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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Ezekiel I].</TITLE>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
<CENTER>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E Z E K I E L.</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. I.</FONT>
<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
</CENTER>
<FONT SIZE=-1>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
In this chapter we have,
I. The common circumstances of the prophecy now to be delivered, the
time when it was delivered
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:1">ver. 1</A>),
the place where
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:2">ver. 2</A>),
and the person by whom,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:3">ver. 3</A>.
II. The uncommon introduction to it by a vision of the glory of God,
1. In his attendance and retinue in the upper world, where his throne
is surrounded with angels, here called "living creatures,"
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:4-14">ver. 4-14</A>.
2. In his providences concerning the lower world, represented by the
wheels and their motions,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:15-25">ver. 15-25</A>.
3. In the face of Jesus Christ sitting upon the throne,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:26-28">ver. 26-28</A>.
And the more we are acquainted, and the more intimately we converse,
with the glory of God in these three branches of it, the more
commanding influence will divine revelation have upon us and the more
ready shall we be to submit to it, which is the thing aimed at in
prefacing the prophecies of this book with these visions. When such a
God of glory speaks, it concerns us to hear with attention and
reverence; it is at our peril if we do not.</P>
</FONT>
<A NAME="Eze1_1"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_2"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_3"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Ezekiel's First Vision by the River Chebar.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 595.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth
<I>month,</I> in the fifth <I>day</I> of the month, as I <I>was</I> among the
captives by the river of Chebar, <I>that</I> the heavens were opened,
and I saw visions of God.
&nbsp; 2 In the fifth <I>day</I> of the month, which <I>was</I> the fifth year
of king Jehoiachin's captivity,
&nbsp; 3 The word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> 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 L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> was there upon him.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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 <I>return of the day,</I> and our return to <I>the place of
the altar</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+13:4">Gen. xiii. 4</A>),
may revive the pleasing grateful remembrance of God's favour to us.
"Remember, O my soul! and never forget what communications of divine
love thou didst receive at such a time, at such a place; tell others
what God did for thee."</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. The time when Ezekiel had this vision is here recorded. It was <I>in
the thirtieth year,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
Some make it the thirtieth year of the prophet's age; being a priest,
he was at that age to enter upon the full execution of the priestly
office, but being debarred from that by the iniquity and calamity of
the times, now that they had neither temple nor altar, God at that age
called him to the dignity of a prophet. Others make it to be the
thirtieth year from the beginning of the reign of Nabopolassar, the
father of Nebuchadnezzar, from which the Chaldeans began a new
computation of time, as they had done from Nabonassar 123 years before.
Nabopolassar reigned nineteen years, and this was the eleventh of his
son, which makes the thirty. And it was proper enough for Ezekiel, when
he was in Babylon, to use the computation they there used, as we in
foreign countries date by the new style; and he afterwards uses the
melancholy computation of his own country, observing
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>)
that it was the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity. But the Chaldee
paraphrase fixes upon another era, and says that this was the thirtieth
year after <I>Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law in the house
of the sanctuary, at midnight, after the setting of the moon, in the
days of Josiah the king.</I> And it is true that this was just thirty
years from that time; and that was an event so remarkable (as it put
the Jewish state upon a new trial) that it was proper enough to date
form it; and perhaps therefore the prophet speaks indefinitely of
thirty years, as having an eye both to that event and to the Chaldean
computation, which were coincident. It was in the <I>fourth month,</I>
answering to our June, and in the <I>fifth day of the month,</I> that
Ezekiel had this vision,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
It is probably that it was on the sabbath day, because we read
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+3:16"><I>ch.</I> iii. 16</A>)
that <I>at the end of seven days,</I> which we may well suppose to be
the next sabbath, the word of the Lord came to him again. Thus <I>John
was in the Spirit on the Lord's day,</I> when he <I>saw the visions of
the Almighty,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:10">Rev. i. 10</A>.
God would hereby put an honour upon his sabbaths, when <I>the enemies
mocked at them,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+1:7">Lam. i. 7</A>.
And he would thus encourage his people to keep up their attendance on
the ministry of his prophets every sabbath day, by the extraordinary
manifestations of himself on some sabbath days.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. The melancholy circumstances he was in when God honoured him, and
thereby favoured his people, with this vision. He was <I>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.</I> Observe,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. The people of God were now, some of them, <I>captives in the land of
the Chaldeans.</I> 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 <I>good
figs,</I> whom God had <I>sent into the land of the Chaldeans for their
good</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+24:5">Jer. xxiv. 5</A>);
and, that it might be for their good, God raised up a prophet among
them, to <I>teach them out of the law,</I> then when he chastened them,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+94:12">Ps. xciv. 12</A>.
Note, It is a great mercy to have the word of God brought to us, and a
great duty to attend to it diligently, when we are in affliction. The
word of instruction and the rod of correction may be of great service
to us, in concert and concurrence with each other, the word to explain
the rod and the rod to enforce the word: both together give wisdom. It
is happy for a man, when he is sick and in pain, to have a messenger
with him, an interpreter, <I>one among a thousand,</I> if he have but
his <I>ear open to discipline,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+23:23">Job xxiii. 23</A>.
One of the quarrels God had with the Jews, when he sent them into
captivity, we for <I>mocking his messengers</I> and <I>misusing his
prophets;</I> and yet, when they were suffering for this sin, he
favoured them with this forfeited mercy. It were ill with us if God did
not sometimes graciously thrust upon us those means of grace and
salvation which we have foolishly thrust from us. In their captivity
they were destitute of ordinary helps for their souls, and therefore
God raised them up these extraordinary ones; for God's children, if
they be hindered in their education one way, shall have it made up
another way. But observe, <I>It was in the fifth year of the
captivity</I> that Ezekiel was raised up amongst them, and not before.
So long God left them without any prophet, till they began to <I>lament
after the Lord</I> and to complain that they <I>saw not their signs</I>
and there was none to <I>tell them how long</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+74:9">Ps. lxxiv. 9</A>),
and then they would know how to value a prophet, and God's discoveries
of himself to them by him would be the more acceptable and comfortable.
The Jews that remained in their own land had Jeremiah with them, those
that had gone into captivity had Ezekiel with them; for wherever the
children of God are scattered abroad he will find out tutors for
them.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. The prophet was himself among the captives, those of them that were
posted by <I>the river Chebar;</I> for it was <I>by the rivers of
Babylon</I> that they <I>sat down,</I> and on the willow-trees by the
river's side that they <I>hanged their harps,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+137:1,2">Ps. cxxxvii. 1, 2</A>.
