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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. XLVII.</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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In this chapter we have,
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I. The vision of the holy waters, their rise, extent, depth, and
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healing virtue, the plenty of fish in them, and an account of the trees
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growing on the banks of them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:1-12">ver. 1-12</A>.
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II. An appointment of the borders of the land of Canaan, which was to
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be divided by lot to the tribes of Israel and the strangers that
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sojourned among them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:13-23">ver. 13-23</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Eze47_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze47_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze47_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze47_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze47_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze47_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze47_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze47_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze47_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze47_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze47_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze47_12"> </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 Vision of the Holy Waters.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 574.</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 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house;
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and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the
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house eastward: for the forefront of the house <I>stood toward</I> the
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east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of
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the house, at the south <I>side</I> of the altar.
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2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and
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led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that
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looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right
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side.
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3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth
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eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me
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through the waters; the waters <I>were</I> to the ankles.
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4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the
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waters; the waters <I>were</I> to the knees. Again he measured a
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thousand, and brought me through; the waters <I>were</I> to the loins.
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5 Afterward he measured a thousand; <I>and it was</I> a river that I
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could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim
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in, a river that could not be passed over.
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6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen <I>this?</I> Then
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he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
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7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river
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<I>were</I> very many trees on the one side and on the other.
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8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east
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country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: <I>which
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being</I> brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
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9 And it shall come to pass, <I>that</I> every thing that liveth,
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which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live:
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and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these
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waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every
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thing shall live whither the river cometh.
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10 And it shall come to pass, <I>that</I> the fishers shall stand
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upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a <I>place</I>
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to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their
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kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
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11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall
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not be healed; they shall be given to salt.
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12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on
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that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not
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fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring
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forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters
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they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be
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for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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This part of Ezekiel's vision must so necessarily have a mystical and
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spiritual meaning that thence we conclude the other parts of his vision
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have a mystical and spiritual meaning also; for it cannot be applied to
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the waters brought by pipes into the temple for the washing of the
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sacrifices, the keeping of the temple clean, and the carrying off of
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those waters, for that would be to turn this pleasant river into a sink
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or common sewer. That prophecy,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:8">Zech. xiv. 8</A>,
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may explain it, of <I>living waters</I> that shall <I>go out</I> from
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Jerusalem, <I>half of them towards the former sea and half of them
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towards the hinder sea.</I> And there is plainly a reference to this in
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St. John's vision of a <I>pure river of water of life,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+22:1">Rev. xxii. 1</A>.
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That seems to represent the glory and joy which are grace perfected.
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This seems to represent the grace and joy which are glory begun. Most
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interpreters agree that these waters signify the gospel of Christ,
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which went forth from Jerusalem, and spread itself into the countries
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about, and the gifts and powers of the Holy Ghost which accompanied it,
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and by virtue of which it spread far and produced strange and blessed
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effects. Ezekiel had walked round the house again and again, and yet
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did not till now take notice of those waters; for God makes known his
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mind and will to his people, not all at once, but by degrees. Now
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observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. The rise of these waters. He is not put to trace the streams to the
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fountain, but has the fountain-head first discovered to him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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<I>Waters issued out from the threshold of the house eastward,</I> and
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from <I>under the right side of the house,</I> that is, the south side
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of <I>the alter.</I> And again
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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<I>There ran out waters on the right side,</I> signifying that <I>from
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Zion should go forth the law and the word of the Lord from
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Jerusalem,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+2:3">Isa. ii. 3</A>.
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There it was that the Spirit was poured out
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upon the apostles, and endued them with the gift of tongues, that they
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might carry these waters to all nations. In the temple first they were
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to stand and <I>preach the words of this life,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+5:20">Acts v. 20</A>.
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They must preach the gospel to all nations, but must <I>begin at
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Jerusalem,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+24:47">Luke xxiv. 47</A>.
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But that is not all: Christ is the temple; he is the door; from him
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those living waters flow, out of his pierced side. It is the water that
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he gives us that is <I>the well of water which springs up,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+4:14">John iv. 14</A>.
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And it is by believing in him that we receive from him <I>rivers of
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living water;</I> and <I>this spoke he of the Spirit,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+7:38,39">John vii. 38, 39</A>.
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The original of these waters was not above-ground, but they sprang up
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from under the threshold; for the fountain of a believer's life is a
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mystery; it is <I>hid with Christ in God,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Col+3:3">Col. iii. 3</A>.
