Exposition of the Whole Bible

his, by which he is known, but him himfelf; for and tho’ they ate fometimes affli€ted and chaftifed;

as Kimchi obferves, his name is himfelf, and he himfelf is his name; and efpecially as he is in Chrift, and proclaimed in him; and this is expreffive of faith in him, love to him, and reverence of him: or the name of Chrift; and not any par-, ticular name of his, unlefs it be Jefus the Saviour: but rather his perfon as the Son of God; his office as Mediator; and his blood, righteoufnefs, and facrifice;\and it is not a bare thinking of him that is here intended, but. fuch a thought of him as is accompanied with efteem and value for him, becaufe.of the dignity of his perfon, and the. riches, of his grace. » ‘The Septuagint and Arabic verfions render it, and that reverence bis name, and the Syriac verfion, that praife bis name; and thé Targum is, that think’of the glory of his name.

y.17. And they foall be mine, faith the Lord of hofts, &c.] That is, fuch as fear the Lord, and think of him, hereby they are known to be his; and hereafter, in the time referred to, it. will be manifeft that they are his: they are Chrift’s already by his Father’s gift of them to him; by his own purchafe; by the conquefts of his grace; and by the voluntary furrender of themfelves: but, in the Jaft day, they will be claimed and owned by Chrift before his Father and his holy angels; and they will be known to be his, by themfelves and others; and. there will be no doubt about it, or queftioning of it: in that day when I make up my jewels; Chrift has fome, who are his jewels, or peculiar treafure, as the word * here ufed fignifies; who_ are loved with an everlafting love; chofen in him; redeemed by him; juftified by his righteoufnets, have the graces of his Spirit in them; and will be glorified: they are a peculiar people, feparate from all others, and preferred unto them;_ for whom. Chrift has the ftrongeft affection, and takes fpecial care of: and there is a time when he will make them up; the number of them is already complete in eternal election; and there was a gathering of them together in Chrift at his death; at every converfion there is an addition to them, as his regenerated and fanctified ones; and at death they are received into heaven, into his prefence and bofom; and at the laft day there will be a collection of them all together. The words may be rendred, even my jewels in the day that I Soall make’; or the day I fhall make peculiar, diftiné from all others; meaning either the famous gofpelday, made by him the fun of righteoufnefs, in which fo many of his jewels are picked up, and brought in; or the day of Ferufalem’s deftruction, when Chrift took care of his jewels, and by the prefervation of them fhewed, that they were his, even all that believed in him; fo that not one perifhed that believed in him, when he took vengeance on his enemies, that difbelieved and rejected him. Kimcbi refers this to the day of judgment. And I will {pare them, as a man Jpareth his own fon that ferveth him; this is a favour not granted to the apoftate angels; nor to the old world; nor to the Fewi/h nation; nor even to the Son of God; but is vouchfafed to his fpecial people: the lives it is very gently; and in love; their fervices are accepted, and the imperfeétions in them overlook- éd; ‘their fins are pardoned, and they’ll find mercy at the great day of account; they are ufed in the moft tender manner, not only as a fon, an own fon, but as an obedient one, for whom the greatett regard is had, and affection fhown,. _

_¥. 18. Then fhail ye return, &c.] Fither the wicked, who will be converted *, as fome render the word, and will have a different. view of things; and change their minds and language; or they that feared the Lord, who at. the. time before {poken of will have a new turn of thought, and another and clear difcerning of perfons, and things, and better judge of the difpenfations of providence; fome that refer this to the refurreétion of the dead, and the laft judgment, underftand it, as Adarbinel does, of the returning of fouls to their bodies, when indeed the difference between perfons after defcribed will be very difcernible; but it feems to refer to the time of Chrift’s firft coming, and Ferufalem’s deftruction: and difcern between the righteous and the wicked; the difference between fuch who are really and truly righteous, who are here meant, even fuch who believe in Chrift, and are juftified by his righteoufnefs; and thofe that are wicked, as all by nature are: tho’ fometimes this character defigns the more profarie and abandoned, and even profeffors of religion; the difference between thefe is not always eafily difcerned: as for the righteous, they are not known and difcerned by the world; and by reafon of afflictions, temptations, and fins, they are apt to judge wrong of themfelves; and fometimes are fo left to fall into fin, that they look like others: and there are wicked men under the appearance of righteous men, as were the fcribes and pharifees in Chrift’s time; but by the deftruction that came upon them, and the prefervation of fuch as believed in Chrift, it was difcernible who were wicked, and who were righteous: indeed, at the Jaft day, this difference will be more vifible; in the bodies of the righteous, which will be raifed glorious, when thofe of the wicked will not; in their fouls, having on the wedding garment, the robe of Chrift’s righteouf-. nefs, and perfectly holy; and in their. fituation, being fet at Chrift’s right-hand, and the wicked at his left; and by the characters that will be given of them by the judge, and the different fentences paffed and executed on them: between him that Jerveth God, and him that ferveth bim not, that is, between fuch perfons that ferve the Lord, and him only, privately and publickly, in righteoufnefs and true holinefs, in fpirit and in truth, with faith and fervericy, with reverence and fear, heartily and willingly, feeking his glory, without any dependence on their fervices; and thofe that are ungodly, or only outwardly ferve the Lord, for finifter ends, and with felfith views, and according to their own inventions, and the traditions of men, and not the will of God, as the fcribes and pharifees; between ~ whom, and Chrift’s fincere difciples and followers, the awful day, defcribed in the next chapter, will of thefe are fpared, until they are called by grace; | make a manifeft difference.