The planters in America keep along by the sides of the rivers, and
perhaps those captives were employed by their masters in improving some
parts of the country by the rivers' sides that were uncultivated, the
natives being generally employed in war; or they employed them in
manufactures, and therefore chose to fix them by the sides of rivers,
that the good they made might the more easily be conveyed by
water-carriage. Interpreters agree not what river this of Chebar was,
but <I>among the captives</I> by that river Ezekiel was, and himself a
captive. Observe here,
(1.) The best men, and those that are dearest to God, often share, not
only in the common calamities of this life, but in the public and
national judgments that are inflicted for sin; those feel the smart who
contributed nothing to the guilt, by which it appears that the
difference between good and bad arises not from the events that befal
them, but from the temper and disposition of their spirits under them.
And since not only righteous men, but prophets, share with the worst in
present punishments, we may infer thence, with the greatest assurance,
that there are rewards reserved for them in the future state.
(2.) Words of conviction, counsel, and comfort, come best to those who
are in affliction from their fellow sufferers. The captives will be
best instructed by one who is a captive among them and experimentally
knows their sorrows.
(3.) The spirit of prophecy was not confined to the land of Israel, but
some of the brightest of divine revelations were revealed <I>in the
land of the Chaldeans,</I> which was a happy presage of the carrying of
the church, with that divine revelation upon which it is built, into
the Gentile world; and, as now, so afterwards, when the gospel kingdom
was to be set up, the dispersion of the Jews contributed to the
spreading of the knowledge of God.
(4.) Wherever we are we may keep up our communion with God. <I>Undique
ad c&oelig;los tantundem est vi&aelig;--From the remotest corners of the
earth we may find a way open heavenward.</I>
(5.) When God's ministers are bound <I>the word of the Lord is not
bound,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ti+2:9">2 Tim. ii. 9</A>.
When St. Paul was a prisoner the gospel had a free course. When St.
John was banished into the Isle of Patmos Christ visited him there.
Nay, God's suffering servants have generally been treated as
favourites, and their consolations have much more abounded when
affliction has abounded,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+1:5">2 Cor. i. 5</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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 <I>saw visions of God,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
No man can <I>see God and live;</I> but many have seen visions of God,
such displays of the divine glory as have both instructed and affected
them; and commonly, when God first revealed himself to any prophet, he
did it by an extraordinary vision, as to Isaiah
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+6:1-13"><I>ch.</I> vi.</A>),
to Jeremiah
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+1:1-19"><I>ch.</I> i.</A>),
to Abraham
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+7:2">Acts vii. 2</A>),
to settle a correspondence and a satisfactory way of intercourse, so
that there needed not afterwards a vision upon ever revelation. Ezekiel
was employed in turning the hearts of the people to the Lord their God,
and therefore he must himself see the visions of God. Note, It concerns
those to be well acquainted with God themselves, and much affected with
what they know of him, whose business it is to bring others to the
knowledge and love of him. That he might see the <I>visions of God the
heavens were opened;</I> the darkness and distance which hindered his
visions were conquered, and he was let into the light of the glories of
the upper world, as near and clear as if heaven had been opened to him.
2. He heard the voice of God
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
<I>The word of the Lord came expressly</I> to him, and what he saw was
designed to prepare him for what he was to hear. The expression is
emphatic. <I>Essendo fuit verbum Dei</I>--<I>The word of the Lord was a
really it was to him.</I> There was no mistake in it; it came to him in
the fulness of its light and power, in the evidence and demonstration
of the Spirit; it came close to him, nay, it came into him, took
possession of him and dwelt in him richly. It <I>came expressly,</I> or
accurately, to him; he did himself clearly understand what he said and
was abundantly satisfied f the truth of it. <I>The essential Word</I>
(so we may take it), <I>the Word who is, who is what he is, came to
Ezekiel,</I> to send him on his errand.
3. He felt the power of God opening his eyes to see the visions,
opening his ear to hear the voice, and opening his heart to receive
both: <I>The hand of the Lord was there upon him.</I> Note, <I>The hand
of the Lord</I> goes along with <I>the word f the Lord,</I> and so it
becomes effectual; those only understand and <I>believe the report to
whom the arm of the Lord is revealed. The hand of God was upon him,</I>
as upon Moses, to cover him, that he should not be overcome by the
dazzling light and lustre of the visions he saw,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+33:22">Exod. xxxiii. 22</A>.
It <I>was upon him</I> (as upon St. John,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:17">Rev. i. 17</A>),
to revive and support him, that he might bear up, and not faint, under
these discoveries, that he might neither be lifted up nor cast down
with the abundance of the revelations. God's <I>grace is sufficient for
him,</I> and, in token of that, his <I>hand is upon him.</I></P>
<A NAME="Eze1_4"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_5"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_6"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_7"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_8"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_9"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_10"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_11"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_12"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_13"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_14"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Vision of the Four Living Creatures.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 595.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north,
a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness
<I>was</I> about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of
amber, out of the midst of the fire.
&nbsp; 5 Also out of the midst thereof <I>came</I> the likeness of four
living creatures. And this <I>was</I> their appearance; they had the
likeness of a man.
&nbsp; 6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.
&nbsp; 7 And their feet <I>were</I> straight feet; and the sole of their
feet <I>was</I> like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like
the colour of burnished brass.
&nbsp; 8 And <I>they had</I> the hands of a man under their wings on their
four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.
&nbsp; 9 Their wings <I>were</I> joined one to another; they turned not
when they went; they went every one straight forward.
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 11 Thus <I>were</I> their faces: and their wings <I>were</I> stretched
upward; two <I>wings</I> of every one <I>were</I> joined one to another,
and two covered their bodies.
&nbsp; 12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit
was to go, they went; <I>and</I> they turned not when they went.
&nbsp; 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their
appearance <I>was</I> like burning coals of fire, <I>and</I> 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.
&nbsp; 14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance
of a flash of lightning.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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 <I>the likeness of the glory of the
Lord</I> that he sees
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>),
and hence he may infer that it is his honour to serve him, for he is
one whom angels serve. He may serve him with safety, for he has power
sufficient to bear him out in his work. It is at his peril to draw
back from his service, for he has power to pursue him, as he did Jonah.
So great a God as this must be served <I>with reverence and godly
fear;</I> and with assurance may Ezekiel foretel what this God will do,
for he is able to make his words good.
