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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Ezekiel XXXIX].</TITLE>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<CENTER>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E Z E K I E L.</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXIX.</FONT>
<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
</CENTER>
<FONT SIZE=-1>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:1-7">ver. 1-7</A>.
II. An illustration of the vastness of that destruction, in three
consequences of it: the burning of their weapons
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:8-10">ver. 8-10</A>),
the burning of their slain
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:11-16">ver. 11-16</A>),
and the feasting of the fowls with the dead bodies of those that were
unburied,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:17-22">ver. 17-22</A>.
III. A declaration of God's gracious purposes concerning his people
Israel, in this and his other providences concerning them, and a
promise of further mercy that he had yet in store for them,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:23-29">ver. 23-29</A>.</P>
</FONT>
<A NAME="Eze39_1"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_2"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_3"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_4"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_5"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_6"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_7"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Judgment of Gog and Magog.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 585.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say,
Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Behold, I <I>am</I> against thee, O Gog, the
chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
&nbsp; 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:
&nbsp; 3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause
thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
&nbsp; 4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all
thy bands, and the people that <I>is</I> with thee: I will give thee
unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and <I>to</I> the beasts of the
field to be devoured.
&nbsp; 5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken <I>it,</I>
saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell
carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I <I>am</I> the
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people
Israel; and I will not <I>let them</I> pollute my holy name any more:
and the heathen shall know that I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, the Holy One in
Israel.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
This prophecy begins as that before
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:38:3"><I>ch.</I> xxxviii. 3, 4</A>,
<I>I am against thee, and I will turn thee back</I>); for there is need
of line upon line, both for the conviction of Israel's enemies and the
comfort of Israel's friends. Here, as there, it is foretold that God
will bring this enemy <I>from the north parts,</I> as formerly the
Chaldeans were fetched from the north,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+1:14">Jer. i. 14</A>
(<I>Omne malum ab aquilone--Every evil comes from the north</I>), and,
long after, the Roman empire was overrun by the northern nations, that
he will bring him <I>upon the mountains of Israel</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
first as a place of temptation, where the measures of his iniquity
shall be filled up, and then as a place of execution, where his ruin
shall be completed. And that is it which is here enlarged upon.
1. His soldiers shall be disarmed and so disabled to carry on their
enterprise. Though the men of might may <I>find their hands,</I> yet to
what purpose, when they find it is put out of their power to do
mischief, when God shall smite their <I>bow out of their left hand</I>
and their <I>arrow out of their right?</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
Note, The weapons formed against Zion shall not prosper.
2. He and the greatest part of his army shall be slain in the field of
battle
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
<I>Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel;</I> there they sinned,
and there they shall perish, even upon the holy <I>mountains of
Israel,</I> for <I>there broke he the arrows of the bow,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+76:3">Ps. lxxvi. 3</A>.
The mountains of Israel shall be moistened, and fattened, and made
fruitful, with the blood of the enemies. "Thou shalt <I>fall upon the
open field</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>)
and shalt not be able even there to make thy escape." Even upon the
mountains he shall not find a pass that he shall be able to maintain,
and upon the open field he shall not find a road that he shall be able
to make his escape by. He and <I>his bands;</I> his regular troops, and
the people that are <I>with him</I> that follow the camp to share in
the plunder, shall all <I>fall with him.</I> Note, Those that <I>cast
in their lot</I> among wicked people
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+1:14">Prov. i. 14</A>),
that they <I>may have one purse</I> with them, must expect to <I>take
their lot with them,</I> and fare as they fare, taking the worse with
the better. There shall be such a general slaughter made that but <I>a
sixth part shall be left</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
the other five shall all be cut off. Never was army so totally routed
as this. And, for its greater infamy and reproach, their bodies shall
be a feast to the birds of prey,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
Compare
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>,
<I>Thou shalt fall,</I> for <I>I have spoken it.</I> Note, Rather shall
the most illustrious princes (Antiochus was called <I>Epiphanes--the
illustrious</I>) and the most numerous armies <I>fall to the ground</I>
than any word of God; for he that has spoken will <I>make it good.</I>
3. His country also shall be made desolate: <I>I will send a fire on
Magog</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>)
and <I>among those that dwell carelessly,</I> or confidently, <I>in the
isles,</I> that is, the nations of the Gentiles. He designed to
destroy the land of Israel, but shall not only be defeated in that
design, but shall have his own destroyed by some fire, some consuming
judgment or other. Note, Those who invade other people's rights justly
lose their own.
