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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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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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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. XXI.</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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In this chapter we have,
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I. An explication of the prophecy in the close of the foregoing chapter
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concerning the fire in the forest, which the people complained they
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could not understand
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:1-5">ver. 1-5</A>),
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with directions to the prophet to show himself deeply affected with it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:6,7">ver. 6, 7</A>.
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II. A further prediction of the sword that was coming upon the land, by
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which all should be laid waste; and this expressed very emphatically,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:8-17">ver. 8-17</A>.
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III. A prospect given of the king of Babylon's approach to Jerusalem,
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to which he was determined by divination,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:18-24">ver. 18-24</A>.
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IV. Sentence passed upon Zedekiah king of Judah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:25-27">ver. 25-27</A>.
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V. The destruction of the Ammonites by the sword foretold,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:28-32">ver. 28-32</A>.
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Thus is this chapter all threatenings.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Eze21_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze21_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze21_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze21_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze21_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze21_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze21_7"> </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>Threatenings against Israel; Judgments Predicted.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 592.</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 And the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto me, saying,
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2 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop <I>thy
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word</I> toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of
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Israel,
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3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; Behold, I
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<I>am</I> against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his
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sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.
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4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and
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the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath
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against all flesh from the south to the north:
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5 That all flesh may know that I the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> have drawn forth my
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sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.
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6 Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of <I>thy</I>
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loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.
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7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest
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thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh:
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and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and
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every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak <I>as</I> water:
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behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord
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G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The prophet had faithfully delivered the message he was entrusted with,
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in the close of the foregoing chapter, in the terms wherein he received
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it, not daring to add his own comment upon it; but, when he complained
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that the people found fault with him for speaking parables, the word of
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the Lord came to him again, and gave him a key to that figurative
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discourse, that with it he might let the people into the meaning of it
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and so silence that objection. For all men shall be rendered
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inexcusable at God's bar and every mouth shall be stopped. Note, He
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that <I>speaks with tongues</I> should <I>pray that he may
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interpret,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+14:13">1 Cor. xiv. 13</A>.
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When we speak to people about their souls we should study plainness,
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and express ourselves as we may be the best understood. Christ
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<I>expounded his parables to his disciples,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+4:34">Mark iv. 34</A>.
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1. The prophet is here more plainly directed against whom to level the
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arrow of this prophecy. He must <I>drop his word towards the holy
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places</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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towards Canaan the holy land, Jerusalem the holy city, the temple the
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holy house. These were highly dignified above other places; but, when
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they polluted them, that word which used to drop in the holy places
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shall now drop against them: <I>Prophesy against the land of
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Israel.</I> It was the honour of Israel that it had prophets and
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prophecy; but these, being despised by them, are turned against them.
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And justly is Zion battered with her own artillery, which used to be
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employed against her adversaries, seeing she knew not how to value it.
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2. He is instructed, and is to instruct the people, in the meaning of
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the fire that was threatened to consume the forest of the south: it
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signified a sword drawn, the sword of war which should make the land
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desolate
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>Behold, I am against thee, O land of Israel!</I> There needs no more
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to make a people miserable than to have God against them; for as, if he
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be for us, we need not fear, whoever are against us, so, if he be
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against us, we cannot hope, whoever are for us. And God's professing
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people, when they revolt from him, set him against them, who used to be
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for them. Was the fire there of God's kindling? The sword here is his
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sword, which he has prepared, and which he will give commission to; it
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is he that will <I>draw it out of its sheath,</I> where it had laid
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quiet and threatened no harm. Note, When the sword is unsheathed among
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the nations God's hand must be eyed and owned in it. Did the fire
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devour <I>every green tree</I> and <I>every dry tree?</I> The sword in
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like manner shall <I>cut off the righteous and the wicked.</I> Good and
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bad were involved in the common calamities of the nation; the righteous
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were <I>cut off from the land of Israel</I> when they were sent
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captives in Babylon, though perhaps few or none of them were cut off
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from the land of the living; and it was a threatening omen to the land
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of Israel that in the beginning of its troubles such excellent men as
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Daniel and his fellows, and Ezekiel, were cut off from it and conveyed
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to Babylon. But though the sword <I>cut off the righteous and the
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wicked</I> (for it <I>devours one as well as another,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+11:25">2 Sam. xi. 25</A>),
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yet far be it from us to think that <I>the righteous are as the
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wicked,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+18:25">Gen. xviii. 25</A>.
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No; God's graces and comforts make a great difference when his
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providence seems to make none. The <I>good figs</I> are sent into
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Babylon <I>for their good,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+24:5,6">Jer. xxiv. 5, 6</A>.
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It is only in outward appearance that there is <I>one event to the
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righteous and to the wicked,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+9:2">Eccl. ix. 2</A>.
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But it speaks the greatness of God's displeasure against the land of
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Israel. Well might it be said, <I>His eye shall not spare,</I> when it
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shall not spare, no, not the <I>righteous</I> in it. Since there are
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not righteous men sufficient to save the land, to make the justice of
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God the more illustrious the few that there are shall suffer with it,
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and God's mercy shall make it up to them some other way. Did the fire
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<I>burn up all faces from the south to the north?</I> The sword shall
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go <I>forth against all flesh from the south to the north,</I> shall go
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forth, as God's sword, with a commission that cannot be contested, with
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a force that cannot be resisted. Were all flesh made to know that God
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kindled the fire? They shall be made to know that he has <I>drawn forth
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the sword,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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And, <I>lastly,</I> Shall the fire that is <I>kindled never be
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quenched?</I> So when this sword of the Lord is drawn against Judah and
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Jerusalem the scabbard is thrown away, and it shall never be sheathed:
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It <I>shall not return any more,</I> till it has made a full end.