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Some observe that they came forth <I>on the right side of the house</I>
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to intimate that gospel-blessings are right-hand blessings. It is also
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an encouragement to those who attend at Wisdom's gates, at the posts of
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her doors, who are willing to lie at the threshold of God's house, as
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David was, that they lie at the fountainhead of comfort and grace; the
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very entrance into God's word gives light and life,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:130">Ps. cxix. 130</A>.
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David speaks it to the praise of Zion, <I>All my springs are in
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thee,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+87:7">Ps. lxxxvii. 7</A>.
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They came <I>from the side of the altar,</I> for it is in and by Jesus
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Christ, the great altar (who <I>sanctifies our gifts</I> to God), that
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God has <I>blessed us with spiritual blessings in holy heavenly
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places.</I> From God as the fountain, in him as the channel, flows the
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river which <I>makes glad the city of our God, the holy place of the
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tabernacles of the Most High,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+46:4">Ps. xlvi. 4</A>.
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But observe how much the blessedness and joy of glorified saints in
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heaven exceed those of the best and happiest saints on earth; here the
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streams of our comfort arise <I>from under the threshold;</I> there
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they proceed <I>from the throne</I> the throne <I>of God and of the
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Lamb,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+22:1">Rev. xxii. 1</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. The progress and increase of these waters: They <I>went forth
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eastward</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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<I>towards the east country</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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for so they were directed. The prophet and his guide followed the
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stream as it ran down from the holy mountains, and when they had
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followed it about <I>a thousand cubits</I> they went over across it, to
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try the depth of it, and it was <I>to the ankles,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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Then they walked along on the bank of the river on the other side, a
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thousand cubits more, and then, to try the depth of it, they waded
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through it the second time, and it was up to <I>their knees,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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They walked along by it a thousand cubits more, and then forded it the
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third time, and then it was up to their middle--<I>the waters were to
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the loins.</I> They then walked a thousand cubits further, and
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attempted to repass it the fourth time, but found it impracticable:
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<I>The waters had risen,</I> by the addition either of brooks that fell
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into it above ground or by springs under ground, so that they were
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<I>waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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Note,
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1. The waters of the sanctuary are running waters, as those of a river,
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not standing waters, as those of a pond. The gospel, when it was first
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preached, was still spreading further. Grace in the soul is still
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pressing forward; it is an active principle, <I>plus ultra--onward
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still,</I> till it comes to perfection.
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2. They are increasing waters. This river, as it runs constantly, so
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the further it goes the fuller it grows. The gospel-church was very
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small in its beginnings, like a little purling brook; but by degrees it
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came to be <I>to the ankles, to the knees:</I> many were added to it
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daily, and the <I>grain of mustard seed</I> grew up to be a <I>great
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tree.</I> The gifts of the Spirit increase by being exercised, and
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grace, where it is true, is growing, like the light of the morning,
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which <I>shines more and more to the perfect day.</I>
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3. It is good for us to follow these waters, and go along with them.
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Observe the progress of the gospel in the world; observe the process of
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the work of grace in the heart; attend the motions of the blessed
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Spirit, and walk after them, under a divine guidance, as Ezekiel here
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did.
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4. It is good to be often searching into the things of God, and trying
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the depth of them, not only to look on the surface of those waters, but
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to go to the bottom of them as far as we can, to be often digging,
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often diving, into the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, as those who
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covet to be intimately acquainted with those things.
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5. If we search into the things of God, we shall find some things very
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plain and easy to be understood, as the waters that were but to the
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ankles, others more difficult, and which require a deeper search, as
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the water to the knees or the loins, and some quite beyond our reach,
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which we cannot penetrate into, or account for, but, despairing to find
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the bottom, must, as St. Paul, sit down at the brink, and adore the
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<I>depth,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+11:3">Rom. xi. 33</A>.
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It has been often said that in the scripture, like these waters of the
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sanctuary, there are some places so shallow that a lamb may wade
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through them, and others so deep that an elephant may swim in them. And
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it is our wisdom, as the prophet here, to begin with that which is most
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easy, and get our hearts washed with those things before we proceed to
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that which is <I>dark and hard to be understood;</I> it is good to take
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our work before us.</P>
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<P>
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III. The extent of this river: <I>It issues towards the east
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country,</I> but thence it either divide itself into several streams or
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fetches a compass, so that it <I>goes down into the desert,</I> and so
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<I>goes into the sea,</I> either into the <I>dead sea,</I> which lay
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<I>south-east,</I> or the sea of Tiberias, which lay <I>north-east,</I>
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or the great sea, which lay <I>west,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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This was accomplished when the gospel was preached with success
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throughout all the regions of Judea and Samaria
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+8:1">Acts viii. 1</A>),
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and afterwards the nations about, nay, and those that lay most emote,
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even in the isles of the sea, were enlightened and leavened by it. The
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sound of it went forth <I>to the end of the world;</I> and the enemies
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of it could no more prevail to stop the progress of it than that of a
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mighty river.</P>
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<P>
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IV. The healing virtue of this river. The waters of the sanctuary,
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wherever they come and have a free course, will be found a wonderful
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restorative. Being <I>brought forth into the sea,</I> the sulphureous
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lake of Sodom, that standing monument of divine vengeance, even those
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<I>waters shall be healed</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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shall become sweet, and pleasant, and healthful. This intimates the
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wonderful and blessed change that the gospel would make, wheresoever it
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came in its power, a a great change, in respect both of character and
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condition, as the turning of the dead sea into a fountain of gardens.
