gospel-times many nations shall flow into the church, shall
fly like a cloud and as the doves to their windows.
Ministers shall be sent forth to disciple all nations, and
they shall not labour in vain; for, multitudes being wrought
upon to believe the gospel and embrace the Christian religion, they
shall excite and encourage one another, and shall say, "Come,
and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord now raised among
us, even to the house of the God of Jacob, the spiritual
temple which we need not travel far to, for it is brought to our
doors and set up in the midst of us." Thus shall people be made
willing in the day of his power (
V. That, in order to this, a new revelation
shall be published to the world, on which the church shall be
founded, and by which multitudes shall be brought into it: For
the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem. The gospel is here called the word of the
Lord, for the Lord gave the word, and great was the company
of those that published it,
VI. That a convincing power should go along
with the gospel of Christ, in all places where it should be
preached (
VII. That a disposition to mutual peace and
love shall be the happy effect of the setting up of the kingdom of
the Messiah: They shall beat their swords into
plough-shares; that is, angry passionate men, that have been
fierce and furious, shall be wonderfully sweetened, and made mild
and meek,
VIII. That the churches shall be constant
in their duty, and so shall make a good use of their tranquillity
and shall not provoke the Lord to deprive them of it,
IX. That notwithstanding the dispersions,
distress, and infirmities of the church, it shall be formed and
established, and made very considerable,
X. That the Messiah shall be the king of this kingdom, shall protect and govern it, and order all the affairs of it for the best, and this to the end of time. The Lord Jesus shall reign over them in Mount Zion by his word and Spirit in his ordinances, and this henceforth and for ever, for of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.
8 And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. 9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail. 10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. 11 Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. 12 But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor. 13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.
These verses relate to Zion and Jerusalem,
here called the tower of the flock or the tower of
Edor; we read of such a place (
I. We have a promise of the glories of the
spiritual Jerusalem, the gospel-church, which is; the tower of the
flock, that one fold in which all the sheep of Christ are protected
under one Shepherd: "Unto thee shall it come; that which
thou hast long wanted and wished for, even the first
dominion, a dignity and power equal to that of David and
Solomon, by whom Jerusalem was first raised, that kingdom
shall again come to the daughter of Jerusalem, which it was
deprived of at the captivity. It shall make as great a figure and
shine with as much lustre among the nations, and have as much
influence upon them, as ever it had; this is the first or
chief dominion." Now this had by no means its accomplishment
in Zerubbabel; his was nothing like the first dominion either in
respect of splendour and sovereignty at home or the extent of power
abroad; and therefore it must refer to the kingdom of the
Messiah (and to that the Chaldee-paraphrase refers it) and
had its accomplishment when God gave to our Lord Jesus the
throne of his father David (
II. This is illustrated by a prediction of the calamities of the literal Jerusalem, to which some favour and relief should be granted, as a type and figure of what God would do for the gospel-Jerusalem in the last days, notwithstanding its distresses. We have here,
1. Jerusalem put in pain by the providences
of God. "She cries out aloud, that all her neighbours may
take notice of her griefs, because there is no king in her,
none of that honour and power she used to have. Instead of ruling
the nations, as she did when she sat a queen, she is ruled
by them, and has become a captive. Her counsellors have
perished; she is no longer at her own disposal, but is given
up to the will of her enemies, and is governed by their
counsellors. Pangs have taken her." (1.) She is carried
captive to Babylon, and there is in pangs of grief. "She goes
forth out of the city, and is constrained to dwell in the
field, exposed to all manner of inconveniences; she goes
even to Babylon, and there wears out seventy tedious
years in a miserable captivity, all that while in pain, as a
woman in travail, waiting to be delivered, and thinking the
time very long." (2.) When she is delivered out of Babylon, and
redeemed from the hand of her enemies there, yet still she is in
pangs of fear; the end of one trouble is but the beginning of
another; for now also, when Jerusalem is in the rebuilding,
many nations are gathered against her,
2. Jerusalem made easy by the promises of
God: "Why dost thou cry out aloud? Let thy griefs and fears
be silenced; indulge not thyself in them, for, though things are
bad with thee, they shall end well; thy pangs are great, but they
are like those of a woman in travail (
In this chapter we have, I. A prediction of the
troubles and distresses of the Jewish nation,
1 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. 2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. 3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. 4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. 5 And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. 6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.
Here, as before, we have,
I. The abasement and distress of Zion,
II. The advancement of Zion's King. Having
shown how low the house of David should be brought, and how vilely
the shield of that mighty family should be cast away, as though it
had not been anointed with oil, to encourage the faith of God's
people, who might be tempted now to think that his covenant with
David and his house was abrogated (according to the psalmist's
complaint,
1. How the Messiah is here described. It is
he that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been
from of old, from everlasting, from the days of
eternity, as the word is. Here we have, (1.) His existence from
eternity, as God: his goings forth, or emanations, as
the going forth of the beams from the sun, were, or have been,
of old, from everlasting, which (says Dr. Pocock) is so
signal a description of Christ's eternal generation, or his going
forth as the Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds,
that this prophecy must belong only to him, and could never be
verified of any other. It certainly speaks of a going forth that
was now past, when the prophet spoke, and cannot but be read, as we
read it, his outgoings have been; and the putting of both
these words together, which severally are used to denote eternity,
plainly shows that they must here be taken in the strictest sense
(the same with
2. What is here foretold concerning him.
(1.) That Bethlehem should be the place of
his nativity,
(2.) That in the fulness of time he should
be born of a woman (
(3.) That the remnant of his brethren
shall then return to the children of Israel. The remnant of the
Jewish nation shall return to the spirit of the true genuine
children of Israel, a people in covenant with God; the hearts of
the children shall be turned to the fathers,
(4.) That he shall be a glorious prince,
and his subjects shall be happy under his government (
(5) That he shall secure the peace and
welfare of his church and people against all the attempts of his
and their enemies (
7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. 8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. 9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off. 10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots: 11 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds: 12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: 13 Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. 14 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. 15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.
Glorious things are here spoken of the
remnant of Jacob, that remnant which was raised of her that
halted (
I. That they shall be as a dew in
the midst of the nations,
II. That they shall be as a lion among
the beasts of the forest, that treads down and tears in
pieces,
III. That they shall be brought off from
all carnal confidences, which they have relied on, that by the
providence of God they shall enjoy such a security that they shall
not need them, and by the grace of God they shall be brought to see
the folly of them and come off from them. It was the sin of Israel
that they furnished themselves extravagantly with horses and
chariots, and were soothsayers and idolaters; see
IV. That those who stand it out against the
gospel of Christ, and continue in league with their idolatries and
witchcrafts, shall fall under the wrath of God, and be consumed by
it (
After the precious promises in the two foregoing
chapters, relating to the Messiah's kingdom, the prophet is here
directed to set the sins of Israel in order before them, for their
conviction and humiliation, as necessary to make way for the
comfort of gospel-grace. Christ's forerunner was a reprover, and
preached repentance, and so prepared his way. Here, I. God enters
an action against his people for their base ingratitude, and the
bad returns they had made him for his favours,
1 Hear ye now what the Lord saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. 2 Hear ye, O mountains, the Lord's controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the Lord hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. 3 O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. 4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5 O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord.
Here, I. The prefaces to the message are very solemn and such as may engage our most serious attention. 1. The people are commanded to give audience: Hear you now what the Lord says. What the prophet speaks he speaks from God, and in his name; they are therefore bound to hear it, not as the word of a sinful dying man, but of the holy living God. Hear now what he saith, for, first or last, he will be heard. 2. The prophet is commanded to speak in earnest, and to put an emphasis upon what he said: Arise, contend thou before the mountains, or with the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice, if it were possible; contend with the mountains and hills of Judea, that is, with the inhabitants of those mountains and hills; and, some think, reference is had to those mountains and hills on which they worshipped idols and which were thus polluted. But it is rather to be taken more generally, as appears by his call, not only to the mountains, but to the strong foundations of the earth, pursuant to the instructions given him. This is designed, (1.) To excite the earnestness of the prophet; he must speak as vehemently as if he designed to make even the hills and mountains hear him, must cry aloud, and not spare; what he had to say in God's name he must proclaim publicly before the mountains, as one that was neither ashamed nor afraid to own his message; he must speak as one concerned, as one that desired to speak to the heart, and therefore appeared to speak from the heart. (2.) To expose the stupidity of the people; "Let the hills hear thy voice, for this senseless careless people will not hear it, will not heed it. Let the rocks, the foundations of the earth, that have no ears, hear, since Israel, that has ears, will not hear." It is an appeal to the mountains and hills; let them bear witness that Israel has fair warning given them, and good counsel, if they would but take it. Thus Isaiah begins with, Hear, O heavens! and give ear, O earth! Let them judge between God and his vineyard.
II. The message itself is very affecting.
He is to let all the world know that God has a quarrel with his
people, good ground for an action against them. Their offences are
public, and therefore so are the articles of impeachment exhibited
against them. Take notice the Lord has a controversy with his
people and he will plead with Israel, will plead by his
prophets, plead by his providences, to make good his charge. Note,
1. Sin begets a controversy between God and man. The righteous God
has an action against every sinner, an action of debt, an action of
trespass, an action of slander. 2. If Israel, God's own professing
people, provoke him by sin, he will let them know that he has a
controversy with them; he sees sin in them, and is displeased with
it, nay, their sins are more displeasing to him than the sins of
others, as they are a greater grief to his Spirit and dishonour to
his name. 3. God will plead with those whom he has a controversy
with, will plead with his people Israel, that they may be convinced
and that he may be justified. In the close of the foregoing chapter
he pleaded with the heathen in anger and fury, to bring them to
ruin; but here he pleads with Israel in compassion and tenderness,
to bring them to repentance, Come now, and let us reason
together. God reasons with us, to teach us to reason with
ourselves. See the equity of God's cause, it will bear to be
pleaded, and sinners themselves will be forced to confess judgment,
and to own that God's ways are equal, but their ways are
unequal,
6 Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Here is the proposal for accommodation between God and Israel, the parties that were at variance in the beginning of the chapter. Upon the trial, judgment is given against Israel; they are convicted of injustice and ingratitude towards God, the crimes with which they stood charged. Their guilt is too plain to be denied, too great to be excused, and therefore,
I. They express their desires to be at
peace with God upon any terms (
II. They make proposals, such as they are, in order to it. Their enquiry was very good and right, and what we are all concerned to make, but their proposals betray their ignorance, though they show their zeal; let us examine them:—
1. They bid high. They offer, (1.) That which is very rich and costly—thousands of rams. God required one ram for a sin-offering; they proffer flocks of them, their whole stock, will be content to make themselves beggars, so that they may but be at peace with God. They will bring the best they have, the rams, and the most of them, till it comes to thousands. (2.) That which is very dear to them, and which they would be most loth to part with. They could be content to part with their first-born for their transgressions, if that would be accepted as an atonement, and the fruit of their body for the sin of their soul. To those that had become vain in their imaginations this seemed a probable expedient of making satisfaction for sin, because our children are pieces of ourselves; and therefore the heathen sacrificed their children, to appease their offended deities. Note, Those that are thoroughly convinced of sin, of the malignity of it, and of their misery and danger by reason of it, would give all the world, if they had it, for peace and pardon.
2. Yet they do not bid right. It is true some of these things were instituted by the ceremonial law, as the bringing of burnt-offerings to God's altar, and calves of a year old, rams for sin-offerings, and oil for the meat-offerings; but these alone would not recommend them to God. God had often declared that to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams, that sacrifice and offering he would not; the legal sacrifices had their virtue and value from the institution, and the reference they had to Christ the great propitiation; but otherwise, of themselves, it was impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin. And as to the other things here mentioned, (1.) Some of them are impracticable things, as rivers of oil, which nature has not provided to feed men's luxury, but rivers of water to supply men's necessity. All the proposals of peace but those that are according to the gospel are absurd. One stream of the blood of Christ is worth ten thousand rivers of oil. (2.) Some of them are wicked things, as to give our first-born and the fruit of our body to death, which would but add to the transgression and the sin of the soul. He that hates robbery for burnt-offerings much more hates murder, such murder. What right have we to our first born and the fruit of our body? Do they not belong to God? Are they not his already, and born to him? Are they not sinners by nature, and their lives forfeited upon their own account? How then can they be a ransom for ours? (3.) They are all external things, parts of that bodily exercise which profiteth little, and which could not make the comers thereunto perfect. (4.) They are all insignificant, and insufficient to attain the end proposed; they could not answer the demands of divine justice, nor satisfy the wrong done to God in his honour by sin, nor would they serve in lieu of the sanctification of the heart and the reformation of the life. Men will part with any thing rather than their sins, but they part with nothing to God's acceptance unless they part with them.
III. God tells them plainly what he
demands, and insists upon, from those that would be accepted of
him,
1. That God has made a discovery of his mind and will to us, for the rectifying of our mistakes and the direction of our practice. (1.) It is God himself that has shown us what we must do. We need not trouble ourselves to make proposals, the terms are already settled and laid down. He whom we have offended, and to whom we are accountable, has told us upon what conditions he will be reconciled to us. (2.) It is to man that he has shown it, not only to thee, O Israel! but to thee, O man! Gentiles as well as Jews—to men, who are rational creatures, and capable of receiving the discovery, and not to brutes,—to men, for whom a remedy is provided, not to devils, whose case is desperate. What is spoken to all men every where in general, must by faith be applied to ourselves in particular, as if it were spoken to thee, O man! by name, and to no other. (3.) It is a discovery of that which is good, and which the Lord requires of us. He has shown us our end, which we should aim at, in showing us what is good, wherein our true happiness does consist; he has shown us our way in which we must walk towards that end in showing us what he requires of us. There is something which God requires we should do for him and devote to him; and it is good. It is good in itself; there is an innate goodness in moral duties, antecedent to the command; they are not, as ceremonial observances, good because they are commanded, but commanded because they are good, consonant to the eternal rule and reason of good and evil, which are unalterable. It has likewise a direct tendency to our good; our conformity to it is not only the condition of our future happiness, but is a great expedient of our present happiness; in keeping God's commandments there is great reward, as well as after keeping them. (4.) It is shown us. God has not only made it known, but made it plain; he has discovered it to us with such convincing evidence as amounts to a demonstration. Lo this, we have searched it, so it is.
2. What that discovery is. The good which
God requires of us is not the paying of a price for the pardon of
sin and acceptance with God, but doing the duty which is the
condition of our interest in the pardon purchased. (1.) We must
do justly, must render to all their due, according as
our relation and obligation to them are; we must do wrong to none,
but do right to all, in their bodies, goods, and good name. (2.) We
must love mercy; we must delight in it, as our God does,
must be glad of an opportunity to do good, and do it cheerfully.
Justice is put before mercy, for we must not give that in alms
which is wrongfully got, or with which our debts should be paid.
God hates robbery for a burnt-offering. (3.) We must walk
humbly with our God. This includes all the duties of the first
table, as the two former include all the duties of the second
table. We must take the Lord for our God in covenant, must attend
on him and adhere to him as ours, and must make it our constant
care and business to please him. Enoch's walking with God is
interpreted (
9 The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it. 10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? 11 Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? 12 For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. 13 Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins. 14 Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword. 15 Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine. 16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof a hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.
God, having shown them how necessary it was that they should do justly, here shows them how plain it was that they had done unjustly; and since they submitted not to his controversy, nor went the right way to have it taken up, here he proceeds in it. Observe,
I. How the action is entered against them,
II. What is the ground of the action, and what are the things that are laid to their charge.
1. They are charged with injustice, a sin
against the second table. Are there yet to be found among them the
marks and means of fraudulent dealing? What! after all the methods
that God has taken to teach them to do justly, will they yet deal
unjustly? It seems, they will,
2. They are charged with idolatry
(
III. What is the judgment given upon this.
Being found guilty of these crimes, the sentence is that that which
God had given them warning of (
1. That what they have they shall not have
any comfortable enjoyment of; it shall do them no good. They
grasped at more than enough, but, when they have it, it shall not
be enough to make them easy and happy. What is got by fraud and
oppression cannot be kept or enjoyed with any satisfaction. (1.)
Their food shall not nourish them: Thou shalt eat, but not be
satisfied, either because the food shall not digest, for want
of God's blessing going along with it, or because the appetite
shall by disease be made insatiable and still craving, the just
punishment of those that were greedy of gain and enlarged their
desires as hell. Men may be surfeited with the good things of this
world and yet not satisfied,
2. That all they have shall at length be
taken from them (
In this chapter, I. The prophet, in the name of
the church, sadly laments the woeful decay of religion in the age
wherein he lived, and the deluge of impiety and immorality which
overwhelmed the nation, which levelled the differences, and bore
down the fences, of all that is just and sacred,
1 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape-gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first-ripe fruit. 2 The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. 3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up. 4 The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity. 5 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. 6 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
This is such a description of bad times as,
some think, could scarcely agree to the times of Hezekiah, when
this prophet prophesied; and therefore they rather take it as a
prediction of what should be in the reign of Manasseh. But we may
rather suppose it to be in the reign of Ahaz (and in that reign he
prophesied,
7 Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. 8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. 9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. 10 Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets. 11 In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed. 12 In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. 13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.
The prophet, having sadly complained of the wickedness of the times he lived in, here fastens upon some considerations for the comfort of himself and his friends, in reference thereunto. The case is bad, but it is not desperate. Yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.
I. "Though God be now displeased he shall
be reconciled to us, and then all will be well,
II. Though enemies triumph and insult, they
shall be silenced and put to shame,
1. How proudly the enemies of God's people
trample upon them in their distress. They said, Where is the
Lord their God? As if because they were afflicted God had
forsaken them, and they knew not where to find him with their
prayers, and he knew not how to help them with his favours. This
David's enemies said to him, and it was a sword in his bones,
2. How comfortably the people of God by
faith bear up themselves under these insults (
III. Though the land continue a great while
desolate, yet it shall at length be replenished again, when the
time, even the set time, of its deliverance comes. 1. Its salvation
shall not come till after it has been desolate; so the
margin reads it,
14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. 15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things. 16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. 17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and shall fear because of thee. 18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. 20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
Here is, I. The prophet's prayer to God to
take care of his own people, and of their cause and interest,
II. God's promise, in answer to this
prayer; and we may well take God's promises as real answers to the
prayers of faith, and embrace them accordingly, for with him saying
and doing are not two things. The prophet prayed that God would
feed them, and do kind things for them; but God answers that he
will show them marvellous things (
III. The prophet's thankful acknowledgment
of God's mercy, in the name of the church, with a believing
dependence upon his promise,
1. To give to God the glory of his
pardoning mercy,
2. To take to ourselves the comfort of that
mercy and all the grace and truth that go along with it. God's
people here, as they look back with thankfulness upon God's
pardoning their sins, so they look forward with assurance upon what
he would yet further do for them. His mercy endures for
ever, and therefore as he has shown mercy so he will,
AN
The name of
this prophet signifies a comforter; for it was a charge
given to all the prophets, Comfort you, comfort you, my
people: and even this prophet, though wholly taken up in
foretelling the destruction of Nineveh, which speaks terror to the
Assyrians, is, even in that, comforter to the ten tribes of Israel,
who, it is probable, were now lately carried captives into Assyria.
It is very uncertain at what time he lived and prophesied, but it
is most probable that he lived in the time of Hezekiah, and
prophesied against Nineveh, after the captivity of Israel by the
king of Assyria, which was in the ninth year of Hezekiah, and
before Sennacherib's invading Judah, which was in the fourteenth
year of Hezekiah, for to that attempt, and the defeat of it, it is
supposed, the first chapter has reference; and it is probable that
it was delivered a little before it, for the encouragement of God's
people in that day of treading down and perplexity. It is the
conjecture of the learned Huetius that the two other chapters of
this book were delivered by Nahum some years after, perhaps in the
reign of Manasseh, and in that reign the Jewish chronologies
generally place him, somewhat nearer to the time when Nineveh was
conquered, and the Assyrian monarchy reduced, by Cyaxares and
Nebuchadnezzar, some time before the first captivity of Judah. It
is probable that Nahum did by word of mouth prophesy many things
concerning Israel and Judah, as it is certain that Jonah did
(
In this chapter we have, I. The inscription of the
book,
1 The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
This title directs us to consider, 1. The
great city against which the word of the Lord is here delivered; it
is the burden of Nineveh, not only a prophecy, and a weighty
one, but a burdensome prophecy, a dead weight to Nineveh, a
mill-stone hanged about its neck. Nineveh was the place concerned,
and the Assyrian monarchy, which that was the royal seat of. About
100 years before this Jonah had, in God's name, foretold the speedy
overthrow of this great city; but then the Ninevites repented and
were spared, and that decree did not bring forth. The
Ninevites then saw clearly how much it was to their advantage to
turn from their evil way; it was the saving of their city; and yet,
soon after, they returned to it again; it became worse than ever,
a bloody city, and full of lies and robbery.
They repented of their repentance, returned with the dog to his
vomit, and at length grew worse than ever they had been. Then God
sent them not this prophet, as Jonah, but this prophecy, to read
them their doom, which was now irreversible. Note, The reprieve
will not be continued if the repentance be not continued in. If men
turn from the good they began to do, they can expect no other than
that God should turn from the favour he began to show,
2 God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. 3 The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. 4 He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. 5 The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. 6 Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. 7 The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. 8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
Nineveh knows not God, that God that contends with her, and therefore is here told what a God he is; and it is good for us all to mix faith with that which is here said concerning him, which speaks a great deal of terror to the wicked and comfort to good people; for this glorious description of the Sovereign of the world, like the pillar of cloud and fire, has a bright side towards Israel and a dark side towards the Egyptians. Let each take his portion from it; let sinners read it and tremble; let saints read it and triumph. The wrath of God is here revealed from heaven against him enemies, his favour and mercy are here assured to his faithful loyal subjects, and his almighty power in both, making his wrath very terrible and his favour very desirable.
I. He is a God of inflexible justice, a
jealous God, and will take vengeance on his enemies; let Nineveh
know this, and tremble before him. Their idols are insignificant
things; there is nothing formidable in them. But the God of Israel
is greatly to be feared; for, 1. He resents the affronts and
indignities done him by those that deny his being or any of his
perfections, that set up other gods in competition with him, that
destroy his laws, arraign his proceedings, ridicule his word, or
are abusive to his people. Let such know that Jehovah, the one only
living and true God, is a jealous God, and a revenger; he is
jealous for the comfort of his worshippers, jealous for his
land (
II. He is a God of irresistible power, and
is able to deal with his enemies, be they ever so many, ever so
mighty, ever so hardy. He is great in power (
1. The power of God is asserted and proved
by divers instances of it in the kingdom of nature, where we always
find its visible effects in the ordinary course of nature, and
sometimes in the surprising alterations of that course. (1.) If we
look up into the regions of the air, there we shall find proofs of
his power, for he has his ways in the whirlwind and the
storm. Which way soever God goes he carries a whirlwind and a
storm along with him, for the terror of his enemies,
2. This is particularly applied to his
anger. If God be an almighty God, we may thence infer (
III. He is a God of infinite mercy; and in
the midst of all this wrath mercy is remembered. Let the sinners
in Zion be afraid, that go on still in their transgressions,
but let not those that trust in God tremble before him. For, 1. He
is slow to anger (
9 What do ye imagine against the Lord? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time. 10 For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry. 11 There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the Lord, a wicked counsellor. 12 Thus saith the Lord; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more. 13 For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder. 14 And the Lord hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile. 15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
These verses seem to point at the destruction of the army of the Assyrians under Sennacherib, which may well be reckoned a part of the burden of Nineveh, the head city of the Assyrian empire, and a pledge of the destruction of Nineveh itself about 100 years after; and this was an event which Isaiah, with whom probably this prophet was contemporary, spoke much of. Now observe here,
I. The great provocation which the
Assyrians gave to God, the just and jealous God, for which, though
slow to anger, he would take vengeance (
II. The great destruction which God would bring upon them for it, not immediately upon the whole monarchy (the ruin of that was deferred till the measure of their iniquity was full), but,
1. Upon the army; God will make an utter
end of that; it shall be totally cut off and ruined at one
blow; one fatal stroke of the destroying angel shall lay them dead
upon the spot; affliction shall not rise up the second time,
for it shall not need. With some sinners God makes a quick
despatch, does their business at once. Divine vengeance goes not by
one certain rule, nor in one constant track, but one way or other,
by acute diseases or chronical ones, by slow deaths or lingering
ones, he will make an utter end of all his enemies, who
persist in their imaginations against him. We have reason to think
that the Assyrian army were mostly of the same spirit, and spoke
the same language, with their general, and now God would take them
to task, though they did but say as they were taught; and it shall
appear that they have laid themselves open to divine wrath by their
own act and deed,
2. Upon the king. He imagined evil
against the Lord, and shall he escape? No (
III. The great deliverance which God would hereby work for his own people and the city that was called by his name. The ruin of the church's enemies is the salvation of the church, and a very great salvation it was that was wrought for Jerusalem by the overthrow of Sennacherib's army.
1. The siege shall hereby be raised: "Now will I break his yoke from off thee, by which thou art kept in servitude, and will burst thy bonds asunder, by which thou seemest bound over to the Assyrian's wrath." That vast victorious army, when it forced free quarters for itself throughout all the land of Judah, and lived at discretion there, was as yokes and bonds upon them. Jerusalem, when it was besieged, was, as it were, bound and fettered by it; but, when the destroying angel had done his work, Jerusalem's bonds were burst asunder, and it was set at liberty again. This was a figure of the great salvation, by which the Jerusalem that is above is made free, is made free indeed.
2. The enemy shall be so weakened and
dispirited that they shall never make any such attempt again, and
the end of this trouble shall be so well gained by the grace of God
that there shall be no more occasion for such a severe correction.
(1.) God will not again afflict Jerusalem; his anger is turned
away, and he says, It is enough; for he has by this
fright accomplished his whole work upon Mount Zion
(
3. The tidings of this great deliverance
shall be published and welcomed with abundance of joy throughout
the kingdom,
We now come closer to Nineveh, that great city;
she took, not warning by the destruction of her armies and the fall
of her king, and therefore may expect, since she persists in her
enmity to God, that he will proceed in his controversy with her.
Here is foretold, I. The approach of the enemy that should destroy
Nineveh, and the terror of his military preparations,
1 He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily. 2 For the Lord hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches. 3 The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken. 4 The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings. 5 He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defence shall be prepared. 6 The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved. 7 And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts. 8 But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back. 9 Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture. 10 She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.
Here is, I. An alarm of war sent to
Nineveh,
II. A manifesto published, showing the
causes of the war (
III. A particular account given in of the
terrors wherein the invading enemy shall appear against Nineveh;
every thing shall contribute to make him formidable. 1. The
shields of his mighty men are made red, and probably their
other arms and array, as if they were already tinctured with the
blood they had shed, or intended hereby to signify they would put
all to the sword; they hung out a red flag, in token that they
would give no quarter. 2. The valiant men are in scarlet;
not only red clothes, to intimate what bloody work they designed to
make, but rich clothes, to intimate the wealth of the army, and
that is the sinews of war. 3. The chariots shall be with flaming
torches in the day of his preparation; when they are making
their approaches, they shall fly as swiftly as lightning; the
wheels shall strike fire upon the stones, and those that drive them
shall drive furiously with a flaming indignation, as Jehu drove. Or
they carried flaming torches with them in the open chariots, when
they made their approach in the night, as Gideon's soldiers carried
lamps in their pitchers, to be both a guide to themselves and a
terror to their enemies, and with them to set all on fire wherever
they went. 4. The fir-trees shall be terribly shaken; the
great men of Nineveh, that overtop their neighbours, as the stately
firs do the shrubs; or the very standing trees shall be made to
shake by the violent concussions of the earth, which that great
army shall cause. 5. The chariots of war shall be very terrible
(
IV. A prediction of the consequences of
this; and it is easy to guess how dismal those will be. 1. The
queen shall fall into the hands of the enemy (
11 Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feeding-place of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid? 12 The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin. 13 Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.
Here we have Nineveh's ruin, 1. Triumphed
in by its neighbours, who now remember against it all the
oppressions and abuse of power it had been guilty of in its pomp
and prosperity (
This chapter goes on with the burden of Nineveh,
and concludes it. I. The sins of that great city are charged upon
it, murder (
1 Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not; 2 The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots. 3 The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses: 4 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts. 5 Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame. 6 And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazing-stock. 7 And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?
Here is, I. Nineveh arraigned and indicted.
It is a high charge that is here drawn up against that great city,
and neither her numbers nor her grandeur shall secure her from
prosecution. 1. It is a city of blood, in which a great deal
of innocent blood is shed by unrighteous war, or under colour and
pretence of public justice, or by suffering barbarous murders to go
unpunished; for this the righteous God will make inquisition. 2.
It is all full of lies; truth is banished from among them;
there is no such thing as honesty; one knows not whom to believe
nor whom to trust. 3. It is all full of robbery and rapine;
no man cares what mischief he does, nor to whom he does it: The
prey departs not, that is, they never know when they have got
enough by spoil and oppression. They shed blood, and told lies, in
pursuit of the prey, that they might enrich themselves. 4. There is
a multitude of whoredoms in it, that is, idolatries,
spiritual whoredoms, by which she defiled herself, and to which she
seduced the neighbouring nations, as a well-favoured harlot, and
sold and ruined nations through her whoredoms. 5. She is a
mistress of witchcrafts, and by them she sells
families,
II. Nineveh condemned to ruin upon this
indictment. Woe to this bloody city!
1. Nineveh had with her cruelties been a
terror and destruction to others, and therefore destruction and
terror shall be brought upon her. Those that are for overthrowing
all that come in their way will, sooner or later, meet with their
match. (1.) Hear the alarm with which Nineveh shall be terrified,
2. Nineveh had with her whoredoms and
witchcrafts drawn others to shameful wickedness, and therefore God
will load her with shame and contempt (
8 Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea? 9 Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers. 10 Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains. 11 Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy. 12 All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the first-ripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater. 13 Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars. 14 Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the mortar, make strong the brick-kiln. 15 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts. 16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away. 17 Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. 18 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them. 19 There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?
Nineveh has been told that God is against her, and then none can be for her, to stand her in any stead; yet she sets God himself at defiance, and his power and justice, and says, I shall have peace. Threatened folks live long; therefore here the prophet largely shows how vain her confidences would prove and insufficient to ward off the judgment of God. To convince them of this,
I. He shows them that other places, which
had been as strong and as secure as they, could not keep their
ground against the judgments of God. Nineveh shall fall unpitied
and uncomforted (for miserable comforters will those prove who
speak peace to those on whom God will fasten trouble), and she
shall not be able to help herself: Art thou better than populous
No?
II. He shows them that all those things
which they reposed a confidence in should fail them. 1. Did the men
of Nineveh trust to their own magnanimity and bravery? Their hearts
should sink and fail them. They shall be hid, shall abscond
for shame, being in disgrace, abscond for fear, being in distress
and danger, and not able to face the enemies, because of whose
strength and terror, having no strength of their own, they shall
seek strength, shall come sneaking to their neighbours to
beg their assistance in a time of need. Thus God can cut off the
spirit of princes, and take away their heart. 2. Did
they depend upon their barrier, the garrisons and strongholds they
had, which were regularly fortified and bravely manned? Those shall
prove but paper-walls, and like the first-ripe figs, which,
if you give the tree but a little shake, will fall into the
mouth of the eater that gapes for them; so easily will all
their strongholds be made to surrender to the advancing enemy, upon
the first summons,
AN
It is a very
foolish fancy of some of the Jewish rabbin that this prophet was
the son of the Shunamite woman that was at first miraculously
given, and afterwards raised to life, by Elisha (
In this chapter, I. The prophet complains to God
of the violence done by the abuse of the sword of justice among his
own people and the hardships thereby put upon many good people,
1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. 2 O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! 3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. 4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
We are told no more in the title of this
book (which we have,
5 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. 6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling-places that are not theirs. 7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. 8 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. 9 They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. 10 And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it. 11 Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.
We have here an answer to the prophet's complaint, giving him assurance that, though God bore long, he would not bear always with this provoking people; for the day of vengeance was in his heart, and he must tell them so, that they might by repentance and reformation turn away the judgment they were threatened with.
I. The preamble to the sentence is very
awful (
II. The sentence itself is very dreadful
and particular (
1. A description of the people that shall
be raised up against Israel, to be a scourge to them. (1.) They are
a bitter and hasty nation, cruel and fierce, and what they
do is done with violence and fury; they are precipitate in their
counsels, vehement in their passions, and push on with resolution
in their enterprises; they show no mercy and they spare no pains.
Miserable is the case of those that are given up into the hand of
these cruel ones. (2.) They are strong, and therefore formidable,
and such as there is no standing before, and yet no fleeing from
(
2. A prophecy of the terrible execution
that shall be made by this terrible nation: They shall march
through the breadth of the earth (so it may be read); for in a
little time the Chaldean forces subdued all the nations in those
parts, so that they seemed to have conquered the world; they
overran Asia and part of Africa. Or, through the breadth of the
land of Israel, which was wholly laid waste by them. It is here
foretold, (1.) That they shall seize all as their own that they can
lay their hands on. They shall come to possess the
dwelling-places that are not theirs, which they have no right
to, but that which their sword gives them. (2.) That they shall
push on the war with all possible vigour: They shall all come
for violence (
12 Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction. 13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? 14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? 15 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad. 16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous. 17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
The prophet, having received of the Lord that which he was to deliver to the people, now turns to God, and again addresses himself to him for the ease of his own mind under the burden which he saw. And still he is full of complaints. If he look about him, he sees nothing but violence done by Israel; if he look before him, he sees nothing but violence done against Israel; and it is hard to say which is the more melancholy sight. His thoughts of both he pours out before the Lord. It is our duty to be affected both with the iniquities and with the calamities of the church of God and of the times and places wherein we live; but we must take heed lest we grow peevish in our resentments, and carry them too far, so as to entertain any hard thoughts of God, or lose the comfort of our communion with him. The world is bad, and always was so, and will be so; it is out of our power to mend it; but we are sure that God governs the world, and will bring glory to himself out of all, and therefore we must resolve to make the best of it, must be ourselves better, and long for the better world. The prospect of the prevalence of the Chaldeans drives the prophet to his knees, and he takes the liberty to plead with God concerning it. In his plea we may observe,
I. The truths which he lays down, which he resolves to abide by, and with which he endeavours to comfort himself and his friends, under the growing threatening power of the Chaldeans; and they will furnish us with pleasing considerations for our support in the like case.
1. However it be, yet God is the Lord
our God, and our Holy One. The victorious Chaldeans
impute their power to their idols, but we are taught to tell them
that the God of Israel is the true God, the living God,
2. Our God is from everlasting. This he pleads with him: Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God? It is matter of great and continual comfort to God's people, under the troubles of this present life, that their God is from everlasting. This intimates, (1.) The eternity of his nature; if he is from everlasting, he will be to everlasting, and we must have recourse to this first principle, when things seen, which are temporal, are discouraging, that we have hope and help sufficient in a god that is not seen, that is eternal. "Art thou not from everlasting, and then wilt thou not make bare thy everlasting arm, in pursuance of thy everlasting counsels, to make unto thyself an everlasting name?" (2.) The antiquity of his covenant: "Art thou not from of old, a God in covenant with thy people" (so some understand it), "and hast thou not done great things for them in the days of old, which we have heard with our ears, and which our fathers have told us of; and art thou not the same God still that thou ever wast? Thou art God, and changest not."
3. While the world stands God will have a
church in it. Thou art from everlasting, and then we shall not
die. The Israel of God shall not be extirpated, nor the name of
Israel blotted out, though it may sometimes seem to be very near
it; like the apostles (
4. Whatever the enemies of the church may
do against her, it is according to the counsel of God, and is
designed and directed for wise and holy ends: Thou hast ordained
them; thou hast established them. It was God that gave the
Chaldeans their power, made them a formidable people, and in his
counsel determined what they should do, nor had they any power
against his Israel but what was given them from above. He
gave them their commission to take the spoil and to take the
prey,
5. Though the wickedness of the wicked may
prosper for a while, yet God is a holy God, and does not approve of
that wickedness (
II. The grievances he complains of, and
finds hard to reconcile with these truths: "Since we are sure that
thou art a holy God, why have atheists temptation given them to
question whether thou art so or no? Wherefore lookest thou upon
the Chaldeans that deal treacherously with thy people,
and givest them success in their attempts upon us? Why dost thou
suffer thy sworn enemies, who blaspheme thy name, to deal thus
cruelly, thus perfidiously, with thy sworn subjects, who desire to
fear thy name? What shall we say to this?" This was a temptation to
Job (
III. The prophet, in the close, humbly
expresses his hope that God will not suffer these destroyers of
mankind always to go on and prosper thus, and expostulates with God
concerning it (
In this chapter we have an answer expected by the
prophet (
1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. 2 And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. 4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Here, I. The prophet humbly gives his
attendance upon God (
II. God graciously gives him the meeting;
for he will not disappoint the believing expectations of his people
that wait to hear what he will say unto them, but will speak
peace, will answer them with good words and comfortable
words,
1. The prophet must write the
vision,
2. The people must wait for the
accomplishment of the vision (
3. This vision, the accomplishment of which
is so long waited for, will be such an exercise of faith and
patience as will try and discover men what they are,
5 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people: 6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! 7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? 8 Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. 9 Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! 10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. 11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. 12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity! 13 Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? 14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
The prophet having had orders to write
the vision, and the people to wait for the accomplishment of
it, the vision itself follows; and it is, as divers other
prophecies we have met with, the burden of Babylon and Babylon's
king, the same that was said to pass over and offend,
I. The charge laid down against this enemy,
upon which the sentence is grounded,
II. The sentence passed upon him (
1. That, since pride has been his sin, disgrace and dishonour shall be his punishment, and he shall be loaded with contempt, shall be laughed at and despised by all about him, as those that look big, and aim high, deserve to be, and commonly are, when they are brought down and baffled.
2. That, since he has been abusive to his
neighbours, those very persons whom he has abused shall be the
instruments of his disgrace: All those shall take up a taunting
proverb against him. They shall have the pleasure of insulting
over him and he the shame of being trampled upon by them. Those
that shall triumph in the fall of this great tyrant are here
furnished with a parable, and a taunting proverb, to
take up against him. He shall say (he that draws up the
insulting ditty shall say thus), Ho, he that increases that
which is not his! Aha! what has become of him now? So it may be
read in a taunting way. Or, He shall say, that is, the
just, who lives by his faith, he to whom the vision is
written and made plain, with the help of that shall say this, shall
foretel the enemy's fall, even when he sees him flourishing, and
suddenly curse his habitation, even when he is taking
root,
(1.) Here is a woe against him for
increasing his own possessions by invading his neighbour's rights,
(2.) Here is a woe against him for coveting
still more, and aiming to be still higher,
(3.) Here is a woe against him for building
a town and a city by blood and extortion (
15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! 16 Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the Lord's right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory. 17 For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. 18 What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? 19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. 20 But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
The three foregoing articles, upon which
the woes here are grounded, are very near akin to each other. The
criminals charged by them are oppressors and extortioners, that
raise estates by rapine and injustice; and it is mentioned here
again (
But here are two articles more, of a different nature, which carry a woe to all those in general to whom they belong, and particularly to the Babylonian monarchs, by whom the people of God were taken and held captives.