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3. The prophet is ordered, by expressions of his own grief and concern
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for these calamities that were coming on, to try to make impressions of
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the like upon the people. When he has delivered his message he must
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<I>sigh</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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must fetch many deep sighs, <I>with the breaking of his loins;</I> he
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must sign as if his heart would burst, <I>sigh with bitterness,</I>
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with other expressions of bitter sorrow, and this publicly, <I>in the
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sight</I> of those to whom he delivered the foregoing message, that
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this might be a sermon to their eyes as that was to their ears; and it
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was well if both would work upon them. The prophet must sign, though it
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was painful to himself and made his breast sore, and though it is
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probable that the profane among the people would ridicule him for it
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and call him a whining canting preacher. But, <I>if we be beside
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ourselves it is to God;</I> and, if <I>this be to be vile, we will be
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yet more so.</I> Note, Ministers, if they would affect others with the
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things they speak of, must show that they are themselves in the
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greatest sincerity affected with them, and must submit to that which
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may create uneasiness to themselves, so that it will promote the ends
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of their ministry. The people, observing the prophet to sigh so much
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and seeing no visible occasion for it, would ask, "<I>Wherefore sighest
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thou?</I> These sighs have some mystical meaning; let us know what it
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is." And he must answer them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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"It is <I>for the tidings,</I> the heavy tidings, that we shall hear
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shortly; the <I>tidings come</I> (the judgments come which we hear the
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tidings of), they come apace, and then you will all sigh; nay, that
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will not serve. <I>every heart shall melt</I> and <I>every spirit
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fail;</I> your courage will all be gone and you will have no animating
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considerations to support yourselves with. And, when <I>heart</I> and
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<I>spirit</I> fail, it will follow of course that <I>all hands will be
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feeble</I> and unable to fight, and all <I>knees will</I> be <I>weak as
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water</I> and unable to flee or to stand their ground." Those who have
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God for them when flesh and heart fail have him to be <I>the strength
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of their heart;</I> but those who have God against them have no cordial
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for a fainting spirit, but are as Belshazzar when <I>his thoughts
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troubled him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+5:6">Dan. v. 6</A>.
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But some people are worse frightened than hurt; may not the case be so
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here and the event prove better than likely? No: <I>Behold it
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cometh,</I> and <I>shall be brought to pass.</I> It is not a bugbear
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that they are frightened with, but <I>according to the fear so is the
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wrath,</I> and more grievous than is feared.</P>
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<A NAME="Eze21_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze21_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze21_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze21_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze21_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze21_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze21_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze21_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze21_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze21_17"> </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>Judgments Predicted.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 592.</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>8 Again the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto me, saying,
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9 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; Say, A
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sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:
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10 It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished
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that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the
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rod of my son, <I>as</I> every tree.
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11 And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be
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handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it
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into the hand of the slayer.
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12 Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it
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<I>shall be</I> upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of
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the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon <I>thy</I>
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thigh.
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13 Because <I>it is</I> a trial, and what if <I>the sword</I> contemn
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even the rod? it shall be no <I>more,</I> saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
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14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite <I>thine</I>
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hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the
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sword of the slain: it <I>is</I> the sword of the great <I>men that are</I>
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slain, which entereth into their privy chambers.
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15 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates,
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that <I>their</I> heart may faint, and <I>their</I> ruins be multiplied:
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ah! <I>it is</I> made bright, <I>it is</I> wrapped up for the slaughter.
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16 Go thee one way or other, <I>either</I> on the right hand, <I>or</I>
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on the left, whithersoever thy face <I>is</I> set.
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17 I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my
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fury to rest: I the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> have said <I>it.</I>
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is another prophecy of the sword, which is delivered in a very
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affecting manner; the expressions here used are somewhat intricate, and
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perplex interpreters. The sword was unsheathed in the
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:1-7">foregoing verses</A>;
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here it is fitted up to do execution, which the prophet is commanded to
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lament. Observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. How the sword is here described.
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1. It is <I>sharpened,</I> that it may cut and wound, and make <I>a
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sore slaughter.</I> The wrath of God will put an edge upon it; and,
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whatever instruments God shall please to make use of in executing his
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judgments, he will fill them with strength, courage, and fury,
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according to the service they are employed in. Out of the mouth of
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Christ goes a <I>sharp sword,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+19:15">Rev. xix. 15</A>.
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2. It is <I>furbished,</I> that <I>it may glitter,</I> to the terror of
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those against whom it is drawn. It shall be a kind of <I>flaming
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sword.</I> If it have rusted in the scabbard for want of use, it shall
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be rubbed and brightened; for though the glory of God's justice may
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seem to have been eclipsed for a while, during the day of his patience
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and the delay of his judgments, yet it will shine out again and be made
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to glitter.
