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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
J E R E M I A H.
CHAP. XXXI.
This chapter goes on with the good words and comfortable words which we
had in the chapter before, for the encouragement of the captives,
assuring them that God would in due time restore them or their children
to their own land, and make them a great and happy nation again,
especially by sending them the Messiah, in whose kingdom and grace many
of these promises were to have their full accomplishment.
I. They shall be restored to peace and honour, and joy and great plenty,
II. Their sorrow for the loss of their children shall be at an end,
III. They shall repent of their sins, and God will graciously accept
them in their repentance,
IV. They shall be multiplied and increased, both their children and
their cattle, and not be cut off and diminished as they had been,
V. God will renew his covenant with them, and enrich it with spiritual
blessings,
VI. These blessings shall be secured to theirs after them, even to the
spiritual seed of Israel for ever,
VII. As an earnest of this the city of Jerusalem shall be rebuilt,
These exceedingly great and precious promises were firm foundations of
hope and full fountains of joy to the poor captives; and we also may
apply them to ourselves and mix faith with them.
| Promises to Israel; Joyful Return from Captivity. | B. C. 594. |
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1 At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all
the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.
2 Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the
sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went
to cause him to rest.
3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have
loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with
lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
4 Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of
Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt
go forth in the dances of them that make merry.
5 Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the
planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things.
6 For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount
Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the
LORD our God.
7 For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and
shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and
say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.
8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather
them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and
the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child
together: a great company shall return thither.
9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I
lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a
straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father
to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
God here assures his people,
I. That he will again take them into a covenant relation to himself,
from which they seemed to be cut off. At the same time, when
God’s anger breaks out against the wicked
(ch. xxx. 24),
his own people shall be owned by him as the children of his love: I
will be the God (that is, I will show myself to be the God) of
all the families of Israel
(v. 1),–
not of the two tribes only, but of all the tribes,–not of the house of
Aaron only, and the families of Levi, but of all their families; not
only their state in general, but their particular families, and the
interests of them, shall have the benefit of a special relation to God.
Note, The families of good people, in their family capacity, may apply
to God and stay themselves upon him as their God. If we and our houses
serve the Lord, we and our houses shall be protected and blessed by
him,
II. That he will do for them, in bringing them out of Babylon, as he
had done for their fathers when he delivered them out of Egypt, and as
he had purposed to do when he first took them to be his people.
1. He puts them in mind of what he did for their fathers when he
brought them out of Egypt,
v. 2.
They were then, as these were, a people left of the sword, that
sword of Pharaoh with which he cut off all the male children as soon as
they were born (a bloody sword indeed they had narrowly escaped) and
that sword with which he threatened to cut them off when he pursued
them to the Red Sea. They were then in the wilderness, where
they seemed to be lost and forgotten, as these were now in a strange
land, and yet they found grace in God’s sight, were owned and highly
honoured by him, and blessed with wonderful instances of his peculiar
favour, and he was at this time going to cause them to rest in
Canaan. Note, When we are brought very low, and insuperable
difficulties appear in the way of our deliverance, it is good to
remember that it has been so with the church formerly, and yet that it
has been raised up from its low estate and has got to Canaan through
all the hardships of a wilderness; and God is still the same.
2. They put him in mind of what God had done for their fathers,
intimating that they now saw not such signs, and were ready to ask, as
Gideon did, Where are all the wonders that our fathers told us
of? It is true, The Lord hath appeared of old unto me
(v. 3),
in Egypt, in the wilderness, hath appeared with me and for me, hath
been seen in his glory as my God. The years of ancient times were
glorious years; but now it is otherwise; what good will it do us that
he appeared of old to us when now he is a God that hides
himself from us?
Note, It is hard to take comfort from former smiles under present
frowns.
3. To this he answers with an assurance of the constancy of his love:
Yea, I have loved thee, not only with an ancient love, but
with an everlasting love, a love that shall never fail, however
the comforts of it may for a time be suspended. It is an everlasting
love; therefore have I extended or drawn out lovingkindness unto
thee also, as well as to thy ancestors, or, with lovingkindness
have I drawn thee to myself as thy God, from all the idols to which
thou hadst turned aside. Note, It is the happiness of those who are
through grace interested in the love of God that it is an
everlasting love (from everlasting in the counsels of it, to
everlasting in the continuance and consequences of it), and that
nothing can separate them from that love. Those whom God loves with
this love he will draw into covenant and communion with himself, by the
influences of his Spirit upon their souls; he will draw them with
lovingkindness, with the cords of a man and bands of love, than
which no attractive can be more powerful.
III. That he will again form them into a people, and give them a very
joyful settlement in their own land,
Is the church of God his house, his temple? Is it now in ruins? It is
so; but, Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built. Are
they parts of this building dispersed? They shall be collected and put
together again, each in its place. If God undertake to build them, they
shall be built, whatever opposition may be given to it? Is
Israel a beautiful virgin? Is she now stripped of her
ornaments and reduced to a melancholy state? She is so; but thou
shalt again be adorned and made fine, adorned with thy
tabrets, or timbrels, the ornaments of thy chamber, and made merry.
They shall resume their harps which had been hung upon the
willow-trees, shall tune them, and shall themselves be in tune to make
use of them. They shall be adorned with their tabrets, for now their
mirth and music shall be seasonable; it shall be a proper time for it,
God in his providence shall call them to it, and then it shall be an
ornament to them; whereas tabrets, at a time of common calamity, when
God called to mourning, were a shame to them. Or it may refer to their
use of tabrets in the solemnizing of their religious feasts and their
going forth in dances then, as the daughters of Shiloh,
Judg. xxi. 19, 21.
