mh_parser/vol_split/26 - Ezekiel/Chapter 9.xml

<div2 id="Ez.x" n="x" next="Ez.xi" prev="Ez.ix" progress="53.01%" title="Chapter IX">
<h2 id="Ez.x-p0.1">E Z E K I E L.</h2>
<h3 id="Ez.x-p0.2">CHAP. IX.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ez.x-p1" shownumber="no">The prophet had, in vision, seen the wickedness
that was committed at Jerusalem, in the foregoing chapter, and we
may be sure that it was not represented to him worse than really it
was; now here follows, of course, a representation of their ruin
approaching; for when sin goes before judgments come next. Here is,
I. Preparation made of instruments that were to be employed in the
destruction of the city, <scripRef id="Ez.x-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.1-Ezek.9.2" parsed="|Ezek|9|1|9|2" passage="Eze 9:1,2">ver. 1,
2</scripRef>. II. The removal of the Shechinah from the cherubim to
the threshold of the temple, <scripRef id="Ez.x-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.3" parsed="|Ezek|9|3|0|0" passage="Eze 9:3">ver.
3</scripRef>. III. Orders given to one of the persons employed, who
is distinguished from the rest, for the marking of a remnant to be
preserved from the common destruction, <scripRef id="Ez.x-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.3-Ezek.9.4" parsed="|Ezek|9|3|9|4" passage="Eze 9:3,4">ver. 3, 4</scripRef>. IV. The warrant signed for the
execution of those that were not marked, and the execution begun
accordingly, <scripRef id="Ez.x-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.5-Ezek.9.7" parsed="|Ezek|9|5|9|7" passage="Eze 9:5-7">ver. 5-7</scripRef>. V.
The prophet's intercession for the mitigation of the sentence, and
a denial of any mitigation, the decree having now gone forth,
<scripRef id="Ez.x-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.8-Ezek.9.10" parsed="|Ezek|9|8|9|10" passage="Eze 9:8-10">ver. 8-10</scripRef>. VI. The report
made by him that was to mark the pious remnant of what he had done
in that matter, <scripRef id="Ez.x-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.11" parsed="|Ezek|9|11|0|0" passage="Eze 9:11">ver. 11</scripRef>.
And this shows a usual method of Providence in the government of
the world.</p>
<scripCom id="Ez.x-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9" parsed="|Ezek|9|0|0|0" passage="Eze 9" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ez.x-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.1-Ezek.9.4" parsed="|Ezek|9|1|9|4" passage="Eze 9:1-4" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.x-p1.9">
<h4 id="Ez.x-p1.10">Preparations to Destroy Jerusalem; The
Righteous Marked for Salvation. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.x-p1.11">b.
c.</span> 593.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.x-p2" shownumber="no">1 He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice,
saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near,
even every man <i>with</i> his destroying weapon in his hand.
  2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate,
which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in
his hand; and one man among them <i>was</i> clothed with linen,
with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood
beside the brasen altar.   3 And the glory of the God of
Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the
threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with
linen, which <i>had</i> the writer's inkhorn by his side;   4
And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.x-p2.1">Lord</span> said unto him, Go
through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and
set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for
all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.x-p3" shownumber="no">In these verses we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.x-p4" shownumber="no">I. The summons given to Jerusalem's
destroyers to come forth and give their attendance. He that
appeared to the prophet (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.8.2" parsed="|Ezek|8|2|0|0" passage="Eze 8:2"><i>ch.</i>
viii. 2</scripRef>), that had brought him to Jerusalem and had
shown the wickedness that was done there, <i>he cried, Cause those
that have charge over the city to draw near</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.1" parsed="|Ezek|9|1|0|0" passage="Eze 9:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>), or, as it might better be read,
and nearer the original, <i>Those that have charge over the city
are drawing near.</i> He had said (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.8.18" parsed="|Ezek|8|18|0|0" passage="Eze 8:18"><i>ch.</i> viii. 18</scripRef>), <i>I will deal in
fury;</i> now, says he to the prophet, thou shalt see who are to be
employed as the instruments of my wrath. <i>Appropinquaverunt
visitationes civitatis—The visitations</i> (or visitors) <i>of the
city are at hand.</i> They would not <i>know the day of their
visitations</i> in mercy, and now they are to be visited in wrath.