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3. It is a victorious sword, nothing shall stand before it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
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<I>It contemneth the rod of my son as every tree. Israel,</I> said God
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once, <I>is my son, my first-born.</I> The government of that people
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was called a <I>rod,</I> a <I>strong rod;</I> we read
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+19:11"><I>ch.</I> xix. 11</A>)
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of the <I>strong rods</I> they had <I>for sceptres.</I> But when the
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sword of God's justice is drawn it <I>contemns this rod,</I> makes
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nothing of it; though it be a <I>strong rod,</I> and the <I>rod of his
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son,</I> it is no more than <I>any other tree.</I> When God's
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professing people have revolted from him, and are in rebellion against
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him, his sword <I>despises</I> them. What are they to him more than
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another people? The marginal reading gives another notion of this
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sword: <I>It is the rod of my son;</I> and we know of whom God has said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:7">Ps. ii. 7</A>),
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<I>Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee,</I> and
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>)
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<I>Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron.</I> This sword is <I>that
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rod of iron</I> which <I>contemns every tree</I> and will bear it down.
|
|
Or, This sword is <I>the rod of my son,</I> a correcting rod, for the
|
|
chastening of the transgression of God's people
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+7:14">2 Sam. vii. 14</A>),
|
|
|
|
not to cut them off from being a people. It is a sword to others, a rod
|
|
to my son.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. How the sword is here put into the hand of the executioners: "It is
|
|
<I>the rod of my Son,</I> and he has <I>given it that it may be
|
|
handled</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
that it may be made use of for the end for which it was drawn. <I>It is
|
|
given into the hand,</I> not of the fencer to be played with, but <I>of
|
|
the slayer</I> to do execution with. The sword of war my Son makes use
|
|
of as a sword of justice, and to him <I>all judgment is committed.</I>
|
|
It is <I>made bright</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>it is wrapped up,</I> that it may be kept safe, and clean, and sharp
|
|
<I>for the slaughter,</I> not as Goliath's sword was wrapped <I>up in a
|
|
cloth</I> only for a memorial,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:9">1 Sam. xxi. 9</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. How the sword is directed, and against whom it is sent
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>It shall be upon my people;</I> they shall fall by this sword. It is
|
|
repeated again, as that which is scarcely credible, that <I>the
|
|
sword</I> of the heathen shall be upon God's own people; nay, it shall
|
|
be <I>upon all the princes of Israel;</I> their dignity and power as
|
|
princes shall be no more their security than their profession of
|
|
religion as princes of Israel. But, if the sword be at any time upon
|
|
God's people, have they not comfort within sufficient to arm them
|
|
against every thing in it that is frightful? Yes, they have, while they
|
|
conduct themselves as becomes his people; but these had not done so,
|
|
and therefore <I>terrors, by reason of the sword,</I> shall be upon
|
|
those that call themselves <I>my people.</I> Note, While good men are
|
|
quiet, not only from evil, but from the fear of it, wicked men are
|
|
disturbed not only with the sword, but with the terrors of it, arising
|
|
from a consciousness of their own guilt. This sword is directed
|
|
particularly <I>against the great men,</I> for they had been the
|
|
greatest sinners among them; they had <I>altogether broken the yoke and
|
|
burst the bonds</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+5:5">Jer. v. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
and therefore with them in a special manner God's controversy is, who
|
|
had been the ringleaders in sin. The <I>sword of the slain</I> is
|
|
<I>the sword of the great men that are slain,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
Though they have furnished themselves with places of retirement, places
|
|
of concealment, where they flatter themselves with hopes that they
|
|
shall be safe, they will find that the sword will <I>enter into their
|
|
privy chambers,</I> and find them out there, as the <I>frogs,</I> when
|
|
they were one of Egypt's plagues, found admission into the <I>chambers
|
|
of their kings.</I> The sword, the <I>point of this sword,</I> is
|
|
directed <I>against their gates,</I> against <I>all their gates</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
against all those things with which they thought to keep it out and
|
|
fortify themselves against it. Note, The strongest gates, though they
|
|
be <I>gates of brass,</I> ever so well barred, ever so well guarded,
|
|
are no fence against the point of the sword of God's judgments. But
|
|
when that is pointed against sinners,
|
|
|
|
1. They are ready to fear the worst; <I>their hearts faint,</I> so
|
|
that they are not able to make any resistance.
|
|
|
|
2. The worst comes; whatever resistance they make, it is to no purpose,
|
|
but they are ruined, and <I>their ruins are multiplied.</I> But what
|
|
need have we to observe the particular directions of this sword when it
|
|
has a general commission, is sent with a running warrant?