T HIS chapter contains an account of the de- | ftruction of the wicked ews, and the happinefs of the righteous by the coming of the Meffiah; an exhortation to regard the law of Mo/es; and_a defcription of Fobu the Baptift and his work. The day of Chrift’s coming, reaching to Yeru/alem’s deftruétion, is compared to a burning oven; the wicked fews to ftubble, whofe ruin would be utter and complete, ». 1. the appearance of Chrift is fignified by the arifing of him, the fun of righteoufnefs; the manner, with healing in his wings; the effects of which are, going forth in the exercife of grace, and the difcharge of duty, and {piritual growth and triumph over their enemies, in which will lie the happinefs of them that fear God, y. 2, 3. who are put in mind of the law of Moj/es on Horeb, y. 4. the fending of Yobu the Baptii under the name of Elijah, before the coming of Chrift is prophefied of, y. 5. and his work pointed out, with the end of it, y. 6.

y. 1. For behold, the day cometh that foall burn as an oven, &c.] Not the day of judgment, as Kimchi and other interpreters, both Fewi/b and Chriftian, think; but the day of Chrift’s coming in his kingdom and: power, to take vengeance on the Fewi/h nation, which burned like an oven, both figuratively and literally; when the wrath of God, which is compared to fire, came upon that people to the uttermoft; and when their city and temple were burnt about their ears, and they were furrounded with fire, as if they had been in a burning oven: and this being fo terrible, as can hardly be conceived and exprefied, the word Jebold is prefixed to it, not only to excite attention, but horror and terror at fo dreadful a calamity; which tho’ future, when the prophet wrote, was certain: and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly hall be flubble; the proud pharifees, that boafted of their own righteoufnefs, trufted in themfelves, and defpifed others; all workers of iniquity, in private or in public; all reje€ters of Chrift, contemners of his gofpel and ordinances, and perfecuters of his people; as well as fuch who were guilty of the moit flagitious crimes, as fedition, robbery, murder, €%c. of which there were notorious inftances during the fiege of Yerufalem; thefe were all like ftubble before devouring fire, weak and eafily deftroyed: and the day that cometh fhall burn them up, faith the Lord of bofts; which is repeated, to fhew the certainty of it, and to apply it to the perfons before defcribed: that it fhall leave them neither root nor branch, which fignifies an entire and complete deftruction; the city and temple fo utterly deftroyed, that not one ftone fhall be left on another; both magiftrates and fubjects fhall perith, pricfts and people, fo that there fhall be no form of government, civil nor ecclefiaftical; tribes and families loft, they and their pofterity: and fo the Targum, ‘* which fhall not leave them fon and ne- «© phew;” and indeed, the numbers cut off were fo many, and the deftruétion fo general, that it

* De Somniis, Apud Yalkut in loc, to Nl yt. 2. But unto you that fear my name, &c.| The few that were of this character among that wicked nation; fee the note on ch. iii. 16: /hall the fun of righteoufue/s arife,; not the Holy Ghoft, who enlightens, finners, convinces of righteoufnefs, and gives joy, peace, and comfort to the faints, but Chrift: and thus it is interpreted of him. by the ancient Fews, in one of their Midrafhes or expofitions *; they fay, Mojes fays not, they fhall be for ever pledged, that is, the clothes of a neighbour, but until the fun comes, until the Meffiah comes, as it is faid, unto you that fear my name, Joall the fun of righteoufne/s arife, &c. and Philo the Few» not only obferves, that God, figuratively fpeaking, is the fun; but the divine Logos or word of God, the image of the heavenly being, is called the fun; who coming to our earthly fyftem, helps the kindred and followers of virtue, and affords ample refuge and falvation to them; referring, as it feems, to this paffage: indeed, they generally interpret it of the fun, literally taken, which they fuppofe, at the end of the world, will have different effects on good and bad men; they fay ¢, ‘‘ in the world to come, God

‘¢ will bring the fun out of its fheath, and burn '