Observe, 1. How the notice of this is given to the prophet: <i>He
cried it in my ears with a loud voice,</i> which intimates the
vehemency of him that spoke; when men are highly provoked, and
threaten in anger, they speak aloud. Those that regard not the
counsels God gives them in a still small voice shall be made to
hear the threatenings, to hear and tremble. It denotes also the
prophet's unwillingness to be told this: he was deaf on that ear,
but there is no remedy, their sin will not admit an excuse and
therefore their judgment will not admit a delay: "<i>He cried it in
my ears with a loud voice;</i> he made me hear it, and I heard it
with a sad heart." 2. What this notice is. There are those <i>that
have charge over the city</i> to destroy it, not the Chaldean
armies, they are to be indeed employed in this work, but they are
not the visitors, they are only the servants, or tools rather.
God's angels have received a charge now to lay that city waste,
which they had long had a charge to protect and watch over. They
are at hand, as destroying angels, as ministers of wrath, for
<i>every man has his destroying weapon in his hand,</i> as the
angel that kept the way of the tree of life with a flaming sword.
Note, Those that have by sin made God their enemy have made the
good angels their enemies too. These visitors are called and
<i>caused to draw near.</i> Note, God has ministers of wrath always
within call, always at command, invisible powers, by whom he
accomplishes is purposes. The prophet is made to see this in
vision, that he might with the greater assurance in his preaching
denounce these judgments. God told it him with a loud voice,
<i>taught it him with a strong hand</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.8.11" parsed="|Isa|8|11|0|0" passage="Isa 8:11">Isa. viii. 11</scripRef>), that it might make the deeper
impression upon him and that he might thus proclaim it in the
people's ears.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.x-p5" shownumber="no">II. Their appearance, upon this summons, is
recorded. Immediately <i>six men came</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.2" parsed="|Ezek|9|2|0|0" passage="Eze 9:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>), one for each of the principal
gates of Jerusalem. Two destroying angels were sent against Sodom,
but six against Jerusalem; for Jerusalem's doom in the judgment
will be thrice as heavy as that of Sodom. There is an angel
watching at every gate to destroy, to bring in judgments from every
quarter, and to take heed that none escape. One angel served to
destroy the first-born of Egypt, and the camp of the Assyrians, but
here are six. In the Revelation we find seven that were to <i>pour
out the vials of God's wrath,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.x-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.16.1" parsed="|Rev|16|1|0|0" passage="Re 16:1">Rev.
xvi. 1</scripRef>. They came with every one <i>a slaughter-weapon
in his hand,</i> prepared for the work to which they were called.
The nations of which the king of Babylon's army was composed, which
some reckon to be six, and the commanders of his army (of whom
<i>six</i> are named as principal, <scripRef id="Ez.x-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.39.3" parsed="|Jer|39|3|0|0" passage="Jer 39:3">Jer. xxxix. 3</scripRef>), may be called <i>the
slaughter-weapons</i> in the hands of the angels. The angels are
thoroughly furnished for every service. 1. Observe whence they
came—<i>from the way of the higher gate, which lies towards the
north</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.2" parsed="|Ezek|9|2|0|0" passage="Eze 9:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>),
either because the Chaldeans came from the north (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.1.14" parsed="|Jer|1|14|0|0" passage="Jer 1:14">Jer. i. 14</scripRef>, <i>Out of the north an
evil shall break forth</i>) or because the image of jealousy was
set up <i>at the door of the inner gate that looks towards the
north,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.x-p5.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.8.3 Bible:Ezek.8.5" parsed="|Ezek|8|3|0|0;|Ezek|8|5|0|0" passage="Eze 8:3,5"><i>ch.</i> viii. 3,
5</scripRef>. At that gate of the temple the destroying angels
entered, to show what it was that opened the door to them. Note,
That way that sin lies judgments may be expected to come. 2.
