COMMENTARIES
ON
THE
FIRST TWENTY CHAPTERS OF
THE
BOOK OF THE PROPHET
EZEKIEL
BY JOHN
CALVIN
NOW FIRST TRANSLATED FROM THE
ORIGINAL LATIN,
AND COLLATED WITH THE
FRENCH VERSION:
BY THOMAS
MEYERS, M.A.
VICAR OF SHERIFF-HUTTON,
YORKSHIRE
VOLUME
SECOND
CHAPTER 13
LECTURE
THIRTY-FOURTH.
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EZEKIEL
13:1-3
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1. And the word of the Lord came unto me,
saying,
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1. Et fuit sermo Iehovae ad me,
dicendo,
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2. Son of man, prophesy against the prophets
of Israel that prophesy, and say you unto them that prophesy out of their own
hearts, Hear you the word of the Lord;
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2. Fili hominis, prophetiza contra prophetas
Israel prophetizantes, et dic prophetizantibus ex corde suo, Audite sermonem
Iehovah.
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3. Thus says the Lord God, Woe unto the
foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen
nothing!
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3. Sic dicit Dominator Iehovah, Vae super
prophetas stultos
f272 qui ambulant post spiritum suum:
et non viderunt.
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He speaks of the exiled prophets, as will be evident
from the context: for among the captives there were those who assumed the name
of God, boasting themselves endowed with the prophetic spirit: but meanwhile
they intruded into the office, and then vainly boasted in their deceptions. But
the end which they proposed to themselves was to promise the people a speedy
return, and so to will the favor of the multitude. For the captives were already
almost broken-hearted by weariness: and seventy years was a long period. When
therefore they heard of returning after three years, they easily suffered
themselves to be deceived by such blandishments. But although God is so
vehemently enraged against those impostors, it does not therefore follow that
when he charges them with their crime, he absolves the people, or even
extenuates their fault. Nor could the people object that they were deceived by
those falsehoods, since they willingly and knowingly threw themselves into the
snare. They were not destitute of true prophets; and God had distinguished his
servants from false prophets by well-known marks, so that no one could mistake
except willfully.
(<051303>Deuteronomy
13:3.) But in the midst of light they blinded themselves, and so God suffered
them to be deceived. But that was the just reward of their pride, since they
could not be subject to God and his servants. Then when they thought
enticements, as is evident from many passages, God also gave the reins to Satan,
that there should be a lying spirit in the mouth of all the prophets. Micah
reproves them because they desired prophets to be given them who should promise
large grape-gatherings and a plentiful harvest,
(<260201>Ezekiel
2:11;) meanwhile, when God chastised them severely, they roared and were
tumultuous. We see, therefore, that while God inveighs so sharply against false
prophets, the people’s fault was not diminished; but rather each thought
thus to reason with himself — if God spares not our prophets, what better
have we to hope for?
When therefore the Prophet turns his discourse to the
false prophets, there is no doubt of his intention to reprove the whole people
for attending to such fallacies while they despised the true doctrine, and not
only so, but even rejected it with fury.
Say therefore to the prophets of
Israel while prophesying, say to those prophesying out of their own
hearts. Here he concedes the name of prophets
of Israel to those who thrust themselves forward, and rashly boasted that they
were commanded to utter their own imaginations, or what the devil had suggested.
For then indeed no others thought to have been lawfully reckoned prophets,
unless divinely chosen. But because the wicked seized upon this title, they are
often called prophets, though God’s Spirit is a complete stranger to them:
but the gift of prophecy can only flow from that one fountain. This great
struggle then happened when the prophets, or those who assumed the title,
engaged with hostility among themselves: for we are commanded to acquiesce in
God’s truth alone: but when he is offered to us instead of truth, what can
we do but fluctuate and at length engage in conflict? There is no doubt, then,
that weak minds were thus vehemently shaken when they saw contests and
dissension’s of this kind between prophets. At this day God wishes to
prove the fidelity of his people by such an experiment, and to detect the
hypocrisy of the multitude. For, as Paul says, there must be heresies, that
those who are approved may be made manifest.
(<461119>1
Corinthians 11:19.) God therefore does not rashly permit so much license to
Satan’s ministers, that they should petulantly rise up against sound
doctrine: nor yet without a cause does he permit the Church to be torn asunder
by diverse opinions, and fictions to grow so strong sometimes, that truth itself
is buried under them: he wishes indeed in this way to prove the constancy of the
pious, and at the same time to detect the lightness of hypocrites who are tossed
about by every wind. Meanwhile, if the contention which we now perceive between
those who boast themselves pastors of the Church disturbs us, let this example
come to mind, and thus novelty will not endanger our faithfulness. What we
suffer the ancients have experienced, namely, the disturbance of the Church by
intestine disputes, and a similar tearing asunder of the bond of
unity.
Next, God briefly defines who the false prophets are;
namely, those who prophesy out of
their own hearts: he will afterwards add,
they have seen nothing, they only
boast in the name of God, and yet they are not
sent by him. The same thing is expressed in various ways, but I shall treat
other forms of speech in their own places. Here, as I have said, we may readily
decide at once who are the true and who the false prophets: the Spirit of God
pronounces every one who prophesies from his own heart to be an impostor. Hence
nothing else remains but for the prophets faithfully to utter whatever the
Spirit has dictated to them. Whoever, therefore, has no sure testimony to his
vision, and cannot truly testify that he speaks from God’s mouth and by
the revelation of his Spirit, although he may boast in the title of prophet, yet
he is only an impostor. For God here rejects all who speak from their own heart.
And hence we also gather the extreme vanity of the human mind: for God puts a
perpetual distinction between the human mind and the revelation of his Spirit.
If this be so, it follows that what men utter of themselves is a perverse
fiction, because the Spirit of God claims to himself alone, as we have said, the
office of showing what is true and right. It follows —
Woe to, the
foolish or disgraceful prophets.
lbn,
nebel, signifies “a vile person,” “a castaway,”
just as
hlbn,
nebeleh, means “foulness,” “crime,”
“wickedness,” although
lbn,
nebel, is oftener taken for folly, and I willingly embrace this sense as
it is generally received. He calls false prophets foolish, because they
doubtless fiercely insulted the true servants of God — just like upstarts
puffed up with wonderful self-conceit; for the devil, who reigns in them, is the
father of pride: hence they carry themselves haughtily, arrogate all things to
themselves, and wish to be thought angels come down from heaven. And when Paul
speaks of human fictions, he grants them the form of wisdom.
(<510223>Colossians
2:23.) Hence there is no doubt that these pretenders of whom Ezekiel speaks were
held in great esteem, and so, when swollen with bombast, they puffed forth
surprising wisdom; but meanwhile the Holy Spirit shortly pronounces them fools:
for whatever pleases the world under the mask of wisdom, we know to be mere
folly before God.
Now he adds,
who walk after their own spirit,
without seeing any thing: that is, when no
vision has been given them. Ezekiel explains himself more clearly, or rather the
Spirit who spoke through him. As, therefore, he has lately condemned all who
prophesy out of their own mind or heart, — for the noun
“heart” is here used for “intellect,” as in other
places, — as, therefore, the Spirit has lately condemned all such, so he
says that those who walk after
their own spirit wickedly abuse the prophetic
office. He here alludes to the prophetic gift when he speaks of
“spirit.” For, because they might object that false prophets did not
speak from their own heart, but had secret revelations, he concedes to them the
use of the word “spirit” by a rhetorical
figure,
f273 and thus refutes their boasting, as if
Ezekiel had said that those fictitious revelations are mere fancies: they have
indeed something in them more than common, but still they are fanatics. This
then is the sense of the word “spirit.” Meanwhile there is no doubt
that he repeats what he lately saw, and the contrast removes all doubt.
Without seeing any
thing, says he: thus vision is opposed to the
human heart and spirit; but what is vision but a supernatural gift? When,
therefore, God raises his servants above the capacity of human ability, and
makes them discern what no mortal power can bestow, that is a vision; and if a
vision is removed, nothing will remain but the spirit or heart of man. Hence
those who cannot really show that their utterance is evidently inspired, shall
be compelled to confess that they speak of their own minds. It follows
—
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EZEKIEL
13:4
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4. O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes
in the deserts.
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4. Tanquam vulpes in locis solitaries
prophetae tui, Israel, fuerunt.
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Hence Ezekiel exposes the snares of the false
prophets. The ten tribes had been dispersed, just as if a field or a vineyard
had been removed from a habitable neighborhood into desert regions, and foxes
held their sway there instead. For they have many hiding-places; they insinuate
themselves through hedges and all openings, and so break into the vineyard or
field, and lay waste its fruits. Such, as I have said, was the condition of the
people from the time of its dispersion. While the Israelites dwelt at home, they
were in some way retained within their duty, as if fortified by certain
ramparts. At Jerusalem, too, the high Priest presided over spiritual trials,
that no impious doctrine should creep in: but now, since the people were so
dispersed, greater license was given to the false prophets to corrupt the
people, since the miserable exiles were exposed to these foxes; for they were
liable to injuries just as if desert regions surrounded them. Being thus
destitute of protection, it was easy for foxes to enter by clandestine arts, and
to destroy whatever good fruits existed. Meanwhile Ezekiel obliquely reproves
the people’s carelessness. Although they were dispersed, and were so open
to the snares of the false prophets, yet they thought to have been attentive and
cautious, and God would doubtless have afforded them aid, as he promises to his
people the spirit of discretion and judgment whenever they need it.
(<461210>1
Corinthians 12:10.) But when the Israelites were wandering exiles, and attention
to the law no longer flourished among them, it came to pass that foxes, meaning
their false prophets, easily entered. Whence it follows that the people were not
free from faults, since they exposed themselves to the snares of these false
prophets. It follows —
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EZEKIEL
13:5
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5. You have not gone up into the gaps, neither
made up the hedge for the house of Israel to, stand in the battle in the day of
the Lord.
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5. Non ascendistis ad
rupturas
f274 neque sepiverunt sepem super domum
Israel ad standum in praelio in die Iehovae.
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Hence he pursues the same sentiment, but presses the
false prophets harder. He has said generally that they were sacrilegious, making
a false use of God’s name when speaking entirely in their own. He now
separates them by another mark from the approved and faithful servants of God,
namely, they had not gone up into
the breach, nor built up a hedge to protect the house of Israel, that they might
stand in the battle in the day of Jehovah. This
verse is variously explained: some refer what is here said to prayer; others
twist it according to different imaginations, but I restrict it to their
teaching.
F275 Ezekiel not only blames their inner and
hidden perfidy, he not only strikes their minds, so as to convince them that
they had no desire for piety, and no zeal for God’s glory, but he shows
that their teaching must be altogether rejected, because they did not propose to
themselves the right object. But what is the mark at which all God’s
servants thought to aim? Surely to consult the public safety; and when they see
signs of God’s wrath, to meet them, and prevent the urgent calamity. These
impostors saw the people not only impious, but rebellious, so that there was no
hope of their repentance. On the other hand, they saw God threatening; and
although they were blind, yet they could behold the signs of God’s
reproaching vengeance. Hence it was their duty to go up to the breaches. Hence,
also, we understand what the Prophet means by “breaches,” namely, as
an approach is open to an enemy to storm a city when a breach is made in the
wall, so also, when the iniquity of the people overflows like a deluge, a
rupture is already made, by means of which God’s wrath is able to
penetrate immediately, and to lay everything waste till it is reduced to
nothing.
As often, then, as we see God offended by the
people’s wickedness, let us learn that a breach has been made, as if we
had been destined to destruction. Hence those who desire to discharge the office
of teaching faithfully ought to hasten to the breach, to recall the people from
their impiety, and to exhort them to repentance. Thus the wall becomes restored,
because God is appeased, and we are able to rest in quietness and security. What
follows has the same object —
they have not restored the
hedge. For when a people breaks through all
rights, and violates God’s law, it is just as if they laid themselves bare
in every part from the protection of God, as Moses reproves them when speaking
of the molten calf: Behold, says he, this day you are naked; that is, because
they had hurled themselves into destruction.
(<023225>Exodus
32:25.) So the Prophet says that these traitors did not run up to restore the
hedge when the house of Israel was exposed to robbers, thieves, and wild beasts,
because it was no longer protected by the hand of God. What follows has the same
object, that they should stand in
the battle in the day of the Lord; that is, to
oppose themselves to God’s vengeance. This relates to prayers, when
mention is made of Phinehas, in
<19A630>Psalm
106:30, and also in the same psalm,
<19A623>Psalm
106:23, where it is said of Moses, Unless Moses had stood in the breach to turn
away God’s wrath. Here also, as I have said, the Prophet looks rather to
doctrine. For here he sharply rebukes the folly of false prophets who had
promised wonderful things. Now, when God approached in earnest, all their
prophecies vanished: he says, therefore,
they stood not in the battle in
the day of Jehovah; for, if they had diligently
exhorted the people to repentance, those sinners had reconciled God to
themselves: for we turn aside his judgment beforehand when we turn to him in
time, as Paul teaches.
(<461131>1
Corinthians 11:31.) If, therefore, the people had been thus diligently advised,
they had stood in the battle; that is, their teaching would have been a bulwark
against the breaking out of God’s wrath to destroy them utterly. Now,
therefore, we see the meaning of Ezekiel, namely, to show how the fallacies of
the false prophets could be perceived, since by their blandishments and
flatteries they destroyed the people,. Now it follows —
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EZEKIEL
13:6
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6. They have seen vanity and lying divination,
saying, The Lord says; and the Lord has not sent them: and they have made
others to hope that they would confirm the word.
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6. Viderunt vanitatem, divinarunt mendacium,
dicentes, dicit Iehovah, et non misit eos Iehovah: et sperare
fecerunt
f276 ad stabihendum
sermonem.
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Here again he pronounces generally that those false
prophets were vain, and this assertion depends upon the principle that they had
spoken from their own heart or spirit, for nothing false or vain can proceed
from God. It follows, therefore, that they are here condemned of vanity and
lying, because they dared falsely to use the name of God when they uttered
nothing but their own dreams. He now confirms what we saw in the last verse,
when he says, they hoped to
establish their word. Hence they puffed up the
people with vain hope, when they said that God would not be so severe as to
exact continual punishment of the holy and elect nation. True prophets also
often recall sinners to the mercy of God, and magnify it so, that those who
wrestle with despair may not doubt God’s long-suffering, since he is said
to be slow to anger, and inclined to reconciliation; and his pity endures for a
life, while his anger passes away in a moment.
(<041418>Numbers
14:18;
<19A308>Psalm
103:8, and
<193005>Psalm
30:5.) True prophets indeed act thus; but they join two members which must not
be separated, otherwise God himself would be, as it were,
dissipated.
F277 Hence, when true prophets exhort sinners
to hope and predict God’s freeness to pardon, they likewise discourse
about penitence; they do not indulge sinners, but rouse them, nay, wound them
sharply with a sense of God’s anger, so as in some way to stir them up,
since God’s mercy is set before us for that end, that by it we may seek
life. Hence we must be dead in ourselves; but false prophets sever between the
two, and divide God, as it were, in half, since they speak only of his freeness
to forgive, and declare his clemency to be set before all, while they are
profoundly silent about repentance. Now, therefore, we see why the Prophet here
reproves these traitors
f278 who abused the name of God,
since they made the people to
hope. Without hope, indeed, the sinner could
not be animated to seek God: but they promised peace, as he will say directly,
when there was no peace. Therefore let us proceed with the
exposition.
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EZEKIEL
13:7
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7. Have you not seen a vain vision, and have
you not spoken a lying divination, whereas you say, The Lord says it; albeit I
have not spoken?
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7. An non visionem vanitatis vidistis? et
divinationem mendacii locuti estis? Et
loquentes
f279 dicit Iehovah: ego non fueram
locutus?
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Here God shows why he had formerly pronounced that
they brought forward nothing but vanity and falsehood, namely, because they used
his name falsely, and out of light created darkness; for by the feint of
speaking in God’s name, they darkened men’s minds. That sacred name
is, as it were, a fount of splendor, so as far to surpass the light of the sun;
nay, whatever light exists, is made apparent and refulgent by it. But, as I have
said, the servants of Satan turn light, into darkness, because they audaciously
boast that God has said so. This passage and similar ones show us how diligently
we ought to guard against Satan’s fallacies. This is their astounding
boldness to bring forward God’s name while they so wantonly trifle with
his judgments. For to boast that God has spoken is as if we wished, by impious
profanation, purposely to draw him into a dispute. For how can God bear us to
turn his truth into lie? But there have been impostors in all ages who have thus
thoughtlessly flown in the face of God. We are not surprised at the heathen
doing so; but in the chosen people, it was certainly an incredible prodigy and
an intolerable disgrace, when they had access to all heavenly doctrine for the
guidance of their conduct, and when God was daily calling forth prophets, as he
had promised by Moses, to see these impious dogs who barked so, and you
pretended so proudly to speak in God’s name.
(<051815>Deuteronomy
18:15-18.) Admonished, then, by this caution, let us be on our guard when we see
Satan’s servants endued with such arrogance. It follows
—
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EZEKIEL
13:8-9
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8. Therefore thus says the Lord God, Because
you have spoken vanity, and seen is, therefore, behold, I am against you,
says the Lord God.
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8. Propterea sic dicit Dominator Iehovah, eo
quod locuti estis vanitatem, et vidistis
mendacium,
f280 propterea ecce ego contra eos, dicit
Dominator Iehovah.
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9. And mine hand shall be upon the prophets
that see vanity, and that divine is: they shall not be in the assembly of my
people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel,
neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and you shall know that I
am the Lord God.
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9. Et erit manus mea contra prophetas qui
vident vanitatem, et qui divinant mendacium: in consilio populi mei non erunt,
et in scriptura f281
domus Israel non scribentur: et ad terram
Israel non redibunt: et cognoscitis quod ego Dominator Iehovah.
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Here at length he begins to pronounce judgment
against the false prophets. Hitherto, under the form of a complaint, he shows
how wickedly they had corrupted and profaned his sacred name: then how impiously
they had rendered prophecies contemptible by their lies, and how cruel they were
to the people whose safety ought to be their first care, and how they drew on
the miserable to destruction. For after God has so narrated their sins, he now
denounces punishment; and, first, generally he says that he was their adversary.
This clause is by no means superfluous, since such carelessness would not have
besotted the impious, unless they thought themselves free from all dealings with
God; hence they utterly reject all fear and sin with freedom. But this could not
happen, unless they determined that God either sleeps, or does not behold human
affairs or trifles as they do. Since, therefore, false prophets very
licentiously corrupt God’s word, when they pretend it to be a pleasant
sport; God, on the other hand, pronounces Himself their adversary; as if he
said, your contest shall not be with men, but I will be the avenger of so wicked
a profanation of my name.
Besides, he afterwards points out the punishment;
my hand, says he, shall be
against the prophets. For although God
threatens to become an adversary to the reprobate, yet this is not sufficient to
terrify them, they are so stupid. But it is necessary to use another stimulus,
namely, that God should display his power. This is the reason why he now adds,
his hand should be against the
false prophets. The hand is sometimes taken for
a blow: but because God sees the impious torpid amidst their sins, he says that
he would not only be their enemy and an avenger of his glory, but he brings
forward his own hand into the midst. It follows,
they shall not be in the counsel
of my people. Some explain the noun
dws,
sod, more subtlety than they need for that experience of God which is
offered to the elect for their salvation. But this explanation is forced, for
they are deceived in thinking that the Prophet’s meaning is different in
the second clause, where he adds, they shall not be written in the list of the
house of Israel: he repeats the same thing in different words: in the first
place he had said, they should not be in the secret of the people: for
dws,
sod, signifies a secret, but it is taken for counsel:
they shall not be therefore in
the assembly of the people: afterwards he adds,
they shall not be in the
catalogue of the house of Israel. He mentions a
catalogue, because judges and others elected to any office were written in a
list. We see, therefore, what the Prophet intends — for I am compelled to
break off here — namely, that those impostors who wished to enjoy the
prophetic title, were altogether without the Church, since God had cast them
off.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since we are so
torpid in our vices that excitements are daily necessary to rouse us up, first,
that our destined pastors may faithfully call us to repentance; then, that we in
our turn may be so attentive to their exhortations, and so suffer ourselves to
be condemned, that we may be our own judges: Grant also, that when you chastise
us severely, the taste of thy paternal goodness may never be so lost to us, so
that a way may always be open to us to seek reconciliation in Jesus Christ our
Lord. — Amen.
LECTURE
THIRTY-FIFTH.
We explained yesterday what the Prophet meant when he
pronounces that the impostors who deceived the people
should not be in the counsel
of the pious nor in their catalogue, and we
said that this was twice repeated. Now the question arises, did the Prophet
speak of the secret election of God, or only of an external state? For although
these traitors were at the greatest distance from the Church, yet we know that
they boasted in a common title like Ishmael, who, until he was cast out of his
father’s house, proudly boasted in his right of birth.
(<012109>Genesis
21:9.) And at this day, we see how the Papists claim to themselves the name of
“the Church,” since they pretend to the perpetual succession: and
truly we are compelled to confess that the ordinary ministry is with them. But
because they have tyrannically abused their power, and have altogether
overthrown that method of governing the Church which the Lord had appointed, we
may safely laugh at their
boastings.
F282 There was the same haughtiness in the
false prophets of old, who asserted that they held no mean rank among the
people, because they were created prophets by God. Hence, therefore, we gather
that these words are not used of any external state, because a place among the
elect people was always conceded to them. Without doubt, then, we must
understand the contrast between the true members of the Church and hypocrites,
who pretend to the name of God. And for this reason it is said in
<191502>Psalm
15:2, as well as
<192404>Psalm
24:4, that not all who go up to the mount of God have a perpetual seat there,
unless they are pure in heart and hand. The sum of the whole then is, although
false prophets thunder forth their boasts with inflated cheeks, and claim the
prophetic name, yet they thought not to be reckoned in that rank, as they are
altogether without the elect people.
But a second question arises out of this. If the
Prophet denies their right to be included in the council of the pious, he ought
not to speak in the future tense: because as God’s election is eternal, so
his sons were written in the book of life before the creation of the world. But
he says they shall not be written, and this seems absurd. But Ezekiel here
accommodates his language to the usual custom of mankind. The language of the
psalm is harsher: let them be blotted from the book of life, since they are not
written among the just.
(<196928>Psalm
69:28.) For it cannot happen that he who is once written in the book of life can
ever be blotted out. But in the second clause the Prophet explains himself
— that they be not written with the just; that is, that they be not
written in the catalogue of the just. So also Ezekiel now says:
they shall not be in the secret
of my people, and they shall not be
written in the writing of the
house of Israel: because for a time they seemed
to be in the number of the pious: hence a change of expression is here used, but
only in accommodation to the rudeness of our mind.
This passage is useful in this sense. The Holy Spirit
admonishes us that it is not sufficient to suppose men members of the Church
because the greater number seem to excel others, just as the chaff is above the
wheat and suffocates it: thus hypocrites bury the sons of God whose number is
small, while they shine forth in their own splendor, and their multitude makes
them seem exclusively worthy of the title of the Church. Hence let us learn to
examine ourselves, and to search whether those interior marks by which God
distinguishes his children from strangers belong to us, viz., the living root of
piety and faith. This passage also teaches that nothing is more formidable than
to be rejected from God’s flock. For no safety is to be hoped for, except
as God collects us into one body under one head. First, all safety resides in
Christ alone; and then we cannot be separated from Christ without falling away
from all hope of safety: but Christ will not and cannot be torn from his Church
with which he is joined in all indissoluble knot, as the head to the body.
Hence, unless we cultivate unity with the faithful, we see that we are cut off
from Christ: hence I said that nothing was more to be feared than that
separation of which mention is here made. On the other hand, it is said in
<19A604>Psalm
106:4, Remember me, O God, in thy good will towards thy people: visit me with
thy salvation. When the author of the Psalm prays in this way, he at the same
time acknowledges that our true and solid happiness is placed in the
Lord’s embracing us with the rest of the faithful. For God’s good
will towards his people is that fatherly kindness by which he embraces his own
elect. If, therefore, God thinks us worthy of that fatherly favor, then we have
a sure confidence of safety.
Afterwards he adds,
And they shall not return to the
land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am
Jehovah. Ezekiel here places an outward mark as
the sign of reprobation, since, while a free return was permitted to others,
these were excluded. Hence Ezekiel signifies that God’s anger would be
manifest in the case of false prophets by their exclusion from the benefits
common to the people. For when God shall open the door, and promulgate an edict
concerning a free return: they shall remain exiles, and shall never enjoy that
native country to which they boasted that they should in a short time return. He
confirms then by an outward symbol what he has already said about reprobation.
For although many died in exile who were real members of the Church, as Daniel
and his allies, and many others, yet., as far as these deceivers were concerned,
it was a sure sign of their rejection that they boasted of their speedy return
to their country. Since, therefore, they were deprived of that advantage, God
openly shows that they were unworthy of being reckoned among the elect people.
It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
13:10-11
|
|
10. Because, even because they have seduced my
people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall,
and, lo, others daubed it with untempered, mortar:
|
10. Propterea et
propterea f283
quod deceperunt populum meum dicendo, pax et
non erat pax: et ipse aedificavit parietem, et ecce ipsi leverunt ipsum
insipido.
|
|
11. Say unto them which daub it with
untempered mortar, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing
shower; and you, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend
it.
|
11. Dic ad linentes insipido,
cadet:
f284 erit pluvia vel imber inundans:
et dabo lapides grandinis,
f285 et spiritus turbinum vel
tempestatum scindet vel disrumpet.
|
Here Ezekiel pursues the same metaphor which he had
used with a very slight difference, for there is such an agreement that the
connection is apparent between the former and the present sentence. He had said
that the false prophets did not go up to the breaches, and did not restore the
hedges of the house of Israel: we have explained these words thus —
teachers who discharge their duties honestly and sincerely are like builders,
who, if they see a breach in a wall, instantly and carefully repair it: they are
like gardeners who do not allow either a field or a vineyard to be exposed to
wild beasts. As, then, he had formerly said that these false prophets did not go
up to the breach through their not being affected by the dispersion of the
people, but knowingly and willingly betrayed the people’s safety through
open and gross perfidy; so also he now says, that they built a wall indeed, but
without mortar. The word
lpt,
thephel, “untempered,” is variously explained, but I doubt
not the Prophet meant sand without lime. Jerome thinks it to be mortar without
chaff; but my view is better, namely, that they built only in appearance; and in
this the image which the Prophet now uses differs from the preceding one. He had
said before, they did not go up to the breach; he now grants them more —
that they really built; but it is easy to reconcile the two assertions: since
they did not go up to the breach to provide safety for the people; and yet they
feigned themselves anxious, and seemed as if they wished to restore the ruins.
But while the Prophet merely grants their intention, he adds that they were bad
builders, just as if any one should heap together a quantity of sand, and
moisten it with water, yet it would profit him nothing; for the sand disperses
by itself, and grows solid by lime alone, and thus becomes cement. Therefore the
Prophet means that those impostors accomplish nothing seriously; and when they
show great anxiety and care, that is in vain, because they only heap up sand and
dust when they ought to temper the mortar with sand and lime. We understand then
how these two places mutually agree:
because, even because they have
deceived my people: this is without a figure.
Now he adds figuratively, they
have built up a wall, but they have daubed it only with untempered
mortar, that is, sand.
The kind of fallacies are now mentioned:
because they said, Peace,
when there was no peace. We yesterday reminded
you that impostors have something in common with God’s true servants, just
as Satan transforms himself into an angel of light.
(<471114>2
Corinthians 11:14.) We know that all the prophets were always messengers of
peace: now this agrees chiefly with the good news, How beautiful are the feet of
those who preach the gospel of peace.
(<235207>Isaiah
52:7;
<451015>Romans
10:15.) Whenever God commends his own word, he adds its character of peace. For
when he is justly at enmity with us, there is one way of reconciliation and
remission of sin. This springs from the preaching of the gospel. The prophets
formerly discharged this duty; and when these impostors strove to deceive the
people, they stripped off their masks and deceived the simple through the
difficulty of discerning between themselves and the true servants of God. And
yet, as we said yesterday, no one could be deceived except through their own
fault. For God, indeed, offers us peace, and invites us to reconciliation by his
own prophets; but on this condition, that we make war with our own lusts. This,
then, is one way of being at peace with God by becoming enemies to ourselves,
and fighting earnestly against the depraved and vicious desires of the flesh.
But how do false prophets preach peace? Why! so that miserable and abandoned men
may sleep in the midst of their sins. We must diligently attend, then, to this
difference, that we may safely embrace the peace which is offered us by true
prophets, and be on our guard against the snares of those who fallaciously
flatter us with peace, because under promise of reconciliation they foment
hostilities between God and ourselves.
How, then, can it happen that we can be at rest while
God is opposed to us? Thou shalt
say, therefore, to those
who daub with untempered mortar,
it shall fall. Here the Spirit signifies that
the false prophets should be subject to the greatest ridicule, when they shall
be convicted by the event, and their is shall be proved by clear proof. Hence,
also, we may gather the utility of the doctrine which Paul teaches, that we must
stand bravely when God gives the reins to impostors to disturb or disperse the
Church. They shall not proceed any further, says he.
(<550309>2
Timothy 3:9.) He says elsewhere in the same epistle,
(<550313>2
Timothy 3:13,) They shall wax worse and worse; that is, as far as God pleases to
be patient with them. But meanwhile the end is at hand, when the Lord shall
shame all the impious false prophets, and detect their ignorance, rashness, and
audacity, because they dared to use his name in offering peace to the reprobate.
Thou shalt
say, therefore,
the wall shall
fall. He speaks here of doctrine.
There shall be an overflowing
shower, says he — a desolating rain. Here
the Spirit signifies that there shall be a violent concussion which shall
disperse all the artifices of the false prophets, and detect their frauds, when
the Lord should bring on the Chaldaeans, and deliver the city to them. Hence the
same meaning is intended by the
shower, by stones, by the rush of a whirlwind,
but it was necessary to express the same thing in many ways, because the
Israelites had grown torpid through their fallacies, and willingly seized upon
what the false prophets said — that God would be propitious to them. After
he had mentioned the shower, he goes on to hailstones. The more probable reading
is, Ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; unless perhaps it is better to take the
verb
hnlpt,
thephelneh, transitively, as I am inclined to do,
ye shall make
fall. This apostrophe is emphatic, because God
addresses the stones themselves, and thereby obliquely reproves the sloth of
those who thought to escape in safety through their blandishments. When God,
therefore, addresses the stones, he doubtless reproaches the Israelites for
hardening themselves so completely. He adds the violence of whirlwinds, or of
tempests, in the same sense. The
violence of the whirlwinds, then, shall
break
down or overthrow
the
wall. In conclusion, Ezekiel teaches that the
doctrine of the false prophets had no need of any other refutation, that the
arrival of the Chaldaeans, and their boasting, is like a storm and whirlwind to
devastate the whole land: and thus he derides those praters who used their
tongues so audaciously: he says that those strangers should come to refute these
lies, not by words only, but by a violent attack. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
13:12
|
|
12. Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not
be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith you have daubed
it?
|
12. Et ecce cadet
paries,
f286 annon dicetur ad vos, ubi
litura
f287 quam levistis.
|
He confirms the last sentence, namely, that the false
prophets would be a laughing-stock to all when their prophecies and divinations
came to nothing, for the event would show them to be liars. For when the city
was taken it sufficiently appeared that they were the devil’s ministers of
deceit, for they were trained in wickedness and boldness when they put forth the
name of God. Now the Prophet teaches that a common proverb would arise when the
wall fell; for by saying, shall
it not be said to them, he signifies that their
folly and vanity would be completely exposed, so that this proverb should be
everywhere current — where
is the daubing with which you daubed it? It
follows —
|
EZEKIEL
13:13
|
|
13. Therefore thus says the Lord God, I will
even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing
shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury, to consume
it.
|
13. Propterea sic dicit Dominator Iehovah.
Cadere faciam
f288 spiritum tempestatum in ira mea: et
imbre inundans in ira mea: et erit imber inundans in ira
mea,
f289 et lapides grandinis in excandescentia
ad consumptionem.
|
He still pursues the same sentiment; but he says he
will send forth storms and hail, and a whirlwind. He formerly spoke of hail, and
showers, and violent storms; but he now says, that those winds, storms, and
showers should be at hand to obey him. We see, therefore, that this verse does
not differ from the former, unless in God’s showing more clearly that he
would send forth storms, whirlwind, and hail to overthrow the empty building
which the false prophets had raised. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
13:14
|
|
14. So will I break down the wall that you
have daubed with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so
that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall
be consumed in the midst thereof; and you shall know that I am the
Lord.
|
14. Et evertam parietem quem levistis
insipido, et projiciam in terram, et discooperietur fundamentum ejus, et cadet:
et consumemini in medio ejus: et cognoscetis quod ego Iehovah.
|
This verse ought to be united with the other: God
says, I will throw down the
wall. For the false prophets had acquired so
much favor, that their boasting was as much esteemed as an oracle. Hence the
people were persuaded that what even these impostors dreamt was uttered by God.
Since, therefore, they had so bound men’s minds to themselves, the Prophet
was obliged to inveigh vehemently against those impostures, since he would not
have succeeded by simple language. This language, indeed, may seem superfluous;
but if any one considers how greatly these miserable exiles were deluded by the
false prophets, he will easily acknowledge that God does not repeat the same
thing so often in vain: as in this place he brings forward nothing new; but he
so inculcates what we have already seen as to confirm it.
I will pull
down, therefore,
the wall which you have daubed
with untempered mortar, and I will lay it low on the ground, and its foundation
shall be uncovered, or discovered. Here the
Prophet signifies that God would so lay bare the fallacies of those who had
deceived the people with vain hopes, that no disguise should remain for them,
but their disgrace should be plain to every one. Now, such was the shamelessness
of these impostors, that if they were convicted on one point, yet they did not
desist on that account, but took credit to themselves if anything turned out
more fortunately than they could
expect,
f290 as if they had not prophesied in vain,
while a single thing came true. Since, therefore, the impious so turned their
backs when God detected their folly, the Prophet adds, that the false prophets
would have nothing left, because God will not only overthrow whatever they
seemed to build, but he will uncover even the foundations, so that the people
may understand that there was not a scruple or the least particle of truth in
them.
And it shall fall, and you shall be
consumed in the midst of it. He had just said
that it should be ruinously consumed: hailstones, he said, should fall to
consume it; by which word he understood that the final slaughter should be so
severe that no hope should be left. For as long as Jerusalem stood, the
Israelites always look forward to a return. But when they saw the kingdom not
only weakened, but utterly destroyed, the temple overthrown, and the city
ruined, whenever they heard of their dreadful dispersion, not the slightest
remnant of hope survived. Now this consumption is transferred to the false
prophets. As that consumption was final, and without a gleam of hope,
ye shall be
consumed, says
he, in the midst of it, and ye
shall know that I am Jehovah. He does not
inculcate this particular so often in vain; but he inveighs with indignation
against the wicked audacity of the false prophets, who dared so petulantly to
oppose themselves to the true servants of God, and to assume his name, and to
trifle with him like children. Such is the prodigious madness of mortals who
dare to set themselves against God: for this reason, he says, they shall at
length perceive with whom they have to do. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
13:15
|
|
15. Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the
wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered mortar; and will say
unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it.
|
15. Et complebo excandescentiam meam in
pariete et linentem ipsum insipido: et dicam illis non est paries, et non sunt
qui leverunt ipsum.
|
If the inveterate obstinacy of the people had not
been known to us, Ezekiel would seem too verbose, since he might have said in a
few words what he explains at such length. But if we bear in mind the perverse
and refractory disposition of the people, we shall find that there was need of
such continual repetition, I will
fulfill, says he,
my burning wrath upon the
wall; that is, I will show how detestable and
destructive to my people was this doctrine. Hence God fined up his anger on the
wall, when he reduced to nothing all the lies of the false prophets: afterwards
also he attacked them, since the mark of disgrace was attached to their
characters, and this rendered their doctrine detestable: afterwards, says he,
I will say, There is no wall;
those who daubed it are not. When God speaks
thus, he means that he will suffer the false prophets to triumph among the
people for only a short time. For even to the destruction of the city and temple
they always withstood God’s servants with a bold forehead, as if they
would thrust their horns against God and his announcements. Let us observe,
then, that while Jerusalem was standing, the appearance of a wall existed; for
there was the prop of false doctrine, and the people fed willingly on such
deceits. Their daubing, therefore, stood till it vanished with the ruin of the
city, and then their vanity was proved, for God took vengeance on these insolent
triflers. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
13:16
|
|
16. To wit, the prophets of Israel,
which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, aid
there is no peace, says the Lord God.
|
16. Prophetae Israel prophetarunt de
Hierusalem, et viderunt ei visionem pacis, et non est pax, dicit Dominator
Iehovah.
|
He now concludes this discourse, and shows what he
had hitherto intended by a building badly cemented, by using sand without lime.
The prophets of Israel prophesied
concerning Jerusalem. Here he does not mean
false prophets, with whom Jeremiah was continually contending, but those who in
exile still hardened the wretched. While they thought to make use of the
occasion, and so to humble the people who had been so grievously wounded by the
hand of God, they stirred them up to pride, as we have formerly seen. Our
Prophet was obliged to strive with them for the comfort of his exiles, for he
was peculiarly sent to the captives, as we have said, although the advantage of
his prophecies also reached Jerusalem.
The
prophets, those
of
Israel, that is, the ten tribes dispersed in
different directions, prophesied
concerning Jerusalem. Why then did they not
rather predict a happy result? For they were reduced to extremes, and meanwhile
promised victory to the Jews. And
they saw a vision, for it, says he. This clause
seems opposed to another, in which the Prophet says that they saw nothing. How,
then, do these two things agree — to see a vision, and yet to see
nothing’? What he now says as to
seeing a
vision refers to their false boasting. For they
were altogether without the Spirit of God, nor did they possess any revelation.
Yet when they boasted themselves to be endowed with the Spirit, and many had
faith in their words, the Prophet concedes to them the name of a vision,
although there was none, by accommodation. He says, therefore,
that they saw a
vision, that is, that they boasted in one since
they professed to be spiritual. As at this time the Papists deny that they utter
anything out of their own minds, and say that they have all those fictions, by
which they adulterate all piety, from the Holy Spirit; so these prophets said
they were spiritual: and as far as the title is concerned, the Prophet grants
what in reality he disallows when he adds,
there was no peace when they said
there was peace. Hence it appears that a vision
was in their mouth united with sacrilegious boldness: yet there was no vision;
because, if God had manifested anything by his Spirit, he would really have
proved it as he says by Moses.
(<051803>Deuteronomy
18:32.) Since, then, there was no peace, but the final overthrow of the city was
at hand, it is easily collected that they saw nothing, but made false use of
that sacred name of vision to acquire confidence for themselves. As to his
saying there is no peace, it extends to the future. They promised peace by
saying that the siege of the city was to be raised, and prosperity to await the
Jews. But God, on the other hand, pronounces there should be no peace, because
it will shortly be evident that Jerusalem is devoted to utter
destruction.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since we do not
cease to provoke thee by our sins, that we may at length consider our wretched
condition, unless you govern us by thy Spirit, and subject us to thyself in true
obedience: and may we so desire to be reconciled to thee, that we may not
flatter ourselves, but being altogether humbled and emptied of self, may we fly
to thy mercy with a true feeling of piety: and so find what is prepared for us
in Christ Jesus our Lord. — Amen.
LECTURE
THIRTY-SIXTH.
|
EZEKIEL
13:17-18
|
|
17. Likewise, you son of man, set thy face
against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and
prophesy you against them,
|
17. Et tu fliesi hominis, pone faciem tuam
contra filias populi tui, quae prophetant ex corde suo: et propheta contra
eas.
|
|
18. And say, Thus saith, the Lord God, Woe to
the women that sew pillows to all arm-holes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of
every stature, to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of my people, and will you
save the souls alive that come unto you?
|
18. Et dices, sic dicit Dominator Iehovah, Vae
consuentibus pulvillos super omnes cubitos manus, et facientibus
pepla
f291 super caput omnis staturae ad venandum
animas: in animas venabimini a populo
meo,
f292 et animas quae vobis
sunt
f293 vivificabitis.
|
WE may gather from this passage that Satan’s
lies were not spread among the people so much by men as by women. We know that
the gift of prophecy is sometimes though rarely allowed to women, and there is
no doubt that female prophets existed whenever God wished to brand men with a
mark of ignominy as strongly as possible. I say as much as possible, because the
sister of Moses enjoyed the prophetic gift, and this never ceased to the
reproach of her brother.
(<021520>Exodus
15:20.) But when Deborah and Huldah discharged the prophetic office,
(<070404>Judges
4:4, and
<122214>2
Kings 22:14,) God doubtless wished to raise them on high to shame the men, and
obliquely to show them their slothfulness. Whatever may be the reason, women
have sometimes enjoyed the prophetic gift. And this is the meaning of
Joel’s second chapter,
(<290228>Joel
2:28,)Your sons shall see visions and your daughters shall prophesy. There is no
doubt that the Spirit transfers to the kingdom of Christ what had been customary
among the ancient people. For we know that Christ’s kingdom is described,
or rather depicted, under the image of that government which God formerly held
under the law. Since, then, certain women were gifted with the prophetic spirit,
Satan, according to his custom, abused this under a false pretense. We know that
he always emulates God and transforms himself into an angel of light, because if
he were to show himself openly, all would instantly flee from him: hence he uses
God’s name deceptively, to ingratiate himself among the simple and
incautious. And he not only sends forth false prophets to scatter abroad their
lies and impostures, but he turns even females to the same injurious
use.
Here we see how anxiously we ought to guard against
any corruption which may creep in to contaminate the pure gifts of God. But this
contest seems not to have been sufficiently honorable to the servant of God; for
it was almost a matter of shame when they engaged with women. We know that those
who desire praise for their bravery do not willingly engage with unequal
antagonists who have no strength to resist; since there is no praise in a
victory when it is too easy: so also Ezekiel could put away from him this
undertaking, since it was unworthy of the prophetic office. Hence it appears,
that God’s servants cannot faithfully discharge the duties assigned to
them, unless they strive to remove all impediments. This then is the condition
of all those to whom God assigns the office of teaching, that they may oppose
all false doctrines and errors, and never consider or wish for great praise from
their victory: it should suffice them to assert God’s truth against all
Satan’s devices. Thus we see Paul strove with a workman (Demetrius),
(<441924>Acts
19:24,) and that was all but ridiculous: and truly he might seem not
sufficiently to regard his dignity; for from the time when he saw secret things
which it was not lawful for him to utter, and was carried up to the third
heaven,
(<471204>2
Corinthians 12:4,) when he engages in a contest with a craftsman, he seems to
forget that dignity to which God had raised him. But we must remember the reason
which I have mentioned, that as the duty of teaching is assigned to God’s
servants, so they are appointed as his avengers and defenders of the doctrine of
which they are heralds. Hence if, so to speak, fleas were to come out of the
earth and rail at sound doctrine, none who are influenced by a desire of
edification will hesitate to contend even with those fleas. Thus the
Prophet’s modesty is conspicuous, because by God’s command he turns
to these weak women to refute even them.
It is said, then, woe to those
who sew pillows or
cushions; it is the same thing —
to all armholes, and to those who
make covers for the head of every stature.
There is no doubt that by these tricks they deluded the minds and eyes of the
simple. It is evident from the law that some ceremonies are useful, since God
commands nothing superfluous; but Satan by his cunning turns everything useful
to man’s destruction. Meanwhile we must remark that false prophets were
always immoderately fond of outward signs; for since they have nothing
substantial to offer, they have need of ostentation to dazzle all eyes. This
then is the reason why men and women who intend to deceive, always heap together
a number of ceremonies. Hence Ezekiel says,
that those women had sown
together pillows, and he adds, for all
armholes. Whence it appears that they laid them
under the armpits of those by whom they were consulted, although he afterwards
seems to hint that they themselves reclined upon these pillows. But now he is
treating of the people. The ancients were accustomed when they reclined at table
to have cushions under their arms, though this is not our habit. But there is no
doubt that they wished to represent a kind of sleep, like the foolish who
consult oracles, and think themselves in ecstasies, and snatched away beyond all
thoughts of this world. Then they had veils or coverings which they put over
their heads. In this way imposture flourished with the Roman augurs; for they
veiled their head when they wished to begin their incantations. Livy says, that
the augur stood at the threshold with his head covered, and uttered these words,
“O Jupiter, hear;”
f294 so that it is probable that veils
covered the heads of those who wished to consult God, that they might be as it
were separated from the world, and no longer look upon human things, but have
only spiritual eyesight. With this view these women used such ceremonies that
wretched men thought themselves caught up above the world, and all earthly
thoughts being laid aside, they dozed so as to receive the oracles, and at the
same time had the head covered to avoid everything which might call them off and
distract them, and to be wholly intent on spiritual
meditations.
As to his saying,
upon all arms, and upon the head
of every stature. I doubt not that the Prophet
teaches by these words that these women exercised a promiscuous trade, making no
distinctions, but, gratifying all without choice, so long as they brought their
money in their hands, as we shall by and by see. Hence this mark of universality
ought to be noticed emphatically, because these women did not attend to the
disposition with which persons came, but only grasped at their reward, and thus
the gate was as open to all as that of the market-place. For shops are open to
all, since all are expected to promote profit and make bargains, and merchants
by their allurements entice as many as they can to purchase their goods. So also
veils were provided for all heads and cushions for all arms, for there was no
difference except in reference to profit from these profane and base
transactions. With regard to the word “stature,” the opinion of
those who think it used, because the women ordered those who consulted the
oracles to stand, appears to me forced, and not in accordance with the
Prophet’s intention. I have no doubt that, the Prophet uses the word for
“age,” or person, as others correctly interpret it; as if he had
said, that they made no difference between old and young, tall and short, but
prostituted their answers to all from whom they looked for
gain.
It afterwards follows,
Is it not to hunt
souls? Here God reproves one crime, but he will
shortly add another, namely, the profanation of his sacred name. But he here
speaks only of the death of souls, as if he said that the women laid those
snares to deceive wretched souls. And because Ezekiel was commanded to, prophesy
against them, he here addresses them more vehemently —
Will ye hunt the souls of my
people? It is literally the souls which
belong to my people; but it will be more simple to receive it thus —
will ye hunt the souls of my
people, and will ye give life to your own
souls, unless any one wishes to interpret it so
as to make the Prophet repeat the same thing twice. For the souls of the people
were also their own. For as we shall afterwards see, no one is deceived by the
devil unless he offers himself of his own accord, and entangles himself in his
snares on purpose. Since then it is always true that wretched men who catch at
vain oracles devote themselves to the devil and his ministers, hence the passage
may be explained in this way. But the sense which I have proposed is more
simple, namely, that these women must not be yielded to
because they have hunted the
souls of the people; as if the Prophet had
said, the people are precious to God, who has undertaken the care of them. Thus
then he reasons; such is your audacity, nay, even fury, that you doubt not to
seize upon God’s people: since therefore your impiety is so licentious and
bold, will God suffer you to rage with impunity against the souls of which he is
the guardian? Lastly, he signifies that punishment is prepared for the women who
ensnare God’s people, because although those who are deceived are worthy
of death, yet God will still exact punishment of Satan’s ministers who
have endeavored to despoil him of his rights. It, follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
13:19
|
|
19. And will you pollute me among my people
for handfuls of barley, and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should
not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my
people that hear your lies?
|
19. Et profanastis me erga populum meum in
pugillis hordeorum
f295 propter
frusta
f296 panis: ut occidaris animas quae non
moriebantur, et ad vivificandum animas quae non vivebant, decipiendo populum
meum audientes mendacium.
F297
|
Here God accuses these women of a double crime; one
crime was that which I have mentioned, cruelly to destroy the souls which were
sacred to God, and hence were destined to be saved; but he added a more
atrocious crime — that of sacrilege, because they had abused the name of
God to deceive. Nothing is less tolerable than when God’s truth is turned
into a lie, because this is like reducing him to nothing. God is truth; if,
therefore, that is abolished, what else will remain behind? God will be, as it
were, a dead specter. Hence the Prophet, in God’s name, complains of
both: ye have profaned
me, says he,
before my
people. For as the gift of prophecy was a rare
and remarkable pledge of God’s love and paternal anxiety towards the
Israelites, so when that gift was corrupted, the name of God was at the same
time polluted. For God was never willing to be disjoined from his word, because
he is himself invisible, and never appears otherwise than in a mirror. Hence
God’s glory, and sanctity, and justice, and goodness, and power, ought to
shine in the gift of prophecy; but when that gift is contaminated, we see how
such a disgrace becomes a reproach against God. In this way his holiness is
defiled, his justice, virtue, and fidelity, are corrupted, and his very
existence called in question. So it is not without cause that God pronounces
his own name to be
polluted. Then he adds,
among the
people. And this circumstance increases the
crime, since God’s name was profaned where he wished it to be peculiarly
worshipped; for it was also profaned among the Gentiles: but since God had never
made himself known there, their profanation was the less detestable. But,
because God erected his throne among the people of Israel, and wished his glory
to shine there, we see how sacrilege increases, while his name is profaned in
that sanctuary which he had chosen. This is one crime.
But he also adds,
on account of handfuls of barley
and pieces of bread. Here God shows how much
and how basely he was despised by those females, who sold their prophecies for a
piece of bread or a few grains of barley which any one could hold in his hand.
If they had demanded a great reward, their insatiable avarice would not have
extenuated their crime; but their impiety is the rather discovered, when on
account of a small reward they so prostituted themselves and the name of God.
They boasted themselves to be the organs of the Holy Spirit: but when by this
mask they deceived the people, injustice was done to the Holy Spirit, since for
so paltry a reward they vainly boasted in their prophecies. They prostituted
even God himself: and in fine, this was just as if; being corrupted by a small
bribe of no value, they did not treat God’s name with sufficient respect
to be withheld from the crime by the slightest of the recompense. A comparison
will make the matter clearer. If a person is tempted by a moderate reward to the
perpetration of any crime and refuses, and then when he is offered a far more
valuable reward, and thus yields to the temptation, this shows that his will was
upright, though not sufficiently firm. But if any one, for a single farthing,
undertakes to do what he is ordered, and refuses no crime, this shows his
readiness to all sorts of wickedness. If a girl rejects bribes when she knows
her modesty to be assailed, but yet yields for a large reward, here, as I have
said, virtue struggles with vice; but if she prostitutes herself for a morsel of
bread, here she manifests that depravity which all abominate. This, then, is
God’s intention, when he says that these women traded in their lies for
handfuls of barley and pieces of bread. If any one objects that prophecies were
anciently saleable, since it was customary with the people to offer the prophets
rewards, I answer, that the women are not condemned merely for receiving either
the handful of barley or the piece of bread, but because they did not hesitate
to corrupt God’s truth for a trifling gain, and then to turn it into a
lie. The Prophet afterwards points out the nature of their deceit, for it would
not have been sufficient to blame these women generally, unless Ezekiel had
pointed with his finger at their pestiferous impostures.
Now, therefore, he says,
that they slew the souls which
were not dying, and kept alive the souls which were not
living. We have said before, that by this mark
the true and righteous servants of God were distinguished from impostors. For
the servants of God, who faithfully discharge the duty enjoined upon them, kill
and make alive: for God’s word is life, and brings health to lost mankind;
but is a savor of death unto death in those who perish, as Paul says.
(<470215>2
Corinthians 2:15, 16.) Hence it is true that prophets who faithfully and
properly discharge their duty both kill and make alive: but they give life to
the souls which are to be freed from death, and slay the souls which are devoted
to destruction; for they denounce eternal death to all unbelievers unless they
repent; and whatever they bind on earth is also bound in heaven.
(<401818>Matthew
18:18.) Their teaching, therefore, is effective for destruction, as also Paul
elsewhere teaches. We have at hand, says he, vengeance against every high thing
which exalts itself against Christ,
(<471005>2
Corinthians 10:5, 6.) Hence honest teachers are armed by God’s vengeance
against all unbelievers who remain obstinate: but they convey life to those who
repent, since they are messengers of reconciliation; nay, they reconcile men to
God when they offer Christ to them as our peace, and by whom the Father is
propitious to us.
(<490216>Ephesians
2:16.) When false prophets desire to rival God’s servants, they omit the
principal part, namely, faith and repentance; hence it happens that they
proclaim life to souls already adjudged to destruction; for they give life to
the reprobate who are hardened in contempt of God by their flatteries; for they
do not require of men either faith or penitence, but only a reward. Hence also
it happens that they slay the souls which ought not to die, namely, because
nothing is prouder or more cruel than these false prophets. For they fulminate
according to their pleasure, and sink even to the lowest hell the whole world
when no hope of profit appears.
Here then we see the vices of these women of whom
Ezekiel treats so pointedly out, that no one need be any longer deceived by them
except through his own fault. Hence also we gather a perpetual rule in examining
doctrine, lest the deceits of Satan should surprise us for the word of God. Let
us learn, then, that the prophetic word is life-giving to us, if we are
dissatisfied with our sins, and fly to God’s pity with true and serious
penitence; for all souls are slain who do not receive this kind of life; and
whoever compares the papacy with that corruption which Ezekiel describes to us,
will see that, although Satan has many methods of deceiving men, yet they will
always be discovered like himself. Ezekiel spoke of veils and cushions. We see
many rites exhibited in the papacy, so that the incredulous, being snatched as
it were out of the world, are not only delirious, but suffer themselves to be
drawn in any direction like cattle by the grossest impostures. But in their
teaching we perceive what Ezekiel condemns, namely, that they give life to souls
devoted to death, and slay souls which thought to be kept alive. For what is the
meaning of their immense heap of laws, except to bury wretched consciences? For
any one who wishes to satisfy the laws of the papacy from his heart, must cut
himself to pieces, so to speak, through his whole life. We now perceive with
what intent our Prophet will elsewhere say that legislators of this kind are
implacable, since they remit nothing, and exact all their conditions with the
utmost rigor. Hence it happens that these miserable souls perish, because
despair oppresses them and overwhelms them in the deep. Meanwhile we see how
they give life to souls subject to death, since; pardon is prepared for
adulterers, robbers, manslayers, and all criminals, if they only buy themselves
off, as popish priests and monks pretend that God is appeased by satisfactions
and prayers. Hence they thrust expiation’s of no value upon God; and, to
speak more correctly, trifles and follies, which do not deceive even children,
they call expiation’s, as if God could change his nature. Hence we must
diligently remark this passage, that we may know how to distinguish between true
and false prophets, and may not despise the test which the Prophet puts before
us.
He says,
in deceiving my people by
listening to a lie. He accuses some of lying,
and others of willingly embracing is. For the noun
bzk,
kezeb, which is repeated, is derived from the same root. Here, again, God
undertakes the cause of his people; for though they were all worthy of being
drawn into exile by Satan, yet when God took care of them, it was like snatching
them out of Satan’s hand, and claiming them as his own peculiar people.
This is one point. But meantime these wretches are deprived of all excuse for
seeking false oracles. For the Prophet pronounces them deceived
because they listened to
vanity, that is, because they wished to be
deceived, since it was entirely their own fault, and they could not in any way
throw it off. It is true they were deceived under false pretenses through the
abuse of the prophetic name, and hence their vision was obscured by a darkened
cloud; but still they thought to have gone to the fountain, for no opening would
have been found for Satan if they had been properly fortified: for God had
surrounded them with ramparts by giving them a law to protect them from all
fallacies. Since, then, they thus exposed themselves of their own accord, it is
not surprising if God allowed them to be deceived.
|
EZEKIEL
13:20
|
|
20. Wherefore thus says the Lord God, Behold,
I am against your pillows, wherewith you there hunt the souls to make them fly,
and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls
that you hunt to make them fly.
|
20. Propterea sic dicit Dominator Iehovah,
Ecce, ego ad vestros pulvillos quibus vos venamini illic animas ad volandum; et
lacerabo eos desuper brachiis vestris, et eruam animas quas vos venamini, animas
ad volandum.
|
Here Ezekiel begins to threaten those women with what
would shortly happen, namely, that God would not only render them contemptible,
but also ridiculous, before the whole people, that their delusions and
impostures might sufficiently appear. This is the Prophet’s intention, as
we shall afterwards see; but the Prophet is verbose in this denunciation. God
therefore says, that he is an
enemy to those cushions, that is, to those
false ceremonies which were like cloaks to deceive miserable men: hence he says,
that those souls were a prey. He uses the comparison from hunting:
ye have
hunted, says he,
the souls of my
people. And this is the meaning of the word
used immediately afterwards for
flying. This word
jrp,
pherech, signifies also “to flourish;” but I here willingly
subscribe to the opinion of all who interpret it to fly: unless the paraphrast
is right in translating it “to perish;” for he thought the Prophet
was speaking metaphorically, as if he meant that those souls were ensnared, and
so vanished away. But I do not think this quite suitable, since it is more
probable that the Prophet is speaking of their lofty speculations. For we know
that false prophets boasted in this artifice, when they either raise, or pretend
they raise, men’s minds aloft, and curious men desire this only; and hence
it happens that the doctrines of the Law and the Gospel are insipid to them,
because subtleties alone delight them. And we see at this day how many embrace
the follies of Dionysius
f298 about the celestial hierarchy, who treat
all the prophets, and even Christ himself, as of no value. Hence the Prophet
says, that these women hunted the
souls of the people, because they had snares
prepared in which they entangled all who were subject to their impostures and
fallacies. Yet, in my opinion, he also alludes to birds. When, therefore, he has
said that all impostures were Satan’s method of hunting souls, he now adds
obliquely another simile, that all false prophecies are so many allurements to
catch birds. The sense of the passage now appears clear.
Behold,
therefore, says he, God will
arise against your cushions, by which you have hunted birds to make them
fly; that is, when you promised wonderful
revelations those wretched dupes whom their own curiosity urged on were deceived
by such enticements. Afterwards he adds,
I will free them from your arms,
and
I will let go the souls which you
have hunted to make them fly, says he. He
repeats again what we have already said about deep speculations, by the
sweetness of which false prophets are accustomed to entice all fools who cannot
be content with true doctrine, nor be wise with sobriety. Meanwhile it is by no
means doubtful that God here speaks peculiarly of his elect, who were left among
the people. For although they were but few, God was unwilling for them to
perish: and for this reason he announces that he would be their avenger, and
undeceive them, whether they had been already entrapped, or were just surrounded
by these allurements. Since, then, he uses the same word, we gather from this
that the phrase cannot be used indiscriminately. For God suffers many to perish,
as he says by the Prophet Zechariah, “Let what perishes perish,”
(<380909>Zechariah
9:9); but meanwhile he rescued a small number as the remnant of his choice, as
Paul says.
(<451105>Romans
11:5.)
PRAYER
Grant, Almighty God, since you show us
that our salvation is so precious in thy sight, that through our ingratitude we
may not cast away this testimony of thy favor, but be anxious to listen to thy
instructions: Grant also, that being gifted by thee with the spirit of
discretion, we may not be exposed to capture as a prey; but may we be so ruled
by the light of thy word that we may hold on in the right way, till after our
allotted time is finished we may arrive at that happy repose which is laid up
for us in heaven through Christ our Lord. — Amen.
LECTURE
THIRTY-SEVENTH.
|
EZEKIEL
13:21
|
|
21. Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and
deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be
hunted; and you shall know that I am the Lord.
|
21. Et conscindam pepla
vestra,
f299 et eruam populum meum e manibus vestris:
et non erunt amplius in manibus vestris in praedam: et cognoscetis quod ego
Iehovah.
|
What the Prophet had said concerning the pillows he
now pronounces of the veils, by which they were accustomed to cover either their
own heads, or those of the persons who consulted them. The conclusion is, that
God would put an end to such follies. For the people were so fascinated by these
silly things, that it became necessary to strip away these masks, since these
women were always ready to deceive. He adds also, that he would do that for the
benefit of his own people. We have said that this ought not to be extended
generally to all the sons of Abraham according to the flesh. For God suffered
almost all to perish, as he had said by Isaiah:
“Even if thy people
had been as the sand of the sea-shore, a remnant only shall be saved,”
(<231022>Isaiah
10:22.)
When, therefore, God speaks here concerning his own
people, this sentence ought to be restricted to the elect: as when it is said in
the psalm, How soft and kind is God to his people Israel; and then he adds by
way of correction, to those who are upright in heart,
(<197301>Psalm
73:1,) Since many boasted themselves to be Israelites who are very unlike their
father, and through being degenerate deprived themselves of that honor: hence
the Prophet restricts God’s goodness peculiarly to the elect who are
upright in heart, after he had spoken of the whole people. Although Ezekiel did
not distinctly express what we have cited from the psalm, yet the sense is the
same; and this is easily gathered from the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to
the Romans
(<451105>Romans
11:5, 6), where God sets before us the remnant preserved according to
God’s gratuitous election. For the same sense it is added,
that they should no longer be
for a prey. We have said how these women hunted
these wretched souls, not only for purposes of gain, but also because Satan
abused their fallacies. So, therefore, it happened that these souls were enticed
to their destruction. For this reason God pronounces that they should no longer
be their prey. And he repeats what he had already said,
ye shall know that I am
Jehovah. Here God brings before us his power,
because we know how safely hypocrites allude his sacred name; and this easily
appears in the boldness and licentiousness of these women. Hence God here
threatens them: he says that they should feel at length who had spoken, since
they ridiculed Ezekiel and his other servants. There is, then, a silent
antithesis between God and the prophets; not that God separates himself from his
servants; for the truth, of which they are ministers and heralds, is an
indissoluble bond of union between them; but the language is adapted to the
senses of those with whom the Prophet treats. Now, since these women were so
wanton, he says that he was not despised by them, but God himself. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
13:22-23
|
|
22. Because with is you have made the heart of
the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the
wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him
life;
|
22. Quia contristastis cor justi
mendacio,
f300 et ego non contristaveram
ipsum;
f301 et roborastis manus impii, ut non
converteretur a via sua mala, vivificando ipsum.
|
|
23. Therefore you shall see no more vanity,
nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand; and you
shall know that I am the Lord.
|
23. Propterea mendacium non videbitis, et
divinationem non divinabitis amplius: et eruam populum meum e manu vestra: et
scietis quod ego Iehovah.
|
He explains in other words what we saw yesterday: but
the repetition adds to the weight of the matter. The Prophet therefore shows
that he had a just cause of complaint, because the women so deceived the people.
He says now that they made the
heart of the righteous sad, and strengthened the hands of the
wicked: the sentiment is the same, though the
words are changed. He had previously said that they gave life to those devoted
to death, and slew those destined to life; but now he shows more clearly the
meaning of killing the soul that should not, or ought not to die, when the heart
of the righteous is made sorrowful. By the righteous he means those whom the
false prophets inspired with causeless terror. But why, it is asked, does he say
that the righteous are grieved, since we have formerly taught that no others
were deceived unless those who spontaneously throw themselves into the snares
and traps of Satan? I answer, that the false prophets thundered so, and their
lies were so spread about here and there as to involve the simple: for they
scatter their threats so as to reach all men. Hence they wound weak consciences;
as at this day when the lies of Satan fly about; by which true religion is
corrupted, many simple ones are frightened, for they are destitute of judgment,
and do not distinguish whether God threatens, or man vaunts himself
rashly.
We see, then, how false prophets cause the righteous
sorrow, when they suggest scruples, and, under the penalty of mortal sin,
denounce first one thing and then another: then they deprive them of confidence
in God’s favor, and strike them with various terrors, as we discern
clearly in the papacy of this very day. Let us take that one point which is with
them without controversy, that our confidence springs from our works, and hence
that we cannot determine whether God is propitious to us or not., and thus they
overthrow all assurance of faith. They retain, indeed, the name of faith, but
meantime they wish wretched consciences to vacillate and be turned about with
disquiet, since no one can know whether he can invoke God as a
father.
F302 That confidence which Paul says is
common to all Christians, they call presumption and rashness.
(<490312>Ephesians
3:12.) We see, then, how that point not only grieves the righteous, but disturbs
innocent consciences: for a series of traditions is afterwards added, and the
penalty of eternal death is always annexed. hence it happens that those who wish
to worship God in any other way, when they are thus rendered spiritless, know
not which way to turn: hence also they lose all fear of God, since no one can
seriously reverence God unless he who feels him to be easily entreated, as we
learn from
<19D006>Psalm
130:6.
We now understand what the Holy Spirit means when he
reproves the women because they
made the heart of the righteous sad. It is
added, but I was unwilling to
grieve them. For God’s faithful servants
often inspire terror, but only when necessary. For they cannot otherwise subdue
those who exult in their lusts, and they cannot bring them to obedience unless
they overcome them with fear. Hence even true prophets and evangelists cause
pain, as Paul says: If I have caused you sorrow, I do not repent of it: for so I
thought to do: for there is salutary grief.
(<470708>2
Corinthians 7:8.) Besides, true prophets do not afflict men for nothing; they
only cause anxiety in the minds of those whom God wishes to grieve: hence they
do not fabricate the material for sorrow and pain in their own brain, but
receive it from God’s mouth and the spirit of revelation. Hence the word
righteous
is used, and
falsely
is added, by which particle the severity which true prophets are often compelled
to use is distinguished from the roughness, or rather savage rudeness, of false
prophets. For as I have said, they frighten wretched consciences. But by what
right? by transferring God’s power to themselves; just as at the present
day the Pope with swelling cheeks thunders forth that himself and his throne are
apostolic, and therefore infallible. Since, therefore, false prophets thus
contend by fallacies, the simple are overcome by fear.
It is now added,
that they strengthened the hands
of the impious (literally, of the impious man
in the singular). When the Prophet spoke of the righteous, he used the word
heart: he now uses the word hand, and not without reason. For the false terrors
in which the false prophets indulged, penetrate even to the intimate affections,
and as each is affected by the fear of God, so he becomes afraid of those
threats which he hears uttered in God’s name. We see, then, that it was
said with very good reason that the mind of the righteous was sadly grieved; and
now when he says that he had
strengthened the hands of the impious, he means
that audacity was added, so that not only the wicked always remain obstinate
against God, but they break out in unbridled license, and hesitate not openly to
violate God’s law: for strengthening the hands is more than grieving the
mind. For it may and it does happen, that a man may swell with pride and
contempt of God, and yet modesty may hinder him from basely contaminating
himself with many crimes. But when the hands themselves are engaged in
licentiousness, all evils are heaped together. Now, therefore, we understand the
reason of this difference. In fine, Ezekiel means that the impious had been
hardened by the blandishments of these women, so as not only to despise God in
their minds, but to bear witness through their whole life, that they were openly
and confessedly erecting the standard of war against God. In this sense, then,
he says, that they had
strengthened the hands of the impious.
He adds,
that he should not be
converted. Here he more clearly defines how
those souls which were devoted to
death
f303 were kept alive, since such confidence
was set before them as to lull and stupefy their consciences. He does not say,
then, that the hands of the
impious were strengthened, as in a conspiracy
of the wicked one often assists another, as if they mutually bound their hands
together. But the Prophet now speaks in another sense, namely, that these women
so hardened the wicked that they went on securely in their wickedness, and made
a laughing-stock of God and his law.
You have strengthened the hands
that they should not be converted: but how?
by affording them
life. Hence we gather that men cannot be
humbled otherwise than by placing death before them, because all willingly
indulge themselves, and hypocrisy is so ingrained in us by natural corruption,
that every one readily persuades himself that all things will turn out well.
Unless, therefore, death is presented before our eyes, and God himself appears
as a judge to destroy us, we remain like ourselves, and proceed to still greater
audacity. The Prophet signifies this when he says,
that by giving life to the
impious the false prophets strengthened their
hands, and opposed their repentance altogether.
How so? When the sinner thinks God propitious to him, he is not anxious about
reconciliation, but abuses God’s forbearance, and is daily rendered
bolder, until at last he puts off all sense of fear. Hence this is the true
preparation for conversion, when the sinner is slain; that is, acknowledges
himself liable to the judgment of God, and takes a formidable view of his wrath.
When, therefore, he sees himself lost, then he begins to think of conversion;
but when men sleep over their sins, as I have said, they persist till they
arrive at constant apathy, as Paul says when he remarks that they have no longer
any sense of sorrow.
(<490419>Ephesians
4:19.)
It follows,
you shall not see a lie any
more. He has hitherto explained the reason why
God grew so warm against these women, because they destroyed miserable souls
either by their cruelty or their flatteries, and thus were like false prophets:
now he adds, you shall not see a
lie any more. This ought not to be understood
as if God promised these women a sound mind, so that they should cease to hurt
the people by their lies: but he confirms the sentiment previously expressed,
namely, that they should be subject to the taunts of all men, as boys themselves
acknowledge that what they boasted to be oracles were mere imposture. It is just
as if he had said — I will make you ashamed, so that hereafter you may be
deprived of the use of the prophetic name, as you have hitherto used it.
Although these women persisted in their madness, yet they saw vanity no more,
since it became openly apparent that those wretched ones who trusted in them
were deceived. Lastly, this thought to be adapted not to any change of feeling
in these women, but rather to a failure in the effect. It is just as if any one
were to say to a foolish fellow boasting himself to be a Lawyer or a physician,
— I will take care that you profit no more as either a Lawyer or a
physician; and yet that foolish person should not be able to put away the
opinion which he had ever formed of his own skin. But this is said, because the
mere vanity of his boasting should be evident to all. So also God now speaks.
This addition has the same meaning:
you shall not divine divination
any more. And yet there is no doubt that they
desired by all means to invent new prophecies, and to boast in new revelations:
but they were despised, because God had detected their lies when Jerusalem was
taken, and the people dragged into exile: then because they promised the people
a speedy return, when the same God refuted them by prolonging their exile. When,
therefore, any one suffers the just penalty of his impiety, then the vanity of
those women was detected: in this way they ceased to divine. He repeats —
I will free my people from your
hand: and you shall know that I am Jehovah.
Since I have lately explained this phrase I now pass it by. It follows
—
CHAPTER 14
|
EZEKIEL
14:1-3
|
|
1. Then came certain of the elders of Israel
unto me, and sat before me.
|
1. Et venerunt ad me viri ex senioribus
Israel, et sederunt coram facie
mea.
F304
|
|
2. And the word of the Lord came unto me,
saying,
|
2. Et fuit sermo Iehovae ad me,
dicendo,
|
|
3. Son of man, these men have set up their
idols in their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their
face: should I be inquired of at all by them?
|
3. Fili hominis, viri isti ascendere fecerunt
idola sua super cor suum, et offendiculum iniquitatis suae posuerunt coram facie
sua. An quaerendo quaerar
ipsis?
F305
|
Here Ezekiel relates an event worthy of notice. For
this was not a mere vision, but a real transaction, since some of the elders of
Israel came to him for the sake of consultation. He says
that he
sat, as men who are perplexed and astonished by
evils are accustomed to do, when they see no remedy. The gesture then which the
Prophet describes was a sign of anxiety and despair. A person wishing for an
answer is said to sit before another; but since it is probable that they
disputed among themselves about beginning, and did not immediately discover how
they should commence, hence they became anxious to consult the Prophet. Ezekiel,
indeed, might be touched and softened by pity when he saw them seeking God in
this way. For this was a sign of repentance when they turned to the true and
faithful servant of God. But since they had no sincerity, the Prophet is warned
in time against supposing them to come with cordiality. Hence God instructs his
servant not to give way with too much facility when he sees old men coming to be
disciples. But he shows their hypocrisy, because superstition still reigned in
their hearts; nay, they desired openly to violate God’s law, and they did
not disguise this feeling whenever occasion offered. First, he says they
have set up idols in their
hearts; by which words he means that they were
addicted to superstition, so that idols obtained a high rank in their hearts; as
Paul exhorts the faithful, that the peace of God which passes all understanding
may obtain the rule in their hearts
(<500407>Philippians
4:7;
<510315>Colossians
3:15); so on the other hand the Prophet says that these men had given supreme
sway to idols. And again an implied comparison must be remarked between God and
idols. For God has erected the seat of his empire in our hearts: but when we set
up idols, we necessarily endeavor to overthrow God’s throne, and to reduce
his power to nothing. Hence the most heinous crime of sacrilege is here shown in
those old men who caused idols to
rise above their hearts. For hence it follows
that all their senses were drowned in their superstitions.
He adds,
they placed the stumblingblock of
their iniquity before his face. By this second
clause he signifies their hardness and perverseness; as if he had said, although
the doctrine of the law was put before their eyes, yet they had no regard for
piety, and despised even God’s threats, as if he were not going to be
their judge. When, therefore, the sinner is not moved by any admonitions, and is
more than convicted of his impiety, and is compelled, whether he will or not, to
suffer God’s anger, and yet afterwards despises it, he is said
to put the stumbling block of his
iniquity before his face. For many slide away
by error and thoughtlessness, because they do not think they can attempt
anything against God. But here Ezekiel expresses that there was a gross contempt
of God in these old men, and even a professed rebellion against him. Now he
asks, Shall I by inquiring
be inquired of by them? Some translate,
Shall I, when consulted or asked, answer them? But this comment seems to me too
remote from the mind of the Prophet; and it is probable that they thought this
to be the sense, because they could not understand what else the Prophet meant.
But God shows that this was like a wonder, since these old men dared to break
forth, and to pretend to have some desire to inquire the truth. Hence their
impudence is shown here, because they did not hesitate to place themselves
before God’s servant, and to pretend a regard for piety when they had
none. God says, therefore, can it be done? For this question expresses the
absurdity of the thing, and that for the above mentioned purpose, that their
wickedness may be the more apparent in their daring to insult the face of God.
For what else is it than openly to reproach God when impure men approach him,
and wish to become partakers of his counsel? Meanwhile they show by their whole
life that they are most inveterate enemies of the whole heavenly doctrine.
Afterwards it follows —
|
EZEKIEL
14:4
|
|
4. Therefore speak unto them, and say unto
them, Thus says the Lord God, Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up
his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling- block of his iniquity before
his face, and cometh to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him that cometh
according to the multitude of his idols.
|
4. Propterea loquere ad ipsos, et dic illis:
sic Dominator Iehovah, vir vir, domo
Israel,
f306 ascendere fecerit idola sua super cor
suum, et offendiculum iniquitatis suae posuerit coram facie sua: et venerit ad
prophetam: ego Iehovah respondebo
huic
f307 secundum multitudinem idolorum
ejus.
F308
|
Here God seems to treat those hypocrites too
indulgently who pretend to ask his advice and yet despise his counsel. But God
here rather threatens what would be destructive to the wicked than promises
anything which they ought to expect. It is indeed a singular testimony of
God’s grace when he answers us: for prophecy is an image of God’s
paternal anxiety towards us and our salvation. But sometimes prophecy only ends
in destruction; and this is but an accident. Although, therefore, God’s
word by itself is naturally to be greatly desired, yet when God answers as a
judge, and takes away all hope of pardon and pity, no taste of his favor can
then be perceived. Thus this passage must be understood. God pronounces that he
would answer, but whom? The reprobate, and those who tauntingly inquired of the
Prophet what they should do. When he answers them, he only shows himself the
avenger of their perfidy; and thus his answer contains nothing else but the
fearful judgment which hangs over all the reprobate. For God does not here
impose a perpetual law on himself; for he does not always act in the same way
towards all the reprobate, but says that those impious ones should feel that
they shall not profit by their cunning and artifices, since they shall find the
difference between God and Satan: for they were accustomed to lies, and had
itching ears; hence they wished to have some pleasing and flattering answer from
the servant of God, since the false prophets gratified their inclinations. What
then does God say? I will answer
them, but far otherwise than they either wish
or desire: for I will answer them
according to the multitude of their idols: for
they bring with them the material for their own condemnation: hence they shall
take back nothing from me but the seal of that condemnation which is already
placed upon their hearts, and appears on their hands. In fine, God here laughs
at the foolish confidence of those who inquire about future events of his
prophets; but meanwhile they have their heart bound up with superstitions, so as
openly to show their gross impiety: hence he says,
that he would answer
them, not as they thought, but as they
deserved.
|
EZEKIEL
14:5
|
|
5. That I may take the house of Israel in
their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their
idols.
|
5. Ut deprehendam domum Israel in corde
ipsorum, quia alienarunt se
f309 a me in suis idolis
omnes.
|
He shows God’s object in being unwilling to
dismiss without an answer the hypocrites who still impiously trifled with him.
He says, that I may seize the
house of Israel in their heart. It is yet asked
how the impious are seized, when God answers them neither according to the
opinion of their mind nor their expectation, but pronounces what they dislike
and fear most grievously. I reply, that the impious are answered when they are
driven to madness, and God thus extracts from them what was formerly hidden in
their own hearts. He says, therefore,
that their impiety may be
manifest to all, I will answer them. For as
long as God spares the impious, they endeavor to soothe him by a kind of
flattery; but when they see that they take nothing by their false blandishments,
then they roar, nay, bellow furiously against God: thus
they are caught in their own
hearts: that is, all their former dissembling
is made bare, so that all may easily perceive that there never was a spark of
piety in their hearts. God, therefore, bears witness that his answers would be
of this kind, that he may take
the house of Israel in their hearts; that is,
that his severity may draw out into the light what was formerly hidden; for the
word of God is a two-edged sword, and examines all the sentiments of men.
(<580412>Hebrews
4:12.) Some are so slain by this sword that they grow wise again; but others are
stung with fury when they see that they must engage with the power of God;
therefore they are seized in their own hearts when God twists from them what
they would willingly have kept always hidden.
Since they have estranged
themselves from me, literally, in their idols.
This passage is explained in two ways, as we have said. Some say, because they
separated themselves; but I approve of the other version,
because they have alienated
themselves, and we shall understand the point
more clearly afterwards when the subject leads us to it.
They alienated
themselves, then,
from
God; that is, when they had utterly declined
from God’s law; yet, as long as this was concealed, they still wore their
masks. The separation of which the Prophet here speaks seems to be referred to
this pretense. Since, then, they
so alienated themselves from me by their idols;
that is, he says they are deceived in thinking that they cannot be discovered,
and that their abominations, however foul they are, will remain secret. And this
agrees with the last clause, namely, that he would seize the hypocrites in their
own heart.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since we are so
inclined to all kinds of vices, that we may be restrained by the power of thy
Spirit: then that we may be attentive to the teaching which sounds continually
in our ears, so that we may persevere in the pure worship of thy name; and thus
being strengthened against the cunning of the wicked, may we be upheld in our
weakness, and preserved from all error, until we finish our course, and arrive
at the goal which is proposed to us in Christ Jesus our Lord. —
Amen.
LECTURE
THIRTY-EIGHTH.
|
EZEKIEL
14:6
|
|
6. Therefore say unto the house of Israel,
Thus says the Lord God, Repent, and turn, yourselves from your idols; and
turn away your faces from all your abominations.
|
6. Propterea die ad domum Israel, Sic dicit
Dominator Iehovah, revertimini et redire facite ab idolis vestris, et a cunctis
abominationibus vestris redire
facite
f310 facies vestras.
|
Now God shows why he had threatened the false
prophets and the whole people so severely, namely, that they should repent; for
the object of God’s rigor is, that, when terrified by his judgments, we
should return into the way. Now, therefore, he exhorts them to repentance. Hence
we gather the useful lesson, that whenever God inspires us with fear, he has no
other intention than to humble us, and thus to provide for our salvation, when
he reproves and threatens us so strongly by his prophets, and in truth is
verbally angry with us, that he may really spare us. But the exhortation is
short, that they may be converted
and turned away from their idols, and may turn their faces from all their
abominations. When he uses the word
wbyçh,
heshibev, in the second clause, some understand “wives;” but
this is frigid: others think the verb transitive, but yet impersonal, thus make
yourselves return: this also is
harsh.
F311 I have no doubt that the Prophet here
exhorts the Israelites that each should desire to reconcile himself to God, and
at the same time bring others with him. As many were mutually the authors of
evils to each other, he now orders them to do their utmost to bring back others
with them: and surely this is a true proof of our repentance, when we are not
only converted to God one by one, but, when we stretch forth our hand to our
brethren, and recall them from error; especially if they have wandered away
through our fault, we must take care to make up for the injury by at least equal
diligence. The sense therefore of the Prophet is, first, that, the Israelites
should repent; next, that one should assist another to repentance, or that they
should mutually unite in the pursuit of piety, just as each was previously
corrupted by his companion and brother. This seems to be the full meaning.
Besides, this series must be remarked: because many show zeal in seizing others,
and stretching out the hand to free them from error; but they themselves never
think of repenting. But the Holy Spirit here shows us the true method of
proceeding, when he commands us to repent, and then extends our desires to our
brethren who have need of our exhortations. At length he adds,
withdraw your
faces, or turn away
from all your
abominations. A part is here put by the Prophet
for the whole, since turning away the face means the same as withdrawing all the
senses. Since, therefore, they had been almost affixed to their own abominations
to which they had cast their eyes, and were completely intent upon them, he
orders them to turn away their faces, so as to bid them farewell. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
14:7
|
|
7. For every one of the house of Israel, or of
the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and
setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block of his
iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to inquire of him concerning
me; I the Lord will answer him by myself.
|
7. Nam quisquis, domo Israel, et e peregrino
qui peregrinatur apud Israelem, et separatus
fuerit
f312 de post me (ad verbum), et ascendere
fecerit idola sua super cor suum, et offendiculum iniquitatis suae posuerit
coram facie sua, et venerit ad Prophetam ad inquirendum ipsum ex
me,
f313 ego Iehovah respondebo ei in me (vel per
me).
|
Ezekiel again returns to threats, because
exhortations was not sufficiently effectual with such hardened ones; for we have
seen that they were obdurate in their vices and almost like untamed beasts. For
unless God’s judgment had been often set before them, there had been but
small fruit of teaching and exhortation. This then is the reason why God here
sets before them his vengeance:
a man, a man, says he, or a
stranger who sojourns among Israel. When he
adds strangers, he doubtless speaks of the circumcised who professed to be
worshipers of the true God, and so submitted to the law as to refrain from all
impieties. For there were two kinds of strangers, those who transacted business
there, but were profane men, continuing uncircumcised. But there were others who
were not sprung from the sacred race, and were not indigenous to the soil, but
yet they had been circumcised, and as far as religion was concerned, had become
members of the Church; and God wishes them to be esteemed in the same class and
rank as the sons of Abraham. The law shall be the same for the stranger and the
home-born, wherever the promise is concerned,
(<041515>Numbers
15:15,16,) and the same sentiment is repeated in many places. Thus the word
foreigners is now to be explained. But this circumstance exaggerates the crime
of the chosen people. For if any one settled in the land of Canaan and embraced
God’s law, this was an accidental event: but the Israelites were by nature
heirs of eternal life, for the adoption was continued through successive ages.
Since then they were born sons of God, it was the more disgraceful to depart
from his worship. And so when Ezekiel here gravely rebukes the strangers, he
shows how much more atrocious the crime was in the case of those who were bound
by a more sacred bond to the worship of God. He says,
and he was separated from
after me. The Prophet yesterday said
yl[m,
megneli, from near or from towards me: here he more clearly expresses
declension, when men reject the teaching of the law, and openly show that they
pay no obedience to God. For he is said to follow God or to walk after him, who
proposes to himself God as a guide, and is devoted to his precepts, and holds on
in the way pointed out by him. Thus by the obedience of faith we follow God or
walk after him: so we recede from him when we reject his law, and are openly
unwilling to bear his yoke any longer. Hence he shows of what kind the
separation of the people or of individuals from God is, namely, when they refuse
to follow his law. The Israelites indeed wished God always to remain united to
them, but they made the divorce, although they denied it: hence the Prophet cuts
away from them beforehand this prop of backsliding, when he says that
they separated from
God by not following him.
At length he repeats what we saw yesterday,
he who caused his idols to ascend
unto his heart, he who placed the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his
face, that is, was drowned in his own
superstitions, so that his idols bore sway in his heart: lastly, he who is so
forward in audacity that he did not conceal his wish to oppose the
Almighty: if any one, says he,
came to a prophet to inquire of him in me, or
my name, I will answer
him. He confirms what we saw yesterday, that he
could no longer bear the hypocrites who deluded themselves so proudly. And
certainly when they openly worshipped idols, and were fined with many
superstitions, what audacity and pride it was to consult true prophets? It is
much the same as if a person should want only insult and rail at a physician,
and not only load him with reproaches, but even spit in his face: and should
afterwards go and ask his advice, saying, “What do you advise me to do?
How must I be cured of this disease?” Such pride could not be borne
between man and man. How then will God permit such reproaches to go unpunished?
For this reason he says that he
would answer, but after his own manner, as if
he had said — they seek flatteries, but
I will answer in
myself: that is, in my natural character. I
will not change it according to their pleasure, for they change my character by
their fictions, but they are deceived: they profit nothing when they expect me
to answer according to their
views: I will
answer, says he, in myself; that is,
they shall feel that the answer proceeds from me, and they shall have no reason
for thinking that my servants will be submissive to them, as they are accustomed
to abuse the false prophets whom they buy for reward, because they are venal.
For when any one is venal he is compelled to flatter like a slave. For there is
no freedom but in a good and upright conscience. Hence God here separates his
servants from impostors who make a trade of their flatteries. Now it follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
14:8
|
|
8. And I will set my face against that man,
and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of
my people; and you shall know that I am the Lord.
|
8. Et penam ficiem meam in viro
illo,
f314 et ponam
illum
f315 in signum et proverbia et excidem eum e
medio populi mei: et cognoscetis quod ego Iehovah.
|
Here God adds, that the execution of his wrath would
be ready when the prophet had denounced it. For profane men always fabricate for
themselves empty treaties, and when God threatens they say that it is only
thunder without lightning. Since the prophetic threats moved the reprobate
either nothing or but little, so God now shows that he would not only answer
what they did not wish to hear, but they should perceive by its effect how truly
he had spoken. And this ought to be understood from the last sentence; for when
God answers by himself, he neither is nor strikes the air with threatening
words, but denounces what he determined to fulfill and accomplish in his own
time. For God never answers in himself without joining the effect with the
prophecy. But hypocrites are too stupid to acknowledge this, unless a clearer
explanation was afforded. This then is the reason why the Prophet brings a
message respecting the effect.
He says,
I will put my face upon that
man: when God speaks openly against us, this is
sufficient for our destruction; but he wished to express more in this case,
namely, that prophets were the heralds of his wrath, and that hypocrites should
be admonished about the penalties which await them, and even now hang over them,
since his hand is stretched out against them. He is said to place his face
against another who rises against him, or descends to a contest and engages hand
to hand. So also God pronounces that he would be an adversary to all the
reprobate who thus endeavored to elude him. He says,
I will place him for a sign and a
proverb. He marks the heaviness of the
punishment by these words: for God sometimes chastises the faults of men, but
after a common and accustomed manner. But when punishment excites the wonder of
all and is like a portent, then God puts forth the sign of his wrath in no
common fashion, as they say. The Prophet then means this, and hence at the same
time admonishes us how detestable a crime it is to decline from the pure worship
of God. For God chastises thefts and lewdness, drunkenness, deceits, and
rapines: but not always so rigorously that the punishment is remarkable, and
turns the minds of all towards itself. Hence from the greatness of the
punishment the atrocity of the crime is made known. He now adds,
for
proverbs. This phrase is taken from the law, as
the prophets who are the interpreters of Moses make use of words from it.
(<052837>Deuteronomy
28:37.) When any remarkable slaughter occurs it is said to be for a
proverb, as all persons usually boast when speaking of any slaughter, that
none is equal to it or more horrible. But,
lçm,
meshel, is also used for a disgrace: as if he had said, it should not
only be material for remark among the whole people, but their name should be
subject to reproach and contempt. At length he adds,
I will cut him off from my
people. This is most severe of all, for even
the hope of pity is taken away. A person may be a wonder for a time: then his
calamity may be the subject of vulgar taunts and proverbs: and yet God is still
exorable, and may not cut him off from his people. But when any one is cut off
from God’s people, his safety is already beyond hope. It is not in vain
that this sentence is so often repeated,
you shall know that I am
Jehovah, says he, since we even formerly saw
hypocrites always put a veil before them, since they think they have only to do
with the prophets, and thus they despise mortals with security. Hence God here
inscribes his name on his word, that they may know that he has spoken, and may
experience the effect of his words by his hand. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
14:9
|
|
9. And if the prophet be deceived when he has
spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet; and I will stretch out my
hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people
Israel.
|
9. Et Propheta cum deceptus fuerit, et locutus
fuerit sermonem: ego Iehovah decepi prophetam eum: et extendam manum meam super
ipsum, et delebo illum e medio populi mei Israel.
|
Here God meets that foolish thought in which many
minds are rapt up. When they had their own impostors at hand, they thought that
all God’s threats could be repelled as it were by a shield. Jeremiah and
Ezekiel threaten us, say they, but we have others to cheer us with good hope:
they promise that all things shall be joyful and prosperous to us: since,
therefore, only two or three deprive us of the hope of safety, and others, and
those, too, far more numerous, promise us security, we have no need to despair.
Since they thus oppose their impostors to the true prophets, and imagine a kind
of conflict, in which imposture prevails and God’s truth is vanquished, he
says there is no reason why the flatteries of the false prophets should deceive
you. For if you say that they bear also the prophetic name and office, I reply,
that they err through your fault; for I deceive them because your impiety
deserves it. This may as yet be obscure, but I will endeavor to explain it by a
familiar example. At this time we see that many through sloth withdraw
themselves from all fear, and promise themselves freedom from punishment, while
they reject all care for God. O, say they, what have I to do with religion? for
this only occasions me trouble; whoever wishes to give himself up seriously to
God amidst, these dissension’s and divisions will enter a labyrinth.
Since, therefore, many think themselves free from fault, even if they reject
God, this doctrine may be turned against them. There are, indeed, at this day
dissension’s in religion which disturb many; but do you think that this
happens rashly: Oh! we know not which party to follow: inquire; for God has not
so given the rein to Satan and his ministers, that the Church is disturbed, and
men are mutually opposed by chance. But when this happens by the just judgment
of God, it is certain that no one can be deceived unless of his own accord. For
the Prophet takes that principle from Moses, whenever false prophets come forth,
that this is a proof of faithfulness and of sincere piety. Thy God tries thee,
says Moses, whether you love him.
(<050803>Deuteronomy
8:3.) Since, therefore, no false prophet arises without the just judgment of
God, and since God wishes to distinguish between sincere worshipers and
hypocrites, it follows that no one can be excused on this pretext, of differing
opinions which arise by wise ordination. For since God wishes to make an
experiment, as I have said, concerning his servants and sons, and since false
prophets so mingle all things, and involve the clear daylight in darkness, no
one who truly and heartily seeks God shall be entangled among their
snares.
But Ezekiel will proceed still further, as I have
previously hinted, namely, that all impostures and errors do not spring up
rashly, but proceed from the ingratitude of the people itself. For if they had
not so willingly given themselves up to the false prophets, God would doubtless
have spared them. But, since false prophets abounded on every side, and were so
plentiful everywhere, hence it may be understood that, the people were worthy of
such impostures. Now then we perceive the meaning of the Holy Spirit when God
pronounces that he is the author of all the error which the false prophets were
thus scattering abroad. For it is not sufficient to observe merely the sound of
the words, and then to illicit the substance of the prophetic teaching; but we
must attend to the Spirit’s purpose. I have already explained why the
Prophet says this, namely, that. the Israelites should cease to turn their backs
according to their custom, saying, that if they remained in doubt amidst various
opinions, this ought not to be imputed to them as a crime. For he answers, that
the false prophets only took this license, because the people deserved to be
blinded: and in fine, he says that Satan’s lies multiplied not at random
or at the will of men, but because God repays a graceless and perfidious people
with a just recompense. So Paul says that error has a divine efficacy, when men
prefer embracing a lie to the truth
(<530211>2
Thessalonians 2:11, 12), and do not submit themselves to God, but rather shake
off his yoke. Now, therefore, whoever wishes to excuse himself under the pretext
of simplicity for not acquiescing in God’s word, this answer is at hand
— that all things are thus mingled by God’s just decree. Since,
therefore, Satan eclipses the light whenever clouds are scattered to disturb the
weak, we here find God to be the author of it, since man’s impiety
deserves it. For the Prophet does not here discourse profanely about God’s
absolute power, as they say; but when he brings forward God’s name, he
takes it for granted that God is not delighted with such disturbance, when false
prophets seize upon his name. It is certain, then, that God does not delight in
such deception; but the cause must be thought, as we shall soon see: the cause
is not always manifest; but without controversy this is fixed, that God punishes
men justly, when true religion is so rent asunder by divisions, and truth is
obscured by falsehood.
We must hold, then, that God does not rage like a
tyrant, but exercises just judgment. Besides, this passage teaches us that
neither impostures nor deceptions arise without God’s permission. This
seems at first sight absurd, for God seems to contend with himself when he gives
license to Satan to pervert sound doctrine: and if this happens by God’s
authority, it seems perfectly contradictory to itself. But let us always
remember this, that God’s judgments are not without reason called a
profound abyss
(<193606>Psalm
36:6), that when we see rebellious men acting as they do in these times, we
should not wish to comprehend what far surpasses even the sense of angels.
Soberly, therefore, and reverently must we judge of God’s works, and
especially of his secret counsels. But with the aid of reverence and modesty, it
will be easy to reconcile these two things — that God begets, and
cherishes, and defends his Church, and confirms the teaching of his prophets,
all the while that he permits it to be torn and distracted by intestine broils.
Why so? He acts thus that he may punish the wickedness of men as often as he
pleases when he sees them abuse his goodness and indulgence. When God lights up
the flame of his doctrine, this is the sign of his inestimable pity; when he
suffers the Church to be disturbed, and men to be in some degree dissipated,
this is to be imputed to the wickedness of men. Whatever be the explanation, he
pronounces that he deceived the
false prophets, because Satan could not utter a
single word unless he were permitted, and not only so, but even ordered; while
God exercises his wrath against the wicked.
In another sense Jeremiah says that he was deceived
(<242007>Jeremiah
20:7). I am deceived, but you Jehovah have deceived me: for there he speaks
ironically. For when ungodly men boasted that so many of his prophecies were
delusive, and derided him as a foolish and misguided man, he says, If I am
deceived, you, O Lord, have deceived me. We see, then, that by false irony he
reproves the petulance of those who despised his prophecies; and finally, he
shows that God was the author of his teaching. But in this place God pronounces
without a figure that he deceived the false prophets. If any one now objects,
that nothing is more remote from God’s nature than to deceive, the answer
is at hand. Although the metaphor is rather rough, yet we know that God
transfers to himself by a figure of speech what properly does not belong to him.
He is said to laugh at the impious; but we know that it is not agreeable to his
nature to ridicule, to laugh, to see, and to sleep.
(<190204>Psalm
2:4;
<193713>Psalm
37:13.) And so in this place, I confess, there is an improper form of speaking;
but the sense is not doubtful — that all impostures are scattered abroad
by God — since Satan, as I have said, can never utter the slightest word
unless commanded by God. But the kind of deceit which will solve this difficulty
for us is described in the sacred history. For when Ahab had a great crowd of
false prophets, Micah alone stood firm, and faithfully discharged his duty to
God: when brought before king Ahab, he immediately blows away their boastings
— Behold! all my prophets predict victory: he answers — I saw God
sitting on his throne; and when all the armies of heaven were collected before
him, God inquired, Who shall deceive Ahab? And a spirit offered himself, namely,
a devil, and said, I will deceive him, because I will be a lying spirit in the
mouth of all his prophets. God answers, Depart, and thus it shall be. (1 Kings
22; 2 Chronicles 18.) Afterwards it follows, Therefore the Lord put a lie in the
mouth of all those prophets. Here he distinctly shows us the manner in which God
maddens the false prophets, and deceives them, namely, since he sends forth
Satan to fill them with his lies. Since, then, they are impelled by Satan, the
father of lies, what can they do but lie and deceive? The whole of this, then,
depends on the just judgments of God, as this place teaches. God, therefore,
does not deceive, so to speak, without an agency, but uses Satan and impostors
as organs of his vengeance. If any one flies to that subtle distinction between
ordering and permitting, he is easily refuted by the context. For that cannot be
called mere permission when God willingly seeks for some one to deceive Ahab,
and then he himself orders Satan to go forth and do so. But the last clause
which I have quoted takes away all doubt, since God put a lie in the mouth of
the prophets, that is, suggested a lie to all the false prophets. If God
suggests, we shall see that Satan flies forth not only by his permission to
scatter his impostures; but since God wished to use his aid, so he afforded it
on this condition and to this end. But we shall leave the rest for the next
lecture.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since we are so
prone to error, that thy truth may always shine upon us amidst the darkness of
this world: Grant, also, that we may gaze upon it with open eyes, and subject
ourselves to thee with true docility, so that being governed by both thy Word
and thy Spirit, we may fulfill our course, and at length arrive at that happy
rest, which your only begotten Son has prepared for us. Amen.
LECTURE THIRTY
NINTH.
WE saw in the last lecture with what intention God
permits so much license to the false prophets to deceive the people. For men
would desire to throw the fault of their errors on God, if he did not meet their
rashness. But God has pronounced in this place, that his judgment is just, since
the exiles as well as the Jews remaining in the city were equally blind. Hence
we must understand that there was no cause for excuse when God’s hand was
against an impious and wicked people. He now adds, that he would be an avenger
in destroying the false prophets from the midst of the people. This seems at
first sight not to be in accordance with justice, that God should impel and
precipitate men into error, and then exact punishment of them: and as I have
said, men think themselves free from blame, if God blinds them, casts them into
a reprobate state of mind, and even hurries them into impious desires. But I
have already remarked that those act erroneously who estimate God’s
judgment by their own notions. For how small is the measure of our intelligence:
for God’s judgments are a profound abyss.
(<193606>Psalm
36:6.) Nothing therefore remains, except waiting for that day in which we shall
see face to face the things which we now behold darkly and obscurely, as Paul
says.
(<461312>1
Corinthians 13:12.) Whatever may be the sense, God does rightly in deceiving the
false prophets by way of punishing an impious people; and when he summons the
false prophets to judgment, that also is free from blame. But if men are restive
through their own rashness and audacity, God will free himself from all their
calumnies. Wherefore let us diligently mark this passage where God pronounces
that he is the deceiver; because however Satan may plot by his lies to abolish
the truth, yet he can accomplish nothing unless God permit him, as we have
already explained at full length. But when false prophets are dragged to
punishment, they have no cause of expostulation with God. and they profit
nothing by their complaints, since their own consciences condemn them. They
cannot object that they were compelled or drawn violently aside by God, since of
their own accord and by their own efforts they endeavored to deliver wretched
men to destruction by their lies. Since this is the case, God justly extends his
hands to punish them, as he now says. But let us proceed to the next
verse.
|
EZEKIEL
14:10
|
|
10. And they shall bear the punishment of
their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of
him that seeketh unto him.
|
10. Et ferent iniquitatem suam, sicut
iniquitas sciscitantis sic iniquitas Prophetae erit.
|
Here what Ezekiel had partially touched upon is more
clearly taught. For he had said, that at length false prophets should meet with
punishment, but he now joins the whole people with them, and at the same time
repels the empty pretenses by which men are always willing to conceal their
fault. For when he mentions their iniquity by name, it is the same as forbidding
them to turn their back any more. In this way, then, God removes all the cavils
to which men usually resort, since they never pursue these tortuous paths
without being conscious of their iniquity. For when God says that he is a
searcher of hearts, he brings openly before us the secret feelings of mankind.
As long as hypocrites have to deal with men, they easily delude them: and then
they put on various disguises, by which they throw off the blame from
themselves. But when God addresses them, his language necessarily penetrates to
their hidden thoughts. Now therefore we understand the force of the words which
God uses, they shall bear their
iniquity.
He now adds,
the iniquity of the inquirer
shall be like that of the prophet. We have said
that the sacred name of prophet is improperly transferred to impostors: but God
often speaks thus by concession, and in this way a stumbling block occurs by
which the weak are disturbed. For when they hear that deceivers, who not only
obscure God’s word but pervert it, proudly boast in their title, they are
moved, and not without reason. For divine things ought seriously to move us to
reverence, since prophets are organs of the Holy Spirit. Hence that man is
worthy of such honor that no man ought to despise one who is reckoned a prophet.
But because God tries his own people and blinds the reprobate, as we have said,
when he sends them false prophets, in order that the faith of the pious should
not faint when they hear that sacred name profaned, he says by concession
— well, they shall be called prophets — but he does not mean that
those shall be truly and really esteemed such who falsely claim to themselves
that glory. Now let us come to the next clause,
the iniquity of the inquirer
shall be like that of the prophet. We have
already spoken of the iniquity of those who, being led captive by the lies of
Satan, endeavor to pervert both the worship and the pure doctrine of God. Since
therefore they propose to contend with God, their iniquity is by no means
excusable. But another question may arise concerning the people, which, although
we have solved it before, yet it may be expedient to repeat it. He says, then,
that those who had been deceived by the false prophets would be subject to
punishment, that they may sustain the same penalty. This seems hard, as I have
said: but the Prophet had previously taught that the people would be justly
involved in the same punishment with the impostors, because they erred knowingly
and willingly. For if they had cordially devoted themselves to God, and had
suffered themselves to be ruled by his Spirit, and by the teaching of the law,
they had doubtless been freed from all error. For God takes care of his own
people, though he does not defend them from the insults of the ungodly, yet he
fortifies them by the foresight and fortitude of his Spirit. Those who are
deceived, receive the just reward of either their sloth or pride or ingratitude.
For many scarcely deigned to inquire what the will of God was: others looked
down as from an eminence on whatever was uttered in God’s name: for
through self-confidence they receive with difficulty any instruction but their
own. Since then they were so unteachable, they are worthy of the reward which I
have mentioned. Others again are ungrateful to God: for they stifle his
instructions and the knowledge of heavenly things, and contaminate and pollute
what is sacred; so that God justly joins the disciples with their masters when
he revenges sacrilege as we see, since all sacred teaching is
overthrown.
But Ezekiel expresses more when he says,
that the people had
inquired. For they had counselors, who thereby
gave a direct approbation to their employment. If they had been teachable they
would not have betaken themselves so eagerly to the false prophets: hence the
greater their diligence in this direction, the more their crime was apparent,
since they purposely rejected God and his servants, by transferring themselves
to the false prophets. We now understand the meaning of this sentence. It only
remains that each of us should apply what is here said to his own profit. The
Papists think themselves to be twice or thrice absolved if they have been
deceived in any quarter. But, on the other hand, Christ exclaims — If the
blind lead the blind, it is not surprising if both fall into the ditch.
(<401514>Matthew
15:14.) The reason is here expressed, because however those who are deceived
show their simplicity, it is by no means doubtful that they flee from the light
and desire the darkness by a crooked and perverse craving. Hence it happens
that the iniquity of the inquirer
is like that of the prophet.
|
EZEKIEL
14:11
|
|
11. That the house of Israel may go no more
astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but
that they may be my people, and I may be their God, says the Lord
God.
|
11. Ut non errent amplius domus Israel a
me,
f316 et non polluantur amplius in cunctis
sceleribus suis: ut sint mihi in populum, et ego sim illis in Deum, dicit
Dominator Iehovah.
|
Here God shows that there was no other remedy, if he
would recall to safety those who had almost perished, and at the same time he
teaches that it is useful to the Church to chastise those who had so impiously
declined from himself. Meanwhile it happens that God thunders, and exercises his
judgments even to the extreme of rigor: meanwhile men do not repent but remain
obstinate: nay, the punishment which God inflicts upon the reprobate sinks them
into deeper destruction. How so? Those who harden themselves against the hand of
God heap upon themselves severer punishments, since the reprobate do not submit
to the yoke when God wishes to correct their hardness and obstinacy. But here
God announces that he will not be so severe as not to consult for their safety.
But this contradiction might disturb many, since God destined the people as well
as the false prophets to destruction, for this seems to render his covenant
vain. But he prevents this question, and says, since he should exact such severe
penalties from the despisers of his word and from apostates, that rigor would be
useful to the Church. Now we understand the meaning of the saying,
the house of Israel shall not err
any more: since otherwise their obstinacy was
incurable: and unless God had seriously roused them up, they had never been
brought back into the way of their own accord. Here therefore God obliquely
rebukes the hardness of his people, because they could not be instructed except
by punishment. For incorrigible indeed are those sons who, while their father
cherishes and indulges them, despise him, and become worse by the indulgence. Of
this then God now complains, that the children of Israel were so untractable
that they could not bear destruction, unless he descended to the utmost rigor.
