mh_parser/vol_split/26 - Ezekiel/Chapter 39.xml

<div2 id="Ez.xl" n="xl" next="Ez.xli" prev="Ez.xxxix" progress="64.72%" title="Chapter XXXIX">
<h2 id="Ez.xl-p0.1">E Z E K I E L.</h2>
<h3 id="Ez.xl-p0.2">CHAP. XXXIX.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ez.xl-p1" shownumber="no">This chapter continues and concludes the prophecy
against Gog and Magog, in whose destruction God crowns his favour
to his people Israel, which shines very brightly after the
scattering of that black cloud in the close of this chapter. Here
is, I. An express prediction of the utter destruction of Gog and
Magog, agreeing with what we had before, <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.1-Ezek.39.7" parsed="|Ezek|39|1|39|7" passage="Eze 39:1-7">ver. 1-7</scripRef>. II. An illustration of the
vastness of that destruction, in three consequences of it: the
burning of their weapons (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.8-Ezek.39.10" parsed="|Ezek|39|8|39|10" passage="Eze 39:8-10">ver.
8-10</scripRef>), the burning of their slain (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.11-Ezek.39.16" parsed="|Ezek|39|11|39|16" passage="Eze 39:11-16">ver. 11-16</scripRef>), and the feasting of the
fowls with the dead bodies of those that were unburied, <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.17-Ezek.39.22" parsed="|Ezek|39|17|39|22" passage="Eze 39:17-22">ver. 17-22</scripRef>. III. A declaration of
God's gracious purposes concerning his people Israel, in this and
his other providences concerning them, and a promise of further
mercy that he had yet in store for them, <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.23-Ezek.39.29" parsed="|Ezek|39|23|39|29" passage="Eze 39:23-29">ver. 23-29</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Ez.xl-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39" parsed="|Ezek|39|0|0|0" passage="Eze 39" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ez.xl-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.1-Ezek.39.7" parsed="|Ezek|39|1|39|7" passage="Eze 39:1-7" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xl-p1.8">
<h4 id="Ez.xl-p1.9">The Judgment of Gog and
Magog. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xl-p1.10">b. c.</span> 585.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xl-p2" shownumber="no">1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against
Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xl-p2.1">God</span>; Behold, I <i>am</i> against thee, O Gog,
the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:   2 And I will turn
thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause
thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the
mountains of Israel:   3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy
left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right
hand.   4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou,
and all thy bands, and the people that <i>is</i> with thee: I will
give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and <i>to</i> the
beasts of the field to be devoured.   5 Thou shalt fall upon
the open field: for I have spoken <i>it,</i> saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xl-p2.2">God</span>.   6 And I will send a fire on
Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they
shall know that I <i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xl-p2.3">Lord</span>.   7 So will I make my holy name known
in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not <i>let them</i>
pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I
<i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xl-p2.4">Lord</span>, the Holy One in
Israel.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xl-p3" shownumber="no">This prophecy begins as that before
(<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.38.3-Ezek.38.4" parsed="|Ezek|38|3|38|4" passage="Eze 38:3,4"><i>ch.</i> xxxviii. 3,
4</scripRef>, <i>I am against thee, and I will turn thee back</i>);
for there is need of line upon line, both for the conviction of
Israel's enemies and the comfort of Israel's friends. Here, as
there, it is foretold that God will bring this enemy <i>from the
north parts,</i> as formerly the Chaldeans were fetched from the
north, <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.1.14" parsed="|Jer|1|14|0|0" passage="Jer 1:14">Jer. i. 14</scripRef> (<i>Omne
malum ab aquilone—Every evil comes from the north</i>), and, long
after, the Roman empire was overrun by the northern nations, that
he will bring him <i>upon the mountains of Israel</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.2" parsed="|Ezek|39|2|0|0" passage="Eze 39:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>), first as a place of
temptation, where the measures of his iniquity shall be filled up,
and then as a place of execution, where his ruin shall be
completed. And that is it which is here enlarged upon. 1. His
soldiers shall be disarmed and so disabled to carry on their
enterprise. Though the men of might may <i>find their hands,</i>
yet to what purpose, when they find it is put out of their power to
do mischief, when God shall smite their <i>bow out of their left
hand</i> and their <i>arrow out of their right?</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.3" parsed="|Ezek|39|3|0|0" passage="Eze 39:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. Note, The weapons formed
against Zion shall not prosper. 2. He and the greatest part of his
army shall be slain in the field of battle (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p3.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.4" parsed="|Ezek|39|4|0|0" passage="Eze 39:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): <i>Thou shalt fall upon the
mountains of Israel;</i> there they sinned, and there they shall
perish, even upon the holy <i>mountains of Israel,</i> for <i>there
broke he the arrows of the bow,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p3.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.76.3" parsed="|Ps|76|3|0|0" passage="Ps 76:3">Ps.
