mh_parser/vol_split/26 - Ezekiel/Chapter 27.xml

<div2 id="Ez.xxviii" n="xxviii" next="Ez.xxix" prev="Ez.xxvii" progress="60.45%" title="Chapter XXVII">
<h2 id="Ez.xxviii-p0.1">E Z E K I E L.</h2>
<h3 id="Ez.xxviii-p0.2">CHAP. XXVII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ez.xxviii-p1" shownumber="no">Still we are attending the funeral of Tyre and the
lamentations made for the fall of that renowned city. In this
chapter we have, I. A large account of the dignity, wealth, and
splendour of Tyre, while it was in its strength, the vast trade it
drove, and the interest it had among the nations (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.1-Ezek.27.25" parsed="|Ezek|27|1|27|25" passage="Eze 27:1-25">ver. 1-25</scripRef>), which is designed to
make its ruin the more lamentable. II. A prediction of its fall and
ruin, and the confusion and consternation which all its neighbours
shall thereby be put into, <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.26-Ezek.27.36" parsed="|Ezek|27|26|27|36" passage="Eze 27:26-36">ver.
26-36</scripRef>. And this is intended to stain the pride of all
worldly glory, and, by setting the one over-against the other, to
let us see the vanity and uncertainty of the riches, honours, and
pleasures of the world, and what little reason we have to place our
happiness in them or to be confident of the continuance of them; so
that all this is written for our learning.</p>
<scripCom id="Ez.xxviii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27" parsed="|Ezek|27|0|0|0" passage="Eze 27" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ez.xxviii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.1-Ezek.27.25" parsed="|Ezek|27|1|27|25" passage="Eze 27:1-25" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxviii-p1.5">
<h4 id="Ez.xxviii-p1.6">The Prosperity of Tyre. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxviii-p1.7">b. c.</span> 588.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxviii-p2" shownumber="no">1 The word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxviii-p2.1">Lord</span> came again unto me, saying,   2 Now,
thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;   3 And say
unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea,
<i>which art</i> a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus
saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxviii-p2.2">God</span>; O Tyrus, thou
hast said, I <i>am</i> of perfect beauty.   4 Thy borders
<i>are</i> in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected
thy beauty.   5 They have made all thy <i>ship</i> boards of
fir trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make
masts for thee.   6 <i>Of</i> the oaks of Bashan have they
made thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches
<i>of</i> ivory, <i>brought</i> out of the isles of Chittim.  
7 Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou
spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of
Elishah was that which covered thee.   8 The inhabitants of
Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise <i>men,</i> O Tyrus,
<i>that</i> were in thee, were thy pilots.   9 The ancients of
Gebal and the wise <i>men</i> thereof were in thee thy calkers: all
the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy
merchandise.   10 They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were
in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in
thee; they set forth thy comeliness.   11 The men of Arvad
with thine army <i>were</i> upon thy walls round about, and the
Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy
walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect.   12
Tarshish <i>was</i> thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all
<i>kind of</i> riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they
traded in thy fairs.   13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they
<i>were</i> thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and
vessels of brass in thy market.   14 They of the house of
Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules.
  15 The men of Dedan <i>were</i> thy merchants; many isles
<i>were</i> the merchandise of thine hand: they brought thee
<i>for</i> a present horns of ivory and ebony.   16 Syria
<i>was</i> thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of
thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and
broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate.   17
Judah, and the land of Israel, they <i>were</i> thy merchants: they
traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and
oil, and balm.   18 Damascus <i>was</i> thy merchant in the
multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all
riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool.   19 Dan also
and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron,
cassia, and calamus, were in thy market.   20 Dedan <i>was</i>
thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots.   21 Arabia,
and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and
rams, and goats: in these <i>were they</i> thy merchants.   22
The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they <i>were</i> thy merchants:
they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all
precious stones, and gold.   23 Haran, and Canneh, and Eden,
the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, <i>and</i> Chilmad, <i>were</i> thy
merchants.   24 These <i>were</i> thy merchants in all sorts
<i>of things,</i> in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in
chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among
thy merchandise.   25 The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee
in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in
the midst of the seas.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxviii-p3" shownumber="no">Here, I. The prophet is ordered to take up
a lamentation for Tyrus, <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.2" parsed="|Ezek|27|2|0|0" passage="Eze 27:2"><i>v.</i>
2</scripRef>. It was yet in the height of its prosperity, and there
appeared not the least symptom of its decay; yet the prophet must
lament it, because its prosperity is its snare, is the cause of its
pride and security, which will make its fall the more grievous.
