mh_parser/vol_split/26 - Ezekiel/Chapter 47.xml

<div2 id="Ez.xlviii" n="xlviii" next="Ez.xlix" prev="Ez.xlvii" progress="66.83%" title="Chapter XLVII">
<h2 id="Ez.xlviii-p0.1">E Z E K I E L.</h2>
<h3 id="Ez.xlviii-p0.2">CHAP. XLVII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ez.xlviii-p1" shownumber="no">In this chapter we have, I. The vision of the holy
waters, their rise, extent, depth, and healing virtue, the plenty
of fish in them, and an account of the trees growing on the banks
of them, <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.1-Ezek.47.12" parsed="|Ezek|47|1|47|12" passage="Eze 47:1-12">ver. 1-12</scripRef>. II.
An appointment of the borders of the land of Canaan, which was to
be divided by lot to the tribes of Israel and the strangers that
sojourned among them, <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.13-Ezek.47.23" parsed="|Ezek|47|13|47|23" passage="Eze 47:13-23">ver.
13-23</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Ez.xlviii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47" parsed="|Ezek|47|0|0|0" passage="Eze 47" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ez.xlviii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.1-Ezek.47.12" parsed="|Ezek|47|1|47|12" passage="Eze 47:1-12" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xlviii-p1.5">
<h4 id="Ez.xlviii-p1.6">The Vision of the Holy
Waters. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xlviii-p1.7">b. c.</span> 574.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xlviii-p2" shownumber="no">1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of
the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold
of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house <i>stood
toward</i> the east, and the waters came down from under from the
right side of the house, at the south <i>side</i> of the altar.
  2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward,
and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way
that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the
right side.   3 And when the man that had the line in his hand
went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought
me through the waters; the waters <i>were</i> to the ankles.  
4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters;
the waters <i>were</i> to the knees. Again he measured a thousand,
and brought me through; the waters <i>were</i> to the loins.  
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; <i>and it was</i> a river that
I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim
in, a river that could not be passed over.   6 And he said
unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen <i>this?</i> Then he brought
me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.   7 Now
when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river <i>were</i>
very many trees on the one side and on the other.   8 Then
said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country,
and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: <i>which
being</i> brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
  9 And it shall come to pass, <i>that</i> every thing that
liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall
live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because
these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and
every thing shall live whither the river cometh.   10 And it
shall come to pass, <i>that</i> the fishers shall stand upon it
from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a <i>place</i> to
spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as
the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.   11 But the miry
places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they
shall be given to salt.   12 And by the river upon the bank
thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for
meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be
consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months,
because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the
fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for
medicine.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xlviii-p3" shownumber="no">This part of Ezekiel's vision must so
necessarily have a mystical and spiritual meaning that thence we
conclude the other parts of his vision have a mystical and
spiritual meaning also; for it cannot be applied to the waters
brought by pipes into the temple for the washing of the sacrifices,
the keeping of the temple clean, and the carrying off of those
waters, for that would be to turn this pleasant river into a sink
or common sewer. That prophecy, <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.8" parsed="|Zech|14|8|0|0" passage="Zec 14:8">Zech.
xiv. 8</scripRef>, may explain it, of <i>living waters</i> that
shall <i>go out</i> from Jerusalem, <i>half of them towards the
former sea and half of them towards the hinder sea.</i> And there
is plainly a reference to this in St. John's vision of a <i>pure
river of water of life,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.22.1" parsed="|Rev|22|1|0|0" passage="Re 22:1">Rev. xxii.