Our mirth is then indeed an ornament to us when we serve God and honour
him with it. Is the joy of the city maintained by the products of the
country? It is so; and therefore it is promised
(v. 5),
Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria, which
had been the head city of the kingdom of Israel, in opposition to that
of Judah; but they shall now be united
and there shall be such perfect peace and security that men shall apply
themselves wholly to the improvement of their ground: The planters
shall plant, not fearing the soldiers’ coming to eat the fruits of
what they had planted, or to pluck it up; but they themselves shall
eat them freely, as common things, not forbidden fruits, not
forbidden by the law of God (as they were till the fifth year,
not forbidden by the owners, because there shall be such plenty as to
yield enough for all, enough for each.
IV. That they shall have liberty and opportunity to worship God in the
ordinances of his own appointment, and shall have both invitations and
inclinations to do so
(v. 6):
There shall be a day, and a glorious day it will be, when the
watchmen upon Mount Ephraim, that are set to stand sentinel there,
to give notice of the approach of the enemy, finding that all is very
quiet and that there is no appearance of danger, shall desire for a
time to be discharged from their post, that they may go up to
Zion, to praise God for the public peace. Or the watchmen
that tend the vineyards (spoken of
v. 5)
shall stir up themselves, and one another, and all their neighbours, to
go and keep the solemn feasts at Jerusalem. Now this implies that the
service of God shall be again set up in Zion, that there shall be a
general resort to it, with much affection and mutual excitement, as in
David’s time,
But that which is most observable here is that the watchmen of
Ephraim are forward to promote the worship of God at Jerusalem,
whereas formerly the watchman of Ephraim was hatred against the
house of his God
(Hos. ix. 8),
and, in stead of inviting people to Zion, laid snares for those that
set their faces thitherward,
Note, God can make those who have been enemies to religion and the true
worship of God to become encouragers of them and leaders in them. This
promise was to have its full accomplishment in the days of the Messiah,
when the gospel should be preached to all these countries, and a
general invitation thereby given into the church of Christ, of which
Zion was a type.
V. That God shall have the glory and the church both the honour and
comfort of this blessed change
(v. 7):
Sing with gladness for Jacob, that is, let all her friends and
well-wishers rejoice with her,
Rejoice, you Gentiles with his people,
Rom. xv. 10.
The restoration of Jacob will be taken notice of by all the neighbours,
it will be matter of joy to them all, and they shall all join with
Jacob in his joys, and thereby pay him respect and put a reputation
upon him. Even the chief of the nations, that make the greatest
figure, shall think it an honour to them to congratulate the
restoration of Jacob, and shall do themselves the honour to send their
ambassadors on that errand. Publish you, praise you. In
publishing these tidings, praise the God of Israel, praise the Israel
of God, speak honourably of both. The publishers of the gospel must
publish it with praise, and therefore it is often spoken of in the
Psalms as mingled with praises,
Ps. lxvii. 2, 3; cxvi. 2, 3.
What we either bring to others or take to ourselves the comfort of we
must be sure to give God the praise of. Praise you, and say, O Lord!
save thy people; that is, perfect their salvation, go on to save
the remnant of Israel, that are yet in bondage; as
Note, When we are praising God for what he has done we must call upon
him for the future favours which his church is in need and expectation
of; and in praying to him we really praise him and give him glory; he
takes it so.
VI. That, in order to a happy settlement in their own land, they shall
have a joyful return out of the land of their captivity and a very
comfortable passage homeward
(v. 8, 9),
and this beginning of mercy shall be to them a pledge of all the other
blessings here promised.
1. Though they are scattered to places far remote, yet they shall be
brought together from the north country, and from the coasts of the
earth; wherever they are, God will find them out.
2. Though many of them are very unfit for travel, yet that shall be no
hindrance to them: The blind and the lame shall come; such a
good-will shall they have to their journey, and such a good heart upon
it, that they shall not make their blindness and lameness an excuse for
staying where they are. There companions will be ready to help them,
will be eyes to the blind and legs to the lame, as good
Christians ought to be to one another in their travels heavenward,
But, above all, their God will help them; and let none plead that he is
blind who has God for his guide, or lame who has God for his strength.
The women with child are heavy, and it is not fit that they
should undertake such a journey, much less those that travail with
child; and yet, when it is to return to Zion, neither the one nor
the other shall make any difficulty of it. Note, When God calls we must
not plead any inability to come; for he that calls us will help us,
will strengthen us.
3. Though they seem to be diminished, and to have become few in
numbers, yet, when they come all together, they shall be a great
company; and so will God’s spiritual Israel be when there shall be
a general rendezvous of them, though now they are but a little flock.
4. Though their return will be matter of joy to them, yet prayers and
tears will be both their stores and their artillery
(v. 9):
They shall come with weeping and with supplications, weeping for
sin, supplication for pardon; for the goodness of God shall
lead them to repentance; and they shall weep with more
bitterness and more tenderness for sin, when they are delivered out of
their captivity, than ever they did when they were groaning under it.
Weeping and praying do well together; tears put life into prayers, and
express the liveliness of the, and prayers help to wipe away tears.
With favours will I lead them (so the margin reads it); in their
journey they shall be compassed with God’s favours, the fruits of his
favour.
5. Though they have a perilous journey, yet they shall be safe under a
divine convoy. Is the country they pass through dry and thirsty? I
will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, not the waters of
a land-flood, which fail in summer. Is it a wilderness where there is
no road, no track? I will cause them t walk in a straight way,
which they shall not miss. Is it a rough and rocky country? Yet they
shall not stumble. Note, Whithersoever God gives his people a clear
call he will either find them or make them a ready way; and while we
are following Providence we may be sure that Providence will not be
wanting to us. And, lastly, here is a reason given why God will
take all this care of his people: For I am a Father to Israel, a
Father that begat him, and therefore will maintain him, that have the
care and compassion of a father for him
(Ps. ciii. 13);
and Ephraim is my first-born; even Ephraim, who, having
gone astray from God, was no more worthy to be called a son,
shall yet be owned as a first-born, particularly dear, and heir
of a double portion of blessings. The same reason that was given for
their release out of Egypt is given for their release out of Babylon;
they are free-born and therefore must not be enslaved, are born to God
and therefore must not be the servants of men.