Even those that live at ease are to be lamented if they be not
preparing for trouble. He must lament it because its ruin is
hastening on apace; it is sure, it is near; and though the prophet
foretel it, and justify God in it, yet he must lament it. Note, We
ought to mourn for the miseries of other nations, as well as for
our own, out of an affection for mankind in general; it is a part
of the honour we owe to all men to bewail their calamities, even
those which they have brought upon themselves by their own
folly.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxviii-p4" shownumber="no">II. He is directed what to say, and to say
it in the name of <i>the Lord Jehovah,</i> a name not unknown in
Tyre, and which shall be better known, <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.26.6" parsed="|Ezek|26|6|0|0" passage="Eze 26:6"><i>ch.</i> xxvi. 6</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxviii-p5" shownumber="no">1. He must upbraid Tyre with her pride:
<i>O Tyrus! thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.3" parsed="|Ezek|27|3|0|0" passage="Eze 27:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>), of <i>universal
beauty</i> (so the word is), every way accomplished, and therefore
every where admired. Zion, that had the <i>beauty of holiness,</i>
is called indeed the <i>perfection of beauty</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.50.2" parsed="|Ps|50|2|0|0" passage="Ps 50:2">Ps. l. 2</scripRef>); that is the <i>beauty of
the Lord.</i> But Tyre, because well-built and well-filled with
money and trade, will set up for a perfect beauty. Note, It is the
folly of the children of this world to value themselves on the pomp
and pleasure they live in, to call themselves beauties for the sake
of them, and, if in these they excel others, to think themselves
perfect. But God takes notice of the vain conceits men have of
themselves in their prosperity when the mind is lifted up with the
condition, and often, for the humbling of the spirit, finds a way
to bring down the estate. Let none reckon themselves beautified any
further than they are sanctified, nor say that they are of perfect
beauty till they come to heaven.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxviii-p6" shownumber="no">2. He must upbraid Tyre with her
prosperity, which was the matter of her pride. In elegies it is
usual to insert encomiums of those whose fall we lament; the
prophet, accordingly, praises Tyre for all that she had that was
praiseworthy. He has nothing to say of her religion, her piety, her
charity, her being a refuge to the distressed or using her interest
to do good offices among her neighbours; but she lived great, and
had a great trade, and all the trading part of mankind made court
to her. The prophet must describe her height and magnificence, that
God may be the more glorified in her fall, as the God who <i>looks
upon every one that is proud and abases him, hides the proud in the
dust together, and binds their faces in secret,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.40.12" parsed="|Job|40|12|0|0" passage="Job 40:12">Job xl. 12</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxviii-p7" shownumber="no">(1.) The city of Tyre was advantageously
situated, <i>at the entry of the sea</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.3" parsed="|Ezek|27|3|0|0" passage="Eze 27:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>), having many commodious harbours
each way, not as cities seated on rivers, which the shipping can
come but one way to. It stood at the east end of the Mediterranean,
very convenient for trade by land into all the Levant parts; so
that she became a <i>merchant of the people for many isles.</i>
Lying between Greece and Asia, it became the great emporium, or
mart-town, the rendezvous of merchants from all parts: <i>They
borders are in the heart of the seas,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.4" parsed="|Ezek|27|4|0|0" passage="Eze 27:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. It was surrounded with water,
which was a great advantage to its trade; it was the darling of the
sea, laid in its bosom, in its heart. Note, It is a great
convenience, upon many accounts, to live in an island: seas are the
most <i>ancient land-mark,</i> not <i>which our fathers have
set,</i> but the God of our fathers, and which cannot be removed as
other land-marks may, nor so easily got over. The people so
situated may the more easily <i>dwell alone,</i> if they please, as
<i>not reckoned among the nations,</i> and yet, if they please, may
the more easily traffic abroad and keep a correspondence with the
