mh_parser/vol_split/26 - Ezekiel/Chapter 28.xml

<div2 id="Ez.xxix" n="xxix" next="Ez.xxx" prev="Ez.xxviii" progress="60.79%" title="Chapter XXVIII">
<h2 id="Ez.xxix-p0.1">E Z E K I E L.</h2>
<h3 id="Ez.xxix-p0.2">CHAP. XXVIII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ez.xxix-p1" shownumber="no">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, <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.1-Ezek.28.10" parsed="|Ezek|28|1|28|10" passage="Eze 28:1-10">ver. 1-10</scripRef>. II. A lamentation for
the king of Tyre, when he has thus fallen, though he falls by his
own iniquity, <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.11-Ezek.28.19" parsed="|Ezek|28|11|28|19" passage="Eze 28:11-19">ver.
11-19</scripRef>. III. A prophecy of the destruction of Zidon,
which as in the neighbourhood of Tyre and had a dependence upon it,
<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.20-Ezek.28.23" parsed="|Ezek|28|20|28|23" passage="Eze 28:20-23">ver. 20-23</scripRef>. IV. A
promise of the restoration of the Israel of God, though in the day
of their calamity they were insulted over by their neighbours,
<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.24-Ezek.28.26" parsed="|Ezek|28|24|28|26" passage="Eze 28:24-26">ver. 24-26</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Ez.xxix-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28" parsed="|Ezek|28|0|0|0" passage="Eze 28" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ez.xxix-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.1-Ezek.28.10" parsed="|Ezek|28|1|28|10" passage="Eze 28:1-10" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxix-p1.7">
<h4 id="Ez.xxix-p1.8">Fall of the Prince of Tyre. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxix-p1.9">b. c.</span> 588.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxix-p2" shownumber="no">1 The word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxix-p2.1">Lord</span> came again unto me, saying,   2 Son of
man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxix-p2.2">God</span>; Because thine heart <i>is</i> lifted up,
and thou hast said, I <i>am</i> a God, I sit <i>in</i> the seat of
God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou <i>art</i> a man, and not
God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:   3
Behold, thou <i>art</i> 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
<i>and</i> by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and
thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:   6 Therefore
thus saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxix-p2.3">God</span>; 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
<i>them that are</i> slain in the midst of the seas.   9 Wilt
thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I <i>am</i> God? but
thou <i>shalt be</i> 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
<i>it,</i> saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxix-p2.4">God</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxix-p3" shownumber="no">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 <i>message
to him from God,</i> which the prophet must send him, whether he
will hear or whether he will forbear.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxix-p4" shownumber="no">I. He must tell him of his pride. His
people are proud (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.3" parsed="|Ezek|27|3|0|0" passage="Eze 27:3"><i>ch.</i> xxvii.
3</scripRef>) and so is he; and they shall both be made to know
that <i>God resists the proud.</i> Let us see, 1. What were the
expressions of his pride: <i>His heart was lifted up,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.2" parsed="|Ezek|28|2|0|0" passage="Eze 28:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. He had a great conceit
of himself, was puffed up with an opinion of his own sufficiency,
and looked with disdain upon all about him. Out of the abundance of
the pride of his heart he said, <i>I am a god;</i> he did not only
say it in his heart, but had the impudence to speak it out. God has
said of princes, <i>They are gods</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.82.6" parsed="|Ps|82|6|0|0" passage="Ps 82:6">Ps. lxxxii. 6</scripRef>); but it does not become them to
say so of themselves; it is a high affront to him who is <i>God
alone,</i> and will not give his glory to another. He thought that
the city of Tyre had as necessary a dependence upon him as the
world has upon the God that made it, and that he was himself
independent as God and unaccountable to any. He thought himself to
have as much wisdom and strength as God himself, and as
incontestable an authority, and that his prerogatives were as
absolute and his word as much a law as the word of God. He
challenged divine honours, and expected to be praised and admired
as a god, and doubted not to be deified, among other heroes, after
his death as a great benefactor to the world. Thus the king of
Babylon said, <i>I will be like the Most High</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.14.14" parsed="|Isa|14|14|0|0" passage="Isa 14:14">Isa. xiv. 14</scripRef>), not like the <i>Most
Holy. "I am the strong God,</i> and therefore will not be
contradicted, because I cannot be controlled. <i>I sit in the seat
of God;</i> I sit <i>as high</i> as God, my throne equal with his.