I. The promoters of drunkenness stand here
impeached and condemned. Belshazzar was one of those; he was so,
remarkably that very night that the prophecy of this chapter was
fulfilled in the period of his life and kingdom, when he drank
wine before a thousand of his lords (
1. Who the sinner is that is here articled
against; it is he that makes his neighbour drunk,
2. What the sentence is that is here passed
upon him. There is a woe to him (
II. The promoters of idolatry stand here impeached and condemned; and this also was a sin that Babylon was notoriously guilty of; it was the mother of harlots. Belshazzar, in his revels, praised his idols. And for this, here is a woe against them, and in them against all others that do likewise, particularly the New-Testament Babylon. Now see here,
1. What they do to promote idolatry; they
are mad upon their idols; so the Chaldeans are said to be,
2. How the extreme folly of this is
exposed. God, by Isaiah, when he foretold the deliverance of his
people out of Babylon, largely showed the shameful stupidity and
sottishness of idolaters, and so he does here by the prophet, on
the like occasion. (1.) Their images, when they have made them, are
but mere matter, which is the meanest lowest rank of being; and all
the expense they are at upon them cannot advance them one step
above that. They are wholly void both of sense and reason, lifeless
and speechless (the idol is a dumb idol, a dumb
stone, and there is no breath at all in the midst of
it), so that the most minute animal, that has but breath and
motion, is more excellent then they. They have not so much as the
spirit of a beast. (2.) It is not in their power to do their
worshippers any good (
3. How the people of God triumph in him,
and therewith support themselves, when the idolaters thus shame
themselves (
Still the correspondence is kept up between God
and his prophet. In the
1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth. 2 O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.
This chapter is entitled a prayer of
Habakkuk. It is a meditation with himself, an intercession for
the church. Prophets were praying men; this prophet was so (He
is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee,
3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. 4 And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power. 5 Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet. 6 He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting. 7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. 8 Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation? 9 Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. 10 The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high. 11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear. 12 Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger. 13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah. 14 Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly. 15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters.
It has been the usual practice of God's
people, when they have been in distress and ready to fall into
despair, to help themselves by recollecting their experiences, and
reviving them, considering the days of old, and the years
of ancient times (
I. God appeared in his glory, so as he
never did before or since (
II. God sent plagues on Egypt, for the
humbling of proud Pharaoh, and the obliging of him to let the
people go (
III. He divided the land of Canaan to his
people Israel, and expelled the heathen from before them (
IV. He divided the Red Sea and Jordan, when
they stood in the way of Israel's progress, and yet fetched a river
out of a rock when Israel wanted it,
So here, Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers; channels were made in the wilderness, such as seemed to cleave the earth, for the waters to run in, which issued out of the rock, to supply the camp of Israel, and which followed them in all their removes. Note, The God of nature can alter and control the powers of nature, which way he pleases, can turn waters into crystal rocks and rocks into crystal streams.
V. He arrested the motion of the sun and
moon, to befriend and complete Israel's victories (
VI. He carried on and completed Israel's
victories over the nations of Canaan and their kings; he slew
great kings and famous,
1. Many expressions are here used to set
forth the conquest of Canaan. (1.) God's bow was made quite
naked, taken out of the case, to be employed for Israel; we
should say, his sword was quite unsheathed, not drawn out a
little way, to frighten the enemy, and then put up again, but quite
drawn out, not to be returned till they are all cut off. (2.) He
marched through the land from end to end, in
indignation, as scorning to let that wicked generation of
Canaanites any longer possess so good a land. He marched cum
fastidio—with distaste (so some), despising their
confederacies. (3.) He threshed the heathen in anger, trod
them down, nay, he trod them out, as corn in the floor, to give
them, and what they had, to be meat to his people Israel,
2. There were three things that God had a
eye to, in giving Israel so many bloody victories over the
Canaanites:—(1.) He would hereby make good his promise to the
fathers; it was according to the oaths of the tribes, even his
word,
16 When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops. 17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
Within the compass of these few lines we have the prophet in the highest degree both of trembling and triumphing, such are the varieties both of the state and of the spirit of God's people in this world. In heaven there shall be no more trembling, but everlasting triumphs.
I. The prophet had foreseen the prevalence
of the church's enemies and the long continuance of the church's
troubles; and the sight made him tremble,
II. He had looked back upon the experiences of the church in former ages, and had observed what great things God had done for them, and so he recovered himself out of his fright, and not only retrieved his temper, but fell into a transport of holy joy, with an express non obstante—notwithstanding to the calamities he foresaw coming, and this not for himself only, but in the name of every faithful Israelite.
1. He supposes the ruin of all his creature
comforts and enjoyments, not only of the delights of this life, but
even of the necessary supports of it,
2. He resolves to delight and triumph in
God notwithstanding; when all is gone his God is not gone
(
AN
This prophet
is placed last, as he was last in time, of all the minor prophets
before the captivity, and not long before Jeremiah, who lived at
the time of the captivity. He foretels the general destruction of
Judah and Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, and sets their sins in order
before them, which had provoked God to bring their ruin upon them,
calls them to repentance, threatens the neighbouring nations with
the like destructions, and gives encouraging promises of their
joyful return out of captivity in due time, which have a reference
to the grace of the gospel. We have, in the
After the title of the book (
1 The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. 2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord. 3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord. 4 I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests; 5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham; 6 And them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor enquired for him.
Here is, I. The title-page of this book
(
II. The summary, or contents, of this book.
The general proposition contained in it is, That utter destruction
is coming apace upon Judah and Jerusalem for sin. Without preamble,
or apology, he begins abruptly (
7 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. 8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel. 9 In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit. 10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills. 11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off. 12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil. 13 Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.
Notice is here given to Judah and Jerusalem
that God is coming forth against them, and will be with them
shortly; his presence, as a just avenger, his day,
the day of his judgment and his wrath, are not far off,
I. Who those are that are marked to be
sacrificed, that shall be visited and punished in this day of
reckoning, and what it is they shall be called to an account for.
1. The royal family, because of the dignity of their place, shall
be first reckoned with for their pride, and vanity, and affectation
(
II. What the destruction will be with which
God will punish these sinners, and what course he will take with
them. 1. He will silence them (
14 The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. 15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. 17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
Nothing could be expressed with more spirit
and life, nor in words more proper to startle and awaken a secure
and careless people, than the warning here given to Judah and
Jerusalem of the approaching destruction by the Chaldeans. That is
enough to make the sinners in Zion tremble—that it is the day
of the Lord, the day in which he will manifest himself by
taking vengeance on them. It is the great day of the Lord, a
specimen of the day of judgment, a kind of doom's-day, as the last
destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans is represented to be in our
Saviour's prediction concerning it,
I. This day of the Lord is here spoken of as very near. The vision is not for a great while to come, as those imagine who put the evil day far from them. Those deceive themselves who look upon it as a thing at a distance, for it is near—it is near—it hastens greatly. The prophet gives the alarm like one that is in earnest, like one that awakens a family with the cry of Fire! fire! when it is at the next door that the danger is: "It is near! it is near! and therefore it is high time to bestir yourselves, and do what you can for your own safety before it be too late." It is madness for those to slumber whose damnation slumbers not, and to linger when it hastens.
II. It is spoken of as a very dreadful day.
The very voice of this day of the Lord, the noise of
it, when it is coming, shall be so terrible as to make the
mighty men cry there bitterly, cry for fear as children do.
It shall be a vexation to hear the report of it. In
the last great day of the Lord the mighty men shall cry bitterly to
rocks and mountains to shelter them; but in vain. Observe how
emphatically the prophet speaks of this day approaching (
III. It is spoken of as a destroying day,
IV. The destruction of that day will be
unavoidable and universal,
In this chapter we have, I. An earnest exhortation
to the nation of the Jews to repent and make their peace with God,
and so to prevent the judgments threatened before it was too late
(
1 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; 2 Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger come upon you. 3 Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger.
Here we see what the prophet meant in that terrible description of the approaching judgments which we had in the foregoing chapter. From first to last his design was, not to drive the people to despair, but to drive them to God and to their duty—not to frighten them out of their wits, but to frighten them out of their sins. In pursuance of that he here calls them to repentance, national repentance, as the only way to prevent national ruin. Observe,
I. The summons given them to a national
assembly (
II. Arguments urged to press them to the
utmost seriousness and expedition herein (
III. Directions prescribed for the doing of
this effectually. It is not enough to gather together in a
consternation, but they must seriously and calmly apply to the duty
of the day (
IV. Encouragements given to take these
directions: It may be, you shall be hid in the day of the Lord's
anger. 1. "You particularly that are the meek of the
earth. Though the day of the Lord's anger do come upon the
land, yet you shall be safe, you shall be taken under special
protection. Verily it shall be well with thy remnant,
4 For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up. 5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the Lord is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant. 6 And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks. 7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the Lord their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.
The prophet here comes to foretel what share the neighbouring nations should have in the destruction made upon those parts of the world by Nebuchadnezzar and his victorious Chaldees, as others of the prophets did at that time, which is designed, 1. To awaken the people of the Jews, by making them sensible how strong, how deep, how large, the inundation of calamities should be, that the day of the Lord, which was near, might appear the more dreadful, and they might thereby be quickened to prepare for it as for a general deluge. 2. To comfort them with this thought, that their case, though sad, should not be singular (Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris—The wretched find it consolatory to have companions of their woe), and much more with this, that though God had seemed to be their enemy, and to fight against them, yet he was still so far their friend, and an enemy to their enemies, that he resented, and would revenge, the indignities done them.
In these verses we have the doom of the
Philistines, who were near neighbours, and old enemies, to the
people of Israel. Five lordships there were in that country; only
four are here named—Gaza and Ashkelon, Ashdod and
Ekron; Gath, the fifth, is not named, some think because it
was now subject to Judah. They were the inhabitants of the
sea-coasts (
I. It is here foretold that the
Philistines, the usurpers, shall be dispossessed and quite
extirpated. In general, here is a woe to them (
II. It is here foretold that the house of
Judah, the rightful owners, shall recover the possession of it,
8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border. 9 Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and salt-pits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them. 10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the Lord of hosts. 11 The Lord will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.
The Moabites and Ammonites were both of the posterity of Lot; their countries joined, and, both adjoining to Israel, they are here put together in the prophecy against them.
I. They are both charged with the same
crime, and that was reproaching and reviling the people of God and
triumphing in their calamities (
II. They are both laid under the same doom.
Associates in iniquity may expect to be such in desolation. See
with what solemnity sentence is pronounced upon them,
III. Other nations shall in like manner be
humbled, that the Lord alone may be exalted (
12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword. 13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness. 14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work. 15 This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.
The cup is going round, when
Nebuchadnezzar is going on conquering and to conquer; and not only
Israel's near neighbours, but those that lay more remote, must be
reckoned with for the wrongs they have done to God's people; the
Ethiopians and the Assyrians are here taken to task. 1. The
Ethiopians, or Arabians, that had sometimes been a terror to Israel
(as in Asa's time,
We now return to Jerusalem, and must again hear
what God has to say to her, I. By way of reproof and threatening,
for the abundance of wickedness that was found in her, of which
divers instances are given, with the aggravations of them,
1 Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! 2 She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God. 3 Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow. 4 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law. 5 The just Lord is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame. 6 I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant. 7 I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.
One would wonder that Jerusalem, the holy city, where God was known, and his name was great, should be the city of which this black character is here given, that a place which enjoyed such abundance of the means of grace should become so very corrupt and vicious, and that God should permit it to be so; yet so it is, to show that the law made nothing perfect; but if this be the true character of Jerusalem, as no doubt it is (for God's judgments will make none worse than they are), it is no wonder that the prophet begins with woe to her. For the holy God hates sin in those that are nearest to him, nay, in them he hates it most. A sinful state is, and will be, a woeful state.
I. Here is a very bad character given of
the city in general. How has the faithful city become a harlot! 1.
She shames herself; she is filthy and polluted (
II. Here is a very bad character of the
leading men in it; those that should by their influence suppress
vice and profaneness there are the great patterns and patrons of
wickedness, and those that should be her physicians are really her
worst disease. 1. Her princes are ravenous and barbarous as
roaring lions that make a prey of all about them, and they
are universally feared and hated; they use their power for
destruction, and not for edification. 2. Her judges, who
should be the protectors of injured innocence, are evening
wolves, rapacious and greedy, and their cruelty and
covetousness both insatiable: They gnaw not the bones till the
morrow; they take so much delight and pleasure in cruelty and
oppression that when they have devoured a good man they reserve the
bones, as it were, for a sweet morsel, to be gnawed the next
morning,
III. We have here the aggravations of this general corruption of all orders and degrees of men in Jerusalem.
1. They had the tokens of God's presence
among them, and all the advantages that could be of knowing his
will, with the strongest inducements possible to do it, and yet
they persisted in their disobedience,
2. God had set before their eyes some
remarkable monuments of his justice, which were designed for
warning to them (
3. He had set before them life and death, good and evil, both in his word and in his providence. (1.) He had assured them of the continuance of their prosperity if they would fear him and receive instruction, for so their dwelling would not be cut off as their neighbour's was; if they took the warning given them, and reformed, what was past should be pardoned, and their tranquility lengthened out. (2.) He had made them feel the smart of the rod, though he reprieved them from the sword: Howsoever I punished them, that, being chastened, they might not be condemned. Such various methods did God take with them, to reclaim them, but all in vain; they were not won upon by gentle methods, nor had severe ones any effect, for they rose early, and corrupted all their doings; they were more resolute and eager in their wicked courses than ever, more studious and solicitous in making provision for their lusts, and let slip no opportunity for the gratification of them. God rose up early, to send them his prophets, to reduce and reclaim them, but they were up before him, to shut and bolt the door against them. Their wickedness was universal: All their doings were corrupted; and it was all owing to themselves; they could not lay the blame upon the tempter, but they alone must bear it; they themselves wilfully and designedly corrupted all their doings; for every man is tempted when he is drawn aside of his own lust and enticed.
8 Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. 9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent. 10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. 11 In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain. 12 I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. 13 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
Things looked very bad with Jerusalem in
the
I. To avenge what has been done amiss
against his church, to bring down and destroy the enemies of it,
its spiritual enemies, of which the destruction of Babylon, and
other oppressors of God's people, in the Old-Testament times, was a
type, and would be a happy presage. He will rise up to the
prey, to lead captivity captive (
II. To amend what he finds amiss in his
church. When God intends the restoration of Israel, and the revival
of their peace and prosperity, he makes way for the accomplishment
of his purpose by their reformation and the revival of their virtue
and piety; for this is God's method, both with particular persons
and with communities, first to make them holy and then to make them
happy. These promises were in part accomplished after the return of
the Jews out of Babylon, when by their captivity they were
thoroughly cured of their idolatry; and this was all the fruit,
even the taking away of sin. But they look further, to the blessed
effects of the gospel and the grace of it, to those times of
reformation in which we live,
1. It is promised that there shall be a
reformation in men's discourse, which had been generally corrupt,
but should now be with grace seasoned with salt (
2. That the worship of God, according to
his will, shall be more closely applied to, and more unanimously
concurred in. Instead of sacrifice and incense, they shall call
upon the name of the Lord. Prayer is the spiritual offering
with which God must be honoured; and, to prepare and fit us for
that duty, it is necessary that we have a pure language. We
are utterly unfit to take God's name into our lips, unless they be
pure lips. The purifying of the language in common conversation is
necessary to the acceptableness of the words of our mouth and the
meditation of our heart on our devotion; for how can sweet
waters and bitter come out of the same fountain?
3. That those that were driven from God
shall return to him and be accepted of him (
4. That sin and sinners shall be purged out
from among them,
5. That God will have a remnant of holy,
humble, serious people among them, that shall have the comfort of
their relation to him and interest in him (
6. That this select remnant shall be
blessed with purity and peace,
14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15 The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. 16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. 17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. 18 I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. 19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. 20 At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.
After the promises of the taking away of
sin, here follow promises of the taking away of trouble; for when
the cause is removed the effect will cease. What makes a people
holy will make them happy of course. The precious promises here
made to the purified people were to have their full accomplishment
in the comforts of the gospel, in the hope, and much more in the
enjoyment, of which, they are here called upon, 1. To rejoice and
sing (
Let us now see what these precious promises are which are here made to the people of God, for the banishing of their griefs and fears and the encouraging of their hopes and joys; and to us are these promises made as well as to them.
I. An end shall be put to all their
troubles and distresses (
II. God will give them the tokens of his
presence with them; though he has long seemed to stand at a
distance (they having provoked him to withdraw), he will make it to
appear that he is with them of a truth: "The Lord is in the
midst of thee, O Zion! of thee, O Jerusalem! as the sun
in the centre of the universe, to diffuse his light and influence
upon every part. He is in the midst of thee, to preside in
all thy affairs and to take care of all thy interests." And, 1. "He
is the King of Israel (
III. God will take delight in them, and in
doing them good. The expressions of this are very lively and
affecting (
IV. God will comfort Zion's mourners, who
sympathize with her in her griefs, and will wipe away their tears
(
V. God will recover the captives out of the
hands of their oppressors, and bring home the banished that seemed
to be expelled,
VI. God will by all this put honour upon
them and gain them respect from all about them. Israel was at first
made high above all nations in praise and fame,
AN
The
captivity in Babylon gave a very remarkable turn to the affairs of
the Jewish church both in history and prophecy. It is made a signal
epocha in our Saviour's genealogy,
In this chapter, after the preamble of the
prophecy, we have, I. A reproof of the people of the Jews for their
dilatoriness and slothfulness in building the temple, which had
provoked God to contend with them by the judgment of famine and
scarcity, with an exhortation to them to resume that good work and
to prosecute it in good earnest,
1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, 2 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built. 3 Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? 5 Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. 6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. 7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. 9 Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. 10 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. 11 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.
It was the complaint of the Jews in Babylon
that they saw not their signs, and there was no more
prophet (
I. What the sin of the Jews was at this
time,
II. What the judgments of God were by which
they were punished for this neglect,
1. How God contended with them. He did not
send them into captivity again, nor bring a foreign enemy upon
them, as they deserved, but took the correcting of them into his
own hands; for his mercies are great. (1.) He that gives seed to
the sower denied his blessing upon the seed sown, and
then it never prospered; they had nothing, or next to nothing, from
it. They sowed much (
2. Observe wherefore God thus contended
with them, and stopped the current of the favours promised them at
their return (
III. The reproof which the prophet gives
them for their neglect of the temple-work (
IV. The good counsel which the prophet
gives to those who thus despised God, and whom God was therefore
justly displeased with. 1. He would have them reflect: Now
therefore consider your ways,
12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord. 13 Then spake Haggai the Lord's messenger in the Lord's message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord. 14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.
As an ear-ring of gold (says
Solomon), and an ornament of fine gold, so amiable, so
acceptable, in the sight of God and man, is a wise reprover upon
an obedient ear,
I. How the people returned to God in a way
of duty. All those to whom that sermon was preached received the
word in the love of it, and were wrought upon by it. Zerubbabel,
the chief governor, did not think himself above the check and
command of God's word. He was a man that had been eminently useful
in his day, and serviceable to the interest of the church, yet did
not plead his former merits in answer to this reproof for his
present remissness, but submitted to it. Joshua's business, as high
priest, was to teach, and yet he was willing himself to be taught,
and willingly received admonition and instruction. The remnant
of the people (and the whole body of them was but a remnant, a
very few of the many thousands of Israel) also were very pliable;
they all obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and bowed
their neck to the yoke of his commands, and it is here recorded to
their honour that they did so,
II. How God met them in a way of mercy. The
same prophet that brought them the reproof brought them a very
comforting encouraging word (
In this chapter we have three sermons preached by
the prophet Haggai for the encouragement of those that are forward
to build the temple. In the first he assures the builders that the
glory of the house they were now building should, in spiritual
respects, though not in outward, exceed that of Solomon's temple,
in which he has an eye to the coming of Christ,
1 In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying, 2 Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, 3 Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? 4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts: 5 According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. 6 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; 7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. 9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.
Here is, I. The date of this message,
II. The direction of this message,
III. The message itself, in which observe,
1. The discouragements which those laboured
under who were employed in this work. That which was such a damp
upon them, and an alloy to their joy, when the foundation of the
temple was laid, was still a clog upon them—that they could not
build such a temple now as Solomon built, not so large, so stately,
so sumptuous, a one as that was. This fetched tears from the eyes
of many, when the dimensions of it were first laid (
2. The encouragement that is given them to
go on in the work, notwithstanding (
3. The grounds of these encouragements. God
himself says to them, Fear you not (
(1.) They have God with them, his Spirit
and his special presence: Be strong, for I am with you, saith
the Lord of hosts,
(2.) They shall have the Messiah among them
shortly—him that should come. To him bore all the prophets
witness and this prophet particularly here,
(3.) The house they are now building shall
be filled with glory to such a degree that its glory shall exceed
that of Solomon's temple. The enemies of the Jews followed them
with reproach, and cast contempt upon the house they were building;
but they might very well endure that when God undertook to fill it
with glory. It is God's prerogative to fill with glory; the glory
that comes from him is satisfying, and not vain glory. Moses's
tabernacle and Solomon's temple were filled with glory when God in
a cloud took possession of them; but this house shall be filled
with glory of another nature. [1.] Let them not be concerned
because this house will not have so much silver and gold about it
as Solomon's temple had,
(4.) They should see a comfortable end of
their present troubles, and enjoy the pleasure of a happy
settlement: In this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of
hosts. Note, God's presence with his people in his ordinances
secures to them all good. If God be with us, peace is with us. But
the Jews under the latter temple had so much trouble that we must
conclude this promise to have its accomplishment in that spiritual
peace which Jesus Christ has by his blood purchased for, and by his
last will and testament bequeathed to, all believers (
10 In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, 11 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, 12 If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. 13 Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. 14 Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean. 15 And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord: 16 Since those days were, when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the press-fat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty. 17 I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the Lord. 18 Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider it. 19 Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.
This sermon was preached two months after that in the former part of the chapter. The priests and Levites preached constantly, but the prophets preached occasionally; both were good and needful. We have need to be taught our duty in season and out of season. The people were now going on vigorously with the building of the temple, and in hopes shortly to have it ready for their use and to be employed in the services of it; and now God sends them a message by his prophet, which would be of use to them.
I. By way of conviction and caution. They were now engaged in a very good work, but they were concerned to see to it, not only that it was good for the matter of it, but that it was done in a right manner, for otherwise it would not be accepted of God. God sees there are many among them that spoil this good work, by going about it with unsanctified hearts and hands, and are likely to gain no advantage to themselves by it; these are here convicted, and all are warned thereby to purify the hands they employ in this work, for to the pure only all things are pure, and from the pure only that comes which is pure. This matter is here illustrated by the established rules of the ceremonial law, in putting a difference between the clean and the unclean, about which many of the appointments of the law were conversant. Hereby it appears that a spiritual use is to be made of the ceremonial law, and that it was intended, not only as a divine ritual to the Jews, but for instruction in righteousness to all, even to us upon whom the ends of the world have come, to discover to us both sin and Christ, both our disease and our remedy. Now observe here,
1. What the rule of the law was. The
prophet is ordered to enquire of the priests concerning it
(
2. How it is here applied (
II. By way of comfort and encouragement. If
their hearts be right with God, and their eye single in his
service, they shall have the benefit of their devotion. God will
take away the judgment of famine wherewith they have been corrected
for their remissness, and will restore them great plenty. This they
are called to consider, and to observe whether God would not be to
the utmost as good as his word, and by his providence remarkably
countenance and recompense their reformation in this matter. To
make this the more signal, let them set down the day when they
began to work at the building of the temple, to raise the structure
upon the foundations that had been laid some time before. On the
twenty-fourth day of the sixth month they began to prepare
materials (
20 And again the word of the Lord came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying, 21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; 22 And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. 23 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts.
After Haggai's sermon ad
populum—to the people, here follows one, the same day,
ad magistratum—to the magistrates, a word directed
particularly to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, who was a
leading active man in this good work which the people now set
about, and therefore he shall have some particular marks put upon
him (
I. Let him expect to hear of great
commotions in the nations of the earth, and let them not be a
surprise to him; behold, he is told of them before (
II. Let him depend upon it that he shall be
safe under the divine protection in the midst of all these
commotions,
AN
This prophet
was colleague with the prophet Haggai, and a worker together with
him in forwarding the building of the second temple (
In this chapter, after the introduction (
1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, 2 The Lord hath been sore displeased with your fathers. 3 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. 4 Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the Lord. 5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? 6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.
Here is, I. The foundation of Zechariah's
ministry; it is laid in a divine authority: The word of the Lord
came to him. He received a divine commission to be God's mouth
to the people and with it instructions what to say. He received of
the Lord that which also he delivered unto them. The word of the
Lord was to him; it came in the evidence and demonstration of
the Spirit, as a real thing, and not a fancy. For the ascertaining
of this, we have here, 1. The time when the word of the Lord came
first to him, or when the word that next follows came to him: it
was in the second year of Darius. Before the captivity the
prophets dated their writings by the reigns of the kings of Judah
and Israel; but now by the reigns of the kings of Persia, to whom
they were subjects. Such a melancholy change had sin made of their
circumstances. Zerubbabel took not so much state upon him as to
have public acts dated by the years of his government, and in
things of this nature the prophets, as is fit, complied with the
usage of the time, and scrupled not to reckon by the years of the
heathen kings, as
II. The first-fruits of Zechariah's ministry. Before he came to visions and revelations, and delivered his prophetic discourses, he preached that which was plain and practical; for it is best to begin with that. Before he published the promises of mercy, he published calls to repentance, for thus the way of the Lord must be prepared. Law must be first preached, and then gospel. Now,
1. The prophet here puts them in mind of
the controversy God had had with their fathers (
2. He calls them, in God's name, to return
to him, and make their peace with him,
3. He warns them not to persist in their
impenitence, as their fathers had done (
(1.) "What was the message that God sent by his servants the prophets to your fathers: The former prophets cried to your fathers. cried aloud, and did not spare, not spare themselves, not spare your fathers; they cried as men in earnest, as men that would be heard; they spoke not as from themselves, but in the name of the Lord of hosts; and this was the substance of what they said, the burden of every song, the application of every sermon—Turn you now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings; the very same that we now preach to you. Be persuaded to leave your sins; resolve to have no more to do with them. A speedy reformation is the only way to prevent an approaching ruin: Turn you now from sin to God without delay."
(2.) "How little this message was regarded
by your fathers: But they did not hear, they did not heed.
They turned a deaf ear to these calls: They would not hearken
unto me, saith the Lord. They would not be reclaimed, would not
be ruled, by the word I sent them; say not then that you will do as
your fathers did, for they did amiss;" see
(3.) "What has become both of your fathers
and of the prophets that preached to them? They are all dead and
gone,"
(4.) "What were the effects of the word
which God spoke to them by his prophets,
7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, 8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white. 9 Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be. 10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. 11 And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest. 12 Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? 13 And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words. 14 So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. 15 And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. 17 Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
We not come to visions and revelations of
the Lord; for in that way God chose to speak by Zechariah, to
awaken the people's attention, and to engage their humble reverence
of the word and their humble enquiries into it, and to fix it the
more in their minds and memories. Most of the following visions
seem designed for the comfort of the Jews, now newly returned out
of captivity, and their encouragement to go on with the building of
the temple. The scope of this vision (which is as an introduction
to the rest) is to assure the Jews of the care God took of them,
and the eye of his providence that was upon them for good, now in
their present state, when they seem to be deserted, and their case
deplorable. The vision is dated (
I. What the prophet saw, and the
explication of that. 1. He saw a grove of myrtle-trees, a
dark shady grove, down in a bottom, hidden by the adjacent
hills, so that you were not aware of it till you were just upon it.
This represented the low, dark, solitary, melancholy condition of
the Jewish church at this time. They were over-topped by all their
neighbours, buried in obscurity; what friends they had were hidden,
and there appeared no way of relief and succour for them. Note, The
church has not been always visible, but sometimes hidden, as the
woman in the wilderness,
II. What the prophet heard, and what instructions were thereby given him. Faith comes by hearing, and, generally, in visions there was something said.
1. He heard the report or representation
which the angels made to Christ of the present state of the world,
2. He heard Christ's intercession with the
Father for his afflicted church,
3. He heard a gracious reply given to this
intercession of Christ's for his church; for it is a prevailing
intercession, always acceptable, and him the Father heareth
always (
4. He heard that reply which was given to
the angel repeated to himself, with a commission to publish it to
the children of his people, for their comfort. The revelation of
Jesus Christ which God gave to him he signified to his
servant John, and by him to the churches,
18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. 19 And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. 20 And the Lord shewed me four carpenters. 21 Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.
It is the comfort and triumph of the church
(
I. We have here the enemies of the church
bold and daring, and threatening to be its death, to cut off the
name of Israel; such the people of God had lately been insulted
by: I looked and behold four horns (
II. We have here the friends of the church
active and prevailing. The prophet did himself lift up his eyes and
see the four horns, and saw them so formidable that he began to
despair of the safety of every good man, and the success of every
good work; but the Lord then showed him four
carpenters, or smiths, who were empowered to cut off
these horns,
In this chapter we have, I. Another vision which
the prophet saw, not for his own entertainment, but for his
satisfaction and the edification of those to whom he was sent,
1 I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof. 3 And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, 4 And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein: 5 For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
This prophet was ordered, in God's name, to
assure the people (
I. He sees, in a vision, a man going to
measure Jerusalem (
II. He is informed that this vision means
well to Jerusalem, that the measuring line he saw was not a line
of confusion (as that
6 Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord. 7 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. 8 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. 9 For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me.
One would have thought that Cyrus's
proclamation, which gave liberty to the captive Jews to return to
their own land, would suffice to bring them all back, and that, as
when Pharaoh gave them leave to quit Egypt and their house of
bondage there, they would not leave a hoof behind; but it seems it
had not that effect. There were about 40,000 whose spirits God
stirred up to go, and they went; but many, perhaps the greater
part, stayed behind. The land of their captivity was to most of them
the land of their nativity; they had taken root there, had gained a
settlement, and many of them a very comfortable one; some perhaps
had got estates and preferments there, and they did not think they
could better themselves by returning to their own land. Patria
est ubicunque bene est—My country is every spot where I feel
myself happy. They had no great affection to their own land,
and apprehended the difficulties in their way to it insuperable.
This proceeded from a bad cause—a distrust of the power and
promise of God, a love of ease and worldly wealth, and an
indifference to the religion of their country and to the God of
Israel himself; and it had a bad effect, for it was a tacit censure
of those as foolish, rash, and given to change, that did return,
and a weakening of their hands in the work of God. Such as these
could not sing (
10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. 11 And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. 12 And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. 13 Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.
Here is, I. Joy proclaimed to the church of God, to the daughter of Zion, that had separated herself from the daughter of Babylon. The Jews that had returned were in distress and danger, their enemies in the neighbourhood were spiteful against them, their friends that remained in Babylon were cool towards them, shy of them, and declined coming in to their assistance; and yet they are directed to sing, and to rejoice even in tribulation. Note, Those that have recovered their purity, and integrity, and spiritual liberty, though they have not yet recovered their outward prosperity, have reason to sing and rejoice, to give glory to God and take comfort to themselves.
I. God will have a people among them. If
their brethren in Babylon will not come to them, those of other
nations shall, and shall replenish Jerusalem and the cities of
Judah: Many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day
that are now at a distance from him and strangers to him. The
Jewish nation, after the captivity, multiplied very much, by the
accession of proselytes to it, that were naturalized, and were
entitled to all the privileges of native Israelites, and perhaps
they were equal in number; and therefore Paul mentions it as an
honour to him which many Jews had not, that he was of the tribe
of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews,
II. They shall have his presence among
them: Sing and rejoice, for I come. Those to whom God comes
have reason to rejoice, for he will be to them their chief joy. God
will come, not to make them a visit only, but to reside with them
and preside over them: I will dwell in the midst of thee
(
III. They shall have all their ancient
dignities and privileges restored to them again,
II. Here is silence proclaimed to all the
world besides,
The vision in the foregoing chapter gave
assurances of the re-establishing of the civil interests of the
Jewish nation, the promises of which terminated in Christ. Now the
vision in this chapter concerns their church-state, and their
ecclesiastical interests, and assures them that they shall be put
into a good posture again; and the promises of this also have an
eye to Christ, who is not only our prince, but the high priest of
our profession, of whom Joshua was a type. Here is, I. A vision
relating to Joshua, as the representative of the church in his
time, representing the disadvantages he laboured under, and the
people in him, with the redress of the grievances of both. 1. He is
accused by Satan, but is brought off by Christ,
1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 2 And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? 3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. 4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. 5 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by. 6 And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, 7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.
There was a Joshua that was a principal
agent in the first settling of Israel in Canaan; here is another of
the same name very active in their second settlement there after
the captivity; Jesus is the same name, and it signifies
Saviour; and they were both figures of him that was to come,
our chief captain and our chief priest. The angel that talked with
Zechariah showed him Joshua the high priest; it is probable
that the prophet saw him frequently, that he spoke to him, and that
there was a great intimacy between them; but, in his common views,
he only saw how he appeared before men; if he must know how he
stands before the Lord, it must be shown him in vision; and so it
is shown him. And men are really as they are with God, not as they
appear in the eye of the world. He stood before the angel of the
Lord, that is, before Christ, the Lord of the angels, to whom
even the high priests themselves, of Aaron's order, were
accountable. He stood before the angel of the Lord to
execute his office, to minister to God under the inspection of the
angels. He stood to consult the oracle on the behalf of Israel, for
whom, as high priest, he was agent. Guilt and corruption are our
two great discouragements when we stand before God. By the guilt of
the sins committed by us we have become obnoxious to the justice of
God; by the power of the sin that dwells in us we have become
odious to the holiness of God. All God's Israel are in danger upon
these two accounts. Joshua was so here, for the law made men
priests that had infirmity,
I. Joshua is accused as a criminal, but is
justified. 1. A violent opposition is made to him. Satan stands
at his right hand to resist him to be a Satan to him, a
law-adversary. He stands at his right hand, as the prosecutor,
or witness, at the right hand of the prisoner. Note, The devil is
the accuser of the brethren, that accuses them before God day
and night,
II. Joshua appears as one polluted, but is
purified; for he represents the Israel of God, who are all as an
unclean thing, till they are washed and sanctified in the
name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. Now
observe here, 1. The impurity wherein Joshua appeared (
III. Joshua is in danger of being turned
out of office; but, instead of that, he is reinstalled and
established in his office. He not only has his sins pardoned, and
is furnished with grace sufficient for himself, but, as rectus
in curia—acquitted in court, he is restored to his former
honours and trusts. 1. The crown of the priesthood is put upon him,
8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. 9 For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 10 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.
As the promises made to David often slide insensibly into promises of the Messiah, whose kingdom David's was a type of, so the promises here made to Joshua immediately rise as far upward, and look as far forward, as to Christ, whose priesthood Joshua's was now a shadow of, not only in general, as it kept up the line of Aaron's priesthood, but especially as it was the reviving of that happy method of correspondence between heaven and earth, to which a great interruption had been given by the iniquity and captivity of Israel. Christ is a high priest, as Joshua was, for sinners and sufferers, to mediate for those that have been under guilt and wrath. And it was fit that Joshua should understand the priesthood of Christ, because all the virtue of his priesthood, its value and usefulness to the church, depended upon and was derived from the priesthood of Christ. See,
I. To whom this promise of Christ is
directed (
II. The promise itself, which consists of
several parts, all designed for the comfort and encouragement of
Joshua and his friends in that great good work of building the
temple, which they were now engaged in. An eye to Christ, and a
believing dependence upon the promises relating to him and his
kingdom, would carry them through the difficulties they met with in
that and their other services. 1. The Messiah shall come:
Behold, I will bring forth my servant the branch. He has
been long hid, but the fulness of time is now at hand, when he
shall be brought forth into the world, brought forth among his
people Israel. God himself undertakes to bring him forth, and
therefore, no doubt, he will own him and stand by him. He is God's
servant, employed in his work, obedient to his will, and entirely
devoted to his honour and glory. He is the branch; so he was called
In this chapter we have another comfortable
vision, which, as it was explained to the prophet, had much in it
for the encouragement of the people of God in their present
straits, which were so great that they thought their case helpless,
that their temple could never be rebuilt nor their city
replenished; and therefore the scope of the vision is to show that
God would, by his own power, perfect the work, though the
assistance given to it by its friends were ever so weak, and the
resistance given to it by its enemies were ever so strong. Here is,
I. The awakening of the prophet to observe the vision,
1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, 2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: 3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. 4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? 5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. 7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. 8 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. 10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
Here is, I. The prophet prepared to receive
the discovery that was to be made to him: The angel that talked
with him came and waked him,
II. The discovery that was made to him when
he was thus prepared. The angel asked him, What seest thou?
III. The enquiry which the prophet made
concerning the meaning of this, and the gentle reproof given him
for his dulness (
IV. The general intention of this vision. Without a critical descant upon every circumstance of the vision, the design of it is to assure the prophet, and by him the people, that this good work of building the temple should, by the special care of divine Providence, and the immediate influence of divine grace, be brought to a happy issue, though the enemies of it were many and mighty and the friends and furtherers of it few and feeble. Note, In the explication of visions and parables, we must look at the principal scope of them, and be satisfied with that, if that be clear, though we may not be able to account for every circumstance, or accommodate it to our purpose. The angel lets the prophet know, in general, that this vision was designed to illustrate a word which the Lord had to say to Zerubbabel, to encourage him to go on with the building of the temple. Let him know that he is a worker together with God in it, and that it is a work which God will own and crown.
1. God will carry on and complete this
work, as he had begun their deliverance from Babylon, not by
external force, but by secret operations and internal influences
upon the minds of men. He says this who is the Lord of
hosts, and could do it vi et armis—by force, has
legions at command; but he will do it, not by human might
or power, but by his own Spirit. What is done by his
Spirit is done by might and power, but it stands in opposition to
visible force. Israel was brought out of Egypt, and into Canaan, by
might and power; in both these works of wonder great slaughter was
made. But they were brought out of Babylon, and into Canaan the
second time, by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts working upon
the spirit of Cyrus, and inclining him to proclaim liberty to them,
and working upon the spirits of the captives, and inclining them to
accept the liberty offered them. It was by the Spirit of the
Lord of hosts that the people were excited and animated to
build the temple; and therefore they are said to be
helped by the prophets of God, because they, as the Spirit's
mouth, spoke to their hearts,
2. All the difficulties and oppositions
that lie in the way shall be got over and removed, even those that
seem insuperable (
3. The same hand that has begun this good
work will perform it: He shall bring forth the head-stone
(
4. This shall be a full ratification of the
prophecies which went before concerning the Jews' return, and their
settlement again. When the temple is finished then thou shalt
know that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto you. Note, The
exact accomplishment of scripture prophecies is a convincing proof
of their divine original. Thus God confirms the word of his
servant, by saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built,
5. This shall effectually silence those
that looked with contempt upon the beginning of this work,
6. This shall abundantly satisfy all the hearty well-wishers to God's interest, who will be glad to see themselves mistaken in despising the day of small things. Those that despaired of the finishing of the work shall rejoice when they see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel, when they see him busy among the builders, giving orders and directions what to do, and taking care that the work be done with great exactness, that it may be both fine and firm. Note, It is matter of great rejoicing to all good people to see magistrates careful and active for the edifying of the house of God, to see the plummet in the hand of those who have power to do much, if they have but a heart according to it; we see not Zerubbabel with the trowel in his hand (that is left to the workmen, the ministers), but we see him with the plummet in his hand, and it is no disparagement, but an honour to him. Magistrates are to inspect ministers' work, and to speak comfortably to the Levites that do their duty.