1</scripRef>. That seems to represent the glory and joy which are
grace perfected. This seems to represent the grace and joy which
are glory begun. Most interpreters agree that these waters signify
the gospel of Christ, which went forth from Jerusalem, and spread
itself into the countries about, and the gifts and powers of the
Holy Ghost which accompanied it, and by virtue of which it spread
far and produced strange and blessed effects. Ezekiel had walked
round the house again and again, and yet did not till now take
notice of those waters; for God makes known his mind and will to
his people, not all at once, but by degrees. Now observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xlviii-p4" shownumber="no">I. The rise of these waters. He is not put
to trace the streams to the fountain, but has the fountain-head
first discovered to him (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.1" parsed="|Ezek|47|1|0|0" passage="Eze 47:1"><i>v.</i>
1</scripRef>): <i>Waters issued out from the threshold of the house
eastward,</i> and from <i>under the right side of the house,</i>
that is, the south side of <i>the alter.</i> And again (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.2" parsed="|Ezek|47|2|0|0" passage="Eze 47:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>), <i>There ran out waters
on the right side,</i> signifying that <i>from Zion should go forth
the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.3" parsed="|Isa|2|3|0|0" passage="Isa 2:3">Isa. ii. 3</scripRef>. There it was that the
Spirit was poured out upon the apostles, and endued them with the
gift of tongues, that they might carry these waters to all nations.
In the temple first they were to stand and <i>preach the words of
this life,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Acts.5.20" parsed="|Acts|5|20|0|0" passage="Ac 5:20">Acts v. 20</scripRef>.
They must preach the gospel to all nations, but must <i>begin at
Jerusalem,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Luke.24.47" parsed="|Luke|24|47|0|0" passage="Lu 24:47">Luke xxiv.
47</scripRef>. But that is not all: Christ is the temple; he is the
door; from him those living waters flow, out of his pierced side.
It is the water that he gives us that is <i>the well of water which
springs up,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p4.6" osisRef="Bible:John.4.14" parsed="|John|4|14|0|0" passage="Joh 4:14">John iv.
14</scripRef>. And it is by believing in him that we receive from
him <i>rivers of living water;</i> and <i>this spoke he of the
Spirit,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p4.7" osisRef="Bible:John.7.38-John.7.39" parsed="|John|7|38|7|39" passage="Joh 7:38,39">John vii. 38,
39</scripRef>. The original of these waters was not above-ground,
but they sprang up from under the threshold; for the fountain of a
believer's life is a mystery; it is <i>hid with Christ in God,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p4.8" osisRef="Bible:Col.3.3" parsed="|Col|3|3|0|0" passage="Col 3:3">Col. iii. 3</scripRef>. Some observe
that they came forth <i>on the right side of the house</i> to
intimate that gospel-blessings are right-hand blessings. It is also
an encouragement to those who attend at Wisdom's gates, at the
posts of her doors, who are willing to lie at the threshold of
God's house, as David was, that they lie at the fountainhead of
comfort and grace; the very entrance into God's word gives light
and life, <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p4.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.130" parsed="|Ps|119|130|0|0" passage="Ps 119:130">Ps. cxix. 130</scripRef>.
David speaks it to the praise of Zion, <i>All my springs are in
thee,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p4.10" osisRef="Bible:Ps.87.7" parsed="|Ps|87|7|0|0" passage="Ps 87:7">Ps. lxxxvii. 7</scripRef>.
