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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Ezekiel IX].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<HR>
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E Z E K I E L.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. IX.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The prophet had, in vision, seen the wickedness that was committed at
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Jerusalem, in the foregoing chapter, and we may be sure that it was not
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represented to him worse than really it was; now here follows, of
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course, a representation of their ruin approaching; for when sin goes
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before judgments come next. Here is,
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I. Preparation made of instruments that were to be employed in the
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destruction of the city,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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II. The removal of the Shechinah from the cherubim to the threshold of
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the temple,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:3">ver. 3</A>.
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III. Orders given to one of the persons employed, who is distinguished
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from the rest, for the marking of a remnant to be preserved from the
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common destruction,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:3,4">ver. 3, 4</A>.
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IV. The warrant signed for the execution of those that were not marked,
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and the execution begun accordingly,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:5-7">ver. 5-7</A>.
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V. The prophet's intercession for the mitigation of the sentence, and a
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denial of any mitigation, the decree having now gone forth,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:8-10">ver. 8-10</A>.
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VI. The report made by him that was to mark the pious remnant of what
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he had done in that matter,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:11">ver. 11</A>.
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And this shows a usual method of Providence in the government of the
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world.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Eze9_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze9_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze9_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze9_4"> </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>Preparations to Destroy Jerusalem; The Righteous Marked for Salvation.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD VALIGN=BOTTOM ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 593.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause
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them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man
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<I>with</I> his destroying weapon in his hand.
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2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate,
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which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in
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his hand; and one man among them <I>was</I> clothed with linen, with a
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writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside
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the brasen altar.
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3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the
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cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he
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called to the man clothed with linen, which <I>had</I> the writer's
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inkhorn by his side;
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4 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> said unto him, Go through the midst of the city,
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through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads
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of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that
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be done in the midst thereof.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In these verses we have,</P>
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<P>
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I. The summons given to Jerusalem's destroyers to come forth and give
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their attendance. He that appeared to the prophet
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+8:2"><I>ch.</I> viii. 2</A>),
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that had brought him to Jerusalem and had shown the wickedness that was
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done there, <I>he cried, Cause those that have charge over the city to
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draw near</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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or, as it might better be read, and nearer the original, <I>Those that
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have charge over the city are drawing near.</I> He had said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+8:18"><I>ch.</I> viii. 18</A>),
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<I>I will deal in fury;</I> now, says he to the prophet, thou shalt see
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who are to be employed as the instruments of my wrath.
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<I>Appropinquaverunt visitationes civitatis--The visitations</I> (or
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visitors) <I>of the city are at hand.</I> They would not <I>know the
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day of their visitations</I> in mercy, and now they are to be visited
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in wrath. Observe,
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1. How the notice of this is given to the prophet: <I>He cried it in my
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ears with a loud voice,</I> which intimates the vehemency of him that
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spoke; when men are highly provoked, and threaten in anger, they speak
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aloud. Those that regard not the counsels God gives them in a still
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small voice shall be made to hear the threatenings, to hear and
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tremble. It denotes also the prophet's unwillingness to be told this:
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he was deaf on that ear, but there is no remedy, their sin will not
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admit an excuse and therefore their judgment will not admit a delay:
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"<I>He cried it in my ears with a loud voice;</I> he made me hear it,
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and I heard it with a sad heart."
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2. What this notice is. There are those <I>that have charge over the
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city</I> to destroy it, not the Chaldean armies, they are to be indeed
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employed in this work, but they are not the visitors, they are only the
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servants, or tools rather. God's angels have received a charge now to
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lay that city waste, which they had long had a charge to protect and
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watch over. They are at hand, as destroying angels, as ministers of
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wrath, for <I>every man has his destroying weapon in his hand,</I> as
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the angel that kept the way of the tree of life with a flaming sword.
