Exposition of the Whole Bible

¥. 0. Wherefore I caufed them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, &c.| It was the Lord than brought them out from thence with a mighty hand and itretched-out arm; that obliged Pharaoh to let them go, and gave them favour in the eyes of the Egyptians, that they went out unmolefted by them and brought them into the wildernefs, before they. went into the land of Canaan; here they had freedom from their bondage, and were in a wonderful

‘manner provided for by the Lord, guided, fupported; preferved, and at laft brought to the pre- y. rr. And I gave them my flatutes, &c.] The precepts of his law, the law on mount Sinai, of

‘which there were not the like among other nations;

nor were they given unto them, but were a fpecial gift unto J/rae, and greatly to be valued, Deat.

obférving them: the fame as before, called ftatutes,

‘becaufe appointed, fixed, and certain, being of inviolable and lafting obligation; and judgments, be= ing according to ftrict juftice and equity: thefe,.

‘tho’ they were originally written on man’s heart, yet fo obliterated by fin, that there was need not, only of their being afrefh written and publifhed, but of their being taught and made known; or of pointing out the ufe of them, and obligation to. them: which if a man do, he hall live in them, or by them®; in the land of Canaan, enjoying all the bleffings of a long and happy life: reference feems. to be had to Lev. xviii. 5. The Largum adds, “ in eternal life;” but eternal life is not to be obtained by the works of the law;, fince no man can perfectly obey or fulfil it, but is the pure gift of the grace of God.

¥. 12. Moreover, alfo, Igave them my febbaths, &c.] The Yargum is, “* the days of the fabbaths;” or fabbath-days, the feventh day-fabbaths, which recurring throughout the year are many; but be=. fides thefe, there were the year of remiffion, or the feventh year-fabbath; and the jubilee year, the oreat fabbath of all, once in fifty years; yea, Kimché thinks the feafts, fuch as the paffover, &c. are: included: now thefe are diftinguifhed from the ftatutes and judgments, or the precepts. of the law, which were of a moral nature; thefe being ritual. and. ceremonial, and were peculiar to the ‘ews, and continued but for a while; however, they were gifts, and valuable ones, of confiderable ufe and’: fignificancy: to be a fign between me and them, of his being their God, and they being his people 5. of his favour and good will to them, and of the» obligations they were under to him; of his having feparated and diftinguifhed them from all other nations of the world; thefe fabbaths being only given to them as a memorial of their deliverance out of Egypt, and as a pledge of their entering into the land of reft; and of the future reft to be enjoyed by Chrift, and in heaven, to all eternity; fort were fhadows of things to come, Col. ii. 16, 17 = that they might know that Iam the Lord that fane- tify them; feparate them from other nations, and by fuch means and opportunities, begin and carry on the work of fan¢tification in them; for the fabbaths, and the fervices of them, were ufeful te fuch purpofes; as Lord’s-days, and the work of them, are now. a.

W. 13. But the boufe of Irael rebelled: againft me in the wilderneft, &c.| Where they were wholly at the mercy of God, entirely dependent. upon him; and miracles were wrought every day for the fuftentation and prefervation of them from famine, wild beafts and enemies; yet they rebelled againft the Lord; provoked him bitterly by their manifold tranfgreffions, their ingratitude, unbelief and idolatry; and this not a few of them only, but the whole body of the people, the houfe of J/rael, the whole family, and that for. the fpace of forty years, Pf. xcv.9, 10: they walked not in my flatutes; did not make them the rule of their walk and converfation, and fteer the courfe of their lives and a¢tions by them, as they ought to have done: and they de/pifed my judgements; as not worthy their notice and regard, as ufelefs and unpro-_ fitable; nay, had an averfion to them, and a Joathing of them, as the word ® fignifies; fuch is the corrupt and wicked heart of man; it is enmity againit God and his law, and all that is good: which if aman do, be foall even live in them; fee the note on ¥. 11: and my fabbaths they greatly polluted, or profaned, or made them common’, that is, with other days; by going out for manna on them; by gathering fticks upon them; by doing their own work, fpeaking their own words, and feeking their own pleafure, and worfhipping falfe deities: then I faid, I wonld pour out my fury upon them in ‘the wildernefs to confume them, that they fhould not ‘enter into the land of Canaan, as-the generation that came out of Egypt were confumed in the wildernefs, excepting two, as the Loid threatened, Numb. xiv. 35:

y.14. But I wrought for my name's fake, that it foould not be polluted before the heathen, &c. See the note on ¥. 9. who would be ready to fay it was ‘for want of power, of faithfulnefs; or goodnefs, ‘that hedid not bring them into the promifed land; or there was no fuch’land to'bring them to. God’s ‘own glory was concerned, and that is his ultimate-end in all-he does; and is of more weight with him than-any other argument whatever: in whefe fight I brought them out, from Egypt, into the -wildernefs ‘this was done publickly in the fight of the Egyptians, they urging them to be