They came <i>from the side of the altar,</i> for it is in and by
Jesus Christ, the great altar (who <i>sanctifies our gifts</i> to
God), that God has <i>blessed us with spiritual blessings in holy
heavenly places.</i> From God as the fountain, in him as the
channel, flows the river which <i>makes glad the city of our God,
the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p4.11" osisRef="Bible:Ps.46.4" parsed="|Ps|46|4|0|0" passage="Ps 46:4">Ps. xlvi. 4</scripRef>. But observe how much the
blessedness and joy of glorified saints in heaven exceed those of
the best and happiest saints on earth; here the streams of our
comfort arise <i>from under the threshold;</i> there they proceed
<i>from the throne</i> the throne <i>of God and of the Lamb,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p4.12" osisRef="Bible:Rev.22.1" parsed="|Rev|22|1|0|0" passage="Re 22:1">Rev. xxii. 1</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xlviii-p5" shownumber="no">II. The progress and increase of these
waters: They <i>went forth eastward</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.3" parsed="|Ezek|47|3|0|0" passage="Eze 47:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>), <i>towards the east country</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.8" parsed="|Ezek|47|8|0|0" passage="Eze 47:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>), for so they
were directed. The prophet and his guide followed the stream as it
ran down from the holy mountains, and when they had followed it
about <i>a thousand cubits</i> they went over across it, to try the
depth of it, and it was <i>to the ankles,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.3" parsed="|Ezek|47|3|0|0" passage="Eze 47:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. Then they walked along on the
bank of the river on the other side, a thousand cubits more, and
then, to try the depth of it, they waded through it the second
time, and it was up to <i>their knees,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.4" parsed="|Ezek|47|4|0|0" passage="Eze 47:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. They walked along by it a
thousand cubits more, and then forded it the third time, and then
it was up to their middle—<i>the waters were to the loins.</i>
They then walked a thousand cubits further, and attempted to repass
it the fourth time, but found it impracticable: <i>The waters had
risen,</i> by the addition either of brooks that fell into it above
ground or by springs under ground, so that they were <i>waters to
swim in, a river that could not be passed over,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.5" parsed="|Ezek|47|5|0|0" passage="Eze 47:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. Note, 1. The waters of
the sanctuary are running waters, as those of a river, not standing
waters, as those of a pond. The gospel, when it was first preached,
was still spreading further. Grace in the soul is still pressing
forward; it is an active principle, <i>plus ultra—onward
still,</i> till it comes to perfection. 2. They are increasing
waters. This river, as it runs constantly, so the further it goes
the fuller it grows. The gospel-church was very small in its
beginnings, like a little purling brook; but by degrees it came to
be <i>to the ankles, to the knees:</i> many were added to it daily,
and the <i>grain of mustard seed</i> grew up to be a <i>great
tree.</i> The gifts of the Spirit increase by being exercised, and
grace, where it is true, is growing, like the light of the morning,
which <i>shines more and more to the perfect day.</i> 3. It is good
for us to follow these waters, and go along with them. Observe the
progress of the gospel in the world; observe the process of the
work of grace in the heart; attend the motions of the blessed
Spirit, and walk after them, under a divine guidance, as Ezekiel
here did. 4. It is good to be often searching into the things of
God, and trying the depth of them, not only to look on the surface
of those waters, but to go to the bottom of them as far as we can,
to be often digging, often diving, into the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven, as those who covet to be intimately acquainted
with those things. 5. If we search into the things of God, we shall
find some things very plain and easy to be understood, as the
waters that were but to the ankles, others more difficult, and
which require a deeper search, as the water to the knees or the
loins, and some quite beyond our reach, which we cannot penetrate
into, or account for, but, despairing to find the bottom, must, as
St. Paul, sit down at the brink, and adore the <i>depth,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p5.6" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.3" parsed="|Rom|11|3|0|0" passage="Ro 11:3">Rom. xi. 33</scripRef>. It has been
often said that in the scripture, like these waters of the
sanctuary, there are some places so shallow that a lamb may wade
through them, and others so deep that an elephant may swim in them.
And it is our wisdom, as the prophet here, to begin with that which
is most easy, and get our hearts washed with those things before we
proceed to that which is <i>dark and hard to be understood;</i> it
is good to take our work before us.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xlviii-p6" shownumber="no">III. The extent of this river: <i>It issues
towards the east country,</i> but thence it either divide itself
into several streams or fetches a compass, so that it <i>goes down
into the desert,</i> and so <i>goes into the sea,</i> either into
the <i>dead sea,</i> which lay <i>south-east,</i> or the sea of
Tiberias, which lay <i>north-east,</i> or the great sea, which lay
<i>west,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.8" parsed="|Ezek|47|8|0|0" passage="Eze 47:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>.