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Note, Those that have by sin made God their enemy have made the good
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angels their enemies too. These visitors are called and <I>caused to
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draw near.</I> Note, God has ministers of wrath always within call,
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always at command, invisible powers, by whom he accomplishes is
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purposes. The prophet is made to see this in vision, that he might with
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the greater assurance in his preaching denounce these judgments. God
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told it him with a loud voice, <I>taught it him with a strong hand</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:11">Isa. viii. 11</A>),
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that it might make the deeper impression upon him and that he might
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thus proclaim it in the people's ears.</P>
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<P>
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II. Their appearance, upon this summons, is recorded. Immediately
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<I>six men came</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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one for each of the principal gates of Jerusalem. Two destroying angels
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were sent against Sodom, but six against Jerusalem; for Jerusalem's
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doom in the judgment will be thrice as heavy as that of Sodom. There is
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an angel watching at every gate to destroy, to bring in judgments from
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every quarter, and to take heed that none escape. One angel served to
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destroy the first-born of Egypt, and the camp of the Assyrians, but
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here are six. In the Revelation we find seven that were to <I>pour out
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the vials of God's wrath,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+16:1">Rev. xvi. 1</A>.
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They came with every one <I>a slaughter-weapon in his hand,</I>
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prepared for the work to which they were called. The nations of which
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the king of Babylon's army was composed, which some reckon to be six,
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and the commanders of his army (of whom <I>six</I> are named as
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principal,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+39:3">Jer. xxxix. 3</A>),
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may be called <I>the slaughter-weapons</I> in the hands of the angels.
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The angels are thoroughly furnished for every service.
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1. Observe whence they came--<I>from the way of the higher gate, which
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lies towards the north</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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either because the Chaldeans came from the north
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+1:14">Jer. i. 14</A>,
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<I>Out of the north an evil shall break forth</I>) or because the image
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of jealousy was set up <I>at the door of the inner gate that looks
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towards the north,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+8:3,5"><I>ch.</I> viii. 3, 5</A>.
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At that gate of the temple the destroying angels entered, to show what
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it was that opened the door to them. Note, That way that sin lies
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judgments may be expected to come.
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2. Observe where they placed themselves: <I>They went in and stood
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beside the brazen altar,</I> on which sacrifices were wont to be
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offered and atonement made. When they acted as destroyers they acted as
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sacrificers, not from any personal revenge or ill-will, but with a pure
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and sincere regard to the glory of God; for to his justice all they
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slew were offered up as victims. <I>They stood by the altar,</I> as it
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were to protect and vindicate that, and plead its righteous cause, and
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avenge the horrid profanation of it. At the altar they were to receive
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their commission to destroy, to intimate that the iniquity of
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Jerusalem, like that of Eli's house, was <I>not to be purged by
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sacrifice.</I></P>
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<P>
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III. The notice taken of one among the destroying angels distinguished
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in his habit from the rest, from whom some favour might be expected; it
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should seem he was not one of the six, but <I>among them,</I> to see
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that mercy was mixed with judgment,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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This <I>man was clothed with linen,</I> as the priests were, and he had
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a <I>writer's inkhorn</I> hanging at <I>his side,</I> as anciently
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attorneys and lawyers' clerks had, which he was to make use of, as the
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other six were to make use of their <I>destroying weapons.</I> Here the
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honours of the pen exceeded those of the sword, but he was the Lord of
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angels that made use of the <I>writer's inkhorn;</I> for it is
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generally agreed, among the best interpreters, that this man
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represented Christ as Mediator saving those that are his from the
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flaming sword of divine justice. He is our <I>high priest,</I> clothed
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with holiness, for that was signified by the <I>fine linen,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+19:8">Rev. xix. 8</A>.
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As prophet he wears the <I>writer's inkhorn.</I> The book of life is
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the Lamb's book. The great things of the law and gospel which God has
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written to us are of his writing; for it is the Spirit of Christ, in
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the writers of the scripture, that testifies to us, and the Bible is
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<I>the revelation of Jesus Christ.</I> Note, It is a matter of great
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comfort to all good Christians that, in the midst of the destroyers and
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the destructions that are abroad, there is a Mediator, a great high
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priest, who has an interest in heaven, and whom saints on earth have an
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interest in.</P>
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<P>
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IV. The removal of the appearance of the divine glory from over the
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cherubim. Some think this was that usual display of the divine glory
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which was between the cherubim over the mercy seat, in the most holy
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place, that took leave of them now, and never returned; for it is
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supposed that it was not in the second temple. Others think it was that
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display of the divine glory which the prophet now saw over the cherubim
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in vision; and this is more probable, because this is called <I>the
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glory of the God of Israel</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+8:4"><I>ch.</I> viii. 4</A>),
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and this is it which he had now his eye upon; this was gone <I>to the
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threshold of the house,</I> as it were to call to the servants that
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attended without the door, to send them on their errand and give them
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their instructions. And the removal of this, as well as the former,
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might be significant of God's departure from them, and leaving them
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their house desolate; and when God goes all good goes, but he goes from
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none till they first drive him from them. He went at first no further
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than <I>the threshold,</I> that he might show how loth he was to
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depart, and might give them both time and encouragement to invite his
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return to them and his stay with them. Note, God's departures from a
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people are gradual, but gracious souls are soon award of the first step
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he takes towards a remove. Ezekiel immediately observed that <I>the
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glory of the god of Israel had gone up from the cherub:</I> and what is
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a vision of angels if God be gone?</P>
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<P>
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V. The charge given <I>to the man clothed in linen</I> to secure the
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pious remnant from the general desolation. We do not read that this
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Saviour was summoned and sent for, as the destroyers were; for he is
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always ready, <I>appearing in the presence of God for us;</I> and to
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him, as the most proper person, the care of those that are marked for
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salvation is committed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Now observe,
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1. The distinguishing character of this remnant that is to be saved.
