Exposition of the Whole Bible

double reading. The Keri or marginal reading, which we follow, has it, my /error ©; but the Cetis or writing is, bis terror; and fo read the Septuagint, Syriac and Arabic verfions; both may be taken, and the fenfe be, I have caufed or faltered him Pharach king of Egypt to be a terror to the nations about him, particularly to the land of J rael, which the Targum exprefsly mentions, as the land of the living; and now I'll terrify him who has terrified others: and be fhall be laid in the midft of the uncircumcifed, with thofe that are flain with the fword; fhalt have a common burial with other heathen nations; even with fuch, who, in a way of judgment, have perifhed by the {word of their victorious enemies, as he will: even Pharaoh and all bis multitude, faith the Lord God; the king of Egypt, his fubjects, and his foldiers, as numerous as they are; and thus ends this doleful ditty, and funeral dirge or lamentation, compofed, taken up; and fung for Pharaoh as ordered, thereby to affure him of his certain deftruction, ple, but what is by the order, direction or permiffion of the Lord. The Targum is, “ thofe “< that kill with the fword;” an army of men that ‘enter into a land fword in hand, with an intent to conquer and deftroy: if the people of the land take a man of their coafts; that lives upon their borders, and fo is acquainted with all the places where it is moft likely an enemy fhould enter; or a man out of the midft of them, as the Zargum,; fo this phrafe fometimes fignifies, Gen. xlvii. 2. one of their own people, who might be thought to have their good and fafety at heart, and might’be trufted: and fet him for their watchman, on fome place of eminence; on the walls, or in a tower of a frontier town, from whence he might defcry the enemy coming at a diftance.

y. 3. If when he feeth the fword come upon the land, &c.] Or thofe that kill with the fword, as the Zargum as foon as he obferves a body of armed men, more or lefs, marching towards the borders of the land with a manifeft intention to enter and’ invade it: be blow the trumpet, and warn the people;:warn the people by blowing the trumpet, the fignal agreed on 3, by which they would underftand: that an enemy was at hand, or danger near; or warn them by word of mouth, as well as by the trumpet, where he could do it, and when it was neceffary.

¥. 4: Then whofoever heareth the found of the trumpet, and taketh no warning, &c.| Does not’ ‘mind the notice given him; is incredulous of the danger he is in, or negligent of providing for his - fafety; fanfies ’tis an alarm, and nothing elfe; ‘and imagines there’s no real danger, or what is a mere. trifle, or that the enemy is at a great diftance, and it is time enough to provide for his defence: if the fword come and take him away; thofe that kill with the fword, as the Targum, come fuddenly on him, and take away his life, or carry him captive: Ais blood foal be upon bis own bead;

the ‘guilt of his laughter, as the Targum; the fin will be his own; it muft be brought in wilful mur-— der; no blame can be laid upon any, but himfelf; the watchman will be clear.;

« i 5. He beard the found of ibe truntpet, &c.] The alarm of the enemy being at hand, and fo was inexcufable: and took not warning, which that gave him: his blood fhall be upon him; the fault fhall be imputed to himfelf, and not another; and he muft bear it himfelf, and anfwer for it, and not the watchman: but he that taketh worning, foall deliver bis foul; who, hearing the found of the trumpet, prepares for his own defence, and provides for his fafety, he fhall fave his life, and not fall into the enemies hands.

¥.6. But if the watchman fee the fword come, &c.] Or thofe that kill with the fword, as the Targum is; fo far doing the duty of his office, as to be in the watch-tower, and not afleep: and yet blow not the trumpet; to give the people notice of the enemy, and of their danger: and the people be not warned, but in the utmoft fecurity, not apprehending themfelves to be in any danger at all: if the fword come and take any perfon from among them even tho’ but a fingle perfon: he is taken away in his iniquity, having had no time to have ig fet before him, and to_be corivinced, and to repent of it, and feek for pardoning mercy for it; it is a dreadful thing thus to be taken out of the world, and fnatched into hell at once: dt bis blood will I require at the watchman’s hands; he fhall be punifhed for not-doing his duty, for not giving the due warning of danger, on which account the man was furprifed with the enemy, and taken away unawares; and therefore his death fhal]l be laid to the watchman, and he muft be anfwerable for It.

¥.7. So thou, O fon of man, &c.] Here begins the application of the parable to the prophet himfelf, defcribing his office and his duty: I ave fet thee a watchman unto the boufe of Ifrael, which is repeated from ch. iii. 17. fee the note there. The Targum is, “* I have appointed thee a teacher;” a fpiritual watchman; fo paftors, teachers, minifters of the gofpel, are watchmen, 2 Tim. iv. 5. Hed. Rill. 17: therefore thou shalt bear the word from my mouth, and warn them from me. ‘The Targum is, “€ thou fhalt receive the word from my Word, and «© warn them from finning before me.”

