Exposition of the Whole Bible

‘theirs, and own’and acknowledge fefs him before men. ¥.7. So I prophefied, as

The prophet was not difobedient to the heavenly _ vifion; he was right to obferve the orders and inftructions given, whatever were the iffue and fuc- — cefs of them; that he was ro leave with the Lord, and did. So gofpel-minifters praphefy or preach © according to the commiffion given them, and leaye their work with the Lord: this was the firft pro- ~ phefying; for there is another after-mentioned; thefe two are carefully to be obferved and. diftinguifhed, different effects following the one, and the other: this was a prophefying to the dry bones, upon them, over them, and concerning them; and what is next related, was the confequence of it: and as I prophefied, there was a noife, Or, a vowe™; this, in the literal fenfe, was the proclamation by Gyrus, giving. the -Fews leave to return to their - own land, Ezra i. 1, 2,3. at the revival of the intereft of Chrift, a great voice will be heard from heaven, faying to the witnefles, come up hither, Rev. xi. 12. and.at the defcent of Chrift to raife his dead firft, there will be the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, 1 Thef. iv. 16. and, as while the prophet was prophefying, there was not only his voice heard, but the voice of God, perhaps a thunder-clap’; fo in the miniftry of the gofpel there is a voice heard, which at firft is only externally heard; men hear a noife, a voice, but it is a confufed one; they don’t know what to make of it,-and yet it has fome effect upon'them; it caufes a noife in them, an out-cry about fin, and hell, and damnation; and yet at prefent*no fpiritual - life or breath is inthem: and bebcld a fhakings of the bones; a rattling among them, as may beconceived muft be where there is, as here,’ a tum= bling of dry bones one over another to get to their proper bone: fo in the firft effect of the word upon the confcience of a finner, which works wrath there, there’s a fhaking and trembling thro” fear of ~ damnation; which in jome iffues in real Converfion, as in Saul and the jailor, Adis ix. 6. and’ xvi. 2g. but in others it-eoes off again, and comies to nothing, as in Felix, Ads xxiv..25: and the bones — came together, bone to bis bone; fo the Fews feattered up and down in the provinces of Babylon gathered together upon the proclamation of Cyrus, and went up in a body to their own land; as they will do alfo at the time of their converfion, Ho - i.

11. thus, when perfons are only under fight convictions, they may gather together, and ‘have their _ religious meetings and focieties, and yet be Migr! a parcel of dry bones, without any fpiritual | and breath in them. - 2 ¥.8. And when I bebeld, lo the finews ana the a flefh came up upon them, &c.]_ And they began to look like men, in the fhape of men, and werea-. body of them, as the Fews did when gathered to> gether: and the kin covered them above, and fo looked comely and beautiful, as in the proper of men; as did the Yews enriched and prote performing she religion; and yet no principle of ipirin them; but like Adam’s body of the earth, eareh!

and breathlefs, before the breath of life was breathed great army; as the Jews did wl into it; fo here, dut there was no breath in them, no fpirit in the Yews to return to their land, tho’ they had liberty, till-the Lord ftirred up their fpirits, Ezra i. 5. all this, in a fpiritual fenfe, thews how far perfons may go under temporary convictions by the word, and yet not be living chriftians.

