mh_parser/vol_split/39 - Malachi/Chapter 1.xml

<div2 id="Mal.ii" n="ii" next="Mal.iii" prev="Mal.i" progress="97.94%" title="Chapter I">
<h2 id="Mal.ii-p0.1">M A L A C H I.</h2>
<h3 id="Mal.ii-p0.2">CHAP. I.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Mal.ii-p1" shownumber="no">Thus prophet is sent first to convince and then to
comfort, first to discover sin and to reprove for that and then to
promise the coming of him who shall take away sin. And this method
the blessed Spirit takes in dealing with souls, <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:John.16.8" parsed="|John|16|8|0|0" passage="Joh 16:8">John xvi. 8</scripRef>. He first opens the wound and
then applies the healing balm. God had provided (and one would
think effectually) for the engaging of Israel to himself by
providences and ordinances; but it seems, by the complaints here
made of them, that they received the grace of God in both these in
vain. I. They were very ungrateful to God for his favours to them,
and rendered not again according to the benefit they received,
<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.1-Mal.1.5" parsed="|Mal|1|1|1|5" passage="Mal 1:1-5">ver. 1-5</scripRef>. II. They were
very careless and remiss in the observance of his institutions; the
priests especially were so, who were in a particular manner charged
with them, <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.6-Mal.1.14" parsed="|Mal|1|6|1|14" passage="Mal 1:6-14">ver. 6-14</scripRef>. And
what shall we say of those whom neither providences nor ordinances
work upon, and who affront God in those very things wherein they
should honour him?</p>
<scripCom id="Mal.ii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1" parsed="|Mal|1|0|0|0" passage="Mal 1" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Mal.ii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.1-Mal.1.5" parsed="|Mal|1|1|1|5" passage="Mal 1:1-5" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Mal.ii-p1.6">
<h4 id="Mal.ii-p1.7">Ingratitude of Israel; Judgments and
Mercies. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p1.8">b. c.</span> 400.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Mal.ii-p2" shownumber="no">1 The burden of the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p2.1">Lord</span> to Israel by <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p2.2" osisRef="Bible:Mal.2" parsed="|Mal|2|0|0|0" passage="Malachi. 2">Malachi.   2</scripRef> I have loved
you, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p2.3">Lord</span>. Yet ye say,
Wherein hast thou loved us? <i>Was</i> not Esau Jacob's brother?
saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p2.4">Lord</span>: yet I loved Jacob,
  3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage
waste for the dragons of the wilderness.   4 Whereas Edom
saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the
desolate places; thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p2.5">Lord</span>
of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall
call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p2.6">Lord</span> hath indignation for ever.
  5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The <span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p2.7">Lord</span> will be magnified from the border of
Israel.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p3" shownumber="no">The prophecy of this book is entitled,
<i>The burden of the word of the Lord</i> (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.1" parsed="|Mal|1|1|0|0" passage="Mal 1:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>), which intimates, 1. That it was
of great weight and importance; what the false prophets said was
light as the chaff, what the true prophets said was ponderous as
the wheat, <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.23.38" parsed="|Jer|23|38|0|0" passage="Jer 23:38">Jer. xxiii. 28</scripRef>.
2. That it ought to be often repeated to them and by them, as the
burden of a song. 3. That there were those to whom it was a burden
and a reproach; they were weary of it, and found themselves so
aggrieved by it that they were not able to bear it. 4. That to them
it would prove a burden indeed, to sink them to the lowest hell,
unless they repented. 5. That to those who loved it and embraced
it, and bade it welcome, though it was a light burden, as our
Saviour calls it (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Matt.11.30" parsed="|Matt|11|30|0|0" passage="Mt 11:30">Matt. xi.
30</scripRef>), yet it was a burden.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p4" shownumber="no">This <i>burden of the word of the Lord</i>
was sent, 1. To Israel, for to them pertained the lively oracles of
prophecy as well as those of the written word. Many prophets God
had sent to Israel, and now he will try them with one more. 2.
<i>By Malachi, by the hand of Malachi,</i> as if it were not a
message by word of mouth, but a letter put into his hand, for the
greater certainty.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p5" shownumber="no">In these verses, they are charged with
ingratitude, in that they were not duly sensible of God's
distinguishing goodness to them; and such a charge as this may well
be called a burden, for it is a heavy one.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p6" shownumber="no">I. God asserts the great kindness he had,
and had often expressed, for them (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.2" parsed="|Mal|1|2|0|0" passage="Mal 1:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>): <i>I have loved you, saith the
Lord.</i> Thus abruptly does the sermon begin, as if God intended,
whatever reproofs should be given them, to reconcile them to his
love, and to take care that they should still have good thoughts of
him. <i>As many as I love I rebuke and chasten.</i> Thus kindly
does the sermon begin. God will have his people satisfied that he
loves them and is ever mindful of his love. This is the same with
what he said of old to the virgin of Israel, that he might engage
her affections to himself (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.31.3-Jer.31.4" parsed="|Jer|31|3|31|4" passage="Jer 31:3,4">Jer.
xxxi. 3, 4</scripRef>): <i>Yea I have loved thee with an
everlasting love.</i> In this one word God sums up all his gracious
dealings with them; love was the spring of all; he loved them
because he would <i>love them</i> (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.7.7-Deut.7.8" parsed="|Deut|7|7|7|8" passage="De 7:7,8">Deut. vii. 7, 8</scripRef>), loved them in their
childhood, <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Hos.11.1" parsed="|Hos|11|1|0|0" passage="Ho 11:1">Hos. xi. 1</scripRef>. His
delight was in them, <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.62.4" parsed="|Isa|62|4|0|0" passage="Isa 62:4">Isa. lxii.