“¢ the wicked; they will be judged by it, and the ‘* righteous will be healed by it:” for the proof of the former, they produce the words in the firft verfe of this chapter, debold, the day cometh that Jeall burn as an oven, and of the latter thefe words, but unto you that fear my name, &c. and a very ridiculous notion they have, that Abrabam their father had a precious ftone or pearl hanging about his neck, and every fick perfon that faw it, was healed by it immediately; and when he departed out of the world, God took it, and fixed it to the orb of the fun; hence the proverb, the fun rifes, and ficknefs decreafes‘; and as it is edfewhere quoted *, this paflage is added to confirm it, as it is faid, to you that fear my name, foall the fun of righteoufue/s arife with healing in bis wings: unlefs this fable fhould be intended to mean, as barbinel * interprets it, that 4draham, while he lived, clearly.

proved the unity of God and his perfections; and

| that after his death, the fame truth was taught by the wonderful motion of the fun: but be this as it will, thofe are undoubtedly in the right, who underftand thefe words figuratively of the Meffiah; who is compared to the fun, becaufe as the fun is a Iuminous body, the light of the whole world, fo is Chrift of the world of men, and of the world of faints; particularly of the Gentiles, often called the world; and of the new Jeru/alem-church-ftate, and of the world to come: and as the fun is the fountain of light, fo is Chrift the fountain of natural and moral light, as well as of the light of grace, and’ of the light of glory: as the fun communicates light to all the celeftial bodies, fo Chrift to the moon, the church; to the ftars, the minifters of the word; to the morning-ftars, th angels: as the fun difpels the darknefs ‘of the night, and makes the day, fo Chrift difpelled ne darknefs of the ceremonial law, and made the and he difpels the darknefs of gsoane and oe belief, and makes the day of grace; and-will dif. pel the darknefs of imperfeCtion, and will make the day of glory: as the fun is a pure, Clear, and lucid ‘body, fo is Chrift, without the leaft pot of fin; and fo are his people, as they are cloathed with his righteoufnefs: as the fun is a glorious ody, fo is Chrift in both his natures, divirie and human; in his'office as Mediator; and will be in his fecond coming: as the fun is fuperior to all the celeftial bodies, fo is Chrift to angels and faints: as the fun 1s but one, fo there is but one Son of <Sod; one Mediator between God and man; one Saviour and Redeemer; one Lord and head of the church: its properties and effects are many; it lays things open and manifeft, which before were hid; communicates heat as well as light, makes the earth fruitful; is very exhilarating; has its rifings and fettings, and of great duration: fo Chrift declates the mind and will of his Father, the hidden myfteries of grace; lays open the thoughts of mens hearts in converfion; and will at the laft day bring to light the hidden things of darknefs: he warms the hearts of his people with his love, and caufes them to burn within them, whilft they hear his gofpel, and he makes them fervent in fpirit whilft they ferve the Lord; he fills them with the fruits of righteoufnefs, and with joy unfpeakable, and full of glory; but he is not always feen, is fometimes under a cloud, and withdraws himfelf; yet his name is as the fun before the Lord, and will abide for ever. He is called the fun of righteoufne s, becaufe of the glory of his efféntial righteoufnefs as God; and becaufe of the purity and perfection of his righteoufnefs as man, which appeared in all his actions, and in the adminiftration of all his offices; and becaufe of the difplay of the righteoufnefs of God in him, in his fufferings and death, in atonement, pardon, and juftification by him; and becaufe he is the author and bringer in of righteoufnefs to his people, the gloty of which out-fhines all others, is pure and fpotlefs like the fun, and is everlafting; thofe who have it, are faid to be cloathed with the fun, and on fuch he fhines in his beams of divine love, grace and mercy, which righteoufnefs fometimes fignifies; and his rays of grace transform men into righteoufnefs and true holinefs. The arifing of this fun may denote the appearance of Chrift in our nature; under the former difpenfation this fun was not rifen, it was then night with the world; ‘ohn the Baptit was the morning-ftar, the forerunner of it: Chrift the fun is now rifen; the day-fpring from on high hath vifited mankind, and has fpread its light and heat, its benign influences, by the miniftration of the gofpel, the grace of God, which has appeared and fhone out, both in Fudea, and in the Gentile world: it may be accommodated to his fpiritual appearance: this fun is fometime3 under a cloud, or feems to be fet, which occafions trouble, and is for wife ends, but will and does arife again to them that fear the Lord. ‘The manner is, with healing in bis wings; by which are meant its rays and beams, which are to the fun as wings to a bird, by which it fwiftly fpreads its light and heat; fo we read of the wings of the morning, P/. cxxxix. g. Chrift came as a phyfician, to heal the difeafes of men; he healed the bodily difeafes of the ews, and he heals the foul-difeafes of his people, their. fins; which healing he has procured by his blood and ftripes: pardon of fin by the blood of Chrift is meant by healing, which is univerfal, infallible, and free, Pf. ciii. 3. J/- xxxiii. 24. and lili. 5. Hof.