<i>Divisum imperium cum Jove Cæsar habet—Cæsar divides dominion
with Jove.</i> I sit as safely as God, as safely <i>in the heart of
the seas,</i> and as far out of the reach of danger, as he in the
<i>height of heaven.</i>" He thinks his guards of men of war about
his throne as pompous and potent as the hosts of angels that are
about the throne of God. He is put in mind of his meanness and
mortality, and, since he needs to be told, he shall be told, that
self-evident truth, <i>Thou art a man, and not God,</i> a depending
creature; thou art <i>flesh, and not spirit,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.31.3" parsed="|Isa|31|3|0|0" passage="Isa 31:3">Isa. xxxi. 3</scripRef>. Note, Men must be made to know
that they are <i>but men,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p4.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.9.20" parsed="|Ps|9|20|0|0" passage="Ps 9:20">Ps. ix.
20</scripRef>. The greatest wits, the greatest potentates, the
greatest saints, are <i>men, and not gods.</i> Jesus Christ was
both God and man. The king of Tyre, though he has such a mighty
influence upon all about him, and with the help of his riches bears
a mighty sway, though he has tribute and presents brought to his
court with as much devotion as if they were sacrifices to his
altar, though he is flattered by his courtiers and made a god of by
his poets, yet, after all, he is <i>but a man;</i> he knows it; he
fears it. But <i>he sets his heart as the heart of God;</i> "Thou
hast conceited thyself to be a god, hast compared thyself with God,
thinking thyself as wise and strong, and as fit to govern the
world, as he." It was the ruin of our first parents, and ours in
them, that they would be <i>as gods,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p4.7" osisRef="Bible:Gen.3.5" parsed="|Gen|3|5|0|0" passage="Ge 3:5">Gen. iii. 5</scripRef>. And still that corrupt nature
which inclines men to set up themselves as their own masters, to do
what they will, and their own carvers, to have what they will,
their own end, to live to themselves, and their own felicity, to
enjoy themselves, <i>sets their hearts as the heart of God,</i>
invades his prerogatives, and catches at the flowers of his
crown—a presumption that cannot go unpunished.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxix-p5" shownumber="no">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 <i>wiser than
Daniel,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.3" parsed="|Ezek|28|3|0|0" passage="Eze 28:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. We
found, before, that Daniel, though now but a young man, was
celebrated for his prevalency in prayer, <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.14.14" parsed="|Ezek|14|14|0|0" passage="Eze 14:14"><i>ch.</i> xiv. 14</scripRef>. Here we find he was
famous for his prudence in the management of the affairs of this
world, a great scholar and statesman, and withal a great saint, and
yet not a prince, but a poor captive. It was strange that under
such external disadvantages his lustre should shine forth, so that
he had become <i>wise to a proverb.</i> When the king of Tyre
dreams himself to be a god he says, I am <i>wiser than Daniel.
There is no secret that they can hide from thee.</i> Probably he
challenged all about him to <i>prove him with questions,</i> as
Solomon was proved, and he had unriddled all their enigmas, had
solved all their problems, and none of them all could puzzle him.
He had perhaps been successful in discovering plots, and diving
into the counsels of the neighbouring princes, and therefore
thought himself omniscient, and that no thought could be withholden
from him; therefore he said, <i>I am a god.</i> Note, <i>Knowledge
puffeth up;</i> it is hard to know much and not to know it too well
and to be elevated with it. He that was <i>wiser than Daniel</i>
was prouder than Lucifer. Those therefore that are knowing must
study to be humble and to evidence that they are so. (2.) His
wealth. That way his wisdom led him; it is not said that by his
wisdom he searched into the arcana either of nature or government,
modelled the state better than it was, or made better laws, or
advanced the interests of the commonwealth of learning; but his
<i>wisdom and understanding</i> were of use to him in
<i>traffic.</i> As some of the kings of Judah <i>loved
husbandry</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.26.10" parsed="|2Chr|26|10|0|0" passage="2Ch 26:10">2 Chron. xxvi.