nations. We therefore of this island must own that he who
determines the bounds of men's habitations has determined well for
us.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxviii-p8" shownumber="no">(2.) It was curiously built, according as
the fashion then was; and, being a city on a hill, it made a
glorious show and tempted the ships that sailed by into her ports
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.4" parsed="|Ezek|27|4|0|0" passage="Eze 27:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): <i>Thy
builders have perfected thy beauty;</i> they have so improved in
architecture that nothing appears in the buildings of Tyre that can
be found fault with; and yet it wants that perfection of beauty
into which the Lord does and will build up his Jerusalem.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxviii-p9" shownumber="no">(3.) It had its haven replenished with
abundance of <i>gallant ships,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.33.21" parsed="|Isa|33|21|0|0" passage="Isa 33:21">Isa. xxxiii. 21</scripRef>. The ship-carpenters did
their part, as well as the house-carpenters theirs. The Tyrians are
thought to be the first that invented the art of navigation; at
least they improved it, and brought it to as great a perfection
perhaps as it could be without the loadstone. [1.] They made the
<i>boards,</i> or planks, for the hulk of the ship, of
<i>fir-trees</i> fetched from <i>Senir,</i> a mount in the land of
Israel, joined with Hermon, <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Song.4.8" parsed="|Song|4|8|0|0" passage="So 4:8">Cant. iv.
8</scripRef>. Planks of fir were smooth and light, but not so
lasting as our English oak. [2.] They had cedars from Lebanon,
another mountain of Israel, for their masts, <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.5" parsed="|Ezek|27|5|0|0" passage="Eze 27:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. [3.] They had oaks from Bashan
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.13" parsed="|Isa|2|13|0|0" passage="Isa 2:13">Isa. ii. 13</scripRef>), to make oars
of; for it is probable that their ships were mostly galleys, that
go with oars. The people of Israel built few ships for themselves,
but they furnished the Tyrians with timber for shipping. Thus one
country uses what another produced, and so they are serviceable one
to another, and cannot say to each other, <i>I have no need of
thee.</i> [4.] Such magnificence did they affect in building their
ships that they made the very <i>benches</i> of <i>ivory,</i> which
they fetched from <i>the isles of Chittim,</i> from Italy or
Greece, and had workmen from the Ashurites or Assyrians to make
them, so rich would they have their state-rooms in their ships to
be. [5.] So very prodigal were they that they made their
<i>sails</i> of <i>fine linen</i> fetched from Egypt, and that
<i>embroidered</i> too, <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p9.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.7" parsed="|Ezek|27|7|0|0" passage="Eze 27:7"><i>v.</i>
7</scripRef>. Or it may be meant of their <i>flags</i> (which they
hoisted to notify what city they belonged to), which were very
costly. The word signifies a <i>banner</i> as well as a
<i>sail.</i> [6.] They hung those rooms on ship-board with <i>blue
and purple,</i> the richest cloths and richest colours they could
get from the isles they traded with. For though Tyre was itself
famous for purple, which is therefore called the <i>Tyrian dye,</i>
yet they must have that which was far-fetched.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxviii-p10" shownumber="no">(4.) These gallant ships were well-manned,
by men of great ingenuity and industry. The pilots and masters of
the ships, that had command in their fleets, were of their own
city, such as they could put a confidence in (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.8" parsed="|Ezek|27|8|0|0" passage="Eze 27:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): <i>Thy wise men, O Tyrus! that
were in thee, were thy pilots.</i> But, for common sailors, they
had men from other countries; <i>The inhabitants of Arvad and Zidon
were thy mariners.</i> These came from cities hear them; Zidon was
sister to Tyre, not two leagues off, to the northward; there they
bred able seamen, which it is the interest of the maritime powers
to support and give all the countenance they can to. They sent to
Gebal in Syria for <i>calkers,</i> or <i>strengtheners of the
clefts</i> or <i>chinks,</i> to stop them when the ships come home,
after long voyages, to be repaired. To do this they had the
