a Shishathviot Rabba,:
and put them upon walking according to the line and rule of the divine word, in matters of worfhip, difcipline and converfation; and as there were in the firft times of the gofpel many fuch builders, and have been more or lefs fince; fo there will be many more in the latter day, who will be very fuccefsfully employed in building, repairing, and beautifying the church of God; fee J/ lviii. 12. and Ix. 10. and Ixi. 4. Zech. vi. 15. Some by feels chapter contains a prophecy of the church under the gofpel-difpenfation; of the largenefs and numbers of it; and of its protection and glory, thro’ the prefence of God in it. In this vifion, a man is feen with a meafuring line in his hand, to meafure “feru/alem with, y. 1, 2. upon which an angel bids the angel that talked with the prophet to declare to him the largenefs, populoufnefs and fafety of Ferufalem, ¥. 3, 4, 5. then follows an exhortation tothe people of God to come out of Babylon, ¥. 6, 7. and then a promife of the calling of the Gentiles, and of God’s racious inhabitation in his church, which would matter of joy to Zion; and of his inheriting Judah, and chufing Ferufalem, y. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. and the chapter is concluded with an addrefs to-all mankind, to be filent before the Lord, fince he was raifed up out of his habitation, ¥. 13.
y. 1. I lift up mine eyes again, and looked, 8c.] And faw a third vifion; which, as Kimchi owns, refers to the times of the Meffiah; tho’ it might be of ufe to the Yews then prefent, to encourage them to expect the rebuilding of Feru/alem, ‘in a literal fenfe: and behold, a man with a meafuring line in bis hand; by whom is meant, not Nehemiah, nor Zerubbabel, fee ch. iv. 10. who were concerned in the building of Feru/alem, nor any mere man, nor even a created angel; for tho’ he may be the fame with the other angel, that did not talk with the prophet, ¥. 3. as Kimchi obferves; feeing he feems to be fuperior to him that did; yet not a miniftring fpirit, but the Meffiah, who in this book is often fpoken of asa man; fee the note on ch.i. 8. and by the meafuring line in bis hand, may be meant eternal predeftination, the Lamb’s book of life, which is in. his keeping; and is the meafure and rule by which he proceeds in the vocation, juftification, and glorification of the firftborn, whofe names are written in heaven; or the fcriptures of truth, the meafure and rule of doctrine, difcipline,, worfhip, and converfation; and according to which, Chrift forms, conftitutes, ‘and ae y¥. 2. Then faid I, whither goeft thou? &c.] As it fhewed great freedom and boldnefs in the prophet to put fuch a queftion to the man with the meafuring reed, it was great condefcenfion in him to return him an anfwer, as follows: and he faid unto me, to meafure Ferufalem; not literally underftood, which was not yet thoroughly built; but the gofpel-church, often fo called; fee Hed. xii. 22. and this meafuring of it denotes the conformity of it to the rule of God’s word; a profeflion of the true doétrines of it, and an obfervance of the or-.
falem, and the’whole country of Judea; no the four carpenters, underftand Zerubdadel, Fofbua, Ezra, and Nebemiah; and fo by the four horns, thofe that oppofed them in building the city and temple, as Rebum, Shimfhai, Sanbaliat,. and Tobiab 5 but thefe feem too inferior-governors to be fignified by horns; nor did they do what is here afcribed to them; rather their nations, Samaritans, Arabians, Ammonites, and Philiftines, are meant.
dinances of it, as delivered in it; and an agreement of the walk, life, and converfation of its members with it: to fee what is the breadth thereaf, and what is the length thereof; the length of the new Jeru/alem is as large’as the breadth;. its length, breadth, and height are equal, Rev. xxi. 16.
¥. 3. And bebold, the angel that talked with me, went forth, &c.] See ch. i. 9, 13, 14, 19. and he went forth from the place where the prophet was, with whom he had been converfing: and another angel went out to meet him the fame that was feen among the myrtle-trees, ch. i. 8. and here, with a meafuring line in his hand, ¥..1.