10</scripRef>), so the king of Tyre loved merchandise, and by it he
<i>got riches, increased his riches, and filled his treasures with
gold and silver,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.4-Ezek.28.5" parsed="|Ezek|28|4|28|5" passage="Eze 28:4,5"><i>v.</i> 4,
5</scripRef>. See what the wisdom of this world is; those are cried
up as the wisest men that know how to get money and by right or
wrong to raise estates; and yet really <i>this their way is their
folly,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.13" parsed="|Ps|49|13|0|0" passage="Ps 49:13">Ps. xlix. 13</scripRef>. It
was the folly of the king of Tyre, [1.] That he attributed the
increase of his wealth to himself and not to the providence of God,
forgetting him who <i>gave him power to get wealth,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p5.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.8.17-Deut.8.18" parsed="|Deut|8|17|8|18" passage="De 8:17,18">Deut. viii. 17, 18</scripRef>. [2.] That he
thought himself a wise man because he was a rich man; whereas a
fool may have an estate (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p5.7" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.2.19" parsed="|Eccl|2|19|0|0" passage="Ec 2:19">Eccl. ii.
19</scripRef>), yea, and a fool may get an estate, for the world
has been often observed to favour such, <i>when bread is not to the
wise,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p5.8" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.11" parsed="|Eccl|9|11|0|0" passage="Ec 9:11">Eccl. ix. 11</scripRef>. [3.]
That <i>his heart was lifted up because of his riches,</i> because
of the increase of his wealth, which made him so haughty and
secure, so insolent and imperious, and which <i>set his heart as
the heart of God.</i> The <i>man of sin,</i> when he had a great
deal of worldly pomp and power, <i>showed himself as a god,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p5.9" osisRef="Bible:2Thess.2.4" parsed="|2Thess|2|4|0|0" passage="2Th 2:4">2 Thess. ii. 4</scripRef>. Those who
are rich in this world have therefore need to charge that upon
themselves which the word of God charges upon them, <i>that they be
not high-minded,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p5.10" osisRef="Bible:1Tim.6.17" parsed="|1Tim|6|17|0|0" passage="1Ti 6:17">1 Tim. vi.
17</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxix-p6" shownumber="no">II. Since <i>pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall,</i> 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 (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.6" parsed="|Ezek|28|6|0|0" passage="Eze 28:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>), therefore thou shalt not be
long a man," <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.7" parsed="|Ezek|28|7|0|0" passage="Eze 28:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>.
Observe here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxix-p7" shownumber="no">1. The instruments of his destruction: <i>I
will bring strangers upon thee</i>—the Chaldeans, whom we do not
find mentioned among the many nations and countries that traded
with Tyre, <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.1-Ezek.27.36" parsed="|Ezek|27|1|27|36" passage="Eze 27:1-36"><i>ch.</i>
xxvii.</scripRef> If any of those nations had been brought against
it, they would have had some compassion upon it, for old
acquaintance-sake; but these strangers will have none. They are
people of a <i>strange language,</i> which the king of Tyre
himself, wise as he is, perhaps understands not. They are the
<i>terrible of the nations;</i> it was an army made up of many
nations, and it was at this time the most formidable both for
strength and fury. These God has at command, and these he will
bring upon the king of Tyre.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxix-p8" shownumber="no">2. The extremity of the destruction:
<i>They shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy
wisdom</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.7" parsed="|Ezek|28|7|0|0" passage="Eze 28:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>),
against all those things which thou gloriest in as thy beauty and
the production of thy wisdom. Note, It is just with God that our
enemies should make that their prey which we have made our pride.
