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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. XXVI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The prophet had soon done with those four nations that he set his face
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against in the foregoing chapters; for they were not at that time very
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considerable in the world, nor would their fall make any great noise
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among the nations nor any figure in history. But the city of Tyre is
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next set to the bar; this, being a place of vast trade, was known all
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the world over; and therefore here are three whole chapters, this and
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the two that follow, spent in the prediction of the destruction of
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Tyre. We have "the burden of Tyre,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+23:1-18">Isa. xxiii.</A>
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It is but just mentioned in Jeremiah, as sharing with the natives in
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the common calamity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+25:22,27:3,47:4"><I>ch.</I> xxv. 22; xxvii. 3; xlvii. 4</A>.
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But Ezekiel is ordered to be copious upon that head. In this chapter we
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have,
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I. The sin charged upon Tyre, which was triumphing in the destruction
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of Jerusalem,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:2">ver. 2</A>.
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II. The destruction of Tyrus itself foretold.
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1. The extremity of this destruction: it shall be utterly ruined,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:4-6,12-14">ver. 4-6, 12-14</A>.
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2. The instruments of this destruction, many nations
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:3">ver. 3</A>),
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and the king of Babylon by name with his vast victorious army,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:7-11">ver. 7-11</A>.
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3. The great surprise that this should give to the neighbouring
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nations, who would all wonder at the fall of so great a city and be
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alarmed at it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:15-21">ver. 15-21</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Eze26_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Burden of Tyre.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 588.</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 it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first <I>day</I>
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of the month, <I>that</I> the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto me, saying,
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2 Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem,
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Aha, she is broken <I>that was</I> the gates of the people: she is
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turned unto me: I shall be replenished, <I>now</I> she is laid waste:
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3 Therefore thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Behold, I <I>am</I> against
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thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against
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thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.
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4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her
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towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like
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the top of a rock.
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5 It shall be <I>a place for</I> the spreading of nets in the midst
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of the sea: for I have spoken <I>it,</I> saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>: and it
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shall become a spoil to the nations.
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6 And her daughters which <I>are</I> in the field shall be slain by
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the sword; and they shall know that I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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7 For thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus
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Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north,
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with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies,
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and much people.
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8 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and
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he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee,
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and lift up the buckler against thee.
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9 And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with
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his axes he shall break down thy towers.
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10 By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall
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cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen,
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and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into
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thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.
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11 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy
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streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong
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garrisons shall go down to the ground.
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12 And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey
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of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and
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destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and
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thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.
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13 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the
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sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.
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14 And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be
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<I>a place</I> to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> have spoken <I>it,</I> saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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This prophecy is dated in the eleventh year, which was the year that
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Jerusalem was taken, and <I>in the first day of the month,</I> but it
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is not said what month, some think the month in which Jerusalem was
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taken, which was the fourth month, others the month after; or perhaps
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it was the first month, and so it was the first day of the year.
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Observe here,</P>
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<P>
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I. The pleasure with which the Tyrians looked upon the ruins of
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Jerusalem. Ezekiel was a great way off, in Babylon, but God told him
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what Tyrus said against Jerusalem
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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"<I>Aha! she is broken,</I> broken to pieces, that was <I>the gates of
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the people,</I> to whom there was a great resort and where there was a
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general rendezvous of all nations, some upon one account and some upon
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another, and I shall get by it; all the wealth, power, and interest,
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which Jerusalem had, it is hoped, shall be turned to Tyre, and so
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<I>now</I> that <I>she is laid waste I shall be replenished.</I>" We do
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not find that the Tyrians had such a hatred and enmity to Jerusalem and
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the sanctuary as the Ammonites and Edomites had, or were so spiteful
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and mischievous to the Jews. They were men of business, and of large
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acquaintance and free conversation, and therefore were not so bigoted,