Israel is my son, even my first-born; let my son go that he may
serve me. If we take God for our Father, and join ourselves to
the church of the first-born, we may be assured that we shall
want nothing that is good for us.
| Restoration of Israel; Promises to Israel. | B. C. 594. |
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10 Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in
the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather
him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.
11 For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the
hand of him that was stronger than he.
12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion,
and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat,
and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of
the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they
shall not sorrow any more at all.
13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men
and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and
will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and
my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.
15 Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah,
lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children
refused to be comforted for her children, because they were
not.
16 Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and
thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the
LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy
children shall come again to their own border.
This paragraph is much to the same purport with the last, publishing to
the world, as well as to the church, the purposes of God’s love
concerning his people. This is a word of the Lord which the
nations must hear, for it is a prophecy of a work of the
Lord which the nations cannot but take notice of. Let them hear the
prophecy, that they may the better understand and improve the
performance; and let those that hear it themselves declare it to
others, declare it in the isles afar off. It will be a piece of
news that will spread all the world over. It will look very great in
history; let us see how it looks in prophecy.
It is foretold,
1. That those who are dispersed shall be brought together again from
their dispersions: He that scattereth Israel will gather him;
for he knows whither he scattered them and therefore where to find
them,
Una eademque manus vulnus opemque tulit—The hand that
inflicted the wound shall heal it. And when he has gathered him
into one body, one fold, he will keep him, as a shepherd does his
flock, from being scattered again.
2. That those who are sold and alienated shall be redeemed and brought
back,
Though the enemy that had got possession of him was stronger than
he, yet the Lord, who is stronger than all. has redeemed
and ransomed him, not by price, but by power, as of old out of the
Egyptians’ hands.
3. That with their liberty they shall have plenty and joy, and God
shall be honoured and served with it,
When they shall have returned to their own land they shall come and
sing in the high place of Zion; on the top of that holy mountain
they shall sing to the praise and glory of God. We read that they did
so when the foundation of the temple was laid there; they sang
together, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,
Ezra iii. 11.
They shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord; that is,
they shall flock in great numbers and with great forwardness and
cheerfulness, as streams of water, to the goodness of the Lord,
to the temple where he causes his goodness to pass before his people.
They shall come together in solemn assemblies, to praise him for his
goodness, and to pray for the fruits of it and the continuance of
it; they shall come to bless him for his goodness, in giving them
wheat, and wine, and oil, and the young of the flock and of the
herd, which, now that they have obtained their freedom, they have
an uncontested property in and the quiet and peaceable enjoyment of,
and which therefore they honour God with the first-fruits of and out of
which they bring offerings to his altar. Note, It is comfortable to
observe the goodness of the Lord in the gifts of common providence, and
even in them to taste covenant-love. Having plenty (plenty out of want
and scarcity) they shall greatly rejoice, their soul shall be as a
watered garden, flourishing and fruitful
pleasant and fragrant, and abounding in all good things. Note, Our
souls are never valuable as gardens but when they are watered with the
dews of God’s Spirit and grace. It is a precious promise which follows,
and which will not have its full accomplishment any where on this side
the height of the heavenly Zion, that they shall not sorrow any more
at all; for it is only in that new Jerusalem that all tears
shall be wiped away,
Rev. xxi. 4.
However, so far it was fulfilled to the returned captives that they had
not any more those causes for sorrow which they had formerly had; and
therefore
(v. 13)
young men and old shall rejoice together; so grave shall the
young men be in their joys as to keep company with the old men, and so
transported shall the old men be as to associate with the young.
Salva res est, saltat senex–The state prospers, and the aged
dance. God will turn their mourning into joy, their fasts
into solemn feasts,
It was in the return out of Babylon that those who sowed in
tears were made to reap in joy,
Ps. cxxvi. 5, 6.
Those are comforted indeed whom God comforts, and may forget their
troubles when he makes them to rejoice from their sorrow,
not only rejoice after it, but rejoice from it their joy shall borrow
lustre from their sorrow, which shall serve as a foil to it; and the
more they think of their troubles the more they rejoice in their
deliverance.
4. That both the ministers and those they minister to shall have
abundant satisfaction in what God gives them
(v. 14):
I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness; there shall
be such a plenty of sacrifices brought to the altar that those who
live upon the altar shall live very comfortably, they and their
families shall be satiated with fatness, they shall have enough,
and that of the best; and my people shall be satisfied with my
goodness, and shall think there is enough in that to make them
happy; and so there is. God’s people have an abundant satisfaction in
God’s goodness, though they have but little of this world. Let them be
satisfied of God’s lovingkindness, and they will be satisfied with it
and desire no more to make them happy. All this is applicable to the
spiritual blessings which the redeemed of the Lord enjoy by Jesus
Christ, infinitely more valuable than corn, and wine, and oil, and the
satisfaction of soul which they have in the enjoyment of them.
5. That those particularly who had been in sorrow for the loss of their
children who were carried into captivity should have that sorrow turned
into joy upon their return,
Here we have,
(1.) The sad lamentation which the mothers made for the loss of their
children
(v. 15):
In Ramah was there a voice heard, at the time when the general
captivity was, nothing but lamentation, and bitter weeping, more
there than in other places, because there Nebuzaradan had the general
rendezvous of his captives, as appears,
where we find him sending Jeremiah back from Ramah. Rachel is
here said to weep for her children. The sepulchre of Rachel was
between Ramah and Bethlehem. Benjamin, one of the two tribes, and
Ephraim, head of the ten tribes, were both descendants from Rachel. She
had but two sons, the elder of whom was one for whom his father grieved
andrefused to be comforted
the other she herself called Benoni–the son of my sorrow. Now
the inhabitants of Ramah did in like manner grieve for their sons
and their daughters that were carried away (as
and such a voice of lamentation was there as, to speak poetically,
might even have raised Rachel out of her grave to mourn with them. The
tender parents even refused to be comforted for their children,
because they were not, were not with them, but were in the hands of
their enemies; they were never likely to see them any more. This is
applied by the evangelists to the great mourning that was at Bethlehem
for the murder of the infants there by Herod
and this scripture is said to be then fulfilled. They wept for them,
and would not be comforted, supposing the case would not admit
any ground of comfort, because they were not. Note, Sorrow for
the loss of children cannot but be great sorrow, especially if we so
far mistake as to think they are not.