<i>ancients</i> and <i>wise men</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.9" parsed="|Ezek|27|9|0|0" passage="Eze 27:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>); for there is more need of
wisdom and prudence to repair what has gone to decay than to build
anew. In public matters there is occasion for the <i>ancients</i>
and <i>wise men</i> to be the <i>repairers of the breaches and the
restorers of paths to dwell in.</i> Nay, all the countries they
traded with were at their service, and were willing to send men
into their pay, to put their youths apprentice in Tyre, or to put
them on board their fleets; so that <i>all the ships in the sea
with their mariners were</i> ready <i>to occupy thy
merchandise.</i> Those that give good wages shall have hands at
command.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxviii-p11" shownumber="no">(5.) Their city was guarded by a military
force that was very considerable, <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.10-Ezek.27.11" parsed="|Ezek|27|10|27|11" passage="Eze 27:10,11"><i>v.</i> 10, 11</scripRef>. The Tyrians were
themselves wholly given to trade; but it was necessary that they
should have a good army on foot, and therefore they took those of
other states into their pay, such as were fittest for service,
though they had them from afar (which perhaps was their policy),
from Persia, Lud, and Phut. These bore their arms when there was
occasion, and in time of peace <i>hung up the shield and
buckler</i> in the armoury, as it were to proclaim peace, and let
the world know that they had at present no need of them, but they
were ready to be taken down whenever there was occasion for them.
Their <i>walls</i> were <i>guarded</i> by the <i>man of Arvad;</i>
their <i>towers</i> were garrisoned by <i>the Gammadim,</i> robust
men, that had a great deal of strength in <i>their arms;</i> yet
the vulgar Latin renders it <i>pygmies,</i> men no longer than
one's arm. They <i>hung their shields upon the walls</i> in their
magazines or places of arms; or hung them out upon the walls of the
city, that none might dare to approach them, seeing how well
provided they were with all things necessary for their own defence.
"Thus <i>they set forth thy comeliness</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.10" parsed="|Ezek|27|10|0|0" passage="Eze 27:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>), and <i>made they beauty
perfect,</i>" <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.11" parsed="|Ezek|27|11|0|0" passage="Eze 27:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>. It contributed as much as any thing to the glory of
Tyre that it had those of all the surrounding nations in its
service, except the land of Israel (though it lay next them), which
furnished them with timber, but we do not find that it furnished
them with men; that would have trenched upon the liberty and
dignity of the Jewish nation, <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.2.17-2Chr.2.18" parsed="|2Chr|2|17|2|18" passage="2Ch 2:17,18">2
Chron. ii. 17, 18</scripRef>. It was also the glory of Tyre that it
had such a militia, so fit for service, and in constant pay, and
such an armoury, like that in the tower of David, where hung the
<i>shields of mighty men,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Song.4.4" parsed="|Song|4|4|0|0" passage="So 4:4">Cant. iv.
4</scripRef>. It is observable that there and here the armouries
are said to be furnished with <i>shields</i> and <i>helmets,</i>
defensive arms, not with swords and spears, offensive, though it is
probable that there were such, to intimate that the military force
of a people must be intended only for their own protection and not
to invade and annoy their neighbours, to secure their own right,
not to encroach upon the rights of others.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxviii-p12" shownumber="no">(6.) They had a vast trade and a
correspondence with all parts of the known world. Some nations they
dealt with in one commodity and some in another, according as
either its products or its manufactures were, and the fruits of
nature or art were, with which it was blessed. This is very much
enlarged upon here, as that which was the principal glory of Tyre,
and which supported all the rest. We do not find any where in
scripture so many nations named together as are here; so that this
chapter, some think, gives much light to the first account we have
of the settlement of the nations after the flood, <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.10.1-Gen.10.32" parsed="|Gen|10|1|10|32" passage="Ge 10:1-32">Gen. x</scripRef>. The critics have abundance
of work here to find out the several places and nations spoken of.