The king of Tyre's palace, his treasury, his city, his navy, his
army, these he glories in as his brightness, these, he thinks, made
him illustrious and glorious as a god on earth. But all these the
victorious enemy shall defile, shall deface, shall deform. He
thought them sacred, things that none durst touch; but the
conquerors shall seize them as common things, and spoil the
brightness of them. But, whatever becomes of what he has, surely
his person is sacred. No (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.8" parsed="|Ezek|28|8|0|0" passage="Eze 28:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>): <i>They shall bring thee down to the pit,</i> to the
grave; thou shalt <i>die the death.</i> And, (1.) It shall not be
an honourable death, but an ignominious one. He shall be so
vilified in his death that he may despair of being deified after
his death. He shall die <i>the deaths of those that are slain in
the midst of the seas,</i> that have no honour done them at their
death, but their dead bodies are immediately thrown overboard,
without any ceremony or mark of distinction, to be a feast for the
fish. Tyre is <i>likely to be destroyed in the midst of the sea</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.32" parsed="|Ezek|27|32|0|0" passage="Eze 27:32"><i>ch.</i> xxvii. 32</scripRef>) and
the prince of Tyre shall fare no better than the people. (2.) It
shall not be a happy death, but a miserable one. He shall <i>die
the deaths of the uncircumcised</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.10" parsed="|Ezek|28|10|0|0" passage="Eze 28:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>), of those that are strangers
to God and not in covenant with him, and therefore die under his
wrath and curse. It is <i>deaths,</i> a double death, temporal and
eternal, the death both of body and soul. He shall die the
<i>second death;</i> that is dying miserably indeed. The sentence
of death here passed upon the king of Tyre is ratified by a divine
authority: <i>I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.</i> And what he
has said he will do. None can gainsay it, nor will he unsay it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxix-p9" shownumber="no">3. The effectual disproof that this will be
of all his pretensions to deity (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.9" parsed="|Ezek|28|9|0|0" passage="Eze 28:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>): "When the conqueror sets his
sword to thy breast, and thou seest no way of escape, <i>wilt thou
then say, I am God?</i> Wilt thou then have such a conceit of
thyself as thou now hast? No; thy being overpowered by death, and
by the fear of it, will force thee to own that thou art not a god,
but a weak, timorous, trembling, dying man. <i>In the hand of him
that slays thee</i> (in the hand of God, and of the instruments
that he employed) <i>thou shalt be a man, and not God,</i> utterly
unable to resist, and help thyself." <i>I have said, You are gods;
but you shall die like men,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.82.6-Ps.82.7" parsed="|Ps|82|6|82|7" passage="Ps 82:6,7">Ps.
lxxxii. 6, 7</scripRef>. Note, Those who pretend to be rivals with
God shall be forced one way or other to let fall their claims.
Death at furthest, when we come into his hand, will make us know
that we are men.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ez.xxix-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.11-Ezek.28.19" parsed="|Ezek|28|11|28|19" passage="Eze 28:11-19" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxix-p9.4">
<h4 id="Ez.xxix-p9.5">Fall of the Prince of Tyre. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxix-p9.6">b. c.</span> 588.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxix-p10" shownumber="no">11 Moreover the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxix-p10.1">Lord</span> 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 <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxix-p10.2">God</span>; 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
<i>was</i> 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 <i>art</i> the anointed cherub that covereth; and I
have set thee <i>so:</i> thou wast upon the holy mountain of God;
thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
  15 Thou <i>wast</i> 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 <i>shalt</i> thou <i>be</i> any more.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxix-p11" shownumber="no">As after the prediction of the ruin of Tyre
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.26.1-Ezek.26.21" parsed="|Ezek|26|1|26|21" passage="Eze 26:1-21"><i>ch.</i> xxvi.</scripRef>)
followed a pathetic lamentation for it (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.1-Ezek.27.36" parsed="|Ezek|27|1|27|36" passage="Eze 27:1-36"><i>ch.</i> xxvii.</scripRef>), so after the ruin of
the king of Tyre is foretold it is bewailed.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxix-p12" shownumber="no">I. This is commonly understood of the
prince who then reigned over Tyre, spoken to, <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.2" parsed="|Ezek|28|2|0|0" passage="Eze 28:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. His name was <i>Ethbaal,</i> or
<i>Ithobalus,</i> as Diodorus Siculus calls him that was king of
Tyre when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it. He was, it seems, upon all
external accounts an accomplished man, very great and famous; but
his iniquity was his ruin. Many expositors have suggested that
besides the literal sense of this lamentation there is an allegory
in it, and that it is an allusion to the fall of the angels that
sinned, who undid themselves by their pride. And (as is usual in
texts that have a mystical meaning) some passages here refer
primarily to the king of Tyre, as that of his merchandises, others
to the angels, as that of being <i>in the holy mountain of God.</i>
But, if there be any thing mystical in it (as perhaps there may), I
shall rather refer it to the fall of Adam, which seems to be
glanced at, <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.13" parsed="|Ezek|28|13|0|0" passage="Eze 28:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>.
<i>Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God, and that in the day
thou wast created.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxix-p13" shownumber="no">II. Some think that by <i>the king of
Tyre</i> 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 <i>prince</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.2" parsed="|Ezek|28|2|0|0" passage="Eze 28:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>); but he that is here lamented is
called <i>king.</i> The court of Tyre with its kings had for many
ages been famous; but sin ruins it. Now we may observe two things
here:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxix-p14" shownumber="no">1. What was the renown of the king of Tyre.