¥. 15. Yet alfo I lifted up mine hand unto them in the wilderne/s, 8c: | Swore unto them, as iny¥. 5,6: that I wonld not bring them into the land which I bad given ‘them; by promife to their fathers, and to them. ‘This isto be underftood of the generation that came out of Zigypt, that. received the ill report the fpies made, and-murmured againft the Lord; wheréfore he fwore in his wrath that they fhould ‘not enter into his -reft; or he would not bring them into the land of Canaan, fave Caleb and ‘fofhua; and accordingly none elfe entered but them, tho’ their.pofterity did; and fo both his oath to them, that they fhould not enter; and his oath to Abraham, that he would give to his feed the Jand, had their accomplifhment, Numb. xiv. 23, 24,30: aland flowing with milk and.boney, which is the glory of all lands, fee the note on y. 6.

y¥. 16. Becaufe they defpifed my judgments, and awaiked not in my ftatutes, but polluted my fabbaths, ‘&c.] Which were juft caufes of divine refentment and ~nger; fee the note on ¥. 13: for their beart went after their idols, which they had ferved in Egypt; and that led them off from the true wor-

thip and Service of God; no man can ferve two matters; if he holds to the one, and his heart is towards him, he’ll defpife the other; and yet theft

Jidols were no other, as the word fignifies, than dunghil-gods, as in ¥. 17. and fuch are all worldly things, in comparifon of God, that the heart of man is going after. “ey Oth yw. 17. Neverthelefs, mine eye fpared them fron deftroying them, 8&c.| Utterly, fo as to leave neither root nor branch; for tho’ the whole genera~ tion died excepting two, either by the immediate hand of God in wrath, or elfe by ordinary deaths: yet there was a generation raifed up in their ftead, to whom mercy was fhewn: neither did 1 make an jend of them in the wilderne/s, that they fhould be jno more a nation and people; tho’ the carcafes of them that believed not fell in the wildernefs, and never faw the good land, yet their pofterity was {pared to fee it, and did. ype ¥. 18. But I faid unto their children in the wildernefs, &c.] Or, then I faid*; his judements and ftatutes being neglected and defpifed by them, and good inftruétions and kind providences being of no ufe unto them; the Lord turns to their pofterity-whilft yet in the wildernefs: what follows feems to refer to thofe directions, inftructions.and exhortations givéni in the book of Deuteronomy by Mofes in the plains of Moab; a little before the children of Z/rael went over Fordan into the land of Canaan: walk ye not in the flatutes of your fathers, neither obferve their judgments, they were not only ‘not to imitate their parents in their open fins and tranfgreffions of God’s law; but they were not to follow them in the obfervance of fuch-rules of worfhip, which were of their own devifing, and they had formed into.a law: this takes greatly againit fuch who ‘think it a very heinous fin to relinguifh the religion of their anceftors, or that in which they were brought up; but if this does not appear to be according to the word of God, the ftatutes and judgments of our fathers fhould fand for nothing, yea fhould be rejected: nor defile yourfelves with their idols, idolatry, as it is abominable to God, is defiling to men, and renders them loathfome to him; and it being what their fathers practifed, will not excufe them; for as it was defiling to their fathers; it is no lefs fo to their children:,;

y. 19: Iam the Lord your God, &c.] Not only that had made them and preferved them, but had chefe them above all people to be his people; who had made a covenant with them; and had diftinguifhed them by his favours from all others: walk in my flatates, and keep my judgments, and do them; which he had given unto their fathers, and they had neglected and defpifed; thofe contained in thé decalogue, and in the whole book of Deuteronomy, and elfewhere.

y.20. And hallow my fabbaths, &c.] Or keep them holy, by abftaining from worldly bufinefs on them; by obferving all the duties of religion, private and public, to be performed on fuch days: and they {hall be a fign between me and you, of pre~ fent and future good; fee the note on ¥. 12: that ye may know that I am the Lord your God; not only acknowledge him to be the Lord their God, by obferving his laws, and fanétifying his fabbaths; but alfo have a larger experience of his grace and goodnefs, as their covenant-God.