¥.8. When I fay unto the wicked, O wicked man, &c.] Order the prophet to fay fo to him, and as follows; fee the note on ch. iii. 18.

¥.9. Neverthele/s, if thou warn the wicked of his way, &c.} See the note on ch. iil. 19.

y. 10. Therefore, O thou fon of man, [peak unto the houfe of Ifrael, 8&cc.] Such of them as were with him in the captivity: ‘hus ye /peak, faying; reafoning and arguing within and among themfelves; which the Lord heard, and made known to the prophet, who is.bid to repeat it to them in order to give an anfwer: if our tranfgreffions and our fins be upon us, and we pine away in them; as ‘the prophet faid they fhould, ch. xxiv. 23. with which he had concluded his prophecies to them; and now they take it up, and argue againft them- fhould live, and yet pine away in our fins; fo that thefe are the words of perfons both defpairing, and making the prophet to fay things oppofite and, con® tradictory, and which would not admit of a recon= ciliation; fee ch. Xxxvil, 11. 450 Flats aie

¥.12. Therefore thou fon of man, fay unto the children of thy people, 8c.] See the.note on y. 2.; The purport of what the. prophet is bid.to fay in - this and fome following verfes is, that the righte= oufnefs of a man that trufts in it, he finning and — not repenting, fhall not fave him; and that the wickednefs of a repenting finner fhall not damn him: the righteoujfne/s of the righteous foall not de liver him in the day of his. tranfereffion; this: mutt be underftood, not. of a truly righteous man, or of the righteoufnefs of Chrift, by which fuch a one is madefo; for that righteoufnefs. does deliver thofe to whom it is imputed, from fin, and thé condemnation of it, even in the day of his, tranfgreffion, which is every day of his life; for there is not a juit man that does good, and finneth not; and in the day when his fin is fhown him, and he is convinced of it, this removes the guilt of it; and in the day it will be fought for, or he may be charged with it, and when the fins of others will be brought to an account, the righteoufnefs by which he is juftified will deliver him from avenging juftice; from the curfe of the law;- from the wrath of God; from eternal death, and everlafting damnation: but this is to be interpreted of one that is not truly righteous, and of a man’s own righteoufnefs; and which he trufts to, as is:afterwards exprefled, and may and does: turn. from: this can never deliver a man: in the; day of his tran{greffion from the guilt and condemnaation: of it; for a man’s own righteoufnefs is- but what. he ought to do; and was it ever fo perfect, yet fhould he commit one fingle fin, it would not, juttify him from it, or deliver him from the curfe, of the law; and wrath of God due unto it: as for the.wickednefs of the wicked, he fball not fall thereby'in the day that be turneth from bis,.wickednefs; when he is truly convinced of: his fin, and. the ‘evil, of it; is heartily forry for it, after, a godly fort; ingenus oufly confeffes it, and departs from it; applies to Chrift, to his blood and. righteoufnefs, for pardon and acceptance; tho’ his wickednefs has beén ever fo great, or attended with, ever fuch aggravating circumftances, yet it fhall. not damn, him; or he fhall not fall by it into hell and’ everlafting perdition; but fhall be faved in the Lord’ with afi everlafting falvation:: either fhall the righteous be able to live for his righteoufnefs, ix the day that be felves, and againft him; if our fins and tranfgref- Jinneth; he can’t live, by it, nor for it;<as it can’t fions are laid upon us, and we muft an{wer for them; if the guile of them is charged on us, and they are un-expiated and un-atoned for; and the punifliment of them is, or will be inflicted on us, and we do, and muft pine away, and be confumed in them, and by them: Low fhould we then live? as thou promifeft us upon repentance; it is all over with us; there is no hope for us; what fignify our repentance, or thy promifes of life unto us; thefe things can never hang together, that we juftify him, it can’t. fave him, or bring him»to heaven, or entitle him to eternal life; he-isinot able to live comfortably now; when his: fin’ is charged upon him, his righteoufnefs will| not relieve him; and much lefs will he. be able: to live happily hereafter; he muft and will die’in his fins, being found in them,..for any thing: his own righteoui{nefs can do for him: this is the fame with the former claufe, and is repeated in different words: for the confirmation of it; felf-righteous perfons hot being eafily convinced of the truth of thefe' judgment, by way of accufation and complaint, or y¥. 13. When I foall fay to the righteous, that he fooall furely live, &c.] A happy life, here and hereafter; an eternal life, and not die the fecond death: this muft be underftood, fhould he appear a truly righteous perfon; one that does not truft to his own righteoufnefs, but to the righteoufnels of Chrift, and lives by faith on that; looking for the hope of righteoufnefs thro’ it, and behaving agreeable to his character: but if be truff to his own righteoufnefs, and commit iniquity; as he will by trufting to it; if he trufts to it for acceptance with God, and jutftification in his fight, and thinks himfelf proof againft all temptation to fin on account of it; and that he has righteoufnefs enough to make amends for fins committed, or for other fins he may commit; and which he may venture upon thro’ this falfe notion, and fo be led on to an open courfe of finning, and feries of committing iniquity: all bis righteoufnefs fhall not be remembered, God will take no notice of it; it fhall be of no avail to juftify him from fin, and fecure him from wrath; it will be as if it never had been: but for his iniquity that he bath committed, he fhail die for it; an eternal death, which is the juft wages of fin; from which a man’s own righteoufnefs can never deliver him, tho’ the righteoufnefs of Chrift does deliver from it; fee Prov. x. 2. and xi. 4.