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and of such a persecuting spirit, as the narrow souls that lived
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retired and knew not the world. All their care was to get estates, and
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enlarge their trade, and they looked upon Jerusalem not as an enemy,
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but as a rival. Hiram, king of Tyre, was a good friend to David and
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Solomon, and we do not read of any quarrels the Jews had with the
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Tyrians; but Tyre promised herself that the fall of Jerusalem would be
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an advantage to her in respect of trade a commerce, that now she shall
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have Jerusalem's customers, and the great men from all parts that used
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to come to Jerusalem for the accomplishing of themselves, and to spend
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their estates there, will now come to Tyre and spend them there; and
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whereas many, since the Chaldean army became so formidable in those
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parts, had retired into Jerusalem, and brought their estates thither
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for safety, as the Rechabites did, now they will come to Tyre, which,
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being in a manner surrounded with the sea, will be thought a place of
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greater strength than Jerusalem, and thus the prosperity of Tyre will
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rise out of the ruins of Jerusalem. Note, To be secretly pleased with
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the death or decay of others, when we are likely to get by it, with
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their fall when we may thrive upon it, is a sin that does most easily
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beset us, but is not thought to be such a bad thing, and so provoking
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to God, as really it is. We are apt to say, when those who stand in our
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light, in our way, are removed, when they break of fall into disgrace,
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"We shall be <I>replenished</I> now that they are <I>laid waste.</I>"
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But this comes from a selfish covetous principle, and a desire to be
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<I>placed alone in the midst of the earth,</I> as if we grudged that
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any should live by us. This comes from a want of that love to our
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neighbour as to ourselves which the law of God so expressly requires,
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and from that inordinate love of the world as our happiness which the
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love of God so expressly forbids. And it is just with God to blast the
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designs and projects of those who thus contrive to raise themselves
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upon the ruins of others; and we see they are often disappointed.</P>
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<P>
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II. The displeasure of God against them for it. The providence of God
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had done well for Tyrus. Tyrus was a pleasant and wealthy city, and
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might have continued so if she had, as she ought to have done,
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sympathized with Jerusalem in her calamities and sent her an address of
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condolence; but when, instead of that, she showed herself pleased with
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her neighbour's fall, and perhaps sent an address of congratulation to
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the conquerors, then God says, <I>Behold, I am against thee, O
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Tyrus!</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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And let her not expect to prosper long if God be against her.</P>
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<P>
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1. God will bring formidable enemies upon her: <I>Many nations shall
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come against thee,</I> an army made up of many nations, or one nation
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that shall be as strong as many. Those that have God against them may
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expect all the creatures against them; for what peace can those have
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with whom God is at war? They shall come pouring in as <I>the waves of
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the sea,</I> one upon the neck of another, with an irresistible force.
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The person is named that shall bring this army upon
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them--<I>Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings,</I> that had
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many kings tributaries to him and dependents on him, besides those that
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were his captives,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+2:37,38">Dan. ii. 37, 38</A>.
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He is that <I>head of gold.</I> He shall come with a vast army,
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<I>horses and chariots,</I> &c., all land-forces. We do not find that
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he had any naval force, or any thing wherewith he might attack it by
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sea, which made the attempt the more difficult, as we find
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+29:18"><I>ch.</I> xxix. 18</A>,
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where it is called a <I>great service which he served against
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Tyrus.</I> He shall besiege it in form
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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<I>make a fort, and cast a mount,</I> and
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>)
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shall <I>set engines of war against the walls.</I> His troops shall be
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so numerous as to raise a dust that shall cover the city,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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They shall make a noise that shall even <I>shake the walls;</I> and
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they shall shout at every attack, as soldiers do when they <I>enter a
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city</I> that is <I>broken up;</I> the horses shall prance with so much
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fury and violence that they shall even <I>tread down the streets</I>
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though so ever well paved.</P>
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<P>
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2. They shall do terrible execution.
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(1.) The enemy shall make themselves masters of all their
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fortifications, shall <I>destroy the walls</I> and <I>break down the
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towers,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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For what walls are so strongly built as to be a fence against the
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judgments of God? Her <I>strong garrisons shall go down to the
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ground,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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And the walls shall be broken down,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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The city held out a long siege, but it was taken at last.
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(2.) A great deal of blood shall be shed: <I>Her daughters who are in
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the field,</I> the cities upon the continent, which were subject to
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Tyre as the mother-city, the inhabitants of them <I>shall be slain by
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the sword,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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The invaders begin with those that come first in their way. And
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>)
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<I>he shall slay thy people with the sword;</I> not only the soldiers
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that are found in arms, but the burghers, shall be <I>put to the
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sword,</I> the king of Babylon being highly incensed against them for
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holding out so long.
