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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E Z E K I E L.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXVIII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This chapter, and that which follows it, are concerning Gog and Magog,
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a powerful enemy to the people of Israel, that should make a formidable
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descent upon them, and put them into a consternation, but their army
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should be routed and their design defeated; and this prophecy, it is
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most probable, had its accomplishment some time after the return of the
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people of Israel out of their captivity, whether in the struggles they
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had with the kings of Syria, especially Antiochus Epiphanes, or perhaps
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in some other way not recorded, we cannot tell. If the sacred history
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of the Old Testament had reached as far as the prophecy, we should have
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been better able to understand these chapters, but, for want of that
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key, we are locked out of the meaning of them. God had by the prophet
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assured his people of happy times after their return to their own land;
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but lest they should mistake the promises which related to the kingdom
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of the Messiah and the spiritual privileges of that the kingdom of the
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Messiah and the spiritual privileges of that kingdom, as if from them
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they might promise themselves an uninterrupted temporal prosperity, he
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here tells them, as Christ told his disciples to prevent the like
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mistake, that in the world they shall have tribulation, but they may be
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of good cheer, for they shall be victorious at last. This prophecy here
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of Gog and Magog is without doubt alluded to in that prophecy which
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relates to the latter days, and which seems to be yet unfulfilled
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+20:8">Rev. xx. 8</A>),
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that Gog and Magog shall be gathered to battle against the camp of the
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saints, as the Old-Testament prophecies of the destruction of Babylon
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are alluded to,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+18:1-24">Rev. xviii.</A>
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But, in both, the Old-Testament prophecies had their accomplishment in
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the Jewish church as the New-Testament prophecies shall have when the
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time comes in the Christian church. In this chapter we have intermixed,
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I. The attempt that Gog and Magog should make upon the land of Israel,
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the vast army they should bring into the field, and their vast
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preparations
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:4-7">ver. 4-7</A>),
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their project and design in it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:8-13">ver. 8-13</A>),
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God's hand in it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:4">ver. 4</A>.
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II. The great terror that this should strike upon the land of Israel,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:15,16,18-20">ver. 15, 16, 18-20</A>.
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III. The divine restraint that these enemies should be under, and the
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divine protection that Israel should be under,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:2-4,14">ver. 2-4 and ver. 14</A>.
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IV. The defeat that should be given to those enemies by the immediate
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hand of God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:21-23">ver. 21-23</A>),
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which we shall hear more of in the next chapter.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Judgment of Gog and Magog.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 585.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto me, saying,
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2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the
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chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
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3 And say, Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Behold, I <I>am</I> against
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thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
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4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I
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will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen,
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all of them clothed with all sorts <I>of armour, even</I> a great
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company <I>with</I> bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
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5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with
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shield and helmet:
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6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north
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quarters, and all his bands: <I>and</I> many people with thee.
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7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy
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company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto
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them.
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8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years
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thou shalt come into the land <I>that is</I> brought back from the
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sword, <I>and is</I> gathered out of many people, against the
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mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is
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brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all
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of them.
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9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a
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cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people
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with thee.
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10 Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; It shall also come to pass, <I>that</I>
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at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt
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think an evil thought:
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11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled
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villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely,
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all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor
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gates,
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12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon
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the desolate places <I>that are now</I> inhabited, and upon the people
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<I>that are</I> gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle
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and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
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13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all
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the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to
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take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to
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carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to
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take a great spoil?
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The critical expositors have enough to do here to enquire out Gog and
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Magog. We cannot pretend either to add to their observations or to
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determine their controversies. Gog seems to be the king and Magog the
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kingdom; so that Gog and Magog are like Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Some
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think they find them afar off, in Scythia, Tartary, and Russia. Others
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think they find them nearer the land of Israel, in Syria, and Asia the
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Less. Ezekiel is appointed to prophesy against Gog, and to tell him
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that <I>God is against him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>.
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Note, God does not only see those that are now the enemies of his
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church and set himself against them, but he foresees those that will be
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so and lets them know by his word that he is against them too, and yet
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is pleased to make use of them to serve his own purposes, for the glory
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of his own name; surely <I>their wrath</I> shall <I>praise him,</I> and
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the <I>remainder thereof he will restrain,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+76:10">Ps. lxxvi. 10</A>.