He is here spoken of as having lived in great splendour, <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.12-Ezek.28.15" parsed="|Ezek|28|12|28|15" passage="Eze 28:12-15"><i>v.</i> 12-15</scripRef>. He as a man, but
it is here owned that he was a very considerable man and one that
made a mighty figure in his day. (1.) He far exceeded other men.
Hiram and other kings of Tyre had done so in their time; and the
reigning king perhaps had not come short of any of them: <i>Thou
sealest up the sum full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.</i> But
the powers of human nature and the prosperity of human life seemed
in him to be at the highest pitch. He was looked upon to be as wise
as the reason of men could make him, and as happy as the wealth of
this world and the enjoyment of it could make him; in him you might
see the utmost that both could do; and therefore <i>seal up the
sum,</i> for nothing can be added; he is a complete man, perfect
<i>in suo genere—in his kind.</i> (2.) He seemed to be as wise and
happy as Adam in innocency (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.13" parsed="|Ezek|28|13|0|0" passage="Eze 28:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>): "<i>Thou hast been in Eden,</i> even <i>in the
garden of God;</i> thou hast lived as it were in paradise all thy
days, hast had a full enjoyment of every thing that is <i>good for
food</i> or <i>pleasant to the eyes,</i> and an uncontroverted
dominion over all about thee, as Adam had." One instance of the
magnificence of the king of Tyre is, that he outdid all others
princes in jewels, which those have the greatest plenty of that
trade most abroad, as he did: <i>Every precious stone</i> was
<i>his covering.</i> There is a great variety of precious stones;
but he had of every sort and in such plenty that besides what were
treasured up in his cabinet, and were the ornaments of his crown,
he had his clothes trimmed with them; they were his
<i>covering.</i> Nay (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.14" parsed="|Ezek|28|14|0|0" passage="Eze 28:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>), he <i>walked up and down in the midst of the stones
of fire,</i> that is, these precious stones, which glittered and
sparkled like fire. His rooms were in a manner set round with
jewels, so that he walked in the midst of them, and then fancied
himself as glorious as if, like God, he had been surrounded by so
many angels, who are compared to a <i>flame of fire.</i> And, if he
be such an admirer of precious stones as to think them as bright as
angels, no wonder that he is such an admirer of himself as to think
himself as great as God. Nine several sorts of previous stones are
here named, which were all in the high priest's ephod. Perhaps they
are particularly named because he, in his pride, used to speak
particularly of them, and tell those about him, with a great deal
of foolish pleasure, "This is such a precious stone, of such a
value, and so and so are its virtues." Thus is he upbraided with
his vanity. <i>Gold</i> is mentioned last, as far inferior in value
to those precious stones; and he used to speak of it accordingly.
Another thing that made him think his palace a paradise was the
curious music he had, the <i>tabrets and pipes,</i>
hand-instruments and wind-instruments. The <i>workmanship</i> of
these was extraordinary, and they were prepared for him on purpose;
prepared <i>in thee,</i> the pronoun is feminine—<i>in thee,</i> O
Tyre! or it denotes that the king was effeminate in doting on such
things. They were prepared <i>in the day he was created,</i> that
is, either born, or created king; they were made on purpose to
celebrate the joys either of his birth-day or of his
coronation-day. These he prided himself much in, and would have all
that came to see his palace take notice of them. (3.) He looked
like an incarnate angel (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.14" parsed="|Ezek|28|14|0|0" passage="Eze 28:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>): <i>Thou art the anointed cherub that covers</i> or
<i>protects;</i> that is, he looked upon himself as a guardian
angel to his people, so bright, so strong, so faithful, appointed
to this office and qualified for it. Anointed kings should be to
their subjects as anointed cherubim, that cover them with the wings
of their power; and, when they are such, God will own them. Their
advancement was from him: <i>I have set thee so.</i> Some think,
because mention was made of Eden, that it refers to the cherub set
on the east of Eden to cover it, <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Gen.3.24" parsed="|Gen|3|24|0|0" passage="Ge 3:24">Gen.