¥.14. Again, when I fay unto the wicked, thou foalt furely die, &c.] That is, provided he continues in the fame courfe of life, impenitent and unbelieving: but if be turn from his fin; repent of it, and forfake it: and do that which is lawful and right; or judgment and juftice; do that which is agreeable to the law of God, and what is right between man and man; lives foberly, righteoufly and godly, as well as denies ungodlinefs and worldly lufts; whereby it appears that his repentance is genuine and true.

y. 15. If the wicked reftore the pledge, &c.| His neighbours raiment, which he has taken as a pledge for money lent him; and which, according to the law, was to be reftored before fun-fet, Exod. xxii. 25, 26,27. which wicked men did not attend unto; but when fuch a man is brought to a fenfe of his wickednefs, and repentance for it, as an evidence of it he would reftore the pledge: and give again that he had robbed; to him whom he had robbed; as a thief was obliged to do, four or five-fold, according to the law, Exod. xxii. 1. and which, when a man did voluntarily, from the convictions of his own mind, and not by force of the civil magiftrate, it was a fign of true repentance; fee Luke xix. 8: and walk in the ftatutes of life; the rule of life and converfation, and to the keeping of which the promife of long life is annexed; and which preferve perfons from dying a fhameful death by the hand of the civil magiftrate; ftatutes, which, if a man do, he fhall live in them; fee ch, xx. 11: without committing iniquity; not living entirely without fin, which the beft of men do not; but without committing groffer fins, as before; and without making a trade of finning, and living in it: be fall furely live, be fhall not die; he thall live comfortably now, and happily hereafter; he fhall live a fpiritual life, and not die the fecond death.;

y¥. 16. None of his fins that he hath committed to his condemnation: he hath doxue that. which is lawful and right, has repented of his fin; looked ° to Chrift by faith for the pardon of it;and laid hold on his righteoufnefs for his juftification; and. being influenced and affifted by the grace of God, has done that which is right and good in the fight of God and man: be fhall furely live; he now lives. a life of faith and holinefs;, he fhall continue. to live, and perfevere to the end, and inherit eternab life; feech. xviii. 21, 22. cobbtion y.17. Yet the children of thy people fay, 8ce.} Not my people; for furely the children of God could never fay what follows; and one would think, that even no man could fay it, after fo much had been faid by the Lord concerning the righteous and the wicked, and his dealings with them, which muft appear to be juft and right, good and gracious; and yet fuch were the atheifm, the perverienefs and peevifhnefs of thefe people, they went.om to fay as they had done before: the way of the Lord-ts not equal; is not according to the rules of juftice and equity. The Targum is, ‘* the ways ot: the ‘* goodnels of the Lord are not made plain~(or “ expofed) unto us.”. The aniwerto which is, but as for. them, their way is not equal, according to the rule of the divine word;.as for God, his way and methods, both of providence and. grace, were right and good; fee the note on ch, xviii, 2a. it

¥. 18. When the righteous turneth from bis vighi¢- oufuefs, &c.] This and what is faid in the, following verfe are clear inftances of the equality, juftnefs and,goodnefs of the ways of God; and are again repeated, if poffible, to make it clear and plain to them, that their charge and complaint were groundlefs; fee the notes on ch. xviii. 24, 26. ana ¥.19. But. if the wicked turn from, bis, wickednefs, 8c.] See the note on ch. Xviil. 27... ¥.20. Yet ye fay, the way of the Lord is, not, equal, &c.] Still obftinately perfifting, ‘in. their falfe charges, notwithftanding plain proofs to the. contrary: O ye houje of Ifrael, I will judge you every one after bis ways; tee the note on ch. xviii. 30. ¥.21. Aud it came to pafs in the twelfth year of our captivity, &cc.] — Of Fecoxiah’s captivity, whem, Ezekiel with others were carried into Babylon; dee ch. i. 2: In the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month; which was a year, four months, and fome days after the city of ‘Jerujalem was taken; for that. was deftroyed in the eleventh yeat of Zedekiab, and fo of the captivity, and in the fifth month and tenth day of the month, 2 Kizgs xxv..2. Yer. linia. It is much it was not known at Babylon before; tho’ fo it might, and yet not one that efcaped came to Eze. kiel fooner to give him an account of it, which he had feen with his eyes. The Syriac verfion reads j it, in the elventh year, and fo makes it but a few months after the deftruction, and it may be obferved, that it is promifed by the Lord,: ch. xxiv. 26. that on the day the city was taken, one fhould efcapé, and bring the. prophet the news; that is, directly, immediately, in a very fhort time, as foon as it was poffible that he could arrive to him; and yet, as taken notice, here were a year and almoft five months before’ he reached him, which feems pretty ftrange. ‘The difficulty may be folved in this.