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Go thee, one way or other,</I> which way thou wilt, turn <I>to the
|
|
right hand or to the left,</I> thou wilt find those that are obnoxious,
|
|
for there are none free from guilt; and thou hast authority against
|
|
them, for there are none exempt from punishment; and therefore,
|
|
<I>whithersoever thy face is set,</I> that way do thou proceed, and,
|
|
like Jonathan's sword, <I>from the blood of the slain, from the fat of
|
|
the mighty, thou shalt never return empty,</I>"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+1:22">2 Sam. i. 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, So full is the world of wicked people that, which way soever
|
|
God's judgments go forth, they will find work, will find matter to work
|
|
upon. That fire will never go out on this earth for want of fuel. And
|
|
such various methods God has of meeting with sinners that the sword of
|
|
his justice is still as it was at first when it flamed in the hand of
|
|
the cherubim: it <I>turns every way,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+3:24">Gen. iii. 24</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. What is the nature of this sword, and what are the intentions and
|
|
limitations of it as to the people of God,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is a correction; it is designed to be so; the sword to others is a
|
|
rod to them. This is a comfortable word which comes in in the midst of
|
|
these terrible ones, though it be expressed somewhat obscurely.
|
|
|
|
1. The people of God begin to be afraid that <I>the sword will contemn
|
|
even the rod,</I> that the sword will go on with such fury that it will
|
|
despise its commission to be a rod only, will forget its bounds and
|
|
become a sword indeed, even to God's own people. They fear lest the
|
|
Chaldeans' sword, which is the rod of God's anger, contemn its being
|
|
called a rod, and become as the <I>axe</I> that <I>boasts itself
|
|
against him that heweth therewith</I> or <I>the staff that lifts up
|
|
itself as if it were no wood,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:15">Isa. x. 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
Or, "<I>What if the sword contemn even the rod?</I> that is, what if
|
|
this sword make the former rods, as that or Sennacherib, to be
|
|
contemned as nothing to this? What if this should prove not a
|
|
correcting rod, but a destroying sword, to make a full end of our
|
|
church and nation?" This is that which the thinking, but timorous, few
|
|
are apprehensive of. Note, When threatening judgments are abroad it is
|
|
good to suppose the worst that may be the consequences of them, that we
|
|
may provide accordingly. <I>What if the sword contemn the tribe or
|
|
sceptre?</I> namely, that of Judah and the house of David (so some
|
|
think <I>Shebet</I> here signifies); what if it should aim at the ruin
|
|
of our government? If it do, <I>the Lord is righteous</I> and <I>will
|
|
be gracious</I> notwithstanding. But,
|
|
|
|
2. These fears are silenced with an assurance that it is not so; the
|
|
sword shall not forget itself, nor the errand on which it is sent:
|
|
<I>It is a trial,</I> and it is <I>no more than a trial.</I> He that
|
|
sends it makes what use of it, and sets what bounds to it, he pleases.
|
|
Here shall its proud waves be stayed. Note, It is matter of comfort to
|
|
the people of God, when his judgments are abroad, and they are ready to
|
|
tremble for fear of them, that, whatever they are to others, to them
|
|
they are but trials; and, <I>when they are tried, they shall come forth
|
|
as gold,</I> and the proving of their faith shall be the improving of
|
|
it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. Here the prophet and the people must show themselves affected with
|
|
these judgments threatened.
|
|
|
|
1. The prophet must be very serious in denouncing these judgments. He
|
|
must say, <I>A sword! a sword!</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let him not study for fine words, and a variety of quaint expressions;
|
|
when the town is on fire people do not so give notice of it, but cry,
|
|
with a frightful doleful voice, <I>Fire! fire!</I> So must the prophet
|
|
cry, <I>A sword! a sword!</I> and
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Let the sword be doubled</I> the <I>third time</I> in thy preaching.
|
|
God speaks once, yea, twice, yea, thrice; it were well if men, after
|
|
all, would perceive and regard it. It shall be <I>doubled the third
|
|
time</I> in God's providence; for it was Nebuchadnezzar's third descent
|
|
upon Jerusalem that <I>made a full end</I> of it. Ruin comes gradually,
|
|
but at last comes effectually, upon a provoking people. Yet this is not
|
|
all: the prophet is not only as a herald at arms to proclaim war, and
|
|
to cry, <I>A sword! a sword!</I> once and again, and a third time, but,
|
|
as a person nearly concerned, he must <I>cry and howl</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
must sadly lament the desolations that the sword would make, as one
|
|
that did himself not only sympathize with the sufferers, but feel from
|
|
the sufferings. Again
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Prophesy, and smite thy hands together,</I> wring <I>thy hands,</I>
|
|
as lamenting the desolation, or clap thy hands, as by thy prophecy
|
|
instigating and encouraging those that were to be the instruments of
|
|
it, or as one standing amazed at the suddenness and severity of the
|
|
judgment. The prophet must <I>smite his hands together;</I> for (says
|
|
God) <I>I will also smite my hands together,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
God is in earnest in pronouncing this sentence upon them, and therefore
|
|
the prophet must show himself in earnest in publishing it. God's
|
|
<I>smiting his hands together,</I> as well as the prophet's smiting, is
|
|
in token of a holy indignation at their wickedness, which was really
|
|
very astonishing. When Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam he
|
|
<I>smote his hands together,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+24:10">Num. xxiv. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, God and his ministers are justly angry at those who might be
|
|
saved and yet will be ruined. Some make it an expression of triumph and
|
|
exultation, agreeing with that
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+1:24">Isa. i. 24</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Ah! I will ease me of my adversaries;</I> and that
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+1:26">Prov. i. 26</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>I also will laugh at their calamity.</I> And so it follows here,
|
|
<I>I will cause my fury to rest,</I> not only it shall be perfected,
|
|
but it shall be pleased. And observe with what solemnity, with what
|
|
authority, this sentence is ratified: "<I>I the Lord have said it,</I>
|
|
who can and will make good what I have said. I have said it, and will
|
|
never unsay it. I have said it, and who can gainsay it?"