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(3.) The wealth of the city shall all become a spoil to the conqueror
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
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They <I>shall make a prey of the merchandise.</I> It was in hope of the
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plunder that the city was set upon with so much vigour. See the vanity
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of riches, that they are <I>kept for the owners to their hurt;</I> they
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entice and recompense thieves, and not only cease to benefit those who
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took pains for them and were duly entitled to them, but are made to
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serve their enemies, who are thereby put into a capacity of doing them
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so much the more mischief.
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(4.) The city itself shall be laid in ruins. All the <I>pleasant
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houses</I> shall be <I>destroyed</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
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such as were pleasantly situated, beautified, and furnished, shall
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become a heap of rubbish. Let none please themselves too much in their
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pleasant houses, for they know not how soon they may see the desolation
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of them. Tyre shall be utterly ruined; the enemy shall not only pull
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down the houses, but shall carry away <I>the stones and the timber,</I>
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and shall <I>lay them in the midst of the water,</I> not to be
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recovered, or ever made use of again. Nay
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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<I>I will scrape her dust from her;</I> not only shall the loose dust
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be blown away, but the very ground it stands upon shall be torn up by
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the enraged enemy, carried off, and laid <I>in the midst of the
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water,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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The <I>foundation</I> is <I>in the dust;</I> that dust shall be all
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taken away, and then the city must fall of course. When Jerusalem was
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destroyed it was <I>ploughed like a field,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+3:12">Mic. iii. 12</A>.
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But the destruction of Tyre is carried further than that; the very soil
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of it shall be scraped away, and it shall be made <I>like the top of a
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rock</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:4,14"><I>v.</I> 4, 14</A>),
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pure rock that has no earth to cover it; it shall only be a place
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<I>for the spreading of nets</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:5,14"><I>v.</I> 5, 14</A>);
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it shall serve fishermen to dry their nets upon and mend them.
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(5.) There shall be a full period to all its mirth and joy
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
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<I>I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease.</I> Tyre had been a
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joyous city
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+23:7">Isa. xxiii. 7</A>);
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with her songs she had courted customers to deal with her in a way of
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trade. But now farewell all her profitable commerce and pleasant
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conversation; Tyre is no more a place either of business or of sport.
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<I>Lastly,</I> It shall be <I>built no more</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
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not built any more as it had been, with such state and magnificence,
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nor built any more in the same place, within the sea, nor built any
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where for a long time; the present inhabitants shall be destroyed or
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dispersed, so that this Tyre shall be <I>no more.</I> For <I>God has
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spoken it</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:5,14"><I>v.</I> 5, 14</A>);
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and when what he has said is accomplished <I>they shall know</I>
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thereby that <I>he is the Lord,</I> and <I>not a man that he should lie
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nor the son of man that he should repent.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Eze26_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze26_21"> </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 Burden of Tyre.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 588.</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>15 Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT> to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake
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at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the
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slaughter is made in the midst of thee?
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16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their
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thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered
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garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall
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sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at <I>every</I> moment, and be
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astonished at thee.
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17 And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to
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thee, How art thou destroyed, <I>that wast</I> inhabited of seafaring
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men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her
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inhabitants, which cause their terror <I>to be</I> on all that haunt
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it!
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18 Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the
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isles that <I>are</I> in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.
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19 For thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; When I shall make thee a
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desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I
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shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover
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thee;
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20 When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the
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pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low
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parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go
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down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set
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glory in the land of the living;
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21 I will make thee a terror, and thou <I>shalt be</I> no <I>more:</I>
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though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again,
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saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The utter ruin of Tyre is here represented in very strong and lively
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figures, which are exceedingly affecting.</P>
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<P>
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1. See how high, how great, Tyre had been, how little likely ever to
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come to this. The remembrance of men's former grandeur and plenty is a
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great aggravation of their present disgrace and poverty. Tyre was <I>a
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renowned city</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
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famous among the nations, the <I>crowning</I> city (so she is called
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+23:8">Isa. xxiii. 8</A>),
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a city that had crowns in her gift, honoured all she smiled upon,
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crowned herself and all about her. She was <I>inhabited of seas,</I>
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that is, of those that trade at sea, of those who from all parts came
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thither by sea, bringing with them the <I>abundance of the seas</I> and
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<I>the treasures hidden in the sand.</I> She was <I>strong in the
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sea,</I> easy of access to her friends, but to her enemies
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inaccessible, fortified by a <I>wall of water,</I> which made her
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impregnable. So that <I>she</I> with her pomp, <I>and her
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inhabitants</I> with their pride, <I>caused their terror to be on all
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that haunted</I> that city, and upon any account frequented it. It was
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well fortified, and formidable in the eyes of all that acquainted
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themselves with it. Every body stood in awe of the Tyrians and was
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afraid of disobliging them. Note, Those who know their strength are too
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apt to cause terror, to pride themselves in frightening those they are
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an over-match for.</P>
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<P>
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2. See how low, how little, Tyre is made,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:19,20"><I>v.</I> 19, 20</A>.