4</scripRef>. "<i>I have loved you,</i> but you have not loved me,
nor made any suitable returns for my love." Note, God's people need
to be often reminded of his love to them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p7" shownumber="no">II. They question his love, and diminish
the instances of it, and seem to quarrel with him for telling them
of it: <i>Yet you say, Wherein hast thou loved us?</i> As God
traces up all his favours to them to the fountain, which was his
love, so he traces up all their sins against him to the fountain,
which was their contempt of his love. Instead of acknowledging his
kindness, and studying what they shall render, they scorn to own
that they have been beholden to him, challenge him to produce
proofs of his love that are material, and think and speak very
slightly of the instances they have had of his kindness, as if they
were so few, so small, as not to be worth taking notice of, and no
more than what they had sufficiently made returns for, or at least
than he had sufficiently balanced with instances of his wrath.
"Have we not been wasted, impoverished, and carried captive; and
wherein then <i>hast thou loved us?</i>" Note, God justly takes it
very ill to have his favours slighted, as not worth speaking of;
and it is very absurd for us to ask wherein he has loved us, when,
which way soever we look, we meet with the proofs and instances of
his love to us.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p8" shownumber="no">III. He makes it out, beyond contradiction,
that he has loved them, loved them in a distinguishing way, which
was in a special manner obliging. For proof of this he shows the
difference he had made, and would still make, between Jacob and
Esau, between Israelites and Edomites. Some read their question,
<i>Wherefore hast thou loved us?</i> as if they did indeed own that
he had loved them, but withal insinuate that there was a reason for
it—that he loved them because their father Abraham had loved him,
so that it was not a free love, but a love of debt, to which he
replies, "<i>Was not Esau</i> as near akin to Abraham as you are?
Was he not <i>Jacob's own brother,</i> his elder brother? And
therefore, if there were any right to a recompence for Abraham's
love, Esau had it, and yet <i>I hated Esau</i> and <i>loved
Jacob.</i>"</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p9" shownumber="no">1. Let them see what a difference God had
made between Jacob and Esau. Esau was Jacob's brother, his
twin-brother: "<i>Yet I loved Jacob</i> and <i>I hated Esau,</i>
that is, took Jacob into covenant, and entailed the blessing on him
and his, but refused and rejected Esau." Note, Those that are taken
into covenant with God, that have the lively oracles and the means
of grace committed to them, have reason to look upon these as
tokens of his love. Jacob is loved, for he has these, Esau hated,
for he has not. The apostle quotes this (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Rom.9.13" parsed="|Rom|9|13|0|0" passage="Ro 9:13">Rom. ix. 13</scripRef>), and compares it with what the
oracle said to Rebecca concerning her twins (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.25.23" parsed="|Gen|25|23|0|0" passage="Ge 25:23">Gen. xxv. 23</scripRef>), <i>The elder shall serve the
younger,</i> to illustrate the doctrine of God's sovereignty in
dispensing his favours; for <i>may he not do what he will with his
own?</i> Esau was justly hated, but Jacob freely loved; even so,
Father, <i>because it seemed good in thy eyes,</i> and it is not
for us to ask why or wherefore.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p10" shownumber="no">2. Let them see what he was now doing and
would do with them, pursuant to this original difference.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p11" shownumber="no">(1.) The Edomites shall be made the
monuments of God's justice, and he will be glorified in their utter
destruction: For <i>Esau have I hated;</i> I <i>laid his mountains
waste,</i> the mountains of Seir, which were <i>his heritage.</i>
When all that part of the world was ravaged by the Chaldean army
the country of Edom was, among the rest, laid in ruins, and became
a habitation <i>for the dragons of the wilderness,</i> so perfectly
desolate was it; as was foretold, <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.34.6 Bible:Isa.34.11" parsed="|Isa|34|6|0|0;|Isa|34|11|0|0" passage="Isa 34:6,11">Isa. xxxiv. 6, 11</scripRef>. The Edomites had
triumphed in Jerusalem's overthrow (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.137.7" parsed="|Ps|137|7|0|0" passage="Ps 137:7">Ps. cxxxvii. 7</scripRef>), and therefore it was just
with God to put the same cup of trembling into their hands. And,
though Edom's ruins were last, yet they were lasting, and the
desolation perpetual; and in this the difference was made between
Jacob and Esau, and is made between the righteous and the wicked,
to whom otherwise all things come alike, and there seems to be one
event. Jacob's cities are laid waste, but they are rebuilt; Edom's
are laid waste, and never rebuilt. The sufferings of the righteous
will have an end and will end well; all their grievances will be
redressed, and their sorrow turned into joy; but the sufferings of
the wicked will be endless and remediless, as Edom's desolations,
<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.4" parsed="|Mal|1|4|0|0" passage="Mal 1:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. Observe here,
[1.] The vain hopes of the Edomites, that they shall have their
ruins repaired as well as Israel, though they had no promise to
build their hope upon. They say, "It is true, <i>we are
impoverished;</i> it is the common chance, and there is no remedy;
but <i>we will return and build the desolate places;</i> we are
resolved we will" (not so much as asking God leave); "<i>we
will</i> whether he will or no; nay, we will do it in defiance of