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When children of wrath became children of love, and those that were
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dead in trespasses an sins were made alive, then this was fulfilled.
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The gospel was as that salt which Elisha cast into the spring of the
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waters of Jericho, with which he <I>healed them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+2:20,21">2 Kings ii. 20, 21</A>.
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Christ, coming into the world to be its physician, sent his gospel as
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the great medicine, the <I>panpharmacon;</I> there is in it a remedy
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for every malady. Nay, wherever these rivers come, they <I>make things
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to live</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
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both plants and animals; they are the <I>water of life,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+22:1,17">Rev. xxii. 1, 17</A>.
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Christ came, <I>that we might have life</I> and for that end he sends
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his gospel. <I>Every thing shall live whither the river comes.</I> The
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grace of God makes dead sinners alive and living saints lively;
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everything is made fruitful and flourishing by it. But its effect is
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according as it is received, and as the mind is prepared and disposed
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to receive it; for
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>)
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with respect to the marshes and <I>miry places thereof,</I> that are
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settled in the mire of their own sinfulness, and will not be healed, or
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settled in the moisture of their own righteousness, and think they need
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no healing, their doom is, <I>They shall not be healed;</I> the same
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gospel which to others is a savour of life unto life shall to them be a
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savour of death unto death; <I>they shall be given to salt,</I> to
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perpetual barrenness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+29:23">Deut. xxix. 23</A>.
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Those that will not be watered with the grace of God, and made
|
|
fruitful, shall be abandoned to their own hearts' lusts, and left for
|
|
ever unfruitful. <I>He that is filthy, let him be filthy still. Never
|
|
fruit grow on thee more for ever.</I> They shall be given to
|
|
<I>salt,</I> that is, to be monuments of divine justice, as Lot's wife
|
|
that was turned into a <I>pillar of salt,</I> to season others.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. The great plenty of fish that should be in this river. Everything
|
|
living moving thing shall be found here, shall <I>live here</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
|
|
|
|
shall come on and prosper, shall be the best of the kind, and shall
|
|
increase greatly; so that there shall be a <I>very great multitude of
|
|
fish, according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea,
|
|
exceedingly many.</I> There shall be as great plenty of the river fish,
|
|
and as vast shoals of them, as there is of salt-water fish,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
There shall be no great numbers of Christians in the church, and those
|
|
multiplying like fishes in the rising generations and <I>the dew of
|
|
their youth.</I> In the creation the <I>waters brought forth</I> the
|
|
fish <I>abundantly</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+1:20,21">Gen. i. 20, 21</A>),
|
|
|
|
and they still live in and by the waters that produced them; so
|
|
believers are <I>begotten by the word of truth</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+1:18">James i. 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
and <I>born by it</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:23">1 Pet. i. 23</A>),
|
|
|
|
that river of God; by it they live, from it they have their maintenance
|
|
and subsistence; in the waters of the sanctuary they are as in their
|
|
element, out of them they are as fish <I>upon dry ground;</I> so David
|
|
was when he thirsted and panted for God, for the living God. Where the
|
|
fish are known to be in abundance, thither will the fishers flock, and
|
|
there they will <I>cast their nets;</I> and therefore, to intimate the
|
|
replenishing of these waters and their being made every way useful, it
|
|
is here foretold that the fishers shall stand upon the banks of this
|
|
river, from <I>En-gedi,</I> which lies on the border of the dead sea,
|
|
to <I>En-eglaim,</I> another city, which joins to that sea, and all
|
|
along shall <I>spread their nets.</I> The dead sea, which before was
|
|
shunned as noisome and noxious, shall be frequented. Gospel-grace makes
|
|
those persons and places which were unprofitable and good for nothing
|
|
to become serviceable to God and man.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VI. The trees that were on the banks of this river--<I>many trees on the
|
|
one side and on the other</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
which made the prospect very pleasant and agreeable to the eye; the
|
|
shelter of these trees also would be a convenience to the fishery. But
|
|
that is not all
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>);
|
|
|
|
they <I>are trees for meat,</I> and the <I>fruit of them shall not be
|
|
consumed,</I> for it shall produce fresh fruit <I>every month.</I> The
|
|
<I>leaf</I> shall be <I>for medicine,</I> and it <I>shall not fade,</I>
|
|
This part of the vision is copied out into St. John's vision very
|
|
exactly
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+22:2">Rev. xxii. 2</A>),
|
|
|
|
where, on either side of the river, is said to grow the <I>tree of
|
|
life,</I> which <I>yielded her fruit every month,</I> and <I>the leaves
|
|
were for the healing of the nations.</I> Christians are supposed to be
|
|
these trees, ministers especially, <I>trees of righteousness, the
|
|
planting of the Lord</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:3">Isa. lxi. 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
set by <I>the rivers of water,</I> the waters of the sanctuary
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:3">Ps. i. 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
grafted into Christ the tree of life, and by virtue of their union with
|
|
him made trees of life too, <I>rooted</I> in him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Col+2:7">Col. ii. 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
There is a great variety of these trees, through the diversity of gifts
|
|
with which they are endued by that <I>one Spirit who works all in
|
|
all.</I> They grow <I>on the bank of the river,</I> or they keep close
|
|
to holy ordinances, and through them derive from Christ sap and virtue.