7. This shall highly magnify the wisdom and
care of God's providence, which is always employed for the good of
his church. Zerubbabel does his part, does as much as man can do to
forward the work, but it is with those seven, those seven eyes
of the Lord which we read of
11 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? 12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? 13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
Enough is said to Zechariah to encourage him, and to enable him to encourage others, with reference to the good work of building the temple which they were now about, and that was the principal intention of the vision he saw; but still he is inquisitive about the particulars, which we will ascribe, not to any vain curiosity, but to the value he had for divine discoveries and the pleasure he took in acquainting himself with them. Those that know much of the things of God cannot but have a humble desire to know more. Now observe,
I. What his enquiry was. He understood the
meaning of the candlestick with its lamps: It is Jerusalem, it is
the temple, and their salvation that is to go forth as a lamp
that burns; but he wants to know what are these two
olive-trees (
II. What answer was given to his enquiry.
Now again the angel obliged him expressly to own his ignorance,
before he informed him (
Hitherto we have seen visions of peace only, and
all the words we have heard have been good words and comfortable
words. But the pillar of cloud and fire has a black and dark side
towards the Egyptians, as well as a bright and pleasant side
towards Israel; so have Zechariah's visions; for God's prophets are
not only his ambassadors, to treat of peace with the sons of peace,
but heralds, to proclaim war against those that delight in war, and
persist in their rebellion. In this chapter we have two visions, by
which "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." God will do great and kind
things for his people, which the faithful sons of Zion shall
rejoice in; but "let the sinners in Zion be afraid;" for, I. God
will reckon severely with those particular persons among them that
are wicked and profane, and that hated to be reformed in these
times of reformation; while God is showing kindness to the body of
the nation, and loading that with his blessings, they and their
families shall, notwithstanding that, lie under the curse, which
the prophet sees in a flying roll,
1 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. 2 And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. 3 Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. 4 I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
We do not find that the prophet now needed
to be awakened, as he did
I. What it was that the prophet saw; he
looked up into the air, and behold a flying roll. A vast
large scroll of parchment which had been rolled up, and is
therefore called a roll, was now unrolled and expanded; this
roll was flying upon the wings of the wind, carried swiftly through
the air in open view, as an eagle that shoots down upon her prey;
it was a roll, like Ezekiel's that was written within and
without with lamentations, and mourning, and woe,
II. How it was expounded to him,
1. The extent of this curse; the prophet sees it flying, but which way does it steer its course? It goes forth over the face of the whole earth, not only of the land of Israel, but the whole world; for those that have sinned against the law written in their hearts only shall by that law be judged, though they have not the book of the law. Note, All mankind are liable to the judgment of God; and, wherever sinners are, any where upon the face of the whole earth, the curse of God can and will find them out and seize them. Oh that we could with an eye of faith see the flying roll of God's curse hanging over the guilty world as a thick cloud, not only keeping off the sun-beams of God's favour from them, but big with thunders, lightnings, and storms, ready to destroy them! How welcome then would the tidings of a Saviour be, who came to redeem us from the curse of the law by being himself made a curse for us, and, like the prophet, eating this roll! The vast length and breadth of this roll intimate what a multitude of curses sinners lie exposed to. God will make their plagues wonderful, if they turn not.
2. The criminals against whom particularly
this curse is levelled. The world is full of sin in great variety:
so was the Jewish church at this time. But two sorts of sinners are
here specified as the objects of this curse:—(1.) Thieves; it is
for every one that steals, that by fraud or force takes that
which is not his own, especially that robs God and converts to his
own use what was devoted to God and his honour, which was a sin
much complained of among the Jews at this time,
3. The enforcing of this curse, and the
equity of it: I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of
hosts,
4. The effect of this curse; it is very
dreadful, (1.) Upon the sinner himself: Every one that steals
shall be cut off, not corrected, but destroyed, cut off from
the land of the living. The curse of God is a cutting thing, a
killing thing. He shall be cut off as on this side (cut off
from this place, that is, from Jerusalem), and so he that swears
from this side (it is the same word), from this place. God
will not spare the sinners he finds among his own people, nor shall
the holy city be a protection to the unholy. Or they shall be cut
off from hence, that is, from the face of the whole earth,
over which the curse flies. Or he that steals shall be cut off
on this side, and he that swears on that side; they
shall all be cut off, one as well as another, and both according to
the curse, for the judgments of God's hand are exactly agreeable
with the judgments of his mouth. (2.) Upon his family: It shall
enter into the house of the thief and of him that swears. God's
curse comes with a warrant to break open doors, and cannot be kept
out by bars or locks. There where the sinner is most secure, and
thinks himself out of danger,—there where he promises himself
refreshment by food and sleep,—there, in his own house, shall the
curse of God seize him; nay, it shall fall not upon him only, but
upon all about him for his sake. Cursed shall be his basket and
his store, and cursed the fruit of his body,
5 Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. 6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. 7 And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. 8 And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. 9 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. 10 Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? 11 And he said unto me, To build it a house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.
The foregoing vision was very plain and easy, but in this are things dark and hard to be understood; and some think that the scope of it is to foretel the final destruction of the Jewish church and nation and the dispersion of the Jews, when, by crucifying Christ and persecuting his gospel, they should have filled up the measure of their iniquities; therefore it is industriously set out in obscure figures and expressions, "lest the plain denunciation of the second overthrow of temple and state might discourage them too much from going forward in the present restoration of both." So Mr. Pemble.
The prophet was contemplating the power and
terror of the curse which consumes the houses of thieves and
swearers, when he was told to turn and he should see greater
desolations than these made by the curse of God for the sin of man:
Lift up thy eyes now, and see what is here,
I. He sees an ephah, a measure
wherewith they measured corn; it contained ten omers
(
II. He sees a woman sitting in the midst
of the ephah, representing the sinful church and nation of the
Jews in their latter and degenerate age, when the faithful city
became a harlot. He that weighs the mountains in scales and the
hills in a balance measures nations and churches as in an ephah; so
exact is he in his judicial dealings with them. God's people are
called the corn of his floor,
III. He sees the woman thrust down into the
ephah, and a talent, or large weight, of lead, cast
upon the mouth of it, by which she is secured, and made a
close prisoner in the ephah, and utterly disabled to get out
of it. This is designed to show that the wrath of God against
impenitent sinners is, 1. Unavoidable, and what they cannot escape;
they are bound over to it, concluded under sin, and shut up under
the curse, as this woman in the ephah; he would fain flee out of
his hand (
IV. He sees the ephah, with the woman thus
pressed to death in it, carried away into some far country. 1. The
instruments employed to do it were two women, who had
wings like those of a stork, large and strong, and,
to make them fly the more swiftly, they had the wind in their
wings, denoting the great violence and expedition with which
the Romans destroyed the Jewish nation. God has not only winged
messengers in heaven, but he can, when he pleases, give wings to
those also whom he employs in this lower world; and, when he does
so, he forwards them with the wind in their wings; his providence
carries them on with a favourable gale. 2. They bore it up in the
air, denoting the terrors which pursued the wicked Jews, and their
being a public example of God's vengeance to the world. They
lifted it up between the earth and the heaven, as unworthy
of either and abandoned by both; for the Jews, when this was
fulfilled, pleased not God and were contrary to all
men,
The two kingdoms of providence and grace are what
we are all very nearly interested in, and therefore are concerned
to acquaint ourselves with, all our temporal affairs being in a
necessary subjection to divine Providence, and all our spiritual
and eternal concerns in a necessary dependence upon divine grace;
and these two are represented to us in this chapter—the former by
a vision, the latter by a type. Here is, I. God, as King of
nations, ruling the world by the ministry of angels, in the vision
of the four chariots,
1 And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. 2 In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; 3 And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. 4 Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? 5 And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country. 7 And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. 8 Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.
The prophet is forward to receive this
vision, and, as if he expected it, he turned and lifted up his
eyes and looked. Though this was the seventh vision he had had,
yet he did not think he had had enough; for the more we know of God
and his will, if we know it aright, the more desirous we shall be
to get a further acquaintance with God. Now observe here the sight
that the prophet had offour chariots drawn by horses of
divers colours, together with the explication of the sight,
But I incline rather to understand this
vision more generally, as designing to represent the administration
of the kingdom of Providence in the government of this lower world.
The angels are often called the chariots of God, as
9 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 10 Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah; 11 Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; 12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: 13 Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. 14 And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the Lord. 15 And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the Lord, and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.
God did not only at sundry times, but in divers manners, speak in time past by the prophets to his church. In the former part of this chapter he spoke by a vision, which only the prophet himself saw; here, in this latter part, he speaks by a sign, or type, which many saw, and which, as it was explained, was an illustrious prediction of the Messiah as the priest and king of his church. Here is,
I. The significant ceremony which God
appointed, and that was the coronation of Joshua the high
priest,
II. The signification which God gave of this ceremony. Every one would be ready to ask, "What is the meaning of Joshua's being crowned thus?" And the prophet is as ready to tell them the meaning of it. Upon this speaking sign is grafted a prediction, and the sign was used to make it the more taken notice of and the better remembered. Now the promise is,
1. That God will, in the fulness of time,
raise up a great high priest, like Joshua. Tell Joshua that he is
but the figure of one that is to come, a faint shadow of him
(
2. That, as Joshua was an active useful
instrument in building the temple, so the man, the branch,
shall be the master-builder, the sole builder of the spiritual
temple, the gospel-church. He shall build the temple of the
Lord; and it is repeated (
3. That Christ shall bear the glory. Glory
is a burden, but not too heavy for him to bear who upholds all
things. The cross was his glory, and he bore that; so was the crown
an exceeding weight of glory, and he bears that. The
government is upon his shoulders, and in it he
bears the glory,
4. That he shall have a throne, and be both
priest and king upon his throne. A throne denotes both dignity and
dominion, an exalted honour with an extensive power. (1.) This
priest shall be a king, and his office as a priest shall be no
diminution to his dignity as a king: He shall sit and rule upon
his throne. Christ, as a priest, ever lives to make
intercession for us; but he does it sitting at his Father's right
hand, as one having authority,
5. That the counsel of peace shall be between them both. That is, (1.) Between Jehovah and the man the branch, between the Father and the Son; the counsels concerning the peace to be made between God and man, by the mediation of Christ, shall be concerted (that is, shall appear to have been concerted) by Infinite Wisdom in the covenant of redemption; the Father and the Son understood one another perfectly well in that matter. Or, rather, (2.) Between the priest and the throne, between the priestly and kingly office of Jesus Christ. The man the branch must grow up to carry on a counsel of peace, peace on earth, and, in order to that, peace with heaven. God's thoughts towards us were thoughts of peace, and, in prosecution of them, he exalted his Son Christ Jesus to be both a prince and a Saviour; he gave him a throne, but with this proviso, that he should be a priest upon his throne, and by executing the two offices of a priest and king should bring about that great undertaking of man's reconciliation to God and happiness in God. Some think it alludes to the former government of the Jews' state, wherein the king and priest, separate officers, did take counsel one with another, for the maintenance of peace and prosperity in church and state, as did Zerubbabel and Joshua now. I may add, the prophets of God helping them. So shall the peace and welfare of the gospel-church, and of all believers, be wrought, though not by two separate persons, yet by virtue of two separate offices meeting in one—Christ purchasing all peace by his priesthood and maintaining and defending it by his kingdom; so Mr. Pemble. And his prophetic office is serviceable to both in this great design.
6. That there shall be a happy coalition
between Jews and Gentiles in the gospel-church, and they shall both
meet in Christ, the priest upon his throne, as the centre of their
unity (
7. That the accomplishment of this will be
a strong confirmation of the truth of God's word: You shall know
that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto you. That promise, that
those that were afar off should come and assist them in building
the temple of the Lord, was as it were the giving of them a
sign; by this they might be assured that the other promises
should be fulfilled in due time. This should be fulfilled now very
speedily; it was so, for those that had been their enemies and
accusers, in obedience to the king's edict, became their helpers
and did speedily what they were ordered to do for the furtherance
of the work, and by that means the work went on and was finished;
see
8. That these promises were strong obligations to obedience: "For this shall come to pass (you shall have help in building the temple) if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God. You shall have the help of foreigners in building the temple, if you will but set about it in good earnest yourselves." The assistance of others, instead of being an excuse for our slothfulness, should be a spur to our industry. "You shall have the benefit and comfort of all those promises if you make conscience of your duty." They must know that they are upon their good behaviour; and, though their God is coming towards them in a way of mercy, they cannot expect him to proceed in it unless they conform to his laws. Note, That which God requires of us, to qualify us for his favour, is obedience to his revealed will; and it must be a diligent obedience. We cannot obey the voice of God without a great deal of care and pains, nor will our obedience be accepted of God unless it be laboured by us.
III. The provision that was made to
preserve the remembrance of this. The crowns that were used
in this solemnity were not given to Joshua, but must be kept for
a memorial in the temple of the Lord,
We have done with the visions, but not with the
revelations of this book; the prophet sees no more such signs as he
had seen, but still "the word of the Lord came to him." In this
chapter we have, I. A case of conscience proposed to the prophet by
the children of the captivity concerning fasting, whether they
should continue their solemn fasts which they had religiously
observed during the seventy years of their captivity,
1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu; 2 When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to pray before the Lord, 3 And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years? 4 Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto me, saying, 5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me? 6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? 7 Should ye not hear the words which the Lord hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?
This occasional sermon, which the prophet
preached, and which is recorded in this and the next chapter, was
above two years after the former, in which he gave them an account
of his visions, as appears by comparing the date of this (
I. A case proposed concerning fasting. Some
persons were sent to enquire of the priests and prophets whether
they should continue to observe their yearly fasts, particularly
that in the fifth month, as they had done. It is uncertain whether
the case was put by those that yet remained in Babylon, who, being
deprived of the benefit of the solemn feasts which God's ordinance
appointed them, made up the want by the solemn fasts which God's
providences called them to; or by those that had returned, but
lived in the country, as some rather incline to think, because they
are called the people of the land,
1. Who they were that came with this
enquiry—Sherezer and Regem-melech, persons of some
rank and figure, for they came with their men, and did not
think it below them, or any disparagement to them, to be sent on
this errand, but rather an addition to their honour to be, (1.)
Attendants in God's house, there to do duty and receive orders. The
greatest of men are less than the least of the ordinances of Jesus
Christ. (2.) Agents for God's people, to negotiate their affairs.
Men of estates, having more leisure than men of business, ought to
employ their time in the service of the public, and by doing good
they make themselves truly great; the messengers of the
churches were the glory of Christ,
2. What the errand was upon which they
came. They were sent perhaps not with gold and silver (as
those,
3. Whom they consulted. They spoke to
the priests that were in the house of the Lord and to the
prophets; the former were an oracle for ordinary cases, the
latter for extraordinary; they were blessed with both, and would
try if either could acquaint them with the mind of God in this
case. Note, God having given diversities of gifts to men, and all
to profit with, we should make use of all as there is occasion.
They were not so wedded to the priests, their stated ministers, as
to distrust the prophets, who appeared, by the gifts given them,
well qualified to serve the church; nor yet were they so much
enamoured with the prophets as to despise the priests, but they
spoke both to the priests and to the prophets, and, in consulting
both, gave glory to the God of Israel, and that one Spirit who
works all in all. God might speak to them either by
urim or by prophets (
4. What the case was which they desired
satisfaction in (
II. An answer given to this case. It should
seem that, though the question looked plausible enough, those who
proposed it were not conscientious in it, for they were more
concerned about the ceremony than about the substance; they seemed
to boast of their fasting, and to upbraid God Almighty with it,
that he had not sooner returned in mercy to them; "for we have done
it these so many years." As those,
1. What they did that was good was not done
aright (
2. The principal good thing they should
have done was left undone (
8 And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying, 9 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: 10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. 11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. 12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts. 13 Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts: 14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
What was said
I. This prophet here repeats the heads of
the sermons which the former prophets preached to their fathers
(
II. He describes the wilfulness and
disobedience of their fathers, who persisted in all manner of
wickedness and injustice, notwithstanding these exhortations and
admonitions frequently given them in God's name; various
expressions to this purport are here heaped up (
III. He shows the fatal consequences of it
to their fathers: Therefore came great wrath from the Lord of
hosts. God was highly displeased with them, and justly; he
required nothing of them but what was reasonable in itself and
beneficial to them; and yet they refused, and in a most insolent
manner too. What master could bear to be so abused by his own
servant? Such an implacable enmity to the gospel as this was to the
law and the prophets was that which brought wrath to the
uttermost upon the last generation of the Jewish church,
The work of ministers is rightly to divide the
word of truth and to give every one his portion. So the prophet is
here instructed to do, in the further answer he gives to the case
of conscience proposed about continuing the public fasts. His
answer, in the foregoing chapter, is by way of reproof to those
that were disobedient and would not obey the truth. But here he is
ordered to change his voice, and to speak by way of encouragement
to the willing and obedient. Here are two words from the Lord of
hosts, and they are both good words and comfortable words. In the
former of these messages (
1 Again the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. 3 Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain. 4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. 6 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts. 7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; 8 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.
The prophet, in his foregoing discourses, had left his hearers under a high charge of guilt and a deep sense of wrath; he had left them in a melancholy view of the desolations of their pleasant land, which was the effect of their fathers' disobedience; but because he designed to bring them to repentance, not to drive them to despair, he here sets before them the great things God had in store for them, encouraging them hereby to hope that their case of conscience would shortly determine itself and that God's providence would as loudly call them to joy and gladness as ever it called them to fasting and mourning. It is here promised,
I. That God will appear for Jerusalem, and
will espouse and plead her cause. 1. He will be revenged on Zion's
enemies (
II. That there shall be a wonderful
reformation in Jerusalem, and religion, in the power of it, shall
prevail and flourish there. "Jerusalem, that has dealt
treacherously both with God and man, shall become so famous for
fidelity and honesty that it shall be called and known by
the name of a city of truth, and the inhabitants of it shall
be called children that will not lie. The faithful
city has become a harlot (
III. That there shall be in Jerusalem a
great increase of people, and all the marks and tokens of a
profound tranquillity, When it has become a city of truth
and a mountain of holiness, it is then peaceable and
prosperous, and every thing in it looks bright and pleasant. 1. You
may look with pleasure upon the generation that is going off the
stage, and see them fairly quitting it in the ordinary course of
nature, and not driven off from it by war, famine, or pestilence
(
IV. That the scattered Israelites shall be
brought together again from all parts whither they were dispersed
(
V. That God would renew his covenant with
them, would be faithful to them and make them so to him: They
shall be my people and I will be their God. That is the
foundation and crown of all these promises, and is inclusive of all
happiness. They shall obey God's laws, and God will secure and
advance all their interests. This contract shall be made, shall be
new-made, in truth and in righteousness. Some think
that the former denotes God's part of the covenant (he will be
their God in truth, he will make good all his promises of
favour to them) and the latter man's part of the covenant—they
shall be his people in righteousness, they shall be a
righteous people and shall abound in the fruits of
righteousness, and shall not, as they have done, deal
treacherously and unjustly with their God. See
All these precious promises are here
ratified, and the doubts of God's people silenced, with that
question (
9 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour. 11 But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts. 12 For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong. 14 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, and I repented not: 15 So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not. 16 These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: 17 And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord.
God, by the prophet, here gives further assurances of the mercy he had in store for Judah and Jerusalem. Here is line upon line for their comfort, as before there was for their conviction. These verses contain strong encouragements with reference to the difficulties they now laboured under. And we may observe,
I. Who they were to whom these
encouragements did belong—to those who, in obedience to the call
of God by his prophets, applied in good earnest to the building of
the temple (
II. What the discouragements were which
they had hitherto laboured under,
III. What encouragement they shall now have
to proceed in the good work they are about, and to hope that it
shall yet be well with them: "Thus and thus you have been harassed
and afflicted, but now God will change his way towards you,
IV. The use they are to make of these encouragements.
1. Let them take the comfort which these
promises give to them: Fear you not (
2. Let them do the duty which those
promises call for from them,
18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came unto me, saying, 19 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace. 20 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: 21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also. 22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord. 23 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.
These verses contain two precious promises, for the further encouragement of those pious Jews that were hearty in building the temple.
I. That a happy period should be put to
their fasts, and there should be no more occasion for them, but
they should be converted into thanksgiving days,
II. That a great accession should be made
to the church by the conversion of many foreigners,
1. Who they are that shall be added to the
church—people, and the inhabitants of many cities
(
2. How their accession to the church is
described: They shall come to pray before the Lord and to seek
the Lord of hosts (
3. How unanimous they shall be in their
accession to the church, and how zealous in exciting one another to
it (
4. Upon what inducement they shall join
themselves to the church, not for the church's sake, but for his
sake who dwells in it (
At this chapter begins another sermon, which is
continued to the end of
1 The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord. 2 And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise. 3 And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. 4 Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire. 5 Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. 6 And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. 7 And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite. 8 And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.
After the precious promises we had in the foregoing chapter of favour to God's people, their persecutors, who hated them, come to be reckoned with, those particularly that bordered close upon them.
I. The Syrians had been bad neighbours to
Israel, and God had a controversy with them. The word of the Lord
shall be a burden in the land of Hadrach, that is, of
Syria, but it does not appear why it was so called. That
that kingdom is meant is plain, because Damascus, the metropolis of
that kingdom, is said to be the rest of this burden; that
is, the judgments here threatened shall light and lie upon that
city. Those are miserable upon whom the burden of the word of the
Lord rests, upon whom the wrath of God abides (
II. Tyre and Zidon come next to be called
to an account here, as in other prophecies,
1. Tyrus flourishing, thinking herself very
safe, and ready to set God's judgments, not only at a distance, but
at defiance: for, (1.) She is very wise. It is spoken
ironically; she thinks herself very wise, and able to outwit even
the wisdom of God. It is granted that her king is a great
politician, and that her statesmen are so,
2. Tyrus falling, after all. Her wisdom,
and wealth, and strength, shall not be able to secure her
(
III. God next contends with the Philistines, with their great cities and great lords, that bordered southward upon Israel.
1. They shall be alarmed and affrighted by
the word of the Lord lighting and resting upon Damascus (
2. They shall themselves be ruined and
wasted. (1.) The government shall be dissolved: The king shall
perish from Gaza, not only the present king shall be cut off,
but there shall be no succession, no successor, (2.) The cities
shall be dispeopled: Ashkelon shall not be inhabited; the
rightful owners shall be expelled, either slain or carried into
captivity. (3.) Foreigners shall take possession of their land and
become masters of all its wealth (
3. Some among them shall be converted, and
brought home to God, by his gospel and grace; so some understand
IV. In all this God intends mercy for Israel, and it is in kindness to them that God will deal thus with the neighbouring nations, to avenge their quarrel for what is past and to secure them for the future.
1. Thus some understand the
2. However, this is plainly the sense of
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. 11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
That here begins a prophecy of the Messiah
and his kingdom is plain from the literal accomplishment of the
I. Here is notice given of the approach of
the Messiah promised, as matter of great joy to the Old-Testament
church: Behold, thy king cometh unto thee. Christ is a king,
invested with regal powers and prerogatives, a sovereign prince, an
absolute monarch, having all power both in heaven and on earth. He
is Zion's king. God has set him upon his holy hill of Zion,
II. Here is such a description of him as
renders him very amiable in the eyes of all his loving subjects,
and his coming to them very acceptable. 1. He is a righteous ruler;
all his acts of government will be exactly according to the rules
of equity, for he is just. 2. He is a powerful protector to
all those that bear faith and true allegiance to him, for he has
salvation; he has it in his power; he has it to bestow upon all
his subjects. He is the God of salvation; treasures of
salvation are in him. He is servatus—saving himself
(so some read it), rising out of the grave by his own power and so
qualifying himself to be our Saviour. (3.) He is a meek, humble,
tender Father to all his subjects as his children; he is
lowly; he is poor and afflicted (so the word
signifies), so it denotes the meanness of his condition; having
emptied himself, he was despised and rejected of men.
But the evangelist translates it so as to express the temper of his
spirit: he is meek, not taking state upon him, nor resenting
injuries, but humbling himself from first to last,
condescending to the mean, compassionate to the miserable; this was
a bright and excellent character of him as a prophet (
III. His kingdom is here set forth in the
glory of it. This king has, and will have, a kingdom, not of this
world, but a spiritual kingdom, a kingdom of heaven. 1. It
shall not be set up and advanced by external force, by an arm of
flesh or carnal weapons of warfare. No; he will cut off the
chariot from Ephraim and the horses from Jerusalem (
IV. Here is an account of the great benefit
procured for mankind by the Messiah, which is redemption from
extreme misery, typified by the deliverance of the Jews out of
their captivity in Babylon (
12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee; 13 When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man. 14 And the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. 15 The Lord of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar. 16 And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. 17 For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.
The prophet, having taught those that had returned out of captivity to attribute their deliverance to the blood of the covenant and to the promise of the Messiah (for they were so wonderfully helped because that blessing was in them, was yet in the womb of their nation), now comes to encourage them with the prospect of a joyful and happy settlement, and of glorious times before them; and such a happiness they did enjoy, in a great measure, for some time; but these promises have their full accomplishment in the spiritual blessings of the gospel which we enjoy by Jesus Christ.
I. They are invited to look unto Christ,
and flee unto him as their city of refuge (
II. They are assured of God's favour to them: "Even to day do I declare, when things are at the worst, and you think your case deplorable to the last degree, yet I solemnly promise that I will render double unto thee, to thee, O Jerusalem! to every one of you prisoners of hope. I will give you comforts double to the sorrows you have experienced, or blessings double to what I ever bestowed upon your fathers, when their condition was at the best; the glory of your latter state, as well as of your latter house, shall be greater, shall be twice as great as that of your former." And so it was no otherwise than by the coming of the Messiah, the preaching of his gospel, and the setting up of his kingdom; these spiritual blessings in heavenly things were double to what they had ever enjoyed in their most prosperous state. As a pledge of this, in the fulness of time God here promises to the Jews victory, plenty, and joy, in their own land, which yet should be but a type and shadow of more glorious victories, riches, and joys, in the kingdom of Christ.
1. They shall triumph over their enemies.
The Jews, after their return, were surrounded with enemies on all
sides. They were as a speckled bird; all the birds of the
field were against them. Their land lay between the two potent
kingdoms of Syria and Egypt, branches of the Grecian monarchy, and
what frequent dangers they should be in between them was foretold,
2. They shall triumph in their God. They
shall take the comfort and give God the glory of their successes.
So some read
The scope of this chapter is much the same with
that of the foregoing chapter—to encourage the Jews that had
returned with hopes that though they had been under divine rebukes
for their negligence in rebuilding the temple, and were now
surrounded with enemies and dangers, yet God would do them good,
and make them prosperous at home and victorious abroad. Now, I.
They are here directed to eye the great God in all events that
concerned them, and, both in the evils they suffered and in the
comforts they desired, to acknowledge his hand,
1 Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. 2 For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd. 3 Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle. 4 Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.
Gracious things and glorious ones, very glorious and very gracious, were promised to this poor afflicted people in the foregoing chapter; now here God intimates to them that he will for these things be enquired of by them, and that he expects they should acknowledge him in all their ways and in all his ways towards them—and not idols that were rivals with him for their respects.
I. The prophet directs them to apply to God
by prayer for rain in the season thereof. He had promised, in the
close of the foregoing chapter, that there should be great plenty
of corn and wine, whereas for several years, by reason of
unseasonable weather, there had been great scarcity of both; but
the earth will not yield its fruits unless the heavens water it,
and therefore they must look up to God for the dew of
heaven, in order to the fatness and fruitfulness of the earth
(
II. He shows them the folly of making their
addresses to idols as their fathers had done (
III. He shows them the hand of God in all
the events that concerned them, both those that made against them
and those that made for them,
IV. He shows them that every creature is to
them what God makes it to be (
5 And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded. 6 And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them. 7 And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the Lord. 8 I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased. 9 And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again. 10 I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them. 11 And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away. 12 And I will strengthen them in the Lord; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the Lord.
Here are divers precious promises made to the people of God, which look further than to the state of the Jews in the latter days of their church, and have certain reference to the spiritual Israel of God, the gospel-church, and all true believers.
I. They shall have God's favour and
presence, and shall be owned and accepted of him. This is the
foundation of all the rest: The Lord is with them,
II. They shall be victorious over their
enemies, that would draw them from either their duty to God or
their comfort in God (
III. Those of them that are dispersed shall
be gathered together into one body (
IV. They shall greatly multiply, and the
church, that new world, shall be replenished (
V. God himself will be both their strength
and their song. 1. In him they shall be comforted, and shall have
abundant satisfaction (
God's prophet, who, in the chapters before, was an
ambassador sent to promise peace, is here a herald sent to declare
war. The Jewish nation shall recover its prosperity, and shall
flourish for some time and become considerable; it shall be very
happy, at length, in the coming of the long-expected Messiah, in
the preaching of his gospel, and in the setting up of his standard
there. But, when thereby the chosen remnant among them are
effectually called in and united to Christ, the body of the nation,
persisting in unbelief, shall be utterly abandoned and given up to
ruin, for rejecting Christ; and it is this that is foretold here in
this chapter—the Jews rejecting Christ, which was their
measure-filling sin, and the wrath which for that sin came upon
them to the uttermost. Here is, I. A prediction of the destruction
itself that should come upon the Jewish nation,
1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down. 3 There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.
In dark and figurative expressions, as is
usual in the scripture predictions of things at a great distance,
that destruction of Jerusalem and of the Jewish church and nation
is here foretold which our Lord Jesus, when the time was at hand,
prophesied of very plainly and expressly. We have here, 1.
Preparation made for that destruction (
4 Thus saith the Lord my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter; 5 Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the Lord; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not. 6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. 7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. 8 Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. 9 Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another. 10 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. 11 And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the Lord. 12 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. 14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
The prophet here is made a type of Christ,
as the prophet Isaiah sometimes was; and the scope of these verses
is to show that for judgment Christ came into this world
(
I. The desperate case of the Jewish church,
under the tyranny of their own governors. Their slavery in their
own country made them as miserable as their captivity in strange
countries had done: Their possessors slay them and sell
them,
II. The sentence of God's wrath passed upon
them for their senselessness and stupidity in this condition. There
was a general decay, nay, a destruction, of religion among them,
and it was all one to them; they regarded it not. My people love
to have it so,
III. A trial yet made whether their ruin
might be prevented by sending Christ among them as a shepherd; God
had sent his servants to them in vain, but last of all he sent
unto them his Son, saying, They will reverence my Son,
IV. Their enmity to Christ, and making
themselves odious to him. He came to his own, the sheep of his own
pasture; it might have been expected that between them and him
there would be an entire affection, as between the shepherd and his
sheep; but they conducted themselves so ill that his soul
loathed them, was straitened towards them (so it may be
read); he intended them kindness, but could not do them the
kindness he intended them, because of their unbelief,
V. Christ's rejecting them as incurable,
and leaving them their house desolate,
1. The sentence of their rejection passed
(
2. A sign of it given (
3. A further reason given for their
rejection. It was said before, Their souls abhorred him; and
here we have an instance of it, their buying and selling him for
thirty pieces of silver, either thirty Roman pence, or rather
thirty Jewish shekels; this is here foretold in somewhat obscure
expressions, as it is fit that such particular prophecies should be
delivered, lest otherwise the plainness of the prophecy might
prevent the accomplishment of it. Here, (1.) The Shepherd comes to
them for his wages (
4. The completing of their rejection in the
cutting asunder of the other staff,
15 And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. 16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. 17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
God, having shown the misery of this people
in their being justly abandoned by the good Shepherd, here shows
their further misery in being shamefully abused by a foolish
shepherd. The prophet is himself to personate and represent this
pretended shepherd (
I. What a curse this foolish shepherd
should be to the people,
II. What a curse this foolish shepherd
should bring upon himself (
The apostle (
1 The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. 2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. 4 In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. 5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God. 6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. 7 The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. 8 In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.
Here is, I. The title of this charter of
promises made to God's Israel; it is the burden of the word of
the Lord, a divine prediction; it is of weight in the delivery
of it; it is to be pressed upon people, and will be very pressing
in the accomplishment of it; it is a burden, a heavy burden,
to all the church's enemies, like that talent of lead,
II. The title of him that grants this
charter, which is prefixed to it to show that he has both authority
to make these promises and ability to make them good, for he is the
Creator of the world and our Creator, and therefore has an
incontestable irresistible dominion. 1. He stretches out the
heavens; not only he did so at the first, when he said, Let
there be a firmament, and he made the firmament, but he
does so still; he keeps them stretched out like a curtain,
keeps them from running in, and will do so till the end come, when
the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll. No bounds
can be set to his power who stretches out the heavens, nor can any
thing be too hard for him. 2. He lays the foundation of the
earth, and keeps it firm and fixed on its own basis, or rather
on its own axis, though it is founded on the seas (
III. The promises themselves that are here made them, by which the church shall be secured, and in which all its friends may enjoy a holy security.
1. It is promised that, whatever attacks the enemies of the church may make upon her purity or peace, they will certainly issue in their own confusion. The enemies of God and of his kingdom bear a great deal of malice and ill-will to Jerusalem, and form designs for its destruction; but it will prove, at last, that they are but preparing ruin for themselves; Jerusalem is in safety, and those are in all the danger who fight against it. This is here illustrated by three comparisons:—
(1.) Jerusalem shall be a cup of
trembling to all that lay siege to it,
(2.) Jerusalem shall be a
burdensome stone to all that attempt to remove it or carry it
away,
(3.) The governors of Judah shall be among
their enemies like a hearth of fire among the wood, and a torch
of fire in a sheaf,
2. It is promised that God will infatuate
the counsels and enfeeble the courage of the church's enemies
(
3. It is promised that Jerusalem shall be
re-peopled and replenished (
4. It is promised that the inhabitants of
Jerusalem shall be enabled to defend themselves, and yet shall be
taken under the divine protection,
5. It is promised that there shall be a
very good understanding between the city and the country, and that
the balance shall be kept even between them; there shall be no
mutual envies or jealousies between them; they shall not keep up
any separate interests, but shall heartily unite in their counsels,
and act in concert for the common good; and this happy agreement
between the city and the country, the head and the body, is very
necessary to the health, welfare, and safety of any nation. (1.)
The governors of Judah, the magistrates and gentry of the
country, shall think honourably of the citizens, the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, the merchants and tradesmen; they shall not run
them down, and contrive how to keep them under, but they shall
say in their hearts, not in compliment but in sincerity, The
inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength, the strength of
my country, of my family, in the Lord of hosts their God,
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. 11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. 12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; 13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; 14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
The day here spoken of is the day of Jerusalem's defence and deliverance, that glorious day when God will appear for the salvation of his people, which, if it do refer to the successes which the Jews had against their enemies in the time of the Maccabees, yet certainly looks further, to the gospel-day, to Christ's victories over the powers of darkness and the great salvation he has wrought for his chosen. Now we have here an account of two remarkable works designed in that day.
I. A glorious work of God to be wrought for
his people: "I will seek to destroy all the nations that come
against Jerusalem,
II. A gracious work of God to be wrought in
his people, in order to the work that is to be wrought for them.
When he seeks to destroy their enemies he will pour upon them
the Spirit of grace and supplication. Note, When God intends
great mercy for his people the first thing he does is to set them a
praying; thus he seeks to destroy their enemies by stirring them up
to seek to him that he would do it for them; because, though he has
proposed it and promised it, and it is for his own glory to do it,
yet he will for this be enquired of by the house of Israel,
1. On whom these blessings are poured out.
(1.) On the house of David, on the great men; for they are
no more, and no better, than the grace of God makes them. It was
promised (
2. What these blessings are: I will pour
upon them the Spirit. That includes all good things, as it
qualifies us for the favour of God, and all his other gifts. He
will pour out the Spirit, (1.) As a Spirit of grace, to
sanctify us and to make us gracious. (2.) As a Spirit of
supplications, inclining us to, instructing and assisting us
in, the duty of prayer. Note, Wherever the Spirit is given as a
Spirit of grace, he is given as a Spirit of sanctification.
Wherever he is a Spirit of adoption, he teaches to cry, Abba,
Father. As soon as ever Paul was converted, Behold, he
prays,
3. What the effect of them will be: I
will pour upon them the Spirit of grace. One would think that
it should follow, "And they shall look on him whom they have
believed, and shall rejoice" (and it is true that that is one of
the fruits of the pouring out of the Spirit, whence we read of
the joy of the Holy ghost), but it follows, They shall
mourn; for there is a holy mourning, that is the effect of the
pouring out of the Spirit, a mourning for sin, which is of use to
quicken faith in Christ and qualify for joy in God. It is here made
the matter of a promise that they shall mourn, for there is a
mourning that will end in rejoicing and has a blessing entailed
upon it. This mourning is a fruit of the Spirit of grace, an
evidence of a work of grace in the soul, and a companion of the
Spirit of supplication, as it expresses lively affections working
in prayer; hence prayers and tears are often put together,
(1.) It is a mourning grounded upon a sight
of Christ: They shall look on me whom they have pierced, and
shall mourn for him. Here, [1.] It is foretold that Christ
should be pierced, and this scripture is quoted as that which was
fulfilled when Christ's side was pierced upon the cross; see
(2.) It is a great mourning. [1.] it is
like the mourning of a parent for the death of a beloved child.
They shall mourn for sin as one mourns for an only son, in
whose grave the hopes of his family are buried, and shall be
inwardly in bitterness as one that is in bitterness for his
first-born, as the Egyptians were when there was a cry
throughout all their land for the death of their first-born. The
sorrow of children for the death of their parents is sometimes
counterfeited, is often small, and soon wears off and is forgotten;
but the sorrow of parents for a child, for a son, for an only son,
for a first-born, is natural, sincere, unforced, and unaffected, it
is secret and lasting; such are the sorrows of a true penitent,
flowing purely from love to Christ above any other. [2.] It is like
the mourning of a people for the death of a wise and good prince.
It shall be like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of
Megiddon, where good king Josiah was slain, for whom there was
a general lamentation (
(3.) It is a general universal mourning
(
(4.) It is also a private particular
mourning. There shall be not only a mourning of the land, by
its representatives in a general assembly (as
In this chapter we have, I. Some further promises
relating to gospel-times. Here is a promise of the remission of
sins (
1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. 2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. 3 And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth. 4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive: 5 But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am a husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth. 6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
Behold the Lamb of God taking away the
sin of the world, the sin of the church; for therefore
was the Son of God manifested, to take away our sin,
I. He takes away the guilt of sin by the
blood of his cross (
II. He takes away the dominion of sin by
the power of his grace, even of beloved sins. This evermore
accompanies the former; those that are washed in the fountain
opened, as they are justified, so they are sanctified; the water
came with the blood out of the pierced side of Christ. It is here
promised that in that day, 1. Idolatry shall be quite abolished and
the people of the Jews shall be effectually cured of their
inclination to it (
7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. 8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. 9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.
Here is a prophecy,
I. Of the sufferings of Christ, of him who
was to be pierced, and was to be the fountain opened. Awake, O
sword! against my Shepherd,
II. Of the dispersion of the disciples
thereupon: Smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be
scattered. This our Lord Jesus himself declares to have been
fulfilled when all his disciples were offended because of
him in the night wherein he was betrayed,
III. Of the rejection and ruin of the
unbelieving Jews (
IV. Of the reformation and preservation of
the chosen remnant, those of them that believed, and the Christian
church in general (
Divers things were foretold, in the two foregoing
chapters, which should come to pass "in that day;" this chapter
speaks of a "day of the Lord that cometh," a day of his judgment,
and ten times in the foregoing chapters, and seven times in this,
it is repeated, "in that day;" but what that day is that is here
meant is uncertain, and perhaps will be so (as the Jews speak) till
Elias comes; whether it refer to the whole period of time from the
prophet's days to the days of the Messiah, or to some particular
events in that time, or to Christ's coming, and the setting up of
his kingdom upon the ruins of the Jewish polity, we cannot
determine, but divers passages here seem to look as far forward as
gospel-times. Now the "day of the Lord" brings with it both
judgment and mercy, mercy to his church, judgment to her enemies
and persecutors. I. The gates of hell are here threatening the
church (
1 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. 6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: 7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
God's providences concerning his church are here represented as strangely changing and strangely mixed.
I. As strangely changing. Sometimes the tide runs high and strong against them, but presently it turns, and comes to be in favour of them; and God has, for wise and holy ends, set the one over against the other.