God's curse, and that sentence pronounced upon Edom (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.34.10" parsed="|Isa|34|10|0|0" passage="Isa 34:10">Isa. xxxiv. 10</scripRef>), <i>From generation
to generation it shall lie waste.</i>" They build presumptuously,
as Hiel built Jericho in direct contradiction to the word of God
(<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.16.34" parsed="|1Kgs|16|34|0|0" passage="1Ki 16:34">1 Kings xvi. 34</scripRef>), and it
shall speed accordingly. Note, It is common for those whose hearts
are unhumbled under humbling providences to think to make their
part good against God himself, and to build, and plant, and
flourish again as much as ever, though God has said that they shall
be impoverished. But see, [2.] The dashing of these hopes and the
disappointment of them: They say, <i>We will build;</i> but what
says <i>the Lord of hosts?</i> For we are sure his word shall
stand, and not theirs; and he says, <i>First,</i> Their attempts
shall be baffled: <i>They shall build, but I will throw down.</i>
Note, Those that walk contrary to God will find that he will walk
contrary to them; for <i>who ever hardened his heart against God
and prospered?</i> When the Jews had rejected Christ and his gospel
they became Edomites, and this word was fulfilled in them; for
when, in the time of the emperor Adrian, they attempted to rebuild
Jerusalem, God by earthquakes and eruptions of fire threw down what
they built, so that they were forced to quit the enterprise.
<i>Secondly,</i> They shall be looked upon by all as abandoned to
utter ruin. All that see them shall call them <i>the border of
wickedness,</i> a sinful nation, incurably so, and therefore <i>the
people against whom the Lord has indignation for ever.</i> Since
their wickedness is such as will never be reformed, their
desolations shall be such as are never to be repaired. Against
Israel God was a <i>little displeased</i> (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:Zech.1.15" parsed="|Zech|1|15|0|0" passage="Zec 1:15">Zech. i. 15</scripRef>), but against Edom he has
indignation, and will have for ever, for they are <i>the people of
his curse,</i> <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p11.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.34.5" parsed="|Isa|34|5|0|0" passage="Isa 34:5">Isa. xxxiv.
5</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p12" shownumber="no">(2.) The Israelites shall be made the
monuments of his mercy, and he will be glorified in their
salvation, <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.5" parsed="|Mal|1|5|0|0" passage="Mal 1:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. "The
Edomites shall be stigmatized as a people hated of God, <i>but your
eyes shall see</i> your doubts concerning his love to you for ever
silenced; for you shall say, and have cause to say, <i>The Lord</i>
is and <i>will be magnified from the border of Israel,</i> from
every part and border of the land of Israel." The border of Edom is
a <i>border of wickedness,</i> and therefore the Lord will have
<i>indignation against it for ever;</i> but the <i>border of
Israel</i> is a <i>border of holiness,</i> the <i>border of the
sanctuary</i> (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.78.54" parsed="|Ps|78|54|0|0" passage="Ps 78:54">Ps. lxxviii.
54</scripRef>), and therefore God will make it to appear (though it
may for a time lie desolate) that he has mercy in store for it, and
thence <i>he will be magnified;</i> he will give his people Israel
both cause, and hearts, to praise him. When the border of Edom
still remains desolate, and the border of Israel is repaired and
replenished, then it will appear that God has loved Jacob. Note,
[1.] Those who doubt of God's love to his people shall, sooner or
later, have convincing and undeniable proofs given them of it:
"<i>your</i> own <i>eyes shall see</i> what you will not believe."
[2.] Deliverances out of trouble are to be reckoned proofs of God's
good-will to his people, though they may be suffered to fall into
trouble, <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.34.19" parsed="|Ps|34|19|0|0" passage="Ps 34:19">Ps. xxxiv. 19</scripRef>.
[3.] Distinguishing favours are very obliging. If God rear up again
the border of Israel, but leave the border of Edom in ruins, let no
Israelite ask, for shame, <i>Wherein hast thou loved us?</i> [4.]
The dignifying of Israel is the magnifying of the God of Israel,
and, one way or other, God will have honour from his professing
people. [5.] God's goodness being his glory, when he does us good
we must proclaim him great, for that is magnifying him. It is an
instance of his goodness that he has <i>pleasure in the prosperity
of his servants,</i> and for this those that love his salvation
say, <i>The Lord be magnified,</i> <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.35.27" parsed="|Ps|35|27|0|0" passage="Ps 35:27">Ps.
xxxv. 27</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Mal.ii-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.6-Mal.1.14" parsed="|Mal|1|6|1|14" passage="Mal 1:6-14" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Mal.ii-p12.6">
<h4 id="Mal.ii-p12.7">God's Remonstrance with the Priests;
Judgment of Wicked Priests. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p12.8">b. c.</span> 400.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Mal.ii-p13" shownumber="no">6 A son honoureth <i>his</i> father, and a
servant his master: if then I <i>be</i> a father, where <i>is</i>
mine honour? and if I <i>be</i> a master, where <i>is</i> my fear?
saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p13.1">Lord</span> of hosts unto you, O
priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised
thy name?   7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye
say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p13.2">Lord</span> <i>is</i> contemptible.
