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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P S A L M S</B></FONT>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>PSALM LXXXVII.</FONT>
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<P>
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The foregoing psalm was very plain and easy, but in this are things
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dark and hard to be understood. It is an encomium of Zion, as a type
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and figure of the gospel-church, to which what is here spoken is very
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applicable. Zion, for the temple's sake, is here preferred,
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I. Before the rest of the land of Canaan, as being crowned with special
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tokens of God's favour,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+87:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>.
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II. Before any other place or country whatsoever, as being replenished
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with more eminent men and with a greater plenty of divine blessings,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+87:4-7">ver. 4-7</A>.
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Some think it was penned to express the joy of God's people when Zion
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was in a flourishing state; others think it was penned to encourage
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their faith and hope when Zion was in ruins and was to be rebuilt after
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the captivity. Though no man cared for her
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+30:17">Jer. xxx. 17</A>,
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"This is Zion whom no man seeketh after"), yet God had done great
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things for her, and spoken glorious things of her, which should all
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have their perfection and accomplishment in the gospel-church; to that
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therefore we must have an eye in singing this psalm.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps87_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps87_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps87_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Glory of Zion.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<CENTER>
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<P>A psalm <I>or</I> song for the sons of Korah.</P>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 His foundation <I>is</I> in the holy mountains.
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2 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings
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of Jacob.
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3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Some make the first words of the psalm to be part of the title; it is a
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psalm or song whose subject is the holy mountains--the temple built in
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Zion upon Mount Moriah. This is the foundation of the argument, or
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beginning of the psalm. Or we may suppose the psalmist had now the
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tabernacle or temple in view and was contemplating the glories of it,
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and at length he breaks out into this expression, which has reference,
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though not to what he had written before, yet to what he had thought
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of; every one knew what he meant when he said thus abruptly, <I>Its
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foundation is in the holy mountains.</I> Three things are here
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observed, in praise of the temple:--
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1. That it was founded on the holy mountains,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+87:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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The church has a foundation, so that it cannot sink or totter; Christ
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himself is the foundation of it, which God has laid. The Jerusalem
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above is a city that has foundations. The foundation is upon the
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mountains. It is built high; the <I>mountain of the Lord's house is
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established upon the top of the mountains,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+2:2">Isa. ii. 2</A>.
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It is built firmly; the mountains are rocky, and on a rock the church
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is built. The world is founded upon the seas
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+24:2">Ps. xxiv. 2</A>),
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which are continually ebbing and flowing, and are a very weak
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foundation; Babel was built in a plain, where the ground was rotten.
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But the church is built upon the everlasting mountains and the
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perpetual hills; for sooner shall the mountains depart, and the hills
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be removed, than the covenant of God's peace shall be disannulled, and
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on that the church is built,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+54:10">Isa. lxiv. 10</A>.
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The foundation is upon the holy mountains. Holiness is the strength and
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stability of the church: it is this that will support it and keep it
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from sinking; not so much that it is built upon mountains as that it is
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built upon holy mountains--upon the promise of God, for the confirming
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of which he has sworn by his holiness, upon the sanctification of the
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Spirit, which will secure the happiness of all the saints.
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2. That God had expressed a particular affection for it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+87:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>The Lord loveth the gates of Zion,</I> of the temple, of <I>the
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houses of doctrine</I> (so the Chaldee), <I>more than all the dwellings
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of Jacob,</I> whether in Jerusalem or any where else in the country.
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God had said concerning Zion, <I>This is my rest for ever; here will I
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dwell.</I> There he met his people, and conversed with them, received
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their homage, and showed them the tokens of his favour, and therefore
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we may conclude how well he loves those gates. Note,
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(1.) God has a love for the dwellings of Jacob, has a gracious regard
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to religious families and accepts their family-worship.
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(2.) Yet he loves the gates of Zion better, not only better than any,
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but better than all, of the dwellings of Jacob. God was worshipped in
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the dwellings of Jacob, and family-worship is family-duty, which must
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by no means be neglected; yet, when they come in competition, public
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worship (<I>cæteris paribus--other things being equal</I>) is to
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be preferred before private.
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3. That there was much said concerning it in the word of God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+87:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God!</I> We are to
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judge of things and persons by the figure they make and the estimate
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put upon them in and by the scripture. Many base things were spoken of
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the city of God by the enemies of it, to render it mean and odious; but
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by him whose judgment we are sure is according to truth glorious things
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are spoken of it. God said of the temple, <I>My eyes and my heart shall
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be there perpetually; I have sanctified this house, that my name may be
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there for ever,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+7:16">2 Chron. vii. 16</A>.
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<I>Beautiful for situation is Mount Zion,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+48:2">Ps. xlviii. 2</A>.
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These are glorious things. Yet more glorious things are spoken of the
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gospel-church. It is the spouse of Christ, the purchase of his blood;
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it is a <I>peculiar people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood,</I> and
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the <I>gates of hell shall not prevail against it.</I> Let us not be
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ashamed of the church of Christ in its meanest condition, nor of any
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that belong to it, nor disown our relation to it, though it be turned
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ever so much to our reproach, since such glorious things are spoken of
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it, and not on iota or tittle of what is said shall fall to the
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ground.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps87_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps87_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps87_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps87_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Glory of Zion.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>4 I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know
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me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this <I>man</I> was
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born there.