Observe where they placed themselves: <i>They went in and stood
beside the brazen altar,</i> on which sacrifices were wont to be
offered and atonement made. When they acted as destroyers they
acted as sacrificers, not from any personal revenge or ill-will,
but with a pure and sincere regard to the glory of God; for to his
justice all they slew were offered up as victims. <i>They stood by
the altar,</i> as it were to protect and vindicate that, and plead
its righteous cause, and avenge the horrid profanation of it. At
the altar they were to receive their commission to destroy, to
intimate that the iniquity of Jerusalem, like that of Eli's house,
was <i>not to be purged by sacrifice.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.x-p6" shownumber="no">III. The notice taken of one among the
destroying angels distinguished in his habit from the rest, from
whom some favour might be expected; it should seem he was not one
of the six, but <i>among them,</i> to see that mercy was mixed with
judgment, <scripRef id="Ez.x-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.2" parsed="|Ezek|9|2|0|0" passage="Eze 9:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. This
<i>man was clothed with linen,</i> as the priests were, and he had
a <i>writer's inkhorn</i> hanging at <i>his side,</i> as anciently
attorneys and lawyers' clerks had, which he was to make use of, as
the other six were to make use of their <i>destroying weapons.</i>
Here the honours of the pen exceeded those of the sword, but he was
the Lord of angels that made use of the <i>writer's inkhorn;</i>
for it is generally agreed, among the best interpreters, that this
man represented Christ as Mediator saving those that are his from
the flaming sword of divine justice. He is our <i>high priest,</i>
clothed with holiness, for that was signified by the <i>fine
linen,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.x-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.19.8" parsed="|Rev|19|8|0|0" passage="Re 19:8">Rev. xix. 8</scripRef>. As
prophet he wears the <i>writer's inkhorn.</i> The book of life is
the Lamb's book. The great things of the law and gospel which God
has written to us are of his writing; for it is the Spirit of
Christ, in the writers of the scripture, that testifies to us, and
the Bible is <i>the revelation of Jesus Christ.</i> Note, It is a
matter of great comfort to all good Christians that, in the midst
of the destroyers and the destructions that are abroad, there is a
Mediator, a great high priest, who has an interest in heaven, and
whom saints on earth have an interest in.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.x-p7" shownumber="no">IV. The removal of the appearance of the
divine glory from over the cherubim. Some think this was that usual
display of the divine glory which was between the cherubim over the
mercy seat, in the most holy place, that took leave of them now,
and never returned; for it is supposed that it was not in the
second temple. Others think it was that display of the divine glory
which the prophet now saw over the cherubim in vision; and this is
more probable, because this is called <i>the glory of the God of
Israel</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.8.4" parsed="|Ezek|8|4|0|0" passage="Eze 8:4"><i>ch.</i> viii.
4</scripRef>), and this is it which he had now his eye upon; this
was gone <i>to the threshold of the house,</i> as it were to call
to the servants that attended without the door, to send them on
their errand and give them their instructions. And the removal of
this, as well as the former, might be significant of God's
departure from them, and leaving them their house desolate; and
when God goes all good goes, but he goes from none till they first
drive him from them. He went at first no further than <i>the
threshold,</i> that he might show how loth he was to depart, and
might give them both time and encouragement to invite his return to
them and his stay with them. Note, God's departures from a people
are gradual, but gracious souls are soon aware of the first step he
takes towards a remove. Ezekiel immediately observed that <i>the
glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub:</i> and
what is a vision of angels if God be gone?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.x-p8" shownumber="no">V. The charge given <i>to the man clothed
in linen</i> to secure the pious remnant from the general
desolation. We do not read that this Saviour was summoned and sent
for, as the destroyers were; for he is always ready, <i>appearing
in the presence of God for us;</i> and to him, as the most proper
person, the care of those that are marked for salvation is
committed, <scripRef id="Ez.x-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.4" parsed="|Ezek|9|4|0|0" passage="Eze 9:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. Now
observe, 1. The distinguishing character of this remnant that is to
be saved. They are such as <i>sigh and cry,</i> sigh in themselves,
as men in pain and distress, cry to God in prayer, as men in
earnest, because of <i>all the abominations that</i> are committed
in Jerusalem. It was not only the idolatries they were guilty of,
but all their other enormities, that were abominations to God.