¥.21: Notwithftanding, the children rebelled againft me, &c.] After the death of their fathers, when they were come into the plains of Moab; and juft going to enter the land;. they rebelled againft the Lord, and greatly provoked him, by joining themfelves to Baal-peor, the idol of Moab, they worfhipped, Numb. xxv. 3: they walked not in my flatutes, neither kept my judgments to do them; they did as their fathers before them; tho’ they faw with their eyes the judgments of God upon them, yet this did not deter them from following their evil ways: which if a man do, be fhall even live in them; {fee the note on ¥. 13: they polluted my fabbaths; yuft as their fathers had done, taking no warning by them, and what befel them: shen I faid, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplifh mine anger againft them in the wildernefs; twenty and four thoufand died on account of the idolatry of Baal-peor, Numb. xxv. 9.

¥. 22. Neverthele/s, I withdrew mine hand, &c.] When it was ftretched out againft them, as in the above inftance, and did not utterly confume them. The Targum is, *“* and I turned away the ftroke * of my might:” and wrought for my name's fake, &c. fee the notes on ¥. 9, 14.

¥.23. L lifted up mine hand alfo to them in the wilderne/s, &c.] Swore unto them, as in y. 5, 6,15: that I would fcatter them among the heathen, and difperfe them thro the countries, after they came to be fettled in the land of Canaan, they finning againft the Lord; which was fulfilled in the times of the Badbylonifh captivity, and in their deftruction by the Romans; but was threatened and foretold whilft they were in the wildernefs, Lev. xxvi. 33. Deut. xxxii. 26. with this compare P/- cvi. 26—30.

¥. 24. Becaufe they had not executed my judgments, &c.] Had not done that which was right and juft, as the Lord commanded them: dut had defpifed my ftatutes, and had polluted my fabbaths; as their fathers had done: and their eyes were after their fathers idols; which they had learned to ferve in Egypt, or brought with them from thence; thefe the eyes and the hearts of their children were after, as theirs had been; and they were more defirous, encouraged and emboldened to ferve them, becaufe they were their fathers; but this would not excufe their fin; yea, it was rather an aggravation of it, that they fhould follow them in fuch practices, for which they had been often reproved and punifhed.,

¥..25. Wherefore I gave them alfo ftatutes that were not good, &c.| Yea, were very bad; not the moral law, and the ftatutes of it; for that is holy, juft and good, tho’ the killing letter and miniftration of condemnation and. death to the tranforeflors of it; indeed thofe laws were both good, and bad to different perfons, as Abendana obferves; good to thofe that obferved them, but not good to thofe that tranfgrefied them, the iffue of which was death: rather thefe were the ftatutes and rites of the ceremonial law, which were not in their own nature good; nor did they arife from the nature and holinefs of God, but from his -will; and tho’ very good and ufeful under the legal difpenfation, until the Meffiah came, efpecially when attended to by faith, and with a view to him; yet had the fanction of death to many of them, that a man could not live by them: but it muy be,'the punifhments inflicted on them for their fins, by the plague, by fire, and by ferpents, are meant; which may be called /Patwtes and judgments; becaufe ordered and appointed by the Lord, and according to juftice: or, as many, both Fews and Chriftiens, think, the idolatrous laws, ufagesand cuftoms of other nations, the traditions of their fathers, their wicked laws and ftatutes, and their own; which being left to a reprobate mind, they were fuffered to walk in, to their hurt and ruin; which is fometimes the fenfe of the word give; and fo here, he gave, that is, he permitted them to obferve fuch ftatutes; and this fenfe is countenanced and confirmed by the following verfe; to which agrees Yarchi’s note, * I delivered them ** into the hand of their imagination (or corrupt ** nature) to {tumble at their iniquity;” fee Rom. i. 28. Kimchi interprets them, of laws, decrees,. tribute and taxes impofed upon them by their enemies that conquered them. The Targum is, “ and *¢ T alfo, when they rebelled againft my word, and ‘¢ would not obey my prophets, caft them far ‘¢ off, and delivered them into the hands of their ** enemies; and they went after their foolith ima- ‘<< gination, and made decrees which were not ** right:” and judgments, whereby they fhould not live; yea, which were deadly and deftruétive to them; which brought ruin, deftruction, and death upon them; for more is defigned than is exprefied:’ this was the effect of following the cuftoms of the nations, and. of walking in the ftatutes of their fathers, and of their own; whereas, had they walked according to the judgments and ftatutes of God, moral and ceremonial, they had lived comfortably and profperoufly.