iii. 24</scripRef>. He thought himself as able to guard his city
from all invaders as that angel was for his charge. Or it may refer
to the cherubim in the most holy place, whose wings covered the
ark; he thought himself as bright as one of them. (4.) He appeared
in as much splendour as the high priest when he was clothed with
his garments for glory and beauty: "<i>Thou wast upon the holy
mountain of God,</i> as president of the temple built on that holy
mountain; thou didst look as great, and with as much majesty and
authority, as ever the high priest did when he walked in the
temple, which was <i>garnished with precious stones</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p14.6" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.3.6" parsed="|2Chr|3|6|0|0" passage="2Ch 3:6">2 Chron. iii. 6</scripRef>), and had his habit
on, which had precious stones both in the breast and on the
shoulders; in that he seemed to <i>walk in the midst of the stones
of fire.</i>" Thus glorious is the king of Tyre; at least he thinks
himself so.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxix-p15" shownumber="no">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 (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.15" parsed="|Ezek|28|15|0|0" passage="Eze 28:15"><i>v.</i>
15</scripRef>): "<i>Thou wast perfect in thy ways;</i> thou didst
prosper in all thy affairs and every thing went well with thee;
thou hadst not only a clear, but a bright reputation, <i>from the
day thou wast created,</i> the day of thy accession to the throne,
<i>till iniquity was found in thee;</i> and that spoiled all." This
may perhaps allude to the deplorable case of the angels that fell,
and of our first parents, both of whom <i>were perfect in their
ways till iniquity was found in them.</i> And when iniquity was
once <i>found in him</i> it increased; he grew worse and worse, as
appears (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.18" parsed="|Ezek|28|18|0|0" passage="Eze 28:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>):
"<i>Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries;</i> thou hast lost the
benefit of all that which thou thoughtest sacred, and in which, as
in a sanctuary, thou thoughtest to take refuge; these thou hast
<i>defiled,</i> and so exposed thyself <i>by the multitude of thy
iniquities.</i>" Now observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxix-p16" shownumber="no">(1.) What the iniquity was that was the
ruin of the king of Tyre. [1.] The <i>iniquity of his traffic</i>
(so it is called, <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.18" parsed="|Ezek|28|18|0|0" passage="Eze 28:18"><i>v.</i>
18</scripRef>), both his and his people's, for their sin is charged
upon him, because he connived at it and set them a bad example
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.16" parsed="|Ezek|28|16|0|0" passage="Eze 28:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>): <i>By the
multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee
with violence,</i> and thus <i>thou hast sinned.</i> The king had
so much to do with his merchandise, and was so wholly intent upon
the gains of that, that he took no care to do justice, to give
redress to those that suffered wrong and to protect them from
violence; nay, in the multiplicity of business, wrong was done to
many by oversight; and in his dealings he made use of his power to
invade the rights of those he dealt with. Note, Those that have
much to do in the world are in great danger of doing much amiss;
and it is hard to deal with many without violence to some. Trades
are called mysteries; but too many make them mysteries of iniquity.
[2.] His pride and vain-glory (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.17" parsed="|Ezek|28|17|0|0" passage="Eze 28:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>): "<i>Thy heart was lifted up
because of thy beauty;</i> thou wast in love with thyself, and thy
own shadow. And thus <i>thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of
the brightness,</i> the pomp and splendour, wherein thou livedst."
He gazed so much upon this that it dazzled his eyes and prevented
him from seeing his way. He appeared so puffed up with his
greatness that it bereaved him both of his wisdom and of the
reputation of it. He really became a <i>fool in glorying.</i> Those
make a bad bargain for themselves that part with their wisdom for
the gratifying of their gaiety, and, to please a vain humour, lose
a real excellency.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxix-p17" shownumber="no">(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
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.16" parsed="|Ezek|28|16|0|0" passage="Eze 28:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>): <i>I will
cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God.</i> His kingly
power was high as a <i>mountain,</i> setting him above others; it
was a <i>mountain of God,</i> for the powers that be are ordained
of God, and have something in them that is sacred; but, having
abused his power, he is reckoned profane, and is therefore deposed
and expelled. He disgraces the crown he wears, and so has forfeited
it, and shall be destroyed <i>from the midst of the stones of
fire,</i> the precious stones with which his palace was garnished,
as the temple was; and they shall be no protection to him. [2.] He
was exposed to contempt and disgrace, and trampled upon by his
neighbours: "<i>I will cast thee to the ground</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.17" parsed="|Ezek|28|17|0|0" passage="Eze 28:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>), will cast thee among
the <i>pavement-stones,</i> from the midst of the <i>precious
stones,</i> and will <i>lay thee</i> a rueful spectacle <i>before
kings, that they may behold thee</i> and take warning by thee not
to be proud and oppressive." [3.] He was quite consumed, his city
and he in it: <i>I will bring forth a fire from the midst of
thee.</i> The conquerors, when they have plundered the city, will
kindle a fire in the heart of it, which shall lay it, and the
palace particularly, in ashes. Or it may be taken more generally
for the fire of God's judgments, which shall devour both prince and
people, and bring all the glory of both <i>to ashes upon the
earth;</i> and this fire shall be <i>brought forth from the midst
of thee.</i> All God's judgments upon sinners take rise from
themselves; they are devoured by a fire of their own kindling. [4.]