lxxvi. 3</scripRef>. The mountains of Israel shall be moistened,
and fattened, and made fruitful, with the blood of the enemies.
"Thou shalt <i>fall upon the open field</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p3.7" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.5" parsed="|Ezek|39|5|0|0" passage="Eze 39:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>) and shalt not be able even there
to make thy escape." Even upon the mountains he shall not find a
pass that he shall be able to maintain, and upon the open field he
shall not find a road that he shall be able to make his escape by.
He and <i>his bands;</i> his regular troops, and the people that
are <i>with him</i> that follow the camp to share in the plunder,
shall all <i>fall with him.</i> Note, Those that <i>cast in their
lot</i> among wicked people (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p3.8" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.14" parsed="|Prov|1|14|0|0" passage="Pr 1:14">Prov. i.
14</scripRef>), that they <i>may have one purse</i> with them, must
expect to <i>take their lot with them,</i> and fare as they fare,
taking the worse with the better. There shall be such a general
slaughter made that but <i>a sixth part shall be left</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p3.9" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.2" parsed="|Ezek|39|2|0|0" passage="Eze 39:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>), the other
five shall all be cut off. Never was army so totally routed as
this. And, for its greater infamy and reproach, their bodies shall
be a feast to the birds of prey, <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p3.10" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.4" parsed="|Ezek|39|4|0|0" passage="Eze 39:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. Compare <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p3.11" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.17" parsed="|Ezek|39|17|0|0" passage="Eze 39:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>, <i>Thou shalt fall,</i> for
<i>I have spoken it.</i> Note, Rather shall the most illustrious
princes (Antiochus was called <i>Epiphanes—the illustrious</i>)
and the most numerous armies <i>fall to the ground</i> than any
word of God; for he that has spoken will <i>make it good.</i> 3.
His country also shall be made desolate: <i>I will send a fire on
Magog</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p3.12" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.6" parsed="|Ezek|39|6|0|0" passage="Eze 39:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>) and
<i>among those that dwell carelessly,</i> or confidently, <i>in the
isles,</i> that is, the nations of the Gentiles. He designed to
destroy the land of Israel, but shall not only be defeated in that
design, but shall have his own destroyed by some fire, some
consuming judgment or other. Note, Those who invade other people's
rights justly lose their own. 4. God will by all this advance the
honour of his own name, (1.) Among his people Israel; they shall
hereby know more of God's name, of his power and goodness, his care
of them, his faithfulness to them. His providence concerning them
shall lead them into a better acquaintance with him; every
providence should do so, as well as every ordinance: <i>I will make
my holy name known in the midst of my people.</i> In Judah is God
known; but those that know much of God should know more of him; we
should especially increase in the knowledge of his name as a holy
name. They shall know him as a God of perfect purity and rectitude
and that hates all sin, and then it follows, <i>I will not let them
pollute my holy name any more.</i> Note, Those that rightly know
God's holy name will not dare to profane it; for it is through
ignorance of it that men make light of it and make bold with it.