For it was a very sad spectacle, that God’s truth should be corrupted and
adulterated by lies, and that the people, with those who imposed upon them,
should utterly perish. But we now hear that there was but one remedy since the
children of Israel were untameable, unless they were completely broken down. He
now adds, from me: a phrase worthy of notice, for we here gather, that as soon
as we bend ever so little from following God, we wander after errors: for we
shall never hold on in the right way unless we follow God, that is, unless we
are intent upon the end which he sets before us: and then unless our eyes are
turned in the direction that he points out, lest we bend to either the right
hand or the left. Thus we shall be beyond any danger of wandering if we, follow
God: on the other hand, if our minds turn to either this side or that, and we
are not retained in obedience to God alone, the Prophet teaches that we wander
in error, and that this will at length turn out unhappily for us. When he speaks
of the house of Israel, he does not embrace without exception those who spring
from Jacob; for both the false prophets and those who consulted them were of
Jacob’s line, and had a name in that family. But we have already seen what
was decreed concerning them, namely, that God would destroy them and blot them
out from the midst of his people. We see then that they are not; comprehended
under the offspring of Abraham or the house of Israel; but this is restricted to
the remnant of the people whom God wished to spare. For we know that there was
always some seed left, that the covenant which had been made with Abraham might
be firm and sacred. This sentence then properly refers to the elect, who are
called by Paul the remnant of grace.
(<451105>Romans
11:5.) But God says that the example would be useful to the survivors, since the
punishment of others would instruct them: and when they should see the false
prophets perish, and should acknowledge God’s remarkable judgment in their
destruction, then they would profit by it. Now we understand what the Prophet
means by the destruction of the false prophets and of those hypocrites who
despised the true prophets, and prostituted themselves to be deceived by
impostors: when God makes them an example of his wrath, the Prophet says that
the house of Israel should receive advantage from their perishing, and profit by
their utter ruin.
Now he adds,
And that they should not be
polluted any more in all their wickedness. Here
he purposely enlarges on their crime, that he may the more magnify the mercy of
God; for if they had been only moderately guilty, his pardoning them had not
been so remarkable. But the Prophet here pronounces them abandoned in sin, and
does not condemn them for one sin but for many: he says
they were polluted and
contaminated in their crimes: and when
God’s mercy is extended to such as these, we discover with certainty how
inestimable it is. Finally, let us learn from this passage, that God not only
pardons men who transgress but lightly through want of thought and error, but
that he is also merciful to the abandoned who are convicted of many iniquities.
He says, that they may be
my people and I may be their God. God had
already adopted the whole seed of Abraham, and all were circumcised to a man:
and thus they bore personally the testimony and covenant of God’s paternal
favor. Since, therefore, they were already God’s people, and were
considered as members of the Church, what can it mean
that they shall be my
people? For God seems here to promise them
something new. But by this form of speech the Prophet marks their declension and
manifests their deserts. For although God had thought them worthy of such honor
as to reckon them among his elect people, yet they had cast themselves out by
their own depravity. For since all religion among them was corrupt, God’s
worship was profaned, his whole law almost buried, and they were separated as
far as possible from God, as we shall afterwards see. On the part of God the
adoption remained firm: but here Ezekiel regards their condition if they would
really look at it themselves, namely, as one of estrangement, since their own
wickedness had cut them off: hence he speaks as of a new benefit when he
says, they should be for a
people when they repented.
The second chapter of Hosea will help us to
understand this more clearly, when it is said,
“I will call them
my people who are not my
people,
and her beloved who is not
beloved.”
(<280223>Hosea
2:23.)
For the Prophet was commanded to go into an improper
house and to take an impure female and to beget sons: he says that a son was
born to whom God gave the name
ym[al,
lagnemi, it shall not be my people: and then when a daughter was born,
she was unworthy of love. There Hosea signifies that the Jews were cut off from
the sacred root, and he speaks not of one or two, but of the whole race; for
they were neither God’s people nor a beloved daughter. Afterwards when
reconciled, they begin again to be God’s people and a beloved daughter.
Paul does not accommodate that sentence to the calling of the Gentiles rashly:
(<450925>Romans
9:25,) namely, that there was no difference between Jews and Gentiles, since the
former were rejected. Whatever it is, we see that those who had a place and a
name among God’s people, and whom he had chosen for himself, were cast off
and had become strangers through their own fault. Thus they begin to be
God’s people afresh when they repent and God receives them to favor. The
conclusion is, I will restore them afresh, that my covenant may be renewed in
some way, that they may be my
people as they formerly were;
and I may be to them a God,
since by their own backsliding they deserved to
be treated as entire strangers. Besides, it is well to remember what we said
elsewhere, that under these words is contained whatever belongs to solid
happiness. For if God acknowledges us as his people, we are certain of our
salvation, as when he pronounces that he will be our God while we call upon him
as a father. But whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
(<290232>Joel
2:32;
<440221>Acts
2:21;
<451013>Romans
10:13.) Then we must remember that celebrated sentence of the Prophet Habakkuk,
You art our God: we shall not die.
(<350112>Habakkuk
1:12.) Lastly, we have nothing else to wish for towards the fullness of all good
things and confidence in eternal life, than that God should reckon us among his
people, so that there may be open to us a free access to him in prayer. It
follows —
|
EZEKIEL
14:12-13
|
|
12. The word of the Lord came again to me,
saying,
|
12. Et fuit sermo Iehovae ad me,
dicendo.
|
|
13. Son of man, when the land shineth against
me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and
will break the staff of the bread thereof and will send famine upon it, and will
cut off man and beast from it:
|
13. Fili hominis terra cum scelerate egerit
erga me,
f317 et extendero manum meam super eam, et
confregero in ipsa baculum panis, et immisero in ipsam famem, et excidero ex
ipsa hominem et jumentum.
|
The next verse thought to be joined: for some
interpreters altogether pervert the Prophet’s sense by finishing the
sentence there, as if he had said, I will extend my hand over it, &e. But
the sentence is dependent, as we shall see —
|
EZEKIEL
14:14
|
|
14. Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and
Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their
righteousness, says the Lord God.
|
14. Et fuerint tres viri isti in medio ejus,
Noe, Daniel, et Job, ipsi in justitia sua
eripient
f318 animas suas, dicit Dominator
Iehovah.
|
Here again God threatens the people of Israel with
final destruction: but the words seem opposed, that God would be merciful and
propitious to his people, and yet that no hope of pardon would be left. But we
must remember the principle, that the prophets sometimes directed their
discourse to the body of the people which was utterly devoted to destruction,
since its wickedness was desperate; yet afterwards they moderated that rigor,
when they turned to the remainder, which is the seed of the Church in the world,
that God’s covenant should not be extinguished, as we have already said.
Hence, when we meet with this kind of contradiction, we know that God affords no
hope to the reprobate, since he has decreed their destruction: so that language
ought to be transferred to the body of the people which was already alienated,
and like a putrid carcass. But when God mingles and intersperses any testimony
of his favor, we may know that the Church is intended, and that he wishes a seed
to remain, lest the whole Church should perish, and his covenant be abolished at
the same time. The Prophet, therefore, as before, so also now, sets before
himself the people desperate in wickedness, and says that they had no right to
hope that God would act mercifully as usual, since necessity compelled him to
put his hand for the last time to the destruction of the impious. This is the
full meaning. We had a similar passage in Jeremiah
(<241501>Jeremiah
15:1), where he said, If Moses and Samuel had stood before me, my mind is not
towards this people; that is, it never could be that I should return to favor
them, even if Moses and Samuel should intercede for them, and endeavor to obtain
pardon by their own intercession. The papists foolishly distort this passage to
prove that the dead intercede for us, for Moses and Samuel had been dead some
time; but God says, Even if they should pray for the people, their prayers would
be in vain. But this passage refutes that gross ignorance: for God is not here
making a difference between the living and the dead; but it is a kind of
personification, and of bringing back Moses and Samuel from the grave; as if he
had said, Were they living at this time, and entreating for these wicked ones, I
would never listen to them: for Ezekiel here mentions three, Noah, Job, and
Daniel. But Daniel was then alive: he had been dragged into exile, and lived to
a mature old age, as is well known. Then he expresses his meaning more clearly,
by saying, if they had been in
the midst of the city they had escaped in safety
themselves, but they would not have prevailed
for others. The whole meaning is, that God cuts off all hope of mercy from the
abandoned people.
We must remark the form of speech which is used: he
relates four kinds of punishments by which men’s crimes are usually
avenged, and enumerates them distinctly.
If I shall break the staff of
bread, says he,
because the land has revolted
from me, and I shall send famine upon it, Daniel, Job, and Noah, shall preserve
their own souls, but shall not profit others by
their holiness: then he adds, if
I shall send a sword, that is, if I shall
follow up the impious by wars,
even Daniel, and Job, and Noah,
shall save their own souls, but they shall not intercede for
others. He pronounces the same of pestilence
and wild beasts. At length He reasons from less to greater. When I shall have
punished any nation, says He, with famine, pestilence, and the sword, and wild
beasts, how much less shall Daniel, Job, and Noah, prevail with me by their
intercession? But God had condemned the house of Israel to all punishments, just
as if he had poured all his curses like a deluge to destroy them. Hence He
concludes that there is no reason for cherishing any hope of escape from these
imminent dangers. Now then we comprehend the Prophet’s
meaning.
Now let us come to the first kind of punishment.
If the
land, says he,
acts wickedly against
me, or conducts itself wickedly,
afj,
cheta, to act wickedly,
but by prevaricating with
prevarication. By these words the crime of
perfidy is distinguished from error, because men often fall away and depart far
from God through ignorance of the way which they thought to pursue. But here the
Prophet condemns the people’s defection through perfidy, as if he had said
that they purposely, and by deliberate malice, were estranged from God, since
they had been correctly taught how God ought to be worshipped. Although the
Prophet speaks generally, yet he wished to show God’s wrath to be of no
ordinary kind: for God will often chastise men’s sins by either
pestilence, or sword, or famine, and yet will not be implacable. But he here
speaks of a desperate people, and one already addicted to eternal destruction.
He says, therefore, by
prevaricating with prevarication; that is, by
deceiving my confidence by open and gross perfidy.
Again,
and I will stretch forth, my hand
upon it, and will break the staff of bread, and will send famine upon it, and
will cut off from it man and beast. Here, as I
have mentioned, he touches upon only one kind of punishment; for God is
accustomed to take vengeance on men in four ways; and the prophets, as you have
often heard, usually adopt the form of speech used by Moses. These four curses
of God are everywhere related in the law, — war, famine, pestilence, and
the assault and savageness of wild beasts. Now the Prophet begins with hunger;
but he points out the kind of hunger —
if God has broken the staff of
bread. For sometimes, when he does not reduce
men to poverty, yet he puffs up the bread, so that those who think to use it as
nourishment do not gather any rigor from it. But the Prophet properly means it
in this second sense, as we see in Ezekiel 4 and Ezekiel 5. The metaphor is in
accordance with the word staff: for as the lame cannot walk unless they lean on
a staff — and tremulous old men need a similar support — so by
degrees men’s strength vanish, unless new rigor is replaced by meat and
drink. Bread is, therefore, like a staff which restores our strength when want
has weakened it. We now come to the word breaking. How does God break the
staff of bread? By withdrawing the nourishment which he had infused into it; for
the virtue which we perceive in bread is not intrinsic: I mean this — that
bread is not naturally endued with the virtue of continuing and inspiring life
within men; and why? Bread has no life in it: how then can any one derive life
from it? But the teaching of the law has been marked: that man lives not by
bread only, but by every word proceeding from God’s mouth.
(<050803>Deuteronomy
8:3.) Here Moses intends, that even if God has inserted the virtue of
nourishment in bread, yet this is not to be so attributed to it as if it were
inherent in it. What follows then? That as God breathes a secret virtue into the
bread, it sustains and refreshes us, and becomes our aliment. On the other hand,
God says that he breaks the virtue of the bread when he withdraws from it that
virtue: because, as I have already said, when we taste bread, our minds ought to
rise immediately to God, since men, if they cram themselves a thousand times,
yet will not feel their life to be deposited in the bread. Therefore, unless God
breathes into bread the virtue of nourishment, the bread is useless; it may fill
us up, but without any profit. Now, then, we understand the meaning of this
sentence, about which we shall have something more to say.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since you shine so
clearly upon us with the teaching of thy Gospel, in which thy Son reveals
himself familiarly to us, — Grant that we may not shut our eyes to this
light, or turn them hither and thither by depraved curiosity, but may remain in
simple obedience, until at length having passed through the course of this life,
we may arrive at the fullness of light, when you will transform us into thy
glory by the same — your only-begotten Son. — Amen.
LECTURE
FORTIETH.
I have already partially explained the
Prophet’s design, when he says,
if God has sent famine upon a
land, and Job, Noah, and Daniel were in it,
that they indeed should be safe, but that the land should perish, since he had
determined to destroy it. Moreover, he described the kind of famine, when he
said, when I shall have broken
the staff of bread; because, though wheat
should be plentiful, and men be prevented from starving, yet they would not be
refreshed, since the bread would only burden them. On the whole, God means that
famine, even if it arise from natural causes, proceeds from his judgments: for
by continual rains the seed rots in the ground, and drought consumes all its
juice and substance. Then, if hail devastates the sown fields, the causes of the
ensuing famine are manifest. But it is necessary to look higher, because, as we
are nourished by God’s bounty, so we never suffer poverty unless when he
withdraws his hand.
Let us now come to the next verse.
If these three men, the most just
of all, had been in the land, they should only free their own
souls. The exclusive particle is not expressed,
but it is easy to gather the Prophet’s sense from the context; as if he
had said that God’s decree was fixed when he had determined to afflict the
land grievously. It is sometimes asked why Noah, Daniel, and Job are named,
rather than Abraham, Jacob, or David, or any others. Those who wish to be
precise guess various comments; namely, because Noah could not preserve the old
world from the deluge, but only his sons an their wives. But this example does
not suit: and as to the others, they say that Job did not preserve his own sons,
since they were all consumed by the lightning. But the same thing happened to
others. Thus Abraham was the common father of the people, and even he could not
snatch his posterity from the wrath of God: nay, Jeremiah describes Rachel,
though dead, weeping for her children, and refusing consolation because none of
them survived.
(<243115>Jeremiah
31:15.) We see, then, that this is cold. Others say that these three men had
experienced three different kinds of life; that Noah, living before the deluge,
had seen the horrible devastation of the whole earth, and yet the renovation of
the world had followed: they say, also, that Job had flourished in prosperity,
and then was deprived of all his goods and his children, and was so defiled by
disease and filth as to be rather a carcass than a living man, and yet was
restored like a captive from the enemy’s hand. Daniel, again, had lived at
Jerusalem, had been taken captive, and had lived there in exile; that he at
length saw the beginning of the restoration of the people when that sudden
change happened, and the Babylonian monarchy passed to the Persians. These
things, at the first glance, seem to be clever; but whatever is affected is
always cold and tame. Ezekiel here mentions these three men, simply because they
first occurred to him. For we must remember that passage of Jeremiah which I
quoted yesterday,
(<241501>Jeremiah
15:1,)where it is said, If Moses and Samuel had stood before me, I should not
have listened to them for the safety of the people. A question may arise, why
Jeremiah names Moses and Samuel rather than any others? What will these clever
speculators say? We see, therefore, that each of these things must not be so
scrupulously beaten out, since it is enough to understand the general intention
of the Holy Spirit. Three men, then, are placed here, whose holiness was
celebrated. Daniel was then living: the others had been dead many ages ago; but
the integrity of them all was universally manifest. It is then as if he had
said, even if those should come who either are or have been most perfect among
men, yet they would avail nothing in interceding for a land already devoted to
destruction.
But the Prophet’s saying,
they should be saved on account
of their own righteousness, seems absurd: for
no one can be found whose righteousness can stand before God’s tribunal:
for if God was to reason with men, every one must be found guilty, as the
Scripture also often teaches, and experience most fully convinces us. Here the
Prophet seems to extol too much the merit of works, when he attributes the
person’s freedom to his righteousness. But the solution is easy; namely,
this righteousness of which mention is made ought not to be separated from
gratuitous pardon, which reconciles men to God, so that their sins are not
imputed to them: for as to some saying that they were justified by faith, this
does not forward the inquiry; and besides that, it is forced. By their own
righteousness shall they free their own souls, that is, say they, by their
faith. But when God addresses Noah himself,
(<010701>Genesis
7:1,) and says that he was found just through his piety, he does not mean that
he was endued with faith; this would be nugatory. There is no doubt, then, that
he commends sanctity and integrity in his servant; so also in this passage,
under the word righteousness or justice, he implies the fear of God, in which
all virtues are founded, and chastity and temperance, and whatever belongs to
the rule of living holy and justly. But meanwhile this derogates nothing from
the righteousness of faith; for the faithful are reckoned just before God, and
their works are also reckoned just — not by any inherent merit — not
because they bring any perfection of that kind before God which may conciliate
his favor, and in which they can stand; but because God pardons them indulgently
through his own paternal clemency, and so approves their righteousness, which
otherwise might be deservedly rejected. For example, Pinnehas was thought just
when he avenged the reproach of the sanctuary.
(<042507>Numbers
25:7, 8.) When inflamed with zeal, Pinnehas brought out of the midst the
courtezan with her paramour; for this cause, as is said in the Psalm,
(<19A631>Psalm
106:31,) he was reckoned just. But that could not suffice for a man’s
righteousness, since one special act could not render a man just. Pinnehas,
then, could not be reckoned just on that ground; but while his work was pleasing
to God, for that reason it was just. But, on a serious inquiry, that work was
also condemned as being infected with some fault, and so was not just in itself.
But because God pardons his sons, as we have said, hence he accepts their works:
so he acknowledges them also as just, and they do not obtain this by either
their own worthiness or peculiar merits. For the beginning of the righteousness
about which we are now speaking is a gratuitous reconciliation by which all the
faults of the faithful are buried: whence it happens also that their integrity,
although not perfect, is still pleasing to God. We see, therefore, that these
things are easily reconciled; that men are freed by their righteousness, and yet
that their temporal safety depends only on the mere pity of God: for when
God’s gratuitous favor has gone before, hence he seems to acknowledge as
true righteousness which was in itself mutilated and but half complete. Now it
follows —
|
EZEKIEL
14:15-16
|
|
15. If I cause noisome beasts to pass through
the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass
through because of the beasts:
|
15. Si bestiam malam transire fecero per
terram, et orbaverit eam, et fuerit vastitas ut nemo transeat propter
bestiam.
F319
|
|
16. Though these three men were in it, as I
live, says the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they
only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.
|
16. Tres viri isti in medio ejus, vivo ego,
dicit Dominator Iehovah, si filios et filias liberabunt: ipsi soli liberabuntur,
et terra erit in vastitatem.
|
Now he mentions the second kind of punishment. For we
said that God’s four scourges were here brought before us, which are more
familiarly known to men through frequent use. They are hunger and wild beasts,
war and pestilence. The Prophet has spoken of famine; he now comes down to wild
beasts. This kind of scourge is rarely used in Scripture; for God more
frequently mentions the sword, pestilence, and famine; but when he distinctly
treats, of his scourges, he adds also savage beasts. Now therefore he says,
if he had sent wild beasts to lay
waste the land, and Noah, Job, and Daniel, had been in that land, they would be
free from the common slaughter, but that their righteousness would not profit
others. He expresses a little more clearly what
he had spoken briefly and obscurely when he treated of the famine. If, says he,
I shall cause an evil beast to
pass through and injure the land, so as to lay it waste, that no one may pass
through on account of the wild beasts, as I live, says he, if these three men
shall free their sons and their daughters. This
passage teaches what I lately touched upon about the famine, namely, that the
beasts did not break in by chance to attack and rage against men, but that they
are sent by God. Thus God follows out his judgments no less by means of lions,
and bears, and tigers, than by rain and drought, the sword and the pestilence:
and surely this may be understood, if we reflect upon the great savageness of
these beasts; first, when hunger arouses them they are carried along by a
ravenous impulse; and then, without the compulsion of necessity, they are
hostile to the human race, and without doubt they would urge themselves on to
tear to pieces all whom they met with, unless restrained by God’s secret
instinct. If, therefore, God restrains the wild beasts, thus also he sends them
forth as often as it pleases him, to exercise their ferocity against mankind,
and in this way to become his scourges. But here an oath is interposed that God
may inspire confidence in his sentence, so God swears by his own life. This is
the meaning of the phrase as I live; that is, I swear by my life. This is
indeed spoken improperly, but elsewhere we have seen that God swears by his
life; that is, just as if he swore by himself, because he has no greater by whom
he can swear, as the Apostle says
(<580613>Hebrews
6:13); and as often as we swear by the name of God we attribute the supreme
power to him, and thus we profess our life to be in his hand, and he to be our
only Judge. When, therefore, he swears by himself, he admonishes us at the same
time that his name is profaned if we swear by any others: then he shows how much
religion is to be exhibited in oaths. Let us follow, therefore, God’s
example, when our speech needs confirmation, by calling in a witness and judge:
next, that we should not use his name rashly and falsely, but that our oath
should be truly a testimony to our piety. But here in truth a question arises,
— How God can say that the land should perish which has been once
subjected to wild beasts? For sometimes wild beasts have infected many regions,
and God has immediately restrained them, and so their cruelty has passed away
like a storm.
Again, we knew that the prayer of the saints are not
superfluous when they pray for others; but God seems here to deny what is
clearly manifest. But the solution is easy. For since he does not inflict his
judgments equably but variably, and at one time hastens punishments and at
another suspends them: at one time punishes men’s sins and at another
delays doing so, he fixes for himself no sure law by which he is always bound,
but he speaks of the land which he has destined to destruction. God therefore
will strike one region with famine, another with war, a third with pestilence, a
fourth with wild beasts, and yet he can mitigate his own rigor, and when men
begin to be terrified, he can withdraw his hand. But if it has been once decreed
that any land must perish, all the saints would run together in vain, because no
one would be a fit intercessor to abolish that inviolable decree. We now
understand the Prophet’s intention, for he does not speak generally of any
lands whatever, but he points out the very land which was devoted to final
destruction. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
14:17-18
|
|
17. Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and
say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from
it:
|
17. Vel gladium transire fecero super terram
illam, et dixero gladio, Transi per terram, ut excidatur ex ea homo et
jumentum.
|
|
18. Though these three men were in it,
as I live, says the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but
they only shall be delivered themselves.
|
18. Et tres viri isti in medio ejus, vivo ego,
dicit Dominator Iehovah, non liberabunt filios et filias, quia ipsi soli
liberabuntur.
|
The Prophet now descends to the third kind of
punishment. Hence God says, if he
send a sword upon a land, he cannot be entreated so as not to consume it
utterly, neither will he admit any man’s
intercession, although the most holy dwell there, namely, Job, Noah, and Daniel.
But the phrase used must be marked:
if I shall say to the sword, pass
through to exterminate and blot out the whole
land, or cut off from it,
both man and
beast, because we here gather the great power
of God’s secret government. For we think that wars are stirred up at
random: and as men are in agitation, so also we imagine war to be nothing but
confusion and turbulence. But God governs even wars by his inestimable wisdom,
and also men and their swords: men are enraged, their swords fly about in their
hands, and they seem to go hither and thither at random by blind impulse. But
God here announces that he permits swords to pass through a land, and to destroy
both men and cattle. If he had said, after the language used in many places,
that he would arm men, it would not have been very wonderful: for everywhere
throughout the Prophets he calls the Chaldaeans and Assyrians executors of his
judgment. Hence that sentence of Jeremiah, Cursed is he who has done God’s
work negligently.
(<244810>Jeremiah
48:10.) But that work of God was the slaughter at Jerusalem. So also
Nebuchadnezzar is called God’s servant and minister when he laid waste
Egypt, and God promises him the reward of his labor.
(<262920>Ezekiel
29:20.) So here Ezekiel proceeds further, not only that the hands of men are
directed as God wishes, but also that their swords listen to his secret command,
so that they neither pass by nor strike any man or animal except as far as God
pleases. But if God so commands the swords, let us know that whenever men rise
up against us, that our patience is exercised and our sins chastised in this
way: and that the impious are God’s agents: and let us determine that we
shall never profit by noise and resistance, since there is but one remedy, to
humble ourselves under God’s strong hand. Now the fourth kind of
punishment follows —
|
EZEKIEL
14:19-20
|
|
19. Or if I send a pestilence into that land,
and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and
beast:
|
19. Vel pestem immisero in terram illam, et
effudero iracundiam meam super ipsam in sanguine ad
perdendum
f320 ex ea hominem et
jumentum.
|
|
20. Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it,
as I live, says the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they
shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
|
20. Et Noe, Daniel, et Job in medio ejus, vivo
ego, dicit Dominator Iehovah, si filium et filium liberaverint: ipsi in justitia
sua liberabunt animam suam.
|
He now affirms of the fourth kind of punishment, what
he has hitherto pronounced of the rest. He says, then, If I shall have sent a
pestilence, and have devoted a land to devastation, that Job, Daniel, and Noah,
should be safe if they dwelt there: but that their righteousness should not
profit even their sons and their daughters. Nay, he seems to speak with greater
restriction, since he has substituted the singular number for the plural: for he
had just said, they shall not free either sons or daughters. He now says,
not even a son or a
daughter, that is, they shall not prevail with
me by their intercession so much as to save from death even a single son or
daughter. We must also remember what I have said, that God does not always act
in the way related here: for he has manifold and various methods of carrying out
his judgments. Hence it would not be just to impose a law not to liberate any
one, and according to his own will either to hear or reject their prayers. But
here he only means, that when he has determined to destroy a land, there is no
hope of pardon, since even the most holy will not persuade him to desist from
his wrath and vengeance. But now the conclusion follows —
|
EZEKIEL
14:21-22
|
|
21. For thus says the Lord God, How much more
when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine,
and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and
beast?
|
21. Quoniam sic dicit Dominator Iehovah,
Quanto magis cum quatuor judicia mea mala, gladium, et famem, et bestiam malam,
et pestem immisero contra Hierusalem ad excidendum ex ea hominem et
animal?
|
|
22. Yet, behold, therein shall be left a
remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters; behold, they shall
come forth unto you, and you shall see their way and their doings: and you shall
be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even
concerning all that I have brought upon it.
|
22. Et ecce evasio in ea
residua,
f321 evasio egredientium, inquit nempe filii
et filiae: ipsi egredientur ad vos: et videbitis vias ipsorum, et opera ipsorum:
et consolationem sumetis super malo quod venire fecero super Hierusalem, super
omni quod venire fecero super eam.
|
He now reasons, as we said in the beginning, from the
less to the greater. Hitherto he has said, If I shall have sent forth only one
weapon to take vengeance upon men, no one will oppose my following out my
decree: then he enumerated four weapons, one after another. Now he adds, What
then, when I shall have heaped together all punishments, and not only shall have
sent pestilence or sword or famine, but as it were when I have four armies
prepared and drawn up, and shall command them to attack and destroy mankind, how
shall even one person escape? If Job, Daniel, and Noah, cannot snatch away even
their sons and daughters from a single scourge, how shall they snatch them from
four at once! We see, then, that God here cuts away the false and specious hopes
by which the false prophets deluded the miserable exiles when they promised them
a return to their country, and daily proclaimed how impossible it was that the
sacred city, the earthly dwelling-place of God, could be taken by the enemy, and
the religion which God had promised should be eternal could perish. Since,
therefore, the false prophets so deceived these miserable exiles, here God shows
how greatly they erred while they cherished any hope in their minds; because he
had not only held one kind of scourge over Jerusalem, but approached it with a
whole heap of them to destroy and cut off both man and beast. This then is the
full meaning.
Now he says,
If I shall have sent my four evil
judgments. Here God calls his judgments
evils, in the sense in which he says in Isaiah, that he creates good and evil,
(<234507>Isaiah
45:7,) since immediately afterwards he expresses his meaning by saying life and
death. Hence what is against us is here called evil, and so this epithet ought
to be referred to our perceptions. For our natural common sense dictates that
whatever is desirable and useful to us is good: food and life and peace are
good, and whatever is conducive to life, and what we naturally wish for, we call
good. So also, on the other hand, death and famine are evils: so are nakedness,
want, and shame: why so? since we dread whatever is not useful to us; and
because we fly from evils as soon as reason dawns. In fine, evil here is not
opposed to justice and right, but, as I have said, to men’s opinion and
our natural senses. He now confirms what we before said, namely, that these are
God’s judgments when enemies rage against us, pestilence attacks us:
poverty assails us, and wild beasts break in upon us. When therefore we suffer
under these afflictions, let us learn immediately to descend into ourselves and
to discover the cause why God is so angry with us. For if we turn our attention
towards the sword, and pestilence, and famine, we are like dogs which gnaw and
bite what is thrown at them, and do not regard the hand which threw it, but only
vent their rage upon the stone. For such is our stupidity when we complain of
famine being injurious to us, wild beasts troublesome, and war horrible. Hence
this passage should always be borne in mind that, these
are God’s evil
judgments, that is, scourges by which he
chastises our sins, and thus shows himself hostile and opposed to
us.
He now adds,
there shall be a remnant in that
escape. They explain this verse
parenthetically, as if God by way of correction engaged to act more mercifully
towards that city, than if he struck any land with only one scourge. They
explain it thus: although these four scourges should meet together, yet I will
mitigate the rigor of my vengeance, since some shall go out safely, and reach
even to you. Almost all agree in this sense; but when I weigh the
Prophet’s intention more accurately, I cannot subscribe to it: because God
seems to me to confirm what he had said before, that he would be a just avenger
of wickedness while he treats the Jews so harshly. To discover the most suitable
sense, we must consider the condition of the exiles: it was surely worse than if
they had been destroyed by a single death for they were dying daily; and at
length, when cast out of the sacred land, they were like the dead. Hence that
exile was more sorrowful than death, since it was better to be buried in the
holy land than among the profane. Since, then, they had been mixed with
dog’s, it was no life to them to protract a wretched existence amidst
constant languor; and if the hope of restoration had been taken away, concerning
which we are not now treating, and to which not a single syllable applies, exile
was by itself like death. Since, then, the Prophet here says,
that some should be left, to
escape, he does not mean that they should be
safe: hence this is not a mitigation of their punishment. For as we saw before,
and especially in Jeremiah, those who died quickly were less to be deplored.
(<242210>Jeremiah
22:10.) Finally, when the Prophet here says that some should come to Babylon, he
does not promise them pardon, as if God was propitious to them, or noticed them
favorably; no such thing: for he speaks of the reprobate, and of those who bore
on their forehead the manifest sign of their impiety, and show by their whole
life that they are abandoned, and most worthy of final
destruction.
For he says,
a departure of those who go forth
shall come: sons as well as daughters shall come to
you, says he,
and you shall see their ways
and their work: that is, you shall see that the
men are so wicked, that their ungodliness shall compel you to confess the city
to be worthy of perishing, and the people deserving destruction. For the word
consoling, which the Prophet uses immediately afterwards, refers here to the
acknowledgment of their wickedness appeasing the minds of those who formerly
roared and murmured against God. Neither does he mean that consolation which,
according to the common proverb, has many friends; but only the calm
acknowledgment of God’s just vengeance, in which the ten tribes
acquiesced. For before they saw the state in which the inhabitants of Jerusalem
were, they thought that God was too severe, and hence their outcry and complaint
against God. The Prophet, therefore, now says, that the sight of your wickedness
will bring you consolation; for you shall see that it could not be otherwise,
and that you deserved such punishment: hence, when you have acknowledged your
abandoned wickedness, you will regard my justice with peaceful and tranquil
minds; and you will so finish and cease your complaints which now agitate your
minds in different directions. The rest, to-morrow.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since you daily
exercise thy judgments in all parts of the world, and since many regions are
harassed by pestilence and war, that so long as you spare us we may profit by
the evils and slaughters of others: Grant, also, if thy scourges reach also unto
us, that we may not be obstinate, but may submit ourselves to thy judgment, and
being truly humble, may we seek pardon by the serious pursuit of piety, so that
we may truly acknowledge thee; and may feel thee to be a propitious Father to
us, until at length we enjoy thy love in thy heavenly kingdom, through Christ
our Lord. — Amen.
LECTURE
FORTY-FIRST.
WE said in yesterday’s lecture, when the Lord
pronounces that he would have some remnants when destroying Jerusalem, that this
is no act of clemency, as if he had relaxed the rigor of his justice. For exile
was not preferable to death, as we may collect from the context, since God does
not use these words of his elect. For there is no mention of repentance, so that
the cause of his vengeance would be conspicuous in their crimes.
You shall
see, therefore,
and shall take
comfort: because the exiles who were then in
Chaldaea could not subscribe to the judgment of God. But when they saw their
brethren of such abandoned morals, the review of their sins availed to their
comfort, that is, to appease their minds. He repeats the same in the last verse
of the chapter.
|
EZEKIEL
14:23
|
|
23. And they shall comfort you, when you see
their ways and their doings: and you shall know that I have not done without
cause all that I have done in it, says the Lord God.
|
23. Et consolabuntur vos, quia videbitis vias
ipsorum et opera ipsorum: et scietis quod non frustra fecerim quaecunque feci in
ea, dicit Dominator Iehovah.
|
He now puts the verb for comforting in the third
person, but in the same sense, because after the Jews shall have been led
captive, they will bear sure and special marks of God’s justice against
their sins. This, then, is the consolation, as I explained it yesterday, while
the exiles acknowledge that cruelty cannot be ascribed to God, as if he had
exceeded moderation in exacting punishment; for the desperate wickedness of the
people demanded it. But this passage contains a useful doctrine, since we
collect from it that we are never tranquil in our minds unless when the greatest
equity and justice appears in God’s judgments, and become present to our
minds. As long, therefore, as we do not acknowledge God to be severe in just
cases, our minds must necessarily be disturbed and disarranged: hence the word
“consolation” is opposed to those turbulent thoughts. But since
nothing is more miserable than to be distracted and drawn hither and thither,
and to be anxiously disturbed, let us learn that those profit most who acquiesce
in God’s judgments, although they do not perceive the reason of them, yet
modestly adore them. But when God shows why he treats either us or others so
severely, this is a special favor, since he offers us material for joy and
tranquillity. Let us proceed.
CHAPTER 15
|
EZEKIEL
15:1-5
|
|
1. And the word of the Lord came unto me,
saying,
|
1. Et fuit sermo Iehovae ad me
dicendo,
|
|
2. Son of man, What is the vine-tree more than
any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the
forest?
|
2. Fili hominis, quid
erit
f322 lignum vitis prae omni arbore
rami
f323 quae est inter arbores
sylvae?
|
|
3. Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work?
or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
|
3. An sumetur ex
eo
f324 lignum ad formandum, ut sit opus, vel an
sument,
f325 ex eo paxillum, ut suspendatur in eo
omne vas?
F326
|
|
4. Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel;
the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it
meet for any work?
|
4. Ecce in ignem
traditur
f327 ad consumptionem, duas extremitates ejus
consumpsit ignis, et medium ejus exustum
est,
f328 an utile erit ad opus?
|
|
5. Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for
no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire has
devoured it, and it is burned?
|
5. Ecce, cum esset integrum non factum
fuit
f329 ut esset opus: quanto magis postquam
ignis consumpsit ipsum et
exaruit
f330 formabitur adhuc ut sit
opus?
|
The Prophet’s intention is to humble the
foolish confidence of the people, who boasted of the gratuitous kindness of God,
as if they were naturally excellent: hence, also, their obstinacy against his
threats was so great. For when the prophets reprove them sharply, they boasted
against them the remarkable gifts by which they were divinely adorned: as if
they had been so armed by God’s benefits to resist his power, for we know
that they were so blinded. Since, then, that disease had attacked the people, it
is not surprising that the prophets in many places refute such folly. But the
Prophet here uses a simile to show the Jews that they were not intrinsically but
only accidentally excellent, since God had treated them as worthy of remarkable
benefits. Since it is so, their arrogance is easily refuted, when they oppose
their superiority to God, as if it were peculiar to them, and not God’s
special gift. But we must understand the simile which Ezekiel uses:
what is the vine more than other
trees of the woods? It is certain that
the vine produces very good fruit, and therefore is preferred to other trees:
the very flower of the vine has a most, delicious scent; but the fruit which it
produces proves its excellence. For the wood of the vine is without elegance and
shapeless: it does not attain to any thickness; it is slender, pliable, and
twisted. In looking at a vine, it. seems scarcely worth numbering among shrubs:
if compared with trees, it clearly has no value; but in the excellency of trees
something is easily acknowledged which surpasses all vines. For when we cast our
eyes upon a branching tree, we are struck with admiration, while the vine lies
at, our feet. If, therefore, a tree is compared with the wood of the vine, it
will be praised for its beauty, while the vine will be despised as a low and
insignificant wood. Hence God collects that the Jews were in no respect more
excellent than others, unless because they are planted by himself, as he says in
many places in Isaiah, O my vine, I have planted thee. (Isaiah 5.) Then in the
80th Psalm: he brought his vine out of Egypt, and planted and propagated it even
to the sea,
(<198009>Psalm
80:9-12;
<240221>Jeremiah
2:21.)
Now we understand the Prophet’s meaning,
namely, that the Jews excelled, indeed, in privileges, but not in nature, nor
yet by themselves, but by the gratuitous kindness of God: and if other nations
were compared with them, they had greater dignity than the Jews. And we know
that other nations flourished in arts and wealth, in population, in warlike
valor, and in other respects: the profane nations were like lofty trees which
grow up and attract all eyes to themselves. But the Jews were like a vine which,
being planted by God’s hand, deserved more praise than the trees of the
wood which were fruitless. Ezekiel now carries on the comparison at, greater
length: if the vine is torn up,
can its wood, says he,
be fitted to any
use? it will not make beams or tables,
or any vessels; it will not make a peg or a hook on which to hang a hat or
cloak, or anything of the kind. Since, then, the wood of the vine is useless
when torn from the soil, and is of no use but for burning, hence the Jews are
made acquainted with their condition since their excellence and worthiness
depend on the mere good pleasure of God: since, as he planted them, he can pluck
them up in a moment; and when they have been torn up, they will be altogether
useless, and will be cast into the fire, while trees are of some use. But, the
Prophet proceeds another step: if a bundle of twigs were cast into the fire, and
the two extreme parts were burnt up, and the middle made dry, that scorched part
would be much less useful. For since fire penetrates to the very marrow, wood,
which is half consumed, is reduced to powder by the touch alone: He afterwards
accommodates what he had said about the vine to the city of Jerusalem; therefore
let us go on to the rest of the context.
|
EZEKIEL
15:6
|
|
6. Therefore thus says the Lord God, As the
vine-tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for
fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
|
6. Propterea sic dicit Dominator Iehovah,
Quemadmodum lignum vitis in ligno sylvae, quod
posuli
f331 in ignem ad consumptionem, sic dedi
habitatores Hierusalem.
|
Here the Prophet shows that the citizens of Jerusalem
were cast into a fire, by which they suffered various kinds of death: for
although they were not immediately and entirely consumed, yet the extremities
were burnt off. For the whole region was laid waste all around, and the kingdom
of Israel was entirely cut off: Jerusalem remained like the middle portion of
the bundle. But the inhabitants of Jerusalem were so worn down by adversity,
that they were like a stick burnt at both ends. Since this was so, we here
perceive their great stupidity in persisting in contumacy, although God had
humbled them so in various ways. Now, therefore, we understand the meaning of
this point. But the words of the Prophet must be explained, what shall be, or
what is the wood of the vine
compared with other wood? Some
translate, with the palm branch; others, with the wild vine; but both of these
are foreign to the mind of the Prophet: especially the wild vine cannot have any
place here. As far as the palm is concerned, what reference is there to the palm
branch in the midst of a wood? for palms are not planted in woods amidst lofty
trees. But since the wood,
hrwmz,
zemoreh, signifies boughs as well as palms, it agrees best with the sense
to speak of every tree as branching.
What,
therefore, is the vine in
comparison with every branching tree which is among the trees of the
forest? Here the Prophet brings before us
fruitless trees, but yet those which attract our notice by their beauty: and so
he implies, if the Jews wish to compare themselves with the profane nations,
they are not superior in any worthiness or elegance which they have naturally
and of themselves. This must be diligently noticed; although God sometimes
adopts those who excel in ability and learning, in warlike prowess, in riches,
and in power, yet he gathers his Church as much as possible from lowly-born men,
in whom no great splendor is refulgent, that they may be objects of wonder to
the world. For what end, then, does God do this? for he could fashion his own
elect, that they may be completely perfect in every way. But since we are too
inclined to pride, it is necessary that our infirmity should always be set
before our eyes to teach us modesty. For if nothing in us reminded us of our
weakness, our worthiness would blind us, or turn away our eyes from ourselves,
or intoxicate us with false glory. Hence God wishes us to be inferior to the
profane, that we may learn always to acknowledge as received from him whatever
he has gratuitously conferred upon us, and not to arrogate anything to ourselves
when our humility is so plainly set before our eyes. But as far as concerns the
Jews, they were, as we have said, like a vine, because their excellence was not
natural, but external. God had fashioned them, as it were, from nothing; and
although they were adorned with many remarkable gifts, yet they could claim
nothing from themselves.
Shall there be taken, says he, any
wood from it to fashion it for any work? God
here shows that the Jews were deservedly preferred to others, because he had
planted them with his hand; for if they had been pulled out of the earth, he
shows that the wood would be useless, since it could not be used for any
purpose. And Christ uses the same simile
(<431501>John
15:1-7), when he shows that we have no root in us by nature, nor yet sap or
moisture or rigor, since we are a vine planted by our heavenly Father. But if he
roots us up, nothing remains for us but to be cast into the fire and utterly
burnt. Lastly, God shows that the Jews should be viler than the nations, if he
took away from them whatever he gave them; and he admonishes them that their
state has no firmness unless through his goodwill towards them. For if the
Prophet had only said, that whatever the Jews had they owed to God, and for this
reason were bound to his liberality, yet they might still exalt themselves. But
it is added in the second place, that they remained safe day by day, as far as
God spares them, cherishes, defends, and sustains them. Therefore the Prophet
means this when he says, Shall it
be taken to form any work from it, or will they take it for a peg to hang any
vessels upon it. Behold, says
he, it was given for consumption,
and its two ends were burnt up. Here, as I
said, he points out various calamities by which the Jews were almost struck
down, though not subdued. For they were hardened in their obstinacy; and
although they were like burnt and rotten wood, yet they boasted themselves to be
perfect through their adoption, and through the covenant which God had made with
Abraham: they boasted themselves to be a holy race, and a royal priesthood. Yet
God reproves their sloth when he says theirs was like burnt wood, when a bundle
of twigs has been cast into the fire, and there is some remnant so injured by
the smoke as to be deprived of its strength.
Behold,
says he, when it was whole could
it be formed into any work! How much less after the fire has consumed
it. Here we pursues the same sentiment. If any
one should take any part of the bundle after the fire had dried it, could he fit
it for any work? If he should take the twig when whole, it would not be fit to
receive any shaping: how much less could the burnt wood be used for a peg or
anything else. If, then, not even a peg can be found in the entire bundle, when
the stem is like an ember through being parched by fire, how can it be turned to
any use? Now follows the application:
as I have given the wood of the
vine among woods, says he: verbally, in the
wood of the forest. Hence gather we what I formerly said about the branch, that
it agrees with trees and is not put for the wild vine or the palm branch: for he
now says, simply, amidst all the
wood of the forest. But he says that
the wood of the vine was among
the wood of the forest — not because
vines are merely planted there, but this comparison is used: that is, among
woods, or even among all the woods of the forest, because these trees are
felled, and destined for buildings, or vessels are made from them, and all kinds
of wooden furniture, as well as the materials of houses, are taken from trees.
He says, therefore, that the wood
of the vine is given among the wood, of the
forest, that is, among the woods of the forest,
since the twigs are burnt, as they cannot be rendered useful to men:
so have I
given, says he,
the citizens of
Jerusalem.
Now after we understand the Prophet’s meaning,
let us learn that the Holy Spirit so addressed the Jews formerly, that this
discourse might profit us in these days. We must perceive, in the first place,
that we are superior to the whole world, through God’s gratuitous pity:
but naturally we have nothing of our own in which to boast. But if we carry
ourselves haughtily, through reliance on God’s gifts, this arrogance would
be sacrilege: for we snatch away from God his own praise, and clothe ourselves,
as it were, in his spoils. But Paul, when he speaks of the Jews, shortly, but
clearly, defines both sides: Do we excel? says he — (for he there makes
himself one with the people) — Do we excel the Gentiles? says he,
(<450301>Romans
3:1); by no means: for Scripture denounces us all to be sinners — all to
be, accursed. Since, therefore, we are children of wrath, he says, there is
nothing which we can claim to ourselves over the profane Gentiles. After he has
so prostrated all the pride of his own nation, he repeats again — What?
Are we not superior to others? Yea, we excel in every way. For the adoption, and
the worship, and the law of God, and the covenant, confer upon us remarkable
superiority, and such as we find nothing like it in the whole world. How do
those things agree? That the Jews excel, and are to be preferred to others, and
yet that they excel in nothing! namely, since they have nothing in themselves to
cause them to despise the Gentiles, or boast themselves superior; hence their
excellence is not in themselves but in God. And so, Paul here does not commend
their virtues, but says that they excel by gratuitous adoption, because God made
his covenant with Abraham, and they were to arise from the holy nations, because
he instituted a fixed line of piety among them, in promising himself to be a
Father to them; nay, he determined that Christ should spring from them, who is
the life and light of the world. We see, then, the former privileges of the
Jews: ours is the same in these days. As often as we are favored with
God’s gifts, by which we approach near him and overcome the world, we
ought also to remember what we were before God took us up. Then our origin will
prostrate all arrogance, and prevent us from being ungrateful to God. But that
is not yet sufficient; but we must come to the second clause, that not only has
God’s free grace raised us to such a height, but also sustains us; so that
our standing is not founded in ourselves, but depends only on his will. Hence
not only the remembrance of our origin ought to humble us, but the sense of our
infirmity. Whence we gather that we have no perseverance in ourselves unless God
daily, nay, momentarily strengthen us, and follow us up with his favor. This is
the second point: the third is, if God afflicts or chastises us with his rods,
we should know that the foolish confidence by which we deceive ourselves is by
this means beaten out of us. Here we ought diligently to weigh the meaning of
the phrase — the wood of
the vine is useless when it is torn up, and
especially when dry. For although the profane nations perish, yet it is not
surprising if God’s judgments are more severe towards the reprobate, who
had obtained a place in his Church, and who had been enriched with his spiritual
gifts. This ingratitude requires us to become an example to others, so that the
whole world may be astonished at beholding in us such dreadful signs of
God’s anger. Hence the Jews were for a hissing and an abhorrence, an
astonishment and a curse to the profane nations. Why so? They had more
grievously exasperated God who had acted so liberally towards them, and were not
only ungrateful and perfidious, but had purposely provoked him. Thus also it
happens to other reprobates. So this clause is to be diligently noticed, when
the Prophet says that the wood of
the vine is cast into the fire, although trees,
when cut down, are still useful either for building or for furniture. Now it
follows —
|
EZEKIEL
15:7-8
|
|
7. And I will set my face against them; they
shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them: and you shall
know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them.
|
7. Et ponam faciem meam in ipsos: ex igni
egredientur, et ignis vorabit
f332 eos: et scietis quod ego Iehovah, cum
posuero faciem meam in ipsis.
F333
|
|
8. And I will make the land desolate, because
they have committed a trespass, says the Lord God.
|
8. Et ponam terram in vastitatem, quia
transgressi sunt transgressione
f334 dicit Dominator
Iehovah.
|
He confirms what had been said in the last verse, and
at the same time explains it: as if the citizens of Jerusalem retained some
form, because they were not reduced to dust; but the fire had burnt all round
them, as if the flame was licking a bundle of twigs. While the royal seat
remained to them, the name of a people remained, and hence an opportunity for
their obstinacy. For they were not to be subdued, since they were not entirely
consumed: and now another madness is added; for as soon as they had escaped from
any misfortune, they thought themselves quite safe, — “O now we
shall rest,” said they; if the enemy had departed from the city, or if new
forces had not arrived against them, or if provisions failed the enemy’s
troops, they immediately regained their courage, and not only breathed again,
but proudly laughed at God and his prophets, as if they were beyond all danger.
For this reason he now says, I
have set my face against them. To set, or, if
any one prefers it, to establish one’s face, is to persist constantly, so
as not only to do anything on passing, but to remain there until we have
accomplished our intention; so that those are not bad expounders of the Prophet
who say, “I have set my face firmly:” they do not translate
verbally, but according to God’s meaning. For he often chastises a whole
nation or city, and yet he does not set his face, that is, he does not stay
there, but chastises them lightly, and but for a short time, as if passing in
another direction. But he means something else here —
that he would set his
face; that is, never desist until the
people’s name, as well as their city, was utterly abolished. For we have
said that the prophets speak of the present state of the people when they
threaten such destruction. I will
set my face, therefore,
against them: they shall
escape from one fire, and another shall devour
them. Here the Prophet strikes down that
foolish opinion by which the Jews deceived themselves. For if they escaped from
one danger, they thought it the last, and hence their security, and even
obstinacy. But the Prophet says here, after they had escaped from one fire, that
a new fire to consume them was lighted up: he means, that there were different
means in God’s hand by which he destroys and extinguishes a people: as he
had previously said, that he was armed with pestilence and the sword, and famine
and wild beasts; so now under the name of fire he comprehends various scourges.
If, therefore, men have escaped the sword, a new attack shall inter them, since
God will press them with famine, or urge them with pestilence, or in other ways:
and then, they shall
know, says he,
that I am Jehovah, when I
shall set my face against it. By these words he
signifies that his glory could not otherwise remain safe, since impunity blinded
the Jews — nay, hardened them till they became like the brutes. If,
therefore, God had spared them, his glory would have been as it were buried, and
through so long a connivance he had been no longer acknowledged as God. There
was a real necessity for so much rigor: since he would never show himself to be
God otherwise than by destroying the impious who were so stupefied by their sins
as long as he bore with them. At length he adds,
I will lay the land waste since
they have prevaricated by prevarication. Here,
also, God expresses how terrible, yet just, was that judgment, because the Jews
were no trifling offenders, but perfidiously departed from his worship, and from
the whole teaching of the law, and were obstinate in their ingratitude. Since
they were so abandoned, we gather that God was not too severe when he put forth
his hand to destroy them utterly.
PRAYER.
Grant. Almighty God, since you have not
only deigned to separate us from the common herd of men, but also to renew your
image in us: and while thy favors towards us are conspicuous you exhort us at
the same time to glorify thy name: Grant that being mindful of our calling we
may study to devote ourselves wholly to thee. and so to extol thee by peculiar
and true and rightful praises, that we may be at length partakers of the glory
to which you invite us, and which has been acquired for us by the blood of your
only begotten Son. — Amen.
LECTURE
FORTY-SECOND
CHAPTER 16
|
EZEKIEL
16:
|
|
1. Again the word of the Lord came unto me,
saying,
|
1. Et fuit sermo Iehovae ad me,
dicendo,
|
|
2. Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her
abominations,
|
2. Fili hominis,
indica
f335 Hierosolymae suas
abominationes,
|
|
3. And say, Thus says the Lord God unto
Jerusalem, Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father w, as
an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.
|
3. Sic dices, Sic dicit Dominator Iehovah
Hierosolymae, habitationes tuae, et natales tui e terra Chanaan: pater tuus
Amorrhaeus, mater tua Hithaea, et quae sequuntur.
|
This chapter contains very severe reproaches against
the people of Judea who were left at Jerusalem. For although Ezekiel had been a
leader to the Israelites and the Jewish exiles, yet God wished his assistance in
profiting others. Hence the office which God had imposed upon his Prophet is now
extended to the citizens of Jerusalem, whose abominations he is ordered to make
manifest. The manner is afterwards expressed, when God shows the condition of
that nation before he embraced it with his favor. But after recounting the
benefits by which he had adorned the people, he reproves their ingratitude, and
shows in many words, and by different figures, how detestable was their perfidy
in revolting: so far from God after he had treated them so liberally. These
things will now be treated in their own order. As to Ezekiel’s being
ordered to lay bare to the Jews
their abominations, we gather from this that
men are often so blinded by their vices that they do not perceive what is
sufficiently evident to every one else. And we know that the people was quite
drunk with pride, for they voluntarily blinded themselves by their own
flatteries. It is not surprising, then, that God orders them to bring their
abominations into the midst, so that they may at length feel themselves to be
sinners. And this passage is worthy of notice, since we think those admonitions
superfluous until God drags us into the light, and places our sins before our
eyes. There is no one, indeed, whose conscience does not reprove him, since
God’s law is written on the hearts of all, and so we naturally distinguish
between good and evil; but if we think how great our stupidity is concealing our
faults, we shall not wonder that the prophets uttered this command, to lay open
our abominations to ourselves. For not only is that self-knowledge of which I
have spoken cold, but also involved in much darkness, so that he who is but
partially conscious grows willingly hardened while he indulges himself. Again,
we must remember that the Jews were to be argued with in this way, because they
pleased themselves with their own superstitions. For the Prophet shows that
their chief wickedness consisted in deserting God’s law, in prostituting
themselves to idols, and in setting up adulterous worship like houses of ill
fame; but in this they pleased themselves, as we daily see in the papacy, that
under this pretext the foulest idolatries are disguised, since they think
themselves to be thereby worshipping God.
It is not surprising, then, if God here obliquely
blames the stupidity and sloth of the Jews when he
commands their abominations to be
laid open, which are already sufficiently known
to all. Afterwards, that God may begin to show how improperly the people were
behaving, he recalls them to the first origin or fountain of their race. But we
must notice that God speaks differently of the origin of the people. For
sometimes he reminds them of Abraham’s condition before he had stretched
forth his hand and dragged them, as it were, from the lowest regions into life,
as it is said in the last chapter of Joshua,
(<062402>Joshua
24:2, 3,) Thy father Abraham was worshipping idols when God adopted him. But
sometimes the beginning is made from the covenant of God, when he chose Abraham
with his posterity for himself. But in this passage God takes the time from the
period of the small band of men emerging by wonderful increase into a nation,
although they had been so wretchedly oppressed in Egypt; for the redemption of
the people which immediately followed is called sometimes their nativity. So
here God says that the Jews were there born when they increased so incredibly,
though when oppressed by the Egyptian tyranny they had scarcely any place among
living men. And what he says of Jews applies equally to all the posterity of
Abraham: for the condition of the ten tribes was the same as that of Judea. But
since the Prophet speaks to a people still surviving, he is silent about what he
would have said, if he had been commanded to utter this mandate to the exiles
and captives, as well as to the citizens of Jerusalem. Whatever its meaning, God
here pronounces that the Jews
sprang from the land of Canaan, from an Amorite father, and from a Hittite
mother.
A question arises here — When God had adopted
Abraham two hundred years previously, why was not that covenant taken into
account? for he here seems not to magnify his own faithfulness and the constancy
of his promise when he rejects the Jews as sprung from the Canaanites or
Amorites; but this only shows what they were in themselves: for although he
never departed from his purpose, and his election was never in vain, yet we must
hold, as far as the people were concerned, that they are looked upon as profane
Gentiles. For we know how they corrupted themselves in Egypt. Since, then, they
were so degenerate and so utterly unlike their fathers, it is not surprising if
God says that they were sprung
from Canaanites and Amorites. For by Hosea he
says, that they were all born of a harlot, and that the place of their birth was
a house of ill fame.
(<280204>Hosea
2:4.) This must be understood metaphorically: since here God does not; chide the
women who had been false to their husbands, and had borne an adulterous
offspring; but he simply means that the Jews were unworthy of being called or
reputed Abraham’s seed. Why so? for although God remained firm in his
covenant, yet if we consider the character of the Jews, they had entirely cut
themselves off by their faithlessness. Since, then, they did not differ from the
profane Gentiles, they are deservedly rejected with reproach, and are called an
offspring of Canaan, as in other places. Now therefore, we understand the
intention of the Prophet, or rather of the Holy Spirit. For if God had only said
that he would pity that race when reduced to extreme misery, it would not have
been subjected to such severe and heavy reproof, as we shall see. Hence God not
only relates his kindness towards them, but at the same time shows from what
state he had taken the Jews when he first aided them, and what, was their
condition when he deigned to draw them out of such great misery. Moreover, since
he was at hand to take them up, their redemption was founded on covenant, and so
they were led forth, because God had promised Abraham four centuries ago that he
would be the liberator of the people. That they should not be ignorant of the
favor by which God had bound himself to Abraham, the Prophet meets them, and
pronounces them a seed of Canaan, having nothing in common with Abraham,
because, as far as they were concerned, according to common usage, God’s
promise was extinct, and their adoption dead and buried. Since they had acted so
perfidiously, they could no longer boast themselves to be Abraham’s
children. Hence he says, thy
habitations, that is, the place of their
origin. Jerome translates it “root;” but the word
“nativity” suits better, or native soil, or condition of birth
in the land of Canaan: and thy
father an Amorite and thy mother a
Hittite. There were other tribes of
Canaan, but two or three kinds are put here for the whole. Now it follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
16:4-5
|
|
4. And as for thy nativity, in the day you was
born thy navel was not cut, neither was you washed in water to supple thee: you
was not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
|
4. Et nativitates tuae in die qua nata es
tu f336
non praecisus fuit umbilicus tuus, aquis non
fuisti lota, ad mollitiem
f337 sale non fuisti salita, et non fuisti
involuta fasciis.
f338
|
|
5. None eye pitied thee, to do any of these
unto thee, to have compassion upon time; but you was east out in the open field,
to the loathing of thy person, in the day that you was born.
|
5. Non misertus est super te oculus faciendum
tibi unum ex his ad considerandum super te et projecta fuisti in superficie
agri, in probrum animae tuae quo die nata es.
|
Here the Prophet metaphorically describes that most
miserable state in which God found the Jews. For we know that scarcely any
nation was ever so cruelly and disgracefully oppressed. For when they were all
driven to servile labor without reward, the edict went forth that their males
should be cut off.
(<020116>Exodus
1:16, 22.) No species of disgrace was omitted, and their life was worse than a
hundred deaths. This, then, is the reason why God says that the Jews were so
cast forth on the face of the
earth without any supply of the common
necessaries of life. He takes these figures from customary usage; for it is
usual to cut the navel-string of infants: for the navel affords them nourishment
in their mothers’ womb, and mother and child would both perish unless a
separation took place; and if the navel-string were not tied the child would
perish; for all the blood flows through that organ, as the child received its
sustenance through it: and this is the midwife’s chief care as soon as the
child is born, to cut away what must afterwards be restored to its place, and to
bind up the part, and to do it, as I have said, with the greatest care, as the
infant’s life depends upon it.
But God says,
that the navel-string of the Jews
is not cut off. Why so?
because they were
cast, says he,
on the surface of the
earth; that is, they were deserted and exposed,
— using but a single word. He now adds,
they were not washed with
water: for we know how young infants require
ablution; and unless it be performed immediately, they will perish. Hence he
says, they were not washed with water. He adds, to soften or refresh, or
“fettle” them, as the common phrase is; for water softens and
smoothes the skin, though others translate it in the sense of causing it to
shine: but we understand the Prophet’s meaning sufficiently. He afterwards
adds, they were not rubbed
with salt; for salt is sprinkled on the body of
an infant to harden the flesh, while care must be taken not to render it too
hard; and this moderate hardness is effected by the sprinkling of salt. The full
meaning is, that the Jews at their birth were cast out with such contempt, that
they were destitute of the necessary care which life requires. He adds,
No eye pitied thee, so as to
discharge any of these duties, and to show thee
pity: and this is sufficiently evident, since
the Israelites would have been destroyed had no one taken compassion on them;
for they were in some sense buried in the land of Egypt; for we know how cruel
was the conspiracy of the whole land against them. No wonder, then, if God here
relates that they were cast upon the surface of the land, so that no eye looked
upon them and showed them pity. He adds,
they were cast to the loathing of
their life. He simply means, that they were so
despicable that they had no standing among men; for loathing of life means the
same as rejection. It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:6
|
|
6. And when I passed by thee, and saw thee
polluted in your own blood, I said unto thee, when thou was in thy blood, Live;
yea, I said unto thee, when you was in thy blood, Live.
|
6. Et transivi juxta te, et vidi te
foedatam
f339 in sanguinibus tuis: et dixi tibi, in
sanguinibus tuis, Vive: et dixi tibi, in sanguinibus tuis,
Vive.
|
I have already explained the time to which the
Prophet alludes, when the seed of Abraham began to be tyrannically oppressed by
the Egyptians. For God here assumes the character of a traveler when he
says that he passed
by. For he had said that the Jews and all the
Israelites were like a girl cast forth and deserted. Now, therefore, he adds,
that this spectacle met him as he passed by: as those who travel cast their eyes
on either side, and if anything unusual occurs they attend and consider it;
meanwhile God declares that he was taking care of his people. And truly the
matter is sufficiently evident, since he seemed to have neglected those wretched
ones, while he had wonderfully assisted them. For they might have perished a
hundred times a-day, and if he had not taken notice of them, they had not
dragged out their life to the end. That celebrated sentence is well known
— I have seen, I have seen, the affliction of my people. When he sent for
Moses and commanded him to liberate the people, he prefaces it in this way, I
have seen, I have seen.
(<020307>Exodus
3:7) Hence he had long ago seen, though he seemed to despise them by shutting
his eyes. There is no doubt that the doubling of the word here means that God
always watched for the safety of this desperate people, although he did not
assist them directly: he now means the same thing when he says,
that he passed by: I passed
by, then, near thee, and saw thee defiled with
blood. That spectacle could not turn away
God’s eyes; for whatever is contrary to nature excites horror. God
therefore here shows how compassionate he was towards the people, because he was
not horrified by that disgraceful foulness, when he saw the infant so immersed
in its own gore without any shape. As to the following phrase,
I said to
thee, he does not mean that he spoke openly so
that the people heard his voice, but he announces what he had determined
concerning the people. The expression,
live in thy
blood, may indeed be taken contemptuously, as
if God had grudged moving his hand, lest the very touch should prove contagious;
for we do not willingly touch any putrid gore. The words,
live in thy
blood, may be thus explained, since at first
God did not deign to take care of the people. But it is evident from the
context, that God here expresses the secret virtue by which the people was
preserved contrary to the common feelings. For if we consider what has been
previously said, the people surely had not lived a single day, unless it had
received rigor from this voice of God. For if a new-born child is cast out, how
can it bear the cold of the night? surely it will instantly expire: and I have
already said that death is prepared for infants, unless their navel-string be
cut. Since therefore a hundred deaths encompassed the people, they could never
have continued alive, had not the secret voice of God sustained
them.
God therefore in commanding them to live, already
shows that he was willingly and wonderfully preserving them amidst various kinds
of death. As it is said in the 68th psalm,
(<196820>Psalm
68:20,) “In his hands are the issues of death,” so that death is
converted into life: since he is the sovereign and lord of both. But this phrase
is doubled, since the people were afflicted in Egypt for no short period. But if
that tyranny had endured only a few years, they must have been consumed. But
their slavery was protracted to many years: whence that remarkable wonder
occurred, that their remembrance and their name were not often cut off. We see
then that God has reason enough to speak that sentence in which the safety of
the people was included, live in
thy bloods, live in thy bloods. The fact itself
shows the people to have been preserved, since it pleased God. The history which
Moses relates in the book of Exodus is a glass in which we may behold the living
image of that life of which we have made mention as drawing its whole vigor from
the secret good pleasure of God. Now the reason is asked why God did not openly
and directly take up his people, and treat them as kindly as he did during their
youth? The reason is sufficiently manifest, since if the people had been freed
at the very first, the memory of the benefit would have by and by vanished away,
and God’s power would have been more obscure. For we know that men, unless
thoroughly convinced of their own misery, never acknowledge that they have
obtained safety through God’s pity. The people then thought so to live, as
always to have death before their eyes — nay, as if they were bound by the
chains of death. It
lived, then,
in
bloods, that is, in the tomb, like a carcass
remaining in its own putridness, and its life in the meantime lying hid: so it
happened to the sons of Abraham. Now then we understand God’s intention
why he did not raise up the children of Abraham with grandeur from the
beginning, but suffered them to drag out a miserable life, and to be steeped in
the very pollution of death. It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:7
|
|
7. I have caused thee to multiply as the bud
of the field, and you has increased and waxen great, and you art come to
excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and your hair is grown, whereas
you was naked and bare.
|
7. Et magnam te feci quasi germen
agri:
f340 et crevisti, et
adolevisti,
f341 et venisti in ornamentum
ornamentorum:
f342 ubera tua aptata
sunt,
f343 et pilus tuus germinavit: tu autem nuda
et discooperta eras.
|
Here what I lately touched upon is now clearly
expressed, that the people in their extreme distress were not only safe, but
increased by God’s singular favor. For if the infant after exposure
retains its life, it will still be a weak abortion. Hence God here by this
circumstance magnifies his favor, since the people increased as if it had been
properly and attentively cared for, and as if no kind office had been omitted.
This is the meaning of the words
they were
increased; for though he looks to the
propagation of Abraham’s family, yet the simile is to be observed, for the
people is compared to a girl exposed in a field from its birth, and their growth
took place when God increased them so incredibly, as we know. And surely
God’s blessing was great when they entered Egypt, 75 in number, and were
many thousands when they left it.
(<440714>Acts
7:14;
<021237>Exodus
12:37.) For within 250 years, the family of Abraham was so multiplied, that they
amounted to 800,000 when God freed them. But since the Prophet speaks
metaphorically, when he says the
people were increased, and, under the image of
a tender girl, until they grew up
to a proper age; meanwhile he shows that this
was done only by the wonderful counsel and power of God. I
placed
thee, says he. God claims to himself the praise
for this great multiplication, and then strengthens what I have said, namely,
that the people’s safety was included in that phrase
live in
bloods: then he says,
she came into ornament of
ornaments. Here
yd[,
gnedi, cannot mean any occasional ornament, since it is added directly,
thou wast naked and
bare. It follows then that it refers to
personal comeliness. It means not only that the girl grew in loftiness of
stature but in beauty of person. Hence elegance and loveliness are here marked,
as the context shows us. Thou
camest then
to
excellent or exquisite
beauty,
for we know this to be the meaning of the genitive, signifying excellence. He
adds at the same time, thy
breasts were made ready, for
ˆwk,
kon, means to prepare, to strengthen: but as he is speaking of breasts, I
have no doubt that he means them to have swelled as they ought to do.
Thy breasts then were
fashioned, that is, of the right size, as in
marriageable girls. Thy hair also grew long. Finally, the Prophet
expresses thus grossly what he could have said more concisely, in consequence of
the people’s rudeness. Thy
hair grew long, whilst thou wast naked and
bare; that is, as yet you had no outward
ornament, you was like a marriageable girl — you had great beauty of
person, a noble stature, and all parts of thy body mutually accordant, but you
had cause to be ashamed of thy nakedness. And such was the condition of the
people since the Egyptians devised everything against them, and conspired by all
means for their destruction: we see then how God stretched forth his hand not
only for the people’s defense, but to carry them forth against the tyranny
of Pharaoh and of all Egypt. He points out the time of their redemption as near,
because the people had increased and multiplied, just like a girl who had
reached her twentieth year. Now it follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:8
|
|
8. Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon
thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee,
and covered thy nakedness: you, I swear unto thee, and entered into a covenant
with thee, says the Lord God, and you became mine.
|
8. Et transivi juxta te, et vidi te; et ecce
tempus tuum tempus amorum: et extendi alam
meam
f344 super te, et texi nuditatem
tuam,
f345 et juravi tibi, et veni in foedus tecum,
dicit Dominator Iehovah: et fuisti mea.
|
God now reproaches the Jews with his kindness towards
them, since he had clothed them in splendid ornaments, and yet they afterwards
cast themselves into the vilest lusts, as we shall see. But we must remember
that the Prophet is now speaking of the time of their liberation. But God says
that he passed by again and saw
the state of the people, — not that he
had ever forgotten it. For we know that even when he dissembles and seems to
shut his eyes and turn them from us or even to sleep, yet he is always anxious
for our safety. And we have already said that there was need of his present
power, that the people might prolong their lives, since if he had not breathed
life into them, a hundred deaths would have immediately prevailed. But it is
sufficiently common and customary to mark an open declaration of help by
God’s aspect. When God appears so openly to deliver us that it may be
comprehended by our senses, then he is said to look down upon us, to rise up,
and to turn himself towards us. He passed by, then, near the people, namely,
when he called Moses out of the desert and appointed him the minister of his
favor, (Exodus 3,) he then saw his people, and proved by their trial that he had
not utterly cast them away. I looked, then, and
behold thy time, thy time of
years. Here God speaks grossly, yet according
to the people’s comprehension. For he personates a man struck with the
beauty of a girl and offering her marriage. But God is not affected as men are,
as we well know, so that it is not according to his nature to love as young men
do. But such was the people’s stupidity, that they could not be usefully
taught, unless the Prophet accommodated himself to their grossness. Add also
that the people had been by no means lovely, unless God had embraced them by his
kindness, so that his love depended on his good pleasure towards them.
So by the time of
loves, we ought to understand the complete time
of their redemption, for God had determined to bring the people out of Egypt
when he pleased, and that had been promised to Abraham: after four hundred years
I will be their avenger.
(<011513>Genesis
15:13, 14;
<440706>Acts
7:6, 7,) We see, then, that the years were previously fixed in which God would
redeem the people. He now compares that union to a marriage. Hence if God would
bind his people to himself by a marriage, so also he would pledge himself to
conjugal fidelity. But I cannot proceed further — I must leave the rest
till tomorrow.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since from our
first origin we have been entirely accursed, so that we were entirely foul and
polluted in thy sight, that we may be mindful of our condition, and acknowledge
your inestimable pity towards us, since you have deigned to draw us from the
lowest estate, and to adopt us among thy children: and may we so desire to spend
our whole life in obedience to thee, that we may at length enjoy that blessed
glory to which you has called us, and which you have prepared for us in your
only-begotten Son. — Amen.
LECTURE
FORTY-THIRD.
We began yesterday to explain another point of which
the Prophet treats, namely, the liberation of the people. For then was the
fitting time in which God espoused them to himself. He now adds,
that he spread out the skirt of
his garment to cover the foulness and disgrace of the
people. This spreading comprehends all the
virtues which God exercised in freeing his people. For he then delivered them
from all reproaches by which they were shamefully and disgracefully treated in
Egypt. Some think that it was a nuptial rite for a spouse or husband to cover
the bride with his garment, but this is only a conjecture. Hence I simply
interpret it, the border
of the garment was spread out, when God
vindicated his people from the reproaches by which they had been deformed. He
afterwards adds, and I have sworn to thee,
and come into covenant with
thee. There is no doubt that this thought to be
referred to the promulgation of the law. For although God had long ago made a
covenant with Abraham, and the adoption of the people was founded upon it, yet
that favor on the people’s part had almost vanished away, as I yesterday
said; hence God pronounces that he had, as it were, adopted the people afresh.
It was like the renewal of the covenant, when God bound the people to himself by
a fixed law, and prescribed a fixed method of worship. These, then, were the
accustomed marriage rites. But God deservedly announces that he had come into
covenant, because he then coupled the people to himself; whence also that eulogy
of Moses — What nation is so illustrious under heaven, which has God so
near them, as thy God approaches unto thee? You shall be to me a kingdom of
priests; you shall be my inheritance.
(<050407>Deuteronomy
4:7;
<021906>Exodus
19:6.) We should remark the word
swear as emphatic, for God increases his
indulgence when he says that he swore. If we think of the majesty of God,
and of what his people was, this is surely incredible, that God should deign to
descend so far as to swear like men accustomed to pledge their faith, and to
sanction it by an oath. Now, therefore, we see the singular benefit expressed
here with which God adorned his people, when, at the giving of the law, he chose
them as his own, and appointed them to be a kingdom of priests. It now follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
16:9
|
|
9. Then washed I thee with water; you, I
thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with
oil.
|
9. Et lavi te aquis, et
mundavi
f346 sanguines tuos abs
te
f347 et unxi te oleo.
|
Here God more clearly explains what had been formerly
touched upon, namely, that he then married the people, as a young man marries
his bride. But he here states that he endowed her; for they would not have been
sufficiently adopted by God unless they had been adorned with superior presents;
since if they had been left in that miserable slavery by which they were
oppressed, God’s favor would have been very obscure. Now, therefore, God
means, that by his law he had entered into a new covenant with his people, so
that he did not leave them naked and bare, but clothed with remarkable gifts.
First of all, he says, I washed
thee with water. Although he had just said that
the people were like a beautiful damsel, and had praised their beauty, yet the
filth of which the prophet had spoken yet remained: it ought, therefore, to be
cleansed from those stains: I
have cleansed thee with water, says
he, and washed off thy
bloods, namely, the corrupt blood which the
damsel whom Ezekiel mentions had retained from her birth. Lastly, Ezekiel says
that God performed those offices which the nurse discharges for the child.
Afterwards he adds —
|
EZEKIEL
16:10-13
|
|
10. I clothed thee also with broidered work,
and shod thee with badgers’ skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen,
and I covered thee with silk.
|
10. Et vestivi te Phrygionica
veste,
f348 et calceavi te
taxo,
f349 et cinxi te bysso, et operui te
serico.
|
|
11. I decked thee also with ornaments, and I
put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
|
11. Et ornavi te ornatu, et posui armillas in
manibus tuis, et torquem in collo tuo.
|
|
12. And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and
earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown upon your head.
|
12. Et posui circulum super faciem
tuam,
f350 et inaures super aures tuas, et coronam
decoris in capite tuo.
F351
|
|
13. Thus was you decked with gold and silver;
and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; you did eat
fine flour, and honey, and oil; and you was exceeding beautiful, and you did
prosper into a kingdom.
|
13. Et ornata fuisti auro et argento, et
vestitus tuus byssus, et
sericum
f352 et
variegatus:
f353 similam, et mel, et oleum comedisti, et
pulchra fuisti in valde valde,
f354 et
prospere
f355 progressa es usque ad
regnum.
|
Here the Prophet, in a metaphor, relates other
benefits of God by which he liberally adorned his people; for we know that
nothing has been omitted in God’s pouring forth the riches of his goodness
on the people. And as to the explanations which some give of these female
ornaments allegorically, I do not approve of it, as they fruitlessly conjecture
many trifles which are at variance with each other. First of all, their
conjectures may be refuted by the Prophet’s words: then, if we suffer the
Prophet’s words to be turned and twisted, what these allegorical
interpreters chatter with each other is entirely contrary in their meaning. Let
us, therefore, be content with the genuine sense, that God was so generous
towards the Israelites that he poured forth all his blessings in enriching them.
Now, if one asks how the people were adorned? I answer, in two ways —
first, God embraced them with his favor, and promised to be their God, and this
was their chief honor; as Moses says they were naked, and their shame was
discovered when they set up an idol in the place of God. He now adds a second
kind of blessing, when God took care of them in the desert: he appeared by day
in a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire: the water flowed for them from the
rock; daily food was given them from heaven, as if God with his own hands had
placed it within their mouths: then in his strength they conquered their
enemies, and entered the promised land; while he slew the nations for them, and
gave them quiet possession and dominion there: then he blessed the land, so that
it nourished them abundantly, and made it testify that it was no vain promise
that the land should flow with milk and honey.
(<020317>Exodus
3:17;
<021321>Exodus
13:21, 22;
<021615>Exodus
16:15,16;
<021706>Exodus
17:6;
<022225>Exodus
22:25;
<042011>Numbers
20:11.) Ezekiel includes all these things under
necklaces, bracelets, gold,
silver, linen garments, broidered work, etc. As
to the particular words I will not, accurately insist, unless I shortly touch on
a point or two which may occasion doubt.
When he says that
he clothed
them,
hmqr,
rekmeh, this is in accordance with eastern customs: for they were accustomed
to use clothing of different colors; as Benjamin wore a dress of this kind when
he was a boy; and this was no royal splendor on his father’s part, who was
a shepherd, but simply the usual custom. At this day, indeed, if any one among
us wore a party colored garment, it would not be manly: nay, women who desire
such variety in colors show themselves to have cast off all modesty. But among
the Orientals, as I have said, this was the usual kind of dress. He afterwards
adds, I shod thee with
badgers’ skin. I know not why Jerome
translates it violet-colored, and others hyacinth: it is sufficiently clear that
it was a precious kind of skin. The word is often used by Moses when treating of
the tabernacle; for the coverings were of violet-colored skin, and the whole
tabernacle was covered with them. The badger was an animal unknown to us: but
since he is here treating of shoes, there is no doubt that the skin was more
elegant, and more highly esteemed by God.
(<023523>Exodus
35:23; 36:19.) Afterwards he adds,
I bound thee with fine
linen. We know that linen garments were in more
frequent use among that people than in Greece or in Italy, or in these parts:
for linen was rarely used by the Romans even in their greatest luxury; but in
the East they wore linen, as that region is very warm. But we know that linen is
very fine, and that they were accustomed to weave transparent veils. Now this
clothing was commonly worn by men in the East, though it is by no means manly:
nay, in women it is scarcely tolerable. But the priests afterwards adopted the
custom, and clothed themselves in linen while performing sacred rites. The Papal
priests too — apes in all things — have imitated the custom; and
although they do not wear fine linen, yet use linen robes, which they call
surplices.
He now adds, and
I covered thee with
silk, or silken garments, or silk cloth. He
adds, that he placed
bracelets upon the hands: barbarians call them
armlets. This luxury was spread abroad almost everywhere; but the circular
ornament which the Prophet adds to it was rejected by other nations. He puts a
chain round the
neck: chains were in common use as they are
this day: nay, to necklaces were added looser chains — double, threefold,
and fourfold; for this fault was too common. And what he afterwards adds of the
ring was left to the Orientals, for they had jewels hanging from their nostrils:
and I wonder why interpreters put earrings here, and then instead of earrings
put nose-rings. But the Prophet here means a ring, whence a jewel was hung from
the nose; and this with us is ridiculous and deforming: but in those barbarous
regions both men and women have gems hanging from both their noses and ears. He
adds, a crown on thy
head. He does not mean a diadem or crown as a
sign of royalty, but an ornament sufficiently common.
If any one makes any inquiry about these various
kinds of dresses, whether it was lawful for women to use so many ornaments, the
answer is easy, that the Prophet here does not approve of what he relates, but
uses a common image. We said that his only intention was to show that God could
not have treated his people more freely; since in every way he had unfolded the
incomparable treasures of his beneficence in adorning the Israelites. He now
describes this in a metaphor, and under figures taken from the common practice
everywhere received. It does not follow, therefore, that women ought to adorn
themselves in this way. For we know that superfluous ornaments are temptations;
and we know also the vanity of women, and their ambition to show themselves off,
as the saying is: and we see how sharply this eager desire of women is blamed,
especially by Isaiah. (Isaiah 3.) But it is sufficient to elicit what God wished
to teach by these figures, namely, that he had not omitted any kind of
liberality. Whence it follows, that the people’s ingratitude was the less
excusable, as Ezekiel will immediately add. But before we proceed further, we
must turn this instruction to our use. What has hitherto been said of the
Israelites does not suit us, I confess, in all things: but yet there is some
likeness between us and them. If we reflect upon our origin, we are all born
children of wrath, all cursed, all Satan’s bondsmen,
(<490203>Ephesians
2:3;) and although many have been well brought up, yet as to our spiritual state
we are like infant children or the new-born babe, exposed and immersed in its
own filth and corruption. For what can be found in man before his renewal but
the curse of God? Hence we are such slaves of Satan, that God hates us, as it is
said in Genesis,
(<010607>Genesis
6:7,) I repent of having formed man; where he does not acknowledge his image in
us, which is not only defiled by original sin, but is all but extinct, surely
this is the height of deformity: and though we do not perceive what is said by
our senses, yet we are sufficiently detestable before God and the angels. We
have no cause, then, to please ourselves; nay, if we open our eyes, the foulness
which I have mentioned will be sufficiently clear to us. Meanwhile, God so aided
us that he truly fulfilled what Ezekiel relates. For although we were not freed
from any external tyranny, yet God espoused us: then he adopted us into his
Church: this was our greatest honor; this was more than royal dignity. We see,
then, that this instruction is useful for us also at this time, if we only
consider in what we are like the ancient people. I had almost omitted one point
— the nourishment. God here not only reminds them that he had adorned the
people with various kinds of clothing, and necklaces, and gems, and silver; but
he adds also, you did eat fine
flour, or fine meal, and honey and oil, and you was very beautiful, and
proceeded prosperously, even to a kingdom. Here
God again commends and extols his beneficence, because he not only clothed
sumptuously his spouse of whom he speaks, but also fed her plentifully with the
best, and sweetest, and most delicate food. He puts only three species: he makes
no mention of will or flesh; but by fine flour he means that they lacked no
delicacy: the oil and honey mean the same thing. This clause points out an
accumulation of grace when he says
that they progressed happily even
to a kingdom: all God’s benefits could
not be recounted: he says that his bride was not only magnificently clothed and
delicately brought up, but that
she proceeded even to the royal dignity. In the
next verse he still reminds them of his benefits.
|
EZEKIEL
16:14
|
|
14. And thy renown went forth among the
heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had
put upon thee, says the Lord God.
|
14. Et egressum tibi fuit nomen in gentibus in
pulchritudine tua:
f356 quia perfecta fuisti in decore quem
posueram super te, dicit Dominator Iehovah.
|
Here the Prophet still continues to recite those
blessings of God by which he had bound the people to himself. As to his saying,
that its name had gone
forth, it cannot be restricted to a short
period; but it embraces a continued series of God’s favors until the
people reached the highest point of happiness; and this happened under David.
There is no doubt that God here means that he was so continually liberal towards
the people that their fame became celebrated, for the name of the Israelites
were spread far and wide; and God deservedly recounts their nobility or
celebrity of fame among his benefits: hence he adds,
on account of the beauty or
elegance which I have placed upon thee, says
he; because you was perfect
through the ornament which I had placed upon
thee. Here, therefore, God signifies that the
people had not earned their fame by their own virtue, nor were they noble
through their own native excellence, so to speak; but rather by ornament
bestowed upon them.
You,
therefore, was of great name
among the nations, said he. But wherein was
that nobility and excellence? Certainly from my gifts. For nothing was
accomplished by thyself so to arrive at a name and dignity more than royal.
Through that ornament thy fame
was spread abroad among the nations. But this
enlargement must be noticed, since the people had not only experienced
God’s goodness in that corner of Judea, but, when they ought to be content
with their lot, were held in admiration and repute among foreigners. Now follows
the reproof —
|
EZEKIEL
16:15
|
|
15. But you did trust in your own beauty, and
playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on
every one that passed by: his it was.
|
15. Et confisa es in pulchritudine tua, et
fornicata es pro nomine tuo,
f357 et effudisti fornicationes tuas ad omnem
transeuntem;
f358 illius fuit.
|
Here God begins to expostulate with his people; and
with this view relates all the benefits which for a long time he had bestowed
upon the Israelites, and especially upon the tribe of Judea. The Prophet now
addresses them. Nothing was more unworthy or preposterous than for the Jews to
be proud through the pretext of God’s gifts. But this vice has always been
rife in the world, as it is now too prevalent, and especially among handsome
women; for, though beauty is God’s gift, nine women out of ten who possess
it are proud, and fond of men, and unite lust with elegance of form. This is
quite unworthy of them; but it was customary in all ages, as it is this day: for
we recognize the same in men; for as each excels in anything, so he arrogates to
himself more than he ought, when he exults against God, and is reproachful
towards others. If any one abounds in riches, he immediately gives himself to
luxury and empty pomp; and others abuse them to various perverse, and even
corrupt uses. If any one is endowed with ability, he turns his acuteness to
cunning and fraud; then he plans many devices, as if he wished to mingle earth
and heaven. Thus almost all men profane God’s gifts. But here the Prophet
shows the fountain of this pride, when he says that the Jews
trusted in their own
beauty: for if modesty flourished in us, it
would certainly suffice for restraining all insolence; but when that restraint
has been once thrown off, there is no moderation before either God or man. This
passage, then, is worthy of observation, where God reproves his ancient people
for trusting in their
beauty: because the figure signifies that they
drew their material for pride from the gifts which ought rather to lead them to
piety; for the gifts which we receive from God’s hand ought to be
invitations to gratitude: but we are puffed up by pride; and luxury, so that we
profane God’s gifts, in which his glory ought to shine forth. We must also
observe that God has thus far recited his benefits, that the people’s
ingratitude may appear more detestable: for God gives all things abundantly, and
upbraids not, as James says,
(<590105>James
1:5;) that is, if we acknowledge that we owe all things to him, and thus devote
and consecrate ourselves in obedience to his glory, with the blessings which he
has bestowed upon us. But when God sees us impiously burying and profaning his
gifts, and, through trusting in them, growing insolent, it is not surprising if
he reproves us beyond what is customary. Hence we see that God assumes as it
were another character, when he expostulates with us concerning our ingratitude;
because he willingly acknowledges his gifts in us, and receives them as if they
were our own; as we call that bread ours by which he nourishes us, although it
is compelled to change its nature as far as we are concerned. It always remains
the same in itself; but I speak of external form. God therefore, as it were,
transfigures himself, so as to reprove his own gifts, conferred for the purpose
of our glorying only in him.
(<400711>Matthew
7:11;
<421113>Luke
11:13.)
God afterwards says,
that the people had played the
harlot according to their renown. I have no
doubt that the Prophet alludes to famous harlots who excel in beauty, and
interpreters have not observed this sufficiently; for they do not explain
anything by saying, you have committed fornication in thy name: for as many
lovers flow from all sides in troops towards a famous harlot, so the Prophet
says the Jews were like her; and since they were universally noted, they were
exposed to promiscuous lust, and attracted lovers to themselves. Here the
Prophet condemns two kinds of fornication in the Jews; one consisting in
superstitions and in the multiplication of idols, — the other in perverse
and unlawful treaties: and we know this to be the worst kind of fornication,
when God’s worship is vitiated; for this is our spiritual chastity, if we
worship God purely according to the prescription of his teaching, if we do not
bend to either the right or the left from his commands: so on the other hand, as
soon as we pass the goal fixed by him, we wander like impure harlots, and all
our superstitions are so many acts of defilement. The Prophet begins with the
former kind, when he says that
the Jews had committed fornication, namely,
with their idols. But before he comes to that, he shows that their lust had been
insatiable, since they had so eagerly and ardently approached their various
idols, just as a harlot burns with unsatisfied desire, and is carried hither and
thither, and must have a number of men; so the Prophet here says that the Jews
committed fornication, not with one or two only, but with whomsoever they met;
and this was occasioned by that favor of which we formerly spoke. It now follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
16:16
|
|
16. And of thy garments you did take, and
deckedst thy high places with divers colors, and playedst the harlot thereupon:
the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
|
16. Et sumpsisti e vestibus tuis, et fecisti
tibi excelsa conspersa maculis,
f359 et scortata es cum illis: non
venientes:
f360 deinde et non erit.
|
He says that the Jews erected houses of ill fame for
themselves; and the language is mixed, because the Prophet, expresses simply the
kind of harlotry of which he is speaking, and yet in the meantime mingles
another figure; for he says that
they took garments and made themselves altars.
No doubt he compares the high places to tents, just as if a harlot wished to
attract a number of eyes to herself, and, through desire of a crowd, should
place her standard on a lofty place. So also the Prophet says that the Jews,
when they gave themselves up to fornication,
made high places for
themselves. When he says
high places with different
colors, some refer this to ornaments; yet it
may be taken in a bad sense, since those high places were stained, so that they
could be distinguished from chase and modest dwellings; as if he had said, If
you had been a modest woman, you had remained in retirement at home, as honest
matrons do, and you would not have done anything to attract men to thee; but you
has erected thy high places, like conspicuous houses of ill fame, as if a
female, forgetful of modesty and delicacy, should set up a sign, and show her
house to be open to all, and especially to her own adulterers. It seems to me
that the Prophet intends this; for when he adds,
that they committed fornication
with them, he means doubtless with their
lovers, and all besides; but this is not the sense of the words
twalf
twmb, bemoth telaoth. Now, at the end of the
verse, where he says, they do not
come, and it shall not be, some explain this
part as if the Prophet had said that there was no instance like it in former
ages, and there should be none such hereafter. In this way they understand that
the insane lust of the people is condemned, as if it were a prodigy, such as was
never seen, nor yet to be expected. Others say, that such was the multitude of
high places, that nothing was ever like it; because, although the Gentiles built
idols, and temples, and altars everywhere, yet the Prophet says that the madness
and fury of the people surpassed the intemperance of the Gentiles: — this
is indeed to the purpose. Meanwhile, as to the general scope, it is not of much
consequence; as in the former verse, where he said it shall be theirs,
some understand appetite or desire. But I interpret it more simply — that
she was exposed to every passer-by, and that it was in his power to engage her.
The sense does not seem to me doubtful, because the Jews were so cast out, that
no liberty remained to them, as when a woman becomes abandoned, she is the slave
of all, and all use her disgracefully after that, since she is no longer her own
mistress. Ezekiel now reproves the Jews for the same vice.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that we may
diligently consider in how many ways we are bound to thee, and may deservedly
magnify thy fatherly indulgence towards us, so that in return we may desire to
devote ourselves to thee: Grant also, that as you have adorned us with thy
glory, we may endeavor to glorify thy name, until at length we arrive at the
enjoyment of that eternal glory which you have prepared for us in heaven by
Christ our Lord. — Amen.
LECTURE
FORTY-FOURTH.
|
EZEKIEL
16:17
|
|
17. You has also taken thy fair jewels of my
gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and made to thyself images of
men, and did commit whoredom with them.
|
17. Et sumpsisti vasa pulchritudinis tuae ex
auro meo et ex argento meo quae dederam tibi: et fecisti tibi imagines
masculi,
f361 et scortata es cum
illis.
|
THE Prophet reproves them because they used silver
and gold in making idols for themselves. He not only condemns idolatry, but
ingratitude, since they turned to God’s dishonor the gifts which he had
bestowed. First, the profanation of his gifts was base; besides this, they had
rashly and purposely abused his liberality to his dishonor, and that was not to
be endured. He reproves at the same time their blind intemperance, since they
willingly gave themselves up to licentiousness, and buried themselves in their
superstitions. But he does not say that they simply took gold and silver,
but vessels of elegance or beauty
of gold and silver. Whence it appears that they
were blinded by furious lusts, as we have seen. He still pursues the simile of
fornication, when he calls these manufactured deities
images of
males; and it seems obliquely to mark the
excess of lust in having to do with shadows; by which he means that they were
hurried away about nothing by their unbridled appetites, just as a woman feeds
her passion by the mere picture of her paramour. It now follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
16:18-19
|
|
18. And tookest thy broidered garments, and
coveredst them: and you has set mine oil and mine intense before
them.
|
18. Et
tulisti
f362 vestes tuas
discolores,
f363 et operuisti
eos
f364 et oleum meum, et suffitum meum dedisti
coram ipsis.
f365
|
|
19. My meat also which I gave thee, fine
flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, you has even set it before them
for a sweet savor: and thus it was, says the Lord God.
|
19. Et. panem meum quem dederam tibi, similam,
et oleum, et mel quibus te
cibaveram
f366 etiam dedisti coram ipsis in odorem
quietis: et ita fuit, dicit Dominator Iehovah.
|
Here God complains that the Jews turned their
abundance of all things to perverse worship: for, as a husband who indulges his
wife freely supplies all her wants, so a woman who is immodest was what she has
received from her husband, and bestows it on adulterers; so also the Jews were
prodigal in the worship of idols, and wasted upon them the blessings which God
had bestowed upon them. Ezekiel, therefore, now follows up this sentiment. He
says that they took those
variegated garments, of which we spoke
yesterday, and covered their
idols; just as if an adulteress were to clothe
her paramours in the very garments which she had received from her
husband’s liberality: you
have covered them, he says. He afterwards adds,
you have offered my oil and
incense. Here he speaks more clearly, although
he does not depart far from the figure, for they were accustomed to use oil in
sacrifices; and incense was used by all nations when they wished to propitiate
their deities. There is no doubt that the unbelievers imitated the holy fathers,
but sinfully, because they did not consider the right end. We know that the
fathers used oil in their sacrifices,
(<030201>Leviticus
2:1, and often elsewhere;) we know that incense was prescribed by God’s
law, and it was used promiscuously by all the nations, but without reason and
judgment. So now God complains that they made incense of his herbs, and an
offering of the oil which he had bestowed upon the Jews. He then adds the same
of bread, and fine flour, oil,
and honey. We said yesterday that by these
words ample and delicate food was intended; for by the figure, a part for the
whole, fine flour comprehends the best and sweetest bread, as well as other
viands. Oil and
honey are added. It is then just as if the
Prophet had said that the Jews overflowed with all luxuries, yet consumed them
badly. But this was a mockery not. to be borne, when the Jews, after being
enriched by God’s beneficence, rashly threw it all away, and not only so,
but adorned their false gods to the dishonor of God himself, when they ought to
have offered to him what they wasted upon idols. For this reason he calls it
his own bread, and explains the passage in this sense, that the Jews
could neither ascribe to themselves the abundance of their possessions, nor
boast in the fruitfulness of the soil; for all these things flowed from the mere
benevolence of God. This ingratitude, then, was too foul — to bestow upon
idols what God had given for a far different purpose.
I,
says he, have fed
thee. He shows the legitimate use of
such manifold abundance. Since they abounded in wheat, whence they obtained fine
flour, and were stuffed full of other delicacies, they thought to be elevated
towards God, and to exercise themselves in the duties of gratitude; but they
abused that abundance in adorning false deities.
You have offered it to
them, therefore,
for a savor of
peace. Rest no doubt signifies appeasing here,
as frequently with Moses, though others translate “for an odor of
sweetness;” but they do not sufficiently express the meaning of Moses; for
he means that when God is appeased there is peace between himself and men.
(<030309>Leviticus
3:9, 13, 17, and often.) There is no doubt that “the odor of quiet”
signifies a just expiation, by which God is appeased, so that he receives men
into favor. This is everywhere said of the sacrifices of the law, since there
was no other means by which men could be reconciled to God, unless by offering
sacrifices according to his command. Now the Prophet transfers this ironically
to their impious worship, when he says that they offered to idols all the
delicacies by which God nourishes his people. To what purpose?
for a sweet
savor; that is, that they may be propitious to
you. But it was ridiculous to wish to appease gods of stone and wood and silver.
We see then how Ezekiel reproves the people’s folly, when he says, that
they offered both fine flour and
other things to their idols to reconcile
themselves to them. Now the crime is increased since the Jews did not recognize
that singular blessing of being so reconciled to God, that he no longer imputed
their sins to them. Woe indeed to us if we are destitute of this remedy! because
we constantly commit various faults, and are thus subject to God’s
judgments. Unless, then, God receives us into favor, we see that nothing can be
more miserable for us. But he has prescribed a fixed and easy rule by which he
will be appeased, namely, by sacrifices — I am speaking of the fathers who
lived under the law: for we know that we of this day must flee to the only
sacrifice of Christ, which the sacrifices of the law shadowed forth. Since,
therefore, the Jews could return to God’s favor, and bury all their sins,
and redeem themselves from the curse, how great was their madness in willingly
depriving themselves of so inestimable a boon! Hence the Prophet now rebukes
this folly, when he says that they propitiated their idols that they might
appease them. He concludes at length,
and it was so, says the Lord
Jehovah. Here God takes away all occasion for
their turning aside, when he says it was so; for we know that men always have
various pretenses by which they lay the blame on some other parties, or soften
it off, or cover it with some disguise. But God here says that there is no
occasion for dispute, since the matter is perfectly plain. We see, then, that
this word is used emphatically, when he says
I am the
Lord; for, if Ezekiel had announced it, they
would not have listened to him; but God himself comes before them, and cuts off
all excuses from the Jews. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:20
|
|
20. Moreover, you has taken thy sons and thy
daughters, whom you has born unto me, and these has you sacrificed unto them to
be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter?
|
20. Et sumpsisti filios tuos, et filias tuas
quos genueras mihi: et jugulasti
eos f367
ad
comedendum:
f368 an parum a scortationibus
tuis?
|
Here God blames them for another crime, that of
sacrificing their offspring to idols. This was a very blind superstition, by
which parents put off the sense of humanity. It is indeed a detestable prodigy
when a father rejects his children, and has no regard or respect for them. Even
philosophers place among the principles of nature those affections which they
call natural affections.
F369 When, therefore, the affection of a
father towards his children ceases, which is naturally implanted in all our
hearts, then a man becomes a monster indeed. But not only did an inconsiderate
fury seize upon the Jews, but, by slaying their own offspring, they thought that
they obeyed God, as at this day the Papists are content with the name of good
intentions, and do not think that any offering can be rejected if it be only
daubed over with the title of either good intention or zeal for good. Such also
was the confidence of the Jews; but, as I have said, we see that they were
seized with a diabolic fury when they slew their sons and daughters. Abraham
prepared to offer his son to God, but he had a clear command.
(<012209>Genesis
22:9, 10, and
<581119>Hebrews
11:19.)
Then we know that his obedience was founded on faith,
because he was certainly persuaded, as the Apostle says, that a new offspring
could spring up from the ashes of his son. Since, therefore, he extols the power
of God as equal to this effect, he did not hesitate to slay his son. But since
these wretches slew their sons without a command, they must be deservedly
condemned for prodigious madness. The Prophet therefore now brings this crime
before us: that they had taken,
their sons and their daughters, and slew them to
idols. He now adds, to consume them, since it
is probable, and may be collected from various passages, that the sons were not
always slain, but there were two kinds of
offerings.
F370 Sometimes they either slew their sons or
cast them alive into the fire and burnt them as victims. Sometimes they carried
them round and passed them through the fire, so that they received them safe
again. But God here shows that he treats of that barbarous and cruel offering,
since they did not spare their sons.
In this sense he adds,
that they slew their sons to eat
them up, or consume them. But another
exaggeration of their crime is mentioned, when God expostulates concerning the
insult offered: thou, says he,
hath slain thy sons and
daughters, but they are mine also, for you
barest them to me. Here God places himself in the position of a parent, because
he had adopted the people as his own: the body of the people was as it were his
spouse or wife. All their offspring were his sons, since, if God’s treaty
with the people was a marriage, all who sprung from the people ought to be
esteemed his children. God therefore calls those his sons who were thus slain,
just as if a husband should reproach his wife with depriving him of their common
children. God therefore not only blames their cruelty and superstition, but adds
also that he was deprived of his children. But this, as is well known, is a most
atrocious kind of injury. For who does not prefer his own blood to either
fields, or merchandise, or money? As children are more precious than all goods,
so a father is more grievously injured if children are taken away, as God here
pronounces that he had done: you
had born them unto me, says he. Hence sacrilege
was added to idolatry when you did deprive me of them. He will soon call them
again his own in the same sense. A question arises here, how God reckons among
his sons those who were complete strangers to him? He had said in the beginning
of the chapter
(<260103>Ezekiel
1:3) that the people derived their origin from the Amorites and Hittites, since
they had declined from the piety of Abraham and the other fathers. Since then
the Jews were cast off while they were in Egypt, and after that had been such
breakers of the covenant as the Prophet had thus far shown, were they not
aliens? Yes; but God here regards his covenant, which was inviolable and could
not be rendered void by man’s perfidy. The Jews, then, of whom the Prophet
now speaks, could no longer bear children to God: for he said that the body of
the people was like a foul harlot, who walks about and turns round and seeks
vague and promiscuous meetings. Since it was so, the children whom such
idolaters bore were spurious, instead of being worthy of such honor that God
should call them his sons: this is true with respect to them, but as concerns
the covenant, they are called sons of God. And this is worthy of observation,
because in the Papacy such declension has grown up through many ages, that they
have altogether denied God. Hence they have no connection with him, because they
have corrupted his whole worship by their sacrilege, and their religion is
vitiated in so many ways, that it differs in nothing from the corruption’s
of the heathen. And yet it is certain that a portion of God’s covenant
remains among them, because although they have cut themselves off from God and
altogether abandoned him by their perfidy, yet God remains faithful.
(<450303>Romans
3:3, 4.) Paul, when he speaks of the Jews, shows that God’s covenant with
them is not abolished, although the greater part of the people had utterly
abandoned God. So also it must be said of the papists, since it was not in their
power to blot out God’s covenant entirely, although with regard to
themselves, as I have said, they are without it; and show by their obstinacy
that they are the sworn enemies of God. Hence it arises, that our baptism does
not need renewal, because although the Devil has long reigned in the papacy, yet
he could not altogether extinguish God’s grace: nay, a Church is among
them; for otherwise Paul’s prophecy would have been false, when he says
that Antichrist was seated in the temple of God.
(<530204>2
Thessalonians 2:4.) If in the papacy there had been only Satan’s dungeon
or brothel, and no form of a Church had remained in it, this had been a proof
that Antichrist did not sit in the temple of God. But this, as I have said,
exaggerates their crime, and is very far from enabling them to erect their
crests as they do. For when they thunder out with full cheeks — “We
are the Church of God,” or, “The seat of the Church is with
us,” — the solution is easy; the Church is indeed among them, that
is, God has his Church there, but hidden and wonderfully preserved: but it does
not follow that they are worthy of any honor; nay, they are more detestable,
because they ought to bear sons and daughters to God: but they bear them for the
Devil and for idols, as this passage teaches. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
16:21
|
|
21. That you has slain my children, and
delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?
|
21. Et maetasti filios meos, et posuisti eos
ut transirent illis.
F371
|
He strengthens the same sentence, and more clearly
explains that they offered their sons and daughters by cruelly sacrificing them
when they passed them through the fire. This was a kind of purifying, as we have
seen elsewhere. When, therefore, they passed their children through the fire, it
was a rite of illustration and expiation; and they brought them to the fire, as
I have lately explained, in two different ways. Here the Prophet speaks
especially of that cruel and brutal offering. We have already mentioned the
sense in which God claims a right in the sons of his people, not as members of
the Church properly speaking, but as adopted by God. And here again we must hold
what Paul says, that all the progeny of Abraham were not lawful sons, since a
difference must be made between sons of the flesh and sons of promise.
(<450907>Romans
9:7, 8.) This is as yet partially obscure, but it may be shortly explained. We
may remark that there was a twofold election of God: since speaking generally,
he chose the whole family of Abraham. For circumcision was common to all, being
the symbol and seal of adoption: since when God wished all the sons of Abraham
to be circumcised from the least to the greatest, he at the same time chose them
as his sons: this was one kind of adoption or election. But the other was
secret, because God took to himself out of that multitude those whom he wished:
and these are sons of promise, these are remnants of gratuitous favor, as Paul
says.
(<451108>Romans
11:8.) This distinction, therefore, now takes away all doubt, since the Prophet
speaks of the unbelievers and the profane who had departed from the worship of
God. For this their unbelief was a complete abdication. It is true, then, that
as far as themselves were concerned, they were strangers, and so God’s
secret election did not flourish in them, but yet they were God’s people,
as far as relates to external profession. If any one objects that this
circumcision was useless, and hence their election without the slightest effect,
the answer is at hand: God by his singular kindness honored those miserable ones
by opening a way of approach for them to the hope of life and salvation by the
outward testimonies of adoption. Then as to their being at the same time
strangers, that happened through their own fault. Hence we may shortly hold,
that the Jews were naturally accursed through being Adam’s seed: but by
supernatural and singular privilege, they were exempt and free from the curse:
since circumcision was a testimony of the adoption by which God had consecrated
them to himself: hence they were holy; and as to their being impure, it could
not, as we have said, abolish God’s covenant. The same thing ought at this
time to prevail in the Papacy. For we are all born under the curse: and yet God
acknowledges supernaturally as his sons all who spring from the faithful, not
only in the first or second degree, but even to a thousand generations. And so
Paul says that the children of the faithful are holy, since baptism does not
lose its efficacy, and the adoption of God remains fixed,
(<460714>1
Corinthians 7:14,) yet the greater part is without the covenant through their
own unbelief. God meanwhile has preserved to himself a remnant in all ages, and
at this day he chooses whom he will out of the promiscuous
multitude.
Now let us go on. I had omitted at the end of the
last verse the phrase, Are thy
fornications a small matter? By this
question God wishes to press the Jews home, since they had not only violated
their conjugal fidelity by prostituting themselves to idols, but had added the
cruelty which we have seen in slaying their sons. Lastly, he shows that their
impiety was desperate.
|
EZEKIEL
16:22
|
|
22. And in all your abominations and thy
whoredoms you has not remembered the days of thy youth, when you was naked and
bare, and was polluted in thy blood.
|
22. Et in omnibus abominationibus tuis et
scortationibus tuis non recordata es dierum adolescentiae tuae, cum tu esses
nuda et discooperta, et foedata in sanguinibus tuis esses.
|
Here God accommodates to his own ends what he has
hitherto related, namely, the extreme wickedness and baseness of the
people’s ingratitude in thus prostituting themselves to idols. Hence he
recalls to mind their condition when he espoused them. For if the wretched
slavery from which they had been delivered had been present to their mind, they
had not been so blinded with perverse confidence, nor had they exulted in their
lasciviousness. But since they had forgotten all God’s benefits, they
became lascivious, and prostrated themselves to foul idolatries, and provoked
God in every way. Now the Prophet proves this when he says,
behold, through these
abominations the people did not remember their
youth. Whence happens it that impure and
lustful women thus despise their husbands, unless through being blinded by their
own beauty? And since they do not recognize their own disgrace, they please
themselves in foul loves, as says the Prophet Hosea,
(<280205>Hosea
2:5.) Such then was the self-confidence of the, Jews, that they pleased
themselves by their beauty and ornaments: though God’s glory and
brightness shone forth in them, yet they did not perceive the source of their
dignity; and hence the addition of ingratitude to pride.