¥.26. And I polluted them in their own gifts, &c.] Suffered them to defile themielves; or declared them to be, and treated them as, polluted perfons, in the gifts and facrifices which they oftered to idols, particularly their firft-born, as the next claufe explains it: ia that they caufed to pafs thro’ the fire, all that openeth the womb; this very likely they did, when they facrificed to Baal-peor, the fame with Molech, Numb. xxv. 3: that I might make them defolate; their families, by ftripping them of their children, their firft-born and ftrength: fe the end that they might know that Iam the Lord; a righteous God, in punifhing men for fin, in a way it deferves. Some intepret this, not of caufing the firft-born to pafs thro’ fire to an idol;. but of caufing them to pafs, or of fetting them apart, to the Lord, according to the law in £xod. xiii..12, where the fame word is ufed as here; and the fenfe is, that God declared them to be impure in, or. with all their gifts, by commanding them to caufe their firft-born to pafs to him, which they were. obliged to redeem; which fenfe is approved, of by Guffetius'; and fo Abendana, taking the words to refer to both, gives this fenfe of them, “ I pro+ ‘* nounced them impure, and removed them far “¢ from me, inftead of fanctifying them; becaufe ‘* they caufed every one that opens the womb to “* pafs from me, whom I commanded to give to ‘«* me for holinefs, but they have given them to ‘¢ idolatry;” rather according to Braunius ™, the words may be underftood of God’s rejecting, and caufing the firft-born to pafs from him, and not — fuffering them to offer gifts and facrifices unto - him; which may be meant by pronouncing them impure, or polluting them in their aifins cele was after the worfhip of the golden calf; when he took Aaron and his fons in their room. Tes

¥. 27. Therefore, fon of man, fpeak unto the houfe of Irael, and fay unto them, 8&c.| The elders of Urael, ¥. 1. who came'in the name of the whole body, and: reprefented them, and by whom the following meffage is fent unto them; or the prophet by them might fpeak unto them, as he is ordered: thus faith the Lord God, yet in this your fathers have blafphemed me. befides what they did in Egypt, and in the wildernefs, when they were come into the land of Canaan, fuch was their ingratitude, that to all the reft they added this wickednefs, to facrifice to other gods on every high hill, and in all thick trees; which was a blafpheming the name of God, and cafting reproach upon him: zn that they have committed a trefpafs againft me; idolatry is meant, defcribed in the next verfe,; and

é/ what is the ufe of it? to what end do you go there? is there not an altar built by my order and command to facrifice upon? is this high place better than that? does it anfwer a better end and purpofe? and the name thereof is called Bamab unto this dey; or an high place. The Septuagint alfo leaves the word untranflated, and calls it Adama; and the Arabic verfion, Abbana; fo they called their altars after the Gentiles, by whom they are called Gwuos; nor were they afhamed of it, but perfilted in fo calling them, from the firft ufe of them to the prefent time. Thefe are often catled Bamah and Bamot in the books of Kings. archi fays it is aterm of reproach, as if it was faid, Bamab— in what is it to be accounted of?

¥. 30. Wherefore fay unto the houfe of I/rael, thus which they committed, not thro’ ignorance and faith the Lord God, &c.] To the elders, as be- weaknefs, but voluntarily, againft light and knowledge; and: obftinately, notwithftanding all the remonftrances made unto them, and cautions, exhortations and reproofs given them. ¥. 28. For when I had brought them into the land, &c.] Brought them out of Egypt thro’ the wildernefs into the land of Cazaan, thro’ fo many difficulties, by fuch difplays of power, goodnets and truth: for the which I lifted up mine band to give it to them, which he fwore he would give unto them, and which he did, and fo fulfilled his word and oath; and which was an inftance of his bounty and goodnefs, and not owing to any merits of theirs: then they faw every high bill, and all the thick trees; as foon as they had got into the land, and took a view of it, they at once fixed their eyes upon the high hills and groves, as proper Om to fet up their idols on, and perform idoatrous worfhip in; in the one place more openly, and in the other more fecretly, as they might judge proper and neceflary; in which they imitated the heathens, who had their temples, idols, altars and facrifices amid{t groves and thick trees. So Hero- ‘dotus relates of the temple of Diana at Bubaftis in Egypt, that at the entrance of it there were rivulets from the Nile which flowed about it here and there, fhaded with trees;—and within were a vaft grove of the largeft trees, planted about the temple; and which he afterwards calls trees reaching to heaven: and they offered there their facrifices; either to the God of J/rael, as fome of them fometimes did, and which was finful; for tho’ they might offer facrifices, as were commanded, to a right object, yet not in the proper place: or rather to their idols; and fo the Septuagint and Arabic verfions, -to their own gods; which they had made to themfelves, and had chofe and approved of: and there they prefented the provocation of their offering; or their offering which provoked the wrath of God againft them; being fuch as either he had not appointed, or was offered in a wrong place, or to a wrong object; than which nothing could be more provoking to him; it was giving his glory to another, and his praife to graven images: there alfo they made their fweet favour; incente to their deities. The Targum is, the worthip of their facrifices: and poured out there their drink-offerings; libations of wine: all. kind of facrifices were offered up here by them which fhews to what lengths in idolatry they ran, and how dreadfully guilty they were. ‘ ¥. 29. Then 1 faid unto them, &c.} By his prophets that he fent unto them: what is the bigh place whereunto you go? what is the name of it?