And this is God's method of dealing with men, first to enlighten
their understandings, and by that means to influence the whole man;
he first makes us to know his holy name, and so keeps us from
polluting it and engages us to honour it. And this is here the
blessed effect of God's glorious appearances on the behalf of his
people. Thus he completes his favours, thus he sanctifies them,
thus he makes them blessings indeed; by them he instructs his
people and reforms them. <i>When the Almighty scattered kings for
her she was white as snow in Salmon,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p3.13" osisRef="Bible:Ps.68.14" parsed="|Ps|68|14|0|0" passage="Ps 68:14">Ps. lxviii. 14</scripRef>. (2.) Among the heathen; those
that never knew it, or would not own it, shall <i>know that I am
the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.</i> They shall be made to know by
dearbought experience that he is a God of power, and his people's
God and Saviour; and it is in vain for the greatest potentates to
contend with him; none ever hardened their heart against him and
prospered.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ez.xl-p3.14" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.8-Ezek.39.22" parsed="|Ezek|39|8|39|22" passage="Eze 39:8-22" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xl-p3.15">
<h4 id="Ez.xl-p3.16">The Judgment of Gog. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xl-p3.17">b. c.</span> 585.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xl-p4" shownumber="no">8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the
Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xl-p4.1">God</span>; this <i>is</i> the day
whereof I have spoken.   9 And they that dwell in the cities
of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the
weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the
arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn
them with fire seven years:   10 So that they shall take no
wood out of the field, neither cut down <i>any</i> out of the
forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall
spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them,
saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xl-p4.2">God</span>.   11 And it
shall come to pass in that day, <i>that</i> I will give unto Gog a
place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on
the east of the sea: and it shall stop the <i>noses</i> of the
passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude:
and they shall call <i>it</i> The valley of Hamongog.   12 And
seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that
they may cleanse the land.   13 Yea, all the people of the
land shall bury <i>them;</i> and it shall be to them a renown the
day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xl-p4.3">God</span>.   14 And they shall sever out men of
continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the
passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse
it: after the end of seven months shall they search.   15 And
the passengers <i>that</i> pass through the land, when <i>any</i>
seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the
buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.   16 And
also the name of the city <i>shall be</i> Hamonah. Thus shall they
cleanse the land.   17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the
Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xl-p4.4">God</span>; Speak unto every feathered
fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and
come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do
sacrifice for you, <i>even</i> a great sacrifice upon the mountains
of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.   18 Ye
shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the
princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks,
all of them fatlings of Bashan.   19 And ye shall eat fat till
ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice
which I have sacrificed for you.   20 Thus ye shall be filled
at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all
men of war, saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xl-p4.5">God</span>.
  21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the
heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand
that I have laid upon them.   22 So the house of Israel shall
know that I <i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xl-p4.6">Lord</span> their
God from that day and forward.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xl-p5" shownumber="no">Though this prophecy was to have its
accomplishment in the latter days, yet it is here spoken of as if
it were already accomplished, because it is certain (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.8" parsed="|Ezek|39|8|0|0" passage="Eze 39:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): "<i>Behold it has come,
and it is done;</i> it is as sure to be done when the time shall
come as if it were done already; <i>this is the day whereof I
have</i> long and often <i>spoken,</i> and, though it has been long
in coming, yet at length <i>it has come.</i>" Thus it was said unto
John (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.21.6" parsed="|Rev|21|6|0|0" passage="Re 21:6">Rev. xxi. 6</scripRef>), <i>It is
done.</i> To represent the routing of the army of Gog as very
great, here are three things specified as the consequences of it.
It was God himself that gave the defeat; we do not find that the
people of Israel drew a sword or struck a stroke: but,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xl-p6" shownumber="no">I. They shall <i>burn their weapons,</i>
their <i>bows and arrows,</i> which <i>fell out of their hands</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.3" parsed="|Ezek|39|3|0|0" passage="Eze 39:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>), <i>their
shields and bucklers,</i> their <i>javelins, spears, leading
staves, truncheons,</i> and <i>half-pikes,</i> every thing that is
combustible. They shall not lay them up in their armouries, nor
reserve them for their own use, lest they should be tempted to put
a confidence in them, but they shall burn them; not all at once,
for a bonfire (to what purpose would be that waste?) but as they
had occasion to use them for fuel in their houses, instead of other
fire-wood, so that they should have no occasion to <i>take wood out
of the field or forests</i> for <i>seven years</i> together
(<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.10" parsed="|Ezek|39|10|0|0" passage="Eze 39:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>), such vast
quantities of weapons shall there be left upon the open field where
the enemy fell, and in the roads which they passed in their flight.