This was accomplished when the gospel was preached with success
throughout all the regions of Judea and Samaria (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Acts.8.1" parsed="|Acts|8|1|0|0" passage="Ac 8:1">Acts viii. 1</scripRef>), and afterwards the nations
about, nay, and those that lay most remote, even in the isles of the
sea, were enlightened and leavened by it. The sound of it went
forth <i>to the end of the world;</i> and the enemies of it could
no more prevail to stop the progress of it than that of a mighty
river.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xlviii-p7" shownumber="no">IV. The healing virtue of this river. The
waters of the sanctuary, wherever they come and have a free course,
will be found a wonderful restorative. Being <i>brought forth into
the sea,</i> the sulphureous lake of Sodom, that standing monument
of divine vengeance, even those <i>waters shall be healed</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.8" parsed="|Ezek|47|8|0|0" passage="Eze 47:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>), shall become
sweet, and pleasant, and healthful. This intimates the wonderful
and blessed change that the gospel would make, wheresoever it came
in its power, as great change, in respect both of character and
condition, as the turning of the dead sea into a fountain of
gardens. When children of wrath became children of love, and those
that were dead in trespasses and sins were made alive, then this was
fulfilled. The gospel was as that salt which Elisha cast into the
spring of the waters of Jericho, with which he <i>healed them,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.2.20-2Kgs.2.21" parsed="|2Kgs|2|20|2|21" passage="2Ki 2:20,21">2 Kings ii. 20, 21</scripRef>.
Christ, coming into the world to be its physician, sent his gospel
as the great medicine, the <i>panpharmacon;</i> there is in it a
remedy for every malady. Nay, wherever these rivers come, they
<i>make things to live</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.9" parsed="|Ezek|47|9|0|0" passage="Eze 47:9"><i>v.</i>
9</scripRef>), both plants and animals; they are the <i>water of
life,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.22.1 Bible:Rev.22.17" parsed="|Rev|22|1|0|0;|Rev|22|17|0|0" passage="Re 22:1,17">Rev. xxii. 1,
17</scripRef>. Christ came, <i>that we might have life</i> and for
that end he sends his gospel. <i>Every thing shall live whither the
river comes.</i> The grace of God makes dead sinners alive and
living saints lively; everything is made fruitful and flourishing
by it. But its effect is according as it is received, and as the
mind is prepared and disposed to receive it; for (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p7.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.11" parsed="|Ezek|47|11|0|0" passage="Eze 47:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>) with respect to the
marshes and <i>miry places thereof,</i> that are settled in the
mire of their own sinfulness, and will not be healed, or settled in
the moisture of their own righteousness, and think they need no
healing, their doom is, <i>They shall not be healed;</i> the same
gospel which to others is a savour of life unto life shall to them
be a savour of death unto death; <i>they shall be given to
salt,</i> to perpetual barrenness, <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p7.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.29.23" parsed="|Deut|29|23|0|0" passage="De 29:23">Deut. xxix. 23</scripRef>. Those that will not be
watered with the grace of God, and made fruitful, shall be
abandoned to their own hearts' lusts, and left for ever unfruitful.
<i>He that is filthy, let him be filthy still. Never fruit grow on
thee more for ever.</i> They shall be given to <i>salt,</i> that
is, to be monuments of divine justice, as Lot's wife that was
turned into a <i>pillar of salt,</i> to season others.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xlviii-p8" shownumber="no">V. The great plenty of fish that should be
in this river. Every living moving thing shall be found here,
shall <i>live here</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.9" parsed="|Ezek|47|9|0|0" passage="Eze 47:9"><i>v.</i>
9</scripRef>), shall come on and prosper, shall be the best of the
kind, and shall increase greatly; so that there shall be a <i>very
great multitude of fish, according to their kinds, as the fish of
the great sea, exceedingly many.</i> There shall be as great plenty
of the river fish, and as vast shoals of them, as there is of
salt-water fish, <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.10" parsed="|Ezek|47|10|0|0" passage="Eze 47:10"><i>v.</i>
10</scripRef>. There shall be so great numbers of Christians in the
church, and those multiplying like fishes in the rising generations
and <i>the dew of their youth.</i> In the creation the <i>waters
brought forth</i> the fish <i>abundantly</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.1.20-Gen.1.21" parsed="|Gen|1|20|1|21" passage="Ge 1:20,21">Gen. i. 20, 21</scripRef>), and they still live in and
by the waters that produced them; so believers are <i>begotten by
the word of truth</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Jas.1.18" parsed="|Jas|1|18|0|0" passage="Jam 1:18">James i.