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They are such as <I>sigh and cry,</I> sigh in themselves, as men in
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pain and distress, cry to God in prayer, as men in earnest, because of
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<I>all the abominations that</I> are committed in Jerusalem. It was not
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only the idolatries they were guilty of, but all their other
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enormities, that were abominations to God. These pious few had
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witnessed against those abominations and had done what they could in
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their places to suppress them; but, finding all their attempts for the
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reformation of manners fruitless, they sat down, and <I>sighted, and
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cried,</I> wept in secret, and complained to God, because of the
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dishonour done to his name by their wickedness and the ruin it was
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bringing upon their church and nation. Note, It is not enough that we
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do not delight in the sins of others, and that we have not fellowship
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with them, but we must mourn for them, and lay them to heart; we must
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grieve for that which we cannot help, as those that hate sin for its
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own sake, and have a tender concern for the souls of others, as David
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:136">Ps. cxix. 136</A>),
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and Lot, who <I>vexed his righteous soul</I> with the wicked
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conversation of his neighbours. The abominations committed in Jerusalem
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are to be in a special manner lamented, because they are in a
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particular manner offensive to God.
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2. The distinguishing care taken of them. Orders are given to find
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those all out that are of such a pious public spirit: "<I>Go through
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the midst of the city</I> in quest of them, and though they are ever so
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much dispersed, and ever so closely hid from the fury of their
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persecutors, yet see that you discover them, <I>and set a mark upon</I>
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their <I>foreheads,</I>"
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(1.) To signify that God owns them for his, and he will confess them
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another day. A work of grace in the soul is to God <I>a mark upon the
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forehead,</I> which he will acknowledge as his mark, and by which <I>he
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knows those that are his.</I>
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(2.) To give to them who are thus marked an assurance of God's favour,
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that they may know it themselves; and the comfort of knowing it will be
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the most powerful support and cordial in calamitous times. Why should
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we perplex ourselves about this temporal life if we know by the mark
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that we have eternal life?
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(3.) To be a direction to the destroyers whom to pass by, as the blood
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upon the door-posts was an indication that that was an Israelite's
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house, and the first-born there must not be slain. Note, Those who keep
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themselves pure in times of common iniquity God will keep safe in times
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of common calamity. Those that distinguish themselves shall be
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distinguished; those that cry for other men's sins shall not need to
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cry for their own afflictions, for they shall be either delivered from
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them or comforted under them. God will set a mark upon his mourners,
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will book their sighs and bottle their tears. The <I>sealing of the
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servants of God in their foreheads</I> mentioned in
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+7:3">Rev. vii. 3</A>
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was the same token of the care God has of his own people with this
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related here; only this was to secure them from being destroyed, that
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from being seduced, which is equivalent.</P>
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<A NAME="Eze9_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze9_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze9_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze9_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze9_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze9_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze9_11"> </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 Righteous Distinguished; The Prophet's Intercession.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 593.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him
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through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have
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ye pity:
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6 Slay utterly old <I>and</I> young, both maids, and little
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children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom <I>is</I> the
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mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient
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men which <I>were</I> before the house.
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7 And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts
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with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the
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city.