4. God will by all this advance the honour of his own name,
(1.) Among his people Israel; they shall hereby know more of God's
name, of his power and goodness, his care of them, his faithfulness to
them. His providence concerning them shall lead them into a better
acquaintance with him; every providence should do so, as well as every
ordinance: <I>I will make my holy name known in the midst of my
people.</I> In Judah is God known; but those that know much of God
should know more of him; we should especially increase in the knowledge
of his name as a holy name. They shall know him as a God of perfect
purity and rectitude and that hates all sin, and then it follows, <I>I
will not let them pollute my holy name any more.</I> Note, Those that
rightly know God's holy name will not dare to profane it; for it is
through ignorance of it that men make light of it and make bold with
it. And this is God's method of dealing with men, first to enlighten
their understandings, and by that means to influence the whole man; he
first makes us to know his holy name, and so keeps us from polluting it
and engages us to honour it. And this is here the blessed effect of
God's glorious appearances on the behalf of his people. Thus he
completes his favours, thus he sanctifies them, thus he makes them
blessings indeed; by them he instructs his people and reforms them.
<I>When the Almighty scattered kings for her she was white as snow in
Salmon,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+68:14">Ps. lxviii. 14</A>.
(2.) Among the heathen; those that never knew it, or would not own it,
shall <I>know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.</I> They
shall be made to know by dearbought experience that he is a God of
power, and his people's God and Saviour; and it is in vain for the
greatest potentates to contend with him; none ever hardened their heart
against him and prospered.</P>
<A NAME="Eze39_8"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_9"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_10"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_11"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_12"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_13"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_14"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_15"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_16"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_17"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_18"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_19"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_20"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_21"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_22"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Judgment of Gog.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 585.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; this
<I>is</I> the day whereof I have spoken.
&nbsp; 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:
&nbsp; 10 So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither
cut down <I>any</I> 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 G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, <I>that</I> 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 <I>noses</I>
of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his
multitude: and they shall call <I>it</I> The valley of Hamongog.
&nbsp; 12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of
them, that they may cleanse the land.
&nbsp; 13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury <I>them;</I> and it
shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified,
saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 15 And the passengers <I>that</I> pass through the land, when <I>any</I>
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.
&nbsp; 16 And also the name of the city <I>shall be</I> Hamonah. Thus shall
they cleanse the land.
&nbsp; 17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; 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, <I>even</I> a great sacrifice
upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink
blood.
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 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 G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 22 So the house of Israel shall know that I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> their
God from that day and forward.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
"<I>Behold it has come, and it is done;</I> it is as sure to be done
when the time shall come as if it were done already; <I>this is the day
whereof I have</I> long and often <I>spoken,</I> and, though it has
been long in coming, yet at length <I>it has come.</I>" Thus it was
said unto John
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+21:6">Rev. xxi. 6</A>),
<I>It is done.</I> To represent the routing of the army of Gog as very
great, here are three things specified as the consequences of it. It
was God himself that gave the defeat; we do not find that the people of
Israel drew a sword or struck a stroke: but,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. They shall <I>burn their weapons,</I> their <I>bows and arrows,</I>
which <I>fell out of their hands</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
<I>their shields and bucklers,</I> their <I>javelins, spears, leading
staves, truncheons,</I> and <I>half-pikes,</I> every thing that is
combustible. They shall not lay them up in their armouries, nor
reserve them for their own use, lest they should be tempted to put a
confidence in them, but they shall burn them; not all at once, for a
bonfire (to what purpose would be that waste?) but as they had occasion
to use them for fuel in their houses, instead of other fire-wood, so
that they should have no occasion to <I>take wood out of the field or
forests</I> for <I>seven years</I> together
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>),
such vast quantities of weapons shall there be left upon the open field
where the enemy fell, and in the roads which they passed in their
flight. The weapons were dry and fitter for fuel than green wood; and,
by saving the wood in their coppices and forests, they gave it time to
grow. Though the mountains of Israel produce plenty of all good
things, yet it becomes the people of Israel to be good husbands of
their plenty and to save what they can for the benefit of those that
come after them, as Providence shall give them opportunity to do so. We
may suppose that when those who dwelt in the cities of Israel came
forth to <I>spoil those who spoiled them,</I> and make reprisals upon
them, they found upon them silver, and gold, and ornaments; yet no
mention is made of any thing particularly that they converted to their
own use but the wood of the weapons for fuel, which is one of the
necessaries of human life, to teach us to think it enough if we be well
supplied with those, though we have but little of the delights and
gaieties of it and of those things which we may very well live without.
