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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
E Z E K I E L.
CHAP. XXXIV.
The iniquities and calamities of God’s Israel had been largely and
pathetically lamented before, in this book. Now in this chapter the
shepherds of Israel, their rulers both in church and state, are called
to an account, as having been very much accessory to the sin and ruin
of Israel, by their neglecting to do the duty of their place. Here is,
I. A high charge exhibited against them for their negligence, their
unskillfulness, and unfaithfulness in the management of public affairs,
II. Their discharge from their trust, for their insufficiency and
treachery,
III. A gracious promise that God would take care of his flock, though
they did not, and that it should not always suffer as it had done by
their mal-administrations,
IV. Another charge exhibited against those of the flock that were fat
and strong, for the injuries they did to those that were weak and
feeble,
V. Another promise that God would in the fulness of time send the
Messiah, to be the great and good Shepherd of the sheep, who should
redress all grievances and set every thing to rights with the flock,
| The Shepherds Reproved. | B. C. 587. |
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1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel,
prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the
shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed
themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them
that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed
that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was
broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away,
neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and
with cruelty have ye ruled them.
5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and
they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were
scattered.
6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every
high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the
earth, and none did search or seek after them.
The prophecy of this chapter is not dated, nor any of those that follow
it, till
It is most probable that it was delivered after the completing of
Jerusalem’s destruction, when it would be very seasonable to enquire
into the causes of it.
I. The prophet is ordered to prophesy against the shepherds of
Israel–the princes and magistrates, the priests and Levites, the
great Sanhedrim or council of state, or whoever they were that had the
direction of public affairs in a higher or lower sphere, the kings
especially, for there were two of them now captives in Babylon, who, as
well as the people, must have their transgressions shown them, that
they might repent, as Manasseh in his captivity. God has something to
say to the shepherds, for they are but under-shepherds,
accountable to him who is the great Shepherd of Israel,
Ps. lxxx. 1.
And that which he says is, Woe to the shepherds of Israel!
Though they are shepherds, and shepherds of Israel, yet he must not
spare them, must not flatter them. Note, If men’s dignity and power do
not, as they ought, keep them from sin, they will not serve to exempt
them from reproof, to excuse their repentance, or to secure them from
the judgments of God if they do not repent. We had a woe to the
pastors,
Jer. xxiii. 1.
God will in a particular manner reckon with them if they be false to
their trust.
II. He is here directed what to charge the shepherds with, in God’s
name, as the ground of God’s controversy with them; for it is not a
causeless quarrel. Two things they are charged with:–
1. That all their care was to advance and enrich themselves and to make
themselves great. Their business was to take care of those that were
committed to their charge: Should not the shepherds feed the
flocks? No doubt they should; they betray their trust if they do
not. Not that they are to put the meat into their mouths, but to
provide it for them and bring them to it. But these shepherds
made this the least of their care; they fed themselves,
contrived every thing to gratify and indulge their own appetite, and to
make themselves rich and great, fat and easy. They made sure of the
profits of their places; they did eat the fat, the cream
(so some), for he that feeds a flock eats of the milk of it
(1 Cor. ix. 7),
and they made sure of the best of the milk. They made sure of the
fleece, and clothed themselves with the wool, getting into their
hands as much as they could of the estates of their subjects, yea, and
killed those that were well fed, that what they had might
be fed upon, as Naboth was put to death for his vineyard. Note, There
is a woe to those who are in public trusts, but consult only their own
private interest, and are more inquisitive about the benefice than
about the office, what money is to be got than what good to be done. It
is an old complaint, All seek their own, and too many more
than their own.
2. That they took no care for the benefit and welfare of those that
were committed to their charge: You feed not the flock. They
neither knew how to do it, so ignorant were they, nor would they take
any pains to do it, so lazy and slothful were they; nay, they never
desired nor designed it, so treacherous and unfaithful were they.
(1.) They did not do their duty to those of the flock that were
distempered, did not strengthen them, nor heal them, nor bind them up,
v. 4.
When any of the flock were sick or hurt, worried or wounded, it was all
one to them whether they lived or died; they never looked after them.