  8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, <i>is it</i> not
evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, <i>is it</i> not evil?
offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or
accept thy person? saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p13.3">Lord</span> of
hosts.   9 And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be
gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your
persons? saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p13.4">Lord</span> of hosts.
  10 Who <i>is there</i> even among you that would shut the
doors <i>for nought?</i> neither do ye kindle <i>fire</i> on mine
altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p13.5">Lord</span> of hosts, neither will I accept an offering
at your hand.   11 For from the rising of the sun even unto
the going down of the same my name <i>shall be</i> great among the
Gentiles; and in every place incense <i>shall be</i> offered unto
my name, and a pure offering: for my name <i>shall be</i> great
among the heathen, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p13.6">Lord</span> of
hosts.   12 But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table
of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p13.7">Lord</span> <i>is</i> polluted; and
the fruit thereof, <i>even</i> his meat, <i>is</i> contemptible.
  13 Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness <i>is it!</i> and
ye have snuffed at it, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p13.8">Lord</span> of hosts; and ye brought <i>that which
was</i> torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an
offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p13.9">Lord</span>.   14 But cursed <i>be</i> the
deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and
sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I <i>am</i> a great
King, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mal.ii-p13.10">Lord</span> of hosts, and
my name <i>is</i> dreadful among the heathen.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p14" shownumber="no">The prophet is here, by a special
commission, calling the priests to account, though they were
themselves appointed judges, to call the people to an account. Let
the rulers in the house of God know that there is one above them,
who will reckon with them for their mal-administrations. Thus
<i>saith the Lord of hosts to you, O priests!</i> <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.6" parsed="|Mal|1|6|0|0" passage="Mal 1:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. God will have a saying to
unfaithful ministers; and it concerns those who speak from God to
his people to hear and heed what he says to them, that they may
<i>save themselves</i> in the first place, otherwise how should
they help to <i>save those that hear them?</i> It is a severe, and
no doubt a just reproof, that is here given to the <i>priests,</i>
for the profanation of the holy things of God, with which they were
entrusted; and, if this was the crime of the priests, we have
reason to fear the people also were guilty of it: so that what is
said to <i>the priests</i> is <i>said to all,</i> nay, it is
<i>said to us,</i> who, as Christians, profess ourselves, not only
the people of God, but priests to him. Observe here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p15" shownumber="no">I. What it was that God expected from them,
and with what good reason he expected it (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.6" parsed="|Mal|1|6|0|0" passage="Mal 1:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>): <i>A son honours his father,</i>
because he is his father; nature has written this law in the hearts
of children, before God wrote it at Mount Sinai; nay, <i>a
servant,</i> though his obligation to his master is not natural,
but by voluntary compact, yet thinks it his duty to honour him, to
be observant of his orders, and true to his interests. Children and
servants pay respect to their parents and masters; every one cries
out shame on them if they do not, and their own hearts cannot but
reproach them too; the order of families is thus kept up, and it is
their beauty and advantage. But the priests, who are God's children
and his servants, do not fear and honour him. They were
<i>fathers</i> and <i>masters</i> to the people, and expected to be
called so (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Judg.18.19 Bible:Matt.22.7 Bible:Matt.22.10" parsed="|Judg|18|19|0|0;|Matt|22|7|0|0;|Matt|22|10|0|0" passage="Jdg 18:19,Mt 22:7,10">Judges xviii.
19, Matt. xxii. 7, 10</scripRef>) and to be reverenced and obeyed
as such; but they forgot their Father and Master in heaven, and the
duty they owed to him. We may each of us charge upon ourselves what
is here charged upon the priests. Note, 1. We are every one of us
to look upon God as our Father and Master, and upon ourselves as
his children and servants. 2. Our relation to God as our Father and
Master strongly obliges us to fear and honour him. If we honour and
fear the fathers of our flesh, much more the Father and Master of
our spirits, <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.12.9" parsed="|Heb|12|9|0|0" passage="Heb 12:9">Heb. xii. 9</scripRef>.