Concerning many of them their conjectures are different and they
leave us in the dark and at much uncertainty; it is well that it is
not material. Modern surveys come short of explaining the ancient
geography. And therefore we will not amuse ourselves here with a
particular enquiry either concerning the traders or the goods they
traded in. We leave it to the critical expositors, and observe that
only which is improvable. [1.] We have reason to think that Ezekiel
knew little, of his own knowledge, concerning the trade of Tyre. He
was a priest, carried away captive far enough from the
neighbourhood of Tyre, we may suppose when he was young, and there
he had been eleven years. And yet he speaks of the particular
merchandises of Tyre as nicely as if he had been comptroller of the
custom-house there, by which it appears that he was divinely
inspired in what he spoke and wrote. It is God that <i>saith
this,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.3" parsed="|Ezek|27|3|0|0" passage="Eze 27:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. [2.]
This account of the trade of Tyre intimates to us that God's eye is
upon men, and that he takes cognizance of what they do when they
are employed in their worldly business, not only when they are at
church, praying and hearing, but when they are in their markets and
fairs, and upon the exchange, buying and selling, which is a good
reason why we should in all our dealings <i>keep a conscience void
of offence,</i> and have our eye always upon him whose eye is
always upon us. [3.] We may here observe the wisdom of God, and his
goodness, as the common Father of mankind, in making one country to
abound in one commodity and another in another, and all more or
less serviceable either to the necessity or to the comfort or
ornament of human life. <i>Non omis fert omnia tellus—One land
does not supply all the varieties of produce.</i> Providence
dispenses its gifts variously, some to each, and all to none, that
there may be a mutual commerce among those whom God has <i>made of
one blood,</i> though they are made <i>to dwell on all the face of
the earth,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Acts.17.27" parsed="|Acts|17|27|0|0" passage="Ac 17:27">Acts xvii.
26</scripRef>. Let every nations therefore thank God for the
productions of its country; though they be not so rich as those of
others, yet there is use for them in the public service of the
world. [4.] See what a blessing trade and merchandise are to
mankind, especially when followed in the fear of God, and with a
regard not only to private advantage, but to a common benefit.
<i>The earth is full of God's riches,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.104.24" parsed="|Ps|104|24|0|0" passage="Ps 104:24">Ps. civ. 24</scripRef>. There is a <i>multitude of all
kinds of riches</i> in it (as it is here, <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.12" parsed="|Ezek|27|12|0|0" passage="Eze 27:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>), gathered off its surface and
dug out of its bowels. The earth is also full of the fruits of
men's ingenuity and industry, according as their genius leads them.