y. 9. Then faid he unto me, prophefy unto the wind, &c.] Before he had been prophetying to the bones, and over them; and fomething was done, but not to purpofe, breath being wanting; wherefore he is bid to prophefy a fecond time, and that not to bones, but to the wid, afterwards rendered breath;‘and may allude to the foul or breath of man re-entering the body, as at a refurre€tion, which caufes it to live: it fignifies the fpirit *, for the fame word is ufed for the wind, for breath, and for the fpirit; and in the myftical fenfe may be applied to the Spirit of God: and if ever minifters prophefy or preach to purpofe, it muft be with a view to the Spirit of God, both to affift them in their work, and to make their ‘miniftrations effectual; without which, how many formal profeflors foever may be made, not one dead finner will be quickened. The Syriac and Arabic verfions render it, concerning the fpirit, and to difcourfe concerning the perfon, operations, and grace of the Spirit, is one part of the gofpel-miniftry, and a means of the converfion of finners. Prophefy, fon of man, and fay to the wind, minifters muit not only preach, but they muft pray for the Spirit to accompany the word with his power, and make it the favour of life unto life: thus faith the Lord, come from the four winds, O breath; or fpirit; becaufe the ‘fews were to be brought from feveral parts where they were, as they will be at their conveffion in the latter days and fo the Lord has a people in the feveral parts of the world, that lie dead in fin, and muft be quickened by the Spirit: and breathe upon thefe flain that they may hive; tho’ not flain with the fword, yet being as dead men, who are flain by death, are fo called: fo in a fpiritual fenfe men are flain by fin, and are flain by the words of the Lord’s mouth; killed with the Jaw, the killing letter; and it is only the Spirit of God that can give them life; and the breath or fpirit here, is applied to the Spirit of the Meffiah by the ancient Fews ”.

y. 10, So I prophefied as he commanded me, 8c.] The fecond time he prophefied to the wind, as he had done to the bones, as he was ordered: and the iffue of it was, and breath came into them; or, the jpirit; a {pirit of courage in the Fews, to go up to their own land; the Spirit of life from Chrift, which will enter into the witneffes flain, and revive them; and into the Yews in the latter day, and convert them; and which enters into dead finners, and quickens them; and this he does whiltt minifters are preaching the gofpel to them; fee Rev. xi. 11. Afis x. 44: and they lived; as men do fpiritually, when the Spirit of God has produced a principle of fpiritual life in them; they live by faith on Chrift, in union and fellowfhip with him; they live in newnefs of life,- and a holy life and-converfation; and fhall live and reign with Chrift upon the firft refurreétion, and for evermore: and ftood up upon their feet, an exceeding bring you into the land of Ifrael;

ee! SE AL. 185 hen they returned from the Babyloni/h captivity, they were many, and in a pofture of defence; and as they will be in the latter day, when converted; Ho/: i: 10. and as the number of the faints will be upon the firft refurrection, Rev. vii. 9. fo when men are quickened by the Spirit of God, they fiand upon their feet; they ftand in the grace of God, and on the foundation Chrift; they ftand by faith in him, and in the doctrine of faith, and in the houfe of. God; and they ftand firm againft all their enemies: they are an army; they are ina military ftate, fighting againft fin, fatan, and the world; and tho’ few in comparifon of others, yet confidered by themfelves are very numerous; and as they will appear, when the Fews will be converted, and the fulnefs of the Gentiles brought in; and efpecially when they, will be all gatheréd together at the coming of Chrift. ¥..11. Then be faid unto me, fon of man, 8&c.} Here follow the explication and application of the above vifion: thefe bones are thé whole boufe of Ifrael, an emblem of them; of their ftate and condition in the Babylonifh captivity, and of them in their prefent ftate; and of the whole Jrae/ of God, whilft in a ftate of unregeneracy: this phrafe takes in the ten tribes, as well as the two tribes of Benjamin and Fudab, which returned from Badylon, and fhows, that refpect is had to fomething more than that reftoration barely: bebold, they fay, our bones are dried; the houfe of J/rael fay, we are like dry bones indeed; we have no {pirit, nor ftrength, nor courage, nor life in us: and our hope is lof, of being delivered from the prefent captivity; or of the Meffiah’s coming; or of ever enjoying their own land, and of the promifes of thofe things made unto them: we are cut off for our parts, from the land of J/ael, and have no hope of poffeffing it again, whatever others have; indeed they are cut off from the olive-tree, arid are cut down like a tree, both as to their civil and church-ftate. The Targum is, ‘* and we afe perifhed;” it is all over with us; we are loft and undone; all the expreffions fhew the defperate and defpairing condition they were in.: ¥. 12. Therefore prophefy, and fay unto them, &c.] For their comfort, in order to revive their hope, and encourage their faith, in thefe diftreffed c'rcumftances: thus faith the Lord, hebold, O my people; they were his people ftill, and he had a covenant-intereft in them, and they in him, though in fuch a low eftate; and which was the ground of his care of them, and concern for them, and of doing all the good things to them after-mentioned; all proceeded from his covenant, and the grace of it, and their relation to him: [wii] open your graves, and caufe you to come out of your graves; the cities and prifons in Chaldea and other places; where they were confined and held captives, and out of which they could no more deliver themfelves, than a dead man of himfelf can rife up out of his grave: this is both an emblem of the refurreétion of the dead at the laft day z, when they fhall come forth out of their graves at the voice of Chrift, fome to the refurrection of life, and others to the refurrection of damnation; and of dead finners, raifed out of the graves of fin by the power and efficacy of the grace of God; fee Fohn v. 25, 28, 29: and to dwell in it, and and abide there, and be no more difpoflefled of it; as they will not, any more, when once fettled in it, upon their converfion in the latter day.