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This <I>renowned city</I> is made a <I>desolate city,</I> is no more
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frequented as it has been; there is no more resort of merchants to it;
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it is <I>like the cities not inhabited,</I> which are no cities, and
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having none to keep them in repair, will go to decay of themselves.
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Tyre shall be like a city overflowed by an inundation of waters, which
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<I>cover</I> it, and upon which the <I>deep</I> is <I>brought up.</I>
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As the waves had formerly been its defence, so now they shall be its
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destruction. She shall be <I>brought down with those that descend into
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the pit,</I> with the cities of the old world that were under water,
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and with <I>Sodom and Gomorrah,</I> that lie in the bottom of the Dead
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Sea. Or, she shall be in the condition of those who have been long
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buried, of the <I>people of old time,</I> who are old inhabitants of
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the silent grace, who are quite rotted away under ground and quite
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forgotten above ground; such shall <I>Tyre be, free among the dead, set
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in the lower parts of the earth,</I> humbled, mortified, reduced. It
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shall be <I>like the places desolate of old,</I> as well as like
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persons dead of old; it shall be like other cities that have formerly
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been in like manner deserted and destroyed. It shall <I>not be
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inhabited</I> again; none shall have the courage to attempt the
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rebuilding of it upon that spot, so that <I>it shall be no more;</I>
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The Tyrians shall be lost among the nations, so that people will look
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in vain for Tyre in Tyre: <I>Thou shalt be sought for, and never found
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again.</I> New persons may build a new city upon a new spot of ground
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hard by, which they may call <I>Tyre,</I> but Tyre, as it is, shall
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never be any more. Note, The strongest cities in this world, the
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best-fortified and best-furnished, are subject to decay, and may in a
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|
little time be brought to nothing. In the history of our own island
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many cities are spoken of as in being when the Romans were here which
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now our antiquaries scarcely know where to look for, and of which there
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remains no more evidence than Roman urns and coins digged up there
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sometimes accidentally. But in the other world we look for a city that
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shall stand for ever and flourish in perfection through all the ages of
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eternity.</P>
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<P>
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3. See what a distress the inhabitants of Tyre are in
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
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<I>There is a great slaughter made in the midst of thee,</I> many
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slain, and great men. It is probable that, when the city was taken, the
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generality of the inhabitants were put to the sword. Then did <I>the
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wounded cry,</I> and they cried in vain, to the pitiless conquerors;
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they cried <I>quarter,</I> but it would not be given them; the wounded
|
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are <I>slain</I> without mercy, or, rather, that is the only mercy that
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|
is shown them, that the second blow shall rid them out of their
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|
pain.</P>
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<P>
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4. See what a consternation all the neighbours are in upon the fall of
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Tyre. This is elegantly expressed here, to show how astonishing it
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|
should be.
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(1.) the <I>islands</I> shall <I>shake at the sound of thy fall</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
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as, when a great merchant breaks, all that he deals with are shocked by
|
|
it, and begin to look about them; perhaps they had effects in his
|
|
hands, which they are afraid they shall lose. Or, when they see one
|
|
fail and become bankrupt of a sudden, in debt a great deal more than he
|
|
is worth, it makes them afraid for themselves, lest they should do so
|
|
too. Thus <I>the isles,</I> which thought themselves safe in the
|
|
embraces of the sea, when they see Tyrus fall, shall <I>tremble</I> and
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|
<I>be troubled,</I> saying, "What will become of us?" And it is well if
|
|
they make this good use of it, to take warning by it not to be secure,
|
|
but to stand in awe of God and his judgments. The sudden fall of a
|
|
great tower shakes the ground round about it; thus all the islands in
|
|
the Mediterranean Sea shall feel themselves sensibly touched by the
|
|
destruction of Tyre, it being a place they had so much knowledge of,
|
|
such interests in, and such a constant correspondence with.