Now by exchange and barter these are made more extensively useful;
thus what can be spared is helped off, and what is wanted is
fetched in, in lieu of it, from the most distant countries. Those
that are not tradesmen themselves have reason to thank God for
tradesmen and merchants, by whom the productions of other countries
are brought to our hands, as those of our own are by our
husbandmen. [5.] Besides the necessaries that are here traded in,
see what abundance of things are here mentioned that only serve to
please fancy, and are made valuable only by men's humour and
custom; and yet God allows us to use them, and trade in them, and
part with those things for them which we can spare that are of an
intrinsic worth much beyond them. Here are <i>horns of ivory and
ebony</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.15" parsed="|Ezek|27|15|0|0" passage="Eze 27:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>),
that are <i>brought for a present,</i> exposed to sale, and offered
in exchange, or (as some think) presented to the city, or the great
men of it, to obtain their favour. Here are <i>emeralds, coral,</i>
and <i>agate</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.7" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.16" parsed="|Ezek|27|16|0|0" passage="Eze 27:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>), all <i>precious stones, and gold</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.8" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.22" parsed="|Ezek|27|22|0|0" passage="Eze 27:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>), which the world could
better be without than iron and common stones. Here are, to please
the taste and smell, the <i>chief of all spices</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.9" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.22" parsed="|Ezek|27|22|0|0" passage="Eze 27:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>), <i>cassia and
calamus</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.10" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.19" parsed="|Ezek|27|19|0|0" passage="Eze 27:19"><i>v.</i>
19</scripRef>), and, for ornament, <i>purple, broidered work, and
fine linen</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.11" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.16" parsed="|Ezek|27|16|0|0" passage="Eze 27:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>), <i>precious clothes for chariots</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.12" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.20" parsed="|Ezek|27|20|0|0" passage="Eze 27:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>), <i>blue clothes</i>
(which Tyre was famous for), <i>broidered work,</i> and <i>chests
of rich apparel, bound with</i> rich <i>cords,</i> and <i>made of
cedar,</i> a sweet wood to perfume the garments kept in them,
<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.13" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.24" parsed="|Ezek|27|24|0|0" passage="Eze 27:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>. Upon the
review of this invoice, or bill of parcels, we may justly say, What
a great many things are here that we have no need of, and can live
very comfortably without! [6.] It is observable that Judah and the
<i>land of Israel</i> were merchants in Tyre too; in a way of trade
they were allowed to converse with the heathen. But they traded
mostly <i>in wheat,</i> a substantial commodity, and necessary,
<i>wheat of Minnith and Pannag,</i> two countries in Canaan famous
for the best wheat, as some think. The whole land indeed was a
<i>land of wheat</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.14" osisRef="Bible:Deut.8.8" parsed="|Deut|8|8|0|0" passage="De 8:8">Deut. viii.
8</scripRef>); it had <i>the fat of kidneys of wheat,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.15" osisRef="Bible:Deut.32.14" parsed="|Deut|32|14|0|0" passage="De 32:14">Deut. xxxii. 14</scripRef>. Tyre was maintained
by corn fetched from the land of Israel. They traded likewise in
<i>honey, and oil,</i> and <i>balm,</i> or <i>rosin;</i> all useful
things, and not serving to pride or luxury. And the land which
these were the staple commodities of was that which was the
<i>glory of all lands,</i> which God reserved for his peculiar
people, not those that traded in spices and <i>precious stones;</i>
and the Israel of God must reckon themselves well provided for if
they have <i>food convenient;</i> for those that are acquainted
with the delights of the children of God will not set their hearts
on the <i>delights of the sons and daughters of men,</i> or the
<i>treasures of kings and provinces.</i> We find indeed that the
New-Testament Babylon trades in such things as Tyre traded in,
<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.16" osisRef="Bible:Rev.18.12-Rev.18.13" parsed="|Rev|18|12|18|13" passage="Re 18:12,13">Rev. xviii. 12, 13</scripRef>. For,
notwithstanding its pretensions to sanctity, it is a mere worldly
interest. [7.] Though Tyre was a city of great merchandise, and
they got abundance by buying and selling, importing commodities
from one place and exporting them to another, yet
manufacture-trades were not neglected. The <i>wares of their own
making,</i> and a <i>multitude of such wares,</i> are here spoken
of, <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.17" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.16 Bible:Ezek.27.18" parsed="|Ezek|27|16|0|0;|Ezek|27|18|0|0" passage="Eze 27:16,18"><i>v.</i> 16, 18</scripRef>.