The weapons were dry and fitter for fuel than green wood; and, by
saving the wood in their coppices and forests, they gave it time to
grow. Though the mountains of Israel produce plenty of all good
things, yet it becomes the people of Israel to be good husbands of
their plenty and to save what they can for the benefit of those
that come after them, as Providence shall give them opportunity to
do so. We may suppose that when those who dwelt in the cities of
Israel came forth to <i>spoil those who spoiled them,</i> and make
reprisals upon them, they found upon them silver, and gold, and
ornaments; yet no mention is made of any thing particularly that
they converted to their own use but the wood of the weapons for
fuel, which is one of the necessaries of human life, to teach us to
think it enough if we be well supplied with those, though we have
but little of the delights and gaieties of it and of those things
which we may very well live without. And every time they put fuel
to the fire, and warmed themselves at it, they would be put in mind
of the number and strength of their enemies, and the imminent peril
they were in of falling into their hands, which would help to
enlarge their hearts in thankfulness to that God who had so
wonderfully, so seasonably, delivered them. As they sat by <i>the
fire</i> with their children about them (their fire-side), they
might from it take occasion to tell them what great things God had
done for them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xl-p7" shownumber="no">II. They shall bury their dead. Usually,
after a battle, when many are slain, the enemy desire time to bury
their own dead. But here the slaughter shall be so general that
there shall not be a sufficient number of the enemies left alive to
bury the dead. And, besides, the slain lie so dispersed on the
mountains of Israel that it would be a work of time to find them
out; and therefore it is left to the house of Israel to bury them
as a piece of triumph in their overthrow. 1. A place shall be
appointed on purpose for the burying of them, <i>the valley of the
passengers, on the east of the sea,</i> either the salt sea or the
sea of Tiberias, a valley through which there was great passing and
repassing of travellers between Egypt and Chaldea. There shall be
such a multitude of dead bodies, putrefying above ground, with such
a loathsome stench, that the travellers who go that way shall be
forced to <i>stop their noses.</i> See what vile bodies ours are;
when the soul has been a little while from them the smell of them
becomes offensive, no smell more nauseous or more noxious. There
therefore where the greatest number lay slain shall the
burying-place be appointed. In the place where the tree falls there
let it lie. And it shall be called, <i>The valley of Hamon-gog,</i>
that is, <i>of the multitude of Gog;</i> for that was the thing
which was in a particular manner to be had in remembrance. How
numerous the forces of the enemy were which God defeated and
destroyed for the defence of his people Israel! 2. A considerable
time shall be spent in burying them, no less than <i>seven
months</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.12" parsed="|Ezek|39|12|0|0" passage="Eze 39:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>),
which is a further intimation that the <i>slain of the Lord</i> in
this action should be many and that great care should be taken by
the house of Israel to leave none unburied, that so <i>they might
cleanse the land</i> from the ceremonial pollution it contracted by
the lying of so many dead corpses unburied in it, for the
prevention of which it was appointed that those who were <i>hanged
on a tree</i> should be speedily <i>taken down and buried,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.23" parsed="|Deut|21|23|0|0" passage="De 21:23">Deut. xxi. 23</scripRef>. This is an
intimation that times of eminent deliverances should be times of
reformation. The more God has done for the saving of a land from
ruin the more the inhabitants should do for the cleansing of the
land from sin. 3. Great numbers shall be employed in this work:
<i>All the people of the land</i> shall be ready to lend a helping
hand to it, <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.13" parsed="|Ezek|39|13|0|0" passage="Eze 39:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>.