(2.) Seasonable comfort administered to them in reference hereunto,
They are advised to moderate that sorrow, and to set bounds to it:
Refrain thy voice from weeping and thy eyes from tears. We are
not forbidden to mourn in such a case; allowances are made for natural
affection. But we must not suffer our sorrow to run into an extreme, to
hinder our joy in God, or take us off from our duty to him. Though we
mourn, we must not murmur, nor must we resolve, as Jacob did, to go to
the grave mourning. In order to repress inordinate grief, we must
consider that there is hope in our end, hope that there will be
an end (the trouble will not last always), that it will be a happy
and–the end will be peace. Note, It ought to support us under our
troubles that we have reason to hope they will end well. The
righteous has hope in his death; that will be the blessed period of
his grief and the blessed passage to his joys. “There is hope for
thy posterity” (so some read it); “though thou mayest not live to
see these glorious days thyself, there is hope that thy posterity
shall. Though one generation falls in the wilderness, the next shall
enter Canaan. Two things thou mayest comfort thyself with the hope
of:”–
[1.] “The reward of thy work:–Thy suffering work shall be
rewarded. The comforts of the deliverance shall be sufficient to
balance all the grievances of thy captivity.” God makes his people
glad according to the days wherein he has afflicted them, and so
there is a proportion between the joys and the sorrows, as between the
reward and the work. The glory to be revealed, which the saints
hope for in the end, will abundantly countervail the sufferings of
this present time,
Rom. viii. 18.
[2.] “The restoration of thy children: They shall come again from
the land of the enemy
(v. 16);
they shall come again to their own border,”
There is hope that children at a distance may be brought home.
Jacob had a comfortable meeting with Joseph after he had despaired of
ever seeing him. There is hope concerning children removed by death
that they shall return to their own border, to the happy lot
assigned them in the resurrection, a lot in the heavenly Canaan, that
border of his sanctuary. We shall see reason to repress our grief for
the death of our children that are taken into covenant with God when we
consider the hopes we have of their resurrection to eternal life. They
are not lost, but gone before.
| Ephraim’s Repentance and Privilege; Encouragements to the Captives. | B. C. 594. |
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18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou
hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed
to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou
art the LORD my God.
19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I
was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even
confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for
since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still:
therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have
mercy upon him, saith the LORD.
21 Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart
toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn
again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.
22 How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter?
for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall
compass a man.
23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they
shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities
thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless
thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.
24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities
thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with
flocks.
25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished
every sorrowful soul.
26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto
me.
We have here,
I. Ephraim’s repentance, and return to God. Not only Judah, but Ephraim
the ten tribes, shall be restored, and therefore shall thus be prepared
and qualified for it,
Ephraim shall say, What have I do to any more with idols?
Ephraim the people, is here spoken of as a single person to denote
their unanimity; they shall be as one man in their repentance and shall
glorify God in it with one mind and one mouth, one and all. It is
likewise thus expressed that it might be the better accommodated to
particular penitents, for whose direction and encouragement this
passage is intended. Ephraim is here brought in weeping for sin,
perhaps because Ephraim, the person from whom that tribe had its
denomination, was a man of a tender spirit, mourned for his children
many days
and sorrow for sin is compared to that for an only son. This
penitent is here brought in,
1. Bemoaning himself and the miseries of his present case. True
penitents do thus bemoan themselves.
2. Accusing himself, laying a load upon himself as a sinner, a great
sinner. He charges upon himself, in the first place, that sin which his
conscience told him that he was more especially guilty of at this time,
and that was impatience under correction: “Thou has chastised
me; I have been under the rod, and I needed it, I deserved it; I
was justly chastised, chastised as a bullock, who would never
have felt the goad if he had not first rebelled against the yoke.” True
penitents look upon their afflictions as fatherly chastisements:
“Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised; that is, it was
well that I was chastised, otherwise I should have been undone; it did
me good, or at least was intended to do me good; and yet I have been
impatient under it.” Or it may intimate his want of feeling under the
affliction: “Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised, that
was all; I was not awakened by it and quickened by it; I looked no
further than the chastisement. I have been under the
chastisement as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke, unruly and
unmanageable, kicking against the pricks, like a wild bull in a
net,”
This is the sin he finds himself guilty of now; but
(v. 19)
he reflects upon his former sins and looks as far back as the days of
his youth. The discovery of one sin should put us upon searching out
more; now he remembers the reproach of his youth. Ephraim, as a
people, reflect upon the misconduct of their ancestors when they were
first formed in a people. It is applicable to particular persons. Note,
The sin of our youth was the reproach of our youth, and we ought often
to remember it against ourselves and to bear it in a penitential sorrow
and shame.
3. He is here brought in angry at himself, having a holy indignation at
himself for his sin and folly: He smote upon his thigh, as the
publican upon his breast. He was even amazed at himself, and at his own
stupidity and frowardness: He was ashamed, yea even confounded,
could not with any confidence look up to God, nor with any comfort
reflect upon himself.
4. He is here recommending himself to the mercy and grace of God. He
finds he is bent to backslide from God, and cannot by any power of his
own keep himself close with God, much less, when he has revolted, bring
himself back to God, and therefore he prays, Turn thou me and I
shall be turned, which implies that unless God do turn him by his
grace he shall never be turned, but wander endlessly, that therefore he
is very desirous of converting grace, has a dependence upon it, and
doubts not but that that grace will be sufficient for him, to help him
over all the difficulties that were in the way of his return to God.
See
Heal me and I shall be healed. God works with power, can make
the unwilling willing; if he undertake the conversion of a soul, it
will be converted.