It is the wisdom of a nation to encourage art and industry, and not
to bear hard upon the handicraft-tradesmen; for it contributes much
to the wealth and honour of a nation to send abroad <i>wares of
their own making,</i> which may bring them in the <i>multitude of
all riches.</i> [8.] All this made Tyrus very great and very proud:
<i>The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in they market</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.18" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.25" parsed="|Ezek|27|25|0|0" passage="Eze 27:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>); thou wast
admired and cried up by all the nations that had dealings with
thee; for <i>thou wast replenished</i> in wealth and number of
people, wast beautified, and <i>made very glorious, in the midst of
the seas.</i> Those that grow very rich are cried up as very
glorious; for riches are glorious things in the eyes of carnal
people, <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p12.19" osisRef="Bible:Gen.31.1" parsed="|Gen|31|1|0|0" passage="Ge 31:1">Gen. xxxi. 1</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ez.xxviii-p12.20" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.26-Ezek.27.36" parsed="|Ezek|27|26|27|36" passage="Eze 27:26-36" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxviii-p12.21">
<h4 id="Ez.xxviii-p12.22">The Fall of Tyre. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxviii-p12.23">b. c.</span> 588.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxviii-p13" shownumber="no">26 Thy rowers have brought thee into great
waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.
  27 Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners,
and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise,
and all thy men of war, that <i>are</i> in thee, and in all thy
company which <i>is</i> in the midst of thee, shall fall into the
midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin.   28 The suburbs
shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots.   29 And
all that handle the oar, the mariners, <i>and</i> all the pilots of
the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon
the land;   30 And shall cause their voice to be heard against
thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their
heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes:   31 And
they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them
with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of
heart <i>and</i> bitter wailing.   32 And in their wailing
they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee,
<i>saying,</i> What <i>city is</i> like Tyrus, like the destroyed
in the midst of the sea?   33 When thy wares went forth out of
the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of
the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise.
  34 In the time <i>when</i> thou shalt be broken by the seas
in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in
the midst of thee shall fall.   35 All the inhabitants of the
isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore
afraid, they shall be troubled in <i>their</i> countenance.  
36 The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be
a terror, and never <i>shalt be</i> any more.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxviii-p14" shownumber="no">We have seen Tyre flourishing; here we have
Tyre falling, and great is the fall of it, so much the greater for
its having made such a figure in the world. Note, The most mighty
and magnificent kingdoms and states, sooner or later, have their
day to come down. They have their period; and, when they are in
their zenith, they will begin to decline. But the destruction of
Tyre was sudden. Her <i>sun went down at noon.</i> And all her
wealth and grandeur, pomp and power, did but aggravate her ruin,
and make it the more grievous to herself and astonishing to all
about her. Now observe here, 1. How the ruin of Tyrus will be
brought about, <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.26" parsed="|Ezek|27|26|0|0" passage="Eze 27:26"><i>v.</i>
26</scripRef>. She is as a great ship richly laden, that is split
or sunk by the indiscretion of her steersmen: <i>Thy rowers
have</i> themselves <i>brought thee into great</i> and dangerous
<i>waters;</i> the governors of the city, and those that had the
management of their public affairs, by some mismanagement or other
involved them in that war with the Chaldeans which was the ruin of
their state. By their insolence, by some affront given to the
Chaldeans or some attempt made upon them, in confidence of their
own ability to contend with them, they provoked Nebuchadnezzar to
make a descent upon them, and, by their obstinacy in standing it
out to the last, enraged him to such a degree that he determined on
the ruin of their state, and, <i>like an east wind, broke them in
the midst of the seas.</i> Note, It is ill with a people when those
that sit at the stern, instead of putting them into the harbour,
run them aground. 2. How great and general the ruin will be. All
her wealth shall be buried with her, <i>her riches, her fairs, and