|
|
|
|
2. The people must be very serious in the prospect of these judgments.
|
|
An intimation of this comes in in a parenthesis
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Should we then make mirth?</I> Seeing God has drawn the sword, and
|
|
the prophet sighs and cries, <I>Should we then make mirth?</I> The
|
|
prophet seems to give this as a reason why he sighs; as
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ne+2:3">Neh. ii. 3</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>Why should not my countenance be sad,</I> when Jerusalem lies waste?
|
|
Note, Before we allow ourselves to be merry, we ought to consider
|
|
whether we should be merry or no. Should we make mirth, we who are
|
|
sentenced to the sword, who lie under the wrath and curse of God? Shall
|
|
we <I>make mirth as other people,</I> who have <I>gone a whoring from
|
|
our God?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+9:1">Hos. ix. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
Should we now make mirth, when the hand of God has gone out against us,
|
|
when God's judgments are abroad in the land and he by them <I>calls to
|
|
weeping and mourning?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:11,13">Isa. xxii. 11, 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Shall we now make mirth as the king and Haman, when the church is in
|
|
perplexity
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+3:15">Esther iii. 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
when we should be <I>grieving for the affliction of Joseph?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:6">Amos vi. 6</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Eze21_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze21_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze21_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze21_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze21_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze21_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze21_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze21_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze21_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze21_27"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Judgments Predicted.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 592.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>18 The word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto me again, saying,
|
|
19 Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword
|
|
of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out
|
|
of one land: and choose thou a place, choose <I>it</I> at the head of
|
|
the way to the city.
|
|
20 Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the
|
|
Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.
|
|
21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at
|
|
the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made <I>his</I> arrows
|
|
bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.
|
|
22 At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to
|
|
appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up
|
|
the voice with shouting, to appoint <I>battering</I> rams against the
|
|
gates, to cast a mount, <I>and</I> to build a fort.
|
|
23 And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their
|
|
sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to
|
|
remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.
|
|
24 Therefore thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Because ye have made your
|
|
iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are
|
|
discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear;
|
|
because, <I>I say,</I> that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be
|
|
taken with the hand.
|
|
25 And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is
|
|
come, when iniquity <I>shall have</I> an end,
|
|
26 Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Remove the diadem, and take off the
|
|
crown: this <I>shall</I> not <I>be</I> the same: exalt <I>him that is</I> low,
|
|
and abase <I>him that is</I> high.
|
|
27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no
|
|
<I>more,</I> until he come whose right it is; and I will give it
|
|
<I>him.</I>
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The prophet, in the verses before, had shown them the sword coming; he
|
|
here shows them that sword coming against them, that they might not
|
|
flatter themselves that by some means or other it should be diverted a
|
|
contrary way.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. He must see and show the Chaldean army coming against Jerusalem and
|
|
determined by a supreme power so to do. The prophet must <I>appoint him
|
|
two ways,</I> that is, he must upon a paper draw out two roads
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>),
|
|
|
|
as sometimes is done in maps; and he must bring the king of Babylon's
|
|
army to the place where the roads part, for there they will make a
|
|
stand. They both <I>come out of the same land;</I> but when they come
|
|
to the place where one road leads to Rabbath, the head city of the
|
|
Ammonites, and the other to Jerusalem, he makes a pause; for, though he
|
|
is resolved to be the ruin of both, yet he is not determined which to
|
|
attack first; here his politics and his politicians leave him at a
|
|
loss. The sword must go either to Rabbath or <I>to Judah in
|
|
Jerusalem.</I> Many of the inhabitants of Judah had now taken shelter
|
|
in Jerusalem, and all the interests of the country were bound up in the
|
|
safety of the city, and therefore it is called <I>Judah in Jerusalem
|
|
the defenced;</I> so strongly fortified was it, both by nature and art,
|
|
that it was thought impregnable,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+4:12">Lam. iv. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
The prophet must describe this dilemma that the king of Babylon is at
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>);
|
|
|
|
for <I>the king of Babylon stood</I> (that is, he shall stand
|
|
considering what course to take) <I>at the head of the two ways.</I>
|
|
Though he was a prince of great foresight and great resolution, yet, it
|
|
seems, he knew neither his own interest nor his own mind. Let not the
|
|
wise man then glory in his wisdom nor the mighty man in his arbitrary
|
|
power, for even those that may do what they will seldom know what to do
|
|
for the best. Now observe,
|
|
|
|
1. The method he took to come to a resolution; he <I>used
|
|
divination,</I> applied to a higher and invisible power, perhaps to the
|
|
determination of Providence by a lot, in order to which he <I>made his
|
|
arrows bright,</I> that were to be drawn for the lots, in honour of the
|
|
solemnity. Perhaps <I>Jerusalem</I> was written on one arrow and