The princes and judges took no care to right those that suffered wrong
or to shelter injured innocency. They took no care of the poor to see
them provided for; they might starve, for them. The priests took no
care to instruct the ignorant, to rectify the mistakes of those that
were in error, to warn the unruly, or to comfort the feeble-minded. The
ministers of state took no care to check the growing distempers of the
kingdom, which threatened the vitals of it. Things were amiss, and out
of course, every where, and nothing was done to rectify them.
(2.) They did not do their duty to those of the flock that were
dispersed, that were driven away by the enemies that invaded the
country, and were forced to seek for shelter where they could find a
place, or that wandered of choice upon the mountains and
hills
(v. 6),
where they were exposed to the beasts of prey and became meat to
them,
v. 5.
Every one is ready to seize a waif and stray. Some went abroad and
begged, some went abroad and traded, and thus the country became thin
of inhabitants, and was weakened and impoverished, and wanted hands
both in the fields of corn and in the fields of battle, both in harvest
and in war: My flock was scattered upon all the face of the
earth,
v. 6.
And they were never enquired after, were never encouraged to return to
their own country: None did search or seek after them. Nay,
with force and cruelty they ruled them, which drove more away,
and discouraged those that were driven away from all thoughts of
returning. Their case is bad who have reason to expect better
treatment among strangers than in their own country. It may be meant of
those of the flock that went astray from God and their duty; and the
priests, that should have taught the good knowledge of the Lord, used
no means to convince and reclaim them, so that they became an easy prey
to seducers. Thus were they scattered because there was no
shepherd,
v. 5.
There were those that called themselves shepherds, but really they were
not. Note, Those that do not do the work of shepherds are unworthy of
the name. And if those that undertake to be shepherds are foolish
shepherds
(Zech. xi. 15),
if they are proud and above their business, idle and do not love their
business, or faithless and unconcerned about it, the case of the flock
is as bad as if it were without a shepherd. Better no shepherd than
such shepherds. Christ complains that his flock were as sheep
having no shepherd, when yet the scribes and Pharisees sat in
Moses’ seat,
Matt. ix. 36.
It is ill with the patient when his physician is his worst disease, ill
with the flock when the shepherds drive them away and disperse them,
by ruling them with force.
| The Shepherds Reproved. | B. C. 587. |
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7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
8 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock
became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the
field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds
search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed
not my flock;
9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the
shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause
them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds
feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their
mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both
search my sheep, and seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is
among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my
sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have
been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them
from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and
feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all
the inhabited places of the country.
14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high
mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in
a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the
mountains of Israel.
15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down,
saith the Lord GOD.
16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which
was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and
will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat
and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
Upon reading the foregoing articles of impeachment drawn up, in God’s
name, against the shepherds of Israel, we cannot but look upon the
shepherds with a just indignation, and upon the flock with a tender
compassion. God, by the prophet, here expresses both in a high degree;
and the shepherds are called upon
(v. 7, 9)
to hear the word of the Lord, to hear this word. Let them hear
how little he regards them, who made much of themselves, and how much
he regards the flock, which they made nothing of; both will be humbling
to them. Those that will not hear the word of the Lord giving
them their direction shall be made to hear the word of the Lord reading
them their doom. Now see here,
I. How much displeased God is at the shepherds. Their crimes are
repeated,
v. 8.
God’s flock became a prey to the deceivers first that drew them to
idolatry, and then to the destroyers that carried them into captivity;
and these shepherds took no care to prevent either the one or the
other, but were as if there had been no shepherds; and therefore
God says
(v. 10),
and confirms it with an oath
(v. 8),
I am against the shepherds. They had a commission from God to
feed the flock, and made use of this name in what they did, expecting
he would stand by them. “No,” says God, “so far from that, I am
against them.” Note, It is not our having the name and authority of
shepherds that will engage God for us, if we do not the work enjoined
us, and be not faithful to the trust reposed in us. God is against
them, and they shall know it; for,
1. They shall be made to account for the manner in which they have
discharged their trust: “I will require my flock at their hands,
and charge it upon them that so many of them are missing.” Note, Those
will have a great deal to answer for in the judgment-day who take upon
them the care of souls and yet take no care of them. Ministers must
watch and work as those that must give account,
Heb. xiii. 17.