These pious few had witnessed against those abominations and had
done what they could in their places to suppress them; but, finding
all their attempts for the reformation of manners fruitless, they
sat down, and <i>sighted, and cried,</i> wept in secret, and
complained to God, because of the dishonour done to his name by
their wickedness and the ruin it was bringing upon their church and
nation. Note, It is not enough that we do not delight in the sins
of others, and that we have not fellowship with them, but we must
mourn for them, and lay them to heart; we must grieve for that
which we cannot help, as those that hate sin for its own sake, and
have a tender concern for the souls of others, as David (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.136" parsed="|Ps|119|136|0|0" passage="Ps 119:136">Ps. cxix. 136</scripRef>), and Lot, who
<i>vexed his righteous soul</i> with the wicked conversation of his
neighbours. The abominations committed in Jerusalem are to be in a
special manner lamented, because they are in a particular manner
offensive to God. 2. The distinguishing care taken of them. Orders
are given to find those all out that are of such a pious public
spirit: "<i>Go through the midst of the city</i> in quest of them,
and though they are ever so much dispersed, and ever so closely hid
from the fury of their persecutors, yet see that you discover them,
<i>and set a mark upon</i> their <i>foreheads,</i>" (1.) To signify
that God owns them for his, and he will confess them another day. A
work of grace in the soul is to God <i>a mark upon the
forehead,</i> which he will acknowledge as his mark, and by which
<i>he knows those that are his.</i> (2.) To give to them who are
thus marked an assurance of God's favour, that they may know it
themselves; and the comfort of knowing it will be the most powerful
support and cordial in calamitous times. Why should we perplex
ourselves about this temporal life if we know by the mark that we
have eternal life? (3.) To be a direction to the destroyers whom to
pass by, as the blood upon the door-posts was an indication that
that was an Israelite's house, and the first-born there must not be
slain. Note, Those who keep themselves pure in times of common
iniquity God will keep safe in times of common calamity. Those that
distinguish themselves shall be distinguished; those that cry for
other men's sins shall not need to cry for their own afflictions,
for they shall be either delivered from them or comforted under
them. God will set a mark upon his mourners, will book their sighs
and bottle their tears. The <i>sealing of the servants of God in
their foreheads</i> mentioned in <scripRef id="Ez.x-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.7.3" parsed="|Rev|7|3|0|0" passage="Re 7:3">Rev.
vii. 3</scripRef> was the same token of the care God has of his own
people which is related here; only this was to secure them from
being destroyed, that from being seduced, which is equivalent.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ez.x-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.5-Ezek.9.11" parsed="|Ezek|9|5|9|11" passage="Eze 9:5-11" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.x-p8.5">
<h4 id="Ez.x-p8.6">The Righteous Distinguished; The Prophet's
Intercession. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.x-p8.7">b. c.</span> 593.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.x-p9" shownumber="no">5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go
ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare,
neither have ye pity:   6 Slay utterly old <i>and</i> young,
both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any
man upon whom <i>is</i> the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then
they began at the ancient men which <i>were</i> before the house.
  7 And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the
courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew
in the city.   8 And it came to pass, while they were slaying
them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and
said, Ah Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.x-p9.1">God</span>! wilt thou destroy
all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon
Jerusalem?   9 Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house
of Israel and Judah <i>is</i> exceeding great, and the land is full
of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The
<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.x-p9.2">Lord</span> hath forsaken the earth, and
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.x-p9.3">Lord</span> seeth not.   10 And as
for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity,
<i>but</i> I will recompense their way upon their head.   11
And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which <i>had</i> the
inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as
thou hast commanded me.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.x-p10" shownumber="no">In these verses we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.x-p11" shownumber="no">I. A command given to the destroyers to do
execution according to their commission. <i>They stood by the
brazen altar,</i> waiting for orders; and orders are here given
them to cut off and destroy all that were either guilty of, or
accessory to, the abominations of Jerusalem, and that did not
<i>sigh and cry</i> for them. Note, When God has <i>gathered his
wheat into his garner</i> nothing remains but to <i>burn up the
chaff,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.x-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.3.12" parsed="|Matt|3|12|0|0" passage="Mt 3:12">Matt. iii.
12</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.x-p12" shownumber="no">1. They are ordered to destroy all, (1.)
Without exception. They must <i>go through the city, and smite;</i>
they must <i>slay utterly,</i> slay to destruction, give them their
death's wound. They must make no distinction of age or sex, but cut
off <i>old and young;</i> neither the beauty of the virgins, nor
the innocency of the babes, shall secure them. This was fulfilled
in the death of multitudes by famine and pestilence, especially by
the sword of the Chaldeans, as far as the military execution went.