|
|
<I>Rabbath</I> on the other, and that which was first drawn out of the
|
|
quiver he determined to attack first. Or he applied to the direction of
|
|
some pretended oracle: he <I>consulted with images</I> or
|
|
<I>teraphim,</I> expecting to receive audible answers from them. Or to
|
|
the observations which the augurs made upon the entrails of the
|
|
sacrifices: <I>he looked in the liver,</I> whether the position of that
|
|
portended good or ill luck. Note, It is a mortification to the pride
|
|
of the wise men of the earth that in difficult cases they have been
|
|
glad to make their court to heaven for direction; as it is an instance
|
|
of their folly that they have taken such ridiculous ways of doing it,
|
|
when in cases proper for an appeal to Providence it is sufficient that
|
|
<I>the lot be cast into the lap,</I> with that prayer, <I>Give a
|
|
perfect lot,</I> and a firm belief that the <I>disposal thereof</I> is
|
|
not fortuitous, but <I>of the Lord,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+16:33">Prov. xvi. 33</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. The resolution he was hereby brought to. Even by these sinful
|
|
practices God served his own purposes and directed him to go to
|
|
Jerusalem,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>The divination for Jerusalem</I> happened to be <I>at his right
|
|
hand,</I> which, according to the rules of divination, determined him
|
|
<I>that way.</I> Note, What services God designs men for he will be
|
|
sure in his providence to lead them to, though perhaps they themselves
|
|
are not aware what guidance they are under. Well, Jerusalem being the
|
|
mark set up, the campaign is presently opened with the siege of that
|
|
important place. <I>Captains</I> are appointed for the command of the
|
|
forces to be employed in the siege, who must <I>open the mouth in the
|
|
slaughter,</I> must give directions to the soldiers what to do and make
|
|
speeches to animate them. Orders are given to provide every thing
|
|
necessary for carrying on the siege with vigour; <I>battering rams</I>
|
|
must be prepared and <I>forts built.</I> O what pains, what cost, are
|
|
men at to destroy one another!</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. He must show both the people and the prince that they bring this
|
|
destruction upon themselves by their own sin.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The people do so,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:23,24"><I>v.</I> 23, 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
They slight the notices that are given them of the judgment coming.
|
|
Ezekiel's prophecy is to them a <I>false divination;</I> they are not
|
|
moved or awakened to repentance by it. When they hear that
|
|
Nebuchadnezzar by his divination is directed to Jerusalem, and assured
|
|
of success in that enterprise, they laugh at it and continue
|
|
<I>secure,</I> calling it a <I>false divination;</I> because <I>they
|
|
have sworn oaths,</I> that is, they have joined in a solemn league with
|
|
the Egyptians, and they depend upon the promise they have made them to
|
|
<I>raise the siege,</I> or upon the assurances which the false prophets
|
|
have given them that it shall be raised. Or it may refer to the oaths
|
|
of allegiance they had sworn to the king of Babylon, but had violated,
|
|
for which treachery of theirs God had given them up to a judicial
|
|
blindness, so that the fairest warnings given them were slighted by
|
|
them as false divinations. Note, It is not strange if those who make a
|
|
jest of the most sacred oaths can make a jest likewise of the most
|
|
sacred oracles; for where will a profane mind stop? But shall their
|
|
unbelief invalidate the counsel of God? Are they safe because they are
|
|
secure? By no means; nay, the contempt they put upon divine warnings is
|
|
a sin that brings to remembrance their other sins, and they may thank
|
|
themselves if they be now remembered against them.
|
|
|
|
(1.) Their present wickedness is discovered. Now that God is contending
|
|
with them so perverse and obstinate are they that whatever they offer
|
|
in their own defence does but add to their offence; they never
|
|
conducted themselves so ill as they did now that they had the loudest
|
|
call given them to repent and reform: "<I>So that in all your doings
|
|
your sins do appear.</I> Turn yourselves which way you will, you show a
|
|
black side." This is too true of every one of us; for not only there is
|
|
<I>none that lives and sins not,</I> but <I>there is not a must man
|
|
upon earth that does good and sins not.</I> Our best services have such
|
|
allays of weakness, and folly, and imperfection, and so much
|
|
<I>evil</I> is <I>present with us</I> even when we <I>would do
|
|
good,</I> that we may say, with sorrow and shame, <I>In all our
|
|
doings,</I> and in all our sayings too, <I>our sins do appear,</I> and
|
|
witness against us, so that if we were under the law we were undone.
|
|
|
|
(2.) This brings to mind their former wickedness: "<I>You have made
|
|
your iniquity to be remembered,</I> not by yourselves that it might be
|
|
repented of, but by the justice of God that it might be reckoned for.
|
|
Your own sins make the sins of your fathers to be remembered against
|
|
you, which otherwise you should never have smarted for." Note, God
|
|
remembers former iniquities against those only who by the present
|
|
discoveries of their wickedness show that they do not repent of them.
|
|
|
|
(3.) That they may suffer for all together, they are turned over to the
|
|
destroyed, that they may be taken
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>You shall be taken with the hand</I> that God had appointed to
|
|
seize you and to hold you and out of which you cannot escape." Men are
|
|
said to be <I>God's hand</I> when they are made use of as the ministers
|
|
of his justice,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:14">Ps. xvii. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, Those who will not be taken with the word of God's grace shall at
|
|
last be taken by the hand of his wrath.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The prince likewise brings his ruin upon himself. Zedekiah is the
|
|
<I>prince of Israel,</I> to whom the prophet here, in God's name,
|
|
addresses himself; and, if he had not spoken in God's name, he would
|
|
not have spoken so boldly, so bluntly; for <I>is it fit to say to a
|
|
king, Thou art wicked?</I>
|
|
|
|
(1.) He gives him his character,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
Thou profane and <I>wicked prince of Israel!</I> He was not so bad as
|
|
some of his predecessors, and yet bad enough to merit his character. He
|
|
was himself profane, lost to every thing that is virtuous and sacred.