her merchandise</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.27" parsed="|Ezek|27|27|0|0" passage="Eze 27:27"><i>v.</i>
27</scripRef>); all that had any dependence upon her, and dealings
with her, in trade, in war, in conversation, shall <i>ball with her
into the midst of the seas, in the day of her ruin.</i> Note, Those
who make creatures their confidence, place their happiness in their
interest in them and rest their hopes upon them, will of course
fall with them; <i>happy</i> therefore <i>are those that have the
God of Jacob for their help,</i> and <i>whose hope is in the Lord
their God,</i> who lives for ever. 3. What sad lamentation would be
made for the destruction of Tyre. The pilots, her princes and
governors, when they see how wretchedly they have mismanaged and
how much they have contributed to their own ruin, shall <i>cry
out</i> so loud as to make even the <i>suburbs shake</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.28" parsed="|Ezek|27|28|0|0" passage="Eze 27:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>), such a vexation shall
it be to them to reflect upon their own bad conduct. The inferior
officers, that were as the mariners of the state, shall be forced
to come down from their respective posts (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.29" parsed="|Ezek|27|29|0|0" passage="Eze 27:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>), and they shall <i>cry out
against thee,</i> as having deceived them, in not proving so well
able to hold out as they thought thou hadst been; they shall <i>cry
bitterly</i> for the common ruin, and their own share in it. They
shall use all the most solemn expressions of grief; they shall
<i>cast dust on their heads,</i> in indignation against themselves,
shall <i>wallow themselves in ashes,</i> as having bid a final
farewell to all ease and pleasure; they shall <i>make themselves
bald</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.31" parsed="|Ezek|27|31|0|0" passage="Eze 27:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>),
with <i>tearing their hair;</i> and, according to the custom of
great mourners, those shall <i>gird themselves with sackcloth</i>
who used to wear fine linen, and, instead of merry songs, they
shall <i>weep with bitterness of heart.</i> Note, Losses and
crosses are very grievous, and hard to be borne, to those that have
long been wallowing in pleasure and sleeping in carnal security. 4.
How Tyre should be upbraided with her former honour and prosperity
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p14.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.32-Ezek.27.33" parsed="|Ezek|27|32|27|33" passage="Eze 27:32,33"><i>v.</i> 32, 33</scripRef>); she
that was Tyrus the <i>renowned</i> shall now be called <i>Tyrus the
destroyed</i> in the <i>midst of the sea. "What city is like
Tyre?</i> Did ever any city come down from such a height of
prosperity to such a depth of adversity? Time was when <i>thy
wares,</i> those of thy own making and those that passed through
thy hands, <i>went forth out of the seas,</i> and were exported to
all parts of the world; then <i>thou filledst many people,</i> and
didst <i>enrich the kings of the earth</i> and their kingdoms." The
Tyrians, though they bore such a sway in trade, were yet, it seems,
fair merchants, and let their neighbours not only live, but thrive
by them. All that dealt with them were gainers; they did not cheat
or oppress the people, but did enrich them with <i>the multitude of
their merchandise.</i> "But now those that used to be enriched by
thee shall be ruined with thee" (as is usual in trade); "<i>when
thou shalt be broken,</i> and all thou hast is seized on, <i>all
thy company shall fall too,</i>" <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p14.7" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.34" parsed="|Ezek|27|34|0|0" passage="Eze 27:34"><i>v.</i> 34</scripRef>. There is an end of Tyre, that
made such a noise and bustle in the world. This great blaze goes
out in a snuff. 5. How the fall of Tyre should be matter of terror
to some and laughter to others, according as they were differently
interested and affected. Some shall be <i>sorely afraid,</i> and
shall <i>be troubled</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p14.8" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.35" parsed="|Ezek|27|35|0|0" passage="Eze 27:35"><i>v.</i>
35</scripRef>), concluding it will be their own turn to fall next.
Others shall <i>hiss at her</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p14.9" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.27.36" parsed="|Ezek|27|36|0|0" passage="Eze 27:36"><i>v.</i> 36</scripRef>), shall ridicule her pride, and
vanity, and bad management, and think her ruin just. She triumphed
in Jerusalem's fall, and there are those that will triumph in hers.
When God casts his judgments on the sinner <i>men</i> also <i>shall
clap their hands at him</i> and <i>shall hiss him out of his
place,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxviii-p14.10" osisRef="Bible:Job.27.22-Job.27.23" parsed="|Job|27|22|27|23" passage="Job 27:22,23">Job xxvii. 22,
23</scripRef>. <i>Is this the city which men called the perfection
of beauty?</i></p>
</div></div2>