2. They shall be deprived officio et beneficio–both of the work and
of the wages. They shall cease from feeding the flock, that is,
from pretending to feed it. Note, It is just with God to take out of
men’s hands that power which they have abused and that trust which they
have betrayed. But, if this were all their punishment, they could bear
it well enough; therefore it is added, “Neither shall the shepherds
feed themselves any more, for I will deliver my flock from their
mouth, which, instead of protecting, they had made a prey of.”
Note, Those that are enriching themselves with the spoils of the public
cannot expect that they shall always be suffered to do so. Nor will
God always permit his people to be trampled upon by those that should
support them, but will find a time to deliver them from the shepherds
their false friends, as well as from the lions their open enemies.
II. How much concerned God is for the flock; he speaks as if he were
the more concerned for them because he saw them thus neglected, for
with him the fatherless finds mercy. Precious promises are made
here upon the occasion, which were to have their accomplishment in the
return of the Jews out of their captivity and their re-establishment in
their own land. Let the shepherds hear this word of the Lord,
and know that they have no part nor lot in the matter. But let the poor
sheep hear it and take the comfort of it. Note, Though magistrates and
ministers fail in doing their part, for the good of the church, yet God
will not fail in doing his; he will take the flock into his own hand
rather than the church shall come short of any kindness he has designed
for it. The under-shepherds may prove careless, but the chief Shepherd
neither slumbers nor sleeps. They may be false, but God
abides faithful.
1. God will gather his sheep together that were scattered, and bring
those back to the fold that had wandered from it: “I, even I,
who alone can do it, will do it, and will have all the glory of it.
I will both search my sheep and find them out
(v. 11)
as a shepherd does
(v. 12),
and bring them back as he does the stray-sheep, upon his shoulders,
from all the places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and
dark day.” There are cloudy and dark days, windy and stormy ones,
which scatter God’s sheep, which send them hither and thither, to
divers and distant places, in quest of secresy and safety. But,
(1.) Wherever they are the eye of God will find them out; for
his eyes run to and fro through the earth, in favour of them. I will
seek out my sheep; and not one that belongs to the fold, though
driven ever so far off, shall be lost. The Lord knows those that
are his; he knows their work and where they dwell
(Rev. ii. 13),
and where they are hidden.
(2.) When his time shall come his arms will fetch them home
(v. 13):
I will bring them out from the people. God will both incline
their hearts to come by his grace and will by his providence open a
door for them and remove every difficulty that lies in the way. They
shall not return one by one, clandestinely stealing away, but they
shall return in a body: “I will gather them from the countries
into which they are dispersed, not only the most considerable families
of them, but every particular person. I will seek that which was
lost and bring again that which was driven away,”
This was done when so many thousand Jews returned triumphantly out of
Babylon, under the conduct of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and others. When those
that have gone astray from God into the paths of sin are brought back
by repentance, when those that erred come to the acknowledgment of the
truth, when God’s outcasts are gathered and restored, and religious
assemblies, that were dispersed, rally again, upon the ceasing of
persecution, and when the churches have rest and liberty, then this
promise has a further accomplishment.
2. God will feed his people as the sheep of his pasture, that
had been famished. God will bring the returning captives safely to
their own land
(v. 13),
will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, and that is a
good pasture, and a fat pasture
(v. 14);
there shall their feeding be, and there shall be their
fold; and it is a good fold. There God will not only feed
them, but cause them to lie down
(v. 15),
which denotes a comfortable rest after they had tired themselves with
their wanderings, and a constant continuing residence; they shall not
be driven out again from these green pastures, as they have been, nor
shall they be disturbed, but shall lie down in a sweet repose and there
shall be none to make them afraid.
Ps. xxiii. 2,
He makes me to lie down in green pastures. Compare this with the
like promise
when God restored them not only to the milk and honey of their own
land, to the enjoyment of its fruits, but to the privileges of his
sanctuary on Mount Zion, the chief of the mountains of Israel. When
they had an altar and a temple again, and the benefit of a settled
priesthood, then they were fed in a good pasture.
