_Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne_ That is, the throne of my glory and government; the place where I most manifest my power, and show myself in my majesty. Hence we are taught to pray, _Our Father which art in heaven. And the earth is my footstool_ Or, a place on which I set my feet, (Ma... [ Continue Reading ]
_He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man_ Without this humble and devout temper of mind, killing an ox for a burnt-offering is no more acceptable to God than if a man offered his son in sacrifice to Moloch. “God here shows that the external ritual worship, offered to him by hypocrites and wicke... [ Continue Reading ]
_I also will choose their delusions_ I will punish them in their own way, and set those over them as teachers who shall govern them by their traditions instead of my word. Or, I will suffer false Christs and false prophets to deceive them, Matthew 24:24; John 5:43. _And I will bring their fears upon... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hear_, &c. The prophet here, forbearing to proceed in denouncing judgments against the hypocrites and formalists among the Jews, now turns his discourse to such as feared God, whose religion is described by their _trembling at his word_, as in Isaiah 66:2. Such apostrophes, or diversions of his spe... [ Continue Reading ]
_A voice of noise from the city_, &c. This is an expression of a prophetical ecstasy, in which the prophet hears the noise of the ruin of the city and temple sounding in his ears. This _voice of noise_ comes not from the city only, but from the temple, wherein these formalists had so much gloried, a... [ Continue Reading ]
Here begins a new paragraph of the prophet's discourse, containing a description of the sudden and great increase of the Christian Church, upon God's rejecting the Jews, and destroying their temple and worship: “the very destruction of the Jewish polity making way for the reception and spread of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Shall I bring to the birth_ Shall I disappoint and render abortive a design of which I myself was the author, when every thing is ripe for execution, and the effect just ready to be produced? Shall I begin a work and not perfect it? _Shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb_ That there shoul... [ Continue Reading ]
_Rejoice ye with Jerusalem_ Let all that wish her well congratulate her for the favours God hath conferred upon her, and particularly let the Gentiles rejoice with the Jewish Church, for her advancement shall redound to their benefit. Thus Moses, (Deuteronomy 32:43,) referring probably to the very e... [ Continue Reading ]
_For, behold, I will extend_ Or _am extending, peace to her_ That is, all good; _like a river_ That runs in a constant stream, still increasing till it is swallowed up in the ocean. The gospel brings with it, wherever it is received in its power, peace, which proceeds forward like a river, supplying... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when ye see this_ To what a happy state the church is restored; _your heart shall rejoice_ The peace of the church, and the extension of the kingdom of Christ, are always causes of real joy to such as fear God. _And your bones shall flourish like an herb_ The bones that were dried and withered,... [ Continue Reading ]
_For, behold_, &c. Here the prophet comes more particularly to show the nature of that indignation which should be exercised toward God's enemies. The passage, it must be observed, is metaphorical, “exhibiting God as about to take vengeance on the enemies of his church, under the figure of a command... [ Continue Reading ]
_They that sanctify themselves_, &c. “Behold,” says Vitringa, “the reason of the great severity above mentioned, namely, a base and abominable departure from God, represented under a certain kind of idolatry and detestable superstition, of all others the most odious and contrary to the institutions... [ Continue Reading ]
_For I know their works and their thoughts_ Of idolatry, superstition, and other wickedness. The word _know_ not being in the Hebrew, some apply the ellipsis thus: _I have observed their works_, &c. Others consider the clause as a question, and read, _Should I endure their works_, &c.? No: _it shall... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will also take of them for priests and for Levites_ God will find among the converted Gentiles those who, though they are not of the tribe of Levi, yet shall do the true work of the priests and Levites. They shall minister in holy things, preside in the religious assemblies, teach the people, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_For as the new heavens_, &c. The new state of the church to be raised up under the Messiah; _shall remain before me_ Unalterable. As the gospel dispensation is to be continued till the end of time, and not to be succeeded by any other; as it shall therefore remain, because it is _before me_, under... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they shall go forth_ Namely, those who had joined themselves to the communion of the church spoken of in the preceding verses; _and look upon the carcasses of the men that have sinned against me_ Meaning chiefly the unbelieving Jews who rejected Christ and his gospel, including, however, all im... [ Continue Reading ]