You have not remembered, says he,
the days of thy youth, when you was naked, and bare, and defiled in thy
blood. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:23-25
|
|
23. And it came to pass, after all thy
wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! says the Lord God,)
|
23. Et fuit post omnem malitiam tuam, Vae vae
tibi, dicit Dominator Iehovah.
|
|
24. That you has also built unto thee an
eminent place, and has made thee an high place in every street.
|
24. Et aedificasti tibi excelsum, et fecisti
tibi excelsum in omni platea.
F372
|
|
25. You has built thy high place at every head
of the way, and has made thy beauty to be abhorred, and has opened thy feet to
every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.
|
25. Ad omne
caput
f373 viae aedificasti excelsum tuum: et
abominabilem fecisti tuam pulchritudinem: et
divaricasti f374
pedes tuos omni transeunti, et multiplicasti
tuas scortationes.
|
The first verse is variously explained. Some read the
clause separately, ˚t[r lk
yrja yhyw, vihi achri kel regnethek —
it was after all thy
wickedness: and they think that God threatens
the Jews here as he did in Hosea,
(<280209>Hosea
2:9,10.) For after God had there complained that his wool and his flax had been
taken away, and offered as gifts to idols, he afterwards adds, I will demand all
things back again, and then all thy beauty shall be taken from thee, and thy
nakedness shall be laid bare, so that you shall be deservedly ashamed. Thus then
they explain these words, that the condition of the Jews should be as it
formerly was; as if he had said in one word, I will so avenge myself, that
whether you will or not, you shall be compelled to feel the disgrace of your
nakedness, since I will manifest it again. But this sense seems forced;
therefore I unite it with the remainder of the verse which follows it. Thus then
the language of the Prophet flows on:
and it was after all thy
wickedness that you built a high place for thyself — you made for thyself
a lofty place in every street: there are two
different words, but the sense is the same:
you did set up thy high places in
all the principal ways, and so, says he,
thy beauty became
abominable. But this is inserted by way of
parenthesis, Alas! alas for
thee! This exclamation is abruptly interposed.
But, at the same time, I have no doubt that these things all adhere together,
since the Jews added sin to sin, and never made an end of sinning. He says,
therefore, after they had been perfidious and ungrateful to God, after they had
basely devoted all they had to perverse worship, then this new crime was added,
that they had erected high places
in every street and in every path.
If any one objects that this was not a greater crime
than others, the answer is easy, that God does not speak of one high place only,
or of one altar, but he comprehends all the signs of idolatry by which they had
infected the land; for it was the height of impudence to erect everywhere the
standard of their superstitions. For every high place and every altar was a
testimony of their backsliding; just as if they had openly boasted that they
would not magnify the worship of the law, and intended purposely to overthrow
whatever God had prescribed. God therefore, not without cause, burns with wrath
because the Jews had erected high
places and altars everywhere. Now, then, we
understand the Holy Spirit’s meaning as far as these words are concerned.
It is added, after all thy
wickedness, says he; that is, in addition to
all thy crimes, this sin and impudence is added, that you have built not only
one, but innumerable high places
in every street, nay, in every
pathway of importance, that is, in the most
celebrated places. For the heads of the pathways are the most conspicuous
places, and whatever is done there is more exposed to the eyes of
all.
We must now notice the exclamation which is
interposed. Alas! alas! for thee,
says the Lord Jehovah. Since the Jews, through
their sloth, were not at all attentive to the reproofs of the prophets, that God
might waken them up, he here pronounces his curse twice. It is clear that they
were not moved by it: but this vehemence tended to their severer condemnation,
since, though they were drowned and sunk in deep sleep, yet they might be raised
by this formidable voice. There is no doubt that they applauded themselves for
their own superstitions; but it is on that account profitable to estimate the
weight of these words of God. For we gather from hence, that when idolaters
indulge in their own fictions, and think themselves entirely free from blame,
the word of God is sufficient, by which he thunders against them, saying,
alas! alas! for
thee. Hence men cease to judge according to
their own notions, and are rather attentive to the sentence of God, and
acknowledge his curse passing on them when they think that they are rightly
discharging the duty of piety in worshipping idols.
He now adds,
that he made their beauty to be
abhorred. I have no doubt that the Prophet
alludes to the filthiness of abandoned women; and even the Latins called them
“worn out,” whose foulness arises from their utterly giving
themselves up to every wickedness. The Prophet then says that the people were
not only like an abandoned woman who engages in impure amours, but that their
conduct was gross in the extreme; for though many gratify improper desires
through intemperate lust, yet they fastidiously reject those foul and shameless
females who are notorious for profligacy. The Prophet means, then, that the
people had come to such a pitch of abomination, just as the most abandoned of
the sex. He now adds, you have
spread thy feet to every passer-by, and have multiplied thy fornications.
This is taken also from the conduct of harlots
and confirms what we have already explained, that the Jews indulged not only in
one kind of idolatry, but were prone to all abominations, like females who beset
the paths, and address all they meet, and not only so, but shamelessly
spread their
feet everywhere to entice
admirers.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since you desire to
receive us not only into confidence and dependence, but to the condition of
sons, that we may worship thee with sacred love, and revere thee through our
whole life as a Father; and may we so submit ourselves to thee as to feel thy
covenant firm and sacred towards us; and may we experience that you never call
men to thee in vain, so long as they obey thee and respond to thy promises;
until at length we enjoy that blessedness which is laid up for us in heaven,
through Christ our Lord. — Amen.
LECTURE
FORTY-FIFTH
|
EZEKIEL
16:26
|
|
26. You has also committed fornication with
the Egyptians thy neighbors, great of flesh; and has increased thy whoredoms, to
provoke me to anger.
|
26. Et scortata es cum fills AEgypti vicinis
tuis magnis carne: et multiplicasti scortationes tuas ad irritandum
me.
|
I MENTIONED at the beginning of the chapter, that the
Prophet blames the Jews not for one single kind of fornication, but for two
different kinds. Interpreters do not observe this, but think that the Prophet is
always discoursing of idols and superstitions. But if we prudently weigh all the
circumstances, what I have said will not appear doubtful, namely, that the Jews
were condemned not only for vitiating the worship of God by their perverse
fictions, but for flying, now to the Egyptians, now to the Assyrians, and thus
involving themselves in unlawful covenants. It is a very common method with the
Prophets to call such covenants fornications: for as a wife ought to lie under
the shadow of her husband, so God wished the Jews to be content under his
protection. But as soon as any danger frightened them, they fled tremblingly to
either Egypt, or Assyria, or Chaldea. We see, then, that they had in some sense
renounced God’s help, since they could not rest under his protection, but
were hurried hither and thither by vague impulse. After the Prophet had
inveighed against their superstitions, he now approaches another crime, namely,
the Jews implicating themselves in forbidden treaties. He begins with Egypt. God
had clearly forbidden the elect people to have any dealings with Egypt. Even if
God had not made known the reason, yet they ought to have obeyed his command.
But I have already explained the reason why God was unwilling that the
Israelites should enter into any covenant with the Egyptians, because he wished
to try their faith and patience, and if they would fly to his help when any
danger pressed upon them, as the saying is, like a sacred anchor. There was also
another reason, because from the time when God drew his people out from thence,
he wished them separated from that nation which had raged so cruelly against
their miserable guests. As far as the Chaldmans and Assyrians are concerned, the
former reason prevailed thus far, that it was not lawful for them to distrust
God’s aid in their dangers.
Now, therefore, we understand the Prophet’s
meaning when he says, that the
Jews had committed fornication with the sons of
Egypt. He adds, they were gross in
flesh. He means that they were foul and immodest, and were inflamed with
disgraceful lust.
F375 He uses a grosser simile by and by, for
the perfidy of this detestable people could not be sufficiently condemned. The
Prophet here says reproachfully,
you have committed fornication
with the Egyptians, as a licentious woman
acting most basely. He adds, you
have multiplied thy fornications: he speaks to
the people under the character of a woman, as we have formerly seen: to irritate
me. Here the Prophet takes away all excuse for error from the impious people. He
says, therefore, since they so wandered after these impure desires, that they
had not fallen through ignorance, since they knew well enough what God had
commanded in his law. And there is no doubt that they darkened their own minds,
as the impious always dig hiding-places for themselves, and have specious
pretexts, by which they not only hide their malice before men, but also deceive
themselves. Hence it is probable that the Jews were not free from such
pretenses. But, on the other hand, we must remark that they were abundantly
instructed by God’s law what was lawful and right. Since, therefore,
through neglect of the law they were so ravenous in impious desires, the Prophet
says that they had purposely and designedly entered into a contest with God. For
if any one raises the question whether it is lawful to enter into an alliance
with the impious, the answer is easy, that we must beware of all alliances which
may couple us under the same yoke; for we are naturally enough inclined towards
all vices: and when we invent fresh occasions for sin we tempt God. And when any
one joins himself in too great familiarity with the impious, it is just like
using a fan to inflame his corrupt affections, which, as I have said, were
already sufficiently flagrant in his mind. We must take care, therefore, as far
as we can, not to make agreements with the impious. But, if necessity compels
us, this conduct cannot be thought wrong in itself, as we see that Abraham
entered into an agreement with his neighbors, though their religion was
different.
(<012127>Genesis
21:27,32.) But because he could not otherwise obtain peace, that was a kind of
agreement by which Abraham hoped to acquire peace for himself.
(<011413>Genesis
14:13;
<235102>Isaiah
51:2.) Nor did he hesitate to use the assistance of allies when he succored his
nephew. But if we seek the principle and the cause which induced Abraham to
enter into a treaty with his neighbors, we shall find his intention to be
nothing else but to dwell at home in peace, and to be safe from all injury. He
was solitary, as Isaiah calls him: he had, indeed, a numerous family, but no
offspring; and hence he could not escape making treaties with his neighbors. But
when the Lord placed the people in the land of Canaan on the condition of
defending them there, of protecting them on all sides, and of opposing all their
foes, we see them enclosed, as it were, by his protection, so as to render all
treaties useless; since they could not treat with either the Egyptians or the
Assyrians without at the same time withdrawing themselves from God’s
aid.
As far as we are concerned, I have said that we have
more freedom, if we are only careful that the lusts of the flesh do not entice
us to seek alliances which may entangle us in the sins of others; for it is
difficult to retain the favor of those with whom we associate, unless we
entirely agree with them. If they are impious, they will draw us into contempt
of God and adulterous rites, and so it will happen that one evil will spring
from another. Nothing, therefore, is better than to reef our sails, and to look
to God alone, and to have our minds fixed on him, and not to allow any kind of
alliance, unless necessity compels us. And though we must prudently take care
that no condition be mingled with it which may draw us off from the pure and
sincere worship of God, since the devil is always cleverly plotting against the
sons of God, and draws them into hidden snares. When, therefore, we are about to
contract an alliance, we should always take care lest our liberty be in any
degree abridged, and lest we be drawn aside by stealthy and concealed arts from
the simple worship of God. It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:27
|
|
27. Behold, therefore I have stretched out my
hand over thee, and have diminished your ordinary food, and delivered thee unto
the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistilles, which are
ashamed of thy lewd way.
|
27. Et ecce, extendi manum meam super te, et
diminui demensum tuum, et tradidi te
desiderio
f376 earum quae te oderant filiarum
Philistim, quae pudefactae sunt a viis tuis
sceleris.
F377
|
Here God reproves the hardness of the Jews because
admonition did not render them wise. The common proverb aptly says, “fools
grow wise only by the rod;” and when their obstinacy is such that the rod
does no good, their faults are indeed desperate. Hence God complains, when he
had chastised the Jews, that even this did not profit them, for they were so
perverse that they did not apply their minds to reflect upon their sins. For
God’s blows ought to rouse us up, so that our faults previously hidden
ought to be brought to light and knowledge; but when we champ the bit, and are
not affected by the blows, then our abandoned disposition is made manifest. Now
the Prophet condemns this obstinacy in the Jews:
I have
extended, says he,
my hand over
thee. He now enumerates two kinds of
chastisement, first, when God deprived the Jews of the abundance of the
possessions by which they were enriched; and then because he had subjected them
to the lust of their enemies. Those who translate justification as Jerome does,
depart from the sense of the Prophet:
qj,
chek, signifies, indeed, a statute and edict, and he explains it of the
law. But how will this agree with the Prophet’s retaining the simile
already used? for he compares God to a husband. God now pronounces
that he had taken away their
appointed portion, when he saw himself a
laughingstock through his impure wife; that is, what he had intended for both
food and clothing: for husbands spend a fixed sum on their wives in food,
clothing, and ornament. And God previously recounted, among other things, that
what he had conferred upon the Jews they had spent in superstitions. Hence, for
this reason, he now says, I have
taken away their allotted portion, that is,
what I had assigned to them. This was one part of the chastisement: for he
compares the fruitfulness of the land and other advantages to the portion which
the husband assigns to the wife.
Now the other chastisement follows — their
being harassed by their enemies; for not only did the Jews find themselves
encompassed by the Philistines, but they were delivered up and bound to slavery,
as Moses says,
(<053230>Deuteronomy
32:30,) How, then, could one vanquish ten, and ten chase a thousand, unless we
had been shut up in his hand? He shows, therefore, that our enemies are never
our superiors unless God enslaves us to them. But those who do not calmly
subject themselves to God’s command, but are refractory, are delivered
into the enemy’s hand, that their contumacy may be subdued by severe
tyranny. Now we understand what the Prophet means by this verse: he enlarges
upon the people’s wickedness in not turning to God, though they felt by
clear experience that they were under a curse. They ought to examine their
lives, to groan before God, to acknowledge their fault, and to beg for pardon:
since no feeling was awakened, the Prophet gathers that their obstinacy was
desperate. This passage is worthy of our notice, that we may be attentive to
God’s chastisements. Whenever God even raises his finger and threatens us,
let us know that he is anxious for our safety: hence in our turn let us rouse
ourselves and implore his pity, and especially let us repent of our sins by
which we see his anger to have been enflamed.
(<240230>Jeremiah
2:30.) But if we remain slothful, we see that no excuse for us remains, since
God elsewhere complains that he is trifled with, when he has chastised his
children in vain. Here,
çpn,
nepish, the soul is used for lust or desire, as I have explained it. It
follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:28
|
|
28. You has played the where also with the
Assyrians, because you was unsatiable; yea, you has played the harlot with them,
and yet couldest not be satisfied.
|
28. Et scortara es cum fills
Assur,
f378 quia, non esse satietatem
tibi,
f379 scortata es inquam cum illis, et ne sic
quidem fuisti satiata.
|
I interpret this verse also of the covenant by which
the Jews had entangled themselves, when they willingly joined themselves to the
Assyrians; for this was a sure sign of distrust, when they so desired foreign
aid, as if they had been deprived of God’s protection. And it would be
absurd to explain this verse of idolatries, since the prophets were not
accustomed to speak in this way, that the people committed fornication with the
Assyrians, because they imitated their superstitions and perverse worship. As,
therefore, we formerly saw that the Jews had defiled themselves with idols, and
prostituted themselves to impious ceremonies, forgetful of God’s law; so
now the Prophet accuses them of a different kind of pollution, since they
eagerly sought for aid from all quarters, as if God had not sufficient strength
for their protection. For otherwise there was no religious reason for their not
making peace with the Assyrians; but when they saw themselves oppressed by the
kings of Israel and Syria, then they thought of sending for the Assyrians; and
this was like thrusting God from his place.
(<121607>2
Kings 16:7-9.) For God was willing to defend the land with extended wings, and
to cherish the Jews as a hen does her brood, as Moses says,
(<053211>Deuteronomy
32:11.) Now, in thinking themselves exposed to any danger, they really throw off
the help of God. It is not surprising, then, that the Prophet says,
that they had polluted themselves
with the Assyrians, because they were not
satisfied. He pursues the simile on which we
have dwelt sufficiently; for he blames the Jews for their insatiable lust, just
as when a woman is not content with a single follower, and attracting a crowd
obtrudes herself without modesty or delicacy, and sells herself to wickedness.
Such was the licentiousness of the Jews, that they united many acts of pollution
together. They had already departed from the true faith in making a treaty with
the Egyptians, and they added another imagination, that it was useful to have
the Assyrians in alliance with them: hence that unbridled lust which the Prophet
metaphorically rebukes. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:29
|
|
29. You has moreover multiplied thy
fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet you was not satisfied
herewith.
|
29. Et
multiplicasti f380
scortationes tuas super terram Chanaan in
Chaldaea, et ne in hoc quidem fuisti satiata.
|
Here the Prophet teaches that the Jews were
immoderate in their desires, just as if a woman was not satisfied with two or
three followers, should wantonly crave after many lovers: such, says the
Prophet, was the Jews’ licentiousness. As to his saying, over the land of
Canaan in Chaldaea, some think it means, that they heaped up the impure rites of
all the nations, and not only defiled themselves with the ancient. idolatries of
the nations of Canaan, but imitated the Chaldaeans in their impiety. Others say
in Chaldea, which is next to the land of Canaan; but this comment, like the
last, is too forced: others take
la,
al, comparatively, for “through” the land of Canaan. But I
only understand it as a particle expressing likeness,
thus, you have multiplied thy
pollution’s in Chaldaea just as in the land of
Canaan. It is not surprising if they defiled
themselves with their neighbors, as the Prophet had formerly said they did with
the Egyptians, but when they ran about to a remote region of the world, this
indeed was most remarkable. This then seems the real sense, and it reads
best, that they increased
their defilement in Chaldaea as in the land of
Canaan. For if a female meets with a stranger
she may act sinfully without so much disgrace, but when she runs about to a
distance to seek followers, this proves her most abandoned. I have no doubt that
the Prophet here exaggerates the people’s crimes by comparison, since they
penetrated even to the Chaldaeans to pollute themselves among them. He says
that the Jews were not satisfied
even with this, using the same expression as
when treating of the Assyrians. The sum of the whole is, that the Jews were
seized with such a furious impulse that they manifested no moderation in their
wickedness. For they had not revolted from God once only, or in one direction:
but wherever occasion offered, they were accustomed to seize it too eagerly, so
that they showed in this way that not even a drop of piety remained in their
minds. Let us learn then from this passage to put the bridle on cur lusts in
time: for when the fire is lighted up, it is not easily extinguished, and the
devil is always supplying wood or adding oil to the furnace, as the phrase is.
Let us then prevent the evil which is here condemned in the Jews, and let us
restrain ourselves, lest the devil seize upon us with insane fury. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
16:30
|
|
30. How weak is your heart, says the Lord God,
seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish
woman.
|
30. Quam
molle
f381 est cor tuum! dicit Dominator Iehovah,
cum facis hoc totum opus mulieris meretricis
robustae.
F382
|
The Prophet seems at variance with himself when he
compares the Jews to a robust or very strong woman, and yet says that their
heart was dissolute. For those who translate an obstinate heart are without a
reason for it, for this seems to imply some kind of resistance, as they were
strong and bold, and yet of a soft or weak or infirm heart. But in the despisers
of God both evils are to be blamed when they flow away like water and yet are
hard as rocks. They flow away, then, when there is no strength or constancy in
them; for they are drawn aside this way and that, as some explain it, by a
distracted heart, but we must always come to the idea of softness. All who
revolt from God are borne along by their own levity, so that the minds of the
impious are changeable and moveable: for the heart is here taken for the seat of
the intellect, as in many other places. Hence the Prophet accuses the Jews of
sloth, but under the name of a dissolute heart: as in French we say un coeur
lasche, and the Prophet’s sense is best explained by that French word
— faint-hearted. But it is sufficient to understand the Prophet’s
meaning, that the Jews were unstable, and agitated and distracted hither and
thither, since there was nothing in them either firm or solid. Meanwhile he
compares them to a strong and abandoned woman, since we know the boldness of the
despisers of God in sinning against him. Since then they are dissolute, because
they have no power of attention, and nothing is stable in their minds: yet they
are like rocks, and carry themselves audaciously, and do not hesitate to strive
with God. Although therefore these two states of mind appear contrary in their
nature, yet we may always see them in the reprobate, though in different ways.
Thus he properly calls the Jews not only a robust or abandoned woman, but
“a high and mighty dame,” as it may best be rendered in French,
une maitresse putain ou
painarde.
F383 It is forced to explain the word
“lofty,” as taking license for her desires. I do not hesitate to
interpret it of the people being like dissolute women, who throw aside all
modesty, and seek lovers from all quarters, and entertain them all. This is the
Prophet’s sense. It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:31
|
|
31. In that you build your eminent place in
the head of every way, and makest your high place in every street; and has not
been as an harlot, in that you scornest hire.
|
31. Cum extulisti sublime tuum in capite omnis
viae, et excelsum tuum fecisti in omni celebri loco: et non fuisti tanquam
meretrix ad spernendum munus.
|
Here the Prophet again reproves the superstitions to
which the Jews had devoted themselves: but yet he speaks figuratively, because
by high places he does not simply mean altars, but tents by which the Jews had
attempted to entice their neighbors: just as if an immodest female should choose
a high place, and build her couch there conspicuously to attract her followers.
Although therefore he inveighs against superstitions, the language is not
simple, but retains the same simile as had been previously used. He says that
the Jews were so prone to lust, that they were ostentatious and thought
followers from a distance, and erected their tents or couches in high places.
Since this has been treated before, I now pass it over slightly. But we may
remark that a thing which seems of slight importance is here seriously condemned
by the Prophet, whence we may learn that the worship of God is not to be
estimated by our natural perception. For who would think it so great a crime to
build an altar on a high place to God’s honor? but we see that the Prophet
abhors that. superstition. Since therefore God wishes nothing to be changed in
his worship, as the principal part of his worship is obedience, which he prefers
to all sacrifices,
(<091522>1
Samuel 15:22,) let us learn that things which we might tolerate ought to be
detested by us, because God condemns them so severely.
Since therefore you have erected
and made for thyself a high place at the head of all streets and
paths, that is in every celebrated place. Here
we see how ardently they were enflamed by idolatry so as to provoke the anger of
God, and this seemed unworthy of them, as the papists at this day, who are bent
upon idol worship, and under the title of “devotion,” think that any
vice both can and ought to be excused before God. But, on the other side, the
Holy Spirit says that idolaters sin the more grievously in being so eager for
those impure rites. He says, you
was not like a harlot in despising hire. Some
explain this coldly, that harlots mentally despise the folly of those who reward
them, but this comment is incorrect: the other view is more probable, namely,
that the Jews were not like a harlot who despises the bribe by which she is
deceived: for by this craftiness they gain most influence when they
contemptuously despise what is offered them, and scarcely deign to touch it:
they do this that the wretched lover may not think himself sufficiently liberal,
and so may double his gift and squander away all his goods. This passage then
may mean that the people were not like a harlot who despises her reward that the
wretched lover may feel ashamed and increase his offer. But the Prophet’s
sense seems to me different, though I do not altogether reject this. I interpret
it thus: the Jews were not like a harlot, since they despised any reward for
their sin, and harlots do not: they make a gain of their lusts, whence the name
they bear. Since then such persons sell themselves for reward, the Prophet
say’s that the Jews were not like them: how so? because they despised
reward, and through the mere desire of gratifying their appetites, they neither
asked nor expected any reward. Afterwards it follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:32
|
|
32. But as a wife that committeth adultery,
which taketh strangers instead of her husband!
|
32. Mulier adultera loco viri sui sumit
extraneos.
|
Some translate it an adulteress under her
husband’s roof, and
tjt,
thecheth, signifies “instead of:” and they explain it thus,
that adulteresses do not divorce themselves from their husbands when they
violate the marriage bond, but always remain at home for the purpose of
admitting strangers; and they think the people’s crime increased by this
comparison, that they not only acted deceitfully towards God, but openly
revolted from him, and left his home; for many shameless women remain at home,
and hide their crimes as far as they can; but when a woman deserts her husband
and children, then her case is most deplorable: they think, therefore, that the
Prophet is here exaggerating the divorce or revolt of the people from God; but
the sense seems better simply to compare them to an adulteress who admits
strangers in her husband’s stead:
thou
art says he,
an adulteress who has sent
for strange lovers instead of thy husband: for
a woman married to a liberal husband is treated by him honorably; and if she
seeks lovers from all sides, she is induced by neither avarice nor covetousness,
but by her own lusts. In fine, as the Prophet lately said that they despised all
gain through being blinded by their appetites, so he now says they were like an
adulteress who rejects her husband; and not only so, but throws herself into the
protection of others, while she has an honorable and happy
home.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since you have
thought us worthy of such honor, that we should be bound to thee in your
only-begotten Son by the bond of a spiritual marriage, — that we may
remain in that fidelity which we promised to thee, since we have found thee
faithful to us by so many proofs on thy part, until, having passed through this
present life, we arrive at the enjoyment of that blessedness which is the fruit
of our faithful chastity, through Jesus Christ our Lord. —
Amen.
LECTURE
FORTY-SIXTH.
|
EZEKIEL
16:33
|
|
33. They give gifts to all whores; but you
givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them. that they may come unto
thee on every side for thy whoredom.
|
33. Cunctis meretricibus dant
munus,
f384 tu autem dedisti munera tua cunctis
amatoribus tuis: et conduxisti eos ut ingrederentur ad te
undique
f385 in scortationibus tuis.
|
HERE the Prophet shows the great folly of the Jews in
shamelessly squandering their goods; for gain impels harlots to their
occupation: they feel the disgrace of it, but want urges them on. But the
Prophet says, that when the Jews committed sin they did it with extravagance,
since they spared no expense in attracting their lovers. He pursues the simile
which we have had before; for he compares the nation to a perfidious woman who
leaves her husband and offers herself to adulterers. We now understand the
Prophet’s meaning. It is clear that the Jews did not act thus on purpose,
for they thought they would profit by their treaties with the Egyptians and
Assyrians’ they were unwilling to serve their idols for nothing, since
they hoped for most ample rewards from this their adulterous worship. But the
Holy Spirit does not regard either what they wished or hoped for, but speaks of
the matter as it was. It is clear, then, that the Jews were very prodigal in
their superstitions, and we see this even now in the papacy. Those who grudge
even a farthing for the relief of the poor will throw away guineas when they
wish to compound for their sins; and there is no end to their extravagance under
this madness. The very same rage prevailed among the Jews for which Ezekiel now
reproves them. He says, then,
that they offered gifts to their
lovers; for, as I have said, they were so
prodigal in the worship of false gods, that when they desired a treaty with
either the Egyptians or Assyrians, they were necessarily loaded with valuable
presents; and history bears witness that they entirely exhausted themselves.
Lastly, the Prophet here shows that the Jews were so blind, that in leaving God,
and devoting themselves to idols, they failed to obtain any advantage. Then,
when they implicated themselves in perverse and wicked treaties, he shows that
they were so utterly deranged as to deprive themselves of all their goods, and
yet to receive nothing but disgrace in return for their extravagance:
presents are given to all
harlots, but thou bestowest thine. Jerome takes
the pronoun passively, meaning the blessings which God had bestowed upon the
people: and this passage is like that in Hosea,
(<280205>Hosea
2:5-8) where God complains that the Jews had profaned the blessings which he had
conferred upon them, just as if a wife should bestow on adulterers what she had
received from her husband. Foul indeed is this! for a husband thought these
would be pledges of chastity when he adorned his wife with precious garments, or
enriched her with other presents and ornaments; but when a wife, forgetful of
modesty and propriety, throws her husband’s gifts at the feet of
adulterers, this is indeed outrageous. Hence this sense does not displease me,
although it would be more simple to understand it that the Jews had washed away
all their goods. He says, that
they had hired their lovers to come in from every side for wickedness.
He repeats again what we saw before, that the
Jews were abandoned sinners, for some, though impure, are content with a single
lover. But as he had before said that the Jews spread their feet widely, so he
now adds, that they hired lovers
from all sides. Shameful indeed is such conduct
in any woman: yet Ezekiel reproves the Jews for this indelicacy, and we saw the
reason in yesterday’s lecture. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:34
|
|
34. And the contrary is in thee from other
women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in
that you givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore you art
contrary.
|
34. Et fuit in te inversio a mulieribus, in
scortationibus tuis, et post tua
postrema f386
non erit
scortatio:
f387 quia dedisti munus, et munus tibi non
fuit datum: ita fuisti in
contrarium.
F388
|
But the Prophet only confirms his former teaching,
that the Jews were seized with such lust, and in so unaccustomed a manner, that
they could only satisfy their desires with severe loss; but this comparison only
magnifies their crime, since they were worse than any harlots; for although they
basely sell themselves, yet the hope of gain is a kind of pretext and excuse,
and a starving woman may be led into great excess; but far fouler and less
excusable is her conduct who purchases her lovers. It now follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
16:35-37
|
|
35. Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the
Lord:
|
35. Propterea, meretrix, audi sermonem
Iehovae.
|
|
36. Thus says the Lord God, Because thy
filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms
with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of
thy children, which you did give unto them;
|
36. Sic dicit Dominator Iehovah, quia effusum
fuit infimum tuum,
f389 et detecta fuit turpitudo
tua
f390 in scortationibus tuis erga amatores
tuos, et erga omnia idola abominationum tuarum, et in sanguinibus filiorum
tuorum quos dedisti illis.
|
|
37. Behold, therefore I will gather all thy
lovers, with whom you has to taken pleasure, and all them that you has loved,
with all them that you has hated; I will even gather them round about against
thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy
nakedness.
|
37. Propterea ecce congregabo cunctos amatores
tuos, quibus te oblectasti erga eos, et omnes quos dilexisti, et quos odisti:
congregabo inquam, eos contra te a circuitu, et
retegam
f391 pudenda
tua
f392 coram ipsis, et videbunt totam
turpitudinem tuam.
|
After God has inveighed against the people’s
sins, and treated the whole nation as guilty, he now pronounces judgment on
their wickedness. He repeats shortly what he had said, as a judge explains the
reason of his sentence.
Since,
says he, the lower
parts of thy body and thy disgrace has been discovered before thy
lovers. This is the reason of the judgment,
whence it is collected that God is induced to treat his people harshly for just
and necessary causes. It now follows:
therefore,
says he, I will assemble
all thy lovers, with those also whom you hate, I will assemble them, and uncover
thy shame before them. We may now see what the
Jews are threatened with, namely, a disgraceful destruction, so that they become
a common laughingstock without any one to succor them; for the diction is
metaphorical when he speaks of lovers and of parts of the body; for by lovers he
here means the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Chaldeeans. Whence their opinion is
refuted who think that the Prophet treats only of superstitions. Nor can this
language be transferred to idols, since we know that false gods were not
spectators of the punishment which the Prophet denounces against the Jews.
Whence it follows that this language will only suit those persons to whose
protection the Jews trusted, so as to treat God’s help as useless. Since,
then, such is the metaphorical sense of the passage, we understand that shame
means spoliation and slaughter; nay, the destruction of both the kingdom and
city, and even of the temple. Thus the nation was a common laughingstock, and in
this way like a foul and aged harlot. Now we understand the Prophet’s
intention. As to Jerome translating “wealth,” it is altogether
adverse to the Prophet’s meaning; there is no doubt that he means the
lower part of the body, and it follows in the same sense,
thy shame was
uncovered. But at the same time God expresses
why it was done, namely, for
fornication, as if an abandoned woman were to
act so disgracefully. He now says it was done
towards your lovers, towards the
idols of your abominations:
l[,
gnel, is here taken for towards or against. He distinguishes between
lovers and idols. Those who think that the Prophet treats only of superstitious
think the copula superfluous; but there is no doubt that the Prophet means, on
one side, the Assyrians, and Egyptians, and Chaldeeans; and on the other, false
gods.
And in
bloods, says he. He here adds another crime,
namely, that of barbarous cruelty, because they did not spare their own sons, as
we saw before: many offered up their children, and some were found so excited as
to cast them into the fire: it was indeed a monstrous crime when they hesitated
not to rage against their own offspring: but they were so carried away by insane
zeal that they burnt, up their children when others only drew them through the
fire. Hence the Prophet again accuses them of cruelty for offering their
children to idols, and so pouring forth innocent blood. Now follows the
punishment. Behold, says he,
I collect all thy lovers.
We said that this ought to be understood of the
Egyptians, Assyrians, and Chaldreans, all of whom looked upon the slaughter of
that perverse and perfidious nation, but none of them helped her. God therefore
pronounces the destruction of the people just like that of a harlot abandoned by
her lovers, and perishing through hunger, want, and other miseries: for it very
often happens that a person under the impulse of love prefers a harlot to his
own life; for he will throw off all regard for his wife; he will be
disrespectful to both his father and mother, and will break through every
restraint to enjoy her company: but when such persons are grown old, and their
hair becomes white, which represents the winter of life, and when wrinkles
deform the face, then they are despised, and especially if they suffer through
disease. So also the Prophet now says that the Jews would be despised by all, so
that their lovers should be compelled to behold that example; and meanwhile they
scarcely deign to look at the foul appearance which had formerly sweetly
delighted them.
Then he proceeds further, namely,
that their enemies should behold
their ignominy: we know that the Jews were
surrounded on all sides by enemies, and that all their neighbors were hostile to
them. The Prophet now says that
the nations disgrace should be exposed before their
lovers, that is, the Egyptians, the Assyrians,
Chaldaeans, Philistilles, Edomites, and other nations. This passage teaches us,
that although the reason for God’s judgments does not always clearly
appear, yet they are never too severe; and when he condescends to afford us a
reason, he grants us a gratuitous indulgence. But when he silently executes his
judgments, let us learn to acquiesce in his justice, and not to cry out if he
exceeds moderation; because when he has once explained that his severity is only
justice, hence we must gather the general rule, that whenever he seems to treat
his people too severely and harshly, yet he has just reasons for it. Let us
learn, also, that the Jews only suffered a just recompense when God so cursed
all their counsels. They thought themselves very provident and circumspect when
they engaged in alliances with Egyptians and Assyrians. But all their plans
turned out unhappily for them, since they consulted their own will contrary to
that of God. Let us learn, then, if we wish to promote our own salvation, and to
obtain a prosperous result, to do nothing without God’s permission, and
not to undertake any deliberations except those which God has dictated and
suggested by his word and Spirit. For here every future event is shown to us as
in a glass when we wish to be wiser than they ought, and than God permits them.
It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:38
|
|
38. And I will judge thee, as women that break
wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and
jealousy.
|
38. Et judicabo te judiciis adulterarum, et
fundentium sanguinem et ponam te sanguinem
excandescentiae
f393 et
zeli.
F394
|
This verse is only added for the sake of explanation.
Already God had explained shortly and clearly every event which should happen to
the Jews, yet they should perish in the greatest disgrace and be destitute of
all help, since through distrust in God they sought the favor of men, like a
woman eager for lovers. But he confirms the same teaching, that they should
suffer double punishment, since they not only polluted themselves thus
shamefully, but also by impious slaughters, since they burnt their children in
honor of false gods. This sentence may be explained generally,
I will judge you with the
judgments of women pouring out blood, as we
know that not only idolatry was rampant at Jerusalem, but rapine, and all kinds
of cruelty; for since they had departed from God and his worship, they boldly
violated his law. By the second word we may understand all the crimes by which
they had provoked God’s anger on account of their cruelty. But since he
has lately spoken of sons, I willingly retain that
sense, that they should suffer as
an adulteress and a parricide who has put her children to
death. But they thought that they obeyed: but
he not only rejects, but abominates such foolish thoughts; for nothing is more
disgraceful than, under the pretense of piety, to slay and to burn one’s
own children: this, I say, was a profanation of God’s name scarcely
tolerable. No wonder, then, that he denounces double vengeance, since, when the
Jews pleaded their zeal, God branded upon them the mark of wickedness, though
they thought him bound to their interests. It afterwards follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
16:39
|
|
39. And I will also give thee into their hand,
and they shall throw down your eminent place, and shall break down thy high
places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair
jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.
|
39. Et dabo te in manum eorum: et sublime tuum
diruent,
f395 et
disrumpent
f396 excelsa tua; et spoliabunt te vestibus
tuis, et sument vasa gloriae
tuae,
f397 et dimittent te nudam et
discoopertam.
|
Here Ezekiel enlarges upon God’s judgment, when
he teaches that the Jews would not only be exposed to every disgrace, as if they
were brought forward into a noble and conspicuous theater, but they would suffer
spoliation and rapine from those in whom they formerly trusted.
I will give thee, says he, into
their hands. He speaks of lovers and
enemies: in truth, he says all shall meet together — your ancient allies
and friends as well as your enemies: and we know that they were spoiled at one
time or another by the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Chaldaeans. For at the time
when Jerusalem was taken and cut off, the Assyrians were reduced under the
monarchy of the Chaldees. Babylon had oppressed Nineveh, as is well known, but
the strength of both people were joined together. Thus the Jews were spoiled by
them when they thought that they had provided for themselves very successfully
by an alliance with the Assyrians against the kings of Israel and Syria: and
afterwards, when they had formed an alliance with the Chaldaeans, they thought
themselves beyond the reach of all danger. But now the Prophet derides there
foolish confidence, and says that they should be spoiled by all their friends:
so also he says that their altars should be thrown down. Those who translate it
“a house of sin” do not sufficiently consider what I yesterday
observed, that the Prophet uses the figure so as to mark a thing simply from any
part of it. The Prophet’s language is moderate or mixed, because he speaks
partially of lofty and profane altars, and at the same time follows out its own
simile. There is no doubt, therefore, that by
a high place and lofty
things he means altars themselves: although he
does allude to these sinful houses, because he said in yesterday’s lecture
that the Jews stood at the top of the streets so as to entice any casual and
unknown strangers to them. As also the Chaldaeans did not spare the temple, so
there is no doubt that they destroyed all the altars promiscuously. and yet the
Jews had wished to gratify them by destroying a part of them. But God shows how
foolishly men imagine they shall succeed while they purposely fight against him:
and experience teaches that the same thing happens to all unbelievers. For when
any one has embraced his own superstitions, and despises what others think
sacred and holy, then the conquerors destroy temples and images, and deform the
region which they wish to be ruined and desolate. So also it is now said,
they shall destroy your altars
and high places. He now adds,
and they shall spoil thee of
thy garments, and take away the vessels of thy
beauty. The Prophet comprehends in these words
whatever benefits God had conferred on the Jews; for we know how liberally he
had adorned them with his gifts, and especially in rendering the earth
wonderfully fruitful by his blessing. He signifies in a word, that the Jews,
when deprived of all their ornaments, would be disgraced; as it follows, and
they shall send thee away naked
and bare; that is, they shall cast thee off,
just as a lover when satisfied rejects the companion of his
iniquity.
|
EZEKIEL
16:40
|
|
40. They shall also bring up a company against
thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their
swords.
|
40. Et ascendere facient contra te
coetum,
f398 et lapidabunt te
lapidibus,
f399 et perfodient te gladiis
suis.
|
Since what Ezekiel has hitherto brought forward was
incredible, he now explains the manner of its accomplishment — that the
Chaldmans and Assyrians should bring a large army
and bury the whole of Judea with
stones, and pierce it through with swords. By
these figures he simply means that there should be such slaughter that the whole
region should be made desolate, just as if the enemy should slay all that they
met with stones and swords. Some think that he alludes to stones which were
thrown by engines of war; but I doubt whether the Prophet thought of this. What
I have stated is more simple, that the Jews had no cause to think themselves
free from that final slaughter of which the Prophet spoke,
since numerous and powerful
armies should come and overwhelm them with stones, and pierce them through with
swords. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:41
|
|
41. And they shall burn your houses with fire,
and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause
thee to cease from playing the harlot, and you also shall give no hire any
more.
|
41. Et exurent domes tuas
igni,
f400 et facient in
te
f401 judicia in oculis mulierum multarum, et
cessare faciam te a scortando: atque etiam munus non offeres
amplius.
|
After he had spoken of the slaughter of men, he adds
the burning of their dwellings. This was sad indeed, that the whole land should
be deprived of inhabitants: but the deformity of this last slaughter was heaped
upon them when the houses were burnt up; for the country was laid waste for the
future, and for a length of time. For when men are slain others may succeed, if
they find houses prepared, and fields not uncultivated. But when all these
things are consumed by fire, and by other means of ruin, all hope for the future
is taken away. The Prophet now means this when he says,
that the houses were burnt
up. He adds,
they shall execute judgment
against thee in the sight of many women. As he
had used the simile of a harlot for the Jewish people, that the clauses of the
sentence may correspond, he understands the neighboring people under the name of
women. He confirms what we formerly saw, that the penalty which should be
exacted of the Jews should be joined with the greatest disgrace. But this is
very bitter, when not only we must perish, but the cruelty of enemies must be
satiated while many behold us; and doubtless it was much more severe for the
Jews to sustain the ridicule of their foes than to perish at once. If they had
perished at once, death had not been such a torture to them as those mockeries
by which they were harassed by their enemies. For we said that they were hated
by almost all; and in the 137th Psalm
(<19D707>Psalm
137:7) it is shown that the Edomites, and others like them, said, by way of
congratulation, Hail! hail! when Jerusalem was destroyed: Remember, O Lord, the
sons of Edom, who said in the day of Jerusalem, Down with it, down with it, even
to the ground. The Prophet, therefore, announces this, that the punishment which
he formerly mentioned should be an example to all nations. He speaks improperly
of the Chaldaeans, when he says that they should be executors of God’s
judgments, for there was not a duty assigned to them; but God often transfers to
man as the instrument of his wrath what peculiarly belongs to himself alone. And
in this way he wounds the Jews more severely when he makes the Chaldaeans their
judges. God, properly speaking, was the sole judge who avenged the
people’s wickedness; but meanwhile he substitutes the Chaldaeans for
himself, that the punishment might be the more disgraceful. He adds,
and I will make thee cease from
fornication, nor shall you offer gifts any
more. God does not mean that the Jews
would be better when in exile, but simply reminds them that the opportunity for
their sinning would be wanting, as when an immodest person is ashamed through
being despised by every one, not through any improvement in her disposition,
since her licentious feelings are the same as before. So also the Jews were
always obstinate in their wickedness, though deprived of the opportunity of
sinning. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:42
|
|
42. So will I make my fury toward thee to
rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and, will be
no more angry.
|
42. Et quiescere faciam excandescentiam meam
in te, et recedet aemulatio mea abs te: et quiescam, et non irascar
amplius.
|
Although God seems here to promise some mitigation of
his wrath, there is no doubt that he expresses what we formerly saw, namely,
that such should be the destruction of the nation that there would be no need to
return again to punish them. When, therefore, he
says, I will make my indignation
rest upon thee, it means that he would satiate
himself with vengeance for all their crimes: so that the consumption of the
people is here called the rest of God’s indignation, as if he had said,
When I have utterly reduced you to nothing, then my indignation against thee
shall rest. In the same way he afterwards adds,
and my indignation shall depart
from thee. But I cannot finish
today.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since you have
hitherto sustained us, and since we are worthy of being utterly destroyed a
hundred times, — Grant, I say, that we may repent of ourselves, and
prevent that horrible judgment of which you set before us a specimen in your
ancient people: and may we so devote ourselves to thee in the true chastity of
faith, that we may experience the course of thy goodness until we enjoy the
eternal inheritance which your only-begotten Son has acquired for us by his
blood. — Amen.
LECTURE
FORTY-SEVENTH
We stopped yesterday at the passage where God
pronounces that his
rivalry should depart from the Jews. Some
interpret this of jealousy, and this sense does not displease me; for we know
that God has hitherto spoken in the character of a husband. But when a husband
avenges the injury which he has suffered, he is enflamed with jealousy. Hence he
has no moderation in his wrath; but when he begins to despise his wife because
she is defiled, and to think her unworthy of further notice, then his anger and
indignation is allayed. So, therefore, some understand it, My jealousy shall
depart from thee, that is, You shall be no longer esteemed as my wife, but I
shall despise thee as if you are altogether strange and unknown to me. But the
word
jealousy
or rivalry may be taken otherwise; as he said yesterday, I will put upon thee
the blood of indignation and jealousy, that is, I will treat thee in no milder
way than those do who burn with wrath, and breathe out nothing but slaughters;
as when any one is enflamed against his enemies, he slays all he meets. As,
therefore, God put aside, in the last lecture, the blood of jealousy and anger,
so in this place the word may be taken to mean simple rivalry;
for
God’s
hanq,
kenah, zeal, or ardor in vengeance, shall depart from the Jews,
because material shall be deficient, as we explained it yesterday,
I shall be at
rest, says he,
and shall not be angry
anymore. By these words he confirms the same
thing, that such should be the destruction of Jerusalem that God shall cease his
wrath, as if he were satiated. He does not here promise any mitigation, as some
think, but expresses its formidable nature, since it should consume and abolish
the whole people, so that God’s anger ceases, just like a fire is
extinguished of its own accord when no fuel is left. This is the full sense. It
follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:43
|
|
43. Because you has not remembered the days of
thy youth, but has fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will
recompense thy way upon your head, says the Lord God: and you shall not commit
this lewdness above all your abominations.
|
43.
Quia
f402 non es recordata dierum adolescentiae
tuae, et irritasti me in hoc
toto f403
etiam ego viam tuam in caput
reddam,
f404 dicit Dominator Iehovah: et non fecisti
cogitationem super cunctis abominationibus
tuis.
F405
|
He first blames the Jews for not reflecting on the
liberality of their treatment. But that ingratitude was too shameful, since God
had not omitted any kind of beneficence for their ornament. But since they
thought themselves not adorned with sufficient splendor by God, and that he was
less munificent than he ought to be, it may here be gathered that they were
unworthy of such great and remarkable benefits. Finally, God here shows that how
severely soever he punished the Jews, yet they deserved it for their ingratitude
in not thinking him sufficiently liberal towards them: for their spirits were
utterly broken. If a wife leave her husband, she is either compelled to do so by
his perverse conduct, or else she betrays an illiberal disposition if she has
been treated honorably. But since the Jews were bound to God so strongly in so
many ways, their perfidy and revolt was so much the more detestable; for God
does not suffer his blessings to be despised by us: since we must always mark
the reason of his omitting nothing which may testify his paternal love towards
us, namely, that we may celebrate his goodness. But when we turn his benefits to
the profanation of his name, that is like mingling heaven and earth. Hence this
passage against ingratitude must be remarked.
He now adds,
thou, has been tumultuous against
me, or has moved or irritated me.
ˆgr,
regen, sometimes signifies to frighten, but it means here to quarrel
with, contend, or be in a rage with: for the word may, in my opinion, be taken
either actively or passively, and also as a neuter. If we take it in the neuter
sense, it will mean that the Jews were tumultuous against God, as if they were
seized by a turbulent spirit, so as to neglect and despise him, and to indulge
themselves in wickedness. If you prefer the active sense, it means you have
irritated me. He adds
again, I also will
recompense thy way upon thy
head,
f406 by which words God again affirms that he
was not induced to punish the Jews by any rash or inconsiderate zeal, since if
any one considered their crimes, he will acknowledge that they had received a
just recompense. In fine, the mouth of the Jews is here stopped, lest they
should suppose God to act unfairly when they were only reaping the fruit of
their deeds. He next adds, and
you have not made consideration. I have
already given two expositions in the note, but neither of them pleases me, for
it seems altogether adverse to the Prophet’s context to receive it as if
God were the speaker: besides, it is not necessary to change the tense of the
verb, and take the past for the future, when the sense tends in another
direction. It agrees far better that the Jews did not recall to mind their own
abominations so as to be displeased with them.
To make
consideration, means to reflect upon.
hmz,
zemeh, is mostly taken in a good sense, and signifies consideration
simply; and as this is the word’s proper meaning, we see that the Prophet
here accuses the Jews of stupidity, because they did not turn their attention to
reconsider their abominations. Those who take it for lewdness distort the sense.
The whole meaning is, that the Jews were worthy of the horrible destruction
which hung over them, because they were not only obstinate in their ingratitude,
but altogether stupid: for their abominations were so foul before the nations,
as we have formerly seen, that the daughters of the Philistines were ashamed of
the wickedness of the nation, but they did not apply their minds to the
consideration of these things. Since, therefore, their abominations were so
gross, it was a mark of the greatest indolence not to turn their attention to
review them. It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:44-46
|
|
44. Behold, every one that useth proverbs
shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her
daughter.
|
44. Ecce quisquis proverbiat
f407
super te proverbiabit dicendo, Sicut mater filia ejus.
|
|
45. You art thy mother’s daughter, that
loatheth her husband and her children; and you art the sister of thy sisters,
which loathed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and
your father an Amorite.
|
45. Filia matris tuae es quae
abjecit
f408 maritum suum et filios suos: et soror
sororis tuae
f409 quae repudiarunt maritos suos, et filios
suos. Mater vestra Chitaea, et pater vester Amorrhaeus.
|
|
46. And your elder sister is Samaria, she and
her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth
at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.
|
46. Et soror tua major Samaria est, et filiae
ejus, quae habitant ad sinistram tuam: et soror tua minor prae te, quae habitat
a dextris tuis, Sodoma et filiae, ejus.
|
Here the Prophet uses another form of speech; for he
says that the Jews deserved to be subject to the taunting proverbs of those who
delight in wickedness. The sense is, that they were worthy of extreme infamy, so
that their disgrace was bandied about in vulgar sayings. This is one point: he
now adds, that proverbs of this kind were the Jews’ desert —
the daughter is like her mother
and sisters. Then he says,
their mother was a Hittite,
and their sisters Samaria and Sodom. We must
briefly treat these clauses in order. When the Prophet speaks of proverbs, he
doubtless means what I have touched on, namely, that the crimes of the nation
deserved that their infamy should fly abroad on the tongues of all; for there
are many sins which are hidden, through either their being spared, or their not
seeming to be much noticed. If any one surpass all others in cruelty, avarice,
lust, and other vices, his disgrace will be notorious, and he will be pointed at
by vulgar proverbs. Hence Ezekiel dwells on the people’s wickedness, since
they supply material for all men to laugh at their expense; for he alludes to
buffoons and wits, and such as are ingenious in fabricating vulgar
sayings.
The maker of proverbs shall utter
this proverb against thee: like mother like
daughter. There is no doubt that they used this
saying at that period, and it often happens that daughters’ faults are
like their mothers’. Daughters indeed often degenerate from the best
mothers, and matrons will be found who excel in the virtues of modesty,
chastity, sobriety, and watchfulness, while their daughters are rash and proud,
luxurious, lustful, and intemperate; but it usually happens that a mother has
wicked daughters like herself: this happens less by nature than by education;
for a woman of a perverse inclination will think that a stigma attaches to
herself if her daughter is better than she is, and so she will wish to form her
after her own morals; hence it happens that few daughters are found modest whose
mothers are immodest: few sober who have been brought up by drunkards. Since
therefore experience always taught the similarity between mothers and daughters,
hence this proverb was in the mouth of every one. Proverbs, however, are not
always true, but only on the whole; but God sometimes extends his pity so far
that the daughter of a wicked woman is honorable and well conducted. But this is
very rare: hence this proverbial saying cannot be rejected, —
like mother like
daughter. It now follows:
thou art the daughter of thy
mother; that is, altogether like her: and this
phrase is equally common among us,
“Thou art thy
father’s son,” namely, you are like
him in thy sins. Thus the Prophet means that the nation was like their mother,
since it differed in nothing from the Canaanites and the Hittites. He adds also,
sister and their
daughters, as if he would collect the whole
family. He says that Samaria is
their elder sister, and Sodom their younger. I
know not whether those who think that Samaria is called older than Jerusalem,
through its revolting first from the worship of God, have sufficient grounds for
their interpretation: for as we go on we shall see that Samaria is compared with
Sodom, and since Sodom is the worst, it is very naturally compared with it. For
Jerusalem will afterwards be placed in the highest rank, because it had
surpassed them all in enormity.
Samaria therefore is one of the
sisters, and
so is
Sodom these towns are called daughters, for we
know that Sodom was not the only one destroyed by fire from heaven, since there
were five cities.
(<011019>Genesis
10:19, and
<011925>Genesis
19:25.) We see, then, why those smaller cities near at hand were called
daughters of Sodom, and as far as Samaria is concerned, it was the head of the
kingdom of Israel: hence all the cities of the ten tribes were called its
daughters.
With relation to the father, the Prophet says here
more than he had ventured before. He says,
their father was an,
Amorite, as if the Jews had sprung from profane
nations, and did not draw their origin from a holy parent; and the Prophet very
often makes this objection, not that they were spurious or descended according
to the flesh from the uncircumcised Gentiles, but because they were unworthy of
their father Abraham, through being degenerate. In fine, God here signifies that
the parents of the Jews were not only profane nations but utterly reprobate, and
those whom God for very just reasons had ordered to be destroyed, since they had
contaminated the earth with their crimes far too long. He says that the Jews
were like a daughter sprung from most abandoned parents. As to his saying,
that the mother as well as
sisters had despised their husbands, this may
seem absurd. But we know that in proverbs, parables, examples, and comparisons,
all things ought not to be exacted with the utmost nicety. When Christ’s
coming is said to be stealthy,
(<402443>Matthew
24:43, 44,) if any one here desires to be cunning and inquires how Christ is
like a thief, that will be absurd. And also in this place when it is said,
thy mother has abandoned her
husband and her sons, and thy sisters have done the
same. God simply means that both the mother and
sisters of Jerusalem were impure and perfidious women; and cruel also, since
they not only had violated the marriage pledge and had thus broken through all
chastity, but were like ferocious beasts against their own sons.
(<421239>Luke
12:39, 40;
<520502>1
Thessalonians 5:2.) He reproves the crime which we yesterday exposed, that of
the Jews burning their own sons. In fine, he means to compare the Jews with the
Canaanites, the Samaritans, and the Sodomites, in both perfidy and cruelty.
Hence they are first condemned for throwing away all modesty and conjugal
fidelity, and next for forgetting all humanity. It now follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
16:47
|
|
47. Yet has you not walked after their ways,
nor done after their abominations; but, as if that were a very little thing, you
was corrupted more than they in all thy ways.
|
47. Et non in viis ipsarum ambulasti, et non
secundum abominationes earum fecisti quasi
parum
f410 et exiguum: et corrupt, es prae illis in
cunctis viis tuis.
|
Now the Prophet, not content with the simile which he
had used, says that the Jews were far worse than either their mothers or
sisters. Yet he is not inconsistent, for God wished by degrees to drag the
wicked to trial. If at the very first word he had said that they were worse than
the Sodomites, they would have been less attentive to this accusation. But when
he proposed a thing incredible, namely, that they were the daughters of the
nations of Canaan, and the sisters of Samaria and Sodom, and afterwards
proceeded further, and pronounced that they surpassed both their mother and
sisters, this, as I have said, would stir up their minds more vehemently. This
difference then contains no inconsistency, but rather tends to magnify their
crimes. You, says he, have not walked according to their ways. He does not here
exempt the Jews from participating in sins as if they were faultless through not
imitating the Hittites, or Sodomites, or Israelites: but the word
walking
ought to be restricted to the sense of equality, as if he said, you are not
equal. But it is a kind of correction when God says that the Jews were not equal
to the Hittites or Sodomites, meaning that their impiety was more detestable,
since they rushed forward to all kinds of wickedness with greater license. We
now understand the Prophet’s meaning when he says that; the Jews
had not walked in the
ways of either Sodom or Samaria or the nations
of Canaan, since they had gone before them, and even with greater ardor of
pursuit; for if they had simply imitated the three people of whom mention has
been made, they had walked in
their ways. But when they were so hurried on in
their intemperance as to run before them, they did not walk in their ways only
through leaving them behind. And this comparison will sufficiently explain the
Prophet’s mind, that the Jews did not follow either the Sodomites,
Israelites, or Canaanites, but through their base and headlong violence left
them far behind. And he says, as if it were only a small matter, that is, as if
it were of little moment to thee to be like thy mother and sisters. But
you have been
corrupt, says he,
before
them. He now explains the case more clearly,
since they had not walked in their ways through precipitating themselves with
greater license, as we have already said. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:48
|
|
48. As I live, says the Lord God, Sodom thy
sister has not done, she nor her daughters, as you has done, you and thy
daughters.
|
48. Vivo ego, dicit Dominator Iehovah, si
fecerit Sodoma, soror tua ipsa et filiae ejus quemadmodum fecisti tu, et filiae
tuae.
|
Since what we have lately seen was difficult to be
believed, hence God interposes an oath. Nor is it surprising that shame was so
despised and cast far away by the Jews, since they were inured to it; and we
know how they were swollen with pride, for they always boasted in their adoption
and gloried in the name of God. Besides, we know that at this day, if any one
accuses a wicked nation, yet it is not so detestable as Sodom, and if he uses
this phrase, he inflames all against himself, and causes them to reject his
language with indignation. For who will suffer either one city or nation to be
compared with Sodom? As far as concerned the Jews, we have said that it was
intolerable in them to be fastidious and proud. There was also another reason
why they should be indignant at being pronounced worse than the Sodomites: since
God had not chosen them as his peculiar treasure in vain and marked them with
magnificent titles: you shall be a nation of priests unto me, you shall be my
inheritance, and besides, my son — my first-born Israel.
(<021906>Exodus
19:6, and
<020422>Exodus
4:22.) We now see how necessary the interposition by oath was to sanction what
the Prophet had said. God therefore here swears by himself, because we call him
in as a witness and judge when we swear. But he swears by himself or by his
life, because, as the Apostle teaches, he has no greater by whom to swear.
(<580613>Hebrews
6:13.) Whatever it be, he here prostrates all foolish boasting, by which the
Jews were puffed up when he swears by himself,
that they were worse than Sodom
and her daughters. And here also he calls in
like manner the smaller cities
daughters of
Jerusalem. This was very hard upon the Jews,
when the Prophet says and often repeats, thy sister Sodom. But he wounds their
feelings far more bitterly, that
Sodom was just in preference to Jerusalem: this
was indeed intolerable, and yet we see that the Holy Spirit by no means indulges
them here. Hence we must not regard what the reprobate are able to bear, but
they must be treated according to their own disposition, and since they rise
fiercely against God, so also are they to be subdued, and, according to the
common proverb, “a hard wedge must be formed for a hard knot.” It
now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:49
|
|
49. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy
sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and
in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and
needy.
|
49. Ecce haec fuit iniquitas Sodomae sororis
tuae, superbia, satietas panis, et securitas
oti
f411 fuit illi et filiabus ejus: et manum
egeni et inopis non apprehendit.
|
Here God begins to show the reason why he extenuated
the wickedness of Sodom in comparison with that of his own people: for if he had
spoken generally, without explaining the counsel of God, his language would have
been incredible, and so would have been ineffectual. But now God shows that he
did not pronounce rashly what we heard before, namely, that the Jews were worse
than the Sodomites. How so? for
this was the iniquity of Sodom thy
sister, says he, first
pride, then fullness of
bread, and luxury in which they were in the
habit of indulging, and of drowning themselves in ease to enjoy a long peace;
afterwards, they did not seize
the hand of the poor. Now he adds
—
|
EZEKIEL
16:50
|
|
50. And they were haughty, and committed
abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw
good.
|
50. Et superbe se extulit, et fecit
abominationem coram me, et abstuli ipsos quemadmodum
vidi.
F412
|
We must diligently attend to this passage; for God
does not here excuse the wickedness of Sodom; but, abominable as that people
was, he says that the Jews were yet more abandoned. We know why God inflicted
his vengeance in a terrible manner against the Sodomites and their neighbors,
for that was a fearful example; and Judea says that it was a kind of mirror of
the wrath of God which awaits all the impious,
(<650107>Jude
1:7;) and Scripture often recalls us to that proof of God’s judgement: but
we must see how Sodom rushed forward to that degree of licentiousness so as to
be horrified by no enormity. God says that they began by pride, and surely pride
is the mother of all contempt of God and of all cruelty. Let us learn, then,
that we cannot be restrained by the fear of God, unless moderation and humility
reign within us. Pride, we know, has two horns, so to speak; one is, when men
forget their own condition, and claim to themselves not only more than is right,
but what God alone calls his own. This, then, is one horn of pride, when men,
trusting in their dignity, excellence, plenty, and wealth, are intoxicated by
false imaginations, so as to think themselves equal to God. Now, another horn of
pride is, when they do not acknowledge their vices, and despise others in
comparison with themselves, and please themselves in enormities, just as if they
were free from any future account. Since, therefore, pride is contained in these
two clauses, when men arrogate too much to themselves, and thus are blind to
their own vices, each of these is doubtless condemned in the Sodomites, since
they first raised themselves by a
rash confidence, and then refused to subject
themselves to God, and rebelled against him as if they could shake off his
yoke.
He afterwards adds
fullness of
bread. But the Prophet seems to condemn in the
Sodomites what was not blamable in itself: for when God feeds us bountifully,
fullness is not to be considered a crime; but he takes it here for immoderate
gluttony; for those who have abundance are often luxurious, and nothing is more
rare than self-restraint when materials for luxury are supplied to us. Hence
fullness of
bread is here taken for intemperance, since the
Sodomites were so addicted to gluttony and drunkenness, that they gratified
their appetites worse than the brutes, who do retain some moderation, for they
are content with their own food: but men’s covetousness is altogether
insatiable. Let us observe, then, that by
fullness of
bread we are to understand that
intemperance in which profane men indulge when God supplies them bountifully
with the means of living; for they do not consider why they abound in wine, and
corn, and abundance of all things, but they drown themselves in luxuries with a
blind and brutal impulse. Hence such greediness, so inflaming to the spirits of
the Sodomites, is added to pride, that they arrogate to themselves more than is
just. He afterwards adds, and rest;
twlç,
sheloth: some translate it abundance, but almost everywhere it means
peace; the noun
fqç,
sheket, which is added next, means properly rest; so that it will be the
peace of rest or ease, and this seems without blame: for why shall we not be
permitted to enjoy ease, if no one molests or troubles us? nay, it is reckoned
among God’s blessings: you shall sleep, and no one shall frighten thee.
(<032606>Leviticus
26:6.) Since God, therefore, wishes this to be considered among his blessings,
that the faithful should sleep soundly, without any anxiety or trouble, why is
Sodom condemned for thus enjoying ease and peace? But here its excess is pointed
out, not its true use, since the use of peace is to render our minds tranquil,
that we may return thanks to God, and dwell calmly under his sway. But how do
the reprobate act? They grow brutish, so to speak, in their own peacefulness.
Hence sloth is in this passage meant by the peacefulness of ease, and God means
that the Sodomites were intoxicated by their luxuries when they enjoyed peace.
We must put off the remainder.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since you have
deigned to graft us once into the body of your only-begotten Son, that we may be
mindful of our origin, since from our very birth we were lost and cursed; and
grant that we may be mindful of that grace by which you have honored us, so that
we may worship thee as a father, and preserve our trust in thee inviolate: and
may we be so obedient to thee that thy image may be renewed in us more and more
in all righteousness and holiness, until thy glory may perfectly shine forth in
us in thy heavenly kingdom by the same Jesus Christ our Lord. —
Amen.
LECTURE
FORTY-EIGHTH.
We began in the last lecture to treat that passage
where God pronounces that the Jews surpassed in all kinds of wickedness both the
Sodomites and the ten tribes of Israel. When he wished to prove this he said
that the iniquity of Sodom was
pride, fullness of
bread, and then
ease, with sloth and cruelty:
afterwards he put another kind of pride, since
the people were intoxicated with confidence, and indulged in unbridled and
brutal license, as he afterwards says. For he adds, that the cities were
overthrown and destroyed since they had perpetrated foul abominations. With
regard to excess, we said that good living simply is not here condemned when any
one uses the affluence granted to him for God’s glory; but luxury and
intemperance. For the rich boast as much as possible, and are not only eager for
delicacies, and stuff themselves to the full, but they triumph and luxuriate in
what is sure to destroy them. The Prophet then blames this in the Sodomites. We
said also of quiet and rest, that it denoted that sloth by which the profane
madden themselves; but that is more clearly expressed shortly by vain-boasting.
The Prophet now adds, that
they had not seized the hand of the poor and
needy. We must notice this, since pride is
almost always cruel; and truly no one heartily succors his poor brethren who is
not affected by their necessities. But those who are intoxicated by false
confidence, and claim everything for themselves, despise their brethren, and
thus carelessly permit them to be utterly oppressed by poverty and want. The
Prophet here pronounces nothing concerning Sodom but what we too often perceive
by daily experience. He now adds —
|
EZEKIEL
16:50
|
|
50. And they were haughty, and committed
abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw
good.
|
50. Et extulit
se,
f413 et fecerunt abominationem coram facie
mea, et abstuli eas quemadmodum
volui.
F414
|
Here God shows that Sodom had not at first fallen
into those foul and gross crimes which were the cause of its final destruction.
We must diligently mark this: for when Satan begins to entice us, we think that
we shall be free to retract our steps whenever we please; but we are ensnared,
some in one way and some in another. But when we are entangled by Satan’s
deceits, it is not in our power to escape from them; nay, we feel that we are
involved in a complete labyrinth. Since, then, men proceed gradually in
provoking God’s wrath, we must observe this passage, in which God informs
us that the Sodomites were not given up at once to enormous lust, but they began
with smaller sins, and then became luxurious through their abundance, and were
stupefied by ease and quiet; meanwhile they despised the poor and needy, and did
not stretch forth their hands to them. For to
seize the
hand means the same as to stretch forth the
hand, when we set up again those who have fallen, or prop up those who are
slipping. Hence God shows that the Sodomites were afterwards so corrupted by
luxuries, that he at length adds, that
they raised themselves up,
that is, that they purposely, and of their own
accord, exempted themselves from all fear of punishment: for this is the meaning
of the word raised up; that is, they buoyed themselves up, since they promised
themselves freedom from punishment; and in that fallacious hope
they dared to perpetrate
abomination before my face. Hence we must
always fear lest Satan should entangle us by His enticements, and at length so
fascinate and stupefy our senses that we can no longer distinguish between good
and evil, as the Sodomites exceeded the brutes in their abominations, which were
the cause of their ruin.
When God announces
that he removed those cities
as he pleased, he wishes to inspire the Jews
with terror, lest they should suppose that they would profit by turning their
backs; because, whether they wished it or not, he would at length drag them
before his tribunal. God, therefore, here passes the final sentence, that the
Jews may feel that they must render an account to him. Now, if any one should
ask whether these crimes which Ezekiel relates are worse than those of the Jews,
the answer is at hand, that the Sodomites were not under the law; and hence it
is no wonder if they wandered and stumbled in darkness: but when the right
course of life was pointed out to the Jews, they professedly sought their own
destruction, they knowingly and willfully rejected God’s yoke, and
haughtily despised all the prophets who daily desired to recall them into the
path of duty. Other circumstances are also to be noticed, that the Jews not only
abused the goods which God plentifully bestowed upon them, but, as we have seen,
squandered them upon adulterous worship, and then they fetched from thence all
kinds of superstition, and became worse than the beasts, as we have seen
elsewhere. While we know that the imitation of the people of Sodom was very
common in Judea, when they were tainted with many corruption’s through
forgetfulness of the law. If, therefore, we weigh these points together, it will
not be surprising that God pronounces the Jews to have sinned more grievously
that the Sodomites. It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:51
|
|
51. Neither has Samaria committed half of thy
sins: but you has multiplied your abominations more than they, and has justified
thy sisters in all your abominations which you has done.
|
51. Et Samaria secundum dimidium scelerum
tuorum non scelerate egit: et multiplicasti abominationes tuas prae illis, et
justificasti sorores tuas in omnibus abominationibus tuis quas
patrasti.
|
God now pronounces the same thing concerning Samaria,
whom he had formerly called the younger sister. By Samaria, as we said, he means
the Israelites, because that city was the head of the Kingdom of Israel: the ten
tribes had been already driven into exile; and he says they were not half so
wicked when compared with the Jews. This, at the first glance, may seem absurd;
for we know that God’s worship was continued at Jerusalem when the
Israelites rejected the law, and basely and openly turned aside to idolatry.
Since, therefore, some sound piety flourished at Jerusalem when the Israelites
wickedly revolted from God’s law, what can it mean by the Jews being
censured as worse than they were? We must always come to the fountain which I
have pointed out; for ingratitude has great influence in exaggerating
men’s crimes. But another reason must also be remarked. The Jews had seen
how severely God had avenged the superstitions of the kingdom of Israel: they
were so far from repenting that they rather courted their alliance, as if for
the very purpose of provoking God afresh. If we reflect upon these two points,
the question will be solved as far as relates to the present passage. God says
what is incredible to us, that the Jews were worse than the Israelites: but he
asserts this, because ingratitude had rendered them less excusable; for God had
retained them under his own charge when that wretched dispersion happened, and
the ten tribes were all but absorbed. God’s candle was always shinning at
Jerusalem, as it is said.
(<022720>Exodus
27:20.) When, therefore, God had preserved for himself that small band as the
very flower of the people, safe and sound, the revolt of this people was far
more criminal than that of the ten tribes: for these tribes were drawn away from
the worship of God by little and little, as is well known. For Jeroboam always
set before himself one definite object — the worship of God as the
liberator of the people, (1 Kings 12:) for the Israelites did not look on
themselves as apostates, although they had degenerated from their fathers. But
the Jews addicted themselves to gross superstitions, of which the Israelites at
first were ashamed; and then they were warned by many penalties not to imitate
their kinsmen: still, as we saw before, the temple was defiled by many
pollution’s; for Ezekiel, in the eighth chapter, says that he saw there
many defilement’s. Since then the Jews profited so badly, though God set
his vengeance before their eyes, it is not surprising that they are said to have
sinned grievously.
In conclusion, he adds,
thou has multiplied your
abominations beyond them; and you have justified thy sisters in all the
abominations which you have perpetrated. Here
the word “justified” is to be received at first comparatively: it
does not signify that the fault of others is extenuated by the wickedness of the
Jews; but if the people wished to offer excuses, they might easily be convinced
that both Sodom and the kingdom of Israel were just in comparison with the Jews.
To justify is usually received for to absolve; and we must observe this when we
treat of justification, since the papists always seize upon the quality, as if
to be justified was in reality to be just. Hence they are unable to comprehend a
doctrine sufficiently familiar to Scripture, and plain enough — that we
are justified by faith: for they examine man, that they may find justice there,
and do not ascend any higher: but to be justified by faith signifies nothing but
to be absolved, though we are not just in ourselves; hence a justification by
faith without us must be sought for, and hence we gather that it is not a
quality. Hence Jerusalem
justified her sisters, although Sodom and
Samaria were found worse than herself. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:52
|
|
52. You also, which has judged thy sisters,
bear your own shame, for thy sins that you has committed more abominable than
they: they are more righteous than you; you, be you confounded also, and bear
thy shame, in that you has justified thy sisters.
|
52. Etiam tu porta probrum tuum quae judicasti
sororem tuam in sceleribus tuis quibus impie
egisti
f415 prae illis: justificatae sunt prae te.
Atque etiam tu
f416 pudefias, et porta probrum tuum, quod
justificaveris sorores tuas.
|
Here at length God announces that he would punish the
Jews according to their deserts. Hitherto he has recounted their crimes, as
judges are accustomed, when they condemn criminals, to state the reasons which
induce them to pass sentence: thus God shortly shows how wicked the Jews were.
He now adds, that he would avenge them according to the magnitude of their
crimes. For they would easily have swallowed all reproaches if the fear of
punishment had not been infused into them. This second head, then, was
necessary, lest they should Judea off with impunity, since they had surpassed
both Sodom and Samaria. Do thou
also bear thy disgrace who has judged thy
sisters. Here Ezekiel seems to be at variance
with himself, for he said just now and will repeat again shortly, that Jerusalem
had justified her sisters; and this is contrary to judging. But he says that
Samaria was condemned by the Jews; and the solution of this discrepancy is easy:
for the Jews justified both the Israelites and the Sodomites, not by absolving
them in any sentence passed on them, but because they were worthy of double
condemnation; as Christ says, In the last day it shall be more tolerable for
Sodom and Gomorrah than for the Jews.
(<401124>Matthew
11:24.) But what is here said of condemnation has another meaning — that
the Jews insulted over their brethren when they saw their kingdom destroyed, and
the Israelites driven away from their land. Since they spoke so proudly of the
slaughter of the ten tribes, as if innocent themselves, the Prophet here
reproves them as if they judged them. And this is too common with all
hypocrites, to inveigh hardly against all others, and to grow hot against them,
as if in this way they covered their own crimes. And Paul reproves this vice in
them, since they were supercilious censors of others, and at the same time
committed every sin. Thinkest you, O man, says he, when you judge others, that
God will not condemn thee; for who art you, O mortal man? Do you claim the
office of a judge?
(<450201>Romans
2:1-3.) Meanwhile will God be deprived of his rights, so as not to call thee to
account for thy sins? Now, therefore, we understand the Prophet’s
intention: for he exaggerates the crimes of the Jews when he pronounces sentence
from on high against the ten tribes. Truly God blotted out this kingdom
deservedly: for they were apostates; they had revolted from the family of David,
and had violated that sacred unity by which God had bound to himself the whole
family of Abraham. They had indeed just cause for speaking thus in condemning
the Israelites; but when they were worse than them, what arrogance it was to
harass their brethren, and to be blind to their own vices, nay, to grow utterly
callous to them!
Thou,
therefore, have judged
thy sister, that is, you have taken God’s
office upon thee, and yet you were worse than thy sister. Some explain it
otherwise, that the Jews judged the ten tribes as long as they remained in a
moderate degree worshipers of God: but they do not attend to the context. There
is no doubt that the Prophet here rebukes the pride with which the Jews were
puffed up, while they judged others severely and themselves leniently.
They were justified in comparison
with thee, says he:
you,
therefore, he repeats,
blush and bear thy
disgrace. This repetition is not superfluous,
although in the former words there was nothing obscure, for it was difficult to
persuade the Jews that they should suffer punishment, since God had borne with
them so long. God’s goodness, then, which invited them to repentance, had
rather hardened them, and had occasioned so much torpor that they thought
themselves free from all danger. Hence this is the reason why the Prophet
confirms his former teaching concerning the nearness of God’s vengeance
against them. He says, when you
have justified them. He here repeats the cause,
and does so to restrain all pretenses by which the Jews could in any way protect
themselves. For by one word he shows that they must perish, since they had
justified those who had been treated so strictly. For it is by no means likely,
that God should cease from his office of judge in one direction, since he had
been so severe against the Sodomites, who were in some way excusable for their
errors. This then is the reason why the Prophet affirms again
that Sodom and Samaria were
justified by the Jews. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
16:53
|
|
53. When I shall bring again their captivity,
the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her
daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of
them.
|
53. Et convertam captivitatem earum,
captivitatem Sodomae et filiarum ejus, et c.aptivitatem Samartiae et filiarum
ejus, et captivitatem captivitatum tuarum in medio ipsarum.
|
He here confirms again what we lately saw, that the
Jews were doomed and devoted to final destruction, nor was it possible for them
to escape any more than for Sodom to rise again and Samaria to be restored to
her original dignity. The Jews foolishly corrupt this passage, since they think
that restoration is promised to Israel and Sodom. But by Sodomites they mean the
Moabites and Ammonites, the descendants of Lot who dwell at Sodom: but a child
may see that this is trifling. There is no doubt that the Prophet here deprives
the Jews of all hope of safety by reasoning upon an impossibility: as if he had
said, you shall be safe when Sodom and Samaria are. We now understand the
Prophet’s meaning. But the inquiry arises — how can he pronounce
none of the Israelites safe, when their return home is so often promised? But we
must bear in mind, what we saw elsewhere, and what it is often necessary to
repeat, since many passages in the prophets would otherwise give rise to
scruples. Therefore we have sometimes said, that the prophets speak of the
people in two ways; for they sometimes regard the whole body of the nation
promiscuously: but the Israelites were already alienated from God; afterwards
the Jews also cut themselves off from him. Since therefore each people,
considering them in a body and in the mass, to speak roughly, was outcast, it is
not surprising if the prophets use this language — that no hope of mercy
remained — since they had excluded themselves from God’s mercy. But
afterwards they change their discourse to the remnant: for God always preserves
a hidden seed, that the Church should not be utterly extinguished: for there
must always be a Church in the world, but sometimes it is preserved miserably as
it were in a sepulcher, since it is nowhere apparent. God, therefore, when he
denounces final vengeance on the Jews, regards the body of the people, but then
he promises that there shall be a small seed which he wishes to remain safe.
Hence it is said in Isaiah,
(<230816>Isaiah
8:16,) seal my law, bind up my testimony among my disciples; that is, address my
disciples as if you were reading in a hidden corner any writing which you did
not wish to be made public. Do you therefore collect my disciples together, that
you may deliver to them my law and my testimony like a sealed letter. But now
God cites to his tribunal those degenerate Jews who had nothing in common with
Abraham, since they had made void and utterly abolished his covenant: Now,
therefore, we see how the Jews perished together with Sodom and Samaria, and
were never restored, that is, as far as relates to that. filth and dregs which
were utterly unworthy of the honor of which they
boasted. I will
restore, therefore,
their captivities; namely,
the captivity of Sodom and of its cities, and the captivity of Samaria and its
cities, and the captivity of thy captivities,
that is, and the captivity of all thy land; I will restore you, says he,
altogether; but he speaks ironically, and, as I have said, he shows that
God’s taking pity upon the Jews was impossible. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
16:54
|
|
54. That you mayest bear your own shame, and
mayest be confounded in all that you has done, in that you art a comfort unto
them.
|
54. Ut portes probrum tuum, et pudefias ab
omnibus quae fecisti, consolando ipsas.
|
Hence we gather from the last verse, that God gave
the Jews no hope of safety, but rather confirms their utter destruction, so that
no future safety was to be hoped for. For he says,
that you may bear thy
reproach and become ashamed, namely, because
they had sinned grievously, as I have said before, and had not repented of their
wickedness. He adds, in consoling
them. He speaks after the ordinary manner of
men, since the miserable feel some consolation in seeing themselves perish among
a great multitude. This then is the consolation of which the Prophet speaks, not
that the sorrow of Sodom and Samaria was mitigated when they saw the Jews joined
to themselves, but, as I have said, God adopts the common language of men. It
follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:55
|
|
55. When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters,
shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return
to their former estate, then you and thy daughters shall return to your former
estate.
|
55. Et sorores tuae Sodoma, et filiae ejus
revertentur ad pristina sua,
f417 et Samaria et filiae, ejus revertentur
ad antiquitatem suam,
f418 et tu et filiae tuae revertimini ad
pristinum statum.
|
A clearer explanation of the former doctrine now
follows, that the Jews, should thus feel God merciful when his mercy reached
Samaria and Sodom; but that never could be done, and hence the Jews were reduced
to despair; for, as I have said, the Prophet argues from what is impossible and
almost absurd. Just as Virgil writes —
“The
inhabitants of seas and skies shall
change,
And fish on
shore, and stags in air shall
range:”
Virgil,
Dryden’s, Eclogue 1. V. 60 —
which can never take place: so that it implies the
complete denial of what might seem doubtful. This way of speaking is proverbial,
when Ezekiel says that the
Sodomites and Israelites should return to their ancient
state or their former dignity; and that could
never be hoped for, as I have said: hence it follows, that the Jews could not be
safe when God draws them into the same punishment. Besides, the Prophet speaks
as if the city should be cut off and temple overthrown, since the Jews had often
been threatened with this, and he had shown them the wrath of God present before
their eyes. But, although they had always hoped well, yet he despises their
pride by which they were blinded, and utters his prophecies openly as if God had
executed whatever he had threatened. For this reason he says,
the captivity of thy captivities
shall be in the midst of them. But they might
object, that they enjoyed their country, that they still cultivated their
fields, and had sufficient food for their support although besieged by their
enemies. But the Prophet looked down upon it all, because before God the city
was as it were taken and all were exiles, since God had not threatened them in
vain. Weakness here compels me to break off.
PRAYER
Grant, Almighty God, since in your
inestimable mercy you have deigned to separate us from the profane nations, and
to adopt us into thy family, that we may so conduct ourselves that you may not
treat us as strangers: but while you acknowledge us as thy sons, may thy Spirit
govern us until the end, so that thy name may be glorified in us, and at length
we may be made partakers of that glory which has been acquired for us through
Jesus Christ our Lord. — Amen.
LECTURE
FORTY-NINTH.
|
EZEKIEL
16:56-57
|
|
56. For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by
thy mouth in the day of thy pride,
|
56. Et non fuit Sodoma soror tua in sermonem
in ore tuo in die superbiarum
tuarum,
f419
|
|
57. Before thy wickedness was discovered, as
at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round
about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round
about.
|
57. Priusquam detegeretur malitia tua secundum
tempus probri filiarum Syriae, et omnium quae in circuitu ejus sunt filiarum
Philistim, quae spreverunt
f420 te a circuitu.
|
GOD here blames the Jews because they did not attend
to that remarkable judgment which he had executed against the Sodomites: for
they had always before their eyes what ought to retain them in the fear of God;
for that was a formidable spectacle, as it is this day. They knew that region to
have been like the paradise of God, as it is called by Moses.
(<011310>Genesis
13:10.) Since, then, the fertility and pleasantness of the place was so great,
to see there the lake of sulphur and bitumen was sufficient material for
instructing them, unless they had been utterly sluggish. But the Prophet says,
that there was no mention of Sodom while the Jews lived happily; and we know
that it was a great crime not to consider God’s judgments, as we read in
Isaiah.
(<230512>Isaiah
5:12.) Among other things he says, that the Jews and Israelites were so corrupt
that they did not regard God’s works: hence as it is a useful exercise to
consider God’s judgments, yea, this is the chief prudence of the faithful;
so, on the other hand, those who shut their eyes to the manifest judgments of
God are like the brutes. And yet this is a very common fault, especially when
the circumstance here expressed is added, that profane men do not attend to
God’s operations through being intoxicated by prosperity; for in this
passage we have two ways of explaining the word
˚ynwag,
gaonik, which the Prophet uses for pride or loftiness. Sometimes the word
ˆwag,
gaon, is taken in a bad sense, as well as for sublimity or any high
degree of honor. Besides, the Prophet’s meaning is clear, while things
proceeded according to the Jews desires they were not anxious about rendering an
account before God; nay, they passed by with their eyes shut that memorable
example which God designed for them in Sodom and the neighboring cities.
Therefore we should learn from this passage, when God indulges us, and treats us
softly and delicately, that we must always recall his judgments to mind, that we
may be restrained from all licentiousness, lest prosperity should incite us to
self-indulgence; for such remembrance is most needful. For we know that nothing
is more dangerous than to exult like ferocious horses when God feeds us in
abundance. Hence the remedy must be taken in time that we may receive
instruction from the examples of punishment which we read in Scripture, or in
other histories, or such as we witness with our own eyes. He adds,
before thy wickedness was
discovered. Here Ezekiel says that their
wickedness was discovered, when it appeared that God was hostile to their sins;
because even then, when their sins could be pointed out with the finger as
notorious throughout Jerusalem, yet the people gloried in them; just as if an
immodest woman, who is the town’s talk, is saluted honorably by all
because she has many admirers to worship and adore her, and so sets herself
above every chase matron: but if they all reject her, and she is reduced to
want, and to foul and disgraceful ulcers, then all her enormities are made
evident. This is the effect of which the Prophet speaks: before, says
he, thy enormities were
discovered. How so? God, indeed, constantly
proclaimed them ‘by his prophets, and the wickedness of the people was
open enough; but then they also remained as if buried: for they proudly rejected
all the prophetic warnings, and were even restive against God himself: thus they
lay hid under their own hiding-places. But when they became a laughingstock they
were spoiled by their neighbors, and suffered the extremity of reproach, and
then it was apparent that God had rejected them; for their crimes were detected
by punishments, since neither reproofs nor threats profited them in any
way.
Besides, interpreters explain this of the slaughter
which the Jews suffered in the time of Ahaz. (2 Kings 16.) For then the King of
Syria laid waste almost the whole region, and the citizens of Jerusalem were
grievously fined. The Philistines took advantage of this occasion and made an
irruption: they think, therefore, that the time is pointed out when the King of
Syria made war upon the Israelites, and violently assaulted Judea. But I know
not whether the Prophet looks to the future, as I said yesterday; for he speaks
of punishment at hand, just as if God was fulfilling what he had already
determined. I am inclined to think that the beginning and the end ought to be
united. Hence God begins to disclose the wickedness of the people from the time
when the burning consumed their neighbors till it reached themselves; for the
slaughter of the tribes of Israel brought upon them many losses, as we know well
enough. But God seems to embrace their ultimate destruction, which was now at
hand. Hence he says, that they had been, and would be, a laughingstock to the
daughters of Syria, and the nations all around, and also to the daughters of the
Philistines. But because they were spoiled by the Philistines, who took their
cities, as the sacred narrative informs us, it is very suitable thus to explain
the word
faç,
shat, to despise, in this passage. But because it signifies to despise,
and the Prophet spoke of reproach, he may repeat the same thing of the
Philistines which he had a little before said of the Syrians. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
16:58
|
|
58. You has borne thy lewdness and your
abominations, says the Lord.
|
58. Pravas cogitationes
tuas,
f421 et abominationes tuas, tu portasti ea,
dicit Iehovah.
|
Here God repeats what we saw before, that the Jews
were deprived of all excuse. We know how bold they were in their expostulations,
and how they always cried out when God treated them severely. Because,
therefore, complaints were always flying about from this proud people, here, as
before, God pronounces that they deserved their sufferings: you bear,
says he, not any immoderate rigor of which you falsely accuse me, but
your
abominations and crimes.
hmz,
zemeh, signifies simply purpose, but also abomination, so that it is
better to translate it wickedness or baseness. Now, therefore, we understand the
Prophet’s intention, that the Jews, indeed, suffered the just reward of
their wickedness; and the penalties which awaited them could not be imputed to
God as too severe, since, if they weighed their enormities, they would be found
heavier than God’s treatment of them. Besides, this verse also embraces
the final destruction of the city and temple; although God at the same time adds
the punishment by which he wished to recall them into the way of life. It
follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:59
|
|
59. For thus says the Lord God, I will even
deal with thee as you has done, which has despised the oath in breaking the
covenant.
|
59. Quia sic dicit Dominator Iehovah, et
faciam tibi quemadmodum fecisti,
quae
f422 sprevisti jusjurandum ad
dissipandum
f423 foedus.
|
Here, also, God meets the false objection by which
the Jews might strive with him; for whatever they were, yet God had entered into
covenant with them. They might, therefore, fly to this refuge, that God had
bound himself in covenant with them, since he had adopted Abraham with his seed.
Although they had provoked God’s anger a thousand times, yet this
exception remained, that God ought to stand to his agreement, and not to look at
what they had deserved by their ingratitude, but rather to be consistent with
his promises. Now, therefore, he returns to this cavil, and says that he is free
to break the covenant since they have done so
first. I will
do, says
he, to thee as thou has
done. We see, therefore, that the calumny is
here repelled by which the Jews could obliquely defame God, as they were
accustomed to do, as if he had rendered his covenant void. He says, then, that
in agreement it is customary for a person, when deceived, no longer to be
necessarily bound to a perfidious breaker of agreements; for covenanting
requires mutual faith: but the Jews had violated their agreement, and reduced it
to nothing. Hence, through their perfidy and wickedness, God had acquired the
liberty of rejecting them, and of no longer reckoning them among his people.
Hence, as in the last verse, he said that the Jews paid a just penalty; so now,
he adds specially, that he could not be condemned for bad faith in departing
from his agreement, because he had to deal with traitors and covenant-breakers
who had rendered void their agreement: for there is no covenant when either
party declines it. I will
do,
therefore, to thee as
you has done, namely,
because you have despised an
oath, so as to render the covenant void.
Here God enlarges upon the crime of revolt, because the Jews had not only
dissipated the covenant, but had despised an oath.
hla,
aleh, signifies both an oath and a curse; (Deuteronomy 27;) hence some
think that the Prophet here looks to the curses by which the law was sanctioned,
which I willingly adopt. But we must remark what I have already said, that their
criminality is increased, because the Jews had not only acted falsely, but had
also set at naught that solemn oath by which they had bound themselves. For as
God promised that he would be their God, so Moses stipulated in his name that
the people should remain obedient to him, and they all answered, Amen;
(Leviticus 26.) A punishment was announced, and such as ought to have terrified
them. For the Jews then to neglect this covenant as a mere trifle, was the act
of brutal stupidity. Whence we see that their crime was doubled, when the
Prophet accuses them of not only being truce-breakers, but also of wantonly
deriding God, and of treating their own solemn oath, by which they had bound
themselves, as a childish action. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:60
|
|
60. Nevertheless, I will remember my covenant
with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an
everlasting covenant.
|
60. Et memor
ero
f424 foederis mei tecum diebus adolescentiae
tuae: et stabiliam tibi foedus perpetuum.
|
Because God here promises that he would be propitious
to the Jews, some translate the former verse as if it had been said,
“Shall I do with thee as you have done?” or, I would do as you have
done, unless I had been mindful; but that is too forced in my opinion. I have no
doubt that the Prophet restrains himself, so to speak, and directs his discourse
peculiarly to the elect, of whom we spoke yesterday. Hitherto he had regarded
the whole body of the people which was abandoned, and hence he put before them
nothing but despair. But he now turns himself to the election of grace, of which
Paul speaks,
(<451105>Romans
11:5;) and for this reason promises them that God would be mindful of his
covenant, though he would not restore the whole people promiscuously. For the
body on the whole must perish; a small band only was reserved. We know,
therefore, that this promise was not common to all the sons of Abraham who were
his offspring according to the flesh, but it was peculiar to the elect alone.
God therefore pronounces, that he
would be mindful of his covenant which he had made with that people in their
youth, by which words he signifies, that his
pity should not go forth except from the covenant. For God always recalls the
faithful, as it were, to the fountain, lest they should claim anything as their
right, or imagine this or that to be the cause of God’s being reconciled
to them. He shows, therefore, that this pity has no other foundation than the
covenant; and this is the reason why he says,
that he would be mindful of his
covenant. He now adds,
and I will establish a perpetual
covenant with thee. Here God promises, without
obscurity, a better and more excellent covenant than that ancient one already
abolished through the people’s fault. This passage, then, cannot be
understood except of the new covenant which God has established by the hand of
Christ. But these two clauses are so mutually united that they ought to be
carefully weighed, namely, that God here gives the hope of a new covenant, and
yet teaches us that it originates in the old one already abolished through the
people’s fault. Thus we see that the New Testament flows from that
covenant which God made with Abraham, and afterwards sanctioned by the hand of
Moses. That which is promulgated for us in the Gospel is called the; New
Covenant, not because it had no beginning previously, but because it was
renewed, and better conditions added; for we know that the Law was abrogated by
the New Covenant. Whether it be so or not, the excellence of the New Testament
is not injured, because it has its source and occasion in the Old Covenant, and
is founded on it. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
16:61
|
|
61. Then you shall remember thy ways, and be
ashamed, when you shall receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I
will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy
covenant.
|
61. Et recordaberis viarum tuarum, et pudefies
cum tu assumes sorores tuas majores prae te, et cum minoribus prae te: et dabo
ipsas tibi in filias: et non a foedere tuo.
|
As God, then, shows that he would not be merciful to
the Jews for any other reason than through being mindful of his covenant, so
now, in return, he informs us what he requires from them, namely, that they
should begin to acknowledge how basely they had abjured their pledged fidelity
— how unworthily they had despised his law — how impiously obstinate
they had been against all his prophets in deriding their threats, and in being
stupid under manifest penalties. But this passage is worthy of notice, since we
gather that none are capable of obtaining God’s mercy except those who are
dissatisfied with themselves, and, being ashamed and confounded, betake
themselves to his mercy. In fine, we see that God’s grace does not profit
the obstinate at all: it is offered to all in common; but none receive it except
those who condemn themselves, and bear in mind their crimes, so that they are
forgotten before God. If, therefore, we wish our sins to be buried before God,
we must remember them ourselves; if we wish our iniquities to be blotted out
before God and the angels, we must disgrace ourselves; that is, we must blush
and be ashamed of our baseness whenever we transgress and provoke God’s
wrath. Hence we here see that the whole contents of the Gospel are shortly
summed up; for the Gospel contains nothing else but repentance and faith, as is
well known. Concerning faith, Ezekiel has proclaimed that God, mindful of his
covenant, will become reconciled to the lost; but he now adds an exhortation
that they should acknowledge their faults: but we know that the shame of which
the Prophet speaks is the fruit or part of repentance, as is evident from
Paul’s description of penitence in the seventh chapter of his second
epistle to the Corinthians,
(<470709>2
Corinthians 7:9-11.) But we shall have yet to speak on this subject, so that I
now hasten forwards, because what I have hitherto taught cannot be understood
until we come to the end of the verse. He says,
when you shall receive thy
sisters, as well the elder as the younger; for
he does not speak here of Sodom and Samaria alone,, but of all nations; for all
the nations may properly be called sisters, for all the world was corrupt.
Since, therefore, they were all alike in vices, their union was like that of
relationship. For this reason he says, that when the Jews shall return to favor,
they shall then have a great multitude with them,
who shall receive their own
sisters; that is, shall collect from all sides
an immense multitude, so that all shall be assembled in obedience to God, and
shall be partakers of the same covenant. If any one object that this has never
been fulfilled, the answer is at hand, that the prophets speak of the calling of
the Gentiles in two ways. They sometimes proclaim it so as to declare that the
Jews and Israelites are the leaders of all the others, so as to confer upon them
the favor and patronage of God. In that day seven men shall lay hold of the
skirt of a single Jew, and shall say, Lead us to your God,
(<380823>Zechariah
8:23;) and this was the legitimate order, that the Jews, as first-born, should
join others in alliance to themselves, and thus unite all into one body and one
Church: but because the Jews were cut off through their ingratitude, the
prophets make mention of another calling, that the Gentiles should succeed in
the place of the ungrateful people, as Paul says that the natural branches were
cut off, and that we were grafted in who belonged to the unfruitful tree.
(<451116>Romans
11:16-19.) The Prophet adds this former reason,
that the Jews should receive
their sisters, both elder and younger, since
they should collect God’s Church from all nations; and this has been
partly fulfilled. For whence came the Gospel except from this fountain? as it
had been foretold, A law shall go out from Zion, and God’s word from
Jerusalem.
(<230203>Isaiah
2:3;
<330402>Micah
4:2.) Again, in the 110th Psalm,
(<19B001>Psalm
110:1,) Thy scepter shall go forth from Zion; that is, the kingdom of Christ
shall be propagated throughout the whole world: because, therefore, salvation
flowed from the Jews, and the Gospel emanated from thence, what is here promised
was partly fulfilled, namely, that other people were received by the
Jews.
He now subjoins,
I will give them to thee for
daughters: for if the Jews had not, by their
ingratitude, rejected the honor of which God had reckoned them worthy, they had
always been the first-born in the Church. Then the Gentiles would have been, as
it were, under a mother, since they were “the primitive Church’
(according to the language of the day,) and thus they would have obtained the
degree of mother among all nations. Therefore God here deservedly
pronounces that he would give
them, all nations for daughters, to be added to
the Jews, when the Gentiles were grafted into the same body of the Church by
faith in the Gospel. But he adds,
not from thy
covenant. Some refer this to ceremonies, since,
when the Gentiles were adopted, they still remained free from the ceremonies of
the law; but that is cold. Others compare this passage with Jeremiah: I will
establish a new covenant with you, not such as I established with your fathers,
which they rendered vain; but this is the covenant which I will make with you,
etc.
(<243131>Jeremiah
31:31-33.) Since, then, it is here said, the
covenant shall not be according
to the covenant of the people, this is said
with truth, because it will be a New Testament. But such expounders are partly
right, but not wholly so; for a contrast must be understood between the
people’s covenant and God’s. He had said just before, I will be
mindful of my covenant: he now says,
not of
thine. Hence he reconciles what seemed
opposites, namely, that he would be mindful of his own agreement, and yet it had
been dissipated, broken, and abolished. He shows that it was fixed on his own
side, as they say, but vain on the people’s side.
I will be reconciled, then,
but not through thy covenant; for there was now
no covenant, as Hosea says — Not my people, not beloved.
(<280109>Hosea
1:9.) All the progeny of Abraham were not God’s people, nor all their
daughters beloved: but although the covenant was vain through the people’s
perfidy, yet God overcame their malice, and so he again erected his own covenant
towards them. And when he says, I
will establish a covenant, we may explain it, I
will set it up again, or restore it afresh: for we said that the New Testament
was so distinguished from the Old, that it was founded upon it. For what is
proposed to us in Christ, unless what God had promised in the law? and therefore
Christ is called the end of the law, and elsewhere its spirit: for if the law be
separated from Christ, it is like a dead letter: Christ alone gives it life.
Since, therefore, God at this day exhibits to us nothing in his only-begotten
Son but what he had formerly promised in the law, it follows that his covenant
is set up again, and so perpetually established; and yet this is not man’s
part. Wherefore? For men had so revolted from the faith, that God was free; nay,
the covenant itself had no force, and lost its effect through their perfidy: for
it is easy to collect the points in which the New and Old Testaments are alike,
and those, in which they differ. They have this similarity, that God to this day
confirms to us what he had formerly promised to Abraham, and in no other sense
could Abraham be called the Father of the Faithful.
Since, therefore, Abraham is at this time the father
of all the faithful, it, follows that our safety is not to be thought otherwise
than in that covenant which God established with Abraham; but afterwards the
same covenant was ratified by the hand of Moses. A difference must now be
briefly remarked from a passage in Jeremiah,
(<243132>Jeremiah
31:32,) namely, because the ancient covenant was abolished through the fault of
man, there was reed of a better remedy, which is there shown to be twofold,
namely, that God should bury men’s sins, and inscribe his law on their
hearts: that also was done in Abraham’s time. Abraham believed in God:
faith was always the gift of the Holy Spirit; therefore God inscribed his
covenant in Abraham’s heart.
(<011506>Genesis
15:6;
<450403>Romans
4:3;
<490208>Ephesians
2:8.) He inscribed his law on the heart of Moses and on the rest of the
faithful. This is true: but at first that inner grace was more obscure under the
law, and then it was an additional benefit. It could not therefore be ascribed
to the law that God regenerated his own elect, because the spirit of
regeneration was from Christ, and therefore from the Gospel and the new
covenant. But yet we must remember what I have said, that the faithful under the
ancient covenant were gifted and endowed with a spirit of regeneration. As far
as relates to the remission of sins, it was still more obscure: for cattle were
sacrificed, which could not acquire salvation for miserable men, nor blot out
their sins. Therefore, if the law is regarded in itself, the promise in the new
covenant will not be found in it: I will not. remember thy sins: yet to this day
God is propitious to us, because he promised to Abraham that all nations should
be blest in his seed.
(<243134>Jeremiah
31:34;
<011203>Genesis
12:3, and
<011818>Genesis
18:18.) We see then that the difference which Jeremiah points out was really
true; and yet the new covenant so flowed from the old, that it was almost the
same in substance, while distinguished in form.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since your
only-begotten Son has appeared for us, who filled up all the measure of thy
grace, that we may not be ungrateful in despising so inestimable a boon; but may
we embrace with true and sincere faith what you offer us, namely, the mercy
which we always need, and also the spirit of regeneration; that we may so devote
ourselves to thee through a whole life of obedience, that at length we may
arrive at that glory which at this day: shines upon us as in a mirror, until its
fruition shall appear in heaven, by the same Christ our Lord. —
Amen.
LECTURE
FIFTIETH.
|
EZEKIEL
16:62
|
|
62. And I will establish my covenant with
thee; and you shall know that I am the Lord.
|
62. Et stabiliam ego foedus meum tecum, et
cognosces quod ego Iehovah.
|
The Prophet here confirms his former teaching,
namely, that although the Jews rendered God’s covenant vain as far as they
possibly could, yet it should be firm and fixed. But we must hold what I have
mentioned, that this discourse is specially limited to the elect, because the
safety of the whole people was already desperate. Hence God shows that the
covenant which he had made with Abraham could not be abolished by the, perfidy
of man. And this is what Paul says in the third chapter of the Epistle to the
Romans,
(<450304>Romans
3:4,) Even if the whole world were liars, yet God must always remain true. But
we see that the covenant of which we are now teaching was new, and yet had its
origin from the old, because we are so reconciled to God by Christ that we ought
to be grafted into the body of the ancient Church, and be made sons of Abraham,
since, as we saw before, he is not called the father of the faithful in vain.
God says, therefore, that his own
covenant should be firm with the people, not
with that people which had been already deserted through its perfidy, but with
the true and genuine children of Abraham, who followed their father in faith and
piety, as it is said in the 102d Psalm,
(<19A218>Psalm
102:18,) A people shall be created to the praise of God. For the Prophet now
shows that God’s covenant could not be otherwise constituted afresh unless
a new Church were formed, and God was to create a new world: for this is the
meaning of the words, A people when created shall praise God. The Spirit,
therefore, obliquely reproves the Israelites, as if he had said that the praises
of God were abolished among them: but when the new people shall come forth, then
God should be glorified. He adds,
and you shall know that I am
Jehovah. This phrase is often repeated, but in
a different sense. For when a prophet threatened the people, he always added
this particle, and thus a contrast must be understood between the people’s
stupidity and good sense; for all their prophecies were neglected by the people.
God’s servants indeed uttered their voice, and severely blamed the impious
and wicked, but without any effect. Since, therefore, they so wantonly played
with reproaches and threats, it was often said to them, You shall begin to feel
me to be God when I shall cease to speak to you, and shall instruct you by
scourges. But now the Prophet, as we see, preaches concerning the gratuitous
reconciliation of the people with God. Hence they really felt him to be God,
because he stood firm to his promises, although, through the fault of man, his
covenant had fallen to pieces and become invalid. The Prophet here announces
that they should feel God to be unlike themselves, that is, not to change his
counsels, or to vary with the levity and inconstancy of men: as also it is said
in Isaiah, My thoughts are not as your thoughts: as far as the heavens are
distant from the earth, so are my thoughts distant from yours, and my ways from
your ways.
(<235508>Isaiah
55:8,9.) God here means that the Jews acted wrong in estimating his pity by
their own common sense: for he says that he differed very much from them, since
his pity was unfathomable, and his truth incomprehensible.
Now, therefore, we understand what the Prophet means
in this verse. In the first clause he pronounces, that the covenant which God
would make with his new and elect people should be firm: then he adds, that the
Jews should know that they were dealing with God, because they could not take
away what God was then promising. Now we can understand the reason why
God’s covenant in Christ was perpetual: because, as we read in Jeremiah,
he inscribed his law on the hearts of the righteous, and remitted their
iniquities.
(<243133>Jeremiah
31:33.) This, then, was the cause of its perpetuity. Besides, although the
Prophet magnifies God’s grace in the second clause, yet at the same time
he recalls the Jews from every perverse imagination which might entirely shake
their confidence. For when they thought themselves plunged in an abyss, they
were ready to collect that there was no further remedy. But if God wished to
preserve them, why did he not send them help in time? But when he suffered them
to be led into exile, and to be plunged into the lowest depths, there was no
hope of restoration. For this cause Ezekiel announces that the faithful ought
not to persist in their own thoughts, but rather to raise their minds to heaven,
and to expect what seemed altogether out of place, since they thought to judge
according to the nature of God, and to measure the effects of his promises by
the immensity of his power rather than by their own
perceptions.
|
EZEKIEL
16:63
|
|
63. That you mayest remember, and be
confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am
pacified t., ward thee for all that you has done, saith the Lord
God.
|
63. Ut recorderis, et pudefias, et non sit
tibi amplius apertio oris propter probrum tuum cum propitius fuero tibi in
omnibus quae fecisti, dicit Dominator Iehovah.
|
Ezekiel again exhorts the faithful to repentance and
constant meditation. We have said that these members cannot be divided, namely,
the testimony of grace with the doctrine of repentance: we have said, also, that
this is the substance of the gospel, that God wishes those to repent whom he
reconciles by gratuitous pardon. For he is appeased by us only when he makes us
new creatures in Christ, and regenerates us by his Spirit; as it is said in
Isaiah, God will be propitious to the people who shall have returned from their
iniquity.
(<235920>Isaiah
59:20.) That promise is restricted to those who do not indulge and revel in sin,
but humble themselves before God, and decide their own salvation to be
impossible without their being severe judges to their own condemnation.