2. To strike a terror upon the sinners who remained in Zion, and those
who had already come to Babylon, who were secure, and bade defiance to
the threatenings of Jerusalem's ruin, as we have found in Jeremiah's
prophecy, and shall find in this, many did. "Let those who said, <I>We
shall have peace though we go on,</I> know that <I>our God is a
consuming fire,</I> whom they cannot stand before." That this vision
had a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem seems plain from
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+43:3"><I>ch.</I> xliii. 3</A>,
where he says that it was <I>the vision which he saw when he came to
destroy the city,</I> that is, to prophesy the destruction of it.
3. To speak comfort to those that feared God, and trembled at his word,
and humbled themselves under his mighty hand. "Let them know that,
though they are captives in Babylon, yet they have God nigh unto them;
though they have not <I>the place of the sanctuary</I> to be their
glorious high throne, they have the God of the sanctuary." Dr.
Lightfoot observes, "Now that the church is to be planted for a long
time in another country, the Lord shows a glory in the midst of them,
as he had done at their first constituting into a church in the
wilderness; and out of <I>a cloud and fire,</I> as he had done there,
he showed himself; and from between <I>living creatures,</I> as from
between the cherubim, he gives his oracles." This put an honour upon
them, by which they might value themselves when the Chaldeans insulted
over them, and this might encourage their hopes of deliverance in due
time.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Now, to answer these ends, we have in
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:4-14">these verses</A>
the first part of the vision, which represents God as attended and
served by an innumerable company of angels, who are all his messengers,
his ministers, <I>doing his commandments</I> and <I>hearkening to the
voice of his word.</I> This denotes his grandeur, as it magnifies an
earthly prince to have a splendid retinue and numerous armies at his
command, which engages his allies to trust him and his enemies to fear
him.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. The introduction to this vision of the angels is very magnificent
and awakening,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
The prophet, observing the heavens to open, <I>looked,</I> looked up
(as it was time), to see what discoveries God would make to him. Note,
When the heavens are opened it concerns us to have our eyes open. To
clear the way, <I>behold, a whirlwind came out of the north,</I> which
would drive away the interposing mists of this lower region. Fair
weather <I>comes out of the north,</I> and thence <I>the wind</I> comes
that <I>drives away rain.</I> God can by a whirlwind clear the sky and
air, and produce that serenity of mind which is necessary to our
communion with Heaven. Yet this whirlwind was attended with <I>a great
cloud.</I> When we think that the clouds which arise from this earth
are dispelled and we can see beyond them, yet still there is a cloud
which heavenly things are wrapped in, a cloud from above, so that <I>we
cannot order our speech</I> concerning them <I>by reason of
darkness.</I> Christ here descended, as he ascended, <I>in a cloud.</I>
Some by this <I>whirlwind and cloud</I> understand the Chaldean army
coming <I>out of the north</I> against the land of Judah, bearing down
all before them as a tempest; and so it agrees with that which was
signified by one of the first of Jeremiah's visions
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+1:14">Jer. i. 14</A>,
<I>Out of the north an evil shall break forth</I>); but I take it here
as an introduction rather to the vision than to the sermons. This
whirlwind came to Ezekiel (as that to Elijah,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+19:11">1 Kings xix. 11</A>),
to <I>prepare the way of the Lord,</I> and to demand attention.
<I>He</I> that has eyes, <I>that has ears,</I> let him see, <I>let him
hear.</I></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. The vision itself. <I>A great cloud</I> 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 <I>darkness and thick
clouds,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+18:11,104:3">Ps. xviii. 11; civ. 3</A>.
Thus he <I>holds back the face of his throne,</I> lest its dazzling
light and lustre should overpower us, by <I>spreading a cloud upon
it.</I> Now,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. The cloud is accompanied with <I>a fire,</I> as upon Mount Sinai,
where God resided in a <I>thick cloud;</I> but <I>the sight of his
glory was like a devouring fire</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+24:16,17">Exod. xxiv. 16, 17</A>),
and his first appearance to Moses was <I>in a flame of fire in the
bush;</I> for <I>our God is a consuming fire.</I> This was <I>a fire
enfolding itself,</I> a globe, or orb, or wheel of fire. God being his
own cause, his own rule, and his own end, if he be as <I>a fire,</I> he
is as <I>a fire enfolding itself,</I> or (as some read it) <I>kindled
by itself.</I> The fire of God's glory shines forth, but it quickly
enfolds itself; for he lets us know but part of his ways; the fire of
God's wrath breaks forth, but it also quickly enfolds itself, for the
divine patience suffers not all his wrath to be stirred up. If it were
not a fire thus enfolding itself, <I>O Lord! who shall stand?</I></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. The fire is surrounded with a glory: <I>A brightness was about
it,</I> 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.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
3. Out of this fire there shines <I>the colour of amber.</I> 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 <I>out of the midst of the fire and brightness;</I> and
the first thing he took notice of before he viewed the particulars was
that it was <I>of the colour of amber,</I> or <I>the eye of amber;</I>
that is, it looked as amber does to the eye, of a bright flaming fiery
colour, the colour of <I>a burning coal;</I> so some think it should be
read. The <I>living creatures</I> which he saw coming <I>out of the
midst of the fire</I> were <I>seraphim</I>--<I>burners;</I> for <I>he
maketh his angels spirits, his ministers a flaming fire.</I></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
4. That which comes out of the fire, of a fiery amber colour, when it
comes to be distinctly viewed, is <I>the likeness of four living
creatures;</I> not the <I>living creatures</I> themselves (angels are
spirits, and cannot be seen), but <I>the likeness</I> 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. <I>The likeness of
these living creatures came out of the midst of the fire;</I> 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
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+10:20"><I>ch.</I> x. 20</A>):
<I>I knew that the living creatures were the cherubim,</I> which is one
of the names by which the angels are known in scripture. To Daniel was
made known their number, <I>ten thousand times ten thousand,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+7:10">Dan. vii. 10</A>.
But, though they are many, yet they are one, and that is made known to
Ezekiel here; they are one in nature and operation, as an army,
consisting of thousands, is yet called a body of men. We have here an
account of,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(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 <I>the fountain of
life.</I> 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 <I>fire
enfolding itself,</I> 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 (<I>in
the midst of life we are in death</I>), but angels in heaven are living
creatures; they live indeed, live to good purpose; and, when saints
come to be <I>equal unto the angels,</I> they shall not <I>die any
more,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+20:36">Luke xx. 36</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(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 <I>the four winds of
heaven,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+24:31">Matt. xxiv. 31</A>.
Zechariah saw them as four chariots going forth east, west, north, and
south,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+6:1">Zech. vi. 1</A>.