|
|
They are <I>fruit-trees,</I> designed, as the fig tree and the olive,
|
|
with their fruits to <I>honour God and man,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+9:9">Judg. ix. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>The fruit thereof shall be for meat,</I> for the <I>lips of the
|
|
righteous feed many.</I> The fruits of their righteousness are one way
|
|
or other beneficial. The very leaves of these trees <I>are for
|
|
medicine,</I> for <I>bruises</I> and sores, <I>margin.</I> Good
|
|
Christians with their good discourses, which are as their leaves, as
|
|
well as with their charitable actions, which are as their fruits, do
|
|
good to those about them; they <I>strengthen the weak,</I> and bind up
|
|
the broken-hearted. Their cheerfulness <I>does good like a
|
|
medicine,</I> not only to themselves, but to others also. They shall be
|
|
enabled by the grace of God to persevere in their goodness and
|
|
usefulness; their <I>leaf shall not fade,</I> or lose its medicinal
|
|
virtue, having not only life in their root, but sap in all their
|
|
branches; their profession <I>shall not wither</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:3">Ps. i. 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed;</I> that is, they shall
|
|
not lose the principle of their fruitfulness, but <I>shall still bring
|
|
forth fruit in old age,</I> to <I>show that the Lord is upright</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+92:14,15">Ps. xcii. 14, 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
or the reward of their fruitfulness shall abide for ever; they bring
|
|
forth fruit that shall abound to their account in the great day,
|
|
<I>fruit to life eternal;</I> that is indeed <I>fruit which shall not
|
|
be consumed.</I> They bring <I>new fruit according to their months,</I>
|
|
some in one month and others in another: so that still there shall be
|
|
one or other found to serve the glory of God for the purpose he
|
|
designs. Or each one of them shall bring forth fruit monthly, which
|
|
denotes an abundant disposition to fruit-bearing (they shall never be
|
|
weary of well-doing), and a very happy climate, such that there shall
|
|
be a perpetual spring and summer. And the reason of this extraordinary
|
|
fruitfulness is <I>because their waters issued out of the
|
|
sanctuary;</I> it is not to be ascribed to any thing in themselves, but
|
|
to the continual supplies of divine grace, with which they are
|
|
<I>watered every moment</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+27:3">Isa. xxvii. 3</A>);
|
|
|
|
for, whoever planted them, it was that which <I>gave the
|
|
increase.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Eze47_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze47_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze47_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze47_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze47_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze47_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze47_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze47_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze47_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze47_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze47_23"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Borders of the Land Appointed.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 574.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>13 Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; This <I>shall be</I> the border, whereby
|
|
ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of
|
|
Israel: Joseph <I>shall have two</I> portions.
|
|
14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another:
|
|
<I>concerning</I> the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your
|
|
fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.
|
|
15 And this <I>shall be</I> the border of the land toward the north
|
|
side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;
|
|
16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which <I>is</I> between the border of
|
|
Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazar-hatticon, which <I>is</I> by
|
|
the coast of Hauran.
|
|
17 And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border
|
|
of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath.
|
|
And <I>this is</I> the north side.
|
|
18 And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from
|
|
Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel <I>by</I>
|
|
Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And <I>this is</I> the east
|
|
side.
|
|
19 And the south side southward, from Tamar <I>even</I> to the
|
|
waters of strife <I>in</I> Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And
|
|
<I>this is</I> the south side southward.