Therefore Ezekiel follows up this point when he says
that you may remember and be
ashamed. I have said that penitence is not only
to be commended here, but the continual desire for it. And this must be
remarked, because it is troublesome to us to be often shaking off our sins; and
hence we escape as far as we can from the perception of them: for we desire our
own enjoyment, and every one willingly puts his sins out of sight. Surely if we
do look upon them, they first compel us to be ashamed, and then we are wounded
with serious grief; conscience summons us to God’s tribunal: we then
acknowledge the formidable vengeance which slays even the boldest, unless they
are upheld by the assurance of pardon. Since, then, the acknowledgment of sins
brings us both shame and sorrow, we endeavor to put it far away from us by all
means. But no other way of access to embracing God’s favor is open to us,
except that of repentance of sins. This, then, is the reason why God insists so
much on this point: we do not follow him directly; hence it is not sufficient to
show us what ought to be done, unless God pricks us sharply, and violently draws
us to himself. This passage, then, must be remarked where the Prophet commands
the faithful, after they have obtained pardon, to remember their sins, for
hypocrites are here distinguished from the true sons of God. Hypocrites boast
with swelling words, that they rely on the mercy of God, and speak mightily of
the grace of Christ, but meanwhile they wish the memory of their sins to remain
buried. On the other hand, we cannot be otherwise truly humble before God,
unless we judge ourselves, as I have said. If we desire, therefore, our sins to
be blotted out before God, and to be buried in the depths of the sea, as another
Prophet says,
(<330719>Micah
7:19,) we must recall them often and constantly to our remembrance: for when
they are kept before our eyes we then flee seriously to God for mercy, and are
properly prepared by humility and fear.
The Prophet adds also,
that you may be
ashamed: for it is not sufficient simply to
remember, unless we add the shame of which the Prophet speaks. For we see that
many remember their faults and confess their sins, but they do it lightly, and
as a matter of duty; nay, they acknowledge them so as to remain in their
integrity, and, as they say, to preserve their credit. But the recognition here
required is accompanied by shame, as Paul, when addressing the faithful, puts
before them their past life thus:
“What fruit could
you gather from that course of
life.”
(<450619>Romans
6:19-21.)
You blush now in truth when so many crimes are heaped
upon you: you were then blind, and wandered in darkness: but when God shone upon
you by the gospel, you acknowledge your baseness and foulness, from which shame
is produced. He now adds, neither
may thou open thy mouth any more. It is not
surprising if the Prophet uses many words in explaining one thing which is not
obscure in itself. But I have already shown why he does so, because we are with
the greatest difficulty led on to that shame which the Prophet mentions. We
condemn ourselves indeed verbally at once; but scarcely one in a hundred can be
found so to cast himself down as to sustain willingly the reproach which he
deserves. Since then voluntary submission is not found in man, it is necessary
that we should be impelled more hardly and sharply, as the Prophet does here.
When he says, there shall
be no opening of the mouth, he means, that no
partial confession of sins shall be exacted by which men bear witness, and
acknowledge themselves liable to God’s judgment; but a full and entire
confession, so that they may be held convicted on all sides. And this must be
diligently noticed. For we see that the world is always endeavoring to escape
God’s sentence by turning away from it; and since it cannot do this
completely, it invents subterfuges, so as to retain some portion of its
innocence.
Hence the fiction among the papists of partial
justification: hence also their satisfactions; for they are compelled, whether
they wish it or not, to confess themselves worthy of death: but afterwards they
use the exception, that they have merited something before from God through
their good works, and are not altogether worthy of condemnation: then they
descend to compensations, and wish to treat with God, as if they could appease
him by what they call works of supererogation. Whatever be the sense, men can
scarcely be found who sincerely and honestly acknowledge that there exists in
themselves nothing but material for condemnation. We confess, as I have said,
that we are guilty before God, but only for one or two faults. What then does
the Holy Spirit here prescribe?
that there should be no opening of the mouth;
as also Paul says, adopting his form of speech from this and similar passages.
It is often said in the Prophets, Let all flesh be silent before God,
(<380213>Zechariah
2:13;) but here the Prophet speaks specially of the shame by which God’s
children lie so confused, that they are altogether silent. Paul also says, that
every mouth may be shut, and all flesh humbled before God.
(<450319>Romans
3:19.) He afterwards shows that Jews as well as Gentiles were involved in the
same condemnation, and that there was no hope of safety left except through
God’s mercy: he then adds, that God’s justice truly shines forth
when our mouth is stopped, that is, when we do not turn aside and offer any
excuses, as hypocrites divide the merit between God and themselves. I indeed
confess that I have sinned; but why may not my good works come into the account?
why should I be condemned for one fault only? as if those who violate law do not
depart from righteousness. We see, then, that we are properly humbled when we
are silent and do not reproach God, when we do not quibble or allege first one
thing and then another to extenuate or excuse our fault. God indeed wishes our
mouth to be open; as Peter says, that we are called out of darkness into
marvelous light, to show forth his praises who delivered us.
(<600209>1
Peter 2:9.) For this purpose, then, God was merciful to us, that we might be
heralds of his grace. And in this sense, also, David says, 0 Lord, open you my
lips, and my mouth shall declare thy praise; that is, by giving me material for
a song, as he elsewhere says, He has put a new song into my mouth.
(<195115>Psalm
51:15;
<194003>Psalm
40:3.) God, therefore, opens the mouths or lips of the faithful whenever he is
liberal or beneficent towards them. But he is here treating of the exceptions of
those who would willingly transact business with God, as if they were not wholly
worthy of condemnation. In fine, Ezekiel signifies that this is the true fruit
of penitence when we do not defend ourselves, but silently confess ourselves
convicted. A passage of Paul’s may possibly be objected as apparently
contrary to this of our Prophet, in which he reckons defense among the effects
or fruits of penitence,
(<470711>2
Corinthians 7:11;) but defense is not here used in our customary sense: for any
one who asserts that he has acted rightly, and so without fault is said to
defend himself. But a defense in Paul’s sense is nothing else but a prayer
against punishment when a sinner comes forward, and after confessing his fault,
begs of God to pardon it, and, as it were, covers himself with mercy, so that
his condemnation is nowhere apparent. We see, then, that the language of Paul is
not in opposition to that of the Prophet.
He now adds,
from thy
disgrace, verbally from the face of thy
disgrace, when I shall be
propitious to thee. We again see that these
things agree well together, that God buries our sins and we recall them to
memory. For we turn aside his judgment when we willingly accuse and condemn
ourselves. For when conscience is asleep, it nourishes a hidden fire, which at
length emerges into a flame and lights up God’s wrath. If, therefore, we
desire the fire of God’s wrath to be extinguished, there is no other
remedy than to shake off our sins and to set before our eyes the disgrace which
we deserve, and God’s mercy induces us to this. For we must remark the
connection, when I shall
be propitious to thee, you shall be silent in thy
disgrace. And surely the more any one has
tasted of the grace of God, the more ready he is to condemn himself, and as
unbelief is proud, so the more any one proceeds in the faith of God’s
grace, he is thus humbled more and more before him. And that is best expressed
in the words of the Prophet, since he teaches that silence is the effect of
grace or of gratuitous reconciliation. When therefore he says,
I shall have been propitious to
thee, then you shall blush that thou may be mute, namely, on account of thy
disgrace. And we see that the people were so
taught by legal ceremonies to apprehend the mercy of God, and to be touched at
the same time with the serious affection of penitence; for without a victim, God
was never appeased under the law. And now although animals are not sacrificed,
yet when we consider that no other price was sufficient to satisfy God, except
his only-begotten Son poured forth his blood in expiation, there matter is set
before us for embracing the grace of God, and at the same time we are touched,
as the saying is, with the true affection of penitence. Besides, God amplifies
the magnitude of his grace when he says
tyç[ rça
lkl, lekel asher gnesith,
on account of all things
which, you have done. For the people thought
not only to feel God merciful, but to examine their faults, and then to feel how
manifold and remarkable was God’s mercy towards them. For if the people
had only been guilty of one kind of sin, they would have valued God’s
grace the less: but when they had been convicted of so many crimes, as we have
seen, hence the magnitude of his grace became more
apparent.
f425 Let us now go on.
CHAPTER 17
|
EZEKIEL
17:1-2
|
|
1. And the word of the Lord came unto me,
saying,
|
1. Et fuit sermo Iehovae ad me,
dicendo,
|
|
2. Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a
parable unto the house of Israel.
|
2. Fili hominis, aenigmatisa aenigma, et
proverbia proverbium
f426 ad domum Israel.
|
In this chapter the Prophet shows that the Jews were
utterly foolish in thinking themselves safe, since they had God as their
adversary. At the end of the chapter he promises indeed the restoration of the
Church, and heralds the kingdom of Christ: but the principal part of the chapter
is consumed with this teaching, that the Jews were utterly foolish in promising
themselves safety for the city, the temple, and their kingdom: for, as it now
appeared, they had violated the covenant of God and he had rejected them. When
deprived of God’s help, what could they do? This was egregious folly to
hope for a prosperous state of their kingdom when their power was diminished and
cut off, and they were reduced almost to the very last straits. But since the
Prophet’s discourse came be understood without a knowledge of the history,
I shall therefore make a beginning: When Nebuchadnezzar appointed Zedekiah king,
he also made him tributary to himself. He was made king at the will or rather by
the lust of the king of Babylon, when Jeconiah was led captive.
(<122415>2
Kings 24:15-17;
<143610>2
Chronicles 36:10;
<243701>Jeremiah
37:1.) Jeconiah had not sinned greatly, but when he saw himself unable to
resist, he surrendered himself with his mother and children; he was carried away
to Babylon, and there was treated humanely and even splendidly, although not
royally. Nebuchadnezzar, foreseeing much trouble if he set any of his satraps
over Judea, and fearing daily tumults, appointed Mattaniah king, to whom he gave
the name Zedekiah; this was the last king: already, as I have said, the royal
dignity was greatly diminished: it was tributary to Nebuchadnezzar, and
Zedekiah’s sway was but precarious. His position depended on the will of
his conqueror, and he who placed him on the throne could remove him as often as
he pleased. A little while afterwards, when he saw that Nebuchadnezzar was at a
distance, he made an agreement with the king of Egypt, and thought he should
have sufficient help if Nebuchadnezzar were to return again with an army. And
the Egyptians, as we have elsewhere said, were sufficiently desirous of this
treaty. For they saw the Babylonian monarchy gradually increasing, and it was
probable that, when the Jews were utterly subdued, Nebuchadnezzar would not be
content with those boundaries, but would attack Egypt in like manner, and absorb
that kingdom, as he had done others. Hence a reason for their entering into the
treaty was at hand, since the king of Egypt thought that Judea would be a
defense if Nebuchadnezzar should come down with his army: and certainly the Jews
must receive the assault first. Whatever be the meaning, Zedekiah, through
despising his oath, as we shall see, revolted to the Egyptians, and when
Nebuchadnezzar afterwards demanded tribute, Zedekiah refused, through reliance
on that covenant which he had made with the Egyptians. We now see how foolish
the Jews were in sleeping carelessly in that miserable state to which they had
been reduced. For when their power was unbroken they could not sustain the
attack of the king of Babylon: their king was then a mere dead image, and
nothing but a shadow: yet they indulged in pride not only against Nebuchadnezzar
but also against the Prophets and God himself, just as if they were flourishing
in wealth and power and complete prosperity. Hence Ezekiel now refutes and
rebukes this arrogance. He shows how easy it was for the Babylonians to
overthrow them again, since when they attacked them before they were subdued,
they easily compelled them to surrender.
But I come to the words
Son of man, set forth in
enigma: the noun and the verb mutually answer
to each other, hence any one may if he please render the Prophet’s words,
by saying enigmatize an enigma: for the Prophet here speaks of allegorical
language,
hdyj,
chideh, signifies the same as “allegory,” where the words are
different from the sense, that is, where the sense is wrapped up in obscure
involutions: but we know that God sometimes spoke enigmatically when unwilling
to be understood by the impious and disbelieving. But here the obscurity of the
sentence has another meaning, namely, that the Jews should be waked up, and this
prophecy should penetrate their minds: we know their extreme hardness, and hence
if the Prophet had spoken simply and in his accustomed language, they had not
been so attentive. This therefore is the reason why, God orders him to speak
enigmatically. He now adds,
lçmw
lçm, vemeshel meshel. We know that
meshel is a remarkable sentence, and is the word used by Solomon as the
title of his proverbs:
lçm,
meshel, then, means the same as apothegm: but it is sometimes taken for
likeness: and in this place God so denounces destruction upon the Israelites in
an allegory, as to illustrate his language by a comparison, since otherwise it
would have been obscure. Be this as it may, God so prefaced his address, that
the Jews might acknowledge the message to be no common one, but that it ought to
affect them seriously. The usual reason for speaking enigmatically does not hold
good here, namely, that the Jews were unworthy of the doctrine of salvation,
since the Prophet will very shortly explain what he had hitherto uttered in
figure and allegory. It is indeed true, that Christ spoke in parables to the
people, because the disciples alone were capable of familiar and pure teaching.
Of unbelievers, also, Isaiah says, Prophecy shall be to you a sealed book. Hence
I will speak with this people in a strange and barbarous tongue, and they shall
not proceed beyond the rudiments. (Matthew 13.; Mark 4.; Luke 8.; Isaiah 29:11,
12.) But, as I have said, the obscurity of this teaching was only a preparation,
that the people should strictly attend to the subject here set before
them.
|
EZEKIEL
17:3-4
|
|
3. And say, Thus says the Lord God, A great
eagle with great wings, long winged, full of feathers, which had divers colors,
came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:
|
3. Et dic, Sit dicit Dominator Iehovah, aquila
magna, magna alis, longa penna
f427
plena
f428 plumis quae illis
variae
f429 erant venit ad montem Libanum, et
accepit summitatem cedri.
|
|
4. He cropped off the top of his young twigs,
and carried it into a land of traffic; he set it, in a city of
merchants.
|
4.
Caput
f430 surculorum ejus avellit, et transtulit
in terram mercatoris,
f431 in urbe mercatorum posuit
eam.
F432
|
Here the Prophet reasons from the greater to the
less: for if Nebuchadnezzar was able to subdue the whole kingdom with ease, when
as yet the Jews were untouched, how much more readily would he overthrow them
when wretched and all but ruined: for nothing remained which was not threatened
with ruin; and this is the meaning of the Prophet. But he compares King
Nebuchadnezzar to an eagle, whom
he says was great, and then with large or
extended wings. There is no doubt that
by wings, feathers, and
plumes, he means the regions and peoples over
which Nebuchadnezzar presided; for we know that the Chaldaeans possessed the
monarchy of the East. Since, therefore, so many regions and people obeyed
Nebuchadnezzar’s sway, it is not surprising that the Prophet calls him a
great eagle, with ample wings, and with numerous feathers or plumes; for where
he now says, hxwnh
alm, mela henotzeh, full of feathers, he
will shortly say, hxwn
br, reb notzeh, many feathers, when speaking
of the king of Egypt. He says,
the wings were of divers
colors; it is the same noun which the Prophet
used in the last chapter, when he said that the people were clad in precious
garments; for thus the Hebrews speak of Phrygian texture: hence he compares the
wings of the king of Babylon to a woven garment, resplendent with various
colors; for although Nebuchadnezzar held his throne at only one place, yet he
had seized and subdued many tributaries on all sides. This, therefore, is the
reason for this variety; — but I cannot proceed further at
present.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since you have
treated us so liberally by opening the immense and inestimable treasures of thy
grace, that being mindful of our condition we may always bewail it, and remember
what we were when you desire to adopt us as sons, and how often and how
variously we have provoked thee, and rendered thy covenant vain: Grant, also,
that we may glorify thee in our shame, and perpetually magnify thy name by our
humility, until we become partakers of that glory which your only-begotten Son
has procured for us through his own blood. — Amen.
LECTURE
FIFTY-FIRST
WE began yesterday to explain the saying of the
Prophet, that an eagle came to
mount Lebanon, and there cropped off the top of a
cedar, that is, the highest bough. Some
interpreters seem to me to labor in vain about the word Lebanon. They think it
means Jerusalem, and cite the passage in Zechariah where it is said, Open thy
gates, O Lebanon.
(<381101>Zechariah
11:1.) But Zecharia does not speak of the city here, but of the temple, because
it was built of a great mass of cedar. But here Ezekiel means the land, and
names Lebanon rather than other places, not only because that mountain was the
remarkable ornament of the region on account of its lofty cedars, and balsam and
aromatic trees, but because this was needful to complete his allegory. If he had
said that an eagle had come to a city, it would have been absurd. Hence we see
that the word Lebanon is taken for that part of Judea in which the most
beautiful trees spring up and flourish. But he says,
that it plucked off a bough, from
the top of the cedars, because Nebuchadnezzar,
who is intended by the eagle took away King Jeconiah as we said yesterday. Hence
King Jeconiah is compared to a
very lofty bough of a cedar, because at that
time all thought that the kingdom was superior to every danger; for the Jews
boasted that they were under God’s protection, and that the city was
impregnable: hence that occurrence was incredible. Now the Prophet adds,
that the eagle plucked off the
head or summit of the boughs, as the Hebrews
call the tender shoots; and here the word means the tender branches: and it
means, as we shall afterwards see, the elders who were dragged away into exile.
It took away the head into the
land of the merchant. We said that this
was a mere appellative here, chnaan, because it follows a little
afterwards in the plural number:
wmç mylkr
ryxb, begnir-reklim shemo, in the city of
merchants he set it: he says, then,
that the boughs were placed in a
city of merchants. This name was given to
Babylon, not only because it was a celebrated mart of trade, but because it was
a firm and strong place of custody through the multitude of inhabitants, so that
it was not easy to draw captives from it. For any one could easily be rescued
from a solitude without resistance; but in a great concourse it is not so easy
to plan or attempt anything. I do not doubt, therefore, that the Prophet means
that the higher classes of the kingdom, together with Jeconiah, were shut up in
firm custody that they should not escape. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
17:5-6
|
|
5. He took also of the seed of the land, and
planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a
willow-tree:
|
5. Et
sustulit f433
e semine terrae, et posuit illud in agro
seminis,
f434 sumpsit super aquas multas, tanquam
salicem posuit illud.
|
|
6. And it grew, and became a spreading vine of
low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under
him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth
sprigs.
|
6. Et germinavit, et fuit in vitem
luxuriantem, humilem statura, ut respicerent palmites ejus ad
ipsam, f435
et radices ejus sub ea essent: et fuit in
vitem, et produxit palmites
f436 et emisit propagines.
|
After Ezekiel has narrated that Jehoiacin was carried
away with his counselors and the flower of the whole people, and was so deprived
of his native country as to be without hope of return, he now says,
that the eagle took up the seed
in Judea, and placed it in a fertile land; for
he calls it a land of seed, since it was cultivated and produced fruit
abundantly. He says, that the seed was afterwards hidden in the soil, that it
grew immediately, and became a luxuriant vine. He says also,
that its roots were irrigated,
like a willow planted by a river’s bed.
The Prophet afterwards explains himself: hence
it is sufficient to state briefly what he means. The seed, then, which he here
means is Zedekiah, the last king. It is said
to have been planted beside the
waters; for his condition was tolerable, since
the royal name and dignity and wealth was left to him. For although he was
tributary, the kindness with which he was treated by Nebuchadnezzar was not to
be despised, since, by the right of war, he was able to lead him captive.
together with his nephew; for Zedekiah was the uncle of Jeconiah or Jehoiacin.
But he said, that this
vine, which sprang from a seed or germ,
grew so that it was of low
stature; the Prophet means by these words, as
we shall afterwards see, that Zedekiah was not a king, that he was restrained by
a bridle from daring to rebel against the king of Babylon; and hence it is
added, that its branches
turned towards the eagle, and its roots were under him;
but in the next clause Ezekiel announces,
that it became a vine which set
forth branches, and shot forth boughs, which he
repeats again, that Zedekiah’s ingratitude may appear the greater, who,
not content with his moderate confinement, perfidiously revolted from the king
of Babylon, through reliance on the new treaty, on which we touched yesterday.
It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
17:7
|
|
7. There was also another great eagle with
great wings and many feathers; and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward
him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the
furrows of her plantation.
|
7. Et fuit aquila
una
f437 magna, magnis alis, et copiosa plumis:
et ecce vitis ista collegit radices suas ad
eam,
f438 et palmites suos emisit ad eam, ut
irrigaret ipsam alveis f439
plantationis
suae.
f440
|
He now detects, under a figure, the perfidy of
Zedekiah, since he very soon applied himself to the king of Egypt, and bent his
roots and branches towards him, that they might be irrigated. I do not disagree
with the opinion of those who think that the Prophet alludes to an Egyptian
custom; for we know that they dug furrows through which water flowed through the
whole region: hence the fruitfulness of the soil; and thus Egypt is elsewhere
compared to a garden.
(<051110>Deuteronomy
11:10.) Whatever the meaning is, the Prophet shows that Zedekiah was deceived by
a foolish confidence when he thought himself safe under the protection of the
king of Egypt; for he had said that the seed was so planted that the vine did
not rise to a great height, but spread itself under the wings of the eagle. But
Zedekiah despised the king of Babylon, thinking that he should improve his
condition by entering into a treaty with the king of Egypt. It now follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
17:8
|
|
8. It was planted in a good soil by
greatwaters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit,
that it might be a goodly vine.
|
8. Super agrum
bonum
f441 juxta aquas
multas
f442 ipsa plantara erat, ut produceret folia,
et proferret fructum ut esset in vitem
magnificam.
f443
|
He exaggerates the ingratitude of Zedekiah, because,
as we have said, he had been treated humanely by the king of Babylon; for he had
been but a private man till that time: he was elevated to a throne and to a sway
over the people beyond his expectation, and he had an avenger if any one
despised him. For when he was tributary to the king of Babylon, he would
doubtless have been assisted by him in adversity: hence his revolt was less
excusable, since he had been treated liberally beyond all anticipation. For this
reason it is said, the vine was planted in a good soil, and near many waters,
that it might put forth branches and bear fruit, so that it might be a goodly
vine. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
17:9-10
|
|
9. Say you, Thus says the Lord God, Shall it
prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof,
that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her in spring, even without
great power, or many people to pluck it up by the roots
thereof.
|
9. Dic, Sic dicit Dominator Iehovah, An
feliciter aget?
f444 an non radices ejus evellet? et fructum
ejus succidet? et siccabit omnes surculos germinis ipsius, ut
arefiat
f445 et non brachio magno et populo multo ad
tollendum
f446 e radicibus suis.
|
|
10. You, behold, being planted, shall it
prosper? shall it not utterly wither when the east wind toucheth it shall wither
in the furrows where it grew.
|
10. Et ecce plantata: an
prosperabitur?
f447 an non cum
attigerit
f448 ipsam ventus orientalis arescendo
arescet super areas
f449 plantationis suae scet?
|
Here God announces that this vine could not flourish
any longer and bring forth fruit; for it had been planted to flourish under the
shadow of an eagle, and it had removed itself away. Nothing therefore remains,
than that the former eagle should avenge the injury committed against it. This
is the meaning of the passage: hence he says,
Shall it prosper? Shall not the
eagle tear up its roots, and cut off its
fruit? Ezekiel assumes this
principle, that the vine
could not be otherwise preserved than by the
power and aid of the eagle which had planted it; for when it passed away from
that eagle to another, the Prophet says that the end of the ungrateful vine was
at hand; all the leaves of its
branches shall wither, and so be dried up, and that not in, a mighty branch, nor
in much people. It is certain that
Nebuchadnezzar was accompanied with a great army when he came down upon Judea.
But the Prophet means, even if Nebuchadnezzar had only brought with him a small
band, yet Zedekiah could not remain king, since destruction awaited him through
perfidy and revolt, as will afterwards be said. The Prophet often speaks by
concession, as if he had said that, by a singe blast, Zedekiah and all the
people would wither away, since he could not remain in safety unless he drew sap
from his own root; but he had removed his root elsewhere, and so Ezekiel
pronounces that he must immediately wither away.
It was not then in the power of
much people to tear it from its own roots; for
Zedekiah had purposely cut off his own roots, when, through his own levity, he
had transferred himself to the king of Egypt.
Behold,
says he, he had been planted;
but should he have good success? as if he had
said, it is vain for Zedekiah to hope for safety from him, whom his own perfidy
prevented from befriending him; and therefore the comparison of an east wind is
added: since then the east wind
has struck it, will it not wither and decay, even upon the furrows of its
branches? that is, although it has furrows
whence it may expect perpetual moisture; for Egypt was, as we have said,
artificially watered; and the Prophet describes Zedekiah’s state just as
if the king of Egypt were nourishing him by a stream of water:
upon his beds, or furrows, will
he wither when the east wind shall strike it.
We know that the east wind destroys the fruits in that region, and so it is
often mentioned in a bad sense. It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
17:11-16
|
|
11. Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto
me, saying,
|
11. Et fuit sermo Iehovae ad me,
dicendo,
|
|
12. Say now to the rebellious house, Know you
not what these things mean? tell them, Behold the king of Babylon is come to
Jerusalem, and has taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them
with him to Babylon;
|
12. Dic
quaeso,
f450 domui
rebelli
f451 an non cognoscitis quid hoc sit? dic,
Ecce venit rex Babylonis Hierosolymam, et abstulit regem ejus, et proceres ejus,
et adduxit eos ad se Babylonem.
|
|
13. And has taken of the king’s seed,
and made a covenant with him, and has taken an oath of him: he has also taken
the mighty of the land:
|
13. Et sumpsit e semine regio, et percussit
cum eo foedus, et descendere
fecit
f452 ad jusjurandum: et fortes terrae
accepit,
|
|
14. That the kingdom might be base, that it
might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might
stand.
|
14. Ut esset regnum humile, ac ne se afferret,
ut servaret foedus suum; ut staret in ipso.
|
|
15. But he rebelled against him, in sending
his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people:
shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the
covenant, and be delivered?
|
15. Et rebellis fuit ei ad mittendum nuntios
suos in Egyptum, ut darentur equites, et populus multus. An feliciter aget? an
evadet qui hoc fecit? et qui irritum fecit foedus an
evadet?
f453
|
|
16. As I live, says the Lord God, surely in
the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised,
and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall
die.
|
16. Vivo ego, dicit Dominator Iehovah, si non
in loco regis qui regnare fecit eum, cujus sprevit jusjurandum, et cujus irritum
fecit foedus cum ipso in medio Babylonis moriatur.
|
An explanation of the allegory is now added. The
figure being dropped, God shows what he had hitherto set forth enigmatically. We
said the object of the allegory was to induce the Jews to apply their minds more
diligently to the Prophet’s destruction; for if he had used common and
ordinary language, we know how carelessly they were accustomed to despise all
rebukes and threatenings; but a riddle, while it held them in suspense, at the
same time roused them, and so they were prepared for receiving the instruction
which now follows. God says, therefore,
that the king of Babylon came to
Jerusalem. This reason has induced some to
think that Lebanon is metaphorically called Jerusalem, but falsely, as we have
already said. As long as the Prophet spoke figuratively, the parts ought to be
mutually fitted to each other, as a tree and its branches have some connection
with an eagle. The king of
Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took the king away, and the elders, and led them
off to Babylon. Although the Jews thought to be
sufficiently moved by simple narrative, yet God here reproves them, because he
saw how sluggish they were. First, he calls them a
rebellious
house; then he asks,
Whether they know the meaning
of all this? This is a kind of reproach by
which God reminds them of their stupidity; since that riddle was not so obscure
as to prevent them from understanding what had happened, unless they had been
destitute of reason and judgment. But the Prophet thrusts at them more
pointedly, by calling them a
rebellious
house, although at the same time he obliquely
reproves their stupidity in not immediately perceiving the meaning of the
riddle. He now adds, that the king of Babylon had taken from the royal seed. We
said that Zedekiah was the uncle of Jehoiakim: he was placed on the throne
beyond all expectation; because, if Jehoiakim had begat sons when he was still
secure, they would have been his successors: hence it was an extraordinary
advantage to Zedekiah in being placed on the throne. But he says,
that he was so created king, that
the king of Babylon made a covenant with him, and induced him to take an
oath. Here God shows that, humanly speaking,
Zedekiah’s revolt could not prosper; for even profane men are always
persuaded that the perfidy of him who breaks his word will not go unpunished,
especially in treaties, which are held sacred by common consent. Since,
therefore, the sacredness of treaties was so great, that they could not be
violated without weakening the bonds of society, hence the general persuasion
that the falsehood of all truce-breakers will turn out unhappily. Now,
therefore, God leaves his own cause, and takes up that of King Nebuchadnezzar:
Behold, says he, you was made king by gratuitous liberality: a conqueror indeed
imposed conditions upon thee, but still thy state was desirable — you
could rule your own people splendidly and with moderate dignity: now, because
thy covenant has been despised, and your oath broken, you has been ungrateful to
the king of Babylon, who had bound thee to himself by his munificence: how can
this perfidy prosper? Now, therefore, we see the Prophet’s meaning, when
he says that the king of Babylon
made a treaty with King Zedekiah, and took an oath of
him: this is added for the sake of amplifying;
for although men never enter into treaties without a mutual oath, yet Ezekiel
seems to have doubled the crime of Zedekiah, when he expresses
that an oath
intervened. He says
that he took the strong of the
land, namely, as hostages. There is no doubt
that Nebuchadnezzar assembled this troop around him that the Jews might be more
quiet: for he knew the turbulent character of the nation, and that the
maintenance of so many was expensive: but, as I have said, it was his plan to
hold the whole country at peace in this way. But Zedekiah rendered his own
brothers and relations liable to death, since Nebuchadnezzar might be induced,
by just anger, to slay them all. Hence Zedekiah’s revolt was the betrayal
of his brothers: for this reason the Prophet adds,
that the strong ones of the
people were led away to Babylon; that is, those
of the first rank, who were held in honor by the people.
He now adds,
that the kingdom might be
humbled. Zedekiah then could not pretend error,
nor turn his back, as if he had been outwitted by the cunning and secret
counsels of the king of Babylon: for Nebuchadnezzar dealt with him openly, and
proscribed the conditions on which he wished him to reign. Since, then, the king
of Babylon showed Zedekiah openly and sincerely what he wished him to do, that
wretched man could not say that he was imposed upon, and not made sufficiently
aware of the cunning of the king of Babylon: no such excuse was left to him. And
therefore the Prophet clearly expresses that Nebuchadnezzar imposed conditions
upon Zedekiah, that his kingdom
should be lowly, so as not to lift itself up,
but that it should keep the agreement. This was most equitable: for when he
appointed a king, he might have imposed upon him very hard conditions, but he
was content with moderation, which was surely tolerable even among the best
friends. For he made a treaty with him, and then he wished the kingdom to be
lowly for its preservation. For it is just as if the Prophet had said, that
Nebuchadnezzar thought of nothing else than that Zedekiah might reign in peace;
and since he saw it to be useful to the king and the whole people to be
restrained within some bounds, he followed that plan. Since, then,
Nebuchadnezzar consulted the public advantage by this method of action, Zedekiah
was the more wicked in not allowing his own safety to be consulted, since
nothing was better or more desirable than for him to remain humble, and not to
raise himself up to his own destruction, as afterwards happened. It now follows,
that he rebelled by sending his
messengers into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much
people. These points ought to be mutually
compared; that the contrast might correspond: Nebuchadnezzar regarded nothing
else but the peace of the country, for he wished to prevent all fears and
disturbances. What, then, was Zedekiah?
a
rebel. And why?
for sending messengers to Egypt
to fetch many troops of both horse and foot to
succor Judea against Nebuchadnezzar. After the conclusion of the war he had done
nothing hostile, for it was a part of his paternal anxiety to give them a king
of their own nation, and so to set the whole country at rest, that there should
be no occasion for tumult. Why, then, should Zedekiah seek help from the
Egyptians? Thus we see that the Prophet is removing from him all excuses for
self-defense. He now adds, shall
he prosper? shall he who has acted thus escape?
The Prophet asks with emphasis; because, as I have said, this persuasion was
engraved on the minds of all, that vengeance must overtake all the perfidious,
especially if they had violated their oath in treaties. The Prophet, therefore,
does not simply pronounce that Zedekiah should perish through violating the
treaty, but he rises more confidently, and inquires, as of a thing settled and
undoubted, Shall he prosper?
shall he who has planned such a crime escape?
He now adds, shall he who has
violated a treaty escape? This repetition is
not superfluous: he had formerly said, shall he who has done this escape?
he immediately repeats, shall he
who has violated a treaty escape? There was
nothing obscure in the first clause: but the Prophet added this, not for the
sake of perspicuity, but to give more weight. to the sentence. The conclusion
is, that it was not possible to escape God’s vengeance for such perfidy,
as we shall treat the point more at length tomorrow.
It now follows,
As I live, says the Lord Jehovah,
in the dwelling of the king who placed him on a throne, shall he
die. Although the Prophet had sufficiently
shown that Zedekiah could not escape the penalty of his revolt, yet God here
again comes forward, and swears by himself, or by his life, that he would punish
Zedekiah. Hence the great stupidity of the people appears, for God never acts
falsely by his own name, or brings it forward in vain, but when necessity
demands it, he swears by himself. And by his own example he prescribes to us,
that we should not rush rashly upon an oath, but be sober in this respect. But
God swears that Zedekiah should
die on the spot, that is, at the capital of the king who put him on the
throne; that is Babylon, where he died: and yet
he did not see Babylon, because his eyes were put out at Riblath, as we saw
elsewhere.
(<243907>Jeremiah
39:7;
<245211>Jeremiah
52:11.) But the Prophet simply denounces the penalty, that he should die in
exile, and in the dwelling of the
king who had placed him on his throne, and from whose covenant he had departed,
and whose oath he had despised.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since you show thy
regard for mutual fidelity between man and man, that we may so conduct ourselves
in every way that we may not deceive our brethren, but assist each other with
sincere affection: Grant, also, that with true consent we may afford thee that
confidence which you require, and which we are bound to pay thee; since you
desire not only to enter into covenant with us by means of your only-be-gotten
Son, but also to seal it with his blood, until we enjoy that inheritance which
you have obtained for us by the sacrifice of his death. —
Amen.
LECTURE
FIFTY-SECOND.
|
EZEKIEL
17:17
|
|
17. Neither shall Pharaoh, with his mighty
army and great company, make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and
building forts, to cut off many persons.
|
17. Et non in exercitu magno, et in
multitudine multa faciet cum eo Pharao in praelio, fundendo aggerem, et
extruendo turrem
f454 ad excidendum animas
multas.
|
As Ezekiel has before pronounced that there was no
need of great forces when God wished to punish Zedekiah by means of the king of
Babylon; so he now teaches, on the other hand, how great and powerful an army
Pharaoh would collect, and yet it would profit nothing, since Nebuchadnezzar
would be victorious. Some interpreters explain the passage otherwise, namely,
that Pharaoh would not perform his promise; for kings are accustomed to boast of
their supplies when they enter into treaties: they promise 50,000, but only
supply 10,000. They think, therefore, that these vain promises by which Zedekiah
was deceived are here reproved, since Pharaoh boasted that he would come with
very great forces, so as easily to repel the Babylonian army. But the sense
which I propose is far more suitable, namely, that whatever Pharaoh should
attempt, it would fail to assist him. Although he should come well attended, and
oppose the Chaldaeans by immense forces,
yet he should effect nothing in
battle with him: although this may be true
equally of Zedekiah as of the king of Babylon. For Pharaoh did nothing with King
Nebuchadnezzar, since he was quickly compelled to retreat into his own
territories, and could scarcely defend his own kingdom, for he did not succeed
against Nebuchadnezzar: and he did Zedekiah no good, since he did not assist him
in his misfortunes, as he had promised. But as far as concerns the general
sense, we see that the Prophet means that Zedekiah would be deceived although
Pharaoh should faithfully perform his promises, since he was undertaking an
expedition against the will of God, which must turn out disastrous. He
adds, when he shall throw up a
mound and build a tower, (towers are meant, for
there is a change of number,) as is customary in besieging cities. This thought
to be referred to Nebuchadnezzar, for he began to cast up mounds and build
towers against Jerusalem when Pharaoh led away his army. Since Nebuchadnezzar
could not contend with both the Egyptians and Jews together, he raised the siege
and set out to meet Pharaoh, who, when conquered, retreated with trembling
within his own boundaries. Nebuchadnezzar afterwards returned, and after
preparing all things, he did not desist till he had stormed the city. Now
Ezekiel means this, that Pharaoh would come to his help in vain, when
Nebuchadnezzar began to cast up his mounds and build towers against the city. It
follows —
|
EZEKIEL
17:18
|
|
18. Seeing he despised the oath by breaking
the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and has done all these s, he
shall not escape.
|
18. Sprevit jusjurandum ad abolendum foedus,
et ecce porrexit manum suam: et totum hoc fecit, non
evadet.
F455
|
Ezekiel repeals again, that, even speaking, Zedekiah
could not succeed, since he violated the treaty for we yesterday said that this
persuasion is always fixed in men’s minds, that treaties are sacred, and
cannot be broken with impunity. Since, therefore, the sacredness of treaties was
always prevalent among men, Ezekiel here pronounces that the issue would be
disastrous, because Zedekiah
despised his oath when he broke
the treaty after stretching out his hand. He
describes a gesture, as I think, customary among men — that of stretching
forth the hand when they wish to witness a covenant. The alliance, then, between
the Egyptians and the Jews is here described by an outward gesture, because
Zedekiah stretched forth his hand, and yet had violated it in this way: but
since he perfidiously revolted from King Nebuchadnezzar, to whom he had pledged
his faith, he has done all
this, says he, therefore he shall not be
liberated. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
17:19
|
|
19. Therefore thus says the Lord Judea, As I
live, surely mine oath that he has despised, and my covenant that he has broken,
even it will I recompense upon his own head.
|
19. Propterea sic dicit Dominator Iehovah,
Vivo ego, si non jusjurandum meum quod sprevit, et foedus meum quod irritum
fecit, rependam f456
in ejus caput.
|
The former sentence is confirmed. The Prophet had
spoken after the usually received manner when he said that Zedekiah’s
perfidy would not be unrevenged; but he now brings forward God as the speaker,
because, unless he appeared as an avenger of perfidy, mankind would scarcely
ever be seriously persuaded that punishment was prepared for perjurers and
truce-breakers. As I have said that this opinion was fixed in the hearts of all,
so it must be understood that this opinion was received, and that men were fully
persuaded of it: but persuasions which are called
“common”
f457 vanish away; there are common thoughts
which are almost born with us, and follow nature, but they are not firm, because
the profane do not hold the principal point, that God is the judge of the world:
this sentence, therefore, is added of necessity. Now God swears that Zedekiah
should suffer punishment, because
he had despised the oath and
rendered the covenant void. But we must notice
the epithet; for God calls the oath and the covenant
his own: he has
despised, says he, not simply the oath, but
mine: he has violated my treaty. The reason of this language is,
that God wishes fidelity between man and man to be cultivated: and so he detests
all perjury and all frauds. Now, since there is no more sacred method of
contracting a treaty than by solemn rites, there also God shows his judgment in
a peculiar manner. In fine, we may deservedly call him the guardian of treaties;
for when heathens entered into treaties, they were accustomed to bring forward
the name of Jupiter the supreme, because they thought he would inflict vengeance
on all who violated their pledge. But God here comes forward, not like an
imaginary Jupiter, but because he wished confidence to flourish in human
society; since, unless men act sincerely to each other, all society would be
broken up. This, then, is the reason why Ezekiel says that the treaty struck
with King Nebuchadnezzar was divine, since God would be its vindicator.
Meanwhile we must remark that this treaty was lawful and pleasing to God.
(<242717>Jeremiah
27:17.) And we see from Jeremiah 28 and Jeremiah 29., that God wished the Jews
to suffer under this disgrace for a time. For King Zedekiah, if he had truly
discharged his office, was an image of the Messiah, the first-born among the
kings of the earth: Hence it was unworthy of him to become tributary to a
profane monarch and a cruel tyrant. But since God had so imposed slavery on his
own people, Zedekiah ought to be under the yoke, as it is there said, Be you
servants to King Nebuchadnezzar and live; that is, there is no other method of
obtaining safety, unless you suffer the Chaldaeans to rule over you, and you
bear their sway calmly, since Nebuchadnezzar is God’s scourge. This
covenant, as I have said, was approved by God, otherwise he could not have been
its avenger. We know that there are three kinds of treaties. When there has been
war between two kings, if the conqueror wishes to spare his enemy, he receives
him into covenant, but imposes conditions at his own discretion. We know that
the Romans followed that custom, since it was too difficult for them to hold in
subjection all whom they had subdued, and especially at the beginning; and thus
they entered into treaties with many tribes under many circumstances. Another
sort of agreement is, that between either kings or people when at variance with
each other; but before they actually engage, they make a truce with each other,
and so remove the occasion of the war — this is another kind. Lastly,
those who never were enemies enter into an alliance; and such was the treaty
between Zedekiah and the king of Egypt. For they wished to be cautious, and to
anticipate the danger which he feared from the Chaldaeans; and hence he entered
into the agreement,. Thus the Israelites were formerly joined with the Syrians,
and afterwards with the Assyrians. So we saw that the Jews committed adultery
when they ran about first to Egypt, then to Assyria, and then to Chaldaea. But
this treaty, of which mention is now made, was necessary; for Zedekiah could not
escape from embracing the conditions imposed on him by King Nebuchadnezzar. For
this reason God pronounces himself the avenger of perfidy.
It is now asked, Whether we may never break our word
when any one has been violently attacked, and promised what was otherwise
unjust? The reply is at hand, that God’s name is more precious than all
human advantages. If any one, therefore, object that he was deceived, and
oppressed by unjust conditions, still God’s name must prevail. Hence we
must always weigh what is due to the name of God; and hence we shall readily
conclude that those can never be excused who violate their engagements on the
pretext of being violently compelled, or induced by fraud, or not allowed the
liberty of considering whether their promise was according to equity. For this
reason, also, it is said in the 15th Psalm,
(<191504>Psalm
15:4,) that the sons of God swear and suffer loss, because when God’s,
name has been interposed, no utility ought to be of such importance as to
outweigh the oath that has been taken. And so not without reason God now
pronounces that he would avenge the perjury which Zedekiah had committed, since,
in truth, we cannot depart from promises which have been sanctioned by an oath
in God’s name, without seeming to slight the Almighty himself. Meanwhile,
it is certain that there was another reason why God punished the Jews; but here,
as I have previously shown, the Prophet mentions what was more familiar to men.
The first cause of the destruction of the city and of the whole kingdom, was
idolatry, as we saw before, and then the many crimes of the people were added.
For from the period of the corruption of true religion, the pollution of many
vices increased through the city and the whole land. Hence it happened that God
destined his people to destruction; hence also King Zedekiah was deprived of
sight. For, as the sacred history testifies, God wished to destroy the whole
people: for this reason Zedekiah fell, and provoked the Chaldaeans against him.
We see, therefore, that there is a continued series of causes in the eternal
providence of God, but not as the Stoics supposed; for they concocted their fate
from complex windings or implicit causes, without any will of Deity in that
confusion. But God, as I have said, has different reasons why he does one thing
or another. Some causes are remote and incomprehensible to us, and others
manifest to us: so the proximate cause of the destruction of the people was the
revolt of Zedekiah from King Nebuchadnezzar; but there was another more
important reason, namely, that the people deserved to perish. Hence Zedekiah was
rendered blind by the just judgment of God, since he passed over perfidiously to
the king of Egypt, and so armed himself against King Nebuchadnezzar. But we must
hold that the reason universally manifest is here reviewed. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
17:20
|
|
20. And I will spread my net, upon him, and he
shall be taken in my snare; and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with
him there for his trespass that he has trespassed against me.
|
20. Et
extendam
f456A super ipsum rete meum, et capietur in
plagis meis,
f457A et venire faciam ipsum Babylonem, et
judicabo
f458 cum eo illic de
transgressione
f459 qua praevaricatus est contra
me.
|
Here he points out the kind of punishment which he
was about to inflict on King Zedekiah. He had said generally that his perfidy
should fall upon his own head, but he now proceeds further, namely, that
Zedekiah should be a captive. For God might chastise him by other means, but the
prophecy was thereby confirmed, since the Prophet had clearly threatened
Zedekiah as we see. But he speaks in the person of God that his language may
have more weight. I will spread
my net, says God,
and he shall be taken in my
snares. The passage is metaphorical, but it
best explains what often occurs in Scripture, namely, that while the impious
take first one course and then another, they are agents of God who governs them
by his own secret virtue, and directs them wherever he wishes. As, therefore,
men false up all things confusedly, and are, as we see, driven about hither and
thither by their lusts, and disturb heaven and earth; yet God moderates their
attacks by his secret providence. We gather this from the Prophet’s words
when he calls the army of the king of Babylon, and his plans, and the apparatus
of war, God’s net and
snares. Although Nebuchadnezzar was impelled by
his own ambition and avarice, and did not suppose himself under the divine sway,
yet we see what the Spirit pronounces. And we must diligently observe this
doctrine, because, if we repose on the paternal solicitude of God, although
armies surround us on all sides, yet we may confide securely, and await the end
with quiet and tranquil minds, since men can do nothing without God. But when we
provoke God’s wrath against us, we must bear in mind, that while men have
their reasons for being hostile to us, yet God governs them, or that they are
his nets or snares, as the Prophet here says.
I will bring
him, says he,
to Babylon, and there will I
dispute with him in judgment, according to the prevarication by which he has
prevaricated. Not only did God dispute with
Zedekiah there, but he inflicted a heavy and formidable judgment upon him in
Riblah, when he saw his own sons put to death first, and then his own eyes were
put out, and then he was bound by chains. But he almost pined away in his
captivity, and was treated shamefully even unto death; for this reason God says
that he would judge him at Babylon: and yet there will be nothing out of place
if we comprehend Riblah also. For although Zedekiah had been partially punished
before he entered Babylon, yet God there inflicted his own sentence, after he
was dragged from his country and led into exile. He was buried indeed not
without honor, as we saw in Jeremiah,
(<243405>Jeremiah
34:5,) for they bewailed him at his burial — Alas, my brother! alas, O
master! as the Prophet says: yet till his death he was like the vilest prisoner,
for he pined away in his chains, and was meanly clothed, when the king treated
Coniah nobly and splendidly: hence Zedekiah’s captivity was the seal of
this prophecy for Ezekiel could not have pronounced this sentence, unless he had
been the organ of the Holy Spirit. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
17:21
|
|
21. And all his fugitives with all his bands
shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all
winds; and you shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.
|
21. Et omnes profugi ejus in omnibus copius
ejus in gladio cadent: et qui residui erunt ad omnem ventum dispergentur: et
cognoscetis quod ego Iehovah loquutus sim.
|
The Prophet now descends to the whole people,
especially to the soldiers, whom Zedekiah himself thought would be fit guardians
of the city. He says, then, thus
shall all his forces be dissipated, so that they shall be dispersed hither and
thither and all by the sword. By these words he
means the slaughter of the army, since as long as soldiers stand in their own
ranks they sustain and repel a hostile attack; but when they are dispersed,
every one is subject to the enemy, and hence a promiscuous slaughter arises. He
says, therefore, that Zedekiah’s soldiers
would be fugitives amidst all
their bands: that is, although he had a large
army, yet all his forces should be dispersed, and while each should consult his
own advantage, he should fall into the enemy’s hands: thus,
all shall fall by the sword; then
those who remain shall be dispersed towards every wind.
We saw the same thing before, for when the
Prophet had declared that all the people should suffer by the sword, he added,
at the same time, that all the survivors should be fugitives, just as if any one
should throw out refuse or hair which the wind would blow hither and thither.
Hence he repeats the same now, namely, that the whole people would be like a
torn body, since if they escaped the sword, yet they would find no place of
rest. Hence while a few would flee to Egypt, some to the Moabites, and others to
the neighboring nations, the whole body of the people, would be dissipated. He
adds, and you shall know that I
Jehovah have spoken. We have explained the
meaning of this, and why the Prophet repeats it so often, namely, because the
Jews were untractable and derided all God’s threats: the Prophet teaches
that they should really feel that he had spoken, and this is the wisdom of
fools, as the common proverb expresses it. For because they do not obey any
counsels, nor admit any admonitions, and receive no teaching, they are
instructed only by the event itself. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
17:22
|
|
22. Thus says the Lord God, I will also take
of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from
the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain
and eminent.
|
22. Sic dicit Dominator Iehovah, Et
assumam
f460 e summitate cedri
excelsae,
f461 et ponam e capite propaginum ejus,
tenerum evellam, et plantabo ego super montem excelsum et
elevatum.
|
Here the Prophet begins to treat of the restoration
of the nation and kingdom. Thus this prophecy without doubt refers to Christ,
because although in some sense God had pity on the people when they enjoyed the
liberty of returning under Cyrus and Darius, yet what is here written was never
fully exhibited except under Christ. It is indeed true, as I have elsewhere
expressed, that when the prophets promise restoration to the Church, that they
do not restrict their discourse to the person of Christ, but begin with the
return of the people for that was the beginning of the full and solid liberty
which was at length made manifest in Christ. And Christian writers have erred in
urging so precisely that anything said about the restitution of the Church must
be understood of the person of Christ, and thus they make themselves ridiculous
to the Jews. But, as it has been said already, as often as the Prophets hold out
the hope of liberty to the elect and the faithful, they embrace the whole of the
time from the return of the people, or from the end of their exile to the end of
the kingdom of Christ. When, therefore, the reign of Christ is treated, we must
date its commencement from the period of the building of the temple after the
people’s return from their seventy years captivity: and then we must take
its boundary, not at the ascension of Christ, nor yet in the first or second
centuries, but through the whole progress of his kingdom, until he shall appear
at the last day. Now let us come to the Prophet’s words,
thus says the Lord Jehovah, I
will take from the top of the lofty (or tall)
cedar. God pursues the allegory which we saw:
for as he said that the top was torn off, or that the highest branch was plucked
from the cedar of Lebanon, so he now says,
that he would take from the top
of the cedar, and after he had plucked or
wrenched off a bough, and planted
it, such would be the increase, that all the
trees would acknowledge that to be a wonderful work. Now this restoration is
described to us variously, because after God had spoken of a lofty bough, he
descends to a low and abject one; he then pronounces that such should be the
beginning of the new kingdom, that he would make the dry tree to bud and humble
the lofty one. These things at first sight seem to be opposite to each other,
but they agree very well, because God took from the top of a lofty cedar when he
planted a new king. For Christ, as respects God’s eternal decree, was
always more excellent than heaven and earth; at the same time God afterwards
says that he was humble, as he certainly was. But let us follow up the words,
I will
take, says he,
from the top of a lofty
cedar, and I will set it: from the top of its twigs I will pluck a tender one,
and I will plant it upon a lofty and elevated
mountain. Here, as I have said, he speaks of a
tall and lofty cedar, and then he speaks of a high branch, but he adds
afterwards, I will pluck a
tender one from it, by which he means that the
twig which he should pluck and plant would be without strength. Here, therefore,
is shown the contemptible beginning of the reign of Christ, as the Prophet
afterwards more clearly explains himself.
|
EZEKIEL
17:23
|
|
23. In the mountain of the height of Israel
will I plant it; and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a
goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every willing; in the shadow
of the branches thereof shall they dwell.
|
23. In monte excelso Israel plantabo illud, et
tollet ramum, et faciet fructum, et erit in cedrum
elegantem:
f462 et habitabit sub
eo
f463 omnis
avis f464
omne
pennatum
f465 in umbra
surculorum
f466 ejus habitabit.
|
When God announces
that the twig which he will plant
shall become a lofty cedar, he shows by lofty
words that the increase of Christ’s kingdom shall be so wonderful, that it
shall surpass the common rule of nature; which indeed was shadowed forth in the
person of Zerubbabel, who was chosen to bring back the people from their sad and
disgraceful captivity.
(<150202>Ezra
2:2;
<370114>Haggai
1:14.) For it does not naturally happen that a twig increases in a short time to
a lofty cedar, for we know how slowly cedars grow, and hence we see the
Spirit’s intention in saying that a tree should spring from a very small
twig. And this prophecy answers to one of Isaiah’s, where he says,
(<231101>Isaiah
11:1,) A branch shall spring from the root of Jesse: for the house of Jesse was
cut off, and he names the house of an obscure and private man as if the
remembrance of David were utterly lost. The house of Jesse then was cut off like
a tree: that twig, says he, shall spring from its root. Now the Prophet
signifies the same thing, and almost under the same similitude. I leave the rest
for the next lecture.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since you have
deigned to enter into a perpetual and inviolable covenant with us which you have
sanctioned by the blood of your only-begotten Son, that we may faithfully stand
to it: and may we be so obedient to thee unto the end, that we may experience
thee a propitious Father to us, until we enjoy that eternal inheritance which
you have prepared for us in heaven, through the same Christ our
Lord.-Amen.
LECTURE
FIFTY-THIRD.
In the last lecture we began to explain that passage
of the Prophet in which God. promises that he would take from the boughs of the
lofty cedar a tender branch, which should soon grow into a tall tree. We said
that the restoration of the people was the foretaste of this grace, since God
already showed that he cared for his people whom he seemed utterly to reject
when he suffered them to be dragged into exile. We said also, that although
Zerubbabel was a captive and an exile, yet that he was the twig plucked from the
tall tree, as he was of the royal stock whence Christ would at length spring
forth. But at the same time we added that this prophet was not complete until
the kingdom of Christ of which it was the beginning, when he was manifest in the
flesh, and thence it made daily progress until the end of the world. Thus then
we see that the twig was plucked from the cedar,
and from a tall or lofty one,
and it was planted upon a mountain. The
mountain on which the branch was to be planted was called sublime and lofty, and
there is no doubt that God meant Mount Zion: it is indeed a small hill, but
Isaiah shows us the reason why it was called lofty, because it excelled in
dignity and eminence all the heights of the world.
(<230202>Isaiah
2:2, 3.) It is there said, I will make Mount Zion conspicuous above all lofty
mountains: that eminence indeed was not perceptible by the eye, but the Prophet
at the same time declares what he means, since a law should go forth from Zion
and God’s word from Jerusalem. We see, therefore, that Mount Zion,
although low among hills, was eminent and conspicuous among the highest
mountains, since God’s glory shone forth from it, and it was rendered
conspicuous to even the ends of the earth. Hence the Prophet repeats a second
time, On a, lofty mountain of
Israel will I plant it, namely, the twig, and
it shall raise or bear a bough,
and produce fruit, and it shall be a
magnificent or elegant
cedar,
as we said, and every
bird, that is, all birds,
shall dwell under it, every
winged thing, or flying thing,
shall dwell under the shadow of
its branches or boughs. The repetition shows
that something rare is here denoted, and what would scarcely be comprehended in
an ordinary sense, when God speaks of a high and elevated mountain. So that it
confirms what we said, that this place thought to be understood of Mount Zion,
which was supernaturally elevated when Christ’s scepter went forth from
it, by which he reduced the whole world under his yoke. He now adds,
that it should be a magnificent
cedar, so that the birds of the air should nestle in it and rest under its
shadow. This simile is used by Daniel when
treating of the sway of Nebuchadnezzar,
(<270408>Daniel
4:8, 9, 17-19,) it is common to all kingdoms to protect men under their shadow,
as birds find their dwelling-place only in trees, and repair and collect
themselves there. But meanwhile the Prophet shortly states that the kingdom of
which he is would be for the common safety and advantage of the whole people.
For as kings usually think the human race created for their sakes, they are
taken up with their own private reasoning, and do not consult the interests of
the wretched people whom they are divinely appointed to cherish under their
wings. The Prophet therefore shows that the kingdom which God had determined to
set up in his chosen people would be useful to all, when he says, under its
shadow there would be safety for all birds. It now follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
17:24
|
|
24. And all the trees of the field shall know
that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have
dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have
spoken, and have done it.
|
24. Et cognoscent omnes arbores agri, quod ego
Iehovah, qui humilio arborem excelsam, et extollo in sublime arborem humilem:
arefacio arborem viridem, et fructuosam reddo arborem aridam: ego Iehovah
loquutus sum, et feci.
F467
|
In this verse the Prophet signifies that God’s
work would be memorable. For when he says that all trees should feel themselves
in God’s hand and power, to raise what was fallen, and to cast down and to
prostrate what was elevated, he doubtless expresses no common action. By trees
he means all the kings of the earth, and all possessed of any dignity. For he
follows up his own metaphor: as he called the kingdom of Christ a tree or cedar
which grew from a small twig, so he now speaks metaphorically of kings when he
says, that all should take
notice; for they shall know that Jehovah brings down the high
tree. Ezekiel may here seem to be inconsistent
with himself, as I have already noticed, because God said that he would take
from a lofty cedar a little twig, which he wished to plant: but he now says that
God would raise what was low and abject. But we have dissipated this absurdity,
because, from the beginning Christ was in the glory of his Father, and thus, as
Micah says, his beginning was from eternity.
(<330502>Micah
5:2.) This excellency of Christ, therefore, is noticed, because, from the time
when God erected David’s throne, he at the same time gave a visible sign
of the more excellent kingdom which was then secretly hoped for. For this reason
Christ was taken from his lofty place, and since he not only put on the form of
a slave, but emptied himself even unto death,
(<502007>Philippians
2:7,) it is not surprising that the Prophet should say,
like a tree cast
down. Although, as I have remarked, this
sentence is not to be restricted to the person of Christ, but thought to be
adapted to his kingdom; that is, to his manner and way of governing: since we
know, and it has been lately stated, that the gospel is like a scepter, by which
Christ subdues all people, and rules them for himself. Now if we reflect on what
the preaching of the gospel was, we shall see, as in a glass, the
Prophet’s meaning here, that the low tree was elevated, since no one would
have thought, that from such slender beginnings the increase which God
afterwards bestowed on it could arise. It follows, then, that the height was
wonderful, since it could not be comprehended by the human
senses.
Meanwhile he adds,
I am he who humbles the lofty
tree, which is not only understood of the Jews,
but, in my judgment, embraces all the empires and principalities of the world.
God, therefore, humbles lofty trees, because, whatever opposes itself to
Christ’s kingdom, must necessarily fall; and this is described more at
length in Daniel. (Daniel 4.) For although all the empires of the world are
founded in Christ, and sustained by his virtue, yet, since earthly kings rise up
and desire to lay Christ prostrate, their pride is the reason why Christ’s
empire causes their ruin. This contrast, then, must be noticed, that God sets up
low trees, or takes them away, and casts down lofty ones, since we are here
taught to hope better of the reign of Christ than we can estimate by our senses;
since, if we cast our eyes round us, many things meet us which diminish and
weaken our hope. For what is the outward appearance of Christ’s kingdom?
In truth we shall feel nothing but despair if we judge of Christ’s kingdom
by the present state of affairs. But when we see how the gospel creeps along the
ground, this passage should come to our minds, that God will raise up the tree
that is abject and contemptible. At the same time, let us learn, that the
changes which happen and are perceived in the world are to be imputed to the
pride of those who are blinded by their own boasting; for kings, as we have
said, forget that they are men, and so rebel against God: hence they must of
necessity fall. If this is not fulfilled immediately, let us learn patiently to
await the effect of this prophecy. Whatever happens, God has so established the
kingdom of Christ alone, that it shall last as long as the sun and moon, but the
other empires of the world shall vanish away with their own splendor, and their
loftiness shall fall although at present they overtop the clouds.
I,
says Jehovah, have spoken, and I
will do it. God here recalls the minds of the
faithful to his power, because, from the time the people were dispersed —
I speak of the final overthrow of the city and temple — there was no hope
of restoration. Since, then, it was difficult to persuade men of what God now
pronounces, he brings pointedly forward his own prowess, in order that men, by
holding in check their carnal senses, should raise themselves above the world,
and wait for the inestimable prowess of God which does not yet appear to them.
It now follows —
CHAPTER 18
|
EZEKIEL
18:1-4
|
|
1. The word of the Lord came unto me again,
saying,
|
1. Et fuit sermo Iehova, ad me,
dicendo,
|
|
2. What mean you, that you use this proverb
concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and
the children’s teeth are set on edge?
|
2. Quid vobis? vos proverbiantes
proverbium
f468 super terram Israel, dicendo, Patres
comederunt omphacem,
f469 et dentes filiorum
obstupescunt.
|
|
3. As I live, says the Lord God, you shall not
have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
|
3. Vivo ego, dicit Dominator Iehovah, Si erit
vobis amplius
f470 qui utatur hoc
dicterio f471
in Israele.
|
|
4. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of
the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that shineth, it shall
die.
|
4. Ecce omnes animae
mihi,
f472 sicut anima patris sic anima filii
mihi. f473
Anima quae peccaverit ipsa
morietur.
|
We may collect from this rebuke that the Jews were
perverse interpreters of the best teaching; yea, they purposely reviled the
Prophet’s expression, and drew it to a contrary meaning. For it, is far
commoner than it ought to be among unbelievers, always to take occasion of
turning backwards, twisting, distorting, and tearing the teaching of heaven. And
at this time we see this impudence increasing greatly in the world. For the
world is full of buffoons and other deceivers, who wickedly sport with God, and
seek material for joking from the law and the gospel: and so also it appears to
have been in the Prophet’s time; for although they listened to the wrath
of God hanging over them, they did not cease to provoke him, and that too for
many years. And not only were their own iniquities set forth against them, but
also those of their fathers: hence the occasion for cavil when they heard
— For so many ages you do not cease your warfare against God: he has borne
with you patiently unto this day. Do you think that you can carry on your
audacity with impunity? God wished hitherto to tame you by his forbearance; but
your obstinacy is not to be subdued. Since, therefore, not only for one or two
generations, but for four and five, your obstinacy has wrestled with God’s
goodness, he cannot any longer pardon you. Since the prophets thus gathered up
the iniquities of their fathers, impious men scattered abroad their witticisms
— then we are to pay the penalty of our fathers’ sins: they provoked
God, but we suffer the punishment which they deserved. The Prophet now convinces
them of this unfairness, and shows that they had no reason for transferring
their faults to others, or to thrust them away from themselves, since God was
just in taking vengeance on them. We know that men willingly shuffle so as to
free themselves from blame, and then afterwards accuse God of cruel injustice.
It is true, indeed, that they are held in such constraint by their own
consciences that they are compelled, whether they will or not, to feel that they
are suffering punishment justly; but afterwards they become refractory, and
suffocate their conscience, and strive pettishly with God. Hence these words
—
Though guiltless of
your fathers’
crimes,
Roman,
‘tis thine to latest
times
The vengeance
of the gods to
bear,
Till you their
awful domes
repair.
Horace, lib.
3, Od. 6, as translated by Francis.
Since so many crimes were rife at Rome, why does that
trifler say that the men of his own age were undeservedly paying the penalty due
by their ancestors? But, as I have said, this is the testimony of a corrupt
nature, because we desire to throw off the blame as far from ourselves as we
possibly can. Hence we begin to strive with God, and to rebel against his
judgments. And hence this destruction is the more useful to us, since it is
proposed as a remedy for a disease by far too common. Whatever the meaning is,
this sentiment came into common use like a proverb —
that the children’s teeth
were set on edge, because their fathers had eaten sour
grapes. By these allegorical words they wished
to free themselves from blame, as if God was unjustly charging the wickedness of
their fathers against them. For to eat the sour grape or wild grape has the same
meaning as to set the teeth on edge; for we know this to be the effect of
acidity. If any one eats a sour grape, his teeth will suffer from its
unripeness. To eat then is to cause this effect on the teeth — referring
to sin: for they said that their own teeth suffered, not through their own
eating the sour grapes, but through its flowing down from their fathers. On the
whole, they wished to contend with God, as if he were afflicting the innocent,
and that, too, under the fallacious pretext which I have mentioned, as God
announced that he would avenge the wickedness which had been perpetrated in
former ages.
Ye,
says he, use this proverb; but as
I live, says the Lord Jehovah, you shall not use this proverb anymore.
He does not mean, by these words, that the Jews
should repent and become more modest, and not dare to vomit forth such blasphemy
against him; for he is not treating of repentance here; but it is just as if he
said, I will strike from under you this boasting, since your iniquity shall be
made manifest, and the whole world shall acknowledge the justice of your
punishment, and that you have deserved it yourselves, and cannot throw it upon
your fathers, as you have hitherto endeavored to do. The Jews indeed did not
cease their rebellion against God, and there is no doubt that they were more and
more exasperated, so as to expostulate with audacity against him; but because
their wickedness was really apparent, and God was not hostile to them in vain,
or for trifling reasons; and although he was severe, yet they had arrived at the
highest pitch of impiety, so that no punishment could be sufficient or too
oppressive. We now understand the meaning of the Prophet, or rather of the Holy
Spirit, since God took away all pretense for shuffling from the Jews when he
detected their impiety, and made it conspicuous that they were only suffering
the due reward of their crimes. But God swears by himself, whence we gather how
abominable was their blasphemy; and truly men cannot absolve themselves without
condemning God; for God’s glory then shines forth, when every mouth is
stopped, as we saw before.
(<261663>Ezekiel
16:63;
<450319>Romans
3:19.) As soon as men descend into that arena, through wishing to show their
innocence, it is just as if they wished to reduce God’s justice to
nothing. Hence it is not surprising that God is very angry when he is despoiled
of his justice; for he cannot exist without this attribute.
We now see why an oath is interposed, while he
pronounces that he will take care that the Jews should not ridicule any
longer.
Behold,
says he, all souls are mine;
as the sole of the son so the soul of the father, all souls are mine; the soul,
therefore, which has sinned it shall die. Some
interpreters explain the beginning of the verse thus: that men vainly and rashly
complain when God seems to treat them too severely, since the clay does not rise
against the potter. Since God is the maker of the whole world, we are his
workmanship: what madness, then, to rise up against him when he does not satisfy
us: and we saw this simile used by Jeremiah.
(<241806>Jeremiah
18:6.) The sentiment, then, is true in itself, that all souls are under
God’s sovereignty by the right of creation, and therefore he can
arbitrarily determine for each whatever he wishes; and all who clamor against
him reap no profit: and this teaching it is advantageous to notice. But this
passage ought to be understood otherwise; namely, that nothing is more unworthy
than that God should be accused of tyrannizing over men, when he rather defends
them, as being his own workmanship. When, therefore, God pronounces
that all souls are his
own, he does not merely claim sovereignty and
power, but he rather shows that he is affected with fatherly love towards the
whole human race since he created and formed it; for, if a workman loves his
work because he recognizes in it the fruits of his industry, so, when God has
manifested his power and goodness in the formation of men, he must certainly
embrace them with affection. True, indeed, we are abominable in God’s
sight, through being corrupted by original sin, as it is elsewhere said,
(<191401>Psalm
14:1, 2;) but inasmuch as we are men, we must be dear to God, and our salvation
must be precious in his sight. We now see what kind of refutation this is:
all souls are
mine, says he: I have formed all, and am the
creator of all, and so I am affected with fatherly love towards all, and they
shall rather feel my clemency, from the least to the greatest, than experience
too much rigor and severity. At length he adds,
the soul which sinned it shall
die. Now, Ezekiel expresses how God restrains
the Jews from daring to boast any longer that they are afflicted undeservedly,
since no innocent person shall die; for this is the meaning of the sentence; for
he does not mean that every guilty person should die, for this would shut
against us the door of God’s mercy, for we have all sinned against him: so
it would follow that there is no hope of safety, since every man must perish,
unless God freed sinners from death. But the Prophet’s sense is not
doubtful, as we have said, since those who perish are not without fault; neither
can they bring up their innocence to God, nor complain of his cruelty in
punishing them for the sins of others. Although here a question may arise, since
no one at this day perishes who does not partly bear the fault of another,
namely, of Adam, by whose fall and revolt the whole human race actually
perished. Since therefore Adam, by his fall, brought destruction upon us, it
follows that we perish through the fault of another. Since this question will be
treated again in its own place, it will now be sufficient to say, in three
words, that although we perish through the fault of another, yet the fault of
each individual is joined with it. We are not condemned in Adam as if we were
innocent in ourselves, but we have contracted pollution from his sin; and so it
has come to pass that each must bear the punishment of his own crime, since the
punishment which he deserved first is not simply inflicted on the whole human
race, but we have been tainted with his sin, as will afterwards be said.
Whatever the meaning, we shall not die innocent, since each is held convicted by
the testimony of his own conscience. As far as relates to young children, they
seem to perish not by their own, but for another’s fault; but the solution
is twofold; for although sin does not appear in them, yet it is latent, since
they carry about with them corruption shut up in their soul, so that they are
worthy of condemnation before God. This does not come under the notice of our
senses; but we should consider how much more acutely God sees a thing than we
do: hence, if we do not penetrate into that hidden judgment, yet we must hold
that, before we are born, we are infected by the contagion of original sin, and
therefore justly destined to ultimate destruction: — -this is one
solution. But as far as concerns the Prophet’s expression, the dispute
concerning infants is vain and out of place, since the Prophet only wished to
refute that impious perverseness, as I have said, so that the people should no
longer charge God with cruelty.
The
soul, says he,
which has
sinned; that is, none of you can boast of
innocence when I punish you: as when it is said, He who does not labor, neither
let him eat.
(<530310>2
Thessalonians 3:10.) Surely this cannot be extended to infants. Nature teaches
us that they must be nourished, and yet sure enough they do not acquire their
food by labor: but this is said of adults, who are old enough to acknowledge the
reason why they were created, and their fitness for undergoing labor. So also,
in this place, we are not treating of the tender young when newly born, but of
adults, who wish to charge God instead of themselves, as if they are innocent;
and so, when they cannot escape punishment, they are anxious to transfer the
fault elsewhere — first upon others, and then upon God
himself.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since you have not
only created us out of nothing, but have deigned to create us again in your
only-begotten Son, and have taken us from the lowest depths, and deigned to
raise us to the hope of thy heavenly kingdom:-Grant, I say, that we may not be
proud or puffed up with vainglory; but may we embrace this favor with becoming
humility, and modestly submit ourselves to thee, until we become at length
partakers of that glory which your only-begotten Son has acquired for us.
— Amen.
LECTURE
FIFTY-FOURTH.
|
EZEKIEL
18:5-9
|
|
5. But if a man be just, and do that which is
lawful and right,
|
5. Et vir si fuerit justus, et fecerit
judicium et justitiam,
|
|
6. And has not eaten upon the mountains,
neither has lifted up His eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither has
defiled his neighbor’s wife, neither has come near to a menstruous
woman,
|
6. Super montes non comederit, et oculos suos
non extulerit ad idola
f474 domus Israel, et uxorem socii
sui
f475 non polluerit, et ad mulierem
menstruatam non accesserit,
|
|
7. And has not oppressed any, but has restored
to the debtor his pledge, has spoiled none by violence, has given his bread to
the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment;
|
7. Et neminem
afflixerit,
f476 pignus suum reddiderit debitori, praedam
non rapuerit,
f477 panem suum famelico dederit, et nudum
texerit vestimentis;
|
|
8. He that has not given forth upon usury,
neither has taken any increase, that has withdrawn his hand from iniquity, has
executed true judgment between man and man,
|
8. Cum usura non dederit et
incrementum
f478 non acceperit, ab iniquitate retraxerit
manum suam, judicium fideliter fecerit inter virum et virum,
|
|
9. Has walked in my statutes, and has kept my
judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, says the Lord
God.
|
9. In statutis meis ambulaverit, et judicia
mea custodierit ad faciendum
veritatem,
f479 justus est, vivendo vivet, dicit
Dominator Iehovah.
|
Here the Prophet confirms his former teaching by
examples. For he first says, if any one faithfully keep the law, he shall
prosper, since God will repay the reward of justice: afterwards he adds, if the
just man beget a son unlike himself, the justice of the father shall not profit
the degenerate son, but he shall receive the reward of his iniquity. But if this
second person should beget a son who does not imitate his father, God promises
that this third person shall be acceptable by him, because he is just, and
therefore enjoys prosperity and happiness. We see, then, that the grandfather
and grandson are here spoken of, and that the son of the first, and father of
the third, is placed between them. But this is the Spirit’s intention,
that God has prepared a reward for each according to their lives, so that he
does not permit them to be deprived of their promised blessing, nor let the
impious and despisers of his law escape. Now let us come to the words,
if any one has been
just, says he,
he shall be just, therefore
he shall live. He speaks generally first: he
afterwards enumerates certain species under which he embraces the sum of the
whole law. The full sentence is, if any one has been just, he shall live in
consequence of his justice. But the Prophet defines what it is to be just, and
he there chooses certain parts of the law: by putting a part for the whole, as I
have said, he signifies, that whoever faithfully observes the law is esteemed
just before God. Now we must examine each of these kinds of justice, and
afterwards come to the general doctrine. He says first,
that he is just who does justice
and judgement. By the word judgment holy
Scripture signifies rectitude; but when the two words are joined together,
judgment seems to express more than justice: for justice is nothing but equity,
fidelity, integrity, when we abstain altogether from fraud and violence, and
deal with our brethren as we wish them to deal with us. Whoever so conducts
himself is said to do justice; but judgment is extended further, namely, when we
not only desire to benefit but defend our brethren, when unjustly oppressed, as
far as we can, and when we oppose the lust and violence of those who would
overthrow all that is right and holy. Hence to do judgment and justice is
nothing else than to abstain from all injury by cultivating good faith and
equity with our neighbors: then to defend all good causes, and to take the
innocent under our patronage when we see them unjustly injured and oppressed.
But these duties belong properly to the second table of the law. But it is clear
from this that we fear God when we live justly with our brethren, for piety is
the root of charity. Although many profane persons seem blameless in their life,
and manifest a rare integrity, yet no one ever loves his neighbor from his
heart, unless he fears and reverences God. Since, therefore, charity flows from
piety and the fear of God, as often as we see the duties of the second table
placed before us, we should learn them to be the testimonies to the worship of
God, as is this place: but then the Prophet also adds certain parts of the first
table.
He says then,
if he has not eaten upon the
mountains, and not raised his eyes to the abominable deeds of the house of
Israel. These two points respect the worship of
God: for by the figure “a part for the whole” to eat, means to offer
sacrifices: he refers to those to which banquets were added as appendages. And
truly when Paul speaks of idolatry, he does not say, if any one bends his knees
before stone or wood, but he quotes the words of Moses, that the people rose up
to play after eating, that is, after banqueting. (1 Corinthians 10:7;
<023206>Exodus
32:6.) Hence a feast is there taken for that sacrilegious profaneness when the
people made for themselves a calf, and wished to worship God before it. When,
therefore, it is now said, if any
one has not eaten upon, the mountains: by a
feast, as I have said, a sacrifice offered to idols is intended. Now we know
that altars were raised on high in every direction, because they thought that
they were near God when they ascended to an elevated spot. Because, therefore,
superstitions were so exercised on the mountains, hence the Prophet relates what
was customary, if any one
has not eaten, upon the mountains: then he
explains himself more clearly, if
any one has not raised his eyes to the idols of the house of
Israel. To raise the eyes is here taken by a
figure of speech for to be urged with eagerness towards superstitions: for we
know that eyes are the principal outlets to the affections; for when the
affections burst forth in the eyes, and are conspicuous there, it is not
surprising if all our desires are marked by this form of speech. Thus a person
is said to raise his eyes to the house of his neighbor when he covets it, and
also towards his wife, or anything else, when he is seized by a depraved
lusting. The meaning is, then, that those who do not contaminate themselves with
idols are thought just before God, as far as concerns the first table of the
law, since they are content with the simple and lawful worship of God, and do
not incline from it in any direction; nor, like the superstitious, allow their
eyes to be wandering and erratic: and so they are compared with harlots who seek
lovers on all sides. I repeat it again. — the meaning is, that the true
worshipers of God are those who are content with his doctrine, and are not
carried hither and thither by a perverse appetite, and so fabricate for
themselves idols. Besides, the Holy Spirit calls idols
µylwlg,
gelolim,
“defilements,”
f480 since all superstition should be
detested by us; for as we are prone by nature to all kinds of error, we cannot
be sufficiently restrained within the true and pure worship of God. Since, then,
unbelievers imagine their gods to be sacred, the Holy Spirit, on the other hand,
pronounces them to be defiling, since their profane worship is disgusting and
abominable. But he says, the
idols of the house of Israel, so that all
shuffling must cease: because, if he had spoken of idols only, they might have
objected that they detested the false and foolish gods of the Gentiles; but
since many ceremonies were through long use received among the elect people,
these ought not to be condemned like the impious rites of the heathen. The Holy
Spirit refutes this cavil, and says, that though the house of Israel has
approved such defilement’s, yet they are not to be excused for setting
aside the law of God, and devoting themselves to human
fictions.
And has not polluted his neighbors
wife. The Prophet now returns again to the
second table, and treats here of adultery; and the language must be noticed,
since such contamination shows how holy God considers the marriage tie: hence we
see the atrocity of the sin, and the detestable nature of adultery; for both
parties are equally polluted, though it appears stronger in the female sex
through their natural modesty. We must hold, then, that the very body is
engrained with disgrace and infamy, as Paul says, when such sins are committed.
Other sins, says he, are without the body; but this is a sin against the body
itself which thus bears the marks of shame and infamy.
(<460618>1
Corinthians 6:18.) Here, as I have said, Ezekiel treats the case of the woman,
since the offense is in her case more pernicious. It follows — and
has not approached a female when
legally unclean: for we know this to be
prohibited under the law; as being contrary to nature; for it was not necessary
to define the matter by written law, as it speaks for itself. and God detests
such crimes, not only because their offspring would contaminate cities and the
nation at large, but because they are adverse to the instincts of human nature.
(<031819>Leviticus
18:19;
<032018>Leviticus
20:18.) He afterwards adds, if he has not oppressed or afflicted any
one. This is general, just as if the Prophet had said, if he has abstained
from all fraud, violence, and injustice. But this is a great point to live so
innocently among men, that no one should complain of any injury done to him, nor
of any loss sustained. But it is not enough to preserve this self-restraint
unless we desire to profit our brethren, since God wishes the good offices of
life to be reciprocal: although, indeed, to take care to be free from all
injustice ought to precede other duties. He says,
if he has returned his pledge to
the debtor. This ought not to be taken
generally, but depends on the precept of the law; for we have often said, that
the prophets are the interpreters of Moses, and so they often touch briefly on
what Moses expresses more clearly. But if we wish to occupy ourselves usefully
in reading them, we ought to determine the meaning of the law, and then to
accommodate what we read in the prophets to what is there
contained.
F481 So, in this passage,
to restore the pledge to, the
debtor, is restricted to the poor and needy,
who had pledged either their garments, or their beds, or the tools by which they
acquired a livelihood: for God forbids taking a pledge of a widow or a poor
person: then he forbids taking a millstone, that is, any tool which a workman
uses to Judea his living; for if any one empties the workshop of the miserable,
he might just as well take his life. Hence Moses says, His life is in the
pledge,
(<052406>Deuteronomy
24:6,) that is, if any one pledges his tools, it is like having his hands cut
off, since he cannot carry on his trade without His tools: hence you take away
his life. Hence God forbids taking a coverlet, or garments, or bedding, for a
wretched man would perish with cold were he to pledge either his coverlet or his
bedding. But if, on the other hand, men of this kind are assisted without taking
a pledge, they will bless those who abstain from too much rigor. Lastly, God
forbids the destruction of the poor man’s house, lest he should be ashamed
of his poverty, and then because it is too cruel to penetrate into the house of
another, and inquire for its contents; nay, this is a species of robbery. We see
now how Ezekiel thought to be understood,
if he has restored a pledge to
the debtor, that is, to the poor debtor, or the
necessary pledge, as I have said, such as tools and needful furniture, without
which a person cannot exercise his trade.
He has not seized a
prey, that is, has not preyed upon his
neighbors. For every kind of robbery is here marked by the word
lzg,
gezel, violence. And has
given his bread to the hungry. Here the Prophet
teaches what I have lately touched on, that cautious self-restraint from all
injury is not sufficient, and sparing our neighbors; but that more is required,
since we ought to assist them as far as we possibly can. Unless this had been
added, many might object that they injured no one, never defrauded any, nor took
advantage of the simple. But since God has united men in the bonds of mutual
society, hence they must mutually perform good offices for each other. Here,
then, it is required of the rich to succor the poor, and to offer bread to the
hungry. But it is said, His bread, lest any one should object, through his habit
of being too restricted; but there is no reason to bind me to bestow my
goods on others: this is my bread, and so I have a right to possess what is
my own: if any one is oppressed by want, I confess it to be praiseworthy to
succor him, but no one is compelled to this act of liberality. Lest any one
should escape thus, behold, says the Holy Spirit,
although you rightly call the
bread yours, yet it is not so yours that you
ought to refuse your brother when his hunger provokes you to pity.
And has covered the naked with a
garment: the rule for garment and for bread is
the same. The substance is, that others are not deemed just before God unless
they are inclined to benevolence, so as to supply the necessities of their
brethren, and to succor them in their poverty. It follows,
since he has not given on usury
and has not received increase. Here, among
other crimes, Ezekiel enumerates usury — though the word usury is not
properly suitable to this passage
˚çn,
neshek, is deduced from biting, and so the Hebrews name usury, because it
gnaws and by degrees consumes the miserable. Ezekiel then says, that they are
considered observers of the law who abstain from usury. But because men are very
acute and cunning on this point, and devise subterfuges by which they may hide
their cruelty, he adds, and has
not received increase: for we know how various
are the schemes for gain: for whoever devotes his attention to unlawful gains,
will find out many monstrous things which no one would ever have thought of.
Thus it happens that the usurer will deny that he exacts usury, and yet he will
spoil the wretched and even suck out their blood. Under the name,
tybrt,
ther-bith, Ezekiel comprehends those more secret kinds of usury which the
avaricious use with many disguises, and when they spread such coverings before
them, think themselves free from all blame. Hence the Prophet says, even if the
name of usury is removed and is not taken into account, yet it is sufficient to
condemn men if they receive increase, that is, make a profit at the expense of
others. A question arises here, whether usury be in itself a crime, since God
formerly permitted his people to take interest of strangers, and only forbade it
among themselves. And there was the best reason for that law. For if its just
proportion had been overthrown, there would have been no reciprocity, since the
Gentiles could exact interest of the Jews; and unless that right had been mutual
and reciprocal, as the phrase is, the condition of God’s people would have
been worse than that of the Gentiles. God therefore permitted his people to take
interest, but not among each other, as I have said: this was only allowable with
strangers. Besides, the law itself was political: but in this case the Prophet
seems to condemn all kinds of interest, and exaggerates the weight of the
sentence, when he adds increase, that is, whatever gains the avaricious mutually
strive for. So also in the 15th Psalm, where a just mode of living is proscribed
for us, David mentions, among other things — who has not lent his money on
usury,
(<191505>Psalm
15:5.) It seems, then, from these two places, that usury is in itself unlawful.
But because God’s law embraces complete and perfect justice, hence we must
hold that interest, unless it is opposed to God’s law, is not altogether
to be condemned, otherwise ignominy would clearly attach to the law of God if it
did not prescribe to us a true and complete rule of living justly. But in the
law there is that perfection to which nothing can be added. If then we wish to
determine whether interest is unlawful we must come to the rule of the law,
which cannot deceive us: but we shall not find all interest contrary to the law,
and hence it follows that interest is not always to be condemned. Here, too, we
must remember that we must regard the subject rather than the words, for men
trifle by their own caviling, but God does not admit of such fallacies. Hence,
as I said, the substance ought to be weighed, because the words alone will not
enable us to decide whether interest be sometimes lawful or not. For example,
among the Latin’s the word for interest is honorable in itself and has no
disgrace attached to it, but that for usury is odious. What causes disgrace to
be thus hidden under it, but they fancied that they abhorred usurers, hence the
general term interest contains within it all kinds of usury, and there was
nothing so cruel, so unjust, and so barbarous, which was not covered by that
pretense. Now since the name for interest was unknown to the French, that for
usury became detestable: hence the French devised a new craftiness by which they
could deceive God. For since no one could bear the name of usury, they used
“interest” instead: but what does this mean but something which
interests us, and thus it signifies all kinds of repayment for loans, for there
was no kind of interest among the ancients which is not now comprehended in this
word. Now since we have said that interest cannot be totally and without
exception condemned, (for we must not play upon words, but treat the real
point,) we must see how far it can be proved not to be reckoned a crime. First
of all, in a well regulated state, no usurer is tolerated: even the profane see
this: whoever therefore professedly adopts this occupation, he ought to be
expelled from intercourse with his fellow-men. For if any illiberal pursuits
load those who pursue them with censure, that of the usurer is certainly an
illiberal trade, and unworthy of a pious and honorable man. Hence Cato said that
to take usury was almost the same as murder. For when asked concerning
agriculture, after he had given his opinion, he inquired, But what is usury? Is
it not murder? says he. And surely the usurer will always be a robber; that is,
he will make a profit by his trade, and will defraud, and his iniquity will
increase just as if there were no laws, no equity, and no mutual regard among
mankind. This is one point: but there is another part of the occupation besides
that of taking interest. When any one sets up his table he uses the same art as
a farmer does in employing his labor in cultivating the fields. But any one may
receive interest without being a professed usurer. For example, a person may
have capital and put out a part of it on loan, and thus receive interest: and if
he do that once, he will not be called a usurer; so that we must consider when
and from whom a person exacts interest. But this sentiment ought to prevail
here: “neither everywhere, nor always, nor all things, nor from
all.” This indeed was said of offices, and that law was imposed upon the
governors of provinces: but it agrees best with this subject. It is not suitable
then to receive “all things,” because if the profit exceed
moderation it must be rejected, since it is contrary to charity: we said also
that the continual habit and custom is not without fault. Neither
“everywhere,” since the usurer, as I have said, ought not to enter
or be brought into the Church of God. Then again, not “from all,”
because it is always wrong to exact usury from a poor man; but if a man is rich,
and has money of his own, as the saying is, and has a very good estate and a
large patrimony, and should borrow money of his neighbor, will that neighbor
commit sin by receiving a profit from the loan of his money? Another borrower is
the richer of the two, and might do without it and yet suffer no loss: but he
wishes to buy a farm and enjoy its fruits: why should the creditor be deprived
of his rights when his money brings profit to a neighbor richer than himself? We
see, then, that it may sometimes happen that the receiver of interest is not to
be hastily condemned, since he is not acting contrary to God’s law. But we
must always hold that the tendency of usury is to oppress one’s brother,
and hence it is to be wished that the very names of usury and interest were
buried and blotted out from the memory of men. But since men cannot otherwise
transact their business, we must always observe what is lawful, and how far it
is so. I know that the subject might be treated at greater length, but I have
shortly expressed what is sufficient for our purpose.
It follows,
And has withdrawn his hand from
iniquity. Here again the Prophet commends
innocence, when we are cautious that our neighbor should not receive any damage
or injury through our fault. Hence abstaining from injury is again praised here,
but a new form of speech is used, since if men are not very anxious and careful
they easily extend the hand to iniquity: and why so? various means of gain from
many quarters present themselves to us, and we are easily led captive by such
enticements. Hence the Prophet, not without reason, here commends
the servants of God to withdraw
the hand from iniquity, that is, not only to
abstain from injury, but when the sweetness of gain entices us, and some
plausible means of profit is proposed, that they should restrain themselves this
is the meaning of to withdraw the
hand from iniquity. The rest I leave for
tomorrow.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since you have so
instructed us by thy law in the rules of living justly, that we have no excuse
for error or ignorance: Grant, I say, that we may be attentive to that teaching
which you prescribe for us; and so anxiously exercise ourselves in it, that each
of us may live innocently among the brotherhood: and then may we so worship thee
with one consent and so glorify thy name, that we may at length arrive at that
happy inheritance which you have promised for us in your only-begotten Son.
— Amen.
LECTURE
FIFTY-FIFTH.
We yesterday explained why the Prophet says that no
one is just unless he withdraw
his hands from iniquity, because many occasions
tempt us to injure others: unless we restrain ourselves in a middle course we
often hurt our neighbors. Now among the virtues of a just man he puts,
to judge according to truth: to
act truthfully, says he,
between man and
man. This seems indeed to be the proper duty of
judges who discharge a public office, but yet it is suitable to private persons;
for although no one argues his own cause except before some one endued with
power to decide it, yet we see that the inclinations of men often pervert equity
and rectitude in judgments. Again, many are chosen arbitrators who do not hold
any public office. The meaning is, that what Ezekiel previously sought
concerning equity is extended to the causes of others, that no one should turn
aside from right and equity through private friendship. Afterwards it
follows, if he has walked
in my statutes and kept my judgments, in acting with
truthfulness. Again, the Prophet returns to
general remarks: for he has recorded certain kinds of justice, as we said
yesterday, whence its nature may be more clearly perceived. Besides, because
God’s law contains within it more than the prophet has thus far mentioned;
hence it was necessary to add this clause, who has walked in my decrees, says
he. It is too cold to restrict this to ceremonies, as is sometimes done; hence I
interpret it of edicts or decrees. The metaphor of walking does not require a
long explanation, as it is very common in Scripture. Hence,
to walk in God’s
precepts is nothing else than to form his life
and morals according to the rule which has been prescribed by God; or, what is
the same thing, so to conduct oneself, that in desiring to be deemed just a man
should attempt nothing but what is agreeable to God’s precepts. But since
the observance of the law is difficult, first, because we are not only of a
frail disposition, but prone to sin; hence the word “serving” is
added, by which the Prophet commends diligence. Whoever wishes to direct his
life according to God’s precepts should attentively keep them, since
nothing is more natural than to transgress and fall. He now adds,
for acting
truthfully. Integrity is here denoted by the
word truthfulness. We gather, then, from this word the fruitful teaching, that
the object of God’s whole law is to conduct ourselves without deceit or
fraud, and study to assist one another in simplicity, and to conduct ourselves
with sincerity in every duty. If any one, then, asks the object of the law, the
Prophet here describes it to us —
the performance of
truth; and this is said rightly of the second
table. But this may be adapted to the former table, since the Scripture teaches
us that no dissembling can be pleasing to God. And we see also what Paul says
when he briefly defines the end of the law to be charity out of any pure heart,
and faith unfeigned.
(<540105>1
Timothy 1:5.) But the word truth in this passage is, in my judgment, referred to
that sincerity which we must cultivate, so that no one should deceive another,
nor act fraudulently or knowingly, but be really simple and sincere. He
adds, he is just, and in living
he shall live, says the Lord Jehovah. At length
he pronounces, as we said, that he is just who has faithfully observed
God’s law; then that a recompense is prepared for all the just who thus
sincerely worship God. Now let us come to the second example.
|
EZEKIEL
18:10-13
|
|
10. If he beget a son that is a robber, a
shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these
things,
|
10. Et genuerit filium
praedonem,
f482 qui sanguinem effundit, et facit
fractri:
f483 fratri (ergo) unum ex
his.
f484
|
|
11. And that doeth not any of those duties,
but even has eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbor’s
wife,
|
11. Et ipse haec
omnia
f485 non fecerit, quin potius omnia in
montibus comederit, et uxorem proximi sui
corruperit.
f486
|
|
12. Has oppressed the poor and needy, has
spoiled by violence, has not restored the pledge, and has lifted up his eyes to
the idols, has committed abomination,
|
12. Pauperem et egenum oppresserit, praedas
rapuerit, pignus non reddiderit, et ad idola oculos suos extulerit,
abominationem fecerit.
|
|
13. Has given forth upon usury, and has taken
increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these
abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
|
13. Cum usura dederit, et incrementum
acceperit: et vivet?
f487 non vivet: abominationes cunctas
patravit, moriendo morietur, sanguis ejus in eo
erit.
f488
|
He has oppressed the poor and
needy: he had simply said, He has oppressed a
man; but now to make the greatness of the crime appear, he speaks of the poor
and needy: for cruelty in oppressing them is less tolerable. Whatever the
condition of the person whom we treat, with injustice, our wickedness is in
itself sufficiently worthy of condemnation; but when we afflict the wretched,
whose condition ought to excite our pity, that, inhumanity is, as I have said,
far more atrocious. Hence this circumstance exaggerates what Ezekiel had
formerly simply expressed. In the phrase for seizing booty, the word for
booty is in the plural: in the next phrase he omits the word for debtor, because
it is sufficiently understood: in the next, he does not add “of the house
of Israel” to the word “idols;” and in the last clause the
word “abomination” seems to refer to one kind of grossness only: but
if any wish to extend its meaning further, I do not, object; but since he lately
used the word in the plural, I rather take this word in its restricted sense. I
pass thus rapidly over this second example, as I shall over the third, because
Ezekiel preserves the same sentiments, and repeats almost the same words as he
had just used. Hitherto he has taught that life is laid up for all the just as
the reward of their justice: but he now sets before us a degenerate son, sprung
from a just father, running headlong into all kind of wickedness. He says, then,
if a man who desires to obey the law beget a son of a perverse disposition, who
rejects the discipline of his father, and at the same time violates the whole
law of God, shall he surely
live?
No,
says he, he shall die, his
blood shall be upon him; that is, he cannot
escape God’s judgment;, because his crimes cry out, and are heard. Hence
none who turn aside from the right way shall remain unpunished: this is the
simple meaning of the Prophet. Let us now come to the third
member.
|
EZEKIEL
18:14-17
|
|
14. Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all
his father’s sins which he has done, and considereth, and doeth not such
like,
|
14. Et ecce genuerit filium, et viderit cuncta
scelera patris sui quae perpetravit, et timuerit, et non fecerit secundum
ipsa,
|
|
15. That has not eaten upon the mountains,
neither has lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, has not
defiled his neighbor’s wife,
|
15. Super montes non comederit, et oculos suos
non extulerit ad idola
f489 domus
Israel
f490 uxorem proximi sui non
polluerit,
|
|
16. Neither has oppressed any, has not
withholden the pledge, neither has spoiled by violence, but has given his bread
to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment,
|
16. Et neminem oppresserit, pignus non
pigneraverit,
f491 et
rapinam
f492 non rapuerit: panem suum famelico
dederit,
f493 et nudum operuerit
vestimento.
|
|
17. That has taken off his hand from the poor,
that has not received usury nor increase, has executed my judgments, has walked
in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely
live.
|
17. Ab egeno retraxerit manum suam, foenus et
inerementum non acceperit, judicia mea fecerit, in decretis meis ambulaverit,
ipse non morietur in iniquitate patris sui, vivendo vivet.
|
In this third example Ezekiel announces, that if a
man be born of a wicked father, he may nevertheless be pleasing to God, if he be
unlike his father and thus he refutes the proverb that was so common in Israel
— that the father ate the sour grapes, and the children’s teeth were
set on edge. For if the sons were sufferers through the father’s eating
the sour grapes, then the pious who drew their origin from wicked despisers of
God would be freed from all their sins. Thus Ezekiel would have been punished
instead of his father, Ahaz, and Josiah instead of Manasseh. But here the
Prophet bears witness that the good, however they may have been born from wicked
parents, should receive the reward of righteousness no less certainly and
faithfully than if they had come down from heaven, and if their family had
always been without the commission of any crime. Since, therefore, God does not
punish them for their fathers’ crimes, it follows that the Israelites
uttered this taunt not only foolishly, but impiously, saying that their own
teeth were set on edge, because their fathers had eaten the sour grapes.
Besides, as there is a difference in the phrase, I shall notice briefly what is
worthy of remark: if he begat a
son who saw all that his father had done, and was
afraid. Here the Prophet teaches that it needed
the greatest attention for the son to forsake the example of a bad father. For
sons are blind to their fathers’ vices; and although, when duty is set
before them, they carelessly despise it, yet they fancy themselves held so far
by pious reverence, that they dare not condemn their fathers. Hence it happens
that sons do not acknowledge their fathers’ crimes, and thus a wicked
father corrupts his son willingly. Bad discipline, therefore, is added to this,
so that it is not surprising if the offspring is worse than his ancestors. For
this reason the Prophet says, if
he has seen, that is, if a righteous child has
observed his father’s sins, since sons shut their eyes as much as possible
to all their fathers’ crimes; nay, they embrace their vices for the
greatest virtues.
He then adds,
if he has
feared. It would not be sufficient to take
notice of this without adding the fear of God. It is true, indeed, that many
were unlike their parents, through being restrained by shame; for when they
heard the reproaches of their parents, they were touched with ingenuous modesty,
so as to be on their guard against such enormities. But all these followed the
empty shadow of justice; and here the serious observance of the law is treated,
which cannot flow from anything else but, the fear of God, and this, as
Scripture says, is the beginning of wisdom.
(<19B110>Psalm
111:10;
<200107>Proverbs
1:7.) A person thus may be blameless through his whole life, and yet not touch
on any part of justice, since righteousness flows from only one principle
— the fear of God. He afterwards adds,
and has not done according to
them. We see, therefore, that those who
implicate themselves in others’ crimes are not otherwise deceived, unless
they purposely stifle all difference between good and evil; for if they had
attended to this, they would doubtless have been touched with some fear, and
thus have governed their life according to God’s precepts: but scarcely
one in a hundred thinks of this, and hence every one mingles freely with his
neighbors, and so all perish together. He afterwards adds,
he has not eaten upon the
mountains, has not raised his eyes to the idols of the house of
Israel: we have explained all these:
and has not oppressed any one,
and has not received a pledge. We said that
this ought not to be explained of every pledge; for it was lawful for any one,
on giving money, to receive a pledge for its return, but not from one who is
destitute of either garments or the necessary implements of trade: so I pass
this by. He has not received a
prey, has distributed his bread to the
hungry. He adds, what he had not touched
on previously, he has withdrawn
his hand from the poor. This seems to differ
from the opinion which we had in the sixteenth chapter,
(<261649>Ezekiel
16:49.) Among the sins of Sodom, the Prophet there puts this also, that they
withdrew their hand from the poor and needy; and surely, when we stretch forth
the hand for the sake of help, it is a true proof of charity; but if we withdraw
the hand, it is a proof of cruelty, since we do not deign to aid a brother who
ought to obtain some favor from us. But we must bear in mind that there are two
senses in which the hand is either extended or withdrawn. If I extend my hand to
the poor to supply what is wanting, and to the weak to render him aid, this is
the duty of charity. If, on the contrary, I withdraw my hand, I unjustly turn
away from him who implores my confidence, and whose misery ought to win for him
some favor. But we extend the hand when we seize on a neighbor’s goods,
and violently deprive him of them, and despoil the innocent of their rights. On
the contrary, he who withdraws his hand is humane in sparing his brethren, and
not enriching himself at their expense, and profiting by their oppression. In
this sense the Prophet now enumerates
withdrawing the hand from the
poor in the list of virtues, because the
poor are subject to all kinds of injury. If, therefore, when we see booty
already prepared for us, and yet we refrain from it, this is a proof of true
charity. But again, we must remark upon what I treated but briefly yesterday,
namely, that we must withdraw our
hands from the poor, because nothing is
more easy than to be enticed to make a gain of the poor; and wherever occasion
and impunity offer themselves, avarice so seizes us, that we neither discern nor
consider what is right and fair. Every one who wishes to preserve his
self-restraint, and to subdue his affections, ought to attend to this with all
his strength and with constant struggling: thus the Prophet says, we must
withdraw the hand.
Now at last he concludes:
he shall not die through his
father’s iniquity; he shall surely live.
He does not repeat that this is just, yet we must understand it so; but he stops
at the immediate effect, since God’s blessing awaits all the just, as
Isaiah says surely there is a reward to the just,
(<230310>Isaiah
3:10;) and the Prophet exclaims as if it were believed with difficulty: for,
since we see all things revolving promiscuously in the world, we directly
imagine either that God is at rest in heaven, or that chance governs all things
here on earth. But we must strive against this perverse supposition, and
determine, as Isaiah teaches, that there is a reward for the just. The Prophet
now expresses this, while a difficult question arises from the passage; for he
says that he is just who has kept
the law, and so God will bestow a recompense
upon. him: hence these two things are connected together, and the question which
I mentioned arises from the former clause; for the whole Scriptures teach that
no one is just, and that none can be justified by the law. But these things are
contrary to each other; to be just and worthy of reward through keeping the law,
since none is just, all are transgressors, all devoid of justice, and so but one
remedy remains — that of seeking our safety from the gratuitous mercy of
God. But although, at first sight, this kind of it consistency disturbs the rude
and partially-exercised commentator, yet this solution is easy, since, strictly
speaking, justice is the observance of the law. If any one asks, then, what
justice is, the proper definition is, the observance of law. Why so? Because the
law, as I said yesterday, lays down the solid rule of justice; whoever observes
it will be esteemed just; and thus justification is properly said to be placed
in works. But, on the other hand, Scripture pronounces what is very true, and
entirely confirmed by experience, that no one can satisfy the law, and, on
account of this defect, we are all deprived of justification by works. What I
have said may be made much clearer by many testimonies of Scripture. Not the
hearer of the law, says Paul, in the second chapter of the epistle to the
Romans, but the doer of the law, shall be justified,
(<450213>Romans
2:13.) There Paul speaks naturally, that those are just who conform their whole
life to the obedience of God’s law. So also John, in his canonical
epistle: He who does righteousness is righteous.
(<620307>1
John 3:7.) Now, if any one asks whether any perfect observer of the law can be
found, or one who does justice in every respect, the answer is at hand, that we
are all by nature very far gone from all righteousness, and all our senses and
affections are enemies which contend against God’s law, as Paul teaches:
The whole soul of man is perverse, and we are not fit to think anything of
ourselves, and that all our sufficiency is of God, since we are slaves of sin.
(<450807>Romans
8:7;
<470305>2
Corinthians 3:5; Romans 11.) But it would be superfluous to heap together many
testimonies. Let it suffice, then, that we are by nature all together rebels
against God, so that not the slightest particle of good can be found in us. As
far as concerns the faithful, they aspire indeed to righteousness, but lamely,
and at a great distance from their aim; they often wander from the way, and they
often fall, so that they do not satisfy the law, and hence require God’s
pity. Hence we must come to the second kind of righteousness, which is
improperly so called, namely, that which we obtain from Christ. He who does
righteousness is righteous. (l
<430307>John
3:7.) None of us does it; but Christ, who fulfilled the law, is esteemed just
before God. Hence it is necessary that we should be approved by God through his
righteousness; that is, it is imputed to us, and we are accepted through his
righteousness. Hence justification by faith, as it is called, is not properly
righteousness; but on account of the defect of true righteousness, it is
necessary to fly to this as to a sacred anchor; and Paul, in the tenth chapter
to the Romans, explains this briefly and clearly. The righteousness of the law,
says he, thus speaks: He who has done these things shall live in them; but the
righteousness of faith says, He who has believed shall be just. The Apostle here
speaks of a double righteousness — that of the law and of faith: he says,
that the righteousness of the law is situated in works, since no one is thought
just unless he fulfills the law.
(<451005>Romans
10:5-8.) Since all are far distant from this standard, another is added and
substituted, namely, that we may embrace the righteousness of Christ by faith,
and so become just, by another righteousness without us: for if any one again
objects that justification by the law is superfluous, I answer, that it profits
us in two ways; first, because the law brings in those convicted of their own
unrighteousness to Christ. This, then, is one fruit of the law, that we renounce
our own righteousness, when our iniquity so discloses itself, that it compels us
to be silent before God, as we formerly saw. A more fruitful result follows;
because, when God regenerates his elect, he inscribes a law on their hearts and
in their inward parts, as we have elsewhere seen, and shall see again in the
thirty-sixth chapter.
(<243133>Jeremiah
31:33;
<263626>Ezekiel
36:26, 27.) But the difficulty is not yet solved; because the faithful, even if
regenerated by God’s Spirit, endeavor to conform themselves to God’s
law, yet, through their own weakness, never arrive at that point, and so are
never righteous: I answer, although the righteousness of works is mutilated in
the sons of God, yet it is acknowledged as perfect, since, by not imputing their
sins to them, he proves what is his own. Hence it happens, that although the
faithful fall back, wander, and sometimes fall, yet they may be called observers
of the law, and walkers in the commandments of God, and observers of his
righteousness. But this arises from gratuitous imputation, and hence also its
reward. The works of the faithful are not without reward, because they please
God, and pleasing God, they are sure of remuneration. We see, then, how these
things are rightly united, that no one obeys the law, and that no one is worthy
of the fruits of righteousness, and yet that God, of his own liberality,
acknowledges as just those who aspire to righteousness, and repay them with a
reward of which they are unworthy. When, therefore, we say that the faithful are
esteemed just even in their deeds, this is not stated as a cause of their
salvation, and we must diligently notice that the cause of salvation is excluded
from this doctrine; for, when we discuss the cause, we must look nowhere else
but to the mercy of God, and there we must stop. But although works tend in no
way to the cause of justification, yet, when the elect sons of God were
justified freely by faith, at the same time their works are esteemed righteous
by the same gratuitous liberality. Thus it still remains true, that faith
without works justifies, although this needs prudence and a sound
interpretation; for this proposition, that faith without works justifies is true
and yet false, according to the different senses which it bears. The
proposition, that faith without works justifies by itself, is false, because
faith without works is void. But if the clause “without works” is
joined with the word “justifies,” the proposition will be true,
since faith cannot justify when it is without works, because it is dead, and a
mere fiction. He who is born of God is just, as John says.