1. God here appears against Jerusalem;
judgment begins at the house of God. When the day of the Lord
comes (
2. He presently changes his way, and
appears for Jerusalem; for, though judgment begin at the house of
God, yet, as it shall not end there, so it shall not make a full
end there,
(1.) A remnant shall be spared, the same
with that third part spoken of,
(2.) Their cause shall be pleaded against
their enemies (
(3.) Though Jerusalem and the temple be
destroyed, yet God will have a church in the world, into which
Gentiles shall be admitted, and with whom the believing Jews shall
be incorporated,
(4.) God shall appear in his glory for the
accomplishing of all this: The Lord my God shall come, and all
the saints with thee, which may refer to his coming to destroy
Jerusalem, or to destroy the enemies of Jerusalem, or his coming to
set up his kingdom in the world, which is called the coming of
the Son of man (
II. God's providences appear here strangely
mixed (
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. 9 And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. 10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's wine-presses. 11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. 12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. 13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour. 14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. 15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.
Here are, I. Blessings promised to Jerusalem, the gospel-Jerusalem, in the day of the Messiah, and to all the earth, by virtue of the blessings poured out on Jerusalem, especially to the land of Israel.
1. Jerusalem shall be a spring of living
waters to the world; it was made so when there the Spirit was
poured out upon the apostles, and thence the word of the Lord
diffused itself to the nations about (
2. The kingdom of God among men shall be a
universal and united kingdom,
3. The land of Judea, and Jerusalem, its
mother-city, shall be repaired and replenished, and taken under the
special protection of Heaven,
II. Here are judgments threatened against
the enemies of the church, that have fought, or do fight,
against Jerusalem; and the threatening of these judgments is
in order to the preservation of the church in safety. Men that read
and hear of these plagues will be afraid of fighting against
Jerusalem, much more when these threatenings are fulfilled in some
will others hear and fear. Those that fight against the city of
God, and his people, will be found fighting against God, against
whom none ever hardened his heart and prospered (
16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. 18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.
Three things are here foretold:—
I. That a gospel-way of worship being set
up in the church there shall be a great resort to it and a general
attendance upon it. Those that were left of the enemies of religion
shall be so sensible of the mercy of God to them in their narrow
escape that they shall apply themselves to the worship of the God
of Israel, and pay their homage to him,
II. That those who neglect the duties of
gospel-worship shall be reckoned with for their neglect. God will
compel them to come and worship before him, by suspending his
favours from those that keep not his ordinances: Upon them there
shall be no rain,
III. That those who perform the duties of
gospel-worship shall have grace to adorn their profession by the
duties of a gospel-conversation too. This is promised (
1. The name and character of holiness shall not be so confined as formerly. Holiness to the Lord had been written only upon the high priest's forehead, but now it shall not be so appropriated. All Christians shall be living temples, and spiritual priests, dedicated to the honour of God and employed in his service.
2. Real holiness shall be more diffused than it had been, because there shall be more powerful means of sanctification, more excellent rules, more cogent arguments, and brighter patterns of holiness, and because there shall be a more plentiful effusion of the Spirit of holiness and sanctification, after Christ's ascension than ever before.
(1.) There shall be holiness introduced
into common things; and those things shall be devoted to God that
seemed very foreign. [1.] The furniture of their horses shall be
consecrated to God. "Upon the bells of the horses shall be
engraven Holiness to the Lord, or upon the bridles of
the horses (so the margin) or the trappings. The horses used
in war shall no longer be used against God and his people, as they
have been, but for him and them. Even their wars shall be holy
wars, their troopers serving under God's banner. Their great men,
who ride in state with a pompous retinue, shall reckon it their
greatest ornament to honour God with their honours. Holiness to
the Lord shall be written on the harness of their
chariot-horses, as great men have sometimes their coat of arms with
their motto painted on their coaches; every gentleman shall take
the high priest's motto for his, and glory in it, and make it a
memento to himself not to do any thing unworthy of it. Travellers
shall have it upon their bridles, with which they guide their
horses, as those who desire always to be put in mind of it, by
having it continually before them, and to guide themselves in all
their motions by this rule. The bells of the horses, which
are designed to quicken them in their journey and to give notice of
their approach, shall have Holiness to the Lord upon them,"
to signify that this is that which we ought to be influenced by
ourselves, and make profession of to others, wherever we go. [2.]
The furniture of their houses too shall be consecrated to God, to
be employed in his service. First, The furniture of the
priests' houses, or apartments adjoining to the house of the Lord.
The common drinking cups they used shall be like the bowls
before the altar, that were used either to receive the blood of
the sacrifices or to present the wine and oil in, which were for
the drink-offerings. The vessels which they used for their
own tables shall be used in such a religious manner, with such
sobriety and temperance, such devotedness to the glory of God, and
such a mixture of pious thoughts and expressions, that their meals
shall look like sacrifices; they shall eat and drink, not to
themselves, but to him that spreads their tables and fills their
cups. And thus, in ministers' families especially, should common
actions be done after a godly sort, however they are done in other
families. Secondly, The furniture of other houses, those of
the common people: "Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be
holiness to the Lord. The pots in which they boil their meat,
the cups out of which they drink their wine (
(2.) There shall be no unholiness introduced into their sacred things, to corrupt them: In that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts. Some read it, There shall be no more the merchant, for so a Canaanite sometimes signifies; and they think it was fulfilled when Christ once and again drove the buyers and sellers out of the temple. Or though those that were Canaanites, strangers and foreigners, shall be brought into the house of the Lord, yet they shall cease to be Canaanites; they shall have nothing of the spirit or disposition of Canaanites in them. Or it intimates that though in gospel-times people should grow indifferent as to holy vessels, yet they should be very strict in church-discipline, and careful not to admit the profane to special ordinances, but to separate between the precious and the vile, between Israelites and Canaanites. Yet this will not have its full accomplishment short of the heavenly Jerusalem, that house of the Lord of hosts, into which no unclean thing shall enter; for at the end of time, and not before, Christ shall gather out of his kingdom every thing that offends, and the tares and wheat shall be perfectly and eternally separated.
AN
God's
prophets were his witnesses to his church, each in his day, for
several ages, witnesses for him and his authority, witnesses
against sin and sinners, attesting the true intents of God's
providences in his dealings with his people then and the kind
intentions of his grace concerning his church in the days of the
Messiah, to whom all the prophets bore witness, for they all agreed
in their testimony; and now we have only one witness more to call,
and we have done with our evidence; and though he be the last, and
in him prophecy ceased, yet the Spirit of prophecy shines as
clearly, as strongly, as brightly in him as in any that went
before, and his testimony challenges an equal regard. The Jews say,
Prophecy continued forty years under the second temple, and this
prophet they call the seal of prophecy, because in him the
series or succession of prophets broke off and came to a period.
God wisely ordered it so that divine inspiration should cease for
some ages before the coming of the Messiah, that that great prophet
might appear the more conspicuous and distinguishable and be the
more welcome. Let us consider, I. The person of the prophet. We
have only his name, Malachi, and no account of his country
or parentage. Malachi signifies my angel, which has
given occasion for a conjecture that this prophet was indeed an
angel from heaven and not a man, as that
Thus prophet is sent first to convince and then to
comfort, first to discover sin and to reprove for that and then to
promise the coming of him who shall take away sin. And this method
the blessed Spirit takes in dealing with souls,
1 The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by
The prophecy of this book is entitled,
The burden of the word of the Lord (
This burden of the word of the Lord was sent, 1. To Israel, for to them pertained the lively oracles of prophecy as well as those of the written word. Many prophets God had sent to Israel, and now he will try them with one more. 2. By Malachi, by the hand of Malachi, as if it were not a message by word of mouth, but a letter put into his hand, for the greater certainty.
In these verses, they are charged with ingratitude, in that they were not duly sensible of God's distinguishing goodness to them; and such a charge as this may well be called a burden, for it is a heavy one.
I. God asserts the great kindness he had,
and had often expressed, for them (
II. They question his love, and diminish the instances of it, and seem to quarrel with him for telling them of it: Yet you say, Wherein hast thou loved us? As God traces up all his favours to them to the fountain, which was his love, so he traces up all their sins against him to the fountain, which was their contempt of his love. Instead of acknowledging his kindness, and studying what they shall render, they scorn to own that they have been beholden to him, challenge him to produce proofs of his love that are material, and think and speak very slightly of the instances they have had of his kindness, as if they were so few, so small, as not to be worth taking notice of, and no more than what they had sufficiently made returns for, or at least than he had sufficiently balanced with instances of his wrath. "Have we not been wasted, impoverished, and carried captive; and wherein then hast thou loved us?" Note, God justly takes it very ill to have his favours slighted, as not worth speaking of; and it is very absurd for us to ask wherein he has loved us, when, which way soever we look, we meet with the proofs and instances of his love to us.
III. He makes it out, beyond contradiction, that he has loved them, loved them in a distinguishing way, which was in a special manner obliging. For proof of this he shows the difference he had made, and would still make, between Jacob and Esau, between Israelites and Edomites. Some read their question, Wherefore hast thou loved us? as if they did indeed own that he had loved them, but withal insinuate that there was a reason for it—that he loved them because their father Abraham had loved him, so that it was not a free love, but a love of debt, to which he replies, "Was not Esau as near akin to Abraham as you are? Was he not Jacob's own brother, his elder brother? And therefore, if there were any right to a recompence for Abraham's love, Esau had it, and yet I hated Esau and loved Jacob."
1. Let them see what a difference God had
made between Jacob and Esau. Esau was Jacob's brother, his
twin-brother: "Yet I loved Jacob and I hated Esau,
that is, took Jacob into covenant, and entailed the blessing on him
and his, but refused and rejected Esau." Note, Those that are taken
into covenant with God, that have the lively oracles and the means
of grace committed to them, have reason to look upon these as
tokens of his love. Jacob is loved, for he has these, Esau hated,
for he has not. The apostle quotes this (
2. Let them see what he was now doing and would do with them, pursuant to this original difference.
(1.) The Edomites shall be made the
monuments of God's justice, and he will be glorified in their utter
destruction: For Esau have I hated; I laid his mountains
waste, the mountains of Seir, which were his heritage.
When all that part of the world was ravaged by the Chaldean army
the country of Edom was, among the rest, laid in ruins, and became
a habitation for the dragons of the wilderness, so perfectly
desolate was it; as was foretold,
(2.) The Israelites shall be made the
monuments of his mercy, and he will be glorified in their
salvation,
6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? 7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible. 8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts. 9 And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the Lord of hosts. 10 Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. 11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts. 12 But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible. 13 Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the Lord. 14 But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.
The prophet is here, by a special
commission, calling the priests to account, though they were
themselves appointed judges, to call the people to an account. Let
the rulers in the house of God know that there is one above them,
who will reckon with them for their mal-administrations. Thus
saith the Lord of hosts to you, O priests!
I. What it was that God expected from them,
and with what good reason he expected it (
II. What the contempt was which the priests put upon God.
1. This is that, in general, which is
charged upon them:—(1.) They despised God's name; their
familiarity with it, as priests, bred contempt of it, and served
them only to gain a veneration by it for themselves and their own
name, while God's name was of small account with them. God's name
is all that whereby he has made himself known—his word and
ordinances; these they had low thoughts of, and vilified that which
it was their business to magnify; and no wonder that when they
despised it themselves they did that which made it despicable to
others, causing even the sacrifices of the Lord to be
abhorred, as Eli's sons did. (2.) They profaned God's
name,
2. Justly might they have been convicted
and condemned upon the general charge, and their plea thrown out as
frivolous; but God will not only overcome, but will be clear, will
be justified when he judges, and therefore he shows them very
particularly wherein they had despised his name, and what the
contempt was that they cast upon him. As formerly, when he charged
them with idolatry, so now, when he charges them with profaneness,
he bids them see their way in the valley and know what
they have done,
(1.) They despised God's name in what they
said, in the low opinion they had of his institutions: "You
say in your hearts, and perhaps speak it out when you priests
get together over your cups. out of the hearing of the people,
The table of the Lord is contemptible" (
(2.) They despised God's name in what they
did, which was of a piece with what they said, and flowed from it;
corrupt principles and notions are roots of bitterness, which bear
the gall and wormwood of corrupt practices. They looked upon the
table and altar of the Lord as contemptible, and then, [1.] They
thought any thing would serve for a sacrifice, though ever so
coarse and mean, and were so far from bringing the best, as they
ought to have done, that they picked out the worst they had, which
was fit neither for the market nor for their own tables, and
offered that at God's altar. With every sacrifice they were to
bring a meat-offering of fine flour mingled with oil; but
they brought polluted bread (
III. Observe how God expostulates and
reasons the case with them, for their conviction and humiliation.
1. Would they, durst they, affront an earthly prince thus? "You
offer to God the lame and the sick; offer it now unto thy
governor (
IV. He calls them to repentance for their
profanations of his holy name. So we may understand
V. He declares his resolution both to secure the glory of his own name and to reckon with those who profane it. Those who put contempt upon God and religion, and think to run down sacred things, let them know,
1. That they shall not gain their point.
God will magnify his law and make it honourable, though they vilify
it and make it contemptible; for (
2. That they shall not go unpunished,
There are two great ordinances which divine wisdom
has instituted, the wretched profanation of both of which is
complained of and sharply reproved in this chapter. I. The
ordinance of the ministry, which is peculiar to the church, and is
designed for the maintaining and keeping up of that; this was
profaned by those who were themselves dignified with the honour of
it and entrusted with the business of it. The priests profaned the
holy things of God; this they are here charged with; their sin is
aggravated, and they are severely threatened for it,
1 And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. 3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it. 4 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. 5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. 6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. 7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. 9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.
What was said in the foregoing chapter was
directed to the priests (
Let us now see what this commandment is which is for the priests, which, they must know, was sent to them; and let us put into method the particulars of the charge.
I. Here is a recital of the covenant God
made with that sacred tribe, which was their commission for their
work and the patent of their honour: The Lord of hosts sent a
commandment to them, for the establishing of this covenant
(
II. Here is a memorial of the fidelity and
zeal of many of their predecessors in the priest's office, which
are mentioned as an aggravation of their sin in degenerating from
such honourable ancestors and deserting such illustrious examples,
and as a justification of God in withdrawing from them those tokens
of his presence which he had granted to those that kept close to
him. See here (
III. Here is a high charge drawn up against
the priests of the present age, who violated the covenant of the
priesthood and went directly contrary both to the rules and to the
examples that were set before them. Many particulars of their sins
we had in the foregoing chapter, and we find (
IV. Here is a record of the judgments God
had brought upon these priests for their profaneness, and their
profanation of holy things. 1. They had lost their comfort
(
V. Here is a sentence of wrath passed upon
them; and this the prophet begins with,
10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god. 12 The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the Lord of hosts. 13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. 14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. 15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. 16 For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously. 17 Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
Corrupt practices are the genuine fruit and product of corrupt principles; and the badness of men's hearts and lives is owing to some loose atheistical notions which they have got and which they govern themselves by. Now, in these verses, we have an instance of this; we here find men dealing falsely with one another, and it is because they think falsely of their God. Observe,
I. How corrupt their practices were. In
general, they dealt treacherously every man against his
brother,
1. In contempt of the covenant God made
with Israel, as a peculiar people to himself, they married strange
wives, which was expressly prohibited, and provided against, in
that covenant,
(1.) What good reason they had to deal
faithfully with God and one another in this covenant, and not to
make marriages with the heathen. [1.] They were expressly bound out
from such marriages by covenant. God engaged to do them good upon
this condition, that they should not mingle with the heathen; this
was the covenant of their fathers, the covenant made with
their fathers, denoting the antiquity and the authority of it, and
its being the great charter by which that nation was incorporated.
They lay under all possible obligations to observe it strictly, yet
they profaned it, as if they were not bound by it. Those profane
the covenant of their fathers who live in disobedience to the
command of the God of their fathers. [2.] They were a peculiar
people, united in one body, and therefore ought to have united for
the preserving of the honour of their peculiarity: Have we not
all one Father? Yes, we have, for has not one God created
us? Are we not all his offspring? And are we not made
of one blood? Yes, certainly we are. God is a common Father to
all mankind, and, upon that account, all we are brethren,
members one of another, and therefore ought to put away
lying (
(2.) How treacherously they dealt,
notwithstanding, They profaned themselves in that very thing which
was prescribed to them for the preserving of the honour of their
singularity: Judah has married the daughter of a strange
god. The harm was not so much that she was the daughter of a
strange nation (God has made all nations of men, and is
himself King of nations), but that she was the daughter of a
strange god, trained up in the service and worship of false gods,
at their disposal, as a daughter at her father's disposal, and
having a dependence upon them; hence some of the rabbin (quoted by
Dr. Pocock) say, He that marries a heathen woman is as if he
made himself son-in-law to an idol. The corruption of the old
world began with the intermarriages of the sons of God with
the daughters of men,
(3.) How severely God would reckon with
them for it (
2. In contempt of the marriage-covenant,
which God instituted for the common benefit of mankind, they abused
and put away the wives they had of their own nation, probably to
make room for those strange wives, when it was all the fashion to
marry such (
(1.) Let us see what it is that is here
complained of. they did not behave as they ought to have done
towards their wives. [1.] They were cross with them, froward and
peevish, and made their lives bitter to them, so that when they
came with their wives and families to worship God at the solemn
feasts, which they should have done with rejoicing, they were all
out of humour; the poor wives were ready to break their hearts,
and, not daring to make their case known to any other, they
complained to God, and covered the altar of the Lord with tears,
with weeping, and with crying. This is illustrated by the
instance of Hannah, who, upon the account of her husband's having
another wife (though otherwise a kind husband), and the discontent
thence arising, whenever they went up to the house of the Lord to
worship fretted and wept, and was in bitterness of
soul, and would not eat,
(2.) Let us see the proof and aggravations
of the charge. [1.] It is sufficiently proved by the testimony of
God himself: "The Lord has been witness between thee and the
wife of thy youth (
(3.) Let us see the reasons given why man
and wife should continue together, to their lives' end, in holy
love and peace, and neither quarrel with each other nor separate
from each other. [1.] Because god has joined them together
(
(4.) Let us see the caution inferred from
all this. We have it twice (
II. Observe how corrupt their principles
were, to which were owing all these corrupt practices. Let us trace
up the streams to the fountain (
In this chapter we have, I. A promise of the
coming of the Messiah, and of his forerunner; and the errand he
comes upon is here particularly described, both the comfort which
his coming brings to his church and people and the terror which it
will bring to the wicked,
1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. 2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: 3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. 4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years. 5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. 6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
The first words of this chapter seem a
direct answer to the profane atheistical demand of the scoffers of
those days which closed the foregoing chapter: Where is the God
of judgment? To which it is readily answered, "Here he is; he
is just at the door; the long-expected Messiah is ready to appear;
and he says, For judgment have I come into this world, for
that judgment which you have so impudently bid defiance to." One of
the rabbin says that the meaning of this is, That God will raise up
a righteous King, to set things in order, even the king
Messiah. And the beginning of the gospel of Christ is
expressly said to be the accomplishment of this promise, with which
the Old Testament concludes,
I. A prophecy of the appearing of his
forerunner John the Baptist, which the prophet Isaiah had foretold
(
II. A prophecy of the appearing of the
Messiah himself: "The Lord, whom you seek, shall suddenly come
to his temple, even the God of judgment, who, you think,
has forsaken the earth, and you wot not what has become of
him. The Messiah has been long called he that should
come, and you may assure yourselves that now shortly he will
come." 1. He is the Lord—Adonai, the basis and foundation
on which the world is founded and fastened, the ruler and governor
of all, that one Lord over all (
III. An account given of the great ends and
intentions of his coming,
1. To the terrors of his appearance. Even
in the days of his flesh there were some emanations of his glory
and power, such as none could stand before, witness his
transfiguration, and the prodigies that attended his death; and we
read of some that trembled before him, as
2. To the troublous times that should
follow soon after. The Jewish doctors speak of the pangs or
griefs of the Messiah, meaning (they say) the great
afflictions that should be to Israel at the time of his coming; he
himself speaks of great tribulation then approaching, such as
was not since the beginning of the world, nor ever shall be,
3. To the trial which his coming would make
of the children of men. He shall be like a refiner's fire,
which separates between the gold and the dross by melting the ore,
or like fuller's soap, which with much rubbing fetches the
spots out of the cloth. Christ came to discover men, that the
thoughts of many hearts might be revealed (
(1.) The gospel shall work good upon those
that are disposed to be good, to them it shall be a savour of life
unto life (
(2.) It shall turn for a testimony against
those that are resolved to go on in their wickedness,
IV. The ratification of all this (
7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? 8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. 12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.
We have here God's controversy with the men of that generation, for deserting his service and robbing him—wicked servants indeed, that not only run away from their Master, but run away with their Master's goods.
I. They had run away from their Master, and
quitted the work he gave them to do (
II. They had robbed their Master, and
embezzled his goods. They had asked, "Wherein shall we
return? What have we done amiss?" And he soon tells them.
Observe, 1. The prophet's high charge exhibited, in God's name,
against the people. They stand indicted for robbery, for sacrilege,
the worst of robberies: You have robbed me. He expostulates
with them upon it: Will a man be so daringly impudent as to
rob God? Man, who is a weak creature, and cannot contend
with God's power, will he think to rob him vi et
armis—forcibly? Man, who lies open to God's knowledge, and
cannot conceal himself from that, will he think to rob him clam
et secreto—privily? Man, who depends upon God, and
derives his all from him, will he rob him that is his benefactor?
This is ungrateful, unjust, and unkind, indeed; and it is very
unwise thus to provoke him from whom our judgment proceeds. Will
a man do violence to God? so some read it. Will a man do
violence to God? so some read it. Will a man stint or
straiten him? so others read it. Robbing God is a heinous
crime. 2. The people's high challenge in answer to that charge:
But you say, Wherein have we robbed thee? They plead Not
guilty, and put God upon the proof of it. Note, Robbing God is
such a heinous crime that those who are guilty of it are not
willing to own themselves guilty. They rob God, and know not what
they do. They rob him of his honour, rob him of that which is
devoted to him, to be employed in his service, rob him of
themselves, rob him of sabbath-time, rob him of that which is given
for the support of religion, and give him not his dues out of their
estates; and yet they ask, Wherein have we robbed thee? 3.
The plain proof of the charge, in answer to this challenge; it is
in tithes and offerings. Out of these the priests and
Levites had maintenance for themselves and their families; but they
detained them, defrauded the priests of them, would not pay their
tithes, or not in full, or not of the best; they brought not the
offerings which God required, or brought the torn, and lame, and
sick, which were not fit for use. They were all guilty of this sin,
even the whole nation, as if they were in confederacy
against God, and all combined to rob him of his dues and to stand
by one another in it when they had done. For this they were
cursed with a curse,
13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? 14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? 15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. 16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. 17 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. 18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
Among the people of the Jews at this time, though they all enjoyed the same privileges and advantages, there were men of very different characters (as ever were, and ever will be, in the world and in the church), like Jeremiah's figs, some very good and others very bad, some that plainly appeared to be the children of God and others that as plainly discovered themselves to be the children of the wicked one. There are tares and wheat in the same field, chaff and corn in the same floor; and here we have an account of both.
I. Here is the angry notice God takes of the impudent blasphemous talk of the sinners in Zion and his just resentments of it. Probably there was a club of them that were in league against religion, that set up for wits, and set their wits on work to run it down and ridicule it, and herein strengthened one another's hands. Here is,
1. An indictment found against them, for
treasonable words spoken against the King of kings: Your words
have been stout against me, saith the Lord. They spoke
against God, in reflection upon him, in contradiction to
him, as their fathers in the wilderness (
2. Their plea to this indictment. They said, What have we spoken so much against thee? They deny the words, and put the prophet to prove them; or, if they spoke the words, they did not design them against God, and therefore will not own there was any harm in them; at least they extenuate the matter: What have we spoken so much against thee, so much that there needs all this ado about it? They cannot deny that they have spoken against God, but they make a light matter of it, and wonder it should be taken notice of: "Words" (say they) "are but wind; others have said more and done worse; if we are not so good as we should be, yet we hope we are not so bad as we are represented to be." Note, It is common for sinners that are unconvinced and unhumbled to deny or extenuate the faults they are justly charged with, and to insist upon their own justification, against the reproofs of the word and of their own consciences. But it will be to no purpose.
3. The words themselves which they are charged with. God keeps an account of what men say, as well as of what they do, and will let them know that he does so. We quickly forget what we have said, and are ready to deny what we have said amiss; but God can say, You have said so and so. They had said it as their deliberate judgment.
(1.) That there is nothing to be got in the
service of God, thought it is a service that subjects men to labour
and sorrow. They said, It is vain to serve God, or, "He
is vain that serves God, that is, he labours in vain and to no
purpose; he has his labour for his pains, and therefore is a fool
for his labour. What profit is it that we have kept his
ordinance, or his observation, that we have observed
what he has appointed us to observe?" What mammon, or
wealth, have we gained, says the Chaldee, intimating (says
Dr. Pocock) that it was for mammon's sake only that they served
God, and so indeed not God at all, but mammon. "We have walked
mournfully, or in black, with great gravity and great
grief, before the Lord of hosts, have afflicted our souls at
the times appointed for that purpose, and yet we are never the
better." Perhaps this comes in as a reason why they would not trust
God to prosper them upon their bringing in the tithes
(
(2.) They maintained that wickedness was
the way to prosperity, for they had observed that the workers of
wickedness were set up in the world, and those that tempted
God were delivered,
II. Here is the gracious notice God takes of the pious talk of the saints in Zion, and the gracious recompence of it. Even in this corrupt and degenerate age, when there was so great a decay, nay, so great a contempt, of serious godliness, there were yet some that retained their integrity and zeal for God; and let us see,
1. How they distinguished themselves, and
what their character was; it was the reverse of theirs that spoke
so much against God; for, (1.) They feared the Lord—that is
the beginning of wisdom and the root of all religion; they
reverenced the majesty of God, submitted to his authority, and had
a dread of his wrath in all they thought and said; they humbly
complied with God, and never spoke any stout words against him. In
every age there has been a remnant that feared the Lord, though
sometimes but a little remnant. (2.) They thought upon his
name; they seriously considered and frequently mediated upon
the discoveries God has made of himself in his word and by his
providences, and their mediation of him was sweet to
them and influenced them. They thought on his name; they
consulted the honour of God and aimed at that as their ultimate end
in all they did. Note, Those that know the name of God should often
think of it and dwell upon it in their thoughts; it is a copious
curious subject, and frequent thoughts of it will contribute very
much to our communion with God and the stirring up of our devout
affections to him. (3.) They spoke often one to another
concerning the God they feared, and that name of his which they
thought so much of; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
will speak, and a good man, out of a good treasure there,
will bring forth good things. Those that feared the Lord
kept together as those that were company for each other; they spoke
kindly and endearingly one to another, for the preserving and
promoting of mutual love, that that might not wax cold when
iniquity did thus abound. They spoke intelligently
and edifyingly to one another, for the increasing and improving of
faith and holiness; they spoke one to another in the
language of those that fear the Lord and think on his name—the
language of Canaan. When profaneness had come to so great a height
as to trample upon all that is sacred, then those that
feared the Lord spoke often one to another. [1.] Then, when
iniquity was bold and barefaced, the people of God took courage,
and stirred up themselves, the innocent against the
hypocrite,
2. How God dignified them, and what further honour and favour he intended for them. Those who spoke stoutly against God, no doubt looked with disdain and displeasure upon those that feared him, hectored and bantered them; but they had little reason to regard that, or be disturbed at it, when God countenanced them.
(1.) He took notice of their pious
discourses, and was graciously present at their conferences: The
Lord hearkened and heard it, and was well pleased with it. God
says (
(2.) He kept an account of them: A book
of remembrance was written before him. Not that the Eternal
Mind needs to be reminded of things by books and writings, but it
is an expression after the manner of men, intimating that their
pious affections and performances are kept in remembrance as
punctually and particularly as if they were written in a book, as
if journals were kept of all their conferences. Great kings had
books of remembrance written, and read before them, in which were
entered all the services done them, when, and by whom, as
(3.) He promises them a share in his glory
hereafter (
(4.) He promises them a share in his grace
now: I will spare them as a man spares his own son that serves
him. God had promised to own them as his and take them to be
with him; but it might be a discouragement to them to think that
they had offended God, and that he might justly disown them, and
cast them off; but, as to that, he says, "I will spare them;
I will not deal with them as they deserve. I will rejoice over
them" (so some expound it) "as the bridegroom over his bride,"
3. How they will thus be distinguished from
the children of this world (
We have here proper instructions given us (very
proper to close the canon of the Old Testament with), I. Concerning
the state of recompence and retribution that is before us, the
misery of the wicked and the happiness of the righteous in that
state,
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. 3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.
The great and terrible day of the Lord is here prophesied of. This, like the pillar of cloud and fire, shall have a dark side turned towards the Egyptians that fight against God, and a bright side towards the faithful Israelites that follow him: The day cometh, that is, the Lord cometh, the day of the Lord; and it has reference both to the first and to the second coming of Jesus Christ; the day of both was fixed, and should answer the character here given of it.
I. In both Christ is a consuming fire to
those that rebel against him. The day of his coming shall burn
as an oven; it shall be a day of wrath, of fiery
indignation. This was foretold concerning the Messiah,
II. In both Christ is a rejoicing light to
those who serve him faithfully, to those who fear his name and give
him the glory due to it (
1. Whence this mercy and comfort shall flow
to them: To you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness
arise, with healing in his wings. The day that comes, as it
will be a stormy day to the wicked, a day in which God will rain
upon them fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest, as he
did on Sodom (
2. What this mercy and comfort shall bring
to them: He shall arise with healing under his wings, or in
his rays or beams, which are as the wings of the sun.
Christ came, as the sun, to bring not only light to a dark
world, but health to a diseased distempered world. The Jews (says
Dr. Pocock) have a proverbial saying, As the sun riseth,
infirmities decrease; the flowers which drooped and languished
all night revive in the morning. Christ came into the world to be
the great physician, yea, and the great medicine too, both the balm
in Gilead and the physician there. When he was upon earth, he went
about as the sun in his circuit, doing this good; he healed all
manner of sicknesses and diseases among the people; he healed
by wholesale, as the sun does. He shall arise with healing in
his skirts; so some read it, and they apply it to the story of
the woman's touching the hem of his garment, and being
thereby made whole, and his finding that virtue went out
of him,
3. What good effect it shall have upon
them. (1.) It shall make them vigorous in themselves: "You shall
go forth, as those that are healed go abroad and return to
their business." The souls shall go forth out of their bodies at
death, and the bodies out of their graves at the resurrection, as
prisoners out of their dungeons, and both to see the light and be
set at liberty. "You shall go forth as plants out of the
earth, when in the spring the sun returns." Some make it to mean
the going forth of the Christians from Jerusalem, and the escape
they thereby made from its destruction. And thus the souls on whom
the Sun of righteousness arises go forth out of the world, go forth
out of Babylon, as those that are made free indeed. "You
shall likewise grow up; being restored to health and
liberty, you shall increase in knowledge, and grace, and spiritual
strength." The souls on which the Sun of righteousness arises are
growing up towards the perfect man; those that by the grace
of God are made wise and good are by the same grace made wiser and
better; and their path, like that of the rising sun, shines more
and more to the perfect day,
(2.) It shall make them victorious over
their enemies (
4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: 6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
This is doubtless intended for a solemn conclusion, not only of this prophecy, but of the canon of the Old Testament, and is a plain information that they were not to expect any more sayings nor writing by divine inspiration, any more of the dictates of the Spirit of prophecy, till the beginning of the gospel of the Messiah, which sets aside the Apocrypha as no part of holy writ, and which therefore the Jews never received.
Now that prophecy ceases, and is about to be sealed up, there are two things required of the people of God, that lived then:—
I. They must keep up an obedient veneration
for the law of Moses (
II. They must keep up a believing
expectation of the gospel of Christ, and must look for the
beginning of it in the appearing of Elijah the prophet (
1. Who this prophet is that shall be sent;
it is Elijah. The Jewish doctors will have it to be the same
Elijah that prophesied in Israel in the days of Ahab—that he shall
come again to be the forerunner of the Messiah; yet others of them
say not the same person, but another of the same spirit. It should
seem, those different sentiments they had when they asked John,
"Art thou Elias, or that prophet that should bear his
name?"