18</scripRef>), and <i>born by it</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.1.23" parsed="|1Pet|1|23|0|0" passage="1Pe 1:23">1 Pet. i. 23</scripRef>), that river of God; by it they
live, from it they have their maintenance and subsistence; in the
waters of the sanctuary they are as in their element, out of them
they are as fish <i>upon dry ground;</i> so David was when he
thirsted and panted for God, for the living God. Where the fish are
known to be in abundance, thither will the fishers flock, and there
they will <i>cast their nets;</i> and therefore, to intimate the
replenishing of these waters and their being made every way useful,
it is here foretold that the fishers shall stand upon the banks of
this river, from <i>En-gedi,</i> which lies on the border of the
dead sea, to <i>En-eglaim,</i> another city, which joins to that
sea, and all along shall <i>spread their nets.</i> The dead sea,
which before was shunned as noisome and noxious, shall be
frequented. Gospel-grace makes those persons and places which were
unprofitable and good for nothing to become serviceable to God and
man.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xlviii-p9" shownumber="no">VI. The trees that were on the banks of
this river—<i>many trees on the one side and on the other</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.7" parsed="|Ezek|47|7|0|0" passage="Eze 47:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), which made
the prospect very pleasant and agreeable to the eye; the shelter of
these trees also would be a convenience to the fishery. But that is
not all (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.12" parsed="|Ezek|47|12|0|0" passage="Eze 47:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>);
they <i>are trees for meat,</i> and the <i>fruit of them shall not
be consumed,</i> for it shall produce fresh fruit <i>every
month.</i> The <i>leaf</i> shall be <i>for medicine,</i> and it
<i>shall not fade,</i> This part of the vision is copied out into
St. John's vision very exactly (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.22.2" parsed="|Rev|22|2|0|0" passage="Re 22:2">Rev.
xxii. 2</scripRef>), where, on either side of the river, is said to
grow the <i>tree of life,</i> which <i>yielded her fruit every
month,</i> and <i>the leaves were for the healing of the
nations.</i> Christians are supposed to be these trees, ministers
especially, <i>trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.61.3" parsed="|Isa|61|3|0|0" passage="Isa 61:3">Isa. lxi. 3</scripRef>), set by
<i>the rivers of water,</i> the waters of the sanctuary (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p9.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.1.3" parsed="|Ps|1|3|0|0" passage="Ps 1:3">Ps. i. 3</scripRef>), grafted into Christ the tree
of life, and by virtue of their union with him made trees of life
too, <i>rooted</i> in him, <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p9.6" osisRef="Bible:Col.2.7" parsed="|Col|2|7|0|0" passage="Col 2:7">Col. ii.
7</scripRef>. There is a great variety of these trees, through the
diversity of gifts with which they are endued by that <i>one Spirit
who works all in all.</i> They grow <i>on the bank of the
river,</i> or they keep close to holy ordinances, and through them
derive from Christ sap and virtue. They are <i>fruit-trees,</i>
designed, as the fig tree and the olive, with their fruits to
<i>honour God and man,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p9.7" osisRef="Bible:Judg.9.9" parsed="|Judg|9|9|0|0" passage="Jdg 9:9">Judg. ix.
9</scripRef>. <i>The fruit thereof shall be for meat,</i> for the
<i>lips of the righteous feed many.</i> The fruits of their
righteousness are one way or other beneficial. The very leaves of
these trees <i>are for medicine,</i> for <i>bruises</i> and sores,
<i>margin.</i> Good Christians with their good discourses, which
are as their leaves, as well as with their charitable actions,
which are as their fruits, do good to those about them; they
<i>strengthen the weak,</i> and bind up the broken-hearted. Their
cheerfulness <i>does good like a medicine,</i> not only to
themselves, but to others also. They shall be enabled by the grace
of God to persevere in their goodness and usefulness; their <i>leaf
shall not fade,</i> or lose its medicinal virtue, having not only
life in their root, but sap in all their branches; their profession
<i>shall not wither</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p9.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.1.3" parsed="|Ps|1|3|0|0" passage="Ps 1:3">Ps. i.