(<620518>1
John 5:18.) Thus faith can be no more separated from works than the sun from his
heat yet faith justifies without works, because works form no reason for our
justification; but faith alone reconciles us to God, and causes him to love us,
not in ourselves, but in his only begotten Son. Now, therefore, that question is
solved, when the Prophet teaches that life is reposed in the just, even if they
are born of wicked and unholy parents.
Lastly, we must notice the word “life,”
since the word “living” ought not to be understood only of life on
earth, but looks to eternal life: and here some expositors are mistaken: for
because they could not free themselves from those difficulties which I lately
explained, they interpreted the words of Moses in a civil sense — He who
has done these things shall live in them. But Moses is speaking of life eternal.
Hence we must hold, not only that a reward is promised in this life to the just
observers of the law, but that eternal life is also a promised reward. Besides,
as I have said, since we are all destitute of righteousness, so we thought not
to hope for any reward, since we are all under the law and under the curse, as
Paul says: neither is there any means of escape, as Paul again says,
(<480310>Galatians
3:10, 13,) unless we fly with complete and abject faith to the mercy of God
alone, and to the satisfaction by which Christ has reconciled us to his Father.
Here I shall finish.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since you have
pointed out to us the true way of safety, since you did perceive us all
deficient in this respect, and since the law which ought to have given us life
brought death through our transgressing it: Grant, I pray thee, since you have
set before us your only Son in whom we may be reconciled and obtain the perfect
righteousness which we need, that we may so embrace the grace which is offered
to us in the gospel, that we may strive more and more to proceed in the pursuit
of piety, till we arrive at length at the blessed inheritance which the same,
your only-begotten Son, has acquired for us. — Amen.
LECTURE
FIFTY-SIXTH.
|
EZEKIEL
18:18-19
|
|
18. As for his father, because he cruelly
oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which, ’s not
good among his people, lo, even he in shall die in his
iniquity.
|
18. Pater ejus quia opprimendo oppressit, et
rapuit praedam a fratre, et quod non est bonum fecit in medio populi sui: ecce
is morietur iniquitate sua.
|
|
19. Yet say you, Why? doth not the son bear
the iniquity of the father? When the son has done that which is lawful and
right, and has kept all my statutes, and has done them, he shall surely
live.
|
19. Et dicitis, Quare non portabit filius
iniquitatem patris? eo quod filius fecit judicium et justitiam, et custodivit
omnia statuta mea fecitque ea: ideo vivendo vivet.
|
He inculcates the same thing more at length, not for
the sake of ornament so much as to refute that impious saying in which the
Israelites so perniciously persisted. Since then it was difficult to tear from
their minds what was so deeply rooted in them, the Prophet often exclaims that
no one was punished except he deserved it for his crimes. He adds in the next
verse what seems superfluous and absurd: for the Israelites did not contend with
God for sparing the innocent: but here Ezekiel represents them speaking as if
they wished the innocent son to be punished equally with the wicked father. But
he does not mean that they contended about the right, but about the fact, as we
usually say. For since they were imbued with that error, that punishments
extended beyond the criminals, on the other hand he pronounces that the just
were not absolved by their own goodness, if they sprang from impious parents,
although the people supposed so; for they were buried under their own depraved
judgment, otherwise they must have perceived that justice is never deprived by
God of its reward of life.
|
EZEKIEL
18:20
|
|
20. The soul that shineth, it shall die. The
son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the
iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and
the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
|
20. Anima quae peccaverit ipsa morietur:
filius non portabit iniquitatem patris, et pater non portabit iniquitatem filii:
justitia justi super eum erit, et impietas impii super eum
erit.
|
Ezekiel still pursues the sentiment which we have
explained, namely, that God is a just judge and treats every one according to
his conduct; as Paul says, As each has lived in the flesh, so God lays up a
reward for him.
(<450813>Romans
8:13.) But he more clearly refuted the proverb, that the sons should suffer for
their fathers’ sins. He says, then, that each when he comes before
God’s tribunal should be judged by his works. As far then as the general
sentiment is concerned, it is in accordance with common sense that God should
exact punishment of the wicked, and that they should receive the just reward of
their works. But in the next clause, the question arises how the Spirit here
pronounces that the son should not pay the penalty due to the father, when God
so often declares that he visits the sins of the fathers upon the children unto
the third and fourth generation.
(<022005>Exodus
20:5.) That sentiment often occurs: but there are two passages peculiarly
remarkable, where it is annexed to the second precept of the law,
(<050509>Deuteronomy
5:9,) and then in that remarkable vision which occurred to Moses, God pronounces
the same thing as before, namely, that the iniquity of the fathers should fall
upon the sons.
(<023407>Exodus
34:7.) These passages seem opposed to each other, but it will be easy to remove
the contradiction by beginning with the fall of Adam, since if we do not
consider the whole race fallen in Adam, we can scarcely extricate ourselves from
that difficulty which we often feel as causing pungent scruples. But the
principle of one universal fall in Adam removes all doubts. For when we consider
the perishing of the whole human race, it is said with truth that we perish
through another’s fault: but it is added at the same time, that every one
perishes through his own iniquity. If then we inquire into the cause of the
curse which presses upon all the posterity of Adam, it may be said to be partly
another’s and partly our own: another’s, through Adam’s
declension from God, in whose person the whole human race was spoiled of
righteousness and intelligence, and all parts of the soul utterly corrupted. So
that every one is lost in himself, and if he wishes to contend with God, he must
always acknowledge that the fountain of the curse flows from himself. For before
the child was born into the world, it was corrupt, since its menial intelligence
was buried in darkness, and its will was perverse and rebellious against God. As
soon as infants are born they contract pollution from their father Adam: their
reason is blinded, their appetites perverted, and their senses entirely
vitiated. This does not immediately show itself in the young child, but before
God, who discerns things more acutely than we do, the corruption of our whole
nature is rightly treated as sin. There is no one who during the course of his
life does not perceive himself liable to punishment through his own works; but
original sin is sufficient for the condemnation of all men. When men grow up
they acquire for themselves the new curse of what is called actual sin: so that
he who is pure with reference to ordinary observation, is guilty before God:
hence Scripture pronounces us all naturally children of wrath: these are
Paul’s words in the second chapter of the epistle to the Ephesians,
(<490203>Ephesians
2:3.) If then we are children of wrath, it follows that we are polluted from our
birth: this provokes God’s anger and renders him hostile to us: in this
sense David confesses himself conceived in sin.
(<195105>Psalm
51:5.) He does not here accuse either his father or his mother so as to
extenuate his own wickedness; but, when he abhors the greatness of his sin in
provoking the wrath of God, he is brought back to his infancy, and acknowledges
that he was even then guilty before God. We see then that David, being reminded
of a single sin, acknowledges himself a sinner before he was born; and since we
are all under the curse, it follows that we are all worthy of death. Thus, the
son properly speaking shall not die through the iniquity of his father, but is
considered guilty before God through his own fault.
Now let us proceed further. When God pronounces that
the iniquity of the father returns into the bosom of the son, we must remember
that when God involves the son in the same death with the father, he does so
principally because the son of the impious is destitute of his Spirit: whence it
happens that he remains in the death in which he was born. For if we do not
consider any other punishments than those which are openly inflicted, a new
scruple will again arise from which we cannot free ourselves, since this inquiry
will always recur, how can the son perish by his own fault, if he can produce
good fruit and so reconcile himself to God? But the first punishment with which
God threatens the reprobate is that which I have mentioned, namely, that their
offspring are destitute and deprived of spiritual gifts, so that they sink
deeper and deeper into destruction: for there are two kinds of punishment, the
one outward and the other inward, as we express it. God punishes the
transgressors of his law by either the sword, or by famine, or by pestilence, as
he everywhere denounces: he is also armed with other means of slaughter for
executing his wrath, and all these punishments are outward and openly apparent.
But there is another sort inward and hidden, when God takes away the spirit of
rectitude from the reprobate, when he gives them up to a reprobate mind,
subjects them to foul desires, and deprives them of all his gifts hence God is
said to cause the fathers’ iniquity to recoil upon the children not only
when he outwardly punishes the little ones, but because he devotes a cursed
offspring to eternal destruction, through being destitute of all the gifts of
the Spirit,. Now we know that God is the fountain of life,
(<193609>Psalm
36:9,) whence it follows that all who are separated from him are dead. Now
therefore it is evident how God throws the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children, since when he devotes both father and son to eternal destruction, he
deprives them of all his gifts, blinds their minds, and enslaves all their
appetites to the devil. Although we may, in one word, embrace the whole matter
of the children suffering for the fathers when he leaves them to simple nature,
as the phrase is, since in this way he drowns them in death and destruction. But
outward punishments also follow afterwards, as when God sends lightning upon
Sodom many young children perished, and all were absorbed with their parents.
(<011924>Genesis
19:24.) If any one asks by what right they perished, first they were sons of
Adam and so were accursed, and then God wished to punish the Sodomites through
their offspring, and he could do so deservedly. Concerning the young who thus
perished with their fathers, it is said, happy is he who dashes thy young ones
against the stones or the pavement.
(<19D709>Psalm
137:9.) At first sight, indeed, that atrocity seems intolerable that a child
whose age and judgment is thus tender should be so cruelly slain: but as we have
already said, all are naturally children of wrath.
(<490202>Ephesians
2:2.) No wonder, therefore, that God withdraws his favor from the offspring of
the reprobate, even if he executes these outward judgments. But how will this
now be suitable, shall not the
son bear the iniquity of the father? for
Ezekiel here speaks of adults, for he means that the son shall not bear his
father’s iniquity, since he shall receive the reward due to himself and
sustain his own burden. Should any one wish to strive with God, he can be
refuted in a single word: for who can boast himself innocent? Since therefore
all are guilty through their own fault, it follows that the son does not bear
his father’s iniquity, since he has to bear his own at the same time. Now
that question is solved.
He now adds,
the righteousness of the
righteous shall be upon him, and the impiety of the impious shall be upon
him. We said that this was the legal sentence:
if God used the same language everywhere, no hope of safety would be left to us.
For who would be found just if his life were judged strictly by the law? But it
has already been said, speaking accurately, that God rewards those worshipers
who observe his law, and punish those who transgress it. But since we are all
far from perfect obedience, Christ is offered to us, from whom we may partake of
righteousness, and in this way be justified by faith. Meanwhile it is true,
according to the rule of the law,
that the righteousness of the
righteous shall be upon him, since God will not
disappoint any, but will really perform what he has promised. But he promises a
reward to all who observe his law. If any one object that this doctrine is
useless and superfluous, we have an answer at hand, that it is in many ways
useful, since, first of all, we acknowledge that God, although he owes us
nothing, yet willingly binds himself to be reconciled to us; and thus his
surprising liberality appears. Then we again collect, that by transgression we
cannot profit or obtain any advantage when God offers a reward to all who
observe his law. For what can we demand more equitable than that God should of
his own accord be our debtor? and should reward us while he holds us bound to
himself, and completely subject to him with all our works? And that pattern of
Christ must be considered, When you have done all that was commanded you, say,
We are unprofitable servants.
(<421710>Luke
17:10.) Why so? for we return nothing but what God has justly required of us. We
gather, then, from this sentence, that we cannot expostulate with God, or
complain of anything while the fault of our own condemnation resides in us for
not keeping the law. Thirdly, we acknowledge another instance of God’s
mercy in his clothing us in the righteousness of his Son, when he sees us in
want of a righteousness of our own, and altogether destitute of everything good.
Fourthly, we said that they are esteemed just who do not satisfy the law, since
God does not impute their sins to them. Hence the righteousness of the law is
not without fruit among the faithful; since on account of that blessedness which
is described in
<193202>Psalm
32:2, their works are taken into account and remunerated by God.
So the righteousness of the
righteous is upon him,
just as the impiety of the
impious is upon him, and it shall recoil upon his own
head. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
18:21-22
|
|
21. But if the wicked will turn from all his
sins that he has committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is
lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
|
21. Et si impius reversus fuerit ab omni
iniquitate sua quam fecit, et servaverit omnia edicta mea, et fecerit judicium
et justitiam, vivendo rivet, non morietur.
|
|
22. All his transgressions that he has
committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he
has done he shall live.
|
22. Omnes transgressiones quas fecit non
venient in memoriam ei,
f494 sed in justitia sua quam fecit
rivet.
|
In this sentence God proposes the hope of pardon, and
invites and exhorts to penitence all the transgressors of his law. But this
doctrine is specially worthy of notice, that God extends his arms, and is
prepared to meet and receive all who betake themselves to good fruits: for
despair hurls us into madness, and then hardens our hearts by abandoned
obstinacy. Hence it is necessary that God should extend his hand towards us, and
animate us to penitence. This is the meaning of this passage of the Prophets,
as soon as the impious is turned
away from his impiety, God will be at peace with
him. Now we see that no excuse remains for us
if this humane invitation of God does not stir us up when he bears witness that
he is propitious to us when we heartily desire to be reconciled to him. But he
here requires serious repentance when he says,
if the impious has turned away
from his impiety, and has kept my statutes, and done justice and judgment, he
shall live, says he. For a sort of half
conversion is discerned in many who think that in this way they are safe before
God, but they are greatly deceived; for many mingle virtues with vices, and
imagine their guilt blotted out, if they can only bring forward something as
worthy of praise. But this is just as if any one should offer muddy will to his
master, because he had mixed it not only with dregs, but even with filth: so are
all the works of those who do not put away all depraved desires, and strive to
free themselves from all the corruption’s of the flesh. Thus what is here
taught is worthy of notice, namely, that the beginning of conversion is, when
any one renounces himself and his own lusts. But it is necessary to add another
part of duty, that when any one bids farewell to his vices, he must devote
himself obediently to God. The Prophet joins the two together, therefore, since
one cannot be separated from the other. Hence the Spirit here shortly defines
what true and legitimate conversion is. He says, that when any one is thus
converted, that his life is prepared for God, since God will forget all his
sins. This is a confirmation of the doctrine; for God cannot be entreated as
long as he imputes our sins to us: hence, that we may determine him to be
propitious to us, he promises, as soon as we repent, that all our sins shall be
buried, and no longer come into remembrance. But this is the incomparable
goodness of God, since he deigns to forget all our sins as soon as he sees us
earnestly desirous of returning to him. On the whole, Ezekiel pronounces that
all the penitent pass at once from death to life, since God blots out all their
transgressions by voluntary oblivion. It afterwards follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
18:23
|
|
23. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked
should die? says the Lord God; and not that he should return from his ways, and
live?
|
23. An cupio cupiendo mortem impii, dicit
Dominator Iehovah? An non ut convertatur a viis suis, et vivat?
|
He confirms the same sentiment in other words, that
God desires nothing more earnestly than that those who were perishing and
rushing to destruction should return into the way of safety. And for this reason
not only is the Gospel spread abroad in the world, but God wished to bear
witness through all ages how inclined he is to pity. For although the heathen
were destitute of the law and the prophets, yet they were always endued with
some taste of this doctrine. Truly enough they were suffocated by many errors:
but we shall always find that they were induced by a secret impulse to seek for
pardon, because this sense was in some way born with them, that God is to be
appeased by all who seek him. Besides, God bore witness to it more clearly in
the law and the prophets. In the Gospel we hear how familiarly he addresses us
when he promises us pardon.
(<420178>Luke
1:78.) And this is the knowledge of salvation, to embrace his mercy which he
offers us in Christ. It follows, then, that what the Prophet now says is very
true, that God wills not the death of a sinner, because he meets him of his own
accord, and is not only prepared to receive all who fly to his pity, but he
calls them towards him with a loud voice, when he sees how they are alienated
from all hope of safety. But the manner must be noticed in which God wishes all
to be saved, namely, when they
turn themselves from their ways. God thus does
not so wish all men to be saved as to renounce the difference between good and
evil; but repentance, as we have said, must precede pardon. How, then, does God
wish all men to be saved? By the Spirit’s condemning the world of sin, of
righteousness, and of judgment at this day, by the Gospel, as he did formerly by
the law and the prophets.
(<431608>John
16:8.) God makes manifest to mankind their great misery, that they may betake
themselves to him: he wounds that he may cure, and slays that he may give life.
We hold, then, that; God wills not the death of a sinner, since he calls all
equally to repentance, and promises himself prepared to receive them if they
only seriously repent. If any one should object — then there is no
election of God, by which he has predestinated a fixed number to salvation, the
answer is at hand: the Prophet does not here speak of God’s secret
counsel, but only recalls miserable men from despair, that they may apprehend
the hope of pardon, and repent and embrace the offered salvation. If any one
again objects — this is making God act with duplicity, the answer is
ready, that God always wishes the same thing, though by different ways, and in a
manner inscrutable to us. Although, therefore, God’s will is simple, yet
great variety is involved in it, as far as our senses are concerned. Besides, it
is not surprising that our eyes should be blinded by intense light, so that we
cannot certainly judge how God wishes all to be saved, and yet has devoted all
the reprobate to eternal destruction, and wishes them to perish. While we look
now through a glass darkly, we should be content with the measure of our own
intelligence.
(<461312>1
Corinthians 13:12.) When we shall be like God, and see him face to face, then
what is now obscure will then become plain. But since captious men torture this
and similar passages, it will be needful to refute them shortly, since it can be
done without trouble.
God is said
not to wish the death of a
sinner. How so? since he wishes all to be
converted. Now we must see how God wishes all to be converted; for repentance is
surely his peculiar gift: as it is his office to create men, so it is his
province to renew them, and restore his image within them. For this reason we
are said to be his workmanship, that is, his fashioning.
(<490210>Ephesians
2:10.) Since, therefore, repentance is a kind of second creation, it follows
that it is not in man’s power; and if it is equally in God’s power
to convert men as well as to create them, it follows that the reprobate are not
converted, because God does not wish their conversion; for if he wished it he
could do it: and hence it appears that he does not wish it. But again they argue
foolishly, since God does not wish all to be converted, he is himself deceptive,
and nothing can be certainly stated concerning his paternal benevolence. But
this knot is easily untied; for he does not leave us in suspense when he says,
that he wishes all to be saved. Why so? for if no one repents without finding
God propitious, then this sentence is filled up. But we must remark that God
puts on a twofold character: for he here wishes to be taken at his word. As I
have already said, the Prophet does not here dispute with subtlety about his
incomprehensible plans, but wishes to keep our attention close to God’s
word. Now, what are the contents of this word? The law, the prophets, and the
gospel. Now all are called to repentance, and the hope of salvation is promised
them when they repent. this is true, since God rejects no returning sinner: he
pardons all without exception: meanwhile, this will of God which he sets forth
in his word does not prevent him from decreeing before the world was created
what he would do with every individual: and as I have now said, the Prophet only
shows here, that when we have been converted we need not doubt that God
immediately meets us and shows himself propitious. The remainder
tomorrow.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since we are all
lost in ourselves, that we may desire to obtain life where it is laid up for us,
and where you do manifest it, namely, in thy Son: and grant that we may so
embrace the grace which has been exhibited to us in the sacrifice of his death,
that we may be regenerated by his Spirit; and thus being born again, may we
devote ourselves wholly to thee, and so glorify thy name in this world, that we
may at length be partakers of that glory which the same, your only-begotten Son,
has acquired for us. — Amen.
LECTURE
FIFTY-SEVENTH.
|
EZEKIEL
18:24
|
|
24. But when the righteous turneth away from
his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the
abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness
that he has done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he has trespassed,
and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die.
|
24. Et si aversus fuerit justus, a justitia
sua, et fecerit iniquitatem, secundum omnes abominationes quas facit impius
fecerit, an vivet? Omnes justitia, ejus quas fecit non venient in
recordationem:
f495 in transgressione qua transgressus est,
et in scelere, quo scelerate egit, in ipsis morietur.
|
As in the last lecture the Prophet offered to sinners
a sure hope of pardon if they heartily repented, and promised that God would be
propitious to them as soon as they shall seek reconciliation with him: so now,
on the other hand, he pronounces,
if the just shall decline from his justice,
whatever he has hitherto done, shall not come into the account before God. He
urged sinners to repentance when he assured them that God was prepared to pardon
them: but he now frightens those who profess for the occasion to be pure and
sincere worshipers of God, if they fall back in the midst of their course: as
Paul says, Let him who stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12.)
Besides, we gather from this passage, as Christ teaches, that those only are
happy who persevere,
(<402413>Matthew
24:13;) since a temporary righteousness will never profit those apostates who
afterwards turn aside from God. We see, then, how these two clauses unite
together, namely, that God invites all who are in danger of perdition with
extended arms, and promises them salvation if they heartily return to him.
Again, that he may restrain within the bounds of duty those who have made some
progress, and correct their sloth and stir up their anxiety, he threatens, that
unless they pursue the course of a holy and pious life to the end, their former
righteousness will not profit them. But here a question arises, Can a truly just
person deflect from the right way? for he who is begotten of God is so free from
the tyranny of sin that he devotes himself wholly to righteousness: and then if
any do turn aside, they prove that they were always strangers to God. If they
had been of us, says John, they would never have gone out from us.
(<620219>1
John 2:19.) And regeneration is an incorruptible seed: so we must determine that
the faithful who are truly regenerate never fall away from righteousness, but
are retained by God’s unconquered power: for God’s calling in the
elect is without repentance.
(<451129>Romans
11:29.) Hence he continues the course of his grace even to the end. Nor are they
to be listened to, who, in contradiction to Scripture, teach that faith is
extinct in the elect, when, through its barrenness, they bring forth no fruit.
In what sense, then, does Ezekiel mean that the just fall away? That question is
easily answered, since he is not here treating of the living root of justice,
but of the outward form or appearance, as we commonly say. Paul reminds us that
God knows us, but adds, that this seal remains.
(<550219>2
Timothy 2:19.) God therefore claims to himself alone the difference between the
elect and the reprobate, since many seem to be members of his Church who are
only outwardly such. And that passage of Augustine is true, that there are many
wolves within, and many sheep
without.
F496 For before God demonstrates his
election, the sheep wander, and seem altogether strangers to the hope of
salvation. Meanwhile many hypocrites make use of the name of God, and openly
boast themselves pre-eminent in the Church, but inwardly they are wolves. But
because it often happens that some make the greatest show of piety and justice,
the Prophet very properly says, that if such fall away, they cannot boast of
their former righteousness before God, since its remembrance will be bloated
out.
In fine, we see that the word righteousness is
referred to our senses, and not to God’s hidden judgment; so that the
Prophet does not teach anything but what we perceive daily: for those who seem
to excel others desert their calling, shake off every yoke, and cast away the
fear of God, and sometimes rush on with diabolical fury. When this result occurs
we hear what the Spirit pronounces by the mouth of the Prophet,
that none of their righteousness
shall be taken into account. But weight is
added to his words when he says,
if you have turned aside from
righteousness, and done according to all the abominations of the
impious, (or wicked,)
shall he
live? For the Prophet separates those who
desert God and rush into every wickedness from those who fall through infirmity
or want of thought, and from those also who would fall headlong into ruin,
unless God preserved them, yet do not utterly cast off his fear, and the desire
of living piously and righteously. For example: every one is occasionally off
his guard; and hence, in numberless ways, we offend God through error: and hence
David exclaims, Who can understand his faults?
(<191912>Psalm
19:12.) We fall of our own accord, since we are often conquered by temptations,
even when our consciences accuse us; so that, although sanctified, we decline
from the path of uprightness through ignorance, and depart from duty through
infirmity. But what is far worse, the saints sometimes rush headlong, as though
utterly desperate. For the example of David shows that the elect, although
regenerated by God’s Spirit, not only sin to a small extent, but, as I
have said, plunge into the very lowest abyss. David became a perfidious
homicide, and a traitor to the army of God; then that wretched king fell into a
series of crimes: yet he failed in only one thing, and showed that God’s
grace was only suffocated within him, and not altogether extinguished. For as
soon as Nathan reproves him, he confesses that he had sinned, and is prepared to
undergo any punishment which God may inflict. Since, therefore, the saints
sometimes fall, the Prophet here stretches forth his hand, lest they should
despair, and bears witness that God does not reject them unless
they turn aside from their
righteousness and commit all the abominations which the impious do.
By these words, as we see, he expresses a
complete revolt, and he so mitigates the severity of the sentence, lest the
minds of those who had only partially relapsed should despond. Now we see the
meaning of this language: If he
has done according to all the abominations of the wicked, shall he live?
says he;
all the righteousness which he
has done shall not be remembered, because he shall
perish. Here the Prophet shows that: a mere
temporary righteousness will not profit us unless we persevere unto the end in
the fear of God.
Here again the contrast is worthy of notice, because
it enables us to refute a fiction which is current in the schools of the papacy.
They say that guilt is remitted by God, but the punishment is retained. Now what
says our Prophet? If the
impious turn away from his impiety, I will no longer remember any of his
iniquities. Here the papists thrust for-ward
the foolish distinction, that God does not remember them as to their guilt, but
he does as to their punishment. But what follows a little afterwards?
If the just turn away from his
justice, his justice shall not be taken into
account. But if they do not come into the
account as to merit, and yet do as to reward, what is the meaning of the
passage? how will the Prophet’s meaning stand? But it is necessary thus to
receive what the Prophet says; because, if the distinction of guilt and
punishment avails, that of merit and reward will avail also. Hence it will
follow, that as to merit God forgets all acts of righteousness; but as far as
reward is concerned, they are remembered since they are not abolished. Since,
then, it is sufficiently clear that the righteousness of the backslider is not
taken into account, so as to lead him to hope for reward, it follows, on the
other hand, that his sins are abolished not only as to guilt, but also as to
punishment. It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
18:25
|
|
25. Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not
equal. Hear now, O house of Israel, Is not my way equal? are not your ways
unequal?
|
25. Et dixistis, Non rectificata est via
Domini: audite agedum domus Israel, Via mea non
rectificabitur?
f497 An non viae vestrae non sunt
rectae?
f498
|
The Prophet here shows that those who used the vulgar
taunt — that the children’s teeth were set on edge, because their
fathers had eaten sour grapes — had broken away from all restraint; and
nothing further remained to hinder them from uttering their blasphemies
arrogantly against God: but their insolence and madness now increases when they
say that God’s ways are not
equal. And this is discerned in almost all
hypocrites: at first they indirectly find fault with God, and yet pretend not to
do so: while they endeavor to excuse themselves, they accuse him of injustice,
and of too much rigor, yet they do not openly break out into such impiety as to
dare to charge God with this crime: but after they profit nothing by their
double dealing, the devil inflames them to such a pitch of boldness that they
hesitate not openly to condemn God himself. The Prophet refers to this when he
says that this disgraceful saying was bandied about among the Israelites,
that the ways of the Lord are
unequal. Lest, therefore, we should happen to
resist God, and to contend with him, let us learn to restrain our rashness in
good time before he becomes enraged against us. As soon as any thoughts spring
up, tending to reflect upon the character of the Almighty, let us quickly
restrain them; for if we do not, they will entangle us by degrees, and draw us
into the extremity of folly, and then no sense of either religion or shame will
deter us from open rebellion against God. But it is worth while noticing the
source of this impiety: first of all, when we think of men’s relation to
God, they should be ashamed to rise up against their Maker: for the clay does
not cry out against the potter; and we are a hundredfold more insignificant than
the clay, with reference to God.
(<234509>Isaiah
45:9;
<450920>Romans
9:20, 21.)
But let us come to another consideration. We know
with how much greater clearness the angels are able reverently to adore
God’s wisdom than the human race. What, therefore, must we do? Not only is
God’s wisdom incomprehensible, but his justice is the most perfect rule of
all justice. Now, if we desire to pass opinions upon God’s works according
to our own perceptions, and to weigh them in our balance, what else are we doing
but passing judgment upon him? But we must remember that passage of Isaiah, As I
live, says Jehovah, every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall
swear by me.
(<234523>Isaiah
45:23.) Paul, too, is a faithful interpreter of this sentiment, when he forbids
mortals to judge arrogantly, by saying, we shall all stand before the
judgment-seat of Christ
(<451410>Romans
14:10, 11.) Since, then, it will be necessary for us to render an account before
Christ heavenly tribunal, we must now acquiesce in God’s judgments;
because, when at length our license has entirely spent itself, and our petulance
has had its full scope, God will be our judge. We see, therefore, that when men
claim to themselves the right of daring to pronounce their own opinions on
God’s work, they first subject his wisdom to their own fictions, and then
feel too much hostility and contempt towards his justice. But this one thing
ought to be sufficient, that men are too forgetful of their own condition when
they dare to open their mouth against their Maker, not only to murmur, but
openly to condemn him, as if they were his superiors. Let us then obey the
contrary rule; let us with sobriety and modesty learn to look upon those works
of God which are unknown to us, and to concede to him the praise of supreme
wisdom, although his counsels seem at first sight contradictory. Hosea also
briefly reminds us of this. For after God had promised that he would be merciful
to the people, and when he had discoursed on the slaughter which he had
inflicted, he says, that at length he would heal them: he adds, Who is wise, and
he shall understand these things?
(<281409>Hosea
14:9;) because many might have thought it inconsistent to remit so many sins for
the abandoned people; and others might object that what they heard was utterly
incredible and absurd, since God suffered the people to be utterly torn to
pieces, so that no hope remained. For this reason, then, the Prophet exclaims,
that we have need of rare and singular prudence to comprehend and embrace that
teaching. When he says, “who is wise?” it signifies that the number
is but small of those who will wait patiently till God really fulfills his
promises. Yet he adds, because the ways of the Lord are right, and the just
shall walk in them; but the impious shall stumble and perish. When he speaks
here of the ways of the Lord, he does not mean only precepts, though the
Scriptures often take the word in this sense; but he means the whole order of
government which God upholds, and all the judgments which he exercises. He says,
therefore, that all the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in
them, since the just will give God the glory calmly, and with the proper
docility; and when they are agitated by various doubts, and through their
infirmity are ever in a ferment through the force of many temptations, yet they
will always repose on the providence of God, and briefly determine, by cutting
off every occasion for long and perplexing and thorny questions, that God is
just. Thus the just walk in the ways of the Lord, because they submit to all his
works.
He says also, that the impious stumble and fall; for
as soon as they begin to think that God does not act rightly or prudently, they
are rebellious, and are carried away by blind impulse, and their pride at length
hurries them headlong into madness. Thus they stumble in the ways of the Lord:
because, as we see in this passage, they vomit forth their blasphemies against
God. Hence we ought, to be influenced by this course of action, namely, adoring
with humility the counsel of God, although to us incomprehensible, and
attributing the praise of justice to all his works, though in our opinion they
may not correspond, or be consistent with each other. — This, then, is the
sum of the whole. Although the Prophet speaks of the penalties which God
inflicts on the reprobate, and of the reward which he has laid up for the just,
yet we ought to ascend still higher; and if God in his deeds seems to pervert
the whole course of justice, yet we should always be sustained by this bridle
— he is just; and if his deeds are disapproved by us, it arises from our
error and ignorance. For example, we not only contend with God when he seems not
to repay us a just reward for our good works, or when he seems too severe
towards us; but when his eternal election is discussed, we immediately roar out,
because we cannot penetrate to so great a height: the pious, indeed, are not
altogether free from perplexing doubts which disturb them, but they restrain
themselves directly as I have said. But some restive men break out in this way,
— I do not comprehend — I do not understand: hence God is unjust. We
see how many blusterers in the present day betray their desperate impudence,
whence this teaching should recur to our minds
— the ways of God are
right. But since we do not perceive how it is
so, another clause is added, that
our ways are not right; that is, that all our
senses are defective, and our intellect blinded, and that we are all so corrupt
that our judgment is perverted. If, therefore, we conclude with the Prophet,
that our ways are not
right, the glory of God’s justice will
remain untarnished and entire. Afterwards he adds —
|
EZEKIEL
18:26-28
|
|
26. When a righteous man turneth away from his
righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that
he has done shall he die.
|
26. Si aversus fuerit justus a justitia sua,
et fecerit iniquitatem et mortuus fuerit in
illis,
f499 in iniquitate sua quam patravit
morietur.
|
|
27. Again, when the wicked man turneth away
from his wickedness that he has committed, and doeth that which is lawful and
right, he shall save his soul alive.
|
27. Et si conversus fuerit sceleratus a
sceleribus suis quae fecit, et fecerit judicium et justitiam, ipse animam suam
vivificabit.
F500
|
|
28. Because he considereth, and turneth away
from all his transgressions that he has committed, he shall surely live, he
shall not die.
|
28. Et viderit, et conversus fuerit ab omnibus
sceleribus quae patravit, vivendo vivet, non morietur.
|
The Prophet repeats what we formerly saw, namely,
that the state of the case turned upon this, Whether the people had any cause of
complaint when God absolves those who repent, and condemns the just who desert
the course of a pious and holy life? Now, we must always return to this cardinal
point, that God rewards every one according to his works, since he offers mercy
to all the lost, and demands nothing else but a sincere and hearty return to
him. Since, then, God treats the impious with such clemency, and is so ready to
pardon them, what is the reason why men contend with him? If the just should
retrace his steps, and after having shown some signs of the fear of God, throw
off all obedience, who can object when God punishes him, and blots out the
remembrance of his former righteousness? God, therefore, determines the result
fairly in each case. We have explained how the phrase,
the just should turn aside from
their righteousness, ought to be understood,
not that the elect ever utterly fall away, as many think their faith is
extinguished, and every root of piety also in the sons of God; that is too
absurd, because, as I have said, the gift of regeneration has perseverance
always annexed to it: but here that righteousness which mankind recognize is
intended. But we know how frequently it happens that what seemed entirely pure
and perfect is deficient. Now, God pronounces that he would punish all who fall
away from him, and would be accessible and propitious to miserable sinners who
desire to be reconciled to him; and he repeats again, if
the wicked have seen and turned
away from his wickedness. We must mark this
phrase, for it shows that thinking rightly is the commencement of repentance;
because, though the reprobate knowingly and willingly transgress God’s
law, it is certain that they labor under blindness and madness, so that the
Scripture does not call them foolish and beside themselves in vain. He does not
extenuate their faults, as if they sinned ignorantly; but he means that they
were so blinded by diabolical madness as to think of nothing; for surely horror
would immediately possess their minds if they only perceived God to be their
adversary, and themselves to be making war with him. For this reason, therefore,
when the Prophet describes to us the conversion of the wicked, he says, if he
has seen; that is, if at length he has returned to a sound mind, and
collected his senses, so that he may not rush on madly, as he has been
accustomed to do, but may look upon both God and himself. It now follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
18:29
|
|
29. Yet says the house of Israel, The way of
the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your
ways unequal?
|
29. Et dixerunt domus
Israel,
f501 non rectificata
est
f502 via Domini: An viae meae non rectae
sunt, domus Israel? An non viae vestrae non rectae sunt?
|
Here God briefly shows how furious those are who dare
to rebel against him even when his justice is manifest: for what can be desired
more justly than that God should punish all the transgressors of his law? and
also, if sinners repent, that he should be prepared to pardon them? But if it
seems hard that punishment should overtake the just if they fall away, common
sense dictates that no virtue can be approved without perseverance. Since,
therefore, it is very clear throughout this course of action, that God is just
and without blame, what madness it is to vomit forth blasphemies against him, as
if his ways were unjust! But God shows in one word, as I have mentioned, that
the Israelites had no excuse for such dishonesty and impudence; and he repeats
what he had formerly said, that men would always be guilty of rashness in
insolently cursing God when their own ways are found oblique and perverse: but
God will sufficiently vindicate his own ways. But we must add what follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
18:30
|
|
30. Therefore I will judge you, O house of
Israel, every one according to his ways, says the Lord God. Repent, and turn
yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your
ruin.
|
30. Propterea
quemque
f503 secundum vias ejus judicabo in
vobis,
f504 domus Israel, dicit Dominator Iehovah.
Convertimini et redire vos
facite f505
ab omnibus sceleribus vestris, et non erit
vobis in laqueum iniquitas.
|
Here God precisely points out that he would discharge
the office of judge, and then he reduces the Israelites to order, and refutes
their audacity: for, as long as men do not feel God’s judgments hanging
over them, and are not held completely in cheek, they grow restive in their
petulance. We see how ferocious and wanton the reprobate are, because they are
not held in by the fear of punishment, nor do they dread the judgments of God.
Hence that he may take away every vestige of excuse, he says,
I will be your
judge: plead now; but I will decide your
strives in one word, since each of you shall be judged by my will. It is
certain, then, that God here asserts for himself the praise of justice and
rectitude; but at the same time he brings forward his own authority, that he may
strike terror into those who thus madly dare to oppose his sway, and call upon
him to render an account. Now, therefore, we understand in what sense he says
that he will judge them all
according to their ways; that is, although you
do not confess yourselves worthy of destruction, it is sufficient that I, as the
lawful judge, pronounce you so. I
will judge you justly, therefore, since I
pronounce sentence according to
your ways and to my supreme power, that all
your complaints and murmurs may cease. He afterwards exhorts them to repentance,
and signifies that they have no other remedy than being dissatisfied with their
sins, and deprecating his wrath. Hence we collect that men rebel so
extravagantly against God, while they wander away from themselves, since, if
they descended within themselves, and sincerely examined their whole life, they
would be instantly humbled before God; hence that thought should stimulate them
to repentance: but because their conscience is stupid, and they are willingly
brutish, they boldly blaspheme God. On the other hand, God now offers a remedy
on their repentance and return from their wickedness. The word being converted,
or return, refers to the renovation of the mind and heart: for this also is the
beginning of repentance, that we should be inwardly renewed in mind, as Paul
says, and so be made new men.
(<490422>Ephesians
4:22, 23.) And this deserves notice, because many, when repentance is spoken of,
fix their eyes only on the outward fruits of penitence. But we must begin at the
root, as the Prophet teaches, by saying
be you
converted. But he afterwards adds,
wbyçhw,
veheshibu, and return. This second word ought to be referred to the
fruits of penitence; for as interior conversion comes first in order, when we
leave off our peculiar vices, and renounce flesh and blood, the fruits and
proofs of repentance thought to follow, as John said, Bring forth fruits as
witnesses to your repentance.
(<400308>Matthew
3:8;
<420308>Luke
3:8.) We see, then, that the Prophet begins with purity of heart, and then comes
to hands, as the Scripture elsewhere says, flint is, to outward works. He says,
from all your
iniquities or crimes, to show that a
partial repentance is not approved by God. It is true, indeed, that even those
who strive with all their might to act rightly, do not succeed in discharging
their duty without many faults remaining; but we are not treating here of
perfection, but only of sincere affection and serious endeavors. Let us then
only strive seriously to return into the way, and to humble ourselves calmly and
sincerely: this is the integrity which the Prophet now
requires.
PRAYER
Grant, Almighty God, since nothing is
more frail than we are, and even when you have once stretched forth your hand to
us, we labor under such infirmity, that numberless falls await us unless you do
succor us: Grant, I say, that being propped up by your unconquered strength, we
may proceed in the course of thy holy calling, and may so bravely and
perseveringly make war against all temptations, that we may at length enjoy in
heaven the fruit of our victory, through Christ our Lord. —
Amen.
LECTURE
FIFTY-EIGHTH.
|
EZEKIEL
18:31
|
|
31. Cast away from you all your
transgressions, whereby you have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a
new spirit: for why will you die, O house of Israel?
|
31. Projicite a vobis omnes iniquitates in
quibus inique egistis: et facite vobis cor novum, et spiritum novum: et quare
moriemini domus Israel?
|
Ezekiel again exhorts the people to leave off
complaining, and to acknowledge that there is no remedy for their evils but to
be reconciled to God. But that cannot be done unless they repent. For God was
not hostile to them in vain; nor did he, after the manner of men, persecute with
hatred the innocent, and those who did not deserve it. Hence it was necessary to
seek God’s pardon suppliantly. Ezekiel had already touched upon this, but
he now confirms it more at length. He says, therefore, that they not only lost
their labor, but increased the flame of God’s wrath by striving with him,
and complaining that they were unworthily treated by him: cast forth,
says he, your iniquities from
you. He shows that the cause of all evils is
within themselves: so that they have no excuse. But he afterwards expresses more
clearly that they were entirely imbued with contempt of God, impiety, and
depraved desires. For if he had only spoken of outward wickedness, the reproof
would have been partial, and therefore lighter; but after he commanded them to
bid farewell to their sins, he adds,
make yourselves a new heart and a
new spirit. He requires, therefore, from them a
thorough renewal, so that they should not only conform their life to the rule of
the law, but should fear God sincerely, since no one can produce good fruit but
from a living root. Outward works, then, are the fruits of repentance, which
must spring from some root; and this is the inward affection of the heart. What
is added is to refute their impiety, for they wished their destruction to be
ascribed to God. Here God takes up the character of a mourner, saying,
Why will ye die, O house of
Israel? while the next verse confirms this more
clearly.
|
EZEKIEL
18:32
|
|
32. For I have no pleasure in the death of him
that dieth, says the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live
you.
|
32. Quia non oblector morte morientis, dicit
Dominator Iehovah: convertimini itaque, et vivite.
|
We see, therefore, how God throws off that false
reproach from himself with which the children of Israel taunted him, saying,
that they perished by his immoderate rigor, and could find no reason for his
severity against them. He announces, on the other hand, that the cause of death
rested with themselves; and then he points out the remedy, that they should
amend their life, not only in outward appearance, but in sincerity of heart: and
at the same time he testifies of his willingness to be entreated; nay, he meets
them of his own accord, if they only repent heartily and unfeignedly. We now
understand the Prophet’s meaning. We said, that we are admonished in this
way, that if we desire to return to God we must begin at the beginning, namely,
renewal of the heart and spirit; because, as Jeremiah says, he looks for truth
and integrity, and does not value outward disguises.
(<240503>Jeremiah
5:3.) But it may seem absurd for God to exhort the Israelites to form their
hearts anew: and men badly trained in the Scriptures erect their crests
under the pretense of this passage, as if it were in the power of man’s
free will to convert himself. They exclaim, therefore, either that God here
exhorts his people deceitfully, or else that when alienated from him we can by
our own movement repent, and return into the way. But the whole Scripture openly
refutes this. It is not in vain that the saints so often pray that God would
renew them;
(<195112>Psalm
51:12, and very often elsewhere;) for it would be a feigned and a lying prayer,
if newness of heart were not his gift. If any one requests of God what he is
persuaded that he has already, and by his own inherent virtue, does he not
trifle with God? But nothing occurs more frequently than this mode of entreaty.
Since therefore, the saints pray to God to renew them, they doubtless confess
that to be his peculiar gift; and unless he moves his hand, they have no
strength remaining, so that they can never rise from the ground. Besides, in
many passages God claims the renewal of the heart as peculiar to himself. We
noticed that remarkable passage in the eleventh chapter of this Prophet,
(<261119>Ezekiel
11:19,) he will repeat the same in the thirty-sixth chapter,
(<263626>Ezekiel
36:26, 27;) and we know what Jeremiah says in his thirty-first chapter,
(<243133>Jeremiah
31:33.) But Scripture is everywhere full of testimonies of this kind, so that it
would be superfluous to heap together many passages; nay, if any one denies that
regeneration is a gift of the Holy Spirit, he will tear up by the roots all the
principles of piety. We have said that regeneration is like another creation;
and if we compare it with the first creation, it far surpasses it. For it is
much better for us to be made children of God, and reformed after his image
within us, than to be created mortal: for we are born children of wrath, corrupt
and degenerate;
(<490203>Ephesians
2:3;) since all integrity was lost when God’s image was removed. We see,
then, the nature of our first creation; but when God re-fashions us, we are not
only born sons of Adam, but we are the brothers of angels, and members of
Christ; and this our second life consists in rectitude, justice, and the light
of true intelligence.
We now see that if it had been in man’s free
will to convert himself, much more would be ascribed to him than to God,
because, as we have said, it was much more valuable to be created sons of God
than of Adam. It ought, then, to be beyond all controversy with the pious that
men cannot rise again when they are fallen, and turn of themselves when
alienated from God; but this is the peculiar gift of the Holy Spirit. And the
sophists, who in all ways endeavor to obscure God’s grace, confess that
half the act of conversion is in the power of the Holy Spirit: for they do not
say that we are simply and totally converted by the motion of our own free will,
but they imagine a concurrence of grace with free will, and of free will with
grace. Thus they foolishly represent us as cooperating with God: they confess,
indeed, that God’s grace goes before and follows; and they seem to
themselves very liberal towards God when they acknowledge this twofold grace in
man’s conversion. But God is not content with that partition, since he is
deprived of half his right: for he does not say that he would assist men to
renew themselves and to repent; but he attributes the work to himself entirely:
I will give you a new heart and a new spirit.
(<263626>Ezekiel
36:26.) If it is his to give, it follows that the slightest portion of it cannot
be transferred to man without diminishing something from his right. But they
object that the following precept is not in vain,
that men should make for
themselves a new heart. Now their deception
arises through ignorance, from their judging of the powers of men by the
commands of God; but the inference is incorrect, as we have said elsewhere: for
when God teaches what is right, he does not think of what we are able to do, but
only shows us what we ought to do. When, therefore, the power of our free will
is estimated by the precepts of God, we make a great mistake, because God exacts
from us the strict discharge of our duty, just as if our power of obedience was
not defective. We are not absolved from our obligation because we cannot pay it;
for God holds us bound to himself, although we are in every way
deficient.
They object again, God then deludes men when he says,
make yourselves a new
heart. I answer, we must always consider to
what purpose God thus speaks, namely, that men convicted of sin may cease to
throw the blame on any one else, as they often endeavor to do; for nothing is
more natural than to transfer the cause of our condemnation away from ourselves,
that we may seem just, and God appear unjust. Since, then, such depravity reigns
among men, hence the Holy Spirit demands from us what all acknowledge they ought
to pay: and if we do not pay it, still we are bound to do so, and thus all
strife and complaint should cease. Thus, as it concerns the elect, when God
shows them their duty, and they acknowledge that they cannot discharge it, they
fly to the aid of the Holy Spirit, so that the outward exhortation becomes a
kind of instrument which God uses to confer the grace of his Spirit. For
although he gratuitously goes before us, and does not need outward channels, yet
he desires exhortations to be useful to this end. Since, therefore, this
doctrine stirs up the elect to deliver themselves up to be ruled by the Holy
Spirit, we see how it becomes fruitful to us. Whence it follows, that God does
not delude or deceive us when he exhorts
each of us to form his heart and
his spirit afresh. In fine, Ezekiel wished by
these words to show that pardon would be prepared for the Israelites if they
seriously repented, and showed its effects through their whole life. That was
most true, because the elect did not embrace this doctrine in vain, when at the
same time God worked in them by his Spirit, and so turned them to himself. But
the reprobate, though they do not cease to murmur, yet they are rendered
ashamed, since all excuse has been removed, and they must perish through their
own fault, since they willingly remained in their wickedness, and by
self-indulgence they cherished the old man within themselves, — a fountain
of all injustice. Whenever such passages occur, let us remember that celebrated
prayer of Augustine: grant us what you command, and command what you wish,
(Epist. 24;) for otherwise, if God should lay upon us the slightest burden, we
should be unable to bear it. Besides, our strength will be sufficient to fulfill
his requirements, if only he supply it, and we are not so foolish as to think
anything comprehended in his precepts which he has not granted to us; because,
as I have said before, nothing is more perverse than to measure the angelic
righteousness of the law by our strength. By the
word
heart, I understand him to mean the seat of all
the affections; and by
spirit,
the intellectual part of the soul. The heart is often taken for the reason and
intelligence; but when these two words are joined together, the spirit relates
to the mind, and so it is the intellectual faculty of the soul; but the heart is
taken for the will, or the seat of all the affections. Hence we see how very
corrupt the Israelites were, since they could not be otherwise reconciled to
God, unless by being renewed in both heart and mind. Hence also we my gather the
general doctrine, that nothing in us is sound and perfect, and hence all entire
renovation is necessary that we may please God.
The subjoined phrase,
why will ye die, O house of
Israel? suggests many questions. Here
unskillful men think that God speculates on what men will do, and that the
salvation or destruction of each depends on themselves, as if God had determined
nothing concerning us before the foundation of the world. Hence they set him at
naught, since they fancy that he is held in suspense and doubt as to the future
end of every one, and that he is not so anxious for our salvation, as to wish
all to be saved, but leaves it in the power of every one to perish or to be
saved as he pleases. But as I have said, this would reduce God to a specter. But
we have no need of a long dispute, because Scripture everywhere declares with
sufficient clearness that God has determined what shall happen to us: for he
chose his own people before the foundation of the world and passed by others.
(<490104>Ephesians
1:4.) Nothing is clearer than this doctrine; for if there had been no
predestination on God’s part, there had been no deity, since he would be
forced into order as if he were one of us: nay, men are to a certain extent
provident, whenever God allows some sparks of his image to shine forth in them.
If, therefore, the very smallest drop of foresight in men is laid hold of, how
great must it be in the fountain itself? Insipid indeed is the comment, to fancy
that God remains doubtful and waiting for what will happen to individuals, as if
it were in their own power either to attain to salvation or to perish. But the
Prophets words are plain, for God testifies with grief that he
willeth not the death of a
mortal. I answer, that there is no absurdity,
as we said before, in God’s undertaking a twofold character, not that he
is two-faced himself, as those profane dogs blurt out against us, but because
his counsels are incomprehensible by us. This indeed ought to be fixed, that
before the foundation of the world we were predestinated either to life or
death. Now because we cannot ascend to that height, it is needful for God to
conform himself to our ignorance, and to descend in some way to us since we
cannot ascend to him. When Scripture so often says that God has heard, and
inquires, no one is offended: all pass over those forms of speech securely, and
confess them adopted from human language.
(<011611>Genesis
16:11, and often.) Very often, I say, God transfers to himself the properties of
man, and this is admitted universally without either offense or controversy.
Although this manner of speaking is rather harsh: God came to see,
(<011105>Genesis
11:5,) when he announces that he came to inquire about things openly known; it
is easily excused, since nothing is less in accordance with his nature: for the
solution is at hand, namely, that God speaks metaphorically, and adapts his
speech to the convenience of men. Now why will not the same reasoning avail in
the present case? for with respect to the law and the whole teaching of the
prophets, God announces his wish that all should be saved. And surely we
consider the tendency of the heavenly teaching, we shall find that all are
promiscuously called to salvation. For the law was a way of life, as Moses
testifies, This is the way, walk you in it: again, Whosoever has done those
things shall live in them: and, again, This is your life.
(<053015>Deuteronomy
30:15, 19;
<053247>Deuteronomy
32:47;
<031805>Leviticus
18:5;
<233021>Isaiah
30:21.) Then of his own accord God offers himself as merciful to his ancient
people, so that this heavenly teaching ought to be life-giving. But what is the
Gospel? It is God’s power unto salvation to every believer, says Paul.
(<450116>Romans
1:16.) Therefore God delighteth
not in the death of him who dieth, if he
repent at his teaching. But if we wish to penetrate to his incomprehensible
counsel, this will be another objection: Oh! but in this way God is chargeable
with duplicity; — but I have denied this, though he takes up a twofold
character, because this was necessary for our comprehension. Meanwhile Ezekiel
announces this very truly as far as doctrine is concerned,
that God wills not the death of
him that perishes: for the explanation follows
directly afterwards, be you
converted and live. Why does not God delight in
the death of him who perishes? Because he invites all to repentance and rejects
no one. Since this is so, it follows that he is not delighted by the death of
him who perishes: hence there is nothing in this passage doubtful or thorny, and
we should also hold that we are led aside by speculations too deep for us. For
God does not wish us to inquire into his secret. Counsels: His secrets are with
himself, says Moses,
(<052929>Deuteronomy
29:29,) but this book for ourselves and our children. Moses there distinguishes
between the hidden counsel of God, (which if we desire to investigate too
curiously we shall tread on a profound abyss,)and the teaching delivered to us.
Hence let us leave to God his own secrets, and exercise ourselves as far as we
can in the law, in which God’s will is made plain to us and to our
children. Now let us go on.
CHAPTER 19
|
EZEKIEL
19:1-4
|
|
1. Moreover, take you up a lamentation for the
princes of Israel,
|
1. Et tu tolle
lamentu f506
super
f507 principes Israel,
|
|
2. And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she
lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young
lions.
|
2. Et dices, Quare mater vestra leaena inter
leones occubuit? in medio leonum educavit catulos suos.
|
|
3. And she brought up one of her whelps: it
became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured
men.
|
3. Et sustulit unum e catulis suis, leo factus
est, et didicit praedari praedam, homines
comedit.
f508
|
|
4. The nations also heard of him; he was taken
in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of
Egypt.
|
4. Et audierunt de ipso Gentes, in fovea
ipsarum captus est; et abduxerunt in cathenis in terram
AEgypti.
|
Here the Prophet, under the image of a lion, informs
us that whatever evils happened to the Israelites could not be imputed to
others. We must understand then his intention: it is not surprising that the
Spirit of God insists on a matter not very obscure, since nothing is more
obstinate than the pride of men, especially when God chastises them, although
they pretend to humility and modesty, yet they swell with pride and are full of
bitterness, and, lastly, they can scarcely be induced to confess God to be just,
and that they deserve chastisement at his hand. For this reason, therefore,
Ezekiel confirms what we formerly saw, that the Jews were not afflicted without
deserving it. But he uses, as I have said, a simile taken from lions. He
calls the nation itself a
lioness: for when he treats of the mother of
the people, we know that the offspring is considered. He says, therefore, that
the people was full of insolence. The comparison to a lion is sometimes taken in
a good sense, as when Moses uses it of the tribe of Judea, as a lion’s
whelp shall he lie down,
(<014909>Genesis
49:9,) a, phrase used in a good sense. But here Ezekiel denotes cruelty, as if
he had said that all the Jews were fierce and savage beasts. For under the name
of mother, as I said, he embraces the whole nation. At the beginning he orders
his Prophet to take up a mournful
wailing: for thus I interpret the word
hnyq,
kineh, but there is in my judgment an indirect opposition between this
lamentation which God dictated to them by his Prophet, and the common complaints
which sounded constantly from their tongues. For when their condition was not
only ruinous, but utterly deplorable, they made many groanings and bewailings.
But at the same time no one extended his thoughts beyond the pressure of present
evils they all exclaimed that they were wretched, but no one was anxious to
inquire why they were so or whence their miseries arose; nay, they avoided this
contemplation. The Prophet then indirectly reproves them, by stating that this
mournful complaint was suggested by God, but yet was very different from that
ordinary lamentation and howling in which the Jews stopped at blind grief, and
never inquired why God was so hostile to them.
Take
up,
therefore, a
lamentation, says he, regarding or
against the princes of
Israel. In this way God does not excuse the
people from blame, he only means that not only the common people were lost, but
the very flower of the nation and all who were held in honor.
He says next,
that their mother lay down among
lions, alluding to the people’s origin
from lions, as we said before, when the Prophet calls Judea the descendant of
Canaan, and the sister of Sodom and Samaria. When he now says,
their mother lay down among
lions, he means that they were shamefully mixed
with the corruption of the Gentiles, so that they did not differ from them. But
God had chosen them as his peculiar people on the very condition of being
separate from all the filth of the Gentiles. There was, therefore, a certain
withdrawing of God’s favor
when the mother of the people lay
down among the lions, that is, when they all
promiscuously gave themselves up to the perverse morals and superstitions of the
Gentiles. He says, that she
brought up whelps, or young lions, which she
produced to these lions; since their origin was impure, being all
Abraham’s children, but, as I have said, a degenerate race. He afterwards
adds, that the lion’s
whelp, or young lion,
grew up till it became a lion:
then it learnt to seize prey, says he,
and to devour
men. He refers to King Jehoahaz, son of Josiah,
(<122330>2
Kings 23:30-32:) but he had before asserted that the whole people had a
lion’s disposition, and that the princes, who were more exalted, were like
whelps. As only one lion is here brought forward, it ought to be referred to the
violence by which that wicked king manifested his real disposition. But if it be
asked whence the lion went forth, the reply is, from amidst his brethren, for
they were all lions’ whelps, or young lions. They could not administer the
government either together or singly, but each devoured his brother, and was
devoted to robbery and rapine. The king only, because freed from all fear, could
surpass the rest in rapine and robbery with impunity. We see, then, that not
only the king was here condemned, but that he becomes the type of the whole
nation; because, since no one could restrain his passions, he could rob and
devour mankind with unbridled freedom.
He afterwards adds,
that the nations had heard, and
were taken in their pit-fall. Here Ezekiel
states that Jehoahaz was hurled from the royal throne, and taken captive by the
Egyptians, not only because God had beheld his cruelty, but because the Gentiles
had observed it; and it was notorious among them all. In this way he signifies
that the cruelty of King Jehoahaz was intolerable: and he mentions him, since
all the neighboring nations had heard of his fame, and had conspired to destroy
him; and so he was taken in their
pit, and confined by chains, and led away into
Egypt. He means, as I said, Jehoahaz, whom King
Pharaoh-nechoh took captive. (2 Kings 23; 2 Chronicles 36.) For when he thought
that the Egyptians were distracted by foreign wars, he took the opportunity of
collecting an army, and endeavored to seize on certain neighboring cities. But
Pharaoh, after he was disengaged from other business, entered Judea, and since
Jehoahaz was unable to resist, he was taken. We now understand the
Prophet’s meaning, namely, when this first calamity and destruction
happened to the Jews they were justly chastised, because they were young lions;
and a lion had sprung from them whose cruelty was already intolerable to the
profane Gentiles: this is the sense of the passage. Now if we consider who was
the father of Jehoahaz this will be more detestable. For we know, that if ever
any king excelled in piety and every virtue, Josiah was among the number: and
from the son being so unlike his father, we perceive his perverse disposition.
There can be no doubt that his father desired to instruct him in the fear and
worship of God, and to train him to the discharge of the royal office. But if we
descend to the whole people, the prodigy will be yet more detestable. For we
know with what fervor and zeal Josiah strove to form the morals of the people,
so that the kingdom should be entirely renewed. But the people soon declined, so
that the Holy Spirit says, their
mother was a lioness, and lay down among lions,
whence we see their depraved nature. It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
19:5
|
|
5. Now, when she saw that she had waited, and
her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young
lion. I cannot proceed further.
|
5. Et vidit quod sperasset, perdita
esset
f509 spes ejus: et sumpsit unum ex catulis
suis leonem constituit eum.
F510
|
I cannot proceed futher.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since we are all so
depraved by nature that we are not only most deserving of being cast into the
midst of lions, but are unworthy of being reckoned among thy creatures, that you
may extend thy hand to us, and manifest thy wonderful power in reforming us; and
may your image be so renewed in us, that we may daily make more and more
progress in true piety and righteousness, until at length all the
corruption’s of the flesh may be abolished, and we may be partakers of
that eternal glory which your only-begotten Son has acquired for us. —
Amen.
LECTURE
FIFTY-NINTH.
We yesterday read over that sentence in which the
Prophet says that Judea produced another lion after the former had been captured
and led into Egypt. Now this ought to be referred to King Jehoiakim, who was
appointed by King Nebuchadnezzar, when he had laid waste a part of Egypt,
possessed the whole of Judea, and imposed laws by establishing a king, according
to the rights of conquest. But since he also acted perfidiously, he was led away
into captivity. The Prophet, therefore, means that the nation did not repent
through this single chastisement; nor did it change its disposition, since its
mother was a lioness: and not only did it bring forth young lions, but taught
them to seize upon their prey till they became grown up. He says, therefore,
that she saw what she had hoped,
and her hope was futile. Some think that the
noun “hope” is here repeated by the Prophet — she saw that her
hope was lost; lost hope, I say. But the other reading is better —
she saw that she had
hoped; that is, she saw that her hope had not
produced any fruit for some time, because the royal throne remained deserted;
therefore she took another of her
whelps, says he, and made him a lion. The
Prophet again briefly teaches that the whole royal offspring was like young
lions. Although, therefore, the lion alone is called king, yet he is said to be
taken from a number of whelps; and hence it follows that this denotes the
depraved and cruel nature of all. Thus we see that the Jews are indirectly
reproved for not returning to soundness of mind, when God punished them
severely, and King Jehoahaz was taken. Since, therefore, that punishment did not
result in their correction, it follows that their dispositions were depraved;
and the Prophet means this when he says,
that she took one of her whelps,
and again made it a lion. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
19:6
|
|
6. And he went up and down among the lions, he
became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured.
men.
|
6. Et incessit in medio leonum, leo fuit, et
didicit praedari praedam,
f511 homines voravit.
|
Ezekiel confirms what I have already briefly touched
on, that this second lion was no less savage and cruel than the former, of which
he had spoken. As to the phrase,
he walked among
lions, it means that his government was
tyrannical, since there was then such foul barbarity in those regions, that,
kings were scarcely human in their conduct. Since, therefore, kings were then
everywhere like lions, the Prophet says that Jehoiakim was not different from
them, but in every sense their ally.
He
walked, therefore,
he says, in the midst of
lions, since he imitated their ferocity, which
at length he expresses more clearly,
that he became a lion, and was
taught to seize his prey, so as to devour not
only animals, but men, thus marking his extreme cruelty. He afterwards adds
—
|
EZEKIEL
19:7
|
|
7. And he knew their desolate palaces, and he
laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the ruiness thereof, by
the noise of his roaring.
|
7. Et
contrivit,
f512 palatia ejus, et urbes eorum destruxit,
et redacta fuit in solitudinem terra, et plenitudo ejus a voce rugitus
illius.
|
He again confirms what he said of the cruelty of King
Jehoiakim: but the phrase is mixed, since he retains but a part of the simile,
and then speaks without a figure of palaces and cities. Although interpreters
incline to a different opinion, and translate — and took notice of his
widows: and if the remaining words had suited, this reading would have been
better; but I do not see how things so different can be united, as destroying
cities and noticing widows. First, those who adopt this comment are obliged to
adopt the notion that Jehoiakim destroyed the men and deflowered their widows,
since he could not possess them in freedom till they were widows. Every one will
admit that this is far-fetched. But the word “afflict” suits
tolerably well. And truly the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, where Christ is said to be
bruised for our grieves, cannot be better explained,
(<235303>Isaiah
53:3.) Some translate, that he experienced sorrows, or knew them, or was
acquainted with them, in the passive signification. But those who say that he
saw sorrows, or experienced them, do not consider how it suits the passage; and
those who say that he was cognizant of grieves, meaning his own, also distort
the Prophet’s words. I doubt not, therefore, that in this passage it means
to afflict. Respecting the noun, I suppose the letter,
l
(l) taken for
r
(r); and in Isaiah
(<231322>Isaiah
13:22) this word is used for palaces: wild beasts shall howl, says the Prophet,
wytwnmlab,
bal-meno-thiv, that is, in her palaces. The word cannot here mean widows,
and all are agreed to take it for palaces; and when the Prophet adds,
that he destroyed
cities, the subject shows us that in the former
clause the palaces were afflicted, and then the cities destroyed: the Prophet
asserts this simply, and without a figure, though he soon returns to the simile,
that the land was reduced to a
desert by the voice of roaring. Again, he
compares King Jehoiakim to a lion; whence it follows, as I said, that the
Prophet’s language is mixed. Elsewhere, also, the prophets reprove the
pride of their king.
(<242215>Jeremiah
22:15;
<243630>Jeremiah
36:30.) For although he was contemptible, yet he raised himself above other
kings; hence he is derided, since he was not content with the condition and
moderation of his father, who ate and drank, — that is, lived like
mankind, — but he desired to raise himself above the race of men. For this
cause the Prophet now says, that
cities were destroyed by him, and palaces afflicted by
him. There is a change of number in the
pronouns, because the singular number is put in the word “palaces,”
and the plural in cities. But we know how frequently this change occurs in the
Hebrew Language; while as to the sense there is no obscurity, for King Jehoiakim
was like a fierce and cruel beast,
because he destroyed cities and
pulled down palaces. But afterwards he adds,
the land was laid waste and made
solitary by the voice of his roaring. Here the
Prophet enlarges upon the atrocity of that king, since by his roaring alone he
had reduced the land to a desert. He does not speak of claws or teeth, but says
that they were all so frightened at the sound of his roaring that the land was
waste and solitary. He adds, the
fullness of the land, by which expression
Scripture usually denotes the ornaments of a country. The word comprehends
trees, and fruits, and animals, as well as inhabitants; for a land is empty and
bare without that clothing; that is, if trees and fruits are taken away as well
as men and animals, the face of the land is deserted and deformed, and its state
displays its emptiness. It afterwards follow: —
|
EZEKIEL
19:8
|
|
8. Then the nations set against him on every
side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was in taken in their
pit.
|
8. Et
posuerunt
f513 super eum gentes in circuitu, et
regionibus, et expanderunt super ipsum rete suum: in fovea ipsarum captus
est.
|
Since the word
ˆtn,
nethen, is often taken for “to utter a voice,” some explain
this passage, that the nations came with great clamor against King Jehoiakim, as
when an attack is made against a wild beast, the assailants mutually excite and
encourage each other. They understand it, that such a clamor was raised on all
sides that they rushed with one consent against King Jehoiakim. But since the
same word means “to put,” it may, in my opinion, be properly applied
to counsel, since they took counsel, that is, determined among themselves to
take him captive. The passive sense does not suit at all. Now, then, we
understand the Prophet’s meaning when he says, that
the Gentiles had resolved against
him, that is, had conspired to take him. No
doubt the Chaldaeans were assisted by all their neighbors. First, we know that
the Jews were hated by other nations; then the audacity and rashness of this
king provoked many to send for the Babylonians, and eagerly to assist them; and
because they scarcely dared to engage in the war by themselves, they conspired
against King Jehoiakim under the protection of others. Thus far concerning other
nations, for this cannot, be meant of the Chaldaeans alone; because, although
they had other tribes under their sway, yet that monarchy had devoured the
Assyrians, whose people made a portion of the Chaldaean army. Then the Prophet
speaks of a circuit, and says, that King Jehoiakim was shut in on all sides:
hence this must be ascribed to the neighboring nations, who not only favored the
Babylonians, but assisted them with troops and wealth, as is sufficiently
gathered from other passages.
At length he says,
they expanded their
net, by which metaphor he means plans, desires,
and efforts. For before the neighboring nations openly declared war against the
Jews, there is no doubt that they took secret counsel as to the best way of
attracting the Chaldaeans to their side, and of insinuating themselves by
various arts, as if they were laying snares; although by the word
net
we may also understand whatsoever apparatus they used for destroying King
Jehoiakim. In fine, he says that he was
taken in the pit of the
nations, that is, was oppressed as well by
snares as by open violence. He uses the word pitfall, in accordance with
the resemblance of the king to a lion; but there is nothing absurd in extending
the phrase to any hostile violence by which Jehoiakim was oppressed. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
19:9
|
|
9. And they put him in ward in chains, and
brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice
should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.
|
9. Et posuerunt eum in
clausuram
f514 et adduxerunt in cathenis ad regem
Babylonis, deduxerunt in
munitiones
f515 ut non audiatur vox ejus amplius in
montibus Israel.
|
He pursues the same subject, saying that King
Jehoiakim, after being taken captive, was bound with fetters and chains, adding,
that he was brought to the king of Babylon; and thirdly, was cast into prison.
He shows, therefore, how severely God punished the vicious obstinacy of that
nation: for when King Jehoiakim was chastised, it thought to have been enough to
correct then; but since the people were not improved by this, the severity was
doubled; and here Ezekiel says,
that King Jehoiakim was cast into
a fortified dungeon. He adds,
that his
voice, that is, his roaring,
should be no longer heard in the
mountains of Israel. For although he was
reduced to straits, through a great part of his kingdom being cut off, yet he
did not desist from his ferocity. The Prophet, therefore, sharply derides his
insolence, since he did not cease to cry out, and to roar even in the mountains
of Israel. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
19:10-12
|
|
10. Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood,
planted by the waters: she was fruitful, and full of branches, by reason of many
waters.
|
10. Mater tua tanquam vitis in sanguine tuo
super aquas plantata fuit: fructifera et
ramosa
f516 fuit ob aquas multas.
|
|
11. And she had strong rods for the scepters
of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches,
and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her
branches.
|
11. Et fuerunt illi virgae
roboris
f517 ad sceptra dominantium: et elevata fuit
statura ejus supra,
f518 et apparuit in altitudine sua, in
multitudine ramorum suorum.
|
|
12. But she was plucked up in fury, in she was
east down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit; her strong rods
were broken and withered, the fire consumed them.
|
12. Et evulsa fuit in
furore,
f519 terram projecta: et ventus Orientalis
arefecit fructum ejus discerpti
sunt,
f520 et arefacti; virga
robusta,
f521 ignis voravit eas.
|
Here Ezekiel places before our eyes the twofold state
of the Jews, that they may acknowledge themselves fallen into extreme misery,
because they had provoked God. For they did not sufficiently consider their
present state, unless the former dignity and happiness with which they were
adorned was brought to their remembrance. Now, in some way they had grown
callous to all evils: although scarcely anything remained safe but Jerusalem,
they did not look back, but were just as wanton as when their affairs were
prosperous. Since they had not yet been humbled by so many slaughters, the
Prophet, therefore, on the one hand, reminds them of their former condition, and
then shows them how they had fallen. This comparison, then, thought to prick
their consciences sharply, that they may at length feel that God was hostile to
them. We now understand the Prophet’s intention in saying, that
the people’s mother was at
first like a flourishing and fruit-bearing
vine. It is not surprising that he says,
the vine was planted near the
waters: for there the vines do not require
lofty and dry situations, as in cold climates, but rather seek their nourishment
from water, as we gather from many passages of Scripture. The Prophet,
therefore, stays, that the people at, the beginning was like a vine planted in a
mild and choice situation. He says, that
the vine was
flourishing, or branching,
and
fruitful, since it drew its juices from the
waters.
Respecting the word “blood,” I think
those who take it for vigor are mistaken; it rather refers to birth: he says,
the mother of the people in her
blood, that is, in bringing forth the people.
Thus Ezekiel recalls the Jews to their first origin, as we previously saw the
word used in this sense. When you was in thy blood, meaning, when you was born,
as we know this to be the state of the young offspring, as the metaphor was
explained in the sixteenth chapter. Live in thy blood, said God,
(<261606>Ezekiel
16:6,) since the Jews were still defiled through not being cleansed from
pollution. In fine, blood is taken for birth, as if it had been said, that the
Jews, when first brought to light, were planted so as to take root, since God
led them into the land of Canaan. Here he says they were brought to light when
God restored them. He omits the intervening space of time which we saw
elsewhere, because he passes directly from the end to the beginning. On the
whole, he means that the Jews at their nativity were placed in the land of
Canaan, which was very fruitful, so that they should bring forth their own
fruit, that is, spend their time happily, and enjoy an abundance of all things.
Now we understand the meaning of the phrase,
the mother of the people was
planted near the waters, as a flourishing and fruitful
vine.
He adds,
she had
branches, that is, vine twigs,
for the scepters of those who
bear rule. Those who translate with or above
the scepters of rulers do not seem to me to comprehend the Prophet’s
meaning. I have no doubt he intends that scepters were gathered from these vine
branches, or rather that they were so formed as to be like royal scepters.
Although this translation seems rather rough, yet the sense is not doubtful;
because the Prophet means that kings were taken from the people just as branches
from the vine, as God chose king’s from David to Zedekiah. In this sense
he says that the vine branches
became scepters of the rulers. He
afterwards adds, her
stature was conspicuous, that she was remarkable for her loftiness even in the
multitude of the vine branches. This is
extended to the whole body of the people. Since mention is made of the king,
there is no doubt that God commends his grace towards the whole people, whose
safety and happiness were placed in the king, as we saw elsewhere. But he
asserts more clearly that the people had increased, so that they excelled in
population, power, and wealth. On the whole, the Prophet teaches that the Jews
were adorned from the beginning with all kinds of advantages, since God’s
best gifts shone forth there, and their dignity was conspicuous, and their
opulence great, since he unites the
multitude of the
boughs or vine branches with their
height.
Let us come now to the second clause. He says
that the vine was torn away in
wrath, thrown on the ground, and dried by the east wind, and that its boughs
were broken off and withered, and consumed by
fire. I have now briefly explained the
Prophet’s meaning. As the Jews had grown stupid in their calamity, and
were not humbled so as suppliantly to fly to God’s mercy, the Prophet
corrects their torpor when he shows them their origin. He now says that they
were reduced to extreme wretchedness by a sudden assault; for a change which
took place in a short space of time ought to affect them to the quick; but if
they had been slowly diminished, the change had not been so remarkable: but when
the vine was struck by lightning, torn up, withered, and burnt, that
instantaneous slaughter, as I have said, showed that it was not by chance, but
by the evident wrath of God. For this reason he says that
the vine was violently torn up,
and cast upon the ground. If the vine had been
dried up by degrees, it, would not have been so wonderful; but its sudden
tearing up ought to have made them sensible of the wrath of God, towards which
they had grown callous. This is the reason why the Prophet adds one simile to
another. The plucking up would have been sufficient; but he adds, it was cast
upon the ground, that it should wither away completely. He adds,
the east
wind, which destroys both fruits and trees, as
is sufficiently evident from many passages; and not only so, but he says that
the boughs were broken, or plucked off,
and
withered: lastly,
they were consumed with
fire. In fine, the hand of God appeared
visibly in that horrible slaughter of the people, when they were torn up, cut
off, withered, and burnt. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
19:13
|
|
13. And now she is planted in the wilderness,
in a dry end thirsty ground.
|
13. Et nunc plantata est in deserto, in terra
siccitatis et sitis.
F522
|
The Prophet seems here inconsistent with himself,
since these two clauses are openly at variance, that the vine was not, only
withered, but burnt up, and yet planted in a desert place; for if it was
withered, it could not take root again; but the burning removed the slightest
hope; for when the twigs were reduced to ashes, who ever saw a vine spring up
and grow from its ashes? But when the Prophet says that the vine was
withered and burnt
up, he refers to the conclusion which men must
arrive at by their own senses when the city was utterly ruined; for that was in
truth a horrible spectacle, when the people were made tributary after their king
was taken, the temple, plundered, the city ruined, and their safety dependent on
the lust of their conqueror. Since, therefore, neither the royal name and
dignity, nor freedom and security, remained, and especially when they were led
to the slaughter-house, was not their ruin very like a burning? Now, therefore,
we see why the Prophet said that the vine was torn and burnt up, for that most
severe destruction took away all hope of restoration for a short time. Hence he
spoke according to common sense: then he kept in view that form of horrible
ruin, or rather deformity, which was like a burning and a final destruction of
the people. But now, when he says that the vine was planted again, he commends
the mercy of God, who wished some seed to remain for the production of young
plants; as it is said in the first chapter of Isaiah, Lest you should be in like
Sodom and Gomorrah, some small seed has been wonderfully preserved. Although,
therefore, the people were burnt up after being violently plucked up, and all
their lives subjected to the will of the proudest, of conquerors, yet God took
some twigs or vine branches, which he planted, that he might propagate a new
nation, which was done at the people’s return.
But he says
that those vine branches were
planted in the desert in the dry and thirsty
land, since God preserves the religion of his
people even in death. Hence he compares their exile to a desert and a
wilderness. It may seem absurd at first sight that, Chaldaea should be likened
to a desert, since that district we know to be remarkable for its fertility and
other advantages; we know, too, that it was well watered, though called dry. But
the Prophet here does not, consider the material character of the country, but
the condition of the people in it. Although Chaldaea was most lovely, and full
of all kinds of fruits, yet, since the people were cruelly oppressed and
contemptuously treated, hence the land was called a desert. We say that no
prison is beautiful, so that their exile could not be agreeable to the children
of Israel; for they were ashamed of their life, and did not dare to raise their
eyes upwards. Since, then, they were drowned in a deep abyss of evils, the land
was to them a desert; hence there was no splendor, dignity, or opulence; and
liberty, the most precious of all boons, was wrested from them. Now we see the
sense of the words. It follows at length —
|
EZEKIEL
19:14
|
|
14. And fire is one out of a rod of her
branches, which has devoured her fruit, so that she has no strong rod to be a
scepter to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a
lamentation.
|
14. Et egressus est ignis a virga ramorum
ejus, fructum ejus voravit,
f523 et non fuit in ea virga
fortitudinis,
f524 sceptrum ad dominandum. Lamentatio haec,
et erit in lamentationem.
|
Here the Prophet comes down to the close of their
woes, when Zedekiah was dragged into captivity, and so the people’s
independence was abolished. God had formerly planted that vine, or at least some
of the branches, in a desert spot, since first four tribes, and afterwards
seven, were led away, and last of all, the greater part of the tribe of Judea;
but the little that remained with King Zedekiah perished. He says, therefore,
that the fire went forth from the
vine branches: thus he shows that the last
slaughter proceeded only from the people themselves; and lest they should utter
their accustomed complaints, the Prophet meets them by saying that they were
consumed by intestine fire; that is, their slaughter could not be ascribed to
their Chaldaean conquerors, but to themselves; because King Zedekiah, by his own
perfidy, had stirred up the king of Babylon against himself; for he might have
spent his time in his kingdom, but he could not refrain himself from throwing
off the yoke; for this reason he armed himself against the king of Babylon,
because he was a breaker of treaties: and thus the Prophet says, with propriety,
that a fire went forth from one
rod, or twig of its branches, and hence
the fruit of the whole vine was
consumed; that is, the remnant was lost by the
fault of that perfidious king. He now adds, there was no scepter for ruling
among its rods. Hence it appears that the exposition which I have advanced suits
best, and is entirely genuine. He said first that the rods were for a scepter of
the rulers; but he here says there was no scepter for them among these rods.
What follows we will treat tomorrow.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since you have once
deigned to insert us into the body of thy Son, that we may be such vine-branches
as you have undertaken to cultivate: that by the power of thy Spirit we may be
so watered as never to be deficient in spiritual rigor: and may we so bear fruit
to the glory of thy name, that we may at length arrive at the fountain of our
faith when we enjoy the celestial glory to which you have adopted us in the
same, your only-begotten
LECTURE
SIXTIETH.
Time did not permit us yesterday to explain the words
at the close of this nineteenth chapter:
this is a lamentation, and it
shall be a lamentation. Some think this to be
said of the Jews, that is, of all the, Israelites, since they should all be
lamentable, because God would not cease to inflict his judgments upon them until
he had utterly consumed them. But I had rather refer it to the prophecy, and
this is the more correct sense.
This
lamentation: thus the Prophet designates this
sad and mournful prophecy because it contains the last slaughter of the people.
Secondly, he adds, it shall be
for a lamentation, because it suggests material
for wailing, since remarkable miseries are accustomed to be more celebrated. If
anything usual occurs, men soon forget it; but if any slaughter happens worthy
of notice and of remembrance it is everywhere spread abroad, nay, it supplies
posterity with material for their poems. Hence the Prophet signifies not only
that this prophecy was mournful, but that God’s wrath would fly about in
common conversation through so rare and memorable an example. I now come to the
twentieth chapter.
CHAPTER 20
|
EZEKIEL
20:1
|
|
1. And it came to pass in the seventh year, in
the fifth month, the tenth, day of the month, that certain of the elders of
Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me.
|
1. Et fuit anno septimo, quinto mense, decimo
mensis venerunt viri e senioribus Israel ad consulendum Jehovam: et sederunt
coram facie mea.
F525
|
Here he does not narrate a vision but an event which
really happened. It is a simple historical narrative, that some of the elders of
Israel were chosen to interrogate him. We know this to be customary, and when
God separates His people from the profane nations, he opposes his prophets to
the soothsayers and magi, augurs and astrologers. For he says that the Gentiles
inquire what concerns them in various ways, and so interrogate their deities;
but that he prescribes to the chosen people but one method: I will raise for
them a prophet from the midst of their brethren, says Moses,
(<051818>Deuteronomy
18:18;) that is, they need not wander about, like the wretched gentiles,
destitute of counsel, first to their soothsayers, then to magi, and then to
astrologers: there is no end to them’ but I will meet them, says he, by my
prophets, who shall always exist among the people. In this sense Ezekiel says
that the elders of Israel came to
consult God. The verb,
çrd,
deresh, properly signifies “to seek” but it is here received
for “to consult” or “inquire into,” as in many other
places. Now it is not surprising that the elders came by public consent to the
Prophet: for the Israelites were already worn out by long weariness, and thought
that they had almost perished through their long exile. But there was another
reason, since false prophets, as we saw, tickled the ears of the simple by
offering them daily some new hope. Since therefore they were agitated between
hope and fear, and the devil scattered false prophecies which distracted the
minds of the vulgar, it is probable that the elders of Israel came and were sent
to inquire concerning either the prosperous or disastrous event of their
captivity. They come therefore to the prophets; he says
it happened in the seventh
year, that is, after the captivity of
Jehoiakim. They reckoned the years from that change, and deservedly so: for so
remarkable an act of God’s vengeance ought to be kept constantly in
remembrance. There was also another reason, since God gave some hope of
restoration. The reckoning of the years, then, which the Israelites dated from
Jehoiakim’s exile, had a twofold use and end, first, that God’s
judgment might remain fixed in their minds, and next, that they might
nevertheless refresh their spirits by the hope of good. Hence as often as they
dated the first year or the second, it was just as if they kept before their
eyes that slaughter by which God testified himself grievously offended. But for
another reason they ought to cheer their spirits by good hopes, because if the
kingdom had been utterly abolished and no promise added to lighten their sorrow,
that reckoning was superfluous, since in a state of desperation we do not take
an account of years: but when seventy years were fixed, they nourished and
cherished hope in this way, because they renewed the remembrance of their
liberty, which had been promised them by the mouth of Jeremiah.
(<242512>Jeremiah
25:12, 13, and
<242910>Jeremiah
29:10.) Now therefore we understand why he simply says the
seventh
year he mentions also the day and the
month.
Now the Clause which I have noticed contains some
useful instruction, — the
elders of Israel came to consult God and sat before the
Prophet. We see, then, as far as concerns
outward forms, that they followed what God had commanded in his law; lest you
should say, Who shall ascend above the clouds? who shall descend into the abyss?
who shall cross the sea? The word is ever there, in thy heart and in thy mouth.
(<053012>Deuteronomy
30:12-14;
<451006>Romans
10:6-8.) Since therefore God in some way brought himself forward whenever he
instructed his servants by the spirit of prophecy, so when the elders of Israel
came to the Prophet, they are said to come to God himself, because God was
unwilling to utter his own oracles either from heaven or by means of angels, but
he appointed his servant by whom he would speak, and suggested what he should
say. Hence we gather that our faith is not rightly founded unless when we listen
to God alone, who only deserves and claims us as listeners. But at the same
time, we must remark that faith was joined with humility and modesty. Hence if
any one desires to ascend to the clouds to inquire what God will answer, he
departs far from him, although he pretends to approach him. Hence this
moderation is to be observed, that our faith may acquiesce in the authority of
the one God, and not be carried hither and thither by the will of men; and yet
it should not object to here God speak through his servants, but calmly submit
itself to the prophets. It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
20:2-3
|
|
2. Then came the word of the Lord
saying,
|
2. Et fuit sermo Iehovae ad me
dicendo,
|
|
3. Son of man, speak unto the elders of
Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Are you come to inquire of
me? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by
you.
|
3. Fili hominis, loquere ad seniores Israel,
et dic illis, Sic dicit Dominator Iehovah, An ad quaerendum
me,
f526 venistis? Vivo ego si quaerar a vobis,
dicit Dominator Iehovah.
|
Here the Prophet is ordered to blame those elders,
although they pretended to rare piety in inquiring of him: God says that they
did not come with a right disposition. Many translate otherwise — if I
shall be found, or be en-treated by you, or if I shall answer: thus they take
the word,
çrd,
deresh, in a double sense: in the first clause, for to seek or
interrogate; but when it is added, as I live, etc., they do not take the word by
“to be sought” or “interrogated,” but by “to
answer” or “be entreated.” But this seems far-fetched and in
<261403>Ezekiel
14:3, a phrase not unlike this was explained; and hence we may gather, that God
rather inveighs against the people’s hypocrisy than rejects them, and
refuses to answer. There the Prophet said that the elders came to consult him,
as if they had been his best disciples; but as Ezekiel might be deceived by that
deceptive picture, God meets him, and says, Do you think that they come to
inquire of me? They are fixed upon their idols; for their heart is towards them,
and they raise their eyes to their own abominations: As I live, if they seek me,
says he; that is, it is easy to convict them of bad faith, when they come
suppliantly to inquire of thee. For if they truly and heartily sought me, they
would renounce their idols, and would no longer partake of their abominations;
but they do not repent, but remain obstinate in their wickedness. It is certain,
therefore, that they are by no means sincere: there is no reason why you should
delay them, or trouble yourself about them, since their conduct is mere
dissimulation. So, therefore, in this passage God pronounced by his Prophet,
are you come to seek me? that is, to consult me.
I will not be inquired of by
you, says he: the reason is, because, as we saw
in the Ezekiel 14th, they always remained the same, since therefore they were at
the greatest distance from God, and remained wrapped up in their own
abominations, their seeking God was only fallacious. The conclusion is, that God
rejected them, because, though they pretended a holy zeal, they were still
perverse in their disposition; hence God refuses to discharge the office of a
master towards them since they did not come to learn: this is one point. He then
says, if I shall be inquired of
by you. And because their hypocrisy was stained
by various colors, God swears that their disposition was perverse, and that they
did not come with pious and holy affections, and were neither docile nor
obedient, nor desirous of making progress, and hence were unworthy of having him
for a teacher. Now let us go on.
|
EZEKIEL
20:4
|
|
4. Wilt you judge them, son of man? wilt you
judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their
fathers.
|
4. An judicabo eos? an judicabo eos, fili
hominis? abominationes patrum ipsorum
indica
f527 illis.
|
The context flows very well if we embrace this sense,
that God swears that the Israelites did not come to be subject to his Prophet,
and to submit themselves modestly to his instructions. If this sense pleases, it
is well added, shall you judge
them? that is, shall you spend thy breath in
arguing with them? He means that they are rather to be dismissed than
instructed; as Christ says, You shall not cast pearls before swine.
(<400706>Matthew
7:6.) And we know what God pronounces: My Spirit shall not always strive with
man, because he is flesh.
(<010603>Genesis
6:3.) He now means that there was no need of any dispute, since there was no
means of carrying it on; so in this passage, since the Prophet was dealing with
men utterly broken down, who never listened to wise counsels, nor obeyed any
admonitions, nor were softened by any chastisement, he adds, therefore,
shall you judge
them? Some indeed coldly and insipidly explain
this of taking away the part of a judge, since God rather wishes them to be
called to repentance than to be condemned. But here judging embraces
within itself all reproaches and threats. On the whole, since they acted
deceitfully, and by no means proposed to submit themselves to God, hence he uses
this bitterness, What! are they worthy of your judging them? that is, of your
contending with them? for the Prophet’s duty is to argue with sinners, to
threaten them, and to cite them to God’s tribunal. God, therefore,
pronounces them unworthy of such disputing, because they are not only deaf, but,
hardened by abandoned obstinacy. Now, therefore, we understand the sense of the
words, wilt you judge them? will
you judge them? The repetition is emphatic,
that God may strongly express the obstinacy of that desperate people. He
afterwards adds, If this be done,
then show them the abominations of their
fathers. God here mitigates the asperity which
he had used, and by means of a correction descends to a reason for it, namely,
that he may for once try whether or not they are curable. If then they are to be
judged, that is, if he chooses to enter into any dispute, and to argue with
them, he says that he ought to begin not with themselves, but with their
fathers. God wishes them to be judged, not only on account of the wickedness of
a few years, but because before they were born their fathers were obstinately
attached to their abominations. In fine, God shows that the wound was deep, and
could not be cured, unless the hidden poison was carefully examined, which
otherwise would cause putrid matter, from which at length inflammation would
arise. For many think that they have properly discharged their duty when they
have but lightly probed their wounds: but sometimes it is necessary to penetrate
to the inmost parts, as the people had not only provoked God lightly, and for a
short time, but their impiety had been growing for ages, and their sins had
become a kind of inheritance to them. Since, then, this hidden poison existed,
which could not be cured either easily or by any slight remedy, hence God orders
them to begin with their fathers.
Show them, therefore, the
abominations of their fathers. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
20:5-8
|
|
5. And say unto them, Thus says the Lord God,
In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the
house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I
lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the Lord your God;
|
5. Et dices illis, Sic dicit Dominator
Iehovah, Die quo elegi Israelem, et sustuli manum meam ad semen domus Iacob, et
cognitus fui illis in terrae AEgypti, et sustuli manum meam illis dicendo, Ego
Iehovah Deus vester;
|
|
6. In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto
them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for
them, flowing: with milk and honey, which is the glory of all
lands:
|
6. Die illo sustuii manum meam ad ipsos, ut
educerem eos e terra AEgypti in terram quam prospexi illis fluentem lacte et
melle, desiderium
f528 prae omnibus terris:
|
|
7. Then said I unto them, Cast you away every
man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of
Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
|
7. Et dixi illis, Quisque spurcitias oculorum
suorum projicite et in idolis
f529 AEgypti ne polluamini: ego Iehovah Deus
vester.
|
|
8. But they rebelled against me, and would not
hearken unto me: they did not every man ca., t away the abominations of their
eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt; then I said, I will pour out
my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land
of Egypt.
|
8. Et rebelles fuerunt mihi, et noluerunt
audire me, et quae sequuntur.
|
God confirms what I said before, that the Jews were
not to be reproved for beginning lately to sin: it was not sufficient to bring
recent offenses before them; but God orders the Prophet to begin with their
fathers, as if he had said that the nation was abandoned from the very
beginning, as Stephen reproaches them: Uncircumcised in heart, you still resist
the Holy Spirit, as your fathers always did.
(<440751>Acts
7:51.) And Christ had said the same thing before: You fill up the measure of
your fathers.
(<402332>Matthew
23:32.) We know also how frequently rebukes of this kind occur in the Prophets.
God therefore says, that from the time when he chose the seed of Israel, he had
experienced both the wickedness and obstinacy of the people; for he says that
they were not drawn aside by either error or ignorance, but because they were
unwilling to hear, when they were over and over again admonished as to their
duty. Hence three things are to be marked, namely, that the people were bound to
God, since he had gratuitously adopted them; for God here commends his
gratuitous election, together with the singular benefits which he had conferred
on that people: this is one point. The second is, that he not only took them
once to himself, but showed them what was right, so that they could not mistake,
except knowingly and willfully: this is the second point. Then the third is,
that they rebelled purposely, because they would not listen: for if they had
been left at the meeting of two roads, their error had been excusable if they
had turned to the left instead of the right. But if God by his law so shone
before them, that he was prepared to direct them straight to the mark, and they
turned aside; thus their obstinacy and rebellion is plainly detected. This is
the sense.
Now as far as words are concerned, he says,
that he had chosen
Israel. But election, as I have already briefly
touched upon, is opposed to all merits: for if anything had been found in the
people which should cause them to be preferred to others, it would be improperly
said that God had elected them. But since all were in the same condition, as
Moses says in his song
(<053208>Deuteronomy
32:8, 9,) there was scope for God’s grace, since he separated them from
others of his own accord: for they were just like the rest, and God did not find
any difference between them; we see, then, that they were bound to God more
sacredly, since he had joined them to himself gratuitously. He now adds,
that he lifted up his hand to the
seed of Jacob. The lifting up the hand seems to
be taken here in different senses. Since it was a customary method of swearing,
God is said sometimes to lift up his hand when he swears. That is indeed harsh,
since the lifting up the hand does not suit God: for we lift up the hand when we
call God to witness; but God swears by himself, and cannot raise his hand above
himself. But we know that he uses forms of speech according to the common
customs of men: hence there is nothing absurd in this phrase,
he lifted up his
hand, that is, he swore. Hence, if we
may so explain it, this was a confirmation of the covenant, when God by
interposing a oath promised himself to be Israel’s God. But since he
shortly afterwards adds, that he
was known, the other sense suits pretty well,
since it refers to the benefits which he had conferred upon the people. And
truly experimental knowledge is intended, since God really proved himself to be
worthy of credit, and thus illustrated his own power in preserving the people.
Hence I said that to lift up the hand is to be received variously in this
chapter, since, if we read the two clauses conjointly,
I lifted up my hand unto the seed
of the house of Jacob, and was made known to
them, truly the lifting up the hand will imply
a display of power. That also has been said by means of a simile; but shortly
afterwards the lifting up of the hand must be taken for to swear, by the figure
of rhetoric called catachresis, which is the use of a word in a different
signification, and yet there is no absurdity.
I have raised my hand,
therefore, to the seed of the house of Jacob, saying, I Jehovah am your God.
(<262005>Ezekiel
20:5.)
We see, then, that God raised his hand to sanction
the covenant which he had made; for when he pronounces himself their God, he
binds them to himself, and claims them for his peculiar people, and thus
confirms his covenant. But at the same time he had raised his hand or arm by so
many miracles performed in freeing the people. He
says, in that day I raised my
hand to, or towards them, to bring them out.
Again, the raising the hand refers to
God’s power, since he brought them forth by an extended arm from that
miserable slavery. Since, therefore, he so raised his hand, he acquired them as
his own, that they should no longer be free, but belong altogether to him. He
afterwards adds other benefits, since he not only snatched them from the tyranny
of Pharaoh, but brought them into
a land flowing with milk and honey, which he had espied for
them. We see how briefly God enlarges upon that
remarkable benefit which he had bestowed upon his people. Not only was he their
Redeemer, but he looked out for a place of residence for them, not only
commodious, but abounding with plenty; for this phrase is common enough with
Moses. In that same day in which
I led them out of Egypt, I brought them into a land, the desire of all
lands; that is, which is desirable and superior
to all other lands. It is true, indeed, that other nations were not less
fruitful; but God, in thus praising the land of Canaan. considers it, clothed
and adorned by his bounty. But there was no region under heaven to be compared
with the land of Canaan in one point, namely, God’s choosing it as his
earthly dwelling place. Since the land of Canaan excelled all others in this
respect, it is deservedly called the desire of all lands, or desirable beyond
all lands.
Another clause now follows, that God instructed the
Jews in piety, and withdrew them from all the idolatries to which they had been
devoted. Instruction then went before, which showed them the right way of
salvation, and recalled them from their superstitions. The meaning is, that when
God adopted the people, he gave them the rule of living piously, that they
should not be tossed about hither and thither, but. have an aim, to which they
might direct the whole course of their life.
I
said,
therefore, to each of
them: this seems more emphatic than if he had
spoken to all promiscuously and generally: but this familiar invitation ought to
penetrate more into their minds, when he speaks to each individually, just as if
he said, let each of you cast away your abominations, and
not pollute himself anymore with
the idols of Egypt. When therefore God thus
attached them to himself, he shows that he could not be rightly worshipped by
them unless they bid their idolatries farewell, and formed their whole life
according to the rule of his law. He calls their enticements defilements or
idols of the eyes: but we know that the Prophet often speaks thus, that
unbelievers should consider their idols. Hence it is just as if God recalled
them from all the wiles of Satan in which they were enticed, and were so devoted
to them as to have their eyes exclusively fixed on them. He speaks by name of
the idols of Egypt: whence it easily appears that they were corrupted by
depraved desires, so as for the most part to worship the fictitious gods of
Egypt. Yet they knew themselves elected by the true God, and boasted in
circumcision as a symbol of divorce from all nations. Yet though they wished to
be thought illustrious on the one hand, they afterwards prostituted themselves
so as to differ in nothing from the Egyptians. We see then that the desire of
piety was almost extinct in their hearts, since they had so contaminated
themselves with the superstitions of Egypt. That he might retain them the
better, he says at the same time
that he was their God: for without this
principle men are tossed hither and thither, for we know that we are lighter
than vanity. Hence the devil will always find us subject to his fallacies unless
God restrains us in our duty, until he appears to us and shows himself the only
God: we see then the necessity for this remedy, lest men should be carried away
by idolatries, namely, the knowledge of the true God. The third clause will
follow afterwards, but we shall explain it in its turn.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since you have once
stretched forth your hand to us by your only-begotten Son, and have not only
bound thyself to us by an oath, but have sealed your eternal covenant by the
blood of the same, thy Son: Grant, I pray thee, that we in return may be
faithful to thee, and persevere in the pure worship of thy name, until at length
we enjoy the fruit of our faith in thy heavenly kingdom by the same Christ our
Lord. — Amen.
LECTURE
SIXTY-FIRST.
In the last lecture I began to explain the eighth
verse, where God complains that he was exasperated by the children of Israel
when he had begun to extend his hand to free them. He says, then, that they had
rejected his grace. But at the same time we see that all pretense of ignorance
was removed, because unless Moses had exhorted them to good hope, they would
have pretended. to be so deserted through two centuries, that they had hoped for
help from God in vain. But since Moses was a witness of their redemption, hence
their ingratitude was the more without excuse, since they were unwilling to
embrace the message which they had so greatly desired. Nor is the language of
Moses vain, that they often cried out in their calamities. Although their clamor
was turbulent, yet they doubtless remembered what they had heard from their
fathers, that the end of those evils was at hand to which God had fixed an
appointed time. But more is expressed in this passage than Moses relates, who
simply says, because they saw themselves treated too roughly, that they were
worn down and disgusted: hence those expostulations — You have made our
name to stink before Pharaoh: God shall judge between you and us: Judea you gone
from us.
(<020521>Exodus
5:21.) We do not then clearly collect from Moses that they were rebels against
God, since they had not cast away their idols and superstitions, but the
probable conjecture is that they were, so rooted in their filth, that they
repelled God’s hand from succoring them. And truly if they had promptly
embraced what Moses had promised them in God’s name, the accomplishment
would have been readier and swifter: but we may understand that their sloth was
the hindrance to the exertion of God’s hand in their favor and to the real
fulfillment of his promises. God ought indeed to contend, with Pharaoh, that his
power might be more conspicuous: but the people would not have been so
tyrannously afflicted, unless they had closed the door against God’s
mercy. They were, as we have said, immersed in their defilement’s from
which God wished to withdraw them. He now accuses them of ingratitude,
because they did not cast
away their idols, but obstinately persisted in
their usual and customary superstitions. He speaks of the time of their
captivity in Egypt, and this passage assures us that while there they were
infected and polluted by Egyptian defilement’s. For the contagion of
idolatry is wonderful: for since we are all naturally inclined to it as soon as
any example is offered to us, we are snatched in that direction by a violent
impulse. It is not surprising then that the children of Israel contracted
pollution from the superstitions of Egypt, especially as they lived there as
slaves, and were desirous of gratifying the Egyptians: for if they had been
treated liberally, they might have lived freely after their custom, but since
they were not free and were oppressed as slaves, it happened that they pretended
to worship the gods of Egypt according to the will of those by whom they saw
themselves oppressed: and not only did they sin by pretending, but it is
probable that they were impelled by their own lusts as well as by fear: for it
will soon be evident that they were too inclined to impiety of their own
accord.
On the whole, Ezekiel here testifies that they were
rebels against God, because they
did not listen to God by casting away the idols of their
eyes, that is, to the worship of which they
were too attentive, nor did they
desert the idols of Egypt. When he speaks of
the idols of their
eyes, we gather what I have touched upon, that
they were not impelled to idolatry by fear and necessity, but by their own
depraved appetites: For unless they had been eagerly devoted to Egyptian
superstitions, Ezekiel would not have called them idols of the eyes. Hence by
this word he means that they were not only superstitious through obedience to
the Egyptians, but were spontaneously inclined towards them. Besides, when he
adds the idols of
Egypt, he points out as the occasion of their
corruption their spending time under that tyranny, and their being compelled to
bear many evils, since slavery commonly draws with it dissimulation. It now
follows, And I said I
would pour forth, that is, I determined to pour
forth. God here signifies that he was inflamed by anger, and unless they had
respect to his name he would not withdraw his hand from the vengeance to which
it was armed and prepared. We know that this does not properly belong to God,
but this is, the language of accommodation, since first of all, God is not
subject to vengeance, and, secondly, does not decree what he may afterwards
retract. But since these things are not in character with God, simile and
accommodation are used. As often as the Holy Spirit uses these forms of speech,
let us learn that they refer rather to the matter in hand than to the character
of God. God determined to pour forth his anger, that is, the Israelites had so
deserved it through their crimes, that it was necessary to execute punishment
upon them. The Prophet simply means that the people’s disposition was
sinful, and hence God’s wrath would have been poured out, unless he had
been held back from some other cause. I have already touched upon the obstacle,
because he consulted his honor
lest it should be
profaned.
I have
decreed, therefore,
to pour forth my burning fury
upon them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
Some translate, to consume them, but improperly, for the word,
hlk,
keleh, signifies to fill up or accomplish, as well as to consume. But
although God sometimes says that he consumes all his weapons or scourges in the
punishment of men’s sins, yet it is not suitable to transfer this to his
wrath itself. Hence another sense will suit better, namely, that
God decreed to pour out his
wrath until he satisfied himself. For here, as
we have said, he puts on the character of an angry man, who cannot appease his
mind otherwise than by satiating it by the exaction of punishment: for anger is
usually inexhaustible. But God on the whole here expresses that such was the
atrocity of their wickedness, that the Israelites deserved destruction through
the pouring forth of God’s wrath and the filling up of the measure of his
indignation; and that in the
midst of the land of Egypt; because they had
shown themselves unworthy of his redemption, and hence it was enough for them to
perish in the midst of the land of Egypt. But he afterwards added
—
|
EZEKIEL
20:9
|
|
9. But I wrought for my name’s sake,
that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in
whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the
land of Egypt.
|
9. Et feci propter nomen meum ne profanaretur
in oculis gentium, in quibus ipsi in medio eorum, quibus cognitus fui ipsis in
oculis eorum, ad educendum eos e terra AEgypti.
|
Here God signifies that he was restrained for one
reason only from entirely blotting out so ungrateful and wicked a nation,
namely, since he saw his own sacred name would be exposed to the Gentiles as a
laughing-stock. He teaches, therefore, that he spared them, and suspended his
rigor for the time, rather through being induced by regard to his own glory than
by pity to them. Hence, by the word
I did it,
we ought to understand what will be more
clearly explained. The sense is, that he abstained from the final act of
vengeance for his name’s sake, that it should not be profaned among the
Gentiles. Although God here pronounces that he had respect rather to himself
than to them, yet there is no doubt that he spared them, because he saw that
they could not be otherwise preserved than by his pardoning them even in such
hardness and obstinacy; and certainly God’s glory and the salvation of the
Church are things almost inseparably united. When I speak of the salvation of
the Church, I do not comprehend all those who profess to be its members, but I
mean only the elect. Since, therefore, God had adopted that nation, he must
preserve the remnant in safety, otherwise his truth would have failed, and thus
his name would have been much more severely profaned. Hence we may gather,
whenever God pardons us, though he regards himself, and wishes in this way to
exercise his clemency, yet his pity towards us is another reason for his
pardoning us: but when he says that he has withdrawn his hand from vengeance
through regard for His own glory, he in this way prostrates still more the pride
of this nation, since, whenever he had pity on them, they thought it a
concession to their own worthiness and merits. The Prophet therefore shows here
that they were snatched from destruction, while they were remaining in the land
of Egypt, for no other reason than this, that God was unwilling to expose his
name to the contempt of the nations. He says,
therefore, in the eyes of the
Gentiles, among whom they were, regarding not
the Egyptians only, but others.