5. He is here pleasing himself with the experience he had of the
blessed effect of divine grace: Surely after that I was turned I
repented. Note, All the pious workings of our heart towards God are
the fruit and consequence of the powerful working of his grace in us.
And observe, He was turned, he was instructed, his will
was bowed to the will of God, by the right in forming of his judgment
concerning the truths of God. Note, The way God takes of converting
souls to himself is by opening the eyes of their understandings, and
all good follows thereupon: After that I was instructed I
yielded, I smote upon my thigh. When sinners come to a right
knowledge they will come to a right way. Ephraim was chastised, and
that did not produce the desired effect, it went no further: I was
chastised, and that was all. But, when the instructions of God’s
Spirit accompanied the corrections of his providence, then the work was
done, then he smote upon his thigh, was so humbled for sin as to
have no more to do with it.
II. God’s compassion on Ephraim and the kind reception he finds with
God,
1. God owns him for a child and a prodigal: Is Ephraim my dear son?
Is he a pleasant child? Thus when Ephraim bemoans himself God
bemoans him, as one whom his mother comforts, though she had
chidden him,
Is this Ephraim my dear son? Is this that pleasant
child? Is it he that is thus sad in spirit and that complains so
bitterly? So it is like that of Saul
Is this thy voice, my son David? Or, as it is sometimes
supplied, Is not Ephraim my dear son? Is he not a pleasant
child? Yes, now he is, now he repents and returns. Note, Those that
have been undutiful backsliding children, if they sincerely return and
repent, however they have been under the chastisement of the rod, shall
be accepted of God as dear and pleasant children. Ephraim had afflicted
himself, but God thus heals him–had abased himself, but God thus
honours him; as the returning prodigal who thought himself no more
worthy to be called a son, yet, by his father, had the best
robe put on him and a ring on his hand.
2. He relents towards him, and speaks of him with a great deal of
tender compassion: Since I spoke against him, by the
threatenings of the word and the rebukes of providence, I do
earnestly remember him still, my thoughts towards him are thoughts
of peace. Note, When God afflicts his people, yet he does not forget
them; when he casts them out of their land, yet he does not cast them
out of sight, nor out of mind. Even then when God is speaking against
us, yet he is acting for us, and designing our good in all; and this is
our comfort in our affliction, thatthe Lord thinks upon us,
though we have forgotten him. I remember him still, and
therefore my bowels are troubled for him, as Joseph’s yearned
towards his brethren, even when he spoke roughly to them. When
Israel’s afflictions extorted a penitent confession and submission it
is said that his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel
(Judg. x. 16),
for he always afflicts with the greatest tenderness. It was God’s
compassion that mitigated Ephraim’s punishment: My heart is turned
within me
and now the same compassion accepted Ephraim’s repentance. Ephraim had
pleaded
(v. 18),
Thou art the Lord my God, therefore to thee will I return,
therefore on thy mercy and grace I will depend; and God shows that it
was a valid plea and prevailing, for he makes it appear both that he is
God and not man and that he is his God.
3. He resolves to do him good: I will surely have mercy upon him,
saith the Lord, Note, God has mercy in store, rich mercy, sure
mercy, suitable mercy, for all that insincerity seek him and submit to
him; and the more we are afflicted for sin the better prepared we are
for the comforts of that mercy.
III. Gracious excitements and encouragements given to the people of God
in Babylon to prepare for their return to their own land. Let them not
tremble and lose their spirits; let them not trifle and lose their
time; but with a firm resolution and a close application address
themselves to their journey,
1. They must think of nothing but of coming back to their own country,
out of which they had been driven: “Turn again, O virgin of
Israel! a virgin to be again espoused to thy God; turn again to
these thy cities; though they are laid waste and in ruins, they are
thy cities, which thy God gave thee, and therefore turn
again to them.” They must be content in Babylon no longer than till
they had liberty to return to Zion.
2. They must return the same way that they went, that the remembrance
of the sorrows which attended them, or which their fathers had told
them of, in such and such places upon the road, the sight of which
would, by a local memory, put them in mind of them, might make them the
more thankful for their deliverance. Those that have departed from God
into the bondage of sin must return by the way in which they went
astray, to the duties they neglected, must do their first works.
3. They must engage themselves and all that is within them in this
affair: Set thy heart towards the highway; bring thy mind to it;
consider thy duty, the interest, and go about it with a good-will.
Note, The way from Babylon to Zion, from the bondage of sin to the
glorious liberty of God’s children, is a highway; it is right, it is
plain, it is safe, it is well-tracked
(Isa. xxxv. 8);
yet none are likely to walk in it, unless they set their hearts
towards it.
4. They must furnish themselves with all needful accommodations for the
journey: Set thee up way-marks, and make thee high heaps
or pillars; send before to have such set up in all places where
there is any danger of missing the road. Let those that go first, and
are best acquainted with the way, set up such directions for those that
follow.
5. They must compose themselves for their journey: How long will
thou go about, O backsliding daughter? Let not their minds
fluctuate, or be uncertain about it, but resolve upon it; let them not
distract themselves with care and fear; let them not seek about to
creatures for assistance, not hurry hither and thither in courting
them, which had often been an instance of their backsliding from God;
but let them cast themselves upon God, and then let their minds be
fixed.
6. They are encouraged to do this by an assurance God gives them that
he would create a new thing (strange and surprising) in the
earth (in that land), a woman shall compass a man. The
church of God, that is weak and feeble as a woman, altogether unapt for
military employments and of a timorous spirit
(Isa. liv. 6),
shall surround, besiege, and prevail against a mighty man. The church
is compared to a woman,
And, whereas we find armies compassing the camp of the saints
(Rev. xx. 9),
now the camp of the saints shall compass them. Many good interpreters
understand this new thing created in that land to be the
incarnation of Christ, which God an eye to in bringing them back to
that land, and which had sometimes been given them for a sign,
A woman, the virgin Mary, enclosed in her womb the Mighty
One; for so Geber, the word here used, signifies; and God is
called Gibbor, the Mighty God
as also is Christ in
where his incarnation is spoken of, as it is supposed to be here. He
is El-Gibbor, the mighty God. Let this assure them that
God would not cast off this people, for that blessing was to be among
them,
IV. A comfortable prospect given them of a happy settlement in their
own land again.