3. He will succour those that are hurt, will bind up that which was
broken and strengthen that which was sick, will comfort those that
mourn in Zion and with Zion. If ministers, who should speak
peace to those who are of a sorrowful spirit, neglect their duty, yet
the Holy Ghost the Comforter will be faithful to his office. But, as it
follows, the fat and the strong shall be destroyed. He that has
rest for disquieted saints has terror to speak to presumptuous sinners.
As every valley shall be filled, so every mountain and
hill shall be brought low,
Luke iii. 5.
| God’s Care of His Flock; Prediction of Messiah’s Kingdom. | B. C. 587. |
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17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD;
Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and
the he goats.
18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the
good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue
of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye
must foul the residue with your feet?
19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden
with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with
your feet.
20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I,
even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean
cattle.
21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and
pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered
them abroad;
22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a
prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed
them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall
be their shepherd.
24 And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a
prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.
25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will
cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall
dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a
blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season;
there shall be showers of blessing.
27 And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the
earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their
land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the
bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those
that served themselves of them.
28 And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither
shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell
safely, and none shall make them afraid.
29 And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they
shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear
the shame of the heathen any more.
30 Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with
them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my
people, saith the Lord GOD.
31 And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I
am your God, saith the Lord GOD.
The prophet has no more to say to the shepherds, but he has now a
message to deliver to the flock. God had ordered him to speak tenderly
to them, and to assure them of the mercy he had in store for them. But
here he is ordered to make a difference between some and others of
them, to separate between the precious and the vile and then to give
them a promise of the Messiah, by whom this distinction should be
effectually made, partly at his first coming (for for judgment he
came into this world,
John ix. 39,
to fill the hungry with good things and to send the rich empty
away,
Luke i. 53),
but completely at his second coming, when he shall, as it is here said,
judge between cattle and cattle, as a shepherd divides between the
sheep and the goats, and shall set the sheep on his right hand and the
goats on his left
which seems to have reference to this. We have here,
I. Conviction spoken to those of the flock that were fat and strong,
the rams and the he-goats
(v. 17),
those that, though they had not power, as shepherds and rulers, to
oppress with, yet, being rich and wealthy, made use of the opportunity
which this gave them to bear hard upon their poor neighbours. Those
that have much would have more, and, if they set to it, will have more,
so many ways have they of encroaching upon their poor neighbours, and
forcing from them the one ewe-lamb,
Do not the rich oppress the poor merely with the help of their riches,
and draw them before the judgment-seats?
Jam. ii. 6.
Poor servants and tenants are hardly used by their rich lords and
masters. The rams and the he-goats not only kept all the
good pasture to themselves, ate the fat and drank the sweet, but they
would not let the poor of the flock have any comfortable enjoyment of
the little that was left them; they trod down the residue of the
pastures and fouled the residue of the waters, so that the flock
was obliged to eat that which they had trodden into the dirt, and drink
that which they had muddied,
This intimates that the great men not only by extortion and oppression
made and kept their neighbours poor, and scarcely left them enough to
subsist on, but were so vexatious to them that what little coarse fare
they had was embittered to them. And this seemed a small thing
to them; they thought there was no harm in it, as if it were the
privilege of their quality to be injurious to all their neighbours.
Note, Many that live in pomp and at ease themselves care not what
straits those about them are reduced to, so they may but have every
thing to their mind. Those that are at ease, and the
proud, grudge that any body should live by them with any comfort.
But this as not all; they not only robbed the poor, to make them
poorer, but were troublesome to the sick and weak of the flock
(v. 21):
They thrust with side and shoulder those that were feeble (for
the weakest goes to the wall) and pushed the diseased with their
horns, because they knew they could be too hard for them, when they
durst not meddle with their match. It has been observed concerning
sheep that if one of the flock be sick and faint the rest will secure
it as well as they can, and shelter it from the scorching heat of the
sun; but these, on the contrary, were most injurious to the diseased.