God has messengers to send every way; for his kingdom is universal, and
reaches to all parts of the world.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(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: <I>They had the likeness of a
man;</I> they appeared, for the main, in a human shape, <I>First,</I>
To signify that these living creatures are reasonable creatures,
intelligent beings, who have the <I>spirit of a man</I> which is the
<I>candle of the Lord. Secondly,</I> To put an honour upon the nature
of man, who is made lower, yet but <I>a little lower, than the
angels,</I> in the very next rank of beings below them. When the
invisible intelligences of the upper world would make themselves
visible, it is in <I>the likeness of man. Thirdly,</I> To intimate that
their <I>delights are with the sons of men,</I> as their Master's are
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+8:31">Prov. viii. 31</A>),
that they do service to men, and men may have spiritual communion with
them by faith, hope, and holy love. <I>Fourthly,</I> The angels of God
appear in <I>the likeness of man</I> because in <I>the fulness of
time</I> the Son of God was not only to appear in that likeness, but to
assume that nature; they therefore show this love to it.
[2.] By their faces: <I>Every one had four faces,</I> looking four
several ways. In St. John's vision, which has a near affinity with
this, each of the four living creatures has one of these faces here
mentioned
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+4:7">Rev. iv. 7</A>);
here each of them has all four, to intimate that they have all the same
qualifications for service; though, perhaps, among the angels of
heaven, as among the angels of the churches, some excel in one gift and
others in another, but all for the common service. Let us contemplate
their faces till we be in some measure changed into the same image,
that we may do the will of God as the angels do it in heaven. They
<I>all four had the face of a man</I> (for in that likeness they
appeared,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
but, besides that, they had <I>the face of a lion, an ox,</I> and <I>an
eagle,</I> each masterly in its kind, <I>the lion</I> among <I>wild</I>
beasts, <I>the ox</I> among <I>tame</I> ones, and <I>the eagle</I>
among fowls,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
Does God make use of them for the executing of judgments upon his
enemies? They are fierce and strong as the lion and the eagle in
tearing their prey. Does he make use of them for the good of his
people? They are as <I>oxen strong for labour</I> and inclined to
serve. And in both they have <I>the understanding of a man.</I> The
scattered perfections of the living creatures on earth meet in the
angels of heaven. They have <I>the likeness of man;</I> but, because
there are some things in which man is excelled even by the inferior
creatures, they are therefore compared to some of them. They have
<I>the understanding of a man,</I> and such as far exceeds it; they
also resemble man in tenderness and humanity. But, <I>First, A lion</I>
excels man in strength and boldness, and is much more formidable;
therefore the angels, who in this resemble them, put on the <I>face of
a lion. Secondly, An ox</I> excels man in diligence, and patience, and
painstaking, and an unwearied discharge of the work he has to do;
therefore the angels, who are constantly employed in the service of God
and the church, put on <I>the face of an ox. Thirdly, An eagle</I>
excels man in quickness and piercingness of sight, and in soaring high;
and therefore the angels, who seek things above, and see far into
divine mysteries, put on <I>the face of a flying eagle.</I>
[3.] By their wings: <I>Every one had four wings,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
In the vision Isaiah had of them they appeared with six, now with four;
for they appeared above the throne, and had occasion for two to cover
their faces with. The angels are fitted with wings to fly swiftly on
God's errands; whatever business God sends them upon they lose no time.
Faith and hope are the soul's wings, upon which it soars upward; pious
and devout affections are its wings on which it is carried forward with
vigour and alacrity. The prophet observes here, concerning their wings,
<I>First,</I> That they were <I>joined one to another,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>
and again
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
They did not make use of their wings for fighting, as some birds do;
there is no contest among the angels. God makes <I>peace,</I> perfect
peace, <I>in his high places.</I> But their wings were joined, in token
of their perfect unity and unanimity and the universal agreement there
is among them. <I>Secondly,</I> That <I>they were stretched upward,</I>
extended, and ready for use, not folded up, or flagging. Let an angel
receive the least intimation of the divine will, and he has nothing to
seek, but is upon the wings immediately; while our poor dull souls are
like the ostrich, that with much difficulty lifts up herself on high.
<I>Thirdly,</I> That two of their wings were made use of in covering
their bodies, the spiritual bodies they assumed. The clothes that cover
us are our hindrance in work; angels need no other covering than their
own wings, which are their furtherance. They cover their bodies from
us, so forbidding us needless enquiries concerning them. Ask not after
them, for they are wonderful,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+13:18">Judg. xiii. 18</A>.
They cover them before God, so directing us, when we approach to God,
to see to it that we be so clothed with Christ's righteousness <I>that
the shame of our nakedness may not appear.</I>
[4.] By their feet, including their legs and thighs: They were
<I>straight feet</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>);
they stood straight, and firm, and steady; no burden of service could
make their legs to bend under them. The spouse makes this part of the
description of her beloved, that <I>his legs</I> were <I>as pillars of
marble set upon sockets of fine gold</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+5:15">Cant. v. 15</A>);
such are the angels' legs. <I>The sole of their feet was like</I> that
<I>of a calf's foot,</I> which divides the hoof and is therefore clean:
<I>as it were the sole of a round foot</I> (as the Chaldee words it);
they were ready for motion any way. <I>Their feet were winged</I> (so
the LXX.); they went so swiftly that it was as if they flew. And their
very feet <I>sparkled like the colour of burnished brass;</I> not only
the faces, but the very feet, of those are beautiful whom God sends on
his errands
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+52:7">Isa. lii. 7</A>);
every step the angels take is glorious. In the vision John had of
Christ it is said, <I>His feet were like unto fine brass, as if they
burned in a furnace,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:15">Rev. i. 15</A>.