1. They shall have an interest in the esteem and good-will of all their
neighbours, who will give them a good word and put up a good prayer for
them
(v. 23):
As yet or rather yet again (though Judah and Jerusalem
have long been an astonishment and a hissing), this speech shall be
used, as it was formerly, concerning the land of Judah and the
cities thereof, The Lord bless you, O habitation of justice and
mountain of holiness! This intimates that they shall return much
reformed and every way better; and this reformation shall be so
conspicuous that all about them shall take notice of it. The
cities, that used to be nests of pirates, shall be
habitations of justice; the mountain of Israel (so the
whole land is called,
and especially Mount Zion, shall be a mountain of holiness.
Observe, Justice towards men, and holiness towards God, must go
together. Godliness and honesty are what God has joined, and let no
man think to put them asunder, not to make one to atone for the want of
the other. It is well with a people when they come out of trouble thus
refined, and it is a sure presage of further happiness. And we may
with great comfort pray for the blessing of God upon those houses that
are habitations of justice, those cities and countries that are
mountains of holiness. There the Lord will undoubtedly
command the blessing.
2. There shall be great plenty of all good things among them
(v. 24, 25):
There shall dwell in Judah itself, even in it, though it has now
long lain waste, both husbandmen and shepherds, the two ancient and
honourable employments of Cain and Abel,
It is comfortable dwelling in a habitation of justice and a
mountain of holiness. “And the husbandmen and shepherds shall
eat of the fruit of their labours; for I have satiated the weary and
sorrowful soul;” that is, those that came weary from their journey,
and have been long sorrowful in their captivity, shall now enjoy great
plenty. This is applicable to the spiritual blessings God has in store
for all true penitents, for all that are just and holy; they shall be
abundantly satisfied with divine graces and comforts. In the love and
favour of God the weary soul shall find rest and the sorrowful soul
joy.
V. The prophet tells us what pleasure the discovery of this brought to
his mind,
The foresights God had given him sometimes of the calamities of Judah
and Jerusalem were exceedingly painful to him (as
but these views were pleasant ones, though at a distance. “Upon
this I awaked, overcome with joy, which burst the fetters of sleep;
and I reflected upon my dream, and it was such as had made my sleep
sweet to me; I was refreshed, as men are with quiet sleep.” Those
may sleep sweetly that lie down and rise up in the favour of God and in
communion with him. Nor is any prospect in this world more pleasing to
good men, and good ministers, than that of the flourishing state of the
church of God. What can we see with more satisfaction than the good
of Jerusalem, all the days of our life, and peace upon Israel?
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27 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the
house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and
with the seed of beast.
28 And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched
over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and
to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build,
and to plant, saith the LORD.
29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten
a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.
30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that
eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.
31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of
Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of
the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was
a husband unto them, saith the LORD:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my
law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will
be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and
every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all
know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith
the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember
their sin no more.
The prophet, having found his sleep sweet, made so by the revelations
of divine grace, sets himself to sleep again, in hopes of further
discoveries, and is not disappointed; for it is here further
promised,
I. That the people of God shall become both numerous and prosperous.
Israel and Judah shall be replenished both with men and cattle, as if
they were sown with the seed of both,
They shall increase and multiply like a field sown with corn; and this
is the product of God’s blessing
(v. 23),
for whom God blessed, to them he said, Be fruitful. This should
be a type of the wonderful increase of the gospel-church. God will
build them, and plant them,
He will watch over them to do them good; no opportunity shall be
lost that may further their prosperity. Every thing for a long time had
turned so much against them, and all occurrences did so transpire to
ruin them, that it seemed as if God had watched over them to pluck
up and to throw down; but now every thing that falls out shall
happily fall in to strengthen and advance their interests. God will be
as ready to comfort those that repent of their sins, and are humbled
for them, as he is to punish those that continue in love with their
sins, and are hardened in them.
II. That they shall be reckoned with no further for the sins of their
fathers
(v. 29, 30):
They shall say no more (they shall have no more occasion to say)
that God visits the iniquity of the parents upon the children,
which God had done in the captivity, for the sins of their ancestors
came into the account against them, particularly those of Manasseh:
this they had complained of as a hardship. Other scriptures justify God
in this method of proceeding, and our Saviour tells the wicked Jews in
his days that they should smart for their fathers’ sins, because they
persisted in them,
But it is here promised that this severe dispensation with them should
now be brought to an end, that God would proceed no further in his
controversy with them for their fathers’ sins, but remember for them
his covenant with their fathers and do them good according to that
covenant: They shall no more complain, as they have done, that
the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set
on edge (which speaks something of an absurdity, and is an
invidious reflection upon God’s proceedings), but every one shall
die for his own iniquity still; though God will cease to punish
them in their national capacity, yet he will still reckon with
particular persons that provoke him. Note, Public salvations will give
no impunity, no security, to private sinners: still every man that
eats the sour grapes shall have his teeth set on edge.
Note, Those that eat forbidden fruit, how tempting soever it looks,
will find it a sour grape, and it will set their teeth on
edge; sooner or later they will feel from it and reflect upon it
with bitterness. There is as direct a tendency in sin to make a man
uneasy as there is in sour grapes to set the teeth on edge.
III. That God will renew his covenant with them, so that all these
blessings they shall have, not by providence only, but by promise, and
thereby they shall be both sweetened and secured. But this covenant
refers to gospel times, the latter days that shall come; for of
gospel grace the apostle understands it
&c.), where this whole passage is quoted as a summary of the covenant
of grace made with believers in Jesus Christ. Observe,
1. Who the persons are with whom this covenant is made–with the
house of Israel and Judah, with the gospel church, the Israel of
God on which peace shall be
(Gal. vi. 16),
with the spiritual seed of believing Abraham and praying Jacob. Judah
and Israel had been two separate kingdoms, but were united after their
return, in the joint favours God bestowed upon them; so Jews and
Gentiles were in the gospel church and covenant.