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8 And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was
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|
left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>!
|
|
wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of
|
|
thy fury upon Jerusalem?
|
|
9 Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and
|
|
Judah <I>is</I> exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and
|
|
the city full of perverseness: for they say, The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath
|
|
forsaken the earth, and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> seeth not.
|
|
10 And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I
|
|
have pity, <I>but</I> I will recompense their way upon their head.
|
|
11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which <I>had</I> the
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|
inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as
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|
thou hast commanded me.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In these verses we have,</P>
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|
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<P>
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|
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I. A command given to the destroyers to do execution according to their
|
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commission. <I>They stood by the brazen altar,</I> waiting for orders;
|
|
and orders are here given them to cut off and destroy all that were
|
|
either guilty of, or accessory to, the abominations of Jerusalem, and
|
|
that did not <I>sigh and cry</I> for them. Note, When God has
|
|
<I>gathered his wheat into his garner</I> nothing remains but to
|
|
<I>burn up the chaff,</I>
|
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+3:12">Matt. iii. 12</A>.</P>
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<P>
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1. They are ordered to destroy all,
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(1.) Without exception. They must <I>go through the city, and
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|
smite;</I> they must <I>slay utterly,</I> slay to destruction, give
|
|
them their death's wound. They must make no distinction of age or sex,
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|
but cut off <I>old and young;</I> neither the beauty of the virgins,
|
|
nor the innocency of the babes, shall secure them. This was fulfilled
|
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in the death of multitudes by famine and pestilence, especially by the
|
|
sword of the Chaldeans, as far as the military execution went.
|
|
Sometimes even such bloody work as this has been God's work. But what
|
|
an evil thing is sin, then, which provokes the God of infinite mercy to
|
|
such severity!
|
|
|
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(2.) Without compassion: "<I>Let not your eye spare, neither have you
|
|
pity</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>);
|
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you must not save any whom God has doomed to destruction, as Saul did
|
|
Agag and the Amalekites, for that is <I>doing the work of God
|
|
deceitfully,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+48:10">Jer. xlviii. 10</A>.
|
|
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None need to be more merciful than God is; and he had said
|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+8:18"><I>ch.</I> viii. 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>My eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity.</I>" Note, Those
|
|
that live in sin, and hate to be reformed, will perish in sin, and
|
|
deserve not to be pitied; for they might easily have prevented the
|
|
ruin, and would not.</P>
|
|
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|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. They are warned not to do the least hurt to those that were marked
|
|
for salvation: "<I>Come not near any man upon whom is the mark;</I> do
|
|
not so much as threaten or frighten any of them; it is promised them
|
|
that there shall no evil come nigh them, and therefore you must keep at
|
|
a distance from them." The king of Babylon gave particular orders that
|
|
Jeremiah should be protected. Baruch and Ebed-melech were secured, and,
|
|
it is likely, others of Jeremiah's friends, for his sake. God had
|
|
promised that <I>it should go well with his remnant</I> and they
|
|
<I>should be well treated</I>
|
|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+15:11">Jer. xv. 11</A>);
|
|
|
|
and we have reason to think that none of the mourning praying remnant
|
|
fell by the sword of the Chaldeans, but that God found out some way or
|
|
other to secure them all, as, in the last destruction of Jerusalem by
|
|
the Romans, the Christians were all secured in a city called
|
|
<I>Pella,</I> and none of them perished with the unbelieving Jews.
|
|
Note, None of those shall be lost whom God has marked for life and
|
|
salvation; for the foundation of God stands sure.</P>
|
|
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|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. They are directed to <I>begin at the sanctuary</I>
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|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
that sanctuary which, in the chapter before, he had seen the horrid
|
|
profanation of; they must begin there because there the wickedness
|
|
began which provoked God to send these judgments. The debaucheries of
|
|
the priests were the poisoning of the springs, to which all the
|
|
corruption of the streams was owing. The wickedness of the sanctuary
|
|
was of all wickedness the most offensive to God, and therefore there
|
|
the slaughter must begin: "<I>Begin</I> there, to try if the people
|
|
will take warning by the judgments of God upon their priests, and will
|
|
repent and reform; <I>begin</I> there, that all the world may see and
|
|
know that the Lord, whose name is <I>Jealous,</I> is <I>a jealous
|
|
God,</I> and hates sin most in those that are nearest to him." Note,
|
|
When judgments are abroad they commonly <I>begin at the house of
|
|
God,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+4:17">1 Pet. iv. 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>You only have I known, and therefore I will punish you,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+3:2">Amos iii. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
God's temple is a sanctuary, a refuge and protection for penitent
|
|
sinners, but not for any that <I>go on still in their trespasses;</I>
|
|
neither the sacredness of the place nor the eminency of their place in
|
|
it will be their security. It should seem the destroyers made some
|
|
difficulty of putting men to death in the temple, but God bids them not
|
|
to hesitate at that, but
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Defile the house, and fill the courts with slain.</I> They will not
|
|
be <I>taken from the altar</I> (as was appointed by the law,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+21:14">Exod. xxi. 14</A>),
|
|
|
|
but think to secure themselves by <I>keeping hold of the horns of</I>
|
|
it, like Joab, and therefore, like him, let them <I>die there,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+2:30,31">1 Kings ii. 30, 31</A>.