And every time they put fuel to the fire, and warmed themselves at it,
they would be put in mind of the number and strength of their enemies,
and the imminent peril they were in of falling into their hands, which
would help to enlarge their hearts in thankfulness to that God who had
so wonderfully, so seasonably, delivered them. As they sat by <I>the
fire</I> with their children about them (their fire-side), they might
from it take occasion to tell them what great things God had done for
them.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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,
<I>the valley of the passengers, on the east of the sea,</I> 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 <I>stop their noses.</I> 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, <I>The valley of Hamon-gog,</I> that is, <I>of the
multitude of Gog;</I> 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
<I>seven months</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
which is a further intimation that the <I>slain of the Lord</I> in this
action should be many and that great care should be taken by the house
of Israel to leave none unburied, that so <I>they might cleanse the
land</I> from the ceremonial pollution it contracted by the lying of so
many dead corpses unburied in it, for the prevention of which it was
appointed that those who were <I>hanged on a tree</I> should be
speedily <I>taken down and buried,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+21:23">Deut. xxi. 23</A>.
This is an intimation that times of eminent deliverances should be
times of reformation. The more God has done for the saving of a land
from ruin the more the inhabitants should do for the cleansing of the
land from sin.
3. Great numbers shall be employed in this work: <I>All the people of
the land</I> shall be ready to lend a helping hand to it,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
Note, Every one should contribute the utmost he can in his place
towards the cleansing of the land from the pollutions of it, and from
every thing that is a reproach to it. Sin is a common enemy, which
every man should take up arms against. <I>In publico discrimine
unusquisque homo miles est--In the season of public danger every man
becomes a soldier.</I> And whoever shall assist in this work <I>it
shall be to them a renown;</I> though the office of grave-makers, or
common scavengers of the country, seem but mean, yet, when it is for
the cleansing and purifying of the land from dead works, it shall be
mentioned to their honour. Note, Acts of humanity add much to the
renown of God's Israel; it is a credit to religion when those that
profess it are ready to every good work; and a good work it is to bury
the dead, yea, though they be strangers and enemies to the commonwealth
of Israel, for even they shall rise again. <I>It shall be a renown</I>
to them in <I>the day when God will be glorified.</I> Note, It is for
the glory of God when his Israel do that which adorns their profession;
others <I>will see their good works and glorify their Father,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+5:16">Matt. v. 16</A>.
And when God is honoured he will put honour upon his people. His glory
is their renown.
4. Some particular persons shall make it their business to search out
the dead bodies, or any part of them that should remain unburied. The
<I>people of the land</I> will soon grow weary of burying the
pollutions of the country, and therefore they shall appoint <I>men of
continual employment,</I> that shall apply themselves to it and do
nothing else till the land be thoroughly cleansed; for, otherwise, that
which is every one's work would soon become nobody's work. Note, Those
that are engaged in public work, especially for the cleansing and
reforming of a land, ought to be <I>men of continual employments,</I>
men that will stick to what they undertake and go through with it, men
that will apply themselves to it; and those that will do good according
to their opportunities will find themselves <I>continually
employed.</I>
5. Even the passengers shall be ready to give information to those
whose business it is to cleanse the land of what public nuisances they
meet with, which call for their assistance. Those that <I>pass through
the land,</I> though they will not stay to bury the dead themselves,
lest they should contract a ceremonial pollution, will yet give notice
of those that they find unburied. If they but discover a bone, they
will <I>set up a sign,</I> that <I>the buriers may come and bury
it,</I> and that, till it is buried, others may take need of touching
it, for which reason their sepulchres among the Jews were whitened,
that people might keep at a distance from them. Note, When good work
is to be done every one should lend a hand to further it, even the
passengers themselves, who must not think themselves unconcerned, in a
common calamity, or a common iniquity, to put a stop to it. Those whose
work it is to cleanse the land must not countenance any thing in it
that is defiling; though it were not the body, but only <I>the bone, of
a man,</I> that was found unburied, they must encourage those who will
give information of it (private information, by a sign, concealing the
informer), that they may take it away, and bury it out of sight. Nay,
<I>after the end of seven months,</I> which was allowed them for this
work, when all is taken away that appeared at first view, <I>they shall
search</I> for more, that what is hidden may be brought to light; they
shall <I>search out iniquity till they find none.</I> In memory of this
they shall give a new name to their city. It shall be called
<I>Hamonah--The multitude.</I> O what a multitude of our enemies have
we of this city buried! <I>Thus shall they cleanse the land,</I> with
all this care, with all this pains,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
Note, After conquering there must be cleansing. Moses appointed those
Israelites that had been employed in the war with the Midianites to
<I>purify themselves,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+31:24">Num. xxxi. 24</A>.