2. What is the nature of this covenant in general: it is a new
covenant and not according to the covenant made with them when
they came out of Egypt; not as if that made with them at Mount
Sinai were a covenant of nature and innocency, such as was made with
Adam in the day he was created; no, that was, for substance, a covenant
of grace, but it was a dark dispensation of that covenant in comparison
with this in gospel times. Sinners were saved by that covenant upon
their repentance, and faith in a Messiah to come, whose blood,
confirming that covenant, was typified by that of the legal sacrifices,
Yet this may upon many accounts be called new, in comparison with that;
the ordinances and promises are more spiritual and heavenly, and the
discoveries much more clear. That covenant God made with them when he
took them by the hand, as they had been blind, or lame, or weak,
to lead them out of the land of Egypt, which covenant they
broke. Observe, It was God that made this covenant, but it was the
people that broke it; for our salvation is of God, but our sin and ruin
are of ourselves. It was an aggravation of their breach of it that God
was a husband to them, that he had espoused them to himself; it
was a marriage-covenant that was between him and them, which they broke
by idolatry, that spiritual adultery. It is a great aggravation of our
treacherous departures from God that he has been a husband to us, a
loving, tender, careful husband, faithful to us, and yet we false to
him.
3. What are the particular articles of his covenant. They all contain
spiritual blessings; not, “I will give them the land of Canaan and a
numerous issue,” but, “I will give them pardon, and peace, and grace,
good heads and good hearts.” He promises,
(1.) That he will incline them to their duty; I will put my law in
their inward part and write it in their heart; not, I will give
them a new law (as Mr. Gataker well observes), for Christ came not
to destroy the law, but to fulfil it; but the law shall be written
in their hearts by the finger of the Spirit as formerly it was written
in the tables of stone. God writes his law in the hearts of all
believers, makes it ready and familiar to them, at hand when they have
occasion to use it, as that which is written in the heart,
Prov. iii. 3.
He makes them in care to observe it, for that which we are solicitous
about is said to lie near our hearts. He works in them a disposition to
obedience, a conformity of thought and affection to the rules of the
divine law, as that of the copy to the original. This is here promised,
and ought to be prayed for, that our duty may be done conscientiously
and with delight.
(2.) That he will take them into relation to himself: I will be
their God, a God all-sufficient to them, and they shall be my
people, a loyal obedient people to me. God’s being to us a God is
the summary of all happiness; heaven itself is no more,
Our being to him a people may be taken either as the condition on our
part (those and those only shall have God to be to them a God that are
truly willing to engage themselves to be to him a people) or as a
further branch of the promise that God will by his grace make us his
people, a willing people, in the day of his power; and, whoever
are his people, it is his grace that makes them so.
(3.) That there shall be an abundance of the knowledge of God among all
sorts of people, and this will have an influence upon all good: for
those that rightly know God’s name will seek him, and serve him, and
put their trust in him
(v. 34):
All shall know me; all shall be welcome to the knowledge of God
and shall have the means of that knowledge; his ways shall be known
upon earth, whereas, for many ages, in Judah only was God
known. Many more shall know God than did in the Old Testament
times, which among the Gentiles were times of ignorance, the true God
being to them an unknown God. The things of God shall in gospel times
be made more plain and intelligible, and level to the capacities of the
meanest, than they were while Moses had a veil upon his face.
There shall be such a general knowledge of God that there shall not be
so much need as had formerly been of teaching. Some take it as a
hyperbolical expression (and the dulness of the Jews needed such
expressions to awaken them), designed only to show that the knowledge
of God in gospel times should vastly exceed that knowledge of him which
they had under the law. Or perhaps it intimates that in gospel times
there shall be such great plenty of public preaching, statedly and
constantly, by men authorized and appointed to preach the word in
season and out of season, much beyond what was under the law, that
there shall be less need than there was then of fraternal teaching, by
a neighbour and a brother. The priests preached but now and then, and
in the temple, and to a few in comparison; but now all shall or may
know God by frequenting the assemblies of Christians, wherein, through
all parts of the church, the good knowledge of God shall be taught.
Some give this sense of it (Mr. Gataker mentions it), That many shall
have such clearness of understanding in the things of God that they may
seem rather to have been taught by some immediate irradiation than by
any means of instruction. In short, the things of God shall by the
gospel of Christ be brought to a clearer light than ever
(2 Tim. i. 10),
and the people of God shall by the grace of Christ be brought to a
clearer sight of those things than ever,
(4.) That, in order to all these blessings, sin shall be pardoned.
This is made the reason of all the rest: For I will forgive their
iniquity, will not impute that to them, nor deal with them
according to the desert of that, will forgive and forget: I
will remember their sin no more. It is sin that keeps good things
from us, that stops the current of God’s favours; let sin betaken away
by pardoning mercy, and the obstruction is removed, and divine grace
runs down like a river, like a mighty stream.
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35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by
day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a
light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof
roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD,
then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation
before me for ever.
37 Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and
the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also
cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done,
saith the LORD.
38 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall
be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of
the corner.
39 And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it
upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.
40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes,
and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of
the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it
shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.
Glorious things have been spoken in the
concerning the gospel church, which that epocha of the Jewish church
that was to commence at the return from captivity would at length
terminate in, and which all those promises were to have their full
accomplishment in. But may we depend upon these promises? Yes, we have
here a ratification of them, and the utmost assurance imaginable given
of the perpetuity of the blessings contained in them. The great thing
here secured to us is that while the world stands God will have a
church in it, which, though sometimes it may be brought very low, shall
yet be raised again, and its interests re-established; it is built
upon a rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Now here are two things offered for the confirmation of our faith in
this matter–the building of the world and the rebuilding of
Jerusalem.