fore: are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? they were: and commit: ye whoredom after their abominations? {piritual adultery; that is, idolatry, in the fame abominable manner? they did, as appears by what follows:

¥. 31. For when ye offer your gifts, &c.] And facrifices to idols, The Septuagint and Arabic verfions render it, the firft-fruits of your gifts 5 it may defign their firft-born; fee ¥.26. as the following claufe feems to explain it: when ye make your fons to pafs thro’ the frre; or betweeh two fires to AZoloch, as their fathers had done before them: ye pollute yourfelves with all your idols, even unto this day, by worfhipping idols, or dunghil-gods, as the word fignifies, as often obferved; they defiled themfelves with thofe filthy things, which they continued to do to that very day, and fo became more and more polluted; and were as their fathers had been, and therefore mutt expect to be ufed in like manner: and foall I be inquired of by you, O houfe of Ifrael? can you think that I will fuffer you to come and inquire of me? or to make your requefts to me? or can you hope to have an anfwer from me? at leaft, a favourable one, fuch as you could with for? as I live, faith the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you, fo confirming again with an oath, what he had before declared, y. 3. wherefore they might affure themfelves that they would not be acceptable to him, neither their perfons nor petitions, or be regarded by him.

¥. 32. And that which cometh into your mind, fhall not be at all, &c.] What they had contrived in their own breafts, and laid a plan of, and would gladly have brought about, fhould be fruftrated, take no effect, and come to nothing: shat ye fay, we will be as the heathen, live without God; not be in fubjection to him, or under his government, or be called by his name, or attend to his word, worfhip and ordinances; but join ourfelves to them, enter into alliance, and inter-marry with them; carry on trade and commerce with them, and embrace the fame religion; and then we fhall profper as they do, as well as no more incur the reproach of fingularity or precifenefs in religion: as the families of the countries; being incorporated into them, dwelling with them, and joining with them -

‘in the fame exercifes of religious worfhip: to ferve wood and ffone; images made of wood and ftone: Strange! that-a people that had a revelation from God, and fuch an experience of his power and goodnefs, fhould ever form fuch a {cheme, or once think of entring into fuch meafures, fo grofly abfurd and fcandalous.

form of an oath; the Lord {wears by his own life, ufed more than once before; it fuppofes fomethine of moment, and the certain performance of it: furely with a mighty band, and with a firetchedout arm; from which none can efcape, and which none can withftand: and with fury poured out; like floods of water, in a violent hafty fhower of rain, it denotes the abundance of divine wrath, and the fudden and fure execution of it: will I rule over you; not ina gentle and merciful way, but with great rigour and feverity; tho’ they had contrived to withdraw themfelves from under his dominion and government, by joining with the Gentiles, and conforming to their laws and cuftoms, and complying with their religious rites and idolatrous practices; yet they fhould not be able to accomplifh their defigns; they fhould be fo far from being free men; as they promifed themfelves; that whereas they did not chufe to be his voluntary and faithful fubjects, he would keep a watchful eye and a ftrict hand over them as rebels, and rule them with a rod of iron, as well as with a fceptre of righteoufnefs; and would be king over them, and they Should be fubject to his authority, whether they would or no.

¥. 34. Iwill bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries, wherein ye are feattered, &c.] The Egyptians, Ammonites, and others; where they went for fafety and protection, and among whom they intended to fettle, and had formed a {cheme to caft off the yoke of God and his worfhip, and be no more a nation or people under his government; but mix themfelves with thefe nations, and become a part of them, and join with them in all matters, civil, commercial and religious; but here the Lord will not fuffer them to continue, but will bring them out from hence: with a mighty band, and a ftretched-out arm, and with fury poured out; as before, ¥. 33. tho’ fome think this is to be underftood as a favour to the J/raelites, who fhould be brought out of the countries of the idolatrous Gentiles by mighty power, and with marks of wrath and difpleafure upon the nations; defigning hereby the good of his people, that they might be reduced to his government, and live happily and comfortably under him, and not be deftroyed and loft among the nations.