Note, Every one should contribute the utmost he can in his place
towards the cleansing of the land from the pollutions of it, and
from every thing that is a reproach to it. Sin is a common enemy,
which every man should take up arms against. <i>In publico
discrimine unusquisque homo miles est—In the season of public
danger every man becomes a soldier.</i> And whoever shall assist in
this work <i>it shall be to them a renown;</i> though the office of
grave-makers, or common scavengers of the country, seem but mean,
yet, when it is for the cleansing and purifying of the land from
dead works, it shall be mentioned to their honour. Note, Acts of
humanity add much to the renown of God's Israel; it is a credit to
religion when those that profess it are ready to every good work;
and a good work it is to bury the dead, yea, though they be
strangers and enemies to the commonwealth of Israel, for even they
shall rise again. <i>It shall be a renown</i> to them in <i>the day
when God will be glorified.</i> Note, It is for the glory of God
when his Israel do that which adorns their profession; others
<i>will see their good works and glorify their Father,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Matt.5.16" parsed="|Matt|5|16|0|0" passage="Mt 5:16">Matt. v. 16</scripRef>. And when God is
honoured he will put honour upon his people. His glory is their
renown. 4. Some particular persons shall make it their business to
search out the dead bodies, or any part of them that should remain
unburied. The <i>people of the land</i> will soon grow weary of
burying the pollutions of the country, and therefore they shall
appoint <i>men of continual employment,</i> that shall apply
themselves to it and do nothing else till the land be thoroughly
cleansed; for, otherwise, that which is every one's work would soon
become nobody's work. Note, Those that are engaged in public work,
especially for the cleansing and reforming of a land, ought to be
<i>men of continual employments,</i> men that will stick to what
they undertake and go through with it, men that will apply
themselves to it; and those that will do good according to their
opportunities will find themselves <i>continually employed.</i> 5.
Even the passengers shall be ready to give information to those
whose business it is to cleanse the land of what public nuisances
they meet with, which call for their assistance. Those that <i>pass
through the land,</i> though they will not stay to bury the dead
themselves, lest they should contract a ceremonial pollution, will
yet give notice of those that they find unburied. If they but
discover a bone, they will <i>set up a sign,</i> that <i>the
buriers may come and bury it,</i> and that, till it is buried,
others may take need of touching it, for which reason their
sepulchres among the Jews were whitened, that people might keep at
a distance from them. Note, When good work is to be done every one
should lend a hand to further it, even the passengers themselves,
who must not think themselves unconcerned, in a common calamity, or
a common iniquity, to put a stop to it. Those whose work it is to
cleanse the land must not countenance any thing in it that is
defiling; though it were not the body, but only <i>the bone, of a
man,</i> that was found unburied, they must encourage those who
will give information of it (private information, by a sign,
concealing the informer), that they may take it away, and bury it
out of sight. Nay, <i>after the end of seven months,</i> which was
allowed them for this work, when all is taken away that appeared at
first view, <i>they shall search</i> for more, that what is hidden
may be brought to light; they shall <i>search out iniquity till
they find none.</i> In memory of this they shall give a new name to
their city. It shall be called <i>Hamonah—The multitude.</i> O
what a multitude of our enemies have we of this city buried!
<i>Thus shall they cleanse the land,</i> with all this care, with
all this pains, <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p7.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.16" parsed="|Ezek|39|16|0|0" passage="Eze 39:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>. Note, After conquering there must be cleansing.
Moses appointed those Israelites that had been employed in the war
with the Midianites to <i>purify themselves,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p7.6" osisRef="Bible:Num.31.24" parsed="|Num|31|24|0|0" passage="Nu 31:24">Num. xxxi. 24</scripRef>. Having received special
favours from God, <i>let us cleanse ourselves from all
filthiness.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xl-p8" shownumber="no">III. The birds and beasts of prey shall
rest upon the carcases of the slain while they remain unburied and
it shall be impossible to prevent them, <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.17" parsed="|Ezek|39|17|0|0" passage="Eze 39:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>, &amp;c. We find a great