3. It is a thing to be justly complained of, and lamented, that God
is so little feared and honoured even by those that own him for
their Father and Master. <i>Where is his honour? Where is his
fear?</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p16" shownumber="no">II. What the contempt was which the priests
put upon God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p17" shownumber="no">1. This is that, in general, which is
charged upon them:—(1.) They despised God's name; their
familiarity with it, as priests, bred contempt of it, and served
them only to gain a veneration by it for themselves and their own
name, while God's name was of small account with them. God's name
is all that whereby he has made himself known—his word and
ordinances; these they had low thoughts of, and vilified that which
it was their business to magnify; and no wonder that when they
despised it themselves they did that which made it despicable to
others, causing even the <i>sacrifices of the Lord to be
abhorred,</i> as Eli's sons did. (2.) They <i>profaned</i> God's
name, <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.12" parsed="|Mal|1|12|0|0" passage="Mal 1:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. They
<i>polluted</i> it, <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.7" parsed="|Mal|1|7|0|0" passage="Mal 1:7"><i>v.</i>
7</scripRef>. They not only made no account of sacred things, but
they made an ill use of them, and perverted them to the service of
the worst and vilest purposes—their own pride, covetousness, and
luxury. There cannot be a greater provocation to God than the
profanation of his name; for it is holy and reverend. His purity
cannot be polluted by us, for he is unspotted, but his name may be
profaned; and nothing profanes it more than the misconduct of
priests, whose business it is to do honour to it. This is the
general charge exhibited against them. To this they plead <i>Not
guilty,</i> and challenge God to prove it upon them, and to make
good the charge, which added daring impudence to their daring
impiety: <i>You say, Wherein have we despised thy name?</i>
(<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.6" parsed="|Mal|1|6|0|0" passage="Mal 1:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>), and
<i>wherein have we polluted thee?</i> <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.7" parsed="|Mal|1|7|0|0" passage="Mal 1:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. It is common with proud sinners,
when they are reproved, to stand thus upon their own justification.
These priests had most horridly profaned sacred things, and yet,
like the <i>adulterous woman,</i> they said that they had <i>done
no wickedness;</i> they were so inobservant of themselves that they
remembered not or reflected not upon their own acts, or they were
so ignorant of the divine law that they thought there was no harm
in them, and that what they did could not be construed into
despising God's name, or they were so atheistical as to imagine
that though they knew their own guilt yet God did not, or they were
so scornful in their conduct towards God and his prophets that they
took a pride in bantering a serious and just reproof, and turning
it off with a jest. They either laugh at the reproof, as those that
despise it, and harden their hearts against it, or they laugh it
off, as those that resolve they will not be touched by it, or will
not seem to be so. Which way soever we take it, their defence was
their offence, and, in justifying themselves, their own tongues
condemned them, and their saying, <i>Wherein have we despised thy
name?</i> proved them proud and perverse. Had they asked this
question with a humble desire to be told more particularly where in
they had offended, it would have been an evidence of their
repentance, and would have given hopes of their reformation; but to
ask it thus in disdain and defiance of the word of God argues their
hearts <i>fully set in them to do evil.</i> Note, Sinners ruin
themselves by studying to baffle their own convictions; but they
will find it <i>hard to kick against the pricks.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p18" shownumber="no">2. Justly might they have been convicted
and condemned upon the general charge, and their plea thrown out as
frivolous; but God will not only overcome, but will be clear, will
be justified when he judges, and therefore he shows them very
particularly wherein they had despised his name, and what the
contempt was that they cast upon him. As formerly, when he charged
them with idolatry, so now, when he charges them with profaneness,
he bids them <i>see their way in the valley</i> and <i>know what
they have</i> done, <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.2.23" parsed="|Jer|2|23|0|0" passage="Jer 2:23">Jer. ii.
23</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p19" shownumber="no">(1.) They despised God's name in what they
said, in the low opinion they had of his institutions: "<i>You
say</i> in your hearts, and perhaps speak it out when you priests
get together over your cups. out of the hearing of the people,
<i>The table of the Lord is contemptible</i>" (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.7" parsed="|Mal|1|7|0|0" passage="Mal 1:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), and again (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.12" parsed="|Mal|1|12|0|0" passage="Mal 1:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>), "You say, <i>The table of the
Lord is polluted;</i> it is to be no more regarded than any other
table." Either the table in the temple, on which the show-bread was
placed, is that which they reflect upon (not understanding the
mystery of it, they despised it as an insignificant thing), or
rather the altar of burnt-offerings is here called the table, for
there God, and his priests, and his people, did, as it were, feast
together upon the sacrifices, in token of friendship. This they
thought was contemptible. Formerly, in the days of superstition, it
was thought contemptible in comparison with the idolatrous alters
that the heathen had, and was set aside to make room for a
new-fashioned one (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.16.14-2Kgs.16.15" parsed="|2Kgs|16|14|16|15" passage="2Ki 16:14,15">2 Kings xvi.