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(2.) The <I>princes of the sea</I> shall be affected with it, who ruled
|
|
in those islands. Or the rich merchants, who live like princes
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+23:8">Isa. xxiii. 8</A>),
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and the masters of ships, who command like princes, these shall condole
|
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the fall of Tyre in a most compassionate and pathetic manner
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
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<I>They shall come down from their thrones,</I> as neglecting the
|
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business of their thrones and despising the pomp of them. They shall
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<I>lay away their robes</I> of state, <I>their broidered garments,</I>
|
|
and shall <I>clothe themselves</I> all over with <I>tremblings,</I>
|
|
with sackcloth that will make them shiver. Or they shall by their own
|
|
act and deed make themselves to tremble upon this occasion; they shall
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<I>sit upon the ground</I> in shame and sorrow; they shall <I>tremble
|
|
every moment</I> at the thought of what has happened to Tyre, and for
|
|
fear of what may happen to themselves; for what island is safe if Tyre
|
|
be not? They shall <I>take up a lamentation for thee,</I> shall have
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elegies and mournful poems penned upon the fall of Tyre,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
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<I>How art thou destroyed!</I>
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[1.] It shall be a great surprise to them, and they shall be affected
|
|
with wonder, that a place so well fortified by nature and art, so famed
|
|
for politics and so full of money, which is the sinews of war, that
|
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held out so long and with so much bravery, should be taken at last
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>):
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<I>I make thee a terror.</I> Note, It is just with God to make those a
|
|
terror to their neighbours, by the suddenness and strangeness of their
|
|
punishment, who make themselves a terror to their neighbours by the
|
|
abuse of their power. Tyre had <I>caused her terror</I>
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>)
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and now is made a terrible example.
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[2.] It shall be a great affliction to them, and they shall be affected
|
|
with sorrow
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>);
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they shall <I>take up a lamentation for Tyre,</I> as thinking it a
|
|
thousand pities that such a rich and splendid city should be thus laid
|
|
in ruins. When Jerusalem, the holy city, was destroyed, there were no
|
|
such lamentations for it; it was <I>nothing</I> to <I>those that passed
|
|
by</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+1:12">Lam. i. 12</A>);
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but when Tyre, the trading city, fell, it was universally bemoaned.
|
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Note, Those who have the world in their hearts lament the loss of great
|
|
men more than the loss of good men.
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|
[3.] It shall be a loud alarm to them: <I>They shall tremble in the day
|
|
of thy fall,</I> because they shall have reason to think that their own
|
|
turn will be next. If Tyre fall, who can stand? <I>Howl, fir-trees, if
|
|
such a cedar be shaken.</I> Note, The fall of others should awaken us
|
|
out of our security. The death or decay of others in the world is a
|
|
check to us, when we dream that our mountain <I>stands strongly and
|
|
shall not be moved.</I></P>
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<P>
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5. See how the irreparable ruin of Tyre is aggravated by the prospect
|
|
of the restoration of Israel. Thus shall Tyre sink <I>when I shall set
|
|
glory in the land of the living,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
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Note,
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|
(1.) The holy land is the <I>land of the living;</I> for none but holy
|
|
souls are properly living souls. Where living sacrifices are offered to
|
|
the living God, and where the lively oracles are, there <I>the land of
|
|
the living</I> is; there David hoped to <I>see the goodness of the
|
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Lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:13">Ps. xxvii. 13</A>.
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That was a type of heaven, which is indeed the <I>land of the
|
|
living.</I>
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(2.) Though this land of the living may for a time lie under disgrace,
|
|
yet God will again <I>set glory</I> in it; the glory that had departed
|
|
shall return, and the restoration of what they had been deprived of
|
|
shall be so much more their glory. God will himself be the glory of the
|
|
lands that are the lands of the living.
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(3.) It will aggravate the misery of those that have their portion in
|
|
the land of the dying, of those that are for ever dying, to behold the
|
|
happiness of those, at the same time, that shall have their everlasting
|
|
portion in the land of the living. When the rich man was himself in
|
|
torment he saw Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, and glory set for him
|
|
in the land of the living.</P>
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