¥. 35. And I will bring you into the wilderne/s of the people, &cc.} Into Babylon, and into captivity there, which they thought to avoid by fleeing to other countries, Some think that thofe inhofpitable nations are meant, Syro-media, Ca/pia, Hyrcania, Iberia, and others, into which many of the Jews were brought, who fought to live elfewhere than at Babylon; and others are of opinion, that this refpects the time of their return from Badylon to their own land, between which lay a wildernefs, here referred to; but perhaps the prophecy refpects the prefent ftate of the Jews, in which they have continued ever fince their deftruction by the Romans; thro’ whom they have been brought among the feveral nations of the world, particularly the Roman empire, compared to a wildernefs; and reprefented as a populous one, as it is, and in which the beaft er antichrift now is; fee Rev. xvii. 3: and there will I plead with you face-to face, judge, condemn, and take vengeance, or inflict punifhment on them in the moft public manner, as he now does. The Targum is, ‘* and { will take vengeance on you “* face to face.”

¥. 36. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the

wildernefs of the land of Egypt, &c.] Which was over-againit the land of Agypt, near unto it, om the borders of it; and into which the people immediately went, when they came out of £eypt, and pafled the Red-/ea, and the Arabic verfion is, ‘¢ when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.” This refers to the controverfy the Lord had with the J/raelites, for murmuring upgn the report of the {pies; and the fentence he pafiéd upon them, that they fhould not enter into the land of Caxzaan, ‘but their carcafes fhould fall in the wildernefs, amb. xiv. 29, 30: fo will I plead with you, faith the Lord God, take vengeance on them, as the Lar- gums who difbelieve the Meffiah, reject him, and will not have him to reign over them thefe are now punifhed, by a difpertion of them in the wilderneis of the nations, where they die and perifh, and fee not their own land.

¥. 37. And I will caufe you ta pafs under the rod, &¢.] That is, fuch whom God will not take vengeance on, and fhall not die in the wildernefs of the people; but whom he will have mercy on, and fhew favour to, and bring at length into their owh land; thefe he indeed will bring under the rod of correction and chaftifement, by which they fhall be brought toa fenfe of fin, a confeffion of it, humiliation for it, and to feck to Chrift for falwation — from it; or under the rod of his word, the rod of his ftrength, he fends out of Zion the gofpel, the power of God unto falvation; by which they fhall be brought to agree unto, and comply with, the way of falvation by Chrift; to fubmit to his righteoufnefs; to embrace the doctrines of the gofpel, and be fubje& to the ordinances of it: or the allufion is to fhepherds, in taking an account of their flocks, or at the tithing of them, who {trike and mark them with their rod, Lev. xxvit. 32. Yer. Xxxiii. 13. and thus, as the Lord has in election diftinguifhed his fheep from others, taken an exact account of them, and {et his feal or mark of foreknowledge on them; fo in effectual vocation he feparates them from. others, takes fpecial knowledge of them, and fets his mark of fantification on them. ‘This will be the cafe of the converted ews in the latter day: and I well bring you into the bond of the covenant, or, the difcipline of the covenant, as the Syriac verfion; the fame with the rod of correction, being what is provided in covenant for the good of the covenant-ones. This covenant is the covenant of grace; the bond of which are not faith, repentance and new obe~ dience; for thefe are parts and bleflings of the coyenant; nor any outward ordinance; not circums cifion formerly, nor baptifm and the Lord’s-fupper now; which perfons may fubmit to, and yet not be in the covenant: but it defigns that which makes the covenant firm, fure and lafting; which are the everlafting love of God, from whence it fprings; his unchangeable counfel, ‘according to which it proceeds; his folemn oath, that it thall never be removed; his faithfulnefs, which will not fuffer it to be made void; and his power, which — will accomplith every article of it; and the blood of Chrift, which ratifies and confirms it. So Kimchi interprets it, ‘* I will bind you ina covenant —

“* that ye fhall not go out of it forever:” or it is that which binds perfons, or lays theny under obligation to love, fear and ferve the Lord; and that is the love of God and Chrift, and the exceeding great and precious promifes of the cove-

‘nant; and now into this fure, firm and. obliging, covenant the Lord has brought all his chofen ones 2; in