14, 15</scripRef>); now it is thought contemptible in comparison
with their own tables, and those of their great men: <i>The fruit
thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.</i> Those who served at
the altar were to live upon the altar; but they complained that
they lived poorly and meanly, and that it was not worth while to
attend the service of the altar for the fruit and meat of it, for
it was very ordinary and always the same again; they had no
dainties, no varieties, no nice dishes. Nay, that part of the
sacrifices which was given to God, the blood and the fat, they
looked upon with contempt, as not worthy the multitude of laws God
had made about it; they asked, "What need is there of so much ado
about burning the fat and pouring out the blood?" Note, Those
greatly profane and pollute God's name who despise the business of
religion, though it is very honourable, as not worth taking pains
in, and the advantages of religion, though highly valuable, as not
worth taking pains for. Those who live in a careless neglect of
holy ordinances, who come to them and attend on them irreverently,
and go away from them never the better and under no concern, do in
effect say, "<i>The table of the Lord is contemptible;</i> there is
neither virtue nor value in it, neither credit nor comfort from
it."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p20" shownumber="no">(2.) They despised God's name in what they
did, which was of a piece with what they said, and flowed from it;
corrupt principles and notions are roots of bitterness, which bear
the gall and wormwood of corrupt practices. They looked upon the
table and altar of the Lord as contemptible, and then, [1.] They
thought any thing would serve for a sacrifice, though ever so
coarse and mean, and were so far from bringing the best, as they
ought to have done, that they picked out the worst they had, which
was fit neither for the market nor for their own tables, and
offered that at God's altar. With every sacrifice they were to
bring a meat-offering of <i>fine flour mingled with oil;</i> but
they brought <i>polluted bread</i> (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.7" parsed="|Mal|1|7|0|0" passage="Mal 1:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), coarse bread, servants' bread,
perhaps it was dry and mouldy, or made of the refuse of the wheat,
which they thought good enough to be burnt upon the altar; for had
it been better they would have said, <i>To what purpose is this
waste?</i> And as to the beasts they offered, though the law was
express that what was offered in sacrifice should not have a
blemish, yet they brought <i>the blind, and the lame, and the
sick</i> (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.8" parsed="|Mal|1|8|0|0" passage="Mal 1:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>), and
again (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.13" parsed="|Mal|1|13|0|0" passage="Mal 1:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>),
<i>the torn, and the lame, and the sick,</i> that was ready to die
of itself. They looked no further than the burning of the
sacrifice, and they pleaded that it was a pity to burn it if it was
good for any thing else. The people were so far convinced of their
duty that they would bring sacrifices; they durst not wholly omit
the duty, but they brought vain oblations, mocked God, and deceived
themselves, by bringing the worst they had; and the priests, who
should have taught them better, accepted the gifts brought to the
altar and offered them up there, because, if they should refuse
them, the people would bring none at all, and then they would lose
their perquisites; and therefore, having more regard to their own
profit than to God's honour, they accepted that which they knew he
would not accept. Some make <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.8" parsed="|Mal|1|8|0|0" passage="Mal 1:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef> to be a continuation of what the priests profanely
said <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p20.5" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.7" parsed="|Mal|1|7|0|0" passage="Mal 1:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>, <i>You
say</i> to the people, <i>If you offer the blind for sacrifice, it
is not evil; or the lame and the sick, it is not evil.</i> Note, It
is a very evil thing, whether men think so or no, to offer the
blind and the lame, the torn and the sick, in sacrifice to God. If
we worship God ignorantly, and without understanding, we bring the
blind for sacrifice; if we do it carelessly, and without
consideration, if we are cold, and dull, and dead, in it, we bring
the sick; if we rest in the bodily exercise, and do not make
heart-work of it, we bring the <i>lame;</i> and, if we suffer vain
thoughts and distractions to lodge within us, we bring the torn.
And <i>is not this evil?</i> Is it not a great affront to God and a
great wrong and injury to our own souls? Do not our books tell us,
nay, do not our own hearts tell us, that <i>this is evil?</i> for
God, who is the best, ought to be served with the best we have.
[2.] They would do no more of their work than what they were paid
for. The priests would offer the sacrifices that were brought to
the altar, because they had their share of them; but as for any
other service of the temple, that had not a particular fee
belonging to it, they would not stir a step, nor lend a hand, to
it; and this was the general temper of them, <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p20.6" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.10" parsed="|Mal|1|10|0|0" passage="Mal 1:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. There is not a man among the
priests that would <i>shut the doors,</i> or <i>kindle a fire, for
nought.</i> If he were required to do the smallest piece of
service, he would ask, how shall I be paid for it? They would do
nothing <i>gratis,</i> but were all for what they could get,
<i>every one for his gain, from his quarter,</i> <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p20.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.56.11" parsed="|Isa|56|11|0|0" passage="Isa 56:11">Isa. lvi. 11</scripRef>. Note, Though God has given
order that his servants be well paid in this world, yet those are
no acceptable servants to him who are mercenary, and would never do
the work but for the wages. [3.] Their work was a perfect drudgery
to them (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p20.8" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.13" parsed="|Mal|1|13|0|0" passage="Mal 1:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>):
<i>You said also, Behold, what a weariness is it!</i> Both priests
and people were of this mind, that they thought God imposed too
hard a task upon them; the people grudged the charge of providing
the sacrifice and the priests grudged the pains of offering it;
they thought the feasts of the Lord came too thick, and they were
forced to attend too often, and too long, in the courts of the
Lord; the priests thought it a severe penance imposed upon them to
purify themselves as was required when they attended the altar and
ate of the holy things; they thought the duty of their office
toilsome and troublesome, and <i>snuffed at it</i> as unreasonable,
and bearing hard upon them; they did it, but it was grudgingly and
with reluctance. God speaks of it, in justification of his law,
that he had not <i>made them to serve with an offering, nor wearied
them with incense,</i> <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p20.9" osisRef="Bible:Isa.43.23" parsed="|Isa|43|23|0|0" passage="Isa 43:23">Isa. xliii.
23</scripRef>. <i>Wherein have I wearied thee?</i> <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p20.10" osisRef="Bible:Mic.6.3" parsed="|Mic|6|3|0|0" passage="Mic 6:3">Mic. vi. 3</scripRef>. But their own wicked
hearts made it a weariness; and they were, as Doeg, <i>detained
before the Lord;</i> they would rather have been any where else.