Sometimes even such bloody work as this has been God's work. But
what an evil thing is sin, then, which provokes the God of infinite
mercy to such severity! (2.) Without compassion: "<i>Let not your
eye spare, neither have you pity</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.5" parsed="|Ezek|9|5|0|0" passage="Eze 9:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>); you must not save any whom God
has doomed to destruction, as Saul did Agag and the Amalekites, for
that is <i>doing the work of God deceitfully,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.x-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.48.10" parsed="|Jer|48|10|0|0" passage="Jer 48:10">Jer. xlviii. 10</scripRef>. None need to be
more merciful than God is; and he had said (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.8.18" parsed="|Ezek|8|18|0|0" passage="Eze 8:18"><i>ch.</i> viii. 18</scripRef>), <i>My eye shall not
spare, neither will I have pity.</i>" Note, Those that live in sin,
and hate to be reformed, will perish in sin, and deserve not to be
pitied; for they might easily have prevented the ruin, and would
not.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.x-p13" shownumber="no">2. They are warned not to do the least hurt
to those that were marked for salvation: "<i>Come not near any man
upon whom is the mark;</i> do not so much as threaten or frighten
any of them; it is promised them that there shall no evil come nigh
them, and therefore you must keep at a distance from them." The
king of Babylon gave particular orders that Jeremiah should be
protected. Baruch and Ebed-melech were secured, and, it is likely,
others of Jeremiah's friends, for his sake. God had promised that
<i>it should go well with his remnant</i> and they <i>should be
well treated</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.15.11" parsed="|Jer|15|11|0|0" passage="Jer 15:11">Jer. xv.
11</scripRef>); and we have reason to think that none of the
mourning praying remnant fell by the sword of the Chaldeans, but
that God found out some way or other to secure them all, as, in the
last destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, the Christians were
all secured in a city called <i>Pella,</i> and none of them
perished with the unbelieving Jews. Note, None of those shall be
lost whom God has marked for life and salvation; for the foundation
of God stands sure.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.x-p14" shownumber="no">3. They are directed to <i>begin at the
sanctuary</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.6" parsed="|Ezek|9|6|0|0" passage="Eze 9:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>),
that sanctuary which, in the chapter before, he had seen the horrid
profanation of; they must begin there because there the wickedness
began which provoked God to send these judgments. The debaucheries
of the priests were the poisoning of the springs, to which all the
corruption of the streams was owing. The wickedness of the
sanctuary was of all wickedness the most offensive to God, and
therefore there the slaughter must begin: "<i>Begin</i> there, to
try if the people will take warning by the judgments of God upon
their priests, and will repent and reform; <i>begin</i> there, that
all the world may see and know that the Lord, whose name is
<i>Jealous,</i> is <i>a jealous God,</i> and hates sin most in
those that are nearest to him." Note, When judgments are abroad
they commonly <i>begin at the house of God,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.x-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.4.17" parsed="|1Pet|4|17|0|0" passage="1Pe 4:17">1 Pet. iv. 17</scripRef>. <i>You only have I known, and
therefore I will punish you,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.x-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Amos.3.2" parsed="|Amos|3|2|0|0" passage="Am 3:2">Amos
iii. 2</scripRef>. God's temple is a sanctuary, a refuge and
protection for penitent sinners, but not for any that <i>go on
still in their trespasses;</i> neither the sacredness of the place
nor the eminency of their place in it will be their security. It
should seem the destroyers made some difficulty of putting men to
death in the temple, but God bids them not to hesitate at that, but
(<scripRef id="Ez.x-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.7" parsed="|Ezek|9|7|0|0" passage="Eze 9:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), <i>Defile the
house, and fill the courts with slain.</i> They will not be
<i>taken from the altar</i> (as was appointed by the law, <scripRef id="Ez.x-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Exod.21.14" parsed="|Exod|21|14|0|0" passage="Ex 21:14">Exod. xxi. 14</scripRef>), but think to secure
themselves by <i>keeping hold of the horns of</i> it, like Joab,
and therefore, like him, let them <i>die there,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.x-p14.6" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.2.30-1Kgs.2.31" parsed="|1Kgs|2|30|2|31" passage="1Ki 2:30,31">1 Kings ii. 30, 31</scripRef>. There the
blood of one of God's prophets had been shed (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p14.7" osisRef="Bible:Matt.23.35" parsed="|Matt|23|35|0|0" passage="Mt 23:35">Matt. xxiii. 35</scripRef>) and therefore let their
blood be shed. Note, If the servants of God's house defile it with
their idolatries, God will justly suffer the enemies of it to
defile it with their violences, <scripRef id="Ez.x-p14.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.79.1" parsed="|Ps|79|1|0|0" passage="Ps 79:1">Ps.