Having received special favours from God, <I>let us cleanse ourselves
from all filthiness.</I></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>,
&c. We find a great slaughter represented by this figure,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+19:17">Rev. xix. 17</A>,
&c., which is borrowed from this.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. There is a general invitation given,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
It is <I>to the fowl of every wing</I> and to <I>every beast of the
field,</I> from the greatest to the least, that preys upon carcases,
from the eagle to the raven, from the lion to the dog; let them all
gather themselves on every side; here is meat enough for them, and they
are all welcome. Let them come to God's <I>sacrifice,</I> to his
<I>feast;</I> so the margin reads it. Note, The judgments of God,
executed upon sin and sinners, are both a sacrifice and a feast, a
sacrifice to the justice of God and a feast to the faith and hope of
God's people. When God <I>broke the head of leviathan,</I> he gave him
to be <I>meat to Israel,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+74:14">Ps. lxxiv. 14</A>.
<I>The righteous shall rejoice</I> as at a feast <I>when he sees the
vengeance,</I> and shall <I>wash his foot,</I> as at a feast, <I>in the
blood of the wicked.</I> This sacrifice is <I>upon the mountains of
Israel;</I> these are the high places, the altars, where God has been
dishonoured by the idolatries of the people, but where he will now
glorify himself in the destruction of his enemies.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. There is great preparation made: They shall <I>eat the flesh of the
mighty</I> and <I>drink the blood of the princes of the earth,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:18,19"><I>v.</I> 18, 19</A>.
(1.) It is the flesh and blood of men that they shall be treated with.
This has sometimes been an instance of the rebellion of the inferior
creatures against man their master, which is an effect of his rebellion
against God his Maker.
(2.) It is the flesh and blood of great men, here called <I>rams,</I>
and <I>bullocks,</I> and <I>great goats, all of them fatlings of
Bashan.</I> It is the blood of <I>the princes of the earth</I> that
they shall regale themselves with. What a mortification is this to the
princes of the blood, as they call themselves, that God can make that
blood, that royal blood, which swells their veins, a feast for the
birds and beasts of prey!
(3.) It is the flesh and blood of wicked men, the enemies of God's
church and people, that they are invited to. They had accounted the
Israel of God as <I>sheep for the slaughter,</I> and now they shall
themselves be so accounted; they had thus used the <I>dead bodies of
Gods' servants</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+79:2">Ps. lxxix. 2</A>),
or would have done, and now it shall come upon themselves.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
3. They shall all be fed, they shall all be feasted to the full
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:19"><I>v.</I> 19, 20</A>):
"<I>You shall eat fat, and drink blood,</I> which are satiating
surfeiting things. The sacrifice is great and the feast upon the
sacrifice is accordingly: <I>You shall be filled at my table.</I>"
Note, God keeps a table for the inferior creatures; he <I>provides food
for all flesh.</I> The <I>eyes of all wait upon him,</I> and he
<I>satisfies their desires,</I> for he keeps a plentiful table. And if
the birds and beasts shall be filled at God's table, which he has
prepared for them, much more shall his children be abundantly satisfied
with the goodness of his house, even of his holy temple. They shall be
filled <I>with horses and chariots;</I> that is, those who ride in the
chariots, <I>mighty men and men of war,</I> who triumphed over nations,
are now themselves triumphed over by the <I>ravens of the valley</I>
and the <I>young eagles,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+30:17">Prov. xxx. 17</A>.
They thought to make an easy prey of God's Israel, and now they are
themselves an easy prey to the birds and beasts. See how <I>evil
pursues sinners</I> even after death. This exposing of their bodies to
be a prey is but a type and sign of those terrors which, after death,
shall prey upon their consciences (which the poetical fictions
represented by a vulture continually pecking at the heart), and this
shame is but an earnest of the everlasting shame and contempt they
shall rise to.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>):
<I>All the heathen shall see</I> and observe <I>my judgments that I
have executed,</I> and thereby my <I>glory shall be set among them.</I>
This principle shall be admitted and established among them more than
ever, that the God of Israel is a great and glorious God. He is known
to be so even among the heathen, that have not, or read not, his
written word, by <I>the judgments which he executes.</I>
2. It shall be much for the satisfaction of his people; for they shall
hereby be made to know that he is their God
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>):
<I>The house of Israel shall know,</I> abundantly to their comfort,
that <I>I am the Lord their God from that day and forward.</I>
(1.) He will be so from that day and forward. God's present mercies are
pledges and assurances of further mercies. If God evidence to us that
he is our God he assures us that he will never leave us. <I>This God is
our God for ever and ever.</I>
(2.) They shall know it with more satisfaction from that day and
forward. They had sometimes been ready to question whether the Lord
was with them or no; but the events of this day shall silence their
doubts, and, the matter being thus settled and made clear, it shall not
be doubted of for the future. As boasting in themselves is hereby for
ever excluded, so boasting in God is hereby for ever secured.</P>
<A NAME="Eze39_23"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_24"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_25"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_26"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_27"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_28"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze39_29"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Mercy Promised to Israel.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 585.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>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.