Note, Those are highly injurious, both to God and themselves, who
are weary of his service and worship, and snuff at it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p21" shownumber="no">III. Observe how God expostulates and
reasons the case with them, for their conviction and humiliation.
1. Would they, durst they, affront an earthly prince thus? "You
offer to God <i>the lame and the sick; offer it now unto thy
governor</i> (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.8" parsed="|Mal|1|8|0|0" passage="Mal 1:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>),
either as tribute or as a present, when thou art entreating his
favour, or in gratitude for some favour received; <i>will he be
pleased with thee?</i> Or, rather, will he not take himself to be
affronted by it?" Note, Those who are careless and irreverent in
the duties of religious worship should consider what a shame it is
to offer that to their God which they would scorn to offer to their
governor, to be more observant of the laws of breeding and good
manners than of the laws of religion, and more afraid of being rude
than of being profane. 2. Could they imagine that such sacrifices
as these would be pleasing to God, or answer the end of sacrifices?
"<i>Should I accept this at your hand, saith the Lord?</i>
<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.13" parsed="|Mal|1|13|0|0" passage="Mal 1:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. Have you any
reason to think I should either not discern or not resent the
affront, that I should connive at the violation of my own laws? No
(<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.10" parsed="|Mal|1|10|0|0" passage="Mal 1:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>); <i>I have
no pleasure in you,</i> and therefore, <i>I will not accept an
offering,</i> such an offering, <i>at your hand.</i>" If God has no
pleasure in the person, if the person be not in a justified state,
if he be not sanctified, God will not accept the offering. God had
respect to Abel first and then to his sacrifice. Note, In order to
our acceptance with God it is not enough to do that which, for the
matter of it, is good, but we must do it from a right principle, in
a right manner, and for a right end. It was the ancient rule laid
down (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.4.7" parsed="|Gen|4|7|0|0" passage="Ge 4:7">Gen. iv. 7</scripRef>), <i>If thou
doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?</i> Now, if we be not
accepted of God, in vain do we worship him; it is all lost labour;
nay, we are all undone, for ever undone, if we come short of God's
acceptance. Those therefore make a bad bargain for themselves who,
to save charges in their religion, miss all the ends of it, and, by
thinking to go the nearest way to work, bring nothing to pass.
Those who make it the top of their ambition, as we all ought to do,
<i>whether present or absent, to be accepted of the Lord,</i> will
not dare to bring the <i>torn, and the lame, and the sick, for
sacrifice.</i> 3. How could they expect to prevail with God in
their intercessions for the people when they thus affronted God in
their sacrifices? So some understand <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p21.5" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.9" parsed="|Mal|1|9|0|0" passage="Mal 1:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>, as spoken ironically, "<i>And
now</i> if you will do the duty of priests, and stand in the gap to
turn away the judgments of God that you see ready to pour in upon
us, <i>I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious to us,</i>
and to our land which is almost eaten up with locusts and
caterpillars," as appears <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p21.6" osisRef="Bible:Mal.3.11" parsed="|Mal|3|11|0|0" passage="Mal 3:11"><i>ch.</i>
iii. 11</scripRef>. "Try now what interest you have at the throne
of grace; improve it for the removing of this plague, for <i>it has
been by your means;</i> you have provoked God to send it. But as
you go on thus to profane his sacred things <i>will he regard your
persons</i> or your prayers? No, you cannot prevail with him to
command it away." For, <i>if we regard iniquity in our hearts, God
will not hear us,</i> either for ourselves or for others. 4. Had
God deserved this at their hands? No, he had provided comfortably
for them, and had given them such encouragement in their work as
might have engaged them to do it cheerfully and well; so some
understand <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p21.7" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.10" parsed="|Mal|1|10|0|0" passage="Mal 1:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>,
"<i>Who is there among you that shall shut a door, or kindle a
fire, for nought?</i> No, God does not expect you should serve him
for nothing; you are well paid for it, and shall be so; not a cup
of cold water, given for the honour of God, shall <i>lose its
reward.</i>" Note, The consideration of our constant receivings
from God, and the present rewards of obedience in obedience, very
much aggravates our slothfulness and niggardliness in our returns
of duty to God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p22" shownumber="no">IV. He calls them to repentance for their
profanations of his holy name. So we may understand <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.9" parsed="|Mal|1|9|0|0" passage="Mal 1:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>, "<i>Now, I pray you,
beseech God that he will be gracious to us.</i> Humble yourselves
for your sin, cry mightily to God for pardon, and make up in the
faith and fervency of your prayers what has been wanting in the
worth and value of your sacrifices; for all the rebukes of
Providence we are under <i>are by your means.</i>" Note, Those who
have by their sins helped to kindle a fire are highly concerned by
their repentance, prayers, and the personal reformation, to help to
quench it. We must see how much God's judgments are by our means,
and be awakened thereby to be earnest with him to return in mercy;
and, if we take not this course, how can we think he should regard
our persons?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p23" shownumber="no">V. He declares his resolution both to
secure the glory of his own name and to reckon with those who
profane it. Those who put contempt upon God and religion, and think
to run down sacred things, let them know,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p24" shownumber="no">1. That they shall not gain their point.