Those that they could not serve themselves of they did what they could
to rid the country of, and so scattered them abroad, as if the
poor, whom, Christ says, we must have always with us, were public
nuisances, not to be relieved, but sent far away from us. Note, It is a
barbarous thing to add affliction to the afflicted. Perhaps
these rams and he-goats are designed to represent the
scribes and Pharisees, for they are such troublers of the church as
Christ himself must come to deliver it from,
They devoured widows’ houses, took away the key of knowledge, corrupted
the pure water of divine truths, and oppressed the consciences of men
with the traditions of the elders, besides that they were continually
vexatious and injurious to the poor of the flock that waited
on the Lord,
Zech. xi. 11.
Note, It is no new thing for the flock of God to receive a great deal
of damage and mischief from those that are themselves of the flock, and
in eminent stations in it,
II. Comfort spoken to those of the flock that are poor and feeble, and
that wait for the consolation of Israel
(v. 22):
“I will save my flock, and they shall no more be spoiled as they
have been by the beasts of prey, by their own shepherds or by the rams
and he-goats among themselves.” Upon this occasion, as is usual in the
prophets, comes in a prediction of the coming of the Messiah, and the
setting up of his kingdom, and the exceedingly great and precious
benefits which the church should enjoy under the protection and
influence of that kingdom. Observe what is here foretold,
1. Concerning the Messiah himself.
(1.) He shall have his commission from God himself: I will set him
up
(v. 23);
I will raise him up,
v. 29.
He sanctified and sealed him, appointed and anointed him.
(2.) He shall be the great Shepherd of the sheep, who shall do
that for his flock which no one else could do. He is the one
Shepherd, under whom Jews and Gentiles should be one fold.
(3.) He is God’s servant, employed by him and for him, and doing
all in obedience to his will, with an eye to his glory–his servant, to
re-establish his kingdom among men and advance the interests of that
kingdom.
(4.) He is David, one after God’s own heart, set as his King upon the
holy hill of Zion, made the head of the corner, with whom the covenant
of royalty is made, and to whom God would give the throne of his
father David. He is both the root and offspring of David.
(5.) He is the plant of renown, because a righteous
branch
a branch of the Lord, that is beautiful and glorious,
Isa. iv. 2.
He has a name above every name, a throne above every throne, and may
therefore well be called a branch of renown. Some understand it
of the church, the planting of the Lord,
Isa. lxi. 3.
Its name shall be remembered
and Christ’s in it.
2. Concerning the great charter by which the kingdom of the Messiah
should be incorporated, and upon which it should be founded
(v. 25):
I will make with them a covenant of peace. The covenant of grace
is a covenant of peace. In it God is at peace with us, speaks peace to
us, and assures us of peace, of all good, all the good we need to make
us happy. The tenour of this covenant is: “I the Lord will be their
God, a God all-sufficient to them
(v. 24),
will own them and will be owned by them; in order to this my servant
David shall be a prince among them, to reduce them to their
allegiance, to receive their homage, and to reign over them, in them,
and for them.” Note, Those, and those only, that have the Lord Jesus
for their prince have the Lord Jehovah for their God. And
then they, even the house of Israel, shall be my people. If we
take God to be our God, he will take us to be his people.
From this covenant between God and Israel there results communion:
“I the Lord their God am with them, to converse with them; and
they shall know it, and have the comfort of it.”
3. Concerning the privileges of those that are the faithful subjects of
this kingdom of the Messiah and interested in the covenant of peace.
These are here set forth figuratively, as the blessings of the flock.
But we have a key to it,
Those that belong to this flock, though they are spoken of as
sheep, are really men, men that have the Lord for their
God, and are in covenant with him. Now to them it is promised,
(1.) That they shall enjoy a holy security under the divine protection.