Ch. xx. ¥. 3842. E Z in eternity, when it was firft made with Chrift; and into which he may be faid to bring them in time, as he will the converted Hews, when he manifefts ic to them, and applies the bleflings and promifes of it; fhews them it, and their intereft in it. _ ¥. 38. And Iwill purge out from among you the rebels, and them that tranfere/s againft me, 8&cc.] All men are enemies, and enmity itfelf againft God; and every fin is an act of hoftility and tebellion againft him; every tranfgreffion and violation of his law is a cafting off of allegiance to him, and atrampling upon and defpifing his legiflative power and authority; wherefore rebels and tran{grefiors of his law are put together; the one being explanative of the other. The people of the ews were always more or lefs a rebellious people; fo they were in the times of Moj/es, and all the while that he was with them, and were notorioufly fo in the times of Ezekiel; and therefore are often fo defcribed in this book; but they were not all fo; fuch as were, the Lord here declares that he would fingle them out, as. goats from among his fheep he brought under the rod, and purge them as chaff from the wheat; that finners in Zioz fhould be yo more in the congregation of the righteous: J will bring them forth out of the country where they fojourn, or countries; wherever they have been pilgrims and fojourners, as they now are; wherever they are; it looks as if a little before or when, the remnant of God, according to the election of his grace, fhall be converted, that the reft fhall be collected together into fome one place, and be deftroyed as rebels: and they fhall not enter into the land of Ifrael; when the converted Jews fhall; an emblem of carnal J/raelites, wicked profediors, being not admitted into the new Ferujulem, and being excluded the-kingdom of heaven: and ye foall know that I cm the Lord, that knows all things, can do all things, and will faithfully and punctually perform all that is promifed, threatened, or predicted,

¥. 39. As for you, O house of Ifrael, &c.] The then prefent houfe of J/rae/, and the elders of it, who were upon the fpot with the prophet: go ye, ferve ye every one his idols; or dunghil-gods; fince they liked not to ferve the true God: this is not giving them leave to ferve idols, or approving their idolatrous practices; but is faid ironically, as Kimchi and Ben Melech obferve, who compare it with Eccl. xi. 9: and hereafter alfo, if ye will not hearken unto me, not only ferve them now, but for the future; feeing ye chufe not to hearken to my voice, to obey my laws, and to worfhip me, and me only; for it fuggefts, thet it was better to attend to the fervice of the one, or of the other, and not halt between two-opinions; but either, if the God of J/rae/ was the true God, then ferve him, and him only; but if Baa/, or any other heathen deity was fo, then ferve them, and keep ferving them: dut pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols; ta worfhip him along with them, and them along with him; to pretend they worfhipped him in them, and offered their gifts and facrifices to him thro’ them; and fo made ufe of his. name as a cover to their idolatrous practices: this was a polluting his name, and was abominable to. him. |

¥. 40, Hor in mine holy mountain, in the. mountain of the beight of Irael, faith the Lord God, &c.] Alluding to mount Zion, or Moriah, on which the semple was built, on the higheft part of the land.

LREVP SRE Me 99 of Urael, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe, here the gofpel-church is meant, comparable to. a mountain, for its firmnefs and durablenets; faid to be a holy one, becaufe confitting of holy perfons, performing holy worfhip to an holy God; and repre+ fented as high, being eftablifhed, as it will be in the latter day, upon the top of the mountains, and be very vifible and glorious: there fall all the houfe of Ifrael, all of them in the land ferve me; when all //rael fhall be faved, or converted, and the rebels and tranfgreffors being purged - away from them; they fhall join themfelves to the gofpel-church, and in it ferve the Lord, according to the rules of the gofpel, and the ordinances of it; even all of them that fhall enter into their own land, and dwell in it; the reft being not admitted to it: there will I accept them; their perfons, and their facrifices of prayer and praife being offered up, in the name and faith of Chrift, that altar which fanctifies every gift; fee Jf lvi. 7: and there will [ require your offerings, and the firft-fruits of your oblations, with all your boly things, meaning the offering up of their perfons, bodies and fouls, as a living, holy and acceptable facrifice, which he would require of them as their reafonable fervice; together with all holy duties of prayer, praife and beneficence; facrifices with which God is well pleafed thro? Chrift and his facrifice; and which are the only facrifices he now requires under the gofpeldifpenfation; for ceremonial ones he does not require, feek after, enjoin or accept; thefe are done away, and made void by the facrifice of his fon; only it may be obferved, as in other places and prophecies of gofpel-times, that New Teftamentworthip is exprefled by the phrafes, forms and ufages fuited to the Old Teftament, fee P/. xl. 6.