God will magnify his law and make it honourable, though they vilify
it and make it contemptible; for (<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.11" parsed="|Mal|1|11|0|0" passage="Mal 1:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>) <i>from the rising of the sun
to the going down of the same my name shall be great among the
Gentiles.</i> It might be said, "If these are not the worshippers
whom God will accept, then he has no worshippers." As if he must
make the best of their service, or else he would have no service
done him; and then <i>what will he do for his great name?</i> But
let him alone for that; <i>though Israel</i> be not faithful, <i>be
not gathered,</i> yet God will be <i>glorious.</i> Though these
priests provoke him to take down the ceremonial economy, and to
abolish that <i>law of commandments,</i> which <i>could not make
the comers thereunto perfect,</i> yet he will be no loser by that,
at the long run; for, (1.) Instead of those carnal ordinances,
which they profaned, a spiritual way of worship shall be introduced
and established: <i>Incense shall be offered to God's name</i>
(which signifies prayer and praise, <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p24.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.141.2 Bible:Rev.8.3" parsed="|Ps|141|2|0|0;|Rev|8|3|0|0" passage="Ps 141:2,Re 8:3">Ps. cxli. 2; Rev. viii. 3</scripRef>), instead of
the blood and fat of bulls and goats. And it shall be a <i>pure
offering,</i> refined, not only from the corruptions that were in
the priests' practice, but from the mere bodily exercise that was
in the institutions themselves, which are called <i>carnal
ordinances, imposed till the time of reformation,</i> <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p24.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.9.10" parsed="|Heb|9|10|0|0" passage="Heb 9:10">Heb. ix. 10</scripRef>. When the hour came in
which <i>the true worshippers worshipped the Father in spirit and
in truth,</i> then this <i>incense</i> was <i>offered,</i> even
this <i>pure offering.</i> (2.) Instead of his being worshipped and
served among the Jews only, a small people in a corner of the
world, he will be served and worshipped in all places, <i>from the
rising of the sun to the going down of the same; in every
place,</i> in every part of the world, <i>incense shall be offered
to his name;</i> nations shall be discipled, and shall speak of the
wonderful works of God, and have them spoken to them in their own
language. This is a plain prediction of that great revolution in
the kingdom of grace by which the Gentiles, who had been
<i>strangers and foreigners,</i> came to be <i>fellow-citizens with
the saints and of the household of God,</i> and as welcome to the
throne of grace as ever the Jews had been. It is twice said (for
the thing was certain), <i>My name shall be great among the
Gentiles,</i> whereas hitherto in Judah only he was <i>known,</i>
and <i>his name was great,</i> <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p24.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.76.1" parsed="|Ps|76|1|0|0" passage="Ps 76:1">Ps.
lxxvi. 1</scripRef>. God's name shall be declared to them, the
declaration of it shall be received and believed, and there shall
be those among the Gentiles who shall magnify and glorify the name
of God better than ever the Jews had done, even the priests
themselves.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mal.ii-p25" shownumber="no">2. That they shall not go unpunished,
<scripRef id="Mal.ii-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.14" parsed="|Mal|1|14|0|0" passage="Mal 1:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. Here is the
doom of those who do like these priests, for the sentence on them
is a sentence on all such. Observe, (1.) The description of profane
and careless worshippers. They are such as <i>vow and sacrifice to
the Lord a corrupt thing</i> when they have <i>in their flock a
male.</i> They have of the best, wherewith to serve and honour him,
so bountiful has be been in his gifts to them, but they put him off
with the worst, and think that good enough for him, so ungrateful
are they in their returns to him. This was the fault of the people,
but the priests connived at it, and indulged them in it. We find a
distinction in the law which allowed <i>that</i> to be <i>offered
for a free-will offering</i> which would <i>not be accepted for a
vow,</i> <scripRef id="Mal.ii-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Lev.22.23" parsed="|Lev|22|23|0|0" passage="Le 22:23">Lev. xxii. 23</scripRef>. But
the priests would accept it, though God would not, pretending to be
more indulgent than he was, for which he will give them no thanks
another day. (2.) The character given of such worshippers. They are
<i>deceivers;</i> they deal falsely and fraudulently with God; they
play the hypocrite with him; they pretend to honour him, in making
the vow, but, when it comes to be performed, they put an affront
upon him, to such a degree that it would have been <i>better not to
have vowed than to vow</i> and <i>thus to pay;</i> but let not such
be themselves deceived, for <i>God is not mocked.</i> Those who
think to put a cheat upon God will prove, in the end, to have put a
damning cheat upon their own souls. Hypocrites are deceivers, and
they will prove self-deceivers, and so self-destroyers. (3.) The
doom passed upon them: They are <i>cursed;</i> they expect a
blessing, but will meet with a curse, the tokens of God's wrath,
according to the judgment written. (4.) The reason of this doom:
"<i>For I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts,</i> and
therefore will reckon with those who deal with me but as a man like
themselves; <i>my name is dreadful among the heathen,</i> and
therefore I will not bear that it should be contemptible among my
own people." The heathen paid more respect to their gods, though
idols, than the Jews did to theirs, though the only true and living
God. Note, The consideration of God's universal dominion, and the
universal acknowledgment of it, should restrain us from all
irreverence in his service.</p>
</div></div2>