3</scripRef>), <i>neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed;</i>
that is, they shall not lose the principle of their fruitfulness,
but <i>shall still bring forth fruit in old age,</i> to <i>show
that the Lord is upright</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p9.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.14-Ps.92.15" parsed="|Ps|92|14|92|15" passage="Ps 92:14,15">Ps.
xcii. 14, 15</scripRef>), or the reward of their fruitfulness shall
abide for ever; they bring forth fruit that shall abound to their
account in the great day, <i>fruit to life eternal;</i> that is
indeed <i>fruit which shall not be consumed.</i> They bring <i>new
fruit according to their months,</i> some in one month and others
in another: so that still there shall be one or other found to
serve the glory of God for the purpose he designs. Or each one of
them shall bring forth fruit monthly, which denotes an abundant
disposition to fruit-bearing (they shall never be weary of
well-doing), and a very happy climate, such that there shall be a
perpetual spring and summer. And the reason of this extraordinary
fruitfulness is <i>because their waters issued out of the
sanctuary;</i> it is not to be ascribed to any thing in themselves,
but to the continual supplies of divine grace, with which they are
<i>watered every moment</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p9.10" osisRef="Bible:Isa.27.3" parsed="|Isa|27|3|0|0" passage="Isa 27:3">Isa.
xxvii. 3</scripRef>); for, whoever planted them, it was that which
<i>gave the increase.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Ez.xlviii-p9.11" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.13-Ezek.47.23" parsed="|Ezek|47|13|47|23" passage="Eze 47:13-23" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xlviii-p9.12">
<h4 id="Ez.xlviii-p9.13">The Borders of the Land
Appointed. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xlviii-p9.14">b. c.</span> 574.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xlviii-p10" shownumber="no">13 Thus saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xlviii-p10.1">God</span>; This <i>shall be</i> the border, whereby ye
shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel:
Joseph <i>shall have two</i> portions.   14 And ye shall
inherit it, one as well as another: <i>concerning</i> the which I
lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land
shall fall unto you for inheritance.   15 And this <i>shall
be</i> the border of the land toward the north side, from the great
sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;   16 Hamath,
Berothah, Sibraim, which <i>is</i> between the border of Damascus
and the border of Hamath; Hazar-hatticon, which <i>is</i> by the
coast of Hauran.   17 And the border from the sea shall be
Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and
the border of Hamath. And <i>this is</i> the north side.   18
And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus,
and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel <i>by</i> Jordan, from
the border unto the east sea. And <i>this is</i> the east side.
  19 And the south side southward, from Tamar <i>even</i> to
the waters of strife <i>in</i> Kadesh, the river to the great sea.
And <i>this is</i> the south side southward.   20 The west
side also <i>shall be</i> the great sea from the border, till a man
come over against Hamath. This <i>is</i> the west side.   21
So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of
Israel.   22 And it shall come to pass, <i>that</i> ye shall
divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers
that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and
they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of
Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of
Israel.   23 And it shall come to pass, <i>that</i> in what
tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give <i>him</i> his
inheritance, saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xlviii-p10.2">God</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xlviii-p11" shownumber="no">We are now to pass from the affairs of the
sanctuary to those of the state, from the city to the country. 1.