&nbsp; 24 According to their uncleanness and according to their
transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.
&nbsp; 25 Therefore thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; 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;
&nbsp; 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 <I>them</I> afraid.
&nbsp; 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;
&nbsp; 28 Then shall they know that I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> 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.
&nbsp; 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
G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:23,24"><I>v.</I> 23, 24</A>):
<I>The heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity
for their iniquity,</I> that iniquity which they learned from the
heathen their neighbours, <I>because they trespassed against God.</I>
That was the true reason why God <I>hid his face from them</I> and
<I>gave them into the hand of their enemies.</I> It was <I>according to
their uncleanness</I> and <I>according to their transgressions.</I> Now
the evincing of this will not only silence their reflections on God,
but will redound greatly to his honour; when the troubles of God's
people are over, and we see the end of them, we shall better understand
them than we did at first. And it will appear much for the glory of God
when the world is made to know,
1. That God punishes sin even in his own people, because he hates it
most in those that are nearest and dearest to him,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+3:2">Amos iii. 2</A>.
It is the praise of justice to be impartial.
2. That, when God gives up his people for a prey, it is to correct them
and reform them, not to gratify their enemies,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:7,42:24">Isa. x. 7; xlii. 24</A>.
Let not them therefore exalt themselves.
3. That no sooner do God's people humble themselves under the rod than
he returns in mercy to them.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:25,26"><I>v.</I> 25, 26</A>):
<I>Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob.</I></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. Why now? Now God will <I>have mercy upon the whole house of
Israel,</I>
(1.) Because it is time for him to stand up for his own glory, which
suffers in their sufferings: <I>Now will I be jealous for my holy
name,</I> that that may no longer be reproached.
(2.) Because now they repent of their sins: They <I>have borne their
shame, and all their trespasses.</I> 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 <I>when they dwelt safely in their
land and none made them afraid.</I> 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, <I>therefore</I> they
trespassed because <I>they dwelt safely.</I> Outward safety is often a
cause of inward security, and that is an inlet to all sin,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+73:1-28">Ps. lxxiii.</A>
Now this they are willing to bear the shame of, and acknowledge that
God has justly brought them into a land of trouble, where every one
makes them afraid, because they had trespassed against him in a land of
peace, where none made them afraid. And, when they thus humble
themselves under humbling providences, God will bring again their
captivity: and,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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 <I>sanctified in
them in the sight of many nations,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>.
As God was reproached in the reproach they were under during their
captivity, so he will be sanctified in their reformation and the making
of them a holy people again, and will be glorified in their restoration
and the making of them a happy glorious people again.
(2.) Then they shall have the benefit of it
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>):
<I>They shall know that I am the Lord their God.</I> Note, The
providences of God concerning his people, that are designed for their
good, have the grace of God going along with them to teach them to eye
God as the Lord, and their God, in all; and then they do them good.
They shall eye him as the Lord and their God,
[1.] In their calamities, that it was he who <I>caused them to be led
into captivity;</I> and therefore they must not only submit to his
will, but endeavour to answer his end in it.
[2.] In their comfort, that it is he who has <I>gathered them to their
own land,</I> and left none of them among the heathen. Note, By the
variety of events that befal us, if we look up to God in all, we may
come to acquaint ourselves better with his various attributes and
designs.
(3.) Then God and they will never part,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>.
[1.] God will <I>pour out his Spirit</I> upon them, to prevent their
departures from him and returns to folly again, and to keep them close
to their duty. And then,
[2.] He will <I>never hide his face any more from them,</I> will never
suspend his favour as he had done; he will never turn from doing them
good, and, in order to that, he will effectually provide that they
shall never turn from doing him service. Note, The indwelling of the
Spirit is an infallible pledge of the continuance of God's favour. He
will hide his face no more from those on whom he has <I>poured out his
Spirit.</I> When therefore we pray that God would never <I>cast us away
from his presence</I> we must as earnestly pray that, in order to that,
he would <I>never take his Holy Spirit away from us,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+51:11">Ps. li. 11</A>.</P>
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