Yet the question arises, in what sense, he adds by
and by, that he was known to
them? for as yet he had given no specimen of
his power among the Gentiles. He had borne witness by two miracles that Moses
should be the agent in their redemption,
(<020402>Exodus
4:2, and following:) afterwards Moses approached Pharaoh himself: there God put
forth the signs of his power, which deservedly frightened all the Egyptians; but
his fame had not yet reached other nations. But this knowledge ought not to be
simply restricted to past time; for God only means that he had already begun to
show, by certain and remarkable proofs, that Moses was chosen, by whose hand he
wished to redeem his own people. Since, therefore, God had. already come forward
with those remarkable signs, he says,
that he was known to those
nations, not that his fame had reached them,
but because he had gone there himself, so that the event could not be in
obscurity, and all must know that miracles had been performed by the hand of
Moses, by which it was evident that he wished to claim the Israelites as his
own. Now, therefore, we understand in what sense Ezekiel says
that God was
known. Some explain this relatively thus: I was
known to them, meaning the Israelites, in their eyes, meaning the Gentiles: but
this sense seems to me forced; for in my opinion this one word
“their,” in the Prophet’s language, is superfluous. He simply
means that God was manifested in the eyes of all the nations in leading them
forth. This clause shows the kind of knowledge intended, since God showed
his power in liberating the people by remarkable miracles. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
20:10
|
|
10. Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of
the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.
|
10. Et eduxi (eduxi ergo) eos e terra
AEgypti, et adduxi in desertum.
|
After Ezekiel had taught that the Israelites deserved
to perish in Egypt, unless God had spared them for his name’s sake rather
than for their own, he now adds the cause of their coming forth, which was the
promotion of his own glory. Hence, therefore, we gather that the Israelites
falsely imagined any other cause of their deliverance than that respect of which
the Prophet now speaks. But this is more than if he had simply said that they
were snatched from the tyranny of Egypt by God’s gratuitous pity, since
God gratuitously stretched out his hand towards them, and was so induced by
feelings of humanity and clemency as to snatch away from their miseries the
innocent who were unjustly afflicted; but he here excludes them from God’s
clemency, because they were unworthy of his notice. I said, indeed, that two
things were united, the salvation of the Church and the glory of God; but at the
same time I noticed that the Prophet’s intention must be considered, since
he wished to withdraw all confidence from such a proud people, and to show that,
as far as they could, they had always repelled God’s favor by their
obstacles, unless he had overcome their wickedness by his untiring goodness. It
follows —
|
EZEKIEL
20:11
|
|
11. And I gave them my statutes, and showed
them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in
them.
|
11. Et dedi illis decreta
mea,
f530 et judicia mea patefeci ipsis, qua, qui
fecerit homo vivet in ipsis.
|
Here God enlarges upon his favors, since he had given
his law to the Israelites, as if he would prescribe to them a certain rule of
living. If they had only been brought out of Egypt, that would have been an
inestimable benefit: but God was much more generous, since he deigned to rule
them familiarly with his doctrine, lest they should wander to one side or the
other; and in this way he testified that he would be their God. He adds a
promise: for God might precisely enjoin what he wished on the people of his
choice; but he spontaneously adopts the method of indulgence by promising them
life. Now, then, we understand why this promise is mentioned; for God might
simply command anything, and say, this pleases me, and use but a monosyllable,
after the manner of kings issuing a command. Since, then, God not only exacted
of the Israelites what he might justly require, but, by annexing a promise,
enticed them gently to the pursuit of obedience, this was certainly a mark of
his fatherly indulgence. Hence he now exaggerates the people’s ingratitude
by this circumstances, that neither by commands nor by kindness could he induce
these obstinate and perverse dispositions to bend to the yoke.
I gave them,
therefore, my statutes and my laws; and
afterwards, which if a man do, he
shall live in them. He thus briefly reminds
them, that it was not his fault if the Israelites were not in any sense happy;
for when he stipulated with them for the observance of his law, he bound them in
turn to himself, that they should want nothing which contributed to a good and
happy life; for in the name of life solid happiness is
comprehended.
Yet it is here asked how the Prophet testifies
that men should live by the works
of the law, when the law, on the testimony of
Paul, can only bring us death.
(<450415>Romans
4:15;
<053015>Deuteronomy
30:15.) He took this testimony from Moses, and we shall see immediately that he
cites it in a different sense. Moses there pronounces that the life of man rests
on the observance of the law; that is, — life was surely to be expected
through satisfying the law. Some think this absurd, and so restrict what is said
to the present life, taking he
shall live in them politically or civilly: but
this is a cold and trifling comment. The reasoning which influenced them is
readily answered: they object, that we owe all things to God; that we ourselves
and our possessions are all his by the right of possession; so that if we keep
the law a hundred times over, still we are not, worthy of such a reward. But the
solution is at hand, that we deserve nothing, but God graciously binds himself
to us by this promise, as I have already touched upon. And from this passage it
is easy to infer that works are of no value before God, and are not estimated
for their intrinsic value, so to speak, but only by agreement. Since, then, it
pleased God to descend so far as to promise life to men if they kept his law,
they ought to accept this offer as springing from his liberality. There is no
absurdity, then, if men do live, that is, if they deserve eternal life according
to agreement. But if any one keeps the law, it will follow that he has no need
of the grace of Christ. For of what advantage is Christ to us unless we recover
life in him? but if this is placed in ourselves, the remedy must not be thought
anywhere but in ourselves. Every one, then, may be his own savior if life is
placed the observance of the law. But Paul solves this difficulty for us when he
determines for us a twofold righteousness of the law and of faith.
(<451005>Romans
10:5, 6.) He says that this righteousness is of the law when we keep God’s
precepts. Now, since we are far distant from such obedience, nay, the very
faculty of keeping the law is altogether defective in us: hence it follows that
we must fly to the righteousness of faith. For he defines the righteousness of
faith, if we believe Christ to be dead, and to be risen again for our
justification. We see, therefore, although God promised salvation to his ancient
people, if they only kept the law, yet that promise was useless, since no one
could satisfy the law and perform God’s commands. Here another question
arises. For if this promise does not take effect, God vainly reckons that as a
benefit to the Israelites which we see was offered them in vain: hence no
utility or fruit would arise from it. But some one may say that the imagination
was fallacious, when God promised life, and now by his Prophet blames the
Israelites for despising such a benefit. But the reply is easy: although men are
not endued with the power of obeying the law, yet they ought not on that account
to depart from the goodness of God; for men’s declension by no means
hinders them from estimating the value of so liberal a promise: God is treating
with men: he might then, as I have said, imperiously demand whatever he pleased,
and exact it with the utmost rigor; but he treats according to an agreement, and
so there is a mutual obligation between himself and the people. No one will
surely deny that God here exhibits a specimen of his mercy when he deigns thus
familiarly to make a covenant with men. “Ah! but this is all in vain:
God’s promise is of no effect, because no one is able to keep the
law.” I confess it: but man’s declension cannot, as I have said,
abolish the glory of God’s goodness, since that always remains fixed, and
God still acts liberally in being willing thus to enter into covenant with His
people. We must then consider the subject simply, and by itself: man’s
declension is accidental. God then put forth a remarkable proof of His goodness,
in promising life to all who kept His law: and this will remain perfect and
entire. It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
20:12
|
|
12. Moreover also, I gave them my sabbaths, to
be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that
sanctify them.
|
12. Atque etiam sabbatha mea dedi ipsis, ut
essent in signum inter me et ipsos, ut cognoscerent quod ego sim (vel, ego
sum) Iehovah, qui ipsos sanctifico.
|
Besides the law God here commends his Sabbaths, which
we know to be only a part of His law: nay, whoever compares the commandments one
by one, will at first sight perceive more weight in others than in the fourth.
For what is the meaning of that commandment, You shall not have any strange god?
You shall not make any idols? Afterwards, Do not take God’s name in vain?
(<022003>Exodus
20:3, 4, 7;
<050507>Deuteronomy
5:7, 8, 11.) I answer, that the Prophet takes one precept of the law the better
to explain what I have already touched on before, namely, that the law was given
to the Israelites to bind them more and more to their benefactor. For God was
unwilling to cast them away after redeeming them: but he testified by his law
that he would be the guide of their whole life. Still the Prophet looked
further, meaning, that the law consisted not only of the commandments, but
embraced the whole grace of God, on which the adoption of the nation depended.
For if God had simply commanded either one thing or another, it would not have
been easy to perceive and taste his goodness. Why so? because when he calls upon
us to discharge a duty, every one, feels that a greater burden is imposed on him
than he can bear. Even if the promise should entice us by its sweetness, —
he who does these things shall live in them; yet when we try, we are deficient
through being destitute of all power. But the Prophet means that something else
was intended by the Sabbath, that the Israelites might acknowledge themselves
separated by God, so as to experience him for their Father in all things. Hence,
though the precepts of the law were somewhat distasteful; yet, as the fourth
commandment has in it a gratuitous promise, it has a different savor, since the
people thus recognizes itself as elected by God for a peculiar nation: and this
the Prophet sufficiently expresses by the word sanctifying, for it means
that the people were separated from the profane nations to be God’s
peculiar inheritance. If any one wishes to render sanctify by one word it will
be, “to separate.” But the meaning of separation ought to be
explained. How, then, did God separate a certain people from the whole world?
Why, by promising to Abraham that he would be a God to his seed.
(<012217>Genesis
22:17.) Then he could not otherwise be their God than by gratuitously loving his
elect, by regenerating them by his Spirit, and becoming propitious and easily
entreated: and besides, a single people could not be separated from others
without a mediator. For separation cannot last unless the people be united to
God; and what bond of union is there without a mediator?
Now, therefor, we understand why the Prophet speaks
of the Sabbath, since he had formerly commended the whole law, of which the
Sabbath was a part, namely, because it displayed God’s gratuitous
adoption; and at the same time the Israelites might acknowledge that the way of
approach to God was open to them, and he was rendered placable; then that they
were not adopted in vain, but were sought by God, that he should renew them by
his Spirit, and rule the whole course of their life. It was, then, the greatest
ingratitude to break the Sabbath, as will be said shortly afterwards. But this
passage teaches that God was not pleased with the people’s quiet or ease
when he commanded them to keep the seventh day holy, but he has another
intention. Whence we gather that that precept was shadowy: for there are some
things which please God of themselves, and must be performed; but others have a
different object. For to worship one God, to abominate idols, to use God’s
name reverently, these things are, as I have said, the simple duties of piety in
themselves: so the honor which sons pay to their parents is a duty pleasing to
God in itself, like chastity, abstinence, and such like. But Sabbaths do not
please God simply and by themselves. We ought, therefore, to look for another
purpose, if we wish to understand the reason of this precept. And hence Paul
says, that Sabbaths were shadows of those things of which Christ is the
substance.
(<510216>Colossians
2:16, 17.) This, therefore, is one point. Ezekiel is not the first who says so,
though he took it from Moses; for though he does not clearly say in so many
words that the Sabbath was the symbol of sanctification, yet he afterwards shows
this to be its object,
(<023113>Exodus
31:13, 14,) and that God commanded the people to rest on the seventh day with
this intent. Moses then himself shows that the command had another object, which
Ezekiel interprets for us; but the matter is made much clearer in the Gospel,
since in Christ the truth and substance of this precept is set forth, which Paul
calls the body. I have, then, sufficiently explained this object., namely, that
the Israelites might know God to be their sanctifier. But if we desire to
understand the matter better, we ought first to lay it down that the Sabbath was
the sign of mortification. God, therefore, sanctifies us; because when we remain
in our natural state we are there mixed with others, and have nothing different
from unbelievers: hence, therefore, it is necessary to begin by dying to
ourselves and the world, and by exercising self-denial; and this depends on the
grace of God. But I perceive that I cannot complete the subject today so I shall
put it off till tomorrow.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since you have not
only deigned to bestow upon us a rule for living rightly, but has so shown
thyself our Father in Christ as to be prepared to engrave thy law in our inward
parts: Grant, I pray thee, that we may not cast away that inestimable boon
through either ingratitude or sloth; but may we offer up ourselves to thee as a
sacrifice: and then do you so pardon us that our infirmities may not hinder us
from finding thee always propitious whenever we fly to thy mercy in Christ, your
only-begotten Son. — Amen.
LECTURE
SIXTY-SECOND.
We said in yesterday’s lecture, that
God’s Church was separated from the profane nations that he might
regenerate it by his Spirit: we said also, that the Sabbath was a proof of this
favor; but now a confirmation of this teaching must be added. This is easily
gathered from the institution of the Sabbath, when God is said to have rested
from his work on the seventh day.
(<010202>Genesis
2:2;
<022011>Exodus
20:11, and 31:17;
<050514>Deuteronomy
5:14.) Now there is no doubt that he wished to bring the faithful to imitate his
example: it follows, then, that rest was enjoined upon the ancient people, that
they should each rest from their works, and so conform themselves to God’s
example. For we are said to rest from our works when we are dead to ourselves;
and allow ourselves to be governed by God’s Spirit, when we live in him,
and he in us. Now, therefore, we see that the grace of regeneration was promised
to the ancient people when God consecrated the seventh day; and the Apostle also
shows this in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where he treats of the true and lawful
use of the Sabbath, and refutes the gross supposition with which the Jews were
imbued, that God was properly worshipped by an outward rest.
(<580405>Hebrews
4:5.) he shows them that it was only an outward symbol, and that it contained a
spiritual mystery. It now follows, as I lately touched on it, that the Sabbath
was a sacrament, since it was a visible figure of an invisible grace. And this
also is expressed with sufficient clearness by the Prophet, when he says,
the Sabbath was given for a sign.
By this word, therefore, he shows that
regeneration was promised to the ancient people; and if I may use the expression
by a visible word, since God not only spoke, but wished some symbol or pledge or
mark of his promise to be perpetual. The phrase between me and you must be
noticed: from which we gather that there is a mutual agreement in the
sacraments, by which God binds us to himself, and we mutually pledge our faith.
And hence also their foolishness is refuted who think the sacraments nothing but
marks of outward separation: for if the sacraments concern only the profession
of faith, it is inconsistent with the Prophet’s teaching that they are a
mutual and reciprocal sign, as I may express it, since God requires faith on the
part of his people; and he promises in return what he witnesses and prefigures
by an outward sign. It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
20:13-14
|
|
13. But the house of Israel rebelled against
me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my
judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they
greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the
wilderness, to consume them.
|
13. Et rebelles fuerunt in
me
f531 domus
Israel
f532 in deserto: in decretis meis non
ambularunt, et judicia mea spreverunt: qua qui fecerit homo rivet in ipsis: et
Sabbatha mea violarunt valde: et
dixi
f533 effundere excandescentiam meam super eos
in deserto ad consumendum eos.
|
|
14. But I wrought for my name’s sake,
that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them
out.
|
14. Et feci propter nomen meum, ut non
profanaretur in oculis gentium, sub quarum oculis eduxeram
ipsos.
|
Here God pronounces that the sons were like their
fathers; and that the people, after their deliverance from Egypt, were so
obstinate in their wickedness as not to profit in any way. He had complained
already before of their rejecting his grace: for it is equivalent to rejecting
all offers to be corrupted by superstitions, and not to cleanse themselves from
that defilement, although they knew it to be abominable before God. But after
the law was promulgated, they then might have put away their perverse
affections. And surely redemption ought to have conformed them to obey God; when
they beheld his hand stretched out as it were from heaven, how was it that this
spectacle did not avail to humble them, and to make them submissive to God? But
in addition to the teaching of the law, God’s promise was given, by which
he bore witness to them, that, if they sought from him the spirit of
regeneration, the Sabbath would be really given them as a pledge and sign of it;
and since all these things produced no effect, that was a proof of astounding
contumacy. God says, therefore, that he obtained nothing more in the desert than
he had formerly experienced from the people under their Egyptian tyranny:
then, also, says he,
the house of Israel
exasperated me in the desert. The circumstance
of place must be noticed, because they were wonderfully rescued by God’s
incredible power, and they depended every moment on his good pleasure; for there
they wanted food and drink: God daily rained down manna from heaven, and brought
them water from the rock.
(<021614>Exodus
16:14;
<041109>Numbers
11:9;
<050815>Deuteronomy
8:15, 16.) Since, therefore, necessity compelled them every moment to look to
God, was it not more than brutal stupidity to exasperate God? When men grow
wanton, it arises from becoming intoxicated by prosperity, and forgetful of
their lot through not feeling how much they need God’s help. But when
death is presented to our view, when terror hems us in on every side, when God
is up in arms against us, what madness it is to despise him! We see, then, why
the Prophet dwells so on this point.
He says too,
they did not walk in God’s
precepts, and they despised his judgments. He
confirms what was said yesterday, that they were not deceived through ignorance,
but manifested utter contempt of God, since they knew well enough what was
pleasing to him. Since, then, they had a sure rule which could not deceive them,
we see how they wandered away after their own superstitions by deliberate
wickedness. This is the reason, then, why Ezekiel says
that they despised God’s
judgments. He repeats the promise which I
expounded yesterday. For this reason also availed to exaggerate their crime,
namely, the mildness of God in deigning to allure, them: he did not command
them, exactingly and imperiously, as he might have done, but he entered into a
covenant with them, and testified that a reward was prepared for them if they
kept the law. Since, therefore, they neglected this promise, we see that they
were not only rebels, but ungrateful to God. He adds,
they had polluted his
Sabbaths; which I refer not only to the outward
right, but rather to the inward spirit. It is true, indeed, that their impiety
was sufficiently notorious as to outward desecration, as it appears from the
seventeenth chapter of Jeremiah, when he says, that they carried their burdens
on the Sabbath, and occupied themselves in common business.
(<241721>Jeremiah
17:21, 22.) There is no doubt that they broke the Sabbath when they then
promiscuously transacted their own business. But when it is added,
that they violated the Sabbath
greatly or grievously, we may understand that
profanation is denoted in the mystery itself, since they struck off the yoke,
and gave the rein to their own desires: for Isaiah also shows that the Sabbath
was violated in this way, especially when the will of men is consulted.
(<235813>Isaiah
58:13.) For hypocrites think they have discharged every duty by abstaining from
all work; but the Prophet replies that this is a mere laughing-stock, since they
fast on a Sabbath for strife and contention, and then that they gratify their
will, which is opposed to self-denial. Hence God not only accuses the ancient
people here for not hallowing the Sabbath, but also for neglecting its
legitimate object and use. He now repeats what we saw yesterday.
I have
determined, therefore,
to pour out upon them mine
anger in the desert to consume them. If it is
asked when this was done, it is sufficient to reply, that God’s wrath was
frequently inflamed by the people’s wickedness. For although Moses does
not verbally relate every event, yet there is no doubt that God often threatened
the people with destruction, as we shall soon see with reference to their
dispersion. It follows, I did it
for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the eyes of the
Gentiles. God repeats again that he was
appeased, not because he pardoned them, but because he was unwilling to allow
his name to become a laughing-stock among the nations. We said that in this way
God’s twofold pity is commended, as he had already gratuitously adopted
the people: hence their redemption could only be ascribed to his sole and
gratuitous liberality, since it flowed from the election or adoption which we
have mentioned. But though this was one kind of mercy, yet it did not suffice to
render the people worthy of the grace offered them. Hence it came to pass that
the promise given to Abraham could not profit them, unless God conquered the
nation’s iniquity. This is the meaning of the Prophet when he says, that
the people were preserved, although unworthy of it, since God saw that otherwise
his name would be profaned among the nations. Without doubt he had respect to
the covenant, since the Israelites had perished a hundred times over without any
help from the name of God unless he had adopted them. It was necessary,
therefore, that God should spare them, since their preservation was connected
with his sacred name and regard for his covenant. It now follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
20:15
|
|
15. Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in
the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given
them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all
lands.
|
15. Atque etiam ego manure meam sustuli ipsis
in deserto, ne inducerem eos in terram quam dederam ipsis fluentem lacte et
melle, quae desiderium est cunctis
terris.
F534
|
God here shows that his threats were ineffectual,
even when he inflicted severe punishment, yet the people were not broken down
and subdued: and this is a sign of a most perverse disposition. The foolish are
at length corrected with rods, but when those who are chastised become worse
instead of repenting, they betray their desperate character. God therefore here
signifies that the Israelites were of an abandoned disposition, because there
were no means of bringing them back to good conduct. At first he enticed them by
his mercy, then gave them the law, and added a sacrament, as we have seen; but
this proved wholly useless: what remained then, except to terrify them partly by
threats and partly by punishments? He tried both, for he threatened them when
they sinned, without any advantage: then he showed them in reality that theirs
was no vain terror, since all those died in the desert who had refused to go
forward when he called them into the land of Canaan.
(<043210>Numbers
32:10.) Since, they were not bent by those signs of God’s wrath, their
contumacy appears so great, that they ought to perish a hundred times over.
I
also, says
he, raised my
hand; he doubtless means that he swore,
as we gather from Moses and from the Psalms, I swore in my wrath if they should
enter into my rest.
(<199511>Psalm
95:11.) He says then that he raised his hand; we have explained whence
the simile is taken, that I would
not bring them into the land which I had given
them. Here God emphatically shows how
formidable that punishment was, as it deprived them of that sure heritage which
he had bestowed on them: for before they were born they were lords of the land
of Canaan — since four hundred years before it was promised to Abraham in
their name. Since they cast themselves off from this inheritance, they plainly
displayed their slothfulness: I
had given them an inheritance, says he, for
they compelled me to swear: I swore that they should not reach it. He
adds, a land flowing with milk
and honey, desired by all nations. By these
words he enlarges upon the people’s ingratitude, since they despised no
mean benefit, but a land in which they might dwell happily. For God had so
enriched it with his gifts, that they might have been as it were in paradise.
Since then such fertility did not attract them to obey God, hence it appears,
that they were in every way refractory. It afterwards follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
20:16
|
|
16. Because they despised my judgments, and
walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after
their idols.
|
16. Propterea quod in judiciis meis
spreverunt:
f535 in decretis meis non ambularunt et
sabbatha mea polluerunt,
f536 quia post idola
sua
f537 cot eorum ambulavit.
|
The reason of the oath of which mention has been made
is expressed by Moses, because being frightened by a false report they wished to
return to Egypt: but here a cause is assigned to their superstitions.
(<041332>Numbers
13:32, 33, and
<041401>Numbers
14:1-3.) But it suits each case well, since if they had been sincerely obedient
to God, they would never have refused to remove their camp, and fearlessly to
proceed where he commanded them. But since they first detested the land, and
then terror and despair seized their minds so that they rejected the inestimable
blessing of God, it is clear that not a drop of piety existed in their hearts.
Although therefore the special reason why they did not enter the land of Canaan
was their refusing to obey the call of God, yet the Prophet adds also their
superstitions. For impiety and contempt of God was the reason why they so
boldly, proudly, and furiously rejected the grace of God, and wished even to
stone Moses, and then when penitent they encouraged each other to return to live
again under the tyranny of Egypt. We see, therefore, how the Prophet here lays
down general causes from which that impious dislike of the land proceeded, as
well as the rejection of the grace of God. He says, therefore,
because they had despised my
judgments and had not walked in my statutes. He
here inverts the order: he had formerly said that they had not walked in his
statutes and had despised my judgments; but now he begins with the contempt:
and have polluted my Sabbaths,
because their hearts went after their idols.
The sense is, that they always treated God deceitfully: and although they held
that he was to be worshipped formally, yet they were always addicted to various
superstitions: as also Stephen reproves them,
(<440740>Acts
7:40-43,) for he agrees entirely with our Prophet. As he puts Sabbaths in the
plural number, I do not interpret it so strictly as some do, thinking that the
Prophet means Sabbaths of years, and afterwards the jubilee: for there were
three Sabbaths among the Jews; that is, every seventh day was consecrated to
God, and every seventh year, and every fiftieth. Although it is true that years
were sabbatical as well as days, yet I do not think that the Prophet is making
any subtle distinctions here but I take Sabbath to mean the seventh day. It now
follows —
|
EZEKIEL
20:17
|
|
17. Nevertheless mine eye spared them from
destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the
wilderness.
|
17. Et pepercit oculus meus super
ipsos
f538 ne perderem ipsos, et ne facerem
ipsos
f539 consumptionem in
deserto.
|
This is added, because God often afflicted the people
with heavy punishments, but he restrained himself, that he should not utterly
destroy both their persons and their name. He says, then,
that he spared
them through respect for his own name, as he
formerly said, that he should not execute consumption on them; that is,
that he should not utterly blot out the memory of them. He did not spare them
entirely to foster their depravity by his indulgence, but as we shall afterwards
see, he withdrew his hand that he should not consume them, as he might most
justly have done. It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
20:18-19
|
|
18. But I said unto their children in the
wilderness, Walk you not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their
judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:
|
18. Et dixi ad filios ipsorum in deserto, In
decretis,
f540 patrum vestrorum ne ambuletis, et
indicia ipsorum ne servetis: et in
idolis
f541 ipsorum ne polluamini.
|
|
19. I am the Lord your God; walk in my
statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them.
|
19. Ego Iehovah Deus vester, in decretis meis
ambulate, et judicia mea servate, et facite ea.
|
After God has shown that the obstinate wickedness of
the people was such that they profited by neither rigor nor clemency, he now
says that the sons were altogether like their fathers. For when he says that he
turned his discourse to their sons, he obliquely indicates that he was so broken
down by their disgust, that he is unwilling to address the deaf.
I
said, therefore, to their sons: why not
to themselves? because they had become obdurate in their impiety, and gave no
hope of repentance. Since then God had experienced their utmost obstinacy, he
says that he turned his discourse
to their sons; Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, and do not observe
their judgments. Here God does not speak of bad
examples and of plain and palpable crimes, but he uses words seemingly favorable
— judgments and
statutes. If he had simply said that their
fathers were wicked, and hence the sons must take care not to imitate them, that
would have been ordinary teaching; but by adaptation he uses honorable
expressions, namely, my statutes
and judgments. Meanwhile he forbids their
posterity to conform to the statutes and laws of their fathers, meaning to their
ceremonies and rites. Lest any should object that those statutes were to be
observed which tend to a right end, he adds,
that you pollute not yourselves
with their filth and defilements. Here the
former language of accommodation is removed, and God as it were wipes away the
coloring, that it may be clearly apparent that those statutes and precepts
differed in nothing from thefts, robberies, and adulteries: this is the
Prophet’s meaning.
Besides, this passage is worthy of notice, because we
may learn from it how frivolous is the excuse of those who boast of their
fathers, and arrogantly predict that they will be pardoned if they conform
themselves to their example. For God not only forbids us to imitate the gross
and open wickedness of our parents, but their laws, statutes, and ceremonies,
and whatever is apparently plausible, and seems to the common sense of mankind
worthy of praise. And thus the foolishness of the papists is detected, who think
that they lie safely concealed under the shield of Ajax, when they boast to us
of the examples of their fathers, and the value of antiquity: we clearly see how
plainly God’s Spirit refutes them when he pronounces that they must obey
his statutes and precepts, and not listen to open wickedness only, but not even
to good intentions, as they say, and devotions, and the traditions of the
fathers. But what is the worship of God in the papacy in these days but a
confused jumble, which they have thrown together from numberless fictions? for
whoever will examine all their trifling, will find them fabricated by the will
of man; and they are not ashamed to oppose the traditions of their fathers to
the word of God. Now, therefore, we see the whole papacy laid prostrate, and all
the remarkable traditions of the fathers in which they boast, when the Prophet
says, walk you not in the
statutes of your fathers. But since antiquity
deserves some reverence, it would be gross and barbarous promiscuously to reject
all the examples of the fathers: hence we need prudence and selection here, and
God’s Spirit suggests this to us when he adds pollution’s or
idols. Hence the traditions of the fathers must be examined; and it is a mark of
prudent discretion to observe what they contain, and whence they proceed. If we
discover that they have no other tendency than to the pure worship of God, we
may embrace them; but if they draw us away from the pure and simple worship of
God, if they infect true and sincere religion by their own mixtures, we must
utterly reject them.
Let us proceed then.
I,
says he, am Jehovah your God;
walk you in my statutes, and observe my
judgments. God confirms the former sentence,
and at the same time provides a remedy for all corruption’s when he says,
walk you in my precepts, because
I am your God: for by these words he claims as
peculiarly his own what men commonly arrogate to themselves. They do not dare,
indeed, to despoil God of his authority, but they carry themselves as his
allies, and infect his law with their commentaries, as if it was not sufficient
for complete and solid wisdom. Here, therefore, God pronounces himself to be the
only lawgiver. If, therefore, I
am your God, walk you in. my statutes. Hence it
follows, that we indirectly deny God when we turn aside even a little from his
law. The passage is remarkable, if we only estimate the Prophet’s language
aright. For the two clauses must be read
together, because I am your God,
therefore walk you in precepts, and thus show
that you are my people. But if they are not content with God’s precepts
only, but mingle human comments with them, God indirectly teaches that he is not
acknowledged, since they deprive him of a portion of his rights; for if God is
one, he also is the only lawgiver. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
20:20
|
|
20. And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be
a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your
God.
|
20. Et sabbatha mea sanctificate, et erunt in
signum inter me et vos, ad
cognoscendum
f542 quod ego Iehovah Deus
vester.
|
What he had said generally concerning the
commandments he now applies again to the Sabbath, and not without reason. For,
as we said yesterday, God not only wished by that day of rest to exact from the
people what was due to him, but he rather commands it for another purpose,
namely, that his Sabbaths
should be sanctified. But the manner of keeping
it holy was formerly explained, since mere rest was insufficient. God was not
satisfied by the people’s resting from their occupations, but the inward
sanctification was always the chief end in view. And for this reason he also
repeats again, that they may be a
sign between me and you to show you that I Jehovah am your
God. In this passage God bears witness, that if
the Jews rightly observed their Sabbaths they should feel the effects of that
favor which he wished to be represented thereby. For we said that the Sabbath
was a sacrament of regeneration: now therefore he promises the efficacy of his
Spirit, if they did not shut the door by their own impiety and contempt. Hence
we see that sacraments are never destitute of the virtue of the Spirit unless
when men render themselves unworthy of the grace offered them. When papists
speak of the sacraments they say that they are efficacious, if we only remove
the obstacle of mortal sin: they make no mention of faith. If a person is
neither a thief, nor an adulterer, nor a homicide, they say that the sacraments
produce their own effect: for example, if any one without a single particle of
faith intrudes himself at the table of Christ, they say that he receives not
only his body and blood, but the fruit of his death and resurrection, and only
because he has not committed mortal sin; that is, cannot be convicted of theft
or homicide. We see how they are steeped in blindness, according to God’s
just judgment. We must hold, therefore, that there is a mutual relation between
faith and the sacraments, and hence, that the sacraments are effective through
faith. Man’s unworthiness does not detract anything from them, for they
always retain their nature. Baptism is the laver of regeneration, although the
whole world should be incredulous
(<560305>Titus
3:5:) the Supper of Christ is the communication of his body and blood,
(<461016>1
Corinthians 10:16,) although there were not a spark of faith in the world: but
we do not perceive the grace which is offered to us; and although spiritual
things always remain the same, yet we do not obtain their effect nor perceive
their value, unless we cautious that our want of faith should not profane what
God has consecrated our
salvation.
F543
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since the doctrine
of thy Gospel sounds daily in our ears, when you invite us so kindly by thy
amazing clemency, and stretch out your hand by your only-begotten Son, —
Grant, I pray thee, that we may be of a teachable and flexible disposition, and
that we may sincerely submit to thee: and since thy law contains so many
dreadful examples of thy wrath, may we be moved by them, and may we walk with
fear and trembling in obedience to thy word, that at length we may enjoy that
inheritance which you have promised for us in thy heavenly kingdom, by the same
Christ our Lord. — Amen.
LECTURE
SIXTY-THIRD.
|
EZEKIEL
20:21-24
|
|
21. Notwithstanding the children rebelled
against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do
them, which if, man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths:
then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against
them in the wilderness.
|
21. Et rebelles
fuerunt
f544 me filii: in decretis meis non
ambulaverunt, et judicia mea non servarunt, ut ea facerent: quae qui fecerit
homo rivet in ipsis: sabbatha mea profanarunt: et
dixi
f545 effundere iracundiam
meam,
f546 super eos ad complendum iram meam in
ipsis in deserto.
|
|
22. Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and
wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of
the heathen, in whose sight I brought them birth.
|
22. Et
retraxi
f547 manure meam: et feci propter nomen meum,
ne profanaretur in oculis gentium e quarum oculis eduxeram eos.
|
|
23. I lifted up mine hand unto them also in
the wilderness, that I would scatter them through the
countries;
|
23. Etiam ego levavi
f548 ad disjiciendos ipsos inter gentes, et
spargendos per terras;
|
|
24. Because they had not executed my
judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their
eyes were after their fathers’ idols.
|
24. Eo quod judicia mea non fecerunt, et
statuta mea repudiarunt, et sabbatha mea violarunt, et post idola patrum suorum
fuerunt eorum oculi.
|
I join these four verses together, because they have
been already explained, and I do not wish to burden you with useless
repetitions. In short, God accuses the whole posterity, because they were by no
means more obedient than their fathers. Again, he charges them with rebellion,
since they neither obeyed His commands, nor were persuaded by mild promises;
for, on the one hand, he demanded the worship due to him, and invited them
softly by the promise of reward. He complains that; neither plan succeeded. He
adds, what we have already seen, that he proposed to scatter them through
various quarters of the world, and utterly to dissipate them. He assigns as a
reason for his moderation his unwillingness that his name should be profaned
among the nations: he also announces that they had never restrained their
impiety from bursting forth, and hence it was only through his own incredible
patience and indulgence that they had not perished a hundred, nay, a thousand
times. The rest may be gathered from the previous context. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
20:25
|
|
25. Wherefore I gave them also statutes that
were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live.
|
25. Ego quoque dedi illis decreta non bona, et
judicia in quibus ton vivent.
|
Here God announces that he had taken vengeance upon
people so hard and obstinate, by permitting them to endure another yoke, since
they would not be ruled by the doctrine of the law; for we saw that, when God
imposed the law upon the Israelites, they would have been extremely happy, had
they only considered how honorable it was to be in covenant with God, who
deigned to bind them to himself in mutual fidelity. This was a remarkable honor
and privilege, since God not only showed them what was right, but promised them
a reward which he by no means owed them. But what was the conduct of that
unteachable nation? It threw off the yoke of the law; hence it deserved to
experience a different government.
God,
therefore, gave them laws that
were not good, when he suffered them to be
miserably subjected to an immense heap of errors: such laws as these were not
good. Some writers have violently distorted this passage, by thinking the law
itself, as promulgated by Moses, “not good,” since Paul calls it
deadly; but they corrupt the Prophet’s sense, since God is comparing his
law with the superstitions of the Gentiles: others explain it of the tributes
which the people were compelled to pay to foreigners. But, first of all, God
does not speak here of only one age; nay, during the, time of the
Israelites’ freedom his vengeance was nevertheless
severe.
Thus, in the next verse, the Prophet confirms what I
have briefly touched on, namely, that
the laws called not
good are all the fictions of men, by which they
harass themselves, while they think that God is worshipped acceptably in this
way: for we know how miserably men labor and distract themselves when Satan has
fascinated them with his toils, and when they anxiously invent numerous rites,
because there is no end of their superstitions; hence these statutes are not
good: for when they have undergone much labor in their idolatry, no other reward
awaits them than God’s appearance against them as an avenger to punish the
profanation of his own lawful worship. They indeed by no means look for this,
but they utterly deceive themselves; hence they must hope for no reward but what
is founded on the covenant and promise of God; for all false and vicious forms
of worship, all adventitious rites, which men heap together from all sides, have
no promise from God, and hence they vainly trust to them for life. God began to
show them this in the wilderness; but in succeeding ages he did not fail to
exercise the same vengeance. We see how they fell in with the superstitions of
the Moabites; and why so? unless God blinded them by his just judgments.
(<042501>Numbers
25:1-3.) He had experienced their untamed dispositions, and so he set them free
from control; and not only so, but afterwards gave them up to Satan, and so he
says that he gave them laws that
were not good. The Prophet might indeed have
said, that they despised God’s law through their own wisdom, that they
foolishly and rashly legislated for themselves: this was indeed true; but he
wished to express the penalty of which Paul speaks, when he says that the
impious were delivered to a reprobate mind, and to obedience to a lie,
(<450124>Romans
1:24-26,) since they did not submit to the truth, and did not suffer themselves
to be ruled by God, and thus were given up to the tyranny of Satan and to the
service of mere creatures. Now, therefore, we understand the Prophet’s
meaning, I have given them also, says he, laws not good, as if he had said that
the people so threw themselves into various idolatries, that God desired in this
way to avenge their incredible obstinacy; for if the Jews had calmly acquiesced
in God’s sovereignty, he had not given them evil laws, that is, he had not
suffered them to be so tormented under Satan’s tyranny; but when they were
entangled in his snares, God openly shows them to be unworthy of his government
and care, since they were too refractory. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
20:26
|
|
26. And I polluted them in their own gifts, in
that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I
might make them desolate to the end that they might know that I am the
Lord.
|
26. Et contaminavi ipsos in suis muneribus,
trajiciendo quidquid aperit vulvam, ut perderem ipsos, ut quod, (sed supervacuum
est,) ut cognoscant quod ego Iehovah.
|
There is no doubt that God here continues the same
doctrine’ hence we gather that injurious laws were given to the people
when they adopted various errors and worshipped idols of their own fabrication
instead of God: hence it is added,
I polluted them in their
gifts. This, then, was added by the Prophet,
lest the Jews should object that they had not altogether rejected the worship of
God; for they mingled the ceremonies of the laws with the fictions of the
Gentiles, as we saw before, and the Prophet will shortly repeat: in this way
they thought they discharged their duty to God, though they added mixtures of
their own. Here the Prophet meets them, and cuts off all occasion for turning
aside, since they were polluted in their gifts, and nothing was pure or sincere
when they thus corrupted God’s precepts by their comments. However, they
daily offered their gifts, and professed to present them to the true God; yet
they obtained no advantage, because God abominated mixtures of this kind, as we
have previously said; for he cannot bear to be worshipped by the will of men,
but wishes his children to be simply content with his commands. Now, we perceive
the meaning of the Prophet —
God pollutes them in their
gifts; that is, renders their gifts polluting
whenever they think that they discharge their duty; — but how? why, he
says, when they cause whatever
opens the womb to pass through.
F549 Here the Prophet touches on only one
kind of superstition, but, by a figure of speech, he means all kinds, by which
the Jews vitiated God’s pure worship; for this superstition was very
detestable, to pass their sons through the fire, and to consecrate them to
idols. But in this passage God speaks only of the first-born, so as greatly to
exaggerate the crime: that ceremony was indeed general; but since God claimed
the first-born as his own, and wished them to be redeemed at a fixed price,
(<021302>Exodus
13:2,
<022229>Exodus
22:29, and
<023419>Exodus
34:19, 20,) and by this act wished the remembrance of their redemption to be
kept up, since all the first-born of Israel, as well as of animals, had escaped,
while those of the Egyptians perished,
(<040313>Numbers
3:13, and
<040816>Numbers
8:16,) was it not monstrous to pass through the fire, and to offer to idols
those who were specially devoted and sacred to God? We see, then, that the
Prophet does not speak in vain of the first-born.
That I should destroy
thou, says he,
and they should know that I
am Jehovah. God here shows that he had
proceeded gradually to the final vengeance; and for this reason the people were
the more convicted of stupidity, since they never perceived God’s
judgments manifest. If God had suddenly and impetuously issued his vengeance
from heaven, men’s astonishment would not have been wonderful; but when he
grants them space of time and a truce that they may weigh the matter at leisure,
and admonishes them to repentance, not once only, but often; and then if they
remain always the same and are not effected, they show themselves utterly
desperate by this slothfulness, as the Prophet now asserts. But when he adds,
that they may know that I am
Jehovah, he means that as he was not
acknowledged as a father by the Jews, he would be their judge, and compel them
whether they would or not to feel the formidable nature of that power which they
despised. Since we have treated this subject fully before, we now pass it by
more lightly. Yet we must notice this, that God is recognized by the reprobate,
since, when his fatherly goodness has been for a long time despised by them, he
at length appears as a judge, and draws them against their will to his tribunal,
and executes his vengeance, so that they cannot escape. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
20:27-28
|
|
27. Therefore, son of man, speak unto the
house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus says the Lord God, Yet in this your
fathers. have blasphemed in that they have committed a trespass against
me.
|
27. Propterea loquere ad domum Israel, fili
hominis, et dic illis, Sic dicit Dominator Iehovah: Adhuc in hoc contumeliosi in
me fuerunt me, patres vestri praevaricando in me
praevaricatione.
|
|
28. For when I had brought them into the land,
for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high
inn, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there
they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their
sweet savor, and poured out there their drink-offerings.
|
28. Nam
introduxi
f550 in terram pro qua sustuleram manum meam
ad dandum eam ipsis: et viderunt omnem collem excelsum, et omnem arborem
frondosam: et sacrificarunt illic sacrificia sua, et obtulerunt illic
irritationem oblationis suae, et posuerunt illic odorem bonae fragrantiae suae,
et fuderunt illic sua libamina.
|
He now descends to the wickedness of the people, by
which God was provoked after they had taken possession of the land of Canaan,
since they despised God after being so carefully warned. He complains,
therefore, that this was very disgraceful, since, after he had put them in
possession of the land of promise, they had never desisted from purposely
insulting him. This disgrace was intolerable, since he had profited nothing by
them in the wilderness: this witnessing was sufficiently serious to stir them
up. “Walk you not in the decrees of your fathers: I am your God, observe
you my law.” Since. therefore, God drew them under obedience to himself,
what a mark of pride it was not to attend to that witness-bearing, but to pursue
their own mad career? In truth, the crime was the more atrocious when at length
they entered the land of Canaan, and had obtained so many victories, that they
did not learn by experience how God declared his pourer for the very purpose of
binding them closer to himself. For the numerous benefits which God had
conferred upon them were but so many bonds by which they were bound more closely
to him. This expostulation, then, is not in vain, when he reproaches them by
saying, when they dishonored
me, or rebelled against me. This was not a
single crime, or simple perfidy, but a continual delight in wantonly insulting
him; for
ãdg,
gedef, signifies to reject, treat contumeliously, or disdain. God,
therefore, by this word wishes to express the deliberate insolence of the
people, while they rose so wickedly against him as if they would spit in his
face. The full meaning is, that they were not only breakers of treaties and
rebels when they contaminated the land of Canaan with their superstitions, but
were so petulant that they professedly threw scorn upon God.
Hence,
after I had brought them into the
land for which, or concerning which,
I had lifted up my hand to give
it them, they saw, says he,
every high hill, and every
green or branching tree,
and there they
sacrificed. God wished to have one altar built
for himself, and sacrifices to be offered in one place; nay, before the people
had any certain and fixed station, God was unwilling that any altar should be
built to him of polished stones, that no trace of it should remain; but a mound
only was to be made of either turf or rough stones.
(<022025>Exodus
20:25;
<052705>Deuteronomy
27:5, 6.) Now he says, whenever hills and branching trees were lying before
them, there they found enticements to superstition. This, therefore, is the
reproach which God now complains was offered to him. But this passage, like many
others, teaches, that not only is God’s worship corrupted when his honor
is transferred to idols, but also when men heap up their own fictions, and
contaminate God’s commands by the mixture. We must remember, then, that
there are two kinds of idolatries; the one being grossest when idols are
worshipped openly, and Moloch, or any Baal, is substituted for the living God:
that is a palpable superstition, because God is in some sense cast down from his
throne. But the other kind of idolatry, although more hidden, is abominable
before God, namely, when, under the disguise of a name, men boldly mingle
whatever comes into their minds, and invent various modes of worship; as at
present we see in the papacy statues adored, and dead men invoiced, and
God’s honor violated in various ways. Hence, however, the papists chatter,
they are self-convicted, and the wonder is that they are not utterly silenced,
since their superstitions are so gross that even boys perceive them. But there
are other superstitions more specious and refined; for when they have invented
many things in honor of God, they will not bring forward the names of either St.
Barbara or St. Christopher, but the name of God covers all those abominations.
But we see that this excuse is frivolous, when men assert that they have nothing
else in their mind than the worship of God. Not only does God wish worship to be
offered to himself alone, but that it should be without any dependence on human
will: he wishes the law to be the single rule of true worship; and thus he
rejects all fictitious rites. Hence the Prophet deservedly excuses the
Israelites, because they turned
their eyes towards every high hill and every branching tree, and there offered
the provocation of their offering. He
calls it the provocation
of their offering, since they not only
foolishly poured forth much money on those vitiated rites, but also provoked God
to anger. We see, therefore, that men not only lose their labor when they
decline from God’s commands, and rashly fatigue themselves with their own
superstitions, but they provoke God to a contest, because they snatch from him
the right of a lawgiver: for it is in his power to determine how he ought to be
worshipped; and when men claim this power to themselves, it is like ascending to
the very throne of God. But if they follow the inventions of others, still it is
setting them up as lawgivers, while God is degraded from his tribunal. Thus it
is not surprising if God’s wrath is provoked by any sacrifices, besides
those which the law prescribes. And this is expressed very clearly by Isaiah,
when God announces that he will do what will frighten them all as an unexpected
prodigy: I will blind the eyes of the wise, says he, and I will take away
prudence from the aged.
(<232914>Isaiah
29:14.) And why so? because they worship me by the precepts of
men.
It follows,
And they offered their sweet
odor, or agreeable fragrance. These two things
seem contrary to each other, that their offerings inflamed God’s wrath,
and yet their savor was sweet. But the Prophet. speaks ironically when he says,
their incense was
sweet-smelling. By conceding this he derides
them, since they falsely supposed God was appeased in this way, although he
reproves them at the same time for defiling, by their corruption’s, that
incense which ought to have been of delightful fragrance. For the language of
Moses is repeated: The scent shall reach God’s nostrils, and he shall be
appeased.
(<053310>Deuteronomy
33:10.) Since, then, the incense of the law was sweet-smelling, God here
bitterly reproaches the Jews for infecting that good odor with their foulness.
Hence the phrase is used in a sense contrary to its direct meaning. Lastly, he
says, they have poured out their
drink-offerings there. Here God reviews the
various kinds of oblations which he had fully prescribed in the law but he shows
that the Jews were rebellious against them all; and he further detects their
unbridled petulance, since they had not only violated the law in one point, but
had left no part untouched by their superstitions. God had commanded sacrifices,
but these they rendered polluting: he added various oblations, yet all these
they defiled: he desired libations to be made, and will to be poured out, but
this part of the service was not kept pure from superstitions. Thus he shows
that the people purposely took all means of declaring war against God, when they
falsely pretended that nothing more was prescribed than to worship him as they
pleased. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
20:29
|
|
29. Then I said unto them, What is the high
place whereunto you go? And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this
day.
|
29. Et dixi illis, ut
quid
f551 excelsum quod vos
ingredimini?
f552 et vocatum fuit nomen ejus excelsum
usque ad hunc diem.
|
Although there is no ambiguity in the Prophet’s
words, yet the sentence seems frigid, and interpreters, in my judgment, have not
understood the Prophet’s meaning. It may seem spiritless, that God should
ask, what is the high
place? But it means that they were not
deceived through ignorance, since he had often cautioned them against profaning
the true and genuine worship, for he often endeavored to draw them back again
when he saw them wandering after their own superstitions. Hence they are
continually rebuked by the prophets; and their obstinacy is the more apparent,
since, nevertheless, they followed their own perverseness. But because all these
reproaches were useless, God here enlarges upon their crime, since they were
deaf. I have said, therefore; that is, by means of prophets. For we know
how constantly the prophets discharged their duty, by urging them to worship at
one altar only. For this reason the people’s wickedness was greater;
whence God says, What is this? and why do you so greatly desire your high places
when they displease me, and you know my commands? your ears are deaf, and
obstructed by wickedness. On the whole, he asks how could such madness seize
upon them as to approach these high places, since he had pointed out a place
where he was to be sought and invoked. My temple, says he, is neglected;
meanwhile you run to high places, and
yet it is known by the name of a
high place. There is no mystery in this word;
but God means that no reproaches or threats of his prophets could prevent the
people from worshipping on these high places. He says, then, that the name was
still used, since the same dignity and religious regard for them still
flourished, when their remembrance ought to be utterly abolished. If God had
only once pronounced that those high places were not approved by him, all ought
to have changed their course instantly: he, exclaimed against them long and
vehemently by his prophets, and yet the name “high places” was
constantly in everybody’s mouth; it was famous among them, as if God ought
to be sought there. Now therefore we see that the Jews were condemned for too
much pride, because they not only failed to desert their high places when
repeatedly admonished, but they perniciously wished to oppose those places to
God’s sanctuary, although they were so many pollution’s. Hence we
gather the condemnation of the people’s obstinate malice, since fathers
handed down the name to their sons, so that through a continued posterity they
opposed these high places to the only sanctuary of God. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
20:30
|
|
30. Wherefore say unto the house of Israel,
Thus says the Lord God, Are you polluted after the roamer of your fathers? and
commit you whoredom after their abominations?
|
30. Propterea dic ad domum Israel, Sic dicit
Dominator Iehovah, An in via patrum vestrorum vos polluti estis? et post idola
ipsorum
f553 vos scortamini?
|
Now at length the Prophet openly attacks those by
whom he was consulted. After showing that they sprang from impure fathers
— which was sufficiently manifest from their never ceasing to provoke God
in every age from the very beginning to the end — he turns their own
language against them, and asks,
whether they were polluted after
the superstitions of their fathers? The
old interpretation is “truly;” but
h,
he, the mark of interrogation, does not allow of that. I am surprised at
the rendering of some expositors, are you not polluted?” as if the word
were
awlh,
hel-va, for in my opinion they pervert the Prophet’s sense, for
this would make him ask absurdly,
what? are you polluted in the way
of your fathers? and are you gone astray after their
idols? For when they were in exile, that
disinheriting ought to subdue them although they had been endued with a more
than iron pride: and then they pretended to piety, when they came to the Prophet
and desired to receive some consolation from him. Since, therefore, they
pretended to some modesty, God here asks them
how they could pollute themselves
in the way of their fathers? what could it all
mean? the things are quite contrary: you approach my servant as if you intended
to submit your minds and your senses to my word; but when you so feign
yourselves to be attentive to my answers,
how does it happen that you
pollute yourselves in the way of your
fathers? This seems to me the
Spirit’s meaning. You shall
say, then,
are you polluted in the way of
your fathers? that is, are you so obstinate as
not to reflect upon your course, and never to look back? for you see how
severely God was revenged on your obstinacy: you now seek me in appearance, as
if this were your only refuge; then how is it that
you pollute yourselves in the way
of your fathers? and why do you commit fornication after their
idols? It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
20:31
|
|
31. For when you offer your gifts, when you
make your sons pass through the fire, you pollute yourselves with all your
idols, even unto this day: and shall I be inquired of by you, e house of Israel?
As I live, says the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.
|
31. Et offerendo dona
vestra,
f554 et trajiciendo filios vestros per ignem
vos polluimini in omnibus idolis vestris usque hodie: et ego inquirar a vobis,
domus Israel? Vivo ego dicit Dominator Iehovah, si inquirar a
vobis.
|
He follows up the same sentiment, that it was a
monstrous sin that they so perniciously remained fixed in the perverse imitation
of their fathers: for they had been drawn off from their lusts by God’s
numerous chastisements, and then they pretended to be afterwards disposed to
obedience: God therefore here says,
why, then, by offering your
gifts, do you make your sons pass through the fire, and pollute yourselves with
all your idols even to this day? For this
question concerns what is quite incredible and worthy of the greatest surprise,
since there was no way of reconciling the sufferings of the Israelites in exile
with their remaining obstinate in their wickedness. But the Prophet here again
deprives them of that vain pretense with which they covered themselves in
offering their gifts: he concedes to them what was true, yet, at the same time,
he objects, that they passed
their sons through the fire, and were polluted in all their
idols. He adds, at length,
shall I be inquired of by
you? I have elsewhere explained that clause,
which is now for the third time repeated. Many take it in a different sense,
that God will not deign to answer them any more: but, in my opinion, he simply
reproaches their perfidy, because, when they approached the Prophet, they wished
to blind his eyes. Shall
I, says
he, be inquired of
you? For
çrd,
deresh, means to seek, and to attain the end of our search, when the
person asked answers, and the person sought presents himself. But here God
simply shows that they do not come in a right mind, and that nothing else was
imposed on them except seeking him. But because that was almost incredible,
hence he swears that they were merely hypocritical in pretending to true piety
in suppliantly applying to the Prophet for an answer in God’s name, and
then wantonly deriding it, and impiously and wickedly using his name, and thus
profaning it.
PRAYER
Grant, Almighty God, since you do not
cease thy daily exhortations to repentance, but indulge us, and bear with us,
while you correct us by thy word and thy chastisements, that we may not remain
obstinate, but may learn to submit ourselves to thee: Grant, I pray thee, that
we may not offer ourselves as thy disciples with feigned repentance, but be so
sincerely and cordially devoted to thee, that we may desire nothing else than to
progress more and more in the knowledge of thy heavenly doctrine, till at length
we enjoy that full light which we hope for through our Lord Jesus Christ.
— Amen.
LECTURE
SIXTY-FOURTH.
|
EZEKIEL
20:32-33
|
|
32. And that which cometh into your mind shall
not be at all, that you say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the
countries, to serve wood and stone.
|
32. Et
ascendit
f555 super spiritum vestrum non erit, quia
vos dixistis,
f556 Erimus sicut gentes, sicut familiae
terrarum, ut serviamus ligno et lapidi.
|
|
33. As I live, says the Lord God, surely with
a mighty hand, and with a stretched-out arm, and with fury poured out, will I
rule over you.
|
33. Vivo ego, dicit Dominator Iehovah, Si non
in manu robusta et brachio extento, et excandescentia effusa dominabor super
vos.
|
Now God discloses what those old men had in their
minds who, as well as the rest of the captives, came to the Prophet for the
purpose of inquiry, namely, a feeling of despair, since they thought nothing
would be more useful to themselves than to revolt utterly from God, and to form
themselves after the manner and rites of the Gentiles; for they found themselves
specially hated by the profane nations, because they worshipped a peculiar God.
Since, therefore, the law separated them from all the rest of the world, that
they might escape that hatred and envy, they encouraged the perverse intention
of deserting God’s worship and passing over to the Gentiles. For they
hoped that those who had been formerly hostile would have shown themselves
favor-able. Now God not only announces that he would not suffer it, but he
asserts with an oath, what you
are thinking of shall not come to pass, since I will draw you back with a strong
hand, and with an extended arm, and poured out
wrath. The meaning is, that although those
miserable captives desired to throw off God’s yoke and to mingle
themselves with the profane nations, yet God would have respect to his covenant
and not suffer them to be snatched away from him, just as a master fetches back
his fugitive slave; or like a prince who might destroy the perfidious and
rebellious, yet only chastises them that they may groan under a hard slavery:
this is the complete sense.
But this passage is worthy of observation, since in
the present day the same thought makes many anxious; for the name of sincere
piety distresses them, and so they consult their love of ease, and satisfy both
themselves and others by uniting with the rest of the world, and avoiding the
hatred of mankind in consequence of their religion. Others again desire to
escape in any way from God, because they feel him hostile to them, for the
condition of the Church seems to them much worse than that of the world at
large. And truly as God takes special care of it, so he chastises its faults
more severely. We see then how he spares unbelievers and foreigners, as if he
connived at their crimes: meanwhile his hand is always extended to chastise all
who profess to be in the number of the pious. But some would desire to bid
farewell to God, if they could choose for themselves. Hence I said we must
observe this passage. The Israelites thought that nothing would be better than
to be joined to the Gentiles and to become in all respects like them, since they
imagined that in this way they would enjoy relaxation, since God was more
lenient to the Gentiles than he had been to them, and because they perceived
themselves exposed to many dangers and troubles, harassed by assaults and
subject to daily threats. Hence that perverse deliberation which is here
reproved; — what arises in
your mind, says he,
shall not come to pass,
because you say we shall be as the nations and the families of the
earth. But we must also consider the end,
because the people’s folly was so great that they thought they would be
free from God’s chastisements, if they utterly rejected all religion. God
therefore denies that he would suffer it. Now a clearer explanation follows: As
I live, says he, if I will not
rule over you with a strong hand and a stretched-out
arm; in this sense — when they had
removed all refuges he would yet be an avenger of his rights and empire, so as
to compel them to return to him, as we have said, and thus violently to bring
back the fugitives. We now see the great stupidity of the people in thinking the
only remedy for their troubles to be in declining from true piety. Let us then
be careful that we do not harden ourselves when God chastises us, and desire to
withdraw from his power and dominion. Meanwhile God shows that he will rule, but
in some other way; because we know with what humanity he treated his people, and
what patience he exercised towards them, when they so often provoked his wrath.
He now announces that he would be
the Lord, but with a strong hand and a stretched-out
arm, since he would forget his former clemency
and subject them to perverse bondage. As when a master sees that he cannot
obtain voluntary obedience from his slaves, he compels them to the galleys, or
other laborious works, until they become half dead. God denounces that such will
be the condemnation which he will use against them, since they never profited by
either clemency or pardon. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
20:34
|
|
34. And I will bring you out from the people,
and will gather you out of the countries wherein you are scattered, with a
mighty hand. and with a stretched-out arm, and with fury poured
out.
|
34. Et educam vos e populis, et colligam vose
terris per quas fuistis dispersi, in manu valida, (vel robusta,) et
brachio extento, et excandescentia effusa.
|
He confirms the same sentiment, and at the same time
marks out the manner of his dominion. For when the Jews were dispersed in
captivity, they were like strangers to God’s jurisdiction: they were
mingled with the Gentiles, and their condition seemed very like an exemption
from God’s power. Now God signifies when he wishes to recover his right,
that he had a place at hand,
since he will bring them out from
the Gentiles, and gather them from the lands through which they were
dispersed. We are aware, as we have often said
before, that it was a kind of abdication, when God expelled the ten tribes from
the land of Canaan and a part also of that of Judea. Since then they were
disinherited, they thought themselves free on their part, and they no longer
regarded the authority of God, since they ceased to be his peculiar heritage
when they were deprived of the promised land. Here God reminds them that
although he had emancipated them for the time, yet they were in some sense under
his hand, since he would collect them again, and so subdue them, that they
should not escape his authority.
I will draw you back,
says he,
and gather you with an
outstretched arm and with a strong hand. But
what he adds concerning the fury of his wrath does not seem consistent with
this. For it was a sign of favor to collect them again, although hard and
sorrowful slavery awaited them; yet they might perceive some taste of the divine
goodness in gathering them from exile. For we know the bitterness of their
captivity; especially under the Chaldaeans, by whom they were subdued. But the
phrase wrath may relate as much to the Gentiles as to the Israelites
themselves: yet I explain it more willingly of the Israelites, because although
God in reality shows that he did not altogether neglect them, yet he asserts his
right as a master grievously offended. Just as a person who had lost his slave
may afterwards receive him into his house, and yet that house may be like a
sepulcher, because he is either thrust into a deep dungeon, or three or four
times as much is exacted of him as he can bear. So therefore God pronounces,
although he may gather the Israelites again under his hand, yet they shall feel
him to be displeased with them, since he nevertheless will require the
punishment of their impiety; and this will be better understood from the
context.
|
EZEKIEL
20:35-36
|
|
35. And I will bring you into the wilderness
of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.
|
35. Et introducem vos in desertum gentium, et
judicabor vobiscum illic
f557 facie ad faciem.
|
|
36. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the
wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, says the Lord
God.
|
36. Quemadmodum judicatus
sum
f558 cum patribus vestris in deserto terrae
AEgypti, sic disceptabo vobiscum dicit Dominator Iehovah.
|
He specially marks this reason here, which is a
medium between rejection and reconciliation to favor: for God’s bringing
the Israelites out of Chaldaea might seem a sign of favor, as if he were again
their deliverer. But he here defines why he intended to bring them forth,
namely, to plead with them in the
desert as with their fathers. We know that when
the people came out of Egypt they did not possess the promised land, because
they shut the door against themselves by their ingratitude: but if there had
been no hope left, it was better for the people to spend their time under the
tyranny of Egypt than to pine away in the desert. For it was a kind of life
scarcely human to wander in a wilderness and to behold nothing pleasant or
agreeable; a mere solitude instead of cultivated fields, and nothing but
discomfort instead of beautiful flowers and trees and undulating ground: and
besides this, to feed on nothing but manna, to taste no wine, to drink only
water from the rock, and to endure heat and cold in the, open air. Such freedom
then was by no means agreeable, unless they had hoped to become possessors of
the land of Canaan. But a whole generation was deprived of that advantage
through their ingratitude. God therefore appositely compares them to their
fathers, who had gone forth into the wilderness, and he says,
I will make you pass into the
desert of the nations. Here he compares the
desert of Egypt to that of the Gentiles. Although the passage from the land of
Canaan to Chaldaea is partly across an and unfruitful wilderness, yet I do not
doubt that God here metaphorically points out the state of the people after
their return from exile.
The complete meaning is, as he surrounded their
fathers throughout their whole life in the wilderness, so after they were
brought back from Chaldaea their life should be as solitary as if they were
banished to an obscure corner of the world, and to a miserable and deserted
land. Here, therefore, another region is not intended, but the state of the
people when dwelling in the land of Canaan; although he speaks not only of that
small band which returned to their country, but of the liberty promiscuously
given to all. He calls that state a
desert of the
Gentiles, to which all were subjected, whether
they remained in distant regions or returned home. We must hold, then, that God
would be so far the deliverer of the people that the benefit would reach only a
few, since, when the multitude wandered in the desert, they perished there, and
did not enjoy the promised inheritance. We now see how God established his sway
over the Israelites, when he did not suffer them to be perpetually captive, and
yet did not show himself appeased when he brought them back, since he still
remained a severe judge. I will
bring you, therefore,
into the desert of the
nations; this is the heat of anger of which he
had spoken, and I will judge
you, or plead with you,
face to
face. He signifies by these words, that
although their return to Judea was evident, yet he was not propitious, since he
met them as an adversary.
There,
says he, I will meet with you
face to face, as when contention is rife,
adversaries become opposed, and contend hand to hand: thus God here points out
the extremity of rigor when he
says, that he will dispute with
them face to face. But he says, that
he was a pleader in the desert of
Egypt, and the sense extends to the future; not
that it ought to be understood that God descended to plead a cause, and place
himself at another’s tribunal; still it was a kind of pleading when the
people were compelled to feel that their impiety and obstinacy was not
excusable; and also when experience at the same time taught them that God was by
no means appeased, since his wrath was again stirred up. Isaiah’s language
is slightly different: Come you, says he, let us reason together, I will plead
with you. (Isaiah 1.) He is there prepared to argue his cause, as if with an
equal. But the case is soon closed and the sentence passed, since it is evident
that the people are deservedly punished by God on account of their sins. Thus he
pleaded with their fathers in the Egyptian desert when he deprived them all of
entrance into the promised land. And afterwards he often punished them for their
murmurs, perverse cravings, lusts, idolatries, and other crimes. Hence, let us
learn that God is pleading with us whenever any signs of his anger appear; for
we cannot derive any advantage from obstinate resistance: and hence nothing
remains but to accuse ourselves for our faults. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
20:37
|
|
37. And I will cause you to pass under the
rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
|
37. Et transire faciam vos sub virga, et
adducam vos in vinculo foederis.
|
He follows up the same kind of instruction, that the
people were not permitted to perish because they belonged to him, as if he had
said that they should be always his, whether they liked it or not. And yet he
seems to promise here what was very agreeable, that he would always esteem them
as his flock. This is the meaning of
to pass under the
rod; for
fbç,
shebet, does not mean a scepter here, nor a staff by which a delinquent
is struck, but it means a shepherd’s crook. It is, then, a simile taken
from a shepherd who numbers and marks his flock; and this phrase often recurs.
It means, because God has once acquired the people as his own, he cannot be
rightly deprived of them. The exiles, indeed, had imagined themselves free if
they could blot out of their minds and memories the name of the true God, and
pollute themselves with the defilement’s of the Gentiles. But God, on the
other hand, pronounces, that as a shepherd notices his sheep, and counts their
number, and makes them pass under his staff, like a king reviewing his army, so
he would reckon up his people, and not suffer any one to snatch them from him,
since he claims authority over them all without exception. Now, therefore, we
understand the sense of the words: whence we gather again, that abandoned men
gain nothing by their obstinacy, but God’s really showing that the
dominion which he has once assumed cannot by any means be snatched away from
him. So this passage teaches us the kind of reward which awaits all apostates
who think themselves emancipated when they brutally indulge in impiety, because
God at length will make them pass
under the rod, that is, he will call and compel
them to render an account, as if their profession of faith was like a brand
burnt in to their hearts.
He says,
in the bonds of a
covenant, but in a different sense from what
Hosea denominates a bond of affection.
(<281104>Hosea
11:4.) He is there treating of reconciliation; but in this passage God
pronounces that he will no longer be en-treated by the Israelites. Hence,
the bond of the
covenant means the constancy of his covenant,
as far as he is concerned: and the, simile is suitable, because God had bound
his people to himself, on the condition that they should be always surrounded
with these bonds. Hence, when they petulantly wandered like untamed beasts, yet
God had hidden bonds of his covenant: that is, he persevered in his own
covenant, so that he collected them all again to himself, not to rule over them
as a father, but to punish their revolt more severely. Here is a tacit
comparison between the Israelites and the Gentiles; for the Gentiles, through
their never approaching nearer to God, wandered away in their licentiousness
without restraint. But the state of the elect people was different, since the
end of their covenant was this, that God held them bound to him, even if the
whole world should escape from him. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
20:38
|
|
38. And I will purge out from among you the
rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the
country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel;
and you shall know that I am the Lord.
|
38. Et
purgabo
f559 e vobis rebelles et perfidos in me: e
terra habitationum suarum educam impios, et ad terrain Israel non ingredientur:
et cognoscetis quod ego Iehovah.
|
He continues the discourse which he had commenced,
namely, that God would not suffer the exiles to withdraw themselves from him
from the time he had adopted them. Then, since they were bound by the blessing
of redemption, although they thought themselves far removed from the sight of
God, after they were cast into exile, he says he would be present
to gather them from the land of
their dwellings; that is, wherever they
were dispersed to bring them out. Some suppose the phrase to include a promise
of favor, because it is said, I will purge you; but the word to choose, as I
prefer to render it, or to discern, means, that God will drag to light those who
think they have obtained hiding-places in which they can escape his eyes.
Although, therefore, they promise themselves complete exemption from God’s
authority, he, on the other hand, pronounces them deceived, since he would
collect them all together from
the land of their habitations, although they
were dispersed in different places. God’s threatenings are sufficiently
evident from the second clause of the verse,
they shall not
come, says
he, into the land of Israel, and
you shall know that I am Jehovah. He confirms
what we saw before, that when liberty was granted them, they did not on that
account become God’s Church, since he had another reason for ruling over
them, namely, to chastise them severely for their wickedness.
They shall not
come, therefore,
into the land of
Israel; that is, they shall remain, and grow
corrupt in the desert, as we know that to be a most severe punishment, when God
swore, that except two persons, Caleb and Joshua, no one should enter the land
of Canaan.
(<041423>Numbers
14:23, 24.) So also in this passage, I will free you, that is, when your return
to your country shall be evident, a new light shall seem to have shone forth,
but yet reflect on what happened to your fathers; for although redeemed, they
perished in the desert, and never possessed the land of Canaan. The same thing
shall happen to you also:, since your return is only a prelude to my favor: but
you shall never return to the land of Israel. But this is extended to those who
returned and dwelt in their native land. But we said that Judea was a place of
exile since the course of God’s favor was broken off, and God begun to
plead with them afresh, even when he had led them from their captivity at
Babylon. And you shall
know that I am Jehovah: as we said yesterday,
God is recognized by the reprobate, while they are compelled to acknowledged a
judge whose fatherly clemency they had despised. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
20:39
|
|
39. As for you, e house of Israel, thus says
the Lord God, Go you, serve you every one his idols, and hereafter also, if you
will not hearken unto me: but pollute you my holy name no more with your gifts,
and with your idols.
|
39. Et vos domus Israel, sic dicit Dominator
Iehovah, Quisque idolis suis ite servite, postquam non auditis me, et nomen
sanctitatis meae,
f560 ne profanetis amplius in muneribus
vestris, et idolis vestris.
|
Now again God expressly bears witness that he rejects
the Israelites because they infected the pure worship of the law with their
mixtures; for we said that they were deceived by a vain imagination when they
thought God pleased with their obedience, while they worshipped him only
half-heartedly. When they heaped up fictions, they thought this diligence would
be pleasing to God, because they professed to acknowledge the true God as their
redeemer. Here again he announces that he rejects all half-worship, since he
wished to have the entire affections, and to admit no rival: Now, says
he, O house of Israel,
thus says Jehovah, Go each of you and serve your
idols, just as if he would cast them off from
his family. And yet we see that they were always under his dominion; and thus
some kind of inconsistency arises when God rejects them from his sway, and yet
retains them as his right. But the liberty which is now granted is to show them
that it is in vain to worship God by halves.
This passage is peculiarly remarkable, since at this
time many are deceived, while they rest upon their own inventions, and think
that they best discharge their duty towards God when they partially obey his
commandments, and then pile up a great heap of superstitions, partly received
from their fathers and partly fabricated by themselves. Again, scarcely one in a
hundred will be found who does not think it better partially to worship God than
entirely to devote themselves to idols; and this indeed is true as far as man is
concerned; for the impiety is more foul and detestable when men openly reject
God, and divorce themselves from him, and devote themselves to idols, than if
they partly worshipped God and partly idols. But in the meantime, we see that
God pronounces that he cannot bear this profanation; and we must diligently
notice the reason which is added; for when gross and palpable impiety is
indulged in, God’s name is not so profaned as when clever men reconcile
the pure worship of God with superstitions: and for this reason, that monstrous
INDECISION
f561 was in God’s sight worse than the
papacy; and why so? for although the papists profane God’s name, yet their
madness is at present so detected, that it openly appears that they are
idolaters; but that invention mingled darkness with light, and infected the pure
doctrine with its leaven. But God here exclaims that he could not endure this
deception when men profess to worship him, for they defile themselves with
superstitions, since profaneness is added to impiety, and both are the result of
hypocrisy. The rest tomorrow.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since you have once
redeemed us by the death of your only-begotten Son, that we may not interrupt
the course of thy favor by our ingratitude; but may we so proceed in obedience
to thy Gospel, that we may be brought at length to the perfection of that grace
which is commenced within us, and may proceed more and more every day in true
piety, till at length we are gathered into thy heavenly kingdom, and enjoy the
inheritance promised and obtained for us by the same Christ our Lord. —
Amen.
LECTURE
SIXTY-FIFTH.
We yesterday saw the reason why God prefers that men
should be entirely devoted to their superstitions rather than mingle them with
the resemblance of true piety, since this is but a profanation of his holy name.
He wishes to be kept separate from all idols. Hence it is not surprising that he
loosens the reins from the Israelites, that they should cast themselves entirely
on their idolatries; and he repeats again what he had said, that his name was
profaned by gifts and idols, since the unbelievers pretended to worship him, but
at the same time transferred his glory to idols. Hence he does not suffer
himself to be trifled with in this way; so wherever offerings and idols occur,
we should notice that all mixtures by which the pure simplicity of lawful
worship is corrupted are condemned. It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
20:40
|
|
40. For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain
of the height of Israel, says the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel,
all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I
require your offerings, and the first-fruits of your oblations, with all your
holy things.
|
40. Quia in monte sanctitatis meae, in monte
excelso Israel, dicit Dominator Iehovah, illic colent me tota domus Israel, tota
inquam in terra, illic propitius ero
illis:
f562 et illic requiram oblationes vestras et
primitias donorum vestrorum in omnibus sanctificationibus
vestris.
|
God now directs his address to the elect, or the
remnant in whom he wished his Church to survive. Thus far he has spoken of the
whole body of the people: he says, although he should free them from the hand of
the Gentiles, yet that redemption would be but partial, because they should
perish in the desert, and never enjoy the promised land. On the whole, he shows
that those to whom a free return to their own country was given were no less
strangers than if they had been exiles at the time, and always remained outlaws,
since their impiety prevented their restoration. God now addresses the true
Israelites, who were not only naturally descended from their fathers, but were
genuine and spiritual children, as Paul distinguishes between those sons of
Abraham born according to the flesh and to promise.
(<450907>Romans
9:7-9.) For this reason also it is said in Psalm 73. — And surely God is
good to Israel — to those who are upright in heart for the Prophet here
asserts that God is gracious towards the Israelites; but since many hypocrites
boast themselves to be members of the Church, for the sake of correcting them,
he restricts the sentence, and does not reckon any, as true Israelites except
the upright in heart. So the same thing is repeated in Psalms 15 and Psalms 24.
— Who shall ascend into the mount of the Lord? But the perfidious and the
wicked did mingle themselves with the sincere worshipers; yet the Prophet
excludes them from the list of the faithful, since he says that none should have
a fixed station in God’s sanctuary unless the sound in heart and the clean
in hand. In the same sense also the Prophet formerly taught, that although
hypocrites proudly boasted themselves to be God’s people, yet their names
were not written in the secret catalogue of the righteous.
(<261309>Ezekiel
13:9.) We now see how well those things which seem inconsistent agree together,
namely, that the Lord’s redeeming Israel from the tyranny of the Gentiles
would not profit them, and yet, that they should come into the mountain of
Israel and worship him sincerely. Israel is here placed before us in a twofold
light: for many were Israelites in name; but here the Prophet is treating of the
elect, whom Paul calls a remnant of grace.
(<451105>Romans
11:5.)
In the
mountain, says he,
of my holiness, in the lofty
mountain of Israel. He does not call the
mountain high, because it was loftier than others, for we know that there were
many lofty mountains in the land of Judea; and Zion was but a small hill; but we
have elsewhere seen that it was preferred to lofty mountains, because it
excelled in dignity. Here our Prophet does not regard the height of Mount Zion,
but the singular glory with which it was adorned; as if he had said that God
resided there, and his glory shone forth over all the loftiness of the world.
Meanwhile I do not doubt that this epithet is obliquely opposed to the high
places, which were consecrated everywhere, as we saw before. Since, therefore,
the people had erected altars in all elevated places of all kinds, here God
opposes one lofty mountain to all these, whose height had deceived those
wretched men who thought themselves when there, nearer to heaven. This,
therefore, is the reason why he calls it a high mountain. He says,
there shall the whole house of
Israel worship me, the whole, I say,
in the
land. It is not surprising that the whole house
of Israel is placed here without exception, because, as I have said, the Prophet
does not comprehend all those who boasted in that title, but he only means the
pure worshipers of God, who were the spiritual children of Abraham. But here God
describes the agreement in faith among all the faithful, as if he had said that
the people would be fresh, and would not follow various speculations, as they
formerly wandered, each after his own superstitions, but there should be one
common rule for all. So we are taught by this passage that our worship does not
please God except we are bent upon a simple agreement of faith, and the
celebration of his name with our mouth. The impious often subscribe to different
modes of belief, but they have no regard to God: but, here we must hold the
principle, that God cannot be worshipped unless the doctrine of his law
flourishes. The whole house of
Israel, I say,
in the
land. He signifies by these words that the
whole land of Israel, so long contaminated by much filth, should be so sacred
that the pure and perfect worship of God should alone be beheld there.
In the
land, then, purged from all defilement’s
by which it was before polluted, he adds a promise,
there will I be propitious to
you. We formerly saw that all the
people’s sacrifices were rejected, and that for one reason, because they
mixed them with their own inventions. Now, God pronounces that he would be
propitious to them, because he will be purely worshipped, and his service shall
no longer be vitiated by the perverse comments of men. We here see, therefore,
that God’s complacency or favor is accompanied with a detestation of all
superstitions, as we have often mentioned previously. As, therefore, God
abominates whatever is added to the simple teaching of the law, so he asserts
that he will be propitious where he is purely worshipped according to the law.
He adds, and there will I require
your oblations: the person is changed, but the
sense flows on readily: he says,
I will
require
your
oblations: he puts one kind of oblation, but he
includes them all, as will be seen at the end of the verse. Although I confess
that two different kinds of offering are signified by the words,
hmwrt,
theromeh, and,
hpwnt,
thenopheh, yet they are often taken for any kind of offering when used
separately, a part being put for the whole, as I have said. He says, then, that
the offerings were grateful to him, and he implies that by the word requiring,
because we have seen that the people’s gifts were refused when corrupted
by foreign superstitions, and God is said to exact the gifts which he approves.
And the first-fruits of your
gifts, he says, that is, the flower or
excellence of your gifts, in all
your sanctifications, that is, in all my
worship. It signifies, on the whole, when the Israelites betake themselves to
the simple doctrine of the law, their obedience is so grateful to God, that
their gifts please him, their offerings are taken into account, and their whole
worship is accepted. It now follows —
|
EZEKIEL
20:41
|
|
41. I will accept you with your sweet savor,
when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries
wherein you have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the
heathen.
|
41. In odore bonae fragrantiae propitius ero
vobis cum eduxero vos e populis, et collegero vos ex terris, per quas dispersi
eritis, et sanctificabor in vobis in oculis gentium.
|
He continues the same sentiment, namely, that the
people’s worship would be acceptable, when those who had formerly been
deceived by their superstitions had bidden them farewell, and follow the law
only. He uses the word “savor,” according to the customary legal
form, not because incense was pleasing to God, but because external ceremonies
were no vain discipline for the people when they retained the truth. For surely
incense of itself is of no consequence, but God wished in a palpable manner to
testify that he did not reject the sacrifices which he had commanded. Hence, by
these forms of speech, the Holy Spirit signifies that God was truly appeased
when men approach him with sincere faith and repentance, and desire to be
reconciled, and suppliantly pray for pardon by ingenuous confession of sin, and
look up to Christ this is the savor which Moses everywhere teaches was sweet, to
God. But as the incense of the law was always sweet, so all others were
offensive, as we have already seen. The Prophet, therefore, adds nothing new
here, but confirms his former teaching, that God delights in the pure and
sincere worship of the faithful, when they try nothing but by his law.
Afterwards,
says he, I will lead
you out frown the people, and will collect you frown the lands through which you
have been dispersed. He repeats the same words
which were formerly used, but with another sense and purpose; since, while he
redeems alike the hypocrites and his elect, the offered liberty does not profit
the hypocrites: because, wherever they might dwell, their station was in the
wilderness; and even in the very bosom of the land of Canaan they were exiles,
and their life was erratic, and they were without any enjoyment of the promised
inheritance, but wandered in the desert, and through distant regions. For
although they dwelt in the midst of a crowd, yet such was their condition that
God had deservedly threatened them with remaining in the wilderness of the
Gentiles even till death. But now, when he speaks of the elect and the faithful,
he makes a difference between them and the hypocrites. For a question might
otherwise arise, since all were apparently alike, What was the tendency of the
promise, that some should be exiles and others return to their inheritance? For
Daniel never returned to his country, and there is no doubt that other pious
worshipers of God were at, the same time held back: but we know how sinful a
multitude returned to Judea when the edict of Cyrus permitted them. For all were
afterwards attentive to their own private business: the temple was neglected;
God was defrauded of his first-fruits and offerings; they married strange wives;
and mingled polygamy with their sacrifices.
(<370104>Haggai
1:4.) We have already seen how sharply and severely the three last prophets
inveigh against them. Since many returned into the land of Canaan in their
unchanged state, and who had better remained in Chaldaea: for this reason the
Prophet directs his discourse to the elect, and says that they should not only
be brought back, but when restored, as if by stealth, their worship would be
pleasing to God in the land.
When,
therefore, I shall
have brought you forth, I shall be sanctified in you before the eyes of the
Gentiles. God was in some sense sanctified in
the wicked, because they became an illustrious specimen of his power when the
Chaldaeans were slain, and his temple erected a second time. But here the
Prophet, as I have said, separates the elect from the reprobate, since God was
sanctified in them in a special manner, when a new Church emerged again, in
which piety, true religion, and holiness of life flourished. When, therefore,
such a spectacle was offered to the eyes of the Gentiles, then God asserted his
glory among his faithful ones. Lastly, these passages are to be read conjointly,
that he will be propitious to
them, and will be pleased with their first-fruits and offerings, and he will be
sanctified in the eyes of the Gentiles:
as it is said in
<19B402>Psalm
114:22, When Israel went out of Egypt, Israel was God’s power, and Judea
his sanctification, or sanctity. It follows —
|
EZEKIEL
20:42
|
|
42. And you shall know that I am the
Lord, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country
for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your
fathers.
|
42. Et cognoscetis quod ego Iehovah, cum vos
introduxero in terrain Israel, in
terram
f563 pro qua levavi manum meam, ut darem
ipsam patribus vestris.
|
For the sake of frightening them, he threatened that
he would be conspicuous to the reprobate, saying,
you shall know that I am
Jehovah, — meaning, that he would be
their judge: hence he was known to the reprobate by proofs of his anger or
wrath. But now another kind of knowledge is denoted, namely, that which brings a
sweet taste of paternal love: you
shall know, says he,
that I am, Jehovah your God,
when I shall have brought you in again. He here
shows his full and complete benefit towards the faithful, which we saw before
was withheld from the reprobate. For they were brought back, because, without
exception, all were permitted to return to their country; for then the yoke of
an imperious tyranny was broken when they were freed from the dominion of the
Chaldees, and the king of the Medes had permitted them to build the temple, and
to dwell in the land of Canaan. All were set at liberty, as I have said; but
that was the only favor conferred upon the wicked, since they all perished in
the desert of the Gentiles: but God’s elect were led by the hand to the
land of Israel, and there they really possessed the promised inheritance, since
they dwelt there as sons and lawful heirs. The hypocrites returned, as I have
said, but they never possessed the land by right of inheritance, for they
wandered hither and thither in the desert, and although they resided at home,
were always wandering exiles. We see, then, that a singular privilege is
intended when it is said, I will
be known by you, when I shall have brought you back from the nations and the
lands through which you were dispersed, into the land concerning which I swore
that I would give it to your fathers. Here a
mark is inscribed, that the faithful may know that this promise was not common
to all: for the dwelling in the land of Canaan of itself was not a matter of
much consequence, but here a value is expressed, that they should arrive at that
land as God’s heirs, and succeed their sacred fathers, to whom the
inheritance was promised. As God swore that he would give the land to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, this ought not to be restricted to them personally,
as we very well know; and yet they were its true heirs and lords, as their
sepulchers bear witness. They suffered vexation by constantly changing their
settlements, and were never at rest in one residence. During life they were
strangers, but their sepulcher was a proof of true and lawful dominion: and in
this way they transmitted the hope of the promised inheritance to their
posterity. Now, therefore, we see with what intention the Prophet here says that
the land was promised to their fathers, that its value might raise the minds of
the faithful to consider the magnitude of the benefit. It follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
20:43
|
|
43. And there shall you remember your ways,
and all your doings, wherein you have been defiled; and you shall loathe
yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that you have
committed.
|
43. Et recordabimini illic viarum vestrarum,
et omnium operum vestrorum, in quibus polluti estis: et eritis
excisi
f564 in faciebus vestris, in cunctis
sceleribus vestris quae perpetrastis.
|
Here God shows that he would at length be propitious
to his elect when they repented. Thus he signifies that there was no other means
of reconciliation than by the intervention of repentance. And we must carefully
remark this, as I have previously mentioned. For we know with what security all
men usually indulge themselves, nor are the pious themselves affected with grief
sufficiently serious, when God invites them to the hope of safety and at the
same time offers pardon. They embrace indeed greedily what they hear, but
meanwhile they bury their sins. But God wishes us to taste his goodness, that
the remembrance of our crimes should be bitter, and also that every one should
judge himself that he may obtain pardon from him. Now, therefore, we understand
the Prophet’s intention. We saw a similar passage in Jeremiah: this
teaching occurs throughout the Prophets, there, says
he, you shall remember
me. The circumstance of place is to be noticed,
because the Prophet means that after the elect shall have returned to
God’s favor, and he shall account them as true Members of his Church, then
they thought to be mindful of their former life and to repent of their sins. As
if he had said, as long as God afflicts you and you remain under the tyranny of
the Gentiles in exile, the sense of your evils will compel you to groan, so the
remembrance of your sins should return, since, whether you will or not, their
punishment will ever be before your eyes, since they would be easily persuaded
that their sentence was usual and common. But he shows them that the sons of God
were not only mindful of their sins, when they feel themselves chastised by him,
and experience shows his hostility, but when received into favor and in the
enjoyment of their inheritance, they live under God’s wings, and he
cherishes them as a tender offspring: when, therefore, the faithful are treated
so humanely by God, yet the Prophet shows that in their condition they ought to
be mindful of their sins, and all
your works in which you have been polluted,
says he. He now shows to what purpose they were to be mindful. For the wicked
are compelled to call their sins to remembrance when God, by forcibly turning
their attention to them, draws them to consider what they desire to bury in
oblivion. But it is here said,
you shall be confounded in your
own sight. Since the Hebrew word
fwq,
kot, signifies to cut off, many interpreters take it for “ye shall
be cut off;” that is, you shall judge yourselves worthy of destruction
among those whom God will cut off and blot out of the earth. But this seems
forced. Since the same word sometimes signifies to litigate, and to become
abominable, I willingly take this meaning,
that they shall be
abominable, or contemptible,
in their own
sight: that is, they shall be so ashamed, as
willingly and fully to acknowledge themselves utterly disgraced. Hence Ezekiel
means that the faithful should suffer voluntary disgrace, that they may glorify
God by the pure and genuine confession of their shame. If any one prefers to
expound it, you shall be condemned or convinced, that sense will suit well
enough; but I have already brought forward what seemed more simple. For I said
that this was the fruit of penitence, when we he confounded before God and are
vile and despicable in our own eyes, and when we not only suffer ourselves to be
condemned by others, but inwardly reflect upon our own disgrace, and so of our
own accord prostrate ourselves before God. This then is the fruit of penitence,
this is true humility, flowing from genuine shame. At length it follows
—
|
EZEKIEL
20:44
|
|
44. And you shall know that I am the Lord,
when 1 have wrought with you for my name’s sake, not according to your
wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, e you house of Israel, says
the Lord. God.
|
44. Et cognoscetis quod ego Iehovah, cum
fecero vobiscum propter nomen meum, non secundum vias vestras malas, et secundum
opera vestra corrupta, domus Israel, dicit Dominator Iehovah.
|
Here at length God pronounces that his glory would be
chiefly conspicuous in the pity which he bestowed upon those who were desperate
and abandoned, gratuitously and solely with respect to his own name. Hence Paul
so specially celebrates; the grace of God in the first chapter of the epistle to
the Ephesians, as that mercy by which God deigns to call his own elect in a
peculiar sense — his glory; for his glory extends farther than his pity.
(<490106>Ephesians
1:6, 12, 14.)
As thy name, so thy
praise is extended through all
lands,
(<194810>Psalm
48:10)
for God deserves no less glory when he destroys the
wicked than when he pities his own people. But Paul calls that gratuitous favor
glory par excellence, by which God embraced his own elect when he adopted
them. So also it is said in this passage,
then you shall know that I am
Jehovah, since I shall deal with you on behalf of my name, and not according to
your sins. But when God wishes his glory to
shine conspicuously in gratuitous pity, hence we gather that the enemies of his
glory were too gross and open, who obscure his mercy, or extenuate it, or as far
as they can, endeavor to reduce it to nothing. But we know the teaching of the
papacy to be that God’s gratuitous goodness either is buried or enfolded
in dark obscurity, or utterly vanish away: for they have invented a system of
general merits which they oppose to God’s gratuitous favor. For they
distinguish merits into preparations, good works acquiring God’s favor,
and satisfactions, by which they buy off the penalties to which they were
subjected. Afterwards they add what they call the suffrages of the saints; for
they fabricate for themselves numberless patrons, and various reasonings are
concocted for the purpose of obscuring God’s glory, or at least of
allowing only a few sparks to be visible. Since therefore the whole papacy tends
that way, we see that they professedly oppose God’s glory, and those who
defend such abominations are sworn enemies of God’s
glory.
For ourselves, then, let. us learn that we cannot
otherwise worship God with acceptance unless we adopt whatever pleases him as
pertaining to our salvation. For if we wish to come to a debtor and creditor
account, or to consider that he is in the slightest degree indebted to us, we in
this way diminish his glory, and as far as is in our power we despoil ourselves
of that inestimable privilege which the Prophet now commends. Hence let us
desire to acknowledge God in this way, since he treats us with amazing clemency
and pity out of regard for his own name, and not according to our sins. And
since that was said to his ancient people because they returned to the land of
Canaan, how much more ought God’s gratuitous goodness to be extolled by
us, when his heavenly kingdom is at this day open to us, and when he openly
calls us to himself in heaven, and to the hope of that happy immortality which
has been obtained for us through Christ?
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, since we have
already entered in hope upon the threshold of our eternal inheritance, and know
that there is a certain mansion for us in heaven after Christ has been received
there, who is our head, and the first-fruits of our salvation: Grant, I say,
that we may proceed more and more in the course of thy holy calling until at
length we reach the goal, and so enjoy that eternal glory of which you afford us
a taste in this world, by the same Christ our Lord. —
Amen.
PRAISE TO GOD.
After finishing this last Lecture, that most
illustrious man, JOHN CALVIN, the Divine, who had previously been sick, then
began to be so much weaker that he was compelled to recline on a couch, and
could no longer proceed with the explanation of EZEKIEL. This accounts for his
stopping at the close of the Twentieth Chapter, and not finishing the work so
auspiciously begun. Nothing remains, kind Reader, but that you receive most
favorably and graciously what is now sent forth to the
world.
NOTES AND
COMMENTS
BY THE
EDITOR.
THE PROMISED CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS A
COMPLETE APPARATUS CRITICUS HAS BEEN ARRANGED AS FOLLOWS
— (See Translator’s
Preface, Volume 1) —
SECTIONS 1, 2, AND
3, — BEING INDEXES, ARE PLACED AT THE
END OF THE VOLUME.
SECTIONS 4, 5, 6, AND
7, — NOW FOLLOW ONE
ANOTHER.
SECTION
8 — IS PRECEDED BY ITS OWN “LIST
OF CONTENTS.”
A
COMPLETE SYNOPSIS
OF THE CONTENTS
OF THE WHOLE OF EZEKIEL’S PROPHECIES.
1. THE
PROPHET’S COMMISSION.
2. THE
PROPHET’S UTTERANCES.
3. THE
PROPHET’S CONSOLATIONS.
1. THE
PROPHET’S COMMISSION.
EZEKIEL 1-3.
Section
1. Its Allegoric Character — the
Whirlwinds — the Four Living Creatures — the Wheels — the
Firmaments — the Throne and the Human Appearance seated
thereon,...Ezekiel 1
Section
2. The Address — the Roll — the
Abounding Lamentation....Ezekiel 2
Section
3. The Rebellion of the People, the Motion of
the Living Creatures — the Charge as a Watchman — the Hand of
Jehovah by the river Chebar,...Ezekiel 3
2. THE
PROPHET’S UTTERANCES.
A. AGAINST THE JEWS,...EZEKIEL
4-24.
THE UTTERANCES AGAINST THE JEWS are divisible
into those against Jerusalem — the Mountain and Land of Israel — the
King — the False Prophets — the Elders of the People, with various
repetitions, under different images.
Section
1. The Emblem of the Siege upon the Tile,
Ezekiel 4:1-3 — that of Lying on the right and left side,
Ezekiel 4:4-8 — that of Taking Food by Measure, Ezekiel
4:9-12 The Explanation, Ezekiel 4:13-17
Section
2. The Emblem of the Razor, Ezekiel
4:1-4 The Explanation, Ezekiel 5:5-17
Section
3. Against the Mountains of Israel, Ezekiel
6:1-15
Section
4. Against the Land of Israel, Ezekiel
7:1-27
Section
5. The Vision of the Image of Jealousy,
Ezekiel 8:1-11 The Chamber of Imagery, Ezekiel 8:12-16 The
Explanation, Ezekiel 8:17, 18
Section
6. The Vision of the man with the slaughter
weapon, Ezekiel 9:1-11
Section
7. The Vision of the Cherubim — their
description and their motions, Ezekiel 10:1-22
Section
8. The Emblems of the Caldron and the Flesh,
and its application to Jerusalem, Ezekiel 11:1-25
Section
9. The Emblem of the Prophet’s removing
his Goods, and its Interpretation, Ezekiel 12:1-16
Section
10. The flattering Proverb of Israel rebuked,
Ezekiel 12:1 7-28
Section
11. The Utterance against the False Prophets,
boot male and female, Ezekiel 13:1-23
Section
12. Against the Elders of the People,
Ezekiel 14:1-23
Section
13. Tim Emblem of the Vine used for Fuel,
Ezekiel 15:1-8
Section
14. The Emblem of Israel as an Outcast infant
nurtured by the Almighty, Ezekiel 16:1-14 Married, and yet committing
Adultery, Ezekiel 16:15-34 This Wickedness denounced and punished,
Ezekiel 16:35-59 The Almighty’s merciful relenting, Ezekiel
16:60-63
Section
15. The Emblem of the Eagle and the Cedar,
Ezekiel 17:1-10 The Explanation, referring to Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar,
and Pharaoh, Ezekiel 17:11-24
Section
16. A Vindication of the Divine Justice, and
Confutation of Israel’s Proverb, Ezekiel 18:1-32
Section
17. The Emblem of the Lioness and her Whelps,
Ezekiel 19:1-9
Section
18. The Emblem of the Vine plucked up and
consumed, Ezekiel 19:10-14
Section
19. The Elders of Israel rebuked for their
sins, Ezekiel 20:1-32
Section
20. The Divine Promises of Restoration,
Ezekiel 20:33-44
Section 21.
The Word dropped toward the South, Ezekiel
20:45-49
Section
22. The Prophet’s face set toward
Jerusalem, Ezekiel 21:1-7
Section
23. The Sharp Sword and the Great Slaughter,
Ezekiel 21:8-27
Section
24. The Sword drawn against the Ammonites,
Ezekiel 21:9-8-32
Section
25. The Sins of Jerusalem and God’s
Vengeance, Ezekiel 22:1-22
Section
26. The Woes uttered against False Prophets,
Ezekiel 22:23-31
Section
27. The Adulteries of the People, Ezekiel
23:1-49
Section
28. The Parable of the Boiling Pot, Ezekiel
24:1-14 The Prophet’s severe Affliction, Ezekiel
24:15-27
B. THE UTTERANCES AGAINST
GENTILES.
Section
1. Against the Ammonites, Ezekiel
25:1-7
Section
2. Against the Moabites, Ezekiel
25:8-11
Section
3. Against the Edomites, Ezekiel
25:12-14,
Section
4. Against the Philistines, Ezekiel
25:15-17
Section
5. Against Tyre, through Ezekiel 26, Ezekiel
27, and Ezekiel 28:1-19.
Section
6. Against Zidon, Ezekiel
28:20-26
Section
7. Against Pharaoh, Ezekiel
29:1-7
Section
8. Against Egypt, Ezekiel
29:8-21
Section
9. Against Etillopia, Ezekiel
30:1-5
Section
10. Against the Upholders of Egypt, Ezekiel
30:6-19
Section
11. Against Pharaoh, Ezekiel
30:20-26
Section
12. Assyria as a Cedar of Lebanon, Ezekiel
31:1-9
Section
13. Its Fall and Destruction, Ezekiel
31:10-18
Section
14. A Bitter Lamentation over Egypt, Ezekiel
32:1-21
Section
15. A Bitter Lamentation over Assyria.,
Ezekiel 32:22, 23
Section
16. A Bitter Lamentation over Elam, Ezekiel
32:24, 25
Section
17. A Bitter Lamentation over Meshech and
Tubal, Ezekiel 32:26-28
Section
18. A Bitter Lamentation over Edom, Ezekiel
32:29-32
These Utterances are all most vividly and graphically
portrayed. Allegories, Metaphors, and Parables are most appropriately
interspersed with fiery Denunciations and awful Threatenings in consequence of
gross iniquities.
3. THE
PROPHET’S CONSOLATIONS.
A Series of Exhortations and Promises of Deliverance
under Cyrus, a Description of the Temple, and a View of the Future Divisions of
the Land under the Prosperous Reign of Messiah.
Section
1. The Prophet’s duty as a Watchman,
Ezekiel 33:1-16
Section
2. A Vindication of God’s equity,
Ezekiel 33:17-33
Section
3. A Reproof to the Shepherds of the People,
Ezekiel 34:1-10
Section
4. The Almighty the Good Shepherd, Ezekiel
34:11-31
Section
5. The Desolation of Mount Seir, Ezekiel
35:1-15
Section
6. The Destruction of the Heathen, Ezekiel
36:1-7
Section
7. The Blessings on Israel, Ezekiel
36:8-38
Section
8. The Vision of the Dry Bones, Ezekiel
37:1-14
Section
9. The Rods of Judea and Ephraim, Ezekiel
37:15-20
Section
10. The Future Reign of David the King,
Ezekiel 37:21-28
Section
11. Prophecies against Gog and Magog,
Ezekiel 38:1-23
Section
12. Judgments upon Gog, Ezekiel
39:1-16
Section
13. The Great Sacrifice on the Mountains,
Ezekiel 39:17-20
Section
14. Israel Restored from Captivity, Ezekiel
39:21-29
Section
15. The Vision of Measuring the Temple,
Ezekiel 40:1-49
Section
16. The Measures and Ornaments, Ezekiel
41:1-26
Section
17. The Priests’ Chambers and the Outer
Court, Ezekiel 42:1-20
Section
18. The Returning Glory of Jehovah, Ezekiel
43:1-9
Section
19. The Whole Fashion of The House, Ezekiel
43:10-12
Section
20. The Measurement of The Altar, Ezekiel
43:13-1 7
Section
21. The Sacrifices on The Altar, Ezekiel
43:8-27
Section
22. Various Ordinances for the Priests,
Ezekiel 44:1-31
Section
23. The Apportionment of the Land, Ezekiel
45:1-8
Section
24. The Duties of the Priests, Ezekiel
45:9-25
Section
25. The Duties of the Prince and of the People,
Ezekiel 46:1-25
Section 26.
The Vision of the Rising Waters, Ezekiel
47:1-12
Section
27. The Divisions and Limits of the Land,
Ezekiel 47:13-23
Section
28. The Portions for the Tribes and the
Priests, Ezekiel 48:1-29
Section
29. The various Gates of the City,. Ezekiel
48:30-35
These closing Visions and Consolations are singularly
striking, and afford scope for copious illustration; but as our COMMENTATOR did
not live to expound them, it would in become his Translator to obtrude on the
reader his own research into these deep things of the Spirit of
God.
A minute description of The Temple Scenery has
been attempted by a learned Jew, SOLOMAN BENNETT, R.A. of Berlin, (Edit. London,
1834.) His work contains a most elaborate account of every interesting
particular. Ezekiel 40, Ezekiel 41, and Ezekiel 42 are explained verse by verse;
and a ground-plan and bird’s-eye view are subjoined.
These chapters are also explained by FRY on The
Second Advent, volume 1. Section 13.
A TRANSLATION OF THE
FIRST TWENTY
CHAPTERS
OF THE
PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL,
AS MODIFIED BY THESE
COMMENTARIES.
CHAPTER
1
1 NOW
it came to pass in the thirtieth
year,
f565 in the fourth month, on the fifth day of
the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, that the heavens
were opened, and I saw visions of God.
2 In
the fifth day of the month, in the fifth year of the captivity of King
Jehoiakim,
3 The
word of Jehovah came to Ezekiel, son of Buzi the priest, in the and of the
Chaldreans, near the river Chebar, and the land of Jehovah was upon him
there.
4 And
I looked, and, behold, tempestuous wind coming from the north; a great cloud,
and a fire folding round itself, and a brightness was round about it; and out of
the midst there was, as it were, the appearance of Hasmal in the midst of the
fire.
5 And
in the middle of this, was the likeness of four living creatures, and their
aspect was the likeness of a man:
6 They
had each four faces and four wings,
7 Their
feet were straight, and the sole of their feet like that of a calf’s foot,
(or round, volume 1,) and they cast forth sparks like the appearance of polished
brass:
8 And
they had human hands under their wings on their four sides; and they had four
faces and wings.
9 And
each wing was connected with the next wing: when they moved they did not turn
back: each animal went forward in the direction of his face.
10 As
to the likeness of their faces, these four had the face of a man and the face of
a lion on the right side; and on the left, these four had the face of an ox and
the face of an eagle.
11 Their
faces, then, and their wings were
extended
f566 from above, and each wing was bound to
its neighbor, and two covered their body.
12 And
each walked in the direction of its face; and wheresoever the spirit (or will,)
proceeded, they proceeded they did not return in their course.
13 As
to the likeness of the living creatures, their aspect was like coals of burning
fire, like the appearance of lamps passing up and down between the living
creatures: and the fire was ‘bright, and lightning’ issued from
it.
14 And
the living creatures ran and returned like lightning.
15 While
I was; beholding’ the living creatures, behold one wheel on the earth,
near each living, creature, at right
angles,
f567 at the face of each.
16 The
appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like chrysolite: and they
were all alike’ and their appearance and their form were like one wheel
within another.
17 When
they moved forward, they went upon their four sides: they did not turn back when
they proceeded.
18 And
I beheld their circumferences, and their size, and their terribleness; and their
strakes were full of eyes, round about these four.
19 And
when the living creatures walked, the wheels moved beside them; and when the
living creatures were raised from the earth, the wheels were raised with
them.
F568
20 Withersoever
the spirit led the living creatures, tither it also led the wheels: the wheels
were raised up also with the living creatures, because their spirit was in the
wheels also.
21 When
the animals moved forward, the wheels did the same: they both were stationary
and both elevated together; because the spirit of the animals was in the
wheels.
22 Above
the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of a firmament, as the
appearance of terrible crystal stretched over and above their
heads.
23 And
under the firmament their wings were straight, each towards its neighbor: and
each living creature had two wings, which covered their bodies on this side and
on that.
24 And
I heard the voice of their wings, like the voice of mighty waters, and like the
voice of God’ the voice of their speech was like the sound of an army when
they moved forward; and when they stood, they let down their
wings.
25 And
there was a voice from the firmament over their heads when they stood and let
down their wings.
26 And
above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, like the
vision of a sapphire stone: and above the likeness of the throne was an image
like the aspect of a man upon it.
27 And
I saw, as it were, the color of amber, like the appearance of fire round about
within it: from the appearance of his loins, both upwards and downwards, I saw
the aspect of fire, and a brightness all round about him.
28 Like
the appearance of a bow in a cloud on a rainy day, such was the aspect of his
brightness round about. This was a vision of the similitude of Jehovah’s
glory: and I gazed at it, and fell upon my face, and heard a voice speaking unto
me. And he said unto me, —
CHAPTER
2
1 Son
of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.
2 And
the Spirit came to me when he addressed me, and placed me upon my feet: and I
heard him address me; and he said unto me —
3 Son
of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, To revolting tribes who have
rebelled against me: They and their fathers have acted perfidiously against me,
Even to this very day.
4 They
are children of a hard face, and of a stiff heart. Therefore I send thee unto
them; And you shall say to them — Thus says the LORD
JEHOVAH.
5 And
they, whether they will hear, or whether they will not, For they are a
rebellious house, Yet shall know that a Prophet has been among
them.
6 And
you, son of man, be not afraid of them; Fear not their words, though they are
rebellious, And are thorns towards time, and you dwellest with scorpions. Be not
afraid of their language; Be not dismayed at their looks, Since they are a
rebellious house.
7 And
you shall utter my words unto them, Whether they will hear, or whether they will
forbear; For they are rebels.
8 And
you, son of man, hear what I say unto thee: Be not you rebellious like that.
rebellious house; Open thy mouth, and eat what I put before
thee.
9 Then
I looked up, and, behold, a hand extended to me; And lo! a roll of a book was in
it:
10 Then
he spread it before my face; And lo! The roll was written behind and before, And
the writing was lamentations, and morning, and wo.
CHAPTER
3
1 After
that he said to me, Son of man, eat completely what you has found; namely, this
roll, And go and speak to the house of Israel.
2 So
I opened my mouth, and he fed me with that roll.
3 And
said to me, Son of man, Feed thy belly, and fill thy bowels with this roll which
I give thee. So I ate it, and it was in my mouth Like honey for
sweetness.
4 Then
he said to me, Son of man! Go to the house of Israel and address them in my
words,
5 Since
you art not sent to a people profound in lip and hard of speech, You art sent to
the house of Israel:
6 Not
to many peoples profound in lip and heavy in speech, Whom you canst not
understand;
f569 Had I sent
thee unto them, they would have hearkened unto thee.
7 But
the house of Israel will not hear thee; Because they will not hear me; Since the
whole house of Israel are hard of front and stout of heart.
8 Lo!
I have made thy face hard against their faces, And thy forehead hard, against
their forehead.
9 As
an adamant, harder than flint, Have I made thy forehead: fear them not: Be not
broken down at their presence, For they are a house of
rebellion.
10 Moreover,
he said to me, Son of man! All my words which I shall speak to thee, Receive in
your heart and hear with your ears:
11 And
go — Judea thee to the captives, to the children of thy people, And speak
unto them and tell them, — Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Whether they will
hear, or whether they will not.
12 Then
the Spirit raised me up: and I heard behind me A voice of mighty rustling, which
said, Blessed be the glory of Jehovah from his place!
13 1
heard also the sound of the wings of the living’ creatures, Each kissing
that of its companion, And the noise of the wheels beside them — the sound
of a mighty shaking.
14 Then
the Spirit raised me, and took me away, And I set forth in bitterness and
indignation of spirit, And the hand of Jehovah was strong upon
me.
15 Then
I came to the captives at Thel-abib, They were seated by the river Chebar: there
they sat: And I also sat there seven days desolate in the midst of
them.
16 Then
it happened at the end of the seven days, Thai the word of Jehovah came to me,
saying,
17 Son
of man! I have appointed thee a watchman over the house of Israel; Hence you
shalt hear words from my mouth, And shall warn them from me.
18 When
I say unto the wicked, You shall surely die: And you warnest him not, and
speakest not unto him; And warnest him not from his wicked way to save his life:
That wicked man shall die in his iniquity; But his blood. will I require at thy
hand.
19 Yet
if you warn the wicked, and he turn not from his impious and evil way, He shall
die in his iniquity; But you has freed your own soul.