¥. 13. And ye foall know that Iam the Lord, &c.] See the note on ¥. 6: when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of ‘your graves; which is doing that for them, which none but the omnipotent God could do; and they feeing his hand and power, his grace and mercy in it, will know, own, and acknowledge him.

y. 14. And frail put my Spirit in you, and ye foall live, &c.] Not only a fpirit of courage to go up into their.own land, and live a civil and comtortable life there; but the Spirit of God, as a Spirit of grace and fupplication, of truth and_holinefs, of faith and adoption; and as a Spirit of life, having produced a principle of life in them, and fo fhould live fpiritually and foberly, righteoufly and godly; fee ch. xxxvi. 27: and J fhall place you in your own land; fettle them there in peace and quietnefs, in fafety and fecurity, and in enjoyment of all mercies and privileges temporal and {piritual: then fhall ye know that I the Lord have fpoken it, and performed it, faith the Lord; that all this was a promife of his, foretold by him, notified to them by his prophets, and now fully accomplifhed exaétly; which they would obferve with wonder and thankfulnefs, and give him the glory of it.

¥. 15. The word of the Lord came unto me again, &c.] Immediately or quickly after he had the above vifion of the dry bones, and the explanation of it: /aying, as follows,

¥. 16. Moreover, thou fon of man, take thee one ftick, &c.] Or wood*; a ftick of wood; or ‘sable, as the Zargum. a board or plank. The Septuagint verfion renders it, a rod; and fo the Arabic; an emblem of a kingdom or government, as this was: and write upon it; the following words: for Judah, and the children of Ijrael his companions, for the tribe of Fudab, and the tribe of Benjamin, which adhered together, and as many of the other tribes which joined them; the godly and religious of the reft of the tribes, who could nat give into the idolatry of Feroboam: then take another ftick, like the former: and write upon it, thefe words: for Fofeph the fiick of Ephraim, and for ail the houfe of Ifrael bis companions, for the tribe of Ephraim, and the other nine tribes, which together made up one kingdom. It fhould be obferved, that in the times of Reboboam the fon of Solomon, there was a divifion in the kingdom of J/rael; ten tribes revolted from him, and only the two whole tribes of Fudeh and Benjamin continued with him; and from that time to the captivity, and even during that, as it feems, there were continual animofities and bickerings between the two kingdoms, on account both of their political and religious affairs, efpecially the latter; and an union between them, this emblem is defigned to fignify, as will hereafter appear. ‘Yeroboam, the firft king of the ten tribes, was of the tribe of Ephraim; and Samaria, the metropolis of the kingdom, was in that tribe; hence Ephraim often ftands for all the ten tribes, for the kingdom of J/rael, as diftinét from that of Judab, Writing words on {ticks or rads, feems to be in allufion to what was done, Numb. xvii. 2.

¥. 17. And join them one to another into one fick, &c.] Clap the fticks, planks, boards or tables, to one another; glue them together, or fet them fo clofe to one another, that they may feem as one

come one.in thine band, they fhall look as if they~ were one. R. Fofeph Kimchi, the father of David, thinks, they really became one, by means of a mi-~ racle wrought; but there is no need to fuppofe this; it is enough that they appeared to be fo.