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Let us observe here,</P>
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<P>
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I. The confusion which God designed to put this enemy to. It is
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remarkable that this is put first in the prophecy; before it is
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foretold that God will <I>bring him forth</I> against Israel it is
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foretold that God will <I>put hooks into his jaws</I> and <I>turn him
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back</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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that they might have assurance of their deliverance before they had the
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prospect given them of their danger. Thus tender is God of the comfort
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of his people, thus careful that they may not be frightened; even
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before the trouble begins he tells them it will end well.</P>
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<P>
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II. The undertaking which he designed to engage him in, in order to
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this defeat and disappointment.
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1. The nations that shall be confederate in this enterprise against
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Israel are many, and great, and mighty
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>),
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<I>Persia, Ethiopia,</I> &c. Antiochus had an army made up of all the
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nations here named, and many others. These people had been at variance
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with one another, and yet in combination against Israel. How are those
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increased that trouble God's people!
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2. They are well furnished with arms and ammunition, and bring a good
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train of artillery into the field--<I>horses and horsemen</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>)
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bravely equipped <I>with all sorts of armour, bucklers and shields</I>
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for defence, <I>and all handling swords</I> for offence. Orders are
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given to make all imaginable preparation for this expedition
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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"<I>Be thou prepared, and do thou prepare.</I> See what warlike
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preparations thou hast already in store, and, lest that should not
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suffice, make further preparation, <I>thou and all thy company,</I>"
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Let Gog himself be a guard to the rest of the confederates. As
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commander-in-chief, let him engage to take care of them and their
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safety; let him pass his word for their security, and take them under
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his particular protection. The leaders of an army, instead of exposing
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their soldiers needlessly and presumptuously, and throwing away their
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lives upon desperate undertakings, should study to be a guard to them,
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and, whenever they send them forth in danger, should contrive to
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support and cover them. This call to prepare seems to be
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ironical--<I>Do thy worst,</I> but I will <I>turn thee back;</I> like
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that
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:9">Isa. viii. 9</A>.
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<I>Gird yourselves, and you shall be broken in pieces.</I>
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3. Their design is against <I>the mountains of Israel</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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against <I>the land that is brought back from the sword.</I> It is not
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long since it was harassed with the sword of war, and it has been
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always wasted, more or less, with one judgment or other; it is but
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newly <I>gathered out of many people,</I> and <I>brought forth out of
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the nations;</I> it has enjoyed comparatively but a short
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breathing-time, has scarcely recovered any strength since it was
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brought down by war and captivity; and therefore its neighbours need
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not fear its being too great, nay, and therefore it is very barbarous
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to pick a quarrel with it so soon. It is a people that <I>dwell safely,
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all of them, in unwalled villages,</I> very secure, and <I>having
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neither bars nor gates,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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It is a certain sign that they intend no mischief to their neighbours,
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for they fear no mischief from them. It cannot be thought that those
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will offend others who do not take care to defend themselves; and this
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aggravates the sin of these invaders. It is base and barbarous to
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<I>devise evil against thy neighbour while he dwells securely by
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thee,</I> and has no distrust of thee,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+3:29">Prov. iii. 29</A>.
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But see here how <I>the clouds return after the rain</I> in this world,
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and what little reason we have ever to be secure till we come to
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heaven. It is not long since Israel was brought back from the sword of
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one enemy, and behold the sword of another is drawn against it. Former
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troubles will not excuse us from further troubles; but when we think we
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have <I>put off the harness,</I> at least for some time, by a fresh and
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sudden alarm we may be called to <I>gird it on again;</I> and therefore
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we must never boast nor be off our guard.