slaughter represented by this figure, <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.19.17" parsed="|Rev|19|17|0|0" passage="Re 19:17">Rev. xix. 17</scripRef>, &amp;c., which is borrowed from
this.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xl-p9" shownumber="no">1. There is a general invitation given,
<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.17" parsed="|Ezek|39|17|0|0" passage="Eze 39:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>. It is <i>to
the fowl of every wing</i> and to <i>every beast of the field,</i>
from the greatest to the least, that preys upon carcases, from the
eagle to the raven, from the lion to the dog; let them all gather
themselves on every side; here is meat enough for them, and they
are all welcome. Let them come to God's <i>sacrifice,</i> to his
<i>feast;</i> so the margin reads it. Note, The judgments of God,
executed upon sin and sinners, are both a sacrifice and a feast, a
sacrifice to the justice of God and a feast to the faith and hope
of God's people. When God <i>broke the head of leviathan,</i> he
gave him to be <i>meat to Israel,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.74.14" parsed="|Ps|74|14|0|0" passage="Ps 74:14">Ps. lxxiv. 14</scripRef>. <i>The righteous shall
rejoice</i> as at a feast <i>when he sees the vengeance,</i> and
shall <i>wash his foot,</i> as at a feast, <i>in the blood of the
wicked.</i> This sacrifice is <i>upon the mountains of Israel;</i>
these are the high places, the altars, where God has been
dishonoured by the idolatries of the people, but where he will now
glorify himself in the destruction of his enemies.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xl-p10" shownumber="no">2. There is great preparation made: They
shall <i>eat the flesh of the mighty</i> and <i>drink the blood of
the princes of the earth,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.18-Ezek.39.19" parsed="|Ezek|39|18|39|19" passage="Eze 39:18,19"><i>v.</i> 18, 19</scripRef>. (1.) It is the flesh
and blood of men that they shall be treated with. This has
sometimes been an instance of the rebellion of the inferior
creatures against man their master, which is an effect of his
rebellion against God his Maker. (2.) It is the flesh and blood of
great men, here called <i>rams,</i> and <i>bullocks,</i> and
<i>great goats, all of them fatlings of Bashan.</i> It is the blood
of <i>the princes of the earth</i> that they shall regale
themselves with. What a mortification is this to the princes of the
blood, as they call themselves, that God can make that blood, that
royal blood, which swells their veins, a feast for the birds and
beasts of prey! (3.) It is the flesh and blood of wicked men, the
enemies of God's church and people, that they are invited to. They
had accounted the Israel of God as <i>sheep for the slaughter,</i>
and now they shall themselves be so accounted; they had thus used
the <i>dead bodies of Gods' servants</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.79.2" parsed="|Ps|79|2|0|0" passage="Ps 79:2">Ps. lxxix. 2</scripRef>), or would have done, and now it
shall come upon themselves.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xl-p11" shownumber="no">3. They shall all be fed, they shall all be
feasted to the full (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.19" parsed="|Ezek|39|19|0|0" passage="Eze 39:19"><i>v.</i> 19,
20</scripRef>): "<i>You shall eat fat, and drink blood,</i> which
are satiating surfeiting things. The sacrifice is great and the
feast upon the sacrifice is accordingly: <i>You shall be filled at
my table.</i>" Note, God keeps a table for the inferior creatures;
he <i>provides food for all flesh.</i> The <i>eyes of all wait upon
him,</i> and he <i>satisfies their desires,</i> for he keeps a
plentiful table. And if the birds and beasts shall be filled at
God's table, which he has prepared for them, much more shall his
children be abundantly satisfied with the goodness of his house,
even of his holy temple. They shall be filled <i>with horses and
chariots;</i> that is, those who ride in the chariots, <i>mighty
men and men of war,</i> who triumphed over nations, are now
themselves triumphed over by the <i>ravens of the valley</i> and
the <i>young eagles,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.30.17" parsed="|Prov|30|17|0|0" passage="Pr 30:17">Prov. xxx.
17</scripRef>. They thought to make an easy prey of God's Israel,
and now they are themselves an easy prey to the birds and beasts.
See how <i>evil pursues sinners</i> even after death. This exposing
of their bodies to be a prey is but a type and sign of those
terrors which, after death, shall prey upon their consciences
(which the poetical fictions represented by a vulture continually
pecking at the heart), and this shame is but an earnest of the
everlasting shame and contempt they shall rise to.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xl-p12" shownumber="no">IV. This shall redound very much both to
the glory of God and to the comfort and satisfaction of his people.