¥. 18. And when the children of thy people foall |peak unto thee, faying, &c.] ‘The children of J— rae] and Fudab in captivity, of which people Eze-.

kiel was, and to-whom he was fent as a prophet; who feeing him take two fticks, and write on rally put fuch a queftion to him, wil thou uot jeew us what thou meaneft by thefe? for they concluded he had fome meaning in it, and that it was not a mere childifh diverfion and amufement; and therefore would defire that he would Jet them know what it was: whether they would afk this ferioufly or in banter, out of curiofity or in contempt, as they fometimes did; it matters not, he was to.give them an anfwer, as follows; tho’ by the manner of their putting the queftion, it looks as if they: were doubtful whether he would or no 3 fince they had treated him in a fneering way on fuch like oc- -

¥. 19. Say unto them, thus faith the Lord God, &c.] Here follows the explanation of the fign or emblem:. debold, I will take the fick of Fofeph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Tfrael his fellows; that is, the kingdom of J rael, confifting of the ten tribes, of which Ephraim was the chief: and will put them with him, even with. the fick of Fudah; with the kingdom of Fudab: and make them one flick, thefe two kingdoms one kingdom: and they fhall be one in my hand; in Chrift, the hand and arm of the Lord; one under his care, government, and. protection, as after explained: this had in part, and as a fhadow of what was to come, its fulfilment upon the Fess.

return from Badylon; when many of the ten tribes, as well as the two tribes of Fudah and Benjamin, came from thence, and became one nation andkingdom under one.prince, until the coming of Chrift; and it had a further accomplifhment, in the union of converted Fews and Gentiles in one body: but this is chiefly defigned as an emblem of the union of the Yews one to another, when they fhall be converted in the latter day; when they fhall join together in feeking the Lord, and David their king, the Meffiah; who fhall be the one king over them, as is afterwards faid; and when all ani-.

Or art about to write the above things, according _ to order and direction: /hall be in thine hand before their eyes; fhall be held up to them to look at for fome time, and obferve the cement of the two fticks; and learn and lay up in their minds what, ~ is meant by this emblem; and be affured, that what is hereafter faid as a further explication of it, fhall certainly be fulfilled.

¥. 21. And fay unto them, thus faith the Lord Ged,"

&c.] Or as the Targum, ‘* thou fhalt prophefy to ‘* them;” for what follows is a prophecy of what fhall be in the latter day: debold, I will take the children of Ijrael from among the heathen, whither they be gone, or, from among the Gentiles®; not

only the Chaldeans, where they were carried captives’;

but from among the nations where they are now applying the blood of Chrift to them, which difperfed, and among whom they go freely of their own accord from place to place, for the fake of hall be my people, and I will be their God 5 the Lo- traffick: and this phrafe, whither they be gone, or are going “, travelling about from one country to another, better defcribes the prefent ‘ews, and their ftate, than thofe in the Babyloni/d captivity: and will gather them on every fide; or, round about *; from the feveral parts of the world where they are: and bring them into their own land, the land of Canaan, given by the Lord to their fathers, and to them their pofterity, for an inheritance; tho’ now in the poffeffion of others, who, it feems, are not the right owners. 2k y. 22. And Iwill make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Ijrael, &c.| As they were in the times of David and Solomon, who were both types of the Meffiah; and to whofe times is referred.this prophecy by the ancient Jews *, as then to have its accomplifhment: and one king /hall be king to them all; not Zorobabel, nor Nehemiah, nor Judas Maccabeus; for thefe were neither of them kings; and much lefs fuch as reigned for ever, as *tis faid this king fhall, ¥. 25. befides, he is exprefsly faid to be David, that is, the Meffiah the fon of David; and this claufe is by a modern Fewifh ‘ writer applied to him: and they fhall be no more two nations, neither foall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all, which is the very thing the two {ticks made one were an emblem of.