foall be mentioned unto bim, &c.] Imputed to him; placed to his account; charged upon him, or ever be fpoke of to him, either now, or at the day of manner: Ezekiel reckons from the captivity of Feconieh, which began in the month Ci/leu; and the computation in 2 Kings xxv.2. Yer. lil, 12. is from Zedem.

wiah’s reign, which is to be reckoned ftom the month NVi/an, and from the firft Ni/an of his reign, for it is a rule with the ews *, that the beginning of the year for kings is the firft of Ni/an; fo that the tenth month from the captivity is the fixth from Nifen, whence it appears, there was not a full month from the city being burnt, to the news being brought to Ezekiel; which was tiine fhort enough in fuch a troublefome feafon, to take a journey fron Ferufalem to Babylon, for Zedekiah not being crowned before the Ni/an following the captivity, the computation of his reign did not begin till that NVi/an, which makes this difference in the chronology. According to bifhop Ujper*, this meffenger came to Ezekiel the 25th of Yanuary, the fourth day of the week (Wednefday), in the year of the Julien period 4124, and before Chrift 587: that one that had efcaped out of Ferufalem, came unto me; as it was foretold and promifed he fhould, ch. xxiv. 26: /aying, the city is fmitten, the city of Ferufalem; the walls were broken down, the houfes burnt, and the whole deftroyed.

y.22. Now the hand of the Lord was upon me in the ewening, afore be that was efcaped came, &c.

The prophet felt a divine impulfe on his mind; he was under the influence of a fpirit of prophecy, and knew before the mefflenger came to him what his mefiage was, and was prepared to receive it, and to prophefy upon its for this is to be underftood of prophecy, as the Targum, ‘* prophecy “© from before the Lord was with me in the even- << ing *;” fee Uf. vili. 11: and had opened my mouth, until be came to me in the morning; the hand of the Lord, or the power of the Lord had done it, as he promifed he would, ch. iii. 27. fo that he fpoke freely and boldly, and continued to do fo trom the evening to the time the meflenger came to him in the morning, to all thofe that were with him: and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb; as he had been for three years paft; for tho’ he had been prophefying againft feveral nations, yet thefe prophecies were not delivered, ’tis very likely, by word.of mouth, but by writing, and fent into thofe countries by proper meffengers; but now the prophet’s mouth is opened by the Spirit of God, as it was faid it fhould, when this mefienger fhould come to him, ch. xxiv. 27. and from this time he was not filent, but prophefied to his people, the Fews, verbally, as he was bid to do by the y¥. 23. Then the word of the Lord came unto me, &c.} After the meffenger had delivered his meffaze, and he had received it, and converfed with him about it: /aying, as follows:

y. 24. Son of many. they that inhabit thofe waftes of the land of Ifrael, &c.) The places which were laid wafte by Nebuchadnezzar’s army, going and returning, in and about Feru/alem, and in feveral parts of ‘fudea; thefe were they that were left in the land after the deftruction, to people and plant it; or who, having fled to diftant parts, were now returned, and took poffeffion of it, tho’ it was in a wretched condition, a mere wafte or defert; and yet they were lifted up with it, and proud and haughty, as their language fhews: for thus they fpeak, faying, Abrabam was one, and he inherited the land; he was but one, and had no child, when

BRK Fd: SL, i166 the promife of inheriting the land was made ants him; and he was but a fingle worfhipper of God, g}and yet he had this favour and Dia ek but we are many, the land is given us for inheritance; {0 they oppofe themfelves to Abraham, and argue from the lefler to the greater; that if a fingle petfon was vouchfafed to inherit it, then much more many; and thofe of his feed; and to whom the land was particularly given for an inheritance, and who were now in the pofleffion of it, as 4érabam never was; and being many, were able to defend their right, and fecure themfelves in the enjoyment of it; all which reafoning fhows their ptide and vanity, tho” they were under fuch humbling circumftances their land-being wafte, their numbers leffened, and the enemy had but juft quitted it, having made dread= ful devaftations in it; and which had had no influence upon them to reform thein, or bring them to repentance, as the following verfes fhew. ¥.25. Wherefore fay unto them, thus faith the Lord God, &c.] Send them this meflage in writing as from the Lord; for the prophet was now in Chaldea, and could not deliver it by word of mouth to thofe that inhabited the waftes of J rael;