1. It shall be much for the honour of God, for the heathen shall
hereby be made to know that he is the Lord (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.21" parsed="|Ezek|39|21|0|0" passage="Eze 39:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>): <i>All the heathen shall
see</i> and observe <i>my judgments that I have executed,</i> and
thereby my <i>glory shall be set among them.</i> This principle
shall be admitted and established among them more than ever, that
the God of Israel is a great and glorious God. He is known to be so
even among the heathen, that have not, or read not, his written
word, by <i>the judgments which he executes.</i> 2. It shall be
much for the satisfaction of his people; for they shall hereby be
made to know that he is their God (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.22" parsed="|Ezek|39|22|0|0" passage="Eze 39:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>): <i>The house of Israel shall
know,</i> abundantly to their comfort, that <i>I am the Lord their
God from that day and forward.</i> (1.) He will be so from that day
and forward. God's present mercies are pledges and assurances of
further mercies. If God evidence to us that he is our God he
assures us that he will never leave us. <i>This God is our God for
ever and ever.</i> (2.) They shall know it with more satisfaction
from that day and forward. They had sometimes been ready to
question whether the Lord was with them or no; but the events of
this day shall silence their doubts, and, the matter being thus
settled and made clear, it shall not be doubted of for the future.
As boasting in themselves is hereby for ever excluded, so boasting
in God is hereby for ever secured.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ez.xl-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.23-Ezek.39.29" parsed="|Ezek|39|23|39|29" passage="Eze 39:23-29" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xl-p12.4">
<h4 id="Ez.xl-p12.5">Mercy Promised to Israel. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xl-p12.6">b. c.</span> 585.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xl-p13" shownumber="no">23 And the heathen shall know that the house of
Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they
trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave
them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
  24 According to their uncleanness and according to their
transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.
  25 Therefore thus saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xl-p13.1">God</span>; Now will I bring again the captivity of
Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be
jealous for my holy name;   26 After that they have borne
their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed
against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made
<i>them</i> afraid.   27 When I have brought them again from
the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am
sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;   28 Then
shall they know that I <i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xl-p13.2">Lord</span> their God, which caused them to be led into
captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their
own land, and have left none of them any more there.   29
Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured
out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xl-p13.3">God</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xl-p14" shownumber="no">This is the conclusion of the whole matter
going before, and has reference not only to the predictions
concerning Gog and Magog, but to all the prophecies of this book
concerning the captivity of the house of Israel, and then
concerning their restoration and return out of their captivity.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xl-p15" shownumber="no">I. God will let the heathen know the
meaning of his people's troubles, and rectify the mistake of those
concerning them who took occasion from the troubles of Israel to
reproach the God of Israel, as unable to protect them and untrue to
his covenant with them. When God, upon their reformation and return
to him, turned again their captivity, and brought them back to
their own land, and, upon their perseverance in their reformation,
wrought such great salvations for them as that from the attempts of
Gog upon them, then it would be made to appear, even to the heathen
that would but consider and compare things, that there was no
ground at all for their reflection, that Israel went into
captivity, not because God could not protect them, but because they
had by sin forfeited his favour and thrown themselves out of his
protection (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.23-Ezek.39.24" parsed="|Ezek|39|23|39|24" passage="Eze 39:23,24"><i>v.</i> 23,
24</scripRef>): <i>The heathen shall know that the house of Israel
went into captivity for their iniquity,</i> that iniquity which
they learned from the heathen their neighbours, <i>because they
trespassed against God.</i> That was the true reason why God <i>hid
his face from them</i> and <i>gave them into the hand of their
enemies.</i> It was <i>according to their uncleanness</i> and
<i>according to their transgressions.</i> Now the evincing of this
will not only silence their reflections on God, but will redound
greatly to his honour; when the troubles of God's people are over,
and we see the end of them, we shall better understand them than we
did at first. And it will appear much for the glory of God when the
world is made to know, 1. That God punishes sin even in his own
people, because he hates it most in those that are nearest and
dearest to him, <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Amos.3.2" parsed="|Amos|3|2|0|0" passage="Am 3:2">Amos iii. 2</scripRef>.