¥. 4. And faid unto him, &c.| That is, the other angel faid to the angel that had been talking with the prophet, ru, peak to this young man; meaning Zechariah, who was either young in years, as Samuel and ‘feremiah were, when they prophefied; or he was a feryant of a prophet older than he, and therefore fo called, as ‘fofbua, ‘Mofes’s minifter, was, Numb. xi, 28. as Kimchi obferves: faying, Ferufalem foal be inhabited as towns without walls; this fhows that this is not to be underftood of 7erufalem in.a literal fenfe, for that was not inhabited as a town without a wall; its wall was built in Nebemiah’s time, and’ remained until the city was deftroyed by Ve/pafian, yea, it had a treble wall, as Fofephus fays ®; but of the church of Chrift in gofpel-times; and denotes both the fafety and {ecurity of it; fee Ezek. xxxviii. 11. and the, populoufnefs of it; and efpecially as it will be in the latter day, when both Yews and Genézles are called, and brought into it; which fenfe is confirmed by what follows: for the multitude’ of men, and cattel therein; the Fews being meant by men, fee Ezek. XxXiv. 31. and the Gentiles by cattel, to which they ufed to be compared by the former: this will be fulfilled, when the nation of the Yews will be born at’ once, and all J/rae/ will be faved, and the fulnefs of the Gentiles fhallbe brought in; for the number of the fpiritual J/rae/, the fons of the living God, both ews and Gentiles, fhall be as the fand of the fea, which cannot be meafured, Hof. i. 10.. Rom. ix. 26. and when there will be. fuch a large increafe of converts, and fuch flockings to Zion, to the fpiritual Ferufalem, the church of God, that the place will be too ftrait for them, Tf, xlix. 19, 20. whereas, when Yeru/alem ina literal fenfe was rebuilt, after the Badylonifh *captivity; there was a want of perfons to inhabit it, and lots were caft for one out of ten to dwell in it; and they were glad of others that offered themfelves willingly to be inhabitants of ir, Nes. xi. I, 2. for ‘there was but a {mall number that returned from Babylon to repeople the city of Yerumore came came from thence, but forty-two thoufand, three hundred, and threefcore, befides men and maidfervants, which amounted to feven or eight thoufand more, Ezra ii: 64, 65: Neb. vii. 66, 67. which were but a few to fill fuch a country, and fo many cities and towns that were in it, befides Ferufalem, and yet Fofepbus * affirms, that the number of thofe of the tribes of Fudah and Benjamin, that came up from thence, and were above twelve years of age, were four millions, fix hundred, and twenty-eight thoufand; in which he is followed by Zonaras *, and it is admitted and appreved of by Sanétius on the place; which is not. ohly contrary to the accounts of Ezra and Nebemiah, but is incredible; that fuch a number that went into captivity, which was not very large, fhould under all. the diftrefles and oppreffions they laboured, in feventy years time, fo multiply, and that two tribes only, as to be almoft eight times more than all the twelve tribes were at their coming out of Egypt; a number large enough to have over-run the Babylonian monarchy; and too many to be fupported in fo {mall a country as the land of Canaan: wherefore, upon the whole, it muft be beft fo interpret this of fpiritual and myftical Feru alem, and of the populoufnefs of the church of Chrift in the latter day..
¥. 5. For I, faith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, &c.] So that fhe needs no other wall to fecure her, the power of God encompaffing her about as the mountains did erufalem, Pf. cxxv. 2. and he being as a wall of fire to terrify and deftroy her enemies; for our God is ‘a confuming fire, Heb. xii. 29. Drufius thinks ’tis a metaphor taken from travellers in fome coun-!