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4. That which the enemy has in view, in forming this project, is to
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enrich himself and to make himself master, not of the country, but of
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the wealth of it, to spoil and plunder it, and make a prey of it: <I>At
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the same</I> time that God intends to bring this matter about <I>things
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shall come into the mind</I> of this enemy, and <I>he shall think an
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evil thought,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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Note, All the mischief men do, and particularly the mischief they do to
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the church of God, arises from evil thoughts that come into their mind,
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ambitious thoughts, covetous thoughts, spiteful thoughts against those
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that are good, for the sake of their goodness. It came into Antiochus's
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mind what a singular people these religious Jews were, and how their
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worship witnessed against and condemned the idolatries of their
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neighbours, and therefore, in enmity to their religion, he would plague
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them. It came into his mind what a wealthy people they were, that they
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had <I>gotten cattle and goods in the midst of the land</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
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and withal how weak they were, how unable to make any resistance, how
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easy it would be to carry off what they had, and how much glory this
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rapine would add to his victorious sword; these things coming into his
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mind, and one evil thought drawing on another, he came at last to this
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resolve
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:11,12"><I>v.</I> 11, 12</A>):
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"<I>I will go up to the land of unwalled villages;</I> yea, that I
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will; it will cost me nothing to make them all my own. I will go and
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disturb <I>those that are at rest,</I> without giving them any notice,
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not to crush their growing greatness, or chastise their insolence, or
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make reprisals upon them for any wrong they have done us (they had none
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of these pretences to make war upon them), but purely <I>to take a
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spoil and to take a prey</I>"
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
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in open defiance to all the laws of justice and equity, as much as the
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highwayman's killing the traveller that he may take his money. These
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were the thoughts that came into the mind of this wicked prince, and
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God knew them; nay, he knew them before they came into his mind, for he
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<I>understands our thoughts afar off,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+139:2">Ps. cxxxix. 2</A>.
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5. According to the project thus formed he pours in all his forces
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upon the land of Israel, and finds those that are ready to come in to
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his assistance with the same prospects
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
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"<I>Thou shalt ascent and come like a storm,</I> with all the force,
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and fury, and fierceness imaginable, and <I>thou shalt be like a cloud
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to cover the land,</I> to darken it, and to threaten it, <I>thou
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and</I> not only <I>all thy bands,</I> all the force thou canst bring
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into the field, but <I>many people with thee</I>" (such as are spoken
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of
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
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"<I>Sheba and Dedan,</I> the Arabians and the Edomites, <I>and the
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merchants of Tarshish,</I> of Tyre and Sidon and other maritime cities,
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they and their <I>young lions</I> that are greedy of spoil and live
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upon it, <I>shall say, Hast thou come to take the spoil</I> of this
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land?" Yes he has; and therefore they wish him success. Or perhaps they
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envy him, or grudge it to him. "Hast thou come for riches who art
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thyself so rich already?" Or, knowing that God was on Israel's side,
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they thus ridicule his attempts, foreseeing that they would be baffled
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and that he would be disappointed of the prey he promised himself. Or,
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if he come to <I>take the prey,</I> they will come and join with him,
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and add to his forces. When Lysias, who was general of Antiochus's
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army, came against the Jews, the neighbouring nations joined with him
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(<U>1 Mac. iii. 41</U>),
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to share in the guilt, in hopes to share in the prey. <I>When thou
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sawest a thief then thou consentedst with him.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Eze38_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze38_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze38_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze38_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze38_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze38_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze38_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze38_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze38_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze38_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Judgment of Gog and Magog.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 585.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith
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the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth
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safely, shalt thou not know <I>it?</I>
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15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts,
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thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses,
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a great company, and a mighty army:
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16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a
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cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I
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will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me,
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when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
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17 Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; <I>Art</I> thou he of whom I have spoken
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in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which
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prophesied in those days <I>many</I> years that I would bring thee
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against them?
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18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall
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come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>, <I>that</I> my
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fury shall come up in my face.
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19 For in my jealousy <I>and</I> in the fire of my wrath have I
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spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the
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land of Israel;
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20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven,
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and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep
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upon the earth, and all the men that <I>are</I> upon the face of the
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earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be
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thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall
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shall fall to the ground.
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21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my
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mountains, saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>: every man's sword shall be against
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his brother.