|
|
And he was wicked, as he promoted sin among his people; he sinned, and
|
|
<I>made Israel to sin.</I> Note, Profaneness and wickedness are bad in
|
|
any, but worst of all in a prince, a prince of Israel, who as an
|
|
Israelite should know better himself, and as a prince should set a
|
|
better example and have a better influence on those about him.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He reads him his doom. His iniquity <I>has an end;</I> the measure
|
|
of it is full, and therefore <I>his day has come,</I> the day of his
|
|
punishment, the day of divine vengeance. Note, Though those who are
|
|
wicked and profane may flourish awhile, yet <I>their day will come</I>
|
|
to fall. The sentence here passed is,
|
|
|
|
[1.] That Zedekiah shall be deposed. He has forfeited his crown, and he
|
|
shall no longer wear it; he has by his profaneness profaned his crown,
|
|
and it shall be <I>cast to the ground</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Remove the diadem.</I> Crowns and diadems are losable things; it is
|
|
only in the other world that there is a crown of glory that fades not
|
|
away, a <I>kingdom that cannot be moved.</I> The Chaldee paraphrase
|
|
expounds it thus: <I>Take away the diadem from Seraiah the chief
|
|
priest, and I will take away the crown from Zedekiah the king; neither
|
|
this nor that shall abide in his place, but shall be removed. This
|
|
shall not be the same,</I> not the same that he has been; <I>this not
|
|
this</I> (so the word is); profane and wicked perhaps he is as he has
|
|
been. Note, Men lose their dignity by their iniquity. Their profaneness
|
|
and wickedness remove their diadem, and take off their crown, and make
|
|
them the reverse of what they were.
|
|
|
|
[2.] That great confusion and disorder in the state shall follow
|
|
hereupon. Every thing shall be turned upside down. The conqueror shall
|
|
take a pride in <I>exalting him that is low</I> and <I>abasing him that
|
|
is high,</I> preferring some and degrading others, at his pleasure,
|
|
without any regard either to right or merit.
|
|
|
|
[3.] Attempts to re-establish the government shall be blasted and come
|
|
to nothing, Gedaliah's particularly, and Ishmael's who was <I>of the
|
|
seed-royal</I> (to which the Chaldee paraphrase refers this); neither
|
|
of them shall be able to make any thing of it. <I>I will overturn,
|
|
overturn, overturn,</I> first one project and then another; for who can
|
|
build up what God will throw down?
|
|
|
|
[4.] This monarchy shall never be restored till it is fixed for
|
|
perpetuity in the hands of the Messiah. There <I>shall be no more</I>
|
|
kings of the house of David after Zedekiah, till Christ comes, <I>whose
|
|
right the kingdom is,</I> who is that seed of David in whom the promise
|
|
was to have its full accomplishment, and <I>I will give it to him.</I>
|
|
He shall have <I>the throne of his father David,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+1:32">Luke i. 32</A>.
|
|
|
|
Immediately before the coming of Christ there was a long eclipse of the
|
|
royal dignity, as there was also a failing of the spirit of prophecy,
|
|
that his shining forth in the fulness of time both as king and prophet
|
|
might appear the more illustrious. Note, Christ has an incontestable
|
|
title to the dominion and sovereignty both in the church and in the
|
|
world; the kingdom is his right. And, having the right, he shall in due
|
|
time have the possession: <I>I will give it to him;</I> and there shall
|
|
be a general overturning of all rather than he shall come short of his
|
|
right, and a certain overturning of all the opposition that stands in
|
|
his way to make room for him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+2:45,1Co+15:25">Dan. ii. 45; 1 Cor. xv. 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
This is mentioned here for the comfort of those who feared that the
|
|
promise made in David would fail for evermore. "No," says God, "that
|
|
promise is sure, for the Messiah's kingdom shall last for ever."</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Eze21_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze21_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze21_30"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze21_31"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze21_32"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Destruction of the Ammonites.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 592.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>28 And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord
|
|
G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT> concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even
|
|
say thou, The sword, the sword <I>is</I> drawn: for the slaughter <I>it
|
|
is</I> furbished, to consume because of the glittering:
|
|
29 Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie
|
|
unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of <I>them that are</I> slain,
|
|
of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity <I>shall
|
|
have</I> an end.
|
|
30 Shall I cause <I>it</I> to return into his sheath? I will judge
|
|
thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy
|
|
nativity.
|
|
31 And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow
|
|
against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the
|
|
hand of brutish men, <I>and</I> skilful to destroy.
|
|
32 Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in
|
|
the midst of the land; thou shalt be no <I>more</I> remembered: for I
|
|
the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> have spoken <I>it.</I>
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The prediction of the destruction of the Ammonites, which was effected
|
|
by Nebuchadnezzar about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem,
|
|
seems to come in here upon occasion of the king of Babylon's diverting
|
|
his design against Rabbath, when he turned it upon Jerusalem. Upon this
|
|
the Ammonites grew very insolent, and triumphed over Jerusalem; but the
|
|
prophet must let them know that forbearance is no acquittance; the
|
|
reprieve is not a pardon; their day also is at hand; their turn comes
|
|
next, and it will be but a poor satisfaction to them that they are to
|
|
be devoured last, to be last executed.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The sin of the Ammonites is here intimated; it is <I>their
|
|
reproach,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>.