|
|
|
|
There the blood of one of God's prophets had been shed
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+23:35">Matt. xxiii. 35</A>)
|
|
|
|
and therefore let their blood be shed. Note, If the servants of God's
|
|
house defile it with their idolatries, God will justly suffer the
|
|
enemies of it to defile it with their violences,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+79:1">Ps. lxxix. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
But these acts of necessary justice were really, whatever they were
|
|
ceremonially, rather a purification than a pollution of the sanctuary;
|
|
it was <I>putting away evil from among them.</I>
|
|
|
|
4. They are appointed to <I>go forth into the city,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:6,7"><I>v.</I> 6, 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, Wherever sin has gone before judgement will follow after; and,
|
|
though <I>judgement begins at the house of God,</I> yet it shall not
|
|
end there. The holy city shall be no more a protection to the wicked
|
|
people then the holy house was to the wicked priests.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Here is execution done accordingly. They observed their orders,
|
|
and,
|
|
|
|
1. <I>They began at the</I> elders, <I>the ancient men that were before
|
|
the house,</I> and slew them first, either those seventy ancients who
|
|
worshipped idols in their chambers
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+8:12"><I>ch.</I> viii. 12</A>)
|
|
|
|
or those twenty-five who <I>worshipped the sun between the porch and
|
|
the altar,</I> who might more properly be said to be <I>before the
|
|
house.</I> Note, Ringleaders in sin may expect to be first met with by
|
|
the judgments of God; and the sins of those who are in the most
|
|
eminent and public stations call for the most exemplary punishments.
|
|
|
|
2. They proceeded to the common people: <I>They went forth and slew in
|
|
the city;</I> for, when the decree has gone forth, there shall be no
|
|
delay; if God begin, he will make an end.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. Here is the prophet's intercession for a mitigation of the
|
|
judgement, and a reprieve for some
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>While they were slaying them, and I was left, I fell upon my
|
|
face.</I> Observe here,
|
|
|
|
1. How sensible the prophet was of God's mercy to him, in that he was
|
|
spared when so many round about him were cut off. <I>Thousands fell on
|
|
his right hand, and on his left,</I> and yet <I>the destruction</I> did
|
|
<I>not come nigh him; only with his eyes did he behold the just reward
|
|
of the wicked,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+91:7,8">Ps. xci. 7, 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
He speaks as one that narrowly escaped the destruction, attributing it
|
|
to God's goodness, not his own deserts. Note, The best saints must
|
|
acknowledge themselves indebted to sparing mercy that they are not
|
|
consumed. And when desolating judgments are abroad, and multitudes
|
|
fall by them, it ought to be accounted a great favor if we have our
|
|
<I>lives given us for a prey;</I> for we might justly have perished
|
|
with those that perished.
|
|
|
|
2. Observe how he improved this mercy; he looked upon it that
|
|
<I>therefore</I> he was left that he might stand in the gap to turn
|
|
away the wrath of God. Note, We must look upon it that for this reason
|
|
we are spared, that we may do good in our places, may do good by our
|
|
prayers. Ezekiel did not triumph in the slaughter he made, but his
|
|
<I>flesh trembled for the fear of God,</I> (as David's,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:120">Ps. cxix. 120</A>);
|
|
|
|
he <I>fell on</I> his <I>face, and cried,</I> not in fear for himself
|
|
(he was one of those that were marked), but in compassion to his
|
|
fellow-creatures. Those that sigh and cry for the sins of sinners
|
|
cannot but sigh and cry for their miseries too; yet the day is coming
|
|
when all this concern will be entirely swallowed up in a full
|
|
satisfaction in this, that God is glorified; and those that now <I>fall
|
|
on their faces, and cry, Ah! Lord God,</I> will lift up their heads,
|
|
and sing, <I>Hallelujah,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+19:1,3">Rev. xix. 1, 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
The prophet humbly expostulates with God: "<I>Wilt thou destroy all the
|
|
residue of Israel,</I> and shall there be none left but the few that
|
|
are marked? Shall the Israel of God be destroyed, utterly destroyed?