but he could tell it to the meffenger that came to him, who had efcaped from Feru/alem; or fend it by him, or fome other: ye eat with the blood; or rather upon, or by the blood'; contrary to the law in Lev, xix. 26. which is a different law from that in Gen. ix. 4. and from that in Lev. iii. 17. and vii: 26,27. and refers to an idolatrous practice of the heathens, which thefe Jews imitated; who, having flain and offered their facrifices to devils, fat down round about the blood of them, and ate their food, or part of their facrifice by it, as Kimchi on the text obferves. The account Maimonides ™ gives of the Zabians is this, “* you muft know ** (fays he) that the blood is reckoned very unclean and impure by the Zadians, yet is ate by them, becaufe they think it is the food of devils; and that he that eats it by this means, obtains fome communications with them; fo that they converfe familiarly with him, and reveal things future to him, which the vulgar commonly attribute to devils: notwithftanding there were fome among them, with whom it feemed very grievous and difficult to eat blood (for it is a thing which the nature of man abhors); thefe ufed to flay fome beaft, and take its blood, and put it in a veffel, or in a hole dug in the earth, and eat the flain beaft, fitting in a circle about the blood; imagining to themfelves in fo doing, whilit they ate the flefh, the devils ate the. blood, and that this is their food; and by this means, friendfhip, fraternity and familiarity were contracted between them, becaufe they all ate at one table, and fat on one feat; befides, they were of opinion, that the devils appeared to them in dreams, and told them things to come, and were of much advantage to them;” and accordingly it follows: and lift up your eyes towards your idols; make your devotion, and pray unto them, and worfhip them, and expect help and affiftance from them: and fhed blood; innocent blood, as the Zargum they were guilty of murder, as well as of idolatry, or fhedding of blood, in facrifice to idols: and fall ye poffe/s the land? can fach wretches as you, fuch grofs idolaters and murderers, ever think that you you are the children of Abrabam, and have a right to the inheritance of this land, or fhall long continue in the poffeflion of it, living in fuch abominable iniquities as thefe? ¥.26. Ye fland upon your fword, &c.] You truft in it, and think.to fupport yourfelves by it, and fecure your poffeffion and right of it by that means. So the Targum, ‘* you ftand in your “ ftrength:” ye work abomination; that which is abominable to God, and not fit to be named among men; archi interprets it‘of fodomy: the word is in the feminine gender, and may be rendered, ye womnen work abomination, referring to that unnatural luft the apoftle fpeaks of, Rom. i. 26. fo Ben Melech: and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife, were guilty of adultery, and which was fo common, that fcarce any were free from it, and therefore is charged upon the whole body of them: and fhall ye poffefs the land? fuch vile creatures as thefe, guilty of the. abominations for which the land formerly fpewed out its ancient inhabitants, the Canaanites,; and the prefent poffeffors might -expect the fame, as being very unworthy inheritors of it, whatever high thoughts they might have of themfelves. ¥. 27. Say thou thus unto them, thus faith the Lord God, &c.| Send or write unto them in the name of the Lord, after this manner, as J /ve, which is the form of an oath; the Lord fwears by himfelf, his life, becaufe he could fwear by no greater, and for the confirmation of what follows: furely they that are in the wajftes fhall fall by the fword; by their own fword, falling out one with another; or by the fword of Dhmael, Fer. xli. 2, 3. or by the fword of the Chaldeans, who revenged the death of Gedaliah and others; even fuch who dwelt amidft the ruins of the city of Feru/alem, and other places, that were become defolate thro’ the tavages of the enemy: and him that is in the open Jield will I give to the beafts to be devoured; of which it may be fuppofed there were the greater numbers, fince the land was fo depopulated: and they that be in the forts, and in the caves, fhall die of the peftilence; fuch as were in fortified cities, or in caverns of the earth, dug in rocks and mountains, where, in neither of them, men and beafts could eafily.come at them; here the Lord would fend his arrow, the plague, that flies by day, and reach them, and deftroy them; none can efcape his hands; thefe are three of the Lord’s fore judgments, the fword, peftilence, and noifome beatts. ¥. 28. For I will lay the land moft defolate, &c.] Or, defolation and defolation"; one defolating judgment fhall follow upon another, until it is completely defolate; it was very defolate already, thro’ the ravages of the Chaldean army; but it fhould become more fo, thro’ other judgments here threatned them: and the pomp of her firength fhall ceafefome underftand this of the temple, which was the mott pompous building in the land, and in which they placed their ftrength and confidence; but this was deftroyed already: it is rather to be interpreted of whatfoever riches, power, and glory were yet remaining, which fhould be removed: and the mountains of Ifrael fhall be defolate; which ufed to abound with vines and qlives; with flocks and pa- {tures: that none /hall pafs through, not only there fhould be no inhabitant, but no traveller in it, or very few, becaufe of the fword in one part, the fo that a traveller would be both in great danger, and in want of provifions to fupply himfelf and cattel.; _ ¥. 29. Then fhall they know that I am the Lord, &c.] An omnifcient being, that could forefee and foretel what would come to pafs; and omnipotent, able to do whatever he pleafed, and true and faithful to his word; and a fovereign Lord, whofe will cannot be refifted; this they fhould fee, own, and acknowledge: when I have laid the land moft defolate, becaufe of all their abominations which they have committed, for though he is a fovereign Lord, yet he does not execute his judgments in an arbitrary way, merely becaufe it is his will, but becaufe of the abominable fins committed by men, which provoke the eyes of his glory.