¥. 23. Neither foall they defile themfelves any more with their idols, &c.] With their dung, or dunghilgods®; either with the idols of the Gentiles, or their own: after their return from the Babylonifh captivity, the ews were no more addicted to idolatry; and the image-worfhip of the papifts is an abhorsence to them at this day, anda ftumbling- block to them in their embracing chriftianity: and when they are effectually called and converted to Chrift, they’ll no more have refpect to the idols, the works of their own hands; or to the idol of their own righteoufnefs, which they have fet up, and have gone about to eitablifh, and to make to ftand; they’ll then fee it to be as filthy rags, defiling to them, inftead of juftifying of them; and therefore fhall reject it, and no more defile themfelves with it; but feek the righteoufnefs of Chrift, which juftifies from all fin, and renders pure and. fpotlefs in the fight of God: nor with their deteftable things; or abominations, the traditions of the elders, which they have preferred to the word of God, and made the rule of their faith, worfhip, and converfation; which has made them deteftable unto God: zor with any of their tranfgrefions; particularly their difbeliet of Chrift, and their blafphemy againft him; nor fhall they indulge themfelves in thofe fins which now prevail among them, as pride, covetoufnefs, uncleannefs, fraud and tricking in their trade and commerce: but I will fave them out of all their dwelling-places, wherein they have finned; as wherever they dwell they do; they are notorious for their wickednefs; but God will bring them out of all thefe places, where they have lived in fin, and been the occafion of it to fome, as well as followed the example of others: and will cleanfe ammi will be taken off, and the covenant of grace fhall be renewed with them, and made manifeft to them. and the bleffings and promifes fhall be | applied to them, and particularly this; fee ‘fer: Xxxi. 1. Rom. xi. 25, 26.

¥. 24. And David my fervant fhall be king over | them, &c.} The king Meffiah, as Kimchi interprets it; and fo Abarbinel i and others; being of the feed of David, and of whom David was an eminent type; and who, as Mediator, is the Lord’s fervant, and as man appeared in the form of one: this fhows that this prophecy looks further than the times of deliverance from the Babylonifh captivity: and they all fhall have one fhepherd, or kings the fame as before: kings are called fhepherds; fee ch. xxxiv. 23. Fohn x. 16: and they shall alfo walk in my judgments, and keep my fiatutes, and do them; not the ftatutes and ordinances of the ceremonial law, which are abolifhed; and which the Fews, when converted, fhall have no regard unto: but rather the precepts of the moral law, and chiefly the evangelic ordinances of baptifm and the Lord’s fupper; which ordinances they fhall walk in; and attend unto with conftancy and pleafure; and which ftatutes they fhall keep, as they have been delivered, impartially, without delay, in faith and love, and with a view to the glory of God; fee ch. xxxvi. 27.

xy. 25. And they fhall dwell in the land which I have given to Facob my fervant, &c.| Abrabam and Ifaac are not mentioned, as Kimchi obferves, becaufe they had other children, who did not inherit