|
|
When there are but a few left shall those be cut off, who might have
|
|
been the seed of another generation? And will the God of Israel be
|
|
himself their destroyer? Wilt thou now destroy Israel, who wast wont to
|
|
protect and deliver Israel? Wilt thou so <I>pour out thy fury upon
|
|
Jerusalem</I> as by the total destruction of the city to ruin the whole
|
|
country too? Surely thou wilt not!" Note, Though we acknowledge that
|
|
<I>God is righteous,</I> yet we have leave to <I>plead with him
|
|
concerning his judgments,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+12:1">Jer. xii. 1</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. Here is God's denial of the prophet's request for a mitigation of
|
|
the judgement and his justification of himself in that denial,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
1. Nothing could be said in extenuation of this sin. God was willing to
|
|
show mercy as the prophet could desire; he always is so. But here the
|
|
case will not admit of it; it is such that mercy cannot be granted
|
|
without wrong to justice; and it is not fit that one attribute of God
|
|
should be glorified at the expense of another. Is it any pleasure to
|
|
the Almighty that he should destroy, especially that he should destroy
|
|
Israel? By no means. But the truth is their crimes are so flagrant that
|
|
the reprieve of the sinners would be a connivance at the sin: "<I>The
|
|
iniquity of the house of Judah and Israel is exceedingly great;</I>
|
|
there is no suffering them to go on at this rate. <I>The land is filled
|
|
with the innocent blood,</I> and, when the city courts are appealed to
|
|
for the defence of injured innocency, the remedy is as bad as the
|
|
disease, for <I>the city is full of perverseness,</I> or <I>wrestling
|
|
of judgement;</I> and that which they support themselves with in this
|
|
iniquity is the same atheistical profane principle with which they
|
|
flattered themselves in their idolatry,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+8:12"><I>ch.</I> viii. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>The Lord has forsaken the earth,</I> and left it to us to do what we
|
|
will in it; he will not intermeddle in the affairs of it; and, whatever
|
|
wrong we do, he <I>sees not;</I> he either knows it not, or will not
|
|
take cognizance of it." Now how can those expect benefit by the mercy
|
|
of God who thus bid defiance to his justice? No; nothing can be offered
|
|
by an advocate in excuse of the crimes while the criminal puts in such
|
|
a plea as this in his own vindication; and therefore.
|
|
|
|
2. Nothing can be done to mitigate the sentence
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
|
|
|
|
"Whatever thou thinkest of it, <I>as for me, my eye shall not spare,
|
|
neither will I have pity;</I> I have borne with them as long as it was
|
|
fit that such impudent sinners should be borne with; and therefore now
|
|
<I>I will recompense their way on their head.</I>" Note, Sinners sink
|
|
and perish under the weight of their own sins; it is their own way,
|
|
which they deliberately chose rather than the way of God, and which
|
|
they obstinately persisted in, in contempt of the word of God, that is
|
|
<I>recompensed on</I> them. Great iniquities justify God in great
|
|
severities; nay, he is ready to justify himself, as he does here to the
|
|
prophet, for he will be <I>clear when he judges.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. Here is a return made of the writ of protection which was issued out
|
|
for the securing of those that mourned in Zion
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+9:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The man clothed with linen reported the matter,</I> gave an account
|
|
of what he had done in pursuance of his commission; he had found out
|
|
all that mourned in secret for the sins of the land, and cried out
|
|
against them by a public testimony, and had marked them all in the
|
|
forehead. Lord, <I>I have done as thou hast commanded me.</I> We do not
|
|
find that those who were commissioned to destroy reported what
|
|
destruction they had made, but he who was appointed to protect reported
|
|
his matter; for it would be more pleasing both to God and to the
|
|
prophet to hear of those that were saved than of those that perished.
|
|
Or this report was made now because the thing was finished, whereas the
|
|
destroying work would be a work of time, and when it was brought to an
|
|
end then the report should be made. See how faithful Christ is to the
|
|
trust reposed in him. Is he commanded to secure eternal life to the
|
|
chosen remnant? He has done as was commanded him. <I>Of all that thou
|
|
hast given me I have lost none.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
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