¥. 30. Alfo thou fon of man, &c.] I have fomething to fay to thee, and inform thee of, not only concerning the ews in Judea, what they fay, and what will befal them; but concerning thofe that are with thee, and what they fay of thee, and what will be the iffue of it: the children of thy people full are talking againft tbee,; not the Lord’s people, but his. own people, which was the more cutting to him to hear of, and the more ungrateful in them; tho’ indeed they were but children, who. acted a weak part, and the lefs to be regarded; thefe fpake againft the prophet: they could not fay he was no prophet, he had his credentials and commiffien from the Lord, which were well known, and many of his prophecies had been fulfilled; they could not fpeak againft his doétrine, which was of God; nor again{ft his converfation, which was agreeable to his character and office; but they faid fome things in a ludicrous and jocofe manner, in a flighting and contemptuous way, as fhewed they had little reverence and refpeét for him, and were carelefs and indifferent about hearing him; at leaf had little regard to his matter, or the fubject of his miniftry, which they had no great value for: and this they did fz//,; they had been long at it; it was their common talk and conftant bufinefs, tho’ the prophet knew nothing of it, and thought they had the greateft refpect for him, fpeaking fair to his face, and behaving with decency towards him; but the Lord knew it, and refented it, and informs him of it: and this they did continually, from time to time, Zy the walls, and in the doors of the houfes; privately and fecretly; dy the walls, where they ufed to get together and fun themfelves, and pafs away their time, by talking againft the prophet; and when they did, \would.place themfélves againft the walls, that no. body might over-hear them; and they would fometimes ftand in the porches of their houfes, and.as their neighbours. and acquaintance pafied by, would call them in, and hold a chat about the prophet; and jeer and laugh at him, and what he had faid; and _/peak one to another, every man. to his brother, faying, come, I pray you, and hear, what is the word. that cometh forth from the Lord; let us go and amufe ourfelves for an hour or two, with what the prophet fays; perhaps we fhall hear fome new thing, which may be pleafing and diverting: for, not their fpiritual profit did they feek, but to have. their ears tickled, and their fancies pleafed.

¥. 31. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, &c.] As the people of God, who came to the prophet’s houfe to hear him preach the word, peftilence in another, and wild beafts in other places, and a general barrennefs and unfruitfulnefs; > PTV) MUU defolationem & folitudinem, Montanus; and explain it for their fpiritual profit and edification; thefe came when they did, and as early and. vaftitatem & folitudinem, Starckius. = conftantly, and with feeming pleafure: before thee as my people; with great decency and reverence, and very gravely and demurely, and with feeming devotion, and ftay the time out till the whole fervice is over; as fcholars fit at the feet of their mafters, to hear and learn their doétrines. So the Targum, ‘* and they come unto thee as the men “« the difciples come:” and they hear thy words, but they will not do them; they gave him the hearing, and feemed attentive, but-did not underftand what they heard, at leaft did not put it in practices they were only hearers, and not doers of the word, and like to the foolifh man in Matt. vii. 26, 27: for with their mouth they foew much love; by the motions of their lips whilft hearing, and other geftures, as well as by what they faid afterwards, they feemed pleafed and delighted with what they heard; made large encomiums upon it, and {poke wad they fit;the matter of the fong, but the manner in which it is fung; fo thefe people did not fo much attend to what the prophet faid; as the manner of his delivery; they were delighted with the harmony of his voice, the eloquence of his fpeech, the propriety of his expreffions, the eloquence and aptnefs of his dition, and the cadency of his-words, and not: with the excellent doétrines he delivered; they were affected and pleafed no otherwife, than if they had been at a confort of mufic; or had been entertained by one” that underftood not only vocal mufic, but could play well on an inftrument at the fame time, and make both agree together; which yields much pleafure to lovers of mutfic. ‘The gofpel is a lovely fong indeed, @ fong of /oves °, as it may be rendered; of the love of God, and of the love of Chrift; and the voice of a gofpel-minifter is a pleafant charming voice to thofe much in the praife of the preacher. is the reverfe, ‘‘ they made game with their mouth.” But their heart goeth after their covetoufne s; ‘* after

** the money they had taken away by force,” as the Yargum, after the world, and the things of it; after their fecular affairs, fo that they wifhed

The Yargum| that underftand it, but to others it is a voice, and nothing elfe; they may be delighted with his accents, but not with his matter: for they bear thy words, but they do them not; which is repeated, that it might be obferved. -

