EZE K IE LL hse
place where the wheels and cherubim were; under the firmament of heaven, and the throne that was in it: and flood befide the wheels, or wheel, to fee what it was, as Kimchi thinks; or rather in| order to go in between them, as he was bid to evenyin a crofs, or tranfverfe way; fee the note as be- ‘ } fore.
y. 11. When they went, they went upon their four fdes, &c.] Which four fides they had, by being made in the tranfverfe way before-mentioned; juit do, ¥. 2. as the new Yerufalem-church-ftate is faid to be four- y. 7. And one cherub firetched forth bis hand from between the cherubim, &c.| One of the four living creatures or cherubim, put out his hand from among the reft: unto the fire that was between the cherubim, fo fire is faid to go up and down among them, ch. i. 13. to which the reference is and tock thereof, and put it into the bands of bim that was clothed with linen, denoting as before obferved; that it was for the ill-ufage of the minifters of God’s word, that wrath came upon the people of the Yews, and the deftruétion of their city by fire; fo wrath will come upon antichrift, and the antichriftian ftates, for their ufage of the minifters and churches of Chrift, and in confequence of the prayers, and by the inftigation of fuch perfons; fee Rev. vi. 9, 10, 11. and xviii. 4—7. fo one of the four beafts or living creatures, the fame with the cherubim here, is faid to give to the feven gels feven golden vials, full of the wrath of God, Rev. xv. 7: who took it, and went out; took the fire, and went out of the temple, and fcattered it upon the city of Ferufalem; fo reprefenting the Chaldean, or rather the Roman army, burning it with fire; fee Matt. xxii. 7. where they are called the armies of the King of kings. of it;
y. 8. And there appeared in the cherubim, &c.] The Septuagint verfion is, I faw the cherubim; and fo the Syriac verfion, I Jaw in the cherubim; what follows: the form of a man’s hand under their wings; one of them put forth his hand, which was feen by the prophet, as declared in the preceding verfe; but this was only the form of one; which is obferved to fhew, that it is not to be taken literally, but as feen in the vifion of prophecy; and being under their wings, denotes fecrecy and privacy: and the whole being applied to the minifters of the word, is expreflive of their activity and diligence in the work of the Lord, both in private and in public; and that they make no boaft nor fhow of their works and labours, and afcribe nothing to themfelves, but all to the grace of God that is with them, 1 Cor. xv. ro. fee the note on ch. {quare, Rev, xxi. 16. and this may denote the uniformity of gofpel-churches in every ftate and condition, profperous and adverfe; and the conftancy of their walk, conduét, and converifation: they turned not as they went, neither to the right-hand here:jor the left, but went on in the path of faith and duty, keeping clofe to the word of God, and keeping up a converfation, difcipline, and worfhip, according to it: but to the place where the bead looked they followed it, meaning either the rulers, guides, and governors of churches, paftors and elders; whofe faith and converfation are followed by the members: or rather Chrift himfelf, the head of.the church, who is to be followed whither-foever he goes or directs: unlefs by the head is meant the fame as the Spirit, ch. i. 20. the Spirit of God, by whom the true members of gofpel-churches are an- led, and after whom they walk. The Targum is, ‘* the place to which the fir turned (or looked) ‘‘ after it they went;” that is, the firft of the wheels; and fo may fignify, that the primitive churches are the pattern after which all the churches in after-ages are to go. They turned not as they went; this is repeated partly for the confirmation and partly to excite attention to it, as being worthy of obfervation; fee the note on ch. i. 17.