2. When he shall be sent—before the
appearing of the Messiah, which, because it was the judgment of
this world, and introduced the ruin of the Jewish church and
nation, is here called the coming of the great and dreadful day
of the Lord. John Baptist gave them fair warning of this when
he told them of the wrath to come (that wrath to the
uttermost which was hastening upon them) and put them into a
way of escape from it, and when he told them of the fan in
Christ's hand, with which Christ would thoroughly purge his
floor; see
3. On what errand he shall be sent: He
shall turn the heart of the fathers to their children, and the
heart of the children to their fathers; that is, "he shall be
employed in this work; he shall attempt it; his doctrine and
baptism shall have a direct tendency to it, and with many shall be
successful: he shall be an instrument in God's hand of
turning many to righteousness, to the Lord their
God, and so making ready a people prepared for him,"
4. With what view he shall be sent on this
errand: Lest I come and smite the earth, that is, the land
of Israel, the body of the Jewish nation (that were of the earth
earthy), with a curse. They by their impiety and impenitence
in it had laid themselves open to the curse of God, which is a
separation to all evil. God was ready to smite them with that
curse, to bring utter ruin upon them, to strike home, to strike
dead, with the curse; but he will yet once more try them, whether
they will repent and return, and so prevent it; and therefore he
sends John Baptist to preach repentance to them, that their
conversion might prevent their confusion; so unwilling is God that
any should perish, so willing to have his anger turned away. Had
they universally repented and reformed, their repentance would have
had this desired effect; but, they generally rejecting the counsel
of God in John's baptism, it proved against themselves (
Genesis
1:2 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:3 1:4-5 1:9-10 1:16 1:20 1:20-21 1:21 1:26 1:28 2:4 2:9 2:14 3:5 3:14 3:14 3:15 3:15 3:16 3:17 3:17 3:18 3:18 3:18 3:24 3:24 4:1 4:2 4:4 4:7 4:7 4:7 4:7 4:7 4:26 6:2 6:3 6:3 6:11 6:13 6:13 7:1 7:11 7:23 8:21 8:21 8:21-22 8:22 9:4 9:6 9:9 9:10-11 9:11 9:11 9:16 9:16 9:26 9:27 9:27 10:1-32 10:5 10:5 10:5 10:6 10:6 10:10 10:10-11 10:11 10:14 10:14 10:22 11:3 11:6 11:6 11:6 12:2 12:2 12:3 12:5 13:4 13:4 13:7 13:10 13:13 13:13 13:13 14:1 14:1-24 15:7 15:14 15:17 16:12 16:12 17:1 17:5 17:8 18:17 18:17 18:19 18:20 18:20-21 18:21 18:25 18:25 18:25 18:33 19:5 19:11 19:11 19:23 19:27 19:31 20:7 20:7 20:7 20:7 20:7 20:16 20:16 22:17 22:17 22:17 22:17 23:4 23:6 23:8 25:3 25:13 25:13-14 25:15 25:23 25:26 26:14 26:28 27:27 27:28 27:28 27:40 27:41 28:10 28:12 28:14 28:18 30:33 31:1 31:40 31:45 32:1-2 32:26 33:1-20 33:5 34:1-31 34:23 34:30 35:2 35:9 35:12 35:19 35:20 35:21 37:35 38:14 38:26 40:21 40:23 41:51 42:1 42:16 42:23 43:32 43:32 46:34 46:34 47:3 47:23 48:22 49:1 49:1 49:9 49:9 49:10 49:10 49:10 49:10 49:11 49:12 49:14-15 49:22 49:22 49:24 49:27 50:20
Exodus
1:7 1:11 1:19 1:20 2:16 2:23 3:2 3:7 3:7-8 3:8 4:8-9 4:11-12 4:14 4:19 4:22 4:22 4:22-23 5:2 5:7 5:19 6:3 6:3 6:3 6:3 6:3 6:9 6:30 7:1 9:21 10:5-6 10:14 10:15 10:17 10:19 12:12 12:12 12:23 12:26 12:27 12:34 12:41 12:49 13:21 13:21 14:11 14:15 14:19 14:20 14:21 14:24 15:1 15:1 15:1 15:1-2 15:2 15:2 15:9 15:11 15:11 15:14-16 15:20 15:26 15:26 15:27 16:14 16:36 16:36 17:10 17:12 17:14 17:15 18:11 19:4 19:5 19:5 19:5 19:5 19:6 19:6 19:20 20:19 20:21 20:24 21:2 21:10 21:14 21:14 21:32 21:32 22:10 22:21-22 22:22 22:23-24 22:26 22:27 23:11 23:13 23:20 23:20-21 23:21 23:21 23:22 23:22 23:22 23:29 24:7 24:7-8 24:16-17 26:16 26:22 26:25 28:1 28:2 28:21-22 28:38 29:1-46 29:43 30:25 31:3-4 32:7 32:7 32:10 32:10 32:11 32:12 32:18 32:26 32:31 32:34 32:34 33:4-5 33:22 34:6 34:6-7 34:6-7 34:34 39:30 40:34
Leviticus
1:1 1:2 2:1 2:13 5:15 6:27 10:3 10:3 10:6 10:9 10:9 10:10-11 11:42-43 11:45-46 13:45 14:8-9 15:19 15:23 16:21 16:21 16:29 18:18 18:25 18:27 18:27-28 18:27-28 18:28 18:28 18:28 18:28 18:28 18:28 18:28 18:30 19:2 19:10 19:17 19:23-25 19:31 19:32 20:11 20:27 20:27 21:1 21:11 21:17 21:20 22:23 23:32 23:40 25:9 25:23 25:23 25:40 25:44 25:46 26:16 26:16 26:16 26:22 26:23-24 26:23-24 26:23-24 26:24 26:26 26:29 26:29 26:31 26:31 26:34 26:34 26:34 26:36 26:41 26:41-42 26:42 26:42 26:42 26:42 26:42 26:42 26:42 26:44 26:44 26:44-45 26:45 27:1-34 27:8 27:30 27:32 27:32
Numbers
1:49-50 3 3:12 5:23 6:2 6:12 6:18 10:8 10:9 10:32 11:1 11:2 11:5 11:5 11:9 11:11 11:12 11:12 11:14 11:17 11:23 11:24-25 11:25 11:25 12:6 12:6 12:6 12:6 12:8 12:14 13:32 13:33 14:9 14:13 14:16 14:16 14:17 14:22-23 14:31 14:31 15:6-9 15:30 16:21 19:22 20:18 21:18 21:28 22:3-4 22:22 23:9 23:9 23:19 23:19 23:21 23:21 24:4 24:9 24:10 25:1-2 25:2-3 25:3 25:3 25:4 25:12 25:12 25:12-13 25:17-18 28:9 31:18 31:24 31:28 31:50 32:14 32:14 32:14 33:4 33:4 33:46 34:1 34:12 35:33
Deuteronomy
1:11 1:17 2:4 2:9 3:25 4:2 4:6 4:6 4:6 4:6 4:6 4:7 4:7-8 4:8 4:8 4:19 4:19 4:19 4:19 4:19 4:19 4:28 4:34 4:34 4:34 5:27-28 5:29 6:4 6:6-7 6:8 6:11 6:18 6:20 7:3 7:5 7:7 7:7-8 7:7-8 7:7-8 7:7-8 7:7-8 7:7-8 7:7-8 7:8 8:2-3 8:3 8:7 8:7 8:8 8:8 8:10 8:15 8:15 8:15 8:15 8:16 8:17 8:17 8:17-18 9:4-5 9:4-5 9:4-6 9:5 9:5 9:6 9:7 9:24 9:24 10:20 11:10 11:11 11:12 11:12 11:12 12:2-3 12:3 12:5 12:12 12:29-31 13:6-11 14:1 15:9 17:8-9 17:16 18:15 18:15 18:15 18:18 19:18-19 20:2-3 20:5-6 20:8 21:1 21:18-19 21:21 21:23 22:10 23:1 23:3 23:3 23:3 23:5 23:7 23:7 23:13 23:13-14 23:14 23:18 24:1 24:4 24:12-13 24:16 24:16 25:14 26:5 26:11 26:14 26:19 26:19 27:15 27:28 28:1-68 28:4 28:15 28:15 28:15 28:17-18 28:23-24 28:30 28:30 28:30 28:33 28:33 28:33 28:36 28:38 28:42 28:47 28:47-48 28:49 28:51 28:52-53 28:53 28:53 28:53 28:56 28:56 28:56 28:56 28:57 28:60 28:62 28:63 28:64 28:66 28:66-67 28:68 28:68 28:68 29:4 29:21 29:23 29:23 29:23 29:23 29:24 29:24 29:24 29:24 29:25 29:25 29:28 29:33 30:3-4 30:4 30:4 30:4 30:4 30:4 30:4 30:4 30:15 30:19 31:16 31:17 31:27 31:27 31:27 31:29 31:29 31:29 31:32-33 32:1 32:1-47 32:2 32:2 32:2 32:2 32:3 32:4 32:6 32:6 32:7 32:7 32:8-9 32:8-9 32:9 32:11 32:11 32:11-12 32:11-12 32:12-13 32:13 32:13-14 32:13-15 32:14 32:15 32:17 32:17 32:17 32:17 32:17 32:18 32:18 32:20 32:20 32:20 32:20 32:21 32:21 32:25 32:26-27 32:27 32:27 32:29 32:29 32:29 32:30 32:31 32:31 32:31 32:32 32:32 32:32 32:34 32:34 32:34 32:34-35 32:36 32:36 32:37 32:37-38 32:38 32:38 32:38 32:39 32:39 32:40 32:40-41 32:42 32:43 32:43 33:2 33:2 33:2 33:2 33:4 33:5 33:8 33:9 33:9-10 33:17 33:19 33:19 33:25 33:26 33:27 33:29 33:29 34:6 34:10
Joshua
1:4 3:15 3:16 5:2 5:9 5:10 5:13 5:13-14 5:15 6:17 7:25 9:13 10:11 13:3 15:19 15:44 15:44 16:3 16:5 19:29 19:40 22:17 24:2 24:2-3 24:19 24:21 24:26-27 24:31
Judges
1:16 2:1 2:1 2:5 2:10 2:16 3:3 3:6 3:8 3:9 4:3 4:17 5:4-5 5:6 5:7 5:7 5:8 5:11 5:16-17 5:21 5:30 6:13 6:13 6:22 6:37 7:13 8:16 8:21 9:7 9:8 9:9 9:9 9:11 9:12-13 9:13 9:15 9:15 9:20 9:23 9:23 9:23 10:10 10:13 10:13-14 10:14 10:14 10:14 10:14 10:14 10:15 10:16 10:16 10:16 10:16 11:11 13:18 13:18 13:22 14:5 15:1 18:7 18:19 18:24 19:3 21:19 21:21 21:21
Ruth
1 Samuel
1:6-7 1:10 1:18 2:4 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:13-14 2:17 2:20 2:22 2:30 2:30 2:30 2:36 3:1 3:1 3:1 3:1 3:11 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:19 3:19 3:19 3:20 3:20 3:20 3:20 6:2 6:12 6:20 6:20 6:20 7:2 7:2 8:2 8:11 8:18 9:7-8 9:9 9:15 10:5 10:8 10:12 11:15 12:18-19 12:19 12:23 13:14 13:22 14:38 15:6 15:22 15:22 15:29 15:29 15:32 16:12 18:14 18:18 20:20 21:7 21:9 22:7 24:13 25:11 25:29 26:17 26:19 26:19 28:6 28:7 28:15 28:15 28:18 28:20 30:4 30:6 30:14
2 Samuel
1:16 1:18 1:19 1:20 1:22 2:13 2:18 5:20 5:24 7:2 7:9 7:14 8:2 8:2 8:2 8:4 11:25 12:4 12:11 12:13 12:22 12:31 13:19 14:14 14:17 15:30 16:12 17:8 18:24 19:11-12 23:2 23:3 23:5 23:6-7 24:14 24:14 24:16 24:17 28:26
1 Kings
2:26 2:29 2:30-31 4:24-25 4:30 4:34 5:12 6:1 6:4 6:15-16 6:22 6:29 6:29 7:15 7:37 7:47 8:10 8:30 8:41 8:43 8:48-49 8:56 8:56 8:56 9:6-8 9:8 9:8 9:13 9:26 10:5 10:17 10:17 10:28 11:5 11:7 11:19 12:28 12:30 13:2 14:24 15:22 16:7 16:26 16:31 16:31 16:31 16:34 17:1 17:13 18:3 18:4 18:4 18:5 18:5-6 18:21 18:26 18:26 18:28 18:28 18:36 18:36 18:41 18:44 19:4 19:10 19:11 19:11 19:17 20:5-6 20:6 20:23 20:28 20:35 21:12 21:29 22:8 22:20 22:23 22:24 22:27 22:27 22:28
2 Kings
1:2 1:8 2:20-21 3:4 3:4 3:15 3:22-23 3:25 3:26-27 4:6 4:18-37 4:23 4:23 4:23 4:23 4:39 5:13 6:1 6:8 6:10 6:10 6:17 6:18 6:29 7:2 7:15 8:1 8:12 8:12 8:12 9:1 9:11 9:17 9:19-22 9:30 9:33 10:15-16 10:30 10:31 10:32 10:32 10:32-33 12:17 13:3 13:7 13:7 13:16 13:16-17 14:7 14:25 14:25 14:25 14:25 14:25 14:25-26 14:27 14:28 15:8 15:10 15:16 15:19 15:19-20 15:29 15:30 15:37 16:7 16:7-8 16:9 16:9 16:9 16:9 16:9 16:10 16:10-11 16:14-15 17:6 17:25 18:1 18:1-19:37 18:5 18:8 18:8 18:10 18:13 18:14 18:14 18:14 18:17 18:17 18:21 18:26 19:1-37 19:9 20:1 20:1-21 20:3 20:5 20:12 21:1 21:7 21:7 21:12 21:16 21:16 21:16 22:12 22:20 23:5 23:7 23:10 23:11 23:11 23:11-12 23:12 23:12 23:12 23:13 23:13 23:15-16 23:18 23:25 23:25-26 23:27 23:29 23:30 23:34 24:1-25:30 24:2 24:2 24:3-4 24:4 24:4 24:4 24:4 24:4 24:6 24:7 24:7 24:7 24:7 24:12 24:12 24:13 24:13-15 24:14 24:15 24:16 25:1 25:1 25:4 25:12 25:18-19 25:27-30
1 Chronicles
2:55 3:15 3:15 3:17 5:26 6:17 7:21-22 9:24 17:24 21:17 24:9 24:14 24:18 25:1-3 26:8 26:16 28:2 28:19 29:2 29:14 29:16 29:17
2 Chronicles
2:9 2:16 2:17-18 3:6 4:18 6:1 6:42 7:14 7:20-21 7:21 9:16 12:5 12:6 12:6 12:6 12:8 12:8 12:14 12:15 14:9 15:3 15:5 15:5 16:2-3 16:9 16:9 16:9 16:9 16:9 20:5 20:11-12 20:20 20:26 21:12 21:12 21:17 24:21 25:16 25:16 26:6 26:10 26:10 26:16 28:5 28:5 28:5 28:8-15 28:8-15 28:10 28:15 28:16 28:17 28:18 28:18 28:18 28:18 28:20 28:20 28:22 28:22 28:22 28:22 28:22 28:28 29:30 29:34 30:22 32:1-33 32:3-4 32:4 32:8 32:20-21 32:25 32:26 32:31 32:33 33:3 33:11 33:14 34:3 34:32 35:17 35:25 35:25 36:1 36:4 36:6 36:6 36:6-7 36:10 36:12 36:12 36:13 36:16 36:16 36:16 36:16-17 36:17 36:22
Ezra
1 1:1 1:1 1:2 1:2-3 1:3 1:4 1:4 1:4 1:5 1:5 1:5 1:5 1:5 1:5 1:6 1:7 1:7 1:8 2 2:1-70 2:1-70 2:62 2:64 2:64 3:2-3 3:2-4 3:3 3:4 3:10 3:11 3:11 3:12 3:12 4:4-5 4:8 4:12 4:14 4:15 5:1 5:1 5:1-2 5:2 5:2 6:1-12 6:3 6:7 6:8 6:9 6:13-14 6:14-15 7:8-12 7:19-20 9:7 9:7 9:8 9:8 9:8 9:8 9:10 9:13 9:13 10:10 10:18 10:18
Nehemiah
1:3-4 1:9 1:9 2:3 2:3 2:19 3:1 3:3 3:27 3:32 3:32 4:2-3 4:7 4:14 4:14 4:14 5:2 5:2-5 5:3-7 5:5 5:5 5:7 5:15 5:15 5:18 6:13 7:70 7:72 8:10 8:10 8:10 8:17 9:5 9:5 9:14 9:17 9:19 9:20 9:20 9:32 9:33 9:36 9:38 11:1-2 11:2 13:1-31 13:10 13:12 13:16 13:17 13:18 13:22 13:23 13:24 13:26 13:28 13:28
Esther
1:4 1:8 1:13 1:14 1:19 2:23 3:8 3:10 3:15 3:15 4:16 8:8 8:17 8:17 8:17 8:17 8:17 9:1 9:1
Job
1:7 1:10 1:21 1:21 2:10 2:10 2:13 3:1 3:11-12 3:17 3:17 3:18 3:23 4:8 4:18 4:19 5:2 5:3 5:3 5:3 5:3 5:3 5:5 5:5 5:6 5:21 5:22-23 6:4 6:10 6:10 6:15 6:15 6:19 6:19 7:1 7:6 7:18 8:8 8:8 8:11-12 8:12 9:8 9:9 9:15 9:17 9:27 10:3 10:11 10:11 11:6 11:12 12:16 12:17 12:17 12:17 12:20 12:20 12:20 12:21 12:23 12:23 12:24 12:24 12:24 13:21 13:26 13:26 13:27 14:7 14:7 14:7-9 14:9 14:12 14:17 14:21 15:16 15:25 16:10 17:6 17:8 17:8 17:11 18:4 18:5-6 18:11 18:11 18:11 18:14 18:15 18:16 18:20 19:13 19:21 20:8 20:15 20:15 20:15 20:15 20:24 20:26 20:27 21:7 21:12 21:13 21:14-15 21:14-15 21:18 21:19 21:19 21:20 21:24 21:29 21:29 21:30 22:6 22:13 22:13 22:13 22:15 22:17 22:30 23:6 23:6 23:14 23:23 23:23 23:26 24:1 24:15 26:7 26:7 26:7 26:7 26:9 26:13 26:14 26:14 27:16 27:16-17 27:18 27:19 27:22 27:22-23 27:27-28 28:16 28:19 29:9 29:15 29:22 29:23 30:11 30:11 30:11 30:25 31:3 31:7 31:14 31:21 31:25 31:26 31:26 31:26 31:26 31:31 31:31 31:39 32:18 32:19 32:20 33:6 33:7 33:14 33:14 33:14 33:15 33:17 33:21 33:23 33:27 33:27 34:9 34:19 34:21 34:23 34:26 34:29 34:29 34:29 34:29 35:10 35:10-11 35:11 35:14 36:2 36:8 36:9 36:10 36:10 36:13 36:13 36:32 37:1 37:6 37:12-18 37:16 37:17 37:22 38:1 38:4 38:6 38:7 38:7 38:8-41 38:13 38:13 38:13 38:22-23 38:28 38:31 38:31-33 38:33 38:33 38:36 38:41 38:41 39:2 39:3 39:5-6 39:14-15 39:15 39:19 39:21 39:22 39:30 40:11 40:11 40:11-12 40:11-12 40:11-13 40:11-14 40:12 40:12 41:1 41:1 41:1-2 41:10 41:19 41:21 41:24 41:25 41:31 42:5-6
Psalms
1:3 1:3 1:3 1:3-4 1:4 1:5 1:5 1:6 2:1 2:1 2:1 2:1 2:1-2 2:1-2 2:2 2:3 2:4 2:4 2:5 2:6 2:6 2:6 2:6 2:6 2:6 2:7 2:8 2:8 2:8 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:9-10 2:12 3:6 3:7 3:8 4:2 4:3 4:5 4:6 4:6-7 4:6-7 4:7 4:7 5:3 5:4 5:4-5 7:1-17 7:3-5 7:12 7:12 7:13 7:15-16 8 9:5 9:6 9:6 9:6 9:13-14 9:15 9:15 9:15-16 9:16 9:20 9:20 9:20 9:20 10:3 10:4 10:5 10:5 10:11 10:17 10:17 10:17 10:18 11:4 11:4 11:5-6 11:6 11:6 11:6 11:6 11:6 11:6 11:6 12:1 12:1 12:1 12:2 12:4 12:5 12:5 14:2-3 14:3-4 14:6 14:7 15:2 16:4 16:5 16:7 16:35 16:46 17:7 17:8 17:8 17:8 17:10 17:13 17:13 17:13 17:13-14 17:14 17:14 17:14 17:14 17:14 17:26 17:34 18:9 18:9 18:9 18:10 18:11 18:12 18:12 18:19 18:21 18:23 18:26 18:26 18:26 19:1 19:2 19:4 19:4-6 19:5 19:11 19:11 19:11 20:3 20:7 20:7 20:7 21:3 21:4 21:8 21:8 21:8 21:9 21:9 21:9 21:9 21:13 22:6 22:6 22:9-10 22:14 22:14 22:30 22:30 22:30 22:30 23:2 23:2 23:3 23:3 23:4 23:4-5 24:1 24:1 24:1 24:1 24:1 24:2 24:6 24:7 24:9 25:1 25:1 25:3 25:5 25:6 25:6-7 25:14 25:14 25:15 25:18 26:5-6 26:12 27:2 27:2 27:3 27:4 27:4 27:4 27:4 27:4 27:4-5 27:5 27:5 27:8 27:10 27:11 27:13 27:13 27:14 29:2-3 29:3 29:5 29:6 29:7 29:10 29:10 30:5 30:5 31:9-10 31:13 31:19 31:22 31:22 31:22 31:22 32:3 32:3-4 32:5 32:5 32:7 33:10 33:13 33:14 33:14 34:5 34:7 34:10 34:10 34:15 34:16 34:16 34:16 34:19 35:5 35:6 35:13 35:13 35:16 35:20 35:27 36:2 36:3 36:6 36:9 37:3 37:6 37:6 37:6 37:13 37:13 37:13 37:13 37:13 37:13 37:13 37:16 37:24 37:35 37:35 37:36 37:37 37:37 38:5 38:9 38:13 38:13 38:13-14 38:14-15 38:15 39:1 39:1-2 39:9 39:9 40:5 40:6-7 40:6-12 41:3 42:1 42:1-11 42:4 42:4 42:7 42:10 43:3 43:4 44:2 44:3 44:3 44:4 44:4 44:6 44:9 44:12 44:12 44:12 44:17 44:20-21 44:23 44:23 44:23 44:23 45:1 45:5 45:5 45:17 45:17 46:4 46:4 46:4 46:8 46:10 46:10 46:10 47:4 47:7 48:1-2 48:2 48:2 48:2 48:2 48:2 48:3 48:3-6 48:10 48:13 49:10 49:11 49:13 49:13 49:14 49:14 49:14 49:17 49:18 49:18 49:18 50:2 50:2 50:3 50:4 50:5 50:6 50:7-8 50:8 50:8 50:8 50:9 50:9 50:10 50:10 50:12 50:13 50:16 50:18 50:20 50:21 50:21 50:21 50:21 51:1 51:3 51:4 51:7 51:10 51:11 51:11 51:12 51:14 51:16-17 51:17 52:6-7 52:7 52:7 52:7 52:7 52:8 52:8 54:4 55:14 55:17 55:19 56:4 56:5 56:5 56:8 56:8 58:3 58:4 58:9 58:11 59:11 60:3 60:3 60:4 60:4 60:11 61:4 61:4 62:3 62:3 62:10 62:11 62:11 62:12 63:1 63:1 63:2 63:2 63:10 64:8 65:1 65:2 65:2 65:7 65:8 65:9 65:9 65:10 65:12 65:13 65:13 65:13 66:2 66:3 66:12 66:12 66:12 66:12 66:18 66:18 66:18 66:18 67:2-3 67:3-4 67:4 67:5-6 67:5-6 67:6 67:18 68:1 68:2 68:2 68:4-5 68:4-5 68:7-8 68:7-8 68:8 68:11 68:14 68:16 68:16 68:17 68:18 68:18 68:18 68:18 68:19-20 68:24 68:25 68:28 68:31 68:35 69:1 69:1 69:1 69:12 69:26 69:28 69:30 69:32 69:35-36 70:19 71:5-6 71:6 71:7 71:7 71:7 71:11 71:11 71:16 71:16 71:17 71:20 72:2 72:4 72:6 72:6 72:6 72:7 72:8 72:8 72:9 72:9 72:11 72:16 72:27 73:1 73:1 73:1-28 73:2 73:2-3 73:4 73:5 73:7 73:11 73:13 73:13 73:14 73:17 73:20 73:23 73:23 73:27-28 74:3 74:3-4 74:4 74:5-6 74:8 74:8 74:9 74:9 74:9 74:9 74:9 74:9 74:12 74:13-14 74:13-14 74:13-14 74:14 74:14 74:18-22 74:22 74:22 75:3 75:3 75:5 75:5 75:6-7 75:7 75:8 75:8 75:8 75:8 75:8 75:8 75:8 75:10 75:10 76:1 76:1 76:1 76:1 76:1-12 76:3 76:5 76:5-6 76:7 76:7-8 76:10 76:10 76:12 76:12 77:2-3 77:3 77:5 77:5 77:6 77:7 77:7-9 77:8 77:9 77:10 77:10 77:19 77:20 78:9 78:34 78:38 78:39 78:50 78:54 78:54 78:54 78:55 78:60 78:61 78:63 78:65 78:69 78:72 79:1 79:1 79:1 79:1-2 79:2 79:2 79:6 79:6-7 79:12 79:12 79:13 80:1 80:1 80:1 80:1 80:1 80:2 80:3 80:3 80:4 80:7 80:8 80:8-9 80:11 80:12-13 80:13 80:15 80:16 80:16 80:17 80:17-18 80:19 80:19 81:6 81:7 81:10 81:12 81:13 82:3 82:3-4 82:5 82:5 82:5 82:5 82:6 82:6-7 82:7 82:7 83:1 83:3 83:4 83:4-7 83:5 83:6 83:9 83:9 83:11 83:13 83:15 84:4 84:6 84:9 84:10 85:1-2 85:1-6 85:6 85:7 85:7 85:8 85:8 85:9 85:9-11 85:10 85:10-11 86:11 87:1 87:1 87:5 87:7 87:7 87:7 88:5 88:15 88:18 89:2 89:3 89:7 89:9 89:11-12 89:13-14 89:13-14 89:20 89:27 89:28-29 89:29 89:29 89:30 89:30 89:30-33 89:30-33 89:34 89:35 89:35 89:36 89:36 89:38-39 90:2 90:7-8 90:8 91:1 91:4 91:5 91:6 91:7-8 91:9 91:13 92:12 92:13 92:14-15 93:3 93:3-4 93:3-4 94:7 94:7 94:9 94:11-12 94:12 94:12 94:15 94:16 94:20 95:5 95:10 95:10 95:10 95:10 95:10 95:11 95:11 95:11 96:1 96:2-3 96:10 96:11 96:11 96:11-12 96:11-13 96:13 97:2 97:7 97:7 98:1 98:7-9 99:5 99:5 101:1 101:1 102:1-28 102:3 102:6 102:7 102:9 102:14 102:14 102:14 102:14 102:27-28 103:5 103:13 103:13 103:19 103:19 103:19 103:20 103:21 104:2 104:3 104:3 104:4 104:6-7 104:6-26 104:13 104:14-15 104:15 104:16 104:20 104:21 104:21 104:24 104:26 104:32 105:8 105:12-14 105:13 105:14-15 105:14-15 105:15 105:15 105:29 105:29 105:29 106:16 106:23 106:23 106:24 106:27 106:29 106:30-31 106:38 106:38 106:46 106:46 106:46 106:47 106:47 106:47 107:2 107:20 107:23 107:33 107:33 107:34 107:34 107:38 107:39 109:1 109:4 109:4 109:4 109:14-15 110:1 110:1 110:1 110:1 110:1 110:2 110:2 110:3 110:3 110:3 110:3 110:3 110:3 110:3 110:3 110:3 110:6 110:6 110:6 110:6 110:6 111:2 111:10 112:4 112:4 112:5-6 112:7 112:7 112:9 112:10 113:4 113:7-8 113:9 114:3 114:3-4 114:4 114:4 115 115:2 115:2-3 115:3 115:5-6 115:5-6 115:8 115:8 115:8 115:16 115:16 115:16 116:16 116:16 116:17-19 116:18-19 118:5 118:7 118:15 118:18 118:23 119:10 119:32 119:59 119:59 119:67 119:67 119:68 119:71 119:83 119:85 119:90-91 119:94 119:94 119:94 119:99-100 119:111 119:119 119:119 119:119 119:120 119:120 119:120 119:120 119:122 119:130 119:130 119:136 119:148 119:165 119:165 119:175 119:175 120:5 120:7 121:1-2 122:1 122:1 122:1 122:3 122:4 122:5 122:5 122:8 123:2 123:2 123:4 123:4 123:4 124:8 124:8 125:1 125:1 125:2 125:2 125:2 125:2 125:3 126:1-2 126:1-2 126:2 126:2 126:2 126:3 126:3-4 126:5-6 127:1 127:1-2 127:2 127:5 128:5 128:5-6 129:1 129:1-2 129:3 129:4 130:1 130:2 130:4 130:4 130:8 131:4 132:2 132:7 132:7 132:7 132:12 132:14 132:17 132:17-18 135:4 135:6 135:7 135:7 136:1 136:12 136:17-18 136:21-22 137:1 137:1 137:1 137:1 137:1 137:1-2 137:1-9 137:2-4 137:3 137:3 137:3 137:5 137:5-6 137:6 137:7 137:7 137:7 137:7 137:7 137:7 137:7 137:9 137:9 138:1-8 138:3 138:7 138:7-8 138:8 139:1 139:2 139:2 139:7-8 139:7-10 139:11-12 139:13-16 141:2 141:2 141:2 141:4 141:5-6 141:6 141:6 141:7 141:7 144:13-14 144:14 145:12 145:17 146:1-148:14 146:3-4 146:3-4 146:10 146:10 147:2 147:4 147:6 147:11 147:13 147:13 147:14 147:15 147:15 147:20 147:20 148:1-2 148:9 148:14
Proverbs
1:9 1:9 1:13-14 1:14 1:14 1:16 1:16 1:17 1:20-21 1:20-21 1:21 1:23 1:24 1:24 1:26 1:26 1:28 1:32 2:3-4 3:3 3:8 3:15 3:29 3:29 3:32 3:33 3:33 3:33 3:33 3:33 4:18 4:26 5:11-12 5:16 5:19 5:21 5:22 6:6-7 6:13 6:16-19 6:22 6:28 6:34-35 7:2 7:3-4 7:10 7:16-17 7:23 8:1 8:1-3 8:9 8:15 8:15 8:17 8:30 8:30 8:31 9:1 9:14-15 9:14-16 10:13 10:21 10:24 11:4 11:4 11:8 11:10 12:28 13:21 15:8 15:8 16:1 16:4 16:4 16:7 16:7 16:9 16:15 16:33 18:1 18:10 18:10 18:10 18:11 19:3 19:3 19:3 19:3 19:19 19:20 19:21 21:1 21:13 21:30-31 22:5 22:8 23:3 23:5 23:5 23:5 23:5 23:17 23:29 23:29-30 23:29-35 23:33 23:35 24:10 24:17-18 24:24 24:31 25:4 25:12 25:15 25:23 26:1 26:7 27:1 27:4 27:6 27:22 28:1 28:2 28:2 28:3 28:3 28:3 28:3 28:9 28:9 28:14 28:15 28:15 28:21 28:24 29:1 29:5 29:10 29:10 29:10 29:12 29:16 29:18 30:4 30:15 30:15-16 30:17 30:18 30:20 30:21 30:22 30:27 30:28 30:29 30:31 30:31 31:4 31:4-5 31:4-5 31:5 31:5 31:5 31:5-6 31:6
Ecclesiastes
1:4 1:8 1:9 1:9-10 2:8 2:18-19 2:19 2:24 2:26 2:26 3:6 3:7 3:11 3:11 3:13 3:13 3:16 3:16 3:16 4:1 4:1 4:1 4:1 4:1 4:4 5:6 5:7 5:8 5:8 5:8 5:8 5:9 5:9 5:10 5:10 5:10 5:10 5:13 5:13 5:16 7:1 7:6 7:7 7:10 7:12 7:17 7:17 7:26 8:1 8:2 8:11 8:11 9:1 9:2 9:2 9:5 9:7 9:10 9:11 9:12 9:15 10:16 10:16 10:16 10:17 10:17 10:20 10:20 11:1 11:9 11:9 11:9 12:1 12:1 12:4 12:5 12:9
Song of Solomon
1:4 1:4 1:6 1:7 1:13 1:14 2:3 2:8 2:17 3:3 3:3 3:11 4:4 4:8 4:9 4:12 4:14 4:15 5:7 5:9 5:10 5:15 7:12 8:5 8:6 8:10 8:10
Isaiah