Christ, our good Shepherd, has caused the evil beasts to cease out
of the land
(v. 25),
having vanquished all our spiritual enemies, broken their power, and
triumphed over them; the roaring lion is not a roaring devouring lion
to them; they shall no more be a prey to the heathen nor the
heathen a terror to them, neither shall the beasts of the land
devour them. Sin and Satan, death and hell, are conquered. And then
they shall dwell safely, not only in the folds, but in the
fields, in the wilderness, in the woods, where the beasts of
prey are; they shall not only dwell there, but they shall sleep there,
which denotes not only that the beasts being made to cease there
shall be no danger, but, their consciences being purified and pacified,
they shall be in no apprehension of danger; not only safe from evil,
but quiet from the fear of evil. Note, Those may lay down and sleep
securely, sleep at ease, that have Christ for their prince; for he will
be their protector, and make them to dwell in safety. None shall hurt
them, nay, none shall make them afraid. If God be for us, who
can be against us? Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be
removed. Through Christ, God delivers his people not only from the
things they have reason to fear, but from their fear even of death
itself, from all that fear that has torment. This safety from evil is
promised
(v. 27):
They shall be safe in their land, in no danger of being invaded
and enslaved, though their great plenty be a temptation to their
neighbours to desire their land; and that which shall make them
think themselves safe is their confidence in the wisdom, power, and
goodness of God: They shall know that I am the Lord. All our
disquieting fears arise from our ignorance of God and mistakes
concerning him. Their experience of his particular care concerning them
encourages their confidence in him: “I have broken the bands of
their yoke, with which they have been brought and held down under
oppression, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that
served themselves of them, whence they shall argue, He that has
delivered does and will, therefore will we dwell safely.” This is
explained, and applied to our gospel-state,
That we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve
him without fear, as those may do that serve him in faith.
(2.) That they shall enjoy a spiritual plenty of all good things, the
best things, for their comfort and happiness: They shall no more be
consumed with hunger in the land,
v. 29.
Famine and scarcity, when Israel was punished with that judgment,
turned as much to their reproach among the heathen as any other,
because the fruitfulness of Canaan was so much talked of. But now
they shall not bear that shame of the heathen any more For the
showers shall come down in their season, even showers of
blessing,
v. 26.
Christ is a Shepherd that will feed his people; and they shall go in
and out, and find pasture.
[1.] They shall not be consumed with hunger; for they shall not be put
off with the world for a portion, which is not bread, which satisfies
not, and which leaves those that are put off with it to be consumed
with hunger. The ordinances of the ceremonial law are called
beggarly elements, for there was little in them, compared with
the Christian institutes, wherewith the mower fills his hand and he
that binds sheaves his bosom. Those that hunger and thirst after
righteousness shall not be consumed with that hunger, for they
shall be filled. And he that drinks of the water that Christ gives
him, the still waters by which he leads his sheep, shall never
thirst.
[2.] Showers of blessings shall come upon them,
The heavens shall yield their dews; the trees of the field also
shall yield their fruit. The seat of this plenty is God’s
hill, his holy hill of Zion, for on that mountain, in the gospel
church, it is, that God has made to all nations a feast; to that
those must join themselves who would partake of gospel benefits. The
cause of this plenty is the showers that come down in their
season, that descend upon the mountains of Zion, the graces of
Christ, his doctrine that drops as the dew, the graces of Christ, and
the fruits and comforts of his Spirit, by which we are made fruitful in
the fruits of righteousness. The instances of this plenty are the
blessings of heaven poured down upon us and the productions of grace
brought forth by us, our comfort in God’s favour and God’s glory in our
fruit-bearing. The extent of this plenty is very large, to all the
places round about my hill; for out of Zion shall go forth
the law, shall go forth light to a dark world, and the river that
shall water a dry and desert world; all that are in the neighbourhood
of Zion shall fare the better for it; and the nearer the church the
nearer its God. And, lastly, The effect of this plenty
is, I will make them a blessing, eminently and exemplarily
blessed, patterns of happiness,
Or, They shall be blessings to all about them, diffusively useful.
Note, Those that are the blessed of the Lord must study to make
themselves blessings to the world. He that is good, let him do
good; he that has received the gift, the grace, let him minister
the same.
Now this promise of the Messiah and his kingdom spoke much comfort to
those to whom it was then made, for they might be sure that God would
not utterly destroy their nation, how low soever it might be
brought, as long as that blessing was in the womb of
it,
Isa. lxv. 8.
But it speaks much more comfort to us, to whom it is fulfilled, who are
the sheep of this good Shepherd, are fed in his pastures, and
blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things by
him.
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