lxxix. 1</scripRef>. But these acts of necessary justice were
really, whatever they were ceremonially, rather a purification than
a pollution of the sanctuary; it was <i>putting away evil from
among them.</i> 4. They are appointed to <i>go forth into the
city,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.x-p14.9" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.6-Ezek.9.7" parsed="|Ezek|9|6|9|7" passage="Eze 9:6,7"><i>v.</i> 6, 7</scripRef>.
Note, Wherever sin has gone before judgement will follow after;
and, though <i>judgement begins at the house of God,</i> yet it
shall not end there. The holy city shall be no more a protection to
the wicked people then the holy house was to the wicked
priests.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.x-p15" shownumber="no">II. Here is execution done accordingly.
They observed their orders, and, 1. <i>They began at the</i>
elders, <i>the ancient men that were before the house,</i> and slew
them first, either those seventy ancients who worshipped idols in
their chambers (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.8.12" parsed="|Ezek|8|12|0|0" passage="Eze 8:12"><i>ch.</i> viii.
12</scripRef>) or those twenty-five who <i>worshipped the sun
between the porch and the altar,</i> who might more properly be
said to be <i>before the house.</i> Note, Ringleaders in sin may
expect to be first met with by the judgments of God; and the sins
of those who are in the most eminent and public stations call for
the most exemplary punishments. 2. They proceeded to the common
people: <i>They went forth and slew in the city;</i> for, when the
decree has gone forth, there shall be no delay; if God begin, he
will make an end.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.x-p16" shownumber="no">III. Here is the prophet's intercession for
a mitigation of the judgement, and a reprieve for some (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.8" parsed="|Ezek|9|8|0|0" passage="Eze 9:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): <i>While they were
slaying them, and I was left, I fell upon my face.</i> Observe
here, 1. How sensible the prophet was of God's mercy to him, in
that he was spared when so many round about him were cut off.
<i>Thousands fell on his right hand, and on his left,</i> and yet
<i>the destruction</i> did <i>not come nigh him; only with his eyes
did he behold the just reward of the wicked,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.x-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.91.7-Ps.91.8" parsed="|Ps|91|7|91|8" passage="Ps 91:7,8">Ps. xci. 7, 8</scripRef>. He speaks as one that
narrowly escaped the destruction, attributing it to God's goodness,
not his own deserts. Note, The best saints must acknowledge
themselves indebted to sparing mercy that they are not consumed.
And when desolating judgments are abroad, and multitudes fall by
them, it ought to be accounted a great favor if we have our
<i>lives given us for a prey;</i> for we might justly have perished
with those that perished. 2. Observe how he improved this mercy; he
looked upon it that <i>therefore</i> he was left that he might
stand in the gap to turn away the wrath of God. Note, We must look
upon it that for this reason we are spared, that we may do good in
our places, may do good by our prayers. Ezekiel did not triumph in
the slaughter he made, but his <i>flesh trembled for the fear of
God,</i> (as David's, <scripRef id="Ez.x-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.120" parsed="|Ps|119|120|0|0" passage="Ps 119:120">Ps. cxix.
120</scripRef>); he <i>fell on</i> his <i>face, and cried,</i> not
in fear for himself (he was one of those that were marked), but in
compassion to his fellow-creatures. Those that sigh and cry for the
sins of sinners cannot but sigh and cry for their miseries too; yet
the day is coming when all this concern will be entirely swallowed
up in a full satisfaction in this, that God is glorified; and those
that now <i>fall on their faces, and cry, Ah! Lord God,</i> will
lift up their heads, and sing, <i>Hallelujah,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.x-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.19.1 Bible:Rev.19.3" parsed="|Rev|19|1|0|0;|Rev|19|3|0|0" passage="Re 19:1,3">Rev. xix. 1, 3</scripRef>. The prophet humbly
expostulates with God: "<i>Wilt thou destroy all the residue of
Israel,</i> and shall there be none left but the few that are
marked? Shall the Israel of God be destroyed, utterly destroyed?