1:1 1:1 1:1 1:1 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:2-3 1:3 1:3 1:4 1:4 1:4 1:4 1:4 1:5 1:5 1:5 1:5-6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:7 1:7 1:7 1:7 1:7 1:7 1:7-9 1:8 1:8 1:9 1:9 1:9 1:9 1:9 1:10 1:10 1:10-11 1:10-15 1:11 1:11 1:11 1:11 1:11 1:11 1:11 1:11 1:11-12 1:11-15 1:12 1:12 1:12 1:13 1:13 1:13 1:13 1:14 1:14 1:15 1:15 1:16 1:16 1:16-20 1:18 1:18 1:20 1:21 1:21 1:21 1:21 1:22 1:22 1:23 1:23 1:24 1:24 1:24 1:24 1:24 1:24 1:24 1:24 1:24 1:24 1:25 1:25-27 1:26 1:26 1:26 1:26 1:27 1:28-31 1:29 1:29 1:31 2 2:1 2:1 2:1 2:2 2:2 2:2-3 2:2-3 2:2-4 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:4 2:4 2:4 2:4 2:4 2:5 2:5 2:6 2:6-8 2:6-9 2:7 2:8 2:9 2:9 2:10 2:10-17 2:11 2:12 2:13 2:14 2:15 2:17 2:17 2:18 2:18 2:18-22 2:19 2:20 2:20 2:21 2:21 2:21 2:21 2:22 3:1 3:1 3:1-3 3:4-5 3:5 3:5 3:5 3:6 3:6-7 3:6-8 3:7 3:8 3:8 3:9 3:9 3:9 3:9 3:9 3:9 3:10 3:10-11 3:10-11 3:10-11 3:11 3:11 3:11 3:12 3:12 3:12 3:12-15 3:13 3:14 3:14-15 3:14-15 3:15 3:15 3:16 3:16 3:16 3:16 3:16 3:17-18 3:17-24 3:18 3:18 3:20 3:22 3:24 3:25 3:25 3:25-26 3:26 4:1 4:2 4:2 4:2 4:2 4:2-6 4:3 4:3 4:3 4:4 4:4 4:4 4:4 4:5 4:5 4:5-6 4:5-6 4:6 4:6 5:1 5:1-7 5:2 5:2 5:3 5:3-4 5:3-4 5:4 5:4 5:4 5:4 5:4 5:4 5:4-5 5:5-6 5:7 5:7 5:7 5:7 5:8 5:8 5:8-10 5:9 5:9-10 5:10 5:10 5:10 5:11 5:11-12 5:11-12 5:12 5:13 5:13-17 5:14 5:15 5:16 5:17 5:18 5:18-19 5:19 5:19 5:19 5:19 5:19 5:19 5:20 5:20 5:21 5:21 5:22 5:22 5:23 5:23 5:24-25 5:24-30 5:25 5:26 5:26 5:26-30 5:27-30 5:29 6 6:1 6:1 6:1 6:1 6:1-4 6:1-13 6:2 6:3 6:3 6:3 6:4 6:4 6:5 6:5 6:5 6:6-7 6:6-7 6:8 6:8 6:8 6:8 6:9 6:9 6:9 6:9-10 6:9-10 6:9-12 6:10 6:11 6:11-12 6:13 6:13 6:13 6:13 6:13 6:13 6:13 7:1-2 7:1-2 7:1-25 7:2 7:2 7:2 7:3 7:3 7:3 7:3 7:3 7:3 7:3-9 7:4 7:5-7 7:6 7:6-7 7:7 7:8 7:8 7:8 7:9 7:9 7:10-11 7:10-16 7:11 7:12 7:13 7:13 7:13 7:13 7:14 7:14 7:14 7:14 7:15 7:16 7:17 7:17 7:17 7:17-25 7:18 7:19 7:20 7:20 7:20 7:21 7:22 7:23 7:24 7:25 8:1 8:1 8:1-4 8:2 8:2 8:3 8:3 8:4 8:4 8:5-8 8:6 8:6 8:7-8 8:7-8 8:8 8:8 8:9 8:9 8:9-10 8:9-10 8:10 8:11 8:11 8:11 8:11-14 8:12 8:12-13 8:13 8:14 8:14-15 8:15-18 8:16 8:17 8:17-18 8:18 8:18 8:19 8:19 8:19 8:19 8:19 8:19 8:19-22 8:20 8:20 8:21 8:21-22 8:21-22 8:22 9:1 9:1-3 9:2 9:2 9:3 9:4-5 9:4-5 9:5 9:5 9:6 9:6 9:6 9:6 9:6 9:6 9:6 9:6-7 9:6-7 9:7 9:7 9:8 9:8-10 9:11-12 9:11-12 9:12 9:12 9:12-13 9:12-13 9:13 9:13 9:13-17 9:14-15 9:15 9:16 9:17 9:17 9:17 9:18 9:18-21 9:19 9:20 9:21 9:21 10:1 10:1-2 10:1-4 10:1-34 10:1-34 10:3 10:4 10:4 10:5 10:5 10:5 10:5 10:5 10:5-6 10:5-6 10:6 10:6 10:6 10:6 10:6 10:6 10:6-7 10:6-7 10:7 10:7 10:7 10:7 10:7 10:7 10:7-11 10:8 10:8 10:9 10:10 10:10-11 10:11 10:11 10:12 10:12 10:12 10:12 10:12 10:13 10:13 10:13 10:13 10:14 10:14 10:14 10:15 10:15 10:15 10:15-19 10:16 10:16 10:17 10:17-18 10:18 10:18 10:19 10:20 10:20-23 10:21 10:21 10:22 10:23 10:23 10:23 10:24 10:24-34 10:25 10:25 10:26 10:27 10:27 10:28-29 10:28-34 10:30 10:31 10:32 10:33 10:33-34 11:1 11:1 11:1 11:1 11:1-3 11:2 11:2 11:2 11:2-3 11:3 11:3 11:3-5 11:4 11:4 11:4 11:4 11:5 11:6 11:6-9 11:8 11:9 11:10 11:10 11:10 11:10 11:10 11:11 11:11 11:11-16 11:12 11:12 11:12 11:13 11:13-14 11:13-14 11:13-14 11:15 11:15-16 11:16 12:1 12:1 12:1 12:1-2 12:2 12:2 12:3 12:4-6 12:6 13:1 13:1-5 13:1-22 13:2 13:2 13:3 13:3 13:4 13:4 13:5 13:5 13:6 13:6 13:6-18 13:7-8 13:9 13:10 13:11 13:11 13:11 13:12 13:13 13:14 13:14 13:15 13:16 13:17 13:17 13:18 13:19-21 13:19-22 13:20 13:22 14:1 14:1-3 14:3 14:4 14:4 14:4 14:4 14:4 14:4 14:4-20 14:5 14:6 14:6 14:6 14:7-8 14:9 14:9-10 14:10 14:10 14:11 14:11 14:11-12 14:12 14:13 14:13-14 14:14 14:14 14:15-16 14:16 14:16 14:17 14:17 14:17 14:17 14:17 14:18 14:19 14:20 14:20 14:20 14:21 14:21-23 14:22 14:23 14:24 14:24-27 14:25 14:26 14:27 14:28 14:28-32 14:29 14:30 14:31 14:31 14:32 14:32 15:1 15:1-5 15:1-16:14 15:2 15:2 15:2 15:3 15:4 15:4 15:5 15:5 15:5-6 15:6 15:6-9 15:7 15:8 15:9 15:16 16:1 16:1-5 16:2 16:3 16:4 16:5 16:6 16:6 16:6 16:6-14 16:7 16:8 16:10 16:10 16:11 16:12 16:12 16:13 16:14 16:14 16:14 17:1 17:1-5 17:2 17:3 17:4 17:5 17:6 17:6 17:6-8 17:7-8 17:7-8 17:9 17:9-11 17:10 17:10-11 17:11 17:12 17:12 17:12-14 17:12-14 17:14 18:1 18:1 18:1 18:1-2 18:2 18:2 18:2 18:3 18:3 18:3 18:4 18:4 18:4-6 18:5-6 18:7 18:7 18:7 19:1 19:1 19:1-17 19:1-25 19:1-25 19:2 19:3 19:3 19:3 19:4 19:4 19:5 19:6 19:6 19:7 19:8 19:9 19:10 19:11 19:12 19:13 19:13 19:14 19:14 19:15 19:16 19:16 19:16 19:17 19:17 19:18 19:18-25 19:19 19:20 19:21 19:21 19:21 19:22 19:23 19:23 19:24 19:24 19:24-25 20:1-2 20:3-4 20:3-5 20:4 20:4 20:5 20:5-6 20:6 20:6 21:1 21:1 21:1 21:1-2 21:1-10 21:2 21:2-4 21:3-4 21:5 21:6 21:8 21:8 21:8 21:9 21:9 21:10 21:10 21:10 21:10 21:10 21:10 21:11 21:11-12 21:12 21:12 21:13 21:13 21:13-17 21:15 21:16 21:16-17 21:17 21:17 22:1 22:1-7 22:2 22:3 22:4-5 22:6 22:6-7 22:8-11 22:9-11 22:11 22:11 22:11 22:12-13 22:12-13 22:12-13 22:12-14 22:12-14 22:13 22:13 22:14 22:14 22:14 22:15-19 22:16 22:17-18 22:18 22:19 22:20 22:20-24 22:21 22:21 22:22 22:22 22:23 22:23 22:23-24 22:24 22:25 22:25 23:1-14 23:1-18 23:2 23:2 23:3 23:4 23:5 23:6 23:7 23:7 23:7 23:8 23:8 23:8 23:8 23:9 23:10 23:11 23:12 23:13 23:15 23:15 23:15-18 23:17 23:17 23:18 23:18 23:18 23:18 23:18 24:1 24:1 24:1 24:1-12 24:1-23 24:1-27:13 24:2 24:2 24:3 24:3 24:4 24:4 24:4 24:4 24:5 24:6 24:6 24:6 24:6 24:7-9 24:10 24:11 24:11 24:12 24:13 24:13-15 24:14 24:15 24:16 24:16 24:16 24:16-22 24:17-18 24:17-18 24:17-18 24:18 24:18 24:19-20 24:21 24:21 24:22 24:23 25:1 25:1 25:1-2 25:1-5 25:2 25:2 25:2 25:2 25:2 25:3 25:3 25:4 25:4 25:4 25:5 25:6-8 25:7 25:8 25:8 25:9 25:9 25:9-12 25:10 25:12 25:12 26:1 26:1 26:1-4 26:2 26:3 26:4 26:5-6 26:5-6 26:6 26:7 26:7-9 26:8 26:8-9 26:10 26:10 26:10 26:10-11 26:11 26:11 26:11 26:12 26:12 26:12 26:13 26:13 26:13 26:14 26:14 26:15 26:15 26:15-18 26:16 26:16 26:17-18 26:18 26:19 26:19 26:19 26:19 26:20 26:20 26:20 26:20 26:20-21 26:21 26:21 26:21 26:21 27:1 27:1 27:1 27:1 27:2 27:2-3 27:2-3 27:2-3 27:3 27:3 27:4 27:4 27:4 27:4-5 27:4-5 27:4-5 27:4-5 27:4-5 27:5 27:6 27:6 27:6 27:7 27:7 27:7 27:7 27:7 27:7 27:8 27:8 27:9 27:9 27:9 27:9 27:10-11 27:10-11 27:12-13 27:12-13 28:1 28:1 28:1 28:1 28:1 28:1-8 28:2 28:2 28:2 28:3 28:4 28:5 28:5 28:5-6 28:5-6 28:6 28:7 28:7 28:7 28:7 28:8 28:8 28:9 28:9 28:9 28:9-13 28:10 28:11 28:12 28:12 28:12 28:13 28:13 28:14 28:14-22 28:15 28:16 28:16 28:17 28:17 28:19 28:20 28:21 28:22 28:23 28:23-29 28:26 28:27-28 28:29 29:1 29:1 29:1-4 29:2 29:3 29:4 29:4 29:5 29:5 29:6 29:6 29:6 29:7 29:7 29:7 29:8 29:9 29:9-12 29:10 29:11 29:11-12 29:13 29:13 29:13 29:13 29:13-14 29:13-14 29:14 29:15 29:15-16 29:15-16 29:16 29:16 29:16 29:17 29:17-24 29:18 29:19 29:20 29:20 29:21 29:21 29:21 29:22 29:22 29:23 29:24 30:1 30:1 30:1-2 30:1-7 30:2 30:3 30:4 30:4 30:5 30:5 30:6 30:6 30:6 30:7 30:7 30:7 30:7 30:8 30:8-17 30:9 30:10 30:10 30:10 30:10-11 30:12-13 30:14 30:15-17 30:16 30:16 30:16 30:17 30:18 30:18-26 30:19 30:19 30:20 30:20-21 30:21 30:21 30:22 30:22 30:22 30:22 30:22 30:22 30:22 30:23 30:25 30:26 30:27 30:27 30:27-33 30:28 30:29 30:30 30:30 30:31 30:32 30:32 30:33 30:33 30:33 30:33 30:33 31:1 31:1 31:1 31:1 31:1-3 31:2 31:3 31:3 31:3 31:3 31:4 31:4 31:4-5 31:5 31:6 31:6 31:6-7 31:6-7 31:7 31:8-9 31:8-9 31:9 32:1-2 32:1-2 32:1-8 32:2 32:2 32:2 32:2 32:2 32:3 32:4 32:5 32:6-7 32:8 32:9 32:9-14 32:10 32:10-12 32:11 32:13-14 32:14 32:15 32:15 32:15 32:15-16 32:15-20 32:16 32:16 32:16 32:17 32:17-18 32:18 32:19 32:20 33:1 33:1 33:1 33:1 33:1 33:1-3 33:2 33:2 33:2 33:2 33:3 33:3 33:3 33:4 33:4 33:5 33:5 33:6 33:6 33:7-9 33:7-9 33:9 33:10 33:10-12 33:11-12 33:12 33:13 33:13 33:13-14 33:14 33:14 33:14 33:14 33:15 33:15-16 33:15-16 33:16 33:16 33:17 33:17 33:17-22 33:18 33:19 33:20 33:20 33:20 33:20 33:21 33:21-22 33:23 33:23 33:23 33:23 33:23 33:24 33:24 34:1 34:1 34:2 34:2 34:2-7 34:3 34:3 34:4 34:5 34:5 34:5 34:5 34:5 34:6 34:6 34:6 34:6 34:7 34:8 34:8 34:8 34:9 34:9-10 34:9-10 34:10 34:11 34:11 34:11 34:11 34:11 34:11-15 34:12 34:13 34:13 34:13 34:14 34:15 34:16-17 34:16-17 35:1-2 35:3 35:3-4 35:3-4 35:5 35:5-6 35:5-6 35:6 35:7 35:7 35:8 35:8 35:8 35:8 35:8 35:8-9 35:9 35:10 35:10 35:10 36:1 36:1 36:1 36:1-2 36:1-22 36:2-3 36:3 36:4 36:4-10 36:6 36:6 36:7 36:7 36:11-20 36:16 36:21-22 36:36 37:1 37:2-5 37:3 37:4 37:4 37:4 37:5 37:6 37:6-7 37:7 37:7 37:8-13 37:9 37:14-20 37:19 37:19 37:21-35 37:22 37:24-26 37:25 37:28 37:28 37:28 37:29 37:29 37:29 37:30 37:30 37:31 37:31-32 37:33 37:35 37:35 37:35 37:36 37:36 37:37-38 37:37-38 38:1 38:1 38:2-3 38:4-8 38:9-20 38:10-13 38:12 38:13 38:14 38:14 38:14 38:15 38:15 38:16 38:16 38:17 38:17 38:17 38:18 38:19 38:19 38:21 38:21 38:21-22 38:22 38:22 38:22 38:22 39:1 39:1-2 39:2 39:2 39:3-4 39:5-7 39:6 39:6 39:6-7 39:8 40:1 40:1 40:1 40:1 40:1 40:1-2 40:2 40:2 40:2 40:2 40:2 40:2-3 40:2-3 40:3 40:3 40:3-4 40:3-5 40:3-5 40:4 40:4 40:4 40:5 40:5 40:5 40:5-8 40:6 40:8 40:9 40:9 40:9-11 40:10 40:11 40:11 40:11 40:11 40:12 40:12-17 40:13-14 40:15 40:15 40:16 40:16 40:17 40:18 40:18 40:18-26 40:19-20 40:21 40:21 40:22 40:22 40:23-24 40:25 40:25 40:26 40:27 40:27 40:27-31 40:28-31 40:29 40:29 40:30-31 40:31 41:1 41:1 41:1-9 41:2 41:4 41:4 41:5 41:6-7 41:8 41:8 41:8 41:8 41:8-9 41:9 41:10 41:10-20 41:11 41:11 41:12 41:12 41:13 41:13 41:13 41:14 41:14 41:14 41:14-15 41:14-16 41:16 41:16 41:17-19 41:18 41:19 41:19 41:20 41:21 41:21 41:21-29 41:22 41:22 41:22-23 41:23 41:23 41:23 41:24 41:24 41:25 41:26 41:26 41:27 41:28 41:29 42:1 42:1 42:1 42:1 42:1 42:1 42:1-4 42:2-3 42:4 42:4 42:5 42:5-7 42:5-9 42:6 42:6 42:6 42:8 42:9 42:10 42:10 42:10-12 42:12 42:13-14 42:13-17 42:15-16 42:16 42:17 42:18 42:18 42:18-25 42:19-20 42:20 42:21 42:22 42:23 42:24 42:24 42:24 42:24 43:1 43:1-7 43:2 43:2 43:3 43:3 43:3 43:4 43:4 43:4 43:5 43:5-7 43:7 43:8-9 43:8-13 43:9 43:10 43:11 43:12 43:12 43:13 43:13 43:14 43:14-21 43:15 43:16 43:16-17 43:18 43:19-20 43:19-20 43:20 43:21 43:21 43:22-28 43:23 43:23 43:23 43:23 43:23 43:23 43:24 43:24 43:24 43:25 43:25 43:26 43:27 43:28 44:1-2 44:1-8 44:3 44:3 44:3-4 44:4 44:5 44:6 44:6-8 44:7 44:8 44:9 44:9-11 44:9-20 44:12 44:12 44:12 44:13 44:14 44:15 44:15 44:15-16 44:17 44:17 44:18 44:18-20 44:19 44:19 44:20 44:21 44:21-28 44:22 44:22 44:22 44:22 44:23 44:23 44:23 44:24 44:24 44:25 44:26 44:26 44:26 44:26 44:26 44:26 44:26-28 44:27 44:28 44:28 44:28 44:28 44:28 45:1 45:1 45:1-4 45:3 45:4 45:4 45:5 45:5-7 45:6 45:7 45:7 45:7 45:8 45:8 45:8 45:8 45:9 45:9 45:9-10 45:9-10 45:10 45:11 45:11-15 45:12 45:13 45:13 45:13 45:14 45:15 45:15 45:15 45:15 45:16 45:16-25 45:17 45:18 45:18 45:18 45:19 45:19 45:21 45:22 45:22 45:23 45:24 46:1 46:1-2 46:1-2 46:1-2 46:1-2 46:2 46:3-4 46:3-4 46:4 46:5 46:5-7 46:6 46:6-7 46:7 46:8 46:8 46:9 46:9-10 46:9-11 46:10 46:10 46:10 46:11 46:12-13 46:12-13 46:13 47:1 47:1-5 47:1-8 47:2 47:3 47:3 47:4 47:5 47:5 47:5 47:6 47:6 47:6 47:6 47:7 47:7-9 47:8 47:8 47:8 47:8 47:9 47:9 47:9 47:9-11 47:10 47:10 47:10 47:10 47:10 47:10 47:11 47:11-15 47:12 47:12 47:12-13 47:12-15 47:13 47:13 47:14 47:15 47:16-19 47:20-22 48:1 48:3 48:4 48:4 48:5 48:6 48:6 48:7 48:7 48:7-8 48:8 48:8 48:8 48:8 48:8 48:9-11 48:11 48:12 48:13 48:14 48:14 48:14 48:15 48:15 48:16 48:17 48:18 48:18-19 48:20 48:21 48:22 48:22 49:1 49:1 49:1 49:1-3 49:2 49:2 49:4 49:4-8 49:5 49:5-6 49:6 49:6 49:7 49:7 49:7 49:8 49:8 49:9 49:9-11 49:9-12 49:11 49:11 49:12 49:12 49:13 49:13-17 49:14 49:14 49:14 49:15 49:16 49:16 49:17 49:17 49:18 49:18 49:18-23 49:19 49:19-20 49:20 49:20 49:21 49:22 49:22-23 49:23 49:24 49:24-26 49:25 49:26 50:1 50:1 50:1 50:1-3 50:2 50:2 50:3 50:4 50:4 50:4 50:4 50:4-7 50:5 50:5 50:5-6 50:5-6 50:6 50:7 50:7 50:7 50:7 50:7-8 50:7-9 50:7-9 50:8 50:9 50:9 50:9 50:10 50:10-11 50:11 51:1 51:1 51:1-3 51:2 51:3 51:4 51:4-6 51:5 51:7 51:7 51:7-8 51:8 51:8 51:9 51:9 51:9 51:9 51:9-10 51:9-11 51:10 51:11 51:12 51:12 51:12-13 51:12-13 51:12-16 51:13 51:14 51:14-15 51:16 51:17 51:17 51:17-20 51:18 51:18 51:18 51:19 51:20 51:20 51:20 51:20 51:21 51:21-23 51:22 51:22-23 51:22-23 51:22-23 51:22-23 51:23 51:23 52:1 52:1 52:1-2 52:1-6 52:2 52:3 52:3-5 52:4 52:4 52:4 52:5 52:5 52:5 52:6 52:7 52:7 52:7 52:7 52:7-10 52:8 52:8 52:9 52:10 52:10 52:10 52:11 52:11-12 52:12 52:12 52:13 52:13 52:13-15 52:13-15 52:14 53:1 53:1 53:1 53:1-3 53:1-12 53:1-12 53:2 53:2 53:2 53:2 53:2 53:2-3 53:3 53:4 53:4 53:4 53:4 53:4 53:4 53:4-6 53:5 53:5 53:6 53:6 53:7 53:7 53:7 53:7 53:8 53:8 53:8 53:8 53:8 53:9 53:9 53:9 53:10 53:10 53:10 53:10 53:10 53:10 53:10-12 53:10-12 53:11 53:11 53:11 53:12 53:12 53:12 53:12 53:12 53:19 54:1 54:1 54:1 54:1 54:1-5 54:1-17 54:2 54:2-3 54:4 54:5 54:5 54:6 54:6 54:6-8 54:6-10 54:7 54:7-8 54:7-8 54:8 54:8 54:9 54:9 54:9 54:10 54:11 54:11-12 54:12 54:13 54:13-14 54:14 54:14 54:14-17 54:15 54:16 54:16 54:17 54:17 55:1 55:1 55:1 55:1 55:2 55:2 55:2 55:2-4 55:3 55:3 55:3 55:4 55:5 55:5 55:6 55:6-7 55:6-9 55:7 55:7 55:7 55:8-9 55:9 55:10 55:10-11 55:10-11 55:11 55:11 55:12-13 55:12-13 55:13 56:1 56:1 56:1-2 56:1-2 56:2 56:3 56:3 56:3 56:3-8 56:5 56:5-7 56:6 56:6-7 56:7 56:7 56:7 56:8 56:8 56:9 56:9-12 56:10 56:10 56:11 56:11 56:11 56:12 56:12 56:12 56:12 57:1-2 57:3 57:3-12 57:4 57:4 57:5-6 57:6 57:6 57:7 57:8 57:9 57:9 57:9 57:10 57:12 57:13 57:13-21 57:14 57:15 57:15 57:16 57:17 57:17 57:17-18 57:17-18 57:17-18 57:19 57:19 57:19 57:20 57:20 57:20-21 57:21 57:21 58:1 58:1 58:1 58:1 58:1 58:2 58:2 58:2 58:2 58:2 58:3 58:3 58:3 58:3 58:3 58:3 58:4 58:4-5 58:5 58:5 58:5 58:5 58:6 58:6 58:6 58:6 58:6 58:6-7 58:7 58:8 58:8-12 58:9 58:9 58:9 58:9-10 58:10 58:10 58:10 58:11 58:11 58:11 58:12 58:12 58:13 58:13-14 58:14 59:1-2 59:1-2 59:1-8 59:2 59:2 59:3 59:3 59:3 59:4 59:4 59:4 59:4 59:4 59:5 59:6 59:7 59:7 59:7-8 59:8 59:9 59:9-11 59:9-11 59:9-15 59:10 59:11 59:11 59:11 59:12-15 59:12-15 59:13 59:14 59:14 59:14 59:14 59:14-15 59:15 59:16 59:16-19 59:18-19 59:19 59:19 59:19 59:20 59:20 59:20 59:20-21 59:21 59:21 60:1 60:1-2 60:1-2 60:1-8 60:2 60:3 60:3-8 60:4 60:4 60:4 60:4 60:4-5 60:5 60:6 60:6 60:7 60:7 60:8 60:8 60:9 60:9-13 60:10 60:10 60:11 60:12 60:13 60:14 60:14 60:14 60:14-16 60:15-16 60:16 60:17 60:17 60:17-18 60:18 60:19 60:19 60:19-22 60:20 60:21 60:21 60:22 61:1 61:1 61:1 61:1 61:1-3 61:3 61:3 61:3 61:4 61:4 61:5 61:5 61:6 61:6 61:6 61:6 61:7 61:7 61:8 61:8 61:9 61:9 61:10 61:10-11 61:11 62:1 62:1 62:2 62:2 62:2-3 62:3 62:3 62:3-5 62:3-5 62:4 62:4 62:4-5 62:5 62:5 62:6 62:6 62:6 62:6 62:6-7 62:6-7 62:8 62:8-9 62:8-9 62:9 62:10 62:10 62:10-12 62:11-12 63:1 63:1 63:1-2 63:1-2 63:1-2 63:1-6 63:2 63:3 63:3 63:3 63:3 63:3-5 63:4 63:4 63:4 63:4 63:5 63:5 63:5 63:5 63:5 63:6 63:6 63:6 63:7 63:7 63:7 63:7 63:8 63:8 63:8 63:8 63:9 63:9 63:9 63:9 63:9 63:9 63:10 63:10 63:10 63:10 63:10 63:10 63:10 63:11 63:11 63:11 63:11 63:11 63:11-12 63:11-14 63:12 63:12 63:12 63:13 63:13-14 63:14 63:15 63:15 63:15 63:15 63:16 63:16 63:17 63:17 63:17 63:18 63:18 63:18-19 64:1 64:1 64:1-2 64:3-5 64:4 64:6-7 64:7 64:8 64:8 64:9-12 64:11 64:11 64:11 64:11 64:11 64:12 65:1 65:1 65:1 65:1 65:2 65:2 65:2 65:2-7 65:4 65:5 65:5 65:5 65:5 65:5 65:6 65:7 65:7 65:8 65:8 65:8 65:8 65:8 65:8-10 65:9 65:10 65:11 65:11-16 65:12 65:12 65:12 65:13 65:13 65:13-16 65:15-16 65:16 65:16 65:17 65:17-25 65:18 65:19 65:19 65:20 65:21-22 65:23 65:24 65:24 65:24 65:24 65:25 66:1 66:1 66:1-2 66:1-4 66:2 66:2 66:3-4 66:4 66:5 66:5 66:5 66:6 66:6 66:6 66:7 66:7-9 66:8 66:9 66:10 66:10-11 66:10-11 66:11 66:12-14 66:12-14 66:13 66:13 66:14 66:15-18 66:17 66:18 66:18 66:19-24 66:20 66:20 66:21 66:22 66:22 66:23 66:23 66:24 66:24 66:24 89:38-39 401
Jeremiah
1:1-2 1:1-3 1:1-19 1:2 1:3 1:4-5 1:4-10 1:5 1:6 1:6-7 1:7 1:8 1:8 1:9 1:9 1:10 1:10 1:10 1:10 1:10 1:10 1:10 1:11-16 1:12 1:12 1:13 1:13 1:13 1:14 1:14 1:14 1:14 1:15 1:15 1:15 1:16 1:17 1:17 1:17-19 1:18 1:18 1:18 1:18-19 1:19 2:1-8 2:2 2:3 2:3 2:4 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:6 2:6 2:6 2:6 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:8 2:8 2:9 2:9-13 2:10-11 2:10-11 2:10-11 2:11 2:11 2:11 2:11 2:12 2:12-13 2:14 2:14-19 2:15 2:15 2:16 2:17 2:18 2:19 2:19 2:19 2:20 2:20 2:20-21 2:21 2:21 2:21 2:21 2:22 2:22-23 2:23 2:23 2:23 2:23 2:24 2:24 2:24-25 2:25 2:25 2:26-27 2:26-28 2:26-29 2:27 2:27 2:28 2:29 2:30 2:30 2:30 2:30-31 2:31 2:31 2:32 2:32 2:33 2:33 2:34 2:34 2:35 2:35 2:36 2:36-37 2:37 2:37 3 3:1 3:1 3:1 3:1-5 3:2 3:2 3:2 3:2 3:3 3:3 3:3 3:3 3:3 3:3 3:4 3:5 3:5 3:5 3:5 3:6 3:6 3:6 3:6-11 3:7 3:7-8 3:8 3:10 3:11 3:12 3:12 3:12-19 3:13 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:15 3:15 3:15 3:16 3:17 3:18 3:18 3:19 3:20 3:20 3:20-25 3:21 3:21 3:21 3:21 3:22 3:22 3:22 3:22 3:22 3:24-25 3:25 3:29-37 4:1 4:1-2 4:1-2 4:2 4:2 4:3 4:3 4:3-4 4:4 4:4 4:5-6 4:5-6 4:5-6 4:5-18 4:7 4:8 4:8 4:9 4:9 4:10 4:10 4:11 4:12 4:12 4:13 4:13 4:14 4:15 4:15-17 4:16 4:17 4:18 4:18 4:18 4:19 4:19 4:19 4:19-20 4:19-31 4:20 4:20 4:21 4:21 4:22 4:23 4:24 4:25 4:26 4:27 4:27 4:27 4:28 4:28 4:29 4:30-31 5:1 5:1 5:1 5:1 5:1 5:1 5:2 5:2 5:2 5:3 5:3 5:4 5:4 5:4-5 5:5 5:5 5:6 5:6 5:6 5:6 5:7 5:7 5:7 5:7-8 5:8 5:8 5:8 5:9 5:9 5:9 5:9 5:10 5:10 5:10 5:10 5:10 5:10 5:11 5:11 5:12 5:12-13 5:12-13 5:14 5:14 5:14 5:15 5:15-17 5:16 5:17 5:18 5:18 5:18 5:19 5:19 5:20-24 5:21 5:22 5:22 5:22 5:22 5:23 5:24 5:24 5:24 5:25 5:25 5:25 5:26 5:26 5:26-28 5:27 5:28 5:29 5:29 5:29 5:30-31 5:30-31 5:31 5:31 5:31 5:31 5:31 6:1 6:1-6 6:1-30 6:2 6:2 6:3 6:4 6:4 6:4-5 6:5 6:6 6:6 6:6-7 6:6-7 6:7 6:7 6:7 6:8 6:8 6:9 6:9 6:9 6:10-12 6:11 6:11-12 6:12 6:13 6:13 6:13 6:13 6:13-14 6:13-15 6:14 6:14 6:15 6:15 6:15 6:15 6:16 6:16 6:16 6:16 6:16 6:17 6:17 6:17 6:17 6:17 6:18-19 6:18-19 6:20 6:20 6:21 6:21 6:22-23 6:22-24 6:22-26 6:24-26 6:27 6:27 6:28 6:28-30 6:29-30 6:29-30 6:29-30 6:30 6:30 6:30 7:1 7:1-2 7:1-11 7:3 7:3 7:3 7:4 7:4 7:4 7:4 7:4 7:4 7:5 7:5-7 7:7 7:7 7:8 7:9-10 7:12 7:12 7:12-14 7:12-16 7:13 7:13 7:14 7:15 7:15 7:16 7:16 7:17 7:17-20 7:18 7:18 7:18 7:18 7:18 7:19 7:19 7:20 7:21 7:21-28 7:22 7:22-23 7:22-23 7:22-23 7:24 7:24-25 7:26 7:27 7:28 7:29 7:29 7:29 7:29-34 7:30 7:31 7:31 7:31 7:32 7:32-33 7:34 7:34 7:34 7:34 8 8:1-2 8:1-3 8:2 8:2 8:2 8:2 8:3 8:4-5 8:4-12 8:6 8:6 8:6 8:6 8:7 8:7 8:8 8:9 8:9-10 8:10 8:10-12 8:12 8:12 8:13 8:13 8:13 8:13-17 8:14 8:15 8:16 8:16 8:17 8:18 8:18-22 8:19 8:20 8:21 8:22 8:22 9:1 9:1 9:1 9:1-2 9:1-11 9:2 9:2 9:2 9:3 9:3 9:3 9:6 9:6 9:6 9:7 9:7 9:8 9:9 9:9 9:9-16 9:10 9:10 9:11 9:11 9:12 9:12 9:13-14 9:15 9:15-16 9:16 9:17 9:17-22 9:18 9:19 9:20 9:21 9:21 9:22 9:23 9:23-24 9:23-26 9:25 9:25-26 9:26 9:26 9:26 10:1-2 10:2 10:3 10:3 10:3-5 10:4 10:4 10:5 10:6 10:6-7 10:6-7 10:8 10:8 10:8 10:8-9 10:9 10:10 10:10-11 10:10-13 10:11 10:11 10:11 10:11 10:11 10:11 10:12-13 10:12-16 10:13 10:14 10:14 10:14 10:14-15 10:15 10:15 10:15 10:16 10:16 10:17-18 10:17-18 10:18 10:19 10:19 10:20 10:20 10:20-22 10:21 10:22 10:23 10:23 10:23-25 10:24 10:24 10:25 11:1-2 11:1-7 11:3 11:4 11:4 11:5 11:5 11:7 11:7 11:7 11:8 11:8 11:8-10 11:9-10 11:11 11:11 11:12 11:12 11:13 11:13 11:13 11:14 11:14 11:14 11:15 11:15-17 11:16 11:16-17 11:17 11:18-19 11:19 11:20 11:20 11:21 11:21 11:21 11:21-23 11:22-23 11:23 11:24 12 12:1 12:1 12:1 12:1-2 12:1-2 12:2 12:2 12:3 12:3 12:3-4 12:4 12:5 12:5 12:5-6 12:5-6 12:6 12:7 12:7-13 12:8 12:9 12:10 12:11 12:11 12:12 12:12 12:13 12:13 12:14 12:14 12:14-17 12:15 12:15-16 12:17 13:1-2 13:1-11 13:1-27 13:4 13:7 13:8 13:9 13:9-11 13:11 13:11 13:11 13:11 13:12 13:12-14 13:13 13:13 13:13 13:14 13:15 13:15-21 13:16 13:17 13:18 13:19-21 13:20 13:21 13:22 13:22 13:22 13:22-27 13:23 13:23 13:24 13:25 13:26 13:26 13:27 13:27 13:27 13:27 14:1 14:1 14:1-6 14:1-22 14:2 14:3 14:3 14:4 14:4 14:4 14:5-6 14:5-6 14:7-9 14:7-9 14:8-9 14:9 14:9 14:10 14:10 14:10-12 14:11 14:11 14:12 14:12 14:13 14:13 14:13 14:13-16 14:14 14:14 14:15 14:15 14:16 14:17 14:17 14:17-18 14:17-22 14:18 14:19 14:19 14:19 14:19 14:20 14:21 14:21 14:22 14:22 14:22 14:22 15:1 15:1 15:1-9 15:2 15:2 15:2 15:3 15:4 15:4 15:5 15:6 15:6 15:7 15:7 15:7 15:8-9 15:10 15:10 15:10 15:10 15:11 15:11 15:11 15:11 15:11-14 15:12 15:12 15:13-14 15:15 15:15-18 15:16 15:16 15:16 15:17 15:18 15:19 15:19 15:19 15:19-21 15:19-21 15:20 15:21 16:1-4 16:2 16:2 16:2 16:3-4 16:4-5 16:5 16:5 16:5-7 16:6 16:6 16:6 16:6-7 16:8 16:8-9 16:9 16:9 16:9 16:10 16:10 16:10-13 16:11 16:12 16:13 16:13 16:14-15 16:14-15 16:14-15 16:14-15 16:14-15 16:14-15 16:14-15 16:15-16 16:16 16:16 16:16-21 16:17 16:18 16:18 16:18 16:19-21 16:20 16:20 16:21 16:21 17:1-2 17:1-2 17:1-4 17:2 17:2 17:2 17:3-4 17:4 17:5 17:5-6 17:5-6 17:5-6 17:5-11 17:6 17:6 17:7-8 17:8 17:9-10 17:11 17:11 17:12 17:12 17:12 17:12 17:12-18 17:13 17:14 17:14 17:15 17:15 17:16 17:17 17:17 17:18 17:19 17:19-27 17:21-22 17:23 17:24-26 17:25 17:25-26 17:27 18:1-6 18:3 18:4 18:6 18:6 18:7-8 18:7-10 18:7-10 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23:1-2 23:3-4 23:3-4 23:3-8 23:5 23:5 23:5 23:5 23:5-6 23:7-8 23:7-8 23:9 23:9-32 23:10 23:11 23:11 23:12 23:13 23:14 23:15 23:15 23:15 23:15 23:16 23:16 23:16 23:17 23:17 23:18 23:19 23:19-20 23:20 23:21 23:22 23:23 23:23-24 23:24 23:25-26 23:28 23:28 23:29 23:30 23:30-32 23:31 23:32 23:32 23:33 23:33-34 23:33-40 23:34 23:34 23:35 23:36 23:36 23:36 23:37 23:38 23:38 23:38 23:39-40 24:1 24:1-3 24:1-10 24:2 24:4-7 24:5 24:5 24:5 24:5-6 24:6 24:7 24:7 24:7 24:8-9 24:8-10 24:9 24:9 24:9-10 25:1 25:1-7 25:2 25:3 25:4 25:4 25:5-6 25:6 25:8 25:8 25:8-11 25:9 25:9 25:9-11 25:10 25:11 25:11 25:11 25:12 25:12-13 25:12-14 25:12-14 25:13 25:14 25:14 25:15 25:15-16 25:15-16 25:15-28 25:16 25:16 25:17 25:17 25:17 25:18 25:18 25:18 25:19 25:22 25:23-24 25:26 25:27 25:27 25:27 25:28-29 25:29 25:29-33 25:30 25:30 25:31 25:31 25:32 25:32 25:33 25:34 25:34 25:34 25:34-38 25:35 25:36 25:37-38 25:38 25:38 26:1 26:1-6 26:1-6 26:2 26:3 26:4-6 26:6 26:7 26:7-11 26:8 26:8 26:9 26:10 26:10 26:11 26:12 26:12-15 26:13 26:14 26:15 26:15 26:16 26:16 26:16-19 26:17-18 26:18 26:18 26:18-19 26:19 26:20 26:20-23 26:21 26:22-23 26:24 26:24 27:1 27:1 27:1-11 27:2 27:2-3 27:3 27:3 27:3 27:5 27:5-7 27:7 27:7 27:8 27:9 27:9-10 27:11 27:12 27:12 27:12-15 27:14 27:14 27:15 27:16 27:16 27:16 27:16 27:16 27:16-22 27:17 27:18 27:18 27:18 27:18 27:19 27:19 27:20 27:22 28:1 28:1 28:1 28:1-4 28:2-4 28:5-6 28:5-9 28:7-9 28:8 28:10 28:10 28:10 28:10-11 28:12-14 28:13 28:14 28:14 28:15-17 28:16 28:17 29:1 29:1 29:1-3 29:3 29:4 29:4-7 29:5-6 29:5-7 29:7 29:7 29:7 29:8 29:8-9 29:8-9 29:10 29:10 29:10-14 29:11 29:11 29:11 29:12-15 29:13 29:14 29:15 29:15-19 29:16 29:18 29:19 29:20 29:20-23 29:21 29:21 29:22 29:22 29:23 29:24 29:24-29 29:26 29:26 29:27 29:28 29:29 29:30-32 29:31-32 30:1-3 30:3 30:4 30:4-7 30:5 30:6 30:7 30:8 30:8-9 30:8-10 30:9 30:9 30:9 30:10 30:10 30:10 30:10 30:10-11 30:11 30:11 30:11 30:11 30:11 30:11 30:11 30:12 30:12-14 30:13 30:14 30:14 30:14 30:14-15 30:14-15 30:15 30:15 30:15 30:15-16 30:16 30:17 30:17 30:17 30:17 30:18 30:18 30:19 30:19 30:20 30:21 30:21 30:21 30:21 30:22 30:22 30:22 30:23-24 30:23-24 30:24 31:1 31:1-14 31:1-34 31:2 31:3 31:3 31:3-4 31:4-5 31:5 31:5 31:5 31:6 31:7 31:8-9 31:9 31:10 31:11 31:12-13 31:13 31:14 31:15 31:15-17 31:15-17 31:16 31:16-17 31:17 31:17 31:18 31:18 31:18-20 31:19 31:19 31:20 31:20 31:20 31:20 31:20 31:20 31:20 31:21-22 31:21-30 31:23 31:23 31:24-25 31:26 31:27 31:28 31:29 31:29 31:29-30 31:31-34 31:34 31:34 31:35 31:35 31:35-37 31:36 31:37 31:37 31:38 31:38-40 31:38-40 32:1-5 32:2 32:2-3 32:3 32:3 32:4 32:4 32:5 32:6-7 32:6-15 32:8 32:12 32:15 32:16 32:16-25 32:17 32:17-19 32:18 32:19 32:21 32:22 32:23 32:24 32:24 32:25 32:25 32:25 32:26-35 32:27 32:28 32:29 32:29 32:29 32:30 32:30 32:31 32:31 32:31 32:32 32:33 32:34 32:35 32:35 32:35 32:36 32:36 32:36-44 32:37 32:38 32:39 32:40 32:40 32:40 32:41 32:41 32:41 32:42 32:43 32:43-44 33:1-6 33:2 33:3 33:4-5 33:5 33:6 33:7 33:7-8 33:8 33:9 33:9 33:10 33:10-14 33:12 33:12-13 33:13 33:14 33:15 33:15-16 33:15-16 33:17 33:17-26 33:18 33:20 33:21 33:22 33:22 33:24 33:25 33:25 33:25-26 34:1 34:1-7 34:2 34:2-3 34:3 34:3 34:4 34:5 34:5 34:5 34:6 34:7 34:8-9 34:8-11 34:10 34:10 34:10-11 34:10-11 34:11 34:11 34:11 34:11 34:12-22 34:13 34:13-14 34:14 34:15 34:15 34:16 34:16 34:17 34:18 34:18-19 34:19 34:20 34:21 34:22 35:1 35:1-11 35:2 35:5 35:5 35:7 35:7 35:8-10 35:11 35:11 35:11 35:11 35:12-15 35:13 35:14 35:14 35:15 35:15 35:15 35:16 35:16-17 35:17 35:18-19 35:18-19 36:1-4 36:1-32 36:2 36:2-3 36:3 36:3 36:4 36:5 36:5-10 36:8 36:9 36:9 36:10 36:10 36:11-19 36:12 36:14-15 36:16 36:16 36:17 36:18 36:19 36:19 36:20-21 36:20-21 36:22-23 36:22-26 36:24 36:25 36:25 36:26 36:26 36:27-28 36:27-32 36:29 36:31 36:32 36:32 37:1-2 37:1-2 37:3 37:3 37:4 37:4 37:5 37:5 37:5 37:5 37:5-8 37:6-10 37:7 37:8 37:8 37:9 37:9 37:10 37:11-12 37:11-15 37:13-15 37:16-17 37:16-21 37:17 37:17 37:18 37:19 37:20 37:20 37:21 37:21 38:1-6 38:2 38:2 38:3 38:4 38:5 38:5 38:6 38:7 38:7-13 38:10 38:11-12 38:13 38:14 38:14-22 38:15 38:16 38:16 38:17 38:17-18 38:18 38:19 38:20 38:22 38:23 38:23 38:23 38:24 38:24-28 38:25-26 38:27 38:29 39:1 39:1-3 39:2 39:3 39:3 39:4 39:4-7 39:5 39:5 39:6 39:7 39:8 39:8-10 39:9 39:10 39:11-12 39:11-12 39:11-14 39:13 39:13-14 39:15-18 39:16 39:17 40:1 40:1 40:1-6 40:2-3 40:4 40:5 40:6 40:7 40:7-12 40:8 40:8 40:9 40:10 40:10 40:11-12 40:12 40:13-16 40:14 40:14 40:14 40:15 41:1 41:1 41:1-2 41:2 41:3 41:3 41:4 41:4-7 41:5 41:6 41:7 41:7 41:8 41:8 41:9 41:9 41:10 41:10 41:11 41:11-16 41:12 41:13 41:14 41:15 41:17 41:17-18 41:18 41:18 42:1 42:1-6 42:2 42:2-3 42:4 42:4 42:5-6 42:7 42:7 42:7-12 42:10 42:11 42:12 42:13 42:13-18 42:14 42:14 42:15 42:16-17 42:18 42:19 42:19-22 42:20 42:22 42:22 42:22 43:1-3 43:2 43:2 43:2 43:2 43:3 43:4 43:4-7 43:5 43:6 43:6-7 43:7 43:8-13 43:9 43:9 43:10 43:10 43:10 43:10-11 43:11 43:12 43:12 43:12-13 43:13 43:13 44:1 44:1-14 44:2 44:3 44:4 44:4 44:4 44:5 44:6 44:7 44:8 44:8 44:9 44:10 44:11 44:12 44:12 44:12-13 44:14 44:15 44:15 44:15 44:15 44:15-19 44:17 44:17 44:17-18 44:18 44:19 44:19 44:20 44:20-30 44:21 44:22 44:22 44:22 44:23 44:23 44:24 44:25 44:26 44:26 44:27 44:27 44:28 44:28 44:30 45:1-3 45:3 45:4 45:4 45:4-5 45:5 45:5 46:1 46:1-12 46:2 46:3 46:4 46:5-6 46:7-8 46:8 46:9 46:9 46:9 46:10 46:11-12 46:13 46:13-26 46:14 46:15 46:16 46:16 46:16 46:17 46:17 46:17 46:18 46:19 46:20 46:22 46:24 46:24 46:25 46:25 46:26 46:27-28 46:27-28 47:1-5 47:1-7 47:2 47:3 47:3 47:4 47:4 47:4 47:5 47:5 47:6 47:6 47:6 47:6-7 47:7 48:1 48:1 48:1-6 48:1-47 48:1-49:39 48:2 48:2 48:2 48:2 48:3 48:4 48:6 48:7 48:7 48:7 48:8 48:8 48:8 48:8 48:9 48:9 48:9 48:10 48:10 48:10 48:10 48:11 48:11 48:11 48:12 48:13 48:13 48:13 48:13 48:14 48:14 48:14-15 48:15 48:15 48:15 48:15 48:16 48:16 48:17 48:17-19 48:18 48:19 48:20 48:20 48:21-24 48:21-25 48:22 48:25 48:26 48:26 48:26-27 48:26-27 48:28 48:29 48:29 48:30 48:30 48:31 48:31 48:32 48:32 48:33 48:33-34 48:34 48:34 48:34 48:35 48:35 48:36 48:36 48:36 48:37 48:38 48:39 48:40 48:40 48:40-41 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50:35-46 50:36 50:37 50:38 50:38 50:38 50:38 50:38 50:39 50:40 50:41-43 50:44 50:45 50:46 51:1 51:1-58 51:2 51:3 51:4 51:5 51:6 51:6 51:7 51:8 51:8 51:8-9 51:9 51:10 51:11 51:11 51:11 51:11 51:12 51:12 51:13 51:14 51:15 51:16 51:16 51:17-18 51:19 51:20 51:21 51:22 51:23 51:24 51:25 51:25 51:26 51:27-28 51:29 51:29 51:30 51:31 51:31-32 51:32 51:33 51:33 51:34-35 51:35 51:36 51:37 51:38-39 51:39 51:40 51:41 51:41 51:41 51:42 51:43 51:44 51:45-46 51:46 51:47 51:48 51:49 51:50-51 51:51 51:52 51:52 51:53 51:53 51:54 51:55 51:56 51:56-58 51:57 51:58 51:59 51:59 51:59 51:59 51:59-64 51:60 51:62 51:64 52:1 52:1-3 52:3 52:4 52:4-6 52:4-7 52:6 52:6 52:6 52:6 52:7 52:7 52:7 52:8 52:8-11 52:9 52:10 52:10 52:12 52:12-13 52:12-13 52:12-14 52:13 52:15 52:15 52:15-16 52:17-23 52:19 52:20 52:21-23 52:24-27 52:27 52:28-30 52:30 52:30 52:31 52:31-32 52:31-34 52:32 52:32