¥. 33. And when. this cometh to pafs, 8c.| The the fermon over, that they might be at them; or prophecy before delivered out, concerning the de- however, did not fo diligently attend to what was faid, but the cares of the world choked the word, and made it unfruitful to them; thefe were like the feed that fell among thorns, the thorny ground- hearers, Matt. xiii. 22. fee Amos viii. 5. ¥. 32. And lo, thou art unto them as 4 very lovely folations in’ the land of Djrae/, by the fword, peftilence; and wild beafts: Jo it will. come; whatever is predicted by the Lord, in the mouth of his prophets, certainly comes to pafs: then shall they know, that a prophet bath been among them, and acknowledge it; and particularly that Ezekiel was fong of one that hath a pleafant voice, &c. voice, and the mufic of it, are regarded, and not Whote One, a true prophet of the Lord, by the exact accomplifhment of his predictions.

N the former chapter the prophet prophefies [ againft the people of the Hews, both thofe of the captivity, and thofe who were not; and here againft the fhepherds of J/rael. This he is bid to do, ¥. 1, 2. whofe cruelty to the flock, negligence and unfaithfulnefs, are expofed, y. 3, 4, 5,6. for which reafons they are threatened to be deprived ‘of their office, ¥. 7, 8, 9, 10. and the Lord promifes to take the care of the flock upon himéfelf, to feek out his fheep, and feed them, and do every kind. office to them, ¥. 19, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. and then the ftrong of the flock, that opprefied the weak, are threatened with punifhment, y. 17, 18; 19, 20, 21, 22..and the promife ‘of the Meffiah, as the fhepherd of the flock, is made, under whom all profperity and happinefs might be expected, - y. 23, 24, 25, 26,27, 28, 29; 30,31.

y. 1. The word of the Lord came unto me, &c.} The date of this prophecy is not given, ~however; it feems to have been delivered after the deftruction of Jerufalem;, the caufes of which are, mentioned, the fins of the people and their governors, which the prophet is directed to expofe: /aying, as follows, « ° har - yt. 2. Son’ of man, prophefy againft the shepherds of Ifrael, &c.} Or, concerning » them 5 the governors of them, as the Zargum and ‘archi; their political governors,. their kings, princes, and civil magiftrates of every order and degree; fo Kimchi interprets it of kings; and it was common with} the eaftern nations, and with the Greeks, to call kings fhepherds; and one and the fame word, in the Greek language, fignifies to feed fheep, and to govern people; fee P/i Ixxviii. 72. Jf xliv. 28. alfo their ecclefiaftical governors are intended, prophets,: priefts, Levites; {cribes and pharilees; thefe were bad*fhepherds, or they would not have been prophefied:againft; and tho’ they were fhepherds of Jrael,. this mutt be done: prophefy, and fay unto them; thus faith the Lord God unto the fhepherds; that the meflage to them might be the more

| regarded, it is ordered to be delivered in the name of the Lord; otherwife they would have been apt to: have defpifed it, and charged the prophet with impertinence and. rudenefs::, wo de to the shepherds of Ifrael, that do feed themfelves; that-is,. themfelves only; and not the flock: had they fed the flock, as well as themfelves, they would not have been’ blamed 5; but they took. no care of the people over; whom they were fet; only minded their own -affairs; to get riches and honour, but neglected the good of the people, yea cruelly opprefled thenr: fhould not the foepherds feed the flocks? undoubtedly they fhould; it is their duty, the bufinefs of their office fo to do; kings to rule over their fubjects, defend their perfons and property, and fecure their privileges and liberties to them; and ecelefiaftical rulers, minifters of the word, fhould feed the flock or church of God committed to them, with knowledge and underftanding; fee

Fer. iii.'15. Fobn xxi. 15, 16, Als xx. 28. y: 3. Le eat the fat, &c.] The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic verfions render it, the pes the the words for fat and milk differ only in the points; and this was not unlawful, for who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flack? 1 Cor. ix. 7. provided it was done with moderation, that they eat fome, but not all; but thefe rulers milked their fubjeé&ts too much, oppreffed them with heavy taxes, and got their fub{tance into their own hands. The Targum is, ** ye eat the good;” they got poffefied of the beft of their fubftance; as did alfo their ecclefiaftical rulers, who were greedy fhepherds, that could never have enough; they looked for their gain from their quarter, and even devoured widows houfes, J/: Ivi. 11. Matt. xxiii. 14: ye clothe you with the wool; the pure wool, as the Targum, the fineft of it; they fleeced the flock, and ftripped the people of their riches, and minded nothing but their own backs and bellies: ye kill them that are fed; or, that are fat, the richeft of the people they brought accufations and charges againft for capital crimes; and fo put them to death under a colour of juftice, that they might get their eftates into their hands: but ye feed not the flock; did not govern the people well, by doing juftice and judgment among men, as became civil magiftrates; did not deliver out the words of faith and found doctrine, to feed the fouls of men with, which is the duty of thofe that prefide in the church of God.