|
|
20 The west side also <I>shall be</I> the great sea from the border,
|
|
till a man come over against Hamath. This <I>is</I> the west side.
|
|
21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the
|
|
tribes of Israel.
|
|
22 And it shall come to pass, <I>that</I> ye shall divide it by lot
|
|
for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn
|
|
among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall
|
|
be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel;
|
|
they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
|
|
23 And it shall come to pass, <I>that</I> in what tribe the stranger
|
|
sojourneth, there shall ye give <I>him</I> his inheritance, saith the
|
|
Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We are now to pass from the affairs of the sanctuary to those of the
|
|
state, from the city to the country.
|
|
|
|
1. The Land of Canaan is here secured to them for an inheritance
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I lifted up my hand to give it unto your fathers,</I> that is,
|
|
promised it upon oath to them and their posterity. Though the
|
|
possession had been a great while discontinued, yet God had not
|
|
forgotten his oath which he swore to their fathers. Though God's
|
|
providences may for a time seem to contradict his promises, yet the
|
|
promise will certainly take place at last, for God will be <I>ever
|
|
mindful of his covenant. I lifted up my hand to give it,</I> and
|
|
therefore it shall without fail <I>fall to you for an inheritance.</I>
|
|
Thus the heavenly Canaan is sure to all the seed, because it is what
|
|
<I>God, who cannot lie, has promised.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. It is here circumscribed, and the bounds and limits of it are
|
|
fixed, which they must not pass over to encroach upon their neighbours
|
|
and which their neighbours shall not break through to encroach upon
|
|
them. We had such a draught of the borders of Canaan when Joshua was
|
|
to put the people in possession of it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+34:1">Num. xxxiv. 1</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. That begins with the salt sea in the south, goes round and ends
|
|
there. This begins with Hamath about Damascus in the north, and so goes
|
|
round and ends there,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, It is God that <I>appoints the bounds of our habitation;</I> and
|
|
his Israel shall always have cause to say that <I>the lines have fallen
|
|
to them in pleasant places.</I> The lake of Sodom is here called <I>the
|
|
east sea,</I> for it, being healed by the waters of the sanctuary, it
|
|
is no more to be called a <I>salt sea,</I> as it was in Numbers.
|
|
|
|
3. It is here ordered to be divided among the tribes of Israel,
|
|
reckoning Joseph for two tribes, to make up the number of twelve, when
|
|
Levi was taken out to attend the sanctuary, and had his lot adjoining
|
|
to that
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:13,21"><I>v.</I> 13, 21</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>You shall inherit it, one as well as another,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
The tribes shall have an equal share, one as much as another. As the
|
|
tribes returned out of Babylon, this seems unequal, because some tribes
|
|
were much more numerous than the other, and indeed the most were of
|
|
Judah and Benjamin and very few of the other ten tribes; but as the
|
|
twelve tribes stand, in type and vision, for the gospel-church, the
|
|
Israel of God, it was very equal, because we find in another vision an
|
|
equal number of each of the twelve tribes <I>sealed</I> for the
|
|
<I>living God,</I> just 12,000 of each,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+7:5">Rev. vii. 5</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. And to those sealed ones these allotments did belong. It
|
|
intimates likewise that all the subjects of Christ's kingdom have
|
|
<I>obtained like precious faith.</I> Male and female, Jew and Gentile,
|
|
bond and free, are all alike welcome to Christ and made partakers of
|
|
him.
|
|
|
|
4. The strangers who sojourn among them, <I>who shall beget
|
|
children</I> and be built up into families, and so help to people their
|
|
country, <I>shall have inheritance among</I> the tribes, as if they had
|
|
been native Israelites
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+47:22,23"><I>v.</I> 22, 23</A>),
|
|
|
|
which was by no means allowed in Joshua's division of the land. This
|
|
is an act for a general naturalization, which would teach the Jews who
|
|
was their neighbour, not those only of their own nation and religion,
|
|
but those, whoever they were, that they had an opportunity of showing
|
|
kindness to, because from them they would be willing to receive
|
|
kindness. It would likewise invite strangers to come and settle among
|
|
them, and put themselves under the wings of the divine Majesty. But it
|
|
certainly looks at gospel-times, when the partition-wall between Jew
|
|
and Gentile was taken down, and both one in Christ, in whom <I>there is
|
|
no difference,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+10:12">Rom. x. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
This land was a type of the heavenly Canaan, that <I>better country</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:16">Heb. xi. 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
in which believing Gentiles shall have a blessed lot, as well as
|
|
believing Jews,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+56:3">Isa. lvi. 3</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
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