He was hereby made a terrible example of divine vengeance. Thus he
is reduced <i>in the sight of all those that behold him</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.18" parsed="|Ezek|28|18|0|0" passage="Eze 28:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>): <i>Those
that know him shall be astonished at him,</i> and shall wonder how
one that stood so high could be brought so low. The king of Tyre's
palace, like the temple at Jerusalem, when it is destroyed shall be
<i>an astonishment and a hissing,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.7.20-2Chr.7.21" parsed="|2Chr|7|20|7|21" passage="2Ch 7:20,21">2 Chron. vii. 20, 21</scripRef>. So fell the king of
Tyre.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ez.xxix-p17.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.20-Ezek.28.26" parsed="|Ezek|28|20|28|26" passage="Eze 28:20-26" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxix-p17.6">
<h4 id="Ez.xxix-p17.7">The Fall of Zidon. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxix-p17.8">b. c.</span> 588.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxix-p18" shownumber="no">20 Again the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxix-p18.1">Lord</span> came unto me, saying,   21 Son of man,
set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against it,   22 And
say, Thus saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxix-p18.2">God</span>;
Behold, I <i>am</i> against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified
in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I <i>am</i> the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxix-p18.3">Lord</span>, 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 <i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxix-p18.4">Lord</span>.   24 And there shall be no more
a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor <i>any</i> grieving
thorn of all <i>that are</i> round about them, that despised them;
and they shall know that I <i>am</i> the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxix-p18.5">God</span>.   25 Thus saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxix-p18.6">God</span>; 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 <i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxix-p18.7">Lord</span> their God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxix-p19" shownumber="no">God's glory is his great end, both in all
the good and in all the evil which <i>proceed out of the mouth of
the Most High;</i> 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>I am against
thee, O Zidon! and I will be glorified in the midst of thee,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.22" parsed="|Ezek|28|22|0|0" passage="Eze 28:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>. And again,
"Those that would not know by gentler methods shall be made to
<i>know that I am the Lord,</i> and I alone, and that I am a just
and jealous God, <i>when I shall have executed judgments in
her,</i> destroying judgments, when I shall have done execution
according to justice and according to the sentence passed, and so
shall be <i>sanctified in her.</i>" The Zidonians, it should seem,
were more addicted to idolatry than the Tyrians were, who, being
men of business and large conversation, were less under the power
of bigotry and superstition. The Zidonians were noted for the
worship of Ashtaroth; Solomon introduced it, <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.11.5" parsed="|1Kgs|11|5|0|0" passage="1Ki 11:5">1 Kings xi. 5</scripRef>. Jezebel was daughter to the
king of Zidon, who brought the worship of Baal into Israel
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.16.31" parsed="|1Kgs|16|31|0|0" passage="1Ki 16:31">1 Kings xvi. 31</scripRef>); so that
God had been much dishonoured by the Zidonians. Now, says he, <i>I
will be glorified, I will be sanctified.</i> The Zidonians were
borderers upon the land of Israel, where God was known, and where
they might have got the knowledge of him and have learned to
glorify him; but, instead of that, they seduced Israel to the
worship of their idols. Note, When God is sanctified he is
glorified, for his holiness is his glory; and those whom he is not
sanctified and glorified by he will be sanctified and glorified
upon, by executing judgments upon them, which declare him a just
avenger of his own and his people's injured honour. The judgments
that shall be executed upon Zidon are war and pestilence, two
wasting depopulating judgments, <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p19.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.23" parsed="|Ezek|28|23|0|0" passage="Eze 28:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>. They are God's messengers,
which he sends on his errands, and they shall accomplish that for
which he sends them. <i>Pestilence</i> and <i>blood</i> shall be
sent <i>into her streets;</i> there the dead bodies of those shall