¥. 4. The difeafed have ye not firengthened, &c.] Such in the civil polity, who were poor, and in neceflitous circumftances, were not relieved; fuch who were injured and opprefied by others, were not vindicated; and fuch as were forced to flee to other countries, or were carried captive, no care was taken, or methods ufed, to ranfom them, and bring them back; all which may be meant by this and the following metaphors, taken from the evil things that befal a flock of fheep: and fuch who were weak thro” fpiritual difeafes, their prophets and teachers took no care to cure them of their difeafes, and to ftrengthen thefe feeble-minded ones with divine cordials and fpiritual food, and confirm them in the faith: neither have ye healed that which was fick; by directing them to the great phyfician of fouls, and to his precious blood for healing and pardon of fin: meither have ye bound up that which was broken, whofe confciences were wounded, and hearts broken, with a fenfe of fin; or who had fallen to the breaking of their bones, and fhould be reftored in a fpirit of meeknefs, and dealt gently with, as furgeons do in fetting and binding up broken bones: neither have ye brought again that which was driven away; or, was gone aftray', being feduced by falfe teachers; and yet, though it was known they were, no care nor pains were taken to reclaim and reftore them: zeither have ye fought that which was loft; that wandered of their own accord, and perifhed for want of knowledge, and were loft for lack of a guide to direct them, and no one would do this good office to them: but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them; in an arbitrary and tyrannical way, lording it over God’s heritage, 1 Pet. v. 3.

¥. 5. And they were fcattered becaufe there is no Joepherd, &c.) No good one; there were fhepherds, but they were idol-fhepherds, good for nothing, and it was all one as if there were none: fo in Chrift’s time, there were the feribes and pharifees; yet, fince thefe did not feed the people with without a fhepherd, and feattered abroad, as here, from the fold, and from one another; difperfed here and there, feeking food, and finding none, which moved his compaffion, Matt. ix. 36. in the political fenfe it may refer to their captivity, and their difperfion among the nations, having no king; So the Targum, ** and they were fcattered without ~ “a governor.” And they became meat to all beafts of the field, when they were fcattered s the Targum is, ** and they were delivered to all the kingdoms ‘* of the people to be confumed;” fuch as the Afyrians, Babylonians, Ammonites, Moabites, and others; and may be applied to falfe teachers, thofe grievous wolves, which {pare not the flock, into’ whofe hands members of churches, profeflors of religion, fall, when neglected by their fhepherds. ” x. 6. My fheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every bigh bill, &c.| As theep. do, when gone aftray, go from mountain to hill; fo the people of J/rael fied from place to place, thro” the cruelty of their rulers, or thro’ the force of the enemy, being carried captive into many king doms and nations, fignified by mountains;. and perhaps there is fome allufion to their worfipping of idols on hills and mountains, being drawn into it by the falfe prophets: yea, my flock was fcattered upon all the face of the earth; {o great and general was the difperfion by the feveral captivities;: the Lord has fheep, or fome of his elect, fome that belong to his flock, in all parts of the world: and none did fearch, or feck after them; but he will himfelf, as in ¥. 11. for he'll lofe none of them); but this does not excufe the fhepherds.: y. y. Therefore, ye foepherds, hear the word of the Lord.) Or, ye governors, as the Targum, both civil’and ecclefiaftical; ye kings, princes, and magiftrates; ye prophets and teachers of the people, who ought to have attended to the word of grace, to the doctrines of the fcriptures, »and fed the peo= ple with them; but fince you have not, hear the word of threatening from the Lord, and the juft punifhment that fhall be inflicted on you, ¥. 8. As I live, faith the Lord, &&c.] It is an oath, and which he fwore in his wrath, being provoked with the fhepherds for their male-adminiftration: fwrely, becaufe my flock became a-prey, and my flock became meat to every beaft of the field, becanfe there were no shepherd; a prey to all the kingdoms of the people, being without a governor, as the Targum or to falfe teachers, there being no fpinitual paftors to take care of them: weither did my Joepherds fearch for my flock that was {cattered and carried captive, and became a prey to others; even thofe that were of God’s appointing, as the kings of J/rael, their priefts and prophets; for both their civil polity, and ecclefiaftical hierarchy, were of God, tho’ the ends thereof were not anfweredj- or the perfons put into office did not do their duty: but the fhepherds fed themfelves, and fed not my flock; fee the notes on ¥. 2, 3. ¥. 9. Therefore, O-ye foepherds, hear the word of the Lord.|’ This is repeated, that it might be obferved, and for the confirmation of it; it might be depended upon, that what follows would be accomplifhed, unlefs they changed their conduct and behaviour; and to leave'them inexcufable, they are again called upon to hear what the Lord fhould fay unto them. The Targum is, ‘* therefore, Q ‘** ye wicked governors, return to the law, and wholefome doétrine, they are faid to be as fheep «* I will have mercy on you, hearken to the docs