When there are but a few left shall those be cut off, who might
have been the seed of another generation? And will the God of
Israel be himself their destroyer? Wilt thou now destroy Israel,
who wast wont to protect and deliver Israel? Wilt thou so <i>pour
out thy fury upon Jerusalem</i> as by the total destruction of the
city to ruin the whole country too? Surely thou wilt not!" Note,
Though we acknowledge that <i>God is righteous,</i> yet we have
leave to <i>plead with him concerning his judgments,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.x-p16.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.12.1" parsed="|Jer|12|1|0|0" passage="Jer 12:1">Jer. xii. 1</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.x-p17" shownumber="no">IV. Here is God's denial of the prophet's
request for a mitigation of the judgement and his justification of
himself in that denial, <scripRef id="Ez.x-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.9-Ezek.9.10" parsed="|Ezek|9|9|9|10" passage="Eze 9:9,10"><i>v.</i> 9,
10</scripRef>. 1. Nothing could be said in extenuation of this sin.
God was willing to show mercy as the prophet could desire; he
always is so. But here the case will not admit of it; it is such
that mercy cannot be granted without wrong to justice; and it is
not fit that one attribute of God should be glorified at the
expense of another. Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that he
should destroy, especially that he should destroy Israel? By no
means. But the truth is their crimes are so flagrant that the
reprieve of the sinners would be a connivance at the sin: "<i>The
iniquity of the house of Judah and Israel is exceedingly great;</i>
there is no suffering them to go on at this rate. <i>The land is
filled with the innocent blood,</i> and, when the city courts are
appealed to for the defence of injured innocency, the remedy is as
bad as the disease, for <i>the city is full of perverseness,</i> or
<i>wrestling of judgement;</i> and that which they support
themselves with in this iniquity is the same atheistical profane
principle with which they flattered themselves in their idolatry,
<scripRef id="Ez.x-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.8.12" parsed="|Ezek|8|12|0|0" passage="Eze 8:12"><i>ch.</i> viii. 12</scripRef>. <i>The
Lord has forsaken the earth,</i> and left it to us to do what we
will in it; he will not intermeddle in the affairs of it; and,
whatever wrong we do, he <i>sees not;</i> he either knows it not,
or will not take cognizance of it." Now how can those expect
benefit by the mercy of God who thus bid defiance to his justice?
No; nothing can be offered by an advocate in excuse of the crimes
while the criminal puts in such a plea as this in his own
vindication; and therefore. 2. Nothing can be done to mitigate the
sentence (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.10" parsed="|Ezek|9|10|0|0" passage="Eze 9:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>):
"Whatever thou thinkest of it, <i>as for me, my eye shall not
spare, neither will I have pity;</i> I have borne with them as long
as it was fit that such impudent sinners should be borne with; and
therefore now <i>I will recompense their way on their head.</i>"
Note, Sinners sink and perish under the weight of their own sins;
it is their own way, which they deliberately chose rather than the
way of God, and which they obstinately persisted in, in contempt of
the word of God, that is <i>recompensed on</i> them. Great
iniquities justify God in great severities; nay, he is ready to
justify himself, as he does here to the prophet, for he will be
<i>clear when he judges.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.x-p18" shownumber="no">V. Here is a return made of the writ of
protection which was issued out for the securing of those that
mourned in Zion (<scripRef id="Ez.x-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.11" parsed="|Ezek|9|11|0|0" passage="Eze 9:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>): <i>The man clothed with linen reported the
matter,</i> gave an account of what he had done in pursuance of his
commission; he had found out all that mourned in secret for the
sins of the land, and cried out against them by a public testimony,
and had marked them all in the forehead. Lord, <i>I have done as
thou hast commanded me.</i> We do not find that those who were
commissioned to destroy reported what destruction they had made,
but he who was appointed to protect reported his matter; for it
would be more pleasing both to God and to the prophet to hear of
those that were saved than of those that perished. Or this report
was made now because the thing was finished, whereas the destroying
work would be a work of time, and when it was brought to an end
then the report should be made. See how faithful Christ is to the
trust reposed in him. Is he commanded to secure eternal life to the
chosen remnant? He has done as was commanded him. <i>Of all that
thou hast given me I have lost none.</i></p>
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