lie who perished, some by the plague, occasioned perhaps through
ill diet when the city was besieged, and some by the sword of the
enemy, most likely the Chaldean armies, when the city was taken,
and all were put to the sword. Thus the wounded shall be judged;
when they are dying of their wounds they shall judge themselves,
and others shall say, They justly fall. Or, as some read it,
<i>They shall be punished by the sword,</i> that sword which has
commission to destroy <i>on every side.</i> It is God that judges,
and he will overcome. Nor is it Tyre and Zidon only on which God
would execute judgments, but on all those that despised his people
Israel, and triumphed in their calamities; for this was now God's
controversy with the nations that were <i>round about them,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p19.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.26" parsed="|Ezek|28|26|0|0" passage="Eze 28:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>. Note, When
God's people are under his correcting hand for their faults he
takes care, as he did concerning malefactors that were scourged,
<i>that they shall not seem vile</i> to those that are about them,
and therefore takes it ill of those who despise them and so <i>help
forward the affliction</i> when he is but <i>a little
displeased,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p19.6" osisRef="Bible:Zech.1.15" parsed="|Zech|1|15|0|0" passage="Zec 1:15">Zech. i.
15</scripRef>. God regards them even in their low estate; and
therefore let not men despise them. 2. God will be glorified in the
restoration of his people to their former safety and prosperity.
God had been dishonoured by the sins of his people, and their
sufferings too had given occasion to the enemy to blaspheme
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p19.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.52.5" parsed="|Isa|52|5|0|0" passage="Isa 52:5">Isa. lii. 5</scripRef>); but God will
now both cure them of their sins and ease them of their troubles,
and so <i>will be sanctified in them in the sight of the
heathen,</i> will recover the honour of his holiness, to the
satisfaction of all the world, <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p19.8" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.25" parsed="|Ezek|28|25|0|0" passage="Eze 28:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>. For, (1.) They shall return to
the possession of their own land again: <i>I will gather the house
of Israel</i> out of their dispersions, in answer to that prayer
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p19.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.106.27" parsed="|Ps|106|27|0|0" passage="Ps 106:27">Ps. cvi. 27</scripRef>), <i>Save us,
O Lord our God! and gather us from among the heathen;</i> and in
pursuance of that promise (<scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p19.10" osisRef="Bible:Deut.30.4" parsed="|Deut|30|4|0|0" passage="De 30:4">Deut. xxx.
4</scripRef>), Thence will <i>the Lord thy God gather thee.</i>
Being gathered, they shall be brought in a body, to <i>dwell in the
land that I have given to my servant Jacob.</i> God had an eye to
the ancient grant, in bringing them back, for that remained in
force, and the discontinuance of the possession was not a
defeasance of the right. He that gave it will again give it. (2.)
They shall enjoy great tranquillity there. When those that have
been vexatious to them are taken off they shall live in quietness;
there shall be no more <i>a pricking brier nor a grieving
thorn,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p19.11" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.24" parsed="|Ezek|28|24|0|0" passage="Eze 28:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>.
They shall have a happy settlement, for they shall <i>build
houses,</i> and <i>plant vineyards;</i> and they shall enjoy a
happy security and serenity there; they shall <i>dwell safely,</i>
shall <i>dwell with confidence,</i> and there shall be none to
disquiet them or make them afraid, <scripRef id="Ez.xxix-p19.12" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.28.26" parsed="|Ezek|28|26|0|0" passage="Eze 28:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>. This never had full
accomplishment in the body of that people, for after their return
out of captivity they were ever and anon molested by some bad
neighbour or other. Nor has the gospel-church been ever quite free
from pricking briers and grieving thorns; yet sometimes <i>the
church has rest,</i> and believers always dwell safely under the
divine protection and may be <i>quiet from the fear of evil.</i>
But the full accomplishment of this promise is reserved for the
heavenly Canaan, when all the saints shall be gathered together,
and every thing that offends shall be removed, and all griefs and
fears for ever banished.</p>
</div></div2>