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22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood;
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and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many
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people that <I>are</I> with him, an overflowing rain, and great
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hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
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23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will
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be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I
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<I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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This latter part of the chapter is a repetition of the former; the
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dream is doubled, for the thing is certain and to be very carefully
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regarded.</P>
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<P>
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I. It is here again foretold that this spiteful enemy should make a
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formidable descent upon the land of Israel
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
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"<I>Thou shalt come out of the north parts</I> (Syria lay on the north
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of Canaan) with <I>a mighty army,</I> shalt come like <I>a cloud,</I>
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and <I>cover the land of my people Israel,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
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These words
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
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<I>When my people Israel dwell safely, shalt thou not know it?</I> may
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be taken two ways:--
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1. As intimating his inducements to this attempt. "Thou shalt have
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intelligence brought thee how securely, and therefore how carelessly,
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the people of Israel dwell, which shall give rise to thy project
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against them; for when thou knowest not only what a rich, but what an
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easy prey they are likely to be, thou wilt soon determine to fall upon
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them" Note, God's providence is to be acknowledged in the occasion, the
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small occasion perhaps, that is given, and that not designedly neither,
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to those first thoughts from which great enterprises take their
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original. God, to bring about his own purposes, lets men know that
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which yet he knows they will make a bad use of, as here. Or,
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2. As intimating his disappointment in this attempt, which here, as
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before, the prophecy begins with: "<I>When my people Israel dwell
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safely,</I> not in their own apprehension only, but in reality,
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forasmuch as they dwell safely under the divine protection, shalt not
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thou be made to know it by the fruitlessness of thy endeavours to
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destroy them?" Thou shalt soon find that there is <I>no enchantment
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against Jacob,</I> that <I>no weapon formed against them shall
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prosper;</I> thou shalt know to thy cost, shalt know to thy shame, that
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though they have no walls, nor bars, nor gates, they have God himself,
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a <I>wall of fire, round about them,</I> and that he who <I>touches
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them touches the apple of his eye;</I> whosoever meddles with them
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meddles to his own hurt. And it is for the demonstrating of this to all
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the world that God will bring this mighty enemy against his people.
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Those that <I>gathered themselves against Israel</I> said, <I>Let us
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take the spoil and take they prey,</I> but they <I>knew not the
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thoughts of the Lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+4:11,12">Mic. iv. 11, 12</A>.
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<I>I will bring thee against my land.</I> This is strange news, that
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God will not only permit his enemies to come against his own children,
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but will himself bring them; but, if we understand what he aims at, we
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shall be well reconciled even to this: it is "<I>that the heathen may
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know me</I> to be the only living and true God <I>when I shall be
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sanctified in thee,</I> O Gog! that is, in thy defeat and destruction
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<I>before their eyes,</I> that all the nations may see, and say,
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<I>There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, that rides on the
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heavens for the help of his people.</I>" Note, God brings his people
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into danger and distress that he may have the honour of bringing about
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their deliverance, and suffers the enemies of his church to prevail
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awhile, though they profane his name by their sin, that he may have the
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honour of prevailing at last and sanctifying his own name in their
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ruin. Now it is said, This shall be <I>in the latter days,</I> namely,
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in the latter days of the Old-Testament church; so the mischief that
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Antiochus did to Israel was; but in the latter days of the
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New-Testament church another like enemy should arise, that should in
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like manner be defeated. Note, Effectual securities are treasured up in
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the word of God against the troubles and dangers the church may be
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brought into a great while hence, even in the latter days.</P>
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<P>
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II. Reference is herein had to the predictions of the former prophets
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>):
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<I>Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time,</I> of whom Moses
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spoke in his prophecy of the latter days
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+32:43">Deut. xxxii. 43</A>,
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<I>He will render vengeance to his adversaries),</I> and David,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+9:15">Ps. ix. 15</A>
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(<I>The heathen are sunk down into the pit that they made</I>) and
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often elsewhere in the Psalms? This is the leviathan of whom Isaiah
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spoke
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+27:1">Isa. xxvii. 1</A>),
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that congress of the nations of which Joel spoke,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:1">Joel iii. 1</A>.
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Many of the prophets had perhaps spoken particularly of this event,
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though it be not written, as they all had spoken and written too that
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which is applicable to it. Note, There is an amiable admirable harmony
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and agreement between the Lord's prophets, though they lived in several
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ages, for they were all guided by one and the same Spirit.</P>
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<P>
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III. It is here foretold that this furious formidable enemy should be
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utterly cut off in this attempt upon Israel, and that it should issue
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in his own ruin. This is supposed by many to have its accomplishment in
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the many defeats given by the Maccabees to the forces of Antiochus and
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the remarkable judgments of God executed upon his own person, for he
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died of sore diseases. But these things are here foretold, as usual, in
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figurative expressions, which we are not to look for the literal
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accomplishment of, and yet they might be fulfilled nearer the letter
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than we know of.