{the land; only Facob, becaufe the land was given to him, and his feed after him: wherein your fathers have dweit; and fo the more defirable to them; and whofe inhabitation and poffeffion of it were a pledge of theirs: and they fall dwell iherein, even they and their children, and their childrens children for ever; unto the end of the world, or perfonal coming of Chrift; and fo every thing after romifed them is faid to be for ever: this fhows that this prophecy had not its accomplifhment in the return of the Fews from Babylon to their own land; fince they have been difpoffeffed of that agains in which ftate they now are; but that it refers to time to come, when being converted to Chrift, they fhall poffefs their land again, and dwell in it, as long as the fun and moon endure: and my fervant David fhall be their prince for ever or their king, as the Targum; and which cannot be underftood of any temporal prince, but of the king Meffiah, whofe throne is for ever and ever; whole kingdom is an everlafting kingdom; and who fhall reign over the houfe of Yacob for ever and ever, Pf. xlv. 6. Dan. ii. 44. Luke ii. 32, 33. and to whom it is applied by feveral Fewyh writers *. zr y. 26. Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them, &c.] So the covenant of grace is called, If: liv. 10. one principal article of which is peace and reconcjliation made between God and his people by the blood of Chrift, agreed on in that covenant, from whence it has its name: now here it it fignifies, that this covenant fhould be made known to the converted Zews, and their intereft in it; in virtue of which they fhall fee that peace is made for them by the blood of Chrift; and fhall have a true confcience-peace im themfelves, through that blood of the covenant being fprinkled on them; and be at peace with converted Gentiles, and even with their worft enemies, enjoying all kind of profperity, temporal and fpiritual: it /ball be an everlasting covenant with them; it fhall not wax old, and vanifh away, as the former covenant did; under which} they were before the coming of Chrift, which was exhibited in types and fhadows, legal facrifices and carnal ordinances; and befides, God will always have a covenant-people among them from this time to the end of the world; fo that a Loammi fhall no more be written upon them: and I will place them, and multiply them, that is, place them in their own land, and increafe their number there: or, I will give them',; a place in their land, and every bleffing temporal and fpiritual: fo the Zargum, “ 1 will blefs them, and multiply them:” and will fet my fanétuary in the midft of them for evermore; not any material temple, but his word and ordinances; in which he will grant his piritual

HIS chapter gives an account of an enemy of the Yews, under the name. of Gog, that fhall invade their land, and difturb their peace, after they are fettled in it; who is defcribed by the countries over which he rules; and againft whom the prophet is bid to fet his face, and prophefy of him, the Lord being againft him; and who would caufe him to return from Judea unfuccelsful, y. 1, 2, 3, 4. the number of his confederates, their warlike accoutrements and preparations for the invafion of the land of Hrael, are foretold, ¥. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. his wicked defigns and intentions to fpoil and plunder the inhabitants of it, ¥. 10, rf, #2. the notice taken of his projects by the merchants of Tarfbifh and others, ¥. 13, 14. his coming up to invade the land is again obferved for the certainty of it; and the place from whence, and the time when he fhould come, are mentioned, as well as God’s defign in it, and which had been before predicted by his prophets, ¥. 14, 15, 16, 17. and the chapter is concluded with a denunciaation of divine wrath, which fhall be gerrible to all the inhabitants of the earth, and to Beccscsres in heaven, earth, and fea; when he and his forces fhall be deftroyed by the fword, by peftilence, ‘and by dreadful ftorms and tempefts, ¥. 18—23. of which deftruction a fuller account is given in the next chapter.

1. 1. And the word of the Lord came unto me,|\

&c.] At the fame time as the preceding prophecy did, as the copulative and fhews; which predicts ‘the reftoration and ccnverfion of the Yews; the union of their tribes under the king Meffiah; and their fettlement in their own land: and this refpects fome difturbance they fhould meet with upon it, for a fhort time, by a powerful enemy hereafter defcribed: /aying, as follows,

¥. 2. Son of man, fet thy face againft Gog, &c.] Of the phrafe, /etting the face towards, or againft, prefence with them, and which fhall continue to the end of the world.;

¥. 27. My tabernacle alfo foall be with them, 8&c.} The fymbol of his prefence: the meaning is, that he fhall dwell in them by his Spirit and grace; and every one of them fhall be the temple of the living God, in whom he will walk and dwell: yea, E will be their God, and they foall be my peo-

| ple; which.is repeated for the confirmation of it;

fee ¥. 23. - ¥. 28. And the heathen foail know that I the Lord

| do fanétify Ifrael, &c.| Or the Gentiles, the con- /verted Gentiles, fhall obferve and take’ notice of the gracious dealings of God. with his people the Yews; that he calls them with an holy calling; implants principles of grace and holinefs in them; feparates and confecrates them for his fervice, and enables them to walk holily, foberly, and righteoufly: when my fantiuary fball be in the midft of them for, evermore; when his worfhip fhall be fet up among them; his gofpel fhall be preached unto them, and received by them; and his ordinances. adminiftered unto them; and which fhall continue till the fecond coming of Chrift.:

fee the notes on ch. vi. 2. and xxi. 2. and xxv. 2. but who this Gog is, the prophet is bid boldly to face, and intrepidly declare the wrath of God againft, interpreters are divided about. Calmet = thinks, that Camby/es and his army are meant by Gog and Magog, which to mention is enough; and it is the opinion of St. Ambrofe", that the Goths who ravaged the Roman empire in the fifth and fixth ages, are meant: others, who fuppofe this prophecy was fulfilled after the ews return from the Babyloni/h captivity, and before the coming of Chrift, take. Geg to be a common name of the kings of the leffer 4a and Syria, or the Seleucide, who diftreffed the ews in the times of the Adaccabees; the chief of whom was Antiochus Epiphanes, who is fuppofed to be more efpecially defigned, and was a type of antichrift; and they are the nore ftrengthened in this opinion, becaufe they find in Pliny °, that the city of Hierapolis in Syria was called by the Syrians Magog; and they fanfy, the name of Gog is the fame with Gyges a king of Lydia, whofe country was called from him Gygea, or Gog’s land, who was grandfather to Cra/fus; and. which country came into the hands of Cyrus, and from the Perfans into the hands of the Greeks, and fo to the Seleucide; for which reafon they may

| bear this name in this prophecy; but it is certain, that the prophecy refers to what fhould be in atter years, and in the latter days, ¥. 8, 16. phrafes which refpect the times of the Meffiah, the gofpeldifpenfation, and oftentimes the latter part of that; and even thofe times when the Jews fhall return to their own land, and continue in it for ever, as the

| preceding prophecy, with which this is conneéted, fhews; and fo the Fews always underftand it of enemy Of theirs yet to come. Cocceius is of © option, thatighe Romifb antichrift is meant; and that Gog fignifying the covering or roof of an houfe, fitly points him out; who puts himfelf between God and man, as the roof is between hea- = Diionary in and ° Nat. Hitt. 1. 5. eT betel <= j

Ch. xxxviii. Meas epee Re Re ee ST. 189.