[5.] By their hands
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
<I>They had the hands of a man under their wings on their four
sides,</I> an arm and a hand under every wing. They had not only wings
for motion, but hands for action. Many are quick who are not active;
they hurry about a great deal, but do nothing to purpose, bring nothing
to pass; they have wings, but no hands: whereas God's servants, the
angels, not only go when he sends them and come when he calls them, but
do what he bids them. They are <I>the hands of a man,</I> which are
wonderfully made and fitted for service, which are guided by reason and
understanding; for what angles do they do intelligently and with
judgment. They have calves' feet; this denotes the swiftness of their
motion (the cedars of Lebanon are said to <I>skip like a calf,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+29:6">Ps. xxix. 6</A>);
but they have a man's hand, which denotes the niceness and exactness of
their performances, as the heavens are said to be the work of God's
fingers. Their hands were <I>under their wings,</I> which concealed
them, as they did the rest of their bodies. Note, The agency of angels
is a secret thing and their work is carried on in an invisible way. In
working for God, though we must not, with <I>the sluggard, hide our
hand in our bosom,</I> yet we must, with the humble, <I>not let our
left hand know what our right hand doeth.</I> We may observe that where
these wings were their hands were <I>under their wings;</I> wherever
their wings carried them they carried hands along with them, to be
still doing something suitable something that the duty of the place
requires.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(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 <I>they went every one
straight forward</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:9,12"><I>v.</I> 9, 12</A>),
which intimates, <I>First,</I> That they sincerely aimed at the glory
of God, and had a single eye to that, in all they did. Their going
<I>straight forward</I> supposes that they looked straight forward, and
never had any sinister intentions in what they did. And, if thus <I>our
eye be single,</I> our <I>whole body will be full of light.</I> The
singleness of the eye is the sincerity of the heart. <I>Secondly,</I>
That they were intent upon the service they were employed in, and did
it with a close application of mind. They went forward with their work;
for what their hand found to do they did <I>with all their might</I>
and did not loiter in it. <I>Thirdly,</I> That they were unanimous in
it: <I>They went straight forward,</I> every one about his own work;
they did not thwart or jostle one another, did not stand in one
another's light, in one another's way. <I>Fourthly,</I> That they
perfectly understood their business, and were thoroughly apprised of
it, so that they needed not to stand still, to pause of hesitate, but
pursue their work with readiness, as those that knew what they had to
do and how to do it. <I>Fifthly,</I> They were steady and constant in
their work. They did not fluctuate, did not tire, did not vary, but
were of a piece with themselves. They moved in a direct line, and so
went the nearest way to work in all they did and lost no time. When we
go straight we go forward; when we serve God with one heart we rid
ground, we rid work.
[2.] <I>They turned not when they went,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:9,12"><I>v.</I> 9, 12</A>.
<I>First,</I> They made no blunders or mistakes, which would give them
occasion to turn back to rectify them; their work needed no correction,
and therefore needed not to be gone over again. <I>Secondly,</I> They
minded no diversions; as they turned not back, so they turned not
aside, to trifle with any thing that was foreign to their business.
[3.] <I>They went whither the Spirit was to go</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
either, <I>First, Whither</I> their own <I>spirit was</I> disposed
<I>to go;</I> thither <I>they went,</I> having no bodies, as we have,
to clog or hinder them. It is our infelicity and daily burden that,
when <I>the spirit if willing,</I> yet <I>the flesh is weak</I> and
cannot keep pace with it, so that <I>the good which we would do we do
it not;</I> but angels and glorified saints labour under no such
impotency; whatever they incline or intend to do they do it, and never
come short of it. Or, rather, <I>Secondly,</I> Whithersoever <I>the
Spirit</I> of God would have them <I>go,</I> thither <I>they went.</I>
Though they had so much wisdom of their own, yet in all their motions
and actions they subjected themselves to the guidance and government of
the divine will. Whithersoever the divine Providence <I>was to go they
went,</I> to serve its purposes and to execute its orders. The Spirit
of God (says Mr. Greenhill) is the great agent that sets angels to
work, and it is their honour that they are led, they are easily <I>led,
by the Spirit.</I> See how tractable and obsequious these noble
creatures are. Whithersoever <I>the Spirit</I> is <I>to go</I> they go
immediately, with all possible alacrity. Note, Those that <I>walk after
the Spirit</I> do the will of God as the angels do it.
[4.] They <I>ran and returned like a flash of lightning,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
This intimates, <I>First,</I> That they made haste; they were quick in
their motions, as quick as lightning. Whatever business they went about
they despatched it immediately, in a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye. Happy they that have no bodies to retard their motion in holy
exercises. And happy shall we be when we come to have spiritual bodies
for spiritual work. Satan <I>falls like lightning</I> into his own
ruin,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+10:18">Luke x. 18</A>.
Angels fly <I>like lightning</I> in their Master's work. The angel
Gabriel flew swiftly. <I>Secondly,</I> That they made haste back: They
<I>ran and returned;</I> ran to do their work and execute their orders,
and then returned to give an account of what they had done and receive
new instructions, that they might be always doing. They <I>ran</I>
into the lower world, to do what was to be done there; but, when they
had done it, they <I>returned like flash of lightning</I> to the upper
world again, to the beatific vision of their God, which they could not
with any patience be longer from than their service did require. Thus
we should be in the affairs of this world as out of our element. Though
we run into them, we must not repose in them, but our souls must
quickly return like lightning to God their rest and centre.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
(1.) He saw them by their own light, for <I>their appearance was like
burning coals of fire;</I> they are <I>seraphim-burners,</I> denoting
the ardour of their love to God, their fervent zeal in his service,
their splendour and brightness, and their terror against God's enemies.
When God employs them to fight his battles they are as <I>coals of
fire</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+18:12">Ps. xviii. 12</A>)
to <I>devour the adversaries,</I> as lightnings shot out to discomfit
them.
(2.) He saw them by the light of some <I>lamps,</I> which <I>went up
and down among</I> them, the shining whereof <I>was</I> very
<I>bright.</I> Satan's works are works of darkness; he is <I>the ruler
of the darkness of this world.</I> But the angels of light are in the
light, and, though they conceal their working, they show their work,
for it will bear the light. But we see them and their works only by
candle-light, but the dim light <I>of lamps</I> that go <I>up and down
among</I> them; when <I>the day breaks, and the shadows flee away,</I>
we shall see them clearly. Some make the <I>appearance</I> of these
<I>burning coals,</I> and of the <I>lightning</I> that issues <I>out of
the fire,</I> to signify the wrath of God, and his judgments, that were
now to be executed upon Judah and Jerusalem for their sins, in which
angels were to be employed; and accordingly we find afterwards <I>coals
of fire scattered upon the city</I> to consume it, which were
<I>fetched from between the cherubim,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+10:2"><I>ch.</I> x. 2</A>.
But by <I>the appearance of the lamps</I> then we may understand the
light of comfort which shone forth to the people of God in the darkness
of this present trouble. If the ministry of the angels is as a
consuming fire to God's enemies, it is as a rejoicing light to his own
children. To the one this <I>fire</I> is <I>bright,</I> it is very
reviving and refreshing; to the other, <I>out of the fire</I> comes
fresh <I>lightning</I> to destroy them. Note, Good angels are our
friends, or enemies, according as God is.</P>
<A NAME="Eze1_15"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_16"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_17"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_18"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_19"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_20"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_21"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_22"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_23"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_24"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_25"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Vision of the Wheels.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 595.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>15 Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon
the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.
&nbsp; 16 The appearance of the wheels and their work <I>was</I> like unto
the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their
appearance and their work <I>was</I> as it were a wheel in the middle
of a wheel.