20 If
a just man shall turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity: And I put a
stumbling-block before his face, he shall die: Because you has not warned him,
he shall die in his sins, The righteousness which he has done shall not be
remembered; But his blood will I require at thy hand.
21 Then
if you warn the righteous that he sin not, And he doth not sin, he shall surely
live, because he is warned, You also has delivered your own
soul.
22 Then
the hand of Jehovah was upon me, and he said to me, Arise, go unto the plain,
and there I will speak to thee.
23 Then
I arose, and went to the plain, and lo! The glory of Iehovah stood there, As the
glory which I had beheld by the river Chebar:
24 And
I fell upon my face, and the Spirit entered into me, And placed me upon my feet,
and addressed me, and said, Go — shut thyself within your
house.
25 And
now — son of man! — lo! they shall put chains upon thee, And shall
bind thee with them, and you shall not go forth into the midst of
them:
26 Then
I will make thy tongue cleave to thy palate, And you shall be dumb, and be no
longer a reprover to them: Because they are a house; of
rebellion.
27 But
when I shall speak to thee, and shall open thy mouth, You shall say unto them,
Thus says the Lord Jehovah, He who hears, may hear: he who forbears, may
forbear; Since they are a house of
rebellion.
F570
CHAPTER
4
1 Thou
also, son of man! take thee a tile, And put it before thy face, And paint upon
it the city Jerusalem:
2 Lay
siege against it, and build a tower against it: Cast a mound against it, and set
a camp against it: Set battering-rams against it all round.
3 Then
take an iron pan, and set it for a wall between thee and the city; Strengthen
thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, And you shall besiege it. This is
a sign to the house of Israel.
4 He
you also on thy left; side, and place the iniquity of the house of Israel upon
it; According to the number of the days during which you shall he upon it You
shall bear their iniquity.
5 For
I have appointed unto thee the years of their iniquity, According to the number
of the days, three hundred and ninety days: Thus shall you bear the iniquity of
the house of Israel.
6 And
when you have finished those days, Then again you shall he on thy right side,
And you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judea forty days; Each day for a
year, as I have appointed thee.
7 Then
you shall direct thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, And thine arm shall be
uncovered, And you shall not prophesy against it.
8 Lo!
I have put cords upon thee, And you shall not turn from side to side Until you
have fulfilled the days of thy sieges.
9 Take
you also wheat; and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches,
And put them in one vessel, and make it into bread for time, According to the
number of the days on which you shall he on thy side: Three hundred and ninety
days shall you eat it.
10 And
the food which you shall eat by weight, Shall be twenty shekels a day: from time
to time shall you eat it.
11 And
water shall thou drink by measure, the sixth part of a hin: From time to time
shall you drink it.
12 Then
you shall eat barley cake, and shall bake it With human dung before their eyes:
And Jehovah said,
13 Even
thus shall the children of Israel cat their defiled bread Among the Gentiles
wither I have driven them.
14 Then
I said, Alas, O Lord Jehovah! Lo! my soul has not been polluted, And from my
youth up never have I eaten What died of itself, or was torn to pieces; And
abominable flesh has never entered my mouth.
15 Then
he said, See! I have given thee The dung of oxen for that of men, And you shall
cook thy bread with this.
F571
16 Moreover,
he said to me, Son of man! Lo! I break the staff of bread in Jerusalem; And they
shall eat bread by weight and with fear; And shall drink water by measure and
with astonishment,
17 So
that bread and water shall fail them, And they shall be astonished one with
another, And consume away in their
iniquity.
F572
CHAPTER
5
1 And
you, son of man f take thee a sharp sword, Take thee a barber’s razor, and
pass it over thy head and thy beard: Then take thee a just balance and divide
the hair.
2 A
third part you shall burn in the midst of the city, When the days of the siege
are fulfilled; A third part shall you smite about with the sword; And another
third shall you scatter to the wind; And I will unsheathe the sword after
them.
3 Then
you shall take a few of them, And bind them in thy skirts.
4 Then
take some of them. and cast them into the fire, And burn them; for thence shall
fire go forth Upon all the house of Israel.
5 Then
says the Lord Jehovah, This is Jerusalem: In the midst of the nations and of the
surrounding countries Have I placed her.
6 And
she has changed my judgments into wickedness Beyond all the nations, and my
statutes beyond all the surrounding people: They have despised my judgments, And
have not walked in my statutes.
7 Therefore,
thus says the, Lord Jehovah, Because of your multiplication more than the
nations round about you, And your not walking in my statutes, and not keeping my
judgments, And your not acting like the nations around you,
8 Wherefore,
thus says the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I ant against thee, even I: And I will
execute my judgments in the midst of thee Before the eyes of the
Gentiles.
9 And
I will execute against thee what I never yet have done, Nor will ever do in
future, On account of all your abominations.
10 Therefore
fathers shall devour their sons, And sons their fathers, in the midst of thee: I
will execute judgments against thee, And disperse all thy remnants to all winds
of heaven.
11 Because
I live, says the Lord Jehovah, Since you has polluted my
sanctuary
f573 With all
thy detestable and abominable things, Therefore I will break thee in pieces: My
eye shall not spare, neither will I pity thee.
12 A
third part shall die of the pestilence, And be consumed by famine in the midst
of thee; A third part shall be consumed by the sword round about thee; A third
part will I disperse towards every wind, And will draw out a sword after
them.
13 Thus
shall mine anger be accomplished, And I will cause my burning anger to rest upon
them; And I will enjoy consolation; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, Who
have spoken in my zeal, when I shall have accomplished my fury on
them.
14 Moreover,
I will lay thee waste, And make thee a reproach among the nations around thee In
the eyes of every passer by.
15 So
you shall be a reproach and a reviling, A chastisement and an astonishment to
the nations round about thee, While I shall execute judgments against thee In
anger and burning, and furious rebukes. I Jehovah have spoken
it.
16 When
I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine For their destruction, which I
shall dart upon them to destroy
them;
f574 Then will I
add famine against them, And will break their staff of bread.
17 Then
will I send against you famine and wild beasts, And they shall bereave you: and
pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; And I will cause the sword to come
upon thee.
f575 I Jehovah
have spoken it.
CHAPTER
6
1 The
word also of Jehovah came to me, saying,
2 Son
of man! set thy face towards the mountain of Israel, And prophesy against them,
and say,
3 You
mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus says the Lord
Jehovah to the mountains and the inns, To the rivers and the valleys: Behold! I
will bring the sword against you, and destroy your high places;
4 And
your altars shall be desolate, Your idols shall be broken; And I will cast down
your slain before your idols.
5 Then
I will place the carcass of the sons of Israel Before your idols; I will scatter
them before the idols. I will sprinkle your bones round about your
altars.
6 In
all your habitations cities shall be
desolate,
f576And high places shall be reduced to
devastation, That your altars may be wasted and desolated, And your idols may be
broken up and abolished, And your images cut. down, and your works blotted
out.
7 Then
the slain shall fall in the midst of you, And you shall know that I am
Jehovah.
8 Still,
I will leave a remnant, that you may have some Who shall escape the sword among
the nations, When you shall be scattered through the countries.
9 And
the remnant shall remember me among the nations, Among which they shall become
captives, Because I am. broken down with their adulterous heart, Which has
departed from me, and with their eyes, Which are full of lust after their idols;
And they shall loathe themselves for all the evils Which they have committed in
all their abominations.
10 Then
they shall know that I Jehovah said not in vain, I will cause them to suffer
this evil.
F577
11 Thus
says the Lord Jehovah, Strike with thy hand, and stamp with thy feet, And say,
Alas! for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, For they shall fall
by the sword, and famine, and pestilence.
12 He
who shall be afar off shall die by the pestilence; He who shall be near shall
fall by the sword;
f578 He who
shall remain and be besieged shall die through hunger; And I will fulfill my
indignation upon them.
13 And
you shall know that I am Jehovah, When their wounded shall be among their idols
round about their altars, Upon every high hill, in, on all the heads of the
mountains, Under every green tree and every thick oak, In the place where they
offered the incense of sweet fragrance to all their idols.
14 So
I will stretch out my hand upon them, And I will make the land desert and
desolate — More than the desert of Diblathah, in all their dwellings; And
they shall know that I am Jehovah.
CHAPTER
7
1 Then
the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
2 You
also, son of man, thus says the Lord Jehovah Concerning the land of Israel, All
end, an end is come Upon the four quarters of the land.
3 Now
an end is come upon thee, And I will send my indignation against thee, And I
will judge thee according to thy ways, And I will put upon thee all your
abominations.
4 Then
mine eye shall not spare thee, nor will I pity thee; Because I will recompense
thy ways upon thee, And thy abominations shall be in the midst of thee, And you
shall know that I am Jehovah.
5 Thus
says the Lord Jehovah, Lo! evil, and only evil shall
come.
F579
6 An
end is come — an end is come; It has watched against thee; behold! it is
come.
7 The
morning is come upon thee, e dweller in the land; The time is come; the day of
tumult is near, and not the clamor of the mountains.
8 Now
I will shortly pour out my indignation upon thee, And I will accomplish my anger
against thee, And I will judge thee according to thy ways, And I will put upon
thee all thine abominations.
9 Mine
eye shall not spare, neither will I pity; According to thy ways will I put upon
thee, And your abominations shall be in the midst of thee; And you shall know
that I Jehovah am smiting thee.
10 Behold
the day: behold it is come; The morning has advanced, the rod has
flourished;
11 Pride
has flourished: violence has sprung up into a staff of impiety: None of them,
nor yet their opulence, shall remain: There shall be no noise nor any
lamentation for them:
12 The
appointed time is come; the day has approached: The buyer shall not rejoice; the
seller shall not be sorrowful; Because indignation shall be on all their
multitude.
13 Since
the seller shall not return to his merchandise, And their life is yet among the
living; Because the vision is concerning the whole
multitude,
f580 It shall
not return; and no man shall strengthen his soul in his
iniquity.
14 They
have blown the trumpet; they have prepared all things; But none is gone out to
battle, because my wrath Is upon the whole multitude.
15 The
sword abroad; pestilence and famine at home. He that is in the field shall die
by the sword; He that is in the city shall be consumed by famine and
pestilence.
16 And
the escapers of them shall escape, And shall be upon the inns like doves of the
valleys, All mourning,
f581 every one in his
iniquity.
17 All
hands shall be loosened; all knees shall flow like water.
18 And
they shall gird themselves with sackcloth, And dread shall cover them, And shame
shall be upon all faces, And baldness upon all heads.
19 They
shall east their silver into the street, And their gold shall be an unclean
thing. Their silver and their gold shall not deliver them In the day of.
Jehovah’s wrath: They shall neither satisfy their souls nor fill their
bellies, Because it was; the stumbling-block of their iniquity.
20 As
to the beauty of their ornaments, they turned it to pride, And they made the
images of their abominations And of their defilement’s out of it (i.e.,
gold)
f582 Therefore I
have east it from them.
21 And
I will deliver it into the hand of strangers for a prey, And of the wicked of
the land for a spoil; And they shall profane it.
22 My
face also will I turn from them, For they will profane my secret place: And
robbers will enter into it and profane it.
23 Make
a chain: — for the, land is fined With a judgment of bloods, The city,
too, is full of violence.
24 For
I will bring on it the wicked among the Gentiles; And they shall possess their
houses: I will also cause their pride to cease, And their sanctuaries shall be
polluted.
25 Destruction
is come and they shall seek peace when there is none.
26 Calamity
shall come upon calamity, and rumor upon rumor; Then they shall seek a vision
from a prophet; But the law shall perish from the priest, And counsel from the
aged.
27 The
king shall mourn, and the princes shall be clothed with desolation, And the
hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: According to their ways will
I act towards them, According to their judgments will I judge them. And they
shall know that I am Jehovah.
CHAPTER
8
1 And
it happened in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day, I was
sitting in my house, and the elders of Judea were sitting before my face, and
there the hand of the Lord Jehovah fell upon me.
2 I
looked, and behold a likeness as the appearance of fire: From the appearance of
its loins downwards, fire; And from its loins upwards, as the appearance of
brightness, Like the figure of Hasmal.
3 And
he sent the likeness of a hand, And raised ma by a lock of my head; And the
Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, And led me to Jerusalem in the
visions of God, To the door of the inner gate looking towards the north; Where
was the seat of the idol jealousy, causing jealousy.
4 Then
lo! there was the glory of the God of Israel, According to the vision which I
saw in the plain.
5 And
said to me, Son of man, lift up your eyes now To the way of the north: So I
raised my eyes towards the north, And lo! towards the north at the gate of the
altar, That idol — jealousy — at the entrance.
6 And
he said to me, Son of man, seest you their deeds? The great abominations which
the house of Israel perpetrate here, That I should depart far from my sanctuary?
But turn thee yet again, and you shall see greater
abominations.
7 Then
he led m, to the door of the court, And I looked, and lo! an opening in the
wall. Then he said to me, Son of man, dig now into the wall; And I dug in the
wall, and behold a door.
8 Then
he said to me, Enter and see the evil abominations which they
do.
9 Then
I entered and beheld, and lo! every likeness of a reptile,
10 And
abominations of animals, and, all idols of the house of Israel, Were depicted on
the wall round about.
11 And
seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, And Jazaniah, son of Saphan,
stood in the midst of them, Who stood before them, and to each r, censer in his
hand, And a thick cloud of incense ascended.
12 Then
he said to, me, Has you seen, son of mall, What the elders of the house of
Israel do in darkness, Each in the hidden places of his imagery? Who say,
Jehovah does not see us; Jehovah has deserted the land.
13 Then
he said to me, Turn thee again, And you shall see the great abominations which
they do.
14 Then
he brought me to the door of the gate of Jehovah’s house, Which looks to
the north: and lo! there sat women Lamenting for Thammuz.
15 Then
he said to me, Son of man, turn thee again, And you shall see greater
abominations than these.
16 Then
he led me to the inner court of Jehovah’s house, And lo! at the gate of
Jehovah’s temple, between the entrance and the altar, About five and
twenty men, with their backs towards Jehovah’s temple, And their faces
towards the east, worshipping the rising sun.
17 Then
he said to me, Has you seen this, son of man? Is it a light thing to the house
of Judea To do these abominations which they have done there? Because they have
fined the land with violence, And have returned to provoke me, And lo! they put
the branch to their nose.
18 I
also in return will deal in my fury: Mine eye shall neither spare nor pity; And
when they cry in mine ears with a loud voice I will not hear
them.
CHAPTER
9
1 He
cried also in mine ear with a loud voice, saying, Let the rulers of the city
approach, Every one with his weapon of destruction in his hand.
2 And
lo! six men coming from the way of the higher gate, which is towards the north,
And each had his slaughter-weapon in his hand; And one man in the midst of them
clothed in linen, With a writer’s inkhorn at his side: Then they went in
and stood near the brazen altar.
3 Then
the glory of the God of Israel ascended from the cherubim Above which it rested,
to the threshold of the house, And cried to the man clothed in linen, with the
inkhorn at his side;
4 Then
Jehovah said to him, Pass through the midst of the city, through the midst of
Jerusalem, And make a sign upon the foreheads of the men who sigh And cry for
all the abominations which they suffer in the midst of it.
5 But
to the others he said in my hearing, Go you after, him through the city, and
smite; Let not your eye spare, and do not pity:
6 Old
and young, girl, boy, and woman slay to the death; Yet approach not any who
bears the sign, And begin from my sanctuary. Then they began at the elders who
were in front of the house.
7 And
he said to them, Pollute the house, and fill the altars with the slain: Go you
forth. And they went forth, and made a slaughter in the city.
8 And
it happened while they were slaying that I was left: Then I fell upon my face,
and cried out and said, Aha! Lord Jehovah, wilt you slay all the relics of
Israel By pouring forth your anger upon Jerusalem?
9 Then
he said to me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judea Is great beyond
measure, and the land is full of blood, And the city is full of perversity:
because they said, Jehovah has deserted the land: Jehovah regardeth it
not.
10 As
for me also, mine eye shall not spare them, I will not pity them their ways will
I recompense on their heads.
11 And
lo! the man clad in linen, who had the inkhorn by his side, Returned and made
his report., saying, I have done as you did command me.
CHAPTER
10
1 Then
I looked, and lo! above the firmament, which was above the head of the cherubim,
As it were a sapphire-stone, Like the appearance of a throne which was seen
above them.
2 Then
he spoke to the mall clad in linen garments, and said, Go in to the midst of the
wheels under the cherub, And fill thy palms with coals of fire from the midst of
the cherubim, And scatter them over the cry. And he went in my
sight.
3 And
the cherubim stood on the right of the house when the man came. And a cloud
fined the inner court.
4 Then
the glory of Jehovah was raised above the cherub towards the threshold of the
house; And the house was fined with cloud, And the court was fined with the
brightness of Jehovah’s glory.
5 Then
the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard to the outer court, Like the
voice of the Omnipotent God when he speaketh.
6 And
it happened when he had commanded the man clothed with linen, Saying, Take fire
from between the wheels, from the midst of the cherubim; Then he went in and
stood beside the wheel.
7 And
one cherub stretched His hand from the midst of the cherubim, To the fire which
was in the midst of the cherubim, And he took it, and put it into the palms of
the man clothed in linen; Then he took it and departed.
8 And
there appeared in the cherubim themselves, The likeness of a man’s hand
under their wings.
9 Then
I looked, and lo! four wheels near the cherubhis, One wheel by one cherub,
another wheel near another cherub: And the appearance of the wheels was like the
stone tharsis.
10 And
as for their aspect, the appearance of each was the
same,
f583 As if a wheel was in the midst of a
wheel.
11 When
they moved, they went on their four sides; They did not return in going forward,
Since they moved towards the direction of their head; They did not return as
they went.
12 And
their whole body, and backs, and hands, and wings, The four wheels, indeed,
themselves were full of eyes all round. is He cried to the wheels in my hearing,
O wheel!
14 And
each living creature had four faces: The face of the first that of a cherub; The
face of the second that of a. man; Of the third that of a lion; and the fourth
an eagle’s.
15 And
the cherubim were raised up. This is the living creature which I saw by the
river Chebar.
16 Then
when the cherubim moved, the wheels moved near them; And when the cherubim
raised their wings aloft From the earth, The wheels did not turn away from the
side of them.
17 When
the living creatures stood, they stood; When they were lifted up, the wheels
also were raised: Because the spirit of the living creature was in
them.
18 Then
the glory of Jehovah went forth from the threshold of the house, And stood over
the cherubim.
19 Then
the cherubim raised their wings, and went up from the earth in my sight: When
they went forth, the wheels also went before them, And each stood above the
threshold of the east gate of Jehovah’s house; And the glory of the God of
Israel was above them.
20 It
is the very living creature which I saw Under the God of Israel by the river
Chebar; And I knew them to be cherubim.
21 Each
had four faces apiece, and four wings; And the likeness of the hands of a man
under their wings.
22 And
the likeness of their faces was that which I saw at the river Chebar, Both their
appearance and themselves:
f584 Each moved towards his own
face.
CHAPTER
11
1 Then
the spirit raised me up, and brought me To the eastern gate of Jehovah’s
house; and lo! At the threshold of the gate, five and twenty men; Then I saw in
the midst of them Jaazaniah, son of Asur; And Pelthiah, son of Benaiah, princes
of the people.
2 Then
he said to me, Son of man, these men divine vanity, And plan perverse counsel in
this city;
3 Who
say, It is not near; let us build houses: The city is the caldron, and we are
the flesh:
4 Wherefore,
prophesy against them, prophesy, son of man.
5 Then
the Spirit of Jehovah fell upon me, and said to me, Say, Thus saith Jehovah,
Thus have you spoken, O house of Israel, The mountings of your spirit, I know
them:
6 You
have multiplied your slain in this city, And you have fined its streets with the
slain.
7 Wherefore,
thus says the Lord Jehovah, Your slain, Whom you placed in the midst —
they shall be the flesh, And the city the caldron; and I will cast you forth
from the midst of it:
8 You
have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, saith the Lord
Jehovah:
9 And
I will eas, you out of the midst of it. And will deliver you h, to the hand of
strangers, And will exercise judgments against you.
10 Then
you shall fall by the sword: in the border of Israel Will I judge you; and you
shall know that I am Jehovah.
11 It
shall not be your caldron, And you shall not be in the midst of it for flesh; In
the border of Israel will I judge you.
12 And
you shall, Know that I am Jehovah; Because you ha, re not; walked in my
statutes, And have not executed my judgments; But you have done according to the
judgments of the nations around you.
13 And
it happened, while I prophesied, That Phalatias, the son of Benaiah, died: Then
I fell upon my face, and cried with loud voice, and said, Ah! Lord Jehovah! will
you consume the remnant of Israel!
14 Then
the word of Jehovah came to me again, saying,
15 Son
of man, thy brethren, thy brethren, Thy kindred, and all the whole house of
Israel, To these the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Depart you far from
Jehovah, the land is given as an heritage to us.
16 Wherefore
say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because you have been east far away among the
Gentiles, And dispersed through the lands, Therefore will I be to them a
sanctuary of fewness
f585 In the lands to which they have
come.
17 Wherefore
you shall say, Thus says the Lord Jehovah, I will gather you out of the peoples,
and collect you out of the lands To which you have been driven, and I will give
you the land of Israel.
18 And
they shall come there, and take away all its idols, And all its abominations out
of it.
19 Then
I will give them one hear, and will put a new Spirit within them; And I will
take away the stony heart from their flesh, And will give them a heart of
flesh:
20 That.
they may walk in my statutes, And keep my judgments, and do them: Then they
shall be my people, and I will be their God.
21 Then
I will repay on their own head the way of those Whose heart walks after, heart
of foulness
f586 and grossness, Saith the Lord
Jehovah.
22 Then
the cherubim raised their wings, and the wheels beside them, And the glory of
the God of Israel was over above them.
23 And
the glory of Jehovah ascended out of the midst of the city, And stood over the
mount on the east of the city.
24 Then
the spirit raised me, and brought me to Chaldsea, To the captivity, In a vision,
in t. he Spirit of God. Then the vision which I saw went up from
me.
25 And
I spoke to the captivity All the words of Jehovah which he had shown
me.
CHAPTER
12
1 The
word of Jehovah came also unto me, saying,
2 Son
of man, you dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house: They have eyes to see,
and they see not; They have ears to hear, and they hear not, Because their house
is revoking.
3 And
you, son of man, make thyself vessels for removal, And remove in the day-time
before their eyes: Then you shall move from thy place to another in their sight,
Since perhaps they may consider, for they are a rebellious
house
4 And
bring forth vessels like vessels for removal In the day-time in their sight: And
you shall go forth at even in their sight, Like a departure into
captivity.
5 In
their sight; you shall dig thyself a wall, And carry out (thy goods) by
it:
6 In
their eyes upon thy shoulder shall you carry (them); In darkness shall you go
forth: You shall cover thy face, and not look upon the ground, Because I have
placed thee as a sign to the house of Israel.
7 Then
I did as I was commanded. My vessels I carried forth like vessels for captivity
In the daytime; Then in the evening I dug through the wall by my
hand;
f587 In the
darkness I led them forth, Upon my shoulder I carried them in their
sight.
8 Then
in the morning the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
9 Son
of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to
thee,
10 What
doest you? Say to them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: This
burden
f588 relates to the prince in Jerusalem, And
to all the house of Israel in the midst of them.
11 Say
unto them, I am your portent: As I have done, so shall it be done to them: They
shall be taken away and led into captivity.
12 Then
the prince in the midst of them Shall carry on his shoulder in the darkness, And
go forth through the wall, Through which they have dug for carrying out by it:
He shall cover his face so as not to look upon the ground.
13 Then
I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare: Then I will
lead him away to Babylon in the land of Chaldea; Yet he shall not see it, though
he shall die there.
14 And
all who are about him to help him, and all his garrison, Will I scatter to every
wind, and I will unsheath my sword after
them
f589
15 Then
they shall know that I ant Jehovah, After I shall have scattered them among the
nations, And shall have dispersed them through their lands.
16 And
I will make the remnant of them but few By the sword, and famine, and
pestilence; That they may narrate all their abominations Among the Gentiles to
whom they come; And they shall know that; I am Jehovah.
17 Moreover,
the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
18 Son
of man, eat thy bread with trembling, and drink thy water With tumult and
anxiety: And you shall say to the people of the land,
19 Thus
says the Lord Jehovah to the dwellers at Jerusalem, And on the land of Israel,
They shall eat their bread in
torture,
f590 And shall drink their water in
desolation, That the land rosy be spoiled of its fullness, On account of the
violence of all its inhabitants.
20 And
inhabited cities shall be reduced to solitude, And the land laid waste; and you
shall know that I am Jehovah.
21 Then
the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
22 Son
of man, What is this proverb of yours in the land of Israel, saying, The days
are prostrated, and all prophecy has ceased? Wherefore you shall say to them,
Thus says the Lord Jehovah, I will make this proverb cease, And they shall no
more use this proverb in Israel; But rather say to them, The days are at hand,
And the word of every vision.
24 Because
there shall no longer be any lying vision, Nor any flattering divination in the
midst of the house of Israel.
25 Since
I Jehovah will speak: And the word which I shall speak, I will also perform; It
shall no longer be prolonged: Since in your days, O exasperating house, The word
which I shall speak, I will perform, says the Lord Jehovah.
26 Then
the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
27 Son
of man, behold the house of Israel say, The vision which he saw is extended to
many days, And he prophesieth for times afar off.
28 Wherefore
you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord Jehovah, It shall not be put off any
longer; All the words which I have spoken, even every word, Will I fulfill, says
the Lord Jehovah.
CHAPTER
13.
1 And
the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
2 Son
of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel That prophesy, and say unto them
that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear you the word of
Jehovah;
3 Thus
says the Lord Jehovah, Wo unto the foolish prophets, Who walk after their own
spirit, and have seen nothing!
F591
4 Like
foxes in the deserts, are thy prophets, O Israel.
5 You
have not gone up to the broken places, Nor repaired the hedge around the house
of Israel, To stand in the battle in the day of Jehovah.
6 They
have seen vanity, they have divined a he, Saying, Jehovah says, and Jehovah has
not sent them; And they caused men to hope for the confirmation of their
word.
7 Have
you not seen a vision of vanity, and spoken a divination of is? And yet you say
Jehovah says it, and I have not spoken it.
8 Wherefore
thus says the Lord Jehovah,
f592 Because you have spoken vanity, and have
seen a he, Wherefore behold! I am against t. hem, Says the Lord
Jehovah.
9 And
my hand shall be against the prophets who see vanity and divine a lie: They
shall not be in the counsel of my people, And shall not be written in the
catalogue of the house of Israel, And they shall not return to the land of
Israel; And you shall know that I am the Lord Jehovah.
10 Because,
even because, they have deceived my people, By saying, Peace, and there was no
peace: And one built up a wall, and, behold, others daubed it with untempered
mortar:
11 Say
to those who daub it with untempered mortar, It shall fall: There shall be an
inundating shower: And I will send hailstones; And the breath of whirlwinds
shall rend it.
12 Lo!
the wall shall fall: shall it not be said to you, Where is the daubing with
which you have daubed it?
13 Besides,
thus says the Lord Jehovah, I will make it
fall:
f593 There shall be the breath. of tempests
in my wrath, And an inundating shower in my anger, And hailstones in my fury to
consume them.
14 Then
I will overthrow the wall which you have daubed with untempered mortar, And I
will bring it down to the ground; Then its foundation shall be discovered when
it shall fall, And you shall be consumed in the midst of it; And you shall know
that I am Jehovah.
15 I
will also satisfy mine indignation upon the wall As well as upon its daubing,
and will say to them, The wall is gone, and the daubers of it are no
more.
16 The
prophets of Israel prophesied concerning Jerusalem, And saw a vision of peace
for it; Yet there is no peace, says the Lord Jehovah.
17 Son
of man, do you set thy face against the daughters of thy people, Who prophesy
out of their own heart, and prophesy against them,
18 And
you shall say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Wo to those who sow pillows to all
armholes, And make coverings for the head of every stature, To hunt souls! Will
you hunt the souls of my people? And will you preserve your own souls
alive?
19 Will
you profane me before my people for handfuls of barley and pieces of bread, To
slay the souls that were not dying, And to give life to the souls that were not
alive, By deceiving my people who listen to your is?
20 Because
thus says the Lord Jehovah, Behold! I am against your pillows by which you there
hunt souls for their escape; And I will tear them from your arms, And set free
the souls which you have hunted, that they may escape.
21 I
will also rend your coverings, and deliver my people out of your hands; They
shall no longer be a prey in your hands; And you shall know that I am
Jehovah.
22 Because
you have grieved the heart of the just by falsehood, And I have not grieved him;
And you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, So that he should not be
converted from his evil way
23 For
saving his life: wherefore you shall not see a he Nor divine a divination any
more; For I will rescue my people from your hands: And you shall know that I am
Jehovah.
CHAPTER
14
1 Then
men came to me from the elders of Israel, And sat before my
face.
2 Then
came the word of Jehovah to me, saying,
3 Son
of man, these men have set their idols up in their heart, And have put a
stumbling block of iniquity before their face. Shall I verily be inquired of by
them?
4 Wherefore
speak unto them, and say, Thus says the Lord Jehovah, Every man of the house of
Israel, who setteth up his idols in his heart, And has put the stumbling block
of his iniquity before his face, And has come to the Prophet; I Jehovah Will
answer him according to the multitude of his
idols;
f594
5 That
I may seize the house of Israel in their own heart, Because they have entirely
separated themselves from me by their idols.
6 Therefore
say unto the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Jehovah, Turn you, Even turn
yourselves from your idols; And turn your faces from all your
abominations.
7 For
every one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers sojourning in Israel, Who
is separated
f595 from following after me, And has set up
his idols in his heart, And put the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his
face, And cometh to the Prophet to inquire of me through him; I Jehovah will
answer him for myself.
8 Then
will I set my face against that man, And set him for a sign and a proverb, And I
will cut him off from the midst of my people; And you shall know that I am
Jehovah.
9 And
when a prophet is deceived in uttering his speech, I Jehovah have deceived that
prophet; And I will stretch forth my hand upon him, And will blot him out of the
midst of my people Israel.
10 They
shall also bear their iniquity; As the iniquity of the inquirer, so shall be the
iniquity of the prophet;
11 That
the house of Israel may stray from me no more, Neither be polluted any more with
all their wickedness; That they may be my people, and I may be their God, says
the Lord Jehovah.
12 Then
the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
13 Son
of man, when a land has acted wickedly against
me,
f596 And I shall stretch out my hand upon it,
And shall break the staff of its bread, And shall send famine upon it, and cut
off from it man and beast:
14 Though
these three men were in it, Noah, Daniel, and Job, They shall deliver but their
own souls in their righteousness, Says the Lord Jehovah.
15 If
I cause an evil beast to pass through the land, And it bereave it and lay it
waste, So that no man can pass through on account of the beast:
16 Though
these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord Jehovah, If they shall
deliver their own souls, They alone shall be delivered, and the land shall be
laid waste.
17 Or
if I make a sword pass through that land, And I say to the sword, Pass through
the land, So that: man. and beast may be cut off from it:
18 And
these three men are in the midst of it, As I live, says the Lord Jehovah, They
shall not deliver their sons and their daughters, Since they alone shall be set
free.
19 Or
if I shall send a pestilence upon that land, And pour out my wrath upon it in
blood, To destroy from it man and beast:
20 And
Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the midst of it, As I live, says the Lord Jehovah,
They shall not deliver either son or daughter; They shall free their own soul in
their righteousness.
21 Therefore
thus says the Lord Jehovah, How much more when I send my four grievous judgments
against Jerusalem, The sword, and famine, and evil beast, to destroy from it man
and beast?
22 And
lo! the remnant that is left in
it,
f597 The remnant of those who go forth,
namely, sons and daughters, They shall go forth unto you: And you shall see
their ways and their works, And you shall console yourselves for all the evil
Which I have brought upon Jerusalem, Yea, all that I have brought upon
her.
23 Then
shall you be comforted when you shall see their ways and their works: And you
shall know that I have not done in vain Whatever I have done in it, says the
Lord Jehovah.
CHAPTER
15
1 Then
came the word of Jehovah unto me, saying,
2 Son
of man, What is the wood of the vine Better than any branching-tree among the
trees of the wood?
3 Shall
wood be taken from it to form any work? Or will it make a peg to hang any vessel
thereon?
4 Behold,
it is east into the fire for burning; The fire devoured both ends of it, and its
middle is burnt
f598 Is it useful for any
purpose?
5 Lo!
when it was entire, it was not used for any purpose: How much less when the fire
has consumed it, And it is burnt up, shall it be useful for any
purpose?
6 Therefore
thus says the Lord Jehovah, As the wood of the vine among the trees of the
forest, Which I have cast into the fire for fuel, So have I given the
inhabitants of Jerusalem:
7 Then
will I set my face against them; They shall pass through fire, and fire shall
consume them; And they shall know that I am Jehovah, When I have set my face
against them.
8 Then
will I make the land desolate, Because they have transgressed with
transgression
f599 Says the Lord Jehovah.
CHAPTER
16
1 Then
the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2 Son
of man, lay open to Jerusalem her abominations.
3 Thus
shall you say, Thus says the Lord Jehovah unto Jerusalem, Thy source and thy
birth-place was the land of Canaan; Thy father was an Amorite, thy mother a
Hittite.
4 Then
as to thy nativity, in the day of thy birth, Thy navel was not cut: you was not
washed with water To supple thee: you was not salted with
salt,
f600 Nor wrapped in swaddling
clothes.
5 No
eye pitied thee, to do unto thee any one of these things, In considering thee;
and you was cast forth On the surface of the field, to the disgrace of thy
person, in the day of thy birth.
6 Then
I passed near thee and saw thy defilement’s, And I said to thee in thy
bloods, Live; Yea, I said to thee in thy bloods, Live.
7 Then
I made thee grow as a germ of the field, And you did increase and flourish; You
became remarkably beautiful;
f601 Thy breasts became prominent and your
hair profuse, Yet you was naked and bare.
8 Then
I passed by and saw thee: and lo! the time, the time for love: Then I stretched
out my skirt over thee, And covered thy nakedness; and I swore to thee, And made
a covenant with thee, And you was mine, saith the Lord Jehovah.
9 Then
I washed thee with water, and cleansed thy blood from thee, And anointed thee
with oil. and clothed thee in a Phrygian robe;
10 Then
I shod thee with badgers’ skin, and dressed thee in fine linen; Then I
arrayed thee in silk, and adorned thee with ornaments,
11 And
put bracelets on thy hands, and a chain round thy Deck.
12 Then
I put a ring through thy nose,
f602 and earrings in your ears, And a crown
of comeliness on thy head.
13 I
adorned thee with gold and silver, and clothed thee with fine linen, And silk
and broidered work you did eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; And you was
beautiful exceedingly, And you did proceed prosperously to thy
kingdom.
14 Then
thy fame went forth among the nations for beauty, Because you was perfect in the
beauty Which I caused unto thee, says the Lord Jehovah.
15 But
you did trust in thy beauty, and commit fornication through thy renown, And did
pour out thy fornications to every passer by;
16 His
it was. — Then you has taken of thy garments, And made thee high places
sprinkled with spots, And has committed fornication upon them: They do not come,
and it shall not be.
F603
17 You
has also taken vessels of thy beauty of my gold And of my silver which I had
given thee; And you has made for thyself images of men, And has committed
fornication with them.
18 Then
you has taken of thy variegated garments, And has clothed them: and my oil and
mine incense Has you set before them.
19 My
bread also which, I gave thee, fine flour and oil, And honey with which I fed
thee, You has set it before them for a sweet savor; And so it has happened, says
the Lord Jehovah.
20 Then
you has taken thy sons and thy daughters which you has borne to me, And has
slain them to be devoured: Are then thy fornications a small
thing?
21 Then
you has slain my sons, and caused them to be thrown to
idols.
F604
22 And
in all your abominations and thy lewdness You has not remembered the days of thy
youth, When you was naked and bare, and defiled in thy bloods.
23 So
after all thy wickedness it has happened to thee, Wo! wo! unto thee, says the
Lord Jehovah.
24 Then
you has built a high place for thyself, And has made thee a raised spot in every
street.
25 At
the head of every way you has built thy high place; Then you has made thy beauty
abominable, And has spread thy feet to every passer by, And has multiplied thy
lewdness’.
26 You
has also committed adultery with the Egyptians Thy neighbors, great of flesh:
and over and over again Has committed lewdness to irritate me.
27 Then
lo! I stretched out my hand over thee, And I diminished thy portion, and
delivered thee up To the lust of the daughters of the Philistines, who hated
thee, And were ashamed of your abandoned ways.
28 Then
you has committed adultery with the sons of Ashur, Since you was not satisfied,
you has been lewd with them; Yet even then you was not,
satisfied.
29 Then
you has increased thy lewdnesses In the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; And even
this did not satiate thee.
30 How
soft is your heart, says the Lord Jehovah, Since you doest all the work of a
bold abandoned woman!
31 Since
you has raised your high place at the head of every way, And has made thy lofty
place in every celebrated spot; And has not been like a harlot in scorning
hire.
F605
32 An
adulterous woman receiving strangers instead of her husband!
33 To
all harlots men give a reward; But you has given thy gifts to all thy lovers,
And you has hired them to come to thee from all sides
34 For
thy fornications — for in thy lewdness You have inverted the custom of
other women; Since there is no fornication like thine: Because you has given
instead of receiving a gift, Then you has acted contrary to
others.
35 Wherefore,
O harlot, hear Jehovah’s word!
36 Thus
says the Lord Jehovah, Because thy shamelessness is poured out, And thy baseness
detected in thy lewdness towards thy lovers, And towards all the idols of your
abominations, And in the bloods of thy children whom you has given to
them;
37 Wherefore
lo! I will assemble all thy lovers Whom you has attracted, and all whom you has
loved and hated; I will assemble them from all around thee, And I will lay bare
thy nakedness before them, And they shall behold all thy
turpitude.
38 Then
will I judge thee with the judgment of adulteresses, And of those who pour out
blood; and I will give thee The blood of fury and of jealousy.
39 And
I will give thee into their hand, And they shall pull down thy high place, And
destroy thy raised places, and shall spoil thee of thy robes; They shall also
take the vessels of thy glory, And send thee away, naked and
bare.
40 Then
they shall stir up a crowd against thee, And stone thee with stones, and thrust
at thee with swords.
41 Then
they shall burn thy houses with fire, And shall execute judgments against thee
in the eyes of many women: Then will I cause thee to cease from fornication,
Neither shall you offer a gift any more.
42 And
I will cause my fury towards thee to rest, And my jealousy shall depart from
thee, And I will rest and be no longer angry.
43 Because
you has not remembered the days of thy youth, But has provoked me in all those
things; I will even recompense thy way upon your head, Says the Lord Jehovah;
since you has taken no thought For all your
abominations.
F606
44 Lo!
every user of proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, Saying, As the
mother is, so is the daughter.
45 You
art the daughter of thy mother, who has east away her husband and her sons; And
the sister of thy sisters, who loathe their husbands and children; Your mother
was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite:
46 And
your elder sister is Samaria, and her daughters those who dwell at thy left
hand; And thy younger sister, who dwells at thy right hand, is Sodom and her
daughters.
47 Yet
you has not walked in their ways, And you has not done according to their
abominations, As if it had been a very small firing, And you has been more
corrupt than they in all thy ways.
48 As
I live, says the Lord Jehovah, If Sodom thy sister and her daughters have done
As you and thy daughters have done.
49 Lo!
this was the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, Pride, fullness of bread, and
security of ease Belonged to her and her daughters and she did not lay hold Of
the hand of the poor and needy; but she was haughty,
50 And
did abomination before me, Hence I took them away as it pleased
me.
F607
51 And
Samaria has not committed half of thy sins; But you has multiplied your
abominations beyond them, And has justified thy sisters in all the abominations
which you has done.
52 Bear
you, then, thy disgrace by which you has pleaded for thy sister, By thy crimes
which you has committed beyond them; They are justified more than you be you
then ashamed, And bear thy disgrace, since you has justified thy
sisters.
53 Yet
will I turn the captivity, yea, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, And
the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, And the captivity of thy captivities
in the midst of them,
54 That
you mayest bear thy reproach, and mayest be ashamed Of all that you has done in
consoling them.
55 And
thy sisters Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, And
Samaria and her daughters shall return to theirs, And you and thy daughters
shall return to yours.
56 Then
thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thee, In the day of thy pride, before thy
wickedness was detected;
57 As
in the time of thy reproach from the daughters of Syria, And from all around of
the daughters of the Philistines, Who despised thee round
about.
58 As
for thy depraved thoughts and abominations, You has borne them, says
Jehovah.
59 For
thus saith the Lord Jehovah, I will also do to thee as you has done, Who has
despised the oath and broken the covenant.
60 Yet
I will remember my covenant with thee In the days of thy youth, and I will
establish a perpetual covenant with thee.
61 Then
you shall remember thy ways and be ashamed, When you shall receive thy sisters,
both elder and younger than thyself; And I will give them unto thee for
daughters, But not by thy covenant.
62 For
I will establish my covenant with thee, And you shall know that I am
Jehovah.
63 That
you mayest remember and be ashamed, And not open thy mouth any more because of
thy disgrace, When I am propitious to thee for all thy deeds, Says the Lord
Jehovah.
CHAPTER
17
1 Then
the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
2 Son
of man, put forth an enigma and utter a proverb to the house of
Israel;
3 And
say, Thus says the Lord Jehovah, A mighty eagle, with great wings, long
feathers, and full of plumage, Of various colors, came to Mount Lebanon, And
took the highest branch of a cedar;
4 He
cropped off the top of its young twigs, And carried it into the land of the
merchant; He planted it in a city of merchants.
5 He
took also of the seed of the land, And put it in a fruitful field; He planted it
near many waters, like a
willow.
F608
6 Then
it grew and became a luxuriant vine, low of stature, So that its branches turned
towards the eagle, And its roots were under him; and it became a vine, And
brought forth branches, and sent out boughs.
7 There
was also another large eagle,
f609 of great wings and of copious plumage,
And lo! this vine bent its roots towards him, And sent forth its branches
towards him, That he might water it from the beds of his
plantation.
8 In
a good soil near many streams was it planted, That it should produce leaves and
bring forth fruit, So as to be a magnificent vine.
9 Say
you, Thus says the, Lord Jehovah, Shall it prosper? Shall not one pluck up its
roots and cut down its fruits, And dry up all its branches, that it may wither?
Then it shall not be for a great arm or much people To take
it
f610 away from its roots.
10 Yet,
behold, when planed, shall it prosper? Shall it not completely wither when the
east wind has touched it.? Upon the beds of its plantation shall it
wither.
11 Then
the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
12 Say,
I pray thee, to the rebellious house, Know you not what this means? Say, Lo! the
king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, And has taken away its king and its
elders, and carried them with him to Babylon;
13 Then
he took from the royal seed, and struck an agreement with him, And made him
descend to an oath; Then he took also the mighty of the land;
14 That
the kingdom should be low, and not raise itself up, And keep its agreement and
stand in it.
15 But
he rebelled against him, by sending his ambassadors To Egypt, that horses and
much people might be given him: Shall he who doeth these things prosper and
escape? Shall he who breaks the treaty get off?
16 As
I live, says the Lord Jehovah, if he shall not die In the place of the king who
made him reign, Whose oath he has despised, and whose treaty he has made vain,
In the midst of Babylon.
17 Neither
with a mighty army nor a great host Shall Pharaoh meet with him in battle, By
throwing up a mound and by building a tower, to cut off many
souls.
18 Through
breaking the covenant he has despised his oath, And, behold, he has stretched
forth his hand, And has done all this, and shall not escape.
19 Besides,
thus says the Lord Jehovah, As I live, If I do not recompense on his own head My
oath which he has despised, and my covenant which he has
broken,
20 Then
I will stretch my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare; And I will
lead him to Babylon, and will plead with him there, Concerning the transgression
which he has transgressed against me.
21 And
all his fugitives,. with all his forces, shall fall by the sword; And the
remnant shall be scattered to every wind; And you shall know that I Jehovah have
spoken.
22 Thus
says the Lord Jehovah, I will take from the top of the lofty cedar, And I will
tear off a tender branch from its twigs and will set it: And I will plant it on
a lofty and elevated mountain;
23 On
a lofty mountain of Israel will I plant it; And it shall bring forth a bough and
bear fruit, and shall be a tall
cedar;
f611 Then every bird shall dwell under it;
Every winged thing shall shelter itself under the shadow of its
branches.
24 Then
all the trees of the field shall know that I am Jehovah, Who humble the high
tree and raise aloft the low tree; I dry up the green tree, and make the dry
tree fruitful I Jehovah have spoken and have done it.
CHAPTER
18
1 Then
the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
2 What
mean you by using this proverb
f612 about the land of Israel, Saying, The
fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on
edge?
3 As
I live, says the Lord Jehovah, You shall not hereafter Use this proverb any more
in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, So the soul of
the son is mine. The soul which has sinned shall die itself.
5 But
if a man have been just, and done judgment and justice,
6 And
have neither eaten upon the mountains, nor raised his eyes To the idols of the
house of Israel, and have not polluted His neighbor’s wife, nor approached
a female when separated;
7 If
he have not afflicted any one, and have restored to the debtor his pledge, Have
not seized the prey, have given his bread to the hungry, And have covered the
naked with a garment:
8 Have
not given upon usury, and have taken no increase, Have withdrawn his hand from
iniquity, And have done justice faithfully between man and man;
9 Have
walked in my statutes, and kept my judgments, to do the
truth
f613 He is just, he shall surely live, saith
the Lord Jehovah.
10 But
if he beget a son, who is a robber and a shedder of blood, And who doeth to his
brother
f614 any one of these
things,
11 And
has not done all these precepts of the law, But has eaten on the mountains, and
defiled his neighbor’s wife;
12 Has
oppressed the poor and needy, has spoiled by violence, Has not restored the
pledge, has lifted up his eyes unto idols;
13 Has
done abomination, has given on usury and taken increase; Shall he live? He shall
not live; he has done all these abominations; He shall surely die: his blood
shall be on him.
14 And
lo! if he beget a son, and he see all the wickedness which his father has
committed, And feared, and hath not done according to them;
15 Has
not eaten upon the mountains, and has not raised his eyes To the idols of the
house of Israel, and has not defiled his neighbor’s wife; Hath oppressed
no one, has not taken a pledge,
16 Hath
not spoiled by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, And has covered the
naked with a garment;
17 Has
withdrawn his hand from the poor, Has not received increase and usury, has done
my judgments, Has walked in my decrees; he shall not die Through the ]iniquity
of his father; he shall surely live.
18 His
father, — because by oppressing he has oppressed, And has snatched the
prey from his brother, And has done that which is not good in the midst of the
people, — Behold, he shall die in his iniquity.
19 And
you say, Why? shall not the son bear his father’s iniquity? Because the
son has done judgment and justice, And has kept all my statutes and has done
them, Therefore shall he surely live.
20 The
soul which has sinned, that shall die. The son shall not bear the father’s
iniquity, And the father shall not bear the son’s iniquity; The
righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, And the impiety of the impious
shall be upon him.
21 Then,
if the wicked man shall withdraw from all the wickedness which he has done, And
have kept all my sayings, and have done justice and judgement, He shall surely
live — he shall not die.
22 All
the transgressions which he has committed Shall not come into memory to him; But
in his righteousness; which he has done shall he live.
23 Do
I earnestly desire the death of the wicked, says the Lord Jehovah? Do I not
desire that he turn from his evil ways and live?
24 Then,
if a just man turn aside from his justice, And do iniquity, according to all the
abominations Which the wicked man has done, shall he live? All his righteous
deeds shall not come into
remembrance?
F615 In the transgression which he has
transgressed, And in the wickedness which he has wickedly done, In them shall he
die — yet you have said —
25 The
way of the Lord is not upright. Hear you then, O house of Israel, is not my way
upright? Are not your ways
perverse?
F616
26 If
the just man has turned aside from his justice, And has done iniquity, and has
died in it, In his own iniquity which he has committed shall he
die.
27 And
if the wicked man has turned aside from the wickedness which he has done, And
has done judgment and justice, he shall preserve his soul
alive.
F617
28 Then,
if he have seen and have turned away from all the wickedness Which he has done,
he shall surely live — he shall not die.
29 Yet,
the house of Israel have said, The way of the Lord is not upright. Are not my
ways upright, O house of Israel? Are not your ways perverse?
30 Wherefore
I will judge each of you according to his ways, O house of Israel, says the Lord
Jehovah. Turn you, and depart from all your transgressions, And let not iniquity
be your snare.
31 Cast
away from you all your iniquities whereby you have transgressed; And make you a
new heart and a new spirit: For why will you die, O house of
Israel?
32 Since
I do not delight in the death of the dying, Says the Lord Jehovah —
wherefore turn you, and live.
CHAPTER
19
1 Wherefore
take you up this mournful strain against the princes of Israel,
2 And
say, Why did thy mother — a lioness — Lie down among lions? she
brought up her whelps In the midst of lions.
3 Then
she bore one of her whelps, and he was made a lion: Then he learnt to seize his
prey, and he devoured men.
4 Then
the Gentiles heard of him; he was taken in their pit, And they led him in chains
into the land of Egypt.
5 Then
she saw what she had hoped for, and how her hope had perished; And she took
another of her whelps, and made him a lion.
6 Then
he walked in the midst of lions, and became a lion; And he learnt to seize the
prey, and devoured men.
7 Then
he harassed their palaces and destroyed their cities; And the land was rendered
desolate, and all its fullness, By the voice of his roaring.
8 Then
the nations set themselves against him From all sides and regions, and spread
their net over him. He was taken in their pitfall: and they put him in
ward,
9 And
brought him in chains to the king of Babylon. They led him into strongholds,
that his voice Might be no longer heard in the mountains of
Israel.
10 Thy
mother, when she bore thee,
f618 was planted like a vine near the waters:
She was fruitful and branching beside many waters.
11 And
the rods of her strength were for scepters for rulers, And her stature was
elevated, and appeared aloft In the multitude of her branches.
12 Then
she was torn in fury, and cast on the ground; And the east wind dried up her
fruit; Her strong rods were broken off and dried up; The fire consumed them; and
now she is planted
13 In
the desert, in a land of dryness and thirst.
14 Then
a fire went forth from the rod of her branches, and devoured her fruit; And
there was not a rod of strength in her — a scepter for ruling. This is the
lamentation, and shall be for a wailing.
CHAPTER
20
1 It
occurred in the seventh year, the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, Men
from the elders of Israel came to consult Jehovah, And sat before my face. And
the word of Jehovah
2 Came
to me, saying, Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel,
3 And
say unto there, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Are you come. to inquire of me? As
I live, If I will be sought by you, saith the Lord Jehovah,
4 Wilt
you judge them, wilt you judge them, son of man? Explain to them the
abominations of their fathers;
5 Then
you shall say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, In the day on which I
chose Israel, and lifted up my hand To the seed of the house of Jacob, and was
known to them in the land of Egypt, Then I raised my hand to them, saying, I am
Jehovah your God:
6 In
that day I lifted up my hand towards them, To bring them from the land of Egypt
into a land which I espied for them, Flowing with milk and honey, desirable
beyond all lands.
7 Then
I said to them, Cast you away every one the abominations of his eyes, And
pollute not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I Jehovah am your God; and they
rebelled against me,
8 And
were unwilling to hear me: they did not cast away The idols of their eyes: they
did not desert the idols of Egypt: Then I said that I would pour out my wrath
upon them; To fill up nay fury against them in the midst of the land of
Egypt.
9 But,
I acted for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the eyes of
the nations, In the midst of which they were; in whose sight I was known to
them, By bringing them forth from the land of Egypt.
10 Then
I led them out from the land of Egypt, and brought them into the
desert.
11 And
I gave them my decrees, and made known my judgments unto them, Which if a man
do, he shall live in them.
12 Moreover
I gave them my Sabbaths for a sign between me and them, That they might know
that I am he who sanctifieth them.
13 But
the house of Israel rebelled against me in the desert: They walked not in my
decrees, And despised my judgments, Which if a mall do, he shall live in them.
And my sabbaths they greatly violated: Then I said I would pour out my wrath in
the desert to consume them.
14 Then
I acted for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned In the eyes of
the nations, in whose sight I led them out.
15 Yet
I lifted up my hand to them in the desert, That I should not lead them into the
land which I had given them, Flowing with milk and honey, the desire of all
lands,
16 Because
they despised my judgments, and walked not in my decrees, And polluted my
sabbaths; because their heart walked after their idols.
17 Then
mine eye spared them, so that I did not destroy them, And did not consume them
in the desert.
18 Then
I said unto their sons in the desert, Walk you not in the decrees of your
fathers, And keep not their judgments, and pollute not yourselves with their
idols:
19 I
Jehovah am your God, walk you in my decrees, And keep my judgments, and do
them:
20 And
hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, That you may
know that I Jehovah am your God.
21 Then
these sons became rebels against me: They walked not in my decrees, and kept not
my judgments To do them, which if a man do, he shall live in them; They profaned
my Sabbaths: and I said That I would pour out my wrath upon them, To accomplish
my fury against them in the desert.
22 Then
I withdrew my hand, and acted for my name’s sake, That it should not be
profaned in the eyes of the nations, Before whose sight I led them
out.
23 I
also lifted up my hand to them in the desert To scatter them among the nations,
and disperse them through the lands;
24 Because
they did not perform my judgments, And despised my statutes, and violated my
Sabbaths; And their eyes were after their fathers’ idols.
25 I
therefore gave them decrees that were not good, And judgments by which they
could not live;
26 And
I contaminated them in their gifts, By casting away every first-born offspring,
To destroy them, that. they may know that I am Jehovah.
27 Wherefore,
speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them, Thus says the Lord
Jehovah, Hither to your fathers Have dishonored me in this by prevaricating
greatly against me:
28 For
I introduced them into the land, for which I raised my hand to give it them; And
they saw every high inn, and every branching tree: Then they sacrificed there
their offerings, And offered there the irritation of their oblation, And placed
there the odor of their sweet fragrance, And poured out there their
libations.
29 Then
said I unto them, What is the high place to which you approach? For its name is
called “Lofty” unto this day.
30 Wherefore,
say unto the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Jehovah, Are you polluted after
the way of your fathers? And do you commit adultery after their
idols?
31 For
in offering your gifts, and in passing your sons through the fire, You pollute
yourselves in all your idols unto this day Then shall I be inquired of by you, O
house of Israel! As I live, says the Lord Jehovah, if I shall be inquired of by
you.
32 That
also which comes it to your mind shall not happen, Since you say, We will be as
the nations, as the families of the lands,
33 To
serve wood and stone. As I live, says the Lord Jehovah, If I will not rule over
you with a strong hand, and an extended arm, and in fury poured
forth.
34 And
I will lead you out from the people, and collect you from the lands Through
which you were dispersed, by a strong hand, and with an extended
arm,
35 And
with fury poured forth. Then I will lead you into the desert of the Gentiles,
And will plead with you there face to face.
36 As
I pleaded with your fathers in the desert of the land of Egypt, So will I
dispute with you, says the Lord Jehovah.
37 Then
I will make you pass under the rod, And bring you within the bond of a
covenant:
38 Then
will I purge out from among you the rebels, And the transgressors against me
from the land of their habitation Will I bring the impious, and they shall not
enter the land of Israel; And you shall know that I am Jehovah.
39 As
for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord Jehovah, Go you, let each serve
his idols, since you do not hear me, And the name of my sanctity profane no
longer
40 With
your gifts and your idols, since in the mountain of my sanctity, In a lofty
mountain of Israel, says the Lord Jehovah, There shall the whole house of Israel
worship me; All, I say, in the land there will I be propitious to them; And
there will I require your oblations, And the first-fruits of your gifts in all
your purification’s.
41 In
the odor of sweet fragrance will I be propitious to you, When I shall have
brought you from the people, And gathered you from the lands through which you
will be dispersed; And I will be sanctified in you in the eyes of the
nations.
42 Then
shall you know that I am Jehovah, When I shall have brought you back into the
land of Israel, Into the region about which I raised my hand to give it to your
fathers.
43 And
there I will remember your ways, and all your works, In which you were polluted;
and you shall be confused in
facef619
Through all your wickedness which you have committed.
44 Then
shall you know that I am Jehovah, when I shall have done among you According to.
my name, not according to your evil ways, Nor according to your corrupt doings,
O house of Israel, says the Lord Jehovah.
AS CALVIN’S LATIN TRANSLATION ends here, so the
version by the Translator comes naturally to a close. It has not been thought
necessary to re-translate from the original the remainder of EZEKIEL, as the
previously quoted labors of Newcome and Rosenmuller are sufficiently accessible
and explanatory.
A LIST OF THE CHIEF
INTERPRETERS,
ANCIENT AND
MODERN.
1. JEWISH
COMMENTATORS.
Schelomoh Jarchi Ben Jizchak,
commonly called Solomon Jarchi, son of Isaac,
known to the Jews by the word Raschi, made up of the initials of
yjry hmlç
ybr, Rabbi Schelomoh Jarchi, was an eminent
commentator on the whole of the Old Testament. the was born at Troyes, in
Champagne, a province of France, and died A.D. 1180. His chief value arises from
his having collected the best traditionary interpretations of his ancestors from
the earliest times.
David
Kimchi, son of Joseph, known to the Jews by the
name of Radak, from the initial letters of
yjmq rwd
ybr, Rabbi David Kimchi, was a Spaniard.
Though he lived so lately as the twelfth ten bury, his interpretation is much
valued by both Jews and. Christians for its grammatical accuracy. His commentary
on Ezekiel is found in the Rabbinical Writings, edited by Buxtorf, A. D. 1618.
Basil, 2 volumes.; and also 1724, Amsterdam.
Isaac
Abarbanel, a Portuguese Jew, born at Lisbon,
A.D. 1437, and died in Apulia, A.D. 1508. His comments on Ezekiel appeared first
at Pesaro, in Italy, A.D. 1520; and then again at Amsterdam, A.D. 1641. He is
highly esteemed for his extensive erudition and his clear
style.
Shelomoh Ben
Melech, a Spaniard, who lived at Constantinople
in the middle of the sixteenth century. Under the title, The Perfection of
Beauty, he wrote an elaborate commentary on the Old Testament,
Constantinople, A.D. 1554, It was reprinted at Amsterdam, A.D. 1661 and 1685,
fol., with the additions of Jacob Abendana. Tympius and Danzius have illustrated
the manner in which he has improved upon or misunderstood D. Kimchi, according
to Wolf, Bibliothec. Hebr., volume 4 pages 989, 991.
These references to Jewish interpreters will enable
the reader to judge how far their opinion on the sense of a passage is decisive.
It must be remembered that they all lived more than a thousand years after the
Christian era., and that consequently they are not to be esteemed of decisive
authority.
Further information may be obtained from Jo. Christ.
Wolf’s Bibliotheca Hebraee, volume 2. page 368, and elsewhere. Le Long and
Boerner’s Bib. Sac. ab. A. G. Masch, pt. 1. p. 135; and De Rossi’s
Annal. Hebrews Typ., Parmae, 1795, page 131; and Hartwell Horne, volume 2. part
2, where he has chiefly followed Carpzov.
2. THE EARLY
FATHERS.
Origin
(between A.D. 185 and 254) appears to have
commented very voluminously on Ezekiel, as, from the fragments which remain, it
appears that the twentieth volume only reached to chap. 11. Jerome has
translated fourteen homilies of Origen’s on Ezekiel into Latin, which are
found in his works. Edit., Vallarsii, Venet. 1736, tom. 5 page 877; and
in De La Rue’s collected edition of Origen’s Works, volume 3.
page 325.
Ephrem
of Edessa, who lived about A.D. 370, wrote a Commentary on this Prophet in
Syriac, which is found in volume H of his works, as edited by Pet. Benedict, in
Syriac and Latin, at Rome, 1740, fol.
Eusebius Hieronymus
— the well-known Jerome — wrote
fourteen books of Comments on Ezekiel. See his works, edit. Martiani, volume 3,
and Valarsii, volume 5 Rosenmuller esteems his interpretations highly, and often
quotes them at length. Smith’s Biographical Dictionary, Art. Ineronymus,
page 465, states, that the fourteen books of his Comments on this Prophet were
written at intervals, between A.D. 411 and 414, having been commenced
immediately after his Comments on Isaiah, but repeatedly broken off. See also
the prolegomena to the 126th Epistle to Marcellinus, etc.; the Benedictine
edition, volume 3. page 1072.
Theodoret,
Bishop of Cyrus, in Syria, who lived about A.D. 420, wrote a Commentary on
Ezekiel, found in his works, edited by Jac. Sirmond, volume 2 page 300; and in
the edit. Halen., volume 2 part 2.
3. COMMENTATORS OF
THE
SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH
CENTURIES.
Jo. Cecolampadh
Commentarius in Ezekielem. Argentorati, 1534,
4to; Basileae, 1548, fol.
Victorini Strigelh
Ezechiel Propheta ad Ebraicam veritatem
recognitus, et argumentis atque scholiis illustratus. Lipsiae, 1564, 1575, 1579,
8vo.
Hectoris Pinti
Commentarius in Ezechielem. Salmanticae, 1568,
fol.; Antverp, 1570, 1582; Lugduni, 1581, 4to; Ibid. 1584, fol.; Colon., 1615,
4to.
Phil. Heilbrunner
Ezechielis Prophetae vaticinia illustrata.
Lavingae, 1587, 8vo.
Hieron. Padri Et Jo. Bapt.
Villalpandi, in Ezechielem Explanationes.
Romae, 1596, 3 vols. fol.
This work is much praised and quoted by Rosenmuller.
The first volume contains the Comments of Pradus on the first six-and-twenty
chapters: he died before it was published; so that his coadjutor edited it, and
compiled the two latter volumes. They had access to a Catena Patrum Graecorum
in Ezechielem, preserved in the Vatican Library, which they inserted,
translated into Latin by a member of their own order; and they enriched their
work with valuable illustrations of the city and temple at Jerusalem. A full
description of the work will be found in den Nachrichten von einer
Hallischen Bibliothek, part 8 page 18, and foll.
Amandi Polani A Polansdorf
Commentaria in Ezechielem. Basileae, 1601, 4to;
and 1608, 4to.
A digest of public lectures delivered in the old
Academy at Basil.
Franc. Junh
Commentaria in Ezechielem Prophetam. Genevae,
1609, fol.; and 1610, 8vo.
Jo. Maldonati
Commentarii in Ezechielem. Moguntiae, 1611,
small 4to.
This work, by a learned Jesuit, is very explanatory.
The Latin translation is good, and the Jewish interpretations freely used. Many
Hebrew words we have found well explained.
Gasper Sancth
Commentarius in Ezechielem. Lugduni, 1612,
1619, fol.
Jac. Brandmulleri
Commentarius in Ezechielem. Basil. 1621,
4to.
An Exposition of the Prophecy of Ezekiel. By GEORGE
GREENHILL. London, 1645. 5 vols. 4to.
Doctrinal and practical lectures delivered to a
congregation at Stepney by the writer, a member of the Westminster Assembly of
Divines. Excellent of its kind, but not critical. Various editions, originally
published at different times, from 1645 to 1658.
Jo.
Cocceh Commentarius in Ezekielem. 1668,
4to.
4. LATER
COMMENTATORS.
George Calixti
Scholae Propheticae ex Prelectionibus
in...Ezekielem collectae. Quedlinburgi, 1715, 4to.
Das Zeugniss Iesu aus dem Propheten Ezechiel durch
den Geist der Weissagung dargethan von WILHELM PETERSEN. Francofurti, 1719,
4to.
Jo. Frid. Starckh,
V.D.M., Francofurtani, Commentarius in
Prophetam Ezechielem. Francof. ad Moen., 1731, 4to.
A laborious, useful, and practical
Commentary.
George Costard
Dissertationes H. Critico-Sacrae quarum prima
explicata Ezech. ch. 13:18. Oxon. 1752, 8vo.
Ezechiel aufs Neue aus dem Hebraischen ubersetzt, und
mit kurgen Anmerkungen fur unstudirte Leser begleitet von JOH. CARL. VOLBORTH.
Goett. 1787.
For an account of this work, see Eichhorn’s
Allgem. Biblioth. der Bib. Lit., volume 1. page 807.
An Attempt towards an Improved Version, a Metrical
Arrangement, and an Explanation of the Prophet Ezekiel. By WM. NEWCOME, D.D.,
Bishop of Waterford, and afterwards Archbishop of Armagh. Dublin, 1788,
4to.
This is an invaluable work: to the mere English
reader of this Prophet. Tegg, in his edition of 1836, 1 volume 8vo, page 294,
has rendered it very accessible: it is safe, sound, and judicious, with
excellent notes. See also Eichhorn Bibl., volume 2. page 131; and J. D.
Michaelis Neue orient. u. exeget. Bibli., pt. 6 page 87.
Hermanni Venema
Lectiones Academicae ad Ezechielem. Part 1
usque ad cap. 21 Edidit. Jo. Hen. Verschuir. Leovard, 1790, 4to, 2 parts. See
again, Eich. Bibl., volume 3. page 694.
Jo. Godofr
Eichhorn die Biblischen Propheten, volume 2 and
volume 3. Ezekielis Vaticinia. Gotting. 1818, 1819.
The Temple of Ezekiel; viz., an Elucidation of the
40th and following Chapters. By SOLOMON BENNETT, R.A., of Berlin. London, 1824.
4to.
Em. F. Rosenmuller’s
Scholia in Ezekielem. 2 vols. 8vo, 2d edition.
1826. Lipsiae.
Invaluable. The Editor is much indebted to it for
many references to other valuable works.
Havernick’s
Introduction to Ezekiel, translated from the German by the Revelation F.W.
Gotch, M.A. See Kitto’s Journal of Sacred Literature, No. 1, January 1848;
also the Article “Ezekiel” — Kitto’s Cyclopaedia of
Biblical Literature.
A NOTICE OF
THE
ANCIENT VERSIONS AND
CODEXES
WHICH
CONTAIN
EZEKIEL’S
PROPHECIES.
The Arabic Version Of
Ezekiel. It was made from the Septuagint, and
is contained in the London Polyglot,,. It agrees throughout with that Greek text
which exists in the Alexandrine Codex, now in the British Museum. It was
executed from Hesychius’s edition of the Septuagint, and is valuable for
the comparison of cognate words and phrases with the Hebrew.
The Chaldee
Version, said to have been made by Jonathan,
the son of Uzziel, is found in the London Polyglott, and is praised in
Buxtorf’s Rabbinical Commentaries.
The Alexandrine Codex
is esteemed the most ancient MS. existing,
written probably in the fourth century, though some authorities place it much
later.
F620 The book of Ezekiel was translated for
this version during the reign of Ptolemy Philometer. Of all the prophets,
Jeremiah seems the best executed: then Amos, and Ezekiel, and Isaiah the worst
of all, except Daniel. Edited by Jo. Ern. Grabe, 1707-1720. 4 vols. fol.
Oxon.
The Codices Of Kennicott And De
Rossi. Only some of them contain Ezekiel; that
formerly belonging to the learned Reuchlin (No. 154) contains this Prophet, with
a Targum also. The Codex Norimburgensis, (No. 198,) written about A.D. 1290, is
noticed here only for the order in which Ezekiel is placed: it is neither that
of the Masorites nor the Talmudists. Again, in Codex No. 224, the order is
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah.
The Codex Romanus Or Vaticanus
is of great antiquity. A facsimile of this MS.
was made for Dr. Grabe in 1704, and Horne has given an accurate specimen of
Ezekiel,
<260101>Ezekiel
1:1-3. This facsimile is at long the MSS. of the Bodleian Library. Cardinal
Anton. Carasa executed an edition under the auspices of Pope Sixtus V. Rome,
1587. Fol.
The Syro. Estranghelae
Version is a translation into Syriac of
Origen’s Hexaplar edition of the Septuagint A MS. exists in the Ambrosian
Library at Milan. It contains Scholia of the Greek and Syrian fathers, and
various valuable annotations. Matth. Norberg edited from it the Prophecies of
Ezekiel and Jeremiah, in 1787, 4to, Londini Gothorum; giving it the title of
Codex Syriaco-Hexaplaris Ambrosiano-Mediolanensis. See Eichhorn’s
account of it in his Allgem. Bib. der Bibl. Lit., volume 1 page 837, and
foll.
The Vulgate Version
needs mention here only to point out the
differences in rendering Ezekiel between the editions of Sixtus 5. and Clement
8. In
<261422>Ezekiel
14:22, the former has egredientur, which is correct, and the latter
ingredientur.
Among The Five Gothic
Mss. discovered by Ang. Mai, in the Ambrosian
Library at Milan, amidst the CODICES RESCRIPTI, the homilies of Gregory the
Great on this Prophet were found written over various portions of St.
Paul’s Epistles. These homilies were executed before the eighth
century.
DISSERTATIONS
ON IMPORTANT
SUBJECTS,
TREATED OF IN THESE
LECTURES.
1
— ON THE CHERUBIM. Ezekiel 1:1.
2
— CALVINUS JUDAIZANS AN ORTHODOXUS?
3
— CALVIN’S SEVERITY TOWARDS THE JEWS.
4
— THE FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONS OF EZEKIEL.
5
— ON EATING THE ROLL.
a
Ezekiel 3:1. THE GREAT RUSINNG.
b
Ezekiel 3:12. ON TEL-ABIB.
g
Ezekiel 3:12.
6
— JERUSALEM PAINTED ON A BRICK.
a
Ezekiel 4:1. THE THREE HUNDRED AND NINETY DAYS.
b
Ezekiel 4:5.
7
— THE SEPTUAGINT ORDER. Ezekiel 7:3-13.
8
— THE IMAGE OF JEALOUSY. Ezekiel 8:1-14.
9
— THE MAN IN THE LINEN GARMENT. Ezekiel 9:2.
10
— THE COALS SCATTERED OVER THE CITY. Ezekiel 10:2.
11
— THE FIVE-AND-TWENTY EVIL COUNSELLORS. Ezekiel
11:1.
12
— THE FALSE PROPHETS.
a
Ezekiel 13:1. IN THE PRINCIPLE OF ACCOMMODATION.
B IN
THE PHRASE PROSTITUERUNT DEUM.
g
Ezekiel 13:19.
13
— ISRAEL AN ADULTERESS.
a
Ezekiel 16:1. CAPTIVE ISRAEL AND PAPAL ROME.
b
Ezekiel 16:20. ON THE WORD NEPHESH, SOUL.
g
Ezekiel 16:27. THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH AND THE NEW TESTAMENT.
d
Ezekiel 16:61.
14 — THE GREAT EAGLE.
a
Ezekiel 17:3. THE LOFTY BRANCH OF THE TALL CEDAR.
b
Ezekiel 17:22.
15 — THE EATING SOUR GRAPES.
a
Ezekiel 18:1. USURY AND INTEREST.
b
Ezekiel 18:8. PERPLEXING AND THORNY QUESTIONS.
g
Ezekiel 18:20.
16 — THE SABBATH A SACRAMENT AND A
MYSTERY. Ezekiel 20:13, 14.
DISSERTATION
FIRST.
ON THE
CHERUBIM.
THE Visions recorded in the first and tenth chapters
of this Prophet have received much illustration, and yet remain involved in
great obscurity. It seems desirable to supply some information, even at the risk
of being tedious and minute. The living creatures of the first chapter are
called in the ninth and tenth — cherubim. The derivation of the
word is a point of some importance. Castell, in his elaborate Lex. Hept.,
connects it with the Chaldee root
brk,
kereb, signifying “to plough,” and quotes
<260110>Ezekiel
1:10, where “an ox” occurs, “a strong animal, of great labor,
especially in ploughing; and being used for the expiation of sins, becomes a
type of Christ, who is there perhaps to be understood; for as the ox is the
leader of the herd, so Christ is the head of the faithful.” Josephus says
they were animals never seen by any one. (Antiq., lib. 3. chapter 6, and lib. 8
chapter 2.) The Arabic root of the same three letters, kereb, signifies
anxiety and oppressive labor, anxit animum, invertit aratio terram; while
the cognate forms of the Syriac signify ploughing and laborious effort.
“The most probable,” says Gesenius, “among the many
derivations of this word which have been proposed, is that from the Syriac,
potens magnus fortis.” Professor Lee writes, in evident despair,
“It would be idle to offer anything on the etymology: nothing satisfactory
having yet been discovered. Castell, Simonis, Gesenius, etc., may be consulted
by those who wish to see what has been said on this subject.” The cherubic
form has been fully portrayed by our Commentator; and by engravings in the
Cyclopcedia of Biblical Literature we are enabled to compare Egyptian and
Persian winged symbols with those of the Hebrews. A sculptured bas-relief of a
winged human figure as it existed before the time of Moses, and placed by the
Egyptians over their sacred arcs, is worthy of comparison with the descriptions
of Scripture. The Persian bas-relief at Moung-Aub, is a human figure arrayed in
an embroidered robe, “with such quadruple wings as the vision of Ezekiel
ascribes to the cherubim, with the addition of ample horns, the well-known
symbols of regal power.” The opinions of divines relative to their design
and signification are very diversified. Among the ancients Philo supposed them
to signify the two hemispheres, the flaming sword showing the motion of the
planets, and the lion and the man being Leo and Aquarius, the signs of the
Zodiac. Irenaeus (Adv. Heres. 3:11) treats them as emblems of the four elements,
the four quarters of the globe, the four gospels, and the four covenants.
Tertullian (Apolog. cap. 47.) referred them to the torrid zone, while Justin
Martyr treats Ezekiel’s figures as relating to Nebuchadnezzar eating grass
like the ox, with his hand like a lion’s, and his nails like the claws of
a bird, (Quaest. et Respons. 44. page 325, edit. Heidelbergae, 1593;) and that
they were consolatory to the captive Israelites by setting before them the
prospect of their own return, and their oppressor’s downfall. The analogy
to the four gospels, as presented to us by Irenaeus, is peculiarly ingenious,
and worthy of perusal. Spencer, in his Ritual Observances of the Hebrews, has
ingeniously explained their form and description. (Lib. 3.
Dissert. 5 cap. 3. and 4 section 2.) Grotius considers them to represent
“the properties of God, and his actions towards his people,”
(Annot. in Vet. Test.;) and Doederlin, while conceding the praise of
ingenuity to the conjectures of his author, yet treats his speculations as the
abortion rather than the legitimate offspring of a luxuriant fancy.
(Vogel’s edit. Grot. continued by Doeder., volume 2 page 247.) Further
information as to the views of ancient writers has been collected by
Rosenmuller, on
<260110>Ezekiel
1:10, edit. see. Lipsiae, 1826. The translation of Houbigant may be consulted,
and Spencer on the Laws and Ritual of the Hebrews, lib. 3. Dissert. 5, chapter
1, and folk The various readings on which different translations are founded are
rendered very accessible to the English reader by the simple and comprehensive
notes of Archbishop Newcome.
It is interesting to observe the way in which the
learned Jesuit Maldonatus comments on this first: chapter. He interprets the
four visions separately first, the tempest; next, the figure of the four
animals; the third, the form of the wheels; and the fourth, the firmament., and
the man sitting on the throne. He objects to the allegorical interpretation of
Origen and in school, and considers that. the tempest signifies the calamities
which the Chaldaeans caused to the Jews and their city. By the whirlwind, the
nearness of the calamities is pointed out; and by the north wind, its rapidity
and destructive force. Some, he says, refer it to Babylon, making it symbolize
the manners of the Chaldaeans, which were rough and boisterous. The great cloud
seems to him to signify the army of the king of Babylon; and the fire, his wrath
and fury: the surrounding brightness is an indication of the divine majesty, and
the amber color is an image of God himself. Jerome takes the amber as a symbol
of pity, since amber has an attractive power, and by placing it in connection
with the army of the king of Babylon, it implies that God directed every event
concerning the captivity. Gregory and others interpret the amber of
Christ.
THE SECOND VISION he considers more difficult; he
first gives the views of other interpreters, and then brings forward his own
formed divino beneficio, meditando, legendo, orando. Origen (Hom. 1.
in Ezekiel) takes the four living creatures for the four affections of
man’s nature: the man representing the reasoning faculty, the lion the
inflammable passions, the ox concupiscence, and the eagle, as it soars upwards,
the divine spirit, within us. St. Ambrose (Lib. 3. de virinibus) refers
them to prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice. Jerome and Gregory
understand them of the four evangelists; and the details respecting the wheels,
the wings, and the sparks of fire, are consistently interpreted. Catina Syrius
refers them to the camp of Israel in the desert: the face of a man meaning all
Israel, that of a lion the tribe of Judea, that of an ox the tribe of Levi, and
that of an eagle God looking down from above, and taking vengeance on the
people. Theodoret (Comment. in loc.) considers them to represent the
majesty and glory of God resident in these cherubim. It appears that in his day
the opinion of Jerome was most popular; and it was necessary to give many
reasons why the four evangelists were not signified by this vision.
Philosophical interpreters also existed, no unworthy predecessors of the German
rationalists. They supposed all things indiscriminately signified by these
representatives of animated nature, while some preferred the changes of the
events of providence to the manifestations of external nature. His own opinion
he records as follows: that the cherubim represent four heathen kingdoms,
Chaldean, Assyrian, Egyptian, and Tyrian. He supposes them placed under the
firmament, and under the sapphire throne, to indicate the supreme power of the
Almighty over all things. The wings are the human guards by which kings protect
themselves; the hands represent human industry, strength, and labor; the fire
indicates the Spirit of God in kings; and the various motions forwards and
backwards show the changes in governments and the perturbations of empires, all
under the control of a supreme governor. This scheme is well fortified by
passages of Scripture, and has the merit of great exactness and
ingenuity.
F621
We now turn to a very different interpreter —
Oecolampadius. His comments of this chapter is essentially spiritual. He sees in
it a representation of God judging the world through Christ. The great truths of
revelation he sees obscurely shadowed forth under carnal and Jewish images; and
he is anxious to point out the spiritual reign of Christ as promulgated by these
outward and visible representations of God’s glory. He refers these
visions, first of all, to the Jews and their captivity; but he claims for them
the office of tangibly illustrating the abiding glory of the universal assembly
of the faithful. “The universal Church,” he says, “has three
parts’ first, its head is Hasmal, represented as an old man seated on a
throne next, animals, the just or living members, are those more perfect in the
Church, adorned with a variety of gifts’ the wheels are the weaker and
more ordinary members, which belong to the body, and form the common herd of
believers, who belong to the more solid parts of the Church, since they are
under the influence of the same Spirit, although they have not attained that
fullness of which St. Paul speaks, and have not drunk into the peculiar and
interior spirit of the
Gospel.”
F622 He then confesses the great difficulty
of ascertaining the correct interpretation’ he rejects all Jewish
comments, and approves of the spiritualizing method of referring it to the
coming kingdom of Christ. The whirlwind, for instance, he asserts to be a figure
of the devastation which preceded Christ’s first coming, and shall also
signalize his second advent- the great cloud expresses God’s judgments on
the world, and the fire the process of trial through which all things are to
pass. Hasmal he regards as the name of an angel or fiery living one speaking,
and blames Jerome for following the Septuagint, and translating it
electrum.
This spiritually-minded reformer has furnished a
valuable exposition of the mystery contained in the vision recorded in the tenth
chapter, which is worthy of notice. The likeness of a man upon the throne he
assumes to be our Savior, whose reign is supreme “in the consciences of
his elect.” Most properly is he called Hasmal, “‘quod de eo
admirabunda taciturnitate, et per cogitationes arcanas magnifica loquamur, opus
dei in illo admirantes.” The cherubim are beneath him, because he is
adored by angels, and has spirits for his messengers and attendants. The
firmament, he says, is grace offered through Christ, which strengthens the
hearts of the elect by being infused with in them. The living creatures, their
wheels and machinery for motion, represent the progress of the Church, suffering
as yet under corruption, but waiting and groaning for the redemption of the
body. In each living creature all qualities are bound together; for the four
faces represent the spiritual endowments of advancing Christians; the same
animal is a man in judgment, a lion in patient endurance, a calf in usefulness
and guileless sincerity, and an eagle in prompt and cheerful obedience to its
lord the wings are faith and divine love, which veil the face, which is
conscience, and of this there are four kinds corresponding Lo the human, the
leonine, the infantile, and the aquiline appearances. “It is the property
of a good conscience to by raised upwards towards God when confirmed in grace,
and, forgetful of thing’s past to be more and more anxious to reach the
firmament of grace.” The hands under each wing represent those good works
by which living faith and active love manifest their divine power; while the
wheels signify the inferior members of the Church, who, though not attaining to
the same righteous standard, are animated by a similar spirit. The feet being
straight and equable, and turning easily and constantly in all directions, are
said to signify the messengers of God proclaiming’ his salvation
throughout the world, and “bearing” all things to all men, that they
may bring many profitably to Christ.” The sound produced by the motion of
the wings means the fame of salvation arriving at, distant regions; and when the
Prophet hears the voice exhorting the wheels, it seems to him to say, “O
wheels, follow with alacrity the spirit of the living creature within you; let;
nothing; delay you; let nothing tear you from the fourfold figure, which is the
body of Christ; for if you cleave to this, even in its lowest part, you shall be
raised up together with it.” The motion of each animal, in the direction
of its face, signifies every Christian acting according to his conscience; and
although there are differences of gifts, and each exercises his own
independently, yet all follow one common leader, being animated by a common
spirit. Thus the companion of Zuingle spiritualizes the passage with much
consistency and at great length, affording a singular example of the method of
throwing the light of matured Christian experience upon a scene so exclusively
Jewish. To enable us to decide whether the view of Calvin or (Ecolampadius is
the correct one, we must state some general principles, which will be found in
the following section.
DISSERTATION
SECOND.
CALVINUS JUDAIZANS AN
ORTHODOXUS?
“CALVINUS JUDAIZANS” was the title of a
work published at Wittemberg, A.D. 1595, by AEgidius Hunnius. It contained a
sharp censure for applying to the temporal state and circumstances of the Jews
those prophecies which were supposed to refer spiritually to the Christian
Church. The year, however, did not pass away before David Pareus replied, under
the title of “Calvinus Orthodoxus.” And all who have perused his
comments on this Prophet. must vindicate him from the charge of favoring
Judaism, and applaud him for wisely neglecting all allegorical significations
and mystical expositions. While it will be impossible to discuss the whole
question of prophetic interpretation, it will be necessary to state some general
views by which we thought to be guided.
The prophecies of the Old Testament were in many
instances a divinely provided introduction to the events of the New. In them we
may see the outlines of the process by which God was ever educating man for
ultimate restoration to His image. They contain a suggestive method of
destruction by palpable signs and. wonders, which addressed the soul through
their influence on the senses. Their value to the Jew was very different from
that to the Christian. To the former they were the highest revelation
attainable, while for us they do not reveal a single attribute or purpose of
Deity which is not more fully made known through the Gospel dispensation. The
Hebrew visions stand to us in the relation of porch to temple, and of dawn to
day. They are to the Christ. tan a divine first lesson-book, and contain a
series of condescending instructions suited to a low stage of religious and
mental life. They were specially appropriate to the people to whom they were
bestowed, and of a structure and material h:: accordance with the dispensation
to which they ministered. They were prefigurative and preformative throughout.
They were preparatory and thus far excellent, but not “chiefest of
all” because not. permanent. Like the scaffolding, the growing blade, the
finished portrait, they fail in comparison with the stately building, the
ripened corn, the living person. Now Calvin avoids the extremes of the merely
literal system and of the mystical allegories of the double sense. The former
system treats the Old Testament as if it were all written at the same time, and
every part of it addressed equally to all men. It excepts the ceremonial
observances, and then considers that every sentence is reconcilable with all the
rest by a spiritual process of traditionary reasoning. It is sternly opposed to
all discrimination between the records of different eras; it admits of nothing
gradual, variable, or local. Of the latter system we have an excellent example
in the quotation just made from the comparison of Zuingle. He sees Christ and
justification by faith everywhere. Not only must Hasmal — a mere color
— be an emblem of the Son of God, but all who cannot receive this are
branded as unenlightened. The truths which he has received through the gospel
are so vividly impressed upon his soul and so thoroughly leaven his spirit, that
he sees everything scriptural by this bright light of his inner man. His
deficiency is of judgment, not of grace. The question thought not to be, what
series of Christian doctrine can be grafted upon the cherubic emblem, but what
truths it was intended to convey to the soul of the Prophet and the people,
— surely not those of the Augsburgh Confession of Faith. We have to guard
against a twofold error: on the one hand, a merely critical and rationalistic
interpretation which never proceeds beyond the surface; and, on the other,
against a fanciful exposition of figurative language, as if in every case the
doctrines, the graces, and the experiences of the New Covenant were intended to
be revealed to Hebrew prophets.
Apposite, indeed, was the exclamation of the Jew,
when he said of Ezekiel, “Doth he not speak parables?” He had to
take a the and draw a city upon it; to shave his head, and divide the her into
three significant parts; and the Jew might fairly ask, How is all this to
benefit his soul? It could only do so by appealing to the spiritual principle in
man’s soul. As the Prophet must eat the roll, so we must to comprehend the
meaning of divine emblems, that they may become to us the bread of life. There
is a husk around many a spiritual fruit, and often times a stone within it,
which seems devoid of nutriment; but still this is the way in which it pleases
our heavenly Father to nourish us. All signs, emblems, and sacraments of any
true religion are beneficial to us only when we spiritually perceive their
inward and animating grace. All that is outward in form and ceremony and
machinery is only the vehicle, not the substance, of our support as God’s
children, and our growth in his likeness. This foundation truth must be laid
firmly as a bashes for every portion of the superstructure. The carnal mind
never did and never can comprehend the things of the Spirit of God. The power of
understanding the meaning must come from the same Deity who sends the vision. On
this broad rock of truth we may build every sound interpretation of all the
figurative language of Scripture. This principle we may gather from the way in
which the early Christian writers explain the symbols of Holy Writ. St.
Chrysostom, for instance, treats clearly the lesson we should learn from the
seraph’s taking the coal from the altar and touching the Prophet’s
lips with its hallowed fire.
F623 St. Ambrose seems scarcely satisfied
with the image — bread of life: he must “eat life.”
“Whoso then,” says he, “eateth life cannot die. How should he
die whose food is life?”
f624 “and this bread,” he adds,
“is the remission of sins.” St. Augustine speaks of “angels
feeding on the eternal word,” and of “men eating angels’
food.”
F625 Language like this implies the struggle
of the spiritual mind to express itself fully through the medium of carnal
language; and what were the Shechinnah and the Seraphim, the Urim and the
Thummim, the live goat and the slain goat, but symbols receiving all their
significance from the Divine truths which they conveyed to the soul? The worship
of the one God through the appointed Mediator was ever the same in its hidden
essence, and ever must be, while it is ever varying in its, form, according to
the divers needs of our frail humanity. It is flexible exceedingly to the eye
and the ear, and[unchangeable only in its living spirit. All nature, organic and
inorganic, has been used to illustrate it and communicate it, but this never has
made, nor can make, the unseen visible. Still the question will recur, Where
must we draw the line between the human and the divine in these prophetic
visions? No man can draw such a line with accuracy except for himself. Let all
who doubt this assertion try to divide mind from matter in the living man. Many
have attempted it, and their failures remain to mark the narrow lib, its of
their knowledge and the assumed regions of their ignorance. The matured
Christian instincts of the cultivate worshipper will be every man’s best
guide under the promised teaching of the Holy Spirit. An infallible interpreter
is not for us in the flesh; the interpreting Spirit must dwell within us,
otherwise we shall see nothing but the outward aspect of the gorgeous vision.
The inspiration within must harmonize with that without., which is not verbal
but ideal. The heaven-wrought ideas of the Hebrew Prophets protect
themselves.
We do not require either a verbal or literal
theopneustia: the truths themselves by their own imperishableness defeat the
mortality of the language with which they are associated. They reverberate and
percolate through all the pages of the mighty record; they hide themselves
obscurely in one chapter only to emerge more clearly in another; they diverge in
one book only to recombine in another; so that to the sympathizing soul
Scripture is ever a self-sufficing interpreter. Hence we are not careful to
defend Calvin’s interpretations as faultless: theology as a science has
advanced rapidly during three hundred years; and while some of his expositions
have become antiquated, we still uphold him as “orthodoxus.” The law
of development operates in the moral as well as in the physical universe.
“Draw a cordon sanitaire,” says a modern reviewer,
“against dandelion or thistle-down, and see if the armies of earth would
suffice to interrupt this process of radiation, which yet is but the
distribution of weeds. The secret implications of the truth have escaped at a
thousand points in vast arches above our heads, rising high above the garden
wall, and have sown the earth with memorials of the mystery which they
envelop.”
F626
A second principle which we must bear in mind is,
that every prophetic revelation was expressly adapted to the capacity of its
original recipients. The extrinsic agency is always transitory. We of later
generations learn enough if we profit by the latent and permanent essence. Hence
the interpretation of the cherubim by the four evangelists is utterly untenable:
and all such suppositions are indexes of a state of mind wholly incompetent to
unfold prophetic mysteries. The very occurrence of hundreds of crude guesses
like this, implies the necessity of submitting the prophetic emblems to some
general laws of exposition. The highest criticism and the profoundest
scholarship should be applied to them, that we may at once ignore all traditions
which are proved to be corruptions. These prophecies presuppose a moral
responsibility in the people to whom they were addressed; and hence they were
fitted to awaken this feeling when dormant, to frighten it when morbidly
perverted, and to animate it when righteously sensitive. Calvin’s
assertion that the living creatures and the wheels imply that God by his angels
guides the physical motions of the earth, the air, and the sea,
(<260121>Ezekiel
1:21,) is altogether untenable. Revelation does not teach anything which human
philosophy can discover. It manifests its whole aim and essence to be moral,
lying in that region of our nature which is under the sway of the conscience,
and the will rather than of the intellect. These emblematic visions appeal to
the affections and aspirations of soul, to the energies of reverence and faith,
of wonder and of love. They have to do with what is infinite and unseen, the
immeasurable and the unattainable. Hence they are rather divine agencies for
quickening, stimulating, and directing man’s highest nature. They assist
us towards attaining a true idea of God, they show us our own insignificant
vileness and littleness, and suggest the possibility of an atonement of these
two. They stir up our attention to the threatenings and the promises of an
Invisible Person, which can influence us only by being believed, and enforce the
commands of ineffable wisdom, which can benefit us only by being obeyed. They
present to our thoughts the idea of condescending mediation, the infinitely holy
condescending to purify and to abide with the morally unclean. They may further
imply the general providence over the chosen race, as well as the special
guidance of individuals; the molding into its preordained shape all their future
history, and yet not sensibly controlling the will of agents left responsible
for their every action. No discoveries of science can ever interfere with such
an interpretation as this, and those who adopt it need never fear the necessity
for changing it when the progress of physical knowledge must lead us to alter
our views of other interpretations. It, belongs to a region of our nature
completely separable from that which comprehends either the niceties of
language, or the laws of the physical universe. There is a wide gulf, deep and
impassable, between the moral and the intellectual departments of our nature.
The imperfect state of physical science at the time of the Reformation is a
sufficient apology for the mistakes of reformers; but their ignorance is not
pardonable in us. We need not Judaize, and yet we may be apt scholars in all
Hebrew lore, and orthodox interpreters of the Sacred Word of the Most
high.
DISSERTATION
THIRD.
CALVIN’S SEVERITY TOWARDS THE
JEWS.
IN addition to the charge of Judaizing, our author
has been accused of dwelling too copiously on our Prophet’s severity
towards the Jews. And if we can read the signs of the times in modern
publications, there is reason to fear that various delusions are abroad on this
subject. There are those who treat, the Jews as in the present day, so
peculiarly favored by God, that they invest them with the halo of a special
sanctity. Reverencing as Christians thought the designs of the Almighty in past
ages, they entertain far too exalted ideas of the personal holiness of the
agents by whom those designs were accomplished. Old Testament characters are too
often treated as “saints,” when they have few moral or religious
qualities which entitle them to that sacred appellation. And regarding the
people as a body, it is scarcely possible to find anywhere worse specimens of
moral culture. If we estimate responsibility according to the amount of light
and guidance and privilege, then, indeed, Tyre and Sidon were far less culpable
than Hebron and Jerusalem. How opposite, for instance, is their history to what
might have been expected from reading the book of Deuteronomy. Instead of
binding their written law “as frontlets between their eyes,” no
ancient nation were so careless of its sacred books. The Hindus cling
tenaciously to their shasters, while Israel utterly neglected their Mosaic code.
One would have supposed that they would have been superstitiously careful of the
five books of their inspired leaders. Why should they not have multiplied copies
of them? Why not have constituted the Levites the authorized guardians and
expounders of them? From the time of Joshua to David there is no notice of the
existence of any sacred books which now belong to us: and more than this,
reference is made to other records not now existing. And after Solomon’s
temple was solemnly dedicated, how soon ten of the tribes relapsed into the
grossest idolatry; and even in Judea, how remarkable is the occurrence in
Josiah’s time. The very priests seem to have been ignorant of the
existence of a written copy of the law. The unexpected discovery of one has such
an effect upon the king and the people, that it led to a thorough restoration of
the national worship; and you, we find a command that every king should write
for himself a copy of the law from that preserved by the priests. Both kings and
priests seem to have neglected their duty; and even the prophets do not charge
them with this crime among others. The loss of the original autographs is never
mentioned; nor have we the slightest inn, of what became of the second original
of the two stone-tables. During the short. period of their captivity they lost
their spoken language and the characters in which it was written, so that on
their return they were obliged to read Hebrew through an interpreter. Was not
this an unmatched instance of wan, of reverence for the will of Jehovah? When a
nation could act with such deliberate carelessness and irreverence a, various
epochs, can we be surprised at their falling into the grossest depths of immoral
profanity? When the divine records have been thus despised, all folly and all
wickedness is possible for such a people, and both are generated with a fearful
rapidity. How different, then, is their real history from what one might expect
of a people chosen by the Almighty as his earthly representatives of religion
before the heathen! They were miraculously trained to typify and receive the
Messiah, and yet they constantly appear to be frustrating the very purpose of
their choice. If we speak of the mass of the nation, they seem in every respect
to have thrown away their privileges, and to have sudiously incurred God’s
anger, and to have determined to brave his vengeance. Under such a view of the
ancient people, no language of Calvin’s can be too strong; and it is only
to obviate the consequences of modern erroneous suppositions that it becomes
necessary to defend him. In stimulating the compassion of the Christian Church
towards the salvation of Jews at present existing, the most fallacious views are
sometimes presented of their past history and their loveliness in God’s
sight. To be beloved for their fathers’ sake by no means implies ally
innate moral loveliness in the conduct of those fathers; and every erroneous
view of Jewish history, and every false interpretation of Jewish prophecy, does
but Judaize the Christian Church, and prevent it from going onwards to
perfection, by keeping it in trammels to either exploded prejudices or to unwise
innovations. False views of the Jewish history are now so very common, that they
naturally create a distaste for that emphatic condemnation of their conduct
which prevails through these Lectures.
DISSERTATION
FOURTH.
ON THE FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONS OF
EZEKIEL.
THE most cursory observers of Ezekiel’s
peculiarities must notice the highly figurative character of his visions. The
princes of Israel are whelps, their mother a lioness. A great eagle comes down
with one fell swoop upon the mountains of Lebanon, and plucks off the topmost
boughs of its lofty cedars. Here we have to connect what logicians call the
protasis with the APODOSIS, and out of the sensible similitude to ascertain the
mystical explanation. The canon laid down by Glasse is of constant utility:
— “ In parabolis, si integre accipiantur, tria, sunt: radix,
cortex, et medulla sive fructus. Radix est scopus in quem
tendit parabola. Cortex est similitudo sensibilis, quae adhibetur, et suo
sensu literali constat. Medulla seu fructus est sensus parabolae
mysticus, seu ipsa res ad quam parabolae fit accommodatio, seu quae per
similitudinem propositam significatur.” Philologia Sacra, lib. 2 pars. 1
tr. 2, sect. 5, canon 3: Lipsiae, 1725. It only is it necessary to ascertain the
literal meaning of the figurative expression, but we must always proceed one
step farther before we can profi, by the metaphor. The medulla — the res
ipsa — is still to be discovered, and this alone it is which brings profit
to the soul. We must not only comprehend the figure and its literal
interpretation, but we must take one step beyond this, and comprehend what
divines call the mystical sense. We may attain to the “science of
correspondences” without adopting the fancies of Emmanuel Swedenborg; but
what he diligently and erroneously thought we must endeavor to find. With
VanMildert, in his Bampton Lectures, we use the word mystical in its true and
classical rather than in its present and popular meaning; and though we have no
special affection for the word:. we contend earnestly with the lecturer for the
idea which it expresses. This inner sense will not, from its very nature, be
crippled by the details of the natural allegory. The very essence of spiritual
thought is mobility and indefiniteness. The great master of Roman eloquence has
wisely observed — “Non enim res tota toti rei necesse est similis
sit: sed ad ipsum, ad quod conferetur, similitudinem habeat,
oportet.”
F627 The same idea is expressed by Saurin in
his Historical Discourses — “Non seulement il n’est pas
necessaire que chacun de leur membres ait une veu particuliere, qui se rapporte
directement au but de celui qui la propose: il faut meme que ce but soit en
quelque sort cache sous des images etrangeres destinees a
l’enveloper.”
F628 As the correct elucidation of these
points is of the greatest importance, every light which can be thrown on them
has its value. Bishop Warburton, for instance, in the midst of his elaborate and
in-digested paradoxes, is led to discuss the nature of types and symbols,
visions and figures, and he treats them with clearness, precision, and ability.
He lays the foundation for their use in the compound nature of man. He shows how
the Egyptians, Mexicans, and Chinese, communicated ideas through the senses by
signs, hieroglyphics, and picture-writing of all kinds. He quotes Ezekiel 31 as
a striking instance of well-applied metaphor: “for men,” says he,
“so conversant in matters, still wanted sensible images to convey abstract
ideas.”
F629 He adduces Ezekiel 24, as an instance of
a parable purposely used “to throw obscurity over the information,”
just as the tropical hieroglyphic was turned into the tropical symbol. He treats
the “dark saying” of
<261702>Ezekiel
17:2, as a riddle more involved than a parable; “for the nature of
God’s dispensations required enigmas, and the genius of those times made
them natural.” The course of his argument leads him to comment at full
length on the celebrated vision of the dry bones in Ezekiel
37,
f630 and to discuss the logical value of the
assertion, “All words that are used in a figurative sense must be first
understood in a literal.” Perhaps it may be better to say, All figures of
speech are intended to convey to the mind an image of something real, and they
are useless to us unless we thus apprehend their literal meaning. But Warburton
did not see the next step in the process of deriving spiritual destruction from
the visions of the Holy Spirit of God. He was not spiritually enlightened, and
failed to do more than expound the letter of Scripture. We need, besides this,
the divine teaching of the Holy Spirit, that we may apprehend what Bishop Van
Mildert calls, in his celebrated Bampton Lectures, the mystical sense.
“The importance” says Bishop Horne, in his preface to the Psalms,
“of the mystical interpretation can hardly be called in question;”
“without it, the spirit and power of many passages will almost wholly
evaporate.” The learned Rambach, in his Sacred Hermeneutics, (page 81,)
has adduced several instances in confirmation of these observations. The
spiritual man only can thus pierce through the letter, and grasp the very marrow
of God’s word: the carnal mind is in this respect utterly blind, for these
things are only spiritually discerned. The word mystical may seem
fanatical to some, but, taken in its scholastic sense, it is easily appreciable
by all who know anything of profound criticism. Rambach has justly laid it down
— ” Est regula theologorum, sensum mysticum non esse
argumentativum.” (Just. Hem. Sac., p. 72.) It appeals not so much to the
intellect as to the conscience, not to the mental comprehension, but to the
heaven-born life of the soul; and if this be wanting, all argument on the point
is thrown away. The spiritual interpretation may be abused, like all other good
things. Cocceius, for instance, affords a remarkable instance of this error, as
well as some of the Puritan Divines; but no sensible man denies the value of a
possession because some are foolish enough to misuse
it.
F631
On all sides we have to tread with the utmost
caution, and may well listen to the voice of Jerome on Galatians 1. “Nec
putemus in verbis Scripturarum esse Evangelium, sed in sensu. Non in superficie,
sed in medulla: non in sermonum foliis, sed in radice rationis.” But even
this view, truthful as it seems, may be abused; for in our own day we find the
anti-materialism of the universe denied. Who would suppose, that at the close of
the first half of this nineteenth century we should hear of a publication,
bearing’ the ominous title, “The Anti-Materialist: Denying the
reality of Matter, and Vindicating’ the Universality of
Spirit?”
f632 If this were the whole title, it would
not concern us here; but when it is added, “proved chiefly by a reference
to Holy Writ,” with another sentence, implying that such speculations can
settle the points in dispute between those who affirm and those who deny the
orthodoxy of Established Churches, such assumptions cause us to sigh over the
endless follies of our nature. Such reasoners first of all assume what is
Holy Writ., and then apply their own previously-conceived notions to distort and
derange it. The very title of such a work implies the greatest possible
irreverence for the Divine Oracles; the most unjustifiable assumptions, and the
most unfair contrasts. “The universality of spirit” is strictly and
essentially co-existent with “the reality of matter.” Every word
which we have uttered in this short epilogue is intended to uphold and
illustrate such a proposition’ it is only necessary to append to it, that
through material existences — as trees, cities, food, and clothing —
we become capable of comprehending the wants, the nourishment, and the nature of
our spiritual manhood. Suitable in every respect; is the judicious reasoning of
Origen, which sixteen centuries have rather confirmed than confuted. “If
ever, in reading Holy Scripture, you encounter an idea which becomes to thee a
stone of stumbling or a rock of offense, accuse only thyself: doubt not that
this stone of stumbling and rock of offense has an important meaning:
noh>mata
— food for thy mind. Begin by believing, and you shall soon find, under
this imaginary source of offense, abundant utility.” He then compares the
skillful interpreter of Scripture to an intelligent botanist, knowing the
different uses and properties of various plants, and shows how every “holy
and spiritual botanist of the word of God” will find the virtue of the
word, without esteeming the slightest portion of it either redundant or
superfluous.
F633 The preceding Lectures are a good
illustration of the sagacious wisdom of these remarks.
DISSERTATION
FIFTH
A.
ON EATING THE ROLL.
CHAPTER 3:1
THIS method of conveying destruction is peculiarly
Oriental. Jarchi, for instance, writes: “Parabolica est locutio, ac si
dicat: attende aurem tuam et audi.” The Septuagint translate,
rpsAtlgm,
megleth-sepher, volumen libri by
liv
bibli>ou, which does not seem sufficiently
accurate. Both Fuller, in his Miscell. S.S., book 2nd, chapter 10, and
Vossius de Sept. Int. agree with Jerome in remarking the inaccuracy.
Pro involuto libro, he says, 70 capitulum libri transrulerunt;
capitulum intelligamus exordium. The opinion of J. H. Maii, Jun., is preferred
by Rosenmuller, viz., that,
hlnm,
menleh, signifies the roller on which the volumes of the Ancients were
rolled, as we learn from Maimonides, in his
hrwt
rps, sepher-toreh, chapter 9:2, 14. The
writing on both sides was very uncommon the Greeks call it
ojpisqo>grafon,
which is illustrated by Juvenal, Sat. 1:5, 6.
— aut summi
plene jam margine
libri
Scriptus, et in
tergo, necdum finitus Orestes?
The Chaldee paraphrast explains the sense of eating
the roll correctly — “anima tua saturabitur;” and in this way
the Prophet was to be strengthened to become literally “firm of forehead,
and hard of heart,” for contending with “peoples deep of lip and
heavy of tongue.” This firmness is represented by the gem,
rymç,
shemir, which Bochart terms smiris, adamant according to Jerome, since
the corresponding Arabic word is samoor. See also Schindler’s Lex.
Pentag. col. 1897, and R. Sal. Jarchi in loc., who gives the view of the
Jerusalem Targum.
B.
THE GREAT RUSHING.
<260312>EZEKIEL
3:12.
The physical disturbances accompanying the prophetic
visions are worthy of notice. It is impossible to reduce them to any class of
natural phenomena. The Prophet is suddenly removed by the Spirit into the midst
of the exiles; in extasi, says Rosenmuller — “the mind was
separated from the body by a divine instinct.” Oecolampadius considers
that he seemed to be seized as by a wind,” and “thought he heard the
voice of a great tumult” “The glory of the Lord,” he adds,
“came out of its place, and left the temple and the people,”
“and the Church and heavenly Jerusalem praise the Lord for this act of his
grace.” He then comments most spiritually on this removal of the visible
glory from the natural temple, taking it as an instance of populus
credentium, being at all times locus Dei. Maldonatus takes the same
view when he writes, “I seemed to be seized by the Spirit, or an angel,
and. to be transferred to Jerusalem.” He considers it too Rabbinical to
treat the Spirit as if it were merely wind, and the voice only thunder, as R.