y.12. And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, &c.] This is to be underftood not of the wheels, to whom body or flefh, backs, hands, and wings, do not belong, but of the cherubim; and the fenfe is, that as the wheels were alike, and had one and the fame form and appearance, fo had the cherubim; they were exaétly alike in their body, backs, hands, and wings; denoting the agreement between gofpelminifters, in their doétrine, work, and converfation: and the wheels were full of eyes round about; that is, the rings or circles of the wheels, as in ch. i. 18. fignifying, that churches confifted of enlightened perfons, who had a fight of their fin and danger, and looked to Chrift for falvation, and i. 8. walked circumfpectly, and watched over one any¥. 9. And when I looked, behold, the four wheels by the cherubim, &c.] The churches by the mini-} fters: of thefe wheels, and why the churches are fo called, and of their number fceur, and their fituation dy the cherubim, fee the note on ch. i. 15: one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub; a minifter to a church; every church has its own paftor, elder, or overfeer, by it, and over it: and the appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl-ftone; a precious ftone of a fea-green; fee the note on ch. i. 16. The Targum renders it in general, @ precious ftone, the Septuagint verfion, a carbuncle,; and the Vulgate Latin verlion, a chryother: even the wheels that they four bad, the wheels that belonged to the four living creatures’ or cherubim. t
¥. 13. As for the wheels, if%was cried to them 7 my hearing, &c.] Or they were called, as the prophet heard in the vifion, by the following name = O wheel; or, the wheel; for tho’ there are feveral particular churches, yet they make up but one general affembly and church of the firft-born, written in heaven; and will be all together in ‘their perfect. ftate, fignified by the round form of the wheel; fee the note on ch. i. 15. 5 secre. y¥. 14. And every one-bad four faces, &c.] That
Jolite. is, every one of the wheels, for of thefe the words y. 10. And as for their appearances, they four had one likene/s, &c.] ‘They were exactly like one “another; they were all compofed of the fame matter, had all the colour of a beryl-ftone, were all in the fame form of a wheel; and in matter, form, and fhape, entirely tallied and agreed one with another, as true gofpel-churches do; fee the note on ch. i. 16: as if a wheel had been in the midft of a wheel; not included in one another, but were formed are continued; and which agrees with ch. i 15. fee the note there: the jfir/t face was the face cherud; this being in the room: of the ox’s ch. i. 10. fhows that the face of an ox and a ch rtib are the fame; and that the FT an a have the general name of cherubim, from the 1 of an ox; and are fo called from 393, which in thé Syriac and Chaldee languages fignifiés “ei ae that creature being made ufe of in futh fervices and the fecond face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle; how thele are applicable to gofpelchurches, and the true members of them, fee the note on ch. i. 15.
¥. 15. And the cherubim were lifted up, &c.] From the earth, as in ch. i. 19. fee the note there: this is the living creature that I faw by the river Chebar; a river in Cha/dea, where the prophet was, when he had the vifion of the living creatures recorded in the f/f chapter; and hence it is out of doubt, that the living creatures and the cherubim are the fame.
¥. 16. And when the cherubim went, the wheels went by them, &c.] Minifters being guides to the churches in doctrine, worfhip, devotion, and converfation; fee the note on ch. i. 19: and when the cherubim lift up their wings, to mount up from the earth, the fame wheels alfo turned not from befide them; minifters and churches go together; if the one remove, the other do alfo; they can’t long fubfift without each other; and generally fpeaking, as are the light, knowledge,.zeal, affection, and devotion of the one, fuch are thofe of the other; fee the note as above., y¥. 17. When they flood, thefe food, &c.] When the one were inactive, lifelefs, and without motion, making no progrefs in knowledge, experience, and practice, the other were fo likewife; fee the note on ch. i. 21: and when they were lifted up, thefe lift up themfelves alfo; like people, like prieft, whether in things commendable or not, Hof. iv. 9: Sor the /pirit of the living creature was in them, the fame fpirit that was in the cherubim, was in the wheels; andthe fame Spirit of God, who is a Spirit of lifet, as the words may be rendered, is in the churches, as in the minifters; generally fpeaking, if the one are lively, the other are alfo, and both move as they are acted by the Spirit; and alfo their motion from place to place, which is fpoken of in the following verfe, is directed by the Spirit; fee 47s xvi. 6, 7. ¥. 18. Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threfbold of the boufe, &c.] Whither he had removed from the cherub or the cherubim, between the mercy-feat, ¥. 4. taking another ftep towards a general departure from the temple and city, of which this was another fignal and warning: and ftood over the cherubim, not on the mercy-feat from whence he came, for hither he returned not; but over the cherubim or living creatures feen in the vifion, which were under the throne in the firmament of heaven; an emblem, as we have feen, of gofpel-minifters: and this may denote the exaltation of Chrift, who is the glory of the Lord, the brightnefs of his Father’s glory, above them; his protection of them, and prefence’with them; for let him move where he will, he will not depart from his faithful minifters; he will be with them to the end of the world.