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1. God will be highly displeased with this bold invader: <I>When he
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comes up</I> in pride and anger <I>against the land of Israel,</I> and
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thinks to carry all before him with a high hand, then <I>God's fury
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shall come up in his face,</I> which is an allusion to the manner of
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men, whose colour rises in their faces when some high affront is
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offered them and they are resolved to show their resentment of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
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God will speak against them in his <I>jealousy</I> for his people and
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in <I>the fire of his wrath</I> against his and their enemies,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
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See how God's permitting sin, his laying occasions of sin before men,
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and his making use of it to serve his own purposes, consist with his
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hatred of sin and his displeasure against it. God <I>brings this enemy
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against his land,</I> letting him know what an easy prey it might be
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and determining thereby to glorify himself; and yet, <I>when he comes
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against the land,</I> God's <I>fury comes up,</I> and <I>he speaks to
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him in the fire of his wrath.</I> If any ask, Why does he thus find
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fault? for who has resisted his will? It is easy to answer, <I>Nay,
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but, O man! who art thou that repliest against God?</I>
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2. His forces shall be put into the greatest confusion and
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consternation imaginable
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
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<I>There shall be a great shaking of</I> them <I>in the land of
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Israel,</I> a universal concussion
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>),
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such as shall affect the <I>fishes</I> and <I>fowls,</I> the
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<I>beasts</I> and <I>creeping things,</I> and much more <I>the men that
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are upon the face of the earth,</I> who sooner receive impressions of
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fear. There shall be such an earthquake as shall <I>throw down</I> the
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<I>mountains,</I> those natural heights, and the <I>steep places,</I>
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towers and <I>walls,</I> those artificial heights; they shall all
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<I>fall to the ground.</I> Some understand this of the fright which the
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land of Israel should be put into by the fury of the enemy. But it is
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rather to be understood of the fright which the enemy should be put
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into by the wrath of God; all those things which they both raise
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themselves and stay themselves upon shall be shaken down, and their
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hearts shall fail them.
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3. He shall be routed and utterly ruined; both earth and heaven shall
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be armed against him
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(1.) The earth shall muster up its forces to destroy him. If the people
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of Israel have not strength and courage to resist him, God will <I>call
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for a sword against him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
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And he has swords always at command, that are <I>bathed in heaven,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+35:5">Isa. xxxv. 5</A>.
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Throughout all the mountains of Israel, where he hoped to meet with
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spoil to enrich him, he shall meet with swords to destroy him, and,
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rather than fail, <I>every man's sword shall be against his
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brother,</I> as in <I>the day of Midian,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+83:9">Ps. lxxxiii. 9</A>.
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The great men of Syria shall undermine and overthrow one another, shall
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accuse one another, shall fight duels with one another. Note, God can,
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and often does, make the destroyers of his people to be their own
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destroyers and the destroyers of one another. However, he will himself
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be their destroyer, will take the work into his own hand, that it may
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be done thoroughly
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>):
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<I>I will plead against him with pestilence and blood.</I> Note, Whom
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God acts against he pleads against; he shows them the ground of his
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controversy with them, that their mouths may be stopped, and he may be
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clear when he judges.
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(2.) The artillery of heaven shall also be drawn out against them: <I>I
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will rain upon him an overflowing rain,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
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He comes like a storm upon Israel,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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But God will come like a storm upon him, will rain upon him <I>great
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hailstones</I> as upon the Canaanites
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+10:11">Josh. x. 11</A>),
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fire and brimstone as upon Sodom, and a <I>horrible tempest,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+11:6">Ps. xi. 6</A>.
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Thus the Gog and Magog in the New Testament shall be devoured with
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<I>fire from heaven,</I> and cast into the <I>lake of brimstone,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+20:9,10">Rev. xx. 9, 10</A>.
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That will be the everlasting portion of all the impenitent implacable
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enemies of God's church and people.
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4. God, in all this, will be glorified. The end he aimed at
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>)
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shall be accomplished
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+38:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>):
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<I>Thus will I magnify myself and sanctify myself.</I> Note, In the
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destruction of sinners God makes it to appear that he is a great and
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holy God, and he will do so to eternity. And, if men do not magnify and
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sanctify him as they ought, he will magnify himself, and sanctify
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himself; and this we should desire and pray for daily, <I>Father,
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glorify thy own name.</I></P>
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