y.41. I will accept you with your fweet favour, &c.} Their fins being expiated by the facrifice of Chrift, which is unto God for a fweet {melling favour; and their perfons being clothed with the robe of his righteoufnefs, and the garments of his falvation, all whofe garments {mell of myrrh, aloes and caffia; the goipel being the favour of life unto life unto them; and the favour of the knowledge of Chrift being communicated to them by it; and alfo the favour of his good ointments, the graces of the Spirit, being imparted to them: when I bring you out of the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye bave been fcattered; which will not only be locally and literally true of them, when the Fews are converted, that they fhall be collected together out of all nations where they now are difperfed, and return to their land; but fpiritually alfo, they being effectually called out from among the men of the world, and to leave their former company, cuftoms and lufts: and I will be fanétified in you before the heathen, the Gentiles, chriftian men; who will take notice of the power, and grace, and goodnefs of God, in the converfion and reftoration of them, and praife and glorify him on account of it; and when he will be vifibly feared, ferved and worfhipped in the midft of them.

y.42. And ye foall know that I am the Lord, &c.] The one only Jehovah, that keeps cove~ nant; performs promifes; is faithful to his word; is kind, gracious and merciful, as well as mighty and powerful; and all this they fhall experimentally know, and publickly own and acknowledge: when I fhall bring you into the land of Irael; which will be the Lord’s dding; his hand and his power will be fignally feen in it: this is one of the places 'in prophecy, which clearly afferts, that the Jews,when converted, fhall be brought into their own land again: into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand, to give it to your fathers; that is, which he fwore he would give unto them.

¥. 43. And there ye foall remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled, &c.| Their rejection of the Meffiah; their continued difbelief of him; their obftinacy, hardnefs, and impenitence; their adherence to the traditions of oF elders, to the making void the word of God, gether with the moft flagrant immoralities that ever any people were guilty of, and which are of a very defiling nature, and made them abominable in the fight of God; thefe now the Spirit of God convincing them of, theyll remember with fhame and confufion, and mourn over them in an evangelical way; and the more fo, when they fhail find themfelves reinftated in their own land, enjoying all civil and religious privileges and liberties under Chrift their king, whom they will now know, own, and ferve; fee Zech. xii. 10: and ye fhall loath yourselves in your own fight, for all your evils that ye have committed, againft God and Chrift; againft the law of the one, and the gofpel of the other. Sin is a loathfome thing to God; and it is fo to his people, when they are thoroughly convinced of it, and they loath themfelves for it; and never more fo, than when they have the greateft inftances and cleareft difcoveries of the love and grace of God in Chrift to them; then they blufh, are afhamed of themfelves and their fins; and are confounded, when they perceive the Lord is pacified towards them, and their fins are forgiven for Chrift’s fake: fin never appears more odious and loathfome, than when viewed in the glafs of pardoning love; fee Ezra ix. 6, 8. Ezek. xvi. 63.

y. 44. And ye foall know that I am the Lord, &c.] Jehovah their righteoufnefs, their Redeemer and Saviour, Lord and King; they fhall: know Chrift and him crucified, and God in Chrift as their covenant-God; fee the note on y¥. 42: when i have wrought with you for my name's fake; in the thorough converfion of them; not that there is any co- opstetan with God in that work; minifters indeed are co-workers, not as efficients, but inttruments; perfons converted are wholly paflive i in the firft work of converfion or regeneration; and in all after-actings move as they are acted, turn being turned, walk and run being drawn, not being able to.do any thing as of “themfelves; but the phrate fignifies a working: i in favour of them; doing great ching ys for them, and good things in them, ‘well plealing in his fight, and good t unto them; plnoking them as br waits out of abe burning; taking them out of the hands of fatan.; calling them out of darknefs into light, and bringing them out of bondage into: liberty; and allthis for his oven) name sake, of his own will. and pleafure, according to his abundant mercy, and for the glory of -his rich grace; “ot according to.your “aoicked ways, not according to your corrupt doings, O ye houje of Iracl, faith the Lord God; had he, they muft have perifhed in their fins, and been mi- {erable for ever; but he meither proceeds according. to the bad works, nor the good works of men, in “calling and converting them, but according to his own purpate and grace, 2 Tim. -ingitheir ‘evil works don’t hinder his grace when he’srefolved nay 48 ery fn? flamma flamma, pro flamma continua & perpetua, Vatablus Racine inflammatifiima, Jest See