The Land of Canaan is here secured to them for an inheritance
(<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.14" parsed="|Ezek|47|14|0|0" passage="Eze 47:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>): <i>I
lifted up my hand to give it unto your fathers,</i> that is,
promised it upon oath to them and their posterity. Though the
possession had been a great while discontinued, yet God had not
forgotten his oath which he swore to their fathers. Though God's
providences may for a time seem to contradict his promises, yet the
promise will certainly take place at last, for God will be <i>ever
mindful of his covenant. I lifted up my hand to give it,</i> and
therefore it shall without fail <i>fall to you for an
inheritance.</i> Thus the heavenly Canaan is sure to all the seed,
because it is what <i>God, who cannot lie, has promised.</i> 2. It
is here circumscribed, and the bounds and limits of it are fixed,
which they must not pass over to encroach upon their neighbours and
which their neighbours shall not break through to encroach upon
them. We had such a draught of the borders of Canaan when Joshua
was to put the people in possession of it, <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Num.34.1" parsed="|Num|34|1|0|0" passage="Nu 34:1">Num. xxxiv. 1</scripRef>, &amp;c. That begins with the
salt sea in the south, goes round and ends there. This begins with
Hamath about Damascus in the north, and so goes round and ends
there, <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.20" parsed="|Ezek|47|20|0|0" passage="Eze 47:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>. Note,
It is God that <i>appoints the bounds of our habitation;</i> and
his Israel shall always have cause to say that <i>the lines have
fallen to them in pleasant places.</i> The lake of Sodom is here
called <i>the east sea,</i> for it, being healed by the waters of
the sanctuary, it is no more to be called a <i>salt sea,</i> as it
was in <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Num.3" parsed="|Num|3|0|0|0" passage="Numbers. 3">Numbers. 3</scripRef>. It is here ordered to be divided among the
tribes of Israel, reckoning Joseph for two tribes, to make up the
number of twelve, when Levi was taken out to attend the sanctuary,
and had his lot adjoining to that (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.13 Bible:Ezek.47.21" parsed="|Ezek|47|13|0|0;|Ezek|47|21|0|0" passage="Eze 47:13,21"><i>v.</i> 13, 21</scripRef>): <i>You shall inherit
it, one as well as another,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.14" parsed="|Ezek|47|14|0|0" passage="Eze 47:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. The tribes shall have an equal
share, one as much as another. As the tribes returned out of
Babylon, this seems unequal, because some tribes were much more
numerous than the other, and indeed the most were of Judah and
Benjamin and very few of the other ten tribes; but as the twelve
tribes stand, in type and vision, for the gospel-church, the Israel
of God, it was very equal, because we find in another vision an
equal number of each of the twelve tribes <i>sealed</i> for the
<i>living God,</i> just 12,000 of each, <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p11.7" osisRef="Bible:Rev.7.5" parsed="|Rev|7|5|0|0" passage="Re 7:5">Rev. vii. 5</scripRef>, &amp;c. And to those sealed ones
these allotments did belong. It intimates likewise that all the
subjects of Christ's kingdom have <i>obtained like precious
faith.</i> Male and female, Jew and Gentile, bond and free, are all
alike welcome to Christ and made partakers of him. 4. The strangers
who sojourn among them, <i>who shall beget children</i> and be
built up into families, and so help to people their country,
<i>shall have inheritance among</i> the tribes, as if they had been
native Israelites (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p11.8" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.47.22-Ezek.47.23" parsed="|Ezek|47|22|47|23" passage="Eze 47:22,23"><i>v.</i> 22,
23</scripRef>), which was by no means allowed in Joshua's division
of the land. This is an act for a general naturalization, which
would teach the Jews who was their neighbour, not those only of
their own nation and religion, but those, whoever they were, that
they had an opportunity of showing kindness to, because from them
they would be willing to receive kindness. It would likewise invite
strangers to come and settle among them, and put themselves under
the wings of the divine Majesty. But it certainly looks at
gospel-times, when the partition-wall between Jew and Gentile was
taken down, and both one in Christ, in whom <i>there is no
difference,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p11.9" osisRef="Bible:Rom.10.12" parsed="|Rom|10|12|0|0" passage="Ro 10:12">Rom. x. 12</scripRef>.
This land was a type of the heavenly Canaan, that <i>better
country</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p11.10" osisRef="Bible:Heb.11.16" parsed="|Heb|11|16|0|0" passage="Heb 11:16">Heb. xi. 16</scripRef>),
in which believing Gentiles shall have a blessed lot, as well as
believing Jews, <scripRef id="Ez.xlviii-p11.11" osisRef="Bible:Isa.56.3" parsed="|Isa|56|3|0|0" passage="Isa 56:3">Isa. lvi.
3</scripRef>.</p>
</div></div2>