Lamentations
1:1-11 1:7 1:7 1:8 1:9 1:9 1:9 1:12 1:12 1:12-17 1:14 1:18 1:18-22 1:20 2:1 2:1 2:1 2:1-9 2:2 2:2 2:2 2:2 2:2 2:2 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:4 2:4 2:4 2:4 2:4 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:6 2:6 2:6 2:6 2:6 2:6 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:7-9 2:8 2:8 2:8 2:8 2:8 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:10 2:10 2:10 2:10-19 2:11 2:11 2:11 2:11 2:11 2:11-12 2:12 2:12 2:12 2:12 2:12 2:13 2:13 2:14 2:14 2:14 2:14 2:15 2:15 2:15 2:15 2:15-16 2:16 2:16 2:16 2:17 2:17 2:17 2:17 2:17 2:17 2:18 2:18 2:18 2:18 2:18 2:19 2:19 2:19 2:19 2:20 2:20 2:20 2:20 2:20 2:20-22 2:21 2:21 2:21 2:21-22 2:22 2:22 3:1 3:1-20 3:2 3:3 3:4 3:5 3:6 3:6 3:7 3:7 3:7 3:8 3:9 3:9 3:9 3:10 3:11 3:12 3:13 3:14 3:15 3:16 3:17 3:18 3:19-20 3:21 3:21-36 3:21-36 3:21-36 3:22 3:22-23 3:23 3:24 3:25 3:26 3:26-28 3:27 3:27 3:30 3:31-32 3:33 3:33 3:34-36 3:35 3:37 3:37 3:37-38 3:37-41 3:39 3:40 3:40 3:41 3:42 3:42 3:42-54 3:43 3:44 3:44 3:45 3:46 3:47 3:48 3:48-49 3:50 3:51 3:51 3:52 3:53 3:54 3:54 3:55 3:55 3:55-66 3:57 3:57 3:58 3:59 3:59 3:60 3:61 3:61 3:62 3:64 3:65 3:65 3:66 4:1 4:1 4:1 4:1-2 4:1-2 4:2 4:3-4 4:3-10 4:4 4:4 4:5 4:5 4:6 4:6 4:7 4:7 4:7-8 4:7-8 4:8 4:9 4:9 4:9 4:10 4:10 4:10 4:11 4:11-12 4:12 4:12 4:12 4:12 4:12 4:13-14 4:13-16 4:14 4:15-16 4:17 4:17 4:17-20 4:18 4:18 4:18 4:19 4:20 4:21 4:21 4:22 4:22 5:1 5:1-16 5:2 5:3 5:4 5:5 5:6 5:6 5:7 5:7 5:8 5:9 5:10 5:10 5:11 5:11 5:11 5:12 5:12 5:12 5:13 5:14 5:14 5:15 5:16 5:17-18 5:17-18 5:19 5:19-22 5:20 5:21 5:22 5:22
Ezekiel
1:1 1:1 1:1 1:1-2 1:1-28 1:1-3:27 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:3 1:3 1:4 1:4 1:4-14 1:4-14 1:5 1:6 1:7 1:8 1:9 1:9 1:9 1:10 1:10 1:11 1:12 1:12 1:12 1:12 1:13 1:13 1:14 1:14 1:15 1:15 1:15 1:15-21 1:15-25 1:16 1:16 1:17 1:17 1:18 1:19 1:19-21 1:21 1:22 1:23 1:24 1:24 1:25 1:25 1:26 1:26 1:26-28 1:27 1:27 1:28 1:28 1:28 2:1 2:1-2 2:1-5 2:2 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:3-4 2:4 2:5 2:6 2:6 2:6 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:7-10 2:8 2:8 2:9-10 2:9-10 2:10 2:10 3:1 3:1 3:1 3:1 3:1-3 3:1-3 3:2 3:3 3:3 3:3 3:4 3:4 3:4-8 3:4-11 3:7 3:8-9 3:8-9 3:8-9 3:9 3:9-17 3:10 3:11 3:11 3:12 3:12 3:12-15 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:15 3:15 3:15 3:16 3:16 3:16-21 3:17 3:17 3:17 3:17 3:18 3:18-19 3:20-21 3:21 3:22 3:22 3:22-27 3:23 3:24 3:25 3:25 3:26 3:26 3:27 4:1 4:1-24:27 4:2 4:3 4:3 4:5 4:7 4:7 4:9 4:10 4:11 4:12 4:13 4:14 4:15 4:16 5:1 5:1-4 5:2 5:3 5:3 5:4 5:5 5:5-7 5:6 5:6 5:6 5:7 5:7 5:8 5:8 5:8 5:8-10 5:9 5:10 5:10 5:10 5:10 5:11 5:11 5:11 5:11 5:11 5:12 5:12 5:12 5:12 5:12 5:13 5:13 5:13 5:13 5:13-15 5:14 5:15 5:15 5:15 5:15 5:16 5:16 5:16 5:17 5:17 5:17 5:17 5:17 5:17 6:1-2 6:1-7 6:2 6:3 6:3 6:4 6:4 6:5 6:5-7 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:7 6:8 6:8-10 6:9 6:9 6:9 6:9 6:9 6:10 6:11 6:11-14 6:12 6:14 7:1-6 7:2 7:3 7:3 7:3 7:3 7:4 7:4 7:4 7:4 7:5 7:6 7:7 7:7 7:7-10 7:8 7:8-9 7:9 7:9 7:10 7:10 7:10 7:10-11 7:10-15 7:11 7:11 7:11 7:12 7:12 7:12 7:12 7:12 7:13 7:13 7:13 7:14 7:14 7:14 7:15 7:16 7:16 7:16 7:16 7:16-19 7:17 7:18 7:19 7:19 7:19 7:19 7:20 7:20-22 7:20-22 7:21 7:23 7:23-27 7:25 7:26 7:26 7:27 8:1 8:1 8:1 8:1 8:1 8:1-4 8:1-18 8:2 8:2 8:3 8:3 8:3 8:3 8:4 8:4 8:4 8:5 8:5 8:5 8:5-6 8:6 8:7 8:7-12 8:8 8:9 8:10 8:11 8:11 8:12 8:12 8:12 8:12 8:12 8:12 8:12 8:13 8:13-14 8:14 8:14 8:15 8:15-16 8:16 8:16 8:17 8:17-18 8:18 8:18 8:18 9:1 9:1-2 9:2 9:2 9:2 9:3 9:3-4 9:4 9:4 9:5 9:5-7 9:6 9:6 9:6 9:6-7 9:7 9:8 9:8-10 9:9 9:9 9:9-10 9:10 9:11 9:11 10:1 10:1-7 10:2 10:2 10:3 10:3 10:3-4 10:5 10:7 10:8-22 10:9 10:9 10:10 10:11 10:12 10:13 10:14 10:15 10:17 10:18 10:18-19 10:19 10:19 10:19 10:19 10:20 10:20 10:22 10:22 11:1 11:1-13 11:2 11:3 11:3 11:3 11:3 11:4 11:5 11:5 11:6 11:7 11:7 11:8 11:8 11:9 11:9 11:10 11:10 11:10-11 11:11 11:12 11:12 11:13 11:14-21 11:15 11:16 11:16 11:17 11:18 11:18-20 11:19 11:19 11:19 11:20 11:21 11:22 11:22-23 11:23 11:23 11:23 11:24 11:24 11:25 11:25 11:25 12:1-16 12:2 12:3 12:3 12:4 12:4 12:5 12:6 12:7 12:9 12:10 12:10 12:11 12:11 12:13 12:13 12:14 12:15 12:16 12:17-18 12:17-20 12:19-20 12:21 12:21-28 12:22 12:22 12:22 12:23 12:23 12:23 12:24 12:24 12:25 12:25 12:25 12:26 12:27 12:28 12:28 13:1-16 13:2 13:3 13:3 13:3 13:4 13:5 13:6 13:6 13:6 13:7 13:8 13:8 13:9 13:9 13:9 13:10 13:11 13:11 13:12 13:13 13:13 13:14 13:14 13:15 13:15 13:16 13:16 13:17 13:17-23 13:18 13:18 13:18 13:18 13:19 13:19 13:19 13:20 13:20 13:22 13:22 13:23 13:24 14:1 14:1 14:1-5 14:3 14:3 14:3 14:3 14:4 14:4 14:4 14:5 14:6 14:6 14:6-11 14:7-8 14:9-10 14:11 14:12-21 14:13 14:13 14:14 14:14 14:14 14:14 14:15 14:15 14:15 14:15 14:17 14:19 14:21 14:21 14:22-23 14:22-23 15:1 15:1-5 15:3 15:3 15:4 15:4 15:4 15:5 15:5 15:6 15:6-8 15:7 15:7 15:8 15:14 16:1-5 16:1-62 16:2 16:2 16:3 16:3-5 16:4 16:4-5 16:5-6 16:6 16:6-14 16:7 16:7 16:8 16:8 16:9 16:10 16:10 16:10-13 16:13 16:14 16:14 16:15 16:15 16:15-34 16:16 16:16 16:17 16:17-19 16:18 16:18 16:20 16:20 16:20 16:21 16:22 16:23-35 16:24 16:25 16:27 16:27 16:28 16:28-29 16:30 16:31 16:31-34 16:35 16:35-43 16:36 16:37 16:38 16:39 16:39 16:40 16:41 16:41 16:41 16:42 16:43 16:43 16:43 16:43 16:44 16:44-59 16:45 16:45 16:47 16:48 16:48 16:49 16:49 16:49 16:50 16:50 16:51 16:51 16:51 16:52 16:52 16:53 16:53 16:54 16:55 16:55 16:56 16:57 16:58 16:58 16:59 16:59 16:60 16:60 16:60-63 16:61 16:61 16:62 16:62 16:63 16:63 16:63 17:1-10 17:2 17:3 17:3-4 17:5 17:5-6 17:6 17:6 17:7 17:8 17:9 17:11-21 17:12 17:12 17:13 17:14 17:15 17:15 17:15 17:15 17:15-16 17:16 17:16 17:17 17:17 17:18 17:18 17:19 17:19 17:19 17:19 17:20 17:20 17:21 17:22 17:22-23 17:22-24 17:23 17:24 18:1-3 18:1-32 18:2 18:3 18:4 18:4 18:4 18:5 18:5-9 18:6 18:7 18:7 18:8 18:8 18:9 18:9 18:10-13 18:11 18:14 18:14-18 18:15-17 18:18 18:19 18:19-20 18:20 18:20 18:20 18:21 18:21 18:21-23 18:21-24 18:21-24 18:22 18:22 18:23 18:24 18:24 18:24 18:24-26 18:25 18:25 18:25 18:25 18:26 18:26 18:26-28 18:27 18:27 18:27 18:28 18:28 18:28 18:29 18:29 18:30 18:30-32 18:32 18:32 19:1 19:1 19:2 19:2-9 19:3 19:3 19:3-5 19:4 19:5 19:6 19:6 19:7 19:8 19:9 19:9 19:10 19:10 19:10-14 19:11 19:11 19:12 19:12 19:13 19:13 19:14 20:1 20:1-44 20:2-3 20:3 20:3 20:4 20:4 20:5-9 20:6 20:7 20:8 20:8 20:9 20:10 20:10-26 20:11 20:12 20:13 20:14 20:14 20:15-16 20:16 20:17 20:18 20:19-20 20:21 20:21 20:21 20:21 20:21-22 20:24 20:24 20:25 20:26 20:26-27 20:27 20:27-32 20:28 20:29 20:30 20:31 20:32 20:32 20:32 20:33 20:33-36 20:34 20:35 20:35-36 20:36 20:37 20:37-44 20:38 20:39 20:39 20:40 20:41 20:41 20:41 20:42 20:43 20:44 20:45-49 20:46 20:47 20:48 21:1-5 21:1-7 21:2 21:3 21:5 21:6 21:6-7 21:7 21:8-17 21:9 21:9 21:9-10 21:9-11 21:10 21:10 21:11 21:12 21:12 21:13 21:14 21:14 21:14 21:15 21:15 21:16 21:17 21:18-24 21:19 21:20 21:21 21:21 21:22 21:23 21:23-24 21:25 21:25-27 21:26 21:28 21:28 21:28 21:28-32 21:29 21:30 21:31 21:32 22:1-16 22:2 22:3 22:3 22:4 22:4 22:4 22:4 22:5 22:6 22:7 22:7 22:8 22:9 22:9 22:9 22:10 22:11 22:12 22:12 22:12 22:13 22:14 22:15 22:16 22:17-22 22:20 22:20-21 22:23-31 22:25 22:26 22:27 22:28 22:29 22:30 22:31 23:1-8 23:3 23:3 23:4 23:5 23:6 23:7 23:8 23:9 23:9-10 23:9-10 23:11 23:11 23:11-21 23:12 23:13 23:14 23:15-16 23:17 23:18 23:18 23:18 23:19 23:20 23:20 23:21 23:22 23:22 23:22 23:22-35 23:23 23:23 23:23 23:24 23:25 23:25 23:25 23:25 23:26 23:27 23:27 23:28 23:29 23:29 23:29 23:30 23:31 23:32 23:32 23:33 23:34 23:35 23:35 23:36 23:36-44 23:37 23:37 23:38 23:39 23:39 23:40 23:40 23:41 23:42 23:43 23:44 23:45 23:45 23:45-49 23:46-47 23:48 23:49 23:49 24:1-14 24:1-32:32 24:2 24:2 24:4 24:4 24:5 24:6 24:6 24:6 24:7-8 24:8 24:9 24:9 24:10 24:11 24:11 24:11 24:12 24:12 24:12 24:13 24:13 24:13-14 24:14 24:15 24:15-27 24:16 24:16 24:18 24:19 24:21 24:22 24:23 24:23 24:24 24:25 24:26 24:26 24:27 24:27 25:1-7 25:1-17 25:1-35:15 25:2 25:2 25:3 25:3 25:3 25:3 25:3 25:4 25:4-6 25:5 25:5 25:6 25:6 25:7 25:7 25:7 25:7-11 25:8 25:8 25:8 25:8 25:8-11 25:9-10 25:10 25:11-12 25:11-14 25:12 25:12 25:12 25:12 25:12 25:12 25:12-14 25:13 25:13 25:14 25:15 25:15 25:15 25:15-17 25:15-21 25:16 25:16 25:17 26:1-21 26:2 26:2 26:2 26:3 26:4 26:4 26:4 26:5 26:5 26:6 26:6 26:8 26:9 26:9 26:10 26:11 26:11 26:12 26:12 26:12 26:12 26:13 26:13 26:14 26:14 26:14 26:14 26:15 26:15 26:16 26:17 26:17 26:17 26:17 26:19-20 26:20 26:21 27:1-25 27:1-36 27:1-36 27:2 27:2 27:2-3 27:3 27:3 27:3 27:3 27:4 27:4 27:5 27:7 27:8 27:9 27:10 27:10-11 27:11 27:12 27:13 27:15 27:16 27:16 27:16 27:17 27:17 27:17 27:17 27:18 27:19 27:20 27:22 27:22 27:24 27:25 27:26 27:26-36 27:27 27:28 27:29 27:31 27:32 27:32-33 27:34 27:35 27:36 28:1-10 28:2 28:2 28:2 28:3 28:3 28:4-5 28:6 28:7 28:7 28:8 28:9 28:10 28:11-19 28:12-15 28:13 28:13 28:14 28:14 28:14 28:14 28:15 28:16 28:16 28:17 28:17 28:18 28:18 28:18 28:20-23 28:22 28:23 28:24 28:24-26 28:25 28:26 28:26 29:1 29:1-7 29:1-21 29:2 29:3 29:3 29:3 29:3 29:4-5 29:5 29:5 29:6-7 29:6-7 29:6-7 29:6-7 29:8-12 29:9 29:9 29:10 29:10-12 29:11 29:12 29:12 29:12 29:12 29:13 29:13 29:13-16 29:14 29:14 29:15 29:16 29:17 29:17 29:17 29:17-20 29:18 29:18 29:18 29:18 29:18-19 29:19 29:19-20 29:20 29:20 29:21 29:21 30:1-19 30:2-3 30:4 30:5 30:5 30:6 30:6 30:7 30:7 30:8 30:9 30:10 30:10 30:10 30:11 30:11 30:12 30:12 30:13 30:14 30:14-16 30:15-16 30:15-16 30:15-16 30:17 30:17 30:18 30:18 30:19 30:20 30:20 30:20-26 30:21 30:22 30:23 30:24 30:24-25 30:26 31:1 31:2 31:3 31:3 31:3 31:3 31:3-9 31:4 31:5 31:5 31:5 31:6 31:6 31:7 31:7 31:8 31:9 31:9 31:9 31:10 31:10 31:11 31:11-17 31:13 31:14 31:15 31:15-16 31:16 31:16 31:17 31:18 31:18 31:18 32:1 32:1-16 32:2 32:2 32:2 32:3 32:4 32:5 32:6 32:7 32:8 32:9 32:10 32:11 32:12 32:13 32:14 32:15 32:16 32:17-32 32:18 32:19 32:21 32:22 32:23 32:24-25 32:26 32:27 32:27 32:27 32:28 32:29 32:30 32:31 32:32 32:32 33:1-9 33:1-29 33:2 33:2 33:2 33:2 33:3 33:3 33:6 33:6 33:7 33:7 33:9 33:9 33:10 33:10-20 33:11 33:11 33:11 33:12 33:12-13 33:13 33:13 33:14 33:15 33:15 33:16 33:16 33:17 33:18 33:18 33:18-19 33:19 33:20 33:20 33:21 33:21 33:21 33:21-29 33:22 33:22 33:24 33:24 33:26 33:28 33:30 33:30-33 33:31 33:31 33:31 33:31 33:32 33:32 33:33 34:1-6 34:1-31 34:2 34:4 34:5 34:5 34:6 34:6 34:7 34:7-10 34:8 34:8 34:8 34:9 34:10 34:10-19 34:11 34:11-16 34:12 34:13 34:13 34:14 34:14 34:15 34:16 34:16 34:17 34:17-22 34:18-19 34:20-21 34:21 34:22 34:23 34:23 34:23 34:23 34:23 34:23-31 34:24 34:25 34:25 34:25 34:26 34:26-27 34:27 34:29 34:29 34:31 34:31 35:3 35:3 35:4 35:4 35:4 35:5 35:5 35:5 35:6 35:6-9 35:7 35:8 35:9 35:9 35:9 35:10 35:10-13 35:11 35:11 35:12 35:12 35:13 35:13 35:14 35:14-15 35:14-15 35:15 36:1 36:1-15 36:1-24 36:1-38 36:2 36:3 36:3 36:4 36:4 36:4 36:5 36:5 36:6 36:6 36:6 36:7 36:8 36:8 36:9 36:9 36:10 36:10 36:10 36:11 36:11 36:12 36:14 36:15 36:16-20 36:17 36:18 36:19 36:20 36:20 36:21 36:21-24 36:22 36:22 36:22 36:23 36:23 36:24 36:25 36:25-27 36:25-38 36:28 36:28 36:29 36:29 36:30 36:31 36:32 36:32 36:33 36:34 36:35 36:36 36:37 36:37 36:37 36:38 37:1-10 37:1-28 37:1-28 37:3 37:4 37:5-6 37:6 37:7 37:8 37:9 37:9 37:10 37:10 37:10 37:11 37:11 37:11-14 37:12 37:12 37:12-14 37:13 37:14 37:14 37:15-22 37:16 37:17 37:19 37:19 37:21 37:22 37:22 37:22 37:23 37:23-24 37:23-28 37:25 37:25-26 37:26 37:26 37:26-27 37:28 38:2-3 38:2-4 38:3 38:3-4 38:4 38:4 38:4 38:4-7 38:5-6 38:7 38:8 38:8-13 38:9 38:9 38:10 38:11 38:11-12 38:12 38:12 38:13 38:14 38:14 38:15 38:15-16 38:16 38:16 38:17 38:18 38:18-20 38:19 38:19 38:20 38:21 38:21-23 38:22 38:22 38:23 39:1-7 39:2 39:2 39:3 39:3 39:4 39:4 39:5 39:6 39:8 39:8-10 39:10 39:11-16 39:12 39:12 39:13 39:15 39:15-16 39:16 39:17 39:17 39:17 39:17-22 39:18-19 39:19 39:21 39:22 39:23-24 39:23-29 39:25-26 39:27 39:28 39:29 40:1 40:1-4 40:1-49 40:2 40:3 40:3 40:3 40:3 40:4 40:4 40:5 40:5 40:5 40:6 40:6-19 40:7 40:14 40:16 40:16 40:17-18 40:20 40:20-23 40:21 40:22-26 40:24 40:24-31 40:27 40:29 40:31 40:32 40:32-38 40:34 40:35 40:37 40:38 40:39 40:39-43 40:41 40:43 40:44 40:44-47 40:45 40:46 40:47 40:48-49 40:49 41:1 41:1 41:1 41:1-42:20 41:2 41:3-4 41:4 41:5-6 41:7 41:7 41:8-11 41:12 41:12-15 41:13 41:13 41:15 41:15-17 41:16 41:17 41:18-20 41:19 41:21 41:22 41:22 41:23-24 41:23-26 41:25-26 42:1-13 42:4 42:5-6 42:13-14 42:13-14 42:14 42:14 42:15-20 42:16-19 43:1-6 43:1-27 43:1-31 43:2 43:3 43:3 43:3 43:3 43:4 43:5 43:6 43:7 43:7 43:7 43:7-12 43:9 43:9 43:10 43:11 43:12 43:13 43:13 43:13 43:13-17 43:18-27 43:19 43:19 43:20 43:24 43:24 43:25 43:26 43:26 43:27 43:27 44:1 44:1-3 44:1-31 44:2 44:2 44:3 44:4 44:4-9 44:5 44:6 44:6 44:7 44:9 44:10 44:10-16 44:11 44:12 44:12 44:13 44:13 44:13 44:14 44:15-16 44:17-18 44:17-31 44:19 44:20 44:20 44:21 44:22 44:23 44:24 44:25 44:26-27 44:28 44:30 44:31 45:1 45:1 45:1-4 45:1-25 45:1-25 45:1-25 45:2 45:5 45:6 45:6 45:7-8 45:7-8 45:9 45:9-12 45:10 45:11 45:11 45:13 45:13 45:13 45:13-17 45:14 45:15 45:16 45:16 45:17 45:18 45:18-20 45:19 45:20 45:21 45:21-25 45:22 45:23 45:23-24 45:25 46:1 46:1-15 46:1-24 46:2 46:2 46:3 46:3 46:4 46:5-6 46:6 46:7 46:8 46:9 46:10 46:11 46:12 46:13 46:16 46:16-18 46:17 46:18 46:19 46:19-24 46:20 46:20 46:21-23 47:1 47:1 47:1 47:1-12 47:1-48:35 47:2 47:3 47:3 47:3 47:4 47:5 47:7 47:8 47:8 47:8 47:9 47:9 47:10 47:11 47:12 47:13 47:13-23 47:14 47:14 47:20 47:21 47:22-23 48:1 48:1-7 48:8 48:8-11 48:10 48:10 48:11 48:12-14 48:14 48:15 48:15-20 48:16-17 48:18 48:19 48:19 48:21 48:21-22 48:23-29 48:30-35 48:31 48:32 48:32 48:33 48:34 48:35 48:35 48:35
Daniel
1:1 1:1 1:1 1:1-2 1:1-2 1:2 1:3 1:3-7 1:4 1:5 1:5 1:6 1:8 1:8 1:8-16 1:9 1:10 1:11 1:13 1:15 1:16 1:17 1:17 1:17-21 1:18 1:19 1:19 1:20 1:21 1:21 2 2:1 2:1 2:1-11 2:1-21 2:2 2:2 2:2 2:3 2:4 2:4 2:5 2:6 2:7 2:7 2:8 2:9 2:9 2:10 2:10 2:11 2:12 2:12-15 2:13 2:14 2:14 2:15 2:15 2:16 2:16-23 2:17-18 2:18 2:18 2:19 2:19 2:22 2:23 2:24 2:24-25 2:24-45 2:26 2:27 2:28 2:28 2:29 2:30 2:31 2:35 2:35 2:36 2:37-38 2:37-38 2:37-38 2:37-38 2:38 2:38 2:39 2:40 2:42 2:43 2:44 2:44 2:44-45 2:45 2:45 2:45 2:46 2:46-49 2:47 2:47 2:47 2:47 2:47 2:47 2:48 2:48 2:48 2:49 2:49 3:1 3:1-7 3:1-30 3:2-3 3:6 3:7 3:8 3:8 3:8-12 3:10-11 3:12 3:13 3:13-18 3:14 3:15 3:16-18 3:17 3:18 3:19 3:19-23 3:20-21 3:22 3:23 3:24 3:24-27 3:25 3:26 3:27 3:28 3:28 3:28 3:28 3:28-30 3:29 3:29 3:29 4:1 4:1-3 4:1-18 4:2 4:3 4:4 4:5 4:6 4:7 4:8 4:9 4:9 4:10 4:12 4:13 4:13 4:14 4:15 4:15 4:16 4:17 4:18 4:19 4:19-27 4:20-21 4:21 4:22 4:23 4:23 4:23 4:24 4:26 4:26 4:27 4:27 4:27 4:27 4:27 4:28-36 4:28-37 4:29 4:30 4:30 4:32 4:33 4:34 4:34 4:36 4:37 4:37 4:37 5 5:1 5:1 5:1-4 5:1-31 5:2 5:2 5:3 5:3 5:4 5:4 5:5-9 5:6 5:6 5:6 5:6 5:8 5:10-28 5:19 5:23 5:27 5:30 5:30 5:30-31 6:1 6:1 6:1-3 6:1-28 6:1-28 6:2 6:2 6:2 6:3 6:3 6:4 6:4 6:4-5 6:5 6:5 6:6 6:6 6:6-9 6:7 6:7 6:8 6:9 6:9 6:10 6:10 6:10 6:10 6:11 6:11-12 6:11-17 6:12 6:13 6:13 6:14 6:14 6:15 6:16 6:16 6:16 6:16 6:17 6:17 6:18 6:18 6:18-19 6:18-23 6:19-20 6:20 6:20 6:21 6:21 6:21-22 6:22 6:22 6:23 6:23 6:24 6:24 6:24 6:25 6:25 6:25-28 6:26 6:27 6:28 6:28 6:28 6:29 6:30 6:31 7:1 7:1 7:1-8 7:1-28 7:1-8:27 7:2 7:2 7:3 7:4 7:4 7:5 7:6 7:6 7:7 7:8 7:8 7:8 7:9 7:9-14 7:10 7:10 7:10 7:10 7:10 7:11 7:11-12 7:12 7:12 7:12 7:13 7:13 7:13 7:14 7:14 7:15 7:15-28 7:16 7:17 7:18 7:18 7:18 7:19 7:20 7:21 7:22 7:22 7:22 7:23-25 7:25 7:25 7:26 7:26 7:26 7:26-27 7:27 7:27 7:28 8:1 8:1 8:1-14 8:1-27 8:3 8:4 8:4 8:5 8:6 8:7 8:8 8:8 8:9 8:9 8:11-12 8:13 8:14 8:15 8:15-27 8:16 8:16 8:16 8:17 8:17 8:17 8:17 8:18 8:18 8:18 8:19 8:19 8:19 8:20-22 8:23 8:23 8:24 8:25 8:25 8:26 8:27 8:27 8:27 8:35 9:1 9:1 9:1-19 9:1-27 9:2 9:2 9:2 9:2 9:2 9:2 9:2-3 9:2-3 9:5 9:5-6 9:6 9:7 9:7 9:7 9:7-8 9:7-8 9:8 9:9 9:10 9:11 9:11 9:11 9:11-13 9:12 9:13-14 9:14 9:14 9:15 9:15 9:16 9:16 9:16 9:16 9:16 9:16 9:17 9:17 9:17 9:17 9:17 9:17 9:17 9:18 9:18 9:18 9:18-19 9:19 9:19 9:19 9:20 9:20-23 9:21 9:21 9:21 9:21 9:21 9:21 9:22 9:22 9:23 9:23 9:23 9:23 9:23 9:23 9:24 9:24 9:24 9:24 9:24-25 9:24-27 9:25 9:25 9:25 9:25-26 9:26 9:26-27 9:27 9:27 9:27 10:1 10:1-3 10:2 10:3 10:3 10:4 10:4 10:4-9 10:5 10:5 10:5 10:5-6 10:6 10:8 10:8 10:9 10:10 10:10 10:10-21 10:11 10:11 10:12 10:12 10:12 10:13 10:13 10:13 10:14 10:15 10:15 10:16 10:16 10:16 10:17 10:17 10:17 10:18 10:18 10:18 10:19 10:19 10:19 10:20 10:20 10:21 10:21 10:21 11:1 11:1-4 11:1-45 11:2 11:3 11:4 11:5 11:5-20 11:6 11:7 11:7-8 11:8 11:9 11:10 11:14 11:14 11:15 11:16 11:17 11:18 11:18 11:19 11:20 11:20 11:21 11:21 11:21-29 11:21-35 11:22 11:23 11:24 11:25 11:25 11:27 11:28 11:28 11:28 11:29 11:30 11:30 11:30 11:30 11:30 11:30-39 11:31 11:31 11:31 11:32 11:32 11:32 11:32 11:32 11:33 11:33 11:33 11:34 11:35 11:35 11:35 11:35 11:36 11:36 11:36-37 11:37 11:37 11:38 11:40 11:40-45 11:41 11:41 11:42 11:43 11:43 11:44 11:44 11:45 12:1 12:1-4 12:1-4 12:1-13 12:2 12:2 12:3 12:3 12:4 12:4 12:4 12:4 12:5 12:5-6 12:5-7 12:6 12:7 12:8 12:8 12:9-12 12:10 12:11 12:11-12 12:11-12 12:13 12:13 33
Hosea
1:1 1:1 1:2 1:2 1:2-3 1:3 1:3 1:4 1:4 1:4-6 1:5 1:6 1:6-7 1:6-7 1:7 1:7 1:7 1:8 1:8-9 1:8-9 1:9 1:9 1:10 1:10 1:10-11 1:11 2:1 2:1 2:1-2 2:2 2:2 2:2 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:3-4 2:4 2:4 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:6 2:6 2:6-7 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:8 2:8 2:8 2:8 2:8 2:8 2:8-9 2:9 2:9 2:9-13 2:10 2:11 2:11 2:11 2:11-12 2:11-12 2:11-12 2:11-12 2:11-12 2:12 2:12 2:12 2:12 2:12 2:12 2:13 2:13 2:13-14 2:14 2:14 2:14 2:14 2:14-15 2:15 2:15 2:16-17 2:16-17 2:17 2:18 2:18-20 2:19-20 2:19-20 2:19-20 2:21 2:21 2:21-22 2:21-23 2:23 2:23 2:23 2:23 2:23 3:1 3:1 3:1 3:2 3:2-4 3:3 3:4 3:4-5 3:5 3:5 3:5 3:5 3:5 3:5 3:5 4:1 4:1 4:1 4:1-2 4:2 4:2 4:3 4:3 4:3 4:4 4:4 4:4 4:4 4:5 4:5 4:6 4:6-7 4:7 4:7 4:7 4:8 4:8 4:8-9 4:9 4:9 4:10 4:10 4:11 4:11 4:12 4:12 4:12 4:13 4:13 4:13 4:14 4:14 4:14 4:14 4:14 4:15 4:15 4:15 4:15 4:16 4:16 4:16 4:16 4:16 4:17 4:17 4:17 4:17 4:18 4:18 4:18 4:18 4:19 4:19 5:1 5:1 5:1 5:1 5:1 5:1-2 5:2 5:2 5:3 5:3 5:3 5:3-4 5:4 5:4 5:4 5:5 5:5 5:5 5:5 5:5 5:6 5:6 5:7 5:7 5:7 5:8 5:8 5:9 5:9 5:9 5:9-10 5:10 5:10-11 5:11 5:11 5:11 5:12 5:12 5:12 5:13 5:13 5:13 5:13 5:14 5:14 5:14 5:14 5:14 5:14 5:14 5:14 5:15 5:15 5:15 6:1 6:1 6:1-3 6:2 6:2 6:3 6:3 6:3 6:4 6:4 6:4 6:4-5 6:4-5 6:5 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6-7 6:7 6:7-11 6:8 6:8 6:9 6:10 6:11 7:1 7:1 7:1 7:1-2 7:1-2 7:2 7:3 7:3-7 7:4 7:4 7:4 7:5 7:6 7:6 7:7 7:7 7:8 7:8 7:8 7:9 7:9 7:9-11 7:10 7:11 7:11 7:11-12 7:12 7:12 7:13 7:13 7:13 7:13 7:13-15 7:14 7:14 7:14 7:14 7:14 7:15 7:15 7:15 7:16 7:16 7:16 8:1 8:1 8:1 8:1 8:2 8:2 8:3 8:3 8:3 8:4 8:4 8:4 8:4-6 8:5 8:6 8:6 8:6 8:6 8:6 8:7 8:7 8:7 8:7 8:8 8:8 8:8-10 8:9 8:9 8:9 8:10 8:10 8:11 8:11 8:12 8:12 8:13 8:13 8:13 8:13 8:14 8:14 8:14 8:14 9:1 9:1 9:1 9:1 9:1-5 9:2 9:3 9:5 9:5 9:6 9:6-8 9:7 9:7 9:7 9:8 9:8 9:9 9:9 9:9-10 9:9-10 9:10 9:10 9:10 9:11 9:11 9:11 9:11 9:11-17 9:12 9:12 9:12 9:13 9:13 9:13-14 9:14 9:15 9:15 9:15 9:15 9:16 9:16 9:17 9:17 9:17 10:1 10:1 10:1-2 10:2 10:2 10:3 10:3 10:3-4 10:4 10:5 10:5 10:5 10:5 10:6 10:6 10:6 10:6 10:7 10:7 10:7 10:8 10:8 10:8 10:8 10:9 10:9-11 10:10 10:11 10:12 10:12-13 10:12-15 10:13 10:14 10:14-15 10:15 10:15 11:1 11:1 11:1 11:1 11:1 11:2 11:2-4 11:3 11:3 11:4 11:4 11:5 11:5 11:5-6 11:6 11:7 11:7 11:7 11:8 11:8-9 11:8-9 11:8-9 11:8-9 11:8-9 11:9 11:9 11:9 11:9 11:9 11:9 11:9 11:10 11:10 11:10-11 11:10-11 11:11 11:11 11:12 11:12 11:12 12:1 12:1-2 12:2 12:2 12:3 12:3 12:3-5 12:4 12:5 12:6 12:6 12:6 12:7 12:7-8 12:8 12:8 12:8 12:8 12:8 12:9 12:9 12:9 12:10 12:10 12:10 12:11 12:11 12:11 12:11 12:11 12:12 12:12-13 12:13 12:13 12:13 12:14 12:14 13:1-4 13:5-8 13:9-11 13:12 13:12-13 13:14 13:14 13:15 13:15 13:16 14:1 14:1 14:1-3 14:2 14:2 14:2 14:2 14:2 14:2-3 14:3 14:3 14:3 14:3 14:3 14:3 14:4 14:4 14:5 14:5 14:5 14:5-7 14:6 14:6 14:6 14:6 14:7 14:7 14:7 14:7-8 14:8 14:8 14:8 14:8 14:8 14:9 14:9 14:9 14:9 14:10 14:10 14:12 14:13 14:15-16 14:16
Joel
1:1-7 1:1-2:11 1:2 1:2-4 1:3 1:4 1:4 1:4 1:4 1:4 1:4 1:4-6 1:5 1:5 1:5 1:5 1:6 1:6-7 1:7 1:7 1:7 1:8 1:8-13 1:9 1:9 1:9 1:10 1:10 1:11 1:11 1:11 1:11-12 1:12-17 1:13 1:13 1:14 1:14-20 1:15 1:16 1:17 1:17 1:18 1:19 1:20 1:20 2:1 2:1 2:1 2:1-11 2:1-11 2:2 2:2 2:2 2:2 2:4 2:4 2:5 2:5 2:6 2:7 2:7 2:7-8 2:7-8 2:8 2:9 2:9 2:10 2:11 2:11 2:12 2:12-17 2:12-17 2:12-27 2:13 2:13 2:14 2:14 2:15 2:15-16 2:16-17 2:17 2:17 2:17 2:18 2:18 2:18-27 2:18-32 2:19 2:19 2:20 2:21 2:21 2:21 2:22 2:22 2:23 2:23 2:23 2:23 2:24 2:24 2:24 2:25 2:25 2:26 2:26 2:26 2:26-27 2:27 2:28-29 2:28-32 2:30-31 2:31 2:31 2:32 2:32 3:1 3:1 3:1-8 3:1-21 3:2 3:2 3:2 3:4 3:4 3:4 3:4-6 3:5 3:6 3:6 3:8 3:8 3:9 3:9-10 3:9-11 3:9-17 3:10 3:11 3:12 3:12 3:13 3:13 3:13 3:14 3:15 3:16 3:16 3:16 3:16 3:17 3:17 3:18 3:18 3:18-21 3:19 3:20 3:21
Amos
1:1 1:1 1:1 1:1-2:32 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:3 1:3 1:3-5 1:4 1:4 1:5 1:5 1:6-8 1:7 1:8 1:9 1:9 1:10 1:11 1:11 1:12 1:12 1:13 1:13 1:13-15 1:13-15 1:14 2:1 2:1-3 2:2 2:3 2:4 2:4-5 2:5 2:6-8 2:8 2:9-10 2:9-12 2:11 2:11 2:11 2:11 2:11 2:11 2:11 2:12 2:13 2:13 2:13 2:13 2:13 2:14-16 2:14-16 2:15 2:16 3:1 3:1 3:1 3:1-8 3:1-4:13 3:2 3:2 3:2 3:2 3:2 3:2 3:2 3:3 3:3 3:4 3:4 3:5 3:6 3:6 3:6 3:6 3:6 3:7 3:7 3:8 3:8 3:8 3:8 3:9 3:9-15 3:11-12 3:12 3:12 3:13 3:15 3:15 3:15 4:1 4:1-3 4:2-3 4:4 4:4 4:4-5 4:4-5 4:6 4:6-11 4:7 4:7 4:7 4:8 4:9 4:10 4:11 4:11 4:11 4:12-13 4:12-13 4:13 4:13 4:13 5:1-3 5:1-27 5:2 5:3 5:4 5:4 5:4-8 5:5 5:5 5:5 5:5 5:5 5:5-6 5:6 5:6 5:7 5:7 5:7 5:7 5:7 5:8 5:8 5:8-9 5:8-9 5:9 5:10 5:10-12 5:11 5:11 5:12 5:12 5:13 5:13 5:13 5:14 5:14-15 5:14-15 5:16 5:16-17 5:17 5:18 5:18 5:18 5:18 5:18-20 5:19 5:20 5:20 5:21 5:21 5:21-22 5:21-22 5:21-24 5:23 5:24 5:25 5:25 5:25-27 5:26 5:26 5:27 6:1 6:1-14 6:2 6:2-3 6:3 6:4 6:4-6 6:4-6 6:4-6 6:5 6:6 6:6 6:7 6:7 6:8 6:8-11 6:9 6:10 6:11 6:12 6:12-14 6:13 6:13 6:14 6:14 7:1 7:1 7:1 7:1-6 7:1-17 7:2 7:2 7:2 7:2 7:3 7:4 7:4 7:4-5 7:5 7:5 7:6 7:7 7:7-8 7:7-9 7:8 7:9 7:9 7:9 7:10 7:10 7:10-11 7:10-11 7:11 7:11 7:12 7:12 7:12-13 7:12-13 7:13 7:14 7:14-15 7:14-15 7:14-15 7:14-15 7:16 7:16-17 7:16-17 7:16-17 7:17 8:1 8:1-3 8:1-9:15 8:2 8:3 8:3 8:3 8:3 8:4-10 8:5 8:7 8:8 8:8 8:9 8:10 8:11-12 8:11-14 8:12 8:13 8:14 8:14 9:1 9:1-4 9:1-10 9:2 9:2 9:4 9:5 9:5-6 9:7 9:7 9:7 9:7-8 9:8 9:8 9:9 9:9 9:10 9:10 9:11 9:11-15 9:12 9:13 9:14 9:15 9:15
Obadiah
1:1 1:1 1:2 1:2 1:2-4 1:3 1:3-4 1:3-4 1:4 1:5-6 1:5-7 1:6 1:7 1:7 1:8 1:8 1:8 1:8-9 1:9 1:10 1:10 1:10-16 1:11 1:11 1:12 1:12 1:12 1:12-13 1:12-13 1:12-14 1:12-16 1:13 1:13 1:13-14 1:14 1:14 1:15 1:16 1:16 1:17 1:17-20 1:18 1:19-20 1:20 1:21 1:21 1:21
Jonah