I. The building of the world, and the firmness and lastingness of that
building, are evidences of the power and faithfulness of that God who
has undertaken the establishment of his church. He that built all
things at first is God
(Heb. iii. 4),
and the same is he that makes all things now. The constancy of the
glories of the kingdom of nature may encourage us to depend upon the
divine promise for the continuance of the glories of the kingdom of
grace, for this is as the waters of Noah,
Isa. liv. 9.
Let us observe here,
1. The glories of the kingdom of nature, and infer thence how happy
those are that have this God, the God of nature, to be their God for
ever and ever. Take notice,
(1.) Of the steady and regular motion of the heavenly bodies, which God
is the first mover and supreme director of: He gives the sun for a
light by day
(v. 35),
not only made it at first to be so, but still gives it to be so; for
the light and heat, and all the influences of the sun, continually
depend upon its great Creator. He gives the ordinances of the moon
and stars for a light by night; their motions are called
ordinances both because they are regular and by rule and because
they are determined and under rule. See
(2.) Take notice of the government of the sea, and the check that is
given to its proud billows: The Lord of hosts divides the sea,
or (as some read it) settles the sea, when the waves thereof roar
(divide et impera–divide and rule); when it is most tossed God
keeps it within compass
(Jer. v. 22),
and soon quiets it and makes it calm again. The power of God is to be
magnified by us, not only in maintaining the regular motions of the
heavens, but in controlling the irregular motions of the seas.
(3.) Take notice of the vastness of the heavens and the unmeasurable
extent of the firmament; he must needs be a great God who manages such
a great world as this is; the heavens above cannot be measured
(v. 37),
and yet God fills them.
(4.) Take notice of the mysteriousness even of that part of the
creation in which our lot is cast and which we are most conversant
with. The foundations of the earth cannot be searched out
beneath, for the Creator hangs the earth upon nothing
(Job xxvi. 7),
and we know not how the foundations thereof are fastened,
Job xxxviii. 6.
(5.) Take notice of the immovable stedfastness of all these
(v. 36):
These ordinances cannot depart from before God; he has all the
hosts of heaven and earth continually under his eye and all the motions
of both; he has established them, and they abide, abide according to
his ordinance, for all are his servants,
Ps. cxix. 90, 91.
The heavens are often clouded, and the sun and moon often eclipsed, the
earth may quake and the sea be tossed, but they all keep their place,
are moved, but not removed. Herein we must acknowledge the power,
goodness, and faithfulness of the Creator.
2. The securities of the kingdom of grace inferred hence: we may be
confident of this very thing that the seed of Israel shall not cease
from being a nation, for the spiritual Israel, the gospel church,
shall be a holy nation, a peculiar people,
1 Pet. ii. 9.
When Israel according to the flesh is no longer a nation the
children of the promise are counted for the seed
and God will not cast off all the seed of Israel, no, not for
all that they have done, though they have done very wickedly,
He justly might cast them off, but he will not. Though he cast them out
from their land, and cast them down for a time, yet he will not cast
them off. Some of them he casts off, but not all; to this the apostle
seems to refer
(Rom. xi. 1),
Hath God cast away his people? God forbid that we should think
so! For
(v. 5)
at this time there is a remnant, enough to save the credit of
the promise that God will not cast off all the seed of Israel,
though many among them throw away themselves by unbelief. Now we may be
assisted in the belief of this by considering,
(1.) That the God that has undertaken the preservation of the church is
a God of almighty power, who upholds all things by his almighty
word. Our help stands in his name who made heaven and earth, and
therefore can do any thing.
(2.) That God would not take all this care of the world but that he
designs to have some glory to himself out of it; and how shall he have
it but by securing to himself a church in it, a people that shall be
to him for a name and a praise?
(3.) That if the order of the creation therefore continues firm because
it was well-fixed at first, and is not altered because it needs no
alteration, the method of grace shall for the same reason continue
invariable, as it was a first well settled.
(4.) That he who has promised to preserve a church for himself has
approved himself faithful to the word which he has spoken concerning
the stability of the world. He that is true to his covenant with Noah
and his sons, because he established it for an everlasting
covenant
will not, we may be sure, be false to his covenant with Abraham and his
seed, his spiritual seed, for that also is an everlasting
covenant. Even that which they have done amiss, though they have
done much, shall not prevail to defeat the gracious intentions of the
covenant. See
&c.
II. The rebuilding of Jerusalem which was now in ruins, and the
enlargement and establishment of that, shall be an earnest of these
great things that God will do for the gospel church, the heavenly
Jerusalem,
v. 38-40.
The days will come, though they may be long in coming, when,
1. Jerusalem shall be entirely built again, as large as ever it was;
the dimensions are here exactly described by the places through which
the circumference passed, and no doubt the wall which Nehemiah built,
and which, the more punctually to fulfil the prophecy, began about the
tower of Hananeel, here mentioned
(Neh. iii. 1),
enclosed as much ground as is here intended, though we cannot certainly
determine the places here called the gate of the corner, the hill
Gareb, &c.
2. When built it shall be consecrated to God and to his service. It
shall be built to the Lord
(v. 38),
and even the suburbs and fields adjacent shall be holy unto the
Lord. It shall not be polluted with idols as formerly, but God
shall be praised and honoured there; the whole city shall be as it were
one temple, one holy place, as the new Jerusalem is, which
therefore has no temple, because it is all temple.
3. Being thus built by virtue of the promise of God, it shall not be
plucked up, nor thrown down, any more for ever; that is, it shall
continue very long, the time of the new city from the return to its
last destruction being fully as long as that of the old from David to
the captivity. But this promise was to have its full accomplishment in
the gospel church, which, as it is the spiritual Israel, and therefore
God will not cast it off, so it is the holy city, and therefore all the
powers of men shall not pluck it up, nor throw it down. It may
lie waste for a time, as Jerusalem did, but shall recover itself, shall
weather the storm and gain its point, and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it.
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