David and Jonathan do. tie prefers the opinion of Jerome to that of the Jewish
interpreters. R. Sal. Jarchi implies that the Spirit really raised him:
“Deus praecepit Spiritui ut eum portaret ad locum ubi Judaei exules
degebant.” As to the last word in this verse,
wmwqmm,
memkomo, it seems to refer to the place where the vision was seen: scil.
personent ejus laudes per mundum universum, uti
<390105>Malachi
1:5. If the whole scene is treated simply as a vision offered to the
Prophet’s mind through his senses, it becomes very intelligible and
impressive.
G
ON TEL-ABIB.
<260315>EZEKIEL
3:15.
We notice these words simply to caution the reader
against over-allegorizing. There can be no doubt that it is the name of a place;
as, açrj
lt, tel chersha, and
jlm
lt, tel melech, in Ezra and Nehemiah. Syrian
villages often have the name of tel, which simply means inn or mountain.
Burckhardt (Travels in Syria, p. 149) observes this: but Jerome and Cocceius,
who adopt the allegorizing system, are not content with this. The former takes.
the words for “a heap of new fruits,” which is symbolical of the
state of the Israelites: the latter translates “the time of new
fruit;” both interpretations being systematically erroneous. As the Chebar
runs into the Euphrates from Mount Masius, the captives were situated up the
river to the north of Babylon. A various reading, too, in this verse has been
the source of some perplexity. The common text (chetib) has
rçaw,
vasher, derived from,
arç,
shera, habitavit, commoratus est; but some MSS. adopt
bçaw,
vasheb, “and I sat” (keri); according to Kennicott and
De Rossi, “etiam Hispanici, Soncinensis Bibliorum editio, Brixiensis et
Complutensis.” The Septuagint adopts the former reading; and Vogel, in his
edit. of Capell. Crit. Sac., page 231, adopts the latter. The sense will then
be, “And I dwelt, since they dwelt there, I even dwelt.” Both Dathe
and Rosenmuller reject this, and agree with Calvin’s version. His critique
on the word
µmç,
shemem,
<260315>Ezekiel
3:15, is quite in accordance with the English version, and with foreign
comments. Newcome paraphrases thus: “Astonished at the commission with
which I was entrusted; and affected by the overpowering splendor of the
visions.” The Chaldee has
qtç,
shethek, “silent.” Maldonatus adds, “so that I could
not speak for seven days.”
DISSERTATION
SIXTH.
A. JERUSALEM PAINTED ON A BRICK.
<260401>EZEKIEL
4:1
Bishop Warburton (book 4 section 4 of his Divine
Legation) has ably discussed the Oriental and Egyptian methods of symbolical
writing. He explains Ezekiel’s method of hieroglyphics, volume 2. page 57,
edit. 1837. Oecolampadius comments very practically on this exercise of the
ars
skiografi>kh.
“The Church is besieged by its enemies, because it is a despiser of
God’s word. Heretics erect the towers of human traditions, and oppose the
tower and doctrine of David, since it is not defended by any shield. They set up
human righteousness, and are not subject to that of God.” The whole
passage is worthy of perusal, and is in striking contrast with the sober and
unimaginative comment of Calvin. The custom of writing on bricks is thus noticed
by Pliny: “Epigenes informs us that the Babylonians had inscribed their
observations on the stars for 720 years on burnt bricks, coctilibus
laterculis.” Hist. Nat., book 8 section 57. The chief point of
interest in this narrative is its visionary character. The best commentators
agree that none of these actions were real the lying on the left side for 390
days was only in a vision. the left hand is supposed to refer to the ten tribes,
as Samaria was situated to the left of Jerusalem. In the 4th verse, “you
shall bear the punishment of their iniquity,” is correctly interpreted by
Newcome, “you shall presignify the punishment which they shall
bear.” This is the only sense which similar passages can have — St.
Paul having shown us, that the picture-writing of the Jewish law had its real
fulfillment in the work of Messiah.
B
THE THREE HUNDRED AND NINETY DAYS.
<260405>EZEKIEL
4:5
There is a difference in the number of days between
the Hebrew text and that of the Septuagint. The latter assigns but 190 days to
the kingdom of Israel, and yet agrees with the Hebrew in assigning forty days to
the kingdom of Judea. Theodoret, in his comment on the passage, explains the
Septuagint as follows. Although in the reign of Rehoboam the people were
divided, yet they are considered as one nation, being separate, and yet
conjoined. When, therefore, the Prophet had assigned 150 days to Israel and 40
to Judea, he combines them again, and makes 190 days. These forty days represent
the forty years which remained of the original seventy. Thirty years of
captivity were now passed for Ezekiel began to prophesy in the thirtieth year of
the captivity; and Jeremiah shows us, that in the thirty-seventh year of the
captivity of Jeconiah, Evilad-marodach raised his head and led him from his
prison-house in the first year of his reign. Then came Baltasar, and Darius the
Mede; whence the forty days of Judea signify the forty remaining years and the
150 concerning Israel indicate the 150 years after the building of the city, and
its becoming fined with inhabitants. This happened in the twentieth year of
Artaxerxes, the son of Xerxes, in the time of Nehemiah. Beginning, then, at the
fifth year of Jeconiah’s captivity, we shall find it forty years to the
first year of Cyrus the Persian, then twenty-nine years for the reign of Cyrus,
seven for Cambyses, thirty-five for Darius Hystaspes, twenty for Xerxes, and
nineteen for Artaxerxes, since in the next year the walls were built. The
Israelites participated in this return for though formerly destined from the
tribe of Judea, they were afterwards united, and all inhabited their common
metropolis together.
Jerome also notices this difference of numbering,
being surprised that the common reading in his day was 190 years; while the
Hebrew text,, and Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, all read 390 years, and
even those copies of the Septuagint which are not, vitiated. Some, he adds,
compute it from the baptism of our Savior to the end of the world; others again
from the destruction of Jerusalem, in the reign of Vespasian, to a period of
prosperity for the once favored nation. The events of history have shown the
fallacy of these computations. Ephrem, in his comments on this passage, speaks
of the 430 years as beginning with the reign of Solomon, and as extending to the
eleventh year of King Zedekiah. Jerome’s method of computing this period
is worthy of notice. He dates its commencement from the reign of Pekah, the son
of Remaliah,
(<121529>2
Kings 15:29,) and its close during the reign of Artaxerxes Mnemon, who is the
Ahasuerus of the book of Esther. He reckons the length of the reign of each
thing in succession, and satisfies himself that he has computed the number which
he finds it the prophets, since he reckons this historical period to consist of
389 years and four months. The sleeping on the right side for forty days he
interprets, from Nebuchadnezzar’s carrying away Jehoiakim to Babylon, to
the first, year of the sway of Cyrus, under whom the Jews obtained their
freedom. The writers on Biblical Chronology do not acquiesce in this
computation. J. G. Frank commences the period with the revolt under Jeroboam,
and concludes it with the destruction of Solomon’s temple.
Jeroboam’s first year agrees with the year 3215 of the Jubilee period, and
the destruction of the kingdom of Israel in 3470. “If, therefore,”
says he, “you add 390 years to 3214, the date of Jeroboam’s revolt,
you will obtain 3604 Jub. per., corresponding to the destruction of
Solomon’s temple.”
F634
The Hebrew commentators, R. Solomon and David, do not
suppose that a time of punishment for sin is represented, but the time during
which it was committed, and so they date the beginning of the period during the
early judges, and close it in the reign of Hosea. (Ecolampadius adopts this
comment with approval, but Maldonatus pronounces it to be erroneous, “for
the Prophet is not speaking of their sins, but of their punishment.”
Grotius supposes it to represent the time of God’s patient endurance of
the sins of the people. The settlement of this question depends upon the use of
the phrase ˆw[
açn, nasa ghon, to bear iniquity, or
the punishment of iniquity. The word is used in both senses; it occurs in
<010413>Genesis
4:13, and
<011915>Genesis
19:15;
<196927>Psalm
69:27, where the authorized version and the marginal readings imply that our
translators were aware of the twofold use of the word. The idea of
“punishment” seems most suitable here; and the adoption of this
translation would cause us to neglect the Jewish interpretation, and to count
the years forward from the times of Ezekiel, and to seek for the fulfillment of
the prophecy in those events of Israel’s history which were then
future.
DISSERTATION
SEVENTH.
THE SEPTUAGINT
ORDER.
<260703>EZEKIEL
7:3-13
THESE verses are much confused in the SEPTUAGINT, and
this seems to have been the case in Jerome’s time. The Greek Codexes of
the Alexandrian version do not agree, as we find from Theodoret and the Arabic
version. Theodoret and the Chaldee paraphrast follow the Hebrew order; and the
latter, from
ynyg,
gnini, “my eye,” puts
yrmym,
mimri, “my word,” for the sake of avoiding “these
anthropomorphic phrases.” The thirteenth verse evidently refers to the
year of jubilee. Both Theodoret and the Vulgate translate correctly, and Jerome
explains it satisfactorily. There is a difference in reading between the Hebrew
and the Septuagint here also; the last clause is sufficiently important to note
these differences. Jerome explains it thus’ “Non proderit homini
iniquitas sua, nec ei praebebit aliquam similitudinem.” The translation of
the Syriac is, “et vir iniquitate sua non conservabit vitam suam;”
and of the Chaldee paraphrast, “quisque sibi in peccatis suis sibi placet,
et dum viri permanent, poenitentiam non apprehendent.” The Syriac reading
makes the sense as follows: “Neither shall any strengthen his life by his
iniquity.”
DISSERTATION
EIGHTH.
THE IMAGE OF
JEALOUSY.
EZEKIEL
8:1-14
THE singularity of the Vision of this chapter renders
it worthy of special notice. It illustrates very strikingly the difference
between the worship of Judaism and of the Gospel. The contrast is so remarkable,
that every inference from it respecting Christian obligation must be most
indirect. These “visions of God” occurred to the Prophet in the
place of his captivity. Jerusalem and its temple, and its chambers of imagery,
are all brought rapidly before his mind. Theodoret and Jerome maintain that the
Prophet was not removed to Jerusalem, but that the scene was presented to his
mind in a trance. Newcome continues the trance to the twenty-fourth verse of
chapter 11,
<261124>Ezekiel
11:24. The appearance of fire in the second verse
(<260802>Ezekiel
8:2) is supposed by some to be better changed to “man,” by reading
çya,
aish, for
ça,
eesh, with various codexes of the Septuagint, the Complutensian edition
of the Arabic version; but, in the second clause,
rhz,
zohar, signifies the brightness of a star, just as zoharat, in Arabic and
Amharic, means the planet Venus. In the Complutensian and Aldine editions of the
Septuagint it is translated “breeze,” or “light air,”
according to the view of Theodotion. The best translation seems to be, to take
the first clause as “the appearance of a man,” and the second as
“the appearance of brightness.”
This remarkable vision is a singular instance of the
manner in which the Almighty instructed his prophets. The sixth year of
(<260802>Ezekiel
8:21) is to be understood of the reign of Jeconiah. “The appearance of
fire” thought most probably to be “of a man;”
(<260802>Ezekiel
8:2) for
ça,
ash, “fire,” may have been substituted for,
çwa,
aish, “a man.” The Septuagint, Theodoret, the Complutensian
and Arabic versions, all take it so; but the De Rossi does not find it in any of
the codexes; and only one of Kennicott’s (No. 89) has
çwa,
aish. Still the best, modern critics prefer it.
<260803>Ezekiel
8:3. When the Prophet is taken by a lock of his hair, Kimchi supposes it to
signify the violence by which the exiles of Judea would be treated; but all
modern writers suppose that this was only a vision:
ouj toi>nun swmatikh< h+n
meta>qesiv oujde< tw~n th~v sarko<v ojfqalmw~n hJ
Qewri>a “there was no bodily change of
place, nor any real view by the eyes of the flesh,” says Theodoret. The
first object presented to the visionary eye of the Prophet was an idolatrous
image, metaphorically denominated “jealousy,” from the provocation
which the idolatries of the people occasioned. The derivation of the word
“Tammuz”
(<260814>Ezekiel
8:14) is obscure. It is supposed to refer to Adonis, as worshipped by the
Syrians. Lucian de Dea, Syria, volume 3, and Maerobii Saturnalia, chapter 21.,
illustrate this point; but what “The IMAGE of JEALOUSY,” which
rivaled Jehovah and provoked his anger, really was, cannot be determined; most
probably it was a statue of Moloch or Baal. Selden “on the Syrian
Deities” enters at large on the
subject.
F635 The whole of this scenery Bishop
Warburton pronounces to be Egyptian, and versed as he was in Egyptian
antiquities, his judgment is deserving of notice. “They contain.”
says he, “a very lively and circumstantial description of the so
celebrated mysteries of His and
Osiris.”
F636 The rites were celebrated in a
subterraneous place by the Sanhedrim or elders of Israel, and the paintings on
the wall correspond with the descriptions of the mystic cells of Egypt. The
woman “weeping for Tammuz”
(<260813>Ezekiel
8:13) he treats as a Phoenician superstition, while the worship of “the
sun towards the east”
(<260815>Ezekiel
8:15) is a Persian custom. “When the Prophet is bid to turn from the
Egyptian to the Phoenician rites, he is then said to look towards the north,
which was the situation of Phoenicia witch regard to Jerusalem. consequently, he
before stood southward, the situation of Egypt with regard to the same place.
And when from thence he is bid to turn into the inner court of the Lord’s
house, to see the Persian rites, this was east, the situation of Persia. With
such exactness is the representation of the whole vision conducted.” He
sees “these three capital superstitions” portrayed again in Ezekiel
16, when the Egyptians are described as “great of flesh.” This
phrase Warburton considers to apply to Egypt, because it was “the grand
origin and invention of idolatry.” The “mark upon the
forehead,” in
<260904>Ezekiel
9:4, he treats as an expression of God’s special and particular
providence. Jehovah was their Tutelary Deity, and their sin was immeasurably
heightened by the theocratic privileges which they preeminently enjoyed. Hence
this learned writer is enabled to press into his service
<261413>Ezekiel
14:13, and
<262508>Ezekiel
25:8, while he forcibly illustrates both the language and the idea of the
Prophet. His view is confirmed by a passage in Diodorus Sieulus, who, in lib. 1
p. 59, edit. Wess., records: “Round the room in Thebes where the body of
King Osymanduas seemed to be buried, a multitude of chambers were built, which
had elegant paintings of all the beasts sacred in Egypt.” Notices of the
worship of the Persians will be found in Perronius’s Itinerary, p. 665,
and D’Auquetil’s Voyages, tab. 3. n. 3, 4. Hebenstreit has written a
dissertation on the rites of Bacchus to illustrate this chapter; and
Hyde’s Religion of the Ancient Persians, lib. 1 chap. 27 edit. Oxon.,
1760, may be consulted with advantage.
DISSERTATION
NINTH.
THE MAN IN THE LINEN
GARMENT.
EZEKIEL 9:2
CALVIN
(<260902>Ezekiel
9:2) does not altogether reject the idea that this person prefigured Messiah.
Theodoret’s view seems judicious. “q]he dress of the seventh person
was that of a priest: for he did not belong to those who punished, but to those
who redeemed those worthy of preservation.” In Jerome’s day it was
thought to represent the Savior, “who is a priest,” says he, and
quotes
<19B004>Psalm
110:4, very appropriately. C. D. Michaelis has remarked the customary method of
carrying the inkhorn in the East in the present day. Syl. Com. Theol. Edit.
Pott., volume 2. page 75. The fourth verse explains the reason why it was
carried. Calvin’s allusion to the use of the mark
wt,
tho,
(<260903>Ezekiel
9:3, 4,) is fully explained by Origen, as quoted by Montfaucon in his notes to
the Hexapla. The invention which Calvin calls “puerile” is recorded
by Jerome, who made good use of Origen, and added other conjectures. Rosenmuller
has quoted in full the passages to which Calvin merely alludes. Pradus and
Vitringa have also amply illustrated the point.
On
<260909>Ezekiel
9:9, Calvin translates correctly “fined with bloods.”
(<260909>Ezekiel
9:9,) Although this is the common reading, it is not without exception.,
smj,
chemes, “violence,” has been found instead of
µymd,
demim, “bloods.” A Jewish critic of some note, R. Sal. Norzi,
published a critical commentary in 1742, at Mantua, and states that the reading
“violence” is found in one accurate and ancient MS., and in one
ancient edition. Kimchi attests the same thing; but neither De Rossi nor
Kennicott were able to verify the statement. This destruction was to begin at
the sanctuary, or, as the Septuagint and Theodoret understand it, with the holy
ones, (ajpo tw~n aJgi>wn
aujtou~,) meaning the priests, who were the leaders
in the desecration of the temple worship. Pradus agrees with Calvin in the
reason given for the slaughter of the priests and elders first.
(<260906>Ezekiel
9:6.) Although the person mentioned in
<260911>Ezekiel
9:11 is clothed as before, yet the Septuagint omits the word
“linen,” using simply
podh<rh:
Theodotion is satisfied with the Hebrew word Baddein, and Aquila has
stola. There is a marginal reading, too, suggested by the Masoretes; but
most of the codexes of Kennicott and Be Rossi support the received text, as well
as the Soncine and Complutensian editions, and the Babylonian Talmud.
Calvin’s translation and interpretation of this chapter is in accordance
with the researches of modern critics. Maldonatus may be consulted for the
opinions of Jewish writers on important words and phrases.
DISSERTATION
TENTH.
THE COALS SCATTERED OVER THE
CITY.
EZEKIEL 10:2
JEROME, explains this scattering of the coals over
the city as a symbol of its punishment and cleansing by fire, and quotes
<231017>Isaiah
10:17, in support of his interpretation; and in accordance with
<19C003>Psalm
120:3, he calls them “hot burning coals,” the penalty of “the
false tongue” — remedium lingua, atque mendacii, and justifies his
idea of purifying by Isaiah 6. S. Jarcin explains as follows: “Sanctus ine
Benedictus dixit Gabrieli, qui petiit a cherubino, ut ine sibi daret prunes quo
ini paululum refrigescerent leviusque efticerentur decretum pcena, quoad Judmos
sive urbem Heirosolyroam;” and refers to the commentary of Abarbenel, fol.
170, col. 4 reed. Maldonatus supposes the coals to indicate not the cleansing
but the destruction of the city; and their collection by the angel at the
command of God, and “from amidst the wheels,” implies that this
burning did not arise by chance and by man’s design, but by God’s
providence and commandment. At Ezekiel 10, we have already referred to
OEcolampadius, but as his comments are most spiritual, and very inaccessible to
the ordinary student of prophecy, we shall quote a few explanatory passages
here. The sprinkling of the coal, he thinks, to be an image of the burning
city,” quod ex neglecto aut certo male administrando cultu.” Has
real he supposes to represent “those celestial tabernacles into which the
Great high Priest entered once by his own blood, after procuring eternal
redemption.” In the whole vision he sees “Christ the head of his
body, in which the law and spirit of life is included,” and “how the
golden consummation of the elect turns its face towards Christ. For the are of
the Church contains all its parts most elegantly (elegantissime).” He sees
Christ in all parts of the Scriptures, as their end, scope, and spirit; and
especially the man clothed in linen he says is “Christ acting in this
dispensation on the outside of the eternal tabernacles which he at length
entered with his blood.” The third verse refers to “that judgment
which Christ as man shall exercise by God’s authority.” The voice of
the wings signifies “horrenda vox mah ingruentis,” and the motion of
the wheels “summa in administratione concordia.” To us these
comments seem very fanciful, as it is obvious that any writer may put forth
similar guesses according to his own private though fallible judgment. The
cherubim on the right side Jerome considers as representing those holy and
exalted beings who dwell at God’s right hand, while evil spirits dwell on
his left hand. Michaelis, however, with less display of fancy, takes a simpler
new, not dwelling on reproaching punishment, but upon the departure of
God’s glory from the temple and city. See Sylog. Corn. Theol., volume 5
page 134; Eichhorn die Bibl. Proph., part 2:page 456; and Pradus in loc.
especially on
<261020>Ezekiel
10:20.
DISSERTATION
ELEVENTH.
THE FIVE-AND-TWENTY EVIL
COUNSELLORS.
EZEKIEL 11:1
IT is very probable, says Pradus, that as there were
twenty-four rulers, and as many regions into which Jerusalem was divided, and a
chief over them all, so the magistracy of the city is here brought before us. He
recognizes the analogy to the twenty-four elders in the Apocalypse. But there
seems to be no authority for this division of the city into twenty-four
“regions” or wards. See on this point Jahn Bibl. Arch., part 2
volume 2 section 187. The conduct of these evil counselors is well portrayed by
Theodoret. Some commentators take this third verse as a question, so do the
Arabic and Syriac versions, “Is it. not near?” but Calvin’s
view is the best, and he is supported by good authorities. Jarcin understands
the prophetic denunciations to be intended, “ina mala de quibus prophetic
vaticinantur nec in propinqua est poena.” The death of Pelatiah (in
<261113>Ezekiel
11:13,) as well as the 12th verse,
(<261112>Ezekiel
11:12) are omitted in the Roman and Alexandrian codexes; and in the Arabic
version of the London and Paris Polyglotts. See Wakon’s Proleg. 14:21.
There are some minor variations in the readings of Theodoret, the Complutensian
edition, and the Syriac version. From the concluding verses of the chapter, the
old commentators understand that the prophets were not bodily transferred to
either Jerusalem or Chaldeea. The whole scene is called an
“ecstasy.” The Spirit of God acting on that of the Prophet, and
enduing him with this celestial eye sight.
DISSERTATION
TWELFTH.
A
THE FALSE PROPHETS.
EZEKIEL 13:1
THE very existence of such a chapter as this suggests
some instructive reflections. It may first remind us of the great moral
difference between the position of the Jew and our own. The existence of
prophets implies the corresponding possession of miraculous witness. A new
prophet was a new herald of a fresh truth; and before he could claim attention
he was called upon to show his new credentials. The false prophets had in
reality no such proofs that they were sent, of God, and yet by speaking smooth
things they succeeded in deluding the people. If surprised at the possibility of
such complete success, we may be reminded of similar instances in the practice
of medicine in our own day among the uneducated. How blindly they rush to any
clever impostor who settles among them with no better credentials than his ready
skin and his audacious pretensions. The more unenlightened men are the more they
catch at any prophet who asserts roundly and audaciously his mission from God.
Now the Jew was called upon not to inquire first into the doctrine taught, but
into “the sign” worked by the teacher — his first inquiry was
to be not what God had revealed, but whom he has commissioned to teach it. Our
position is rather the reverse. St. Paul assures us, that if an angel from
heaven were to teach any other gospel than that taught by him we are to reject
it. We, then, the readers of the Old Testament prophecies, are not to find in
them a revelation of the Gospel, but, pointing to the coming Author of the
Gospel. “Search the Scriptures,” but for what? “they testify
of Me.” Types are fulfilled in the great Antitype — shadows
become substance, and dimness splendor. This chapter of Ezekiel makes the
teacher and his authority the subject of questioning, not the matter of his
instructions. His coming in his own name is his first and all absorbing sin.
However smooth his after communications, this is the great test of his unholy
imposture. The Reformers, in the earnestness of their zeal, often append such
chapters as these directly to themselves and their enemies. This led them to
deal forth the wrath of God with too indiscriminating a name, and has given rise
to the assertion that their system was a compound of “Moses and the
Inquisition.”
F637 CEcolampadius, for instance, designates
the false teachers of his day, “pinlauti, indocti, stulti, somniatores,
caeci, vuloes dolosae, rapaces, in desertis et it neglectis locis agentes,
timidi, et canes
muti.”
F638 Whenever there is a strict parallel
between true and false teachers in our own times, such language may be
justifiable, but where the right of private judgment is so largely exercised by
ourselves, it is but consistent to allow others an equally extensive sphere for
its operation. Contending earnestly for the faith and the truth is possible,
without the accumulation of strong epithets on the heads of
others.
B
ON THE PRINCIPLE OF ACCOMMODATION.
EZEKIEL 13
Our Commentator, in various passages throughout this
Prophet, finds it necessary to introduce the principle of accommodation. And as
this necessity has been so largely insisted on by succeeding interpreters, we
may well attempt to discover the true method of applying so elastic a principle.
For instance, in this thirteenth chapter, on
<261309>Ezekiel
13:9, he says — “Ezekiel here accommodates his language to the
common usage of mankind,” attemperat sermonera; and also,
“pro modulo et ruditate roentis nostrae;” on
<261316>Ezekiel
13:16, he asserts that false prophets are so called
“improprie,” not implying any want of propriety in using the
name; but showing that the name only is intended, and that the reality is not
asserted. The formidable list. of German writers on this important point,
collected by Wegscheider in his Institutiones Theologicae, page
99, Hal. 1826, shows it to be worthy of our attentive notice; for when once we
permit ourselves to resolve everything into “dictio gnomica et
parabolica,” we may refine away the force and meaning of the prophecies
altogether. While we confine ourselves to the topic immediately before us, a few
general suggestions may be here thrown out. 1. In judging of the correctness of
Calvin’s language, we should remember the peculiar intellectual tendencies
of the Reformers, in consequence of their religious antagonism to the prevailing
doctrines of their day. They saw all around them the grosset superstitions; they
lived among a people who believed in a real and permanent moral efficacy,
proceeding from sacred rites and ceremonies. They naturally supposed an analogy
to exist between the false teachers of Rome then rampant, and of Israel once
beloved. The majority of the divines of the day were in all their habits of
thought and reasoning — realists; that is, they treated abstract
religious ideas as if they were undoubted realities. “Grace,” for
instance, must be something infused, and must be received only through one holy
rite, and communicated fresh and fresh, in union with the elements of another.
The schoolmen, who taught that our nature was actually stained and polluted by
the propagation of original infection, held also that the laver of regeneration
actually washed away this original. depravity: if, in after life, fresh
pollution was incurred, then through penance and the eucharist, fresh grace was
transfused by actual and corporal union with the real body and blood of Christ.
The language of Dr. M’Hale in the present day states the peculiarity of a
sacrament to be, that it impresses an indelible
character.
F639 Chateaubriand speaks of those “who
receive their God” at the altar, “while each incorporates with his
own flesh and blood the flesh and blood of his
God.”
F640
This is Realism run to seed’ and against all
this the Nominalist contended, not by denying the spiritual realities, but by
looking for them in the right places. In the fourteenth century the University
of Paris was famous for its learning, its resources, and influence over the mind
of Europe. The majority in power and rank were Realists. At length William
Occam, an English friar, assailed their philosophy, and damaged their religious
influence. Himself a disciple of the great Scotus Erigena, he gathered around
him a band of devoted adherents, and became in philosophy what Luther and Calvin
afterwards were in religion. He succeeded sufficiently to attract the notice of
the reigning pope, John 22nd. who was sharp-sighted enough to see that if
Nominalism spread Romanism must perish. Hence by his command in 1339, the
University of Paris publicly condemned and denounced the philosophy of
Occam.
F641 As usual, when the man is denounced, the
principles take root and flourish. In another age, Luther and Melancthon own him
as their master and their guide. The former calls him “Carus maister
meus;” the latter “Deliciae quondam
nostrae.”
F642 The next century finds the disputes at
Paris as fierce as ever. The famous Gerson and his persevering disciples caused
their enemies to respect their mental sway, till Rome again interfered. In 1743,
the Bishop of Avrancis felt the philosophy of the schools, on which the false
doctrines of Rome were built: in danger, and then he persuaded Louis 11th, the
ruling monarch of France, to order their writings to be seized and their persons
imprisoned. But as time passed on, the king relented, for about eight years
afterwards he revoked his edict, and restored the party to their former
philosophical position. The Reformers lived amidst this perversion of ideas on
religious subjects, and their writings show them to be unconsciously tinged with
the sentiments of the Realists. The schoolmen, for instance, still argued for a
corporeal propagation of what was termed fomes or concupiscentia,
calling it a qualitas corporis, derived either from contagione
pomi, or afflatu
serpentis.
F643 While the Lutherans took one step in the
right direction, the Zuinglians added another: and the influence of the
prevailing opinions of their day is very perceptible in the tone in which the
Reformers comment on the prophets. Calvin, for instance, is remarkable for his
sound common-sense view of difficulties: if an apparent inconsistency occurs, he
is ready at once with his phrases, forma loquendi, per concessionem,
ironice,
katacrhstikw~v,
improprie, all implying his own riglit to use his private, judgment in
solving a difficulty according to his pleasure. He often finds it necessary to
exercise it. In
<262028>Ezekiel
20:28, he ventures to suppose a phrase used in a sense directly contrary to its
obvious meaning; and in verses 5-8,
(<262005>Ezekiel
20:5-8,) he treats the Prophet’s words as “translatiae
locutiones.” His desire to identify the prophetic teaching with the law of
Moses on the one side, and with the precepts of the gospel on the other, leads
him to invent these varying schemes for avoiding the literal meaning. The
inexperienced student will learn wisdom by allowing the Law, the Prophets, and
the Apostles, to speak their own separate language, and gradually to develop the
designs and the character of God without either confusion or distortion. Still,
the use of the word improprie must not mislead us; it does not signify
“improperly” in the ordinary sense, but is used as in and
proprie in Latin. It implies that a phrase does not bear the meaning
which it seems to have it denies the Realist’s view of a question, and
asserts that of the Nominalist. For instance, righteousness infused is the
doctrine of one school; righteousneiss imputed that of the other the text of the
fifty-fifth lecture speaks the language of the former; the comment of Calvin
that of the latter. The Reformers have taught us to look for spiritual realities
where only they can be found, and to deny their necessary connection with
outward observances and tangible elements, whether under the temple rites, or
the prophetic visions, or the apostolic ordinances.
G
ON THE PHRASE “PROSTITUERUNT DEUM.”
EZEKIEL 13:19
The remarks of the last article apply directly to
Calvin’s language respecting the Almighty’ he says flint the wicked
“defile his glory, “corrupt his justice, and “prostitute even
God himself,”
(<261319>Ezekiel
13:19,)and then “drown in the lowest abyss of hell the whole world when
disappointed of their gains.” This is the language of Realists, who
suppose it possible for men thus to treat either the Almighty or their
fellow-creatures. The anathemas of the Council of Trent are founded on the same
fallacious bashes, and the strong language of the vulgar savors of the same
innate belief. The modern reader at once supplies the word “name”
after the offensive verb “to prostitute.” Calvin probably understood
it so, bur, he did not write it to. His phraseology is largely tinctured with
the errors of his times, though he has written enough to be correctly
interpreted by himself. When we moderns think on the subject for a moment, we
admit that no man can defile God’s glory, or corrupt his justice, or
devote his fellow-sinner to the lowest abyss: we take any such expressions as
simply denoting the views of the speakers or writers about matters immeasurably
beyond them. If we more thoroughly understood the teaching of Locke and the
continental Nominalists respecting abstract ideas, we should live without any
fears of the success of those who unchurch all sects but their own, and who
assert the cleansing efficacy of suffering, and the possibility of discovering
the whole body of Catholic tradition. With us, for instance, altars are not on]y
prohibited, but impossible. They are now a mere name-their reality is confined
to the one altar, the Cross. It is equally as impossible to prostitute God as to
erect an altar. The reader of these COMMENTARIES must have observed that
Calvin’s idea of God is rather more familiar than infinite he introduces
his name into the minutest concerns, and thinks of him not as acting by general
and settled laws, but as personally and constantly intervening between the
conduct and the destined of men. He naturally transfers the conceptions and
instincts of morality and holiness which he finds within himself to the Almighty
— he clothes his idea of an awful Spirit with the attributes of a human
conscience he imagines his Deity a divine man, purified, exalted, and
unlimitedly endowed. Our acquaintance with the physical sciences leads us to see
the Great Supreme acting through the visible universe by fixed and undeviating
laws: so we expect that revelation will unfold to us laws of similar harmony,
although apparently disturbed by the anomaly of rebellion and the mystery of
sin. But Calvin without hesitation supposes ]the to interfere perpetually with
the ordinary processes of our animal nature. For instance, in the 14th verse of
this chapter, he supposes the Almighty to withdraw from the ordinary bread of
this life its usual nourishment by way of punishing the wicked. He is said to
break the staff of bread by puffing it up, and depriving it of its power of
affording aliment to the body. He repeats this singular comment as the correct
explanation of the language of Moses in
<050803>Deuteronomy
8:3.
(<261414>Ezekiel
14:14.) It may be perfectly true, that “unless God breathes into the bread
the virtue of nourishment the bread is useless;” but where is the proof
that he withdraws this nourishing power when the bread is tasted by the ungodly?
The ignorance of the Reformers of those physical laws by which it pleases the
Almighty that the natural universe should be governed, was very injurious to
them as commentators on sacred writ’ they were constantly in danger of
being like men who write on glass with diamonds, and thus obscure light with
scratches. And not. only so, when Calvin speaks of “a secret virtue
infused into the bread,” he adopts the language of the Realists: he
assumes the existence of a quality which is philosophically incorrect. A
disciple of Locke will be aware that this supposed virtue is only an abstract
idea existing in the mind of man and not in the bread, and that it is only an
admissible form of speech when it is understood as a general term for the
aggregate of those chemical agents and properties which are realities. If God
then withdraws this “infused virtue,” it is only a form of saying
that he withdraws or suspends certain chemical agencies’ and who will now
confidently assert this to be his method of interfering with the never-ceasing
operations of his creation? So in
<261314>Ezekiel
13:14, the action of Pinnehas, Numbers 25, is said to be infectum aliqto
vitio. This again is the language of the Realists, and is erroneous. His
work could not be infected morally either way it must have been his mind or his
affections. The language erroneosly transfers moral attributes to the
deed instead of to the man.
And here it may appositely be stated, that a correct
exposition of the Prophecies never requires any violation of either physical or
moral truth. Faith in the unity and supremacy of truth is one form of faith in
God. The prophecies are rather illustrated than obscured by our increasing
knowledge of the material universe. No true success in prophetic interpretations
can be attained without a hearty reliance on the unity and majesty of all truth,
without a calm confidence that contradictions are only apparent, and if we
cannot explain them now, they will become clear hereafter. Reason, in its
calmest and clearest vision, can be superseded only by being surpassed; feeling,
in its tenderest mood, must still be ennobled by trust; and conscience must
witness audibly and reverently to our need of the Spitit’s mysterious
guidance “into all truth.”
Throughout the. Prophet Ezekiel, Calvin is nobly
consistent in pleading for God’s justice. There is no instinct more deeply
seated in the human soul than this, — the Godlike must be just nothing can
be permanently opposed to this essential principle. It must sooner or later be
vindicated, and bring a certain measure of retribution, which must follow hard
upon its transgression. Still many traditional modes of thought concerning the
Almighty occur in these COMMENTARIES, which modern information has very largely
modified. God’s handwriting is now legible in many ways, where of old it
was a blank. If his interposition is not now recognized in cherubs, and wheels,
and burning flame, we are more conscious of the natural wonders developed in the
dewdrop and the flower. Our age believes so many things of which the Reformers
were ignorant, and disbelieves so much on which they laid stress, that we are in
danger of overlooking the existence of great primeval truths, which constitute
the essential religious life in man in all ages unchangeably. Veneration for
what we believe God to be must be at the foundation of all diety; and imitation
of what we believe God to do must ever be the substance of all duty. ‘The
first qualification for persuing Ezekiel with advantage is the spiritual
purification of self; and in this attainment Calvin materially assists us, by
setting before us large conceptions of the Almighty’s character, and
mature judgments of his
purposes.
DISSERTATION
THIRTEENTH.
A
ISRAEL AN ADULTERESS.
EZEKIEL 16:1
THE allegory which runs through this chapter is by no
means an unusual one in the Prophets. The beginning of
<261603>Ezekiel
16:3 has occasioned some variety of remark. OEcolampadius takes
hrwkm,
mekoreh, meaning “birth,” “origin,” for
hrwgm,
megoreh, meaning “dwelling;” as Calvin translates it
habitationes. Houbigant derives it from
hrk,
kereh, “to dig,” which Newcome prefers: it may come from
rkm,
meker, “to sell,” and thus means “dealings;” but
this is not so appropriate here. Rosenmuller reviews these derivations, adding
as another, viz. formationes; but approves of the sense
“origin,” effossione, from
rwk,
cor, “to dig.” This is clearly the best, the Jews having
constantly before them the digging out of a rock — as in
<235105>Isaiah
51:50. Both Theodoret and Jerome explain
<261603>Ezekiel
16:3 with precision’ the former has —
ajrai~v ga<r oJ Canaan
uJpeblh>qh ka<i doulei>an uJpo< tou~ propa>torov Nw~e
katedika>sqh; the latter writes — Cham
quippe, pater Chanaan, princeps fuit gentis Aegvptiae . . . radicem Ierusalem
terram AEgypti esse dicemus. In
<261604>Ezekiel
16:4 the salting and swaddling the body is said to represent the
Almighty’s care of the people when under Egyptian bondage. The custom of
throwing the skirt over the female is alluded to by Theocritus Idyll. 18:19; and
a fragment of Euripides preserved by Stobaeus. This cleansing from pollution is
explained by the Chaldee paraphrast to mean the deliverance from Egypt. Those
who are curious in the various articles of clothing in
<261610>Ezekiel
16:10 to 14 may consult Schroeder de Vestitu Mul., chapter 14 page 221; Bochart
Hieroz., part 1 lib. 3.; Jablonskii Opuscula, t. 1 p 290, etc.; and J. D.
Michaelis in Suppl., page 1565. “The images of men,”
(<261617>Ezekiel
16:17,) Jerome interprets of the idols of Bel, Chemosh, and Ashtoreth, which
were made out of the sacred gold and silver of the temple. The passing through
the fire,
(<261621>Ezekiel
16:21,) the Vulgate renders consecrans illos; but Aquila, Synmachus, and
Theodotion take the same view as Calvin. Theodoret interprets the 26th verse of
the grossness of the Egyptian idolatry in worshipping the ibis, the cow and the
crocodile. The punishment of the Jews
(<261636>Ezekiel
16:36-43) is figuratively predicted by similar language, which Theodoret clearly
illustrates — ouj gunai~kav
ta<v gunai~kav ojnoma>zei ajlla< tropikw~v ta<v po>leiv ou]tw
kalei~ ejpaidh< kai< aujth<n po>lin ou+san di>khn gunaiko<v
eijv to< dikasth>rion eijsa>gei The
comment of OEcolampadius on
<261620>Ezekiel
16:20 and Ezekiel 16: 23 is copious and instructive.
B
CAPTIVE ISRAEL AND PAPAL ROME.
EZEKIEL 16:20
In commenting on this verse, Calvin draws a striking
comparison between the Jews of Ezekiel’s day and the Romanists of his own.
And as the controversy with Rome is at present a subject of absorbing interest,
it is very important to ascertain the exact views of the Reformers as to that
giant apostacy. The parallel between them seems to our Reformer most complete.
He allows both to be true Churchs, while he condemns them as breakers of
God’s covenant. Both Israel and the Papacy are still said to be under
covenant with God; so, had “our baptism requires no renewal”
(<261620>Ezekiel
16:20,) yet still the devil reigns in the Papacy without quite extinguishing
God’s grace. The Church is there amidst all its corruptions; otherwise
Antichrist could not sit in God’s temple. The papal priests are said to
imitate the Jewish in all things, even to the material of which the surplice is
made. The priests of Rome are called “papales sacrifici” — the
language of the Realists; which is erroneous, bee,, use it admits too much. It
asserts that they offer sacrifice: the Protestant denies the fact, and disallows
the term. In the controversy with Rome, we should be more careful than even
Calvin in the terms we employ. To allow the analogy here pointed out, is to
allow too much. While we assert, that the pretense to sacrificial functions is a
gross imposture, we must the same time refuse their claim to be acknowledged as
priests. We must instantly erect the standard of nominalism, showing that there
is but one high Priest, but one sacrifice, and one altar in the religion of
Christ. This is real — all the rest mere accommodation. On this ground,
too, Calvin’s view of the covenant actually remaining among them, and of
their being such a temple that Antichrist can be seated therein, Hs very
questionable. It is necessary that the reader should see the consequences of
allowing too much to the advocates of the papacy: there are many reasons, on
which we cannot enter here, for believing that St. Paul did not refer in any way
to Papal Rome by the phrase, “the temple of God ‘“ and if this
be conceded, then Calvin’s argument concerning Antichrist falls to the
ground. It is very important to be aware of the tinge which the theological
language of the sixteenth century gave to all the writings of that stirring
age.
G
ON THE WORD “NEPHESH,” SOUL.
EZEKIEL 16:27
Calvin expresses himself rather hastily when he says
(<261627>Ezekiel
16:27,) this word
çpn,
nepesh, means “lust,” or desire, “appetite.” It
occurs eighteen times in these twenty chapters of Ezekiel; and in every case
except this, when our version reads “will,” it is properly
translated “soul,” or “person.” As the word is in itself
exceedingly important, and occurs some hundred times throughout the Old
Testament, it is desirable to ascertain how far it admits of so many various
meanings. We thought to lay it down as a general rule, that the usual sense of a
word is not to be departed from without extreme necessity; and there seems none
here for deviating from the ordinary meaning. Both Castell and Shindler, in
their Lexx., give all the various uses of the word at full length; and both
Gesenius and Lee fall into the error of stating too great a variety of meanings
without giving the reasons for such discordant senses. Its original meaning is
“breath;” and as “life” was supposed to reside in the
breath, hence it expresses anything that has life, any living energy or mental
activity, so that “the soul” is said to hunger and thirst, to fast
and become cold. (See Proverbs, Psalms, and Job.) Schroeder de Vestitu
Mulierum, and Gesenius, both give the sense of “fragrance” on
<230320>Isaiah
3:20. The Rabbis distinguish three kinds of nepish in man, the vegetative, the
brutal, and the intellectual. This description is philosophically correct, since
it is now ascertained that “the life” of man strictly partakes of
the elements of vegetable and animal vitality, together with the intellectual
power and the moral sentiments, usually termed.” soul in modern divinity.
Connecting this word with
bl,
leb, “heart,” we observe that Gesenius agrees with Calvin on
<261630>Ezekiel
16:30, that it signifies “the seat of intelligence.” The Hebrews
supposed that the human heart “was actually the seat of the
affections;” these are now known to ‘act through the brain, and
hence the old phraseology of “giving the heart to God” should be
allowed to become obsolete. There is no proof that the word nephesh
implied this immortal principle in man; the hunting souls, and slaying them,
as in the thirteenth chapter, refer to the destruction of life. In the time of
the translators, and in the distant counties of England at this day, the word
“soul” is used where more refined speakers use the word
“person.” For instance, in Ezekiel 18, “the soul that shineth
it shall die,” may be reduced to modern English by saying, “the
person who sins shall die himself.” It is by no means necessary, in
<261627>Ezekiel
16:27, to deviate, with Calvin and our translators, from the ordinary sense; it
is readily rendered, “and delivered thee up to the persons who hate thee,
viz., the daughters,” etc. Thus two English words only are required as the
correct equivalent for nephesh throughout Ezekiel — a point on
which we thought to insist, as giving certainty and definiteness to any version
of the Prophet’s language.
D
THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH AND THE NEW TESTAMENT.
EZEKIEL 16:61
It is worthy of notice, that in Calvin’s time,
as in our own, appeals were frequently made to the teaching of “the
primitive Church.” The Reformers were especially anxious to ascertain what
the primitive Church really taught, and to compare it with Holy Scripture they
did not repose implicitly on its dicta, because they looked upon the phrase as
an idea rather than a reality. Here again the necessary collision between
realism and nominalism arises. There is no such thing as the primitive Church in
the sense in which it was used in Calvin’s day, and has been revived in
our own. The words stand for an abstract idea, comprehending many single
churches, and stating what is held to be common to all. For instance, the Church
at Antioch was in reality the primitive Gentile Church; its doctrines,
discipline, and worship, were realities, and, could they be ascertained
accurately, would present to our minds a destined and definite object; but any
representation of doctrines and ceremonies said to be common to many Churches,
and thus spoken of as appertaining to the primitive Church, is a mental
deduction after the process of selection and assortment has been carried on. We
have to guard against the erroneous view of the Realist, lest we should look to
the primitive Church “to reveal what is to be believed, rather than to
teach what has been revealed.” See an admirable letter of the Archbishop
of Canterbury to Rev. W. Maskell.
Although Calvin’s language throughout this
chapter is precise and correct, yet he inadvertently falls now and then into
that of the earliest. On
<261629>Ezekiel
16:29 he uses the phrase “guttam pietatis in animis” — the
erroneous language of his Romanist adversaries. Piety, he knew well enough, was
not a thing infused into man — righteousness infused is the doctrine of
realism — righteousness imputed is nominalism: the former has of late been
revived and systematized by Newman and Ward; while the latter has the inspired
sanction of the Pauline Epistles. In his comments on this verse, our Reformer
uses the word “testament” and “covenant” for the same
idea. It is better to avoid this partial confusion. The word
“testamentum” should properly be applied to the record, which
informs us of the “foedus.” Grotius has expressed the difference
accurately. with him “testamentum” is equivalent to “libri
feoderis,” and, as accuracy in theological expressions is most desirable,
it is wiser to translate
diaqh>kh
in every instance by “covenant,” and to confine the word testament
most strictly to the written record. This will aid us in keeping before our
minds the covenant between the Almighty and his living Church; we shall
appreciate our position as children of the New Covenant, and avoid the error of
regarding the Old Testament., with it’s laws, and ceremonies, and
sacrifices, as binding upon us, who are no longer “children of the bond
woman, but of the free.”
DISSERTATION
FOURTEENTH.
A
THE GREAT EAGLE.
EZEKIEL 17:3
THE allegory of “THE GREAT EAGLE” is well
sustained throughout this chapter. A golden eagle with extended wings was the
standard of the king of Persia in the time of Cyrus, (Xenoph. Cyrop., lib. 7
chap. 1,) and it was probably adopted from the Assyrian empire. The length of
its wing is supposed by Grotius to apply to the widely-extended empire of
Nebuchadnezzar. Kimchi interprets “the variegated color like a
peacock” of the majesty and dignity of his kingdom; but Michaelis agrees
with Calvin. The interpretation of Lebanon, to which Calvin objects, is adopted
by Jerome and Theodoret; but Rosenmuller agrees with our Author. He also takes
the word
ˆ[nk,
ken-men,
(<261704>Ezekiel
17:4,) exactly in Calvin’s sense, quoting
<203124>Proverbs
31:24, “quod incolae ejus terrae, utpote maris accolae, mercaturae erant
deditissimi.” See also Dathe’s edit. of Glass. Phil. Sac., p. 1184.
The sense which Calvin disapproves is adopted by the Septuagint, the Roman
Codex, the Arabian version, Theodoret, and the Chaldee paraphrast. The criticism
in the note to verse 8 is correct; and the interpretation generally is in
accordance with the explanations of Jarcin, Kimchi, Jerome, Michaelis, Grotius,
and other critics ancient and modern. Newcome has noticed some various readings,
and others are easily gathered from De Rossi, and the different versions and
codexes; but they are not of sufficient interest, to need further
detail.
B
THE LOFTY BRANCH OF THE TALL CEDAR.
EZEKIEL 17:22
The interpretation of
<261722>Ezekiel
17:22 is worthy of remark. Kimchi and Grotius think that Zerubbabel is intended
here, but Rosenmuller agrees with Calvin in referring it to Christ. The Chaldee
paraphrast and Jarchi apply it to “King Messiah.” (See Talm.
Schabba,, fol. 30, and Cholin, fol. 139, b., and R. Abendana ad Michal Jopin.)
Calvin’s supposition, however, that where the prophets speak of
“this hope of freedom to the elect,” it should be dated from the
rebuilding of the temple, and continued to the end of Christ’s kingdom, is
incorrect. It causes him, Lo date this kingdom from the rebuilding of the
temple, in forgetfulness of the many disasters which happened to the people
between the times of Ezra and of our Lord. The building of the second temple was
not an event of any immediate spiritual import to the Jews’ it was
followed by overwhelming temporal disasters; so that the reign of Messiah did
not commence till the Mediator of the New Covenant was revealed, and “the
new kingdom of the heavens” fully heralded into the world at
large.
DISSERTATION
FIFTEENTH.
THE EATING SOUR
GRAPES.
EZEKIEL 18:1
THE proverb of the fathers eating sour grapes and the
children’s teeth being set on edge, requires a few remarks, in consequence
of the conjectures of some modern writers on sacred subjects. Andrew Norton, in
his elaborate notes on “The Genuineness of the
Gospels,”
f643A has attempted to show a discrepancy
between Ezekiel and the Pentateuch. He compares this proverb with the language
of Exodus, Exodus 20, where God is said to visit the iniquity of the fathers on
the children. he then quotes the Talmud as objecting to Ezekiel’s
prophecies, as contradictory to the Pentateuch and thus he insinuates that the
two passages cannot be reconciled. If this be so, it is further implied that the
Divine authority of either Exodus or Ezekiel is doubtful. But there seems no
reason to conclude these two passages to be contradictory. The circumstances
under which they were spoken give the tone and meaning to each. Moses enunciates
a general law of God’s moral government, which we see carried out every
day before our eyes. Let the parent of a family, by honest industry and
religious conduct acquire for himself the esteem and respect of his fellow-men,
then it follows by an established law of God’s providence, that his family
gain honorable advantages by their parent’s reputation. But let a parent
by intemperance and dishonesty bring disgrace and poverty on himself, and it is
equally a law of providential government that his children will suffer by his
misconduct. The wickedness of the father will often fall dreadfully on his
unconscious offspring. This is an undeviating, an irreversible law applicable at
all times, and daily operating before us in ten thousand instances. But the Jews
attempted to excuse their own sins by throwing them on their fathers. The
generation which Ezekiel addressed were personally blameworthy; the language of
this passage was theirs it is the language of a false excuse — an attempt
to charge the Almighty with unfairness, that they might throw the blame from
themselves. No argument, then, can be drawn from its occurrence contrary to the
Divine authority of the Pentateuch. Ezekiel records the language and chastises
it, thereby upholding the authority of the law, and vindicating rather than
destroying the unity of the Divine records. The destruction to be received from
the chapter has been well pointed out by the present Archbishop of Canterbury,
in his “Apostolic Preaching.” — Sixth edit., page
69.
A translation of a work: of the Professor of Biblical
Criticism at Heidelberg having been published in London, it becomes desirable to
notice the result of his critical labors on this chapter of our Prophet. G. L.
Bauer, in his “Theologie des alten Testaments,” has the following
comment “The whole book of Ezekiel is an illustration of the Judaic
belief, that Jehovah is the King and Governor of his people Israel. He rewards
and punishes them: blesses them with prosperity, and afflicts them with
adversity. Ezekiel teaches (in direct opposition to the Mosaic doctrine that God
will visit the sins of the fathers. upon the children unto the third and fourth
generation), that the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father that moral
conduct will ensure to the individual length of days that the righteousness of
the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon
him, and that the soul that shineth he shall die. The eighteenth chapter is the
most beautiful and the most useful in the book, but it has reference exclusively
to God’s conduct towards his own people.” Here we have the usual
mixture of Neologian wisdom and folly. There is no real contrast between Moses
and this Prophet. Moses states a general law of God’s moral government of
mankind, and Ezekiel protests against an abuse of that doctrine. The Jews of his
day wished to throw all the blame on their fathers, and to charge the Almighty
with unfairness in punishing’ them for the faults of their ancestors. They
forgot their own personal share in rebellion against the Most high. Nor is it
the slightest objection that “it has reference exclusively to God’s
conduct towards his own people.” Here the Jews are specially addressed,
and the principle is readily applicable to all mankind as soon as it is shown
that they are under similar relations to the Almighty as the Jews. The writer
who cannot see how easily Moses and Ezekiel are reconciled has but very slight
pretensions to occupy a divinity chair; he may make hasty assertions, and give
shrewd guesses; but his opinion thought to be well weighed before it is reckoned
either valuable or trustworthy. Bauer’s criticisms on various passages of
this Prophet are by no means so objectionable as those on the other Old
Testament writers; though he is open to the charge of exercising that
“fertile
imagination”
f644 which he brings so irreverently against
Ezekiel.
A question of still larger import arises naturally
out of their own defense of this eighteenth chapter; namely, what degree of
authority have the laws of the Old Covenant over us, the children of the New?
If, on the one hand, the reasonings of Professor Norton, as contained in the
notes to his second volume of his “Evidences of the Genuineness of the
Gospels” are unsound, the following assertion of a writer, in reply to the
Queen’s Professor of Modern History at Cambridge is unwise —
“One inspired declaration is all that is needed, and whether it be found
in the Old Testament or in the New, is all one to us Christians; it is
God’s word, and God’s word cannot
deceive.”
F645 It is clear enough that the Old
Testament is God’s word — but is it so to us? Is its authority the
same “to us Christians” as that of the New? He who would avoid
Judaizing must answer in the negative: he who best understands the nature of our
New Covenant in Christ Jesus will destined carefully between the authority of
the inspired records of the two covenants over the conscience of the disciples
of the new kingdom of the heavens. When we speak of Holy Writ collectively, as
contrasted with all uninspired compositions, it is emphatically the Word of God;
but when we are attempting to define the relation in which each Testament
separately stands to ourselves, we must not hastily adopt the mere popular
language of the day. By doing so, we are unable to repel the assaults of the
worldly wise, and are in danger of lowering the value of the Sacred Oracles in
the eyes of the scientific inquirers of our times.
To the scholar who is acquainted with the
difficulties which are reviewed by Professor Norton, the following observations
will appear elementary; but as there are some simple-minded believers who may be
perplexed by the specious arguments of the skeptic, a few remarks may be
instructive. First of all, we should not treat the Old Testament as one book all
written at the same time. It should be divided into various portions
corresponding to the periods in which each book was written. The Pentateuch, for
instance, should be studied separately from the Prophets; while the interval of
nearly 1000 years, between the death of Moses and the visions of Ezekiel, should
be constantly borne in mind. The Pentateuch, but not exactly as we have it, was
the Word of God for Jews — its authority as a law to Christians was never
admissible. St. Paul’s whole life was a protest against this going back
again to Moses, instead of going forward to Christ. The ministration of death
was exchanged for a dispensation of life while God’s moral law remains
unchangeable, its authority rests on other grounds to us than the thunders of
Sinai and the tables of stone. Thus, again, the prophetic announcements were
direct and special for Israel and Judea; but they contain guidance and warning
for us only when we are placed in a similar position morally before God.
Ezekiel, for instance, is a watchman to us only so far as it can be shown that
our sins, needs, and responsibilities are similar to those of the Hebrews. It
must be uttered again and again that we are discipled into the New Covenant of
which St. Paul was a chief herald unto us Gentiles; and our highest attainment
is to stand fast in the liberty wherewith our Redeemer has made us free.
Wherever there is a spiritual analogy between our state and that of the captives
at Chebar, Ezekiel is for us; his stirring voice is for our reproof and
destruction in righteousness; but wherever the difference of condition is so
great that this analogy fails, then Ezekiel is only indirectly our monitor from
heaven. The light from heaven is reflected directly upon us through Jesus and
his Apostles, and only obliquely through Moses and the
Prophets.
F646
By the expression of this view of the value of the
Old Testament to us, we do but give form and voice to the feelings which exist
in the minds of many earnest and thoughtful Christians. They cannot receive all
that is in the Old Testament as equally binding on them with what is revealed in
the New. Their cannot sympathize with the antagonist of the Queen’s
Professor of History: they feel that many proposed solutions of acknowledged
difficulties are superficial and evasive rather than self-evident and
satisfactory. Such obstacles are not necessarily connected with the Christian
verities, they are not essential portions of our religion: we may safely confess
ourselves ignorant of the true solution, without endangering a single particle
of “the faith once delivered to the saints.” By upholding the
Pentateuch as the Word of God to the Jews of former ages, we defend and enforce
its inspiration and suitability for its original time and purpose; by treating
the prophecies of the era of the Captivity as spoken originally to the people
alive at the time, we vindicate the Divine inspiration of the Prophet.,
and we prepare our own minds to receive intelligently any indirect destruction
which may be applicable to ourselves. The integrity of the Jewish canon is thus
acknowledged and preserved, while we are free to inquire how far its sacred
books are instructive for all times and all nations. The whole life and ministry
of St. Paul taught one invariable truth on this important question, and its
significant witness was clear and emphatic to our higher privileges and nobler
aims under the New Covenant in Christ Jesus our Lord.
B
USURY AND INTEREST.
EZEKIEL 18:8
The manner in which this subject is treated
illustrates our remarks on the non-application of the Jewish law to Christian
duties. Calvin is evidently at a loss how to distinguish between lawful and
unlawful interest. He does not clearly say that one law was applicable to the
Jew and another to us. Usury may be sinful, but not because it was forbidden to
Israel of old. The comment on this verse is not based upon principles in
accordance with the New Covenant. It may fairly be stated that this eighteenth
chapter is not law to us; our duties depend upon another foundation. The law
which is to decide what is “interest” and what “usury,”
must rest upon the golden rule of doing unto others as we would that they should
do unto us. If we be formed after the image of Christ, we shall educate
conscience, and cultivate justice and mercy, and decide these points by a
different standard from that of the Jewish law; and when Calvin states “in
lege ea est perfectio ad quam nihil possit accedere,” he does not state
the sense in which he uses ‘qege,” and seems to confine it to the
Mosaic precepts. This instance is sufficient to show the true use which we are
to make of the Old Testament, and to guard us against a misapplication of its
statements.
A singular instance of the fallacy of applying the
Old Testament directly to the events of the world in the present day occurs in
the State Trials in the reign of James the Second. In the case of the East India
Company 5 Sandys, a question arose respecting the right of the
King’s subjects to trade with nations eastward of the Cape of Good Hope
without the King’s license. Holt, afterwards the celebrated Chief-Justice,
argued his point with more, zeal than discretion. He gravely cites the doctrine
of Lord Coke, that “infidels are perpetual enemies;” and then, in
the same breath, quotes the book of Judges, to show by analogy, that as the Jews
were restrained from merchandise with the Canaanites, so Christians thought to
be restricted in their dealings with
Pagans.
F647 One instance out of many may suffice to
remind us, that the assumption that Christians are in all cases to act according
to God’s commands to the Jews, is the bashes of modern Judaism; and the
frequency of such reasonings, though supported at times by the writings of some
of our venerable Reformers, calls loudly for the voice of another Paul to
proclaim, “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made you
free.”
The imprudent manner in which some commentators have
connected the incidents of the Old Testament with the doctrine of the New is
readily illustrated by a passage in the first epistle to the Corinthians by
Clement of Rome. In quoting the narrative of Rahab receiving the spies before
the destruction of Jericho, he adverts to their suggesting the hanging out a
scarlet thread from her house, and then adds directly, “making: it
manifest that by the blood of the Lord redemption shall be to all those who
believe and trust upon God. You see then, beloved, that there was not only
faith, but prophecy in the
woman.”
F648 if this method of illustration be
considered allegorical, and as only suggestive of a remote comparison, it is
tolerable; but if it be intended to imply any typical connection between the
accident of the scarlet color and the redemption through Messiah, it is
irreverent and inappropriate in the extreme. The learned Wotton defends Clement
by the example of his master, Paul, and quotes Justin Martyr, who treats the
same event “as a symbol of the blood of
Christ.”
F649 Guided by such illustrious names, the
Reformers often adopted the same “spiritualizing” system. The
sounder and soberer criticism of later days has instructed us not to adopt the
imaginations of men as if they were inseparably bound up with the supreme word
of God. The following extract is worthy of notice, as illustrating the
principles for which we contend: —
“The same freedom of thought [as that of
Luther] on topics not strictly theological formed a prominent feature in the
character of Calvin. A curious instance of it occurs in one of his
letters,
f650 where he discussed an ethical question
of no small moment in the science of political economy, ‘How far it is
consistent with morality to accept of interest for a pecuniary loan?’ On
this question, which, even in Protestant countries, continued till a very recent
period to divide the opinions both of divines and Lawyers, Calvin treats the
authority of Aristotle and that of the Church with equal disregard. To the
former he opposes a close and logical argument not unworthy of Mr. Bentham: to
the latter he replies, by showing that the Mosaic law on this point, was not a
moral, but a municipal prohibition — a prohibition not to be judged of
from any particular text of Scripture, but upon the principles of natural
equity.”
F651
G
PERPLEXING AND THORNY QUESTIONS.
EZEKIEL 18:20
In this and the following verses Calvin pronounces
rather too dogmatically upon matters which are beyond human comprehension. He
strives to reconcile statements apparently contradictory, and in doing so
enunciates principles which cannot be positively determined. For instance, the
will of an infant, before its birth, is said to be “perverse and
rebellious against God,”
<261820>Ezekiel
18:20. Although we are reminded
(<261823>Ezekiel
18:23) that God’s secret counsels are inscrutable to us, yet the assertion
is hazarded that he “has devoted the reprobate. to eternal destruction,
and wishes them to perish.” Some effort is made to reconcile the freeness
of this will with the certainty of the destruction the knot is said to be
“easily untied;” but the experience of nearly three centuries has
proved that these exciting disputes have not been satisfactorily settled: they
are still what they are called in
<261825>Ezekiel
18:25, “perplexing and thorny questions,” and must remain so till
the promise is accomplished, that faith shall be exchanged for sight. It does
not seem desirable to enter upon these abstruse points when commenting upon a
Hebrew Prophet: the revelation to Ezekiel was far different in its
subject-matter from that to St. Paul: there is no necessity for supposing either
that the evangelical doctrines were fully made known to the Prophets, or that
their language is verbally binding upon us — the offspring of the far-off
Gentiles.
In these “Dissertations” we only venture
to suggest some general principles of correct interpretation, and to point out
some errors into which our Reformer has fallen, partly through the infirmity
natural to man, and partly through the philosophical systems and the false
divinity current in his times. While he so evidently surpassed his own age in
stern and devoted piety, and avoided the fanciful conjectures in which many of
the Reformers indulged; Calvin is at times open to the charge of teaching
dogmatically questions which have never been decided by Revelation. Let us bear
with him on this point, while we profit by his judicious and instructive
lectures; remembering that within the fringes of his shadow his modern revilers
are not worthy to tread.
Another instance of perplexity occurs in
<262039>Ezekiel
20:39. The “Indecision” refers to the decree of the Emperor Charles
V. called “The Interim.” Calvin’s hatred of it was sincere but
injudicious. It was a first step to better things. See Mosheim, cent. 16 sect.
1, and the authorities quoted in Maclaine’s
note.
DISSERTATION
SIXTEENTH
THE SABBATH A SACRAMENT AND A
MYSTERY.
EZEKIEL 20:13,
14
We have already cautioned the modern reader of Calvin
not to be startled at his assertion, that “the Sabbath is
Sacrament.” We have in these days become so thoroughly imbued with the
notion that; there can be but two Sacraments, that we reject at once the
possibility of, third. This causes us again to call the reader’s attention
in detail to the principles expressed in the note to the 20th verse of this
chapter.
A number of words occur in theological
discussions which are not met with in Holy Scripture. Among these are the words
Sacramentum, Persona, Trinitas, Unitas. If these were merely translations
of equivalent Greek words found in the New Testament, all difficulty would
cease; but they are not although they express the ideas of the Apostles
correctly, if taken in the sense in which they were originally used. The
Protestant of these later times, if he would understand them aright, should
study their use in the Schoolmen, and by the leading writers of the Church of
Rome, and then, approach the writings of the Reformers. Lawrence’s Bampton
Lectures have already been mentioned: besides these, Bishop Davenant’s
Determinationes of theological questions, when Margaret Professor of
Divinity at Cambridge, are a valuable specimen of the subject-matter of
theological dispute in the days immediately preceding his own. (See edit. 1634,
and also 1639, in Lib. of Queen’s Coll., Cam.) The greatest mistakes have
been committed by English writers on Theology in consequence of their
unconscious subjection to a traditional phraseology. It may fairly be called a
slavery to words. They have lost sight of realities, through anxiety for a
verbal orthodoxy. This h, s led them to look for spiritual realities where riley
are not to be found. In tracing the cause of this, we find it to arise from our
receiving so many of our theological expressions through the Latin Vulgate. And
not only are the words, but the ideas, of the Reformers tinctured by their
education under the religious philosophy which they rejected. Calvin, for
instance, in
<262016>Ezekiel
20:16, uses the phrase “guttam pietarts;” in
<262020>Ezekiel
20:20, “guttam fidei;” and in
<262019>Ezekiel
20:19, “suis commentis inficiunt legem ipsius,”: the two
former expressions implying that piety and faith are qualities within the soul,
measurable by quantity’ and the latter, that the fictions of man can in
any way affect the purity of the law of God. Instances of this kind are here
pointed out, that we may be aware of the principle on which Calvin’s
expressions on many interesting points frequently rest. Other words as well as
sacramentum are used by Calvin in a sense rather different from their modern
meaning:. For example, virtus and virtutes, doctrina and religio, occur
throughout these Lectures, and sometimes need a circumlocution for their English
equivalents. In
<262029>Ezekiel
20:29 religio occurs for respect paid to idols, and
“mysterium” must be taken rather in its classical than its
familiar meaning. The Greek
musthrio>n
was translated “sacramentum” in the copies used by
Tertullian, Cyprian, and Ambrose. Tertullian accordingly calls the doctrines of
the Trinity and of our Lord’s Incarnation “sacramenta.”
Prudentius uses it for “the whole Christian doctrine,” as St. Paul
does the word
musthri>on.
<460401>1
Corinthians 4:1. It is sufficient to point out this difference in the use of
terms, that no reader may judge Calvin hastily, but rather be led to discover
the error or the unsoundness in himself. Those Reformers who were more strenuous
Nominalists than Calvin, did not deny the realities of the faith but they
thought for them where they are only to be found: not in rites, and
words, and creeds, and ceremonies, but in the inner soul of man; in our moral
and spiritual nature; in the character and revelation of God; in the teachings
and guidings of the Holy Spirit; and in the renewed lives and peaceful deaths of
all who are new-created in Christ Jesus their Lord.
Index of
Subjects
Index of
Names
Index of
Citations
Index of Latin Words
and Phrases
List of Scripture
References
FOOTNOTES
ft272
Or, “disgraceful.” — Calvin.
ft273
Calvin uses the Greek word
katacrhstikw~v,
meaning in rhetoric the use of a word in a sense different from its natural one.
Catachresis is the grammatical term, implying the use of terms in their
“non-natural” sense. The French has “neantmoins que ce soit
improprentent.”
Ft274
Or, “breaks.” — Calvin.
ft275
CEeolampadius takes a different view: he says, “principibus et prophetis
juxta quadrat: eorum est animam ponere pro ovibus contra pseudoprophets.”
he then quotes John 10, “Vident lupum venientem et fugiunt.” The
remainder of his comment on this verse is worthy of perusal.
Ft276
Others translate, “to be hoped for;” but the word is here taken
transitively. — Calvin.
ft277
Dissipetur: The French has “fust luy-mesme deschire par
picces.”
Ft278
Calvin’s Latin is nebulones; the French translation
“belistres;” the familiar English
“rascals.”
Ft279
Verbally, that is, “by saying.” — Calvin.
ft280
There is a change of expression here, since he had formerly said, “you
have spoken a divination of falsehood and have seen a vision of vanity.”
— Calvin.
ft281
That is, “in the catalogue.” — Calvin.
ft282
The subject of “the perpetual succession” being so fully discussed
in the present day, this admission of Calvin’s is worthy of notice. The
Latin has ordinarium ministerium: the French, “le ministere
ordinaire.” The reasons which he gives for rejecting such pretensions
would be deemed by many unsatisfactory.
Ft283
The repetition is emphatic. — Calvin.
ft284
The copula is superfluous. — Calvin.
ft285
Others translate “and you hailstones shall fall;” others take it
transitively, “you shall cause to fall;” ‘but we must explain
it either “they shall fall,” or “cause to fall.” —
Calvin.
ft286
That is, “when the wall shall have fallen:” we must understand the
adverb “when.” — Calvin.
ft287
Some translate lenimentum or linimentum: grammatically it thought
to be litio; but although good Latin authors do not use the word
litura here for “daubing,” yet we express it ubi litura.
— Calvin.
ft288
This is the same word which he had formerly used, but it is here taken in
another sense: he had formerly said, “And the spirit of tempests shall
break or cut;” but he now says, “I will make it cut or break
forth;” so that the sense is clearer — “therefore I will make
it break forth.” — Calvin.
ft289
The original words for ira are different. We may translate
hmj,
chemneh, “burning wrath” — “therefore in my
burning wrath I will make the whirlwind break forth.” —
Calvin.
ft290
Calvin’s Latin is very cramped here. The French translation paraphrases it
thus: “Mais ils repliqueront qu’il se pourra bien faire qu’il
leur sera eschappe quelque chose mal a propos.”
Ft291
Or, “veils.” — Calvin.
ft292
That is, “you hunt the souls of my people.” —
Calvin.
ft293
That is, “yours.” — Calvin.
ft294
“Lib. 1. ch. 32. See also chap. 36., ‘statua Atti capite velato,
referring to ‘Attus Navius, inclitus ea temptestate
augur.”
Ft295
Literally, “in handfuls of barley, or on account of them.” —
Calvin.
ft296
Or, “fragments.” — Calvin.
ft297
That is, “those who hearken to a lie.” —
Calvin.
ft298
Dionysius was a Carthusian, a philosopher imbued with the mystic doctrines of
Plato, on whose ‘writings he wrote an elaborate comment. Calvin refers to
his attempt to combine the scholastic theology of his day with the mystical
fancies of Platonism. He was commonly called a Ryckel, and wrote A.D. 1471. See
Gieseler’s Eccl. Hist., edited in English by Francis Cuningham, volume
3
ft299
Or, “I will tear.” — Calvin.
ft300
Or, “fallaciously.” — Calvin.
ft301
The word is different, but only in one letter, and signifies to be sad and to be
grieved. — Calvin.
ft302
The modern state of this controversy is fully explained in Ward’s
“Ideal of the Christian Church.” He utterly rejects Calvin’s
theory, and then very consistently joins the Church of Rome.
Ft303
The Latin edition of 1565 has “motu:” the true reading is
“morte.” The French version is correct in rendering it by
“perdition.”
Ft304
“At my face.” — Calvin.
ft305
Or, “by them.” — Calvin.
ft306
That is, “any one of the house of Israel.” —
Calvin.
ft307
“It is another word:
hn[,
gneneh, is properly to answer — I will answer him in his
inquiry.” — Calvin.
ft308
“Some think the letter
h to
have been substituted for
a,
and translate it — I will answer him, because he comes in the
multitude of his idols. But I follow the simpler sense, because I fear their
explanation to be too forced, namely, that God would reply to the impious when
they consulted him, but according to the multitude of their idols, that is, as
they deserved.” — Calvin.
The Hebrew word to which Calvin here refers is,
hb,
beh, which is so entirely Syriac, that Eichhorn says the Masoretes wished to
corrupt it to
ab,
ba. It is wanting in two MSS. Newcombe quotes the authority of Kennicott
for reading,
ab,
ba, though Houbigant treats it as a barbarism. The Chaldee interpretation is
perhaps preferable. Rosenmfiner discusses the point fully. See also Cappell.
Crit. Sac., volume 1. Edit. Hal.
Ft309
Or, as others translate, “separate themselves.” —
Calvin.
ft310
Or, “turn away?.” — Calvin.
ft311
Calvin has not explained the difficulty which he raises. The verb
“return” is in Hiphil, and thought to have a case following it.
Houbigant reads it in Hophal, and Newcombe prefers to understand
“yourselves.” Rosemuller, as usual, is very
explanatory.
Ft312
“It cannot be otherwise translated here: the word is
rzn,
nezer, which we yesterday saw might be derived from
rwz,
zor, to be estranged. There is no doubt about the sense, ‘he who
has been separated.’” — Calvin.
ft313
That is, “through me, or to inquire of him in or by me, or through my
name.” — Calvin.
ft314
Or, “upon that man.” — Calvin.
ft315
Some translate, “I will destroy him,” changing the point from left
to right; but the reading, “I will place him,” is better. —
Calvin. Calvin’s meaning is, that by altering the point over the
Hebrew letter the meaning of the word is changed: in this and in the previous
verses, Calvin prefers the reading of our authorized version.
Ft316
Verbally, “from after me.” — Calvin.
ft317
“By prevaricating prevarication,” according to some,
l[m
megnel, properly signifies perfidy, hence the version just given
— Calvin.
ft318
Or, “shall free.” — Calvin.
ft319
That is “beasts,” for there is a change of number. —
Calvin.
ft320
Or, “to cut off.” — Calvin.
ft321
That is, “some remnant which shall escape shall remain in it.”
— Calvin.
ft322
Or, “what is these.” — Calvin.
ft323
Or, “branching.” — Calvin.
ft324
“Namely, wood.” — Calvin.
ft325
Verbally, in taking, that is, if they take.
— Calvin.
ft326
Whatever vessel. — Calvin.
ft327
Or, “is cast.” — Calvin.
ft328
That is, “after the fire had consumed it.” —
Calvin.
ft329
That is, “was not formed or fitted.” —
Calvin.
ft330
Or, “was burnt as before.” — Calvin.
ft331
“I have lost.” — Calvin.
ft332
Or, “shall consume.” — Calvin.
ft333
Or, “against them. — Calvin.
ft334
Or, “they have prevaricated with prevarication,” as some translate;
that is, have acted perfidiously, or have been shamefully perfidious. —
Calvin
ft335
Or, “make evident.” — Calvin.
ft336
That is, “of your origin or nativity.” —
Calvin.
ft337
Or “to soften thy flesh:” we shall speak of this afterwards.
— Calvin.
ft338
Verbally, “wrapped in wrappings.” —
Calvin.
ft339
Or, “contaminated:” some translate “trodden down,” I
know not why. — Calvin.
ft340
Others translate, “ten thousand,” and,
hbbr,
rebbeh, means this, but the other sense is simpler: I made thee fruitful
as the bud of the field. — Calvin.
ft341
“You became great.” — Calvin.
ft342
Or rather, “to beauty of beauties; that is, the greatest beauty.”
— Calvin.
ft343
Others translate, “swelled or were prominent.” —
Calvin.
ft344
That is, “ the skirt of my garments.” —
Calvin.
ft345
Or, “shame.” — Calvin.
ft346
Or, “I wiped.” — Calvin.
ft347
Or, “down from thee.” — Calvin.
ft348
Or, “variegated.” — Calvin.
ft349
Or, “purple.” — Calvin.
ft350
Or, “thy nose or nostrils.” — Calvin.
ft351
“These are all to be united together.” —
Calvin.
ft352
Or, “silk cloth.” — Calvin.
ft353
Or, “many-colored.” —
Calvin.
ft354
That is, “beyond measure.” — Calvin.
ft355
Or, “happily.” — Calvin.
ft356
Or, “on account of thy beauty.” —
Calvin.
ft357
Or, “according to thy name.” — Calvin.
ft358
That is, “to whomsoever she met.” —
Calvin.
ft359
Or, “tinged with divers colors,” as some translate. —
Calvin.
ft360
But it is in the feminine gender. — Calvin.
ft361
That is, “masculine.” — Calvin.
ft362
Or, “has taken.” — Calvin.
ft363
Or, “variated.” — Calvin.
ft364
Namely, “the false gods or lovers.” —
Calvin.
ft365
That is, “has offered to them.” —
Calvin.
ft366
Or, “had nourished.” — Calvin.
ft367
Or, “has slain them.” — Calvin.
ft368
Or rather, “to consume them.” —
Calvin.
ft369
Calvin uses here the appropriate Greek word
sto>rgh.
ft370
A passage in Dionysius Halicarnassus
illustrates this idolatrous practice: “And after this, having ordered that
fires should be made before the tents, he brings out the people to leap over the
flames, for the purifying of their pollutions.” — Antiq. Romans Bk.
1, sect. 88, p. 72, and marg. 75. Edit. Hudson.
ft371
Verbally, for passing them over to them, that
is, to idols. — Calvin.
ft372
In every street.” —
Calvin.
ft373
Or, “beginning.” —
Calvin.
ft374
“Thou have poured forth, or opened; but
we may use the proper word, you has spread.” —
Calvin.
ft375
Calvin’s Latin adds, “ut
inhiarent longis et crassis mentulis.” The Reformer dwells so minutely on
the language of the Prophet, that the refined taste of modern days will not bear
a literal translation of some clauses.
ft376
Or, “lust.” —
Calvin.
ft377
That is, “which were wicked.”
— Calvin.
ft378
“Of Assyria.” —
Calvin.
ft379
Verbally, “because there was no satisfying thee.” —
Calvin.
ft380
Or, “you has increased.” — Calvin.
ft381
Or, “dissolute.” — Calvin.
ft382
Or. “ruling.” — Calvin.
ft383
The readers of Shakespeare will readily translate this into idiomatic
English.
ft384
That is, “presents are accustomed to be given.” —
Calvin.
ft385
“From all around.” — Calvin.
ft386
That is, “following thee.” — Calvin.
ft387
“Understand like your.” — Calvin.
ft388
The meaning is the same, the verb
˚ph,
hephek, means to overthrow; hence the noun signifies
“inversion,” or “the contrary.” —
Calvin.
ft389
Properly “thy money;” but it is
taken metaphorically for “thy lower parts.” —
Calvin.
ft390
Or, “nakedness.” —
Calvin.
ft391
Or, “I will discover.” —
Calvin.
ft392
Or, “thy disgrace.” —
Calvin.
ft393
Or, “of emulation.” —
Calvin.
ft394
Or, “of envy.” —
Calvin.
ft395
Or, “overthrow.” —
Calvin.
ft396
Or, “break down.” —
Calvin.
ft397
Or, “of beauty;” that is,
“thy precious furniture.” — Calvin.
ft398
Or, “army.” —
Calvin.
ft399
But the noun is superfluous, since
µgr,
regem, signifies to stone to death. —
Calvin.
ft400
The noun “fire” is redundant. —
Calvin.
ft401
Or, “they shall execute.” — Calvin.
ft402
“Because.” — Calvin.
ft403
Or, “you have been tumultuous against me.” —
Calvin.
ft404
“ I will put.” — Calvin.
ft405
Others translate, “that you may not execute thy thought in all your
abominations.” Jerome reads it in the first person, and translates it
thus: “I have not fulfilled my thought according to your
abominations,” as if God would praise his own clemency here in being so
moderate in his wrath; but this is altogether foreign to the subject. —
Calvin.
ft406
We must understand the pronoun “ thy” before “head.”
— Calvin.
ft407
“Verbally.” — Calvin.
ft408
Or, “repudiated, abominated.” —
Calvin.
ft409
I rather think the place corrupt, and that
˚twja,
achothek, is put for
˚ytwja,
achothik, for it follows — “who have turned away from their
husbands;” and this does not agree with a single sister: then shortly
after the Prophet will say, that the Jews had two sisters, Sodom and Samaria;
and surely what follows cannot be understood of one woman; for it says,
“they have despised their husbands.” — Calvin. Newcome
agrees with this emendation of Calvin’s; so also does Maldonatus, the
Jesuit, Comment. in Ezekiel, etc.
ft410
“A small matter.” — Calvin.
ft411
Or, “quiet peace;” others, “abundance of ease.”
— Calvin.
ft412
That is, “as I pleased.” — Calvin.
ft413
“And they raised themselves up,” for he comprehends the daughters of
Sodom, that is, the neighboring cities. — Calvin.
ft414
That is, “as I pleased and desired.” — Calvin. He repeats
<261650>Ezekiel
16:50.
ft415
Or, “thou was abominable.” — Calvin.
ft416
“Even thou.” — Calvin.
ft417
“To their ancient state.” — Calvin.
ft418
That is, “to their former state.” —
Calvin.
ft419
Or, “loftiness.” —
Calvin.
ft420
Or, “have seized.” — Calvin.
ft421
Or, “your enormities.” — Calvin.
ft422
Or, “because.” — Calvin.
ft423
Or, “that you should render vain” —
Calvin.
ft424
Or, “I shall yet be, mindful,”
for the copula ought to be resolved into the adversative particle. —
Calvin.
ft425
In commenting on this chapter, Calvin takes occasion to explain the gospel
doctrines of justification, faith, and repentance, and refers to the adverse
fictions of the papacy. This interesting subject is fully treated by Bishop
Davenant in his Disputatio de justitia habituali et actuali, delivered when
professor of divinity at the University of Cambridge (1631). The English
translation by the Revelation Josiah Allport, 1844, is a most valuable work, and
treats largely on this and all collateral subjects. His
“Determinationes,” edit. 1634 and 1639, may also be consulted: with
Penrose on the Atonement, 1843; and St. Bernard’s Sermon on
<230601>Isaiah
6:1, 2. Oecolampadius, on
<230605>Isaiah
6:55, is copious, spiritual, and practical; and Maldonatus gives the sense of
the Hebrew remarkably well and with great consistency, though he adds no
practical comments. Theodoret and Jerome are both very explanatory, especially
on
<230604>Isaiah
6:45. See Dissertations at the end of this volume.
Ft426
That is, “bring forward a remarkable sentence.” —
Calvin.
Ft427
Or, “wings” — there is a change of number. —
Calvin.
Ft428
Or, “thick with,” “plentiful in.” —
Calvin.
Ft429
The number, though singular, is taken for plural, that is, “of divers
colors.” — Calvin.
ft430
Or, “the top.” — Calvin.
ft431
The word
ˆ[nk,
cengnen, (or, chnaan,) is not a proper name, but is taken appellatively.
— Calvin.
ft432
Or, “that top.” — Calvin.
ft433
“He took.” — Calvin.
ft434
That is, “a fertile or rich field.” —
Calvin.
ft435
“The eagle.” — Calvin.
ft436
Or, “twigs.” — Calvin.
ft437
That is, “another eagle.” — Calvin.
ft438
That is, “applied.” — Calvin.
ft439
Or, “beds, or rows or furrows,”
twgr[,
gnergoth, signifies properly “furrows.” —
Calvin.
ft440
Or, “in its plantation,” to make the sense clearer. —
Calvin.
ft441
That is, “in a good soil.” — Calvin.
ft442
Or, “copious.” — Calvin.
ft443
Or it is usually rendered, “others have a beautiful vine:”
rda,
ader, signifies properly to strengthen: hence it may be translated a
strong vine; but here it means beautiful, elegant, or superb. —
Calvin.
ft444
Or, as they commonly say, “ shall it prosper?” —
Calvin.
ft445
Or, “grow dry.” — Calvin
ft446
It is a noun put in the place of an infinitive, “for taking it
away,” or” for its being taken away.” —
Calvin.
ft447
That is, “shall it do prosperously or happily?” or, “shall it
have good success?” for prosperari is not a sufficiently classical word,
unless derived from prosperare, used by Horace, and so is passive. —
Calvin.
ft448
Or, “shall have struck or touched,” for it signifies either.
— Calvin.
ft449
Or, “furrows.” — Calvin.
ft450
“Say now.” — Calvin.
ft451
Or, “bitter.” — Calvin.
ft452
Lead him to take.” — Calvin.
ft453
“The copula is here redundant, or is taken for a note of
interrogation.” — Calvin.
ft454
Or, “ turrim.” — Calvin.
ft455
Or, “be liberated.” — Calvin.
ft456
Or, “I will throw it back.” — Calvin.
ft457
koi>nav
ejnnoi>av. —
Calvin.
ft456A
Or, “I will spread.” — Calvin.
ft457A
Some translate “drag-net,” but erroneously, for the word is derived
from hunting. — Calvin.
ft458
Or, “plead in a trial.” — Calvin.
ft459
Or, “prevarication.” — Calvin.
ft460
“The copula is redundant.” — Calvin.
ft461
Or, “of a tall.” — Calvin.
ft462
Or, “magnificent;” it is the same word of which we spoke yesterday.
— Calvin.
ft463
Under that branch or cedar.” — Calvin.
ft464
That is, “birds of all kinds.” —
Calvin.
ft465
Or, “flying thing.” — Calvin.
ft466
Or, “boughs.” — Calvin.
ft467
Or, “I will do it.” — Calvin.
ft468
That is, “that you use this saying or apothegm.” —
Calvin.
ft469
Sour grape — I know not why some translate it “the wild vine,”
for it does not suit. — Calvin.
ft470
Or, “hereafter.” — Calvin.
ft471
Or, “utter this proverb.” — Calvin.
ft472
That is, “are my own.” — Calvin.
ft473
That is, “are my own.” — Calvin.
ft474
Properly, “to the filthiness.” —
Calvin.
ft475
Or, “of his neighbor.” — Calvin.
ft476
Or, “oppressed.” — Calvin.
ft477
Verbally, “has not seized booty.” —
Calvin.
ft478
Or, “reward, gain.” — Calvin.
ft479
That is, “to conduct himself faithfully.” —
Calvin.
ft480
The older lexicons connect this word with that for filth, dii stercorii,
following the Jewish commentators: it occurs forty-seven times in the Old
Testament, and our translators have always translated it “idols.”
The margin of
<052917>Deuteronomy
29:17, has dungy gods.
ft481
This canon of sacred criticism was not received by the Jews. The Talmud informs
us of discussions among their doctors, pointing out the discrepancy between this
chapter of Ezekiel and the Pentateuch, and objecting to the writings of this
prophet being received into the Canon. See Bartolocci Biblioth. Heb., volume 2,
and Wolf. Bibl. Heb., volume 2, as quoted in Norton’s Genuineness of the
Gospels, volume 2 Additional Notes, p. 141.; and also the Dissertation on this
chapter at the end of this volume.
ft482
Or, “a destroyer:”
≈rp,
pheretz, signifies to corrupt, destroy; whence,
ˆyxrp,
pher-tzim, means thieves who dig through the walls of houses. But that
derivation seems to me forced: I rather interpret the word as “a violent
man,” and one who breaks through all rectitude. —
Calvin.
ft483
So I interpret it: others read “one thing;” but we shall afterwards
see that the word brother is better. — Calvin.
ft484
That is, “any one.” — Calvin. Three manuscripts with the
Syriac version omit the word
ja,
ach, brother; but the Chaldee, and Houbigant,with Archbishop Newcome, all
agree with Calvin in inserting it.
ft485
The precepts of the law, which he had mentioned before. —
Calvin.
ft486
“Polluted,” as we said yesterday. —
Calvin.
ft487
That is, “shall he live?” — Calvin.
ft488
That is, “shall rest upon himself.” —
Calvin.
ft489
Or, “pollutions” — Calvin.
ft490
The house of Israel is expressed here as in the first set. —
Calvin.
ft491
Verbally; but because there is a difference between the Latin words for to give
and receive a pledge, it makes the sense clearer to say, not to receive a
pledge. — Calvin.
ft492
He now uses the singular number, “a prey.” —
Calvin.
ft493
Or, “distributed.” — Calvin.
ft494
That is, “against him.”
— Calvin.
ft495
That is, “be taken into account.” —
Calvin.
ft496
Augustine. Comment, in
<431016>John
10:16.
ft497
That is, “is not straightforward.” —
Calvin.
ft498
ˆmt,
theken, signifies “to weigh;” but it means also “to
balance accurately.” — Calvin.
ft499
The number is changed from singular to plural, “in his wickedness.”
— Calvin.
ft500
That is, “he shall snatch from death, or restore to life.”
— Calvin.
ft501
That is, “ the Israelites said” —
Calvin.
ft502
The tense is future, but continued action is intended. —
Calvin.
ft503
Verbally, “each man.” — Calvin.
ft504
Or, “between you.” — Calvin.
ft505
“And bring you back:” others, “bring your neighbors
back;” but this is far-fetched. I prefer “bring yourselves
back.” — Calvin.
ft506
Or, “a mournful song.” — Calvin.
ft507
Or, “against.” — Calvin.
ft508
Or, “devoured.” — Calvin.
ft509
“Had perished.” — Calvin.
ft510
That is, “educated or brought him up till he was a lion.” —
Calvin.
ft511
Or, “to seize booty” — an expression more in agreement with
the Latin idiom. — Calvin.
ft512
Or, “afflicted.” — Calvin.
ft513
Or, “uttered a cry;” some take it passively, “were set
against.” — Calvin.
ft514
“In ward, or custody, or prison:” an old interpreter translates
“into a cave.” — Calvin.
ft515
That is, “into a close and well-guarded prison.” —
Calvin.
ft516
Or, “leafy,” as some translate it. —
Calvin.
ft517
That is, “strong or robust.” — Calvin.
ft518
That is, “on high among the boughs or vine-branches.” —
Calvin.
ft519
Or, “burning wrath.” — Calvin.
ft520
Or, “broken up.” — Calvin
ft521
“Its twigs were broken up and withered.” —
Calvin.
ft522
That is, “dry and barren.” — Calvin.
ft523
Or, “consumed.” — Calvin.
ft524
That is, “strong.” — Calvin.
ft525
Or, “before me.” — Calvin.
ft526
That is, “to consult me.” — Calvin.
ft527
Or, “explain.” — Calvin.
ft528
That is, “which is a desire, or desirable.” —
Calvin.
ft529
Though it signifies also “foulness or pollution”
–Calvin.
ft530
“Statutes.” — Calvin.
ft531
Or, “were bitter against me.” —
Calvin.
ft532
We have often spoken of this word. — Calvin.
ft533
That is, “I have decreed.” — Calvin.
ft534
Or, “is desirable.” — Calvin.
ft535
That is, “ they have despised my judgments and my decrees.”
— Calvin.
ft536
Violated, profaned: the word
llj,
chelel, is the same. — Calvin.
ft537
Or, “filth, defilement,” as I have elsewhere said. —
Calvin.
ft538
“My eye took no notice of them.” —
Calvin.
ft539
“And I did not execute on them.” —
Calvin.
ft540
Or, “statutes.” — Calvin.
ft541
Or, “pollution’s.” — Calvin.
ft542
That is, “that you may recognize, or know.” —
Calvin.
ft543
At a period when the controversy concerning the efficacy of sacraments is
revived with all its former virulence, and the authority of Calvin is often
called in to decide between conflicting statements, the language of this passage
is worthy of special notice. It would startle some of our modern critics to find
Calvin calling the Sabbath “a Sacrament of regeneration.” In
treating this class of subjects, it is essential to ascertain the exact ideas of
the medieval controversialists, and to perceive how very different they were
from our own. For example, Protestants of the present day would pronounce any
man unsound who allowed of more sacraments than two, while Romanists would
require all men to admit them to be seven; yet Calvin would have no objection to
the assertion that there are seventy. He used the word for what is now currently
expressed by the phrase “the means of grace.” All aids and helps to
the cultivation of the life of God in the soul have been termed sacramental; and
by using the word in a comprehensive sense, the assertion is strictly true.
Sabbaths are to us, as well as to the Jews, means of grace, conducive to
regeneration. Calvin also asserts that these means of grace are never destitute
of the Holy Spirit’s virtue, except we render ourselves unworthy of the
grace which they contain. He differs from the papists, not with reference to
what a sacrament is in itself, but as to the need of faith in the recipient for
the personal advantage to be derived from it. The opinion is absolutely
expressed, that they always retain their nature, on the principle that spiritual
things always remain the same: man’s unbelief is said to make no
difference as to the reality of the grace inherent in the sacrament; it only
affects our reception of it. The spiritual blessing is there: our want of faith
is the only cause why the blessing does not pass by the appointed channel to the
unworthy recipient. As the sentiments of our Reformer are sometimes quoted in
support of views very different from this, the reader’s attention is
particularly directed to his commentary on this verse, since the greatest errors
arise from interpreting controversial phrases by the modern meaning which the
words have acquired.
The history of opinions which have formerly prevailed
on subjects deeply interesting to ourselves is always serviceable towards the
formation of accurate opinions. Hence we may here refer to Dr. Lawrence’s
Bampton Lectures for the year 1804, in which the lecturer has distinctly stated
the different views taken by the Papists and the Schoolmen, the Lutherans and
the followers of Zwingle and Calvin. In Sermon 6, page 123, he makes the same
statement with reference to the papists as Calvin does in his comment on this
verse, viz., “asserting, among other extravagancies, that the Sacraments
are in themselves efficacious by virtue of their own operation, exclusively of
all merit in the recipient.” In notes on Sermon 3, page 276, he adds,
“The Lutherans contended that the Holy Spirit was efficacious in
baptism;” and quotes Calvin’s letter to Melancthon, “. . . non
inanes esse figuras sed reipsa praestari, quidquid figurant. In baptismo adesse
spiritus efficaciam, ut nos abluat et regeneret.” See also his opinion on
the state of the children of Christians dying unbaptized. Instit., lib. 4. cap.
15, section 22. The view of Zwingle will be found in his Declaratio de
peccato originali, Op., volume 2 page 118; and Epist. Urbano Regio, volume
1. p. 383; and of Bullinger, in his treathese adversus Cala-baptistarum prava
dogmata, page 57. It will not be expected that the admirers of Calvin will
be satisfied with Dr. Lawrence’s reasonings and conclusions; but the notes
to his discourses form a most valuable digest of the views of the Schoolmen and
the various Reformers of celebrity, selected with judgment from the voluminous
disputations of those stirring times. See also the Dissertation on this verse at
the end of this volume.
Ft544
Or, “irritated,” or, “exasperated me.” —
Calvin.
Ft545
That is I decreed.” — Calvin.
Ft546
“Still I drew back” — Calvin.
Ft547
Or, “my burning wrath.” — Calvin.
Ft548
Or, “against them.” — Calvin.
Ft549
Supply “the fire,” as in the authorized version.
Ft550
“For the copula ought to be resolved in this way.” —
Calvin.
Ft551
“Wither,” or, “of what kind.” —
Calvin.
Ft552
Or, “why do you go there?” — Calvin.
Ft553
Or, “filthiness.” — Calvin.
Ft554
“By tendering your oblations.” —
Calvin.
Ft555
We must understand the relative, “that which arises.” —
Calvin.
Ft556
It is the participle, “you say.” —
Calvin.
Ft557
That is, “I will plead with you by right.” —
Calvin.
Ft558
That is, “I have pleaded.” — Calvin.
Ft559
Or, “I will choose.” — Calvin.
Ft560
Verbally, meaning “my holy name.” —
Calvin.
Ft561
Calvin’s language is here rather remarkable. He calls the clinging to the
worship of God, while bowing down to idols, illud prodigiosum INTERIM,
which is in the French translation ce beau monstre D’INTERIM. The
same idea is also expressed by the word commentum, translated ceste
belle invention ainsi forgee.
Ft562
Or, “I will embrace them with my
favor.” — Calvin.
Ft563
He had used
hmda,
admeh, before, but he now uses
≈ra,
aretz. — Calvin.
Ft564
Or, “abominable.” — Calvin.
Ft565
The thirtieth year. The date at which this reckoning commences is doubful Calvin
dates from a Jubilee, (vol. 1. p. 52.,) but Jerome from the 18th year of King
Josiah, when the book of the law was found. Origen, Hom. I., understands it of
Ezekiel’s age; and so does Gregory, Hom. II. Maldonatus interprets it of
the captivity, and quotes the authority of Theodoret. Pradus, as quoted by
Rosenmfiner, agrees with Jerome. The Editor refers his readers once for all to
the valuable commentary of Rosenmuller on this Prophet for all kinds of valuable
critical information; while the English student will find the notes to
Archbishop Newcome’s version very judicious.
Ft566
Or, “divided.” See vol. 1. p. 75, note.. The MSS. vary slightly.
Calvin has translated very literally; and the Prophet’s language being so
elliptical, it is almost impossible to present a perfectly accurate
representation of “a cherub” to a modern inquirer.
Ft567
Explained in a note, p. 82, vol. 1 See Jerome in Comment. ad Heseam, cap. 12,
and Chrysos. Orat. 35, p. 448, ed. Morell...Rosen. in ver.
Ft568
Alexander Knox, who beautifies whatever he touches upon, has applied this verse
most happily in illustration of the “exquisitely regular” movements
of the almighty, and the “attendant machinery of Providence.”
— Remains,
<260609>Ezekiel
6:9.
Ft569
See vol. 1. p. 131, note footnote 68,
Ezekiel 3:6.
Ft570
See vol. 1. p. 168, notenote 86, Ezekiel
3:27.
Ft571
See vol. 1. p. 186, notefootnote 98, Ezekiel
4:15.
Ft572
See vol. 1. p. 187, notefootnote 104,
Ezekiel 4:17.
Ft573
The rendering according to note,vol. 1. p.
205 footnote 115, Ezekiel
5:11.
Ft574
See vol. 1. p. 213, notefootnote 122,
Ezekiel 5:16.
Ft575
See vol. 1. p. 215, note, Ezekiel
5:17.
Ft576
Explained by Calvin, vol. 1. p. 224, note
footnote 130, Ezekiel 6:6.
Ft577
For Calvin’s sense of “evil,” see vol. 1. p. 232,
note footnote 137, Ezekiel
6:10.
Ft578
For another rendering, see vol. 1. p. 235,
note footnote 141, Ezekiel
6:12.
Ft579
Another reading proposed, vol. 1. p. 245,
note, footnote 148, Ezekiel
7:5 Archbishop Newcome adopts the reading of the
note, which is supported by more than twenty MSS., “Lo! evil cometh after
evil.”
Ft580
See another rendering,vol. 1. p. 255 Ezekiel
7:13.
Ft581
See vol. 1. p. 259, note footnote 158,
Ezekiel 7:16.
Ft582
See vol. 1. p. 264 footnote 164, Ezekiel
7:20.
Ft583
See note onvol. 1. p. 330 footnote 218,
Ezekiel 10:10.
Ft584
See vol. 1. p. 345, note footnote 225,
Ezekiel 10:22.
Ft585
See vol. 1. p. 362, note footnote 238,
Ezekiel 11:16.
Ft586
See vol. 1. p. 382, note footnote 240,
Ezekiel 11:21.
Ft587
See vol. 1. p. 396, note footnote 247,
Ezekiel 12:7: “for
myself.”
Ft588
See vol. 1. p. 395, note footnote 250,
Ezekiel 12:10; where Calvin explains the word
“burden.”
Ft589
See vol. 1. p. 402, note footnote 253,
Ezekiel 12:14.
Ft590
See vol. 1. p. 406, note footnote 260,
Ezekiel 12:19.
Ft591
See vol. 2. p. 9, note footnote 273,
Ezekiel 13:3.
Ft592
See vol. 2. p. 14, note footnote 280,
Ezekiel 13:8.
Ft593
See vol. 2. p. 22, note footnote 288,
Ezekiel 13:13.
Ft594
See vol. 2. p. 47,
note footnote 308, Ezekiel
14:4.
Ft595
See vol. 2. p. 51, note footnote 312,
Ezekiel 14:7.
Ft596
“By prevaricating prevarication,” vol. 2. p. 67,
note footnote 317, Ezekiel
14:13.
Ft597
See vol. 2. p. 79, note footnote 321,
Ezekiel 14:22.
Ft598
See vol. 2. p. 84,
note footnote 328, Ezekiel
15:4.
Ft599
See vol. 2. p. 91, note footnote 334,
Ezekiel 15:8.
Ft600
See vol. 2. p. 96, note footnote 337,
Ezekiel 16:4.
Ft601
See vol. 2. p. 100, note footnote 342,
Ezekiel 16:7.
Ft602
See vol. 2. p. 105, note footnote 350,
Ezekiel 16:12.
Ft603
The meaning of this clause is doubtful. See Calvin’s Commentary,vol. 2. p.
113 Ezekiel
16:16. Newcome very judiciously translates,
“whither you shouldst not have come, neither should it have been
done.”
Ft604
See vol. 2. p. 121, note footnote 371,
Ezekiel 16:21.
Ft605
Calvin in his comment explains the sense in which “scorning” is
used, vol. 2. p. 135 Ezekiel
16:31; but Newcome justly supposes the original
word to be the Chaldee for “to gather.”
Ft606
See vol. 2. p. 148, note footnote 405,
Ezekiel 16:43.
Ft607
See vol. 2. p. 156, note footnote 412,
Ezekiel 16:50.
Ft608
Newcome adopts the rendering of the Septuagint and Cocceius, “with much
care,” curatio, observatio, but quotes Dathe and Golius, page 1362, for
the Arabic, in the same sense as Calvin, “a
willow.”
Ft609
See vol. 2. p. 192, note footnote 437,
Ezekiel 17:7.
Ft610
See vol. 2. p. 193, note footnote 445,
Ezekiel 17:9.
Ft611
See vol. 2. p. 208, note footnote 463,
Ezekiel 17:23.
Ft612
Saying or apothegm; vol. 2. p. 213, note
footnote 468, Ezekiel 18:2.
Ft613
Conduct himself faithfully; vol. 2. p. 219,
note footnote 479, Ezekiel
18:9.
Ft614
See vol. 2. p. 231, note footnote 483,
Ezekiel 18:10.
Ft615
See vol. 2. p. 249, note footnote 495,
Ezekiel 18:24.
Ft616
Accurately balanced: vol. 2. p. 252, note
footnote 498, Ezekiel 18:25.
Ft617
See vol. 2. p. 256, note footnote 500,
Ezekiel 18:27.
Ft618
Calvin translates with the authorized version in tuo sanguine, “in
thy blood,” and explains it as above, dum peperit. Capellus and
Pradus, by a slight alteration of the Hebrew letters from
˚mdb,
bedemek, to
ˆmrk,
keremen, translate “like a pomegranate.” Doederlein, in his
Annotations on Grotius, prefers this sense; but Jerome, Rab. Solomon, and Rab.
David, take it as Calvin does. Both Rosenmuller and Newcome discuss the point
with ability.
Ft619See
vol. 2. p. 342, note footnote 564, Ezekiel
20:43.
Ft620
See Hart well Horne’s Introduction,
etc., volume 2. part 1 page 116, edit. 6th, where full information on this and
kindred subjects is to be found.
Ft621
Maldon. in Ezekiel 1, etc., edit. Moguntiae
1611. Here the reader may see the Jewish comments of Rabb. David, Solomon, and
the Chaldee paraphrast; also R. Moses, lib. 3. cap. 6.
Ft622
Comment. in om. lib. Proph. page 5, Ez.: Genev. 1558.
Ft623
Hom. 5 section 3, and compare the Litany of St. James, Ass. Cod. Lit.
5:56.
Ft624
In Psalm 118. Lit. 18, see. 28, 48.
Ft625
In Psalm 33 En. 1 section 6, and
<197826>Psalm
78:26.
Ft626
Review of “Vindication of Protestant
Principles.” — Tait’s Mag. page 758. 1847.
Ft627
M. T. Cicero ad Herennium. Edit. Bipont, volume 1 page 122.
Ft628
Volume 3. page 405.
Ft629
Div. Leg., lib. 4, section 4.
Ft630
Div. Leg., lib. 6 section 2.
Ft631
For Cocceius, see Mosheim, Ecc. Hist. Cent. 17 section 2, page 2; and for
cautions against over spiritualizing, see Revelation J. J. Conybeare’s
Bampton Lectures for 1824; and Bishop Van Mildert’s Bampton Lectures, page
241, and following.
Ft632
By John Dudley, Clerk. 1 volume 8vo.
Ft633
Hom. 39, in
<244422>Jeremiah
44:22.
Ft634
See Nov. Syst. Chronol. Fund., lib. 1 chapter 4 section 92, page
165.
Ft635
Synt. 2 cap. 1 page 195.
Ft636
Div. Leg., lib. 4 section 6.
Ft637
See Spectator: January 19, 1850. Review of T. H. Dyer’s “Life of
John Calvin.”
Ft638
See Com. in Ezekiel 13:5.
Ft639
The Evidences and Doctrines of the Catholic Church, page 402.
Ft640
Genie du Christianisme.
Ft641
Boulay Hist. Acad. Par., volume 4 page 257; and volume 5 page
708.
Ft642
See Admon. Ad Eccl. ap. Coelest., page 261; et Orat. pro M. Luth. Opera, volume
2 page 58.
Ft643
See Apol. Confess. ap. Coelest., page 2, and Scotus, lib. 2. destined.
32.
Ft643A
Vol 2, page 140.
Ft644
See Edit. London. Eng. trans., page 125.
Ft645
See a Pamphlet by the Revelation W. B. Hopkins, in reply to Sir James Stephen,
LL.D., Professor of Modern History in the University of Cambridge, section 2,
page 37.
Ft646
See Augustine De Civit. Dei, lib. 18 chapter 38 page 836. Ed. Paris.
1838.
Ft647
See State Trials, 10, 519, and Lord Campbell’s Lives of the
Chief-Justices, volume 2 page 126.
Ft648
See Wotton’s Edit., 1718, Cantab., chapter 12 page 54.
Ft649
Dial. cum Tryphone.
Ft650
See also his views expressed in his Tracts.
Ft651
Prof. Dugald Stewart’s Preliminary Dissertation to the Encyc.
Britt.