1:1-2 1:2 1:2 1:3 1:3 1:4 1:4-6 1:5 1:5 1:5 1:5 1:6 1:7-10 1:9 1:11 1:11 1:11-16 1:12 1:13 1:13 1:14 1:15 1:16 1:17 1:17 2:1 2:2 2:2-3 2:3 2:4 2:4 2:4 2:4 2:5 2:5 2:6 2:6 2:6 2:6 2:6-7 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:8 2:8 2:8 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:10 3:1 3:1-2 3:2 3:3 3:3 3:3-4 3:5 3:5-9 3:6 3:6 3:7 3:7-9 3:9 3:9 3:10 3:10 3:10 4:1 4:1-3 4:2 4:2 4:2-3 4:3 4:4 4:4 4:5 4:5-9 4:6 4:7-8 4:8 4:8 4:8-9 4:9 4:9 4:10-11 4:10-11 4:11 4:11 4:11 4:11 8
Micah
1:1 1:1 1:1 1:2 1:2 1:3 1:3 1:3-4 1:5 1:5 1:6 1:6-7 1:7 1:8-9 1:8-9 1:10 1:10-16 1:12 1:13 1:14 1:14 1:15 1:15 1:15 1:16 2:1-2 2:1-2 2:1-2 2:2 2:3 2:3-5 2:4 2:4 2:5 2:6-7 2:7 2:7 2:8-9 2:8-9 2:9 2:10 2:10 2:10 2:10 2:11 2:11 2:11 2:11 2:12 2:12-13 2:13 3:1 3:1 3:1-4 3:3 3:4 3:5 3:5 3:5-7 3:6-7 3:8 3:8 3:9 3:9-12 3:10 3:11 3:11 3:11 3:11 3:11 3:12 3:12 3:12 3:12 3:12 3:12 3:12 4:1 4:1-2 4:1-2 4:1-3 4:2 4:3 4:3-4 4:4 4:5 4:5 4:5 4:5 4:6-7 4:6-7 4:7 4:7 4:7 4:8 4:9 4:9-10 4:10 4:10 4:11 4:11-12 4:11-12 4:11-12 4:11-12 4:11-12 4:11-13 4:12 4:12 4:12 4:12-13 4:13 4:13 5:1 5:1 5:2 5:2 5:2 5:2-3 5:3 5:4 5:4 5:5-6 5:5-6 5:5-6 5:7 5:7 5:7 5:8 5:8 5:8-15 5:9 5:10 5:11 5:12 5:13 5:14 5:15 6:1 6:1-2 6:1-2 6:1-5 6:2 6:3 6:3 6:4 6:4-5 6:5 6:6 6:6-7 6:6-8 6:6-8 6:7 6:8 6:9 6:9 6:9 6:9 6:9 6:10 6:10-15 6:11 6:11 6:13 6:13 6:14 6:15 6:16 6:16 7:1 7:1 7:1 7:1 7:1-2 7:1-6 7:2 7:4 7:4 7:5 7:5 7:6 7:7 7:7 7:7 7:8 7:8 7:8-10 7:9 7:9 7:9 7:10 7:11-13 7:12 7:13 7:13 7:14 7:14-15 7:15 7:15 7:16-17 7:16-17 7:17 7:18 7:18-20 7:18-20 7:19 7:19-20 7:20
Nahum
1:1 1:1 1:2 1:2-8 1:3 1:3 1:3 1:3 1:5 1:6 1:6 1:7 1:8 1:9 1:9 1:9-16 1:10 1:11 1:12 1:14 1:15 1:15 2:1 2:1-5 2:2 2:4 2:6 2:6 2:6 2:7 2:7-10 2:8 2:9 2:9 2:10 2:11-12 2:11-13 2:13 3:1 3:1 3:2 3:2-3 3:3 3:4 3:4 3:5-7 3:5-7 3:8 3:8 3:8 3:8 3:8-11 3:9 3:10 3:11 3:12 3:12-19 3:13 3:13 3:14 3:15 3:15 3:15 3:16 3:17 3:18 3:19 3:19
Habakkuk
1:1 1:1 1:1-4 1:1-11 1:1-17 1:2 1:3 1:3 1:3 1:4 1:4 1:5 1:5-11 1:6 1:7 1:7 1:8 1:9 1:10 1:11 1:11 1:12 1:12 1:12-15 1:12-17 1:13 1:13 1:14 1:15 1:15 1:16 1:17 2:1 2:1 2:1 2:1 2:1 2:1-9 2:1-20 2:2 2:2 2:2 2:2 2:2-8 2:3 2:4 2:4 2:5 2:5 2:6 2:6-8 2:7-8 2:8 2:8 2:9 2:9-11 2:10 2:10-19 2:11 2:11 2:11 2:12 2:12-14 2:13 2:13 2:14 2:15 2:15 2:15 2:15-16 2:15-16 2:15-17 2:16 2:16 2:17 2:17 2:18 2:18 2:18 2:18-20 2:20 2:20 2:20-23 3:1 3:1 3:1-19 3:2 3:2 3:3-4 3:3-15 3:4 3:4 3:5 3:6 3:6 3:6 3:6 3:6 3:6 3:7 3:8 3:9 3:9 3:10 3:11 3:13 3:13 3:14 3:15 3:15 3:16 3:16 3:16-18 3:16-19 3:17 3:17-18 3:17-18 3:17-18 3:18 3:19 3:19
Zephaniah
1:1 1:1 1:1 1:2 1:2-3 1:2-4 1:3 1:3 1:4 1:5 1:5 1:5 1:5-6 1:6 1:7 1:7 1:7 1:7-9 1:8 1:8 1:8 1:9 1:10 1:10 1:10-18 1:11 1:12 1:13 1:14 1:15 1:16-17 1:17 1:18 2:1 2:1 2:1-3 2:2 2:3 2:3 2:4 2:4-7 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:6 2:7 2:8 2:8 2:8 2:8-11 2:9 2:11 2:11 2:12 2:12-15 2:13 2:15 2:15 3:1 3:1-7 3:1-7 3:2 3:5 3:5 3:6 3:8 3:8-13 3:9 3:9 3:9 3:10 3:11 3:11 3:11 3:11 3:12 3:12-13 3:13 3:13 3:14 3:14-20 3:15 3:15 3:16 3:17 3:17 3:17 3:17 3:18 3:18 3:19-20 3:20
Haggai
1:1 1:1 1:1 1:2 1:4 1:5 1:5 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:7 1:8 1:8-9 1:9 1:9 1:9 1:9 1:9-11 1:10 1:10-11 1:11 1:12 1:12 1:12 1:13 1:13 1:14 1:14 1:14 1:15 1:15 2:1 2:2 2:3 2:4 2:4 2:5 2:6 2:6 2:6 2:6-7 2:6-7 2:7 2:8 2:9 2:9 2:11 2:12 2:12 2:14 2:16 2:16 2:17 2:17 2:18-19 2:19 2:21 2:21-22 2:23 2:23
Zechariah
1:1 1:1 1:1 1:1 1:1-2 1:1-5 1:2 1:2-6 1:3 1:3 1:3-5 1:4 1:4-6 1:5 1:5 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6-7 1:7 1:7-11 1:8-10 1:9 1:9 1:10 1:11 1:11 1:12 1:12 1:12-17 1:13 1:13 1:13 1:13 1:14 1:14 1:14-15 1:15 1:15 1:15 1:15 1:15 1:16 1:16 1:17 1:18 1:18-21 1:19 1:20 1:20-21 1:21 2:1 2:1-2 2:1-2 2:2-3 2:3-5 2:4 2:4-10 2:5 2:5 2:6 2:6 2:6-9 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:8-9 2:10 2:10-12 2:11 2:11 2:11-14 2:12 2:13 2:13 2:13 2:13 2:13 2:13 3:2 3:3 3:4 3:5 3:6-7 3:7 3:8 3:8 3:8 3:8 3:9 3:9 3:10 4:1 4:1 4:2 4:3 4:4 4:6 4:6 4:6 4:6 4:6 4:7 4:7 4:7 4:7 4:8 4:9 4:10 4:10 4:10 4:11 4:12 4:12 4:13 4:14 5:1-4 5:3 5:3 5:3-4 5:4 5:4 5:4 5:5 5:5-11 5:6 5:7-8 5:7-8 5:7-8 5:10 6:1 6:1-5 6:1-8 6:1-15 6:3 6:5 6:5 6:6 6:7 6:8 6:9-15 6:10-11 6:10-11 6:11 6:12 6:12 6:12 6:13 6:13 6:14 6:15 7:1 7:1 7:1-3 7:1-14 7:3 7:3 7:3 7:4-7 7:5 7:5 7:5 7:5 7:5 7:5 7:5 7:5 7:5-6 7:6 7:7 7:7 7:8-9 7:8-14 7:9 7:9 7:9 7:9-10 7:9-10 7:10 7:10 7:11-12 7:12 7:13 7:14 8:1 8:1 8:1-23 8:2 8:2-8 8:3 8:3-5 8:4 8:4 8:4 8:5 8:5 8:5 8:5 8:6 8:7 8:9 8:9 8:9-15 8:10 8:10 8:11 8:12 8:13 8:13 8:14-15 8:15 8:16 8:16-17 8:16-17 8:18 8:18 8:19 8:19 8:19 8:19 8:19 8:20 8:20-23 8:20-23 8:21 8:21 8:22 8:22 8:23 8:23 8:23 8:23 8:23 8:23 8:23 8:23 8:23 9:1 9:1-6 9:1-17 9:2 9:2-4 9:4 9:5 9:6 9:7 9:7 9:7 9:8 9:8 9:9 9:9 9:9 9:9 9:9 9:10 9:10 9:10 9:11 9:11 9:11-12 9:12 9:13-15 9:14 9:14 9:15 9:15 9:15 9:16 9:16-17 9:17 10:1 10:1 10:1 10:1-4 10:2 10:3 10:3 10:4 10:5 10:5 10:5-12 10:6 10:6 10:6 10:7 10:7 10:7 10:8 10:8 10:9 10:9 10:10 10:10 10:12 11:1 11:1 11:1-3 11:1-17 11:2 11:2 11:2 11:3 11:4 11:4-6 11:5 11:6 11:7 11:7 11:7 11:7-8 11:8 11:8 11:9 11:9 11:10 11:10 11:10-11 11:11 11:11 11:12 11:12-13 11:14 11:14 11:15 11:15 11:15-17 11:16 11:16 11:17 12:1 12:1-14 12:2 12:2-4 12:3 12:3 12:3 12:4 12:4 12:5 12:5 12:5 12:5 12:6 12:6 12:6 12:6 12:6 12:6 12:7 12:7-8 12:8 12:8 12:9 12:9-14 12:10 12:10 12:10 12:10 12:10 12:11 12:12 12:12 12:12 12:13 12:14 13:1 13:1 13:1 13:1 13:2 13:2 13:2 13:2-6 13:3 13:3 13:3 13:4 13:4 13:6 13:7 13:7 13:7 13:8 13:8 13:8 13:9 13:9 14:1 14:1-2 14:2 14:3 14:3 14:4 14:4 14:4-5 14:5 14:5 14:5 14:6 14:6-7 14:6-7 14:7 14:8 14:8 14:8-9 14:9 14:10 14:10-11 14:10-11 14:12 14:12-15 14:13 14:14 14:14 14:15 14:16 14:16 14:17 14:17-19 14:18 14:18-19 14:18-19 14:20 14:20-21 14:20-21 14:21
Malachi
1:1 1:1 1:1-5 1:2 1:4 1:5 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6-14 1:7 1:7 1:7 1:7 1:7 1:7-8 1:8 1:8 1:8 1:8 1:9 1:9 1:10 1:10 1:10 1:11 1:12 1:12 1:12 1:13 1:13 1:13 1:13 1:13 1:14 1:14 2 2:1 2:1 2:1 2:1-9 2:2 2:2 2:2 2:2-3 2:4 2:4 2:5 2:5 2:6 2:6 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:7 2:8 2:8 2:8 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:10 2:10 2:11-12 2:12 2:13 2:13 2:13 2:14 2:14 2:14 2:14-16 2:15 2:15 2:15 2:15 2:16 2:16 2:16 2:16 2:17 2:17 2:17 3:1 3:1 3:1 3:1 3:1 3:1-2 3:1-6 3:2 3:3 3:4 3:5 3:5 3:6 3:7 3:7 3:7-12 3:8 3:8 3:9 3:10 3:10 3:10 3:10 3:10 3:11 3:11 3:11 3:13-15 3:14 3:14 3:14 3:15 3:15 3:16-18 3:17 3:17 3:18 4:1 4:1 4:1 4:1-3 4:2 4:3 4:3 4:4 4:4 4:5-6 4:5-6 4:6 4:10
Matthew
1:12 1:17 1:17 1:17 1:21 1:21 1:21-25 2:3 2:5-6 2:6 2:11 2:15 2:15 2:17-18 2:23 2:23 3:2 3:3 3:4 3:5 3:5 3:7 3:7 3:8-9 3:8-9 3:9 3:10 3:10 3:10 3:11 3:11 3:11 3:11 3:12 3:12 3:12 3:16 3:17 3:17 4:4 4:13-16 4:15 4:16 4:16 4:23 5:12 5:14 5:14 5:16 5:16 5:19 5:34 5:36 5:37 5:39 5:45 6:6 6:16 6:18 6:19 6:29 6:33 7:6 7:11 7:11 7:22-23 7:22-23 7:26 8:11 8:11 8:11 8:17 9:4 9:13 9:13 9:17 9:27 9:32-33 9:36 9:36 10:4 10:6 10:19 10:19 10:27 10:32 10:34-35 10:36 11:5 11:5 11:8 11:9-10 11:14 11:16-17 11:17 11:17-19 11:21 11:21 11:23 11:23 11:23-24 11:24 11:25 11:27 11:28 11:29 11:30 11:30 12:6 12:7 12:7 12:17-21 12:22 12:40 12:40 12:41 13:3 13:14-15 13:14-15 13:14-15 13:19 13:19 13:31-32 13:39 13:39 13:52 13:55-57 13:58 14:25 15:5 15:8 15:8-9 15:9 15:9 15:9 15:11 15:14 15:14 15:16 15:19 15:23 15:24 15:24 15:24 16:3 16:14 16:14 16:18 16:26 17:5 17:10-13 17:11 18:3 18:10 18:12-13 18:18 18:21 19:3 19:7 19:8 19:17 19:17 19:28 19:30 20:3 20:12 20:28 20:28 20:30 20:31-32 21:5 21:5 21:12 21:13 21:13 21:19 21:25 21:33 21:34 21:35 21:37 21:41 21:43 21:43 21:43 21:44 21:44 21:44 22:1 22:1-46 22:7 22:7 22:10 22:12 22:15 22:15 22:16 22:42 23:1-39 23:2 23:7 23:14 23:14 23:23 23:23 23:31 23:32 23:32 23:32 23:35 23:35 23:35 23:35 23:35 23:35-36 23:35-36 23:36 23:37 23:37 23:37-38 23:38 23:38 23:38 23:38 23:38 24:1 24:3 24:3 24:5 24:6-7 24:8 24:11 24:15 24:15 24:15 24:16 24:16 24:16 24:16-18 24:21 24:21 24:21 24:21 24:22 24:27 24:28 24:29 24:29 24:31 24:31 24:37 24:51 24:51 25:32 25:32-33 26:24 26:31 26:53 26:67 27:9-10 28:18 28:19 28:20 28:20
Mark
1:1-2 3:21 4:27 4:34 5:28-30 5:33 6:20 6:20 7:34 9:44 9:48-49 9:50 11:12 11:14 12:33 13:1 13:3 14:27 15:27-28 16:16 16:16 16:17-18 16:20
Luke
1:5 1:15-16 1:16-17 1:17 1:17 1:17 1:17 1:19 1:32 1:32 1:32 1:32 1:32-33 1:32-33 1:32-33 1:33 1:33 1:46-47 1:52 1:53 1:69-70 1:72 1:74 1:74-75 1:74-75 1:74-75 1:74-75 1:74-75 1:74-75 1:78-79 2:1 2:1 2:1 2:1 2:11 2:25 2:25 2:25 2:25-38 2:27 2:32 2:32 2:34 2:35 2:37 2:38 2:38 2:38 2:38 2:38 2:38 2:40 2:46 2:48 2:49 2:51 2:52 3:5 3:6 3:13 3:27 3:27-31 3:31 4:17-18 4:18 4:18 4:18 4:18-19 4:20 4:21 4:21 6:24-25 7:30 8:18 9:32 9:44 9:55 10:18 10:21 11:5 11:8 11:13 11:13 11:13 11:22 11:26 11:26 11:45 11:53-54 12:4-5 12:4-5 12:4-5 12:18 12:19 12:19 12:19-20 12:33 12:33 12:49 12:49 12:49 12:49 12:51 12:51 13:6 13:7 13:24 13:25-26 13:28 13:28 14:21-22 14:22 14:26 14:31 15:7 15:17 15:17-18 15:18 15:20 16:14 16:16 16:19 16:23 16:25 16:25 16:25 16:26 16:28-29 17:22 17:24 17:26 17:28-29 17:34 18:2 18:2 18:8 18:12 18:13 19:11 19:22 19:27 19:41 19:41-42 19:43 19:43 19:43 20:16 20:20 20:20 20:36 20:36 21:5 21:12 21:15 21:16 21:18 21:20 21:22 21:25 21:26 21:26 21:26 21:26 21:28 21:28 21:28 21:28 21:35 21:38 21:38 22:25 22:25 22:28 22:32 22:32 22:37 22:43 22:43 22:45 23:5 23:28 23:29 23:29 23:30 24:15 24:26-27 24:45 24:47 24:47 24:47 24:47 24:47
John
1:1-2 1:4 1:14 1:14 1:16 1:16 1:18 1:19-21 1:29 1:41 1:49 1:49 1:51 2:16 2:19 2:21 3:2 3:16 3:19 3:19 3:19 3:36 3:36 4:13 4:14 4:14 4:14 4:21 4:22 4:23-24 4:24 4:34 4:35 4:35 5:14 5:14 5:14 5:22 5:24-25 5:27 5:27 5:27 5:29 5:40 6:27 6:27 6:32 6:33 6:44 6:45 6:63 6:67 6:69 7:17 7:17 7:17 7:24 7:35 7:35 7:37 7:37 7:38 7:38-39 7:38-39 7:38-39 7:39 7:39 7:42 8:12 8:35 8:39-40 8:41 8:44 8:56 8:57 8:58 9:6 9:39 9:39 9:39 9:39 10:1-2 10:9 10:11 10:11 10:16 10:16 10:16 10:22 10:28 10:32 10:41 11:42 11:51 11:51 11:52 11:52 11:52 12:15 12:21 12:21 12:22-23 12:24 12:24 12:24 12:27-28 12:28 12:28 12:32 12:38 12:41 12:48 13:7 13:23-24 13:27 13:32 14:2 14:16 14:19 14:19 14:22 14:26 14:27 14:29 15:1 15:6 15:6 15:15 15:16 15:16 15:18 15:19 15:25 16:1-2 16:2 16:2 16:2 16:7-8 16:8 16:8 16:19 16:21 16:22 16:32 17:2 17:3 17:4-5 17:5 17:5 17:5 17:6 17:6 17:17 17:19 17:21 17:24 18:1 18:6 18:8 18:11 18:20 18:20 18:35 18:36 18:37 18:37 19:10 19:11 19:11 19:37 20:17 20:23 21:25
Acts
1:4 1:7 1:9 1:12 2:1 2:1-13 2:1-47 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:5-6 2:9 2:10 2:11 2:16 2:20 2:21 2:23 2:23 2:30 2:30 2:39 2:39 2:39 2:39 2:40 2:44 2:46 2:47 3:8 3:19 3:22 3:25 3:25 3:25 3:26 4:1 4:13 4:16 4:17 4:20 4:20 4:20 4:28 4:32 4:32 5:20 5:20 5:20 5:20 5:42 6:2-4 6:4 6:14 6:15 7:2 7:2 7:2 7:2 7:20 7:38 7:42 7:42 7:43 7:43 7:45 7:49-50 7:51 7:52 7:53 8:1 8:8 8:8 8:14 8:26 8:26-40 8:27 8:34-35 8:39 8:39 9:5 9:7 9:11 9:22 9:39 10:4 10:4 10:9 10:14 10:28 10:30 10:35 10:36 10:43 10:44 10:44-45 12:2-3 12:3 12:5 12:20 13:18 13:18 13:23 13:33 13:34 13:34 13:40 13:41 13:47 13:48 13:48 14:13 14:15 14:16 14:16 14:17 14:23 15:9 15:10 15:10 15:14 15:15-17 15:16 15:18 15:21 16:9 16:13 16:14 16:37 17:16 17:26 17:27 17:27 17:30 18:10 19:18 19:19 19:20 19:26 19:35 20:18 20:28 20:28 20:30 20:35 21:3-4 21:9 21:28 22:9 22:9 23:2 24:15 26:16 26:18 26:18 26:18 26:22-23 26:26 27:18-19 27:20 27:38 27:38 28:4 28:22
Romans
1:8 1:13 1:14 1:17 1:17 1:18 1:20 1:21 1:22 1:23 1:23 1:24 1:24 1:25 1:26 1:26 1:27 1:27 1:28 1:28 1:32 2:7-8 2:8-9 2:9 2:16 2:16 2:17 2:23-24 2:24 2:26-27 2:28-29 3:1-2 3:3 3:3-4 3:5 3:11 3:15 4:3 4:3 4:5 4:11 4:11 4:11-12 4:13 4:17 4:21 4:25 5:1 5:1-2 5:7 5:14 5:14 5:20 5:21 6:21 6:21 6:21 7:4 7:6 7:13 8:3 8:18 8:19 8:21 8:21 8:21 8:21-22 8:21-22 8:22 8:22 8:26 8:31 8:32 8:33 9:3 9:4 9:5 9:8 9:13 9:20-21 9:21 9:21 9:22 9:24-25 9:25 9:25-26 9:25-26 9:25-26 9:26 9:27 9:27 9:27 9:31-32 10:3 10:8 10:11-12 10:12 10:13 10:15 10:15 10:15 10:16 10:17 10:20 10:20-21 10:21 11:1 11:1 11:1 11:1 11:1 11:1-5 11:3 11:4-5 11:5 11:5 11:5 11:5 11:7 11:7 11:8 11:8 11:8 11:8 11:8 11:9-10 11:11-12 11:12-15 11:14 11:14 11:17 11:17 11:17 11:20 11:22 11:25 11:26 11:26 11:26 11:28 11:28 11:36 12:1 12:1 12:1 13:4 13:11 13:12 14:6 14:10-11 15:1 15:9-11 15:10 15:12 15:12 15:16 15:16 15:16 15:16 15:16 15:18 15:19 15:19 15:20 15:21 16:18 16:19 16:20 16:22 16:25 16:25 16:25-26 16:25-26 16:25-26 16:26 16:26
1 Corinthians
1:2 1:5 1:20 1:21 1:24 1:27 1:27-28 2:7 2:7 2:8 2:9 2:9 2:10 2:12 2:13 2:13 2:13 3:9 3:9 3:9 3:12 3:13 3:13-15 3:17 3:19 3:22 3:22-23 4:6 4:13 5:1 5:1 5:5 6:11 6:17 7:2 7:5 7:21 7:26 7:26 7:29-30 7:29-30 7:29-31 8:4 8:5-6 9:2 9:7 9:7 9:10 9:13-14 9:16 9:16 9:16 10:1-33 10:11 10:11 10:13 10:14 10:20 10:22 10:31 11:10 11:14 11:23 11:23 12:1 12:21 12:22-25 12:23 13:8-10 13:12 14:13 14:13 14:19 14:21 14:24-25 15:3 15:4 15:19 15:24 15:24 15:24-25 15:25 15:32 15:54 15:55 16:2 16:2
2 Corinthians
1:5 1:8-9 1:10 1:10 1:20 2:16 3:7-8 3:9-10 3:10 3:15 3:18 3:18 4:6 4:7 4:9 4:9 4:13 5:5 5:9 5:11 5:17 5:17 5:21 6:2 6:7 6:9 6:10 6:10 6:14-15 6:17 8:5 8:23 9:2 10:4 10:4-5 11:2 12:9
Galatians
1:8-9 1:15 1:15 2:2 3:3-4 3:3-4 3:11 3:12 3:15 3:16 3:19 3:28 4:1-2 4:6 4:8 4:9 4:9 4:14 4:15 4:19 4:25 4:25-26 4:26 4:26 4:26 4:26 4:27 4:27 4:27 4:28 5:1 5:1 5:15 5:22-23 6:4 6:7-8 6:11 6:16 6:16 6:16
Ephesians
1:4 1:6 1:10 1:10 1:12 1:14 1:17-18 2:10 2:10 2:13 2:14 2:14 2:14 2:14-15 2:14-16 2:15 2:15 2:17 2:18 2:19 2:19 2:20-22 2:21 3:5 3:5-6 3:9 3:10 3:10 3:10 3:15 4:18 4:21 4:25 4:25 5:3 5:8 5:11 5:18-19 5:25 5:26 5:26 5:32 6:9 6:14 6:14-17 6:15
Philippians
1:1 1:19 1:28 2:9-10 2:15 2:21 2:21 2:22 3:1 3:3 3:5 3:9 3:13 3:19 3:19 3:19 3:19 4:7
Colossians
1:6 1:6 1:19 1:20 1:20 1:21 1:21 2:2 2:7 2:9 2:11 2:15 2:15 2:15 2:15 3:1-2 3:3 3:5 3:11 3:11 4:6
1 Thessalonians
1:9 2:7 2:15 2:15 2:15-16 2:16 2:16 2:16 2:16 4:4-5 4:9 4:15 4:16 5:8 5:8 5:13 5:14
2 Thessalonians
1:6 1:6-7 1:6-7 1:7 1:7-8 1:8 1:8 2:4 2:4 2:7 2:8 2:8 2:8 2:10-11 2:10-11 2:10-12 2:11 2:13 3:2
1 Timothy
1:12 1:12 2:2 2:2 2:9 3:3 3:15 3:16 4:1-2 4:8 4:10 4:10 4:15 4:16 5:5 5:8 5:21 5:23 6:3 6:3 6:14 6:16 6:16 6:17 6:17
2 Timothy
1:10 1:13 1:13-14 2:9 2:20 2:25 3:9 3:16 4:18
Titus
1:5 1:7 1:12-13 2:4-5 2:14 3:2-3 3:4
Hebrews
1:1 1:1 1:1 1:2 1:6 1:6 1:9 2:3 2:3 2:3 2:5 2:5 2:9 2:11 2:13 2:14-15 2:15 2:17 2:17 3:1-19 3:3 3:4 3:6 4:1 4:2 4:12 4:12 5:1-2 5:4 5:7 5:7 5:9 5:12 6:7-8 6:7-8 6:8 6:10 6:13 6:13 6:17 6:17-18 6:17-18 7:3 7:17 7:21 7:25 7:28 8:1 8:8 8:8-9 8:10 8:10-11 8:11 8:11 8:12 8:12 8:12 8:13 8:13 9:8 9:8-9 9:10 9:10 9:10 9:10 9:12 9:14 9:26 10:1 10:1 10:1 10:1 10:3 10:12 10:19 10:20 10:22 10:22 10:38 10:38 11:5 11:6 11:8 11:9 11:16 11:16 11:21 11:23 11:25 11:27 11:31 11:33 11:34 11:35 11:35 11:37 11:37 12:1 12:9 12:9 12:9 12:10 12:10 12:12 12:12 12:15 12:15 12:22 12:22 12:22 12:22 12:22 12:22 12:22-23 12:22-24 12:26 12:26 12:27 12:27 12:27-28 12:29 12:29 13:15 13:15 13:15 13:15 13:17 13:22
James
1:1 1:9-10 1:15 1:15 1:17 1:18 1:18 1:21 2:2-3 2:3 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:5-6 2:6 2:12 2:13 2:16 2:23 3:2 3:6 3:7 3:9-12 4:1 4:4 4:8 4:9 4:12 4:13 5:4 5:6 5:13 5:17 5:20
1 Peter
1:1 1:4 1:5 1:6 1:6 1:6-7 1:6-7 1:7 1:7 1:10 1:10 1:10-11 1:10-11 1:11 1:11 1:12 1:12 1:18 1:18 1:19 1:19 1:23 1:23-25 1:24-25 2:1-2 2:4 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:6 2:6 2:6-8 2:7 2:8 2:8 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:10 2:10 2:10 2:13 2:13-14 2:13-14 2:15 2:22 2:24 3:7 3:13 3:14-15 3:15 3:15 3:22 3:22 4:3 4:4 4:4 4:10 4:12 4:17 4:17 4:17 4:17 4:17-18
2 Peter
1:19 1:19 1:20-21 1:20-21 1:21 1:21 2:6 2:6 2:7-8 2:11 2:13 2:14 2:14 2:19 3:3-4 3:4 3:7 3:9 3:9 3:10 3:13 3:13 3:13 3:16
1 John
1:1 1:1 1:1 1:1 1:1 1:3 1:7 1:8 2:16 2:17 2:18 2:19 2:19 2:20 2:27 3:1 3:5 3:9 4:10 5:3 5:16 5:16 5:20 5:20
2 John
Jude
1:6 1:6 1:7 1:9 1:10 1:12 1:12 1:14 1:14 1:14 1:14 1:14-15 1:15 1:15 1:15 1:15 1:16 1:23 1:24
Revelation
1:1 1:1 1:1 1:1 1:1 1:4 1:5 1:5-6 1:5-6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:6 1:7 1:10 1:10 1:11 1:12 1:12 1:12-13 1:13-15 1:15 1:15 1:15 1:17 1:17 1:17 1:17 1:17 1:20 1:20 2:4-5 2:4-5 2:5 2:5 2:5 2:10 2:10 2:10 2:10 2:13 2:13 2:13 2:17 2:22 2:24-25 2:26 2:26-27 2:27 3:2 3:7 3:9 3:9 3:9 3:9 3:9 3:12 3:12 3:14 3:16 3:17-18 3:18 4:1 4:1 4:2 4:3 4:7 4:8 4:8 4:8 4:8 5:5 5:7 5:9-10 6:2 6:2 6:2 6:2 6:2 6:2 6:4 6:5 6:5 6:8 6:8 6:12-13 6:15 6:15-16 6:16 6:16 7:2 7:3 7:3 7:4 7:4 7:5 7:9 7:9 7:9 7:9 7:9 7:11 7:12 7:15 7:15 7:17 7:17 8:3 9:7 9:8 9:9 10:3 10:5-6 10:6 10:7 10:9 10:9-10 10:11 11:2 11:5 11:5 11:8 11:8-9 11:9 11:9 11:10 11:10 11:10 11:10 11:11 11:12 11:15 12:1 12:3 12:4 12:6 12:6 12:10 12:11 12:16 12:16 13:8 13:8 13:10 13:10 13:10 13:10 13:10 13:10 13:10 13:10 14:2 14:3 14:4 14:6 14:7 14:7 14:10 14:10 14:10-11 14:13 14:15 14:15 14:15 14:15 14:18 14:18 14:19 14:20 14:20 14:20 15:3 16:1 16:9-10 16:12 16:14 16:19 17:1 17:2 17:3 17:5 17:5 17:6 17:15 17:15 17:15 17:15 18:1-24 18:2 18:2 18:3 18:3 18:4 18:4 18:4 18:4 18:6 18:6 18:6 18:7 18:7 18:9 18:9 18:10 18:10 18:12-13 18:15 18:16 18:17 18:17 18:17-18 18:19 18:19 18:20 18:20 18:21 19:1 19:1 19:3 19:7 19:8 19:8 19:8 19:9 19:10 19:10 19:11 19:11 19:11 19:13 19:13 19:15 19:15 19:15 19:17 19:17-18 20:1-15 20:2-3 20:3 20:8 20:8 20:9 20:9 20:9-10 20:10 20:11-12 20:15 21:3 21:3 21:3 21:4 21:4 21:4 21:4 21:5 21:5 21:5 21:6 21:7 21:12-13 21:13 21:16 21:18 21:19 21:21 21:22 21:23 21:24 21:24 21:24 21:27 22:1 22:1 22:1 22:1 22:1 22:2 22:5 22:6 22:6 22:9 22:11 22:15 22:16 22:16 22:17 22:17 22:18-19
1 Maccabees
1:11-15 1:21 1:41-42 1:45 1:54 1:60-61 2:45 3:27 3:41 4:52 5:3 9:28 10:1
2 Maccabees
Isaiah
1 1:1 1:2-9 1:10-15 1:16-20 1:21-31 2 2:1-5 2:6-9 2:10-22 3 3:1-8 3:9-15 3:16-26 4 4:1 4:2-6 5 5:1-7 5:8-17 5:18-30 6 6:1-4 6:5-8 6:9-13 7 7:1-9 7:10-16 7:17-28 8 8:1-8 8:9-15 8:16-22 9 9:1-7 9:8-21 10 10:1-4 10:5-19 10:20-23 10:24-34 11 11:1-9 11:10-16 12 12:1-3 12:4-6 13 13:1-5 13:6-18 13:19-22 14 14:1-3 14:4-23 14:24-32 15 15:1-5 15:6-9 16 16:1-5 16:6-14 17 17:1-5 17:6-8 17:9-11 17:12-14 18 18:1-7 19 19:1-17 19:18-25 20 20:1-6 21 21:1-10 21:11-12 21:13-17 22 22:1-7 22:8-14 22:15-25 23 23:1-14 23:15-18 24 24:1-12 24:13-15 24:16-23 25 25:1-5 25:6-8 25:9-12 26 26:1-4 26:5-11 26:12-19 26:20-21 27 27:1-6 27:7-13 28 28:1-8 28:9-13 28:14-22 28:23-29 29 29:1-8 29:9-16 29:17-24 30 30:1-7 30:8-17 30:18-26 30:27-33 31 31:1-5 31:6-9 32 32:1-8 32:9-20 33 33:1-12 33:13-24 34 34:1-8 34:9-17 35 35:1-4 35:5-10 36 36:1-10 36:11-22 37 37:1-7 37:8-20 37:21-38 38 38:1-8 38:9-22 39 39:1-4 39:5-8 40 40:1-2 40:3-8 40:9-11 40:12-17 40:18-26 40:27-31 41 41:1-9 41:10-20 41:21-29 42 42:1-4 42:5-12 42:13-17 42:18-25 43 43:1-7 43:8-13 43:14-21 43:22-28 44 44:1-8 44:9-20 44:21-28 45 45:1-4 45:5-10 45:11-19 45:20-25 46 46:1-4 46:5-13 47 47:1-6 47:7-15 48 48:1-8 48:9-15 48:16-22 49 49:1-6 49:7-12 49:13-17 49:18-23 49:24-26 50 50:1-3 50:4-9 50:10-11 51 51:1-3 51:4-8 51:9-16 51:17-23 52 52:1-6 52:7-12 52:13-15 53 53:1-3 53:4-9 53:10-12 54 54:1-5 54:6-10 54:11-17 55 55:1-5 55:6-13 56 56:1-2 56:3-8 56:9-12 57 57:1-2 57:3-12 57:13-16 57:17-21 58 58:1-2 58:3-7 58:8-12 58:13-14 59 59:1-8 59:9-15 59:16-21 60 60:1-8 60:9-14 60:15-22 61 61:1-3 61:4-9 61:10-11 62 62:1-5 62:6-9 62:10-12 63 63:1-6 63:7-14 63:15-19 64 64:1-5 64:6-12 65 65:1-7 65:8-10 65:11-16 65:17-25 66 66:1-4 66:5-14 66:15-24
Jeremiah
1 1:1-3 1:4-10 1:11-19 2 2:1-8 2:9-13 2:14-19 2:20-28 2:29-37 3 3:1-5 3:6-11 3:12-19 3:20-25 4 4:1-2 4:3-4 4:5-18 4:19-31 5 5:1-9 5:10-19 5:20-24 5:25-31 6 6:1-8 6:9-17 6:18-30 7 7:1-15 7:16-20 7:21-28 7:29-34 8 8:1-3 8:4-12 8:13-22 9 9:1-11 9:12-22 9:23-26 10 10:1-16 10:17-25 11 11:1-10 11:11-17 11:18-23 12 12:1-6 12:7-13 12:14-17 13 13:1-11 13:12-21 13:22-27 14 14:1-9 14:10-16 14:17-22 15 15:1-9 15:10-14 15:15-21 16 16:1-9 16:10-13 16:14-21 17 17:1-4 17:5-11 17:12-18 17:19-27 18 18:1-10 18:11-17 18:18-23 19 19:1-9 19:10-15 20 20:1-6 20:7-13 20:14-18 21 21:1-7 21:8-14 22 22:1-9 22:10-19 22:20-30 23 23:1-8 23:9-32 23:33-40 24 24:1-10 25 25:1-7 25:8-14 25:15-29 25:30-38 26 26:1-6 26:7-15 26:16-24 27 27:1-11 27:12-22 28 28:1-9 28:10-17 29 29:1-7 29:8-14 29:15-23 29:24-32 30 30:1-9 30:10-17 30:18-24 31 31:1-9 31:10-17 31:18-26 31:27-34 31:35-40 32 32:1-15 32:16-25 32:26-44 33 33:1-9 33:10-16 33:17-26 34 34:1-7 34:8-22 35 35:1-11 35:12-19 36 36:1-8 36:9-19 36:20-32 37 37:1-10 37:11-21 38 38:1-13 38:14-28 39 39:1-10 39:11-18 40 40:1-6 40:7-16 41 41:1-10 41:11-18 42 42:1-6 42:7-22 43 43:1-7 43:8-13 44 44:1-14 44:15-19 44:20-30 45 45:1-5 46 46:1-12 46:13-28 47 47:1-7 48 48:1-13 48:14-47 49 49:1-6 49:7-22 49:23-27 49:28-33 49:34-39 50 50:1-8 50:9-20 50:21-32 50:33-46 51 51:1-58 51:59-64 52 52:1-11 52:12-23 52:24-30 52:31-34
Lamentations
1 1:1-11 1:12-22 2 2:1-9 2:10-22 3 3:1-20 3:21-36 3:37-41 3:42-54 3:55-66 4 4:1-12 4:13-20 4:21-22 5 5:1-16 5:17-22
Ezekiel
1 1:1-3 1:4-14 1:15-25 1:26-28 2 2:1-5 2:6-10 3 3:1-15 3:16-21 3:22-27 4 4:1-8 4:9-17 5 5:1-4 5:5-17 6 6:1-7 6:8-10 6:11-14 7 7:1-15 7:16-22 7:23-27 8 8:1-6 8:7-12 8:13-18 9 9:1-4 9:5-11 10 10:1-7 10:8-22 11 11:1-13 11:14-21 11:22-25 12 12:1-16 12:17-20 12:21-28 13 13:1-9 13:10-16 13:17-23 14 14:1-11 14:12-23 15 15:1-8 16 16:1-5 16:6-14 16:15-34 16:35-43 16:44-59 16:60-63 17 17:1-21 17:22-24 18 18:1-9 18:10-20 18:21-29 18:30-32 19 19:1-9 19:10-14 20 20:1-4 20:5-9 20:10-26 20:27-32 20:33-44 20:45-49 21 21:1-7 21:8-17 21:18-27 21:28-32 22 22:1-16 22:17-22 22:23-31 23 23:1-10 23:11-21 23:22-35 23:36-49 24 24:1-14 24:15-27 25 25:1-7 25:8-17 26 26:1-14 26:15-21 27 27:1-25 27:26-36 28 28:1-10 28:11-19 28:20-26 29 29:1-7 29:8-16 29:17-21 30 30:1-19 30:20-26 31 31:1-9 31:10-18 32 32:1-16 32:17-32 33 33:1-9 33:10-20 33:21-29 33:30-33 34 34:1-6 34:7-16 34:17-31 35 35:1-9 35:10-15 36 36:1-15 36:16-24 36:25-38 37 37:1-14 37:15-28 38 38:1-13 38:14-23 39 39:1-7 39:8-22 39:23-29 40 40:1-4 40:5-26 40:27-38 40:39-49 41 41:1-11 41:12-26 42 42:1-14 42:15-20 43 43:1-6 43:7-12 43:13-27 44 44:1-3 44:4-9 44:10-16 44:17-31 45 45:1-8 45:9-12 45:13-25 46 46:1-15 46:16-18 46:19-24 47 47:1-12 47:13-23 48 48:1-30 48:31-35
Daniel
1 1:1-7 1:8-16 1:17-21 2 2:1-13 2:14-23 2:24-30 2:31-45 2:46-49 3 3:1-7 3:8-18 3:19-27 3:28-30 4 4:1-3 4:4-18 4:19-27 4:28-33 4:34-37 5 5:1-9 5:10-29 5:30-31 6 6:1-5 6:6-10 6:11-17 6:18-24 6:25-28 7 7:1-8 7:9-14 7:15-28 8 8:1-14 8:15-27 9 9:1-3 9:4-19 9:20-27 10 10:1-9 10:10-21 11 11:1-4 11:5-20 11:21-45 12 12:1-4 12:5-13
Hosea
1 1:1 1:2-7 1:8-11 2 2:1-5 2:6-13 2:14-23 3 3:1-5 4 4:1-5 4:6-11 4:12-19 5 5:1-7 5:8-15 6 6:1-3 6:4-11 7 7:1-7 7:8-16 8 8:1-7 8:8-14 9 9:1-6 9:7-10 9:11-17 10 10:1-8 10:9-15 11 11:1-7 11:8-12 12 12:1-6 12:7-14 13 13:1-4 13:5-8 13:9-16 14 14:1-3 14:4-7 14:8-9
Joel
1 1:1-7 1:8-13 1:14-20 2 2:1-11 2:12-17 2:18-27 2:28-32 3 3:1-8 3:9-17 3:18-21
Amos
1 1:1-2 1:3-15 2 2:1-8 2:9-16 3 3:1-8 3:9-15 4 4:1-5 4:6-13 5 5:1-3 5:4-15 5:16-20 5:21-27 6 6:1-7 6:8-14 7 7:1-9 7:10-17 8 8:1-3 8:4-10 8:11-14 9 9:1-10 9:11-15
Obadiah
Jonah
1 1:1-3 1:4-10 1:11-17 2 2:1-9 2:10 3 3:1-4 3:5-10 4 4:1-4 4:5-11
Micah
1 1:1-7 1:8-16 2 2:1-5 2:6-11 2:12-13 3 3:1-7 3:8-12 4 4:1-7 4:8-13 5 5:1-6 5:7-15 6 6:1-5 6:6-8 6:9-16 7 7:1-6 7:7-13 7:14-20
Nahum
1 1:1 1:2-8 1:9-15 2 2:1-10 2:11-13 3 3:1-7 3:8-19
Habakkuk
1 1:1-4 1:5-11 1:12-17 2 2:1-4 2:5-14 2:15-20 3 3:1-2 3:3-15 3:16-19
Zephaniah
1 1:1-6 1:7-13 1:14-18 2 2:1-3 2:4-7 2:8-11 2:12-15 3 3:1-7 3:8-13 3:14-20
Haggai
1 1:1-11 1:12-15 2 2:1-9 2:10-19 2:20-23
Zechariah
1 1:1-6 1:7-17 1:18-21 2 2:1-5 2:6-9 2:10-13 3 3:1-7 3:8-10 4 4:1-10 4:11-14 5 5:1-4 5:5-11 6 6:1-8 6:9-15 7 7:1-7 7:8-14 8 8:1-8 8:9-17 8:18-23 9 9:1-8 9:9-11 9:12-17 10 10:1-4 10:5-12 11 11:1-3 11:4-14 11:15-17 12 12:1-8 12:9-14 13 13:1-6 13:7-9 14 14:1-7 14:8-15 14:16-21
Malachi
1 1:1-5 1:6-14 2 2:1-9 2:10-17 3 3:1-6 3:7-12 3:13-18 4 4:1-3 4:4-6