&nbsp; 17 When they went, they went upon their four sides: <I>and</I> they
turned not when they went.
&nbsp; 18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were
dreadful; and their rings <I>were</I> full of eyes round about them
four.
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 20 Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither <I>was
their</I> spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against
them: for the spirit of the living creature <I>was</I> in the wheels.
&nbsp; 21 When those went, <I>these</I> went; and when those stood, <I>these</I>
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 <I>was</I> in the wheels.
&nbsp; 22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the
living creature <I>was</I> as the colour of the terrible crystal,
stretched forth over their heads above.
&nbsp; 23 And under the firmament <I>were</I> 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.
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 25 And there was a voice from the firmament that <I>was</I> over
their heads, when they stood, <I>and</I> had let down their wings.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
The prophet is very exact in making and recording his observations
concerning this vision. And here we have,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. The notice he took of the <I>wheels,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:15-21"><I>v.</I> 15-21</A>.
The glory of God appears not only in the splendour of his retinue in
the upper world, but in the steadiness of his government here in this
lower world. Having seen how God does according to his will in the
armies of heaven, let us now see how he does according to it among the
inhabitants of the earth; for there, <I>on the earth,</I> the prophet
saw the <I>wheels,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
<I>As he beheld the living creatures,</I> and was contemplating the
glory of that vision and receiving instruction from it, this other
vision presented itself to his view. Note, Those who make a good use
of the discoveries God has favoured them with may expect further
discoveries; for <I>to him that hath shall be given.</I> We are
sometimes tempted to think there is nothing glorious but what is in the
upper world, whereas, could we with an eye of faith discern the beauty
of Providence and the wisdom, power, and goodness, which shine in the
administration of that kingdom, we should see, and say, <I>Verily he is
a God that judgeth in the earth</I> and acts like himself. There are
many things in this vision which give us some light concerning the
divine Providence.
1. The dispensations of Providence are compared to <I>wheels,</I>
either the wheels of a chariot, in which the conqueror rides in
triumph, or rather the wheels of a clock or watch, which all contribute
to the regular motion of the machine. We read of <I>the course</I> or
<I>wheel of nature</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:6">James iii. 6</A>),
which is here set before us as under the direction of the God of
nature. <I>Wheels,</I> though they move not of themselves, as <I>the
living creatures</I> do, are yet made movable and are almost
continually kept in action. Providence, represented by these
<I>wheels,</I> produces changes; sometimes one spoke of the wheel is
uppermost and sometimes another; but the motion of the wheel on its own
axletree, like that of the orbs above, is very regular and steady. The
motion of the wheels is circular; by the revolutions of Providence
things are brought to the same posture and pass which they were in
formerly; for <I>the thing that is is that which has been, and there is
no new thing under the sun,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:9,10">Eccl. i. 9, 10</A>.
2. The wheel is said to be <I>by the living creatures,</I> who attended
it to direct its motion; for the angels are employed as the ministers
of God's providence, and have a greater hand in directing the motions
of second causes to serve the divine purpose than we think they have.
Such a close connexion is there between <I>the living creatures</I> and
the <I>wheels</I> that they moved and rested together. Were angels
busily employed? Men were busily employed as instruments in their hand,
whether of mercy or judgment, though they themselves were not aware of
it. Or, Are men active to compass their designs? Angels at the same
time are acting to control and overrule them. This is much insisted on
here
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
<I>When the living creatures went,</I> to bring about any business,
<I>the wheels went by them;</I> when God has work to do by the ministry
of angels second causes are all found, or made, ready to concur in it;
and
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>)
<I>when those stood these stood;</I> when the angels had done their
work the second causes had done theirs. If <I>the living creatures were
lifted up from the earth,</I> were elevated to any service above the
common course of nature and out of the ordinary road (as suppose in the
working of miracles, the dividing of the water, the standing still of
the sun), <I>the wheels,</I> contrary to their own natural tendency,
which is towards the earth, move in concert with them, and <I>are
lifted up over against them;</I> this is thrice mentioned,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:19-21"><I>v.</I> 19-21</A>.
Note, All inferior creatures are, and move, and act, as the Creator, by
the ministration of angels, directs and influences them. Visible
effects are managed and governed by invisible causes. The reason given
of this is because <I>the spirit of the living creatures was in the
wheels;</I> the same wisdom, power, and holiness of God, the same will
and counsel of his, that guides and governs the angels and all their
performances, does, by them, order and dispose of all the motions of
the creatures in this lower world and the events and issues of them.
God is the soul of the world, and animates the whole, both that above
and that beneath, so that they move in perfect harmony, as the upper
and lower parts of the natural body do, so that <I>whithersoever the
Spirit is to go</I> (whatever God wills and purposes to be done and
brought to pass) <I>thither their spirit is to go;</I> that is, the
angels, knowingly and designedly, set themselves to bring it about. And
<I>their spirit is in the wheels,</I> which are therefore <I>lifted up
over against them;</I> that is, both the powers of nature and the wills
of men are all made to serve the intention, which they infallibly and
irresistibly effect, though perhaps <I>they mean not so, neither doth
their heart think so,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:7,Mic+4:11,12">Isa. x. 7; Mic. iv. 11, 12</A>.
Thus, though the will of God's precept be not <I>done on earth as it is
done in heaven,</I> yet the will of his purpose and counsel is, and
shall be.
3. The wheel is said to have four <I>faces,</I> looking four several
ways
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
denoting that the providence of God exerts itself in all parts of the
world, east, west, north, and south, and extends itself to the remotest
corners of it. Look which way you will upon the wheel of Providence,
and it has a face towards you, a beautiful one, which you may admire
the features and complexion of; it looks upon you as ready to speak to
you, if you be but ready to hear the voice of it; like a well-drawn
picture, it has an eye upon all that have an eye upon it. The wheel
had so four <I>faces</I> that it had in it four <I>wheels,</I> which
<I>went upon their four sides,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
At first Ezekiel saw it as <I>one wheel</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
one sphere; but afterwards he saw it was four, but <I>they</I> four
<I>had one likeness</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>);
not only they were like one another, but they were as if they had been
one. This intimates,
(1.) That one event of providence is like another; what happens to us
is <I>that which is common to men</I> and what we are not to think
strange.
(2.) That various events have a tendency to the same issue and concur
to answer the same intention.
4. <I>Their appearance and their work</I> are said to be <I>like the
colour of a beryl</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
<I>the colour of Tarshish</I> (so the word is), that is, of the sea;
the beryl is of that colour, sea-green; <I>blue Neptune</I> we call it.