|
|
|
|
1. The reproach they put upon themselves when they hearkened to their
|
|
false prophets (for such it seems there were among them as well as
|
|
among the Jews), who pretended to foretel their perpetual safety in the
|
|
midst of the desolations that were made of the countries round about
|
|
them: "They <I>see vanity unto thee and divine a lie,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
They flatter thee with promises of peace, and thou art such a fool as
|
|
to suffer thyself to be imposed upon by them and to encourage them
|
|
therein by giving credit to them." Note, Those that feed themselves
|
|
with a self-conceit in the day of their prosperity prepare matter for a
|
|
self-reproach in the day of their calamity.
|
|
|
|
2. The reproach they put upon the Israel of God, when they triumphed in
|
|
their afflictions, and thereby added affliction to them, which was very
|
|
barbarous and inhuman. Their divines, by puffing them up with a
|
|
conceit that they were a better people than Israel, being spared when
|
|
they were cut off, and with a confidence that their prosperity should
|
|
always continue, made them so very haughty and insolent that they did
|
|
even <I>tread on the necks of the Israelites that were slain, slain by
|
|
the wicked Chaldeans,</I> who had commission to execute God's judgments
|
|
upon them when their <I>iniquity had an end,</I> that is, when the
|
|
measure of it was full. We shall meet with this again,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:3"><I>ch.</I> xxv. 3</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. Note, Those are ripening apace for misery who trample upon the
|
|
people of God in their distress, whereas they ought to tremble when
|
|
<I>judgment begins at the house of God.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The utter destruction of the Ammonites is threatened. For the
|
|
reproach cast on the church by her neighbours will be returned into
|
|
their own bosom,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+79:12">Ps. lxxix. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let us see how terrible the threatening is and the destruction will be.
|
|
|
|
1. It shall come <I>from the wrath of God,</I> who resents the
|
|
indignities and injuries done to his people as done to himself
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I will pour out my indignation</I> as a shower of fire and brimstone
|
|
<I>upon thee.</I> The least drop of divine <I>indignation and wrath</I>
|
|
will create <I>tribulation and anguish</I> enough to the <I>soul of man
|
|
that does evil;</I> what then would a full stream of that indignation
|
|
and wrath do? "<I>I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath;</I>
|
|
that is, I will blow up the fire of my wrath against thee; it shall
|
|
burn with the utmost vehemence." <I>Thou shalt be for fuel to this
|
|
fire,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:32"><I>v.</I> 32</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, Wicked men make themselves fuel to the fire of God's wrath; they
|
|
are consumed by it, and it is inflamed by them.
|
|
|
|
2. It shall be effected by the sword of war; to them he must cry, as
|
|
before to Israel, because they had triumphed in Israel's overthrow:
|
|
<I>The sword, the sword is drawn</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:28,Eze+21:9,10"><I>v.</I> 28,
|
|
compare <I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>);
|
|
|
|
it is drawn <I>to consume because of the glittering,</I> because it is
|
|
brandished and glitters, and is fit to be made use of. God's executions
|
|
will answer his preparations. This sword, when it is drawn, <I>shall
|
|
not return into its sheath</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>)
|
|
|
|
till it has done the work for which it was drawn. When the sword is
|
|
drawn it does not return till <I>God causes it to return,</I> and <I>he
|
|
is in one mind and who can turn him?</I> Who can change his purpose?
|
|
|
|
3. The persons employed in it are <I>brutish men, and skilful to
|
|
destroy.</I> Men of such a bad character as this, who have the wit of
|
|
men to do the work of wild beasts--human reason, which makes them
|
|
skilful, but no human compassion, which makes them skilful only to
|
|
destroy--though they are the scandal of mankind, yet sometimes are made
|
|
use of to serve God's purposes. God <I>delivers the Ammonites into the
|
|
hands of such,</I> and justly, for they themselves were brutish, and
|
|
delighted in the destruction of God's Israel. We have reason to pray,
|
|
as Paul desired to be prayed for, that we may be <I>delivered from
|
|
wicked and unreasonable men</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Th+3:2">2 Thess. iii. 2</A>),
|
|
|
|
men that seem made for doing mischief.
|
|
|
|
4. The place where they should thus be reckoned with: "<I>I will judge
|
|
thee where thou wast created,</I> where thou wast first formed into a
|
|
people, and where thou hast been settled ever since, and therefore
|
|
where thou seemest to have taken root; <I>the land of thy nativity</I>
|
|
shall be the land of thy destruction." Note, God can bring ruin upon us
|
|
even where we are most secure, and turn us out of that land which we
|
|
thought we had a title to not to be disputed and a possession of not to
|
|
be disturbed. <I>Thy blood shall be shed</I> not only in thy borders,
|
|
but <I>in the midst of thy land. Lastly,</I> I shall be an irreparable
|
|
ruin: "Though thou mayest think to recover thyself, it is in vain to
|
|
think of it; thou <I>shalt be no more remembered</I> with any respect,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+9:6">Ps. ix. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
Justly is their name blotted out who would have Israel's name for ever
|
|
lost.</P>
|
|
|
|
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