It is the praise of justice to be impartial. 2. That, when God
gives up his people for a prey, it is to correct them and reform
them, not to gratify their enemies, <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.10.7 Bible:Isa.42.24" parsed="|Isa|10|7|0|0;|Isa|42|24|0|0" passage="Isa 10:7,42:24">Isa. x. 7; xlii. 24</scripRef>. Let not them
therefore exalt themselves. 3. That no sooner do God's people
humble themselves under the rod than he returns in mercy to
them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xl-p16" shownumber="no">II. God will give his own people to know
what great favour he has in store for them notwithstanding the
troubles he had brought them into (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.25-Ezek.39.26" parsed="|Ezek|39|25|39|26" passage="Eze 39:25,26"><i>v.</i> 25, 26</scripRef>): <i>Now will I bring
again the captivity of Jacob.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xl-p17" shownumber="no">1. Why now? Now God will <i>have mercy upon
the whole house of Israel,</i> (1.) Because it is time for him to
stand up for his own glory, which suffers in their sufferings:
<i>Now will I be jealous for my holy name,</i> that that may no
longer be reproached. (2.) Because now they repent of their sins:
They <i>have borne their shame, and all their trespasses.</i> When
sinners repent, and take shame to themselves, God will be
reconciled and put honour upon them. It is particularly pleasing to
God that these penitents look a great way back in their penitential
reflections, and are ashamed of all their trespasses which they
were guilty of <i>when they dwelt safely in their land and none
made them afraid.</i> The remembrance of the mercies they enjoyed
in their own land, and the divine protection they were under there,
shall be improved as an aggravation of the sins they committed in
that land; they dwelt safely, and might have continued to dwell so,
and none should have given them any disquiet or disturbance if they
had continued in the way of their duty. Nay, <i>therefore</i> they
trespassed because <i>they dwelt safely.</i> Outward safety is
often a cause of inward security, and that is an inlet to all sin,
<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.73.1-Ps.73.28" parsed="|Ps|73|1|73|28" passage="Ps 73:1-28">Ps. lxxiii.</scripRef> Now this they
are willing to bear the shame of, and acknowledge that God has
justly brought them into a land of trouble, where every one makes
them afraid, because they had trespassed against him in a land of
peace, where none made them afraid. And, when they thus humble
themselves under humbling providences, God will bring again their
captivity: and,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xl-p18" shownumber="no">2. What then? When God has gathered them
out of their enemies' hands, and brought them home again, (1.) Then
God will have the praise of it: I will be <i>sanctified in them in
the sight of many nations,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.27" parsed="|Ezek|39|27|0|0" passage="Eze 39:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>. As God was reproached in the
reproach they were under during their captivity, so he will be
sanctified in their reformation and the making of them a holy
people again, and will be glorified in their restoration and the
making of them a happy glorious people again. (2.) Then they shall
have the benefit of it (<scripRef id="Ez.xl-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.28" parsed="|Ezek|39|28|0|0" passage="Eze 39:28"><i>v.</i>
28</scripRef>): <i>They shall know that I am the Lord their
God.</i> Note, The providences of God concerning his people, that
are designed for their good, have the grace of God going along with
them to teach them to eye God as the Lord, and their God, in all;
and then they do them good. They shall eye him as the Lord and
their God, [1.] In their calamities, that it was he who <i>caused
them to be led into captivity;</i> and therefore they must not only
submit to his will, but endeavour to answer his end in it. [2.] In
their comfort, that it is he who has <i>gathered them to their own
land,</i> and left none of them among the heathen. Note, By the
variety of events that befal us, if we look up to God in all, we
may come to acquaint ourselves better with his various attributes
and designs. (3.) Then God and they will never part, <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.29" parsed="|Ezek|39|29|0|0" passage="Eze 39:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>. [1.] God will <i>pour
out his Spirit</i> upon them, to prevent their departures from him
and returns to folly again, and to keep them close to their duty.
And then, [2.] He will <i>never hide his face any more from
them,</i> will never suspend his favour as he had done; he will
never turn from doing them good, and, in order to that, he will
effectually provide that they shall never turn from doing him
service. Note, The indwelling of the Spirit is an infallible pledge
of the continuance of God's favour. He will hide his face no more
from those on whom he has <i>poured out his Spirit.</i> When
therefore we pray that God would never <i>cast us away from his
presence</i> we must as earnestly pray that, in order to that, he
would <i>never take his Holy Spirit away from us,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xl-p18.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.11" parsed="|Ps|51|11|0|0" passage="Ps 51:11">Ps. li. 11</scripRef>.</p>
</div></div2>