The nature of things in this world is like that of the sea, which is in
a continual flux and yet there is a constant coherence and succession
of its parts. There is a chain of events which is always drawing one
way or other. The sea ebbs and flows, so does Providence in its
disposals, but always in the stated appointed times and measures. The
sea looks blue, as the air does, because of the shortness and
feebleness of our sight, which can see but a little way of either; to
that colour therefore are <I>the appearance and work</I> of Providence
fitly compared, because we cannot find out that which God does <I>from
the beginning to the end,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+3:11">Eccl. iii. 11</A>.
We see but <I>parts of his ways</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+26:14">Job xxvi. 14</A>),
and all beyond looks blue, which gives us to understand no more
concerning it but that in truth we know it not; it is <I>far above out
of our sight.</I>
5. <I>Their appearance and their work</I> are likewise said to be
<I>as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.</I> Observe here again,
Their <I>appearance</I> to the prophet is designed to set forth what
<I>their work</I> really is. Men's appearance and their work often
differ, but the appearance of God's providence and its work agree; if
they seem to differ, it is through our ignorance and mistake. Now both
<I>were as a wheel in a wheel,</I> a less wheel moved by a greater. We
pretend not to give a mathematical description of it. The meaning is
that the disposals of Providence seem to us intricate, perplexed, and
unaccountable, and yet that they will appear in the issue to have been
all wisely ordered for the best; so that though <I>what God does we
know not now,</I> yet <I>we shall know hereafter,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+13:7">John xiii. 7</A>.
6. The motion of these wheels, like that of the living creatures, was
steady, regular, and constant: <I>They returned not when they went</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
because they never went amiss, nor otherwise than they should do. God,
in his providence, takes his work before him, and he will have it
forward; and it is going on even when it seems to us to be going
backward. <I>They went</I> as the Spirit directed them, and therefore
<I>returned not.</I> We should not have occasion to return back as we
have, and to undo that by repentance which we have done amiss, and to
do it over again, if we were but <I>led by the Spirit</I> and followed
his direction. <I>The Spirit of life</I> (so some read it) <I>was in
the wheels,</I> which carried them on with ease and evenness, and then
<I>they returned not when they went.</I>
7. The <I>rings,</I> or rims, <I>of the wheels were so high that they
were dreadful,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
They were of a vast circumference, so that when they were reared, and
put in motion, the prophet was even afraid to look upon them. Note, The
vast compass of God's thought, and the vast reach of his design, are
really astonishing; when we go about to describe the circle of
Providence we are struck with amazement and are even swallowed up. O
the height and depth of God's councils! The consideration of them
should strike an awe upon us.
8. They were <I>full of eyes round about.</I> This circumstance of the
vision is most surprising of all, and yet most significant, plainly
denoting that the motions of Providence are all directed by infinite
wisdom. The issues of things are not determined by a blind fortune, but
by those <I>eyes of the Lord</I> which <I>run to and fro through the
earth,</I> and <I>are in every place, beholding the evil and the
good.</I> Note, It is a great satisfaction to us, and ought to be so,
that, though we cannot account for the springs and tendencies of
events, yet they are all under the cognizance and direction of an
all-wise all-seeing God.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. The notice he took of <I>the firmament</I> above <I>over the heads
of the living creatures.</I> When he saw <I>the living creatures</I>
moving, and <I>the wheels by</I> 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 <I>the firmament stretched forth over
the heads of the living creatures,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
What is done on earth is done under the heaven (as the scripture often
speaks), under its inspection and influence. Observe,
1. What he saw: <I>The firmament was as the colour of the terrible
crystal,</I> truly glorious, but terribly so; the vastness and
brightness of it put the prophet into an amazement and struck him with
an awful reverence. <I>The terrible ice,</I> or <I>frost</I> (so it may
be read), the colour of snow congealed, or as mountains of ice in the
northern seas, which are very frightful. Daring sinners ask, <I>Can God
judge through the dark cloud?</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+22:13">Job xxii. 13</A>.
But that which we take to be a dark cloud is to him transparent as
crystal, through which, <I>from the place of his habitation, he looks
upon all the inhabitants of the earth,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+33:14">Ps. xxxiii. 14</A>.
<I>Under the firmament</I> he saw <I>the wings of the living
creatures</I> erect,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
When they pleased they used them either for flight or for covering.
God is on high, <I>above the firmament;</I> the angels are <I>under the
firmament,</I> which denotes their subjection to God's dominion and
their readiness to fly on his errands <I>in the open firmament of
heaven,</I> and to serve him unanimously.
2. What he heard.
(1.) He heard the <I>noise of the angels' wings,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
Bees and other insects make a great noise with the vibration of their
wings; here the angels do so, to awaken the attention of the prophet to
that which God was about to say to him from <I>the firmament,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
Angels, by the providences they are employed in, sound God's alarms to
the children of men and stir them up to <I>hear his voice;</I> for that
is it that <I>cries in the city</I> and is heard and understood by
<I>the men of wisdom. The noise of their wings</I> was loud and
terrible, <I>as the noise of great waters</I> (like the rout or roaring
of the sea), and <I>as the noise of a host,</I> the noise of war; but
it was articulate and intelligible, and did not <I>give an uncertain
sound;</I> for it was <I>the voice of speech;</I> nay, it was <I>as the
voice of the Almighty,</I> for <I>God,</I> by his providences,
<I>speaks once, yea, twice,</I> if we could by <I>perceive it,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+33:14">Job xxxiii. 14</A>.
The <I>Lord's voice cries,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+6:9">Mic. vi. 9</A>.
(2.) He heard a <I>voice from the firmament,</I> from him that sits
upon the throne there,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
When the angels moved they <I>made a noise with their wings;</I> but,
when with that they had roused a careless world, they stood still, and
<I>let down their wings,</I> that there might be a profound silence,
and so God's voice might be the better heard. The voice of Providence
is designed to open men's ears to the voice of the word, to do the
office of the crier, who with a loud voice charges silence while the
judge passes sentence. <I>He that has ears to hear, let him hear.</I>
Note, Noises on earth should awaken our attention to the <I>voice from
the firmament;</I> for <I>how shall we escape if we turn away from him
that speaks from heaven!</I></P>
<A NAME="Eze1_26"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_27"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze1_28"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Vision of the Divine Throne.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 595.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>26 And above the firmament that <I>was</I> over their heads <I>was</I>
the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone:
and upon the likeness of the throne <I>was</I> the likeness as the
appearance of a man above upon it.
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day
of rain, so <I>was</I> the appearance of the brightness round about.