‘tries, who kindle fires about their tents, to keep off lions, and other beafts of prey; and obferves of lions particularly, that they are exceedingly terrified by fire; for which he refers to Fohn Leo in his defcription of Africa; and Pliny makes * mention of feveral things that are terrifying to them, but efpecially fires, he fays; and fo Dr. Shaw ' of Jate, {peaking of the lions in Barbary, remarks, fire is what they are the moft afraid of; yet notwithftanding all the precautions of the Arabs in this refpeét, with others, he takes notice of, it frequently happens, that thefe ravenous beafts outbraving all thofe terrors, will leap into the midft of an inclofure or fold, and drag from thence a fheep, or a goat; and Tavernier * tells a ftory, by which he thinks it appears to be a vulgar error, that lions will not come near the fire; tho’ the relation itfelf fhews it to be not only a received opinion, but a common.cuftom to light fires in the night, to preferve from lions: his ftory is, ‘‘ a “© party of Dutch foldiers, under the command of “* a ferjeant, far advanced in the country (about “* the Cape of Good Hope), and night coming on, ** they made a great fire, as well to keep them- ** felves from the lions, as to warm themfelves, and fo lay down to fleep round about it; being afleep, a lion feized one of the foldier’s arms, which with difficulty was got out, after the lion was fhot;” but this feems to be the cafe, when thefe creatures are dreadfully hunger-bitten; however, be it as it will, God is the fure and fafe protection of his people; who went before the people of J/rael in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a
® Pefikta Rabbati apud Yalkut in loc.
pillar of fire by night, when they paffed thro’ a terrible wildernefs, in which were beafts of prey; and furrounded Elifoa with horfes and chariots of fire, when the king of Syria fent a large hoft to take him; fo that he could fay to encourage his fervant, they that be for us are more than they that be with them, 2 Kings vi. 15, 16, 17. who feem to be angels; and the Yews * here interpret it of the family of God, his angels, made a-wall to feru/alem to preferve it; the cherubim and a flaming iword fet to keep the garden of Eden, were, according to Laéiantius ', a wall of fire about it; for (he fays) when God caft man out of paradife, he walled it about with fire: but that was that man might not enter in; but here he himfelf is a wall of fire, that his people may be fafe; hence they have no reafon to fear the wrath of their enemies, the moft fierce and furious, favage and cruel, comparable to lions, bears, &c. for if God is for them, on their fide, and on all fides of them, who can be againit them to any purpofe? The Zargum paraphrales it, “* my ‘¢ word fhall be unto her, faith the Lord, as a ‘< wall of fire encompaffing her round about:” and will be the glory in the midft of ber, appear glorious in her, be glorified in her, and by her, and be her glory, and make her glorious; as the Lord does by granting his gracious prefence with his church and people, in his word and ordinances; fee J/, iv. and Ix. 13.. a
¥. 6. Ho, ho, &c.} This word exprefies a calf and proclamation; and is doubled, as Kimchi obferves, to confirm it; and fo the Zargum paraphrafes it, ‘* proclaim to the difperfed:” come forth, and flee from the land of the north, faith the Lord;
that is, from Babylon, which lay north of Fudeas fee Fer. i. 13, 14. and iii. 12. and vi, 22. and Xvi. 15. where many of the Zews continued, and did -not return with the reft when they came up out of the captivity; and are therefore called to come forth from thence in hafte; and figuratively defigns, either the people of God that are among the men of the world, and are called to feparate from them, and’ have no fellowfhip with them; or fuch as will be in myftical Babylon, a little before its deftruction; and will be called out of it, left they partake of her plagues; fee Rev. xviii. 4: for I have {pread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, faith the Lord, meaning either the difperfion of the Yews in Babylon, and other countries; or of the people of God, being fcattered up and down in the jurifdiction of Rome, papal; or the fenfe is, that it was his will and purpofé when they were come out of Badylon, that they fhould - be {pread in the feveral parts of the world, to fupport the caufe of Chrift, and ftrengthen his intereft, oath ake ¥. 7. Deliver thyfelf, O Zion, &c,] Or make thy efcape, you that belong to mount Zion, the city of the living God, and ought to have your abode there, and not in Badylon,: flee from thence, that dwelleth with the daughter of Babylon, in any of the antichriftian ftates, who are the daughters of Babylon, the mother of harlots, Rev. xvii. 5. fo it may be rendered, shat inka the deg of Babylon *; dwells in any of the cities, towns, anc villages belonging to it. ae ai ¥. 8. For thus faith the Lord of hofts, 8c. ] Chri who is the true Jehovah, and Lord of armies, as bro +s) appears,