ven and earth; and who keeps out the light ofj divine things, the heat of love, and rain of fpiritual bleffings from the church; and compares! may be called, as follows, she: lard of Magog, of which Gog is king, as Farcbi and Kimchi interpret it: it upplied in connexion with the former with this the veil over all nations, J/, xxv. 7, and the covering cherub, Ezek. xxviii. 14, 16. but I rather think the Turk is here meant, the eaftern antichrift, in whofe poffeffion the land of Fudea now is; and which, when recovered by the Fews, will greatly exafperate him, and he will gather all his forces together to regain it, but in vain, The learned Vitvinga *, tho’ he is of opinion, that this prophecy, according to ‘its firft and proper fenfe, refpects the kings of Syria, the perfecutors of the church, that fhould bring large and well-difciplined armies into the land of the people of God, gathered out of the northern nations, and Scythians, and would be defeated in the land of Canaan, yet myftically intends the Turks, the Scythian nation and northern people, who, by a like attempt, will infeft the church of the people of God, and invade their country; and this he makes no doubt of ‘is the proper afpect of Gog and Magog: and Samuel Dauderfiat a Lutheran divine, has wrote a differtation De Antichrifio Orientali, concerning the eaftern antichrift, which he explains of Gog and Magog: and Michael Buckenroder, another “Lutheran, has written upgn the irruption to be made by Gog and Magog into the mountains of J/rael *.. Ofrander thus explains the feveral names mentioned; by Gog, Ithink the Turk is meant, by Magog the Tartarian, by Mefbec the Mufcovites, and by Tubal the Wal- Tachians; and Starckius on the place obferves, that if this prophecy is yet to be fulfilled, we fhall eafily find our Gag, and point out his metropolis Conftantinople; fo that I am not fineular in my: opinion. Gog fignifies high * and eminent, one in a very exalted ftation: it comes from the fame root, and has the fame fignification as Agag, to whofe height and exaltation there is an allufion in Numb. xxiv. 7. where the Samaritan and Septuagint verfions read, Gog: it is the fame with -,=\ Fagog, by which name the Arabians called the Scythians that lived far eaft, particularly thofe that were fituated to the north of China beyond Imaus, as Golius * obferves; and Fofephus * fays, that the pofterity of Magog are called Scythians, and thefe inhabited Tartary; and there, as Paulus Venetus * affirms, are the countries of Gog and Magog, which they call Gug and Mungug now; from hence came the Turks, even from Tartary, which is called by the eaftern. writers Turcheffan, whence they had their name; and fo may with great propriety be called by the name of Gag; their emperor alfo being a high and mighty one, whofe empire mutft be deftroyed; and which is fignified by the paffing away of the fecond wo, and the drying up of the river Euphrates, Rev. xi. 14, and xvi..12. upon which paffages, this and the following chapter may be thought a good commentary: and fo the Fews ¥ make Gog to be the general of the J/bmaelites or Turks, as Armillus of the Chrijftians, and who fhall reign in the kingdom of Magog or Scythia. Gog is the name of a man, 1 Chron. v. 4. as it is here, and not of a country. The country of Gog is claule, fet thy face againft Gog, in the land of Ma- §%& 5 OF, againft Gog, againft the land of.Magog, fo Kimchi. The countries of Fagog and Magog, according to the Arabic geographer *, are furround-. ed by mount Caucafus, which Bochart ’ conjectures has its name from thence; it being in the Semichaldee language, the language of ‘the Colchi and Armenians, YOMI\3 Gog-hafan, or Gog’s fortrefs. This land of Magog is the fame with Cathaia or Scythia, that part of Tartary from wherice the Turks came; and which perhaps may come into their hands again before this prophecy is fulfilled; and even now the Turk calls himfelf king of.Yartary; and the Magog of Pliny in Syria, the fame with Aleppo, is in his dominions; which Maimonides * alfo takes notice of, as in Syria, tho’ he feems to diftinguith it from Haleb or Aleppo, however, according to him, they were near to one another;. tho’ fome * think, the place in Pliny is corrupted, and that it ought to be read, Madog, as it is by Maimonides, Magbab. Gog is further defcribed, as the chief prince of Mefhec and Tubal: fome render it, prince of Rofh, Mefhec and Tubal, taking Rofh, as the reft, for the name of a place, a part o Scythia, from whence the Ruffans came, and had their name. So it is rendered by the Septuagint, Symmachus, and Theodotion,; and fome later Greek writers » make mention of a country called Ros, which, they fay, is a Scythian nation, fituated between the Auxine Pontus, and the whole maritime coaft to the north of Taurus, a people fierce and wild. Meé/bec. and. Tubal were the brethren of Ma= gog, and fons of Fapbet, Gen. x. 2. whofe pofterity inhabited thofe countries called after their name; who, according to Fofephus*, are the Cappadocians and Iderians; and among the former is a place called Mazaca, which has fome affinity with Me/bec; and there*was a country called Gagarene *, a part of Iveria. According to Bochart *, thefe are the, Mofchi and Tybarenes, people that dwell near the Euxine-fea, and under.the dominion of the Zurk, wherefore the Grand Turk may be called the chief prince of them: axd prophe/y againft him; foretell his ruin and deftruétion, which is hiated before. Mention is made of his invafion of the land of Fudea, and that for the comfort of the Fews, that they might have nothing to fear from this formidable army.

¥. 3. ied fay, thus faith the Lord God, bebold, Iam againft thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Mefbec and Tubal.| Which is repeated for the confirma-: tion of it, that fo it would certainly be; that the Lord, the mighty God, and King of kings, would in his providence frown upon him, and appear againft him; and his titles are repeated alfo, to fhew that all his greatnefs, grandeur and power, would not proteét him from the vengeance of God.

y.4. And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy chaws, &c.] Or, I will put hooks in thy jaws, and with them turn thee back; or rather,