This <I>was</I> the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>. And when I saw <I>it,</I> I fell upon my face, and I heard a
voice of one that spake.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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 <I>see the voice that spoke
with him,</I> and he <I>saw one like unto the Son of man,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:12,13">Rev. i. 12, 13</A>.
The second person sometimes tried the <I>fashion of a man</I>
occasionally before he clothed himself with it for good and all; and
the Spirit of prophecy is called the <I>Spirit of Christ</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:11">1 Pet. i. 11</A>)
and the <I>testimony of Jesus,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+19:10">Rev. xix. 10</A>.
1. This glory of Christ that the prophet saw <I>was above the
firmament</I> that was <I>over the heads</I> of the living creatures,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
Note, The heads of angels themselves are under the feet of the Lord
Jesus; for the firmament that is over their heads is under his feet.
<I>Angels, principalities, and powers are made subject to him,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+3:22">1 Pet. iii. 22</A>.
This dignity and dominion of the Redeemer before his incarnation
magnify his condescension in his incarnation, when he was <I>made a
little lower than the angels,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+2:9">Heb. ii. 9</A>.
2. The first thing he observed was a <I>throne;</I> for divine
revelation comes backed and supported with a royal authority. We must
have an eye of faith to God and Christ as upon a throne. The first
thing that John discovered in his visions was <I>a throne set in
heaven</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+4:2">Rev. iv. 2</A>),
which commands reverence and subjection. It is a throne of glory, a
throne of grace, a throne of triumph, a throne of government, a throne
of judgment. <I>The Lord has prepared his throne in the heavens,</I>
has prepared it for his Son, whom he has set <I>King on his holy hill
of Zion.</I>
3. On the throne he saw <I>the appearance of a man.</I> This is good
new to the children of men, that the throne above the firmament is
filled with one that is not ashamed to appear, even there, in the
likeness of man. Daniel, in vision, saw the kingdom and dominion given
to one <I>like the Son of man,</I> who <I>therefore</I> has
<I>authority given him to execute judgment because he is the Son of
man</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+5:27">John v. 27</A>),
so appearing in these visions.
4. He saw him as a prince and judge upon this throne. Though he
appeared <I>in fashion as a man,</I> yet he appeared in more than human
glory,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>.
(1.) Is God a <I>shining light?</I> So is he: when the prophet saw him
he saw <I>as the colour of amber,</I> that is, a <I>brightness round
about;</I> for God dwells in light, and <I>covers himself with light as
with a garment.</I> How low did the Redeemer stoop for us when, to
bring about our salvation, he suffered his glory to be eclipsed by the
veil of his humanity!
(2.) Is God a <I>consuming fire?</I> So is he: from his loins, both
upward and downward, there was the <I>appearance of fire.</I> The fire
above the loins was <I>round about within the amber;</I> it was inward
and involved. That below the loins was more outward and open, and yet
that also had <I>brightness round about.</I> Some make the former to
signify Christ's divine nature, the glory and virtue of which are
hidden within the <I>colour of amber;</I> it is what no man has seen
nor can see. The latter they suppose to be his human nature, the glory
of which there were those who saw; the glory as of <I>the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+1:14">John i. 14</A>.
He had <I>rays coming out of his hand, and yet there was the hiding of
his power,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hab+3:4">Hab. iii. 4</A>.
The fire in which the Son of man appeared here might be intended to
signify the judgments that were ready to be executed upon Judah and
Jerusalem, coming form that <I>fiery indignation</I> of the Almighty
which <I>devours the adversaries.</I> Nothing is more dreadful to the
most daring sinners than <I>the wrath of him that sits upon the throne,
and of the Lamb,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+6:16">Rev. vi. 16</A>.
The day is coming when <I>the Lord Jesus shall be revealed in flaming
fire,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Th+1:7,8">2 Thess. i. 7, 8</A>.
It concerns us therefore <I>to kiss the Son lest he be angry.</I>
5. The throne is surrounded with a rainbow,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>.
It is so in St. John's vision,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+4:3">Rev. iv. 3</A>.
The brightness about it was of divers colours, <I>as the bow that is in
the cloud in the day of rain,</I> which, as it is a display of majesty,
and looks very great, so it is a pledge of mercy, and looks very kind;
for it is a confirmation of that gracious promise God has made that he
will not drown the world again, and he has said, <I>I will look upon
the bow and remember the covenant,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:16">Gen. ix. 16</A>.
This intimates that he who <I>sits upon the throne</I> is the
<I>Mediator of the covenant,</I> that his dominion is for our
protection, not our destruction, that he interposes between us and the
judgments our sins have deserved, and that <I>all the promises of God
are in him yea and amen.</I> Now that the fire of God's wrath was
breaking out against Jerusalem bounds should be set to it, and he would
not make an utter destruction of it, for he would <I>look upon the bow
and remember the covenant,</I> as he promised in such a case,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+26:42">Lev. xxvi. 42</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<I>Lastly,</I> We have the conclusion of this vision. Observe,
1. What notion the prophet himself had of it: <I>This was the
appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.</I> 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, <I>This was the Lord</I> (for he is invisible), but,
<I>This was the glory of the Lord,</I> in which he was pleased to
manifest himself a glorious being; yet it is not <I>the glory of the
Lord,</I> but <I>the likeness of that glory,</I> some faint resemblance
of it; nor is it any adequate likeness of that glory, but only <I>the
appearance of that likeness,</I> a shadow of it, and not the very
<I>image of the thing,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+10:1">Heb. x. 1</A>.
2. What impressions it made upon him: <I>When I saw it, I fell upon my
face.</I>
(1.) He was overpowered by it; the dazzling lustre of it conquered him
and threw him upon his face; for <I>who is able to stand before this
holy Lord God?</I> Or, rather,
(2.) He prostrated himself in a humble sense of his own unworthiness of
the honour now done him, and of the infinite distance which he now,
more than ever, perceived to be between him and God; he fell upon his
face in token of that holy awe and reverence of God with which his mind
was possessed and filled. Note, The more God is pleased to make known
of himself to us the more low we should be before him. He <I>fell upon
his face</I> to adore the majesty of God, to implore his mercy and to
deprecate the wrath he saw ready to break out against the children of
his people.
3. What instructions he had from it. All he saw was only to prepare him
for that which he was to hear; for <I>faith comes by hearing.</I> He
therefore <I>heard a voice of one that spoke;</I> for we are taught by
words, not merely by hieroglyphics. When <I>he fell on his face,</I>
ready to received the word, then he <I>heard the voice of one that
spoke;</I> for God delights to teach the humble.</P>
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