¥. 19. And the cherubim lift up their wings, &c.] As birds do, when they are about to remove and fly away; thefe being upon the motion, ready to depart, as well as the glory of the Lord: and mounted up from the earth in my fight; the land of udea, where the gofpel was firft preached; but this being lighted and defpifed, the apoftles and
S rye vay ba VEDA Suns, Sept.
firft minifters of the gofpel took their flight from thence, and turned to the Gentiles: when they went out, the wheels alfo were befides thim; wherever they went.in the Genfi/e world, their miniftry was fuccefsful, fouls were converted, and churches formed; when the glory of the God of Jjrael departed from the temple, and from the city of Feru/alem, and from the lands of Fudea, the gofpel-tiniftry and the gofpel-church-ftate were reinoved likewife, and carried and fixed elfewhere: and every one ftood at the door of the eaft gate of the Lord’s houje; that is, the glory of the God of J/rael, and the raelites, or outward court, which looked to the eaft; which fhows that they were juft going and leaving the houfe or temple defolate, no more to return to it; fee Matt. xxiii. 38, 39. the next femove was into the city, and then to a mountain on the eaft fide of it; fée ch. xi. 23. ir wa8 in the eaftern part of the world that the gofpel was frft preached, after it was cartied ftom Judea: and the glory of the God of Ifrael was over them above; both over the cherubim and the wheels; great gifts were beftowed upon the minifters, and great grace was upon the churches; and the preience of God was with both, anda glory oh them, and on that glory a defence.
¥. 20. This is the living créatnre that I faw under the God of Ifrael, by the river of Chebar, &c. This is repeated from y. 15. not only for the confirmation of it; but with an addition to fhow, that the appearance of the man upon the throne, ch.1. 26. is no other than the God of J/rae]; and inafmuch as Chrift is there meant, for the Father never appeared in an human form; it follows, that Chrift is the God of J/rae/, undet whofe power, protection, and influence, the cherubim his minifters are; and fo this is a proof of the true and proper deity of Chrift: and I knew that they were the cherubim s not by having feen the chetubirn on the mercyfeat, ahd comparing thefe forms with them, which none but an high-prieft could ever fee; for tho’ Ezekiel was a prieft, it does not appear that he was an high-prieft; but by the forms of them he had feen carved on the doors and walls of the temple, 1 Kings vi. 29, 35..
¥. 21. Every one bad four faces a piece, &c.] Every one of the four living creatures or cherubim had four faces; which were the face of a man, of a lion, of an ox, and of an eagle, ch. i. 10: and every one four wings, the Septuagint verfion reads, eight wings; and.the Syriac verfion, fix; fo many in all indeed they had, fee the nore on ch. i. 23; and the likene/s of the hands of a man was under their wings; fee the note on y¥. 8.
¥. 22. And the likenefs of their faces was the fame faces, &c.] Or their faces were like the fame, which I faw by the river of Chebar; which prove that the living creatures and the cherubim, muft be the fame: their appearance and themfelves, were exactly the fame; there was no difference in their faces, or in their bodies: they went every one firaight forward; their motion, as well as their form, were alike; they kept one even courfe, looking right on, and their eyes right before then.