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5 And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in
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her: and the highest himself shall establish her.
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6 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall count, when he writeth up the people, <I>that</I>
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this <I>man</I> was born there. Selah.
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7 As well the singers as the players on instruments <I>shall be
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there:</I> all my springs <I>are</I> in thee.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Zion is here compared with other places, and preferred before them; the
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church of Christ is more glorious and excellent than the nations of the
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earth.
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1. It is owned that other places have their glories
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+87:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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"<I>I will make mention of Rahab</I>" (that is, <I>Egypt) "and Babylon,
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to those that know me</I> and are about me, and with whom I discourse
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about public affairs; <I>behold Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia</I>"
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(or rather Arabia), "we will observe that <I>this man was born
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there;</I> here and there one famous man, eminent for knowledge and
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virtue, may be produced, that was a native of these countries; here and
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there one that becomes a proselyte and worshipper of the true God." But
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some give another sense of it, supposing that it is a prophecy or
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promise of bringing the Gentiles into the church and of uniting them in
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one body with the Jews. God says, "<I>I will reckon Egypt and Babylon
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with those that know me.</I> I will reckon them my people as much as
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Israel when they shall receive the gospel of Christ, and own them as
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born in Zion, born again there, and admitted to the privileges of Zion
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as freely as a true-born Israelite." Those that were strangers and
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foreigners became <I>fellow-citizens with the saints,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+2:19">Eph. ii. 19</A>.
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A Gentile convert shall stand upon a level with a native Jew; compare
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:23-25">Isa. xix. 23-25</A>.
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<I>The Lord shall say, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work
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of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.</I>
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2. It is proved that the glory of Zion outshines them all, upon many
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accounts; for,
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(1.) Zion shall produce many great and good men that shall be famous in
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their generation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+87:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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Of Zion it shall be said by all her neighbours that <I>this and that
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man were born in her,</I> many men of renown for wisdom and piety, and
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especially for acquaintance with the words of God and the visions of
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the Almighty--many prophets and kings, who should be greater favourites
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of heaven, and greater blessings to the earth, than ever were bred in
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Egypt or Babylon. The worthies of the church far exceed those of
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heathen nations, and their names will shine brighter than in perpetual
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records. <I>A man, a man was born in her,</I> by which some understand
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Christ, that man, that son of man, who is fairer than the children of
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men; he was born at Bethlehem near Zion, and was the glory of his
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people Israel. The greatest honour that ever was put upon the Jewish
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nation was, that of them, <I>as concerning the flesh, Christ came,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+9:5">Rom. ix. 5</A>.
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Or this also may be applied to the conversion of the Gentiles. Of Zion
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it shall be said that the law which went forth out of Zion, the gospel
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of Christ, shall be an instrument to beget many souls to God, and the
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Jerusalem that is from above shall be acknowledged the mother of them
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all.
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(2.) Zion's interest shall be strengthened and settled by an almighty
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power. <I>The Highest himself shall</I> undertake to <I>establish
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her,</I> who can do it effectually; the accession of proselytes out of
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various nations shall be so far from occasioning discord and division
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that it shall contribute greatly to Zion's strength; for, God himself
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having founded her upon an everlasting foundation, whatever convulsions
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and revolutions there are of states and kingdoms, and however heaven
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and earth may be shaken, these are things which cannot be shaken, but
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must remain.
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(3.) Zion's sons shall be registered with honour
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+87:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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"<I>The Lord shall count, when he writes up the people,</I> and takes a
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catalogue of his subjects, <I>that this man was born there,</I> and so
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is a subject by birth, by the first birth, being born in his house--by
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the second birth, being born again of his Spirit." When God comes to
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reckon with the children of men, that he may render to every man
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according to his works, he will observe who was born in Zion, and
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consequently enjoyed the privileges of God's sanctuary, to whom
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pertained the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the
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service of God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+9:4,Ro+3:1,2">Rom. ix. 4; iii. 1, 2</A>.
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For to them much was given, and therefore of them much will be
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required, and the account will be accordingly; five talents must be
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improved by those that were entrusted with five. <I>I know thy works,
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and where thou dwellest,</I> and where thou was born. <I>Selah.</I> Let
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those that dwell in Zion <I>mark this,</I> and live up to their
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profession.
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(4.) Zion's songs shall be sung with joy and triumph: <I>As well the
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singers as the players on instruments shall be there</I> to praise God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+87:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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It was much to the honour of Zion, and is to the honour of the
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gospel-church, that there God is served and worshipped with rejoicing:
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his work is done, and done cheerfully; see
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+68:25">Ps. lxviii. 25</A>.
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<I>All my springs are in thee,</I> O Zion! So God says; he has
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deposited treasures of grace in his holy ordinances; there are the
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springs from which those streams take rise <I>which make glad the city
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of our God,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+46:4">Ps. xlvi. 4</A>.
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So the psalmist says, reckoning the springs from which his dry soul
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must be watered to lie in the sanctuary, in the word and ordinances,
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and in the communion of saints. The springs of the joy of a carnal
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worldling lie in wealth and pleasure; but the springs of the joy of a
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gracious soul lie in the word of God and prayer. Christ is the true
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temple; all our springs are in him, and from him all our streams flow.
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<I>It pleased the Father,</I> and all believers are well pleased with
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it too, <I>that in him should all fulness dwell.</I></P>
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